Tiffany covered her head as another kid threw rocks at her. Her hair was tied in two braids that fell over her shoulders, but this gave them something to grab. She never understood why they picked on her but they did.
"Hey!"
"Scatter."
Tiffany pressed her palms on the asphalt to push herself up. One of her braids were loose and unraveling while the other was still intact. She fell back on her butt as her two friends rushed to her.
"Tiffany!" Steve was the first to get to her because Bucky tried to follow after her bullies. "Are you okay?"
Tiffany wiped at her face, one of the rocks had cut her cheek but other than that it looked like she was just going to get some pretty bad bruises. "I'm okay." She took Steve's hand as he helped her off the ground. "Bucky!"
Bucky stopped his chase and whipped his head to look at her, "I can get to them!"
"It's okay." Tiffany rubs under her nose aggressively, hoping that the blood trickling from it would go unnoticed. "Don't worry about it."
"Don't worry about it." Steve huffs back with a headshake, "You got to fight back against your bullies, Tiff."
"It's fine. Really." Tiffany tried to move away from them to block out the bloody nose, but Bucky had stopped her.
He placed his hands on her chubby cheeks and forced her to look at him. His eyes shot down to the blood from her nose and his scowl deepened. "Your nose is bleeding. Nothing about this is fine. Have you told your parents about this?"
"They don't need to handle their useless fifth grade daughter." Tiffany moved her head so he wasn't holding her anymore, "Seriously, it's okay. I can handle myself."
"But you don't have to." Steve mumbles.
"He's right." Bucky stuffed his hands into his pockets, even though all he wanted to do was reach out and help his friend, "We're here for you. Okay. We do not plan on leaving anytime soon."
Tiffany wiped the blood off of her nose and just smiled, "You two really refuse to leave me, huh?"
"We're friends."
"Come on, Buck, we're family."
Tiffany received looks while waiting in line with her paperwork to join as a nurse for the war. She figured it was because of the pants or perhaps the lack of hair product in her hair. She never had the time to care about such things.
"Name."
"Tiffany Phillips." She continued to answer each question before turning in all of her paperwork. She wasn't given anything or told anything other than stating that she would receive something in the mail.
Later that week, Tiffany pushed the doors open to the small ice cream parlor in town, "You boys always look lost without me."
Bucky laughed it off before handing her a small cup of ice cream, "How could we ever know what we're doing without Tiffany Phillips' strict schedule."
"Well, that schedule has always made you two on time for class." She accepted the cup and took the plastic spoon in hand, "Oh, I literally love strawberry ice cream."
Steve scrunched his nose, "Fruit does not belong in ice cream."
"Says the guy eating plain vanilla." Tiffany pointed her spoon at him, "That has literally no flavor."
"Hey, we've all got different tastes." Bucky intervenes with a laugh while smearing some ice cream on Tiffany's cheek, "Right?"
"That's gross." She grabbed a napkin and wiped it off, "So, how'd that date go?"
"Hm?" Bucky cleared his throat and went back to his ice cream, "What date?"
Now it was Steve's turn to question him, "The date you kept talking about. With that... uh... Annie broad?"
"Was it Annie... or was it Beth?"
Bucky rolled his eyes, "You two suck."
"Oh, come on. Was it that bad?"
"Opposite from bad actually."
This caused Steve and Tiffany to recoil in disgust since they knew exactly how the date ended now. Steve simply went back to eating his ice cream but Tiffany pushed her ice cream away from her.
"Come on, Tiff. You asked."
"I regret my questions." Tiffany felt her stomach churn. She would always joke and tease Bucky about all the dates. She exhaled and threaded her fingers through her hair, "Will there be a second date with this girl?"
"I don't think so."
Steve shook his head, "Come on, Buck. You get all these girls falling for you, at least one of them has got to catch your eye. Catch them enough to make you want to settle down."
"That's got to be a real special woman to make me want to settle down."
"So you want to continue being a bachelor for your whole life?" Tiffany questions while finally returning to her ice cream, "Who do you think you're going to marry in the future?"
"Well, you of course." He had a serious expression on his face for a few seconds before he broke out in a smile.
Tiffany slapped his chest, "You're ridiculous."
"I'm awesome."
"I'm awesome." Steve interrupts with a smile, which caused his friends to smile with him.
The three walked home together. Steve was talking about how he wanted to go join the army so he could serve his country. Which just turned into Bucky and Tiffany saying that they would worry too much.
They walked Tiffany home first, she stopped when she noticed her mother standing at the door. Her father had passed away a few years ago, leaving her mom to work by herself.
"Ooh..." Bucky side-glanced Tiffany, "Looks like you're in trouble."
"Tiffany Ann Phillips." Her mother's voice was stern and worn from age, she approached the group and pushed a letter to Tiffany's chest, "When were you going to tell me you joined the army's red cross."
Steve and Bucky's eyes widened and then shot her a look, "You what?"
"I didn't think I'd be accepted." Tiffany could just smile while opening and reading the letter in full detail. She was accepted and would start in a week's time. "Mom, I've told you so many times that I wanted to do something to help with the war. Anything that I could and that means tending to the wounded."
"Even your friends are worried." Her mother breathes out and points to the two boys that seemed pretty dejected by the news, "You won't be safe. You're safe here."
"Nowhere is safe." Tiffany says softly, "I will come back home. I will be okay. You guys just have to trust me on that."
