Ghost Soldiers || Bucky Barnes

Chapter 31: A Day In The Life

November 12, 1941

Winter was beginning to settle down, and Bucky and Clementine had been living together for over a month. It wasn't exactly a fairytale, like she had expected, but she was very happy about it.

The first days were the toughest. Since she had lived for 22 years surrounded by luxuries all the time, it was hard to live in a place where they had none. The small apartment was cold all the time, especially now that winter was coming. There was almost no hot water, so she loathed taking showers. Food wasn't amazing either, and everything seemed so expensive to her now. They didn't have a lot of money, since he earned minimum wage, and so did she. However, it was enough to pay rent and groceries.

Despite all that, she felt free and happy. She loved waking up next to him everyday, and talking about random things all the time, without getting bored of each other. However, they had small fights more often, since they never agreed on everything when it came to money. Bucky was still not responsible when it came to it, since he liked spending it on random things instead of saving it. But she made him see the importance of it, and he had learned to listen to her.

A few days after they moved together, the lab results were delivered in the hospital. She waited until she got home to open them with Bucky, and when they did, the test was negative, and she was not pregnant. Both of them had never felt so relieved, and so they celebrated, knowing they didn't have to worry about feeding a third person anytime soon. They told themselves they had to be more careful, since they didn't exactly have enough money to raise a family yet.

On November 12, Clementine got out of work early and went to her old house. She hadn't been there in awhile, and the only reason she was going there was to pick up Sophie. It was her 15th birthday, and they were going to celebrate in an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn.

Sophie had been angry at Clementine the first few days after she had left, since she felt like her older sister was abandoning her. She was also angry at her parents, and a little angry at Bucky as well, since she felt like he had taken her sister away. However, Sophie soon understood why Clementine loved him so much. Whenever she used to visit them in their apartment, they looked so happy and in love that eventually she ended up forgiving them. And Sophie wanted what they had, one day. She wanted to be loved as fiercely as Bucky loved her older sister, and she hoped she was lucky enough to find a love as truthful and real as theirs was.

Sophie was waiting for Clementine by the doorsteps. Usually, she loved her birthday, but she was not feeling it that year. She had wanted to celebrate with her entire family, but since her parents were not talking to Clementine, she was going to have to celebrate twice, and she didn't like that. She felt as if her family was broken, and she didn't want it to be like that forever.

After around 10 minutes, Clementine arrived. Sophie smiled at her older sister and hugged her tightly.

"Happy birthday, little one." Said Clementine, smiling.

"Thanks, Clem." Said Sophie.

Clementine then handed her a small box with her present inside. When she opened it, she saw a beautiful diamond necklace with a pair of earrings. She had seen them before, so she widened her eyes and stared at Clementine.

"Clem, you cannot give this to me... these were yours, and I know how much you like them." She said.

Clementine shrugged her shoulders. "You always liked them more than I did. You used to ask me if you could borrow them, and I always said no, remember?"

"Of course, you were afraid I was going to lose them." Said Sophie, chuckling.

"Well, you are old enough now, and I want you to have them." Said Clementine.