First Flame. ~Book One~

Chapter Six: I Get to Love You.

Sitting in a room inside the London allied army base with Peggy and several soldiers, Steve marked HYDRA bases off on a European map. "The fifth one was there, in Poland, right near the Baltic." He explained as he marked it on the map. "And the sixth one was... about here, thirty-forty miles west of the Maginot Line." When he was done, a soldier took the map and he turned to face Peggy. "I just got a quick look." 
"Well, nobody's perfect." She said with a smile. 
They joined Philips as he studied another map that Steve had marked off with known weapon's factories. "These were the weapons factories we know about." Steve said. "Sergeant Barnes said that HYDRA shipped all of the parts to another facility that isn't on this map." 
Philips nodded along with his words before he turned to look at Peggy. "Agent Carter, coordinate with M16, I Want every allied eyeball looking for that main HYDRA base." 
"What about us?" She asks. 
"We are gonna set a fire under Johann Schmidt's ass." The Colonel said before he turned to look back at Steve. "What do you say, Rogers, it's your map, think you can wipe HYDRA off of it?" 
"Yes, sir." Steve said as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets. "I'll need a team." 
"We're already putting together the best men." 
Steve then smiled at him. "With all due respect, sir. So am I." 
Later that night, when he was done at the base, he sat at the bar with a group of the men he had saved from the HYDRA factory in Austria. 
"So," Dum Dum was saying as he set his beer mug down on the table. "Let's get this straight." 
"We just barely get out of there alive," Gabe continued seamlessly on with Dum Dum's sentence. "And you want us to go back?" 
"Pretty much." 
Jim burped before he said. "I'm in." 
Dernier and Gabe spoke to one another in French before they smiled and shook hands. Dernier smiled as he turned to face Steve, giving him the hope that they both came to an agreement and would come with him. "We're in." 
"Hell," Dum Dum said. "I'll always fight, but you gotta do one thing for me." 
"What's that?" 
"Open a tab." 
Jim chuckled. "Well, that was easy." 
Still smiling, Steve picked up the empty tankard as he got to his feet and turned to put them on the bar top. "Another round." 
The barkeep blinked. "Where are they putting all this stuff?" 
"I have no idea." He said, and after he had made sure that the guys got their drinks, he joined Red and Bucky at the other side of the counter. Behind him, the rest of his newly assembled team started to sing 'There's a Tavern in Town'.
"See?" Bucky said once they were within earshot of each other. "I told you, they're all idiots." 
Red, who was sipping some sort of mixed drink, raised her head and smirked. "By that logic, we're also idiots." 
Steve chuckled as he leaned against the bar and gave them both a very serious look. "How about you two? You guys ready to follow Captain America into the jaws of death?" 
"Hell no." Red said, still smirking as she went back to sipping her drink. 
"That little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb to not run from a fight, we're following him." Bucky said as he reached over to grasp Red's hand. 
Ever since he and Bucky had gotten back from that HYDRA facility, they couldn't keep their hands off of each other, like they couldn't bear the thought of not being able to feel one another. Not that Steve blamed them, of course. He'd be doing the same thing if he had someone who he could care for the way they cared for each other. 
"But you're keeping the outfit right?" Bucky added, to which Red grinned. 
"Oh he better." She said excitedly. "I wanna see those photos every day, might even show them to our kids, and their kids." She waved down the barkeep for another drink. "Pass that shit down from generation to generation." 
Together, he and Bucky chuckled. "Now that you say it like that, it's kind of growing on me." Steve said. 
Red was about to speak up again, but the bar behind them got quiet and for a moment, the three of them tensed up, expecting that maybe someone had gotten the drop on them while no one was paying attention. When they whipped around to see what stopped the music, they saw that it was Peggy, wearing a tightly fit, red dress. And she looked stunning.
"Captain." She said when she stood in front of him. 
"Agent Carter." 
"Ma'am." Bucky said. 
 "Hey, Peggy." Red piped up as her drink was slide across the bar to her. 
But Peggy was only looking, only paying attention to him. "Howard has some equipment for you to try. Tomorrow morning?" 
