1: Idiot

For whatever odd reason, that little kid living across the street would always catch Bucky's eye when he was with the others. And really he could never figure it out until he started watching him more carefully, because Steve somehow stood out from the others, and it wasn't because of his small frame.

When he'd watch him from his window and or cast subtle glances during casual games of tag, the tiniest bit of smile in Steve would throw Bucky off. There was no doubt that Steve would lose in a fight with the other kids, but even so he would never back down from one, standing up for himself and others, never giving up.

When Bucky started inviting him to their games the others would groan and complain, but the spark that appeared in Steve's eye when Bucky approached him was oddly comforting.

He was a total idiot.
And slowly, Bucky grew close to Steve.

If anything, he learned that the little kid was braver and stronger than he looked, more selfless and just as awkward as he imagined. They soon became great friends and he had begun to notice how much "more" hate was being thrown at his adorable little friend simply because of his weak body. Bucky wanted him to break out of his shell. If Steve had been less timid and tried to communicate with others he was sure that the others would see Steve as he himself did. But, no matter how hard he tried throughout the years, all the social gatherings he held never stopped Steve from being… Steve.

He'd continue as if nothing, chasing on his dream hoping to protect everyone whether you agree with him or not. Without realising, Bucky grew very, very fond of this little fellow and decided to simply accompany him on his journey to change the world.

So when the Steve that got beat up in the alley way of a cinema charged into the enemy's base and rescued him, he wasn't as surprised as he thought he would be. Well, him suddenly being as tall, if not even taller than him (he didn't want to admit) did shock a little.

During the trip back (after barely escaping the enormous explosion mind you that), Steve had explained himself and given a reason as to why it looked like he had suddenly hit a miracle growth spurt. And really, Bucky was very much angered- without care he felt like he would accidentally recreate the explosion earlier.

What an idiot he was! Firstly for charging into the enemy's base alone to "rescue him" (although predictable), but secondly for volunteering for such a dangerous experiment. Steve had explained how much more recognition he had received after being all buffed up but seriously, he hadn't left him for long and he managed to get himself in so much trouble already.

Bucky remembered giving him an earful that time, while Steve just nodded and nodded, keeping his mouth shut and shyly placing a hand behind his neck every once and awhile, ducking whenever Bucky came up with a reason as to how stupidly dangerous Steve's ideas were.

In the end, Bucky couldn't really maintain his supposingly angry mood at Steve for long because the scrawny little kid from Brooklyn did somehow manage to save everyone- Bucky was simply amazed at how Steve had managed to find his very own way to chase his dream… although it was always evident that no matter how hard he trained he would likely never overcome his physical limitations, he continued to try and eventually he was changed and magnified through the power of science.

Now that he was a surprisingly healthy little- no, big fella, Bucky could stop worrying about Steve's sicknesses and only had to worry about his timidness, because apparently the serum couldn't help with that. In any case, he realised that Steve was ultimately chosen because of his big generous heart, so really, he hasn't changed much in Bucky's mind.

Oh how physical appearances changes everyone's attitude, the praise Steve receives now is incomprehensible to Bucky as humble little Steve still somehow lacks confidence.

"You ready to follow Captain America into the jaws of death?"
"Hell no. That little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight, I'm following him."

So in the end, when he was dangling off the side of the train, one would expect slow motion flashbacks, regrets, and the fear of death to run through Bucky's mind, but all that was left was the emotion of worry. No matter what, he was sure that the horrified face of his amazing little friend would stick to him until the end of the line, because Steven Grant Rogers was truly an idiot, and Bucky just wasn't ready to leave him alone.

2: Ephemeral

Steve Rogers was an ephemeral one. Despite being apart of her life for a short amount of time, he became one of, if not the most significant part of her life.

She met him when she oversaw the candidates for Project Rebirth, despite being noticeably skinnier and weak bodied, he was also more determined than the others. He managed to put a genuine smile on her face every time he did something smarter and braver than the others.

When he was selected as the candidate, Peggy was glad, and escorted him to the designated location. Along the ride, she was able to interact more with the little fellow, despite being slightly awkward and really, hopeless at speaking to a woman, Peggy couldn't deny that she was charmed by his honesty and kindness.

