From the Start (Steve Rogers x Reader)

four ✔

At a US training camp. Steve stands in line with others.

    "Ready, exercise!" the officer yelled.
    "Recruits, attention!" a female voice with a British accent yelled. Steve stood in line with the other recruits looking at the brown haired woman. "Gentlemen, I’m Agent Carter. I supervise all operations for this division."
    "What’s with the accent, Queen Victoria? Thought I was signing up for the U.S. Army." a recruit sneered, causing Agent Carter to raise an eyebrow.
    "What is your name, soldier?" she asked the rude man.
    "Gilmore Hodge, your Majesty."
    "Step forward, Hodge." she ordered, Hodge stepped forward. "Put your right foot forward."
    "Mmm… We gonna wrassle? 'Cause I got a few moves I know you’ll like." he said as he put his right foot forward. Steve clenched his jaw, that was no way to talk to a woman.
    Suddenly Peggy punched him hard in the face. Everyone looked at her in shock. Steve had a slight smirk on his face, that reminded him of something that (Y/n) would do.
    Just then Colonel Phillips drove up.
    "Agent Carter." he said to the woman as he walked up, followed by another woman with (h/c) hair.
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    "Colonel Phillips. Agent Stark." Peggy said as the Colonel and I joined her in front of the recruits. I glanced toward Steve and saw a faint smile on his face. I winked at him causing him to glance down as his cheeks flushed.
    "I see you’re breaking in the candidates. That’s good!" Col. Phillips said to Peggy, he glanced at me and nodded his head toward Hodge.
    I smirked and looked at Hodge as he stayed down from when Peggy punched him. "Get your ass up out of that dirt, and stand in that line at attention until somebody comes and tells you what to do."
    Hodge quickly got back up to his feet and stumbled back into line. "Yes, ma'am."
    Col. Phillips turned to the new army recruits. "General Patton has said that wars are fought with weapons but they are won by men. We are going to win this war because we have the best men…" I saw as he glanced at Steve then continued to talk.
    "And because they’re gonna get better. Much better. The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an Allied effort made up of the best minds in the free world. Our goal is to create the best army in history. But every army starts with one man. At the end of this week we will choose that man. He will be the first in a new breed of super-soldiers." he explained.
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    While Steve trained, where he failed to keep up, he gets bullied by the others.
    Sergeant Duffy barked at him; "Rogers! Get that rifle out of the mud!"
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    "And they, will personally escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of Hell."
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    Steve and some other trainees ran up to me and Peggy waiting by the flagpole.
    "Pick up the pace, ladies! Let’s go! Double time! Come on! Faster! Faster! Move! Move!" Sergeant Duffy barked as they continued to run.
    When they arrived at the flag pole Sergeant Duffy yelled; "Squad, halt!" the recruits stopped and waited for his message. "That flag means we’re only at the halfway point. First man to bring it to me gets a ride back with Agent Stark and Agent Carter. Move, move!" he ordered.
    I watched in amusement as the soldiers tried to climb up the flagpole, but a lot of them failing.
    "Come on! Get up there!" Sergeant Duffy encouraged as a soldier tried to climb up the pole to no avail. "If that’s all you got, this army’s in trouble!" he exclaimed, causing me to cover my mouth to hide my laughter. "Get up there, Hodge! Come on! Get up there! Nobody’s got that flag in 17 years!"
    After a good chunk of the soldiers failed, I could tell that Sergeant Duffy was getting frustrated, but was still amused. "Now fall back into line! Come on, fall in! Let’s go! Get back into formation!"
    I watched as they all got back into formation, except for Steve. He didn't try to get the flag yet...
    "Rogers! I said fall in!" Sergeant Duffy yelled at Steve, just then Steve pulled the pin out of the bottom of the flagpole causing it to fall over and crash to the ground.
    Steve walked to the end and picked up the flag, walking back to Sergeant Duffy and handing it to him. "Thank you, sir." He said as he walked with me to the car, we climbed in and drove away.
    "Good work, Steve," I whispered with a smile. He smiled back at me as we continued to drive.
~~~
    The soldiers are doing push ups, whilst Peggy and I watched them.
    "Faster, ladies! Come on!" I yelled.
    "My grandmother has more life in her, God rest her soul. Move it!" Peggy yelled looking over at me with a smirk. I smirked back as we continued to drill the recruits.
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    Col. Phillips walked beside Dr. Erskine to the troops.
    "You’re not really thinking about picking Rogers, are you?" Col. Phillips asked.
    "I am more than just thinking about it. He is the clear choice." Erskine explained.
    "When you brought a ninety pounds asthmatic onto my army base, I let it slide. I thought, what the hell? Maybe he’ll be useful to you, like a gerbil. I never thought you’d pick him." Col. Phillips said, his voice filled with astonishment as he referred to small Steve.
~~~
    "Up!" We ordered as Col. Phillips and Dr. Erskine approached Peggy and I.
    "You stick a needle in that kids arm and it’s gonna go right through him." Col. Philips said as he watched Steve struggle whilst he trained with the other new recruits.
    "Come on, ladies!!" I shouted as I watched Steve struggle... Physical things weren't really his forte and I felt a little bad that we had to drill all of them so hard.
    "Look at that. He’s making me cry." Col. Phillips said.
    "I am looking for qualities beyond the physical." Dr. Erskine explained.
    And you'll get just that with Steve. I thought as I crossed my arms over my chest.
    "Do you know how long it took to set up this project?"
    "Yeah, I know."
    "All the groveling I had to do in front of Senator What’s-His-Name’s committees?" Col. Phillips asked.
    "Brandt. Yes, I know. I am well aware of your efforts." Dr. Erskine said.
    "Then throw me a bone. Hodge passed every test we gave him. He’s big, he’s fast, he obeys orders. He’s a soldier." Col. Phillips explained.
    I glanced at him then back to Steve. "Hodge is a bully, Colonel.
    "Exactly, he’s a bully." Dr. Erskine backed me up.
    "You don’t win wars with niceness, Agent." Col. Philips said as he took a hand grenade from the car. "You win war with guts." he stated as he threw the grenade where the new recruits were training. "Grenade!"he shouted.
    I looked at him with wide eyes and then looked back at the weapon to see all of the soldiers moving away quickly, all but Steve... Who jumped on top of the grenade to cover it with his body.
    "Get away! Get back!" Steve yelled, I watched the seen, my stomach doing backflips like a gymnast and my heart beating like I had just ran a marathon. We all waited for the grenade to go off but nothing happened.
    "It was a dummy grenade. All clear. Back in formation." an officer ordered, and I let out a sigh of relief as Steve looked up at the Colonel, Doctor and I.
    "Is this is a test?" he asked, his breathing labored, causing me to chuckle lightly.
    Steve may not look like much, but he definetly had guts, he was willing to put his life on the line for his country, as well as all the other soldiers who have bullied him ever since he's stepped foot here.
    Dr. Erskine and I look at Col. Phillips to confirm the point about choosing Steve.
    "He’s still skinny." Col. Phillips stated.