𝚂𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 • 𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚁𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜

01 • Forget-Me-Not

Steve Rogers peeled back the tattered mess that was once considered a suit off of his bloodied body, throwing it to the floor in heap before stepping into the Avengers facility shower.

The searing hot beads of water soaked into every cut and scratch, stinging him but he remained emotionless, for fear that if he were to show anything other than a blank expression, every terrible thought running through his head would fall from his lips and never stop.

It was supposed to be just like any other mission, his main focus was to secure the files from the abandoned Hydra bunker, but what he stumbled upon was far more sinister.

Steve began swiping his hands over his body, lathering himself in soap as he attempted to rid himself of the layer of crust that formed, consisting of blood, dirt, and sweat. He wouldn't normally shower at the facility, instead opting to wait until he got back to he and Bucky's shared apartment, but things were different today. His entire body was laced with a dirty feeling, and he had to wash himself clean.

But even after he stood with the water washing over him for almost 15 minutes, scrubbing his body raw, the feeling lingered, because guilt wasn't something you could just wash away.

"Steve?" Bucky's voice and a knock dragged him out of his trance. "You almost done?"

Steve didn't respond, instead just shut the water off in a haste and stayed standing in the steam filled little room, dripping water, clenching his eyes shut.

He couldn't stop the memories from flooding his mind, the moments he tried so desperately to forget because every time he thought of her, he felt his heart crack.

He tried everything to rid his mind of the images of Mildred Mae Elliot, even back in the 40s. He convinced himself he loved another, hoping it would take his mind off of the pain that came from knowing that the girl he loved, the only girl he had ever truly loved, was believed to be dead.

But he never could stop thinking of her, even when he woke up after seventy years, she was the first thing he thought of.

His girl.

What an incredible girl she was, and Steve hated himself every moment he thought about it. She deserved better, she deserved a hero, but instead she got a coward.

Now he has to face the consequences.