Three more weeks had gone by and Cassidy could almost walk without her crutches. The steroids Cho had given her really did help.

Thankfully Pepper had handled most of the press after the fallout of DC. Cassidy was still healing and Pepper told her she didn't need to be dealing with any of it. She had even put together a Halloween trick or treat type event at the tower. Everyone had to wear costumes and the team would be in their uniforms of course. After all the kids left, it was turning into an adult Halloween party, where they would break out the booze.

Most of the people in the tower were going, and there were going to be stations where kids could do Halloween crafts and each table would give them a treat bag. They would also get a treat bag from each Avenger and get to take pictures with them.

It was going to be a big event, bigger than the Gala she hosted. Cassidy was currently in the penthouse with Pepper and a few assistants, making the treat bags. Each Avenger that was going to be there had their own themed gift bad that looked like them. It was really cute, Cassidy's idea, but combined with the regular treat bags, putting together thousands of bags was exhausting.

Cassidy had neglected to tell Steve what she was dressing up as. She also didn't tell him that she got the okay from Cho to walk without her crutches, which was perfect, because who wants to try and look cute on Halloween with a pair of crutches?

She told Steve he wasn't allowed to see her until the party that night, so she'd had Jarvis ban him from the Penthouse. After she ran back to her room to get her costume, she met Pepper back at the Penthouse, who was already in her costume.

"Holy crap dude." Cassidy told her, looking over at her skimpy Iron Man costume. It was skintight, and she had a little mask to go with it.

"Uh, has Tony seen this?" Cassidy asked, setting her bag down on the couch. Pepper shook her head and turned back to the mirror, pulling her hair back in a sleek ponytail.

"No, why do you think it's too much?" She asked, turning to look at Cassidy. She laughed and opened her bag, pulling out her Captain America costume.

"No, but I think we're going to give them heart attacks tonight."

Peppers mouth dropped open at her costume. She curled Cassidy's hair and did a natural makeup look, finishing with bright red lips. Cassidy wiggled into the costume, making sure her fish net tights were in place. Then she pulled on the knee-high red leather boots and finished with the little blue eye mask that came with it and the fingerless leather gloves.

"Ready?" Pepper asked her. Cassidy nodded, grabbing her shield and following Pepper down to the car.

Steve was nervous. He knew there was going to be a lot of kids coming through and that he'd probably have to take pictures with them. That was fine, it really was, just being in the spotlight still bothered him. Cassidy hadn't arrived yet, so he was standing by the tables where they were handing out their treat bags with Tony, Sam and Bruce.

Bruce had thought his costume was silly, a green shirt with purple shorts and a Hulk mask. He felt ridiculous but he guessed it was better than actually turning into the big guy. Tony of course loved being in his suit, he was even already taking selfies in front of the backdrop.

Steve caught sight of Cassidy and Pepper as they walked in and he was sure if it weren't for the serum, his heart might have actually stopped. She looked gorgeous. No, gorgeous didn't even come close to describing how she looked. Sexy, she looked sexy and suddenly Steve was finding his pants very constricting.

He also noticed that she wasn't on crutches anymore. That should have been the frsst thing he noticed, but the amount of skin showing and the costume distracted him. She hadn't told him she got the okay to stop using them and he was so happy for her. He knew that she had felt helpless since DC and he was happy that she was getting to enjoy tonight without them.

"Holy hell." Tony said from next to him, noticing Pepper. "Our girls look better than we do Capsicle."

Steve gave out an awkward laugh. "I think that was the idea Tony."

Cassidy locked eyes with him and sent him a smile, walking over to him and he was pretty sure she was swaying her hips on purpose. She stopped in front of him and gave a cute salute.

"Captain Forbes, reporting for duty." She said, a smirk on her face.

Steve gulped and his gaze traveled over her body. "Sweetheart…you look…"

"Is it too much?" Cassidy said, looking down at her outfit. Maybe Steve hadn't liked it, maybe she was showing too much skin for him. He hooked a finger under her chin and pulled her head up to look at him.

"No Cass. I can't even find the words to describe how amazing you look right now." He said softly. "You got the okay to ditch the crutches?" He asked, gesturing to her leg.

She smiled. "Yeah, this morning. I still have to take it easy, no running or working out for at least three weeks, but other than that I'm okay."

Steve smiled down at her. "That's really great sweetheart. I have to say it again, you look incredible." She blushed and looked away when Pepper tapped her on the shoulder, letting her that the kids had started arriving.

Bucky knew he shouldn't have come here. He didn't belong. After everything that he had done to Steve and Cassidy, he didn't deserve to ever see them again. But he had to come here, to see them one last time. He had caught a glimpse of them when Cassidy had gotten released from the hospital in DC and waves of guilt washed over him.

He had almost killed her. His soulmate. He had almost killed them both. He watched them closely as they moved back to Stark Tower, and he wanted to just get one more look before he left for Romania. Steve always looked good in his suit, better than he ever had in the ones they made him wear back in the forties. This one didn't leave much to the imagination, especially from the back.

Bucky scolded himself for thinking about Steve like that. Then he saw Cassidy come in, and his jaw dropped. In the many decades that Bucky had been through, he'd seen all the different ways women dressed, but he'd never seen a woman show so much skin in public.

She looked fucking stunning and it made Bucky want to jump down from the rafters and take her, and well Steve too, to a hallway and kiss them until he couldn't breathe, and well do other things too.

No, it's not fair to them.

Why not? They are our soulmates.

Bucky froze. The Winter Soldier part of him usually didn't give his opinion on things much. Especially about things like this. It was strange, that there was someone else inside his head, and while the Soldier hadn't taken over since that day in DC, he was still very much a part of Bucky. A part that he was going to have to get used to.

He watched as Steve tilted her head towards his and a wave of jealousy came over him and he knew he had to get out of there. He quietly made his way over to the rafters and climbed down to the back door he came through, nobody ever seeing him.

It was better this way. They didn't deserve someone so broken, someone who could hurt them. So, he was going.

He wouldn't put them through this.