Chapter 1
Chasing the two of them around the playground had always been her favorite activity. She could catch them in the blink of an eye and maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.
"Maxi!" James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes complained, bent over forward, his hands on his knees as he breathed hard. "That last one hurt!"
Steve jogged over, more out of breath than Bucky. "At least you weren't pushed into the sand pit." He gave Max a pointed look.
"Yeah yeah, losers. Maybe you should toughen up a little bit, take some lessons or something. Stevie, you sure as hell need it." Max smirked at her two best friends.
Steve frowned. "Hey! That wasn't nice! And you know our situation... We can't afford it right now..."
Max blinked at him. For a seven year-old, Steve was completely involved in his family's finances. Sometimes it made Max wonder if he would become an accountant when he was older. She shook the thoughts away from her mind as she smiled slightly.
"Sorry Stevie, I didn't mean it, honestly. But you could bulk up a little. I can't keep picking up after you while Bucky saves your ass."
"Ms. Winters!" their teacher yelled from across the courtyard. "Language!"
Max smirked while her best friends laughed their butts off. "Yes ma'am!" Max yelled back.
Bucky laughed as he began to walk side-by-side with Max toward the swing, Steve on Max's other side. "Sometimes I think you're going to grow up and become a sailor or become part of the Navy or something."
Max quirked a smile. "Why's that, Buck?"
"Because you swear like one, that's why." Bucky smirked as she sat on a swing and the two of them pushed her.
Max laughed. "Is that your only reason?!"
Steve laughed too, giving her another push. "And you're strong, always carrying the stupid with you."
Max reached back and smacked him on her way backwards. "Hey!"
The bell rang for them to go back into school. Max jumped off the swing and linked arms with her two best friends before they strutted inside.
"Well whatever we end up doing, I'm never leaving you two. It just wouldn't be possible." She smiled as she pulled them closer to her.
Both Steve and Bucky ruffled her hair.
"You sap," Bucky commented.
"What a nerd," Steve joked.
That was ten years ago, and now the three of them were graduating high school. Lots were ahead of them. For Steve, it was Art School. He was a fantastic artist and would harness his skills. For Bucky, it was at least getting a job. For Max... well, she still hadn't figured it out yet. She wanted to something extraordinary, help people, hone in on her skills; maybe even become a spy.
They sat in the graduation chairs, Bucky in the front row with Steve and Max in the back sitting side by side. The sound of Bucky's name pulled her into reality.
"James Buchanan Barnes!" The headmaster of the school exclaimed. Bucky stood up, smiling at his two best friends. He shook the headmaster's hand and raised the diploma above his head. His family cheered him on from their seats. They went through the long list of other students before exclaiming Steve's name. He stood up and walked his way to the front, shook hands with the headmaster and walked over to where Bucky stood waiting for him.
Max's name was up next. She had never been more nervous in her life. She took a deep breath as the headmaster called her name. "And last but not least, Maxine Doris Winters!"
She smiled as she stood up and walked over, shook the headmaster's hand, took her diploma and waved it above her head. She smiled over at Bucky and Steve who cheered her on.
"You graduated!" they yelled together.
She ran over to them and jumped into their arms. "Correction, WE graduated!"
And on that day, their world changed. All three of them stayed in Brooklyn. Bucky got a job at a car repair shop, Steve was taking arts classes, and Max was working at the diner while taking some government classes on the side.
No, not the type of classes you're thinking about. Rather, classes about the country and how to protect it. She had already mastered three different types of martial arts and was just abut to master her fourth. She needed at least twenty before she could continue to the next level of training.
Of course, all was being done in secret. The government couldn't have a national scandal on their hands, now could they?
Max didn't mind doing it all behind closed doors, she actually found it quite exciting. Doing something no one else had done before? Hell yeah she was up for it!
A few years went by and Steve's mom passed away. He stopped going to classes and sat on the couch of the apartment that the three of them shared. She had been seriously sick and they all knew it was coming but none of them thought it would be so soon.
Both Max and Bucky would come home to a sleep deprived Steve, seemingly emotionless and even thinner than before. It broke both of their hearts to see him like that.
One day, Max couldn't take it anymore. She sat down beside Steve on their dark grey couch and made him lay his head in her lap. Her back pressed against the armrest and Steve sprawled out on the rest of the couch, it was a touching scene that Bucky snapped a picture of.
Max ran her hands through Steve's hair for a long while, just like she had seen his mom do for him when he was upset.
Max took a deep breath before speaking. "She wouldn't want to see you like this. She would want you out there, living your life. Sure she would want you to miss her, but Stevie," Max hadn't called him that in years, "She would want to see you in classes, going out on dates, hanging out with your best friends. She wouldn't want you to grieve for the rest of you life."
Steve knew Max was right as he turned his head into her knee and let out a sob. Max continued to run her hands through his hair as she let him cry. Steve sat up and tried burying his face in his knees, trying to muffle the sounds of his sobs. Max sat forward and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight.
