Chrysalism

-chapter thirty-seven-

New York, New York. August 29th, 2017. 8:47 AM. 

Bucky hurried to get dressed, as time was of the essence in his grand plan to apologize to Malone. As he sped out the door, he pulled a hoodie over his head and shoved his wallet in the pocket. He took the stairs instead of the elevator, since it was faster for him, and skidded into the large downstairs kitchen, coming face to face with Tony, Steve, and Clint. 

"Where are you going so early?" Tony dryly joked, trying to lighten to obvious tension in the room. 

"Uh, I've gotta go get flowers. I'm fixing everything today," Bucky panted lightly as he began to walk towards the front door. 

"Bucky!" Steve's voice made him stop in his tracks, "wait." 

"What Rogers? I'm kind of on a schedule here," Bucky complained, checking his watch. Tony silently slid a white envelope across the counter towards Bucky, who picked it up and read his own name scrawled across the front. "What's this?" 

"I'm sorry, Buck. It's too late," Steve said softly. Bucky's face fell as his breathing quickened. 

"What do you mean?" 

"They left, Buck. They finished the album, packed up, and went home. Father's orders, apparently," Tony explained as he sipped his coffee. 

"She said something about burying Cole in Atlanta, and then broke down because they're only burying a box," Clint added. 

"So what the hell is this?" Bucky asked, violently waving the envelope around. 

"How would we know? It's addressed to you, and I learned a long time ago to not open other people's mail," Tony remarked. Bucky hastily sat on a stool next to Steve and ripped the envelope open. 

Sgt. Barnes, 

I really thought you were gonna hit it out of the park, kid. I had all my bets placed on you. And it breaks my heart that it ended the way it did. You have to understand, my Georgia, she's never had normalcy. You were the closest thing she ever had to a real shot at this life thing. You have to understand, the girl we see right now is not my Georgia or your Malone. She's a shell, she's broken into a million little pieces and it's gonna take an army to put her back together. But you and I, we know how to put together an army, right? Got years of experience. 

Cole was the only thing holding Malone above water after their Mama died. My disappearing just confused her but losing her mother, whew son, that was it. My Ma told me every week in her letters that Malone had started acting up again, but Cole was able to calm her. I knew as soon as Malone was born, Cole would be her protector. It was just the way he looked at her as if she was the whole world, the whole galaxy. She took her first breath and he was wrapped around her little finger. He lived for her, and I think the only reason she made it through her teenage years, was for him. Hell, if it weren't for Cole, she would have ended up in a ditch at sixteen. She came home, even after curfew, just so he wouldn't worry. She never stayed out without telling him. They were inseparable, I have the scrapbooks to prove it. They had their share of fights, sure, you even saw one. But they always came back to each other, like magnets. So you can imagine how it broke her heart when he didn't come back. We used to joke that they could feel each other's pain, Kenny used to punch one and wait for the other to feel it. It became a game for them. They were best friends, Larry, Moe, and Curly. I'm sure you can tell who was who. 

When Cole was born, they found a hole in his heart. The poor kid spent most of his early life in the hospital, on and off until he was probably ten. They tried to find different treatments since his didn't close like most kids. At one point, he was even on the transplant list. But, as he got older, he got moved further down the list. Never got his heart. Malone spent countless hours with him, as a baby and even as she grew up. Their grandmother would have to drag her out screaming to send her to school, she wanted nothing more than to stay with her brother. Her biggest fear was losing him, as was all of ours. We didn't know it would be his mother instead. Julie's passing destroyed Cole, and damn near drove the kids apart. But it was that sweet little face on our girl that brought them back together. For Cole, seeing his siblings in little toddler-sized hospital beds after the crash was his worst nightmare brought to life. From then on, he made it a mission to protect them at all costs. 

But, in high school, when Kenny fell in with a bad crowd, Cole realized he couldn't protect them forever. Kenny started staying out for days, coming home smelling like weed, beer, and cheap cigarettes. The nose bleeds were far between at first, but when Kenny started getting one every day, they knew he had a problem. Cole, bless his heart, got so angry that he actually swung at his coked-out brother. Malone pulled them apart, sobbing her eyes out. I was told she yelled at Cole and then Kenny, but I believe it was the other way around. But with her heart of gold, she was the only one who advocated for Kenny to go to rehab instead of Cole turning him in to the police, which he desperately wanted to do. She eventually got her way, and Kenny spent 4 months in a rehab facility, where he got the help he needed for the drugs, fighting, and drinking. It was also in that facility where Kenny wrote what would become the band's first song, "For A Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic", what a title, huh? I don't think they ever played it live, but if you find some bootleg recording, give it a listen. Kenny's got one on an old cassette he played for me a few weeks ago, you'd like it. 

Malone feels exactly like I imagine Captain Rogers felt when he lost you, the first time. And I'm sorry, Bucky, that's something you could never understand. 

Keep your head up, Sarge. And save these for the right time. 

Hooah, 

Bill aka, Pops. 

Bucky looked in the envelope and shook out two rings. One, a simple silver band, but the other, a delicate silver band engraved with flowers around one small diamond, which glittered as it caught the light. He stared at the two rings in the palm of his hand as tears welled in his eyes. He quickly wiped his face and closed his hand around the rings, looking back at the expectant faces of the men around him. 

"He left those for you?" Steve asked, gently. 

"I guess so," Bucky whispered. "The letter, uh, it's from Bill. He told me to save these for the right time." 

"You'll get your chance, Barnes," Clint smiled encouragingly as he pat Bucky on the back as he walked by. 

"What makes you so confident?" 

"Haven't been wrong yet," Clint boasted, his voice echoing off the walls in the compound.