Electric / Steve Rogers x OC x Bucky Barnes ✓

Chapter 70: Sparkles

MADELINE

My suspicions were correct. A few minutes after Steve kisses me, there's a knock on the door. 

When I open the door I see who I was expecting. 

"Hi," I say with a small smile as I look at Wanda and Nat in front of me. 

"We need to talk, Sparkles." Nat says coldly. Wanda offers me a soft smile but I can tell she's still upset. 

I inhale deeply, "Yes, of course. Where?" 

... 

Nat brings me to her room and I realize I've never actually been in here before. It's exactly as I expected it would be. Dark curtains, minimal decorating, her suit slung across the back of a chair. 

Files piled on the desk and a huge mirror. It's a little messy with clothes on the floor and the closet doors open, revealing dresses in all colors and shapes. 

I sit down on her bed and she brings chairs for herself and Wanda. Once again, they're sitting opposite of me, but this time it makes sense because I'm the one being interrogated. 

"Speak." Nat says, her voice stern. Wanda glances at her and then says, "Nat, calm down. She's here. Be nice." 

"I'll be nice when she gives me a reason to," Nat replies as she watches me expectantly. 

Ouch. Clearly the Widow is not happy that I left.

I sigh. 

"I told you guys why I left, last night." I scan Nat's face and she see's right through me.

"We both know that wasn't the whole truth. So tell me the whole truth or I'll know I can't trust you anymore. Was it Rogers? Did he do something?" 

I shake my head, "No, Of course not. He's literally the perfect man. I don't even think he's ever made a mistake in his life." 

Wanda chuckles a little and it's nice to see her warming up to me. Nat, however, stays set in stone. 

"So, tell me then." She says as she keeps her stern expression.

I look at them both for a while, contemplating my options. If I tell them the truth it will be like reliving it. It will make it real. And how will they even react? 

Before I can overthink it I blurt out, "I'm in love with Bucky." 

They both widen their eyes at me, their expressions shocked. 

"But, Steve..?" Wanda asks. 

"I'm in love with him too." 

Nat furrows her eyebrows, "So, you're telling me.. You left because you got feelings for Barnes and Rogers couldn't handle it?" 

I look down at my hands, tugging at my sleeves. "No, not exactly.." 

Nat and Wanda glance at each other and Wanda looks very confused. After a second, realization washes over Nat's face. 

"The three of you...?"

I nod. 

Wanda gasps and Nat gives me a smirk, "Well, I definitely wasn't expecting that." 

"No-one knows," I quickly say before looking at the both of them sternly, "And no-one needs to know. Okay?" 

They both nod. 

"So, when you found out he had lied to you.." Wanda says, trailing off. 

I nod, "When I found out Bucky had been lying to me for years, he had been spending the past 3 days in my bed. And I realize Tony didn't think Bucky lying to me was a good enough reason to leave, but when you factor in that aspect I think I'm a little more justified." 

"That's why Rogers was so calm about it in the beginning," Nat says, "He knew what was going on and it makes a lot more sense with this information." 

I nod again. 

"So, what now?" Wanda asks as she scans my face. 

I look down to my hands again. "Now I have to deal with this mess I've created." 

"You going to speak to him?" Nat asks.

"I don't know if I'm ready yet. My entire body is urging me to go see him, when I saw him yesterday my first instinct was to pull him close. But my mind knows I shouldn't listen to my body. Or my heart." 

"Maddie, if you feel that way, maybe you should just.. Forgive him. Can you do that?" Wanda asks me lightly, taking my hand in hers. 

"I don't know if I can. It was like a slap in the face when I found out he'd been lying to me this entire time. And I started to doubt everything. Started to doubt how he felt about me, if he had taken part in it back when we were both with HYDRA. What other secrets he's been keeping. It's like my trust was a piece of glass and it all shattered in that moment." 

Nat nods, "I understand. Having been what you've been through, trusting people can be hard. Forgiving them is even harder." 

Wanda interrupts, "Yes, obviously, but with that being said.. He's been a shadow of himself ever since you left. Now I understand why, I always wondered why it was affecting him so much. Steve I understood but Bucky, I thought, was just because he was worried. But he's not been himself at all, we've barely even seen him. Neither has Steve."

"Yeah, Steve mentioned that." 

"Also, he cut his hair, which says a lot," Nat says with a chuckle and I smile in response. 

"Yeah, I was shocked when I first saw him. Although I'm not gonna lie, he looks good." 

"Oh for sure. Bucky Barnes looks good even when he's covered in blood and mud and hasn't showered for days," she replies with a giggle. 

I look at them both with an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry for leaving you guys. I know that wasn't okay and I promise I'll make it up to you. But I needed to do it for my own sanity."

Wanda gives me a smile back, "I understand.. Now. Thank you for explaining it to us and thank you for letting us in on another secret. Your life is literally a soap opera, it's quite exciting to watch." 

I chuckle, "Yeah, it's great.." 

I turn to Nat, still smiling apologetically. 

"I'll accept your apology but you're going to need to make up for it. I'm thinking lunch, maybe shopping. Definitely some dirty details about that whole threesome situation.. And then I'll consider letting you off the hook, Sparkles." 

I laugh at her. "Yeah, about that, 'Sparkles'? What's that about Romanoff?" 

Nat shrugs, "You have sparks coming out of your fingers. I was mad at you so I thought I would give you a girly nick name that I knew you would hate." 

"Yeah, well, thanks," I snort. 

Wanda chuckles a little before she speaks again, "So, what do you want to do about Bucky?"

I look at her and for a second I have no idea what I want to do. I'm so conflicted.  

"I know what I want to do, I want to follow my heart - my body - calling out for me to forgive him. But my mind is like a fortress. Whenever I think of him, my stomach flutters and I feel giddy, and then moments later my brain is taking over reminding me how I can't trust him, how he lied to me, how he might be keeping secrets. It's like I can't escape it."

"Maybe following your heart would actually be a good idea, for once. I know you've gotten used to relying on your mind, but you followed your heart with Steve and that turned out pretty well. Maybe this will too." She says as she squeezes my hand lightly. 

"Yeah, maybe.. Or maybe it'll all come crashing down and I'll get my heart broken - again.."