Archive of Our Own

There's a rumor on base that Major Cleven has some sort of sixth sense for whenever someone's flirting with Major Egan. All you gotta do is walk up to him and express clear interest in the Major. Within moments, Major Cleven will appear and herd Major Egan away on 'urgent business' that only seems to exist in those moments.

Curt tells him about it one afternoon after a training run left the pair of them grounded due to mechanical issues. The words had sent a thrill down Bucky’s spine. He’d laughed and slung an arm around Curt’s shoulders asking for every detail. Solely so he could tease Buck about it over dinner, of course. Curt had stared at him for a tic, blue eyes staring up at him before launching into exactly what all the guys thought about Bucky’s second shadow.

Apparently, there was also a bet going on about the validity of another rumor that if you went into the bathrooms, turned all the lights off, and chanted three times how you were going to court Bucky, Gale would appear behind you to sentence you to latrine duty for the rest of your life. Douglass swears its true, but Brady had been loudly calling bullshit.

Curt had said that one with a laugh.

It's preposterous, but Bucky loves it. Loves to tease Gale whenever the other just happens upon him turning down another new airman's attempt at flirting. He'll use the out Gale gives him each time with a wink and a good natured laugh. Gale’s not interested in keeping people from courting him, he’s usually just interested in keeping Bucky out of trouble. That or using Bucky to get out of his own trouble. Most people don't see it, but Gale's just as wild as the rest of the 100th if not more so.

Besides there’s only one Alpha that he wants courting him, and he’s got no shot of that happening this century.

"The boys have been talking again," Bucky says one afternoon, bored of the silence that had fallen over their room. He’s got nothing to do, and sitting still was never his strong suit. A little gossiping never hurt anyone, and Bucky liked to keep his best friend updated on the latest going ons. It was a thankless job but a necessary one.

Bucky leans back on his bed twisting his neck to keep Gale in his sights. The early afternoon sunlight streaming through the open window feels lovely against his skin. He stretches, long limbs sprawled out on his cot. Gale just watches him, half done paperwork spread across his lap. Bucky’s ignoring his own paperwork in favor of watching Gale. It happens more often than he cares to admit.

Gale's eyebrow lifts just a slight amount, and Bucky laughs softly at the nearly yelled 'What about it?' that he sees. Everyone says Gale is so hard to read, but he's practically an open book. You just gotta watch. And Bucky's always watching.

"They're saying that the real reason I won't give any of them a chance is cause you swoop in and scare them off. Like some kind of bird." Bucky grins as Gale sighs and fully turns to face him with barely hidden bemusement. Gale’s blue eyes take in Bucky’s sprawled form, and it’s too much, too much when Bucky knows not to read into the affection there. Bucky tilts his head to stare out their window instead. The sky is bright and blue today. Perfect for flying.

"That a fact?" Gale asks, voice low, and Bucky barely contains a shiver. Someone should have told him growing up that you can’t have a voice that deep and melodious. Not if you were going to use it on unsuspecting Omegas like Bucky.

"You protecting me, Buck?" Bucky flutters his eyelashes at Gale, voice saccharine. He glances up through his eyelashes, the picture of a demure Omega. "Keeping me safe from those big bad Alphas who would take my dignity?"

This time Gale's eyebrows shoot sky high, and Bucky can't help the cackle he lets out. He rolls over and cranes his neck to stare up at Gale. Gale huffs out a laugh as he leans back on his bed. Bucky takes him in, looks at every detail and commits it to memory. You don’t get a view like that every day.

"Careful Buck, an Omega might fall for those protective instincts," Bucky grins. "Can't go breaking too many hearts."

Gale doesn't answer him, simply smiles and turns back to his paperwork. Bucky lays back against his pillows. He sighs and turns his head towards Gale’s bed.

“Wake me in an hour, okay? CO said he wanted to talk to me about something.” Bucky burrows deeper into his pillows already feeling sleep taking him. He thinks he hears Gale shifting on his bed, the springs screaming. Seconds later, he feels a blanket fall gently against his torso. “Thanks, Buck.”

"Don't worry about it Bucky."

-

“We’re thinking about sending you out to England before the other boys. You’d fly in with the advance party and learn the ropes before serving as Air Executive.”

Bucky doesn’t know what to say, and he thinks that’s perhaps the first time ever. His CO seems to understand that as well as he lets out a loud belly laugh. Had the man been anything below a lieutenant colonel, Bucky would have growled at him, but the man in front of him is still a rank above his own, regrettably.

“Brass seems to think it’d be good to send you out to ‘feather the nest’ so to speak.” The man pulls a few documents out of his desk drawer as Bucky continues processing the news. Bucky tries not to show his disdain for the man’s turn of phrase, and he thinks he succeeds when the other just continues talking. “It’s not iron-clad. We wanted to talk to you first, and it wouldn’t even be announced for a week.”

“Right,” Bucky scrambles to think. “Sir, are you sure they want me? There are other officers with much more suitable temperaments to the position. I’m sure-.”

“None of them are Omegas, and the higher ups are adamant that there needs to be an Omega to help the boys settle in.” His CO barks back, and Bucky forces himself not to react. The Air Force is one of the few places that accepts Omegas for Command and Officer roles in the military, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone’s happy about it. “I’m not here to remind you of your own dynamic’s responsibilities, am I?”

Bucky smiles at the other. Rage boils up under his skin, but he pushes it down.

“Its an honor sir.” Bucky plays up the charm. His scent slips through the air, comforting but light enough to only subtly shift the other’s mood. He wouldn’t want to get accused of attempting to seduce a superior officer. As if. “I just wanted to make sure I deserved such an honor.”

