DYER | STEVE ROGERS

𝐕𝐈.𝐈𝐕

〚 VANISHED 〛

It had been one year since the snap and nothing was the same. New York seemed completely abandoned and everyone stayed away from one another apart from a few.

Tony had left The Avengers, he needed some time apart he said. Only Darla knew that Pepper was pregnant and he didn't want to risk bringing the baby to any harm. The girl understood and promised to keep it a secret until Tony and Pepper were ready to tell the others.

Darla placed her hand over Briars as they sat looking at the memorial for the vanished. There was hundreds upon hundreds of names. The girl let out a small sigh as she allowed her eyes to flicker over the names of her family. She missed them dearly and she knew that Briar did too.

"We've lost so much." Briar spoke up, his eyes never leaving the memorial. "We have to get them back, D."

"I know." Darla looked across to her brother. He had huge bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep he had been getting. Him and Natasha stayed up most nights trying to find a solution to bring everyone back. So far, they had nothing.

Briar moved in the compound a few weeks after the snap. Darla hated the idea of him being alone in their old house. There were too many memories.

"And we're trying Briar, but-"

"Our family has gone." Frustratedly, Briar ran his hand over his face as tears formed his his eyes. "Our friends are gone. Half of my co workers are gone and the other half quit."

"Hey." Darla stepped in front of her brother, causing him to look at her. "We've still got each other. And I know that's not the same as having everyone, but we could be completely alone in this."

Darla placed her hands on his biceps and smiled up to him.

"We still have Steve and Nat, we still have Bruce, Tony, Rhodey and Rocket" She attempted to remind him. But everyone else they had lost. "We can get through this."

Briar noticed the tears forming in his sisters eyes and he quickly pulled her into his chest. He knew she was hurting too and that she was just putting on a brave face for him. He hated that she was doing that. He hated that she didn't allow anyone to see her upset if she could help it.

Steve took a small glance at Natasha once he saw the pair. They had said they were going out for a quick walk, but that was over four hours ago. It was routine for them to come to the memorial, so after the third time of it happening, Steve and Natasha had become worried and gone to look for them.

The pair walked up to the siblings, offering them a small smile. Steve hated seeing all the names of the vanished. It made him feel guilty. He didn't understand why he got to stay here and the others didn't. What made him any better than them?

Darla looked up to the man and pulled away from her brother to hug him. Steve wrapped his arms around the girl almost instantly. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead as she rested her head against his chest.

"We're gonna get them all back." Steve announced.

Briar looked across to Natasha, she too had tears in her eyes so he wasted no time in wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his chest. Natasha was taken back slightly but instantly hugged him back.

Darla smiled at the pair, they were good for each other. Ever since they first met, they kind of clicked. They had a sort of unspoken connection.

"We have too." Natasha nodded in agreement. She felt safe when Briar held her. She liked the way that his arms felt around hers. It made her feel complete.

Steve rested his head on Darla's, his fingers linking with his as he allowed his eyes to flicker over the names of the vanished. One name standing out to him in particular.

'James 'Bucky' Barnes'

He missed his best friend. He only just got him back and then he lost him against.

Darla caught on and brought Steve's hand up to her lips, placing a soft kiss on his knuckles. She missed Bucky too, they had grown closer during the two years that her and Steve were in hiding.

"We at least owe it to them to not stop trying. We can't leave them. We can't abandon them." Darla spoke up, her voice cracking ever so slightly.

Nobody knew where they were, if they were even alive or not. They didn't know what they would do if they couldn't get them back.