Save Me || Bucky Barnes

40

"Ma, can I hold her now?"

"Of course sweetie, you need to be very careful though."

"Alright, Ma, I'll be real careful."

The small, two week old infant was handed off to the small boy. Very gently, like he had promised, he held the baby girl in his frail arms. She was almost too big for him to hold, her arm was already the size of his so the boy struggled to hold her in his arms.

But he held onto her for dear life because she was his little sister and he already loved her with his entire heart.

"Don't worry, Charlotte. I'm gonna protect you and never let anything hurt you. You're my baby sister so that's my job. But as long as I'm alive, I'll protect you. I love you sissy."

~

A single tear trailed down Steve's cheek. He couldn't keep his promise and now that he knew his sister survived the fall and then endured seventy years of pain and torture as a result, he felt extremely guilty. He wished with all his heart that it had been him in her place. Hell, he would sell his soul to the Devil just so he could go back in time and trade places with her.

"She's gonna be there, you know?" Sam asked, interrupting Steve's train of thought as the soldier joined Steve on the walkway outside.

"I know." Steve murmured quietly, not meeting Sam's gaze.

"Look, whoever she used to be, the woman she is now, I don't think she's the kind you save. She's the kind you stop." Sam reluctantly spoke out loud. He knew that this would tear Steve apart and he wouldn't listen to his advice anyways, but he need to at least try and convince the super-soldier.

"I don't know if I could do that." Steve spoke, confirming Sam's suspicion. 

"Well, she might not give you a choice. She doesn't know you."

"She will," Steve assured Sam before he continued to give out instructions, "Gear up, it's time."

"You gonna wear that?" Sam asked, bewildered.

"No. If you're gonna fight a war, you gotta wear a uniform." Steve smiled slyly before he briskly walked past Sam and back inside to get his partner in crime. 

~

"Hey, Stevie! Thanks for inviting me over!" the brunette boy smiled as he ran up to his new friend's apartment room.

"Sure thing, Buck. You didn't have any trouble getting up here, did you?" the skinny blonde asked.

"Not a problem." Bucky smiled, his hands on his hips as he tried to catch his breath from sprinting up several flights of stairs. The younger boy gave his panting friend a skeptical glance before he shrugged and pushed open the door to his apartment.

The first thing the brunette boy saw was a young girl. She couldn't have been older than him, but she couldn't have been more than three or four years younger than him. At the sound of the door closing, the blonde girl glanced up from the floor. Her piercing blue eyes captured Bucky's, he couldn't seem to look away.

Steve's mother walking into the room, however, brought him out of his daze. Bucky shook his head to clear his mind before he smiled at the older woman.

"You must be Bucky. I'm Sarah, Steve's mom." she smiled warmly at the young boy before she walked over to stand behind the couch the young girl was sitting on.

"This is Steve's little sister, Charlotte. Say hi Sunshine." Steve's mom continued to talk. The little girl stared at Bucky for a moment longer before she sank back into her mother's arms.