"Sounds good." Steve said, forcing himself to keep his eyes on her face. He didn't want to disrespect her in anyway.
"I see your top squad is prepping for duty." She said as she gestured behind her at the still drinking men, who had started up another bar song. 
"You don't like music?" Bucky asked as he took Red's free hand once again. 
"I do, actually." She said with a soft smile. "I might even, when this is over, go dancing." 
Red, sipping her-hopefully second drink-said. "Then what are you waiting for?" 
"The right partner." She said quickly. "0800, Captain." 
"Yes, Ma'am. I'll see you there." 
As Peggy left, Red threw back the rest of her drink and gave Bucky's hand a squeeze. "Speaking of dancing, wanna do that?" 
He smiled at her. "Alright, we can do that." 
After he paid for their drinks, he helped her down from her seat. Steve watched them, chuckling quietly as he did, as they left him at their spot next to the bar. 
They were truly made for each other, and watching them made him wish that he'd find his special someone one day soon.
+++
Red leaned her head against his chest with her eyes closed as they swayed back and forth, Bucky had his cheek resting against the top of her head. It was amazing to feel his warmth again after so long of going without it. 
"Do you ever think about us getting married?" He asked rather suddenly. "Having kids?" 
"Yeah," she said without missing a beat. "I want us to get married." Red raised her head and opened her eyes so that she could look up at him. "But I think we should save the having kids thing for when this is all over." She only watched his face as the room slowly revolved around them. "Do you ever think about it?" 
"Yeah," he said after a moment. "It had been on my mind since before I left." 
"It's an interesting thought." 
"It's a very interesting thought." 
Behind them the rest of the team-the Howling Commandos, as Red had decided to call them-started up another bar song. She giggled as she listened to them drunkenly stumbled over the lyrics. With a chuckle, Bucky pulled them to a stop and held her against his side. 
"Are you sure you wanna fight with these guys?" 
Red took a moment to look at the Commandos, seeing her brothers and her friends in each of their faces. "Unfortunately," she said fondly. "I've fought alongside guys like these before." 
Dum Dum turned to face her and Bucky. "You're coming with us, North?" 
Red couldn't help but smirk at that. "That's right, I was the second to be asked to join the team." 
"Who was the first?" Jim asked as he glanced between the couple before them. 
Beside her, Bucky gave a mocking salute. "That would be me." 
She shrugged as she wrapped her arms around his middle. "We are his best friends, so.... you know." 
"Okay." Dum Dum said, still eying Red. "But why did he ask you?" 
Red raised an eyebrow, worried that this would be another jab at her being a bearer of boobs. "Are you asking because I'm a woman?" 
"No," he said with a laugh. "I'm asking because you're short and scrawny." 
"Trust me, she can kick ass." Bucky said with a smile as he rubbed her arm. 
Jim, looking both amused and confused, said. "There's no way you can do that?" 
Red's smirk quickly turned into an impish grin that Loki would have been proud of. "Wanna see?" 
Dum Dum leaned back against his sear as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You know what? Sure." 
Across the table from her and Bucky, Falsworth was struggling to light a cigar, she titled her head as she opened her hand and concentrated on letting a small ball of fire appear in her hand, she then let it spread over her fingers, already proud herself at the stunned looks on their team's faces. She threw the flame into the cigar and smiled as it lit immediately. 
The Commandos looked as concerned as they did impressed. She felt proud of herself that she was able to cause that sort of reaction. "And, as you know, I can fly." 
"Alright, welcome to the team." Dum Dum said as another round of beer was brought to the table. 
"Well, now that that is out of the way," she said as she looked up at Bucky. "James here is gonna take me home." 
"We'll see you guys later." 
After they had said their goodbyes, Bucky and Red left the bar and walked toward the house the SSR was having her stay at until they were able to head out and finish off HYDRA. As they walked, Red put Bucky's arm over her shoulders and intertwined their fingers. 
He smiled down at her, and she smiled back, feeling warm and at home as she fell into his eyes the same way she always had. "And we're leaving to fight HYDRA with those guys the day after tomorrow." 
