No-One But You (The Star Child's Eclipse)
Chapter 10: Sofia (Part 10)
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A young man named James Buchanan Barnes, aka "Bucky," was heading out of an office that was occupied by another man named Nick Fury.
…
They had a conversation about his involvement with the organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D., and James decided to tell him that he wanted nothing to do with a different division called "S.H.A.D.O.W."…
Fury was fine with "Bucky" removing himself from the new division, because he had other plans for the not-so-winter soldier in the long run.
He didn't want Bucky leaving the organization for some dusty corn field out in Nebraska either, so they had a long discussion about Bucky working with a new recruit.
These are just details, details, details… but someone named Sam Wilson was joining the fold, and Bucky said he'd be happy to work with him and show him the ropes.
That was going to be his involvement with S.H.I.E.L.D. going forward, so Fury took their conversation in a different direction.
He asked Bucky about his upcoming marriage to Donna Strange before their meeting came to a close, and Bucky was happy to talk about it.
It felt good to talk about it, actually, because his mind wasn't really focused on getting back to "work."
Supporting someone like Sam Wilson wasn't really a "job" in Bucky's mind tho, so he agreed on the terms discussed and that was that.
…
Anyway, that conversation came to an end at some point, and Bucky started making his way out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility.
He hadn't been in that building for a long while, so he took a moment to look at the space around him.
Oh. As expected, Bucky caught wind of Natasha Romanov logging in just as he was logging out, but his mood about that was pretty indifferent.
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Small talk wasn't Natasha's specialty, but she said hello to him anyway. Oh look, the rest of her team was with her as well, so Bucky got a look at some of the members who were connected to S.H.A.D.O.W…
He gave Clint Barton a small smile, then Yelena Belova, and let's not forget about Rae-Ann.
Looking at Rae-Ann was always… interesting, but the would-be-soldier didn't say a word to any of them…
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"I heard you're getting married, and that's wonderful."
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Natasha Romanov's attempt at engaging in small talk was working its way around the silent void.
"James" looked up in her direction, but he only responded to her with an uninterested shrug.
It seemed like the Black Widow's crew had carried on without her, and Bucky's focus locked onto the final member of her crew.
The other version of him was walking away with the others…
The real "Winter Soldier" was there in the flesh… and he kept walking on with the rest of the pack.
Natasha stayed behind and tried to talk to her former flame, just for a moment.
…
That's right, James was going to marry Donna Strange, and Natasha Romanov wasn't invited.
He had no interest in speaking to her, actually, so he gave the Widow another shrug and he tried to carry on with his day.
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"I'm sorry, about how things went down…"
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Bucky didn't say anything. In fact, he kept logging in his field agent credentials – in order to LOG OUT of the facility. So, Natasha was "sorry" about how things went down?
That notion was… interesting. What exactly was she sorry about? The not-so-winter soldier had to wonder…
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"No you're not."
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She wasn't sorry at all, and that was okay. Why say sorry? Bucky didn't really understand the gesture.
Natasha was honest with him, and their relationship came to an end because the two of them obviously weren't on the same page.
Oh, well, what he endured from the Widow sometimes felt like cruelty. Maybe she was sorry about that, because Bucky actually started talking about it with a shrink.
He remembered a small detail, and some might say it was the final nail in the coffin.
She sometimes mocked the fact that he wanted to marry her, have children, and do things outside the realm of working for S.H.I.E.L.D..
Natasha refused to stop too, and that was… fine.
…
Building a marriage with Donna Strange was something that "James" wanted to do… so his conversation with the infamous Black Widow was very much over.
He gave her another uninterested shrug before he left, then he simply walked out of the facility.
It was a pretty short drive from the S.H.I.E.L.D. base to Brooklyn, so Bucky was unable to fix the look on his face when he entered the apartment that he shared with Donna Strange.
He glanced over at Steve and Tony's door before he made it all the way in, and somehow he could always tell if they were home or not.
They clearly weren't there, so he closed his own door behind him.
James could tell immediately that they had some guests. Donna was talking to her niece when her soon-to-be husband entered their space, and she quickly looked up at him.
That good looking boy seemed down and somber, and honestly… Donna was expecting that.
Chapter: END
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