It's been about three weeks since all the Avengers moved into the tower. They became friends pretty quickly, which was great for Steve because all of their voices blocked out some of the noise. Plus it's nice having friends, being cared about and having someone to talk to instead of stewing in his room. Plus, Bucky would be proud. Bucky would be happy he made friends and was starting to get a life back and move on. Bucky would be patting him on his back, ruffling his hair saying 'I knew you had it in you, pal, you got this and-'
But Bucky wasn't here to pat him on the back. Bucky wasn't here to ruffle his hair. Bucky wasn't here to hold him, or comfort him, or kiss him, and whisper I love you, I love you, I love-
Bucky wasn't here to do anything. Bucky wasn't here anymore. Bucky was gone. Bucky was, he was- he's-
And nope, Steve's not going to continue that thought. Bucky wouldn't want him to. The last time he did he got stuck in the noise, the loud and un-removable noise that was filled with frantic guilt-filled voices (that sounded remarkably like his own), bloodcurdling screams (and Steve can only hear Bucky's), gunshots, explosions, betrayed yells of Bucky, more Bucky, and Bucky, Bucky, Bucky, Bucky-
In his dreams, it's better. Not peaceful by any means, but better than he would have expected. And of course, his dreams are of Bucky. It's always something good, a memory or an imagined time of a life they could've had. At least it starts that way. Then it's of Bucky somehow dying, (saving Steve cause that's all he seems to be able to do), and him watching helplessly because what was he supposed to do? There was nothing to do but listen to Bucky's comforting words as he took his last breath, (which wasn't that odd, a dying man comforting his lover in his own time of need) and cried as the man disappeared from his sights. At least in his dreams, he didn't imagine Bucky hating him, accusing him of killing him, at least in his dreams he was loved.
He sighed, this was not how he wanted to spend his Saturday. He wanted to talk to his friends, maybe spar with Natasha or Thor. He could talk to Thor, (who quickly became one of his three closest friends) or maybe he could go to Clint's floor and watch and an episode of Supernatural with him and play with Lucky. He and Natasha could talk about the changes in the future. Tony (and okay he's no longer Stark, which is great) is a good friend to talk to and challenge, even if he's sometimes reminded of the past. Bruce is comforting and calm, there when Steve needs to calm down or just focus on something else besides the noise and static in his head.
He turned on the tv instead. Leaving his apartment seems like too much today. He watches whatever is on the and as it turns out, it's a World War II documentary. Steve cursed softly but watched it anyway might as well see what the general public thought of the war. Who knows, might even be fun. Steve learned it wasn't actually that bad, but the narrator had switched from showing battle footage of the regular soldiers to the soldiers of the 107th infantry; specifically the Howling Commandos. He instantly went tense and started shaking as he watched footage of their battles. His mind replayed those memories vividly and he lost track of time. The tv had become nothing more than a small voice until it disappeared completely. The noise and static were back and this time no background noise brought him out of it.
Suddenly his living room transformed from the really expensive looking furniture from the twenty-first century to the trenches of a European forest. The gunshots were loud, bombs overhead and hitting the ground sounding extremely loud in ears. Screams were heard and he could only guess that it was of the dying soldiers from the group that Colonel Phillips assigned them to work with. He turned to look at his team and counted all of them besides one, the most important one, Bucky. He shot out the trench at lightning speed, barely dodging bullets and screaming Bucky's name, frantically searching all over. "Bucky! Bucky! BUCKY! BUCKY," his voice was louder than the gunshots and he barely noticed when a bullet hit his shoulder. "BUCK-," the rest of his sentence was suddenly cut off by a hand over his mouth and someone pulling him back. The smoke clouded his vision but he didn't need to see to be able to fight the guy off, he was a super soldier after all. But this guy seemed to have a good grip on him and was able to hold him down.
"Steve. Steve! Jesus, Rogers, calm down. It's me, it's me. It's Bucky, shit. STEVE!" The voice behind him got him to stop struggling and turn around in the man's grasp. He smiled once he got a good view on the guy and saw it was Bucky. But the gunshots were back and his shoulder started to bleed out. The bombs came down faster and there was a higher quantity of them falling. Soldiers were dropping left and right and then Bucky dropped. He went down right before Steve's eyes. There was scream and everything was louder and he heard the worried and distant sound of someone softly calling his name.
