“So, basically what you’d find out at the Smithsonian,” Steve concluded in agreement with Bruce’s final pronouncement. “Alright. Well, may as well start there then,” He mused, leaning back a bit. “Captain America wouldn’t exist, if it weren’t for Bucky Barnes after all.” The statement was painfully honest and held the same old awe it had the very first time Barnes had stepped up for him.
“We were from vastly different classes, socially. My mom was a widow working down at the hospital as a nurse, and she had a good reputation but it didn’t change the fact she was still immigrated Irish and a dame with a sick kid who refused to remarry, so we had our taints from the start. The Barnes family was pretty well respected in the community, and I didn’t even meet James til toward the end of sixth grade - I mean I’d seen him around, but he wasn’t anyone I talked to or anything. I kinda made a habit of steering clear of popular jock types, for pretty obvious reasons considering I was classic locker fodder,” He stated, grinning a little at that memory. It occurred to him again, not for the first time, how odd it really was to be so damn big now.
“Anyway. A couple of guys were harassing one of the dames - “ He stopped, smiled a bit, and shook his head, “One of the girls in my class and, even though I was basically a chihuahua barking at some dobermans, I tried to get them to lay off. Well they laid into me instead, but she managed to rush off so I figured that was alright, when my asthma kicked in. They didn’t stop though, not until Barnes hauled them off me and lost his shit on them, while the lass actually rubbed my back to help me through the attack. She’d gone to get him, I guess she was a friend of his. Anyway, Barnes took me to the nurse and after that, he seemed to always be nearby. Whenever trouble started he sort of swooped in and finished it, but it wasn’t until about a year later that I realized he thought we were friends.”
Steve laughed a little, remembering how confused he’d been when he’d finally asked Bucky what the hell he thought he was doing, stepping in all the time. Its what friends do, isn’t it? Had been the honest retort. After that, Steve had been more than happy to hang out with him, once he understood that Barnes wasn’t having him on.
“I can’t tell you how many times Bucky pulled me out of a mess. How many times he helped me through an attack that could have killed me, carried me when my body gave out, ensured I was warm when my anemia kicked in and I was about to shiver myself into a fever. He was as much a nurse as he was a protector, and I made his life a living hell, because I refused to accept that I just couldn’t do things. I insisted on being like everyone else, even though…I wasn’t. I wasn’t healthy enough to go running or hiking with the guys, to go swimming when it was cold out, hell, to even make it to the swimming hole was a chore. But far be it from me to stand by idly while someone was being harassed, or disrespecting our soldiers. If it weren’t for Bucky constantly saving my bacon, I’d likely not have made it to graduation day, let alone to Erskine’s camp.”
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