Rebecca was sitting at the kitchen island eating Cheerios when Bucky made his way downstairs. He made himself some toast and sat beside her. Rebecca was a sophomore at Bucky's school.

"How is school so far?" Bucky asked her.

Rebecca turned to face him, swallowing a mouthful of Cheerios. "It's alright," she said. She had been there over a week already and Bucky, being the horrible brother he was, had forgotten to ask her how things were.

"Have you made any new friends?" Bucky hadn't even seen her around at school much, besides walking past her sometimes to get to P.E.

"No." She shovelled a mouthful of Cheerios into her mouth. It was obvious she didn't really want to talk about school. However, Bucky still pushed her.

"What about Stacy? Nellie? No?" Stacy and Nellie had been her best friends back when she was ten, but he supposed that just like with him and Steve, things must've not been the same between them.

Rebecca shrugged. "I talked to Stacy a couple of times."

"But that's it?"

"Yeah. I mean, I don't think she hates me or anything, she just is over being my friend. Like, it's not as if we we firsts since first grade or anything," Rebecca said bitterly.

"She'll come around," Bucky tried to reassure her.

"I dunno. . ."

Rebecca left for school shortly after. She was complaining loudly about how she had to take the bus, and that Bucky shouldn't driven her considering he drove himself to school everyday anyway. Which, she added in, looking dubious, he should've done everyday because an extra person in the car really wasn't a hassle.

Bucky almost wished he hadn't worn his hearing aids that day. Without them, it was much easier to drown her out. He didn't usually wear them, which annoyed both Winifred and George a great deal because they were very expensive. He had lived without them for a while, and had gotten used to it so that when he finally got the hearing aids he almost didn't like them. He didn't wear them enough to allow himself to get used to them. He wore them at home sometimes, just to appease his parents.

Bucky wouldn't be going to school that day because he was suspended for two days. The only comfort he had was knowing that Pierce was suspended too, which had taken some convincing on Bucky's part. He had wanted Pierce to get in trouble for being a complete asshole, but at the same time he didn't want to get himself out of trouble, feeling as if he deserved every punishment he got. In the end, Principal Fury resolved to suspending Pierce for a day, ultimately agreeing that they had both somehow played a part.

Being suspending wouldn't have actually been that bad, Bucky figured, if it hadn't been for the fact that he was grounded  for two weeks. No tv—as if he watched it anyway—and no phone. It could've been worse. Winifred agreed with George when he said that not allowing Bucky to hang around with friends probably wasn't the best idea considering their situation.

What Winifred didn't understand was that Bucky relied on his phone as a means of calming himself down when his friends were unavailable. He couldn't exactly explain this without worrying his mother too much. He had looked down at his arm with hatred that Winifred mistook for hatred of herself, which resulted in two weeks of grounding instead of one. George had stared at his son apologetically, somewhat understanding.

Bucky had virtually no means to entertain himself and only stared down at the countertop. It was dusted with toast crumbs from what he assumed was his slob of a dad. George was already gone, having had to leave work early for his office job.

Winifred left without saying goodbye to Bucky, which he didn't find all too surprising but still left him feeling slightly disappointed. The two never left the house without saying bye to each other; it was a sort of routine from childhood that had only been broken a few times.

He would've looked for his phone but he knew better than that. Winifred would've stuffed it in her purse that was so large it was practically a rucksack.

Bucky ventured to the couch and turned on the tv to flick through the channels. He finally settled for the news, knowing that he wouldn't watch whatever was on anyways. He kicked his feet up on the coffee table and stretched his arms, folding them behind his head.

It wasn't so bad not having to be at school, but Bucky couldn't imagine a worse torture than being left in his own mind.

As fate would have it, Bucky's day wasn't going to be as terrible as he imagined. It started off with a knock on the door, which at first Bucky seriously debated not answering. What good would come of it, anyway? It was probably just some salesperson trying to sell useless stuff no one ever used anyway.

His feet carried him to the door, curiosity getting the better of him. He was surprised to meet Natasha on the other side, her eyebrow raised.

"Hello Barnes," she said, pushing past him and walking into the house.

"What are you doing here, Nat?" Bucky had very little patience in that moment. If Natasha was just here to mock him he wanted her out. Though it seemed the girl had no intentions of leaving just yet.

"I came to talk to you." She ventured further into the house, looking around her and inspecting every little detail under her scrutinizing gaze. It was rather unnerving. "I heard what happened. News gets around pretty fast, doesn't it?"