It works like a charm. The Beta settles back in his chair, chest puffed up like Bucky had complimented him. Men like him, dynamic be damned, always fall prey to a bit of scent shifting. Perhaps its their perceived superiority. Most likely its cause no Omega wants within a hundred feet of them, and their immunity is shit.

“You’re correct that this is a high honor for you.” His CO hands over a sheaf of papers. Bucky holds tight to them, grip crinkling the paper just so. “Read through these and make whatever arrangements you need. We’ll make the announcement in a week. You’ll fly out in May.”

May… that was barely a month away. If they made the announcement in a week, that left him three weeks to keep the boys calm. None of them would be too bad, but he knew there’d be a lot of ruffled feathers to put right, if he borrowed the metaphor from before. It was instinct to want to keep the pack’s Omegas close, and Bucky hoped none of them went above his head to complain.

The beta talks for a few more minutes, nothing substantial, and Bucky itches to get out of there. He hates sitting still too long under the best of circumstances, and this was truly nowhere near the best. Finally, the man waves his hand dismissing him.

“Thank you, sir.”

Bucky’s out of chair like a shot after that, barely remembering to pay the other the necessary respects.

-

“Hey Bucky!”

Bucky turns and sees Curt walking up, hands in his pockets and casual as can be.

“Hey Curtie,” Bucky smiles, but Curt seems to sense that something’s wrong. His scent curls around him, protective and comforting.

“You alright?” Curt glances back at the building Bucky had just rushed out of. “Something happen in there?”

“Ah,” Bucky half turns to stare back as if the building had changed in the last few seconds. He turns back with a smile that only feel partially false. “No, I’m good Curt. What are you doing over here?”

“Wandering,” Curt shrugs. Bucky would usually call him out on such a bad lie, but Curt had let him get away with his own. Fair was fair.

“Sounds fun!” Bucky sidled up to the other. “Care for a wanderin’ buddy?”

“Wouldn’t say no,” Curt shrugs and lets Bucky toss an arm over his shoulder.

Curt’s never complained about Bucky’s need to touch and feel which Bucky had been endlessly grateful for. Most people could handle him for a little while, but eventually there was always a discussion about personal space that left Bucky feeling guilty and scraped raw. It was slightly easier now that he’d joined up. The Air Force enforced pack systems in their groups and crews. They're a touch too formal, but there were always personal packs that kept the boys sane. All of this meant that Bucky could move from person to person in order to feel grounded.

Curt led them away from the admin buildings towards the tarmac. Most of the planes were grounded for the evening, but the ground crews were still running around fixing or changing plane parts. More often than not Bucky had found Gale there watching the crews repair their forts. He said it calmed him learning about what they took to the air.

They walked and walked. Bucky just let himself bask in the sunshine. The rays felt near divine on his skin, warm and welcoming after a cold winter. Spring was finally blooming in all its radiance. Tipping his head back, Bucky let Curt guide them as he soaked in as much sunshine as he could.

England was cold and dreary. More rain than anything. Least that’s what Bucky had heard. The sun would become a distant memory if that were true. He’d hate it. Or maybe he’d adapt. God, he hoped he’d adapt.

“What were you really doing talking to the CO?” Curt’s voice drifted into Bucky’s thoughts. Bucky tucked his head back down.

Bucky chewed on the inside of his cheek. If he told Curt, he’d keep it a secret if Bucky asked. Curt was good like that. But did Bucky want to tell anyone just yet? He could lie, make some joke. Curt would accept it, and Bucky could wait until the official announcement came through.

“They’re sending me out to England ahead of you boys.” Bucky didn’t look at Curt. He stared down at the ground, eyes trailing over the cracked and worn tarmac. “You’re talking to your new Air Exec. CO just told me. Official announcements in a week. Just gotta dot a couple I’s and cross a couple T’s.”

To Curt’s credit, his only reaction was a slight tightening of his shoulders.

“You happy about it?” One question. No judgement just Curt’s signature lazy tone that Bucky knew was hiding a well of curiosity and apprehension.

Bucky blew out a deep sigh. Was he happy? He wasn’t unhappy about the promotion. He could say that at least. Would sitting behind a desk drive him insane? Probably. He wasn’t unhappy about getting sent out. He’d joined up because he’d wanted to serve, and now he was.

“Wouldn’t say I’m unhappy. Worried about how the boys will react. Buck won’t be happy.” There that was an answer. Curt hummed at Bucky’s answer, and the pair lapsed back into silence.

Bucky stewed over Curt’s question. He wasn’t unhappy. He didn’t like how the brass were choosing him on what solely seemed to be his dynamic, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He’d miss the boys, miss Gale, but they’d follow him eventually. He wasn’t unhappy.

He’d really miss Gale. That he knows.

"You ever think about courting?"

Bucky turned to stare at Curt, thrown by the sudden shift. His friend doesn't meet his eye, just tilts his head back to stare at the sky. As if he hadn't asked that question out of the blue. As if that was something Bucky had ever brought up before.

Bucky turned to regard the sky above himself. Clear and blue as it was earlier. Not a cloud, not a trouble to be seen. Hard not to feel envious about that one. He chewed at the inside of his cheek debating how to answer.

He didn’t give it much thought anymore, never any serious thought at least. No one’s ever courted him. Plenty had flirted, and he’d fucked around with a fair number of others. But never courting. No one asked, so he’d simply chosen to move on with his life. He had other goals for life.

And yet, Curt’s question still tore a hole in his heart.

