The Never-Ending Why: Chapter 16: Never Be Like You (Part 1)

Donna and Victor Strange woke up at different times. Donna was an early bird, while Victor liked his sleep. She made him breakfast, and arranged for a cab to pick them up in a couple hours.

She confessed that she barely slept. Victor was very curious and perplexed about what was happening with his siblings. He was convinced that Charles Xavier could help.

His idea to head to the X-Mansion was changed, because Donna told him about what she dreamt. Now the plan was to head to an address, as soon as the taxi arrived.

Donna finished her morning meal, and she got ready for her day. The young woman put a lot of thought into her appearance. She liked to look nice, and she always took her time with her hair.

She picked a plum colored skirt with black tights. Her blouse was floral, and it was always sheer. She knew that it was cold outside, so she decided to bring a large sweater or jacket. Donna wasn't sure about the final color. She scanned through her options for a while, and settled on her tan coat.

She slipped several bracelets on over her wrist, and found a dark scarf. Donna finished up her look, and then she headed out to check on Victor.

He was wearing one of Stephen's old t-shirts. Victor always got the "hand-me-down" clothes from his older brother when they all lived in Nebraska. Victor considered it to be a jackpot.

He liked Stephen's style, and his taste in music. Victor always accepted the clothes that he got from his big bro. The shirt was yellow, and faded a little bit. Donna read the name of the band when she walked in the room. The shirt said "Faith No More", but she didn't listen to anything like that.

Victor was tying his shoes. He said that he was ready, then the two of them headed out. She got in the cab first, and she made room for her brother. Donna buckled her seat belt, and she gave the driver the address.

"569 Leaman Place, please."

"That's in Brooklyn."

Victor made sure to mention that they would be leaving Manhattan. The cab driver said that it was technically at the end of "Brooklyn Heights", and that he had it covered.

Cool man, good for you. Victor fixed his dark jacket, and he glanced at his sister. She didn't pay any attention to the driver's response. They sped off toward their destination, and she quietly kept her focus out the window.

~~~~—-~~~~

Bucky took both women home with him, but only one of them stayed in his bedroom. The one in his room always wore a yellow jacket. Bucky saw her all the time, and her friend crashed on the couch.

They talked about getting some breakfast, because Bucky barely had food at his place. He agreed to go to a small deli that was close, but he felt pretty lazy.

His female companion encouraged him to get up, and she even agreed to pay for it. Bucky didn't want her doing that, so he sighed and located something to wear.

Across the apartment pond, Tony and Steve were awake. They were sitting beside each other at their cozy little table. Steve was eating his gross oatmeal, while Tony chomped on some toast.

They both heard a knock on the apartment door. They never had any guests, so the two of them thought the knock was odd. Bucky was the only person that stopped by, so confusion settled in.

Steve swallowed his oatmeal, and he quickly glanced at Tony.

"He can wait."

Tony figured that it was BUCKY FUCKING WONDER, and he was not in the mood to see that jerk. Tony wanted him to knock all day. He didn't plan to open the door for him. Nope.

Steve had to laugh. He had a feeling that Bucky and Tony were always going to be at odds. They heard another knock on the door, and he listened to Tony huff about.

"Visiting hours do not exist, FOR YOU."

Jackass. Tony squawked loudly at the door, and Steve suppressed another laugh. He started slicing up some apples for them, and he tried not to seem that amused. Tony looked a bit heated, so Steve kissed the side of his face.

The Tony and Bucky thing was a pot boiling, for sure.

Steve told himself that their mess was not his problem. No thank you. He stood up from his oatmeal, and casually headed over toward the door.

The would-be-soldier was very surprised to see two people at his front door. Bucky wasn't there at all, and he looked directly at Donna Strange.

They only saw her briefly on the night that Stephen "disappeared". Steve stared at her for a moment, and she said hello. He thought that she could have been Stephen's fraternal twin.

Steve said hello back, and he gave Victor a friendly smile. Their visit was very unexpected, so Steve was a bit speechless.

Tony's chair creaked loudly as he leaned over to see what was happening. What the eff? He couldn't see who it was, so he growled a little and got up.

He brought his mood, and his bright red shorts over to the door, and he friggen gasped at who he saw. Stephen's beautiful siblings were right there in the doorway.

Donna Strange looked directly at Tony, and she remembered what Victor said about him. She didn't intend to bring any of that up, so she just smiled and explained the visit.

"I was told to come here today, and ask you two to help us bring Stephen back. Are you busy?"

UHHM? Bring him back? Tony was under the impression that Stephen left willingly, then got himself in an Agamotto mess. He walked out into the middle of a Manhattan street with his tinker bell princess, then they romantically took off.

There was no "bringing back" the person that wanted to leave. Tony spun on that shit for months. His heart sank down to his feet, and he didn't respond at all.

Thankfully, Steve answered Donna's question. He said that they weren't busy at all. Steve mentioned that he wanted to understand more about what happened to Stephen.

Donna was glad to hear that Steve was concerned. She smiled at him, then she slowly looked behind her. Donna heard some laughter in a different direction.

She noticed another apartment door down the hall, but then she turned her focus back to Steve.

Chapter: END

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