Possessed - Bucky Barnes x OC

Part 3

Maggie always woke up with the sun.

A natural early riser since she was young. She always liked getting up to make the most of her day. Loving the way fog settled over the city and the sun would peek through the gaps between the clouds. Streets were filled with delivery trucks and people out for morning jogs before work. She would often read with a mug of coffee resting by her side, out on her fire escape and watch the city wake up and stretch its legs.

Feeling content about the night before, she smiled to herself. She was proud of the success of the event and also couldn't stop thinking about Steve's friend James. He was everything she wasn't, confident and intimidating. He exuded power, even making the larger than life Steve Rogers look rather plain.

The rest of the showcase, Maggie had been running around like mad woman, trying to keep up with the demand from customers. When things finally started to slow down, her friends had already left. A little let down she couldn't speak to James again, but she got over it. She figured that would be the first and last interaction she'd have with him. Doubting that she sparked his interest in the slightest. Still, she couldn't shake him from her thoughts.

Little did she know, across town, nestled in the wealthiest neighborhood in the area, James' mind was filled with thoughts of her just the same. He was working out his frustrations in his gym inside of his home. He lived in a townhouse in the upper east side. Along with overshadowing Steve in his appearance, his salary made his look almost pathetic. The guy was a ruthless businessman. A CEO of his own company at the young age of thirty-six, he actually was Steve's employer.

The two men grew up together in Brooklyn, separated by class. James' family was old money. His parents pushed him his whole life to get into business, despite his interests in artistic endeavors. James always did well in school, due to the constant pressure from his father and ended up practically being forced to go to Yale after high school. Resentment in him grew, making him lean on Steve for support growing up. He'd often stay over at his house, considering him family.

Despite the strained relationship between James and his parents, when they were both brutally murdered one night walking out to a cab in the city, he snapped. His world was shattered without his parents. He had just graduated college and was planning on finding a job to begin his arduous career as a financial executive of some kind. The deaths came as an absolute shock and something shifted in him.

James quickly fell in with the wrong crowd. Using his well educated skillset, he became a linchpin to one of the most notorious crime gangs in the city, pushing mass amount of drugs and weapons overseas. He had a shocking amount of blood on his hands, having committed many violent acts in those days. He was their head killer. The hitman. Murder was engrained in his ways. It changed him.

It wasn't until he got caught up and served time, that he realized what he had become. When he looked in the mirror, he didn't recognize himself anymore. He knew he was too far gone, but the thing was, Steve never gave up on him. They had lost touch, not seeing each other for almost four years, being that Steve always had the sturdiest set of morals. He pushed all that aside, when James called and said he was in prison, getting to work on helping him get out.

Hiring the best lawyer money could buy, James got off with a slap on the wrist. Thanks to passing off a few of the murders with claims of tampered evidence and a more than generous bribe to the judge. The latter part wasn't shared with Steve, he was a little too uptight for that knowledge. After paying a few sizable fines with his accumulated wealth, he was out.

Steve barely recognized his friend. He had grown out his hair to his shoulders and was covered head to toe in tattoos. All dark, intense designs. Artfully done, but intimidating nonetheless. He had shifted in his ways. The once charming, warm Bucky, had become a calloused sadist. Regardless of that, he never treated his friend any different, the two of them picking right back up where they left off.