Chapter Text
James is running late. It’s a fairly usual occurrence. Him being late. But he’s not usually this late. David had a tantrum this morning when his Captain America shirt had been eaten by the dryer. The poor kid had been the one to find it torn and gross with stains and what James thought might have been mold. In turn he’d refused to get dressed taking off all the clothes James put on him. Even after the threats of losing TV time, his leap reader, and his action figures for a whole week. After finally listening and realizing that in fact Daddy wasn’t going to be a pushover this time and he wasn’t going to get his toys back for a whole week, he’d melted down into another tantrum.
Eventually they came to a compromise. David could keep one of his action figures, that wasn’t Captain America, if he didn’t make any trouble getting on the subway and the rest of the way to school. David has chosen Michelangelo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Michelangelo had been tucked safely into his little book bag as they headed off to kindergarten and work. James juggled his phone, keys, and the hand of his son as he closed the door and tried to answer the call he’d made to his principal. B
“Hi, Mr. Jones, it’s Mr. Bennentt, yes I’m doing okay this morning, how are you? Good, good... listen I’m really sorry but we had a bit of a fight getting out the door this morning and I need someone to cover my class for the first twenty minutes of the day. Is that possible?— Thank you. Yes, I’m sorry. This shouldn’t happen again. Thanks again. I’ll be in soon. Bye.”
“David! No! Don’t touch that,” he told his son, who saw something shiny in a pile of trash on the sidewalk, he rushed up to where he was and grabbed his hand again firmly, “Come on buddy, time for school.”
“School!” David echoed, throwing his free hand up in the air and jumping in step.
“Yay school!” James said, shaking David’s hand and walking with him down the street to the subway stop.
-
Steve sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror. He’d just finished shaving and he already felt better. The stubble wasn’t ideal for the cowl and he’d been wearing it a lot lately. He wondered when he’d get to go on missions again. They hadn’t given him a real mission since they’d defrosted him. Not one of his own at least. He’d been working only as an avenger, and since Ultron, he’d lived aimlessly. He knew he was still being followed. He knew his apartment was bugged, but at this point he didn’t care. Instead he had been toted around as a classic example of good citizenship and patriotism. A dancing monkey, like he’d been for the war efforts, but for what this time, he didn’t know. He’d been visiting a lot of schools lately, in fact that’s where he was off to today.
Schools were the one place he didn’t mind visiting because he didn’t feel like a dancing monkey. He felt appreciated. The kids were usually curious and full of great, or at least interesting, questions.
Today he was visiting MCMS, or Margret Carter Magnet School. The name made his heart pang in his chest. He was glad Peggy’s legacy was alive and well. But he missed her and how they used to be. Sure. She was still alive in a nursing home right here in the city, and he could see her when he wanted. But it wasn’t the same. And he knew her time was fading fast.
“Captain Rogers your car will be here in twenty minutes.” The mechanical British voice of Jarvis spoke up from his phone.
“I know. Thank you for reminding me.” He took one last look at himself and exited the room ready to go downstairs and start the day. He wore a long unbuttoned brown trench coat over his uniform. Wanting to call as little attention to himself as possible while just walking around. He had his cowl and a bag containing his shield in his hands, because he knew the kids would want to see those.
He got into a self-driving car that Tony had sent for him. For once glad he didn’t have to make small talk with the driver.
“You will arrive at your destination in approximately 32 minutes with traffic.” The voice of an automated female said. Steve sighed, slumping down in the back seat and pulling out his phone.
Cellphones were something he’d had to get used to but he’d taken to the little games on them like a fish to water. Amazing way to pass a little time mindlessly. Or not so mindlessly if you liked the brain training games like he did. Currently though, he was trying to beat his score in Simply Piano and that was no joke. Cursing under his breath as he messed up the first two times before getting in the groove and going pretty far pretty fast. He smiled as he began to relax. This was old hat to him by now and was great for calming his nerves. He continued with the game until he arrived.
“Mr. Rogers. We have arrived at your destination.” The automated female voice let him know again. With a sigh Steve put his phone into his back pocket and looked out the window. It was a quaint building shoved up between the others like all the buildings in New York City were. At least four stories and looking to be made up of what was an old bodega in the front. He wondered what it looked like inside. The name “Margret Carter Magnet School” was printed on the front of the school on a nice placard above the entrance. Peggy was too frail by the time the school had opened to come visit but she’d been honored all the same to have an establishment as such dedicated to her. It was fitting that this was one of the places he was to visit. With a sigh and a straightening of his shoulders he walked inside.
