Secrets 🖤

Chapter 8

Maggie let out a long sigh as they stood on the porch of her mom's house. She opened the door without knocking, finding her mother in the kitchen. Her face lit up when she saw Maggie. She hugged her mom before turning back to Bucky, "mom, this is James. James, meet my mom, Sandra Ellis."

Bucky held out his flesh hand to her, "nice to meet you Mrs. Ellis."

"Call me Sandy, please." Bucky smiled politely as he sat next to Maggie at the kitchen table. He kept his metal hand in his jacket.

Sandy laughed, watching them, "now you know I knew you were coming already." She pointed to Bucky, "and I know who you are. You don't have to hide yourself. If Maggie trusts you, then I do."

Maggie reached over, touching him on the arm, "take off your jacket Buck. It's fine." She turned back to her mom and sighed, "when were they here?"

Bucky stood up, removing his jacket and placing it on Maggie's in the living room. He wasn't used to people not being scared of him.

Sandy grabbed an envelope from a drawer and handed it to her daughter as Bucky sat back down next to her, "Natasha and a very attractive man stopped by two nights ago. She said you would come here at some point. The man, Steve? He gave this to me to give to you."

She grabbed the sealed envelope that simply said 'Margaret' on it. She looked at Bucky and then back at the envelope. She folded it, placing it in her pocket as she stood up. "I'll be in my room. Gonna grab some clothes and what not."

"Do you want some tea dear?"

Bucky looked up at her mom and smiled, "sure. Thanks. I'm sorry for just showing up here. I'm trying to get her to come back home." He looked around, "well, back to us anyways."

Sandy sat at the kitchen table, setting tea in front of them. "She has a hard time letting people in. She didn't even talk to us for almost a year after Natasha brought her here. She apparently had had a twin when they were taken to the red room. Her twin didn't make it, she wasn't deemed strong enough."

Bucky shook his head in disbelief, "oh my god. I had no idea." He had never taken the time to find out about her, he didn't even know she had been from the red room, let alone that she had had a sister.

Sandy reached over and grabbed his hand, "I know. She doesn't open up well."

"Yeah. Much like someone else I know." He rolled his eyes.

"This the Steve that was here?"

He let out a long sigh, "yeah."

She watched him for a minute before placing her hand on his cheek, "such a handsome man. You have feelings for her too?"

He grinned a little, "it's complicated. Maggie and I are just friends. I care about her. That's why I'm here. And besides, Steve is my best friend." He stood up from the table before she could ask him any more questions, "I'm gonna go check on her." He knocked on the door but she didn't respond. He opened the door to find her on her bed, listening to music, crying. He sat on the bed next to her as she laid her head in his lap. He mindlessly combed through her hair for a while as she stopped crying.

Maggie sat up and looked at Bucky. She didn't say anything she climbed into his lap, kissing him. He moaned as she straddled him, pushing him back on the bed. He groaned and pushed her onto the bed, standing up, "what are you doing? I told you I can't."

"Why not?" She knelt on the bed so she could see eye to eye to him, "am I not good enough?"

"Ugh. Maggie. You're more than good enough." He turned away from her, seeing the letter from Steve on her desk, "are you going to read the letter?"

"Maybe, eventually." She stood up, picking up the letter and sitting on the desk. "Why can't you?"

"I told you, Steve is my best friend. And I would only want to be with you if you wanted to be with me too. And not because you're mad at Steve." Bucky could feel the anger growing inside him, "don't you think you're being a little childish? Running away. Throwing yourself at me. You and Steve are a perfect fucking match. Neither one of you can let anyone in! He hides behind his tough demeanor, you hide behind sex."

Maggie jumped off the desk. "Fuck you Buck!" She grabs her letter and her backpack and is gone before he can stop her.

He watched her ride away on the motorcycle. Bucky looked at her mom apologetically, "I'm sorry."

She rubbed his shoulder gently, "no. It's fine dear. You're right. She can't run forever."

"I should go after her." He grabbed his own backpack and jacket and left her mom standing in the front doorway.

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Maggie stopped at a gas station just a mile from her mom's house. She parked the bike and opened the letter:

Margaret
Please come home. I'm so sorry for everything that has happened.
I couldn't deal with my own feelings for you.
I never hated you. Just please come home so we can talk.
I love you,
Steve

She groaned as she put the letter back in the envelope as it started to rain. She didn't notice the black van parked beside Steve's bike until the door opened and she was dragged inside, being knocked out.

Bucky found Steve's bike outside a gas station near Maggie's mom's house. The bike was on its side, her bag and the letter from Steve soaked from the rain. "Fuck!" He grabbed her stuff, looking around to see she wasn't around. How was he supposed to face Steve without Maggie?

~an hour later~

'Mr. Stark, Sergeant Barnes has returned on Captain Roger's motorcycle.'

Tony pulls up the camera in his office, "does he have Ms. Ellis?"

'No sir.'

Tony sounds the alarm alerting the Avengers to meet him downstairs.

Steve makes it downstairs as he sees Bucky enter the living area with everyone else, "where is Maggie?"

He threw his hands up in the air, "I lost her! We got in a fight and I lost her. Seriously. You two are made for each other. You're both acting like fucking children Steve!"

Steve was hurt at his friends words, but he knew that he was right.

Natasha stepped towards Bucky, "what do you mean you lost her?"

He threw her bag and the letter from Steve on the table, "she was taken. She wouldn't have just left her stuff and the motorcycle behind if she was leaving me."

Natasha pushed Steve, "I swear to god, if anything happens to that girl."

Tony stands in front of everyone, "okay. It's late. Let's all get some sleep. We can try to make a plan in the morning." He stepped towards Bucky, placing his hand on his shoulder, "like the new do Sergeant Barnes."

Bucky ran his fingers through his now much shorter hair, "oh yeah. Maggie cut it. Thought it was time to let go of the Winter Soldier."

"It becomes you. Let's go to bed."