Woman Out of Time: A Maria Stark Story

Chapter 14

"Good morning!"
Maria turned at the voice and smiled as Shuri walked up next to her.
"It's beautiful here." She smiled at the sunrise as the princess approached. "In fact, your whole country is beautiful."
Shuri smiled. "Those boys were bothering Bucky again."
Maria rolled her eyes. "They think he's cool. The White Wolf who keeps to himself."
"Well he has you." Shuri countered.
Maria smiled sadly.
"When do you leave?" Shuri sighed.
"We've been here two weeks and he's doing fine." Maria bit her lip. "And I need to see my son."
Shuri nodded. "I understand. Our friend Everett Ross knows we need him to transport a package soon."
Maria smiled. "A package? You going to gift wrap me?"
Shuri smacked her arm. "He probably thinks we're smuggling vibranium to Stark."
Maria quirked an eyebrow. "It's not a bad idea." She winked at Shuri.
Shuri just shook her head. "He's trustworthy. He'll be curious but he will respect your privacy."
"He's probably smart enough to figure it out." Maria mused.
"Regardless, he won't say a thing. But you should. To Bucky."
Maria sighed at the teen's direct look. "He knows it's coming. We just avoid it."
"Now would be a good time to stop and say something." Shuri motioned behind Maria.
She turned and saw him walking towards them, laughing at the conversation the boys were having with him. The boys scattered off as Bucky neared Maria and Shuri. He kept chuckling as he stepped up next to them.
"What did they say today?" Maria asked.
"They guessed today that if you're not my wife, you must be my caretaker. Like a parent but for an adult." He grinned and Maria marveled at the happy smile on his face.
"Well I am in charge so it fits." Maria winked at Shuri as Bucky frowned.
"That is true," Shuri agreed. "I could see why they would guess caretaker."
Bucky's smile covered his face again as he said, "so I shouldn't have said that you're my wife?"
Maria grinned back and pushed his chest. "At least they know you have good taste."
He pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. "Yes I do."
Maria wrapped her hands around his arm and patted it slightly. "It's time." She whispered.
Shuri was quietly watching and saw the moment the words registered with Bucky. His happy, carefree expression tightened a bit. His arm pulled Maria closer.
"I know." He whispered after a moment. He took another breath and added, "I love you."
Maria stilled and tears started streaming down her face. "I love you too." She cried.
"Hey," he turned her in his arms, "it's not goodbye forever. We'll find each other again. We will."
Maria wiped away the tears. "I know." She sniffled. "Promise to take care of yourself?"
"I will." He promised.
***
"We're here."
Maria opened her eyes sleepily, looking out the car window.
"Made it right on time," Everett Ross continued.
Maria turned to her traveling companion. "He's not very punctual though."
Ross smiled. "Yes, but he's Tony Stark so he's allowed to be late if he wants."
Maria smiled back. "Thank you for your help."
Ross parked the car. "I'm glad I could. Just remember--"
"You found me through an anonymous tip. I remember Steve getting me help, but the rest is a blur."
Ross nodded. "And don't mention--"
"Bucky or Wakanda." Maria finished.
Ross nodded again. "All right, let's go see your son."
They stepped out of the car and entered the facility's back entrance. Tony trusted Ross just enough to let him bring a visitor directly there.
They passed the first security check and started walking through the quiet hallways. As their footsteps echoed, Maria looked around trying to better understand the man who had rebuilt Howard's warehouse into this.
"Ross!"
Maria and Ross turned at the voice. Tony Stark marched toward them.
Maria studied her son, noting the differences between the last time she saw him and now. He was mainly older, a bit of grey in his hair and wrinkles adorning his face. But his eyes still shone intelligence. And the laugh lines on his face showed that he hadn't forgotten the joy she'd raised him with.
"Mr. Stark," Ross greeted Tony with a firm handshake.
"Well we don't have long so tell me what this top-secret meeting is about." Tony started in quickly. His gaze shot over to Maria but because she was partially hidden by Ross' shadow, he didn't recognize her.
Ross cleared his throat. "We received an anonymous tip that led us to discover--"
"Hey, boss!" Happy yelled from behind Maria. "We're running ahead of schedule for a change, so...oh, hello." He stopped next to Maria and looked from her to Ross and back to her. His gaze traced her face, stopping on her eyes.
"Give us a minute, Hap." Tony said. "You discovered what now?" He turned back to Ross, brow furrowed.
"Uh, boss?" Happy stood next to Maria, still studying her eyes.
Tony sighed. "I'm sorry, Ross." He walked over to Happy. "What is it? I'm trying to get rid of the CIA guy." He whispered loudly.
Happy nodded at Maria. "She looks just your mom in that picture you keep in your lab."
"At Coney Island?" Tony questioned. "I guess she was pretty young then, and..." his voice trailed off as his eyes met hers.
"You were five." Maria said, stepping out of the shadows. "And you hadn't been on a rollercoaster before. But since you had done so well with your studies and lab work, Jarvis and I took you out for the day. Howard was out of town and Anna--"
"Had a cold." Tony finished, eyes still glued to hers. "We rode the Ferris Wheel first before moving on to the rollercoasters and who exactly are you?" Fear filled his eyes as he asked.
"She's your mother." Ross said quietly. "We ran the tests and it's definitely her."
"Just younger, courtesy of Hydra," Maria added.
"But the car crash. They found two bodies." Tony's eyes darted back and forth as he tried to work out the problem in his head.
"It wasn't me, honey." Maria said calmly.
"Bucky and Steve--they thought it was you in that car." Tony said.
"He was brainwashed." Maria explained. "He likely wouldn't remember."
"But how?" His voice sounded small like a child's and Maria heard all the pain in that simple question.
"I'm home, baby." Maria stepped forward. "I know it's scary but it's real." Her hands reached up and gently, she cupped his cheeks. A tear streamed down his face and she wiped it away. Slowly his arms reached up to wrap her in a hug.
"I'm home." 

***

I'm back guys! Been working on some other projects for a bit so this one took a break. However, with Endgame less than a week away, I am too behind on this. So I'll try to catch up because I had my Infinity War arc planned out. Hope to get that to you prior to Endgame, but in the meantime, start preparing yourself. I'm going to see it Friday and am already dying a bit.

Stay strong, friends!

And feel free to leave your thoughts, fears, and hopes in the comments. ♥️