Chapter 8

Bucky, Wanda, and Livy arrived at Central Park, and Livy immediately spotted the ice cream. "Look! Over there!" she shouted and started pulling Wanda in that direction.

"Slow down, Maggie, the ice cream isn't going anywhere," Wanda said, laughing. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a lady with sunglasses watching them, but she thought that it was because Livy attracted a bit of attention when she shouted.

They slowly strolled throughout the park until they got to the ice cream cart. Livy was practically jumping up and down with excitement. "I want chocolate! I want chocolate!" she squealed.

Bucky smiled at her. "Only polite girls will get ice cream," he said and winked at her.

"Oh, I want chocolate, please," Livy said in her adorable little voice.

"That's much better," he said. He then ordered a cup of chocolate ice cream for Livy, a vanilla cone for Wanda, and a Neapolitan cone for himself. After they got their ice cream, they walked to a shady area of the park and sat down on a bench to enjoy their ice cream. That's when Wanda saw the same lady with the sunglasses looking at them again. She was sitting at a bench not far from theirs. Wanda shook her head and told herself that it was probably a coincidence, and that the lady was staring because of Livy again. She was probably wondering if it was the same little girl or not. After a while, Wanda couldn't take it anymore. Seeing that Livy was mostly done with her ice cream, she said, "Hey, Maggie, let's go play a little bit!" She stood up and held her hand out to Livy so that she could take her hand. "Bucky, do you wanna come or stay here?" She asked because that was something she'd normally do, but she was really hoping he'd say he would come with them.

"I don't see why I shouldn't go. Let's all go have fun together!" he got up and threw away his napkin. Wanda did the same after she cleaned Livy's face a little, and she also threw away Livy's cup and spoon.

"All right, let's play tag, but don't run too far away from us, Maggie, ok? We don't want to lose you," Wanda instructed.

"Yes, Aunty Wanda," Livy replied. She then looked at her slyly, touched her, and shouted, "TAG, YOU'RE IT!" and she started running off with Bucky not far behind her.

Wanda smiled and rolled her eyes before starting to chase them. They played for a few minutes before Wanda again realized that the same lady with sunglasses had moved where she was sitting and was watching them again. This time, Wanda knew that they were definitely being watched, and it was not at all a coincidence. The next time Livy was "it," she ran up to Bucky and stopped him. "We have a problem, Bucky. That lady over there," she subtly pointed her head in the direction where the lady was sitting, "has been watching us ever since we got to the park. She follows us everywhere and just stares at us, nothing else."

Bucky looked at Wanda confused, "I haven't noticed her before. Are you sure you're just not overthinking it?"

"I'm sure of it," Wanda responded. Then she felt a little hand on her back and a shouted, "TAG, YOU'RE IT!" Wanda quickly turned around and grabbed Livy's hand before she ran away.

"Aunty Wanda, you look scared," Livy said when she looked into Wanda's face.

Wanda tried to smile a little bit, "Look, Maggie, Uncle Bucky and I decided it's time to get you home, ok? So we're done playing for today."

"We did?" Bucky asked confused. Wanda shot him a prodding look, and his face changed, "Ah, right, we did decide that. It's getting late, Livs. We'll come back another day. Besides, you want to see Daddy and Miss Nat now, right?"

"Yes! I do!" Livy jumped up and down again with excitement.

"Ok, kiddo, let's go then to the car." Wanda gave Bucky a look of gratitude. As Livy was a little way in front of them, Bucky took the opportunity to pick up their conversation. He lowered his voice and said, "Ok, Wanda, I believe you. You wouldn't look so scared if you really weren't sure we were being watched. I think we should tell Steve about it because if we're being watched, maybe they are being watched too."

Wanda's face looked concerned, "What if this has to do with…." Her voice trailed off not even wanting to think of it but then added, "Do you think we should tell Clint?"

Before Bucky answered, he called out to Livy, "Hey, Livs, slow down there, kiddo!" Livy started slowing down her pace, and Bucky again lowered his voice, "Yeah, maybe we should. Do you remember the exact characteristics of the woman? I only took a glimpse at her, but it seems like you actually got a good look at her."

Wanda shook her head, "It was kinda hard to tell since she had sunglasses on the whole time, but I think I can describe the rest of her appearance ok."