"I won't let you go. You need this too much," she whispered to him.
Bucky slowly joined them on the couch, sitting by Steve's feet and rubbing Steve's arm. Max and Bucky shared a look, knowing Steve was going to take some recuperating after this cry.
That was a few years ago. Now we were at the brink of war. I, Max, had finished mastering twenty types of martial arts and received my up in the military and training. Bucky was drafted for the war. Steve, on the other hand, tried to enroll but was denied based on his asthma alone.
Bucky and I tried to cheer him up but with both of us leaving soon, we had no idea what he would do without us. We would converse about it quietly in the kitchen while Steve wasn't home or was somewhere else in the house. We were worried about him, both of us knowing he would get hurt somehow.
"Bucky," I mumbled one summer evening while standing in the kitchen. "I don't want to leave him. Not that he's not a big boy and not that he can't handle himself, but dammit he can't handle himself. He gets in too many fights that he can't finish and I'm worried that if we leave we'll get a letter later on saying, 'We apologize for this turn of events but we regret to inform you that Steven Grant Rogers is dead.' I just wouldn't be able to live with myself if-if..."
Bucky pulled me to him and then held me at arm's length. He made me look into his eyes. "He'll be fine. He's lived without us before. He can handle himself, Max. You have to believe in him sometime."
"I do believe in him!" I exclaimed, stomping my foot. "It's not that I don't, but I'm just worried. He's always had one of us to back him up. What if we're not there to protect him anymore?"
Bucky sighed. "Then he'll figure it out himself."
I nodded in agreement, slightly reluctantly.
In our first run, Bucky was announced Sergeant of the 107th and I had become an agent, training the troops and taking notes. I was always at camp, keeping an eye on things.
When not hanging out with Bucky or doing my job, I spent time with Peggy Carter, a fellow agent just like myself. She had gone through the same programming, the same techniques. We were on the same level, meaning we had the same training. We were equals and stuck by each other like glue during our first run.
Eventually they gave us a break and sent Bucky and I home together. We were extremely excited to go home and see Steve.
When we arrived back in New York, we immediately met up with Steve, or at least tried to. We later found him in a back alley being beaten up by some other guy.
Bucky immediately rushed in to get the guy away from Steve. I followed behind, giving the guy another good punch before he staggered off down the street once more.
Bucky already had his arm around Steve and the three of us walked out of the alley together as if we had never been separated.
We later found ourselves at the exhibit happening about "the future" which presented Howard Stark, a new friend of mine through military details.
The boys went off on some double date while I went to go meet up with Howard.
"Howie!" I exclaimed, running up behind the stage.
"Doll face!" Howard exclaimed, smiling brightly at me. He wrapped me in a hug, squeezing me tight. "How've you been, when did you get back?!"
I smiled brightly at his enthusiasm. "I've been great! Bucky and I just got back today but we have to be back in less than a week." I pouted slightly.
Howard smiled. "Ah, that's no big deal, that's when I'm going in too, as long as the Doc finds the right person for his experiment."
I nodded, knowing exactly what he was talking about. "I hope he finds someone soon. We need this."
Howard nodded, agreeing. "Look doll, I've got to get out there soon and you should probably go hang out with Steve and Bucky. I'll see you later this week."
He kissed my cheek as I smiled and muttered a "Bye Howie!" before running off the stage and towards the audience, quickly finding Steve and Bucky.
As the evening progressed, Steve became more and more inclined to signing up once again. Bucky tried to get him not to do it, all three of us knowing he has no chances, but he was going to try anyway.
Eventually Bucky took off, saying goodbye to Steve who was about to enter the facility without saying goodbye to me.
I saw Dr. Erskine over Steve's shoulder but I didn't say a word except, "Excuse you young man, I do believe you're forgetting about one of your best friends."
Steve chuckled before turning back around and wrapping me in a tight hug. "I'm gunna miss you, Maxi."
"I'll miss you too, Stevie. And don't you dare stop trying. Sure, you may have lied four or five times on your entry form but that doesn't mean anything except that you're dedicated and you want to do this. I believe in you and I know you'll make it in." I smiled at my best friend.
Steve chuckled. "You sure about that?"
I laughed with him. "Absolutely positive."
"Don't think you could lend me a helping hand, do you? Give me a bit of a boost?" Steve prodded me with his elbow.
I sighed. "You know I can't, Steve. I wish I could but I can't. I know how much you want this but I can't do anything to help."
"Alright alright, stop rubbing it in," Steve messed around. "I'll see you by the end of the week, okay?"
"Yes sir!" I saluted him as he walked off. I walked toward the doctor. "I don't mean to be rude or anything Doc, but if you want anyone for your program, Steve Rogers is your man."
I smiled before walking away and trying to find Bucky.