Steven Grant Rogers was born on July 4th 1918 to Joseph and Sarah Rogers. There was something different about this baby. He was plagued with multiple aliments; asthma, anemia, colorblindness, scoliosis, partial hearing loss, and a poor immune system. That wasn't what marveled doctor's though. The big medical mystery about Steven was that…he was born with a vagina.

The doctor's told Sarah Rogers that she had given birth to a baby girl that day, but something in her gut told her they were wrong. As doctors did further studying of the baby they noticed the hormones were off. Sarah decided that she wouldn't tell her husband about how she felt and named Steve what she had. Sarah and Joseph already had a rough relationship now. He was abusive ever since he got injured in the war, and she was getting sick of how he was treating her. But, with the new baby…she needed him around for financial help.

Years passed and Sarah raised Steve as a little boy. As new medical advancements were made about chromosomes and hormones, they learned that Steve was in fact a boy. He was just different…She knew there was always something special about her baby, she felt it in her heart when she was pregnant. Steve was six when Sarah left Joseph. He remembers his mother and father fighting over him. He remembers his father calling him a freak of nature… That's probably when he started to question himself.

As Steve got older and he went out to play with other boys, Sarah always told him to be careful. Trouble followed Steven like a shadow though, and that's how he happened to meet his best friend.

"I said leave her alone!" Steve said as he shoved at an older boy. His skinny body barely doing anything to the larger brute. The kid laughed and threw the girl's doll so he could really pay attention to Steve. One upper cut was all it took and the blonde was on his back, bleeding from his nose. Then he heard it.

"Hey! Pick on someone your own size!" A brunette called, punching the kid across the cheek. The Brunette turned to Steve and offered a hand up. "Hey, you okay?" He asked. Steve took the hand and slowly sat up, hand going to his nose.

"'m fine." He mumbled around his hand. Tears clung to his eyes but he refused to cry over a punch to the face.

"That was really stupid, he was twice your size!" The older boy said, laughing some.

"So? I could have taken him…" Steve said and wiped his face. "I'm Steve Rogers."

"James Barnes. You can call me Bucky." He said and shook Steve's hand, not worrying about the blood. "Where's your Ma? She would probably want you home after a fight like that."

Steve smiled a little. "I live back here, want to come?" He asked and wiped his hands on his pants.

"Yeah, I better make sure you don't get in anymore trouble, shorty." Bucky teased and walked Steve back home. It was the start of a long and complicated friendship. Steve and Bucky became inseparable. Sarah would leave Steve at the orphanage where Bucky stayed with the nuns. She liked it because the nuns helped to teach Steve and it allowed her to work without worrying too much. Steve and Bucky still managed to get in all sorts of trouble. Bucky learned how to take care of Steve when he had his asthma attacks. He also learned a lot from Sarah when Steve was sick. She was glad that the boys were so close, and was relieved that Steve had made a friend, she treated James as her own and all was good.

Time passed and Sarah watched with worried eyes as Steve approached puberty. The doctors had her worried that he would take a more…feminine route when his body reached the mile stone of development. They were both relieved that it wasn't the case. Steve didn't seem to have fully developed internal plumbing of a woman. He was glad because he didn't want to explain to Bucky what would happen during those weeks of menstruation or the sudden development of breasts. The doctors sat Steve down and gave him the talk about how he was different when he was eleven. So now at fourteen he knew it would always have to be a secret and that he would never be able to have sex with anyone.

His body was his body. And…he grew to hate it for many reasons. Wither it was the constant bouts of illness, the asthma attacks and flu or the fact that he was 5'4" tall and barely 95 pounds, he didn't know. Boys teased him growing up, cracking short jokes to the point Steve would deck them and Bucky had to drag him away. He was glad he had someone who saw him normally though, even if Bucky never knew the real Steve.

Steve's mother passed away when he was nineteen. It was a very hard time for the blonde because she was the only other person besides his doctor that knew him and loved him how he was. He felt so utterly alone for the first week…and then Bucky came by with the offer.

"Hey, I know what you're probably going to say, Punk, and I just want you to hear me out. We could get an apartment together and split the rent and the bills. I don't want you thinking that I'm doing this for charity either. You're gonna get a job, and even if your skinny ass gets sick you're gonna help out. Maybe you can shine my shoes, too." Bucky offered with a grin, his hand on Steve's shoulder.

Steve looked up at the brunette and smiled through the sadness he was currently feeling. He didn't feel alone with Bucky…he had always been there for Steve when he needed him most. "Fine, Jerk. You're shining your own damn shoes though." He said and chuckled a little.