Chapter Two

Steve frowned as Emily stood as well, trying to look around him at the person approaching. He swept his arm back to keep her behind him as he noticed the others behind the man. "Steve?" she asked.

"Cap!" the man called as he passed under a streetlight. Steve's shoulders slumped when he recognized him, and turned back to face Emily.

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart."

"Ask me," she said, blinking against the tears gathered in her eyes, "finish your question." When he shook his head infinitesimally, she groaned and leaned forward to rest her head on his chest.

"Capta - oh."

"Go away," Em ordered as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Rumlow," Steve growled, his back to the man. "This better be good." He leaned down and pressed his lips to Emily's hair when he felt the front of his shirt getting damp, and whispered 'I'm sorry'.

"HQ's been trying to call you for the last two hours. They need you to come in."

"Tony, huh?" Emily said before clearing her throat. She was feeling a bit of emotional whiplash, and was hovering between sad and rage.

"We're on stand down."

"Something came up. Something that they need you on. It's uh...could we have a word in private?"

With a deep breath, Emily stepped back from Steve and wiped at her face before taking a deep breath. He gave her a sad smile while wiping the smudged mascara under her eye before sighing again and turning to face Rumlow. But when he jerked his head to signal where they could go, Em grabbed Steve's hand and glared at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. "Since you've effectively ruined our evening, I think I deserve to know why."

"I'm sorry for ruining your night, but with all due respect, Ma'am, it's classified," he replied.

"It'll just take a minute," Steve said, squeezing her hand gently. When they heard someone running towards them and cursing as they came, they turned towards the new arrival. Steve shifted to block Em again while Rumlow's hand moved to the sidearm strapped to his hip.

"I fucking told them it could wait until the morning," Carter snarled as he drew closer.

"Carter?" Em frowned. "What's going on?"

"We need Steve down in DC - "

"Falsworth!" Rumlow snapped.

"She's got the security clearance, Rumlow, so you can shove that attitude up your arse."

"She's a civilian, Fals - "

"She's a S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant.

"Not anymore, she's not," Steve said.

"She on the list of approved consultants, which means she's got the clearance," Carter said, continuing to ignoring the other agent and turning back to Em and Steve. "Anyways. Someone destroyed your grave in Arlington."

"My grave?"

"There isn't a grave for Steve in Arlington." The three men turned to look at Emily, who flushed under their gaze before straightening her posture. "There are zero 'Steve Rogers' buried in Arlington National Cemetery."

"And how do you know that?" Rumlow asked, his tone slightly mocking.

"Because I looked it up when I was collecting information for my dissertation," she snapped, feeling less than forgiving to the man who had ruined her moment with Steve. "The burial records - "

"Were doctored," Carter said, a faint look of pride on his face. "Grandmother and Howard didn't want anyone to know where Steve was buried, as per his instructions. Even without a body, he was given honors in Arlington."

"Steve?" Emily asked, turning to face him.

"He's right. I didn't want a fuss made if I didn't make it back."

"Is there any reason in particular you decided not to tell me that when we've been to Arlington twice in the past year?" her voice rose, heedless of the two bystanders.

"Can we discuss this later?" Steve asked.

"Cap, we've got a quinjet on standby," Rumlow said. "They're gonna drop the team while en route to the Sandbox."

"Okay - "

"Carter said it could wait until the morning!" Em protested.

"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry," Steve sighed, leaning down to press a kiss to Emily's forehead. "Carter, would you make sure she gets home?"

"Sure," Carter nodded.

"The hell am I going home!" Em snapped, stomping her foot. She chose to ignore the smirk Rumlow gave her. "I am not letting you go without me."

"Em - " Carter began before she held up a hand to him.

"You're not going Emily," Steve said. "Carter's going to take you back to the Tower and - "

"Can I have a word with you," Em asked, grasping Steve's elbow and tugging him away from his coworkers; he had the good sense to go with her.