-
James had arrived late just as he’d suspected.
"Alright buddy, do you need me to walk you to your classroom?" He asked David, kneeling down in front of him to straighten his clothes from how they'd gotten rumpled on the subway. David shook his head,
"No, big boy," He answered, James just smiled, leaning down and kissing David's cheek, David giggled, letting out an "Ew! No! Daddy!"
James just chuckled and ruffled his hair as he watched him walk away to his classroom. He then turned and headed for his own. As he walked down the hall he paused when he noticed the red white and blue streamers decorating the welcome bulletin board across from the office. Shit. How could he have forgotten? This morning hadn’t been that crazy. For today was the day that the great Captain himself would be visiting the school. Not just the school, but his class in particular. Since he was the one who taught the oldest group of children in the building their history.
He’d been teaching at MCMS for four years. Since it’s re-opening after renovations back in 2015. He’d been the one and only 8th grade history teacher since then.
Before that, he didn’t remember much of himself. The people who had gotten him out, a government organization by the name of SHIELD, said there had been an accident. They told him that he’d been a covert ops sniper overseas in the military. It had been an IED that had injured his left arm and shoulder, burned parts of his back and shoulder badly enough to need grafts, and caused him to lose his memories. He’d also been shot in the leg, and hip as his comrades had tried to get him out they’d said. Eventually though he’d gotten back to normal slowly with the help of the doctors at the agency.
And in the end, he had remembered who he was. James Jonathan Bennentt. A 28 year old brooklynite who had moved from Brooklyn the small town of Shellbyville, Indiana at 3 and then back to Brooklyn again at six. He had one sibling and a mom and a dad. At 29 years old he was told by SHIELD that he was named after the war hero Sergeant James Barnes by his parents because they were descendants of his. His great great grandfather being an illegitimate child that was kept off the books, the product of Dottie Underwood Bennentt. James, when relearning history to teach it, had asked when he’d noticed that James Barnes didn’t seem to have any descendants. He wished he could talk to his parents and ask more, but apparently they were dead. He couldn’t deny that it was probably true his and James’s relation. Even if there was no mention of his great grandfather. Their likeness was almost uncanny if you took away James’s long hair and baggy under eyes. He’d been given the same name as the war hero by his parents. Making it so much odder that he’d grown up to almost be the exact likeness.
His little boy, SHIELD had informed him, was from a one night stand he had while on leave before the accident.
Apparently, James’s sister had taken the baby in when the mother hadn’t wanted him for the last part of his tour. That’s when disaster had struck on both home front and over seas. The battle of New York had killed his sister; leaving his baby homeless and himself incapacitated. He had one of the most serious cases of amnesia that doctors had ever seen and they weren’t sure if he’d ever get any of his previous memories back. David had been a ward of the state and in an orphanage from the time he was 10-14 months as James healed and went through rigorous physical therapy. Then he was thrown into the deep end as a dad. He wasn’t sure why SHIELD had decided he was fit to parent, but he was glad they had. It had saved him from spiraling into what could have been a deep depression. Giving him a reason to live. David had been so small and tiny and helpless and he’d looked up at him with big green eyes. His feet kicking and smiling. This was one of the things James did remember, vividly and clearly. He remembers looking down at the small human, his heart aching for the sister he felt like he never knew but who had done so much for him and it pained for the baby in his care. So little but already having gone through so much.
James had gotten on his feet again thanks to SHEILD and scored the job teaching history. Apparently he’d gone to school for that after basic training. Only being called out after his graduation. None of this he remembered. But it came naturally to him after reading the book. Especially the World War Two section. The parts about Captain America, the commandos, and Hydra. He was told it was because he’d been told stories of them from a young age. But it almost felt too real as he read things sometimes. As if he lived it himself.
The second bell ring signaling that home room was officially over for the upperclassmen. James realized he’d spent the last five minutes staring into space. Fuck. And the kids didn’t even know about their visitor yet. He needed to get back on track. He shook himself physically, before sighing and straightening the glasses he wore. Striding into the room, he raises his voice to speak over the loud chatter that had taken over the room.