Steve was one strong-minded person, he managed to crack jokes that eased her anxiousness during the beginning of the experiment, and she still couldn't believe how he had replied to her question after the clearly painful but successful transformation.

"How do you feel?"
"Taller."

However, despite his unbelievable achievements, it was when he lost James, or "Bucky" he called, when she truly realised how vulnerable Steve was. She watched helplessly as he exclaimed that he couldn't get drunk- and while she was somewhat relieved, she also couldn't suggest a better alternative to wash away the sorrow.

Despite everything, Steve hadn't changed at all throughout the time she had known him. The serum couldn't fix his hopelessness in women, and Peggy tried really hard to pretend to be angry when more women approached Captain America.

And in the end, she had regretted that.

Because she had waited far too long, and expected Captain America to remain invincible- yes, Captain America was invincible, but Steve Rogers wasn't.

Peggy never felt more helpless in her life, when Steve Rogers was crashing down into the ocean to save the rest of America. She was selfish- she knew- but dammit Steve there is another way, it doesn't matter if the rest of America is blown up, because all that matters is that you remain.

On the day of their date, she waited.
It was raining.
She did a rain check and it said that it would rain, but that doesn't mean their date was cancelled.
So she waited.

Until Howard selfishly dragged her away and promised that he would find him.

3: Odd

Steve was an odd little child to Howard Stark.

The first time he met him was during the Project Rebirth, yet he seemed familiar enough as if he'd seen him before. Back then, he was just so terribly small, he seemed so fragile that the simple gust of wind would blow him away. He was so awkward and weird that Howard began to question whether he was the right choice for the project- perhaps it was because he was so weak and frail that it would be alright if the project failed (not that it would, since he's apart of it).

When he heard the painful screams of Steve during the beginning of the experiment, the recurring thought of "what have I done to this poor little boy" ran through his head, and just as he was about to stop the machine, the voice of the odd little boy came saying that he insisted that they continue. At that moment Howard couldn't wrap his head around the situation, that kid was a few inches from death, the pained screams were frightening, yet he insisted for the project to continue.

When Steve finally came out of the chamber, a wave of relieved washed through Howard, he was quite the dashing little boy (not as good looking as himself though, that was not something the serum could do). As he was about to greet him to the huge success of the project, he witnessed the 6'2 boy, without hesitation, chase after the gunman that shot down Erskine while he himself was still frozen in shock. He wondered whether the new body had given him so much confidence to do such a thing, or if he would've done it either way despite everything, something made him think that it was the latter.

After that, everything went by quickly, instead of becoming the promised Super Soldier, Steve was used as propaganda, yet his wacky smile suggested that he enjoyed that part as well despite the overall stupidity of the situation. Steve claimed that he was simply "glad that he could help", although Howard couldn't really figure out what he meant by helping.

It all changed when Peggy approached him one day and convinced him to fly that oddball to the HYDRA factory in Austria, Rogers was confused and thought that he and Carter were in a relationship somehow, right before he jumped off the plane. Even when he returned from being the hero, he wondered if Steve would like to give a speech to claim his credit and show off (he knew he would if he had manage to accomplish such a thing), yet Steve simply claimed that he had ended his show tour.

He continued to prove as odd trouble when he managed to stay confused and anger Carter at the same time, while he would agree that women were an enigma, Howard couldn't believe himself when such innocence dawned upon his responsibility, he was a 6'2 man for christ's sake! It was these little moments that reminded him that Steve was once a 5'4, frail and sickly child that obviously lacked social interaction and protection… but please, these beings are too pure for Howard to handle.

Finally, after the countless adventures, when Steve, Captain fricking America, decided to selfishly crash the Valkyrie, Tesseract and himself in the ocean, Howard was devastated. Yes he was an odd one, but that was not okay. He knew this was basically an impossible task, but Howard Stark would refuse to abandon his… friend. No matter how many expeditions it took, he would find him in the ocean, and then murder his ass if he wasn't dead already, give him at least a ten hour long lecture, and give him the love and protection he deserved for being such a lovable oddball.

—

I've had this written out for a while, and planned for this to span for every important character in the MCU. Even though I have their prompts written out, I couldn't really finish it properly, so I figured I'd just upload whatever I had. Depending on how this story is received, and if people would like to see a version with the others (mainly the Avengers) then maybe I would write that up too.

In any case, I hope you enjoyed!