The advent of Steve's optimism started young,
Bucky noticed,
half because he wanted to
since there was no harm in positivity
and half because he had to
because sickly young men like him weren't regarded for much.
The advent of Steve's optimism was infectious,
Bucky noticed,
because it seemed so sincere in its
genuine, starry-eyed kindness;
once he starts with that grin of his,
bright like a flame and just as ruthless in its strength,
nothing can stop it.
The advent of Steve's optimism is selfish,
Bucky noticed,
centered solely around those whom he cared for
with the depth of the ocean:
intense and vast and guided by rules that seemed arbitrary.
Bucky has been the center of Steve's optimism
for as long as he can remember.
Ever since they were children,
Bucky knows that glorious feeling:
he knows he should bask in the warmth that's Steve
but Bucky's never sure how to deal with the attention;
as an adult thrown into the 21st century,
lacking coping mechanisms
but learning to let go
of the malevolence
of the brutality
is deeply entrenched in
repenting for the crimes he's committed
as The Winter Soldier: it's Steve's warmth that guides him.
