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It all started when one day, Bucky had a huge argument with his father. He was close to eleven years old at that time, and he stormed out to the docks without thinking about letting anyone know where he went. He was shaking from anger and nervousness, but didn’t stop running. He didn’t even let Steve know what had happened in his hurry, he just wanted to get a break.
But Steve being Steve, he had heard Bucky’s last shouts and noticed the ajar door as he approached Bucky’s home. He had meant to ask Bucky whether they could go to the movies together if the little money they both had been putting aside for it was finally enough. Luckily, he knew where to find Bucky (most of the times).
So, as the clouds above turned a light grey, he ran towards he docks as fast as he could, stopping every once in a while when a coughing fit hit him. But he just knew that something wasn’t alright and that he had to find Bucky.
When he arrived at the docks, he saw a whole row of boats, most of them towed for the day already. Given that it was past noon already and a storm seemed to form in the distance, that wasn’t unusual.
Steve might have had a terrible condition, especially where running was concerned, but he wasn’t slow in the mind and figured out straight-away that Bucky was hiding on one of the boats near him. He only saw part of a shoulder pressed to a porthole, the person whom he was sure was Bucky hiding behind something on board a moment later, however.
There seemed to be no one – besides his best friend – on the ship, so – quiet nevertheless – he snuck on board. It took him a minute to figure out where the room Bucky currently hid in was, as the door to it was somewhat hidden behind a bunch of ropes that had been hung up on a hook at the top of it. He entered the room quietly, hoping not to startle his friend. As he made his way toward the silhouette on the other side of the room, he heard how rain began falling outside, falling onto the water’s surface, the ship and the buildings near the shore.
Bucky looked up when he heard the sudden tap, tap, tap on the floor and then a louder noise when someone stepped on one of the more loose wooden planks near him.
“Ste– ?“ was about all he was able to mutter in surprise, when a sudden jolt made him bump into a box near him and Steve stumble forward, right toward him.
Steve, unable to hold onto anything in time, fell face-first against Bucky, and a second jolt made them collide with the ship’s wall Bucky had been leaning against only moments before.
A loud bang startled both of them, Bucky yelping at the loud noise.
It hadn’t been their collision with the ship’s wall that had caused the bang though, that much was certain. But they gradually became aware that the ship they were currently hiding on was starting to leave the harbor – while a storm was brewing.
Steve felt somewhat unwell about the present events, knowing for sure that he hadn’t heard or seen anyone besides Bucky when he had snuck onboard, but he let out a sigh of relief when he heard the voices of two middle-aged men one floor above them.
It wasn’t a big ship, and the ceiling wasn’t very thick, so they had no trouble making out what the men above were discussing.
“This is bad, really bad. They shoulda returned an hour ago...”
“I know. But remember – we have no more than half an hour left before we turn back. This storm is approaching faster than I expected, and it’s gonna be nasty by the time we get out there.”
Steve turned toward Bucky, searching his gaze for conformation of what he had just heard, and blue eyes blinked at him once as Bucky swallowed.
“This ain’t good, Stevie,” he whispered, slowly building panic clearly audible in his quiet voice.
“We should go–“
“No, Steve, we can’t go up there now!”
“But they could still return to the harbor and let us go, or–“
“Steve.”
Bucky grabbed his friend’s sleeve before the other could do something he feared would either result in them getting a beating or getting thrown overboard. Neither option seemed rather pleasant to him right then; his early morning already hadn’t been good to begin with.
“Steve, please. Look outside!”
He pointed at the porthole next to them. It showed what they both had already been expecting. The shore was already too far away for them to be able to return quickly, and the strange men above didn’t seem to wait much longer to pull out to sea. They were trapped, at least until they would reach the shore again later... whenever that would be.
Bucky was the first to break their contemplative silence.
“Steve...”
Steve looked to his side, not having to turn a lot since he was now leaning directly against Bucky’s arm, both their backs pressed to the ship’s wall. They were still hidden from view behind a stack of boxes just in case one of the men were to come down there.
“Hmm...?”
“...why are you here, Steve?”
“You really need me to answer that question?” Steve gave him a soft, little smile and shook his head. “Because I was worried about you, that’s why.”
“But- how did you find me... and so quickly?”
Steve didn’t reply immediately, but his gaze equaled the biggest “duh” Bucky had ever been at the receiving end of.
“Of course I knew where I’d find ya, jerk.”
The smaller boy shook his head, grinning lightly, and leaned a bit more against Bucky.
Bucky was about to reply, intending to let him know how much Steve coming after him meant to him after the crappy day he had had so far, when another jolt shook the ship. Thankfully the ship wasn’t tiny, it still had two floors and was the length of a house or two put together – but the two boys grabbed their stomachs no second later.
The crashing sound that followed a moment later rendered them almost deaf for several seconds.
When Steve opened his eyes again after realizing he had instinctively closed them, he noticed Bucky’s fingers were gripping his shirt, holding onto it like a lifeline, and his eyelids were closed so tightly as though he didn’t dare opening them again.