"Swe - "

"No. Listen to me," she cut him off. "This, me going? It's happening. Because one - point of professional pride that I didn't know about your fucking grave, two - S.H.I.E.L.D. and you lied to me about it -"

"I didn't lie," Steve snapped, feeling his adrenaline starting to build.

"You lied by omission, Steve. You knew it was there and never once told me about it!"

"And when was I supposed to tell you about it?" he demanded. "Fake gravesites are not exactly a normal conversation topic."

"In case you haven't noticed, nothing about us is exactly normal," she hissed. "We were there, Steve. You could have -"

"We were there for you," he cut her off. "We were there because you needed to see Garrett, so I wasn't going to make it about me."

"Fine. There were so many times in the beginning, when we were in the conference room going over everything that you could have -"

"It doesn't matter Emily. You're not going." She glared up at him, and he glared right back; it took everything in him not to crack at her tear stained cheeks. When she broke eye contact he thought he'd won for a brief moment.

"Fine. Should we make breakfast plans?"

"What?" he asked, thrown off balance by the sudden change of topic.

"Breakfast plans," Em repeated herself while pulling her cell phone from her pocket. "Founding Farmers on northwest Pennsylvania Ave is pretty good."

"Founding Far - what are you doing?" Steve asked as she fiddled with her phone, the screen reflected on the lenses of her glasses.

"Looking at the red eye flights. It's kind of late to catch the train, but I'm pretty sure I could swing it if - oh look, there's a flight leaving in two hours, so I'd only be three behi- you give me back my phone right this instant Steve Rogers!" she snapped when he pulled it from her hands.

"You are not going!"

"You think you can stop me?"

"What about work? What if we're gone longer than just tonight?"

"I call in sick," Em shrugged. "I've got plenty of sick time stored up."

"It's not safe."

"It's a cemetery."

"You remember what happened when we went to Arlington the first time?" Steve hissed, clenching his fists.

"You're going to crack my screen!" Em protested, making a grab for the phone again. "And Blonsky isn't going to - "

"Whoever did this might still be - "

"Would you rather me go with you, or should I just show up in three hours and amble around looking for you instead? Because I'm not fucking leaving there until I find out where your grave is."

"Cap," Rumlow said, tapping his watch.

"In a minute," Steve snapped, still glaring down at his girlfriend who had her arms crossed under her chest. Her pissed off expression let him know that's exactly what she would do - regardless of when she got there.

"We're going in two weeks for the Smithsonian gala-thing. You can't wait until then? I'll show you where the damn thing is," he pleaded.

"To. Night," Em said through clenched teeth, holding out her hand for the phone.

"You know," he grit his teeth, "this isn't how I pictured our night going."

"Join the club. I thought we were just going for dinner. Phone?" Steve huffed and handed it back to her before shaking his head.

"You're so stubborn."

"You said that, somewhere between beautiful and smart," Em smirked. "You know, we could just sneak away and you could finish that question."

"The moment's kind of ruined," he sighed. "If you're coming - "

"I am coming," she corrected him.

"Fine. Since you're coming, there's gonna be a few ground rules."

"I'll agree to them as long as they're reasonable."

"You'll agree to them or you're not going."

"My shiny new credit card would disagree."

"Emily."

"Fine. Rules?"

OOO

There had been a bit of side-eyeing as Em climbed into the SUV with Steve, but it had ended when he simply said, "She's with me."

Carter joined them as the cars pulled up to the airstip and sidled up to Emily. As Steve had put it, "Rule 1: You don't leave Carter's side." And, rather than test her luck at this simple rule, Em followed it when Steve was pulled aside to strategize with Rumlow - whom she found out was the head of the tactical squad Steve usually worked with.

"Thanks for saying I had the clearance," Em said as Carter walked her to the quinjet.

"I wasn't lying," he shrugged. "You do have the clearance for it."

"I thought that got yanked once I left." He glanced around before leaning close enough to whisper in her ear.

"Coulson had me pull a few strings to have HR overlook it. Figured it might come in handy one day."

