Work Text:
An Interview With Captain America And The White Wolf
Jane Barlowe
A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Sam Wilson and James "Bucky" Barnes to conduct an interview for them. They wanted to, as Wilson said, "Control the narrative of my becoming Captain America, as well as address any rumors that could be circulating about us."
Today is the day of the interview. I go, with my list of questions and shaky confidence, to the address that Captain Wilson e-mailed me to go to for this interview. The building is brick, and their apartment is on the top level. When I finally get to the door, my resolve has almost crumbled.
My spiral of anxiety is stopped by Sargeant Barnes opening the door.
"Hello, you're Ms. Barlowe?" He asks.
"Yes, I am. You're Seargeant James Barnes?"
"Yes. Why don't you come inside? I just made tea."
As I walk into the apartment, I'm taken aback by the decoration. I'd been expecting something cold and almost impersonal, but instead it was homey and inviting. The color palette is reminiscent of the seventies, while the furniture looks mid-century, like Barnes decided to decorate with all the decades he's missed.
I sit down in an armchair. "If I may ask, where's Captain Wilson?"
He smiles nervously, like he's unsure how to talk to me. "He had a meeting today. He was supposed to be back in time, but you got here a little bit too early."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"No! It's no problem," he stammers. "His meetings usually run late anyways. And you can call me Bucky, if you want to."
"Alright. I didn't want to seem presumptuous. Is it okay to start the inrerview early, and I can ask his questions when he gets here?"
"Of course."
"Okay," I say, looking over my notes. "I'm going to start by asking you some questions a lot of people are asking online. Are you alright with that?"
"Yes, of course. We wouldn't have asked about this interview if we weren't comfortable with answering questions."
"Yeah, I get that. It's still a requirement of my job to ask you if you're okay with sharing certain information. Let's start with the most popular question: When did you start using the alias White Wolf, and why?"
Barnes- I mean, Bucky, rubs his right arm nervously. "It started as a nickname the people in Wakanda gave me, when I was living there. I recently started using it publicly because, well, the other aliases I've used have pretty negative connotations now. White Wolf wasn't connected to any sort of trauma, so I could use it without triggering any unwanted memories."
I nod. "Yeah, that makes sense. You'd want to get rud of anything that actively triggers a trauma response. Alright, second question: What type of music do you mostly listen to?"
Bucky laughs. "Really? The second most popular question is about my music taste?"
"I mean, a lot of people would want to see how a man born in the early twentieth century reacts to modern music. It was one of the big questions asked when Captain Rogers came out of the ice, too."
He tenses when I mention Captain Rogers. Before I can apologize for bringing him up, the gesture is gone, replaced with the same half-smile as before.
"Believe it or not, I don't really have a music taste. Sam's the one you want to ask that question, though. He could spend hours talking about it."
"Really? Not even a favorite genre?"
"Not really a genre, but I like Taylor Swift's music. She's the only one I have an opinion of."
"Of course. Taylor's music is the foundation of modern pop-culture."
There's a pause, where we both drink our tea out of chipped mugs. Finally, I ask, "What's the dating picture like? Is being a superhero interfering with it?"
Bucky looks to the side for a moment, like he's trying to find an answer. "That's one of the questions Sam and I were planning on answering together, if that's alright."
"Of course!"
He fiddles with the necklace he's wearing- a silver ring on a chain. As far as I can tell, a star with wings is engraved on it.
"What is your favorite part of being in modern America?" I ask.
He takes a moment to think about it before responding, "There's a few things, but mostly I am happy that the LGBTQ+ community had come so far. When I was younger, I never could have imagined that any of this could be possible. I mean, I cried when Sam and I went to a Pride parade in Louisiana a couple months back."
"Are you confirming that you're a part of the community?"
"Yeah, I guess I am. I identify as gay, and, as for the gender part, I'm still trying to figure it out."
It takes me a minute to register what he just said. James Buchanan Barnes, American hero, best friend of Captain America, is gay? If I'd had this kind of representation when I was growing up, I imagine that I would have accepted my queerness way before.
I tell Bucky that, and he says, "Yeah, that's one of the reasons I wanted to come out, so that kids would be able to see people just like them be heroes."
"I imagine that coming out must be pretty difficult for you, considering the time period you grew up in."
