( I WANT YOU FOR THE U.S. ARMY! )

EDITH STRESSED ABOUT WHAT SHE WAS GOING TO WEAR AS SOON AS BUCKY AND STEVE HAD DROPPED HER OFF AT HER HOME. While the boys could simply put on a dress shirt and some slacks with a nicer jacket, she had to worry about her and her dress and the fact that she was making an impression on Bucky's date. Which, maybe this Connie would become a friend of her's? 

The dress she had chosen was emerald green and went down to her knees. It came in at the waist and hugged her figure, but then poofed out as it reached the bottom. Since it was short sleeved, she made sure she grabbed one of her sweaters that matched, but on the black Oxford shoes she had kept clean in her closet. 

Edith checked herself on last time in the mirror, smoothing out her dress and making sure she looked all right, before grabbing her purse and rushing out the door, locking the apartment behind her. She made her way down the New York sidewalk towards the Expo, remembering that Bucky had told her to meet them by a statue by the Globe. 

When she got there, a little earlier than the time Bucky gave, who she assumed was Connie was already waiting there. Edith smiled, held her hand out and introduced herself, "Edith Rutherford, I'm Bucky's friend's date." 

Connie, who was brunette and absolutely gorgeous in a pale pink dress, smiled widely as she took her hand, "Connie Davis. It's nice to meet you!"

The two of them got to know each other a little more as they stood around waiting, looking around every so often to see if Bucky and Steve were close by. Connie was sweet and funny and she had met Bucky at a grocery store when he helped her carry her bags home. They talked about what they were excited to see at the Expo when Connie turned and her face lit up. Edith turned to follow her gaze, and sure enough, Bucky was waving, Steve walking beside him. 

He didn't look any different than usual, but he somehow looked better. Some of his hair was falling on his forehead, he was dressed in a white shirt with a tie, his jacket looked warm. She could see his smile from here, and tried to calm her racing heart by mumbling to herself, under her breath, "Everything is fine, it's just a small crush."

Lies, her brain supplied. She pushed the thoughts from her mind just as Steve and Bucky join the two of them. Connie and Bucky hugged, smiling widely at each other as Steve approached her with a beaming smile. Oh, God, he was just so gosh darn pretty!

"Hey, Edith," Steve spoke up, his fingers moving to brush the piece of hair that fell on his forehead. Edith watched the movement of his hand in what felt a little bit like awe. 

"I'm in love with you," came out of her mouth instead of hey, Steve, Edith freezing as the horror dug its claws into her spine. Steve was blushing, looking at her with wide eyes as Edith stared at him, her mouth agape, trying to form some words to rectify what she just blurted out. "I-"

Steve grabbed her hand, which cut her off as she gazed down at their intertwined hands. He squeezed her hand lightly, which she looked up at him and stared into his blue eyes. He took a deep breath, smiled at her softly before declaring quietly, "I'm in love with you too."

The weight of the world fell off of Edith's shoulders. Just the fact that Steve had said those words, confirmed something she had been hoping, it felt like the world around her was instantly brighter. She beamed at him, wishing that she could lean forward and kiss him but she didn't think that would be appropriate. Not with Bucky and Connie right there, watching them and waiting so that they could move into the Expo.

Edith squeeze Steve's hand, keeping her eyes on him as she pulled him forward and starting to head into the Expo. It seemed that Steve had the same idea, his blue eyes watching her own. When they got into more crowded spaces, Edith was forced to look away from Steve, but made sure to always look back, just in case this was some sort of dream and he was going to disappear any second. The letter Gordon was going to receive later was definitely going to be depicting this moment in detail, no matter how girly it probably was for him. 

They stopped in front of a car, Edith whispering to Steve, "Cars are going to be sleeker than this in the future, but have more safety features." 

Steve, who was snacking on some popcorn he had bought from a vendor, offered her some, "You think?" Edith nodded, before the four of them where moving onto the next exhibit. 