"I'll have to remember to thank him," she smirked before glancing over at where Steve was standing. He had a go-bag by his feet, and his shield was propped up against the SUV's bumper. "Someone was in our apartment?"

"It was me," Carter said, motioning for her to take a seat towards the cockpit. When she did, he reached for the straps behind her and quickly sorted out the complicated mess. "They wanted him to have the uniform and shield in case we went - which is why I got there after Rumlow. If he'd've waited another few minutes like I asked him to, I could have gotten to you two first."

"You knew what he had planned tonight, didn't you?" Em accused.

"I might have," he smirked, tugging the straps across her shoulders to make sure they were tight. When his eyes flickered down to her left hand before meeting hers, he sighed and shook his head. "What'd you think of the house?"

"It's nice, but too much."

"Thought so. But he was all about making sure you 'got the house that you deserved'." Em shook her head as Carter sat beside her and began to strap himself in. Once in, he reached for her left hand and threaded their fingers together before gently squeezing. "Sorry your night was interrupted."

"Thanks." Em blinked against the tears welling in her eyes. The last thing needed was for Steve to see her crying - he might use that as an excuse to get her to go home.

There was the familiar whining of the engines warming up as the tactical team boarded the jet. Steve and Rumlow were the last to board, and they strode towards the cockpit, eyes sweeping over the assembled team. When Steve's eyes landed on Carter, the agent gave a curt nod before jerking his head towards Em. "We're good."

Steve set his bag and shield on the seat opposite them before turning and facing her again. "You sure you wanna come?" he asked while tugging at the straps and making sure they were correctly done.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily," she said, raising an eyebrow. Shaking his head, he leaned forward and whispered in her ear. Carter tactfully looked away.

"I'd kiss you right now if we weren't in front of my team."

"Treat me like you would any other consultant," she nodded.

"Any other consultant wouldn't be on the jet," he replied before pressing a kiss to her cheek. Even that small action drew a catcall from one of the men. "I'll make up for tonight," he promised her.

"I know," Em nodded before placing a hand on his chest and gently pushing him away. "Now we're doing professionalism - Dr. Harthorn and Captain Rogers."

"Yes, Ma'am," he smiled before turning and retrieving his bag. As they began to taxi down the runway, Steve disappeared into the bathroom.

"I don't envy him trying to put on the suit in that loo," Carter smirked, nudging Em with his knee.

OOO

"We're ten out, Cap," the pilot said over the intercom. Em, who had closed her eyes in the gloom of the jet, sat up and shifted as much as her restraints would let her. There was a flurry of action as those that had stayed strapped down undid their buckles and gathered their gear. Even Carter - who had moved away to speak to Rumlow - had dropped the playful expression he usually wore around her and was in 'Agent Falsworth' mode.

"Here," Steve said, reaching to undo the clasp of her safety harness.

"Thanks," she sighed when he held out a hand to help her to her feet. She took a moment to appreciate how tight his new uniform was when he turned and rummaged for something above his seat.

"You ever jump before?" one of the tac team members asked as he put a comm. in his ear.

"Sorry?" Em asked, leaning closer to him.

"You ever jumped before?"

"Jumped?" His eyebrows shot up as he laughed.

"It's a rush, Doc. Just hold onto your purse." It took a minute for the realization to dawn.

"We're not landing?!"

"No," Steve said, drawing her attention back to him. "We're jumping. You still wanna go?"

"Kinda late to change my mind now, isn't it?" Em snapped.

"You can always stay on the plane, get a transport back to New York tomorrow, and be back at work on Monday," he offered. And while that offer was tempting, especially given that she didn't especially like heights, she shook her head. "You sure?"

"I'm going, Captain. And that's that."

"I like her," Rumlow grinned as he joined them. "It's nice to know that even Captain America has to answer to the boss lady." Steve frowned as a smirk tugged at the corner of Em's mouth before she schooled her expression. It wasn't exactly professional or nice to berate Steve in front of the men he worked with - she would have been pissed if he did that to her in the history department. Seeming to realize his faux pas, Rumlow cleared his throat, "This is the smallest we've got."