Bucky watched her feet that were currently tracking dirt everywhere. His eyes widened at the prospect of Winifred coming home and seeing the mess. She would be furious and Bucky would most likely be grounded for even longer. He wouldn't even know how to explain that it wasn't him, but a psychopath redhead girl in his grade. In fact, that would probably only make matters worse.

He hastily stepped in front of her. She stopped immediately and looked up at him, a smirk on her face.

"At least take your shoes off," Bucky said, leading her back to the door where a mat was, shoes neatly lined up against the wall.

She did. Bucky was forced to get a broom and sweep up the mess. Natasha offered to help, but Bucky only waved her off. It was clear she had little interest in helping anyway, and probably only wanted to keep up appearances.

"How do you know where I live?" asked Bucky. Even his friends didn't know where he lived yet.

Natasha plopped herself down on the sofa and kicked her legs up on the coffee table, nearly missing a mug half full of hot chocolate that was left behind from Rebecca. She regarded Bucky with amusement, her brow lifted.

"Steve told me," she said.

"Steve told you?" Bucky spluttered.

"Yep."

It shouldn't have been all that surprising that Steve knew where he lived. After all, Sarah and Winifred often talked to each other. Sarah had even visited once, though obviously Steve had been adamant about not tagging along. Bucky supposed his address must've been passed along to Steve.

"So you just asked him, and he told you," Bucky said, struggling for anything much else to say.

"Of course." Natasha was becoming more entertained by the second, Bucky could tell.

"How did you know he'd have my address?" Bucky sat down beside Natasha once he finished sweeping. He was going to offer her a drink, however he wasn't too pleased by her company and didn't feel very inclined to show her much kindness.

"I didn't. Lucky guess."

"Don't you have a class to get to?" Bucky asked, already annoyed by her visit, which he thought was extended as it was.

Nat shook her head. "Free period. Still, I don't have all day. I did come here for a reason. It's my fault you were suspended. I'm sorry."

Bucky narrowed his eyes, surprised at her apology and at the same time not quite believing she was being genuine. Natasha didn't seem like the type of person to go out of her way just to apologize to someone. Especially someone that she barely knew.

"It is partially your fault, yes," Bucky said finally. Natasha gave him a look. "Did you want to tell you it wasn't? Would you rather I lie? It's your fault that Pierce was pissed at  me. But it's my fault that I used this."

He held out his metal arm. He was looking at it the same way that he always did, with that same look of disgust that he could never seem to mask no matter how hard he tried.

"There's a lot of rumours going around right now, according to Steve," Natasha said. "They started yesterday, after I left school. Apparently they've gotten worse since this morning. I don't think you'd want to hear what everyone is saying."

Bucky hid his surprise at the mention of Steve, not wanting to make this about his old friend yet again.

"Maybe I would," he said.

"You wouldn't. Though I'd like to hear the truth firsthand."

So he told her. He didn't miss a detail. It didn't take long, considering the fight was very short lived. Natasha's face was emotionless, displaying no indication to show what she thought about the story.

"Well, it seems more probable than what I've been hearing," Natasha said after a few moments. Bucky sighed in relief. He hadn't realized how much he wanted Natasha to believe him. He wasn't even sure why he wanted her to believe him.

"It doesn't matter now." Bucky stared at Natasha's feet, which had black socks covering them. He was trying to look anywhere but her face; he hardly even realized where he was looking. "They all probably think I'm a monster."

"I'll try to tell them who really is at fault here. I wonder what asshole started this all. Whoever it was, they seemed to think you enjoy using that cool arm of yours to beat people to a pulp. Must've of seen you use it. They were probably scared, no offence. I'm not. Honestly, I'm a little jealous." 

Natasha didn't know how he had gotten his metal arm. Still, he couldn't help but be a little pissed off at her. He'd give anything to not have that arm. And yet even more to have his brother back.

They talked for a little while longer. Bucky tried to steer around the topic of his suspension, and Natasha, realizing this, in turn tried to talk about anything else. At one point, this being her pet fish that died when she was seven, and the funeral her family had for it.

Natasha couldn't stay long, as she had a class to get to. Bucky couldn't lie, while when she first arrived he desperately wanted her to leave, but once she was at the door he wished she would stay. It would at else help him to be less lonely.

Nevertheless, he had to bid her goodbye. She promised to come again the next day during her free period.

