Please read the author's note at the bottom! It has some important info about the story!

"Come on Bucky, hurry up! We're going to be late for school!" Steve called behind him to his friend as they ran towards school. It was Bucky's fault they were late. He had overslept once again and then took a long time to get ready. If Steve had his way (which was never), they'd be at least 15 minutes early every day.

"I'm right behind you Steve," Bucky said, as he lagged behind his smaller friend. "I just don't understand why we're still in school. It's almost Christmas!"

"Yeah, but not yet. Come on!"

They were just about at the school when Steve heard a noise. "Help! Help me! Please! Leave him alone! Help!" Bucky and Steve looked at each other.

"We'll be late," Bucky warned.

"We can't do nothing!" Steve yelled as he started running toward the noise.

"Now how did I know you would say that?" Bucky muttered and grinned, following after Steve. They both saw a girl, with a quickly forming black eye and cut up knuckles holding a younger boy while two huge teenagers were beating up a boy who obviously couldn't take all of the hits. Steve immediately went to the girl and younger boy to make sure they were okay while Bucky punched one of the huge guys holding the victim back. Steve jumped in and they somehow got the two bullies to run away (Bucky was still kind of shocked about how exactly that happened). The victim had collapsed, holding his stomach.

"You alright?" Bucky asked the boy, helping him up and cuffing him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he groaned.

"Thank you so much," the girl said. "I'm Eleanor and these are my brothers, David" motioning to the boy getting up off the ground, "and Ben," pointing to the younger one.

"I'm Bucky and this here is Steve," Bucky told Eleanor, adding a wink to the end of his statement.

"Yeah, and we're late for school," Steve added. "Sorry. Nice to meet you, but we have to go."

"Really? Well. Thank you!" Eleanor said, kind of surprised, but grateful. She elbowed her brothers.

"Yeah thanks," Ben piped up.

"Thanks," David said gruffly, shaking both Bucky's and Steve's hands.

"You're welcome," Steve said. Then they ran off towards school, Steve dragging Bucky behind him.

AVENGERSAVENGERSAVENGERS

"Steven Rogers! What happened to you?" his mother asked as she took notice of his face while he was working on his homework that night.

"Nothing Mom. I'm fine," he told her without looking up.

"You have a shiner on your cheekbone!"

"I was just helping someone out this morning," he told her calmly.

"And this involved you getting punched?"

"Yes," Steve answered simply.

"Well did you put ice on it?" she asked, reverting back into nurse mode as she ran her fingers lightly over the bruise.

"Yes Mother."

"Good. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Positive."

"And you protected this person?"

"Bucky and I did."

"Just like your father," she muttered as she walked away from her son.

"What?" Steve asked, unable to hear what she said.

"Nothing," Ellen Rogers said lightly.

AVENGERSAVENGERSAVENGERS

This was one of the best Christmases Steve had had in a long time. The only thing that could have made it better was if his father and Mr. Barnes could have been there.

This year, since Mr. Rogers and Mr. Barnes were in Germany, Mrs. Rogers invited Bucky and his mother over for Christmas dinner. Mrs. Rogers had a tree which all four of them decorated and Mrs. Barnes brought over a turkey which they ate with vegetables and potatoes.

They even had two presents to open also. By far this was the best Christmas since the war started.

As they all sat on the apartment floor after dinner and presents, Mrs. Rogers cleared her throat. "Steve? Bucky? I have something to tell you both."

"Yes Mom?" Steve asked.

"I'm uh," she stopped and coughed. "The hospital needs me to…"

"Yes?"

"I'm getting sent overseas to Germany as a nurse in your father's unit. You're going to be staying with the Barneses for a while."

"What?" Steve was in shock.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Mrs. Rogers whispered as she started crying. Mrs. Barnes started patting her back, trying to soothe her.

"It's okay Mom," Steve tried to smile even though he was obviously torn up. "Maybe you'll make it back in time for my birthday. Or next Christmas! Maybe even with Dad!" Steve was not naïve in the slightest. He was just trying to be optimistic for himself and his mother.

"Yeah, honey," Ellen Rogers smiled through her tears.

Little did Steve know that this would be his last happy Christmas for a long time.

A/N Okay rather depressing ending. I don't think I can write anything happy. Alright, this is my new story. Hopefully I will be able to have consistent updates since I've tried to write a few chapters before I uploaded the first one. There will be drabbles for each Avengers character, definitely including Loki, Maria, Darcy, and Phil, and maybe one for Jane, Peggy, Pepper, Betty and Nick. Probably none will be love stories. I picked the title because I felt like it and a few people told me they liked the idea of the title for this story. For the next chapter, I already have Maria's done (it also includes Phil, but it might not count for his story), and I have Loki's done (same thing with Thor). I also have pieces of Darcy's and Tony's. So let me know which one you would rather have and I'll do my best to get them done for you. I also don't have any ideas for most of the kids so if you want to send me an idea I might use it for someone I don't have a set plan for yet.

Sorry for such a long author's note! They probably won't always be like this!

Please review, they make me so happy! And like I said, any ideas just leave it in a review or pm me.

Thanks!

~iamnumbernine

Edit: forgot to say before; I based the fight scene on a scene in Newsies, a Disney musical starring Christian Bale and Bill Pullman