Electric / Steve Rogers x OC x Bucky Barnes ✓

Chapter 65: Come Home

MADELINE

It's been 2 months since I left everyone and everything behind. 

After I left the compound I went to Queens. I saw Peter quickly, told him I needed to leave, and he understood. I made him swear not to tell anyone that he saw me. And I guess he didn't, because no-one has found me yet. 

I found an ad on craigslist and moved into a shitty apartment in the Bronx. My roommate helped me get a bartending job at a place nearby. 

I've seen the Avengers on the news occasionally. Something happened in mid-town and there was a huge fight but I tried to avoid it as much as possible. Anytime I thought about it, I felt guilty. Guilty for not being there, guilty about the people I left behind. 

Especially Steve. 

I left him. And all I left him with was a stupid note. I know he must hate me now but it's better that way.  

He's the only one I'll ever admit to having truly been looking out for and he's also been the easiest one because the media always mentions him when something happens. 

I've also been checking on Nat, Wanda and Tony occasionally. 

And Bucky. 

They don't really mention him much, which is probably for the best. Didn't stop me from searching his name on google every single day, though. 

"You going to come to that party later?" Michelle says as she plops down on the couch next to me. 

Michelle is the girl I'm currently sharing an apartment with. She's nice, a little crazy, and she parties a lot which is good. It's a good distraction for me. 

"Yeah, I'm working until 11pm but I'll join after," I reply. 

"Alright, cool. I'm sure it'll be fun." 

I smile at her softly. Michelle doesn't know about me, who I am, what I did, or my powers. I haven't used them since I left. 

She goes to a lot of parties and she usually brings me with her. I've been in a daze, working at night and then going partying after. Drinking, dancing, talking to boys, sleeping the day away. Basically doing anything in my power to forget about my past, forget about my life, forget about what I left behind. 

But when I get home and close my eyes, I always see the same thing. 

Baby-blue eyes staring at me. Staring into my soul. A face sculpted by the angels telling me he loves me. A wide smile as I tell him I love him too. A big shit-eating grin as a silver ring flashes on his finger. 

Steel-blue eyes, boring into me. Revealing all of my secrets, weaknesses, flaws. Long tousled hair, metal gleaming and a set of dog tags clinking against each other. And lies. So many lies. 

I still have nightmares but they're different now. 

They used to be about my past, about what happened to me, about HYDRA. 

After I left they changed. For the first few weeks they were about the Winter Soldier. Cold eyes meeting mine, a dead look on his face. 

And lately, they've been about something completely different. 

They've been about Steve and Bucky, Wanda and Nat, Tony and Peter, all dying because I wasn't there to help them. Dying because I left. 

... 

I get to the bar around 5pm and set up to get ready. 

"You good, Clara?" Jonathan asks me as I clean the glasses. I didn't tell anyone my real name. First rule of being on the run; don't tell anyone who you really are. 

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks Jon," I reply as I continue with the glasses. 

I set up the bar and before I know it the place is full of people. 

The evening progresses smoothly. The regulars are the first I see and I strike up conversation with them. They know me at this point, since I've been here practically every night for two months. I chat with one of them for a while, until the place starts to fill up with people. 

I'm making drinks behind the bar, working as usual, when I hear a familiar voice that sends shivers down my spine. 

"Can I have a beer, please?" 

I stand frozen with my back to the voice. As I turn around slowly I see his face. 

"Steve," I exhale. 

"Hi Maddie." He says calmly, his face unreadable. 

I glance quickly around the bar and that's when I spot Nat and Wanda in the corner and Tony standing close to the door. 

I breathe in sharply, "What are you doing here?" 

"I've come to get you. To bring you home."

I'm finally meeting those baby-blues that I've been thinking about every day, again. Every single day I've thought of him. Every single day I've felt guilty. 

He looks different than when I left. His blonde hair is longer and he has a beard. I've never seen him with a beard before. For a second my mind clutters and all I want to do is grab him and hold him close to me. But I shake the thought off quickly, knowing it's for the best. 

If I wanted to go back, I would've. If I wanted to leave my current situation, I would have left. It's better that I'm not there. 

"I don't want to go home. I want to stay here," I reply flatly as I pour a drink for a customer.

He leans across the bar and my eyes meet his again, "Don't lie to me." 

"I'm not lying Steve, I really think I shouldn't come back. I'm sorry." 

I try to move away from him a little but he grabs my arm as I do. I feel the electricity surging through me immediately and I'm about to shrug him off me when I see it. 

The silver ring, situated comfortably on his finger. He's still wearing it. 

"You mean to tell me you can just put all of this behind you? That you can just leave so easily? Leave us? Me?" 

I want to cry as I look at him. 

"You know why I left," I whisper, and that's when I see a figure behind him. 

Brown hair but short now, metal gleaming in the light from the bar. A defeated look on his face. Steel-blue eyes.

Bucky.