1943

Joyce silently adjusted the earmuffs on her head as she took in a deep breath. Not a second passed before she latched onto the pistol on the ledge before her, raising her arms swiftly and shooting the gun directly at the targets before her. The shots resonated through the range with a sharp thump, the metallic clatter of the empty ammunition cutting through the echo.

The Davis's eyes narrowed as she eyed down the target with an amused chuckle. Just because she practically thrived in a lab half the working day didn't mean she couldn't work on her combative skills on her free time (in which she defined free time as anytime where Stark wasn't breathing down her shoulder to help him develop a new, crazy scheme).

"Three in the head and two in the chest, are you planning on killing anyone, J?"

The girl broke out in laughter, meeting Bucky's gaze. "If you don't come back in one piece, I probably will." Joyce noticed the army green uniform that Bucky donned, and her mood deflated ever so slightly at the revelation.

Barnes paused, a forlorn look taking over. "You're not mad, right? Please tell me I didn't put anything on wrong, again..."

"Of course not." Joyce reached out as she adjusted his hat perfectly straight hat into a crooked position, his face growing amused when she partially covered his eye with the brim. To think she was the one that would scold him for not properly wearing the uniform. "For the greater good, soldier, am I right?"

"It's the 107th," he continued, picking up earplugs for himself and placing them in his ears. "Off to England tomorrow...how do you even hear me in these?"

She laughed at his comment, placing a gun in his hands as she joked, "It's a science thing you wouldn't understand."

"What, that make you a super soldier or something?"

Joyce's voice caught in her throat. "Ahh...yeah, sure. Something like that..."

The two once more turned to the shooting range. Joyce reloaded her stock as Bucky took his position beside her. They both raised their arms in sync as Joyce raised an eyebrow.

"You know about the story of the girl and the pineapple?" She suddenly added in, causing her friend to hesitate from pulling the trigger.

"I have no idea."

"Makes sense." She shrugged. "Just some Filipino folklore. It's about a girl getting cursed with thousands of eyes when she didn't listen to her mom..." Her arms tensed, and Joyce turned towards the target.

Bucky noticed her grip, and immediately pulled the trigger. They both laughed out as they began their sudden, unannounced competition. It was a game they played in the shooting range quite often: hit the most arteries and you win. The thunks of the bullets blended with their laughter, the duo finishing up their ammo quickly. Without even hesitating, they both leaned over to check the opponent's targets, and once again shared a smile.

"A cursed child with a thousand eyes, but she could see like a damn telescope." Joyce pointed at her own target with a smile. "I win!"

"You're kidding," He retorted, pushing Joyce's shoulder and moving her over as he glared at her target. "That story was a distraction, I'm calling cheats!"

"Subclavian Artery, Bucky." She pointed at his target. "You're just shy off of it."

"Because I was distracted by your pineapple chick!" Of course he thought it was unfair, no one expects story time right before you're going to shoot a gun—and no, he was not acting childish. She was the one acting like a child. Totally.

As they joked around, the owner of the underground shooting range entered the room.

"Hey, Chuck!" Joyce waved, placing down the equipment as Bucky trailed behind. "Too loud down here, huh?"

"Nah', you kids were perfectly fine." His aged face held a look of humor as he looked fondly at the two. "Just checking in because I heard the start of an argument."

"Playful banter, don't worry." Bucky cut in, shaking his hands in denial.

"This guy can't take a loss. His sniper-creds are at risk." Joyce mocked, smacking his bicep. Bucky only winced slightly, rubbing his arm with the flash of a glare.

He huffed. "I'm a Sergeant. Everything's at risk."

"Where's the little guy, Steve?" Chuck questioned, tapping his cane on the ground absentmindedly.

"He's out applying again." Bucky responded, leaning his arm on his companion with a sigh. "Fifth try, I believe."

"The kid's got heart, you know." The older man's eyes looked reminiscent. "The war's messing up the world. He has that hope we need to fix our wrongs."

"Has the heart, I just wish he had the chance."

"Trust me," Chuck turned around as he hobbled his way up the stairs, "someday that little body will."

Joyce stared in curiosity at the receding figure of the old man. Of course the guy had wisdom beyond his years, but what he was implying—along with what she was aware was going on beneath the surface of the government—made her nervous. As much as she wanted to help Steven, was it worth risking his life for the serum?

