Bow

~A Little More~

Mary held her towel around her small frame and sat on her bed. She turned the news on and got under the blankets. It had been half a year since her realization that she wasn't a hero and she would never be a hero.

Steve understood her choice after what happened and sent her to a safe house in Russia. She never left and only ordered food online to be dropped off at her door. She did have her own little workout system and a phone, but other than that, things were quite boring.

The only thing on was the news so she settled for it. What she didn't expect was to see Bucky with long hair and a beard. The news reporter said something in Russian, so Mary had to call Steve.

"Why the hell is Bucky on my TV?" She asked as soon as someone picked the phone up.

"Hello to you too." Someone said.

"Who the hell are you?" Mary asked.

"I'm Sam." Sam crossed his arms. "It's nice to meet you, too."

"Where's Steve?"

"It's always where's Steve, but never how's Steve." Sam said.

"Give him the damn phone." Mary rolled her eyes.

"You know what a phone is?" Sam asked.

Mary heard rustling from the other line. She heard a few curses before Steve was able to grab the phone.

"Hey, Mary, is everything fine?" He asked.

"I got out of the shower and turned the news on to see a picture of what looks like Bucky." Mary explained. "How long has he been alive?"

"Same thing happened to him that happened to you." Steve said. "I didn't wanna tell you because I didn't want you to freak out and act on impulse."

"Damn it, Steve." Mary grumbled. "Did you ever think I'd want to see him?"

"Mary, you two went out once and never got along for more than five minutes when you were in the same room." Steve said. "I saw it first-hand."

"Where is he?"

"Next door." Steve mumbled.

"What?"

"Next door."

"Did you seriously put me right next to him for six months without freakin' telling me?" Mary took a deep breath. "Can I go see him?"

"No." Steve said. "He doesn't need anything else put on him."

"I'll just talk to him." Mary said. "It'll be fine."

"Mary, I said no-"

"Steve! I'm not a little kid, as a matter of fact I'm almost a hundred years old, let me live how I want to." Mary began getting ready to see the man she hadn't seen in a while.

"I'm not trying to boss you around, I just wanna make sure you're safe." Steve said.

"And I wanna go see the man I love." Mary stopped in her tracks when she realized what she said.

"You love Bucky?" Steve crossed his arms. "You saw him one time a day for five days a week with other women every time, and you managed to fall in love with him?"

"Exactly." Mary said. "Now I'm gonna go see him. Talk to you later, Steve."

Mary hung up before Steve could protest. She slipped her boots on and went outside. She knocked on the door next to hers.

A quiet rustling could be heard from the other side. Mary smiled up at the peephole in hopes he would recognize her. After unlocking six different locks Bucky opened the door.

"Are you with the Avengers?" He mumbled.

"Yes." Mary smiled at the sight of him. "How long have you been alive?"

"Since 1917." Bucky shrugged. "Kind of wish I wasn't alive at the moment."

"I don't." Mary said. "I've been living next to you for a long time now."

"I know." Bucky stepped back to let Mary in when they heard people coming upstairs. He locked all of his locks and went to the small single person bed in the corner. "I saw you come up a while ago."

"Why didn't you visit?" Mary held her hands together. "I would've been more than happy to let you in."

"I didn't think you wanted to see me." Bucky said. "I mean, I brought you home and gave myself to you for twenty minutes then left. That's why I never acted on anything afterward."

"Bucky, I thought you didn't want me." Mary blushed. "I watched you for two years get any woman you wanted and I most definitely didn't think I would be one of them."

"You were." Bucky admitted. "I just admired how you never fell at my feet, or openly worshipped the ground I walked on. You were different."

"You were, too, Buck." Mary said. "You still are."

"I'm not who I used to be." Bucky shook his head. "I'm a murderer."

"So am I." Mary moved to sit next to Bucky. "I killed Colonel Phillips."

Bucky shook his head. He rested his head in his hands.

"I killed Stark." He sighed. "He had a son who couldn't live for himself. I took away the only hope he had left."

"Stark had a kid?" Mary raised an eyebrow. She thought of Tony. "Holy shit, I did not put that together. Now that I think about it, they're basically the same person."

"Both smart ass dickheads?" Bucky raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly." Mary laughed a little.

Mary couldn't hold back the urge to hug Bucky. She held her arms around his shoulders. He laid his head on hers, soaking in the moment.

"You know we're not the same people, Mary." Bucky shrugged. "I mean, Hydra broke me."

"They broke both of us." Mary said. "Johann gave me the false hope that I could save everyone once I paid a price. I thought you falling from that train was the price, but I guess since I wasn't all there, it didn't work like that."

"What was the price?" Bucky asked.

Mary shook her head. "I don't wanna talk about it right now." She ran her hand through his long hair.

Bucky closed his eyes, taking in all of the affection he could. He really needed a woman's touch after 70 years. Mary rested her forehead on his. Bucky rested his metal hand on the back of her neck.

After a few seconds, Mary laughed lightly. "So are we gonna sit like this forever, or are we gonna kiss?"

Bucky smiled a genuine smile. "I had something a little more in mind." He chuckled, pulling Mary's lips to his.