HEROES ─ fallen warriors series one shots

14| Vera Lynn

(takes place during "Hidden")

Soroya

I wipe a tear from my eye and fill up my glass again, trying to take deep breaths. I don't want to get too worked up right now, I have a lot of work to do tomorrow and I need to be able to give my all.

Today is the second anniversary of Bucky and Alex's deaths. The first anniversary I spent it with Khari, and we just cried together in my room in Wakanda and looked through pictures from mine and Alex's childhood. This anniversary Khari is busy dealing with a border matter with Okoye and I'm in New York. I'm sitting in the conference room of the Avengers compound, drinking and crying by myself.

A knock comes to the doorway of the room though, and I turn to find Steve standing there, his own eyes red rimmed and puffy.

"Want a drinking buddy?" He asks, his voice scratchy and raw.

I shove the bourbon bottle towards him. "I'd love one."

As Steve sits down in the seat next to me, he points towards the radio on the other side of me playing music softly. "What are you listening to?"

I turn the volume up again, hearing Bing Crosby's voice bleed through the speakers as I respond; "A channel that plays 40's music."

"I don't know if I've ever told you, but I appreciate your vintage taste in music. You're the only one in the compound who gets my dated culture references."

I smirk, wiping another tear. "Bucky appreciated it, too. It's something he and I really bonded over when we first went on the run together."

"Now I know Fred Astaire is your favorite, but if you had to pick another singer from the time, who would you pick."

"That's hard. Maybe The Andrew Sisters. You?"

"Nat King Cole has been my favorite for years."

I nod, taking another sip of my bourbon. "Orange Colored Sky is a masterpiece."

Steve hums in agreement. "It's definitely one of his best songs, but I think Stardust is my favorite song of his. Bucky really liked him, too. But his favorite singer from back in our time was Vera Lynn."

My smile fades. "I know. He used to tell me that my singing sounds just like hers. I never believed him though."

Steve sets his bourbon down and links his fingers together on his lap. "Well there's only one way to find out."

"What do you mean?"

"Sing for me."

"I can't. I've been crying, my voice is going to sound awful."

"It's just the two of us. Come on, I promise I'll never ask you to sing for me again."

I set my bourbon down and shake my head, knowing I'll regret this, but nevertheless asking; "Any particular song?"

"Lili Marlene. That was Bucky's favorite."

I turn the volume of the radio all the way down and clear my throat, thankful that a couple glasses of bourbon is in my system.

"Underneath the lantern, by the barrack gate, darling I remember the way you used to wait. 'Twas there that you whispered tenderly that you loved me, you'd always be my Lili of the lamplight, my own Lili Marlene."

Steve's lips curve into a smile, his sadness beginning to fade. This prompts me to continue.

"Time would come for roll call, time for us to part, darling I'd caress you and press you to my heart. And there neath that far off lantern light, I'd hold you tight, we'd kiss good night, my Lili of the lamplight, my own Lili Marlene. Orders came for sailing, somewhere over there, all confined to barracks, 'twas more than I could bear. I knew you were waiting in the street, I heard your feet, but could not meet, my Lili of the lamplight, my own Lili Marlene."

I find myself beginning to smile also, remembering the time I sang this song to Bucky in the car a few years ago. He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of my voice like it was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. I hold onto that memory as I finish off the last verse.

"Resting in our billet, just behind the line, even though we're parted, your lips are close to mine. You wait where that lantern softly gleamed, your sweet face seems, to haunt my dreams. My Lili of the lamplight, my own Lili Marlene. My Lili of the lamplight, my own Lili Marlene."

Steve claps his hands together softly, applauding my performance. I roll my eyes and down the rest of my drink. "What's the verdict?"

"You definitely sound like Vera Lynn when you sing. You have an incredible voice."

I turn the volume of the radio back up and slump in my chair, fighting off the embarrassment I feel. "Thanks, Steve...I'm really glad you're here. Not just right now, but everyday. If there's one thing good that's come out of all this, is getting you as a friend."

Steve pours more bourbon into my glass as well as his own, clinking ours together. "Me too. Here's to friendships new and old, may both forever live in our hearts."

We both drink to that, enjoying each other's company as we mourn the man we both lost, with Vera Lynn's 'we'll meet again', playing softly in the background.