"Thanks," Steve said, taking the offered bulletproof vest and setting the tandem parachute harness he'd retrieved back onto the jump seat.

"I'll do the run down," he nodded before rejoining the group gathering at the tail end of the plane.

"Sorry," Em said. Steve shook his head sighed while undoing the buckles and velcro straps at the sides of the vest.

"This is gonna be heavy," he warned her. "You might want to take off your glasses and belt, too."

"Okay." She rummaged in her purse for her glasses case, carefully folding them with shaking hands before returning them to the bag, the red waist belt tossed in beside it. When she turned back to face Steve, he was studying you.

"I'm serious, Sweetheart. You don't have to do this."

"I...I'm going to. It's something to cross off the bucket list, right?" She gave him a weak smile while pulling her hair back into a ponytail. He grabbed Em's bag and slung it across her chest, positioning it so that it hung low on her hip.

"If you say so," he smirked before lifting the vest over her head. She let out a small huff as he lowered the weight onto her shoulders. "Good?"

"I guess," she said, rolling her shoulders. Steve chuckled before pulling the velcro tight across her stomach and adjusting the buckles so that they kept the vest close. He tugged on it a bit, rocking her forward on her toes as he tested the fit before deeming it acceptable.

After retrieving the harness from his seat, he knelt down in front of her and arranged the straps by her feet. Once finished, he tapped on her ankle and guided her into the appropriate position. Em steadied herself on the leather bands that wrapped around his shoulders, forcing herself to take deep breaths as he pulled the harness up her legs and motioned for her to put her arms through. "We good?" he asked again while going up the clasps around her hips and waist.

"I'm just glad I didn't wear a dress," she smiled, false bravado sneaking into her voice. Steve circled her, making sure everything was in place. He ran his eyes down her front again, her shape obscured by so much black material, before nodding.

"Looks good," he said, a strained smile crossing his lips. "Now, remember the rules." Em nodded. "Tell me what they are."

Rather than give a snide answer, Em tilted her chin up, and recited them. "Stay with Carter; do whatever you say; no wandering off; if one of your team says to move, I move; stay out of the way -"

"And?" Steve prompted.

"And if you get a bad feeling about any of it, I'm out of there, no ifs, ands, or buts about it."

"Right," he nodded before reaching above her head and pulling down a pair of jump goggles. "Here, put these on." Em did, resting them on top of her head rather than putting them over her eyes.

"Maybe," Em said, ducking her head. "Maybe after all of this, we can go to the museum? Like we were going to last month? If we have time, I mean."

Steve frowned at the memory. They'd been sitting at the airport gate, Em excitedly describing what the display looked like and how she'd spent a few weeks rummaging around the Smithsonian Vaults hunting for items to use, when his phone had rung and S.H.I.E.L.D. called him in. After a tense discussion, he knew that he had to go. Emily hadn't even looked at him when he kissed her cheek and headed to the office while she continued on to DC for work.

Steve cupped her face and gently kissed her, "We'll make time."

"Approaching the drop zone," the pilot announced.

"Ready?" Carter asked, joining them in his own jump gear.

"Yup," Steve nodded, lowering his hands to check her gear over again.

"What about you?" Em asked, smoothing her hands down the front of his uniform, thumb tracing the edge of the star. "Why don't you have a chute on?"

"I'll get mine on," Steve assured her, "Don't worry." He motioned for Em to proceed him to the tail of the jet.

"You know what you're doing, right?" Em asked Carter as he fell into step with her.

"Of course, darling," he smirked. "You're not my first. The loveliest, but not the first."

"I appreciate the attempt, but it's not making me feel better," she said, raising her voice as a beeping started to sound. Carter put a hand on her shoulder to stop her from moving as they reached the periphery of the team.

"Okay," Steve said, making his way through the team to the front. "We're over the drop zone. I'm going first with alpha squad. Bravo, you're taking Falsworth and Emi - Dr. Harthorn. We're not expecting hostilities, but keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

"Comm. check," Rumlow said, wrapping a wire around his ear. "Secure channel seven?"

