In 1943 Steven Grant Rogers was enlisted to the United States Army.
Everyone knows the righteous, patriotic Captain America and his story. People might have heard of his mother, Sara, who was a nurse and died of tuberculosis. Perhaps some have even...
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He was in the middle of their group, sweat rolling down the sides of his face as his hair stuck to his forehead. His calf muscles were burning, but he found a sort of solitude and relief in the sudden morning run. At first, he had been the leader, but he sooner realized that the run was going to be longer than he had thought at first, making him think logically for once. He was keeping his energy because he had no idea how long the jog was going to take. He could already see some of the guys were done, too tired to keep on going. But whenever Adamson would bark something that made the whole group flinch, even the most tiresome men would find a little mores strength in their tired bones.
To his own satisfaction, he still had energy left after the run. William was surprised to see how many men were out of breath. He really didn't want to imagine what Steve's morning runs looked like. He could barely walk the front steps without breaking any sweat. Okay, maybe William was overreacting a little, Steve had perceverance, but no stamina whatsoever.
The exercises were brutal, and William found himself sitting in the middle of a group of men whose arms were a lot bulkier than his, and even they were trembling in fatigue. There was no way he was going to survive the day, and it was his first day in the camp!
The lunch rolled closer, and the group of young soldiers in training were locked in a room, listening to a monologue about weapons and their usage.
William could almost feel himself snapping from hunger, his muscles were aching, the man's tone was irritating him and he smelled bad. Besides, everyone seemed to avoid him, simply snicker and call him the Man-Child because of his youthful features.
Once they were finally dismissed, William was immediately stuck in the middle of the group again, unable to get away. In the dining hall he was pressed against his punk mate whose name he learned was Ruben Hill. The man was funny, when William slurped his soup and ignored bread crums that fell on his shirt, Ruben did not. He cleaned it all, ate quietly and sat straight. He didn't think he had heard or even seen Ruben interact with anyone.
William frowned, halting as he eyed up the man who was skinnier than himself. He thought Ruben was naturally skin and bones like Steve. “You eat like a girl.” he said bluntly, not missing the way Ruben's gray eyes widened and the spoon fell in the bowl. Williams remark earned a roar of laughter from the man who sat next to him, Lance Thompson was a white haired, small eyed bully. And William realized he might have just started something bad.
“You heard it guys? I think the Boney Willy is right, Roo-Roo eats like a girl, in fact, I think I saw him putting his things nealty in order yesterday night, cleaned his boots thrice! Huh, Ruben the Girl?” the table snickered quietly, Ruben's ears turning red with embarrassment. Will gulped, not daring to look towards the dark haired man beside him who didn't say anything to defend himself.
“Hey man, I was just teasing the guy, that's all.” he said lightly, hoping to brush it off and get the focus away from Ruben. He choked on the soup when he felt Lance's meaty hand pat his back. “Not bad Bones, not bad.”
Ruben stood up abruptly, collecting his things and leaving the table of laughing soldiers. William smiled, cringing when he realized that Lance was mocking him.
Boney? William wasn't boney, the guy had some muscle, but he just guessed Lance had ran out of imagination. Which wasn't that bad when he thought about it.
Later in the room where they slept, William was just toying with they chain that held his biggest possession, the key. “Hey, you alright? Sorry about earlier, didn't mean anything bad about it.” he said quietly, not wanting to attract any attention in case Ruben was the shy-type. “It is okay.” he said simply, making William roll his eyes.
He stood up, leaning against the punk bed, startling the gray eyed male reading on the bed. “What are you— seriously? You read? What is this? Stop being a snob, go interact with people. They'll keep bugging you if you read... The Great Catsby.” William said, snatching the book from Ruben's hand who tried to get it back, only to fail when Will tuned around, throwing it on the windowsill. He couldn't imagine how someone would choose a book over, well, anything really. “Stop it, give it back.” Ruben said quietly, glaring daggers at William.
“No, they'll think you're a prissy.” he crossed his arms, feeling annoyed with Ruben, did he want to be tormented the whole time? “Well, why don't you go and befriend the group of apes then, Boney Willy?” he narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth. “Yeah, I think I will, wouldn't want to be here alone with you anyways.” he said bitterly, feeling angry for no particular reason as he marched towards the small group playing some card games.
“Oy, I want to join in.” and that's how simple it was, Lance smiled widely, shuffling the cards and starting the game. Throughout the card game, Lance kept making stupid remarks about Williams youthful features, saying he looked like he was fourteen, for a second there he stopped breathing, only to laugh nervously with others and brush it off.
The night didn't last long, all of them passing out sooner then they'd like. The first training was brutal, but that was only the beginning for William. In the darkness of the night, when the room was filled with snoring and mumbling young men, William was unable to sleep.
He kept tossing and turning, sighing in annoyance whenever the mattress creaked under his weight.
The quilt was returning, his hands were clammy and his head was buzzing. He clutched they key again, desperately hoping to find some sort of strength to last the next month in the camp. He had heard that there were certain individuals who were picked out and sent to the front lines before their training even ended.
That, William didn't worry much about. He doubted he was chosen, Lance however, was surely going. At least that's what he thought.
The moon shone in from the small windows, illuminating the room in a cold glow. And William wondered if Steve was somewhere, staring at the glow of the moon as well, wondering where the childhood went. Where the friends and family were.
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Heyyyy, sorry its so short and boring, but just wanted to introduce some characters and stuff. Feedback would be lovely, thank you all for reading :)
