Loving The Captain

Chapter 32

A/N: I just want to say, the scene depicted above breaks my heart. Especially the bottom right, when Peggy spins into him...the look on his face of pure love. Oh my god, I'm crying. Poor Steve. Poor Peggy. My heart is broken for them.

Bucky sat in the living room of Cora's house watching the news. They were covering a story from South Africa about the Hulk going crazy the day before.

"Wonder where Cap was when all this was going down?" Sam asked as he sat next to Bucky on the couch.

"Don't know, but I bet you my bottom dollar that he was there." Bucky clenched his fists, the metal gears in his hand grinding. "Has Cora come out of her room yet?"

"Not since breakfast. I checked on her a little while ago. She's laying on her bed, still wearing her pajamas and wearing his coat. She wasn't crying, but her eyes were all red like she had been. She was trying to watch TV."

"Which means she has seen this news report talking shit about the Avengers. It wont help her any, considering Steve is their leader. It's only a matter of time until his name comes up. That's probably what she's waiting for."

Just then the landline phone in the hallway began to ring. Bucky got up and went to answer it. "Anderson residence."

"Buck. It's me."

"Hey, Stevie. What the hell is going on? We saw the news."

When Sam heard that it was Steve, he made a motion, pointing upstairs. Bucky nodded and motioned for him to go get Cora.

"Listen, I really don't have a lot of time. We're at a safe house right now."

Bucky listened to what sounded like kids playing in the background. "Are those kids I hear?"

"Bucky, please. I need to talk to you..." Steve's voice was strained.

"What is it?"

"I just...we all took a hit. Ran into the enhanced kids from Sokovia...the girl...she made me see things." He said the last part as a whisper, like he didn't want to admit it out loud.

"You can't let that witch get to you Steve."

"I know...it's just..."

"What did she make you see?"

"I was home after the war. At the Stork Club. Meeting Peggy like...like we had arranged when the plane went down. All around me people were partying. Celebrating. But I didn't see it that way. All I could see was the war. And then Peggy came up behind me, saying the war was over. That we could go home." His voice broke, and Bucky's intuition told him that Steve was fighting back tears. It took a lot to make Steve cry. The only other time Bucky had seen him cry was when Steve's mother had died.

"You can come home. Soon as all this is over. You have a home to come back to."

Bucky heard Steve swallow and take several deep breaths. "It's just...I love Cora, I do. But what happened between Peggy and I...it haunts me. And if I'm being completely honest with myself, I'm terrified that I will lose Cora too. Just like I lost Peggy."

"Well why don't you talk to her about it? She's on her way down now."

"Buck, I can't. The less she knows the safer she is."

"Steve, talk to your girl. She misses you and is worried sick about you. She slept in your jacket and one of the shirts you left here."

"She did?"