The Winter Warrior // Captain America

«Chapter 1»

A N N A ' S   P O V

My mind was completely blank as Bucky Barnes walked me and my brother back to our apartment in Brooklyn after our mother's funeral. My fingers had been freezing cold all day and my feet had yet to stop aching from standing for hours on end. 

"How was it?" Bucky questioned, digging his hands in the pockets of his formal pants. It had been a nice funeral. Only a few close friends had been there. Everyone on Mom's side of the family had already passed and we weren't close with anyone on our dad's side. I liked to think Mom had died with dignity after serving on the soldiers' ward for years. Eventually, tuberculosis had become inevitable and it wasn't long before it took her away from us. 

"Okay, she's next to dad," Steve answered. Joseph Rogers, our father, had fought in World War One and he had been killed in a mustard gas attack on the battlefield just months before I was born, leaving my mother to raise us both on her own. And now, it was just me and Steve. 

"We'll get through this, you know. Just like everything else," Bucky said, gently placing a hand on my shoulder. I sighed deeply, lowering my gaze as I fought back tears. 

"Thank you, Buck, but we'll be fine on our own," Steve said. He fumbled for his keys but Bucky already kicked aside the brick where we hid our spare key. He held it out and my brother offered him a tiny smile before taking the key and sticking it in the front door of our apartment. 

"The thing is, you don't have to. I'm with you guys 'till the end of the line," Bucky spoke, giving us a reassuring smile. He pulled us in for a joined hug.

***

"I can do it, Anna. I have to!" Steve protested. He had gotten the brilliant idea of joining the US army to fight against Germany. For the past few months, I had been advising him against it, knowing how dangerous it was. I already lost both of my parents to the war, I was not about to lose my brother too. 

But every man in the country, including Bucky, was involved in the army, whether that was fighting on the front line or jobs behind the scenes, and Steve wanted nothing more than to do the same.

"Steve, be honest with yourself. You're at least a foot shorter than everyone else who will be there," I said, taking his file from his hands. "And don't forget the endless list of illnesses and... defects." 

He glared at me for a second. "Gee, thanks." He snatched his file from my hands. "I need to do something, I can't just wait until the war is over. You of all people should understand." 

"Trust me. I do," I replied, glancing at my own file on the kitchen table where a green A was stamped on the open page. I let out a sigh. Even though I was four years younger than him, Steve sought my approval more than anyone's on the planet. "Fine. Let's give it a shot." 

He tried to suppress his grin and I pretended not to see it as I hooked my arm through his and took him to the enlistment centre in downtown Brooklyn. We stopped outside and I gave him a hug, holding on a little longer than probably necessary. "I can't come inside, but good luck," I said and he nodded, sucking in a deep breath before heading inside. 

Not even ten minutes later, he came back, head hung low. I smiled sympathetically. 

"I was already out when they saw I have asthma," he said. 

I wrapped an arm around him. "At least you tried. C'mon, there's a movie playing. If we hurry, we can make it."

***

"Hey, can you shut up?" Steve called after the young man who was sitting in front of us had made a series of disrespectful comments on the war commercial that was playing before the movie. The man stood up and before I knew it, Steve was jerked from his chair and dangling behind the man. I was quick to speed after them, apologising to several people who complained that we were interrupting their movie, which we were, but that was not the point.