Mizpah 𝖃 Bucky Barnes

005. . . make a man out of you

Mulan jumped up as her hand flew to her chest. There sitting on the couch was the blonde that ditched her earlier that evening. Her look of shock turned into a scowl, she lifted her finger and furrowed her brows, "You sir have a lot of nerve scaring me like that after you left me in a that, frankly, lousy diner. I'm so cross with you right now, this isn't even all my rage you're seeing. I'm gonna go easy on you though 'cause you're my baby but I swear to you Steve if this happens again I will not hesitate to lay your ass out-" Mulan raged as she wildly moved her hands around.

"I got accepted, i-into the army I mean. It happened when I was supposed to be at the diner, which I'm sorry for but I told you so, their food is just yuck, and I'll never ditch you again. I'm sorry." Steve explained stopping Mulan's ramble.

"What are you saying, s-say it again?" Mulan asked, eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"Um I got accepted into the army, the diner food is trash, and I'm sorry?" Steve answered in confusion.

"Say it again, slow."

"I got accepted into the army, the diner food is trash, and I'm sorry."

"Slow very slow, say the first syllable."

"I got accepted into the army-"

"Wrong." Mulan declared as she walked past Steve with a hand to his face into the kitchen (if you can even call it that) to find a drink.

"Oh cmon 'Lan I can do this y'know this doctor, uh, Erskine gave me this speech and he used 'needed' to describe me, ME! Oh and look I have the file right here. I'm not joking." Steve jabbered then moved to pick up the file from Bucky's couch. By the time he finished Mulan was refilling her glass of wine after downing the first. She could get drunk but it would take a lot more than cheap wine to get her there, and she needed something for the conversation that was occurring.

Steve pushed the manila folder into Mulan's view. She took a deep gulp of the dark red liquid and set the glass to the side as her other hand picked up the paper stamped black with a "1A" showing Steven Grant Rogers was in fact going into the war. "Well, I'll be damned Steven you did it, " Mulan breathed with a pride-fueled smile she moved to take the small man in a tight hug. "I-I guess all my boys are leaving me then." She sniffled.

"Hey now, you know me and Buck are always gonna be here for you n'matter what 'Lan," Steve assured moving his hand up and down her back. He would've hated himself if he made her cry again.

"Yeah I know that it's just, I'm gonna miss you...It's like when the baby bird leaves the nest and I'm the mama bird who just wants to protect its little baby toothpick." Mulan joked as she backed out the hug to ruffle his hair.

"I thought we were having a moment here and now you ruined it." Steve jokingly grumbled and walked away from the woman

"No no Stevie come back, I was just kidding, c'mon you know I was just kidding," Mulan whined after him.

▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆

Exactly four weeks (she counted) had passed since Steve revealed his acceptance to Mulan and one week passed since Steve left for war. She watched him get on a train taking him to train, resurfacing memories of Buck's send-off that she wished to repress. She had an idea though and her mind stung with motivation on the walk home.

"Am I really 'bout to do this?" Mulan muttered to herself while she sat on her knees in front of her long broad mirror with her sleek sliver sword she kept all those years. The idea of going back to war was frightening for her. The leftover trauma and toll it takes on you is something no one can prepare for. But she felt she had to watch over Steve if not for herself but for Bucky and maybe she might even find him out there, somewhere. "Okay okay, just fucking do it don't be a priss. We did this some thousand years ago, we can do this now," Mulan swore as she tightly gripped the sword with one hand and her sleek waist-long hair in the other. At the perfect angle and speed, she snapped her arm out effectively cutting inches of her hair off. "Holy fuck." Mulan whispered once again returning to the short bob and fake identity.