𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓬 ❖ 𝓫. 𝓫𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓮𝓼

C H A P T E R (46) - S T A R S

The trio of Sam, Steve and Cassie had taken an unconscious Bucky to an abandoned warehouse where, despite Cassie's resistance, they had placed his metal arm in a vice.

Cassie was sat outside on the grass, taking in whatever little sun there was. She was running her hands through the blades of grass that surrounded her when she heard footsteps approaching from behind.

She turned to see Steve walking over and sitting next to her on the ground, looking out at the water she had previously been admiring - the way it shone in the sunlight, creating sparkles and shadows all around.

"Do you still love him, even now?"

Cassie sighed and kept her eyes on the water, thinking back to the 40's and everything they had been through. The good and the bad. The long and the short. The love and the hate.

"Always."

Steve also sighed as he turned to face his sister, moving some of her hair out of the way so he could see her neck. Just as he had suspected, there was a large, purple bruise on her skin that had been caused by Bucky.

As Cassie realised what he was doing, she pulled away and put her hair back in the way so he couldn't see it anymore. She had known it was there, but she didn't blame Bucky for what happened. It wasn't by his own choice to hurt her.

Before Steve could say anything, Sam called out to them both and alerted them that Bucky had come around. Both of them headed back inside, but Cassie hesitated at the door of the room Bucky was in. She let Steve go in first, reluctantly following him and hiding in the doorway. She heard them converse inside, listening with an ear pressed to the door.

"Steve." Bucky addressed quietly as he looked around the room for the face that felt the most familiar, yet she wasn't there. "What did I do? Where is she?"

Cassie couldn't bear to listen to his distress, so she quietly opened the door and let the light shine on her face so he could see her, covering the bruise with her hair.

"I'm here." She mumbled softly, still keeping her distance.

"Did I hurt you?"

The question was obviously painful for him to ask, she could see it on his face. If she answered with the truth, it would only make his pain worse.

"No."

Bucky reluctantly sent a nod in her direction, unable to decide whether she was lying. He distinctly remembered being able to tell her lies apart in the 40's, and now he felt too distant to be able to.

Sam and Steve shared a look as they both exited the room, leaving the pair alone. Cassie swallowed as she took the few steps to where Bucky was sat and placed herself carefully next to him, letting their sides touch. She took a small breath as she placed her head on his shoulder, watching how he was reluctant to meet her touch.

"You won't hurt me." She muttered softly into his arm, as if reading his thoughts.

He didn't want to accidentally hurt her, he was sure that could happen. But he trusted her and placed his free arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to his warmth.

"You were lying, weren't you?" Bucky said, finally deciding that she had been.

She didn't answer, yet placed a hand on his chest and pulled back to meet his eyes. When Bucky took her silence as a yes, he scoffed and tried to put whatever distance he could between them, unable to fully move away because of the vice.

"I knew this would happen. Everything HYDRA put inside me is still there. All he had to do was say the goddamn words."

"Who was he?" She questioned quietly.

"I don't know," he shrugged, "He wanted to know about Siberia. Where I was kept. He wanted to know exactly where."

"Why? Why would he care about that?"

He hesitated before answering, "Because I'm not the only winter soldier."

Cassie sighed and gazed at the wall, taking in the information he had given her. She could hardly keep a fight going with Bucky in the winter soldier mindset, nevermind any more like him. But finally, she reconnected their eyes and opened her mouth.

"Did they all turn out like you?"

"Worse." He sighed, "They speak 30 languages, can hide in plain sight, infiltrate, assassinate, destabilise. They can take a whole country down in one night. You'd never see them coming."

Cassie released a tired breath, knowing how powerful these people were.

"I don't suppose we could recruit them for our side." She said sarcastically, trying to have a small piece of optimism in a situation that screamed pessimism.

Bucky shrugged helplessly and slouched against the wall, finally being able to see her entirely. He recognised those eyes, her hair - everything. It took one look at her for it to all come running back, all the memories and all the feelings.

"The stars."

"Hm?" She hummed, questioning his words that had broken the eerie silence.

"The stars. You loved the stars."

With widened eyes, Cassie looked at the man she had grieved for. The man she had found alive, yet brainwashed, and even when she thought she had helped him get out of that state, he had disappeared and fallen off the radar for two years. And now here he was, sat in front of her, remembering small details about their past that meant so much.

"I did and do." She finally responded, the small gap between them becoming smaller.

He furrowed his brows for a short second as he looked away at the floor, then bringing his gaze back to her.

"And you loved me."

In what was truly a second yet felt like forever, she had thrown herself into his body, indulging his warmth. She embraced him, feeling as his free arm wrapped around her waist and held on tight. Finally, she repeated the truth.

"I did and do."