There was a murmured agreement followed by sounds of guns being checked. Emily shuddered. Steve was putting on his helmet as he walked towards them, nodding to his team as he went.

"We good?" he asked yet again.

"Now comes the awkward part," Carter chuckled, stepping behind Em. "Stand still."

"Not too late," Steve said as Carter did up the straps that would hold them together as they fell.

"I feel like I'm going to throw up," Em admitted.

"Make sure you stay away from me," one of the other team members said, nudging Emily. "'S normal, sweetie. First jump's always the hardest."

"First and last," she assured him.

"Doubt that!" he grinned, raising his voice as the beeping got louder. The overhead lights turned off as red lights popped on. "You'll catch the bug!"

"Not likely!" Em yelled back before giving him a nervous smile. There was a mechanical whining as the ramp began to descend, and the loud rush of wind.

"Everything good?" Steve yelled over her shoulder to Carter.

"Perfect!" he yelled back. Steve nodded before turning his attention to Emily.

"It'll be fun, just like the Cyclone!" he assured her, wiping away a strand of hair that was whipping in the wind before framing her face. "I'll see you on the ground!" Heedless of his team watching, Steve leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, ignoring the wolf whistles and cat calls. When they broke apart, he rested his forehead on hers for a brief second before giving her a wink. After he tapped the goggles on her head to remind her to put them on, Em watched as Steve jogged down the ramp and flung himself off the plane. It was only at the last moment that she realized what he was missing.

A parachute.

"STEVE!" she shrieked.

"He's fine!" the man from before assured her. "Does it all the time!"

"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIM!" she screamed. Those around her started laughing as the alpha team followed Steve out of the plane.

"Ready?" Carter asked his voice warm and loud in her ear.

"No," she said, pulling the goggles down over her eyes. Chuckling, he gently nudged her closer to the ramp where the second team was forming a line. It was awkward moving, like a demented 3 legged race, but they managed.

"Bravo team!" the senior agent yelled. "Go!" One by one the men jumped out of the plane . When half of them were gone, the agent nodded to Em and Carter. "Go, go, go!"

"Here we go!" Carter yelled, wrapping an arm around Em's stomach as they moved to the head of the line. She could see the lights of the nation's capital laid out below them, and the wind pulled at her hair, lashing against her goggles.

"Go!"

"No!" Em shrieked as Carter flung them out of the quinjet.

It was an odd sensation, Emily thought as she watched the jet flew away from them. For a second they plummeted downwards as gravity reclaimed them, pulling them back to Earth at a breakneck speed. They tumbled for a moment before Carter regained control and they were face down. And then…

Then it felt like flying.

Her heart was in her throat when Carter reached around her and broke her hold on the harness, his hands wrapping around her wrists and pulling her arms outward, encouraging her to at least try and enjoy the experience. With the wind velocity, she wasn't if she was shaking or being buffeted by the air. Arms outstretched, Em unclenched her fists and marveled at the wind passing through her open fingers, reminding her of summer roadtrips with the car windows rolled down.

"OK?!" Carter yelled in her ear, releasing his hold to thrust a thumbs up in front of her face. Snidely, she thought about saying there was nothing he could have done if there wasn't, but she held up a thumb anyway while her heart hammered away.

As the ground rushed up to meet them, Emily recognized the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument. It was beautiful from this vantage point.

With a jerk, their feet were back underneath them as the chute deployed. Their descent was slowed considerably, and they were drifting rather than falling. The agents around them were deploying their parachutes as well, their gaze darting from the landing zone below to ensuring that they were far enough away from one another to not be in danger of colliding.

"Copy. We'll circle." Em twisted to try and see whom he was talking to before remembering the comm. "It's a rush, isn't it?" Carter asked, grin evident in his voice as he pulled the chords to steer them in the right direction. "You alright?"