It was a lot of fun to walk round and look at the things that Stark (and other great minds) had come up to showcase. There were a lot of interesting gadgets that Edith had no idea what they were for but once read the little plaque they had for them, could understand why someone would invent such a thing. While some inventions weren't exactly deemed reasonable in Edith's mind, some she could see being a good idea to keep around with the world growing and evolving. 

Steve asked for her opinion on each and every invention and whether or not she thought it would be in the future. She gave him her honest opinions, always looking him in the eyes and smiling at him because she couldn't help it. He was the best thing that ever happened to her and knowing that he valued what she had to say (unlike some men) made her heart thump in her chest so loud that she's pretty sure he could hear it. His eyes never left her as he listened to her theories, which made her feel wanted.

Music started playing from somewhere in the room, Edith looking around when she heard a couple of people start to clap. There was a stage close by, Edith focusing on that and the women dressed in show outfits walk onstage and stand in front of the car, one holding a microphone. Connie said something that Edith missed, before she was pulling Bucky closer. Edith looked over at Steve, latching onto his hand and pulling him closer to the stage as well, to beside Bucky and Connie. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Howard Stark!"

Edith let go of Steve's hand and clapped with the rest of the audience as the women motioned to the right side of the stage in a rehearsed way, the one with the microphone moving to greet Howard Stark, who came out wearing a suit and a top hat. 

He handed the top hat to the woman, then leaned in a kissed her. Edith watched, looking over at Steve as someone yelled, "I love you, Howard!" Steve was looking back at her, soft smile on his face. He raised up the popcorn he still hadn't finished, offering her some, which Edith grinned and grabbed a handful, planting a kiss on his cheek before popping the treat into her mouth. 

Edith turned back in time to see Howard wipe the lipstick off of his lips, the microphone now in hand. He raised it up to his mouth and started the speech, "Ladies and gentlemen, what if I told you that in just a few short years, your automobile won't even have to touch the ground at all?" Gasps came from the audience as two of the show girls took the wheels away from the side of the car you could see, leaving behind some kind of invention in their stead. 

Howard moved a podium type machine out the way for one of the girls, thanking her for moving the tire. He motioned to the car again, show smile still on his face, "With Stark Gravitic Reversion Technology you'll be able to do just that."

Edith watched as he lowered the microphone than started to fiddle with the panel she had thought was a podium. The audience watched with rapt attention as the car started to hover, getting further away from the ground until it was floating a foot away from the surface. Bucky said something Edith is pretty sure was holy cow, but she was too busy being in awe at the whole flying car thing. 

"Steve," She turned to him, only to find that he wasn't standing beside her anymore. A frown displaced the excited smile, Edith standing on her tiptoes to try and see over the heads (or even shoulders) of other people, but had no such luck. Behind her, there was a crash, which must have been the car dropping to the stage again. 

People clapped as Howard laughed nervously, "I did say a few years, didn't I?" 

That's when she saw it, the enlistment poster with Uncle Sam pointing at the lookers and I want you for the U.S. Army. Enlist now. A sigh escaped her mouth, knowing what he brain process was, starting to weave through the crowd to find the recruitment office. It only took Bucky a second to catch up, Connie following after, slightly confused. 

They got there in a matter of moments, Edith moving ahead while Bucky told Connie that she should wait for them out here and it would only be a minute. Edith found Steve standing on some kind of device that turned on a light to help people better imagine themselves as soldiers. The only thing was that he was a little too sort for it, so his face didn't line up with the one missing on the soldier in the picture. 

Edith watched him for a minute, before she was laying a delicate hand on his shoulder. Steve turned to her and she gave him a smile, wanting to be encouraging but not wanting to give him false hope. He had been rejected four times. So, instead, she squeezed his shoulder and was about to try and coax him to maybe go dancing, when Bucky came along, a slightly annoyed smile on his face. 

"Come on, you're kind of missing the point of a double date," Bucky told him, glancing over at Edith. "We're taking the girls dancing."