Courting had been a childhood fantasy. Something he’d thrown away to keep himself from getting hurt after he’d realized he’d never be someone’s one and only, but it seems the hurt hadn’t disappeared, only hidden itself as more and more people looked at him and decided they only wanted part of him.

"Yeah," He decided on finally, spoken so softly he wasn't sure Curt would hear him. "Sometimes."

Curt didn't say anything for a long time. The silence went on so long that Bucky wasn't sure Curt actually meant to ask the question.

"You're a great guy Bucky. Whoever courts you better know that."

“You too Curtie,” Bucky’s chest grows tight. He drags Curt in for a hug. Curt holds onto him as if he's afraid Bucky would disappear if he dared let go. As if he was worried about him.

Bucky turned his head up and stared at the pretty blue sky. A single cloud had crawled its way into the sun’s path.

-

Bucky makes it back to their room before Gale. Curt had disappeared towards his own room saying he’d come by in a bit to grab dinner, which meant Bucky could bask in the quiet comfort of his room. Drawing in a deep breath, Bucky grins.

The room is the perfect blend of their scents, safe and calming on Bucky’s frazzled nerves. Its times like these that he adores his roommate with his deep Alpha scent, not that there were times that he hated him of course. Only times that Bucky wishes they were more, where every feeling he can’t let himself feel chokes him, but he doesn’t let himself focus on that.

Technically, Bucky qualified for a single room as he was both an Omega and an officer, but he liked sharing with Buck, liked coming back and melting into the other’s scent. He'd never really lived alone, and honestly, the idea of coming back to a room that didn’t smell like pack and Alpha upset him. Omegas thrived in packs settings, and Bucky was the epitome of his dynamic in that regard. Gale kept him grounded, kept his head out of the clouds.

The afternoon was edging towards evening, but it wasn’t so just yet. A nap would be perfect right now. Something to quiet his head and get him feeling like himself again. Glancing at the other’s bed, Bucky grinned. Gale’s pillow was practically calling out to him. It’d smell exactly like the Alpha, and so long as Bucky gave it back, Gale couldn’t complain that’d he borrowed it.

Bucky was just about to snag Gale’s pillow and launch himself onto his own bed for another nap when he saw something resting against his own pillow. Bucky tilted his head as he walked around Gale’s bed to his own.

It was a bouquet. A bouquet with a letter. With Bucky’s name on it. Bucky stares at it.

As focused as he was, he didn’t notice Gale coming into the room behind him until he spoke.

“John?”

Bucky jumped. He whirled around to find Gale watching him. His hands clutch at his book, bending the pages. That clues Bucky in the concern and anxiety Gale’s feeling. Usually, Gale won’t even dog-ear the pages, forget wrinkling whole pages. Gale’s worried about him.

“Everything alright?”

“Yeah,” Bucky manages, breathless. He runs a hand through his hair, wincing when his fingers catches on his curls. A furrow develops between Gale’s brows, and his scent grows blanketing the room in comfort, security, and Alpha. All things that usually calm Bucky right down, but this time it does nothing. He twitches staring between Gale and the floor.

“Did something happen at your meeting?” Gale walks to his side. His eyes scan Bucky up and down as if some injury had manifested that he hadn’t seen before.

“No Buck,” Bucky laughed, amused at the other’s protective instincts going haywire over something as simple as Bucky seeming off. Course the words are a lie, but what happened earlier isn’t what’s bothering him now. “I’m fine I swear.”

“Right.” Gale’s tone says exactly how much he believes that. Bucky rolls his eyes nudging Gale away. He reaches down for the flowers. He presents them to Gale, who stare down at them in apprehension.

“Someone left these for me,” Bucky stares down at the flowers. They’re beautiful. “Think I’ve got a secret admirer?”

“Unless you’ve started dating someone since you left earlier, I’d imagine it.” Bucky nudges the other for his response. Gale huffs out a laugh and turns back to his own bed leaving Bucky to his flowers and his letter.

His letter. Someone had written Bucky a letter. His heart flutters despite himself. There’s no scent on the paper, whoever it was had doused it in scent blocker. Bucky furrows his brow at that one. Why would anyone do that? Perhaps the letter will answer that for him.

Dear Bucky,

I believe I’ve written this letter a thousand times, scrapping each version until I am left only with this last page from my journal. Perhaps it is a sign that this is my only chance, and fate wants me to know it. I am not usually someone who believes in fate, but everything about you proves its existence. How could it not be fate that I met you? How could it not be my fate for me fall so completely for your light?

I did not think it possible to love someone this much. It’s grown in leaps and bounds until I feel fit to burst and only have my love for you keeping me together. Frankly, I do not know nor do I fully understand what has come over me. How do you explain such a miracle? All I know is that you are all I want. All I shall ever want.

But I want you to know that I have been dreaming about writing you, courting you, holding you like they do in books for a long time. Perhaps it is cowardly to approach you in this way, but I fear how I could withstand your rejection in person. But I must ask you. In actuality, I must beg that you look upon me and smile when you answer me, even if the answer is not what I dream of.

Would you allow me the honor of courting you?

The note isn’t signed.

"Buck? Did you see who left this?" Bucky held up the card still cradling the flowers to his chest.

"Hmm?" Buck looked up from his book. His eyes jumped from the card to the flowers to Bucky's face in rapid secession. "No, you got back before I did."

"Right," Bucky smiled, "I forgot, sorry."

The small white buds felt delicate in his grip. Carnations and baby's breathe. Devotion. Pure Love.

