Lessons In Love: Chapter 103: Lessons In Love (Part 3)
It was very noisy in the pit of Manhattan. Police sirens were going off more often than normal, and it sounded like there was a bit of unrest.
Bucky thought of that as he parked the car beside the curb. He glanced in his side mirror, and he saw police cars headed together in one direction.
Donna had never been to New York before. She was excited the whole journey over, but she started getting a little scared of all the chaos.
Manhattan was so busy. She couldn't believe that her older brother lived in such a busy place. Donna thought that it wasn't exactly her brother's style.
She got out of the car and she fixed her skirt. Donna looked up at the giant building. Bucky told her that it was where both of her brothers lived.
She heard Victor's young voice, and she immediately dropped all of her thoughts. Donna embraced Victor Strange. She hugged him tight, and she told him that he seemed a little taller.
Stephen walked out of the parking garage and he looked at his younger sister. He hadn't seen her since his nineteenth birthday, but that entire day was a blur.
He had no idea how long it had been. The Vishanti stuff left Stephen very confused, and lost. His sister's smile eased what he felt in that moment, and the three siblings began to embrace.
Bucky got the suitcase out of the back of the car. He closed the door, and Donna looked back at him. She gave Bucky a sincere smile, and she accepted her suitcase from the would-be-soldier.
"Thank you James. This is Stephen and Victor."
Donna introduced them, and Stephen stood up very straight. Bucky saw those eyes sharpen, and he thought he even saw an eyebrow twitch.
"James?"
Please. Stephen was not here for Bucky's shit. His glare was lethal, and Bucky had to let out a short laugh. He kept looking at Stephen Strange, and he fully expected some form of his wrath.
"Uh, we know him Donna. This is Bucky."
Victor was kinda confused. He held his older sister's hand and he slowly started tugging at it. He wanted to show her his room, while Stephen wanted to choke Bucky out and let him die on the street.
"Well, he prefers to be called James. Be nice."
Donna spoke specifically to Stephen. She didn't know what his trip was, but he looked pissed off. Donna decided that she didn't need to know what the issue was, and Victor asked if he could show her his bedroom.
Donna said of course, and the two of them headed up. Bucky remained on the sidewalk, while Stephen remained in his glare. As soon as Donna was out of sight, the claws from Stephen came out.
"What the fuck?"
He was not going to be nice to that jerk. Stephen hated Bucky, and he looked at him like he was a pest. Bucky immediately laughed out loud, and he drew in an exhausted sigh.
"You seriously can't still be mad at me. That was ten years ago.."
"Yes I can."
Stephen didn't care if it was fifty years ago. Bucky was an asshole, and Stephen didn't want him around his sister. James? That name thing bothered Stephen, and it was next level.
"You're fuckin scary man, lighten up."
Stephen ignored his shit, because more sirens started heading toward the main part of the city. Manhattan was extra loud that evening, and the commotion pulled Stephen's focus away.
Bucky started explaining that he was just taking Donna to him. He told Stephen to RELAX. She asked him about his name, and Bucky admitted that he kinda liked her calling him by his real name.
He didn't put that much thought into it, it just felt.. different.
Stephen kept looking out at all the lights. His attention was getting drawn in over there, and Bucky started noticing where his attention was directed.
Bucky looked behind him, but something golden caught his eye as he turned to look. Tony and Steve officially arrived at the scene, but Stephen's focus was elsewhere.
Donna and Victor were walking through the apartment. It looked so cute and male-themed. Donna could tell that there was no presence of a woman in the space.
She wondered if Stephen had a girlfriend. She remembered him speaking about someone named Christine.
Since they were alone, she decided to ask Victor. Donna pumped her younger brother for information, while Victor innocently answered her question.
"I know that he likes someone, a lot. But, I don't think they are dating. Stephen isn't dating anyone."
Hmmmnnyaaa.. Victor scratched the side of his head. He was pretty sure that Tony and Stephen weren't together. Victor knew that Stephen really liked Tony and he mentioned that he even saw Stephen kiss him.
He kissed, him? Donna was all ears. She needed to know who, what, where, and when. Victor thought she was being weird. She was almost as weird as Stephen was when he was around Tony or Clea.
"He likes two people. Tony and Clea. That's all I know. He gets weird with them."
Victor's information was adorable. Donna made a mental note about the two names she heard, and she looked out at the beautiful view. She told Victor that she wanted to head back, and the two of them closed up the apartment.
Clea was in Manhattan. She was the reason why the sirens were going berserk. Stephen's energy was being hidden from her, but she had a vague idea of where to look.
Every time he tried to contact her, it left her a breadcrumb about his world. Now, Clea was in it for real and she was looking for him.
