I guess you're less of a blockhead than I thought, [He teases, unapologetically.] Good thing too, I've got enough of you goons to keep an eye on as is.
[Not that he minds, really. His entire squad and most of his company had either been killed, evacuated or absorbed into the Commandos after Azzano and the rescue, so it's been a while since he's felt like he's had a bunch of kids to help keep an eye on, or give reassurance to. And while it's not like he'd regretted joining the Commandos and saying goodbye to the 107th, there's a part of him that'd still worried about most of those guys, wherever they'd ended up. Stiles isn't that much younger than some of the guys he'd led, and he's definitely older than at least a couple of them, and not everyone - not even NCOs or officers - had been that great with fresh recruits.
They hadn't wanted to get attached, not after losing so many guys back when they'd took Sicily and trudged through Italy, and Bucky hadn't either, but he couldn't just leave the kids feeling scared shitless and alone.
Honestly, as we all know, Bucky's historically been bad about walking away from an underdog.
He stops to chew and swallow another mouthful of pancakes before asking his next question, sobering up a little bit to do so.]
no subject
[Not that he minds, really. His entire squad and most of his company had either been killed, evacuated or absorbed into the Commandos after Azzano and the rescue, so it's been a while since he's felt like he's had a bunch of kids to help keep an eye on, or give reassurance to. And while it's not like he'd regretted joining the Commandos and saying goodbye to the 107th, there's a part of him that'd still worried about most of those guys, wherever they'd ended up. Stiles isn't that much younger than some of the guys he'd led, and he's definitely older than at least a couple of them, and not everyone - not even NCOs or officers - had been that great with fresh recruits.
They hadn't wanted to get attached, not after losing so many guys back when they'd took Sicily and trudged through Italy, and Bucky hadn't either, but he couldn't just leave the kids feeling scared shitless and alone.
Honestly, as we all know, Bucky's historically been bad about walking away from an underdog.
He stops to chew and swallow another mouthful of pancakes before asking his next question, sobering up a little bit to do so.]
How're you holding up?