"Cap, Cap," the voice said and it came from Bucky's mouth. But Bucky was down and he never called Steve Cap. But there it was again, Bucky's lifeless body speaking to him. "Cap... Steve, Steve, come on. You're safe. You're not where you think are. You're in New York, Avengers Tower. You're safe." But no he wasn't in New York. They left New York behind. It didn't make sense because Bucky was, he was, he's-
Something touched his shoulder and he flinched. Time seemed to come back to him (and oh God, when did he lose track of it) and his eyes focused on the tv that was now on a space documentary. He turned and saw Natasha and Clint's worried gaze on him. He smiled weakly and curled in on himself. Just because he calls them friends doesn't mean he's comfortable showing his weakness to them yet. He only got like that with Bucky and Bucky wasn't here. He was, he was, he's-
"-Breathe Stevie. C'mon breathe for me, baby. There ya go, deep breaths. In out. In out-"
-and he's breathing. Deep breaths, listening to the voice of Bucky telling him to breathe, 'cause he would always listen to Bucky, even if it's just a memory.
"You okay?" Natasha asked. She spoke softly like she dealt with this before and Steve wondered if she did this before, he wouldn't put it past her. "You had a panic attack. I'm guessing it happened because whatever was on tv triggered a memory for you. But you're safe. Don't worry." She smiled kindly, unlike the first smile she gave him and patted his shoulder. He looked up from his defensive position on the couch took a shaky breath. He nodded and Clint came back from the kitchen and huh, Steve didn't hear him leave. He was usually more alert. Steve grabbed the water out of Clint's hand and smiled at him gratefully and drank it in small sips.
Clint and Natasha sat with him until he calmed down, his breathing slightly less ragged and wasn't panting. Natasha looked at him and says softly, "Can I ask you something?" She gets a nod in response and she takes a breath and gives his shoulder a squeeze in thanks before saying her question. "Who's Bucky?" Clint looked at her sharply, but she didn't seem to notice or care. She studied Steve intently and gives him a worried gaze when his eyes tear up. His breathing changed in a matter of seconds and he starts shaking again. Natasha looks regretful for asking and tries to calm him down. Clint smacks her head and gets Steve tissues to blow his nose in and wipe his face with.
He opens his mouth, then closes it and says in another small voice that sounds nothing like his own, "If you can bring the other Avengers up here, then I'll tell you." Natasha nods and gets up to go the elevator, which leaves Clint and Steve back in the room alone. Clint rubs his back and gets him more water.
" 'M fine," he says tiredly. Panic attacks can really do a number on him.
Clint just shakes his head rubs his back more forcefully which makes Steve startle and receive a pointed look from Clint. "No, you're not. C'mon, Nat and I'll take care of you. Oh, sorry for Nat's sudden question. She could be insensitive at times, but she's trying. And she doesn't know much about America's favorite Sergeant, Bucky Barnes." Steve just shook his hand as to wave it away. "Nat'll come upstairs with all the Avengers and you could do what you want."
"Thanks, Clint," Steve smiled. The elevator dinged and the rest of the Avengers came out. Tony obviously came from out his lab if the grease stain on his shirt and cheek was anything to go by. Bruce looked like he just woke up since his hair was rumpled and he was rubbing his eyes tiredly, with a coffee cup in his free hand. Thor was basically bouncing up and down, wide-eyed with his curiosity at seeing someone else's suite. Natasha had a determined look on her face as she came back and sat next to Clint. The rest of the Avengers sat in the empty chairs and other parts of the couch that weren't occupied.
"So," Tony started, all the Avengers eyes were glued to Steve expectantly. Tony was obviously ready to break the silence. "Natasha said you had a panic attack and wanted to talk?" Steve blinked and turned to Natasha, and shook his head.
"I don't wanna talk about it. I just wanted to answer Nat's question with all of you around so the next time you guys want to talk about that subject you'll already know." He looked around suddenly feeling shy about speaking again. 'At least I'm coming back to myself,' Steve thought bitterly.