She was worried about him, and she thought it was odd that they were disconnected. The ruler of the Dark Dimension wanted to do things on her terms, so there she was on a busy street.
She caused multiple accidents in the area, and she stopped a large truck with her energy. The police had their guns pointed at her, but she didn't acknowledge any of it.
Stephen was looking East, while Clea started looking West. She was figuring out exactly where he was, and all the people around her location watched Clea disappear. She just, vanished.
A helicopter captured her image as she disappeared. Multiple reports started piling in on the news about a peculiar looking woman, and random clouds of purple smoke.
She was still far off from Stephen. He heard Tony's voice toward his right, and Stephen slowly turned his head.
Tony asked Stephen if he was ok. Stephen looked very tired, and distracted. He looked at Tony, and he almost turned completely toward him.
Donna and Victor joined the group. So much was going on in that moment, but Victor said hello to everyone. He knew Steve, Tony, and Bucky from their Vishanti journey.
Stephen was quiet, so Victor kinda took over.
"Donna, THIS is Tony. And this is Steve."
He pointed at the two of them, and they both stared at Donna Strange. They couldn't believe who and what they were seeing. Tony was about to ask her how she was alive.
Those comments couldn't happen. Bucky needed to step in, and get the lovebirds up to speed.
"I just brought her here, from Nebraska. Tony, your father is there now. He's fixing a tractor for their dad, getting them all back on track."
You get me? Bucky looked directly at Tony as he spoke. He needed that unruly brunette to really hear him, and not say something stupid. Steve heard exactly what Bucky said. He kept looking at his friend, and then he slowly looked at Stephen.
Donna just smiled at what was said. She thanked James again for getting her to New York, and some people in the group freaked out.
JAMES? What the shit? Tony's confused brain exploded. His jaw fell open and he looked over at Steve. Who the hell was James? Ohhh boy. Steve could see exactly what was going on in that moment. He could tell that Bucky was up to no good, and Steve felt like there was going to be trouble.
He had his eyebrow raised upward, and he waited for Bucky to look at him. BUCKY STOP. RED LIGHT. The would-be-soldier told Donna that he was happy to take her wherever she wanted to go. He smiled at her, and she slowly smiled back.
Happy little butterflies could have fluttered about on that Manhattan sidewalk. But it was dark, and the butterflies were hiding.
Stephen heard all that noise. Everything around him started building up. He looked at his sister, and familiar feelings wanted to return. Her death was still there in his mind and his heart.
It couldn't just poof away, and have everything be ok. Stephen felt like something was off. He felt wrong and confused. Noise kept going and he looked at Tony.
His heart really hurt when he saw him. Stephen couldn't describe it, because it was taken away. He felt..
Stephen closed his eyes. He was able to recognize when his mind was being fucked with. Right there in that moment, he felt himself being subdued. It aggravated Stephen, so he started looking East again.
Stephen walked away from the group. He needed to leave them all behind. Donna called out to him, and her voice made him stop.
The would-be-sorcerer-supreme stood in the middle of the street. He looked back at the group and he looked down at his arms. He could see that purple glow. Clea finally located him, and her form took shape.
She was there in the flesh, and she wasn't going to let the Ancient One dismiss her from that dimension. Stephen stared at his dream girl, and he could no longer hear his sister.
He couldn't hear Tony's voice anymore. He didn't want to listen to any of them. Clea touched his arms. She finally touched that skin, and she slowly kissed the side of his face.
In an instant, Stephen and Clea disappeared. She took him out of that dimension, and everyone stood in total shock. His plan to replace Donna technically worked. Stephen got her back, and he wanted her to have a home there with Victor.
He wanted his sister to live, and he was trying to figure out why he existed instead of her. Stephen decided to leave and think things over.
At least, that's what was explained to the younger Steve when someone finally reached out. Steve Rogers was visited in a dream. The older Stephen told him what was going on, and he also told him that he didn't know if his younger self was coming back.
Donna chose a school. She found her own way around Manhattan, and she decided to remain with Victor until Stephen returned.
Tony started living with Steve. He was very shaken up about Stephen, and he couldn't leave Steve's side as a result. He blamed himself for a really long time, and Tony had no idea how to make it right.
Bucky and Steve just went to work. They worked for Howard, and they spoke about that night often. The disappearance of Stephen affected them all, so Bucky eased up on what he was doing with Donna.
He figured that he was just trying to get under Stephen's skin, and he was just joking about the name thing.
Bucky told himself that all the time.
LESSONS IN LOVE: STORY END
Thanks for reading. Feedback is love for this one. Just know that terrible ends bring beautiful beginnings. ~~ I will bring sunshine to it over time.
