"What was your guys' answer?" Clint asks the next day at lunch, mouth full of sandwich.
"Huh?" Bucky asks, barely looking up from his textbook.
"We're in the same group. So we must have had some of the same answers." He says this nonchalantly, as if he doesn't know his and Steve's paper matched perfectly.
"There's this deli," Bucky starts, looking up and getting excited, "My parents used to live by it when they were kids. It's kind of far from my house now, but they've taken me a couple times and I think it's the best in Brooklyn. It's called Milo's."
Steve gapes at him. "I put Milo's too! My ma used to go there all the time as a little girl! She took me once!" Clint smiles, about to interject with what he'd been planning to say when Tony puts his elbow on the table, leaning on it.
"Okay, that's creepy, because Milo's was my second option."
"What was your first?"
"Action Burger."
When they stare at him blankly he throws his hands out in disbelief. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me! You've never eaten there? Any of you? Best burgers in Brooklyn!"
They all shrug and he scoffs. "Okay, we're going. I don't know when, but we're going."
They chuckle and Natasha leans back, resting her feet on the bottom of Clint's chair next to her.
"I think you guys are lying because I put Milo's as my first choice too." She crosses her arms across her chest and stares at them, waiting for one of them to admit to something.
"Well, today is everyone's lucky day." Clint says, a growing grin on his face. "My uncle owns Milo's, it was my first on the list too."
They turn to stare at him and he just grins at them.
"Your uncle owns it?" Bucky asks in shock.
"Yeah, it's actually been in his family for almost 80 years."
Steve tilts his head back towards the center, "his family?"
"Uh, yeah." Clint says, suddenly just a tad embarrassed, "It's my stepmom's brother."
"Oh," Natasha says, "that's cool."
"Yeah," Steve smiles, "that's awesome!" The way he says this, with a wistful expression on his face, sets the rest just a tad on edge.
"Yeah," Clint adds softly, "I'll uh— We'll have to all go there soon. My uncle would love it." They all nod enthusiastically.
"I can't believe we all put the same exact first choice, besides 'rich boy' over here." Natasha quips.
Tony huffs, but he has a grin on his face. "I prefer 'extremely rich boy', thank you very much." They all chuckle as they start cleaning up their lunches. Natasha dumps her wrappers in the trash first and is back at the table where Steve still sits. She glances up, and realizes he hasn't left the table. But he has no lunch stuff.
She thinks back. Did he… Had he eaten?
She sits down calmly and thinks back, she can't remember him eating today. Then she thinks back to yesterday, had he eaten then?
Steve just smiles up at her from his sketch pad he has pulled out. And she smiles back. When he looks back down, her eyes narrow, she'll definitely be paying attention tomorrow.
The end of lunch bell rings and they all stand, grabbing their things. They exit the doors of the cafeteria and stand there awkwardly for a moment.
"I guess I'll see you guys in Study Hall." Steve says, before turning to go. He makes it halfway down the hall, before feeling like he's being followed.
He turns back around to find the four of them just a few steps behind.
"Uh, guys?"
"Yeah, Steve?" Natasha says with a twinkle in her eye.
Suspicion creeps into his voice as his eyes narrow. "What elective did you guys pick?"
"Oh me? I picked 'Idea to Completion'." Bucky says, brows furrowed, "Thought it sounded cool."
"What?" Natasha says surprised, "you did? So did I? Huh, what are the chances?"
"No way!" Clint says, a smug smile on his face, "I did too! With the way the board described it, I just thought it would be the most fun."
"Well, I was going to do Robotics," Tony gripes, "But I refuse to be left out of the fun." He saunters over to Steve and places his hand on his shoulder. He doesn't react to the fact that he can basically just feel Steve's bones, but he smiles at the scrawny kid next to him and leans towards him, "What elective did you pick, Steve?"
Steve just rolls his eyes, but he can't help the grin that splits across his face.
—-
Bruce stops by each of the electives, making sure each student made it to the correct one, and that everything is going smoothly. He saves 'Idea to Completion' for last. As he passes into Erskine's classroom he finds the 10 students who had signed up for the elective sitting in a circle. Erskine is explaining the class.
"This is perfect," Erskine says, pointing at his syllabus. "I was going to split the groups as evenly as I could, but with 10 students, I think it will work perfectly to split you into two groups of five. Would you like to separate yourselves?" Before he can finish his sentence, Bruce watches as four people angle and shift their chairs ever so slightly. When Erskine finishes speaking and motions for them to begin. He watches as the group he was most concerned about turns into an automatic group of five, circling around Steve.