He's never gotten flowers before. No one's ever tried to court him either. A small joyous feeling burns in his chest. He leaned in to smell the soft scent of the flowers. They’re bright, smell just like his mother’s garden back home.

"What's that Bucky?" Curt's voice drew him from his thoughts. Bucky whirled around, smile already blooming across his face. Curt stares at him from the doorway a smile already growing on his face just from Bucky’s no doubt elated scent.

"Someone left me courting flowers!" Bucky crowed. He offered them to Curt, who admired but didn't touch. "What do ya think about that?"

"Real pretty Bucky, real pretty. Just like a certain guy I know." Curt smiles up at him, and against his will, Bucky felt his cheeks burn. He knows Curt is only teasing him because of their conversation earlier. He pulls the flowers up to his nose inhaling their soft scent. Curt's scent wraps around the room, delighted.

“You mind?” Curt gestures to the flowers. Bucky nods handing them over. Curt takes them carefully. He runs a fingertip over the edge of a carnation. “I’ve got an idea. Sit Bucky.”

Bucky acquiesces though he doesn’t know what Curt’s plan is. Then an idea hits him. Could it be? Was Curt his courter? Bucky stared wide-eyed at the other. Could that be why he was asking about courting earlier?

No, Bucky stares up at Curt as he fusses over Bucky’s hair for some reason. Curt wouldn’t leave an unsigned note and ask Bucky vague questions. He’d just ask him. Curt was as feisty an Omega as Bucky was, and he didn’t care much for old school tradition. This wasn’t Curt asking him.

The person behind this had to be more reserved than Curt. But who?

“Mind if I steal this one?” Curt tugs gently on a branch of baby’s breathe. Bucky holds back his anxiety at Curt taking apart his gift, but he nods. “My sisters do this with wildflowers, these should work near the same.”

Before Bucky can ask what the other Omega what he meant by that, Curt plucks a branch and gently places it in Bucky’s hair. Curt’s eyes narrow as he works arranging the delicate blooms amongst his curls. Curt tucks a few carnations into his hair, breaking and twisting the stems so they hold together in his hair instead of slipping out.

“There,” Curt pulls away face alight with a grin. “Perfect.”

Bucky turns to the mirror on his desk, and he can scarcely recognize himself. Curt had somehow worked magic on his hair. That’s the only way he could look so pretty. He reaches up to brush against the carnation tucked just above his right ear. He shivers at the soft texture of the petals under his fingertips.

Gale sucks in a breath behind them, the sound loud in the near silent room. Bucky can’t help the blush that blossoms on his cheeks. Embarrassment races through him. God he must look so silly right now. He shouldn’t have let Curt do this. What had he been thinking acting like a lovesick pup over some flowers? He reaches up to tug out the buds, but Curt’s hands fall upon his own stopping him. He kneels down in front of Bucky, holding his hands desperately.

“You look really pretty Bucky, real pretty.” Curt doesn’t say it like a tease. He doesn’t say it like a joke. He says it like it’s the most serious statement he’ll ever say. He stares up at Bucky refusing to let him break eye contact. “Right, Buck?”

“Of course.” Gale’s voice is gruff. Bucky twists around to catch his best friend staring at him, his blue eyes nearly electric in the sunlight. It sends another shiver through him, and he feels his blush grow.

“That’ll be some answer to your courter, right?” Curt laughs as he says it, and Bucky can’t help but join him. He stares down at the last of the bouquet. “Wearing their gift round base will sure show them!”

Show them what, Bucky wants to ask, but he lets it go. The flowers leave a soft scent to the air, and Bucky can just see himself in the mirror on his desk. He can’t stop staring at himself.

“Let’s go show the boys!” Curt pulls him off his bed. “They’ll get a kick out of it!”

Bucky laughs looping an arm around Curt’s shoulders. He turns his head back to stare into his room just before Curt can drag him away. Gale stares back at him with an expression Bucky’s never seen before.

-

Bucky can’t stop touching the buds dotting his hair. Curt had tucked most of the baby’s breathe into his curls after they’d shown off his original handiwork to all of the boys, saying that he’d need to send the Alpha a sign that his gift was appreciated. That Bucky wanted to accept.

Bucky wasn’t even sure if he was going to accept the courtship. It was nice to be courted, but he didn’t know if it was right to entertain such attention, not when he knew exactly where his heart resided.

But he does adore the flowers.

Bucky won't ever say it, but he loves flowers. His mother had a small garden when he was a kid that she tended to during the spring. She'd grown whatever seeds she could get her hands on, and magic seemed to bloom wherever she planted them. Bucky had been the only one of her children to inherit her love for flowers, his sisters preferring other hobbies. But that doesn't mean he'd inherited her talent.

Bucky could barely keep a plant alive long enough for it to bloom no matter what his mother taught him. He wasn't patient enough, or he left it alone too long. Every wilted flower had broken his heart. His mother always told him not to worry and simply helped him nurse it back to life.

"It's alright, my flower," She'd cup his cheeks whispering to him. "Gardening is a talent just like any other. Nurture it, and you’ll never fail."

Its silly, really. Not something anyone would ever believe. But Bucky loves flowers. He'd never say because, well, its private. He's not ashamed of it. He just doesn't see the point in telling anyone when there are other things to talk about that interest others. Like baseball or flying. Or Buck's aversion to sports. Or if they were going out tonight.

"C'mon Buck," Bucky whined. His best friend didn't even deign to give him a response this time just kept his nose buried in his book. He’d been quiet ever since Bucky walked back in. Gale hadn’t mentioned the flowers, and Bucky hadn’t mentioned his talk with the CO, which Gale seemed to have thankfully forgotten. The pair stuck in a stalemate of too many things to say and not enough words to get them right. "We'll get you a ginger beer and listen to the band. A calm night! It'll be great!"