"I think I left my stomach in the jet," Em managed after a long minute.

"At least you didn't throw up," he chuckled.

"Not yet," she muttered darkly. She forced herself to take deep breaths - as deep as the harness and vest would allow - as they drifted. As they got closer to the ground, the agents started to swoop more, going in larger circles as one by one they pulled the chords and started to plummet again, getting closer to the landing site. "How fucked up is -"

"Shh, hang on, open mic," he said. "Want to hear what's happening on the ground." Her cheeks burned slightly, wondering if everyone had heard that she wanted to throw up.

"You're sure? Copy," Carter said after a long stretch of silence. Emily was trying to imagine that she was sitting in a plane, and that's why she had the spectacular view beneath her feet, but it was kind of hard with wind buffeting you. "We're three out, love. I'm going to set us down gently," Carter assured her as they circled closer to the ground. "But watch how they do it."

Em was shaking as she forced herself to look straight down. The stars and moon were bright in the cloudless sky so it wasn't too difficult to see the black chute, but even so she had to squint to track one agent's descent. He moved closer and closer to the ground before landing and swinging the parachute to the side. The other agents moved quickly to pack it and clear the field.

"Two." A few minutes. "We're next." And then finally, "Ready?"

"Just get me on the ground, please." Behind her, Carter rolled his eyes as the other agents joked that Captain America would knock his lights out of something happened to his girlfriend.

"She'll be fine," Steve chimed in.

Carter relayed the message, and the team was treated to her calling her boyfriend a dirty liar and a promise that her mother would kill him if anything bad happened. She also informed him that he owed her another make up date night.

It was over faster than she thought. With the ease of experience, Carter guided them over the landing zone and gently set them down. Em's heels didn't even sink into the ground. In a flash, he swung the chute to the side and a few members of the squad converged to help pack it up as he unclipped them. Once unattached, he removed the chute and, once it was repacked, tossed it into the discarded pile. Emily did the same with her goggles.

"Remember?" Carter asked while pulling his sidearm from the holster on his thigh.

"You're the one that walked away," she sighed, still a bit shaken from the unexpected excitement of the night. "I stayed exactly where you left me. Where's Steve?"

"He's clearing the area with Alpha team," he answered, moving closer and standing beside her; she edged away slightly, eyeing his gun.

"So we're just waiting?"

"Bravo is securing the staging area. Once we get the go ahead, we'll join Alpha and move towards the memorial."

"Memorial?" Em frowned. "I thought you said it was a grave."

"Right," Carter said, putting a hand on her lower back and guiding her into the middle of the ring the agents had created. "Memorial...grave...same thing."

"Two entirely different things," she contradicted, putting her glasses on.

It was another ten minutes before the agents started to move forward. Carter made sure that Emily stayed by his side, occasionally glancing over to check. For her part, Em was looking around, wondering how she could have missed something this huge during her research.

"We're clear," Steve said as they neared the Alpha group; the whole team seemed to relax a bit at those words.

"Alright," Rumlow said. After a quick glance at Steve, he said, "We're fanning out. Create a perimeter."

Smirking slightly, Steve walked towards Emily and nodded to Carter. "How was it?"

"You owe me another date night," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "Preferably one where we don't have to jump out of a plane and doesn't require a bullet proof vest. Can I take this off, by the way?"

"Leave it on for now," he said before squeezing her arm gently. "You could have gone home,".

"She enjoyed it," Carter chuckled. "Don't let her fool you."

"Thanks for getting her down safely," Steve said, clapping his shoulder.

"My pleasure. Plans for the approach?"

Back to business mode, he nodded. "We've cleared the area. Not sure what they were after, but it looks like just random vandalism."

"I highly doubt it was random," Carter sighed. "Nothing really is where you're concerned." The glanced at Emily again, who raised an eyebrow.

"Stay with us," Steve said, Captain America creeping into that order.

"Got it," Em nodded before motioning out into the darkness. "Can we…?"

"We're set," Rumlow said, appearing beside them. "You can take your time, Cap."