Tony Stark, the kid he thought might think he was above the rest, angles his body so his feet rest casually into the middle of the group, giving off a relaxed vibe. Clint and Natasha sit next to each other, talking about something until Natasha pinches Clint's arm and he laughs. Bucky sits next to Steve, telling him something animatedly with his hands as Steve looks on with a tilted head and a slightly confused smile. Then Bucky turns to Tony and Bruce hears him say,
"What do you think?"
"Of what?"
"Coney Island?"
"Oh yeah, I went there a couple times with my folks, it's pretty cool."
"Yeah, I thought so too. We went again last year for my birthday!"
"Oh that's what you picked for your activity?" Steve asks, eyes alight with remembrance of their previous conversation. Bucky lights up and nods enthusiastically, launching into another story while Dr. Erskine is taking down the names of the groups.
"Steve," Bucky says suddenly, "You know where the Cyclone is?"
"The what?"
"The Cyclone?" Bucky waves, as if it's integral to his story they know what it is.
Steve looks lost, and Bucky's brow furrows.
"You know, the Cyclone? The big coaster—" he cuts himself off, "Steve have you ever been to Coney Island?"
Steve's ears go red and he ducks his head, "Uh, no."
"Oh," is all Bucky can say before he looks at Tony and something desperate in his eyes has Tony leaning forward and speaking in his fast paced but lighthearted manner.
"Well, add it to the list of places we're going during this 2 month prison sentence, okay?"
Then Tony leans back and eyes Bucky who nods, continuing his story as if nothing had happened.
—-
"This class will have exactly one project." Erskine says over his spectacles, "Which means your focus will be on one thing, but it will have many parts." He passes out the rubric and continues speaking. "Each elective will be having their students create or do or showcase something. This means that at the end of the program, when we have our showcase, that your project will be what you present." He stops at the front of the class. "Your entire time in this class will be exactly as the title says, 'Idea to Completion.' What is something you would create, sell, make, invent, and what would you use it for? This is a hypothetical however I would like tangible evidence or examples by the end of the program. You will need to come up with something. That's your idea. Is it the cure for the common cold? Or a better mode of transportation? Maybe it's a device that helps you travel, or clothes that fit every body because of the material?" He smiles and opens his arms. "Whatever you choose is your idea, and your project will be to see that idea through until it could be theoretically doable in the real world! And remember, if your project wins, you will receive a monetary scholarship that can apply to next year's program or the school of your choice!" He taps at the side of his head. "Start those engines." The bell rings, dismissing them to study hall.
After an hour of nothing but boring or bad ideas, Clint groans.
"I'm going to need food to fuel this brain."
"We just ate lunch, Clint!' Natasha groans, "How can you be—" then she stops herself and an idea forms. "Actually, you know what? I'm hungry too. How bout we take this think tank somewhere?"
"Not just anywhere." Clint rubs his hands together conspiratorially, "How about we go to Milo's?"
The group starts talking excitedly but Tony notices Steve's face is a bit stricken. "You okay Steve? Can you come?"
"Uh…"
"What?" Clint places his hands dramatically over his heart. "You can't turn down Milo's! You said it was your favorite place!"
"I know I just—" Steve tries to think of something quick, he can't say it's because he only has enough fare to get home and then back and forth tomorrow. Taking the subway to Milo's would mean he couldn't get to the program tomorrow.
Bucky watches as Steve struggles to come up with a reason, but all Bucky can think of is the incident on the subway yesterday. There had been flashing words on the little screen panel of the turnstile. Low balance.
Oh.
Bucky sits up and then groans dramatically, taking the attention off Stvee. "Guys, I just forgot, I can't go. I don't have enough subway fare. So maybe another time, okay?" He tries to say it as matter of factory as he can, trying to project that it's not a big deal.
"Subway?" Tony scoffs, then he seems to catch himself. "You all need to check out my dad's car. How about we all ride there together? You guys can ride with me." He stands up and grabs his bag, leaving no room for argument.
—-
"Jarvis!" Tony calls, waving to a thin man who looks very proper in a suit and tie.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Stark." He eyes the group behind Tony and a smile forms on his face. "And who might your friends be?"
Tony turns and points each one of them out, "this here is Clint, Natasha, Steve, and Bucky."
"Very nice to meet you all." He says genuinely.
"Nice to meet you, sir." Steve pipes up, causing Jarvis' smile to widen even further.
"Where are we going today?" Jarvis asks, catching onto the situation.
"Can you take us over to Milo's?"
