"ARE YOU READY TO LEAVE?"
Bucky and Brody Barnes walked down the cloudy streets of Brooklyn, New York with their uniforms on. The smell of rain was heavy, a quiet sense of the rain ready to fall at any moment gave a content feeling to the youngest Barnes.
Brody tapped his fingers against the hat in his hands, watching as people walked down the streets.
"I don't know Buck."
"Come on kid. You and I are gonna be side by side, fighting for our country," he wrapped an arm around his littler brother's shoulders as they both grinned. "It's going to be great."
"Steve is going to be here all alone."
Steve Rogers, a scrawny blond boy who looked like he could barely hold his own head up. He was Bucky and Brody's best friend, the two bigger boys always watching out for them, never allowing anybody to pick on Steve for his size. The Rogers boy had a lot of heart, trying desperately to fight alongside his friends in the war against the Nazis. However with Steve's various conditions and being unusually small there was almost no way he would ever be able to.
"You're worried about Steve?" Bucky chuckled, lightly shoving his brother. "He's a fighter, getting stronger everyday. He'll be just fine."
"You just don't know when to give, up do you?" The two Barnes' looked down the alley way with wide eyes spotting an all too familiar face.
"I could do this all day." The two enlistees hurried to their friend's aid as they saw a, much bigger, stranger lunge at Steve.
"Hey," Bucky grabbed the man's arm and yanked him away as Brody rushed over to Steve's side.
"Are you alright?" Brody asked softly as he grabbed onto the blond's arms, helping him stand up.
"Pick on someone your own size." The older Barnes glared at the man. The man huffed, swinging his fist to try and hit Bucky, only for Buck to dodge it and send a swift punch to his jaw.
"I'm okay," Steve nodded to Brody softy. He slowly pulled away from the Barnes' grasp, dusting himself off.
"I'm starting to think you liked getting punched," Bucky scoffed at his friend. Brody swallowed hard as he rubbed the back of his neck, wincing at Steve's disheveled state.
"I had him on the ropes." The two Barnes boys hummed unbelievingly, Bucky leaning down to pick up the papers by Steve's feet.
"How many times is this? Oh, you're from Paramus now?" He shook his head as he looked over the papers. "You know it's illegal to lie on your enlistment form. And seriously?" Bucky gave a deadpanned look to the boy. "Jersey?"
Steve looked up at the two, Brody not being able to stop his frown at the sight of the bruises already forming on Steve's jaw.
"Did you guys get your orders?" Steve's eyes flickered between the brothers in curiosity.
"The one-o-seven. Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes and Corporal Jason Brody Barnes. Shipping out for England first thing tomorrow." Bucky gave a wide grin as Brody bit the inside of his cheek. The younger Barnes was worried about going to war, but no more than anyone else would be. But he did feel uneasy about leaving Steve all alone, knowing the boy always found himself in trouble while Bucky and Brody would always have his back. Look out for him.
Steve nodded sadly as he looked at Bucky's uniform. "I should be going." Bucky let out a laugh, patting Steve's shoulder as he led the boy out of the alley, Brody on the other side of the blond.
"Come on man. We have to get you cleaned up, it's our last night. Right, Brody?"
"Oh, yeah. Wouldn't be the same without you there," he smiled down at Steve. Brody continued to bite the inside of his cheek, something both Steve and Bucky had often noticed the boy doing.
"Why? Where are we going?" Steve looked between the two."
"The future."
"I don't see what the problem is. You're about to be the last eligible man in New York. You know, there's three and a half million women here." Bucky ranted on to Steve as they made their way through the festival.
"Not everyone wants to be wrapped up with a million different woman, Buck." Brody let out a small sigh as he ran a hand through his messy hair.
"I'd settle for just one," Steve mumbled to himself almost.
"Good thing I took care of that," Bucky grinned as he waved at three women in the distance.
"Bucky," Brody gaped at his brother. He could feel his nerves growing as a light blush made its way onto his cheeks. The younger Barnes had never really been infatuated with women, only going on dates when Bucky would set them up. And usually not going with the same woman, telling Bucky that it just didn't feel right.
"Relax, Brody. You just have to pretend to like girls for one more night." Although Bucky's tone was joking, his brother couldn't help but stop I'm his tracks. Bucky was the only person who knew his brother wasn't very interested in woman, not the same as he was to his own gender. And hearing Bucky say it out loud made Brody feel as if he had been punched in the chest.
It wasn't like Bucky had outed him or anything, but a secret like that could have serious consequences for Brody. And if Steve were to have picked up on it, well.
"What did you tell her about me?" Steve asked, pushing back his hair as they approached the three women.
"Only the good stuff." The men introduced themselves to the girls with smiles, Bucky instantly linking his hand with the dark haired girl. Connie, Brody believed her name was.
"I'm Jessica." A girl with light red hair smiled at Brody, hooking her arm through his own.
"Brody." He tried to give her a smile, but it was clear he was out of his comfort zone. The younger Barnes couldn't help but wince as the girl dragged him through the crowd, close behind Bucky and Connie.
"Welcome to the Modern Marvels Pavilion and the World of Tomorrow. A greater world. A better world." A man's voice echoed through the microphone as the crowd began to cheer.
"Oh my God! It's starting," Connie clapped.
"Aren't you excited?" Jessica smiles at Brody.
"Yes," he gave her an uneasy smile. "I guess that's a word for it."
"Ladies and gentleman, Mr. Howard Stark." Brody watched alongside everyone else in the crowd as the eccentric billionaire waltzed onto the stage.
Brody, however, could help but look to Steve as the engineer spoke. The Barnes felt his heart ache at the sight of the blonde woman ignoring Steve. It always found a way to upset him, the way people would treat Steve because of his looks. As if they were the only thing that mattered, as if it gave people a right to pick on him.
"Steve," he stopped the blond with a frown. "Where are you going?" Brody's frown deepened seeing something was clearly upsetting his friend.
"I'll be right back," Steve faked a smile before wandering off. Brody watched as he left, a small sigh escaping him. He just wanted Steve to have a good time, to feel comfortable where he was so clearly not.
"Hey," Brody jumped as his brother slapped him on the shoulder. "Why don't you take the girls to get some snacks?" Bucky smiled before following after Steve.
The younger Barnes smiled uneasily as he waited for his brother, the three girls making him anxious.
"He's so weird," the blond whispered to Connie as they both giggled. Brody clenched his fists, biting the inside of his cheek harder as to not say something rude to any of the woman.
"Maybe if you actually spoke to him you wouldn't make that assumption," he told them quietly. Not sparing a glance to any of the women as he watched his brother and Steve talk.
Connie cleared her throat, casting an odd glance to the brunet. "Hey Sarge! We going dancing or what?"
"Yes we are!" Bucky called back to her with a smile, turning to say goodbye to Steve before he made his way over to them. "Ready to go?" Brody looked back to Steve, the boy giving a small smile and a wave to his friend. The Barnes smiled back softly, lifting his own hand in a small wave back. "Come on girls, they're playing our song."
Brody begrudgingly followed along, casting one last look back to Steve as if to ask if he was okay alone. And the blond smiled right back, giving a nod as music began to fill the Barnes' ears.