“Alright guys, settle down. I know I was late today so you got some time to socialize but now I have an announcement to make. Today is going to be different than other days because we have a very esteemed guest coming in to speak with you guys," He let a smile play at his lips because it in fact was very exciting. He saw that he had at least half of the class's attention and was eager to capture the rest so with his next words he called out for a kid named Billy Kaplan to drumroll,
“Billy, can I get a drumroll please,” Billy smiled happily and beat on his desk for a moment.
“We just finished our World War Two Unit and our visitor today is none other than the war hero and tactician himself, and the one and only Avenger, Captain America! Immediately the room erupted into excited chatter and disbelief again.
“Alright! Alright! Guys, calm down!” He called out. The kids weren’t calming down, he sighed. Knowing he’d have to speak louder, “HEY!” He said, clapping once and getting their attention. They silenced almost immediately, some of their eyes wide.
“Sorry, sorry, but I need you guys to settle down. He’s going to be here any minute and I need to hear when the office rings to let us know, for now, talk quietly amongst yourselves and think of some questions you’d like to ask him."
Slow soft chatter started up again as he took his seat. He looked around at his classroom, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. His theme for this year had been Captain America; he’d created a big shield out of bulletin board paper and around it he’d had letters spelling out “We Learn, What’s Your Superpower?” It was super cheesy now that he looked at it, his face flaming.
God, way to be a fanboy, he thought. He always had admired the great Captain and his work; he’d even become a fan of the comics thanks to David. In the moment though, he had to stop and remind himself that this was the real deal, the actual Captain America. This man was a person who may not be what the history books portrayed him as, yet he was allowing these kids a remarkable opportunity with his visit. He was a living piece of history and was willing to answer questions about what had to have been a challenging and painful time in his life. James should know, he had sparse memories of his own time in war and they were brutal. He couldn’t imagine remembering it all, he was lucky on that front. PTSD wasn’t something he dealt with.
James jumped a mile when his phone began to ring off the hook, it was an old, yellowing, spiral corded phone that was connected to the wall. The speaker was on the fritz, yet he answered it anyway,
“Hello?” He said,
“Mr. Bennentt, I have Captain Rogers here in the office, would you like to have him come your way?”
“Yes, yes, that would be great, thank you Mrs. Hall,” He told their overly eager sounding secretary. She told him he’d be there in five minutes. Standing up, James once again got control of his class, this time they listened to him and silenced almost immediately. He laughed, telling them they didn’t have to sit so rigidly in their chairs as some of them seemed to straighten up hearing that Steve was almost here.
James was surprised when Pepper Potts was the first one to open the door. She wore a white outfit consisting of a white pencil skirt and blazer over a cream-colored blouse. Her hair was perfectly parted and straight as it brushed her shoulders, her smile seemed genuine as she reached out a hand to introduce herself, James smiled back,
“Pepper Potts,” She said,
“I know, thank you, thank you so much, it’s wonderful to have you,”
“I’m here with Steve, Steve, you can come in!” She called, there was a slight clatter and the sound of muttering before a man appeared in the doorway, his shoulders taking up the entire breadth of entrance, the inside of the classroom was dimmer than the hallway and it caused Steve, Captain America, to stand like a looming figure in the doorway for a moment before he moved again, taking another step forward. The kids began to chatter again in excitement as he came into full view. He was wearing the suit, his cowl was on and his shield had been taken from his back and was now being held in his hands, he smiled wide, his chinstrap stretching as he turned towards the children with a wave, and then their eyes met. James smiled back at the Captain, who’s face suddenly changed into one of surprise, his grin falling off his face as he stumbled forward, slightly, a hand reaching out as his face slackened even farther and his eyes went wide, “Bucky?!” He said, his voice breathless, as he reached out. James looked at him with a quirked eyebrow but reached out to catch his hands all the same.
“James?” James said, Steve continued to stare, James felt like his whole body was on fire at the force of the gaze. He felt something shift inside himself, his stomach seeming to drop as he gazed into the Captain’s eyes, he quickly snapped out of it.
“Um, Sir?” Captain America shook himself, immediately jumping back and letting go of Bucky’s hands.
