Edelweiss || Bucky x Reader

Chapter Two

Steve doesn't say anything, just nods in response. It's clear he's hurt. I don't know what to say, but like always, Bucky does. God, I'm going to miss him.

He grabs Steve's hand and pulls him to his feet as he laughs, "Get up, will you? We're going to be late."

Steve dusts himself off and we leave the alley. "Late? Where we headed?"

"The future, pal." Bucky replies. Steve looks confused. I laugh and Bucky hands him the paper he's holding. He looks over the cover photo underneath the headline:

THE WORLD EXPOSITION OF TOMORROW

...

We walk into the fair, towards a girl with dark hair in a floral dress. She's standing towards the back of a crowd that had gathered around a large stage.

"Who's that?" Steve asks.

"My friend, Darla." I look at him and smile. 'Friend' is a bit much if I'm being perfectly honest. We went to school together, and now we work at the same hospital. She's a lovely person, I just don't have that many friends. But we've always been friendly enough and she was free tonight. Bucky insisted that I bring Steve a date, so here we are. "She's here for you, you know."

"What'd you tell her about me?" Steve asks, fixing his hair.

"Only the good stuff." I say with a playful smile, ruffling his hair again. This earns a soft chuckle from Bucky.

"Hey! Darla!" I shout to her, waving. She jumps and turns to see who called for her. "Over here!"

She spots us, smiling and waving back.

"Y/N!" She pulls me into a slightly uncomfortable hug. "Hiya, Buck!" She cheerily waves at him, and he does the same.

"Hey, Darla." Bucky says with a small smile.

She turns back to me. "Stark's about to come on, where have you been?"

"I'm sorry, we had to grab him before he could join the army." I say, motioning to a distracted Steve. "This is my brother, by the way."

"Hi, Steven." She smiles. Darla has the widest, brightest smile you'll ever see. She's gorgeous, really. Her light brown hair falls perfectly around her face, her eyes are a hazel yellow in the best way you'll ever see. Her red-painted lips are met with little dimples when she grins. When we were in high school, every boy fought like gladiators for her. But he's not paying her any attention.

"You can just call him Steve." I say as I nudge him.

"Oh...hi." He says awkwardly in return.

"Shh, look!" Bucky excitedly whispers, pointing up to the stage. "It's starting!"

I glance up at him while he stares. Stark's trademark dancers come out and the bright yellow bulbs light up his childlike smile.

He's so cute when he's excited

A woman's voice comes over the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Howard Stark!"

Stark saunters out, microphone in hand. He stands in front of a red car parked on stage. "Ladies and gentlemen," He grins, charm seemingly melting off him and puddling at his feet. "What if I told you that in a few short years, your automobile won't even have to touch the ground at all?"

I look up at Bucky as the girls remove the car's tires. "How is that even possible?" I ask him, rather bewildered.

"Hush, just watch" He whispers, gripping my arm like he might fall, absolutely no less excited than before.

Stark says something more before turning a few dials, and just like that, the car starts to hover. It's absolutely mesmerizing. I hear a soft "Holy cow" from Bucky. But then sparks start flying and steam comes from where the wheels would have been. No sooner than it had left the ground, the car comes crashing back down to Earth.

Stark laughs into the microphone. "I did say a few years, didn't I?" The crowd erupts into cheer, and I don't think I've clapped harder in my life.

I turn around excitedly. "Steve, did you see that?" My smile drops immediately. "Steve?" I don't see him anywhere. Bucky either, for that matter. I look to my left and see that thankfully Darla is still there.

"Darla," I hiss. "look."

"I am looking, Y/N." She says, slightly taken aback by my tone. "It's incredible, isn't it?"

"No, look here I mean." I say. "Steve and Bucky are gone!" My voice is still a whisper. She turns to see for herself.

"Um, Y/N?" She says.

"Yes?" I reply, looking over the crowd for either of them.

"Didn't you mention your brother was trying to enlist?"

"What's that got to do with this?"

"Do you think he'd want to try again?"

I turn to look where she's pointing. A large poster telling young men to enlist, with an arrow pointing to the recruiting center.

"...oh." My voice turns cold in an instant. "Stay here, I'll be right back."

And with that, I sprint off to go collect my idiot brother before he can get himself into a uniform.