"Alright. What's the question?" Tony looked pretty eager to learn more about Steve. They talked to each other but not enough to know a lot about each other's lives.
"Okay, um... How much do you know about Sergeant Barnes?" From the corner of his eye, he could see Clint lighting up at the mention of a Howling Commando. Tony stared at Steve like he wasn't sure where this was going and Bruce looked to be in deep thought, probably thinking back on his World War II history.
"The Sergeant Barnes, I know a lot. He was one of my favorite Howling Commandos," that was Clint talking. He obviously was really excited to speak about him. "He was in the 107th, he enlisted after the Pearl Harbor attack, he was part of the Howling Commandos and was your best friend since childhood. He was an amazing sniper, I got my inspiration from him. He died when he fell from a tra-," abruptly his mouth snapped shut as he just realized what he was going to say. He looked at Steve with wide eyes and watched as he took several deep breaths.
"Yeah. Yeah, that Sergeant Barnes, but to answer Natasha's question, his nickname was Bucky. Not a lot of people got to call him that. Only his friends, family, and girls he took on dates." Steve couldn't fault Natasha for wanting to know. She was from Russia and might not have gotten caught up on her U.S history or maybe didn't learn that yet.
Natasha looked to be considering something then nodded. "You were screaming his name in your panic attack, asking him where he was if he was alright. Did you go back to the battlefield?"
Steve nodded and started to rub his arm, another one of his nervous tics. Bucky would scold him for his nervous tics since they weren't always healthy. Rubbing his neck and arm was the only ones he did that he approved of. Anyway, Steve was nervous because he could feel Clint, Tony and Thor vibrating with questions. Questions he might not want to answer.
It was Thor who spoke first. He didn't know any world history so he's just hearing this for the first time. Of all the questions he could've asked, Steve didn't think he would ask this one. " What was he like? He seems to be a brave warrior this, Sergeant Barnes for fighting in the second war against worlds."
Steve smiled fondly. Just think of Bucky made him smile. But this time it didn't bring the static and noise back. It brought back fond memories that he would always hold close to himself.
"Bucky was brave. He was brave, smart, charmin', handsome, protective, and kind; he was the best. He was my inspiration for being Captain America and he knew it too. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have been Captain America: the War Hero just Captain America: the Chorus Girl. He was really charming and all the dames--girls-- loved him. He went on dates all the time and the number of girlfriends he had could probably fit in the size of this room. He was respectful and kind and always made me his first priority. He helped me through everything and encouraged me.
"I don't know what I would've done without him. He had a huge family; aunts, uncles, mom, dad, and his three little sisters Becca, Beth, and Bailey -"
"What's up with all the B's in the family-" Tony snorted but quieted down at Steve's glare.
"He took care of me since the first day we met. He was kind of possessive of me during the war and everyone wanted to speak and find time alone with me. The only people he allowed to talk to me without him being there to help me out when my anxiety kicked in was the Howlies. Even Howard and Peggy took time for him to trust. He always got proud of my accomplishments and gave me the best he could since I moved in with him when I was sixteen. He was a year and some months older so he was eighteen and had a job and apartment and brought me along with him.
"He was the smartest guy in our school. Got straight A's in every class and his lowest grade was an A-. Tony, you would have loved him. He was the only guy at the base that was able to challenge Howard and when we didn't have a mission he helped design and occasionally helped make a new weapon. He loved math and science and wanted to be an engineer, but spent his college money so I could go to art school for a year and Becca could go to med school. He was probably a genius but-"
"That's cool. If he was around we could probably spend all day in the lab. He'd probably replace Rhodey as my new best friend and Bruce, Barnes and I could science together and-"
"Tony." It was said sharp enough that he stopped speaking right away. "As I was saying, he never actually thought about it and preferred not to know. He was brave all the time. When I used to get into fights which, I did every other day, he always showed up even if he wasn't near. I don't understand how he did that, it was like he had a sixth sense for when I would get myself into trouble or1 had a tracking device to always find me. Anyway, he always fought with me and even though he hated it when I got hurt he never told me to stop. He used to be a boxer so he showed-"
"He used to be a boxer. Damn, that's cool." This time it was Clint that interrupted, but he shut up quickly when Natasha hit him with a pillow.