Of course she had faith in what Erskine and her created, but there was always a risk. She hated it, but there was always the threat of failure. It would hit too hard and too close to home if someone close to her went under...

'Lighten up, Davis!' She thought to herself with a pout, ignoring Bucky's confused stare when the girl beside him slapped her head suddenly.

"We're watching a movie after the applications, want to come with?" Joyce pulled off her gloves.

Bucky shook his head and walked beside Joyce. "Can't watch it with you guys, but I'll come find you afterwards." A smile danced across his face.

Joyce saw his look and smirked. "Who's the lady you're snatching the heart of this time?"

"Oops, I've been caught."

"Bucky."

She already knew Bucky had an extremely obvious playboy lifestyle, and just wanted to ensure he wasn't picking on any girls not tough enough to take a hint that he wasn't quite into the "serious" dating scene. This man could barely get his uniform pressed to wear half the time he needed it, for God's sake.

"Some girl named Connie, and another named Bonnie." He saw her accusatory stare. "And, the answer is no—I'm not trying to take 'em both. It's a double date...Steve and me."

Joyce shook her head. "You baffle me sometimes, Sarge."

He only grasped her shoulder with a chuckle. "And you love me for that, Doc."

***

The small figure of Steve Rogers slowly shuffled his way out of the Recruitment Building, Joyce noticing his frame immediately. Picking up her pace, she could already see the sulking demeanor of her friend. Steve hung his head as he grasped another failed attempt in his hands. As Joyce gave him a reassuring hug, he couldn't mask his disappointment. Try after try, and yet he still couldn't succeed.

"Why do they think I'm not enough?"

Joyce's heart broke at his situation. It wasn't his fault. "Steven, it's not you."

"At this point, I'm pretty sure it is."

"Come on bud, it's not you. It's your illnesses. They're, you know, kind of—uhh, bad..." Joyce wasn't quite sure where she was going with this. "Don't blame yourself at all, Stevie."

"Don't call me that," Rogers laughed wistfully. "You say that like you understand what's up with me, Joyce...but you've got physical abilities and the brains that would make Bucky jealous."

"I wouldn't take it that far." She said offhandedly. "And I'm a scientist, of course I understand what's going on...I practically live and breathe off of studying those kinds of things."

"If only you could invent a solution."

"Trust me..." Joyce trailed off. 'That serum is 100% that solution, but the day I see Steve agreeing to it is the day I decide to join Peggy in the Army. Never.'

The two made their way into the theatre quickly, seating themselves quietly as they continued their small talk. It was a decently classy theatre, the gold and red decor decorating the room clearly a bit too musky for Joyce's taste. As they settled in, she grabbed her friend's arm in reassurance. It was more than obvious that he was beating himself up about his rejection, and yet she knew he was still determined. "One last time" wasn't going to cut it; Joyce already knew Steve wouldn't give up.

"Toughen up," She whispered, "you'll make it to becoming a solider, Steve. I know it."

He only kept his gaze forward. 'I really hope so, Joyce.'

The room quickly hushed as the projector reel began to make a familiar humming noise, the screen before them flickering to life as the movie began. As much as Joyce offered to watch some sort of comedy just to get his mind off of things, Steve just had to pick a film once again filled to the brim with American drama and patriotism. Honestly this kid was probably an example of what America should be.

There was so much patriotic pride that Steve had in himself, and it scared Joyce sometimes. You could trust a system based on freedom and democracy all you wanted, but the government always changes. Their goals and ambitions change based on their own needs, and sometimes they just wouldn't sit well with the regular citizen. If anything, Joyce knew secrecy well—the SSR work she had been dragged into attested to it. Well, Stark was to blame for that, so maybe her natural distaste for established government was because of him.

At that moment, Joyce's heart nearly stopped.

Stark.

The exposition reveal was today.

She nervously rose from her seat as she reassured Steve, saying she was running off to use the restroom. As Joyce ran from the room, her hands frantically searched her pockets for the strange new device Stark had given her to call him—he said it was like those new-fangled rotary phones that had been popping up recently, only, this one was relatively portable. She did tell him that this invention could probably create a new wave of developments, and that it would be a huge investment (The prideful man, as expected, refused as he replied, "Nope! It's all mine.").

Joyce dashed into the restrooms as she locked the door behind her, holding the device to her ear in hopes that she had some hope if using it correctly. By the time she realized she had to press some weird buttons to get it to call, she prayed Steve wasn't getting too suspicious. One ring went through as she sighed in relief, and Joyce hoped Stark would at least answer.

