Cheer For Him, Not Me

I Am Not the Hero

The microphone was quickly erected and the sound system awakened, causing a grating hum, and Steve Rogers, Captain America, was eagerly thrust behind the microphone. Perplexed, he looked at Bucky, who smiled up at him along with the mob. He, a former invalid boy from Brooklyn, had just rescued the great majority of the men who had been lost behind enemy lines. He had saved Bucky, who had been strapped to a laboratory table and tortured.

Steve was astounded and flattered by the ebullient cry from the soldiers. Husky male voices shouted for a speech. Again, Steve's eyes settled on Bucky, whose eyes he never thought he would see opened again, his face bore the ugly marks of cruel beatings… breaking from his reverie, Steve found his voice.

"Do not thank me, gentlemen; I may have rescued you, but I am not the hero," Steve's voice rang over the sound system, "The man that you should call your savior is Sergeant James "Bucky" Barnes," he declared.

A throng of faces twisted in confusion.

"I would gladly have fought to save you if Barnes had not been among you… but when I heard his name among the missing, your rescue became my top priority… whether or not you know Barnes, he is the reason that you are all alive."

Now it was Colonel Phillips' turn to be perplexed. Agent Carter, who stood beside the Colonel, stared with her mouth agape. The murmur of troops whispering to each other filled the air. Bucky stared, awestruck at what Steve was saying.

Steve continued, "Barnes is my closest friend, my fellow soldier…" he swallowed, hesitating before he finally uttered, "He is the love of my life. I have loved him since we were just kids. For that, it can be assured that you are here now."

Silence settled over all of the troops, eyes opened wide and jaws dropped open in surprise. Bucky was among the amazed.

Steve turned to face the man he loved, his expression and voice softened, unashamed of what the crowd heard, "Bucky, people could call me selfish for my intention to save only you. I wish desperately that you had not suffered what you suffered, but because of you the men lost in action are alive and safe. Whatever happens to me now, whatever happens to us now, I will never forget that I love you. I will never forget that, because of you, over three hundred men have been saved."

Steve reached his hand to Bucky, offering to help him up onto the stage. Awestruck and overwhelmed, Bucky took it and stepped onto the stage, now in full view of the audience.

Turning to face their comrades, Steve presented Bucky, proudly announcing, "If anybody deserves your cheers, it should be Sergeant Barnes, not me. He has suffered unspeakable tortures… you owe him your gratitude for the fact that I would do anything to save him from harm."
The silence was so thick that a knife would have trouble cutting through it. Steve closed his eyes and sighed, indifferent to whether the men beat the tar out of him or killed him. Bucky stood by, anxious as he stared at the sea of stunned faces yet his heart so full that he didn't care what they did to him; if it meant that he and Steve died together, he would welcome it.

The sound of slow clapping broke the silence. It was Agent Carter, her face serious but a seed of a smile had been planted and it refused to stop growing. Her applause grew more eager as the smile broadened. Phillips, stony-faced, followed suit with the applause.

Dugan, Morita, and Jones were the first of the rescued men to begin clapping. The rest of them soon followed. Soon the whole camp was roaring with applause, cheering for Bucky.

Steve and Bucky stared in disbelief that thunderous applause and enraptured cheers met them instead of hostile cursing and vicious punches. Relieved and exhilarated, the two men eagerly shared a passionate kiss…

Before they knew it, the pair was borne aloft on the shoulders of their comrades. They gaped in surprised amusement.

"I don't care what you are to each other, we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you!" Morita exclaimed.

"Yeah, you two can do whatever you want as far as I care, you saved our skins!" Jones chimed in.

Laughing, Bucky and Steve shared another kiss in full view of the men, relieved that not one of them protested.

Phillips sighed to Carter as they watched the two lovers being celebrated, "Well, this could make things interesting with the Department of War."

Carter laughed in agreement, "Can you imagine?"