[WWII AU] a brand new day

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky wakes in the predawn darkness, long before reveille would normally be called. He spends a few minutes reviewing the mission in his head before he rolls from his cot; there's no room to think about anything else. He meets Steve and the rest of the Howling Commandos at five-fifteen. As planned, they're on the move before the hour has passed.

It's a long day, a hard day, but in the end a successful day, for the most part. The hidden facility carved into the hillside is no more when they leave, HYDRA's agents defeated, their stockpiles destroyed. But there's still no sign of Schmidt, nor of Zola, and that remains incredibly frustrating.

Still, there's reason to celebrate today's win, and the squad's more or less exuberant on their return, some fourteen or so hours later. Steve disappears into the command tent to debrief with Colonel Phillips; Bucky'll catch up with him afterward, as usual. He spends a few minutes trading quips with the others before disappearing to weapons storage to see to his own rifle - also as usual. Something about taking care of it helps him feel like he's cleaning the blood off his own hands.

After that, he finds he's too restless to settle yet, and figures it's not the best idea for him to be around others until he sorts himself out. Bucky wanders along the edge of camp in the dark, then veers from the path and off into the field where he'd spent some time watching the stars only a couple of days ago.

It should be peaceful there, more or less.

Comments

[nerves_of_ice]

"I like the sound of that." He chuckles a little. "You know, the first time I saw Howard Stark, it wasn't here. It was on stage at the World of Tomorrow exposition, the night before I shipped out. He was trying to show off a flying car."

[from_the_outside]

"A flying car, huh?"

She can just picture it. "How did that work out for him?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"Not great. It crashed right there on stage."

He grins at her. "I guess the road to the future's a little rocky."

[from_the_outside]

"It always is."

She looks back over at him, unable not to smile back at that grin. "World of Tomorrow exposition, huh? Must have been something pretty special for you to go on your last night at home."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Yeah, it was." His smile's a little softer now, a little wistful. "'Make way for tomorrow today,' that was the theme. Stark put it on to make up for the World's Fair being cancelled because of the war. It was something, all right. All kinds of stuff that inventors could dream up. The car, a model of a synthetic man, television you could smell."

Bucky glances down at her. "I guess you probably think it sounds silly, though, being from the actual future and all."

[from_the_outside]

"Not at all."

If anything, she wishes the future that comes were more like the one the scientists of the exposition imagined. "I think it sounds great."

Optimistic, idealistic, full of hope. What's not to like? "Sounds like you enjoyed it."

[nerves_of_ice]

"I did. But I've always liked that stuff," he admits. "Stories about other worlds, that kind of thing."

Bucky shakes his head, dismissing his foolish dreams. "You know that's where Steve met Erskine, right? The Army had a recruiting station there, with an SSR presence."

[from_the_outside]

"I think I remember hearing something like that."

But she's more interested in what he'd dismissed earlier, like it doesn't matter. "You mean like books and movies? Films, I mean?"

There's something impossibly sweet about Bucky Barnes being a science fiction nerd. The niggling thought that he'd love it in her future nudges a little harder at the back of her brain. "Any favorites?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"Uh-huh." She doesn't seem to think it's stupid, at least not that he can tell. Bucky slants a slightly searching look at her.

"Books, films, short stories - magazines and pulp fiction, you know. There's one called Astounding, and another, Amazing Stories - they usually have neat stuff. There's this one guy named Asimov who writes some pretty good yarns. And an adventure serial about some guy called Flash Gordon that's ridiculous, but kind of fun."

He shrugs, just a little, and angles their direction toward the side of the field, toward the trees there.

"I read this one book, the Hobbit, a few years back when it came out. The paper said it was really good for older kids, so I got it for Cora and Katie and read it to them. It was pretty neat."

[from_the_outside]

"I know Asimov," she tells him, as they stroll towards the edge of the trees. "And The Hobbit, too."

If she could -- if there's a way -- he'd love to see the movies made out of those books, probably. And -- Lord of the Rings hasn't even been written yet, has it? There's a moment of flabbergasted realization at how much of her frame of reference simply doesn't exist yet before she shakes it off and smiles at him. "You know, those types of stories are still really popular in my time. Maybe even more than they are now."

[nerves_of_ice]

"You do? Their stuff is still around?" He looks utterly delighted by that.

"That's so great. That's amazing."

[from_the_outside]

"It is," she assures him. "And going strong. People still love those stories. You're just at the forefront of the wave."

Her smile is a little crooked, but warm. "Told you you were kind of modern."

[nerves_of_ice]

A soft laugh escapes him. "Can't argue with you there - you'd be the one to know," he teases.

"Steve and I used to go to the theater all the time when we could scrape up the ticket price. We watched a bunch of those films."

[from_the_outside]

She smiles at the mental image. "That must have been fun."

For a guy who loves science fiction and the possible to come of age at the same time as film technology was just beginning to take off, it must have been a real treat. "I've always liked going to the theater, too. The tech is different, but I bet it feels about the same way when the lights go down and the film starts."

[nerves_of_ice]

“It was. You’ll find out soon,” he promises. “And then you can tell me if it feels the same.”

[from_the_outside]

"Right," she agrees. "Our trip into town."

Impossibly, it seems like she has an actual date with Bucky Barnes. She shakes her head at herself. "Do you have any idea when your next leave day is?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"I need to check," Bucky tells her. "Usually we try to rotate R&R through the squad after a mission when we can, but it depends on when the next one's set for. If we've got a string of them coming up fast, depending on what we learned from the stuff we captured today, then it'll be a while. If not... maybe later this week."

[from_the_outside]

"That makes sense." She slants a half-smile at him. "But hopefully it won't be too long."

[nerves_of_ice]

He smiles back, slow and warm. "Hopefully."

Bucky leads her along the side of the field, where the grass is less thick and easier to walk through. "Did you get to go into town to pick up those clothes? Or did you have them sent to camp?"

[from_the_outside]

"I went in with Aunt Peggy. Just for a little while, before she had to come back to meet with the Colonel. It's a nice little spot."

She hits a hidden root and trips a little, balancing herself by leaning on his arm. "Whoops."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Here, I've got you--" He moves with easy grace, stepping closer to steady her as she braces herself against his arm, reaching out to place his other hand under her other elbow and hold her secure.

"Everything okay? You didn't twist your ankle, did you?"

His concern is real as he looks down at her, searching for any sign of pain or distress.

[from_the_outside]

All of a sudden, he's much closer; closer than they were last night while dancing, even. She looks up from turning her foot to check her ankle and feels something slam through her when her eyes meet his, less than a foot away. "Fine," she says, after a caught moment.

"Just wasn't looking where I was going."

[nerves_of_ice]

"It's darker here by the trees," he murmurs. "Harder to see."

He can see just fine, however, what with the way the faint silver starlight plays over her hair and skin, illuminating her. He knows he should step back once she gets her bearings again, but - he waits another moment, just to be sure.

[from_the_outside]

She manages to stop her glance from drifting all the way to his mouth, but it's more difficult than it should be. It's just that he's so close, and his arms are warm under her hands, and 'Moonlight Serenade' has been stuck in her head all day.

"So much for being light on my feet."

[nerves_of_ice]

His smile flashes, quick and amused. "It's not you, it's the terrain."