Chapter Text
Steve supposed that really he should thank Bucky for caring when Bucky decided that his existence on ramen and bread crumbs in the corner of Bucky's apartment amidst piles of art supplies wasn't really enough and thought that finding Steve a real job would be the answer. Steve wasn't very trusting in Bucky's idea of a "real job" however, which put a damper on Steve's ability to thank him. But Bucky was right, and had been right for years about this exact thing: art school wasn't the way to job offers. And Steve was in dire need of an existence that didn't depend on Bucky remembering to pay his rent on time.
So when Bucky opened a conversation with "So, there's this job opening at the track," Steve's first response was to ask for details.
Ever since Bucky'd come back from his military post with his left arm a half-dead mess, he'd taken up working as a groom at Arborville Park, the local racetrack, where an army buddy worked security. He seemed to really enjoy it, though Steve had only been there once before deciding to keep away from places where a soda cost over three dollars. But if there was a chance of making some money, Steve would take it. Especially if it meant meeting some of the people he'd heard tales about since Bucky'd started working there. They sounded amusing, to say the least.
He balked a little, at first, at the idea of tiny, ninety-pound Steve Rogers working with animals that could probably fling him across the room with a nudge, but then he'd remembered how tiny the jockeys had been, the single time he'd been there, and thought that maybe he'd give the whole thing a whirl. If they could do it, surely he could? After all, his health issues were getting better and the fresh air would probably be good for him, and maybe he could even find inspiration for some art that he could actually sell.
“Got you in with Odinson," Bucky announced when he came home at dinnertime one Sunday, a week after the initial announcement. "He said he'd hire you and you'll go through training this week and if at any point he decides you suck, he'll get rid of you."
Steve rolled his eyes. "That's so comforting, Buck," he replied as he looked back down at his sketchbook.
"That's how things work, Stevie," Bucky replied, "Now, Thursday through Sunday are the race days, so Monday through Wednesday is just training. You'll come with me to the track tomorrow morning and we'll go from there."
"Bucky, you get up at five a.m."
"What, did you think the job would start at noon?" he replied as he started going through the fridge and dug out the lasagna that had been dinner a few nights earlier. "We'll be at the track by six, that's when the track kitchen opens. Quick breakfast and I'll take you to meet your new boss."
"He's really willing to hire me without meeting me first?"
"If you suck, he'll fire you. That's how things work, Stevie. Besides, I've told him all about you."
So the next morning found Steve awake before dawn, sleepily dragging his feet through getting ready for the day, pulling on jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, grabbing a light jacket to protect against the spring chill. Soon Bucky was dragging him out of the apartment and he was on his way to a job that he was pretty sure he wasn't even qualified for.
The track kitchen served a hearty breakfast for pretty cheap, and Steve could see why Bucky liked it here if he could get a heaping plate of biscuits, gravy, and eggs for less than five dollars. After that he was dragged across what Bucky was calling the 'backside' and Steve knew that it was going to be like learning a whole new language to work here with the easy way Bucky was throwing around terms Steve couldn't begin to understand while he walked Steve through the complex.
Eventually they got to a barn labeled with the name 'Odinson' and sporting a nifty hammer design that had Steve smiling a little. Bucky led him into a taller portion of the building that reminded Steve of a college dorm. He knocked on a door that literally had a piece of duct tape labeling it as "THOR'S OFFICE" and another one proclaiming "KNOCK TWICE FOR ENTRY."
The door was opened by a giant of a man with blond hair and a sunny smile, too cheery for the earliness of the morning. "You must be Steve," the man greeted, holding out a hand for Steve to shake, "I'm Thor Odinson; I run this particular training barn." He motioned around the area.
"I'll see you later, Steve. I gotta go to my own job," Bucky interjected before Steve could say anything else, jetting off with a wave.
Thor motioned for Steve to sit, and he did, glancing around the room. It was somewhat messy, but in that half-organized way of a busy person. Thor took a seat himself, handing Steve a packet of paper. "That is your contract. It's also for your medical information and anything else important for a job with high risk like this one can be," he explained, "Look through it tonight and bring it back filled out tomorrow. Feel free to ask for clarification if you need it."
Steve nodded, sticking it in the small bag he'd brought with him that contained his sketchpad. "What exactly is the job?" he asked hesitantly, prompting a loud chuckle from the other man.
"Much like your friend's job, simply with me instead of the trainer he works for. Now, there are a few things that you'll need to think about as you take the job. James opts to commute between his home and the track, however there is room here," he paused to motion upwards at what Steve had thought looked like dorms, "for you to live if you so wish. Of course, grooms that live on the backside wind up working overnight when the horses are sick or injured far more often."
Steve nodded, remembering how often Bucky just wouldn't come back home and Steve would just wonder why he worked so late sometimes.
"Each groom is assigned to certain of the horses in the barn, and some do general work. You will of course start with that and work your way towards the former, if you do well. Most of your job entails mucking stalls, holding horses for grooming and tacking and veterinary or farrier visits. You will need to build up your upper body strength. This will certainly help you get into shape, and you'll learn a lot on the job." Thor chuckled again and Steve offered a smile in return.
Thor stood, grabbing a folder of papers. "Come, I will give you a tour on my way to drop these off," he said as they left the office, door pulled shut and locked behind them. "Each barn on the backside is for a different trainer. Some of them have multiple barns, some share extra barns. This is my barn, as well as half of the one over there," he pointed across the alley, "the other half of which is Rhodey's. That's how James knew I needed another groom, as that's who he works for."
