Chapter Text
“Rogers and Barnes”, in black serif letters, center the translucent window of the mahogany door. “C. Phillips firm – attorney at law” is printed, almost with emphasis, underneath the names as if proudly bragging the ownership of these two young, bright attorneys.
The C. Phillips firm is the most prestigious law firm in the country. In fact, prestigious doesn’t even begin to do justice to the firm’s highly decorated, distinguished, and reputable status. Only the top graduate from each law educational facility receives the opportunity of admission; and even then, the selection process is careful and meticulous. For that reason, it is notoriously known for achieving the highest win ratio in court from these excruciatingly selected attorneys. Nothing less than success. That’s the C. Phillips firm’s guarantee.
Every year, only the brightest of the bright, the smartest of the smart, and the best of the best is selected for admission. Until one man convinced the firm to select a team of two graduates.
Steve Rogers: self-motivated, passionate, a leader. If implicit qualities have weight of merit on their file, Steve’s file would have broken the floor bearings of the selection conference room and left an imprint on the concrete foundation.
Steve has the natural talent of connecting with people, reaching into their hearts and resonating with their emotions. His words and actions are always gently laced with genuine concern and compassion that drew people to him, forming a bond of understanding and trust no attorney could replicate.
To contrast his emphatic qualities, Steve is swift in his decisions and firm in his stance, which colors him as an exemplary leader or, one might even say, a captain.
Even the C. Phillips firm, whose heart had long forgotten the warmth of humanity in the frigid atmosphere of coerced success, felt a twitch in their chest during Steve’s mock trial examination as he poured his arguments into the courtroom. It was something the firm later called it, “a glimmer of hope in the darkest hour of despair”.
James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes: quick-witted, charming, talker. Barnes is a socialite at his finest or, depending on the recipient, at his worst. No matter the situation, no matter the person, Barnes is able to twist words into facetious retorts to either infuriate or tickle the ear. Always the perfect response. The combination of Barnes’ wit and mouth can either get him into a passionate home or thrown out onto the streets.
In the courtroom, Bucky has the ear to identify false accusations and testimonies. A skill developed and refined from keen observation of human social behavior, which he learned from his many social encounters. Bucky understood the symptoms of a liar, the uncontrolled body movements and irregular speech patterns.
Once, Bucky single-handedly convicted a witness to murder during cross-examination because he noticed curious, subtle movements in the witness’s facial complexion, along with tones Bucky categorized as suspicious. Much to Steve’s objection, Bucky decided to take a different route with the witness than planned. It didn’t take long for Bucky to press the witness into a trap, where the witness accidently convicted himself to murder. Bucky wouldn’t let Steve hear the end of that.
However, more often than not, Steve would close cases through his clear, logical arguments by using his speech to grasp the hearts of the jury. Bucky respects that. He respects Steve even more by his incapability of displaying compassion under false pretenses, in addition to being completely unaware of his shining talent.
Bucky often watches Steve in amazement as he echoes through the courtroom, connecting person to person with an invisible string of justice. Sometimes, he would catch himself dazed, wiping the grin before anyone else could see.
When James “Bucky” Barnes closed cases, he would constantly rub it in Steve’s nose, to which Steve would roll his eyes and brush it off. That’s because Steve doesn’t have to wait very long before he would close the next case, ending Barnes single winning streak, as well as his running mouth.
Whenever Steve Rogers tried to payback the same gratuitous gesture, Bucky would greet his winning streak with a sarcastic tongue. “Oh yeah? Who was it again that got you the testimony we needed?” Bucky would say. “Oh little Stevey, what would you do without me?” Steve would match his sarcasm by reluctantly admitting his relevancy to the success of the case, to which Bucky would retort, “Punk”, and Steve would mutter, “Jerk”.
With that, the two of them would resume their work, grinning from cheek to cheek behind papers, coffee mugs, or turning their backs all together to hide their affection.
Before their employment at the C. Phillips firm, Steve and Bucky struggled through the vigorous program at law school. Vigorous, malicious, and gruesome. Yet, Steve somehow managed to perform admirably, despite the pressure and stress. Bucky attributed Steve’s brilliance to his resolute determination to obtain an outstanding academic record, the highest degree in order to help as many people as possible. Bucky admired that about Steve, his inner desire for justice. As a result, Bucky would match Steve’s brilliance, creating a healthy, spirited competition between the two aspiring attorneys.
The program required periodic mock trial examinations as an assessment tool to gauge the growth of their students. For each mock trial examination, a scenario was detailedly outlined in a heavy stack of stapled papers, which the school passed out to each student. The thick packet contained a fabricated situation with testimonies, backgrounds, statements, personality traits, medical records, criminal records, financial records, military records, all sorts of incredibly detailed aspects of the parties involved.
The packet was designed to overwhelm the students with copious amounts of information. The students’ job was to select the appropriate information to support and defend their claim. In the concocted cases, there was enough material to support both sides of the prosecution and defense. However, the objective was to provide the better, the more compelling argument, based on the information provided in their packets. That side won the case.
The prosecution and defense was composed of two students. Steve and Bucky worked together as a solid team to pass through their examinations. The pair complimented the other like two sides of a coin. Steve was book smart. He busied himself in absorbing their law book word-for-word, retaining the majority of the know-hows in law and court. This knowledge became extremely useful as Steve could whip out clauses, unheard of by the opposing team, to prevent their objectionable arguments and win the mock trial exam.