"No, not really. I mean, of course there is definitely some internalized homophobia that I'm still working through, but it isn't really a problem right now. I think that my current partner has helped me a lot with accepting it."
Right after Bucky says this, the door opens and Captain Wilson walks in. He's carrying a bag of groceries and looks tired, but comfortable in the apartment.
"Hey, Buck, I got the ingredients for that recipe Liz sent me. Sorry I'm late, my meet-" He stops, looking at me. "Oh, is this the reporter that's supposed to be doing that interview thing?"
Bucky nods, and motions for Sam to sit down. He does, after walking to the kitchen to set down his groceries.
"Hello, Captain Wilson, I'm Jane." I say, shaking his hand.
"I'm- well, considering that this is an interview, you already know who I am. But please call me Sam."
"Okay! We were saving this question until you got here, so here it goes: Has being Captain America interfered with your dating life at all?"
Sam looks like he's trying to hold back laughter. Before I can ask what's going on, he says, "No. I'm currently in a very hapy relationship with Mr. Staring Machine over there."
I take a moment to look over at Bucky, who is now smiling. "How long have you been dating?"
"We've been together for about a year and a half now, and we were dating for almost a year before Bucky proposed," Sam says.
Well, that's not what I expected. I look more closely at Sam, and see that he is also wearing a ring on a chain, with the same star-and-wings design as Bucky's. "I'm assuming that the rings on your necklaces are your wedding rings?" I ask. Bucky nods.
"Could you tell me how you met? I'm sure that readers will want to know."
The conversation feels less like an interview and more like a chat with friends now. It might be the fact that they've just told me about their relationship, or maybe the homey atmosphere of the apartment, but something about this feels familiar and comfortable.
Sam laughs. "Technically, the first time we met was when Barnes here ripped out my steering wheel from under my hands."
Bucky is bright red. "I wasn't in control at the time! That doesn't count!"
"Okay, okay, the first time we met as Sam and Bucky was in a warehouse in... Germany? I think that was where it was."
Bucky nods. "Yeah, I think it was Germany. I mean, I'm not the best person to ask. Locations tend to blend together for me."
"Which is understandable, considering the amount of places you've been," I say.
"Yeah, it's quite the story to tell the kids one day," Bucky says.
"Bold of you to assume we'll live long enough to have kids."
"You really know how to kill a mood, Wilson-Barnes."
"There shouldn't be a mood at all! We have a guest!"
"You're no fun."
"James, your idea of fun and mine are very different."
"Oh, it's James now, is it?"
I look between the two heroes as they bicker like an old married couple, which I guess they are. It's amusing to see two Avengers act this human.
"Hey, how about we focus on the task at hand?" Bucky asks. Sam rolls his eyes, then gives his partner a look that clearly says they'll continue to have this conversation when I leave.
"I hate to interrupt this conversation, but I've got a few mote questions. Sam, what is it like being Captain America?"
Sam rubs the back of his neck. "I'm gonna be honest, even though I saw the shit Steve did as Cap, I wasn't expecting to gave to speak to so many politicians, you know? Like, I was expecting more of the actual fighting thing, closer to what I did as The Falcon, but most of it so far is boring meetings."
Bucky snorts. "Yeah, as long as there isn't a war that Captain America actively needs to fight in, Cap's stuck with diplomacy and selling war bonds."
That's clearly a reference to Steve Rogers' USO tour, which has me wondering how Bucky knows about that. There wouldn't have been much news on the front lines; would Steve Rogers have told him? Or Peggy Carter? I resolve to ask if we schedule a second interview.
"Next question: What are your main hobbies?" I ask.
Sam answers first. "Running, mostly. And cooking. I like cooking."
Bucky takes a little while longer to answer. He finally says, "I like to cook with Sam, and I like knitting. Also, not sure if this is a hobby, but we're thinking about getting a cat."
"Oh, what are you going to name it?" I ask.
Bucky says "Alpine" at the same time Sam says "Figaro." They bicker back and forth about the names for a few minutes, before seemingly remembering I'm here.
"I mean, you could get two cats," I suggest.
I look at my watch, and the time must have flown because I need to leave right now if I want to get home in time to see my girlfriend.
I say my goodbyes to Sam and Bucky, Captain America and The White Wolf, before exiting the apartment. Sam invites me to come over some time for dinner, and I accept.
Superheroes are more normal than I thought.