"He showed me how to punch. When he was captured he never let it bring him down or get to him. He just kept going and he talked to me about it but he didn't seem haunted. It was like he almost expected it, but I'm guessing he did. And no, Clint, he didn't enlist. He wanted nothing to do with the war, said that it ruins people and fighting is not doing anything until countries start surrendering but bring death and destruction. He was right but I never listened. He helped me enlist but never did it himself. He was drafted after Pearl Harbor and was really reluctant to go. He only went because if he went to jail he wouldn't be able to play for my medical bills. He was the best thing that ever happened to me. The best friend I could have ever asked for."
"He seems like a great friend, Steven. The warrior Barnes seemed like a good older brother to you. He would be very proud of how far you came, Captain. I myself had failed as a big brother, apparently leaving Loki in my shadow. I would've loved to meet him." Thor looked intrigued about Bucky.
"Umm... brother yeah sure. I could get how Loki felt. I was his shadow. He was the center of everyone's attention and I was an afterthought to them, but I was the center of his attention. He always brought me up front and mentioned me to everybody he spoke with for more than five minutes. He never let me sulk in the background for too long unless I needed to. And you didn't fail as a brother, I could tell you love Loki very much and that's sometimes all you need to succeed. And he didn't have to live in your shadow, he could've gone out and made his own mark on the world. At least that's what Bucky used to tell me to do when I felt left behind or like nothing, and Bucky was never wrong." Steve murmured. He never thought he would have something in common with Loki. Having lived in a shadow most of his life with Bucky in front was something that could make him try and gain attention from other people in the most histrionic of ways, but Bucky always said he was dramatic.
"Aye. But it looks like my love for my brother didn't help as much as I would've liked. Perhaps I wasn't as gifted in the challenge of brotherhood as much as your brother had. He must have been good to his sisters, the Ladies Barnes."
Having Thor refer to Bucky as his brother made him feel weird. Bucky was definitely not his brother. Bucky took care of him, always provided for him, and was always with him, sure, but that didn't mean they were brothers. Bucky and Steve didn't love each other like they loved Becca, Beth, and Bailey. They loved each other like an old married couple. They kissed and hugged and did things in the dark that he couldn't have ever thought about doing with his siblings. "I guess so..." Steve trailed off, not knowing how to finish his sentence.
The Avengers sat together in silence, processing everything that was just said and giving Steve his space. He didn't know how long they sat there but it was Bruce who broke the silence next. "How did you two meet?" It was a simple question. But the question brought back a memory of the time when he met Bucky. He smiled fondly again.
"I was three, I think and he was four. I can't remember a time before Bucky so this is probably my earliest memory. We were at a daycare near my tenement when I..."
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Steve squeaked and pouted as he was pushed to the floor again. He got back up and balled his small hands into fists. He couldn't speak as well as other three-year-olds and he hated it when the older kids picked on him for it or something else that was wrong with him.
"Leave me 'lone," He squeaked in an adorable high pitched voice once he got up again. The other kids, probably about five or six of them (he wasn't that good at counting) laughed at him. He pouted some more when he was pushed down again and the toy car he was playing with was snatched out of his hand. "Hey!"
"We're gonna play with it. And d'ere is nothin' you can do 'bout it," The leader, Tommy, says when he looks at the car smiling. "And you can not touch it no more. Only boys play with cars and trucks. And you're not a boy 'cause you're tiny and small, and skinny. Go play with dollies with the girls."
"M'not a girl." Steve was getting upset. First, they pushed him. Then, they took his toy. Now they're saying he's a girl, which his daddy told him he's not. "I was playing cars first," he whined. He got up again and went to leave and to find another car instead of getting pushed and hit again and getting in trouble for fighting. Billy, Tommy's friend, came up and pushed him into the round table and made him hit his head. Billy was a chubby kid and always wore a hat. He stayed close to Tommy because they were cousins, and Tommy was loyal to family. Billy laughed as Steve fell. Tommy and the group Joey, Dave, Kevin, and Brandon came over and laughed too. "Owww," Steve whined. He felt a kick to his stomach and he looked up to see Dave staring at him.
