Rattled Bones

Rose ducked and weaved behind the fair games and carnival rides as she attempted to keep herself hidden from the date Louise had chosen for her. Rolling her eyes as she heard him call out of her, “If I had a nickel for every bad date Louise set me up with,” she mumbled. Slipping past a tent, her eyes zeroed in on the exit. Biting her lip, she looked around the corner to see where Walter had gone off too, not seeing him in sight, she took her chances.

Rose couldn’t even begin to explain why she had agreed to go out with Louise; she knew damn well that boys would be waiting for them when they reached the fair. She had hardly been back for five months and she had already been on dates with a Johnathan, Henry, Richard, Clarence, Alvin, Thomas, Charles, and an Arthur. Neither of them were good choices and Walter was the worst yet. He wasn’t a bad guy in the least bit but Rose couldn’t tolerate his coward like personality that he tried to hide with false bravery. She had thought that he could be a potential candidate but once she had dived deeper into war talk and asked when he was going to enlist, he had made a million to one excuses on why he hadn’t enlisted. Rose appreciated a man that had dedication but she had zero tolerance for a man that lied straight out their tail-end about it.

“Leaving so soon, doll?”

Rose’s head whipped to her left when she heard a familiar voice she hadn’t heard in a while. Slowing down her steps, she was met with bright blue eyes that were leaning against the fence line. Hearing her name off in the distance, she quickly trotted his way and used him to shield her from being spotted. “It appears that way, doesn’t it?” She replied, peeking over his shoulder and ducking when she saw the curly brown hair weaving in and out of people.

Bucky raised a brow at her odd behavior, “What are you looking at-“ He turned his head over his shoulder to find the sight the green eyed girl in front of him was looking for but was instantly turned back around by her narrowed eyes.

“-stop,” Rose removed her hands from his face, clearing her throat, she bit her lip. “I don’t fancy my date and I’m trying to make a run for it before he sees me.” She squinted her eyes towards him, noticing that there was something different about him. He appeared much broader than she remembered; letting her eyes trail over him a moment longer before realizing that he must have been off at training. Rose vaguely remembered hearing something about Bucky enlisting in the army.

Bucky chuckled, completely aware that she had skimmed her pretty green eyes over him. “I don’t have a date yet, why don’t you take an upgrade and spend the night when me.”

A soft snort came from her lips, crossing her arms over her chest. “Is it really an upgrade, Barnes?”

“Ouch,” his hand flew to his chest, giving her a hurt expression. “I get back from training to put my life on the line for our country and this is how you treat me, Rosie? Shame on you.”

She shook her head, hating herself for giving into her smile. Bucky had managed to make a lot of appearances in her life shortly after she had met him at the jazz club. Running into her at the market or causally swinging by her apartment. It wasn’t until a month and a half ago that she had stopped running into him and at that point she was preoccupied with Louise’s horrible date choices to even think about where he had gone off too. Not that she wanted to know, Bucky wasn’t the kind of guy a girl like her should lust after. “Well, I’m forever in debt for your sacrifice.”

“And you can repay that debt right now, by spending the rest of this night with me.” Bucky stepped forward, his hand brushing away a loose strand of hair that fell from her ponytail. He smirked slightly as she froze in place, out of all the faces he wanted to see during his training, it was a tossup between Steve and Rose. There was something about the green eyed beauty that he couldn’t’ shake from his head. He wasn’t sure if it was the chase he was after or if he truly felt some kind of connection.

Rose tried hard to not show that she was nervous, even though she had told herself over and over that Bucky was not someone she should indulge in, she couldn’t help but feel some sort of butterflies. Bucky was a very handsome man and he sure knew how to work his charm. “I’ll have to decline, wonderboy.”

“Oh, come on Rosie. It’s my first night back and Steve’s got the flu.” He gave her a pleading look, he felt like the only way Rose would ever consider going on a date with him is if he were to crawl on his hands and knees and grovel in the dirt. In a sick twisted way, he liked when she turned him down. But always wanting her to say yes so he could give her a night she’d remember.

She shook her head, turning her body away from him. A smile was place on her lips; she kind of enjoyed having the upper hand when it came to Bucky. Rose couldn’t tell anyone why he’d waste his time on her when he could be locking lips with someone that was way prettier than her. “There are plenty of girls in there that will indulge you for the night, Barnes.” Just as her finger pointed towards the entrance, her eyes found the curly mess she had been trying to avoid. Rose panicked, grabbing fistfuls of Bucky’s jacket; she pulled him into her lips.

“Rose?”

Slowly pulling away, she instantly regretted her actions as she settled on Bucky’s twinkling eyes and famous smirk. Breaking away from his gaze, she hesitantly looked to Walter who stood in shock and confusion. “Walter…” She didn’t know what to say and she wasn’t quite sure how kissing Bucky was going to make the situation better.

Walter shifted in his stance, “I was wondering where you went off to….who are you?” His attention was now directed towards Bucky.

He looked down at Rose who looked more than uncomfortable with what had just happened and didn’t seem to want to look at the fella. Flashing her a quick smirk that Walter hadn’t noticed, he slid an arm around her waist, sticking out his free hand, “Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, but most people call me Bucky.” Shaking Walter’s hesitant hand firmly, he squeezed Rose close against him. “How do you know my Rosie?”

Walter stumbled over his words, “Um, uh, your Rosie?”

Bucky chuckled, giving a very animated performance that Rose had to commend him on. “Did her friend try to set her up with a date again?” He shook his head, “I swear it’s like once we leave to do our part, the women go in a frenzy thinking they’ll die alone.” He glanced down at Rose who still seemed to be a loss at words, smirking again, he looked back up at Walter. “I appreciate you keeping her company for me, but I’ll take it from here. It was nice to meet you Wallace-“

“-it’s uh Walter.”

“Ah, Walter, right. Goodnight Walter.” Bucky gave a pressed smile, motioning for him to return to the carnival.

Once he was out of earshot, Rose ripped away from Bucky. Her shoulders heaving with relief, running a hand over her forehead, she sighed. “Thank you.”

Bucky grinned, giving her a look. “You know, Rosie. Next time you kiss me like that, you gotta buy me dinner or something first.”

She narrowed her eyes, “I panicked, and I didn’t know what to do.” Shoving her hand in her coat pocket, she scoffed, “And there won’t be a next time.”

“That’s what they all say,” squinting his eyes, he grabbed her arm gently as she tried to walk away. “Nope, you’re not going anywhere, Rosie.” Pulling her into his chest, he smirked at her flustered expression. He lowered his mouth to his ear, “You owe me for that little charade I just did for you.”

His breath tickled her ear, shivering from his breath, she pulled away from him. Her eyes meeting his, she spoke, “Fine.” She poked him in the chest, “But, if you so much try to kiss me, I will punch you so hard, you’ll see stars. Got it, Sergeant Barnes?”

Licking his lips, that smirk she was beginning to hate was displayed among his lips. “I love the way that sounds coming from your mouth.”

Rose rolled her eyes, “Oh, give it a rest.” Linking her arms through his, she pulled him into the fair, “Come on, I wanted to ride the ferris wheel.”