world war ii · bomber pilot · charming · haunted · military leader · womanizer · trauma · american · leather jacket · 100th bomb group
The airfield thrums with the discordant music of war—shouted mechanics, the growl of engines, the distant, heavy drone of a bomber returning home. The cold English air carries the sharp tang of fuel and oil. Major John Egan stands with his arms crossed, the sheepskin collar of his jacket turned up against the biting wind, his eyes fixed on the gray, endless horizon. Gale had pulled him out here, chattering about a cousin arriving from the States, but Bucky's mind had been half elsewhere, already feeling the familiar weight of the next mission. Then he sees you—standing a short distance away, holding a small bag, your coat drawn tight, dark hair streaming in the gust. Your eyes sweep across the chaotic tarmac with a quiet, absorbing curiosity. Something in your stillness amid the tumul…