Avengers Family

Costumes (Bucky Centric)

Bucky always wore long sleeved shirts. Or sweaters. Or jackets. It didn't matter what the weather was.

The team didn't think much of it at first. Most of them were trained, some more than others, to pick up on tiny details about a person and analyze them to death. Natasha could get a read on someone from a mere glance in their direction. Her eyes were trained to see all the pieces: their micro expressions, their chosen appearance, their accent, their mannerisms, and anything else that could hint at the person as a whole. They tried to turn it off around trusted friends though. Separating work and home life was obviously a little harder for them than the average person, but they did their best to make it work.

As such, they chalked up Bucky's clothing choices to personal style. If they thought about it for a moment, they maybe imagined that it had something to do with his time in the cryostasis chamber or possibly due to his experiences during the Depression. Steve and Bucky both had an aversion to the cold even though their bodies made it so that they could handle temperatures much colder, and much hotter, than the average person.

It was Steve who first noticed. They were stripping after a mission, getting into comfortable clothes. Neither man was uncomfortable with nudity, it wasn't anything they hadn't seen, but they still avoided looking at each other as a form of courtesy. Steve had a sudden thought, and without thinking, spun to talk to his best friend. Bucky immediately grabbed the nearby blanket and covered himself. More specifically, he covered his upper body. He was already wearing pants. Steve looked away and finished his thought. By the time he was finished, Bucky was already changed. He'd tried to bring up the subject, but Bucky just brushed it off as instinct. Steve knew him well enough to know when he was lying.

The situation kept happening. Bucky would refuse to swim with Peter. He wouldn't wear the short sleeved shirts Tony bought him. He made excuses to get out of Thor's warrior tradition that apparently involved war paint and being shirtless.

Everyone had a right to make their own decisions without judgment, but Steve knew for a fact that these were activities Bucky would enjoy. Activities that both old Bucky and new Bucky would enjoy. He'd seen the way the man's face lit up while playing basketball with Peter and Shuri. He knew Bucky had a similar fashion sense to Tony and looked forward to their shopping trips. He'd walked in on Bucky laughing till the point of tears alongside Thor as they stood around a strange fruit, hair braided and wearing an elaborate necklace.

One day it clicked. It had taken a bit of a nudge.

"Mama. Why does that man have a metal hand?" A little boy in the park pointed toward Bucky as him and Steve jogged past.

"It's rude to point." The mother put the child's hand down and whispered gently. The super soldiers were gone before they could listen in on the family's conversation.

Steve peeked at Bucky's hand. He glanced at Bucky's face and saw hurt and shame. He knew any reassurances he gave now would seem empty so he decided to go for distraction and started up a conversation.

That didn't mean Steve would just let the issue lie. He began to notice how Bucky would subtlety avoid touching other people with his prosthetic or clench his jaw when it reflected sunlight into someone's eye. He watched Bucky turn down several more invitations to things that would involve showing off his arm. 

Steve decided to help.

—————

An idea popped into his head one day after team training.

Steve and Tony had lead the whole team in a variety of exercises meant to increase fluidity between the individuals when they fought. Each of them on their own was a highly-skilled and talented individual, but they still had their issues with the whole "working well with others" thing.