Soldat (Bucky Barnes x reader)

Downfall

1941

Bucky was concentrating hard on the task in front of him. He and Steve had been taking art classes for a couple months and Bucky thought that he had progressed enough to finally paint his inspiration. He looked over at Steve's work beside him and started to feel a little less confident about his work. Then again, Steve was amazing at art. He has been doing it all his life and his painting was a masterpiece, even though the professor didn't really approve. Steve was painting images of what he imagined the war in Europe was like. He did not like the war and wanted to help those across the seas being persecuted. But America was neutral, so Steve resolved to showing America the horrors of war through his art.

"Can I see what your painting?" Steve asked his friend.

"Uh...no. I'm not finished yet." Bucky said with a half smile.

"That's okay, I'll just see what you have done."

"You can't." Bucky blurted. "It's not good. And yours is amazing. And mine will just look awful compared to yours because you're so talented."

"I would never say that your work is awful."

"I know. You're too nice for that. But you may think it."

"You don't have to show me if you don't want to."

"So are you saying you don't want to see my work?" Bucky nearly shrieked.

"What? No. I didn't think you wanted to show it." Steve said confusedly.

"Well I do. So here look at it." Bucky turned his canvas to show it to his friend, but regretted doing it.

"Buck, this is....incredible." Bucky stared at his friend incredulously. "No I'm serious. How did you paint this? I've never even seen this photograph of (y/n)."

"That's because I didn't base it off a picture. I have her memorized in her entirety. Every detail I have in my head." Bucky rambled on, "she is just so beautiful, I didn't want to disgrace her with a bad painting."

"It looks just like her, Buck, I think she is going to love it." Bucky smiled widely at his friend's appraisal.

"Steve?" Bucky asked his best friend gently.

"Yeah?" Steve responded directing his full attention by the tone of Bucky's voice.

"I love her." Bucky paused, "I love (y/n)." He spoke in all seriousness and was quiet.

"Yeah, I know. You've loved her since forever."

"But what do you think about that?"

"I think...I think that you're my best friend. You're a strong and caring individual, and I couldn't ask for a better man for my sister."

"Really?" Steve nodded with a smile. "So if I was to ask you for permission for her hand in-"

"Have you guys heard about Pearl Harbor?" A man burst in through the double doors out of breath and red faced.

"No what happened to it?" Steve asked the question that everyone in the room was thinking.

"It's not there anymore." The room became eerily silent. No one moved. No one breathed. "America has entered the war."

Bucky and Steve were shocked. They never thought that Eastern Hemisphere would initiate war on them. They looked at each other with their pale faces, and Bucky spoke to his friend, "ignore everything I just said."