Avengers Stories //Oneshots//

If You Wish on a Star

"I could do this all day."

Those were the words a young, lanky blonde boy was able to wheeze out before he was punched in the stomach once more. The air was pushed out of him and his lungs left paralyzed for a few seconds as he dropped to the ground, arms and legs splayed out against the rough concrete. This time, he couldn't pull himself up no matter how hard he tried, air still refusing to find its way into his lungs. The three bullies laughed as they stood over him, one deciding it was a good time to kick him in the side.

'Ow,' Steve thought, but he didn't let any exclamation of pain slip out. Instead, he grit his teeth through the wave, nails digging into his palms with how hard he was clenching his fists. He wanted to shout, yell, anything to get that laughing to stop. To make them at least a little intimidated by them. But he couldn't and they were still standing there, laughing like there was no tomorrow, hands over their stomachs as they jeered and smirked, eyes almost sinister in the dimming light of the sun as it began to hide behind the nearest building.

As the bullies finally had their fill of laughter, the ring leader, Drake, stepped on his elbow. Steve tried to yank his arm toward him, both out of reflex and to keep himself from the pain that would surely be coming, but he was too slow. The hard bottom of the shoe heel dug into his skinny elbow and he had to bite his lip hard enough to draw blood as the fire raced up and down his arm. He tried to growl at them, tell them off for what they did, but he was only just getting his breath back in erratic pants.

Drake sneared down at him and Steve, in a rush of anger, wished desperately that he could punch those yellow teeth. The guy deserved it. He and his buddies thought picking on a girl who couldn't have been over eight and half their size was funny. They deserves to lose a few teeth and get a few bruises, but Steve hadn't even managed the latter. In fact, he would be surprised if he didn't lose another tooth to these blights on society.

After a long minute of staring each other down, Drake finally released Steve's arm. The blonde teen resolutely did not bring it to his chest until they left. Once their backs were turned, he rolled onto his side, curling his hurt arm protectively into his chest as he rubbed his elbow soothingly, gritting his teeth with every movement. His body hurt where punches and kicks had met skin, leaving a new array of bruises to cover the ones from yesterday. His stomach was a purple and yellow monstrosity at this point.

A small part of him wanted to crawl across the sidewalk until he reached his mom's side, but that wasn't an option right now. She was becoming sicker by the day and they didn't have much money for treatment. The pit in his stomach grew at the thought - she was going to die. It wasn't something he wanted to think about. Losing his mother would be the worst thing to ever happen to him, but it was becoming a more realistic possibility by the day. Sarah Rogers was a stubborn woman, but even she was losing strength against this sickness. Why do all the bad things happen to the good, kind people? People like his mother who worked their butts off to provide for their family. The world was so cruel sometimes.

So, Steve laid there, nose occasionally scrunching up from the rancid smell of the dumpster nearby, but too afraid to move in case he aggravated his injuries more. He sparked out the blood that had accumulated in his mouth from his busted lip, gagging on the nickel taste. The only comfort he had was that he had allowed the girl to get out of their safely. He remembered her scared green eyes, how her hands were wrung in her dress and the entirety of her small frame shaking as she was backed into a corner by three teenagers who were no better than cow manure. Drake had pulled on one of her blonde pigtails right before Steve had run up and jumped on his back, distracting the three bullies enough so the girl could run away.

The sun slowly lowered in the sky and the air became cooler. He shivered, curling further in on himself as his weak body tried to generate enough heat to keep him warm. He knew that if he stayed here much longer he would undoubtedly catch a cold or the flu - something that could be the death of him and cause his mother greater pain if he came home with it. She would want to take care of him despite her own weak state and then they both might succumb to their illnesses.

Scraping together what courage he could, the blonde pushed himself to roll onto his back before he could back out of it. He had his breath back, but his ribs ached with every push of his lungs. He might have a cracked rib - who knows. He really didn't care anymore. This was always how it would go. The teen would never stop fighting the bullies of life, but how many times would he lose? How many times would he be pushed down like be stood no chance? Swatted away like an annoying fly? Did his efforts really matter?

'Yes,' a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Bucky's said, 'yes, they do.' His mind flashed back to the glance the little girl gave him before she turned the corner. Eyes full of gratitude and worry. He had gotten her out of that situation. Kept her from suffering any more than she already had. That was enough to keep him going.

Something caught his eye in his peripheral vision and he turned to look at the sky. Shooting stars. A million of them. He remembered the old song about wishing upon a star and although it sounded childish, it felt like a good idea right then. What harm could it do? No one else would know but him.

"I wish to join the army," he whispered into the empty air. It was such a simple phrase that held so much meaning to him. A star, brighter than the rest, shot across the sky. He had a front row seat to this light show and he found himself fixated on each star that passed by.

Steve was so concentrated on the stars that he just barely heard a familiar voice calling. "Steve!" Bucky yelled from somewhere nearby. Less than a block or so, he guessed. "Steve!"

He kept his eyes on the stars, taking a deep breath. Then another. Then another. He felt that he had grown a little stronger. It was impossible, a trick of his mind, but he felt it and there was no turning the feeling off. The fire that had always been burning in his heart grew brighter and he felt his hopes rise without his command. No matter what, he vowed to himself, he would join the army. He was put on this planet for a reason and he was determined to figure out why.

Slowly, he pushed himself up. He heard the patter of Bucky's fast moving feet at he came running around the corner, a silhouette in the night. Steve glanced at the stars again, watching as the last shooting star did a sprint across the sky. He would never stop fighting the bullies of the world.

He was going to join the army and he wasn't going to stop until he did.