Tangled Paths | Bucky Barnes

Chapter 18: Avengers!...

18
Avengers!...

Darla stood alone in the empty parking lot for a second processing everything that had just happened. She wiped the tears from her face and took a deep breath then got in the driver's seat of the car. She sat there for a second alone in silence, she looked over into the cup holder and saw her and Bucky's half-empty slushies. She knew in the back of her mind it was nothing to cry over but that didn't stop her from sobbing into the steering wheel at the sight of them sitting there.

Darla heard a faint buzzing coming from the passenger seat and pulled herself together as she looked at the screen to see who was calling. The name "Cap" displayed on the screen. She answered it quickly and pressed the phone to her ear.
"Where the hell have you been?" Darla asked without even giving him a chance to speak as her bottom lip trembled, she was a mess.
"I know, I'm sorry for not texting you back for 3 days but a lot was going on... where are you?" Steve asked.
"I don't know, some empty parking lot outside of the city," Darla explained as she sniffled and wiped her nose.
"Are you okay? You sound like your crying," Steve asked in concern. Darla let out an involuntary chuckle.
"No, I'm really not," Darla said as she wiped her tears.
"You wanna grab a drink?" He asked her wanting to help.
"Please," Darla said with a small desperation in her voice.
"Okay, pick me up on the street out front of the tower. I'll be waiting." He said to her.
"Okay," Darla said as she started the car.
"I'll see you soon," he assured.

When Darla pulled up to the tower she tossed on the 4 ways and got out. She circled to the passenger seat assuming Steve wanted to drive his own car. When Darla sat down once again she stared at the slushies sitting in the cup holder. She told herself she wasn't gonna cry again. She'd just finished crying as she got into manhattan and refused to start again but the longer she looked at the, the more emotional she got.

Darla glanced around and spotted a trash can by the nearby set of doors to enter the tower. She threw open her door and yanked them out of the cup holder. Then stepped out of the car and walked over to the trash can. She tossed hers in no problem but when she went to throw away Bucky's it fell out of the can and hit the ground causing the top to pop off and the slushy liquid to splash, some of it getting on her shoe. Darla stared at the slushy cup as it lay sideways on the pavement and the blue liquid seeped out. Her bottom lip began to tremble. She refused to cry again. She picked the cup back up and hurled it at the trash can with a heartbroken shout. Passer bys either sped up away from her or stopped to see what the commotion was. When she calmed down her bottom lip once again began to tremble as she looked down and stared at the blue puddle surrounding her feet.

"Darla?" A  familiar voice called from behind her. Darla closed her eyes and inhaled slowly. She held it for a few seconds and then exhaled and turned around to see Steve standing behind her.
"How much of that did you see?" She asked with her eyes glossed over from crying so much.
"I can tell you none if that will make you feel better." He said with a faint smile. Darla smiled sadly in response.

Steve moved to his car a few feet away and opened his passenger door then nodded at Darla for her to get in. She nodded and walked over. Once she was in he closed her door and moved to the driver's side. He opened his door and got in then pulled it shut behind him, he adjusted his seat and then sniffed a few times as his eyes landed on the smoke pack that sat in front of him on the dash.
"We're you smoking in here?" He asked her with a stern look.
"Sorry." She replied sheepishly as she reached across the dashboard and tucked her pack back in her jacket pocket. Steve shook his head at her and chuckled before signalling and pulling back onto the road. 

Sometime later Steve and Darla sat at a table in some bar in Manhattan. About a dozen empty tankards sat on the empty table next to them, since it was so early in the week and so late they were pretty much the only people in the bar. The pair sat across from each other at a small round table under a yellow ceiling light. The pair had made small talk for a while but they were both beating around the bush.