𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓬 ❖ 𝓫. 𝓫𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓮𝓼

C H A P T E R (21) - S T A R / S P A N G L E D / M A N

Steve had returned not too long after leaving, and Cassie still held the doctor in her arms, his blood soaking through her shirt.

"Cassie, come on..." Steve whispered, trying to wrap his arms around her sister to lift her up off the floor. When she refused, he kneeled down next to her. "Cassie, he's gone."

"I just need to make sure. I just need to know. Dying alone his horrible, Steve. I can't let him die...I can't, I can't..."

Steve was stunned at her upsetting words, he could see the tears in her eyes. He also knew she wasn't crying for Doctor Erskine's sake; she wasn't talking about him dying, but seeing it happen had made her lose control of her emotions.

"You aren't talking about Doctor Erskine are you...?" He trailed off, already knowing the answer. So when she didn't respond, he put her arm over his neck and helped her up, bring her to a chair she could sit down.

She was silent as Steve looked down at her, seeing his sister in a mess. She usually had bags under her eyes and no energy at all, due to her struggles at night, but alongside the bags, her eyes were red and puffy with tears.

"I just can't let him die out there...alone with no one to tell him it'll be okay. That he'll be okay. Because he can't die. He has to stay." Cassie murmured, and despite avoiding saying his name, Steve knew she was talking about Bucky.

Seeing Doctor Erskine take his last breath with no one except a girl he had never met made her heart ache. That's how everyone in the war felt like when they lay there, taking in the last of the oxygen they could before finally letting go.

"I can't live without him, Stevie."

**

Cassie stood leaning against a wall with her arms folded across her chest. Her eyes were glued onto the floor, counting each individual brick as she waited on Steve at the backstage of a theatre. She couldn't hold in her laugh as he came out from behind a curtain, seeing him in a super-hero costume.

"Hey! Don't laugh!"

"I'm sorry, it's...its...amazing." She laughed, supporting herself by placing a hand on the wall as she tried to regain her composure.

Steve rolled his eyes as he flattened out a crease in the costume, trying his best to straighten his posture and act confident, to no avail. This only caused Cassie to laugh even more, struggling for breath as she prodded at the red, white and blue outfit.

"I can't believe this. I really can't believe Bucky isn't here to witness...this." She could barely talk through her laughs, but she still managed to bring a smile to Steve's face, purely because of her happiness. He knew her mind had been taken off of Bucky's possible death, even if it meant he had to dress like an idiot for it to happen, it was worth it. Just to see her happy and not focusing on her problems.

"Alright alright, that's enough." Steve said as her laughter began to die out, "I've got a war to promote."

"Good luck Captain America!" She answered, her own joke relapsing her into a fit of laughter.

The name her brother had been given; Captain America. All because he got taller and stronger. Cassie was just upset considering now she couldn't tackle him to the ground anymore if he pissed her off, but instead he could pick her up like a feather and throw her in the opposite direction. Not that he ever did that though.

Cassie watched on as her brother grabbed a cardboard shield and his mask before making his way onto the stage. She pressed her lips into a thin line to hold back her laughter, occasionally not being able to help it.

And that's how their weeks went, Steve advertising the war, however much Cassie disagreed with doing so, and getting the entire nation to think it was a good thing.

**

Whilst Steve addressed a crowd of soldiers in his costume, Cassie watched as he got no reaction from them. She didn't blame any of the men, they had been risking their lives and weren't like the children that Steve could impress.

"Bring back the girls!" A soldier yelled from the audience, causing Cassie to roll her eyes.

"How about I bring my foot to your-"

"Hey Cassie." Peggy cut off the mumbling girl, popping up out of nowhere at Cassie's side.

"You scared me," Cassie began, hand over her heart, "I didn't know you were supposed to be here."

"Well, officially I'm not. I wanted to see how Steve was doing." She answered, causing Cassie to smile.

"Well, let's just say I think these men have been touch deprived for months."

Peggy stifled a small laugh before turning her head, noticing Steve come from backstage. Cassie motioned for her to go over to him with a smile and watched as the pair conversed. After a little while, she walked over to them after an ambulance horn had terrified her. She reached them just to catch the end of Peggy's sentence.

"-your audience contained what was left of the 107th. The rest were killed or captured."

Cassie froze, thinking back to Bucky.

"The 107th?" Cassie interrupted, panic coursing through her veins.

When Peggy nodded, Steve shared Cassie's nervous glance. They all ran into a tent, following Steve until they reached a man Cassie knew as Colonel Phillips.

"Well, if it isn't the Star-Spangled Man With A Plan. And what is your plan today?" The colonel asked.

"I need the casualty list from Azzano." Steve replied, Cassie stood at his side, fiddling with the hem of her shirt nervously.

"You don't get to give me orders, son."

"Please." Cassie began, stepping forward, "Just one name. Sergeant James Barnes from the hundred and seventh."

The colonel hesitated before replying, "I have signed more of these condolence letters today than I would care to count. But the name does sound familiar. I'm sorry."

With her mouth slightly ajar, Cassie gulped and placed a hand on a nearby desk to help her stand. Her dizzy head was spinning, causing Peggy to place an arm around her to keep her upright. All the voices were drowned out around her, blurry eyes impairing her vision.

"Come here." Peggy whispered softly, embracing Cassie tightly.

With her head in Peggy's chest, she caught the end of her brothers conversation with the colonel.

"If I read the posters correctly, you got some place to be in thirty minutes."

"Yes, sir. I do." Steve answered, walking out of the tent with the pair of girls close behind him.

"What do you plan to do? Walk to Austria?" Peggy questioned, arm still around Cassie.

"If that's what it takes."

Cassie finally had the balance to stand up on her own, blinking back the tears that didn't manage to fall with the slight hope Bucky was still alive. With the tiny bit of confidence she had, she swallowed and spoke up.

"Then you take me with you."