The Trail's End

December 30, 1929

Rowena, Texas

"Oh Bonnie! Won't you get me another glass?"

Peggy gave her friend a smirk, shaking her head. He had three empty glasses placed beside him, now a fourth in front of him. "Haven't you had enough?" She asked, then takes up his glasses and sets them in the sink beside her. After, she moved over and propped her elbows in front of him, raising an eyebrow. "What is it this time, Howard?"

He gave her a dark look, then let out a sigh. "One of these days, someone is gonna hear you call me that."

"Says the one who calls me Bonnie!"

"That's just a nickname," he explained. "If you must know, the business is slow. I'm thinkin' I'll have to get a second job."

Peggy rolled her eyes. "And that's a bad thing?" She shook her head, wiping down the counter. "I got three jobs, and it ain't as bad as they all make it out to be."

"Why do you work so hard?" He asked. "You're still just a girl."

She rolled her eyes once again. "I'm twenty-two, not sixteen," she heaved a sigh. "When you have to take care of yourself and your mother, you'll understand."

"You don't have to."

"Yes, Howard, I do," she placed her hands on her hips, stopping her work for a moment. "Should I have to? No, absolutely not. But I didn't ask for all of this. I asked for a ring and a nice place to settle down. This came with it."

Howard frowned, his eyes sympathetic. He knew what she meant, though she wouldn't tell the whole truth. It had been a year since her husband was arrested. A year since anyone heard of him, including his own wife. She didn't visit – She couldn't if she wanted to – nor did she ask how he was being treated. She led her own life, the life he left behind.

"Don't look at me like that," she eventually chastised him, returning to her work. "I get stares like that from everyone else, and I don't need that from you."

"Sorry," he sighed, shaking his head. "You know, you're doin' what you gotta do, and I respect that, but you've been through hell, Peg. Maybe it's time you give yourself a break."

"And do what?" She looked back, checking for her mother's warning eyes. "I would do anything for a break, but this is my life now. Until I get outta here, this is my life."

"You plannin' to leave?"

"Every day of my life," she answered, taking a deep breath. "Just haven't gotten the chance to get out yet."

Howard's expression dropped. His chest felt heavier in his chest, but he didn't say anything about that. "Well, I hope you're plannin' on sayin' goodbye before you go."

She gave him a sympathetic look. "I ain't leavin' just yet. Don't go cryin' over me yet." He laughed in response, but only to hide the sadness.

"Peggy! What are you doin'? People are waiting!"

"Yes, mother, I see them!" Peggy calls back to her mother, shaking her head. "One day, I'm gonna set this place on fire, I swear," she whispered to her friend, then kept working.

Later that night, she sits back at her mother's house, a cold towel on her head in attempt to make her headache go away. There is a fire across the room, where her mother sits, staring at her daughter.

"Heard you talkin' to Howard earlier."

Peggy opened her eyes, looking over to her mother. "Yeah, he's tryin' to pick up another job."

"Maybe you should give him one of yours."

She laughed, shaking her head. "If I didn't need all of them, I would give him all three."

"I wasn't kiddin', Peg."

She sat up, looking at her mother with narrowed eyes. "What do you mean?"

Her mother, Emma, walked over to her, smiling softly. "You're doin' more than a man with twelve kids, and it's not healthy for someone your age. You'll kill yourself at twenty-five."

Peggy shook her head, taking a deep breath. "I don't mind the work," she lied. "Besides, I have you to take care of." She reached over and placed a hand on her mother's cheek, smiling softly.

"That's kind, dear," she smiled, placing her hand on top of her daughter's. "But who will take care of you when I can't?" Peggy shook her head in protest, to which her mother quickly shot down. "Now I know that he left you with nothin' but your bones, but that doesn't mean that you gotta live like that. You're better than that, because I raised you better. You deserve better."

Peggy shook her head again. "If I deserve better, don't you think I would have gotten it by now?"

"Maybe it's not comin' because you won't give it a chance to."

Giving up on an argument, Peggy simply takes a deep breath. "What would you have me do? There's no chance for better opportunities here. Especially when everyone looks at me like I'll break any moment. It's been a year, and I am perfectly fine on my own."

"Are you?" Emma took a deep breath. "Maybe take a vacation. I heard Colleen's got a broken arm, maybe you could go visit her. I'm sure she'd like that."

The younger of the two women slowly stood up. "I suppose a trip wouldn't hurt. You'll be alright on your own?"

"I've made it this far, haven't I?" She chuckled, shaking her head. "I can get you a ride to Dallas in the next few days, so you should start packin' your things."

Peggy blinked. "Just like that?"

"You can't just walk towards what you want, Peg," her mother explained. "It's called chasin' a dream for a reason."

She nodded. "Alright then. I… I suppose I'm headin' to Dallas.

A week later, she was on her way, with nothing but her suitcase in her right hand and her heart in her left.

January 30, 1930

Dallas Texas

She stayed with Colleen for a month. Upon first arriving, her friend welcomed her with open arms, insisting she stay for longer than just a week. Peggy, at first, denied her offer, but the thought of returning haunted her every day. She eventually decided to stay, using whatever money she had left. She knew she would have nothing to return to, and part of her found that more appealing than anything.

Colleen was the ideal roommate, or so Peggy thought. It was both Colleen and her husband's house, but they never saw her husband but every other week. When he was there, he was always more focused on keeping himself scarce. Peggy partially believed that it was because of her presence, but Colleen insisted that he was like that normally. She explained the work her husband was in, and suddenly it made more sense. Peggy once asked her why she allowed that sort of business in her home, and in response, Colleen simply shrugged. "I love him, and that means lovin' the bad stuff, too. Besides, it doesn't bother me anymore." Peggy nodded in response, and somehow, she understood.

