Only one true love

Part 1: Chapter 4

Ever since Bucky went, I have been sad all the time. Usually, Steve and I saw each other every day, but today he said he had something important to do, and that we would see each other later. So, I was on my own today, and I didn't know what to do. I went cleaning the house. I started in the kitchen, where I cleaned the cabinets and threw the foods that were out of date. Then I went to the living room to clean the dust from the shelves. In the bathroom and the master bathroom, I rubbed the tiles, bathtub, shower, toilet and sink until they were squeaky clean. While I was changing the sheets in the master bedroom, I heard the lock click. I stood up, alarmed.

"Rose?" I heard Steve's voice.

"I'll be right there," I yelled, and the relief washed over me. I quickly put the pillows back on the bed. "Ok, I'll wait in the living room!" Steve yelled. His voice was a little deeper and I wondered why.

"Hey, why is your voice deeper?" I asked him as I entered the living room.

"Well, I changed," he said, and I looked at him. I didn't recognize him at first. He had abs which I could see underneath his shirt. And he was taller. I could see it was him only by his face, which stayed the same.

"Oh. My. God." I said, shocked, "What happened to you?" I knew that couldn't happen in one day, not even if you worked out all day without stopping.

"It was an experiment," he said.

"And... did it work?" I asked anxiously.

"Yes!" he said and pulled me in a bear hug. He was so big, and when I hugged him back, he rested his chin on my head.

"Jesus, you're so tiny," he said to me. I playfully hit him, and we laughed.

***

When we calmed down, he said he wanted to go to the army, but the captain had other plans: "He wants me to act for children!" 

"No!" I said, surprised, "Aren't you supposed to be their experiment, so they have a better chance of winning?"

"I thought that too, but I guess not," he said, disappointed.

"Oh, they're going to see the potential you have, and before you know it, you'll be in the army, fighting bad guys," I said, trying to cheer him up, "Come on, let's go eat something."

We made pasta, and after eating and talking, Steve went home to get ready, as he was travelling for his first show tomorrow. Before he went, he promised he would write every day. And he did, he wrote every day, and I wrote back to him. Bucky, on the other hand, wrote to me once a week.

But I understood why: he was fighting in the war and didn't really have time to write letters every day.

So, every Tuesday, I would anxiously wait for his letter. It was the only way I would know he was fine.

***

I came back home from work one Tuesday and saw only one letter on the floor. My heart skipped a beat. I took the letter and went to sit in the kitchen. I was shaking. The letter was from Steve. I opened it (which was hard, considering I was still shaking).

Dear Rose,

I'm sorry, but I have bad news. Captain didn't want me to tell you, but Peggy and I thought you should know. Well, here it goes: Bucky is one of many that are captured in Hydra's base. I was trying to convince the captain that we need to go and save them, but he doesn't want to hear about it. So, I made a plan with Peggy, she and Howard Stark are going to fly me as close as possible and I'm going to get off the plane and try to save captured. I know you would want to come here, but I don't think you should. I promise I'll write to you about what happened when I come back. Please listen to me and don't come. As long as I want to see you, I don't think it's smart for you to come.