Training

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Steve fell to the ground. God he wished he could just stay down. If he could lie down and die right now that would be a good thing. "Move it Rogers!" The Colonel yelled at him. Steve picked himself up out of the mud and tried to fall in line with the other recruits but he simply wasn't fast enough. He kept thinking back to when he had that asthma attack when he raced Willow so many years ago.

He'd only been in basic training a week now and Steve already knew that this was probably hell on Earth. Every day they were greeted with some new torture and Steve knew it was only going to get worse. He shuddered to think what the actual battlefield might look like.

Yet, Steve tried not to show any weakness. He wasn't as well built as all the other men in his group so that meant Steve had to try twice as hard. He didn't have to be the fastest or the strongest in the bunch, he just had to put his whole heart into it.

One thing Steve had noticed was how much everyone in charge liked to yell at them. They were always screaming at them for one thing or another. Steve supposed it was some sort of fear tactic. While some of the broader men would cower or shudder in fear every time they were yelled at, Steve would hold the gaze of whoever it was in front of him and speak in calm formal sentences. He'd gone up against men bigger than them, Steve wasn't afraid.

The second thing he noticed, well a person he had noticed, was Agent Carter. She was a women, a beautiful one. Steve and the other new recruits had met her on the first day. She had taken down an arrogant man named Hodge, which Steve thought was a horrible last name. Agent Carter reminded him of Willow with her dark hair and piercing eyes. The difference was that Agent Carter had a British accent and she knew how to handle a gun.

Colonel Philips wanted to get rid of him but Dr. Abraham insisted that Steve was a good candidate for his project. Colonel Phillips couldn't see how. Steve was scrawny and small and was so far, failing every test put in front of him and the other men. He had to admit the kid had heart, seeing as he never complained and always got back up but the effort would kill him eventually, especially on the battlefield.

January 21st, 1943

Dear Willow,

I'm sorry I haven't been able to write sooner. I keep starting and stopping my letters. They're keeping us pretty busy over here so sometimes I find myself half asleep while I'm writing to you and when I look back on what I've written down, none of it makes sense and I want to be able to convey to you in a manner that you will understand.

But now I think I sound too formal.

I hope you're not too worried about me Willow. Training isn't as bad as I expected it to be. The Colonel is a pretty nice guy, when he's not shouting at us that is, but he's all work and no play, which is what I expected going into this so I'm pleased with the results.

So far, we have just been doing a lot of running and I keep thinking of you, I hope that I can say that. I keep remembering all those times we would, or rather how you would make me, race to the lake or to my house. My mother used to keep score. How many races have you won? You would probably still win them now. In fact, I have no doubt in my mind that you would beat every man in this camp.

I want you to tell me about your day, what you've been doing, if anything at all interesting happens or even if nothing interesting happens, I want to know. I want to know every detail. I want you to feel like I'm sitting there next to you and you're telling me about your day face to face.

You're going to use a lot of exaggerated hand gestures and I've seen all of them so I'll picture them in my head when I'm reading your letters.

It's odd thinking that you're the only link to home I have. There's nothing else tying me to Brooklyn. I don't know if I ever told you this, but I always thought about leaving. If it wasn't for you or Bucky, I might have. There was nothing left for me their after my parents passed. Perhaps we could go away together when I come back, once the war is over.

Of course, we'll have to bring Bucky too. If only because he won't let us leave without him.

I think I've gone off topic now. If I want you to tell me about your day, you should at least know about mine.

I guess there's not much to talk about though. We woke up at dawn and went on a very vigorous run before eating breakfast. It wasn't the tastiest of meals but I'm not complaining, it was food, I ate it. I suppose food on the battlefield will be much of the same.

We worked out the rest of the muscles in our body after that. I've maybe done about a thousand jumping jacks since we first started training. There's this sort of obstacle course here too that we have to go through. We're timed but don't ask me what I got on it.

You might be wondering if I've made any friends, I haven't. You know me, always a target. The other recruits poke fun at me but I don't let it bother me. I have no interest in talking to some of them anyways. They're mostly brawn, no brains.

There's one person here though that I think is worth talking to and I think you would like her. Her name is Agent Carte, she's from England and she's helping to train the new recruits. She's strong willed and stubborn. Remind you of someone? So far I haven't talked to her personally but I look forward to it.

Have you heard from Bucky yet? I hope he's well. Have you moved into our apartment yet? I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you move if you have. I hope you have moved. The neighborhood that apartment in is much safer and I'll feel better knowing you were there.

I don't want this letter to be too long so I think I'll end it here.

You said you wanted poems, do you want one after every letter?

The stars are infinite
And so is the sea
But one thing is definite
My love for thee

I think that's the only time I've written the word thee.

Until next time Willow. I miss you everyday.

Love,
Steven Rogers

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