Elizabeth ran around the tiny apartment frantically looking for the navy heels she had put away for special occasions.
"Sarah," she shouted, "have you seen my navy heels? The ones that match the dress? I can't find them anywhere." She got on her hands and knees and peered under the sofa in the cozy living room.
Sarah, just home from another shift at the hospital, shook her head as she peered around the door from the bathroom.
"Just wear the black ones Lizzie. They'll look fine."
"I don't want the black ones. I'm wearing a navy dress," she huffed, "and I don't want to look 'fine'. He's honestly such a handsome guy Sarah, and he's sweet. Really sweet. I want to look good. Great even!"
Sarah laughed and strolled over to her roommate. In all the years they had been together in New York, she had never seen Elizabeth quite like this. She was stressed, her hair was only half pinned, her make up yet to be finished, and she was currently crawling around the apartment looking for an old pair of heels that, quite frankly, had seen better days.
"Come on. My room now." Sarah helped Elizabeth to her feet and dragged her to the room at the end of the hall. "So, tell me about him."
She pushed Elizabeth into the seat beside her bed, taking pins from her nightstand and fixing her hair.
Elizabeth sighed with a smile.
"He has such kind eyes. They're this really clear, crystal almost, blue but there are tiny flecks of an almost navy colour in them and when he smiles... He has this lazy sort of half smile, and when he smiles like that his eyes crinkle at the edges. It's really cute, Sarah."
Sarah nodded, rolling her eyes, as she moved from her friends hair to her make up. She added a little rouge to her cheeks and lips before stepping back to admire her handy work.
"Just be careful Lizzie. You are always telling me that these soldiers are all up for a good time before going off to fight because they want the big glory story. I just worry that his baby blues have pulled you in too far already and you're kind of forgetting why you aren't one of those girls who swoons when a man in uniform shows up and flashes her a smile."
Elizabeth shook her head quietly. She knew Bucky wasn't one of those men searching for a story of glory, a legacy to leave behind, but she felt as though telling Sarah how she knew this would be betraying him somehow. "It's not like that. But anyway... those shoes won't find themselves."
"And you won't find them either." Sarah smirked. She turned away from Elizabeth and opened her closet. She carefully took a shoe box from the bottom of the closet and reached up for the red dress she had only worn once herself. "And you're not wearing that."
When Elizabeth stepped out of her room, having now convinced herself this was much too much for a night of dancing, she was brushing down the tightly fitted red skirt of Sarah's dress. Although Sarah was slimmer than she was, the dress fit well. Where it sat loosely on Sarah, it hugged the natural contours of Elizabeth's body, and it was a beautiful dress. But Elizabeth tended to lean more towards comfort and deeper colours. This bold look made her feel a little uncomfortable.
"Sarah, I can't wear this. It's much too much. He's only taking me dancing... Sarah?" She looked over at her flatmate who was completely ignoring her, choosing instead to stare out of the first floor window with a look of appreciation. "Earth to Sarah! What are you looking at?" She bumped her friend with her hip as she stood beside her, laughing at the expression on her face, and took a look for herself. Her heart sped up immediately. There, holding a single red rose and talking to himself, was her date.
Downstairs Bucky was nervous. He'd been on dates before of course, and he'd even brought a girl flowers. But he stood there, trying to build up the courage to knock on the door.
"Come on Barnes," he exhaled. "You're behaving like Rogers and it's ridiculous. Yes, she's pretty. Yes, she's probably way too good for you. But she said yes to a dance, didn't she. Just knock on the damn door already."
He jumped and span around when the door opened behind him and then a smile spread across his face as he took her in.
"Wow," he breathed, "you look incredible. I was about to knock I just... wow."
She blushed and looked down as his eyes traced over her again. Bucky took a step towards her and gently placed his fingers beneath her chin, lifting her face slightly so that he could see her face. She really did look amazing. Her hair, pinned back from her face, fell in loose waves and the striking red of her lips matched the dress she wore. A faint blush spread over her cheeks as she looked up at him, his eyes meeting hers, taking her in.
"So, Sergeant Barnes. Where are we headed?"