“Sorry, sorry… you just… you look like him… you look like… Bucky… I’m sorry did you say your name was James?”
James’s eyes softened, understanding dawning on him at what had happened. “Yes, Sir, my name is James, James Jonathan Bennentt. I’m a direct descendant of Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, your old friend, or at least that’s what I was told. People have always told me I look like him, I’m sorry if it shocked you.” Steve seemed to accept that, nodding shakily and letting out a breath,
“You just… you really look like him… it was like I’d seen a ghost. I didn’t know… he had any direct descendants?” James looked at him sympathetically,
“Well, maybe you should sit in on some of my lessons? I always tell the kids my life story,” He said with a smile, “Would be happy to tell you too sometime if you’d like,” And was that a blush that James saw cross the Captain’s cheeks? Steve cleared his throat and turned to the kids,
“Sorry, Sorry, hi guys,” Steve waved to the class sheepishly, they all just blinked at him, probably just as confused at his initial reaction as James had been.
“Well,” Pepper said, clapping her hands, trying to dissipate the tension,
“Come on guys, it’s Captain America!” James chimed in as well, Steve seemed to unfurl from his tense position, smiling genuinely and repositioning himself into a regal stance. The kids seemed to perk up again at being able to see him in his full uniformed glory,
“So, does anybody have any questions? Mr.Bennentt?” James took the lead again,
“Why don’t we tell Steve what we just finished learning about?” He gestured to the posters on the wall towards the back of the classroom that different groups in the class had made. “Studying different figures of World War II,” A girl in the first row named Rachel raised her hand, she was always the talkative type so James wasn’t surprised, he called on her,
“My group did our project on you!” She pointed to the back of the door where there was a door sized rendering of himself with text and other photos around it, the drawing was phenomenal for an 8th grader, Steve was highly impressed. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he walked forward to look at it more carefully. It always surprised him to remember that he was considered important enough to be studied in schools. He glanced at the information, but mostly took in the artist’s rendering of him.
“It’s very nice, who did the drawing?” He asked,
All heads turned to another girl who was slumped in her seat looking like she was trying not to be noticed,
“Our resident artiste, Sasha,” James smiled softly at her, “She also drew the sketch above my desk,” James gestured to a sketch of two dogs and a cat, from where Steve stood it was even better than the drawing of him, he smiled as he looked at her,
“You’re very talented! Did you know I was an artist before the war?” Sasha nodded,
“It’s listed under interesting facts on our project,” Steve laughed,
“Is art what you want to do? I would say if it is you’re well on your way, really, this is the best project I think I’ve seen so far and I’ve been visiting a lot of schools,” Sasha’s head came up at that and a small grin spread across her face,
“Thank you… Sir,” she said softly, Steve smiled again, leaning on the bookcase that was behind him and crossing his arms and legs,
“You’re welcome, I mean it, and you guys can just call me Steve, no need for Sir or Captain America,” He began to unclip his chinstrap and remove his cowl, “That’s better,” he commented, “It gets stuffy in there, so, do you guys have any other questions?” With the ice seemingly broken about a dozen hands in the room immediately went up and James came forward to mediate.
“Okay, one at a time, Billy, you first,”
“Did you really punch Hitler?!”
Steve laughed, “112 times in all, every day for eight weeks, 2 times a day,” The kids looked at him confused before he continued, “In my USO days there was a guy who played hitler who I punched twice a day at every show, but no, unfortunately I never punched the actual Hitler, probably would’ve though,” Pepper cleared her throat at that,
“But with that being said, violence doesn’t solve problems, so none of you go punching people, even terroristic dictators,” he cleared his throat and James tried to hide a chuckle under his breath, something tugged at him, a memory he couldn’t quite place, his own words echoing in his brain, “ Jesus you punk, you can’t just go around punching everyone you disagree with,” before a familiar voice, yet one he couldn’t place answered back, “Jerk, help me up, you would’ve done the same thing,”
He finally tuned back into his surroundings to find Steve had set his shield down in front of one of the kids in the front row and was letting him touch it, he was explaining what it was made out of and how he first got it, He laughed when one of the kids tried to pick it up, they seemed to have expected it to weigh more and almost dropped it,
“Whoa!” They said with wide eyes, Steve chuckled,
“Yeah, it’s lighter than you’d think,” James smiled, Steve was a natural considering how nervous he’d seemed. He invited all the kids to come up and touch it and hold it if they wanted, immediately all 27 of his kids had migrated towards Steve in the front of the classroom and gathered around him. They were throwing questions left and right about how he threw it, how it stayed on his back during battles, and if he only had one, was this the original one? Did he have others? Steve took it all with grace and a smile. The questions soon turned from ones about his shield to questions about the other avengers, his suit, aliens, food in the 1930s, food now, if he liked ice cream, arguments about why he should eat something other than vanilla ice cream, and his best friend, Bucky, who James was presumably related to. None of the questions were as educational as James had hoped they’d be but all of the kids seemed to be having so much fun and the big grin and crinkles at the edges of Steve’s eyes made him not want to interrupt.
