Marvel Imagines

014 - Bucky Barnes imagine - Dog Tags

Imagine : meeting Bucky before he goes off to war

It was a Friday afternoon in Brooklyn. Most of the men still left behind were either waiting to be deployed or unfit for service. You'd seen many good men leave and never return. One of them, in fact, was your older brother, Oscar. 

He'd been twenty-four when he died in 1941. It had been such a waste of life. That was part of the reason why you'd decided to become an army nurse. 

Now, it was 1942, a year on, and you were walking down the street to get to your favourite cafe. You were twisting his dog tags in your pocket absentmindedly when you passed a dark alleyway. The sounds of dull thudding and muffled shouts caught your attention, forcing you to dart towards the source before even considering the possibility of danger ahead. Once you got closer, you could see a scrawny blond man slouched against the brick wall, blood dripping from his mouth and nose with one eye swollen shut. Another man was lying on the floor, being punched in the face and chest by a brawny man in a navy-checked shirt. 

Before you could stop yourself, your mind raced into action. Your hand dipped into your purse and you pulled back a small, almost dainty revolver. You clicked it off of safety mode, ensuring that the man heard the noise. He leapt to his feet but stopped backing off when he saw the lithe woman behind the gun; causing him to almost laugh. The man on the ground groaned and propped himself up on his elbows. "Just leave this, ma'am... I've got it all under control".

That was when you saw his army uniform. Now you were doubly sure that you needed to help the two men out. 

"Sir," you started, ignoring the man persistently insisting that he could handle it, "Do you really think that beating up a soldier in the street is a good idea? Do you think that us ladies find that attractive; injuring someone who is about to fight for our country?"

"Move on, little lady," he said, ignoring you. "You probably don't even know how to shoot -"

You cut him off by firing a shot into the wall just an inch away from his left ear. He raised his hand up to it and groaned in pain, fleeing the alleyway whilst shouting that you were crazy.

You rushed forward to help the dark-haired man who was struggling to get to his feet. "I think it's best that I take you and your friend back to my apartment. Don't worry, I'm an army nurse, I know what I'm doing".

Reluctantly, he agreed and the two of you carried the blond man back down the street to your building. Once all of you were settled on the couch, you made tea and grabbed the box of medical supplies that you kept under your bed. 

First, you focussed on the blond man who introduced himself as Steve Rogers. He had a slight build and was cute in a friendly way. You could see the two of you being good friends so you exchanged addresses as you tended to his minor scrapes and wounds. The more the two of you spoke, you discovered that the taller, muscular man - introduced as Bucky Barnes - was Steve's friend who had stepped into a fight to save him in the alley. It figured; he looked like the loyal type.

After you'd bandaged up Steve's fist and told him to catch some sleep on your bed, which he strongly disagreed with, you moved onto Bucky.

"Soldier, huh?" you asked as you cleaned a cut about his right eye. He hissed as the alcohol stung him and you apologised. "My brother was a soldier too".

"Was?" he asked, staring at you with those piercing blue eyes. "Crap, I'm sorry. I should know not to ask by now. That's rough. How long ago? - if you don't mind me asking".

"Last year. He and his whole squad got wiped out in an aerial attack. There wasn't much left to return home except these". You held his dog tags out in front of you for Bucky to look at. He turned one over to see the name engraved on it and shook his head sadly. After a moment, he held them back towards you. Wordlessly, you took the tags that hung from his fingertips and placed them in the centre of his palm. You gently bent his fingers around the cool metal and placed your hand over the top. "I want you to keep them. Take them with you when you beat the Hun". A tear rolled down your cheek. "I want him to know that we won".

"I promise that I'll get him there, doll," he replied softly, placing his other hand over the top of yours. "I didn't know him but if he was even half as selfless as you are, he must have been a great man".

You laughed and wiped away your tears. "Thank you".

"Come on, you're too beautiful to cry. Stop that". He gave you a sad smile. "Well, now I feel like we have to perform a trade. Here..."

Bucky undid the leather strap of his wristwatch and gently moved it from his wrist to yours. "Now you can carry me with you while I'm off at war". You went to protest. "Hey, it's just a loan. I expect it back when I get home". He chuckled.

He wrapped his arm around your shoulder and pulled you into a hug. 

A/N : Thank you, MiniMeggs for giving me this lovely idea! Go and check out her wonderful Stucky fanfiction :)