Bucky laughed at the formality of her words and the gentle teasing in her tone. He took a small step back and held his arm out for her to link with. "Well, Miss Halsted," he laughed, "I thought we could check out a little bit of that future I'm off to protect, and then we're going to the best spot in town for some dancing." He held the rose out to her and she took it, smiling as she held it up to smell. "And I thought I asked you to call me Bucky?"
As the two walked the streets of Queens they laughed and joked. Elizabeth was in awe of this man and she barely knew him. He was intelligent, and calm, and as they spoke she grew more and more comfortable with him.
"It's a fantastic book," she laughed, "but only once Bucky!"
"No, no, no!" His smile was wide as he took her hand and pulled her towards the crowd. "The Hobbit needs to be read more than once. You need to appreciate the adventure, Lizzie!"
Elizabeth looked up to the signs around them. "What is this Bucky?" She let him pull her through the crowd and towards the stage, her eyes raking over the displays around them.
"Welcome to the future!" He laughed.
On stage a chorus line of women in sparkling waistcoats and top hats danced as a booming voice introduced the host of tonight's spectacular event, one Mr. Howard Stark.
"Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, to what the future may hold!" Stark practically sang at the crowd, his charisma oozing as he flirted with the women in the front row. "Tonight marks the first annual Stark Expo here in Queens, New York, and I have a few secrets to share with you all..."
Girls swooned as Stark winked and pointed throughout his little performance and Elizabeth laughed at the spectacle of it all.
"Damn..." Bucky whispered from behind her, "and I thought I was a flirt."
"He really does love a show, doesn't he?" She turned to look up at him and felt heat rising in her chest as she considered how close his face was to hers. Quickly she turned her attention back to the stage and Bucky's smile settled a little. She was intoxicatingly close to him and he could focus on nothing else.
The two laughed and mocked Stark as the show continued, but Elizabeth could see that behind the humour, Bucky was enraptured by the science of it all. And she was enraptured by him.
*
Later that night Bucky held Elizabeth close to him, one hand resting on the small of her back and the other holding hers, as they swayed to the slow, dulcet tones of the night's singer at The Stork Club.
"What's it like, knowing you're leaving?" She asked.
Bucky considered it for a moment. His brow furrowed and he frowned slightly. "It scares me," he admitted after a moment, "because there are things here in New York I don't want to leave."
"Like the friend you mentioned last night?"
A small smile played on his lips as he thought about his best friend. "Yeah, like Steve."
"Tell me about him," she pressed. His eyes met hers and he said nothing for a moment before he looked away and began speaking.
"He's a great guy. He's brave and has more honour than most soldiers combined, but he's been sick most of his life and he's small, so the army don't want him. He keeps trying though... he's going to get in trouble for it and I won't be here to help him. It worries me."
Elizabeth smiled sadly at this man opening up to her. Slowly she lowered her head to rest it against his chest as they continued to dance in a comfortable silence for a little while longer.
"It must be nice," she mused, "to have people who know you so well. Who love you. It's been just me for so long now, I forget what it's like to have someone, you know? I mean I have Sarah, but apart from work, we don't have much in common and when I think about it, we know very little about each other."
"What about your family?" Bucky asked.
"My parents died a few years ago. They both got sick at the same time so it was all quite sudden. And I have no siblings. Really, I kind of just have myself these days."
Silence settled over them once more as Elizabeth thought about her parents. She missed them every day, but tonight she wanted her mother. What she would give to go to her parents home and dissect every second of this evening if she could... She sighed and Bucky's hold on her tightened ever so slightly.
"Lizzie?"
"Mhmm."
"You could have me? I mean, I could write you letters, maybe... if you'd like?"
She pulled back slightly and looked up at him as they stopped swaying. His eyes were clouded with apprehension and he was biting his lower lip softly. As a small smile formed on her lips he let out the breath he was holding.
"I would love that, Sergeant Barnes."
Bucky laughed as she rested her head on his chest again, a low, rumbling laugh. How was he ever supposed to leave in the morning knowing she would be here, where he wanted to be?