He didn’t know if he’d ever seen the Captain so happy, certainly not in the news when fighting or during press conferences. Before James even knew what was happening the bell was ringing for lunch and the kids were all scrambling, albeit reluctantly like they thought Steve would disappear, to leave the classroom, even with reassurance that they’d come back after to take pictures and thank Steve, but right now was lunch time. So James did his best to move them along.
After the rush to the door only one of the boys was left in the room, seeming to dawdle and play with their bookbag as the others left. James was about to go over but Steve beat him to it, walking straight over to Brandon; one of the quieter kids in his class, and standing with his hands on his hips and a soft look on his face.
“Hey bud, aren’t you hungry?” Steve asked, Brandon flicked the adjustable strap on his bookbag, glancing up only once at Steve. Steve suddenly became more concerned when he noticed the tears in the kid’s eyes, he knelt down in front of him,
“Hey, hey are you okay? What’s wrong? You asked some great questions? Is there one I missed?” Brandon shook his head, Steve took a gentle hand and ran it up and down his arm trying to offer comfort,
“Can I give you a hug?” Brandon asked quietly, Steve’s lips quirked into a smile,
“Is that all? Of course you can,” He opened his arms and the 8th grader fell into them, he held onto Steve like he was a lifeline, and Steve hugged back, still very concerned,
“Thank you… Thank you… Mr. Captain America... Steve… Thank you,”
“For what?” Steve asked quietly, Brandon pulled away, wiping his eyes sheepishly, seeming to just now realize how much he’d broken down, he glanced over at Pepper and his teacher with an embarrassed look but Steve ignored it.
“You saved my whole family… my mom… my-my Dad and my baby sister… in New York? You… you killed the alien that hurt my Mom and then carried her to the hospital, my Dad said it was ten blocks that you ran… she… she would have died… and so would my little sister… if you hadn’t… my Dad said you told Iron Man to shut up because he wanted you to keep moving and helping others but you knew that an ambulance wouldn’t come in time for her with how they were backed up helping others… Thank you…” Brandon said again. Steve’s expression softened even more at the admission. He did remember. The woman he’d saved had a huge slash in her abdomen from one of the Chitauri and she’d been heavily pregnant. He’d worried he might have hurt her running all ten blocks to the nearest hospital but he’d had to try. He hadn’t ever been able to catch up or know what happened to her, and he was so relieved to hear that it had been a happy ending.
“Aw, bud, it’s my job, I was happy to help, I’ll always do anything I can to help people in need, it was nothing, you don’t need to thank me…I’m happy she’s okay, and your little sister is too.”
“They named her Stephanie, after you… they told me to thank you today… I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to cry,” Steve hugged the kid again,
“Hey, dude, it’s okay, crying is good, it’s good to get it all out, I’m happy I was able to help your mom that day, and hearing that she’s okay makes me happy. I don’t usually get to know what happens to the people I help, and I’m glad it worked out, but wow, they really named her after me?”
“Of course, Dad said she wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you, it’s the least they could do.”
“Well, make sure you give them my best okay? Tell them I said hi, and to come visit the tower any time. I’d love to meet my namesake and see how your mom is doing in person,” Brandon’s eyes looked really big as Steve said this,
“Do you mean it?”
