Not Without You {Steve/Bucky Fic} COMPLETED

Chapter Thirteen

"Where are you headed, young man? " A voice asked Bucky as he sat on a wooden bench, waiting for a bus to appear.
He had made it as far as Boston on the bus he had gotten on in D.C. , then decided that he would rather not got to Los Angeles.

Bucky just shrugged his shoulders eyeing the old woman who had spoken, and realized that she had also been on his previous bus. "Wherever, really. "

The woman chuckled and sat down beside him on the bench. "Sometimes it's better that way. Just see where you end up in the end, eh? "

Bucky nodded, trying to be polite. He looked down at his hands, clasping them together, and for a brief moment, he allowed his imagination to see Steve next to him instead of the elderly lady, with his hand caressing his. He shook his head as he forced the image out of his mind.

"And where are you headed. Ma'am? " He asked, trying to find a distraction for his wandering mind.

The woman smiled softly. "Oh, nowhere in particular. " she pushed a grey strand of hair behind her ear.

"Sometimes a person's just gotta go out into the world to find out where they need to be. I learned that a little late, it's still early for you, boy. Don't let anything hold you down. It's not healthy to be grounded into one town for a job, or a person. If that person really cares about you, they'll come to you. "

"However, " The woman continued, "sometimes, you've gotta decide for yourself if running away from something is the right choice. "

She paused and winked at Bucky. "Something tells me that getting away from a person is exactly what you're doing. "

Bucky blushed slightly. He sighed as he looked aimlessly down the street. "He's with a woman, " he said after a moment, his voice low. "And I screwed things up. He'd hate me now. "

The lady placed her withered hand on Bucky's shoulder. "Sonny, with a face as handsome as yours, he's dumber than a box of rocks for letting you go. I have a feeling that this boy is gonna come after you, but one thing you learn is that you gotta decide for yourself whether or not this person deserves you. And if he does, don't you think you should go back to him? "

She paused, smiling again at the man next to her. "A good man doesn't come around everyday. "

Bucky chuckled, shaking his head. "The thing is, he's a great man. He would never hurt me on purpose, he would be with me of I wanted him to. Bit the thing is, I want him to be with with me because he wants to be with me, you know? " He stopped himself, surprised at how much he was telling this unknown woman.

"A thing as sweet as yourself, I'm sure that this man is head over heels for you. "

I wish, Bucky thought to himself. He imagined if Steve felt the same way over him, if he daydreamed about him, if he stayed up all night thinking about him, his mind swirling in thoughts that revolved around completely around him.

It was nice to imagine.

"He's not. " He looked at his lap, his hands still clinging to each other, still imagining that one day, just maybe, it could be Steve's hand that he held.

"But the thing is, " he continued. "Even if I leave, I still feel like. . . Like. . ." Bucky stopped, his heart thumping as he finally admitted the truth out loud. "My heart completely belongs to him. Nobody else. Even if he doesn't love me the way I love him. "

"I'm with him til the end of the line. " A single tear found its way out of his eye.

The lady gave him a sad smile as she leaned over and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "Then maybe you should go back to him. " She said softly.

Bucky shook his head, sniffling. "I don't think I could. He doesn't want me."

Placing her hand on top of his metal one, she said "You'll never know until you go back to him. "

He gave her a small smile as the bus pulled up at the sign. Standing up and clutching his back pack, he said, "I guess maybe, one day I could give it a shot. "

The lady remained seated and replied, "I'm sure he'll be waiting for you, Bucky. "

Bucky gave her a kind smile as he boarded the bus, giving the woman a small wave. He gave the driver of the bus a handful of crumpled ones, and seated himself in the middle of the bus.

He wasn't even sure where this bus was headed, but he would take his chances.

Thinking about the woman's words to him, he shook his head as the bus began making its way out of Massachusetts.

Maybe he would go back to Steve.

Not anytime soon, but maybe after he had had some time to himself to think things through more thoroughly.

When his mind was cleared up and his heart wouldn't take hold of his brain, so he wouldn't do anything impulsive like he had done ever again.

Bucky sighed as his eyes lingered out the glass window, mindlessly watching the blur of green trees speed by him.

The woman seemed very wise, and seemed to think that Bucky should go back to Steve.

Maybe some day.

Only one thing threw him off about the harmless looking old woman.

How did she know his name?

A/N So I'm trying to update pretty quick this week, and try to make sure that my chapters aren't sucky because of it, so if the chapter wasn't really that good, I'm sorry :/ I'm going to camp for a week starting Sunday, so I won't be able to update, so I'll try to get the story up to a good little stopping point up til then :)