Chapter Text
“How was your day, son?”
Steve mentally groaned. He lived his dad, dearly, but practice was hell today and all he wanted to do was sleep. “Pretty good, Dad.”
“How’s your wrist? Doing well after the sprain?”
“Hurts a little but nothing I can’t take. Pitches are a little slow, but Coach Fury says I’ll be back in it in no time.”
His dad nodded and offered a smile before parking in their driveway.
Steve got out and stepped inside.
Before he could make it five feet, his mom practically shoved him back outside.
“Cleats off, dear. Food is on the table when you are ready and go take a shower. You smell like a goat.”
Steve rolled his eyes- luckily Mama didn’t see -and did as he was told. He managed to run through the shower in record time and his food was still hit whenever he got to it.
He took the time to observe the peacefulness of his home. He knew a lot of kids didn’t have what he had- stability, loving parents, food, etc- and was grateful for it.
They, as a family, said grace and Steve happily dug into the food.
Conversation went on as normal until...
“Joseph, I want to cut my hair.”
Steve inwardly winced. He was witness to all of the times his Dad just came up to his room and ranted. He was witness to the hour to an hour and a half long, fire-and-brimstone sermons on this type of stuff. Steve stopped chewing, trying to see where this would go.
“Why?”
Steve watched his Mom set down her fork and put her hands in her lap. He didn’t miss the way they somewhat shook.
“It gets in the way. It would just be more convenient. Plus you always complain about the hair getting everywhere so I just thought-“
“-What would the people at church say?”
Sarah’s eyes hardened. “I think they wouldn’t mind.”
“No-“
“-Why-“
“-Because I won’t have you looking like a God damn queer, Sarah! End of discussion.”
Steve gripped his fork so tight he was sure it would shatter.
He took a calming breath and hurriedly tried to finish his food. “May I be excused?”
Sarah frowned. “Are you sure you’ve eaten enough?”
“Yes ma’am, I’m sure.”
Joseph waved his hand. “You are excused. Go do your homework and get some sleep. You’ll need the energy for tomorrow.”
Steve muttered a quick “Yes, sir” before making his way out of the room.
That was the one thing Steve couldn’t stand about his life. The way his mom could ask to do the simplest, most harmless task, and Joseph would shut her down faster than anything else on the planet.
And she would.. accept it! Without question!
At first, Steve thought this was somewhat normal behavior between a husband and a wife. Then the best thing that had ever happened to him well, happened.
Steve met Buck and Peg. He spent most of his weekends at the Barnes household, and learned of what a relationship should be from observing.
It should be built on love and trust in both partners, not fear on one end and control on the other.
And Peggy was quite possibly the strongest woman Steve has ever met, besides his Mama of course.
Then Bucky came out and Steve was forbidden to step foot within five miles of the guy. His father made him switch schools and everything, as if Bucky was the only openly gay person on the Earth.
He hasn’t seen him since.
Steve quietly closed the door and glanced at his backpack. He pulled out a science textbook and began reading, making notes along the way. He tried to block out the thoughts but after an hours worth of homwork he found that between that and baseball he couldn’t focus.
Steve sighed and turned off his lamp.
Tomorrow would be a long day.
***
Steve pushed open the door to his favorite cafe; ‘Mary’s.’
It was locally owned and operated and they were open from 5:30 in the morning. So Steve could grab a coffee and go for a jog virtually every day.
It was his ritual. It wasn’t much, but it was the one time he didn’t have to do anything for anyone. He was buying the coffee because he liked it and not because he was trying to please his parents or friends.
But when he surveyed the room, he wasn’t alone.
“Bruce?”
The teen in question jerked backwards as just the sound of his name caused him physical pain.
“H-Hi Steve.”
“What are you doing?”
“homework?”
Steve frowned. “At 5:30?”
Bruce glared at Steve.
Steve walked around and stood behind him. It was the math homework that was assigned yesterday.
“That’s not due for another two days.”
“I know.”
Steve inwardly winced. He could hear the irritation in his classmate’s voice.
And Bruce looked a little ticked off.
As well as... pale. And shakey. And to little with very prominent dark circles under his eyes.
As Bucky would say, his maternal instincts kicked in full force.
“When was the last time you had a meal?”
That seemed to catch him off guard. “Oh I um-“
“-and a decent nights sleep?” Steve questioned.
“It’s not really your business-“
Steve rolled his eyes. “-If you aren’t healthy then it is my business as a friend. Come on. Mama hasn’t finished cooking yet. She wouldn’t mind having another guest.”
“I wouldn’t want to, um, intrude.”
“Nonsense, she loves my friends. Plus we don’t get visitors that aren’t adults often after
Steve didn’t know if the kid took that as a guilt trip or didn’t see a way out because the next thing he knew Bruce was slowly putting his beat up laptop in its bag and downing the rest of his coffee.
They walked in silence as Steve lead him back the ten or so blocks to his house.
***
As Steve predicted, his mom started fussing over Bruce as soon as they stepped through the door.
“Oh, dear, you look starved! Here, sit. I have pancakes on the stove and...”
Steve chuckled at the bewildered look on Bruce’s face as he was forced to sit at the table with a plate of three pancakes stacked high in front of him.
“Just go with it,” Steve whispered. “Also, you don’t have to eat it all, she’s just protective.”
***
Sarah dropped them off in front of the school relatively early considering she has a shift at the hospital.
“Our first class is the peer counseling right?”
Bruce nodded. “Yeah, I think. I may just wait outside until Mr.Coulson gets here.”
“I’ll join you.”
Steve cringed at the genuinely confused look on Bruce’s face.
“What? Why? No offense, but don’t you have your other friends?”
Steve shrugged. “I guess but most of them are jerks. I only hang out around them because my Dad approves I guess. I know Barton and Stark don’t like me, probably because of who I hang around with and I know I can act like a jerk sometimes but, well, I’m hoping to leave that behind I guess.”
Bruce nodded. “I can understand that. I’m guessing you’ve heard the rumors about me? No one wants to be friends with someone like that. For Barton, I think you are right. He trusts rumors over truth. As for Stark, well, Barton got to him first. Plus I think he just wants to fit in so he’s using the first person to accept him.”
“Really? That’s what you think?”
“Stark has had a lot of TV and magazine stories about him and his family, most not in A positive light. I’m guessing that once everyone started treating him like something he wasn’t due to the media, he adopted that persona. We try to live up to the expectations that are set before us because we want to be accepted. That’s just a physiological need. If those expectations are very, very low, then we are still going try to live up to them.”
Steve whistled. “That’s pretty wise.”
Bruce offered a small smile. “Meh, books on this type of stuff was the only thing available in the library at my old school.”
Steve laughed and for once, since Bucky, he thought he might have an actual friend.