"Yeah, til someone starts singing with the band!" Veal calls out with a cackle, voice echoing down the hall. Some of the others join him.

Cursing that he'd left their door open, Bucky ignores him and stares at Buck. He nudged the other's foot, and when that doesn't get him a response, wraps his fingers around Gale's ankle and pulls. Gale finally turns to stare at him utterly unimpressed. Bucky grins back utterly unrepentant.

"If I swear to take it easy, will you come with? Just sit back with you and enjoy the music. You can even bring your book!" Bucky wouldn't say he drinks too much, but he knows that Buck had a tricky childhood, too much of a father that didn't deserve a kid like him and not enough experience simply living for fun. "Please?"

"Oh just give in Buck!" Benny yelled out walking by the pair's room. "He'll stop clouding up the building with his scent, and we'll all thank you for it."

Bucky turns and grins at Gale who sighs and nods his assent. Bucky laughs.

"Oh, he's in fellas!" Bucky calls down the hall to the cheers of the boys. He grins even harder when he hears the soft laugh Gale lets out. This will be great. Tonight they’ll have some fun, and tomorrow Bucky can deal the two problems that had dropped into his lap.

Everything is perfect. Bucky reaches up running a gentle hand over the blooms dotting his curls, happiness burning in his chest. Perfect.

-

So the bar was a bit rowdier than he'd told Gale it would be. Apparently, everyone had come in to see the band play, but Bucky was still glad Gale came with, even if he'd still brought his book and would only drank ginger beers.

"Hey Buck," Bucky greets as he slides in next to Gale. The bar around them is loud, and Bucky has to lean in close to be heard. They'd separated upon arrival with Gale heading off to find a booth and Bucky running off to watch the band set up. He leans in just a bit closer to catch Gale's scent, the Alpha's familiar musk and aftershave a balm in such a crowded room. Bucky looks down at the papers on the table. "Whatcha got there?"

"Letters to Marge," Gale drawls back, carefully pulling the letters out of sight. Bucky catches sight of one word before the papers are tucked away in the pages of Gale's book. Courtship.

Bucky feels a small part of his heart splinter, but he doesn't let it show. The guys around them start ribbing Gale for bringing his mail to the bar. Bucky breathed through his heartache as Gale took it all with a good-natured air of acceptance. His scent even took on a small note of embarrassment when he had to bat away Blakely's wandering hands.

"Tell her I said hi, will you?" Bucky manages, and Gale nods at him with a small smile.

Marge is sweet. A pretty blonde Beta that reads Gale like he's an open book. The pair of them make quite a picture when they're together. Bucky's met her a few times, even spoken to her once on the phone when Gale had been called away, and she's a good match for Gale. He's happy Gale has someone. Really, he is. Gale deserves someone as pretty and smart as her, deserves love like that.

"You know what?" Bucky drums his hands on the table. He pushes himself to his feet. "I'm gonna grab a drink, want anything?"

The boys all gesture to their own drinks, and Bucky turns towards the bar. He can feel how Gale stares at him, but he can't sit next to Gale as he pens love letters to his high school sweetheart. Can't pretend that Gale courting Marge doesn't gut him. It’s not that he hadn't seen it coming. He just thought maybe he'd get a few more years living in delusion. He knows that whatever happens he'll be happy for Gale, but that's for the future. Tonight, he lets himself feel that heartbreak.

Tomorrow he’ll deal with everything. The courtship, the promotion, and this new development with Marge. He’s got quite the list going, but he doesn’t let it drag him down.

Well at least he knew Gale would keep quiet about it for now, sitting on it until he was ready to talk about it. He's pretty sure he'd die if Gale turned to him right now and asked for any courting tips, things that Marge might like. As Gale's closest friend and an Omega to boot, it'd be completely acceptable for Bucky to help. Except Bucky would sooner crash his plane in Germany than think up courting gestures for Marge. Bucky would do a lot for Gale, but even he has to draw a line somewhere.

And as it turns out his escape to the bar is well timed.

"Now what the fuck do you mean by that."

Curt's voice rises above the others at the bar, and Bucky whips his head towards it. Curt doesn't get that angry, not unless you insult his flying or his dynamic. Two things most men on base don't do.

He sees Curt standing off against an older man, a mean scowl on his face. The others around the pair look tense and skittish, like they're not sure how to deescalate the situation. Curt's scent drifts through the air, sour and pissed off.

"When an Alpha tells you to move, you move got it?" The older man says glaring down at Curt, and Bucky's moving before he can think, slipping through the crowd muttering excuses when he bumps into someone. He thinks he hears Gale shout his name, but all he can focus on is getting to Curt, who looks about ready to punch the man.

Bucky knows men like this. Old fashioned types who think an Omega's place is in a bed getting fucked listening to the orders of their betters. Well, Bucky's not sure how this Alpha qualifies, but a knot tends to skew a man's sense of self. He's lived with men like this his whole life. Understands that nothing you say will change their mind, so you just have to let it roll off your back and keep doing what you want cause fuck'em and their outdated opinions. Bucky's a Major in the US Air Force. He doesn't have to prove shit to this sad little man. However, what he won't allow is letting those kinds of people attack his friends and pack.

