𝔹𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕋𝕠 𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕝𝕪𝕟 | Bucky Barnes⁽¹⁾

08 | Last Night in Brooklyn

February 1942 - Brooklyn

It had been almost three weeks since Bucky returned from his training camp, and he was yet to receive his orders for when he was being shipped off to join the fight. Every day when the mail arrived, Bucky would make sure he got to it before Ella did - when the time came that he had to leave, he wanted her to hear it from him, and not in a letter.

The couple were spending almost all their time together. Whenever Ella had a shift at the bar, Bucky would come along and help out; when she had to go down to the newspaper office, he'd go with her. It may have seemed clingy to some, but to Ella, it was all she could have hoped for in these weeks.

Right now, the pair were sat on the couch together. Bucky had his right arm slung around Ella, drawing faint lines up and down her arm as she curled up beside him, her head rested on his shoulder. Bucky had his copy of 'The Hobbit' open in his free hand, and he was reading out loud.

Ella's eyes were closed as she listened to every word Bucky read. She was more than content to lay there and listen to his voice, feeling warm in his embrace. Her hands were squished between their bodies, and the fingers of her right hand were playing with the gems of the engagement ring on her left.

She was so content and calm in that moment, it took her a moment to realise that Bucky had stopped reading and had put the book down on the coffee table. Lifting her head off his shoulder, she opened her eyes and saw that he was looking right at her, as if staring into her soul.

"Why'd you stop?" she asked. "I was listening to that."

"Sorry," Bucky chuckled a little bit, shaking his head. "I just... I love you."

Ella felt her cheeks turn pink as she smiled shyly. "I love you too."

"I was thinking about the wedding," Bucky spoke softly.

It wasn't a lie - he never stopped thinking about what their wedding and marriage would be like. Though, that wasn't what he had been thinking about right now.

He stopped reading because he was worrying about when the day would come that he would be shipped off to war. Having Ella curled up beside him, his arm around her as they sat together in their own little apartment - he didn't want to give all that up. He didn't want to leave her behind.

Every moment they had from now until the moment he left, he wanted to make them all count. Because as much as he could try to assure both Ella and himself that he would come back home, alive and well, he knew that there was a chance that it wouldn't happen.

"What about the wedding?" Ella asked with a smile.

"I was imagining what you'll look like in a big fancy dress," Bucky teased.

Ella tutted and rolled her eyes playfully. "I assure you, it won't be big or fancy. I don't want that. I want something subtle."

"Even better," Bucky shrugged. "You're gonna look amazing either way. You could wear what you're wearing right now, and I'd still marry you."

Looking down at the outfit she was currently wearing; one of Bucky's button-up shirts and her underwear plus a pair of socks, she quirked an eyebrow at her fiancé.

"Not sure this counts as wedding attire," she said pointedly.

"It's white."

"It's not a dress."

"You make it look like one," Bucky grinned cheekily.

"Well, you wear big shirts," Ella sassed.

"Or maybe you're just kinda short," Bucky mocked her sassy tone.