"Yup." She said as they stopped outside of her house. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." As she swapped her arms around his neck, he took hold of her waist and they just took a moment to look at each other. It was one of the many moments that she wished she could make last forever. He was her whole world, everything she ever wanted in life, and sometimes, she couldn't believe they belonged to one another. 
Bucky smiled down at her and kissed her cheek and then her nose, then, as she giggled, he pecked her lips. "Would you like some breakfast?" 
Red raised an eyebrow with a chuckle. "At one in the morning?" 
"If you don't want breakfast, we don't have to have breakfast." He gave her another bright smile. "I just know that you like breakfast." 
"No, I want breakfast." She leaned up on her toes to give him another peck on the lips. "I think I at least have bacon and things to make pancakes." 
"Well, let's make pancakes and stuff." After she opened the door, Bucky picked her up, and carried her inside. She laughed softly as she draped her arms around his neck. "You," he said as he carried her toward their temporary room. "Are going to relax in bed, I'm spoiling you tonight." 
"Oh, this must be a very occasion." 
"Every night with you is a reason to celebrate." 
Hearing that made butterflies erupt in her stomach and she gave him a massive grin. "Loved that," Red said as they entered the room. "I loved that so much that I need you to kiss me." 
Bucky chuckled as he leaned down and kissed her. As they kissed, he laid her down in the bed and hovered over her with an arm braced next to her. When he finally pulled away, they were both breathless. "Was that enough?" 
"No, I think I need one more, and then you can go and make breakfast." 
Bucky chuckled again and gave her one last kiss before leaving the room. As she waited for him to come back, Red reached up to put her hair up and into a ponytail, before she leaned back to come back, Red reached up to put her hair up and into a ponytail, before she leaned back against the pillows. She looked up at the ceiling and silently counted the ceiling tiles until he came back. 
When she had gotten to her twelfth rotation of the tiles, he had finally returned with a tray in his hands, Red sat up as he set it down on the nightstand. 
The only thing that was out of the ordinary was the fact that he was slowly getting down on one knee as he held an open ring box his his hands. "Red." He said, his voice shaking with his breath. 
She felt her heart stop in her chest as she looked down at him. "James." Red said just as breathlessly. 
The ring was beautiful, the band was made of bronze and the diamond would have been completely clear if it wasn't for the black flecks peppering it. It was simple. Simple and beautiful. 
"I love how you say my name." 
"I-I love your name." 
Bucky carefully took her hand and set the box in it as he caressed her fingers. He gave her a nervous smile and took another breath before he started to speak. "Red, I have never met a more extraordinary woman my entire life, and over the years of us being together, I couldn't get the thought of calling you mine for the rest of our lives out of my mind." As he paused to look up at her, she felt tears starting to form in her eyes before they slowly fell down her cheeks. Her heart swelled with happiness, she had never felt more happy her entire life, and she was so happy in this moment that she thought she might give it up right now, in this moment. "Red Northindottir, will you do me the extraordinary honor of being my wife?" 
For a moment, all Red could do was nod rapidly, it was as if her voice left her. She clearly her throat and took a shaking breath as she said. "Yes." 
"Yes?" 
Red reached up to wipe her tears away. "Yes, James. Yes." She sniffled and gave him a small grin. "Yes, I'll be Red Barnes." He quickly slipped the ring over her finger, just below the one that would turn into her staff, and helped her to her feet. She wrapped her arms around his neck and she kissed him as he lifted her up and spun them around, both of them laughing as he did. 
When he set her back down on the ground, he leaned his forehead against hers and grinned wider and happier than she had ever seen. "I'm so glad you said yes." 
"You thought I wouldn't?" 
"I had my fears." He pet her head, his fingers running through her hair effortlessly as he rested his chin on top of her head. And they stood there for a long moment as they enjoyed their small moment of bliss that existed despite the chaos that surrounded them. 
"When do we tell Steve?" Red asked as she listened to the sound of his heart beating against his chest. 
"I didn't think that far ahead." He admitted. 
If Steve knew now, there was a chance that it could cloud his thoughts. Knowing him, he would be so busy trying to keep them alive so that they'd have their happy ending, he could die trying to keep them happy. "Do you think we should wait until after we take out the HYDRA bases?" 