"What seems to be the problem here?" Bucky slips into the conversation, voice bright. He herds Curt away from the bar, tossing an arm over his shoulder as he rests his hip against the edge of the bar. Curt glances at him wary and confused. Wary that he's still so chipper. Confused that he's putting himself between Curt and the Alpha. Curt can hold his own, has proven so over and over again, but Bucky's naturally protective, ain't no way he's leaving Curt exposed to a threat like this.

"Oh great, another one." The Alpha spits, and though Bucky can smell Curt's anger growing, he just lets a smile grow on his face. He tilts his head feeling the flowers shifting.

"Sure am," Bucky laughs throwing his head back. Curt turns to stare at him, and most of the boys do too. Clearly none of them expected this reaction from him. "But you didn't answer my question, what seems to be the problem here?"

"My problem?" The Alpha rears back, and Bucky watches his face redden and his glare harden. Men like this don't like Omegas like Bucky. He puts all their stereotypes of what Omegas are to shame. They expect dainty, petite things that cower at an Alpha's displeasure, but Bucky ain't like that. Bucky's tall and athletic to boot. He's never cowered away from anything if he could help it, certainly not some drunk Alpha with a chip on his shoulder. If it weren't for his scent, he's been told, he'd be mistaken for an Alpha. Somehow that never feels quite like the compliment people phrase it as.

"My problem is you bitches waltzing around like you own the place. It's a disgrace." Bucky tilts his head analyzing the man. Curt shifts next to him, but Bucky places a calming hand on the back of his neck. Curt settles, but Bucky knows it's only temporary. "Can't catch an Alpha's knot so you're out here taking their places when you should be shown your own."

"Well now, you didn't have to go saying all that," Bucky drawls, eyes narrowing. He thinks he hears Gale's voice again calling his name, but he doesn't take his eyes off of the man in front of him. He can hear the growls of his men as they slowly cue in to the growing animosity at the bar.

The Alpha scoffs at him, and Bucky wants to growl. How dare this man put down Curt? How dare he act like Curt was nothing?

"If you could do better than us, I don't think you'd be here, sad and alone at a bar. Cause I don't know about my buddy here," Bucky jostles Curt. "But I wouldn't want to listen to an Alpha who probably can't even keep it up long enough to knot."

"John," Gale's voice cuts through the noise, but Bucky doesn't turn towards him. His anger burns white hot.

"But you're not like that right?" Bucky leans forward. He's taller than the Alpha, stronger too, and that fact seems to finally register for the man as drunk as he is. He goes to back up, but the bars so crowded, Bucky's pack lining the walls watching, that he can't move away. He's trapped beneath an Omega that wants blood. "Not some sad little Alpha getting his kicks ordering Omegas around likes he's some big shot? No. You're an Alpha who simply can't hold his drink and should head home now before someone better shows him exactly how small his place is."

Bucky grins down at the man, bright and vicious. He likes turning the other's words against him, but he doesn’t like that he had to. Sure he's an Omega, but he's also a pilot, someone called to duty, someone who wants to protect. His life shouldn't be defined by one thing. Curtis crows at his side, goading the Alpha some more. The Alpha stares back at Bucky, eyes wide and scent curdling.

"I'd leave now if I were you," Bucky grins. He laughs as Curtis turns towards the bar to order a drink, already eager to celebrate Bucky's verbal smackdown. "Just some advice!"

The Alpha rears back, and to everyone else it looks like he's leaving. But Bucky can see the glare in his eyes, smells the humiliation in his scent. The dots connect just a bit faster for him. Bucky knows he gonna get hit before anyone else but not quick enough to stop it. He braces for the hit. It won't hurt too bad he tells himself. At least it's not Curt getting hit.

Except the hit never lands.

"Get him out of here," Gale growls, voice low and dangerous. Bucky opens his eyes to see Gale shoving the Alpha towards Blakely and Douglass. "Now."

The pair disappear, and Bucky is left with an irate Gale and a bar turning back to their own business. Gale's mad at him. Not that Gale would ever say so to Bucky. He can just tell. The man's scent is still thick and clouded with anger though Bucky knows at least a small part is directed at that Alpha. His jaw is still clenched as he holds back what he wants to say.

An inappropriate part of him finds the sight devastatingly hot.

"I need a smoke, be outside," Bucky says to Curtis once the other turns back. The other stares up at him with a raised brow but doesn't say a word just lets him go, which Bucky is grateful for. He turns and heads for the door. He feels Gale's eyes on him, but he doesn't turn back.

The night air is sobering even though Bucky hasn't had a drop of alcohol tonight. So many people, so many scents. It always drives Bucky a little mad, kicks his energy up a gear. It's a harsh come down for him sometimes. Not as bad as a hangover, but just as annoying.

“John, what are you doing out here?” Gale bursts out of the bar behind him. Bucky shuts his eyes and leans against the brick wall of the bar’s exterior.

“Needed a smoke, Buck. It’s fine.” Bucky pulls out his pack of Lucky Strikes. He flicks his lighter and tries to keep his hands steady as he pulls it away.

“Could have smoked that inside, and you know that.” Gale seems to be chewing on something in his own head, and Bucky’s too tired to pull it from him. The events of the day are sapping out his energy, and that drunk seems to have drained the last of it.

“You know that talk I had with the CO?” Bucky pulls the cigarette away blowing the smoke out. Gale freezes clearly not expecting that shift.

“What about it?” Gale steps closer.

“They want me flying out early to set things up for the rest of you.” Bucky lifts the cigarette back to his lips staring out into the street.

“What?” Its not growled, but its near enough to it. Bucky doesn’t flinch.

“Official announcement is next week. I fly out in May. I’ll be in England while they have you boys doing training runs. Stuck behind a desk.” Bucky feels numb. Calm as an empty sky.