The three of them moved so that they could see out of the building and could see Connie standing by herself on the bottom of the stairs. Well, see her silhouette, anyway. Steve looked at her, then looked back at Bucky, "You go ahead, I'll catch up with you."

"I'm staying if you're staying, Steve," Edith said quietly, after Bucky gave her a look that cearly meant please convince him to come. She got a glare for her troubles, but she just gave Bucky a shrug. 

"You're really gonna do this again?" 

"Well, it's a fair. I'm gonna try my luck."

"As who, Steve from Ohio?" Bucky asked, frustration leaking into his voice. Edith knew that he was worried, she had the same fears as he did. That one day Steve would get caught and taken in because of him lying on the enlistment form. But also, he hasn't been caught yet, so maybe he won't be. They'll catch you. Or worse, they'll actually take you."

"Look, I know you don't think I can do this," Edith felt her heart break a little at Steve's words. Mostly because Bucky was trying to look out for Steve and the guy was taking it the wrong way.

"This isn't a back alley, Steve, this is war-"

"I know it's a war."

"Why are you so keen to fight? There are so many important jobs!" 

"What do you want me to do, collect scrap metal in my little red wagon?"

"Yes! Why not?"

"I'm not gonna sit in a factory, Bucky. Bucky, come on, there are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less then them. That's what you don't understand. This is not about me." 

"Right," Bucky nodded, frustration still clear in his voice. Edith should have turned away to let them have this little fight, but she was standing there awkwardly with them. "'Cause you go nothing to prove." This was the moment Connie obviously got fed up and yelled from outside hey, Sarge! Are we going dancing? Bucky turned around to yell, "Yes, we are!" His focus was back on Steve, but he was backing up slowly. "Don't do anything stupid until I get back." 

"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you," Steve retorted. Edith smiled slightly when they hugged, hearing the two of them exchange you're a punk and jerk. "Be careful," Bucky walked a few more steps, stopping when Steve called, "Don't win the war till I get there." 

Bucky saluted, then turned on his heel, disappearing in the sea of people, Connie on his arm. Edith walked over to Steve, grabbed his hand, squeezed, and made her way further into the office with Steve. When it was clear she couldn't go no more, she sat down in a chair in the waiting room, smiling at Steve. She watched as Steve was escorted back to a room, biting her lip with nerves. 

Edith played with her fingers on her lap, ignoring the people around her as she waited for Steve to be done. She's pretty sure one of the guys who had just been recruited had tried to talk to her, but she kept her head down and wondered how long these things generally lasted.

Finally, Steve came out, his face a light against the world around them. He was beaming brightly, his stride confident as he moved through the people that were still milling around. Edith jumped up and met him half way, face turning into a smile because Steve's was so contagious. He didn't say anything, just opened the file that was in his hand and showed her the 1A stamped in the box. 

Edith let out a shout, happiness overpowering the worry that was trying to settle in her bones. With that, she grabbed Steve's face and smushed their lips together. Realizing what she did, Edith pulled back a moment later to look at a shocked Steve. They blinked at each other, Edith opening her mouth to apologize. She never got the chance. 

Steve leaned forward again and brought their lips together, lightly at first. When Edith responded, he applied more pressure between their lips and then they were kissing. It was sweet and wonderful and Edith found herself snaking her arms around Steve's neck, pulling him closer as she melted into the rhythm. And when Steve's tongue traced the seam of her lips, she squeaked, not expecting it at all. 

Which, she jumped back at. They stared at each other, slightly panting from the kiss, but smiling and happy and Edith couldn't help it, "I love you." 

It just felt so natural to say.

"I love you, too," Steve told her back. And it felt a whole lot better hearing it get said back.

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so. i told you they're in love. 

next chapter is going to be a string of letters because obviously edith can't be there for basic training! which, i think letters are going to be the time skip chapters. which means that there is going to be a really big one when steve is actually at war. and with the star spangled man with a plan tour.