It was a thought that she knew they shared before she voiced it. "That might be wise." 
They stayed silent for a long moment before she took a deep breath and looked up at him. "I love you, James." 
He smiled that same, crooked smile that always tugged at the edge of his lips, something she had always loved about him. "I love you too, Red." 
And that was the best night of her life, nothing was ever going to change that for her. 
The next morning, she stood beside Howard as they examined the device that Steve was able to steal from the factory he had rescued Bucky from. "Emission signature is unusual." He said as Red sipped her coffee. 
"It's glowing, Howard." Red muttered sarcastically as she looked down at her mug. "Of course it's unusual." 
He rolled his eyes but otherwise ignored her as he continued on to say. "Alpha and beta ray neutral. Though I doubt Rogers picked up on that..." She decided that he was just talking to himself at that point and started wondering if they had any more coffee in the lab. "Seems harmless enough... hard to see what all the fuss is about." 
Red then took a few steps back as she smirked. "This should be good." 
As Howard removed the glowing pellet from the device, it proceeded to explode, sending both him and the only other engineer flying back and into the wall. "Write that down!" He said as he hauled himself to his feet.
Red cleared her throat and coughed to hide a giggle. "So, you find out what all the fuss was about?" 
"Oh really? I honestly couldn't tell." 
+++
Exactly at the time that Peggy had told him to arrive, Steve approached the front desk. "Excuse me," he said to the woman. "I'm looking for Mister Stark." 
She didn't even look up from the newspaper she was reading. "He's in with Colonel Philips and Agent North. Of course, you're welcome to wait." 
As he leaned against the desk opposite from her, she finally looked up with the paper and at him. "I read about what you did." She showed him the front page. It was talking about his first, and most recent, rescue mission. 
"Oh! The... yeah. Well, that's-you know?" He reached up to scratch his ear. "Just doing what needed to be done." 
"Sounded like more than that, you saved nearly four hundred men." 
"Really, it's not a big deal." 
"Tell that to their wives." 
"I-" Steve cleared his throat as his palms started to get sweaty with how uncomfortable and awkward he felt. "I don't think they were all married." 
"You're a hero." 
"Well, that-you know? That-that depends on the definition of it, really." 
Suddenly, she got up and grabbed hold of his tie, using it to pull him into a nearby corner and closer to her. "The women of America, they owe you their thanks, and uh... seeing as they're not here..." She trailed off as she kissed him. 
He completely froze as he tried to pull away from her, but he was afraid that if he pushed on her shoulders too hard, that he'd hurt her. It was then that fate decided that Red and Peggy would be walking into the room. 
"Captain!" Peggy yelled, causing the woman to let him go. "We're ready for you if you're not otherwise occupied." She then, clearly annoyed, turned on a heel and walked away. 
"I haven't seen a kiss that awkward in a really long time." Red said as Steve quickly passed her and followed after Peggy. 
"Looks like finding a partner wasn't that hard after all." Peggy said, sounding almost as angry as she did hurt. 
"Peggy, that's not what you think it was." 
"I don't think one thing, Captain. Not one thing." She said as she threw her file down on the desk. "You always wanted to be a soldier, and now you are. Just-" she took a deep breath to try, and fail, to calm herself. "Just like the rest." 
"Well," Steve started, starting to get angry himself. "What about you and Stark? How do I know that you two haven't been fonduing?" But even that sounded ridiculous to his ears, what does he care what she and Howard are doing? Why does it matter when there's nothing happening between either of them? Behind him, Red gave small snort of laughter, but otherwise stayed quiet.
Peggy, still angry, turned to face him with a fierce glare on her face. "You don't know a bloody thing about women." 
Howard joined Red's side as the three of them watched Peggy walk away. "Fondue is just cheese and bread." He said. 
"And sometimes chocolate and fruit." Red said as she took a cup of coffee from a passing coffee runner. "Real fancy, but you know, not sexual. Really wish that you asked about it." 
"Really?" Steve asked, still watching her go. "I didn't think..." 
"It's really clear that you didn't think." Red said, and even though he wasn't looking at her, he could still hear the grin in her voice as she spoke. At least one of them was enjoying his fopa. 