“When were you going to tell me this John?” Gale’s angry at him.

“Dunno,” Bucky takes another drag. “I wanted to have a good night, and then tell you in the morning.”

-

Gale barely talks to him the next day, just what’s necessary as colleagues. Bucky tries not to feel too hurt.

There’s a single yellow tulip on his pillow that night before he goes to sleep. Hope.

Bucky can’t bear to put it in his hair, but he does put it in a cup of water on his desk.

Gale talks to him the next day, really talks to him like the bomb Bucky had dropped hadn’t happened, and Bucky feels a weight lift off his chest. He stares at the little yellow tulip and tries not to think too much about who sent it. If he does, all he’ll be able to really think about is who definitely didn’t send it.

-

The flowers come nearly every day. Somehow, they manage to get around Bucky’s schedule, and no matter who he asks, no one sees anyone unusual going into his room. Gale swears no one’s ever stopped by when he was in the room, not that Bucky would ever expect a courter to show their face to the Alpha roommate of the Omega they’re courting. He’s stuck at square one with no name and no scent to clue him in.

He does love the flowers.

Pretty asters greet him one morning when he gets back from breakfast. The purple and pink blooms settling nicely among his curls. Royalty. Admiration. Love. Gale says they look lovely.

The next day it’s a bundle of black-eyed Susans after a training flight. Admiration. Lover of Sweet William. Curt says the yellow draws out the red undertones in his hair. Gale says nothing when Bucky asks how he looks, but the smile he sends Bucky is enough.

Another day its one sunflower. Warmth. Happiness. The note that day calls Bucky the sun and his courter a mere sunflower basking in his radiance. Curt teases him for blushing and helps him pin the bloom behind his ear. He can’t keep his smile at bay. The boys all whistle at him that day, but Bucky takes it with grace and good humor.

Days pass, more flowers arrive with notes accompanying them. Bucky likes to reread them in the scant few moments he’s alone. He can say one thing about the person courting him. They sure have a way with words.

Before he knows it, he’s nearly a week away from flying out to England, and he’s still no closer to finding out whose courting him. He’s not sure he wants to anymore.

-

The boys take the announcement better than Bucky expected. There’s some worry. They don’t like sending their Pack Omega, a position Bucky still doesn’t think he deserves, so far away, but they know it won’t be long before they follow.

Most of the boys joke about how jealous they are that he gets to be so close to the action. Bucky waves them away with a grin. He doesn’t think about the conversation he’d had with their CO about the potential to backseat a few missions once he’s over there. It’s not even confirmed yet.

Gale doesn’t say much about the announcement. Bucky does notice that he’s started scenting most of Bucky’s clothes. Curt just shrugs at him when Bucky brings it up rambling about Alpha instincts going haywire, and Bucky decides to let it go.

Curt does have a hushed conversation with Gale that night that Bucky only catches a snatch of before Crank is pulling him away to go bar hopping.

“Get your head out of your ass Buck, and tell him.”

-

It's daisies this time. New beginnings. Joy.

Bucky has six more days on base.

Bucky rushes to the mirror the second Curt's hands come down. What he sees take his breathe away. Bucky knows he's good looking, heard it enough times that it's hammered in good. But, the flowers make him feel pretty. They make him feel like his dynamic, and instead of conflict, he feels euphoric. He doesn't care whether or not he looks like the Omegas in films, but the flowers draw out that side of him. He stares in wonder at his own reflection and sees the Omega that someone is courting. Sees a potential future full of happiness.

"Ever wonder who's sending you these?"

Curt's voice cuts through his musing. Bucky turns. Curt sits on the edge of his bed watching him. His blue eyes look conflicted.

"I do. You know I do." Bucky rejoins him on the bed. "I wonder why they're doing this a lot more though."

"How come?" The question isn't a hard one, but Bucky struggles to voice his thoughts.

"Whoever it is," Bucky pauses. "They're going through so much effort, but they won't sign their name. How can I not question why they're doing this when I've never been able to tell them the answer to the question they keep asking? How do I not worry about whether they’re serious or not after weeks of this?"

Curt stares at him.

“I’ve got six more days then I’m gone. Will they show their face before then?” Bucky lays down on his bed careful not to ruin his hair. “I can worry about the who more once I’ve met them. Now I’m stuck obsessing over the why.”

Curt nods. He turns to lay next to Bucky on his bed. It’s a tight fit, but Bucky won’t complain. Not when Curt decides to start asking him about the Yankees game the night before. Just trying to take Bucky’s head out of the clouds.

-

"Marge is coming to town." Gale says it apropos of nothing one night out at a bar.

Bucky flies out in three days. He’s received flowers each day this week. They’ve been accompanied by more notes and other small gifts. A ribbon the same shade of blue as his eyes. A book about baseball that Bucky hadn’t been able to put down. New laces for his boots to replace the ones that were nearly shredded. All small but all thoughtful. And yet still no sign of the person gifting them.

Bucky feels sick to his stomach. Bile climbs up his throat as he forces a smile onto his lips. Gale watches him.

"That'll be fun," Bucky wants out of this room. "You finally gonna dance with someone?"

“Why you wanna put your name on my dance card?”

A small smile pulls at the corners of Gale's lips, and Bucky wants to die. Every little promise he'd made to himself that he'd be happy for Gale means nothing in the reality that Gale has asked Marge if he can court her and now Marge was coming to town. Of course she’d said yes to Gale. Who wouldn’t say yes if Gale Cleven asked them?