Bucky placed a hand on Steve's back, "Hey, bring Miss Phillips inside, I'll talk with Tiffany."
With a long sigh, Tiffany crossed her arms over her chest before looking up at Bucky, "You're not going to change my mind on this."
"I could never change your mind on anything." Bucky responds calmly and puts both of his hands on her shoulders, "And I know I can't change your mind about this but if you see danger... don't just take it. You need to fight back or run away. I would pick the latter."
"So you're not going to tie me to my bed so I can't leave?"
"Is that an option-"
"No."
Bucky broke out in a smile, "Then go and promise to make it back home safe."
"That's a huge promise, Barnes."
"Tiffany."
She snorted and placed her hands on her hips, "I'll do my utmost best to make it back home safely. Okay?"
"Okay."
"Come on, Buck." Tiffany wrapped an arm around his waist and shook him, "Let's go in and have a few drinks before I got to start packing."
"You act like we should be celebrating. You're leaving us."
"For a good cause." Tiffany says with a cheerful tone while opening up the door to her home.
Under his breath, Bucky shut the door, "Good cause my ass."
And like that, it was the day that Tiffany was going to leave. Her bags were packed, but she wasn't allowed a bunch of things. Most supplies would be provided for her but she wanted some things of her own.
Steve wasn't blubbering but Tiffany could tell by the look on his face how sad he was. Her mom wasn't there because she had to work and Bucky wasn't there either. It was just Steve with her.
"It's going to be fine." She reassures him while shifting the duffel in her hands, "The war will be over and I'll be back home before you even know it."
"I want to do something to but-"
"But you're a ninety-five pound asthmatic." She finished for him which made Steve scrunch his face. "Sorry."
"It's the truth." Steve looked at his watch and then back at the bus stop, "It's almost time."
Tiffany stared off at the road before clicking her tongue, "Yeah it is."
Steve looked up at her, "I'm sure he'll be here any minute."
"I only have a minute." She states softly as the bus pulls up to bring her to the next stop before she was headed to an army base. "I don't think he's going to come. I knew-" Tiffany breathes out, "I knew he was mad at me."
"Come on Tiffany, Buck's not mad at you. He's just worried is all. Plus, he's really going to miss you."
Tiffany poked her head into the bus, "Give me one more minute."
The old man behind the wheel sighed, "One minute miss. Just one."
"Thanks."
Steve checked his watch again, "He's just sad, Tiffany."
"I know..." Tiffany mumbled before looking at her watch again, "I need to go Steve."
"Okay, I'll talk to Bucky." Steve hugged her tightly, "This is a hug from the both of us."
"Thanks, Steve." Tiffany patted his head before stepping back from him, "I'll see you soon."
"Real soon." Steve smiled up at her and forced her in another hug, "Be safe out there."
"Minute's up miss."
Tiffany pulled away from Steve, "Keep Bucky safe for me."
"Always will."
Steve stood there at the end of the sidewalk and watched the bus drive away. With the bus disappearing in his field of vision, he could hear footsteps behind him. Heavy and aggressive as they approached.
Bucky put his hands in his hair and released a low curse, "I'm late."
"Buck, where were you?"
"I-" Bucky stared at the empty street, wishing that the bus would turn around so he could say goodbye to Tiffany but it wasn't, "I didn't want to see her go."
"Yeah, well, you sure made her sad not being here. We're friends, we're best friends and you let her down."
"I know. I-" Bucky wanted to kick something because he felt terrible, "I'm sorry."
"Well, just hope she writes us letters."
***
Tiffany was sanctioned somewhere in Britain. She enjoyed being able to wear a uniform that didn't involve skirts because it was believed that the nurses on the field needed mobility over fashion.
Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun to keep it from falling on her face. Tiffany had been told that they needed to move again, each nurse was being reassigned to a new area. She grabbed her things and headed over to the reassignment tent.
A bunch of other soldiers were around, doing their best to get some of the nurses to come back with them. Tiffany thought it was disgusting. It was not as if all the men here wanted to get some tail but the fact that there were men who cared about that rather than fighting to stop the war. It made Tiffany feel sick. So sick because finally-
"Would you leave them alone?" Tiffany's voice broke through their flirtations, right outside the entrance of the tent, "They obviously don't want to come with you."
"Come on, it was all just fun and games. No need to get so upset."
"Fun and games?" Tiffany scoffed, "Do they look like they're having fun? If you're so horny why don't you just do what all sad single men do and touch themselves."
This didn't seem to make the man happy at all, it only made him stop with the other nurses and come for her instead. "You want to replace them?"
"There's no need for a replacement because those women weren't yours to begin with." Tiffany held her ground, noticing how some of the other soldiers were trying to get him to stop, "They're not objects. They're here to help you when wounded, not to pleasure you when you need it. You can walk away right now, so just do it."
"You're one of those feminists aren't you?"
"And you must be a misogynist."
A woman walked out from inside of the tent, "At ease, soldier."
"Another woman-"
The woman threw a punch which caused the man to fall back, "You are?"
Tiffany blinked a couple of times, she knew of some women soldiers but never thought she'd see one. "Uh, Tiffany. Phillips. I'm Tiffany Phillips."
"Well, Miss Phillips." The woman adjusted her coat she was wearing, "I'd like to speak with you in private, if that's alright?"
"Okay, yeah, lead the way."