Hello Sergeant (Bucky Barnes)

revelations

James' POV

I followed Steve down the stairs and through a hallway to the kitchen. We washed our hands at the sink and sat down at the table with Sarah's dad. Sarah was helping her mom set the food out, and I watched them as they chatted and laughed as they worked.

It was fascinating to me to see how normal people interacted with each other in a family dynamic. I know I'd seen it before, but I didn't remember it. I wondered if this was how my family had been: my mom and sister preparing the food while my dad and my two brothers talked about news and sports.

As I listened to Steve and Sarah's dad talking about sports, I realized that I was a little out of the loop, not having paid any attention to any kind of sport in a very long time. I pulled out the little notebook I kept in my pocket and jotted that down so I would remember to look into it later.

Sarah and her mom sat down at the table and we started to fill our plates, passing the dishes around the table. It all smelled good that I filled my plate, suddenly ravenous. I hadn't eaten since breakfast because I had accidentally turned my lunch into charcoal.

The others chattered while I ate and I listened but didn't feel the need to contribute. Archie and Betty reminded me of their names and they encouraged me to eat as much as I wanted. Between Sarah, Steve and I, we finished almost everything, so I guessed Betty was used to cooking for super-soldier appetites.

Betty noticed my interest in the dishwasher, so she showed me how to load it and run it. I thought it was pretty neat that you could just push a button and the dishes would get clean. Sarah and Steve cleared the table of the rest of the dishes and leftovers, putting things away while I was occupied. Archie sat back and just watched, continuing his conversations with them as they worked.

The kitchen tidied, Sarah showed me the rest of the house and we stepped out into the backyard so I could see Jace's house. "I warn you, though, if Grant and little James find out you're here, they'll be here before dawn to try and be the first to meet you."

"They sound entertaining," I said. "I don't know much about kids, though."

She smiled and led me back inside. "Apparently they really take after their namesakes - you and Steve. Those two get into all kinds of mischief. Grant got suspended from school for a couple days for getting into a fight at school. I guess this bigger kid was bullying some little girls, so he took it on himself to stop it. James almost got suspended too for pulling him out of hot water when he was getting his butt handed to him."

"For real?"

"For real." She grabbed two beers out of the fridge and handed me one before hopping up to sit on the counter. "When they got called into the office, Grant said that he was just doing what Captain America would do, taking out bullies and James said he was just making sure his brother wasn't going to get creamed." She took a look drink before smiling at me.

I laughed, understanding what she was saying. "From what I've started to remember from when we were young, that sounds pretty accurate."

"That's what their mom was afraid of." I took a drink of my beer, setting it on the counter.

"You like kids?" I asked Sarah suddenly, changing the subject. I'd never asked her about her plans for the future - at least I didn't think I had.

She gave me a long look before she nodded. "Yeah, I do. That doesn't mean I want to have kids yet or anything, though."

"Why not?"

She took another drink before speaking. "I'm not ready for that kind of responsibility. Once you have a baby, that baby is yours for the next 18 years to raise and provide for. I'm a field agent, James. Every time I go out, there's a chance I won't come back. That's not the kind of fear I want a kid to have to live with. It's not fair to them to make them worry about their Mom not coming home."