A Flash From The Past ~ An Avengers Reacts Story

Twenty-Six ~ Steve and Bucky

"So guys," Kylie said, "Before the next memory, we think you should have some time to rest because it's been a while."

"Feels like forever," Clint muttered as he stood up, everyone else following suit. They all walked out of the cinema room and to the living area. Most of the group went to their rooms, but Steve, Clint and Natasha stayed in the kitchen.

"You ok, Steve?" Natasha asked when she noticed Steve staring into nothing. She didn't get an answer so she put a hand on his shoulder and he jumped slightly, seemingly unaware that Natasha had said anything.

"What?" He asked.

"She said 'are you ok', but it's pretty clear you're not," Clint smiled weakly.

"Yeah, just thinking," Steve said, "You know, I knew it would be me next. I could feel it. And I tried to imagine what it would be like having your memories shared with everyone, and at the moment it's ok, but I know it's going to get worse. And I don't know how to feel."

"I'm dreading mine," Natasha said quietly, and looked at the floor.

"Me too," Clint said, "And I know you'll still be thinking about it, but none of us are going to judge you on what happened in your past. And we're not going to waste time feeling sorry for you if you don't want us to. We will accept you."

Steve smiled at him, a silent thanks playing on his mind. Clint knew what his smile meant, and shot one of his own back.

"We should probably rest," Natasha said to them both. "We don't know how long we have left."

They agreed and all walked to their rooms.

A few hours later, they were all rudely awoken by Hayden and Kylie calling their names through the speakers. Groaning, they made their way to the cinema room, all picking the same seats they usually sat in.

"Couldn't you give us a bit longer to rest?" Clint asked, annoyed.

"What for?" Kylie said, "You're not exactly doing much."

Clint sighed and didn't say anything else.

"Right," Hayden said, "This memory should be nicer than the last few."

"I fucking hope so," Steve muttered as the screen lit up.

"In this memory, Bucky is thirteen and Steve is twelve," Kylie told them.

They all turned to the screen to see a blind folded young Steve being led down a path by Bucky, who was excited skipping along on the balls of his feet. Steve nervously stumbled along being him, both hands grasping Bucky's hand.

"Where are we going again?" Steve asked, one hand going to adjust the blindfold, which looked to be a slightly stained tea towel.

"General area - the park," Bucky told Steve, "More specifically - you'll see."

"That's what you've been saying for the past ten minutes," Steve complained.

"You have not been walking around blindfolded for ten minutes, Steve, it's been five at most," Bucky rolled his eyes, "And if you knew what the answer to the question would be, why did you ask?"

"Shut up!" Steve snapped and dug around in his pocket for a moment, then pulled on Bucky's hand, signaling for him to stop.

"What is it?" Bucky asked when he saw the expression on Steve's face. Even without seeing his eyes, Bucky could tell how worried he was.

"I've left my inhaler in our room," Steve said.

"'Our room'?" Tony asked off screen, his eyebrows shooting up.