Till The End

Chapter 14

Kitty fidgets in my lap, until she's comfortable and leans her head on my chest. I read over her shoulder, flicking the page when I've finished. On each page is a new newspaper article of the Avengers journey, with photos. I read aloud to Kitty and she runs her finger along when I say the words.

Looking up, Natasha sits beside us and listens. Kitty sudden tenses and grips my hand tightly. I instantly glance up to see Bucky wander into the living room. Natasha stares down at Kitty with a concerned expression.

"Hey, it's okay." I whisper into her ear.

Kitty doesn't budge or relax, she stays tense and holds onto me tightly. Bucky glances between me and Kitty, his eyes full of questions and concern.

"It's fine, Ste, I understand why she's scared." Bucky mutters.

He slips his hands into his pockets and storms out of the living room. Kitty relaxes in my arms, pulling her hands off and leaning forward towards the book.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" I ask, looking down at her.

"Bucky scary." She announces.

"No, he's not. He was just mad at Stark for teasing. Bucky would never hurt you or any of us." I attempt to explain.

Kitty shakes her head and looks at one of the photos. It's of me throwing my shield at a criminal and it hits him on the back of the head.

"Kitty, you see me fighting and you're not scared of me. But you see Bucky fighting and you're scared of him, why?" I quiz.

"You're Captain America! You're not scary!" She exclaims.

I sigh, seeing her smile at the photo. Gently, I slip her off my lap and place Kitty back onto the sofa.

"Natasha, can you look after her for a minute please? I need to see Bucky." I ask.

"Okay." Natasha answers.

Standing up properly, I wander down the corridor and around the corner. Knocking on Bucky's door, I wait and hear no answer.

"Bucky?" I shout, knocking again.

I spin around when I hear the door open to my bedroom and Bucky stands in the doorway with a slight smirk on his face.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

Bucky nods and walks back into my room, leaving the door open. I close it behind me as I step inside and follow him. Bucky sits on the edge of the bed, staring down at his metal arm and I sit beside him.

"Give her time." I advise.

"What if we don't have time, Ste? What if Hydra get to me before Kitty has time to trust me again? We can't protect her, Steve." Bucky questions.

He slowly raises his head, his eyes sparkle with pain.

"What do you mean?" I quiz.

"We can't look after her. Someone else will have to take care of her because she's in too much danger with us." He whispers.

I instantly stand up and Bucky tenses, refusing to make eye contact.

"We can't do that! She said she loves me Bucky, I can't just give that little girl up!" I argue.

"Ste, I love Kitty too and that's why we need to. Don't you realise that she could die with us?"

"I can't. She trusts us. I can't just hand her to someone else." I admit, placing my hands on my hips.

"She's in too much danger." Bucky repeats.

"I can't believe you want to give her up! Id never give you up Buck so why should we give up her?" I shout.