The Never-Ending Why: Chapter 21: Drop The Game (Part 1)
Before Donna left work, her boss asked her who the young man was that was always waiting outside the shop.
Normally, Donna wasn't immediately flustered when it came to questions like that. But when she was asked, everything about the question made her heat up. She didn't know how to answer that question, and she hadn't seen the "young man" since she visited Tony and Steve.
Donna didn't feel like she knew him at all. She told her boss that he was just a friend, but people gossip. Several of her co-workers asked if he was her boyfriend, and Donna told them that he wasn't.
He very much wasn't.
Donna went about her normal routine of closing up the small shop. She placed the keys in her bag, and her co-worker always walked in the opposite direction. Then, just like always, "Bucky" got out of his car and joined her on the sidewalk.
It had been four days. Donna only worked on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. She looked at the person that randomly had two women in his apartment, and she slowly started walking toward her fancy home.
They couldn't figure out how to get Stephen back. He was not within their reach. Tony and Steve had ways of finding him, but they said that he was in a dimension that they could not enter.
Tony Stark was very resourceful, he mentioned that he had the ability to monitor the perimeter of the dimension that Stephen was in.
Their plan was to wait for him to exit Agamotto's dimension, then they would ambush him, and hopefully bring him home. Donna couldn't stop thinking about it. Being at work helped her momentarily forget, but she really missed her big brother.
Donna wanted him home. She glanced at the person that was walking beside her, and she remained unsure about what to say. She still felt a sting from what she witnessed, and she also felt very stupid.
"I don't really need an update on Stephen anymore, so.."
Donna spoke softly, and Bucky looked in her direction. Yeah, he was a bit out of the loop when it came to Stephen Strange. That wasn't why he was there, of course.
Bucky watched where he was walking, and he tried not to look at that skirt. Donna wore one that had copper flowers. She was wearing tights, and interesting shoes.
He wasn't sure what to say, so he just kept walking. Donna stopped walking. She needed to clear up a few things. Bucky took a few steps forward. He un-gracefully stopped, and turned around.
He stared at Donna, and started taking in very slow breath.
"Who is your employer? And, how much do you get paid to do what you do?"
She needed to know, and she didn't mind waiting for the response. Donna crossed her arms, and she started looking at his light jean jacket. The young woman brought her eyes upward, and she stopped at his face.
Bucky was looking at her, but he stopped and quickly looked away.
"I am employed by Howard Stark. His punk son is named Tony."
Remember him? Bucky pointed at the Stark building. He answered half of her question, and she kept staring at all the pretty lights. Donna retained that information, and then she asked the other part of it again.
"How much does he pay you?"
"Too much."
"Well, how much would it cost for you to stop?"
Donna spoke with conviction. She felt very stupid, and she really didn't want to see him. In her mind, he had a million girlfriends, and she didn't have any time for that. She was guarded, just like Stephen.
Bucky heard her last question, and he really wasn't surprised. He kept looking at Donna. His eyes stopped at her fancy jewelry, but he really wanted to keep looking at her beautiful face. He was pretty captivated for moment there.
"A lot."
Bucky's salary was enormous, and he wasn't going to stop walking her home. He turned to his right and he looked at the path that was ahead of them. Donna took in a deep breath, because she didn't like his response.
"You don't need to keep me updated on my brother, so you can tell your.."
"I have other reasons to be here Donna. This isn't Nebraska, and you obviously don't get that."
He looked at her fancy purse. Bucky knew that some asshole would go for that bag in a heartbeat. He also knew that someone would go for her in an heartbeat too, if he wasn't walking with her.
Donna immediately looked offended by what he said. She was aware that it wasn't Nebraska, and she held an irritated expression. She wanted to bring up the girlfriend thing, or tell him to go to hell.
She decided against it, and she just turned to her left. She started walking again, and Bucky followed along. She wanted to ask him about the two women. Maybe they were his sisters?
Cousins? Classmates? They really didn't seem like classmates. Donna almost bit her lip. She swallowed all of her thoughts, and she kept moving forward.
"So uhh, do you have any siblings?"
The walk wasn't that far, but they always spent that time talking about Stephen. He wasn't the topic for once, so Donna thought of the next best thing. Bucky glanced at her, and he answered.
"I have three siblings. A brother named Richard, another brother named John, and a sister named Rebecca. But, they are back in 1938."
Bucky was the oldest sibling, just like Stephen Strange. He thought about them off and on, but he was never the type that stuck around. Donna was shocked.
Based off his behavior, Donna thought that be was both an orphan, and an only child or something. She was extra shocked about them being in 1938? Say what?
"How, wait. What do you mean?"
Their walking pace was pretty slow. Bucky glanced at her face, then he put his hands in his jacket pocket. He only meant what he said. Bucky sorta shrugged, as he tried to explain.
"Steve Rogers and I are from 1938. We're not originally from this time. My siblings live in Brooklyn, but they are back in the past."
Donna immediately formed a million different questions in her head. She wondered how any of that was possible. They started walking again, and she began to wonder why he wasn't with his siblings.
"You left them?"
"I left them. Yes. They'd be mad at me if I didn't."
Bucky thought of his crossover between the past to the future as a form of service. He came from a military family, and they all knew what he was doing.
"I was preparing to join the military, but getting Steve Rogers here came up instead. I joined him. They understand."
Bucky didn't even have to tell them. His family didn't work that way, and he didn't feel like explaining anything more.
Her home was approaching, and Donna wanted to keep asking him questions. She really wanted to know him, and understand what all of that meant. They got to the garage, and she looked up toward her apartment.
She could see that Victor was there, and her young heart started beating quickly. She was very attracted to James, or ...Bucky. She wasn't sure what to call him.
Donna almost asked him if he was hungry, but she decided against it. She didn't want to invite him into the apartment anymore. The stupidity that she felt was way too thick.
"I really do hope you get your brother back. Steve told me your plan."
The safest conversation was always about Stephen. Bucky knew that Donna's brother hated him, but what else was new. He decided to change her focus, because she always asked him to go upstairs.
Bucky wanted to avoid that. He saw her smile, and noticed that what he told Donna seemed to brighten her up a little. The not-so-winter soldier told her that he'd see her tomorrow, and then he left.
Donna closed the garage door, and she slowly headed up to the apartment. Victor was playing a video game. He was very invested in it, but he still acknowledged his sister when she walked in.
Chapter: END
Thanks for reading.