Cosmic Love

Blood Brothers

TW: self harm

Two weeks later and Maia was no longer a blonde, she now had short brown hair and was staying at Bucky's apartment because she couldn't bring herself to go back to her own.

It was 4am, Maia was laying on Bucky's sofa wide awake, watching a random football match on YouTube as Bucky laid on the floor with a thin blanket covering him and a pillow slightly cushioning his head.

The difference between Maia and Bucky's flashbacks were he saw the horrors he committed in his sleep, while Maia saw them in her sleep and while she was wide awake and going about her day to day activities. And that doesn't mean Maia's trauma is worse, Bucky just knows how to compartmentalize better. But they had one thing in common, neither of them slept more than an hour a night, if that.

"I'm fine, Sky." I lied as I walked into the kitchen.

"No you're not and you're pushing me away, Elle!" Sky snapped. "I just...I think you tell everyone in your life that you're fine, but when you come home late at night and you go into the bathroom and look in the mirror all you see is an empty person who you don't recognise and you hate it because Tony's not here to pick you up off your feet anymore!"

"He has nothing to do with this!" I defended even though I knew my girlfriend could tell when I was lying.

"Really? So you don't feel an ounce of guilt for not showing up to his funeral just because Sam was there? You don't feel guilty for basically abandoning Morgan when she needed you the most?"

"Shut the fuck up!" I snapped, finally turning face Sky. "Instead of micromanaging my life why don't you focus on the fact your mom is dead!"

Maia returned to the present and made her way to the bathroom, she dug through the cabinet below the sink and found what she was looking for, razors. She dragged the blade across her wrist until there was nowhere else to cut.

Blood gushed from her wounds and into the sink as tears escaped her eyes. Maia dropped the blade and let the cuts bleed until they started to scab over.

When she went back into the living room Bucky was awake, clearly just suffering from a nightmare. Maia knew he wouldn't want to talk about so she didn't ask, he would talk when he was ready and there was no point in pushing him.

❀•°❀°•❀

It was now Friday, Maia was sitting on Bucky's fire escape smoking a cigarette while he watched the news. Maia wasn't paying much attention until she heard the words 'new Captain America'.

The brunette woman scurried through the window and joined Bucky, who was sitting on the floor staring at the television in disbelief. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"He gave the shield up." Maia muttered as tears pricked her eyes.

"We need to get it back." Bucky replied as he put his jacket on.

"Fact." Maia scoffed as she pulled Sky's doc martens and Natasha's leather jacket on.

❀•°❀°•❀

Bucky and Maia found Sam in an airplane hangar acting as if nothing happened. "Shouldn't have given up the shield." Bucky stated at the pair approached Sam.

"Good to see you too, Buck." Sam sarcastically responded, Maia could tell the nickname pissed James off and that Sam didn't recognize her yet.