“I was thinking we’d all go out before you leave,” Gale stares at him a note of hesitancy in his voice.

“Love to,” Bucky forces himself to smile, forces himself to mean it. Gale stares at him, and Bucky softens his eyes. That finally does the trick as Gale unclenches. “How bout this? I’ll get the next round to celebrate.”

“John,” Gale starts, but Bucky waves him away.

“Yeah, yeah, ginger beer for you, whiskey for me. One day you’ll tell me why you don’t drink Buck.”

“Don’t count on it,” Gale murmurs as Bucky walks towards the bar. The boys welcome him. Crank tries to talk him into a game of darts, and Curt sidles up next to him to order another beer.

If there's an air of melancholy that hangs around Bucky the rest of that evening, none of the boys mention it. Bucky loves them for it.

-

There’s a box on Bucky’s bed when he walks in. Its two days before he leaves. Marge gets in tomorrow.

Its big, bigger than his hands at least. Its got a logo from a jewelry store that Bucky recognizes as a nicer one. The sight of it causes conflict in Bucky’s heart. Up until now every gift had been small, not enough that Bucky thought about the finances behind it.

But this one was different. Bucky couldn’t help worrying about accepting this. Jewelry was traditionally one of the last gifts given in courtships. Usually it was a wedding ring, but some old school types gifted mating collars. Bucky reached up to rub at the base of his throat. He doesn’t think he’d like that.

Better to bite the bullet now, Bucky reaches out for the box and opens it.

Nestled inside the box on a bed of forget-me-nots, are a pair of hair combs. Bucky gasps as he pulls one out. They’re shaped like lily leaves with small stones dotting them like dewdrops. They feel too rich for him to touch, but he can’t help himself.

He practically falls onto his bed when he goes to sit down. Attention never straying from the combs, Bucky doesn’t even notice there’s a letter in the lid of the box until he goes to pick up the other comb.

Did they sign this one? Bucky can’t help by wonder if this was it. Was this really it? Weeks of wondering and not thinking about it, all for it to come down to this moment.

Dear Bucky,

I’m sure by now you’re wanting to know who it is behind these letters. I’m sorry for dragging this out so long. Is it cowardly to say that I just wanted to see you happy just a bit longer? I thought that your smiles wouldn’t shine so bright if you knew who was really sending you these.

To a nearly irresponsible amount, I sit and wait for you hoping for even a single one of your smiles that you dole out so freely. Days feel useless when I see less of you, but when you appear, I begin to understand that the sun shines solely to rival you. That flowers grow simply for you to admire them. It has undone me.

But now I have to take a leap and hope you’ll meet me. I have to accept that you deserve more than anonymous love letters and flowers to wear on your head. So I hope that you’ll accept me in turn.

Sincerely,

Buck Cleven

-

Bucky finds him at the edge of one of the lesser used runways. The ground is cracked, and weeds grows through. His heart swells at the sight of Gale standing there, head tipped back to stare at the sky.

“It’s you,” Bucky breathes out. His heart thumps against his chest.

Gale turns around to stare at him, and Bucky just takes him in. Takes in the Alpha that had been courting him.

Gale’s hair is a mess liked he’d spent the time he’d sat out here worrying over whether Bucky would say yes, worrying whether Bucky would accept him.

Like Bucky would ever accept any other.

“Yes!” Bucky shouts leaping at the other. Gale scrambles to catch him, but Bucky has faith. Gale has always kept him grounded and safe. “Yes, yes, yes!”

Gale doesn’t say anything. Bucky doesn’t let him say anything. Just reaches up and pulls the Alpha into a kiss.

The ground falls away, and the sky seems to draw them closer as Bucky kisses Gale.

“Take the leap with me Buck.” Bucky grins as he pulls away. He peppers kisses against Gale’s cheeks desperate to show him that Bucky accepts, that Bucky has wanted this. That he’d spent night after night trying not to imagine it was Gale writing him those letters. “Just jump.”

Gale stares at him. His eyes bounce from Bucky’s mouth to his eyes to the combs sitting haphazardly in his curls. Bucky hadn’t spent too long styling them before running off to find Gale. The run itself had jostled them, but Bucky could see the wonder and awe in Gale’s eyes.

“You can’t get rid of me now Buck.” Bucky practically preens under the other’s gaze.

“Like a stone in my shoe it seems.” Gale holds tightly to his hips, his tone reverent.

Bucky smiles bright as the flowers Gale had been leaving him.

-

“I’ll miss you every second.” Gale whispers to him the night before he leaves. Bucky curls even closer to him. He could hear the sounds of the other boys coming in from the bar. They’d all been ecstatic to hear Gale had finally confessed, which was a story Bucky was going to needle out of him eventually. Normally he’d be out there with them, but tonight, he just wants to bask in the last few moments he has left with Gale before he flies out.

He doesn’t want to leave. He doesn’t want to go anywhere without Gale not when he can finally have him. Its cruel to tear the two of them away from each other.

“Promise?” Bucky manages a smile that draws one out of Gale.

“Promise.” Gale kisses him, and Bucky lets himself get lost in it. Let’s the ground fall away as the only person he’ll ever want kisses the life out of him.

Gale draws away much too soon.

“Don’t you die on me before I get over there.” Gale repeats his words from the bar once more, voice desperate now. Bucky swallows around the lump in his throat.

“I promise.” Bucky whispers back. He wants to leave Gale with something less glib than his words in the bar. “We’ll make it through this Buck. I know it.”

He pulls Gale down to kiss him and whispers against his lips.

“It’ll be the two of us, I swear it.”