“Of course, right Pep? Could you take down Brandon‘a last name? Just ask for me, if I’m there, I’d be happy to meet them,” Pepper nodded and pulled out her phone and started typing on her phone,
“I gotta call my dad…” Brandon said, tears gone and with the biggest grin. Steve stood up, he ruffled Brandon’s hair with a laugh and told him to go and get something to eat before it was too late, Brandon waved to him as he walked out the door, phone in hand, probably texting his dad. Steve walked back over to Pepper and James, a smile on his face.
“Alright, well, Steve, I ordered lunch for you, it’s up at the office, I’m going to go get it, I’ll be right back,” Pepper told him, leaving the classroom, her heels clicking as she walked out, it was now just he and James left in the room and suddenly he felt nervous, his smile falling from his face as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his suit and awkwardly stood there.
James seemed to be studying him, but came out of his trance when the silence had gone on for a little too long.
“Oh, geez, where are my manners, do you want to sit down? I’m just standing here like an idiot. We can eat over here at this table, sorry it’s a little low,” Steve scrunched himself into one of the chairs that was a bit smaller than the average adult chair, but not as small as one of the ones he’d sat in at a kindergarten class once. James sat down too,
“So, that was sweet… what you did for Brandon, I think it made his day, the other kids… they’re gonna be jealous if he tells,” Steve frowned even more, not having thought of that.
“Hey, no, it was a good thing, sorry for getting you down like that. I don’t know what I’m saying… I’m sure that it won’t be that big of a deal, honestly I didn’t even know that happened to Brandon’s family, I hope it wasn’t too hard seeing you, I didn’t expect him to get upset, I wonder if any of the other kids have a personal connection.”
Steve just smiled as he listened to James ramble. His voice… it even sounded like Bucky’s, just without the familiar strong Brooklyn drawl it had back in the 40's. As he looked closer at him it was more and more obvious how much of a dead ringer for the man he was and Steve’s chest tightened again. Was it even possible for someone to look this much like his old friend? His mannerisms were even the same, he talked with his hands, his eyebrows were as expressive as ever… the cleft in his chin and… holy shit... the scar… the scar on his right temple from where he’d fallen off his bike while riding circles around Steve and trying to convince him to try… it wasn’t much, just a little raised area of skin that went into his hairline… but it was in the exact same spot… that… that couldn’t be possible…
“I’m so sorry I’m rambling…” James said, flailing his arms, Steve’s eyes focused back on him as a whole as his mind turned back to the conversation, he smiled again, hoping he wasn’t blushing,
“No, sorry… I was…I was thinking, I didn’t hear the last of what you just said, could you repeat it?” it was James’s turn to blush now as he flailed again,
“No, no, it’s just as well, forget it, so, the kids really enjoyed having you, thanks for coming to visit,” James said, as he stood up and flitted over to his desk.
“I-actually, okay, this is a bit embarrassing and might be crossing a line, but my kid,” James pointed to the photo on his desk, and Steve’s eyes narrowed in on it, a smile playing at his lips as he saw a photo of a little boy dressed in a version of his costume laughing with a cat on his shoulders,
“He’s a really big fan… and… he, well he asked me to give you this drawing…” James walked forward with a crude drawing of the avengers that David had done, Steve was in the middle, drawn bigger than all the others with stars and fireworks behind him. It was cute, and it made Steve smile, but also his thoughts came to a halt. A kid… that’s right… this James had a kid… Bucky did not. The idea that Bucky was alive too… after all this time was preposterous in of itself. He really was just that much of a ringer and Steve needed to get over it.. But the scar… how could it be that it was in the same place, the same shape? He looked at the picture, finally looking up at James again.
“This is so cute, tell him I said thank you. Is there anything I can sign for him? I’d love to if you have anything,”
“Oh my gosh, would you? It would probably make his entire life!” James began to flail around again, looking through items on his desk, he then turned to the bookshelf behind it and made a satisfied noise, he headed back over to Steve with a wide grin on his face,
“This will do, it’s his favorite issue of the comics so far,” Steve took the sharpie that James had in his hands and signed it,
“What’s his name?”
“David,”
“To David, Thanks so much for the artwork, I love it. Be brave, stay awesome, Steven G. Rogers, Captain America,” He finished with a flourish of a five pointed star and handed the comic book back, a smile on his face.
“Oh my gosh, he’s gonna love this so much… thank you!” James excitedly pranced back over to his desk and gently placed the comic back on the shelf with care.