His bottom lip started to quiver and his eyes started burning. Hot salty tears rolled down his face as he sobbed when they all started beating him. 'Now I'm gonna get in trouble again' thought Steve. He heard a voice and footsteps that were coming his way and he cried even louder. It wasn't the sitter Mrs. Gondalez, rather it was Kevin's cousin, James. He feared James. James was the tallest kid there and he always was playing with Kevin and his friends. He knew James had a hard hit. He saw what happened to the un-sturdy fake table when he hit it because Tommy dared him to. It broke and nobody else in the day care could break it. Steve wasn't looking forward to knowing what those fists could do to fragile human skin.
"What're you guys doing. I wanna see. Let me see." When the footsteps stopped right in front of his head, he was expecting a kick, not what happened next. "Hey wait, guys," James said and he heard the punch instead of feeling it.
Someone else, it sounded like Tommy, was crying too. Steve opened his eyes to see James standing directly in front of him while Dave, Joey, and Brandon ran away. Billy went to Tommy and pulled him towards Mrs. Gondalez who finally looked up at the sound of crying. Kevin looked angry as he still stood in front of James, his arms crossed and a pout on his face. "What you doing, James?"
"Stop hurting him." It was said firmly. There was no joking in his voice. No mocking. All the seriousness that a four-year-old can have. And that was new, someone defending him instead of the other way around.
"No."
"Yes."
"No!"
"Yes!"
"NO!"
"YES!"
"NO!"
James smacked Kevin on his face and the same time he yelled,"YES!" Kevin looked surprised and tears were forming in his eyes. He stomped his foot and stormed off as he started throwing a tantrum in the room. Tommy was still crying and Kevin mostly won't talk to James for a while but it looked like James didn't care. He turned and knelt down in front of Steve. He had a small smile on his face and went to touch Steve's cheek. Steve immediately tensed, fearing the worst, but a smack never came. James just wiped his tear stained cheek and asked in a soft calming voice, "Are you okay?" He helped Steve sit up in criss-cross position then, wiped more of Steve's tears away.
Steve nodded, then thought better of it and shook his head. James frowned and Steve thought he upset him until James' hand moved away from his cheek with blood on it.
James took out a white handkerchief and wiped away the blood and tears on that. Steve stared at him confused with wide eyes still sniffling. " 'M fine," Steve croaked. "Just hit my head on the table." James nodded and left. Steve's eyes teared up again. When he thought he was making a friend he left. 'Maybe they're right. Maybe weird people don't get friends.' Steve was so lost in thought staring down at his lap when he felt a hand on the side of his head.
"I got you a band-aid," James said looking into Steve's eyes with a soft smile. Steve looked back and made a small gasp-like sound. Unlike the other boys, James' eyes were warm and inviting. He crouched down in front of Steve again and put the band-aid on his head. "There, all better." James leaned back to look at his handy work and smiled. He kissed the top Steve on his forehead and whispered, "Now it's all better."
James pulled Steve to his feet and stuck out his hand. "Hi. I'm James Buchanan Barnes, and I'm four. What's your name?" Steve shook his hand eagerly and smiled. So he did make a friend.
"Hi. I'm Steven Grant Rogers. But my momma and da call me Steve. I'm three. Nice to meet you, James."
"You can call me Buchanan since there is already another James."
"Alright, Bu- Buch- Ba- Buck- Bucky?" Steve looked at him fearfully. Maybe he won't like it if he messed up his name, but James smiled brighter.
"Bucky? I like that. Okay, I'll go by Bucky now. C'mon Stevie let's play!" and with that James --Bucky -- dragged Steve away, toward the chest of toys.
They played for hours. They played space explorers. Bucky was the astronaut and Steve was the alien on the moon. The alien, Steve, showed Bucky that the moon was made out of cheese so they had a picnic with cheese and crackers. Then Bucky took Steve to Earth and Steve went swimming at the beach and Steve learned how to use a crayon.