"I'm proud, Formie, you got it to work." Stark's teasing voice sounded strange to her on the receiver. "This is called a phone sweetie. It'll probably take years before some other guy decides to invent it again, anyways."

"Oh shut it, Stark." She held the device away from her in confusion before placing it by her ear again. "Why are you so muffled? It's like you sound far away from this...uh, phone."

He paused before sighing. "Are you holding it upside down?"

"There's a top to this thing!?" Joyce once again looked at it, cringing as she saw her mistake. "That circle-thingy goes on the top, huh."

"There's an antenna too, Formie." Stark laughed. "I believe it's common sense that antennas should point upwards, ya'know? Signals, wavelengths, and stuff..."

"I swear..." Joyce bit her tongue because she didn't want to make this story too vulgar so early on. "I've completely forgotten about the expo, Stark."

"How mean."

"Did you want me to show up anywhere specific, or at some time earlier to help you out?"

"If you show up an hour before the show, it'll be perfect." His voice paused, and Joyce could sense the hesitation in his next words. "I know you'll get mad at me when I say this, but I'm unveiling the hover-car tonight."

"Tonight?!" She didn't bother to hold back her infuriated shout. "We've barely got the systems of that car functioning, Stark! I'm not sure if the levels are stable enough to be sustained beyond our testing times in the lab! Hell, I haven't even figured out what kind of energy it runs on!"

"I know!" Joyce could hear the smile on his damn face. "That's why you're just going to help me before I reveal it!"

"Easier said than done." Joyce was appalled. Did he really expect her to be able to work under this pressure? She thought she would have months to help him work on it so they wouldn't go out in a blazing fire of glory, but from what Stark was saying—he wanted them to take it and run straight into the sun!

"Umm, don't you remember that I'm the one that convinced the SSR to hire you in the first place? And that I am also the one that created the necessary energy sources to help start up that serum of Doc' and yours?"

"Wow, how strange." Joyce leaned onto the wall with a grunt. "Nothing seems to ring a bell."

"Come on, Joyce. Just help me out an hour before the show. Not too special, all you have to do is calibrate the car's energy supply, make sure it won't catch on fire when I start it up, adjust the exhaust so it doesn't end up frying the entire front row, set up the sources for—"

"Not too special my ass, Stark." Joyce was already exhausted, and she hadn't even moved an inch from the wall.

"Family helps family, kiddo."

'Oh, now you're playing the relative card?' Joyce scowled. "We're cousins, Stark. I didn't even know my grandma came from that crazed family of yours."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that just because I love you that much." Stark clearly wouldn't take no for an answer. "I'll see you an hour beforehand at the stage, Formie. Erskine will be there too, and he'll want you over right afterwards at the recruiting building to search for more candidates for the Project."

'WHY IS THERE SO MUCH CRAP TO DO.' Joyce only sunk lower, her head was throbbing and she just wished the wall would somehow open up and suck her into the eternal realm of brick and cement. "Why not add a coffee to that order, Stark."

"I thought about it, actually."

The line went dead, and Joyce wanted to toss it into the nearest trash bin and leave it there along with her hopes of a relaxing evening. It was at these times she wished she could just confide in Bucky or Steve, and then drink away her problems along with the trio—that option was honestly too tempting. Joy only fought her depreciating thoughts, standing up firmly as she adjusted her outfit. She refused to let this get the best of her, it was just work as usual...if working for a slightly deranged inventor and a secret government facility could be considered relatively normal. She made her way back to the movie screening room at a slower pace, still processing what had just occurred with a tired countenance.

"At least Steve's here to distract me..." She sighed, stepping inside as she glanced over at her seat.

Once more, her heart dropped. The couple sitting behind her seat met her glance with a confused stare, suddenly gesturing towards the steel doors of the room that led to the alleyways. Joyce already knew what had happened.

'I'm gonna kill this kid...or at least after I kill whoever decided to pick on him this time...' 

____
My bby boi Bucky I cry. But I would like to address the blessing that is Howard Stark because he is a pretentious drama queen that must be loved <3
-Jansege
*Fun thing of the day: that Filipino folktale is something I grew up with—it's supposed to be the reason why pineapples are shaped so weird and have so many eyes :D

Edited: 16 July 2018