chaudhvin ka chaand ho ya aaftaab ho?

In the end, it isn't Gale who spots him first. It's Crank, who shouts "Bucky!" so joyfully, and his call is at once picked up by Gale's other men, all yelling Bucky! and Hey, Major!. Gale finds himself pushing past the men clustered around the fence, uncaring about how he might look in that moment. He wants to see Bucky for himself, doesn't think he can believe that he's here, that he's safe until Gale lays his own eyes on him. When he gets to the front of the line and finally spots Bucky, Gale can't help his lips from curling up.

"John Egan, your two o'clock!" he calls. Across the yard, Bucky's chin lifts, his head swivelling as if he can pick out the sound of Gale's voice even above the clamour of other desperate calls. When their eyes meet, the rush of relief that runs through Gale nearly brings him to his knees. "What took you so long?"

(...)

His smile is as wide as ever, but even from a distance Gale can see something haunted in his eyes. When Bucky finally reaches their group he greets their men first, mussing dirty hair, shaking hands, and landing slaps on backs—Johhny Brady receives one, along with a firm clasp of a hand—before he falls into step next to Gale, right in the space he's claimed for himself from the day they first met. His gait is unsteady but he's clearly trying to hide it, as he is the grimace on his face that tightens minutely with every step he takes. So when Bucky slings an arm across his shoulders Gale only lets out a world-weary sigh, like they're back in Thorpe Abbotts after a long night at the O Club that began with Bucky cajoling, then needling, Gale to join their boys for drinks, for morale.