"Excellent, sir. It's been awhile since we've eaten there."
"Yeah, too long." He points to a shiny black sedan. "Hop in."
—-
Jarvis drops them off at the front of the deli, and circles around back for parking.
"I can't believe that car fit us all." Clint muses, "looks normal from the outside."
"Yeah, my dad likes to be able to face his other passengers, so he designed this car like a limo, but regular sized."
"That's insane." Bucky exclaims, shrugging off his backpack. "It's hot out here."
"Yeah, New York in the summer can be brutal." Clint agrees.
They look at the brick storefront, each brick painted a different color and walk through the front door.
—-
"Is that—-" a booming voice cuts through the deli, "Is that my nephew?"
"Hey uncle Ricky." Clint calls back "how's business."
"Better now that you're here! It's been too long since you stopped by." A very tall man, with a huge broad chest and large beard steps out around the counter, his apron tied around his waist. "Who'rya palls?"
"This is Tony, Natasha, Bucky and Steve."
"Well, hello! Welcome to Milo's!"
They chorus their hellos and he leads them to an empty booth. "Come to the counter when you're ready to order!" He disappears to help the steady stream of customers and they settle into the booth.
"Okay, I say we order first, and then we try to come up with some good ideas. Agreed?"
The group nods and they stand up, ready to file towards the counter when Clint notices that Steve stays in the booth.
"You coming, Steve?"
Steve startles but smooths his face over, "Oh, nah, I'm good, I'm not really hungry."
Natasha suddenly appears besides the table and leans casually against the plastic top. "What's up?"
"Steve says he's not hungry, but this is—"
"That's fine." Natasha says with an airy laugh. "Not everyone can eat as much as you, Clint." She gently shoves Clint away from the table and pushes him til he's in line.
"Natasha, what are you doing? I'm trying to get that kid to eat!"
"Yeah and embarrass him in the process?" Natasha hisses. "I don't think he can pay—"
"Who can't pay?" A deep voice cuts into their conversation. Clint looks up to see his uncle leaning over the glass counter, watching them like a hawk.
"No, it's nothing—" Natasha starts but Clint cuts her off.
"Our friend, Steve." He glances back to see Steve has pulled out a sketchbook and is drawing away.
"That kid?" His uncle asks, "he looks like he needs the most food out of all of you."
"Yeah, I don't think he gets enough food from home." Natasha admits.
Clint rounds on her, "Wait what!? Why do you say that?"
"Did you see him eat lunch today? Or yesterday?"
Clint opens his mouth and then stops. He thinks and his eyes widen. "Geez."
Clint looks at his uncle who has a somber expression as he studies Steve's frail frame in the booth. "Something about that kid rings a bell. What'dya say his last name was?"
"I didn't." Clint huffs, "But his name is Steve Rogers, he said his mom used to eat here when she was younger, maybe that's why you—"
"Rogers?" His uncle says sharply. "Like Sarah Rogers? That's Sarah Rogers' kid?"
Clint and Natasha look taken aback at his ferocity. "Uh, we don't know. He hasn't said her name." Natasha says cautiously.
His uncle doesn't ask anything else, just walks out from around the counter and heads to their booth. They watch as he slides into the seat across from Steve and leans forward. They try to hear what he's saying but over the din of the deli they can't make it out.
They see Steve shake his head up and down and they hear his Uncle laugh out loud. Bucky appears behind them, sandwich in hand. "What's going on?"
"Looks like Clint's uncle knows Steve's mom."
"Oh really?"
"What's the hold up, people?" Tony quips, shoving a potato chip in his mouth.
"We're not really sure." Natasha says.
They watch as Steve shakes his head vigorously 'no' but Clint's uncle stands up and puts his hands on his hips, saying something intensely and gesturing for Steve to get up.
Steve's ears are red, but he follows the instructions and lets himself be led up to the counter.
"I'll have you all know," Clint's Uncle says, smiling like he's won the lottery, "That Steve's mom here is famous in this deli."
"Oh yeah?" Clint asks, leaning forward intrigued. He notices the rest are all paying close attention. Steve scrunches his nose but his uncle continues.
"Of course she is!" He gestures to himself. "You know who came running when my ma was giving birth and I had my cord wrapped around my neck and the ambulance was stuck in traffic?" He points at himself and smiles, "I wouldn't be here without her! Steve, anything you want, on the house. And you tell your mom that we haven't seen her in too long, okay?"
Steve nods and smiles, but Natasha watches as it doesn't quite reach his eyes.
—-