Bruja

⠀↳⠀2.1

( S e v e n )

What in the bullshit is this?

"Ladies and gentlemen..." Sara Haines from Good Morning America introduced to kick off the morning of the whole country no matter the time zone, "Your new Captain America!"

"Good morning, America!" John Walker waved.

The crowd cheered for their new hero, the sound carrying through the speakers of TVs from those watching at home.

Bucky was one of those viewers.

On the living room floor, he sat in front of the small screen with his elbows resting on his knees. The only light shining was through his windows and the illuminating TV, a clear contrast from the dark sky and shining lights on their side.

"Thank you so much for coming," Sara started after they were seated on the platform stage near the middle of the high school football field, the same one he used to attend. "This has gotta be fun, though, coming back to high school after so much has changed?"

A fan could be heard calling for his name, resulting in him laughing and the crowd cheering once again.

"John, I think the first thing everyone wants to know is what is it like being Captain America?" She waved a hand around. "Do eagles fly overhead wherever you go?"

He laughed heartily. "Uh, yes." He cleared his throat. "Yeah, that and flags tend to start majestically waving in the wind." The most patriotic thing ever said.

"And how's the tour been? I know they did a big rollout for you, right?"

"It's the greatest honor of my life," he said with a nod. "Um, but I'm just a little shocked, I think. How did a guy like me end up here?" He chuckled.

She held her hand out to stop him. "Oh, wait, wait, wait. 'A guy like me'? Somebody's being a bit too humbled." She looked at the cameras to speak directly to the audience. "For those of you who aren't familiar with John's résumé," she went through her cards to read off, "'John Walker, first person in American history to receive three Medals of Honor, ran RS-One missions in counterterrorism and hostage rescue.' The Government did a study of your body at MIT, and you tested off the charts in every measurable category. Speed, endurance, intelligence..."

It was his turn to stop her right there this time. He didn't want to make it seem like she was bragging about him. "Look, here's the thing, uh, I'm not Tony Stark, I'm not Dr. Banner, okay? I don't have the flashiest gadgets, I don't have super strength. But what I do have is guts. Uh, something Captain America always had, always needs to have, and I'm gonna need every ounce of it. Because I got big shoes to fill."

"Did you know Steve Rogers?"

No, Bucky wanted to answer for him. No, no he did not know him. All he could do was watch in silence while zoning him out and keeping his thoughts to himself.

The morning news program was called Good Morning America, yet in his eyes, it wasn't a good morning. It wasn't because he woke up alone—being isolated wasn't new to him anymore—it was because "Captain America" was on his screen, and it wasn't his Captain America.

It wasn't his buddy.

It wasn't his pal.

It wasn't Steve Rogers.

It was a random guy, and it only took one second for him to instantly not like him.

His uniform irritated him. It was hideous. His words disgusted him. They weren't the humbling truth he was trying to portray. The cheers outright annoyed him. They were cheering for an imposter.