Bucky found himself looking forward to it.

**

When Rebecca barged in through the door she did not look happy. Bucky was almost scared to ask her what was wrong. Something must have happened at school. Either way, she looked absolutely furious and Bucky was afraid he would say the wrong thing and set her off.

She slammed her backpack on the floor, not seeming to care that it was put right in front of the door. Somehow, Bucky was sure he would get the blame for that. He got off from where he sat on the couch to put her backpack away in the closet.

He didn't miss Rebecca's loud footsteps as she made her way into the kitchen. Bucky followed behind her, quietly and cautiously.

"I hate Stacy!" She spun on her heels and faced her brother, a wild look in her eyes.

Bucky leaned against the counter. "What did she do?"

While Bucky and Rebecca often fought with each other and acted as if they hated each other's guts, at the end of the day they were still brother and sister and loved each other. Bucky was getting into his protective brother mode and was ready to take down Stacy, if need be. Maybe not literally, because she was two years younger, after all. However, he would have some things to say to her if she hurt his sister.

"That attention seeking, selfish bitch, fu—"

"Becca!"

She was gathering a rather odd collection of snacks that consisted of sliced cheese, ritz crackers, Oreos, and Pringles. Bucky had to stop her before she got too carried away; she was just about to reach for a container of chocolate frosting.

"Sorry." She ran her hands through her hair. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

Bucky shook his head. "Neither do I. So what did Stacy do? You didn't hate her this much just this morning."

Rebecca looked at Bucky, suddenly apprehensive. "Did you here about the rumours?"

He nodded. "If you're talking about the ones in which I am a monster that just about nearly killed Pierce, then yes." She opened her mouth to reply but he began again, not letting her continue. "Though he deserved it, something I bet no one is mentioning."

The fire was back in her eyes. "Yes. That one. I heard about it yesterday. I didn't want to mention it to you because I was hoping that it would go away before you came back to school. But today I found out who started the rumours."

"Who?" Bucky urged her to continue.

Was it the blonde girl who witnessed it all, he wondered. It must've been. She was the only one around.

"Stacy," she spat the name as if it were poison.

Stacy. Of course it was. Bucky had thought that the girl looked familiar, though it was five years since he had seen her. She was only ten years old then. Now she looked more mature, had put effort into her appearance, and was wearing a thick layer of makeup that almost made her unrecognizable.

Rebecca had begun to put away all the food she had taken out.

"She saw me do it," Bucky said at last.

"Yeah, that's what she was saying," said Rebecca. "Though in her eyes Pierce was just some poor victim subjected to your torture, which I find hard to believe. She made that arm of yours sound like it was some sort of weapon you were bringing to school everyday."

"Isn't it?" Bucky glanced down at his arm, all hard metal, electrical whirring on the inside.

"No!" Rebecca immediately protested. "Why would you even say that?"

"It's true," Bucky huffed. "This arm could do a lot of damage, if I wanted."

Rebecca seemed to be struggling to say anything back to him, which he knew was because she realized he was right. Maybe it didn't have to be a weapon, but he could easily kill someone with it. The thought terrified him.

"But you don't," Rebecca said finally. "That's what matters. This time, it was only out of self defence. I know you didn't start that fight. You hate that arm. You would never want to use it unless you had to."

Bucky sighed. "You're right."

They were silent for the next few moments. All the food was now put away expect the frosting. Rebecca grabbed a spoon and began to eat it straight from the container, which Bucky wasn't about to judge because he had done the same thing many times.

"You should've seen her face." Rebecca set her spoon down and gave her brother a questioning look. "Stacey's. She looked terrified."

Rebecca pushed the frosting aside and looked to the floor. "I think she was," she signed, as if afraid of saying it out loud. She looked up again. "That's what makes it worse. She was genuinely scared. It just makes me so angry! You aren't a monster!"

Bucky took a deep breath. "Maybe I should just talk to her."

"No!" Rebecca startled at her own suddenness. "No. She doesn't deserve even that. She had no right to start those rumours, even if it was out of fear."

"Yeah, but I have to show her there's nothing to be afraid of." As he said it he hardly believed it himself. "If she had the power to start it, surely she can do the same to stop it. Don't you think?"

"Sure." She threw her hands up. "Do whatever you want, but I'm done with her."

She left the kitchen and went up the stairs—presumably to her room—leaving the frosting abandoned on the counter.