Everly stared into her lap as she fumbled nervously with her locket. People sat all around her, the church filled entirely for the funeral. Sam wrung his hands around one another from where he sat beside her. The youthful voices of the choir softly drifted through the heavy air, accompanied by the occasional sniffling across the room. Flowers and candles filled the front of the church, a single photo of a young Peggy Carter looked out over the crowd. Everly couldn't bring herself to look at the picture, for her eyes filled with tears each time. It was too... big. Too life-like, as if she were really there sitting before them.
Everyone rose to their feet, and she quickly followed. She hesitated, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before turning around. Peggy's casket drew nearer, six men carrying it slowly down the isle. Steve was among them, his face red as he struggled to blink the tears from his eyes. A lump lodged itself in Everly's throat at the sight of the British flag draped over the coffin, a large bouquet of white flowers resting undisturbed atop the lid.
Not a single word registered in her mind as the man at the pedestal spoke softly into the sea of black. The beauty of life or something of that nature. She wanted to listen, but it was as if he was speaking a foreign language that she didn't have the energy to translate. None of this was okay. Peggy Carter rested in a casket just before them while she and Steve remained untouched by the years that had passed. His first love, taken from him so horribly. It wasn't fair. The man leaned a bit closer to the microphone and gestured off to his side.
"And now, I would like to invite Sharon Carter to come up and say a few words." Everly let out a shaky breath and pried her gaze from her lap. Her eyes widened in the slightest as 'Kate' walked up to the marble pedestal. Sam nudged Steve with his elbow, sending him an odd look. Steve snapped his attention to Sam before his eyes flicked to Sharon before them. His face softened, their eyes meeting for a split second.
"Margret Carter was known to most as a founder of S.H.I.E.L.D." She began as she nervously looked out over the audience. "But I just knew her as aunt Peggy." Everly glanced at Steve, her face laced with confusion as he shifted awkwardly in place. "She had a photograph in her office. Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I never told anyone we were related... I asked her once how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage in a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either. She said, compromise where you can. But where you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye and say, 'No, you move.'"
Soon enough, the service was over. Everyone slowly funneled out of the church, leaving only Steve and Everly alone in the silence. She huffed and slipped her hands into her pockets, still unable to bring herself to look at Peggy's picture. She felt sick to her stomach just standing there.
"I'll meet you outside." She said quietly. Steve glanced at her and nodded before returning his gaze to the casket.
He stood alone in complete silence for a few minutes before recognizing the sound of a footsteps drawing nearer. He peeked over his shoulder to see Natasha Romanoff walking toward him down the isle. He leaned back against the pew beside him as she slowed to a stop.
"When I came out of the ice, I thought everyone I had known was gone." He paused. "Then I found out she was alive." Nat's eyebrows knitted together and she cocked her head to the side questioningly.
"Are we talking about Agent Carter?" She asked slowly. He met her eyes and sighed before glancing at the large doors at the entrance. He peered down at the red carpeted floor and shook his head before looking back at Peggy's photo.
"I'm standing here, and all I can think to myself is, 'Maybe I was wrong.'" Nat rose a single brow, a grin tugging at the corners of her lips. "When they found her- I was just lucky to have her."
"She had you back, too." He nodded lightly and finally stripped his eyes from the floor.
"Who else signed?"
"Tony, Rhodey, Vision." She answered simply.
"Clint?" He asked.
"Say's he's retired."
"Wanda?"
"TBD." She shrugged. "I'm off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords. There's plenty of room on the jet." He sighed, his head hanging once again. "Just because it's the path of least resistance doesn't mean it's the wrong path. Staying together is more important than how we stay together."
"What are we giving up to do it?" She remained silent, unable to manage an answer. "I'm sorry, Nat. I can't sign it."
"I know."
"Then what are you doing here?"
"I didn't want you to be alone." She replied softly. He let out a shaky breath and she slowly pulled him in for a hug.
~~~
Everly slipped the gray hoodie over her head and reached for the bathroom door handle. She frowned as she stepped out into the hotel room to see Steve, Sam, and Sharon Carter staring at the television screen, all still dressed in their funeral attire.
She looked at Steve oddly. "I thought you were walking her h-" Sam raised a finger to his lips, pointing to Sharon who paced back and forth, a phone pressed to her ear. Her gaze flicked to the screen as the news anchor spoke.
"I bomb hidden in a news van ripped through the UN building in Vienna. More than 70 people have been injured. At least 12 are dead, including Wakanda's King T'Chaka."
She remembered that name, the dark-skinned man with the kind eyes who she'd seen on the news after the incident in Lagos.
"Officials have released a video of a suspect who they have identified as James Buchanan Barnes, The Winter Soldier."
"Oh my god." Everly whispered, her eyes wide as she stared at the photo. He was covered almost entirely, only a bit of his face showing, but it was Bucky all right. Steve's clenched jaw ticked as he studied the picture.
"...The infamous HYDRA agent linked to numerous acts of terrorism and political assassinations."
Sharon stepped forward between he and Everly, letting a sigh slip from her lips. "I have to go to work." She said quietly.
It didn't take long before they'd arrived in Vienna, and now Everly stood beside Sam in a diner. She leaned against the counter and huffed as she picked apart her muffin, food being the last thing on her mind. They'd finally found Bucky after all this time, only for him to have fallen back into his old, Winter Soldier ways. Steve walked up beside her and Sam glanced over.
"She tell you to stay out of it?" He asked, shaking his head lightly. "Might have a point." Everly frowned and peeked around Steve.
"He'd do it for me." Steve returned as his eyes scanned the busy diner from beneath his sunglasses.
"In 1945, maybe. I just want to make sure we consider all our options. The people that shoot at you usually wind up shooting at me." Sharon walked up to the counter next, causing Everly to flinch in surprise.
"Tips have been pouring in since that footage went public. Everybody thinks the Winter Soldier goes to their gym. Most of it's noise." She peeked at Steve from the corner of her eye and slid a file across the counter. "Except for this. My boss expects a briefing, pretty much now so that's all the head start you're gonna get."
"Thank you."
"You're gonna have to hurry. We have orders to shoot on sight." Sharon finished as she pushed off from the counter and left.
A/N
I'M SORRY IT'S SO SHORT AHHHHHHH
YOU ARE READING
Everly || Steve Rogers
Fanfiction"Though I may cry a river, I will not drown in it." In which she needed a hero, so she became one. "She loved him too early, and he loved her too late." #1 in "thefirstavenger" as of 1/24/20 #1 in "buckybarnes" as of 5/4/20 #1 in "captainamericathef...
