First Love || Bucky Barnes

Chapter Twelve: A Day in New York City

~July 16, 1937~

Bucky sat on the steps of the Johnson Household, waiting for his girlfriend to finish getting ready. Grandpa Jack had already left for work, greeting Bucky as he passed by.

The air was humid but the sun was out and shining down on the people that were out and about in the neighborhood. For the past week, it had rained every day and now everyone was glad to feel the warmth of the sun's rays on them.

Bucky hears the door opens and stands up. He turns around and right away he is taken back by his girlfriend's beauty. Elizabeth managed to stun him every time she wore something because she looked beautiful in everything she owns.

Elizabeth was wearing white high waist pants that were decorated with a blue star as a button. She had a blue shirt tucked into her pants. Her hair was hung loosely and framed around her face. Elizabeth smiles and blushes at Bucky. She loved how she managed to get him speechless from time to time.

Snapping out of his daze, Bucky simply smiles at his girlfriend and walks over to her. He leans down and surprises her with a kiss. Elizabeth smiles into the kiss before pulling away.

"Come on now, Bucky. We got to go meet Steve," she says taking a hold of his left hand into her right as she gently pulls him down the steps. 

The couple walks hand-in-hand down the sidewalk, passing by Elizabeth's friendly neighbors who greeted the two with a smile and a wave. 

Bucky and Elizabeth returns the gesture as they continue on walking. The two passes by a little boy and girl who were playing in the gutter. They were splashing the water from the leftover rain they had the night before.

Elizabeth smiles as she hears their laughter. Letting go off Bucky's hand, Elizabeth walks over to the children who she knew as her neighbors from down the street.

Robert and his little sister Dorothy smiles big when they see Elizabeth making her way towards them. Elizabeth stands by the edge of the sidewalk and smiles sweetly at the two before jumping into the puddle, splashing the young children.

Robert and Dorothy let out a gleeful laugh as they playfully splash Elizabeth back making her let out a big laugh. From down the sidewalk, Bucky stood there, admiring his girlfriend. He love how Elizabeth was with children which made his thoughts start thinking about him and Elizabeth's future. He knew she would make a wonderful mother.

Bucky makes his way over towards the three. Elizabeth smiles at her boyfriend but before she could invite him to join them, she feels water splashing all over her again. She lets out a shriek as the children laugh at her.

Elizabeth playfully glares at Bucky who simply smiles back at her and shrugs his shoulders. "I'm sorry?" Elizabeth shakes her head, bending down and splashing him with the water. Bucky lets out a chuckle as he and Elizabeth start splashing each other before splashing the Robert and Dorothy again.

After a while, Elizabeth and Bucky bid farewell to Robert and Dorothy and continued on walking down the sidewalk. They were thankful that the sun was out because their clothes were soaking wet. But as they continued on, their clothes started becoming dry.

The two finally made it to their destination which was Steve's house. He was standing by a mailbox and waves at his best friends once he spots them. Bucky greets Steve with a pat on the back while Elizabeth hugs him.

Bucky spots a taxi down the street and hails it. The three childhood friends piled into the backseat of the taxi and told the driver they wanted to go to New York City.

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A half hour later, the three friends paid the driver before getting out. The taxi driver drove away and left the three, standing in the middle of New York City which was swarmed with people out and about.

Elizabeth stood in-between Bucky and Steve as they marveled at the sights. "You ready boys?" she asks them as they look to her. 

"Ready as you are doll," Bucky says as Elizabeth smiles at him before linking her arms through Bucky and Steve's. The three took off, exploring the magnificent city. 

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The three childhood friends had spent all day in New York City and were now standing in the middle of Times Square at night. They marveled at the sight of how every building illuminated Times Square.

They could see the Astor Hotel to the left, the Times Building straight ahead and to their right, Hotel Claridge. They could also see the Wrigley's Spearmint sign which was the largest neon sign in the world.

"Let's get some dinner," Steve suggests as the three make their way towards International Casino, which housed the Wrigley's Spearmint sign. The building was a two story structure which had opened for business just last year. The building has a theater, stores and a nightclub. Despite its name, there was no gambling as it wasn't legal yet.

The three enter the building and were taken back by the sparkling lights and the cheerful atmosphere. They enter a nightclub where a waiter greeted them right away and took them to their seats.

Soon enough, they had ordered their meal and devoured the delicious food. Now, they were just watching the people around them dancing to the lively jazz music that a band was playing up on the stage.

Bucky glances over at Elizabeth and could see the excitement in her eyes as she watches the people dance joyfully to the music. An idea pops into Bucky's mind as he stood up, making Steve look at him in confusion but he soon knew what he was doing and smiles when he saw Bucky extend his hand out towards Elizabeth.

Elizabeth looks up at her boyfriend. "Can I have this dance, doll?" Elizabeth blushes but smiles nevertheless. "Of course you can," she says sweetly to him as she grabs a hold of his hand, letting him help her up from her chair.

Bucky leads her out onto the dance floor, the two maneuvering their way through the crowd until they found a small empty space that had enough room for the two.

Bucky grabs Elizabeth's other hand and starts spinning her around. Elizabeth lets out a gleeful laugh while Bucky joins in. The two spun around for quite a bit until they got dizzy.

The two were all smiles as they gaze into each other's eyes and continued on dancing the night away.

Back at the table, Steve watched his best friends with the same smile on his face. He knew he would have to tell Grandpa Jack about this moment, knowing that he would reply with "Just wait until their wedding day." 

Steve lets out a light laugh as he continued watching them. He hoped that one day he would find a love like Bucky and Elizabeth for they truly where each other's everything.

[Published 3/31/19]