Hush Little Baby Don't You Cry

All Grown Up

      When Sarah Rogers was handed her twins, her heart flushed with awe. She was overwhelmed with the sense of motherly love and protectiveness. These were her babies. No one else was to touch them. When her husband came over to look at them, she fought the urge to cover them up and shelter them from view.
      "Twins." She breathed out, exhausted from the pushing. "A boy and a girl." Joseph kissed her head and stared at his children. His children. He couldn't believe it.
     "Well, I guess that means we won't have to choose." She hummed in agreement.
     "Yeah. Steven for the boy. And y/n for the girl." They both smiled at their children who slept silently. Unaware of the journey that lies ahead of them.
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     "Y/n Rogers! Come on! You're gonna be late for school!"
     "Comin' Ma!" 6-year-old Y/n Rogers ran out the door, shutting it behind her, and sprinted down the stairs. It was the twin's first day at school and they wanted to look their best. They both had their hair styled by their mother and each put on their best outfit.
       Y/n took her mother's hand and all three walked down the sidewalk towards the school. When they arrived there were a lot of children playing outside. Steve was tugging on his mother's hand, urging her to walk faster. She laughed and let go of his hand.
       "Alright alright. You can go. But let me have a hug first." Steve gave his Ma a big hug before letting go and running off towards the school. Sarah turned towards her daughter.
      "Y/n." She knelt in front of her. "I need you to promise me that you will take care of your brother, okay? Always protect him." Y/n nodded.
      "I will Ma. I'll watch him like a hawk watches a mouse." She laughed. Y/n hugged her Ma tight. "Se ya Ma!" She waved goodbye and set off after her brother, determined to keep her promise.
      It took her a bit but she found him standing by one of the corners of the building. He had a mad look on his face.
     "What's wrong Stevie?"
     "That boy over there is being mean to those girls over there. Won't leave them alone even though they told him to." She looked over in the direction Steve was staring at and sure enough, a taller kid was annoying a couple of smaller girls. Before she could even say anything Steve rolled up his sleeves and marched over towards the boy. Y/n quickly followed him.
        "Steve, stop. Whatcha think ya doing?" She pleaded. But Steve wasn't listening. He walked up and tapped on the boy's shoulder. The boy stood and he was at least a head taller than the two.
      "Stop messing with those girls. They don't like ya. Leave 'em alone." Steve said firmly. The boy just smiled.
       "Would ya look at this? This punk here thinks he can tell me what to do." Steve stood tall, which wasn't that tall, and looked the older boy in the eye.
        "I don't need to be blind to see that ya messing with those girls. I'm 6 years old and I even know that. You're a bully. And I don't like bullies." The older boy was starting to get angry.
        "Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do about it?" At that Steve shoved the boy which resulted in the boy shoving Steve back, causing him to fall. Y/n ran up to them and placed herself between them.
       "Hey! Knock it off or I'll go find a teacher."
       "And who is this? She's your girlfriend."
       "Ew no, I'm his sister. Now back off." Y/n got up in his face, expression angry. By now they had attracted a lot of attention from the other students and y/n knew this. So did the boy.
        "Pff whatever." When the boy left, y/n turned to help her brother get up but surprisingly found someone already doing it. The new boy was brown-haired and looked to be older than them by at least a year.
        "Are you okay?" The boy asked Steve. He nodded.
       "Yeah. I had him in the ropes."
      "Sure you did." The boy turned to y/n. "Hello. I'm James Buchanan Barnes. But my friends call me Bucky." He stuck out his hand.
       "I'm Y/n Rogers. That is Steve, my brother." Y/n shook James's hand. "Thank you for helping him."
       "Yeah, thank you."
       "Well, I didn't do much helping. Seems to me you saved him." Y/n shrugged.
      "I'm his sister. It's what I'm supposed to do." James smiled.
      "Well, why don't I show you the school. We can get to know each other more along the way."
And since then the three have become inseparable. They grew up to be the best of friends anyone has ever seen. They did everything together. And once the depression hit, they helped each other out. They helped Steve battle whatever sickness overcame him and lead as healthy of a life as possible and both her and Bucky protected Steve from the fights he liked to engage in. The trio often came home with cuts and bruises that the twin's Ma would fix right up.