Steve leisurely followed James over to his desk. His hands in his pockets as he walked. James tried his hardest not to stare as he looked at the great captain and his hulking body adorably scrunching in on itself as if he was trying to be smaller by force.
“So… how old is he?” Steve said, gesturing to the picture on James’s desk,
“Five and a half, he actually goes to school here too,” James turned the double frame around to give Steve a better view. Steve leaned down to examine the pictures and smiled. The kid looked a lot like him ironically. All skinny elbows, blonde hair, and long limbs. His face even had the same pinkish flushed appearance that Steve’s would get when he was younger. But his eyes and nose, they were all James, cleft chin and all. He was honestly precious. Steve’s eyes crinkled in amusement as he looked at the photo of a grinning child, he was holding out what looked like two dollars and it was clear he was missing a front tooth.
“Tooth fairy?”
“Yup, first tooth, about three months ago, he’s been trying to wiggle another loose ever since then.” James laughed.
“Listen, I know this might be a little weird but I’d love to meet him if he’s such a big fan, so you guys have plans for Halloween yet?” James was surprised but he stood up straight, his head tilted.
“No, just trick or treating on our apartment block, just like the last two years,”
“Well I don’t want to mess with tradition but if you’d like, there’s gonna be a Halloween event at the tower. All of us, um, all of the Avengers will be there. It’s kind of a trick or treat costume event. You can get pics with us and if you dress up like one of us there’s gonna be a costume contest. One for costumes and another that has to do with acting in the costumes. Lots of candy, there’s gonna be a few other games. I don’t know really what they are, you could talk to Pepper about it but If you want to come I’ll have her add you to the list,” Steve wrung his hands together, teetering back and forth on his toes in a sweet and nervous manner. James’s face softened as he smiled,
“I bet David would love that, you can tell her to add us to the list, we’ll be there.” Steve grinned.
“Awesome!”
Before he could say anything else Pepper poked her head in,
“Steve, lunch, you’ve got 15 minutes, think you can scarf it down?”
“If not I’ll eat when I get back, thanks Pep,” he gestured to the large bag of food,
“Do you want a burger? I’ve got more than enough,” James took a moment to think; normally he’d say no, but he was really hungry today. He’d ended up skipping breakfast and coffee only got you so far.
“If you don’t mind."
(Inserted paragraph)
Steve happily plunged his hand into the bag and pulled out a burger, handing it to him before he took a seat back at the table and began to eat his own food. James went to his desk and the two ate quietly in silence for the rest of the lunch period. When the bell rang, Steve bagan crumpling his trash and putting it back into the bag. He grabbed his water bottle from his belt and began to guzzle it. James just happened to look up at that moment and Jesus Christ, his neck even had muscles. His Adam’s Apple bobbed as he sucked down the water from the bottle and James had to berate himself from wondering what else the Captain could suck on like that.
The kids slowly trailed back in and took their seats. After they were all in the classroom the next parts of the visit went quickly. Two groups of kids were giving a presentation and another were reading poems. After that there were pictures taken and Steve presented his classroom with a gift, a replica shield signed by all the avengers and an authenticated correspondence telegram from the howling commandos to SHIELD that could be displayed in the school. Excited goodbyes and thank you’s were given to Steve and Pepper as they left the classroom.
Steve grinned, his hands in his pocket and shield secured on his back. He stood tall as he exited the building. They were almost to the front of the school again when they came across a younger class lined up at the bathrooms. As Steve quickly scanned their excited faces, giving a little wave as he did he spotted one particularly starstruck kid, David.
David has his little hands covering his mouth and the biggest wisest eyes following his every movement. Steve made eye contact with him, winking and pointing at him and saying, “Be good for your dad, thanks for the artwork!” David let out a squeak as he waved back. Steve chuckled to himself as he continued walking. Pepper just rolled her eyes at him.
“Come on, Spangles,” she said using her fiancée’s nickname for him, “You’re gonna give the poor kids a heart attack,” she bumped lightly into him and he grinned back with a light chuckle. They exited the school and got into their waiting car. Steve couldn’t help but look out the rear view window as they pulled away. His smile quickly vanishing into an expression of confusion there were still so many questions left unanswered.