ＳＬＡＴＥ ◼ STEVE ROGERS◼

ＮＩＮＥＴＥＥＮ

Two years. 

For two years, Captain Steve Rogers, Lieutenant Lottie Watson, and their Howling Commandos led the fight against HYDRA, sabotaging various schemes of theirs in order to get to the final fight: Schmidt himself.

It was evident, quickly, how much both Lottie and Steve had grown in their time leading the Howling Commandos especially to their friends around them.

Steve was a natural leader. He always had a heart of gold, always wanted to do what was right for the people around him, and it fit perfectly as he became the leader of the Howling Commandos. He was strong, resilient, and he led the team with a bravery and honor that the United States had never seen before. He was a hero in their eyes.

Lottie became the person that she knew not only her father would be proud of, but Erksine as well. Gone was the shy girl who only knew how to defend against bullies, and in her place stood a woman, string and smart, who never backed down from a fight. She fell into her role as Lieutenant without question, following Steve's orders as she planned out every HYDRA base infiltration down to the smallest of details.

What hadn't changed over time, though, was how in love Lottie and Steve were with one another.

She forgave him quickly for the incident in the lab that day with Private Lorraine. Lottie saw how torn up she was, believed him when he told her that it meant nothing. She never quite understood why Steve was insistent on letting her know that it was nothing, as he wasn't her's and he never would be.

The Howling Commandos could see it in the field, how their Captain and Lieutenant always kept an eye on one another, watching one another's backs more than they watched their own. Bucky only smiled every time he noticed, telling the men that they were both to stupid it realize it.

Even Peggy, Howard, and Colonel Phillips recognized it. They sat in a room with their top informants, watching footage play back of Steve and Lottie's latest mission.

Charlotte was directing some of her team, lying out patterns and courses on a map before them. The camera panned to Steve, leaning over his own map with Bucky and Dum Dum Dugan by his side. A compass lied in his hand, and inside that compass lied a gorgeous photo of Lottie.

Steve noticed the camera and shut the compass immediately, but Howard and Peggy couldn't help but smirk.

The wind around them howled as Bucky Barnes stood next to Steve Rogers. The snow was falling lightly around them from their place perched in the mountains, allowing them to see the train tracks before them clearly. Bucky cast a glance at the zip line above them, nervousness written across his face.

"Remember when I made you and Lottie ride the Cyclone at Coney Island?"

"Yeah, and I threw up while Lottie laughed?" Steve looked over at Bucky, waiting for an answer.

"This isn't payback, is it?"

"Now why would I do that?" Steve retorted, a smirk on his lips, Bucky only shook his head with a smile, looking back down at the train tracks.