End of the Line

by CalypsoAurora

Steve Rogers thought he lost everyone in his life. He watched his best friend fall to his death, he believed the love of his life was ripped away from his grasp. All that happened years ago, the Barnes siblings were long gone by now. So why do these deadly assassins look so much like them? And why is she protecting him?

2. 01

Flashback

If you told Steve Rogers that he would have to watch his best friend fall to death, he would have laughed in your face. If you told Steve that he would have lost his brother, he wouldn't have believed you. But watching James Barnes fall off that icy train into the clutches of the wintery death, Steve also watched his heart shatter. The brutal wind was nothing compared to the feeling of Bucky's fingers slipping through his hold. The howl of the storm was nothing compared to the last yell of his friend.

Yes, losing Bucky Barnes tore his heart clean out of his chest, but telling Lillian Barnes that her brother has died completely broke his soul. Watching her fall to her knees and cry out brought fresh tears to his eyes, and he quickly knelt down beside her to wrap his arms around her body.

"I am so sorry, Lily," he murmured, rocking her small body back and forth. His cries were drowned out by Lillian's heart-wrenching sobs. He didn't know what to do or say that could help her, so he did the best that he could do, which was hold her while she cried.

"Stevie," Lillian cried, grasping his shirt desperately, as if she dug her blunt nails in hard enough into his biceps, it would bring her brother back.

Steve quietly shushed her and pressed a soft kiss against her forehead, rubbing soft circles on her sides. After a few moments of sitting on the ground, he picked her up easily and carried her into her bedroom. He gently laid her down on her mattress and exhaled a long breath. He made a move to stand up, but Lillian grasped his shirt even more at the sudden movement.

"Stevie," she murmured, her eyes focusing on him for the first time since he told her the awful news, "stay, please."

"Of course, sweetheart," Steve murmured as he nodded and slid in the bed beside her, tensing up slightly as Lillian buried her head into his chest. He's never been in a position like this with a woman before, it was new to him. It didn't help that he's been in love with her since he first laid eyes on her, but he forced himself to push all those romantic feelings away as he held onto her as she cried.

"He can't really be gone," she wept, her voice muffled by the Captain America uniform that Steve was still wearing. "Bucky..."

Steve closed his eyes and kissed her forehead once again, whispering soothing words against her soft and pale skin. He knew that there was nothing that could make things better at this moment, the best he could do was tell her how much he cared for her, and that he would always be there.

Eventually he noticed that Lillian had fell asleep, and he relaxed a bit more. He was still hurting from the death of Bucky, but he couldn't comprehend the hurt that Lillian must have been feeling from losing her other half. He took this time to look over her face, wiping her tears away with thumb. He made a vow to always be there for her, no matter what. They were both alone now, so they only have each other.

Steve Rogers couldn't uphold his promise with Bucky anymore, but he could with Lillian. He was going to be with her, until the end of the line.