They continued through the alley and Steve watched as people bustled around, some with horses, some with wheelbarrows and pitchforks or sacks of feed or grooming kits. They stopped in front of a circular building and Steve peeked over through the gap between the half-wall and the roof. "This is the testing barn," Thor explained, "They test for performance enhancing drugs after races. The track vet, Doctor Strange, is usually around here, and he can answer any questions about that. The other vets probably could as well." Thor nodded, continuing on as Steve hurried after him and they wandered up to the track, following it around to the main building.
"This is the entrance to the management's offices, which is where I need to drop this," he waved with the folder, "There is, of course, more than just this, and you'll learn most of it as you go, but I'll show you to some of the parts where you'll be frequenting."
Thor took him through the paddock area and they followed it out to the track and walked around to the starting gate and back down to Thor's barn, the other man explaining as much as he could as they went, although very little of it could actually stick with him. "The morning training is about to start and I have horses to look after," he finally announced, pulling over a woman that was passing, "This is Wanda; she's a magic worker when it comes to horses. For today, shadow her and she'll teach you as much as she can."
Sooner than Steve could thank him, he was gone and Steve was left with Wanda. She gave him a smile, "You must be Bucky's friend Steve," she said, shaking his hand, "I'm Wanda Maximoff, Thor's head groom. If you need anything, I'm the person to ask. Today will be hands-off, but if you need me to explain anything further, just ask."
By the end of the day Steve had crammed so much information into his head that he felt it would explode, but he still felt like he knew nothing compared to most of the people he'd seen out on the track. He was exhausted and he still had to read through the papers Thor had given him to look over.
He managed to get through all of the warnings about the job itself and clauses about not suing for injuries sustained from the horses themselves and filled out all the information on medical history. He really hoped he was getting insurance out of this whole thing, because from the sounds of it he was more likely to get injured than not, but Steve had never been the kind of guy that gave up, and he was seeing this through as long as he was allowed to.
The next morning was also an early one, and Steve was wondering how long it'd take before he could be as chipper as Bucky was in the mornings with his changed schedule. The ride to the track and breakfast were both quiet, and then Bucky left him on his own to go to his job and Steve was left to navigate the backside by himself. Luckily, Thor's barn was right across the alley from where Bucky was and all it took was watching for traffic before walking across the way and tracing steps back to his new boss' office to hand in his paperwork and assure himself that health insurance was something that would go through sooner rather than later.
"Do not worry," Thor assured him, "If something happens before it goes through, I'll pay for it myself. 'Tis not fair for you to suffer for their slowness."
With that, Steve went to find Wanda, ready to put some of what he'd learned already to use and definitely ready to learn more. Sleeping on the information from the day before had helped it solidify into something that wasn't a tangled web in his mind and he could now sort through it to see that while he did indeed have a lot to learn, he'd retained a lot from the first day.
"Today," Wanda said as she led him to an empty stall, "You'll start with stalls. Hogun has already taken Pegs here out to the hotwalk, so it’s your job to get this cleaned out before he comes back. When you're done with that, move on to the next empty stall. Continue like that until there's no more to do. Fandral's around here somewhere and should join you with this shortly. I think he was taking a smoke break around back."
Steve was left to his own devices quickly and set to work, trying to remember how exactly he'd seen this done the day before. It had looked hard, and it was proving to be just as difficult as he'd thought it would be, requiring strength he hadn't quite built up yet. But Steve was not a quitter, and pretty soon he'd gotten the stall cleaned out. He was turning to go get the straw to re-pad it with when he ran into someone in the doorway--quite literally.
"Oh, sorry there!" the man apologized, "Was just coming in to see if you needed help. You're the new guy, right?"
Steve nodded. "Fandral?" he asked as he leaned the pitchfork against the paneling.
The man smiled and nodded, his ridiculous facial hair exaggerating his grin. "The one and only. Going to get straw?" At Steve's returning nod, Fandral smiled again. "Well let's go then. I saw Hogun wrapping up Pegs' walk so we should hurry."
They went to collect the bedding in silence, only just finishing up in time for Hogun to put the horse back and trade off for another one.
"Have you met the horses yet?" Fandral asked as they picked up their supplies, and Steve shook his head. "Well, Pegs here's a filly. She's two this year and as soon as she calms a little more, Thor'll star training her for real. Full name Fly High Pegasus. We shorten it, of course. Owner's a guy by the name of Bishop. Publisher or something, I don't know. Good filly. Pretty, too."
"What color do they call that?" he asked as he motioned back towards her while they walked to the next empty stall.
"She's more of a steel grey right now, but she'll white out as she gets older. Her dam was a really light dapple, so she'll probably go that way too."
Steve nodded, making a mental note to look up horse colors on Bucky's computer when they got home that night.
By the time lunch rolled around, Steve was exhausted. It had already been a long day and Steve was pretty sure that he was going to just keel over and die at any point in time. Fandral, Hogun, and another of the grooms, Volstagg, had another plan entirely and dragged him off to the track kitchen.
They were a boisterous group, and Steve grinned the whole time as he listened to them talk, occasionally piping up with a question when he didn’t understand something. He got a wink from Bucky when he came in with some others for his own lunch, but was already headed back out to get back to work with mucking and grooming and eventually feeding.
Steve was exhausted when they got home, but he grabbed Bucky’s computer anyway. The number of times people had referred to a horse simply by color or markings throughout the day had been quite overwhelming, and Steve knew those were things he’d need to know, so he got to work memorizing those, then moved on to conformation defects and from there found a site with racetrack terminology that he bookmarked for study the next day before passing out and dreaming of accidentally flooding the barn.