Then, they played pirates. Bucky was the captain and Steve had to walk the plank. Steve swam away then went to the island Bucky wanted to go to and stole his treasure then gave it back because ("stealing is bad, Bucky." "But it's just a game Stevie and you'll give it back. I'll never let you steal.") They explored the ocean together and found a mermaid that swam near their boat and became friends with her.
Then they colored in coloring books. They shared a book because ("We haf'ta share, Stevie. We're friends and friends share. It's what they do." "But I wanna color d'at page." "Then we can color it together." "Oh.") They colored a car and it was in the lines too. They colored on the table too, because art is nice.
Then Bucky taught Steve how to write his name. ( "Make an 'S' with two big c's one one top and the next one is backward and on the bottom... Close enough. Then a 't' and... perfect. You did it, Stevie!") He managed to write 'S-T-E-V-E' on his paper and 'B-U-C-K-Y' next to it. Then they counted blocks because Bucky can count and Steve can't. They only got up to 10 before they got distracted by a toy airplane.
They ate lunch, little sandwiches and had juice boxes to go with it. They took naps("You purr when you sleep. I'm gonna call you Kitty." "No. 'M not'ta kitty." "Fine. You're a Kitten."), and listened at storytime. They raced and chased each other. They (Bucky)defended each other (Steve) from Tommy and his friends. Admittedly, it the best day of Steve's life.
"Hey, Bucky?" Steve murmured suddenly feeling shy. He turned his head so he could see Bucky better. They were lying on the carpet after running around the room because outside was too cold. October was one of the worst months for Steve because he would get sick the most. Not that Bucky knew, Steve didn't want to freak him out yet, but Steve managed to convince him that they should play inside instead.
Bucky rolled over and looked at Steve with a smile. "Yeah, Stevie?" he answered.
"We're friends, right?"
" 'Course we are. Why'd you ask?"
"Are we gonna stay friends?"
"We can stay friends for as long as you wanna, Kitten."
" 'M not a kitten," Steve huffed and stayed silent for a while before speaking again. "What if I wanna stay friends forever?"
Bucky looked at him again, his eyes wide and huge. He didn't even hesitate as he took Steve's hand and whispered, "Then we'll be friends forever."
"Bes' friends?" Steve asked hopefully. Nobody ever wanted to be friends with Steve. He was small and couldn't keep up with any of the other boys. Even the girls seemed faster when they ran. Bucky had to slow down to give Steve a chance to keep up. Maybe he can keep a best friend. Bucky said that they could be friends forever, and maybe he was telling the truth. Bucky also was the boy with lots of friends, and Steve doesn't want to be another one of Bucky's friends that he sometimes plays with. He didn't know why but he instantly wanted Bucky's attention. He wanted to be different from everybody else with Bucky. Bucky was the first person to look at him like he wouldn't break or that he wasn't a lost cause. So yeah, asking to be best friends was a big deal for Steve. Steve worried Bucky would say no but right before he could open his mouth to say anything else, Bucky smiled widely.
"Yeah Stevie, I'll be your bes' friend." He sat up and pulled Steve into his arms and just held him in a hug. Steve calmed instantly, his three-year-old mind was getting too worried over simple things that most three-year-olds don't worry about.
Time only seemed to fly by when Steve was with Bucky. They played more games like pretend, tag, and hide 'n' seek. They colored more and asked Mrs. Gondalez to read to them. All too soon, two adults, one man and one woman who was pregnant, that Steve had seen before, but didn't know who they were, walked into the room. Mrs. Gondalez went straight up to them and smiled warmly. She hugged them and pointed towards the girl's side of the room where Jane, Mrs. Gondalez's daughter was watching them. They walked over to the room and the women picked up a squealing little girl. Bucky didn't seem to notice them come over towards them, still focused on coloring a dinosaur.
They adults stopped behind their chairs and Steve looked up at them curiously. Most parents looked disgusted at the sight of him and didn't want their child near him. They didn't seem to mind though, they just smiled down at him and the male crouched down at their level, between Steve and Bucky's chair and tapped the latter's shoulder. "What you coloring there, sport?" They male asked Bucky, who just noticed him and broke into a huge smile.