"Not helpful, Red." 
"Never claimed to be, Steve." She turned to face him, he almost smiled as she looked down at her, he had been right about that grin. "I was just agreeing with you. You don't think." 
"the moment you think you know what's happening in a woman's head, is the moment your goose is well and truly cooked." Howard said as the three of them approached a small row of tables. "Me, I concentrate on work, which for the moment, is sure sure you two, and the rest of your team, do not get killed." He held up a piece of fabric for the two of them to look over. "Carbon polymer, should withstand your average German bayonet. HYDRA's not going to attack you with a pocket knife." 
"Oh yeah, Howard found that out the hard way today." Red grinned again as she mimicked the sound of an explosion. 
With a sigh, Howard turned to look at Steve as he picked up the shield he'd been given for his stage performances. "I hear you're uhh... kinda attached?" 
"It's hardier than you think." 
"I took the liberty of coming up with some options." He said as he showed off a series of ridiculous looking shields, including one fitted with all sorts of odd wires and gizmos. "This one's fun. She's been fitted with electrical relays, it'll allow you to-" 
But Steve, looking down at the ground, caught sight of a circular, and thankfully normal looking, shield that had been partially hidden under the table. "What about this one?" He asked as he picked it up.
"No, no!" Howard said. "That's a prototype." 
"What's it made of?" 
"Vibranium. It's stronger than steel and a third of the weight." Howard explained. "It's completely vibration absorbent." 
Steve turned it over in his hands to get a good look at it. "How come it's not a standard issue?" 
"That's the rarest metal on Earth." Howard said as he and Red watched him. "What are you holding there? That's all we've got." 
"It'll be handy." Red said, seemingly reading Steve's mind. "Especially with what we're about to do." 
Before he could say another thing, Peggy entered the lab, still looking very angry with Steve. " 
"Are you done, Mister Stark? I'm sure the Captain has some unfinished business." 
At that moment, both Red and Howard took a very wide step away from him as he held up the shield to show to Peggy. "What do you think?" 
Without answering, she picked up a gun and fired it at him as he quickly held it up to protect himself, finding himself very thankful when the bullets landed on the floor at his feet. "Yes, I think it works." And then she left, looking much more happy than she did when she came back in, and leaving Red, Steve, and Howard in a very stunned silence.
After a moment, when Steve had finally gathered his bearings, he passed a piece of paper over to Howard. "Red and I had some ideas about the uniforms." 
"Whatever you want, Pal." 
Red sighed after the display they had just been through and shoved her hands into her pockets. "Welp, I'll see you guys later. Imma go hangout with James." 
"And you're sure about going off with the Commandos?" Howard asked, clearly worried about her. It was funny, Steve thought, watching someone who wasn't him or Bucky get this worried about her. 
As she walked out, Red turned to face them as she walked backwards and towards the door. "Yup. I've fought in wars before, I'll do it again." 
And all Steve hoped that this was the last time any of them would have to fight again. 
+++
It was nice, Red thought as she and Bucky laid in bed together, being in his arms. He was passing his fingers through her hair as she laid her head on his chest. "Can you believe that, soon, this will all be over?" 
"Not really." He said as he kissed the top of her head. "Can you believe that, soon, we'll be living normal lives?" 
"Hell no, but I'm sure that it will sink in eventually." As she spoke, she closed her eyes and listened to his heart beat like it was a lullaby that was made only for her. "I'm looking forward to it." 
"Even though it would mean that you don't get to go home?" 
This was something that they'd both been worried about since the day they both realized that they can't live without one another. From the day she met him, she knew that she'd never be able to go home, even when she found the Tesseract and brought it back to Asgard, she'd never make that choice. 
"James," Red said with a small and sleepy smile. "This is home. Everywhere with you is home." 
"Good." And he really did sound relieved to hear that she wasn't planning on going back to Asgard anytime soon. "Guess I won't have to worry about that anymore." 
And slowly, very slowly, they fell asleep. She fell into an easy and dreamless sleep. Happy that the hard part of the war was about to be over, that their happy ending was only weeks away.