Cherry || b.barnes

32 || A Lesson of History

»Hold on a second« Tony exclaims, and ruffs through his shorter, brown hair while his eyes fix on James in our middle, wide as plates. »You want to tell me that Maria, our Maria, like, one of the most conservative people I know has had sex already and ain't the virgin of the group?«

If I could, I would cover my eyes and ears and nose and everything now, just to perceive not a word more of this conversation. »Can we please talk about something, and I mean like, anything else than Steven Rogers having sex or not?«

»Is that true?« Fury intervenes, obviously definitely not following the curve our conversation has taken. His voice is hard as stone, fierce, grave, as if this truth would be changing his entire perspective of the world.

I know he asks me, and no one else. Anyone could make assumptions and lie, but coming from me is something different. It's not like my powers or some aspects of my outlook weren't enough; listening to the hypothesis being verified though brings a whole new taste to the situation. 

I'm not willing to add my flavor. Not until I feel James's silent stare on me, putting more pressure onto my shoulders than bearable. His demand is clear, weighing me down, even though his lips aren't moving. Respond. And I can't help but listen, because... I don't know. James is asking. And I hurt James in the oast. Although I really need to hurt him in the future, promised so, I can't not listen to the command. It doesn't work like that. 

One could hear a feather hitting the ground in the white silence of the room while I raise my chin high, looking Fury dead in the eye but not once daring to have a chance of losing myself in arctic eyes. 

They would know anyways who I am, who I came from. »Yes,« I confirm therefore, not blinking once, »It's true.«

»Are you sure?« Fury's skepticism has no end, him cocking a dark brow and wrinkling his forehead in question. »How can you know if you never spoke to him? How is that even possible? What are you? Like, twenty?«

When I don't respond again, James takes over. Guilt is choking me, thinning my neck to a level breathing gets hard and tears are pressed into my eyes. »She turned twenty on the fifteenth of December.« And it sounds like he slapped himself for not seeing what has been in front of his eyes, for not solving the puzzle earlier having been this close to me, close enough to solve the riddle of the pieces' frames.

»Steve uses to disappear around that time of each year.« Stark states the obvious, grown all calm again now that his mind is busy processing. 

I like none of this conversation. 

James nods. I see it in the corner of my eye. »He thought he'd lost her. Goes to some place in Cuba, close to Artemisa, each time this year to mourn. Only told me that because obviously, he now misses only one person of their trio. And I happen to know that her mother really is dead.« His glance is burning into my skin. »That Rogers told me as much.« The last bit is nothing else than rough reproach, and I know that he's referring to me by my last name. Everyone knows. He knows perfectly well how much I hate it. He has to.

Not Cherry. Not Nemy. Not even Nemesia. Rogers.

»Didn't tell me more before he went back to sleep.« James adds, finishing his share of information.

»I don't get it.« Tony Stark brings himself in again, the hand that rested beneath his chin in thoughts now dropping onto the white table in my front. »What if she's lying? She has nothing of him. Can't imagine anyone of that Golden Boy's bloodline doing something as infinitely stupid as luring Hydra into the tower and literally messing around with the world's only defense team.«

James's eyes are still focused on me, and I still avoid them. »You don't know Steve that much, huh? Steve's heart is as pure as gold, yes, but his methods always have been... a little illegal when it comes to getting his head through the wall for the right thing. He registered – anything but stupid, more like in the morally black zone – five times in five cities just to become a soldier and fight against the bad.« The brunette's voice comes closer, lowers, and I have to call to every single cell of my body to not move. »She's the same. Not stupid, just incredibly stubborn.« I see him nodding his head into my direction while glancing to Stark, dark hair getting drier by minute. »Question is: Why does she think it's the right thing to kill Steve?«