cat_13145

Title: After the war
Summary Two Sidekicks talk.
Raing PG 13

“He’s alive.”

James managed not to blink as he retrieved some antiseptic wipes from the first aid kit in his apartment.

“Who is?”

“Bruce Wayne, of course.”

It had been a long, tough patrol and the last thing he felt like doing was having a conversation that felt like it belonged in Lewis Carol, with a strange young man who he’d found awaiting his return in his (Steve’s) apartment.

He gave the young man a look as he began cleaning up the cuts and bruises littering his arms and legs.

“We all thought Bruce was dead, but he isn’t, Simyan’s got him.”

James nodded, slowly. “Why are you telling me this? You Bats are fairly insular.”

Jason snorted. “You mean why aren’t I telling Dick and Tim?”

He quickly went over what he could remember of Nick’s files on the Bat clan.

“Yes.”

Jason held out his arms. “I tried. They didn’t want to listen.”

“So why me?”

Jason shifts uncomfortably. “Honestly I was looking for Stark. He and Bruce used to be…friends.”

Bucky understands about Stark’s “friends”

He sighs. He needs to help look for Steve, to keep being Captain America until he comes back, but he looks at this kid and he sees…

He sees the new recruits arriving at the Fort. From the poorest areas of the cities, lashing out a world, but still slipping a small boy some chocolate.

He sees the Cockney engineers and the Liverpool Sailors. Hardly able to be understood, using language to make Fury blush, but loading up every torpedo, fixing every air craft, manning every gun no matter what the cost. And still being willing to share a cigarette and discuss what had happened that night, with a couple of small boys.

He sees 16, 15, 14 heck some younger than that year old French kids, holding guns nearly as big as their own bodies. Running forward, sending out a hail of bullets, being cut down, but making sure that the troops could get through and liberate their country.

Good soldiers all of them.

And he owed this kid for being a friend when he had none

With a sign he finished bandaging up the last wound.

“Get some rest.” He said, firmly. “We’ll leave at first light.”

He watches as grin crosses Jason Todd’s face. And prays he’s doing the right thing.