Quick AU I thought of, just to get something out while I have the time.
AU: Ella never is taken by HYDRA. Her life went on after Steve and Bucky disappeared.
…
When Steve got out of the ice, the first thing he had to know about was Ella. It took a little bit of searching, but they finally located her. She was miraculously still alive, living in a retirement home, her room stationed right beside Peggy's.
Steve found out, before he went in to see her, about her life. She had found a husband, another veteran from the war, and they had started a large family together back in New York after the war had ended. She worked beside Peggy for some time, doing what she could while the agent founded SHIELD. Then, her children and even her grandchildren joined the organization. Steve was able to meet two of her grandchildren, a boy and a girl, both about the age they had been during the war. The boy was named Steven, (Which came as a surprise to Steve. Apparently the name was passed down.) The boy must take from the other side of the family, from the dark hair and eyes. The girl's name was Mary and god, did she look like Ella. The same hair and eyes… maybe her nose wasn't as pointed but still, the resemblance was uncanny.
When Steve finally worked up the nerve to see her, he tried to stay calm. He didn't know what she could be like. She had lived a whole life without him.
When he gently pushed open the door, he felt his heart clench at the sight of his sister. Her golden hair had faded to silver. Her face was carved with deep wrinkles, her cheeks losing their roundness and becoming hollow. Still, her face broke out into a wry smile when she saw him.
"Steve!" her voice was weaker now, slightly rasping.
He sat by her bedside and tried to keep his emotions in check as she told him about the life she lived. Steve never wanted to see his sister like this while he remained strong and young. He wanted to have shared the wonders of life with her, he wanted to be at her wedding, to hold his first niece of nephew… but he missed all of it.
Still, what got him the most was when Ella reached into her night dress and produced a golden locket, holding it out for her brother to see as she opened it.
It was then that she explained the true nature of her relationship with Bucky as Steve's eyes flickered back and forth from the photo of a young Ella and how she looked now. He would have never expected this, but he was glad she told him, even if it was late.
"I never stopped loving him," she admitted, tracing the curves of the metal with her fingertips. "Even the man I married never made me feel the way Bucky did."
That's why it was even harder for Steve to eventually have to tell his sister that the love of her life had been alive this whole time.
Bucky was probably more torn up about it than Ella was. He paced the room after Steve had revealed his sister was alive as well.
Bucky didn't know if he wanted to see her. She wouldn't be the woman he had left, but then again, he wasn't the man he used to be either. They had both lived life times away from each other, becoming different people in the many years spent apart. Bucky knew she had started a family, but he wasn't mad. It's what he would have wanted for her, instead of the girl he loved moping around with a broken heart, pushing away anyone that attempted to get close.
He wasn't ready to visually see her now. The last memories he had were of her being a young woman… how drastic the change would be. Still, Bucky knew deep down he had to see her.
When he pushed open the door to Ella's room, the moment the woman laid eyes on him, she broke down in sobs. Bucky kneeled by the side of her bed, listening to her babble amongst the cries.
"All the years…" she mourned, wiping a wrinkled eyes with a withered hand. "I left you with those monsters for all those years."
Bucky clutched her boney hand and squeezed it. "It's not your fault… you didn't know."
He noted that she still wore the locket he gave her around her neck, after all those years…
Eventually, she stopped crying and looked at him with familiar eyes framed by unfamiliar skin. Her face was still one of a woman who had once been beautiful, and Bucky knew she had been. He wished he could have lived a life with her, grown old alongside of the woman he loved… but that future was gone. He would never get to live that life with Ella.
Bucky visited her as much as he could manage, wanting to hear every detail about her life that he had missed. Her eyes still shone in the same way when she spoke, bringing back fond memories of the girl she had once been.
This went on for a few months until one night, in the middle of the night, both he and Steve got calls. Bucky had sat up in bed, already knowing the dread what news would be spoken into his ear, but it didn't make it any less painful.
Gone.
Bucky crushed the phone in his metal hand, the pieces sparking and falling through his fingers. He hunched over on the bed, feeling hot tears trail down his face. He knew it was coming, but he hadn't expected it to be so painful. Their time together had been too short, fate hadn't allowed them the life they had desired… and now, the girl he had loved was gone.
The funeral was a few days after, the service filled with Ella's family. She had three children; Sarah, Steven, and even a James. They all stood with tears in their eyes, laying down flowers at their mother's grave, behind them, their own children.
Bucky had seen them a few times, but again was blown away by how much the girl, Mary, looked like Ella. Her young blue eyes met his for a moment, filled with sorrow that matched his own. Bucky tore his gaze away and looked down at his hand where he held the locket that Ella had left for him. He studied the photo of the two of them, missing the moment with all his being.
Bucky eventually came up to the gleaming gravestone, looking down at her name carved neatly in a bold print. Steve came up beside him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, staring down at where his sister would lay for eternity. He wished it didn't have to end this way.
All Bucky could do was hope that one day, when the time was right, he would see her again on golden shores and the girl he loved would smile brightly at him, the way he remembered, and embrace him once more.