"DAD!" Bucky shot up like a rocket and sprung into the man's--Mr. Barnes'-- arms. "Buna, tata. Mi-a fost dor de tine." Steve had no idea what he was saying or that such words existed but Mr. Barnes looked like he knew.
"Salut, James. Te-am ratat prea, cum a fost ziua ta?"
"Bun. Vrei pentru a satisface prietenul meu." Bucky turned to him then and Steve was scared that he was supposed to know what they were talking about. "This is my best friend, Steve. Stevie, that's my dad," he pointed to Mr. Barnes, who was still crouched and smiled at him, "That's my mom," he pointed towards the women--Mrs. Barnes, who gaze was focused softly at Steve and smiled, "and that's my little sister, Becca." he pointed toward the little girl, now reaching out for Bucky with a huge grin and stubby hands.
"Hi, Steve. It's very nice to meet you." Mr. Barnes said and stuck out his hand like Bucky did. Steve reached or it and shook it forcefully and smiled.
"Hi, Mr. Barnes. 'M Bucky's best friend."
He smiled and Mrs. Barnes came next to Steve and smiled softly.
"Hi, Steve. I'm Mrs. Barnes. It's nice that you're James' best friend." She didn't shake his hand put she patted his hair fondly.
Becca made a gurgling noise and said "bruhba". "May I ask, who's Bucky?" She looked at Steve questioningly waiting for his answer but the man in question answered instead.
"I am!" Bucky beamed. He looked proud at his chosen nickname. "Stevie couldn't say Buchanan and he came up with Bucky!" His voice was excited and happy and Mrs. Barnes nodded, so Steve didn't think she was mad at him for renaming her son.
"Would you like us to call you Bucky, or is that only for Steve?"
"You can call me Bucky. Only my friends and family can call me Bucky."
"Buh-ee" Becca giggled and said it again. "Buh-ee" Bucky laughed and smiled at Becca and told her she got it right.
"Well come on now, Bucky. We better get home. You can see your friend tomorrow." Mr. Barnes said. He stretched out his hand and even though he pouted, Bucky still took it and got up.
"See'ya tomorrow Steve. I'll bring my toy cars and we can play with them without Kevin, Tommy, and Billy bothering you." He pulled Steve out for a hug and whispered, "Goodbye, Kitten," in his ear.
"Bye Buck," Steve said sourly. He didn't know when his daddy would come and pick him up and he didn't wanna be alone. He turned back to his drawing once Bucky and Mr. Barnes turn away toward the door when he heard a gasp.
"Steve, honey, where did you get that bruise?" Mrs. Barnes touch his cheek. Steve looked up at her and saw she wasn't smiling anymore. He didn't know how to answer. He didn't want to admit that Tommy and his buddies were bothering him but he did so Kevin could get in trouble at least. It didn't look like the decision was up to him though since Bucky told them instead.
"Kevin and his friends were hitting Steve." At that announcement, Mr. Barnes walked off towards Kevin and spun him around. He couldn't hear what was going on but then Kevin came over to Steve slowly and reluctantly apologized.
Mr.Barnes grabbed Kevin's arm and said something about him coming home with them before turning and leaving. "He won't do it again, Steve. I promise." Bucky looked Steve right in the eye and, even though they just met Steve believed him. He took his mom's hand only got to the door before turning halfway, waving and yelling, "BYE!"
"BYE!" Steve yelled back and smiled until Bucky disappeared. It was the best day ever. Today he made a best friend and everything was perfect. He smiled again.
___________________________
"So ever since that, Bucky and I have been best friends. He taught me to write and read along with my teacher when he went to kindergarten the next year. Daycare was cool and was only better when he had been there." Steve finished.
The Avengers nodded and smiled at how at relaxed their captain seemed just from talking about Bucky. Tony smiled mischievously and said, "I think you should tell us stories all the time. It would be like storytime but better." Steve thought about for a moment then nodded.
"You now what, I think I will."
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Translations:
Salut tata. mi-a fost dor de tine- Hi dad. I missed you
Salut, James. Te-am ratat prea, cum a fost ziua ta-Hi, James. I missed you too, how was your day
Bun. Vrei pentru a satisface prietenul meu- Good. I Want you to meet my friend