Bring Your Secrets, Bring Your Scars

Join the 'I Hate Thor' Club

          Bucky’s POV

Percy and I headed down to the kitchen.  We talked for probably an hour and a half about our scars and just random stuff.  I could tell he was relieved when I didn't try to pity him. I know that pity helps nothing.  

We reached the kitchen and sat down.  I was both surprised and happy to realize that I was starting to look at Percy like a little brother… almost. I had a feeling he felt the same or at least close, considering how much he opened up. I watched him as he ate his food.  He still wasn’t eating much but he was trying. 

He has been through a lot. Even when he was little, his life wasn’t great. When he told me the scar was from his stepdad, I wanted to track the man down and kill him. I didn’t let Percy see my anger though. I knew that it was important for him to know that I accepted him, no matter what his past held.  

    I was a little disappointed when he told me his mom had turned ‘Smelly Gabe’ into a statue with Medusa’s head. I was glad that the man was dead, just disappointed that I wasn’t the one to kill him.  

Percy ate as much as he could. He dumped his plate and climbed back up the stairs. I thought about how Percy wasn’t able to reach me earlier.  They had the training room restricted from him.  

The kid was a warrior, for crying out loud!  He needs somewhere to practice and release stress. His room was not a great solution either. Sometimes you need something real to attack, not just air. I would be having a serious conversation with Tony later.

    After everyone was finished eating, I sought Tony out.  He was in the living room with Steve, Natasha, Clint, and Thor. Bruce was probably up in his lab. I went and stood in front of the TV that everyone was watching.  

          Tony threw a handful of popcorn at me, “Get out of the way, Mufasa’s about to die!”  

          Natasha paused the show and Steve said, “What’s up, Buck?”  

          I looked at Tony. “I need to talk to you,” I paused, “Well, actually all of you. This concerns everyone.”  

          Natasha looked a little concerned. “What’s wrong?”  

          I answered her, “It’s about Percy.”  

          Clint butted in, “Is that where you’ve been all evening?”  

          I nodded. “Well, not the whole time, just like the last hour and a half.”  

          Wanda said, “What were the two of you doing?”  

          I frowned. “That’s between him and I.”  

          None of them looked satisfied but none of them tried to push it either.  

    “So,” said Tony, “What exactly do you want to talk about?”  

          I replied, “You need to open the training room to him.  The kid’s a warrior. For one thing, he needs a space to exercise.  His room’s great and all, but it's nowhere near as good as the training room.   For another thing, he needs a place to relieve stress.  He’s bottling it up, that's not good for him.”  

          Tony argued, “It’s not like we banned him from the training room or anything.  All he has to do is ask one of us to go with him.”  

          How can he be so dense?  

          “Has he asked any of you to take him?” They all shook their heads. “Exactly, You have to remember, he’s used to being the leader.  Not breaking in front of anyone. If he’s going to blow off steam, he’s not going to want anyone to see him break. Especially around people, he doesn't really trust.”