Those words made it all fall into place, and Steve inwardly kicked himself for not thinking of it sooner. How could he expect Bucky to ask what he wanted to know if he didn’t even know what to ask about? Perhaps it had just been hope, hope that his best friend was closer to the surface than he had appeared to be.

Taking a deep breath, Steve nodded slowly before he started speaking. “We grew up in Brooklyn. I was just a scrawny kid then, but I talked big, and that got me into trouble more times than I can count. And you...” he looked over at Bucky again with a fond yet pained smile. “You were my hero.”

Maybe Captain America had gotten all the fame, but Bucky had been a true hero without any enhancements.

((I'm not entirely sure about their past so correct me if I get it wrong))