She spent most of her days helping her friend through her life, through cooking and cleaning, and even with the loneliness. Colleen often asked her how she made it on her own, and Peggy couldn't give a response. Instead, she always forced her to take her medicine, or eat her food. Perhaps it was dodging the subject, but it worked for her.

"I don't get it, Peg," Colleen called from the room beside her, as Peggy worked on making hot chocolate for her friend. Outside, it was blazing hot, but that didn't matter to her.

"And what don't you get?"

"How you do it," she responded. "I mean, Clarence is only here every once and a while, and I'm lonely. How is it that you are here, and you're doin' just fine? I'd have lost it by now."

Peggy chuckled, bringing out two cups of the hot drink. She set one down in front of her friend, then sat across from her, setting the other in front of herself. "Honestly, Colleen, I have no idea. If I had a secret, I would tell you."

"Well, one of these days, I'm gonna figure it out and when that happens – "

Knock, knock, knock.

Colleen looked up to the door. "That's strange. You expectin' anyone?"

Peggy shook her head and frowned as her friend stood up and walked to the door, first checking through the small hole in the wood.

"Oh my God, if it isn't Clyde Barrow!" Colleen opened the door quickly with a squeal, a wide smile on her face.

"Shush, Leena, we wouldn't want your neighbors callin' the police," the man teased.

"Like that would ever stop you from comin' around. Come here, you rascal!" She then pulled the man down and forced him into a hug. He chuckled and placed a hand on her back, somehow carefully dodging her injured arm. "How are you?"

"As good as can be expected," he responded, smiling down at her while standing back up straight. "Is Clarence around?"

"What do you think?" Colleen cocked her hip to the right, raising an eyebrow. "I thought he was with you."

He shook his head. "Haven't seen him around. I've been busy."

Colleen took a moment before cracking yet another smile, pulling him into a hug once again. "I just can't believe you're here! It's been too long."

"I know," he replied with a smile, letting his hug linger for just a little while longer. It was then that he caught Peggy's eye, and pulled away from the blonde in front of him. "I believe we are being rude."

Colleen turned around, giving a look of slight shock to Peggy. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry!"

"It's alright," Peggy smiled, standing up and walking to the two of them. "Who's this, Colleen?"

The man took this opportunity to give the brunette a charming smile, then take her hand in his and press his lips to the outside of her hand. "You can call me Clyde."

Peggy raised an eyebrow at him, though she was intrigued. Now that she got a good look at him, she was taken aback by his features. He had black hair, which he wore slicked back, away from his face. He had the greenest eyes she had ever seen that were deep set, as if he hadn't slept or perhaps he had a lot on his mind. Still, he now had a spark of intrigue as he looked at her, something that sent shivers down her spine. "Is that your real name, Mister Clyde?" She asked in return, ignoring her friend's confused expression.

He smirked. "It's a stage name, doll," he answered, still holding onto her hand. "And what's your name?"

Peggy looked over at her blonde friend for a moment, biting her lip. What was it about this man that caught her so off guard? Perhaps it was the loneliness she felt, or perhaps it was just the man himself. She didn't believe in destiny, however, and so that was impossible. She blinked back to reality, thinking about what she should say. "Bonnie."

"What?" Colleen asked, raising an eyebrow. Peggy ignored her for the moment.

Meanwhile, the man hadn't looked away from her for even a second. He now wore a mischievous grin, but it was mostly because of the game they were now playing. "Is that your real name, Miss Bonnie?"

Peggy couldn't resist. "It's a stage name, doll." She gave him an equally as entertained smirk, still looking at the colors in his eyes. Why couldn't she look away?

To her response, he lifted his chin slightly, giving her yet another smirk. For a few seconds, he continued to stare down at her, his gaze drifting from her eyes to her dress, and somehow stopping at her painted red lips. Eventually, he caught himself and turned to look at Colleen, who now stared at the two of them with a very confused look. "You said Clarence wasn't around?"

Colleen had to stop for a moment to try and gather a response. "Yeah…" She managed, then blinked, looking over at him. "He's not been back for a week."

He nodded understandably, then looked back to Peggy, who was currently looking at her friend with a slightly impressed look. Once he caught her eye again, it changed to a small smile, which only added to his problem.

This is when Colleen decided to smirk. "Of course…" She put a hand on her hip. "You're welcome to stay," she invited to him, though she turned her gaze to the brunette.

The man – Clyde, as he called himself – had to smile, but this time it was directed at the woman in front of him, the one that somehow, without even struggling, managed to get his undivided attention.

"I think I just might."

A/N: As an added note, there are a few aspects to this story that I would like to point out. First of all, I try to make it fairly evident who each character is, but more specifically, each character represents a real person that had a play in the Barrow Gang and the events surrounding it. Obviously this is history that I've changed the characters around, which is typically something I would avoid, but I have my spin on the story. As far as I could, however, it is accurate, and there are Marvel counterparts. There is also a few things I've taken out, such as the gore and I've replaced the idea that their love was solely based on their physical attraction and the explicit parts of their lives to a milder theme, such as trust and reliance, which makes a better story in my opinion. I forgot to give credit where it is due, obviously I don't own these characters, and the information I've gathered as far as the Barrow Gang is all credited to research I've done (if you'd like my sources, I'd be glad to share, but why not just enjoy the story?). As a final note, this story is dedicated to my best friend, who is under the name Zenappa on here, as well as on Archive of Our Own. I also have Ao3, but it is currently under construction. However, you can find all of my information on my page. Thank you all for reading!

- June x