[the knight trilogy]
Back in the 1940s, it wasn't just Steve Rogers and James "Bucky" Barnes -- Rosemary Knight was there, too. The three of them were close friends before and during the war.
They were inseparable, that is until they were separated...
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Rose had entered her small home with a smile plastered on her face that would signal that she held a fluttering feeling in her stomach, something that was common after she'd spend time with Bucky.
"Rosemary? Is that you?" A voice with a soft accent, chimed from another room.
Rose's eyes darted to the entrance of the minuscule kitchen where her mother stood with a towel in her hands, wiping them after stirring the contents of the pot in front of her.
"Ma!" Rose grinned, skipping towards her mother to give her a warm embrace.
"How was your night with James and Steve?"
"It was marvelous. Bucky and Steve had taken me to the World Expositions of Tomorrow convention and then Bucky and I went dancing while Steve- oh, gosh. Steve."
Rose's mother arched a brow as she had no idea what was going on at first, but she quickly picked up on it.
Rose had forgotten to check on Steve to make sure he had gotten home safely. She rushed to a black phone that hung on their apartment wall and quickly spun in Steve's phone number that was on a piece of parchment hanging right next to the telephone. As she heard the line ring, Rose tapped her finger against the floral wallpaper that was plastered all over her kitchen.
There was no answer on the other end as the telephone automatically disconnected when he didn't pick up.
Curiosity merged with worry, Rose maneuvered her way through the living room furniture that blocked her from the front door and bolted up a flight of metal stairs that led to Steve's apartment after telling her mother that she'd "be right back."
She attempted not to trip in her Mary Janes as she rushed towards Steve's door and tapped her knuckles rapidly on the wooden surface.
"Stevie? It's me." She announced so he would hear her voice, but when he didn't answer immediately, Rose bent down to lift a small brick that hid a spare key to Steve's door and unlocked the entrance.
"Steve?" Rose called out many times as she searched the boy's apartment for his presence, ultimately stumbling upon the distant sound of water making a pitter-patter sound from behind a closed door.
He was showering. Rose didn't want to bother him, so she waited in Steve's living room until he had gotten out, just to make sure he didn't have any bruises that would later become important considering his habits.
The girl sat on a floral cotton couch and instantly sank into it; scooting into the familiar comfort. She and Bucky always spent time at Steve's home, but without him there, it begun to have a strange feeling.
Rose's eyes wandered around the small apartment with a small smile as she filed through the memories that some objects had surfaced in her mind. But it was a small stack of tinted photos with a matte finish that tugged forcefully at the strings of Rose's attention.
Her fingers grazed over the surface of the photos before she finally picked up the stack. A smile crept onto her face as she looked through images ranging from Steve, her, and Bucky throughout the years to old family photos of Steve and his parents.
It was heartwarming to observe the smiles on their faces that was captured on a minuscule piece of paper; something that triggered many joyful memories.
The sound of a door unlocking stole Rose's attention away from the photos. Steve slowly walked into the living room as he noticed that he'd already caught Rose's full attention. He was confused as to why she was looking at him with a pridefully relaxed smile, but when he noticed the pictures; he understood.
Awkwardly, Steve shoved his hands in his long, blue pajama pant pockets after he had adjusted his white t-shirt.
"Tea?" He asked with tire hinted in his voice.
Rose stood from the couch with a small smile. "Yes, please."
She followed her friend to the small kitchen with the few pictures that she proceeded to flip through in her fragile fingers. Steve studied her facial expressions as she flipped through the various happy or heartbreaking moments.
"Oh, I remember this — your lost your shoe while riding the Ferris wheel... Simpler times." Rose sighed as she longingly stared at a picture of the trio when they were many years younger than now.
Steve held back a small laugh from escaping his lips as he filled two porcelain cups with hot tea, knowing well that those times were definitely not simple.
"Only for Bucky. You and me? Not really." Steve said.
Rose understood that Steve didn't really have a great life growing up. With kids constantly picking on him and, later on, his parents passing, life had been rough on him. And to make matters worse, nobody would let him do the only thing he wanted to do: help people.
But as difficult as life was for Steve, Rose had it pretty rough as well. Her skin color made her pretty nervous about ever leaving her home in New York. Most she would travel would be to Manhattan and back. She had this fear of harsh discrimination if she ever left her comfort zone. With Rose being used to occasional harmful words, harmful actions terrified her.
Rose and Steve had this in common.
"As true as that is, I still miss when everything was just a little easier. When all we cared about was having enough money to go to Coney Island."
Steve smiled at the memory of the friends putting more paper in Steve's shoes so he could be tall enough to go on The Cyclone, then losing a shoe. And how they would stand on the pier, eating hot dogs and ice cream.
"Coney Island is great." He said. Rose nodded as her mind drifted.
"How did your final enlistment go, by the way?" Rose sat up a little straighter when she asked. Steve's eyes glowed with enthusiasm when Rose brought it up.
"I, uh," he said, smirking. "I've been approved for training."
Rose eyes lit up and she jumped up from the wooden stool she was perched on.
"Stevie, that's wonderful!" She exclaimed. "I can't believe you finally passed."
Rose hopped to the other side of the kitchen island to hug her friend; nearly dropping her cup of tea on the journey, but swiftly catching it to put it back in its place with just a flick of her finger.
"Your help in the war is going to be in the books. I know it." She said.
When they pulled away, Steve could see the tears stemmed from happiness and worry glazed in Rose's eyes as she had just realized that she was proud of both of her friends, but also horrified of the possible negative outcome.