"Good, we first tell Steve and then Clint," Bucky said. With that the conversation ended as they had gotten back to the car already.

Once Bucky turned off the car after arriving at Steve's house, Livy practically bolted out of the car and ran up to the front door. She started jumping to reach the doorbell. Wanda laughed and got out of the car and walked up to the door. She picked Livy up, and Livy finally rang the doorbell. Bucky had also gotten out of the car at the same time as Wanda and got there a little after her. A few moments later, Steve opened the door, and Livy jumped on him, "Daddy! I missed you!"

Steve hugged Livy tightly, "I missed you too, princess, so much!"

Livy spotted Natasha at that moment, "Miss Nat! I missed you too!"

Natasha moved closer and replied, "I missed you too, Livy! Were you good girl for Aunt Wanda and Uncle Bucky?"

Livy nodded her head.

Steve and Natasha looked at Bucky and Wanda and saw they were smiling and nodding in agreement.

"Well, why don't the two of you come in?" Natasha offers.

Wanda and Bucky looked at each other before stepping inside.

"Do you guys want anything to drink? Water? Juice?" Natasha asks.

"Oh, just a glass of water for the both of us is fine," Bucky says as they move into the living room.

Steve is still holding onto Livy as she doesn't want to let him go. Little by little, Livy started dosing off as she heard the adults making small talk. Once Steve realized Livy was asleep, he took her to her room. When he came back, Wanda and Bucky knew it was time to tell them what had happened.

"So, we have something to tell you. Well, better said, Wanda has something to tell the both of you," Bucky said cautiously.

Steve and Natasha looked at Wanda inquisitively. "Is everything ok, Wanda?" Steve asked with concern.

"I'm not sure. Today, while we were at the park, I noticed this lady with sunglasses kept following us and just watching us the whole time. I have no clue who she was, but I just got a bad vibe from her," Wanda explained.

Steve looked at Natasha and saw that same fear he had seen in her eyes just a few days before. He put his arm around her and brought her a little closer to him to comfort her. "I see," he replied after a few moments. "Well, we'd better tell Clint about this. He'll want to know."

"Yeah, that's what I told Wanda we'd do. Should we call him now?" Bucky asked.

"Go on ahead," Steve replied.

Bucky dialed Clint's number, and after a few rings, Clint picked up.

"Hello, you have reached Detective Barton. What may I help you with today?" Clint said in his professional tone.

"Hey, Clint, it's me, Bucky."

"Oh, hey Bucky! What's up?"

"I'm here with Wanda, Steve, and Natasha. You're on speaker. Wanda saw something today which she wants to tell you about. We believe it may be linked to the problem you're trying to solve."

"Ok, what did you see, Wanda?"

Wanda cleared her throat and began, "Well, Bucky, Maggie, and I were at the park. We went to get some ice cream and play a little before bringing Maggie back home. While we were at the park, there was a woman in sunglasses following us at a distance and just staring at us. The first few times I noticed, I dismissed the thought we were being watched because I thought it was just a coincidence, but the last time I noticed it, I told Bucky about it, and we left. I made sure no one was following us while we were driving."

"Can you give me a description of this woman?" They could hear Clint rummaging through his stuff, most likely trying to find a piece of paper and pen.

"Well, I couldn't really see her face because she had sunglasses on, but she's tall with long, blonde hair. She was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt. That's all I can say about her. I'm sorry," Wanda said.

"It's ok. It is hard to describe someone without seeing their face. Look, what I'll do is have police patrolling the area, both Steve's and yours to make sure no one suspicious is hanging out there."

"Thanks, Clint, we all will feel a lot safer that way," Steve spoke up.

"Before I go, Tasha, do you know anyone who could be tall with blonde hair?" Clint asked.

Natasha thought for a moment. "No, Clint, I can't remember anyone with that description."

"Then maybe it's just some creepy person that had nothing else to do but stare. Anyway, we'll be on the lookout."

"Thank you so much, Clint!" they all said together before they hung up the phone.

"Well, I'm glad that's taken care of," Wanda sighed in relief.

"Hopefully, it's like Clint said, just some creepy person that just stares at people since they don't have anything better to do," Steve said, trying to sound calm. In the back of his head, however, he was already on over-protective mode in case something were to happen that would harm Natasha or anyone in his family.