Title: Oxygen

Author: hohlagh

Rating: PG/K+

Genre: Family; Hurt/Comfort

Disclaimer: All characters you may recognize belong to Stan Lee, Disney, and the Marvel-verse franchise. I am receiving no monetary funds from the posting of this fanfic.

It was the first day of school and James was on his way to his locker when he saw a younger boy getting picked on by an older student and he hated bullies so he couldn't help but to intervene. It didn't matter if he was new to the neighborhood or anything like that... "Is there a problem here?" He demanded.

He had some experience with bullies. He had never personally been a victim of their antics though. He just couldn't stand seeing them pick on someone who was too different to be considered normal. Sometimes he got into physical fights with the jerks, but luckily his presence and attention seemed to be enough for today. Bucky was fairly tall for his age and he was well-built, which probably helped. The bully therefore just scoffed and stomped off.

"Thanks..." The blonde-haired kid muttered.

"No problem. Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"What's your name?" Bucky asked.

"Steve..."

The two quickly became friends after that. Steve Rogers was small for his age. He seemed more fragile than most. He was thin and pale with dark rings under bright blue eyes. His breath would catch or rasp in his throat occasionally and Bucky soon learned why. Steve had a whole host of medical problems, asthma being just one of them. None of that hurt their friendship though. They hit it off right away from the very beginning and they grew close fairly quickly. They were more like brothers instead of friends. They were always there for each other; inseparable.

Steve may not have been physically strong, but he had plenty of other talents. He was smart – smarter than Bucky for sure – and he was definitely a skilled artist. He also had guts. He was plucky despite his size and his condition. He never let anything bother him and he stood up for himself. He didn't need protecting; didn't want it or appreciate it, though he often accepted it in a mild-mannered sort of way.

Steve was never excused from gym just because he had asthma and, as a matter of fact, he often enjoyed it. He liked having a chance to test his endurance and to prove himself. He sometimes pushed himself too far though and suffered the consequences as a result...

He had spent most of the class running or jogging. The teacher was prepping all of the students for the Physical Fitness Tests and that day they had all gone around the oval track four times, which equaled a mile; Steve included. He was really starting to drag his feet by the time they had to head back though. His chest felt tight and every inhale burned. He was wheezing a little once he had changed and reached the hall, but he couldn't afford to stop. He needed to get to his next class. At first it had been eerie how Bucky just magically or randomly appeared beside him whenever they were given enough time to get together; even if it was just a few minutes. Now it was just normal.

"You look like shit." Bucky said in lieu of a greeting.

Steve rolled his eyes and focused on his breathing. He could avoid an asthma attack if he was lucky... "Thanks."

They both fell silent as they walked through the school. There was a year difference between the two of them so they didn't even share any classes and he knew Bucky would have to leave his side soon. He couldn't quite catch his breath and moving around certainly wasn't helping matters. The wheeze was getting progressively worse and he could feel his lungs clenching.

"Steve, stop, seriously. You need to sit down or something." Bucky told him and he sounded worried, which didn't bode well for the younger student.

Steve felt a little faint as the lack of proper oxygen began effecting him and his steps stumbled a bit, but luckily Bucky grabbed him and he forced Steve to sit. He gently pushed his friend forward a little, leaning him over as he had been taught to do. Most of the other students ignored the scene, which was sad in a way; however, a few stopped and stared for a few moments as well, which didn't really help either. "Deep breaths, man." Bucky instructed.

A few seconds passed. Sometimes Steve's breathing would return to normal once he allowed himself to rest; other times it didn't. He wasn't even allowed to carry his rescue inhaler around due to some stupid school policy, which really irritated Bucky. The seconds started to add up and the attack was getting worse. Steve needed his inhaler and fast, but Bucky didn't feel comfortable just leaving his friend there alone, struggling for air. At that moment though he spotted one of their mutual friends – Natasha – heading their way.

She was a tomboy with long red hair and green eyes; quirky and strange in her own right, which made her fit right in with Bucky and Steve.

"Natasha!" Bucky called and she made a bee line for them. He continued on once she was beside Steve, looking just as worried. "Hey, can you stay with him for a little bit? I need to run to the office."

He was going to pummel whichever administrator thought it had been a good idea to keep any and all medications in the main office, no matter how vital or important. So Bucky ran. He ran faster than he had ever gone before, squeezing himself through the traffic or even knocking a couple of people over. He didn't care about them. His main concern at that moment was Steve. He reached the office in record time. Bucky didn't even slow down for the door. He just barged right in.

The door hit the wall and the glass cracked, causing the receptionist to look up. She narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth; however, she never got the chance to scold him. "It's Steve." Bucky gasped. "He needs his inhaler and you're going to give it to me. Now."

He sounded a little more threatening than he intended, which was kind of funny given the fact that he was just thirteen years old. The receptionist reached into the medicine drawer and quickly located Steve's emergency rescue inhaler. "Where is he?"

"He's in the science hallway."

She nodded. "All right. I'll let the nurse know. You take this to him."

Bucky took the inhaler and then he was off again. He ran back to Steve. The return trip was a little easier though since there was only a few seconds left before the next class started and – as if on cue – he heard the bell ring on the way, but he didn't care. He rounded the corner and spotted his two friends right where he had left them. He skidded to a halt beside them.

"I'm back." Bucky breathed. "How is he?"

"Not good." Natasha said.

Steve's chest was heaving and he was coughing weakly at odd points, which definitely wasn't a good sign. "Steve? I got your inhaler... Do you think you can take it?" Bucky asked, holding out the device for the younger boy.

Bucky had to give Steve credit for trying if nothing else. The cough abated a little, but it was obvious that the emergency rescue inhaler just wasn't going to cut it this time. That was when the nurse arrived. She called 911 and the paramedics arrived shortly afterward. They loaded Steve up in the ambulance and took him to the hospital. Bucky could only hope that the doctors would be able to help his best friend...

He was fifteen minutes late when he finally entered English. The teacher was a real prick about it too and wouldn't hear any explanations. Then, to make matters worse, he was pulled out of his last class early by the Principal who – believe it or not – wanted to give him detention for cracking the glass office door. "My friend was having an asthma attack." Bucky had tried to reason at first.

"That still doesn't excuse your actions, Mr. Barnes."

"Well maybe if you actually let him carry his emergency rescue inhaler around then I wouldn't have to go breaking into the office every fucking time he has a life or death asthma attack!"

Bucky's argument didn't win him any bonus points with the bald black man; instead his detention was 'upgraded' to a suspension. He just didn't care anymore though so he flipped up his middle finger before crossing his arms and letting out a small huff. He was beginning to wonder if any of these so-called adults even understood how serious asthma could be. Steve had been rushed to the hospital in an ambulance for Christ's sake!

He was more than glad to leave once he had been ordered off of school grounds.

At least his parents understood. His mom even commended him for his actions. He wasn't able to talk to Steve until later that night and his worries eased a little when he learned that the younger boy was fine. Thank God...

Bucky spent the next three days at home, which felt kind of weird. He then convinced his mom to take him to a public school board meeting later on where he urged the administrators to change the policy or at least put in a few exceptions to the rule so that what had happened to Steve wouldn't happen again. A couple of administrators were kind of shocked that the school hadn't let Steve keep his emergency rescue inhaler anyway and they voted to modify the policy that very night.

Bucky never complained about being suspended or serving detention or anything like that, but – considering the circumstances – his record was eventually wiped clean. He certainly didn't regret his actions as he had likely saved Steve's life that day. Of course Steve still had asthma attacks from time to time; however, now he could just medicate himself and Bucky didn't need to run to the office for his best friend anymore after that.

END