You're a good person, Buck

Steve and Bucky were walking downtown. It was a hot summer day, so they had decided to get ice cream from a stand in the park. Bucky relayed his order to Steve, who went to buy them, while Bucky was tasked with finding a place to sit.

Suddenly, there was a little gasp from behind him. He turned, spotting a young girl with only one arm, holding her mother's hand. Bucky smiled and waved at her, and her mother whispered something in her ear. The girl stepped forward cautiously.

"Is it true that one of your arms isn't real?" She asked.

"Yep," Bucky said. "Wanna see?"

The girl nodded earnestly, so he shrugged off his gray zip-up hoodie to show her. The metal gleamed in the sunlight. He knelt down so she could see better.

"Whoa.." she tentatively reached out, tracing her fingers along the creases and lines. "Have you ever fought without it?" She asked.

Bucky thought about it. "What's your name?"

"Emma"

"To be honest, Emma," he whispered. "It's where all my strength comes from. I'm basically useless without it. But y'know what? I bet you could take out a thousand bad guys with that arm and not even break a sweat."

She stared at him, wide-eyed. "Really?"

Bucky grinned. "Really." He stood up. "It was nice to meet you, Emma. Good luck fighting those monsters."

Emma smiled and nodded, running back to join her mom. "Thank you Mr. Bucky!" She waved, and they continued on.

Bucky watched them go, not noticing Steve until he shoved an ice cream cone in his face.

"Who woulda known?" Steve laughed. "James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier, is actually a big softie!"

Bucky took his ice cream and swatted him away. "With all due respect, Captain, shut up. "

"Make me." Steve danced out of reach. Bucky laughed and chased after him.

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After a few minutes, they found a bench by a pond and plopped down on it.

"So," Steve started when they were almost done. "That girl. Who is she?"
Bucky shrugged. "Emma just wanted to know about my arm. I told her she beat a thousand times more bad guys with one arm than I can with two."

Steve smiled fondly. "You're a good person, Buck. Y'know that?"

"You think so?"

"I know so."