Bucky suffered in that department. He was frustrated with the absurd amount of clauses he was required to retain. Half of the reason was because Bucky couldn’t force himself to sit and read. The other half was because he would occasionally slip out to the local bars for relief. But, Steve was always there to help Bucky with retaining clauses, as Bucky referred to Steve as the clause machine.
However, where Bucky lacked, he excelled in another way. Bucky was street smart. In preparation for mock trial exams, Bucky had an eye and intuition to see the relevancy of distinct entities, connecting two irreverent points and establishing a connected relationship. As Bucky flipped through the enormous packet, he would draw comparisons, construct profiles, weigh evidence, and piece them together like a puzzle. Bucky could see through the information, understanding the links between the scattered pieces.
Bucky gathered the relevant information; as a team, Steve and Bucky ironed out their arguments; and, Steve effectively delivered their case, using the clauses to their advantage.
The book smart and street smart routine made up where the other lacked, so much so that the two acquired the name as the “dynamic duo”. A pair that brought shivers down the prosecution’s neck just by reading the names of the defense for the mock trial exam.
During the last year, students were required to represent real clients as their final examination. Through the school’s recognized program, students were capable of representing clients by the last year of their vigorous education. The program assigned a case to a pair of teams to represent the plaintiff and the defendant. The case was filed to the school by the affected parties, accepting their case to be used as an exam for students in exchange for representation at a reduced price.
Because of the reality and severity of the case, each team was given the entire semester to handle their disposition, during which each team acquired evidence, testimonies, and witnesses on their own accord, composing their own packet of information.
The audience of the mock courtroom was split into two groups. One side was open to the public on a first come first serve basis. The other was reserved for high positioned individuals as a member of a board, committee, or department in the country.
Head of law firms, governmental officials, and corporate companies attended the examination to observe the skills of the graduating attorneys. These sessions were perfect opportunities to seek out talented attorneys. Thus, during the examination, these highly decorated individuals would note certain students, who impressed them, for reference.
Among them was the C. Phillips firm. Every team desired to impress this particular firm as it had the reputable status of prestige and wealth. Throughout each examination trial, each member of the team demonstrated their abilities to elevate their name, hoping the firm would recognize it when considering applications.
Steve and Bucky preformed valiantly, displaying each of their talents to the audience. Bucky cleverly pressed witnesses during cross-examination to further their case and discredit the opposition, while Steve captured the court from his opening statement to his well-construed closing statement, thundering his words passionately. The jury returned from their discussion. The final verdict decided.
Steve and Bucky won the case.
Graduation was one of the major high points in Steve’s life. The ceremony was long and the speech obvious, but the anticipation of receiving his diploma filled Steve with anxiety and exhilaration. But, none could compare to his uncontainable satisfaction and thrill of having Bucky by his side. The two had always stuck together, from fighting bullies together, sharing an apartment together, joining law school together, fighting mock trials together, to finally graduating together.
“Steve Rogers”. Steve walked nervously to the stage, accepted the handed diploma, and quickly returned to his seat. “James Buchanan Barnes”. Bucky swaggered to the stage, accepted his diploma, and strutted to his seat, savoring the moments of each stride.
After graduation, Bucky dragged Steve to their local bar. The two official attorneys celebrated their monumental achievement with rounds of cheap beer. Flustered with alcohol, Steve continued to drink, much to Bucky’s insistence, making up all the time he denied himself during his studies.
As the night progressed into the later hours, Steve thought Bucky wanted to celebrate his night with a special lady. Steve pointed to a flock of ladies, chatting amongst themselves in the corner of the bustling bar. “Nah,” Bucky said. “Today is special. I’m spending my night with you.” Steve nudged him on the arm with his own, pushing him harder than expected, grinning in his mug. The two young men laughed and laughed throughout the night, enjoying the other’s company, as they drowned themselves with a never ending supply of beer and banter.
The next morning, Steve woke up in his bed, half-naked with a shirt tied around his head. His pants were missing, revealing his tight shorts, and covered in flour from head to toe. Specs of powder dropped from his disheveled hair as his charcoaled hands ran through his head. Bucky was collapsed next to him, almost falling off of the bed, with black dust smudged across his face, neck, arms, and naked chest. His pants were also missing, revealing his boxer shorts, and Steve’s name charcoaled illegibly all over Bucky’s calves and thighs. Steve looked around at the scattered empty bottles and blotches of white and black powder surrounding the bed, leading out into the hallway.
Steve tried to remember the events of the night before, but the entire fiasco was a blur. “What a night that must have been,” Steve said as he walked into the kitchen for a remedy to his pounding head.
After graduation and the forgotten celebration, Steve and Bucky applied to the C. Phillips firm. Steve figured he can use the firm’s well-known status to reach out to as many people as possible. Once they submitted their applications, they waited, hoping for the best.
As the C. Phillips firm vigorously flipped through the piling candidates, carelessly throwing files in an already filled trash can, the firm stopped twice. Steve Rogers. James Buchanan Barnes.
A hard decision.
Steve possessed a unique quality of mysterious genuineness, whereas Bucky possessed the quality of a clever tongue, which was one of the cornerstone qualities of the C. Phillips firm. Through a tireless debate, the firm finally decided on Steve Rogers due to his excellent academic mindset and self-motivation to excel.
Steve remembers that day as if it happened yesterday.