Ascendancy

Chapter 7

 In honor of Captain America: Civil War coming out to DVD today, here is a new chapter! Enjoy and please VOTE and/or COMMENT!

                                                                           Chapter 7

        "Dang." I say. All the empathy I posses goes out to Bucky.

        "Yeah, I don't think I'll ever get them back," Bucky responds.

        "Can't you call Stark?" I question.

        Bucky lets out a scoff. "I doubt he would come all the way to Wakanda to return a few notebooks. But they were all I had, really." Bucky looks out the window. Rain is pouring down in sheets, and from time to time, the sky lights up with lightning. But it gives the room a cozy atmosphere for Bucky and I's first (not really, but the last one doesn't count) session together.

        I let out a sigh. His notebooks containing a conglomeration of memories from the past would have been extremely helpful to have. But when the government got Bucky, they got them too. And Steve has no possible way to retrieve them. Although it's good knowing this, because that means part of this process is already underway. Normally, when treating PTSD, the person is supposed to write down their traumatic experiences. In this case, Bucky mainly wrote of memories from his past, not his worst ones. But it's something, at least. And it could help with any remaining memory loss.

        I get up and walk to my desk. I open the lacquered drawer, and pull out a red hardcover notebook. Inside, the pages are clean and crisp, just waiting to be written on. "Here," I say, handing it to Bucky. He fingers it in his palm, and turns over some of it's pages. "Write in this if you remember anything new. Or if it's something old, too."

        Bucky nods his head. There is no point in continue a conversation that would only make Bucky dejected. I decide to continue with our earlier conversation. "So. What is your favorite childhood memory?"

        Bucky ponders that for a moment, and I can see his eyes glaze over. "It's kind of jumbled," He says quietly. After a minute or two, he inhales deeply. Bucky says, "When Steve and I were twelve- no." Bucky rubs his forehead with his fingers. "We were, we were.." He bounces his leg up in down in frustration, trying to sort the memory out. I just sit patiently. "Sixteen!" He says, with a little bit of enthusiasm. "Yeah, we were sixteen. And we were getting ice cream at Martha's Diner, which was by our apartment building. I was talking to some girls in the booth across from us, but Steve was just eating. Suddenly, a man burst through the door with a gun, and wanted the cashiers money. Steve, the idiot," Bucky says, shaking his head with fondness, "Hopped up from his seat, and raced towards the man from behind." A small smile forms on Bucky's lips. "Apparently, he had had a 'suspicion' that the gun wasn't loaded. But he was right, thank goodness, and Steve smacked that gun right out of that man hand! And then punched him. But Steve's fists were so small, I don't think it even left a bruise." Finally, Bucky lets out a small chuckle, and his eyes focus on me again.

        Such pride can be seen in Bucky's expression. "I guess it's my favorite memory because Steve was the hero. And without the serum. Everybody clapped, and he even got his picture on the wall. But everyone finally saw Steve as more than a wimpy kid."

        "And the heart of gold." He says quietly. I smile and say jokingly, "And I bet you threw yourself over the girls. For their safety, of course," I add with a laugh.

        Bucky says, "Probably not. I was to distracted by Steve throwing himself at a gun."

        And again I'm overwhelmed by the friendship Steve and Bucky share. It is obvious they share a brotherly bond; a tie that can't be broken by time or wear. Yet, Bucky had to live with Steve being thrown in front of a gun for months during the war. Surely Steve didn't mind; it probably gave him a sense of duty. But Bucky had to watch as his friend was put in danger dozens of time, and by people who only really respected Steve because of his costume.