Since 1945. (Marvel 'Winter Soldier' Fanfiction)

Chapter 7

Forty minutes and a handful of almost catastrophic shower slips later Anna, Steve, and Bucky had gravitated back to the main room. Anna had her computer hooked up to something that she couldn't quite pronounce, a holographic scene yet again appearing across the row of floor to ceiling windows. All the lights were dimmed and Anna's headache was extremely grateful for that. Anna would only be showing Steve and Bucky one small clip, as per Steve's request. He didn't want to overwhelm either of them. "It's going to be...weird. I want to take it slow," Steve said, and Anna agreed with him one thousand percent on that one.

Ignoring the throbbing behind her eyes, she wove her way through the footage of The First Avenger picked out the right scene. "Okay, so, since I don't want to trigger anything by accident and there are some less than pleasant scenes in this film," she said, turning to look at Steve and Bucky, "I'm going to be skipping around a bit." Both nodded, Bucky shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants, Steve smoothing down invisible wrinkles in his jeans. Starting with The First Avenger, Anna skipped past the initial discovery of the Capsicle, right to Steve's attempt at enlistment.

When a unnervingly slim, significantly shorter Steve appeared onscreen, both men's breath caught. Bucky's eyes had gone wide, his hands tightening where they gripped the edge of the couch cushions. Steve's expression remained unchanged, but his jaw was held tight, teeth locked together. His eyes narrowed when his list of old ailments was read aloud, but a wry smile tugged at his lips when Bucky swooped in during his back alley fight with Hodge. Bucky only blinked at his younger self, mouth drawing up tight as he witnessed Howard Stark's 'flying car' display. "Holy cow," he had proclaimed, voice low with awe, arm thrown around the girl at his side.

Anna let the movie play all the way up to when the men said goodbye at the science convention. "Punk," Bucky had muttered, gathering Steve into a hug. "Jerk," Steve replied, patting Bucky once on the back. She paused it then, watching Steve and Bucky carefully for any signs of a potential freakout, tears, or general uneasiness. The movie would've been the first clip they'd seen of themselves which wasn't grainy, black and white, and geared toward the war effort. She should've been surprised at what happened next, but she wasn't– not really.

"...100 pounds soaking wet," Bucky eventually murmured, a small smile tugging at his lips as he turned to look at Steve. "And you and that damned shield, I should've seen it coming," he said, in faux exasperation, expression soft and incredibly open. Steve only smiled wide in response, placing an arm around Bucky's shoulders and hugging him tightly to his side. The blue of his eyes was particularly bright, Anna realizing that tears had begun to well up, the tip of his nose going pink. "You woulda fought a brick wall if it looked at you the wrong way, Rogers."

"And I wouldn't now?" Steve laughed, voice rough with something that made Bucky's eyes widen a fraction of an inch.

"You're such an asshole," Bucky teased, pushing lightly at Steve's side but making no real attempt to move away. Anna suddenly felt like she was intruding on a personal moment, and flushed, tugging at the hem of her borrowed sweatshirt.

"I set it to pause at that point, so you can just rewind it and hit play if you want to watch it again," Anna said, "I'm gonna go rest for a little bit."

"Thank you, Anna. Really," Steve said, standing suddenly and grabbing her hand, giving it a firm squeeze. "It...it means a lot." His face had a light to it that she hadn't seen since she'd been here; that she hadn't seen often in any of the movies. It made him look incredibly younger, and his levity was contagious.

"No problem," Anna replied, smiling from ear to ear.

"Thank you," Bucky piped up from the couch, making no move to stand, but giving her a short nod, eyes repeatedly flashing from her to Steve. He was more curt, but his gratitude was no less sincere. What his voice didn't relay, his face did. Anna could be happy with that.