"Thanks. Ready?"

"Finally," Em teased. Steve shifted the shield to his left arm before motioning her to proceed. Carter fell in step on her other side, so close that her hand kept brushing his as they walked until she crossed her arms over the vest. "So this has been here the whole time?"

"Yeah," Steve nodded. "They put it up after the war. It made sense at the time." She nodded, biting the inside of her cheek.

"Random and off topic, but what did you mean when you said I think you don't know what I'm saying when I cursing at you in French? You don't know what I'm saying. I mean, you probably get the gist of it, but not exactly what it is. And who taught you that phrase - 'tu est l'amour de ma vie'?"

"Really?" Carter smirked.

"No one," Steve replied, ignoring his chuckling friend.

"So did you look it up?" Em pressed.

"Non, mon amour," he grinned. "Je parle francais."

Emily stopped dead in her tracks, jaw dropping. "What?" she squeaked.

"You heard me right."

"Since...since when?"

"The War."

"Dernier?" Carter asked, seemingly unsurprised by this revelation.

"And Gabe," Steve fought against a grin.

"You...what?! Are you fucking kidding me?"

"You're cute when you're mad," Steve shrugged. "And if you wanted to curse me in French, I wasn't going to say anything about it."

"You…" Em scowled, resisting the urge to yell at him. "I'm not talking to you right now."

"Ok, mon ange," Steve grinned before sweeping his arm forward. "Shall we?" They continued in silence for a while until they walked towards an oak tree. Two white headstones rested underneath it, and broken pieces of marble littered the ground. Frowning, Emily sped up and ignored the slightly exasperated sigh as Steve lengthened his stride to match her pace.

"Mon dieu," Em breathed as she crouched down beside the first stone. It looked as though someone had brought a sledge hammer down on it - a large chunk on the top was missing and a crack spidered out from the gouge to the ground. Her fingers traced fractured 'V' in Steve's engraved name as she exhaled loudly.

"Christ," Carter muttered. "Not very subtle about it, were they?"

"I don't think that was the point," Steve said, looking around the surrounding area. He kept shifting slightly and the leather straps of the shield creaked as he gripped them tightly.

"A word?" Carter asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"Sure," Steve nodded, glancing at Em who has shifted to kneel as she held up her phone to illuminate the stone. "Stay here, okay?" Even though he couldn't see her face, he could tell she's rolled her eyes while waving them away. As the two men took a few steps away, she ran her fingers along the damaged area before moving to kneel in front of the second headstone.

Holding her phone up as a flashlight, she tried to decipher the engraving. This stone was much more damaged and the name nearly obliterated except for the last three letters - 'nes'. After glancing at the dates, she cocked an eyebrow. "I thought Bucky was buried in Brooklyn?" Emily said, turning to sit on her heel as she regarded the two men behind her.

"He wasn't buried," Steve said quietly, hands clasped on his belt glanced between the two and nodded.

"Apparently his Will said Brooklyn, but Gran thought he'd want to be with Steve. Howard Stark paid for the headstone in New York so the military would pay for this one."

"Oh," Em said softly. "That was...kind of him."

"Howard wasn't always the monster Tony makes him out to be," Steve sighed, walking back towards her. Carter circled around to stand behind the headstones, resting his hands on the undamaged portion of Steve's and shrugged.

"According to Gran he wasn't the same after you went down." Carter shrugged as Steve looked at him before crouching to look at his headstone "He was - "

There was a loud 'crack' and Carter jerked to the side before falling to the ground.

"STAY DOWN!" Steve roared, throwing his arm over Emily's head as she screamed.

Author's Note: Since today starts my quarter life crisis (aka today's my 25th birthday), I thought I'd update. Just a quick note: having seen CA:TWS 4 times now, I can confidently say that I'll be going more with the comic books as my source material for this story. I really like what they did with the film, I think the comics handled some of the things better. That's not to say everything is going to be disregarded!

I hope you enjoyed this and, as always, thank you for reading and let me know what you think!