Infatuation | Bucky Barnes

Chapter Fifty One

One Year after the Snap

She didn't want to wake up. She didn't want to relive that horrible day. She heard William on the monitor though and she dragged herself out of bed. Her son was a welcoming sight despite the dreary day.

"Good morning." Catherine told her son as she picked him up.

William was only three months old, but he was an amazing baby. He was always happy. Never cried. Loved being held. Catherine knew she was lucky. Her niece Morgan, on the other hand was feisty which she assumed she got from Tony. After changing him into a simple onsie, she sat down and began to feed him. She debated turning the TV on knowing all to well that they were going to be talking about the snap.

After William finished nursing, she laid him on his play mat with some toys while she made herself a smoothie. Once she finished, she went into her room to get herself ready. She put on a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, comfortable shoes and a hunter green shirt that she tucked in. She pulled her hair up and put a baseball hat to hid her identity while she went out.

She walked back into the living room and put William in his car seat. She wasn't sure where she was going to drive to, but she just wanted to get out of the house. She parked her car in front of the memorial for the people had been snapped by Thanos. This was the only gravesite that the people had. It wasn't too busy since it was still early but it had more people then usual since it was the one year anniversary.

Catherine took the stroller out of her SUV and clicked William's car seat in it. She walked slowly. Her feet felt heavy as she neared the wall where Bucky's name was. It took her a minute to find his name, but when she did, she was overcome with emotions. His name was inscribed perfectly into the stone. She reached a shaky hand and traced each letter. A tear fell from her face and she took a step back.

"Did you lose someone?" Catherine heard a female voice say.

"Didn't we all?" Catherine said quietly. "I lost my husband and many friends."

"I lost my husband too. They fought hard though." The woman said.

Catherine glanced at the woman. "They?"

"The Avengers. I know many people are mad at them that they lost, but I'm not. I can't imagine what they went up against. Only a few of them survived." She explained.

"It was hard." Catherine whispered.

"I'm sorry?" The woman misheard her.

"N-Nothing. Umm, have a good day." Catherine said wanting to get away from the woman before she figured out who she was.

"I figured I would find you here." She heard Steve say as she approached her car.

"I've never been here before. I thought it might be nice. I think it made me feel worse actually." She admitted. "Did you run all the way here?"

Steve gave her a forced smile. "Yeah, I did."

"Damn super soldiers." She teased, trying to put herself in a better mood.

"I was going to see if you wanted to get lunch?" He asked.

"Sure. No one needs to be alone on a day like this." She answered. "Drive or walk?"

"Walk. There's a place a block away." Steve said and offered to push the stroller.

There was a nice breeze in the air, reminding her that fall was around the corner. No one gave them a second glance as they walked. Everyone looked sad, angry, dreary, tired as they thought about the day where they lost someone. Catherine and Steve both felt an enormous amount of guilt as they walked. They should have fought harder. They should have been smarter. They should have seen Thanos coming. They were once praised, but now people cursed their names. The Earth's mightiest hero's were no more.

They opted to sit outside the small cafe. There were less people which meant a smaller possibility of being noticed.

"I'm thinking about starting a support group. I want to help people move on." Steve said after they ordered.

Catherine raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? I think that's a great idea."

"Yeah? I don't know if anyone will come, but if I can help one person, it'll be worth it." He told her.

Catherine couldn't help but smile at her friend. Steve Rogers had to be one of the kindest and most generous person she had ever met. He was always trying to help those who needed it.

"What?" Steve asked observing her smile.

"You. You're always so...righteous. It's refreshing to see it still." She admitted.

Steve shrugged his shoulders. "I guess that's the Captain America in me."

Catherine shook her head and leaned forward in her chair slightly. "No. That's Steve Rogers."

Steve stared at her, perhaps too long. He could see she was trying to be happy, to move on. He wasn't sure if the bags under her eyes were from William or if she cried herself every night, longing for Bucky. She was strong, stronger then him.

"You okay Steve?" She interrupted his thoughts. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No. Just thinking." He said.

They sat there and talked for hours. They talked about Bucky, Sam, Wanda, Clint, everyone. They talked about their regrets during the fight. They talked about how this had been the longest year of their life. From an outsiders perspective it looked like a family enjoying the day out, but in reality it was just two broken people trying to heal one another.