A Place for You & Me ・Bucky Barnes

goodbyes

Taking Bucky's advice, Zoe reaches out to her mom and they meet up for a visit. Unbeknownst to Zoe, Angela already has an outing in mind, but was not sure how well Zoe would take it. 

~

"What are these flowers for?" Zoe is inquisitive. 

"You'll see. I want to take you somewhere."

The two get into her mom's car, and drive about 20 minutes outside the city limits to a graveyard. It's the beginning of March, and the sun bids them goodbye as clouds cover it. Knowing where they have arrived, Zoe's heart drops. She wasn't ready for this, but it seems her mom was. Wanting to support, she gets out of the car after they park and follows her mom. They walk slowly and somberly through the graveyard and Angela stops in front of her dad's tombstone. Angela, who is holding the flowers, places one in front of the stone with silent tears falling down her face. Zoe tries the fight them, but upon seeing her mother's tears, she begins to crumble. Tears flow silently down her face and Angela hands her a flower, a daisy, and Zoe places it down. 

After spending a few moments there, they continue on to the next tombstone which belongs to her sister, Maya. Angela places another flower in front of this tombstone, almost sobbing at this point. Zoe places a flower down, even though the tears have blurred her vision. Zoe's legs begin to feel like jelly, and she slowly lowers to the ground, sitting on the damp grass. She doesn't care if her pants get messed up. The last time she saw her sister's tombstone was at the funeral. She couldn't believe she was here again. Zoe begins to weep and her mom places her hand on Zoe's shoulder. Both women continue to cry and grieve. Several minutes later, Zoe catches her breath and whispers, "I love you, sis." She then gets up and her mother hugs her. It felt good for Zoe to grieve with her mother. This time, no one was pushing anyone away. 

Lastly, they visit Mama V's tombstone, and Angela leaves a bouquet. Zoe simply remembers all that Mama V had done for her, and says her goodbyes. 

~

Later that day, the sun comes back out and Zoe feels tired, but whole. While spending time with her mom at the graveyard wasn't exactly at the top of her list, she was thankful. She had the opportunity to grieve her family alongside her mom. In a way, Zoe felt a weight lifted off of her shoulders that she had been carrying for far too long. 

~

Two weeks go by and James makes a surprise visit back home, just in time to see Zoe's dance performance. He was proud of all that she had achieved and everything she was going to achieve in the future. Since Karli and the Flag Smashers were stopped, he was going to be home for the time being. To show his admiration for Zoe's beautiful performance, he decides to take her to a nice dinner the following day. 

~

The reservation is for 6:45, and as usual, Zoe is running behind. James is anxious while waiting for her. 

James calls to Zoe, who is still in the bathroom, "Babe, you almost ready? The reservation is in 15 minutes."

"Yeah, I'm almost done. My hair is not cooperating." Zoe was trying to style the curls from her twist out, but the humidity was killing it. (the struggle y'all😩)

"I'm sure it looks fine."

"No, it doesn't. It's poofy and not want I want at all." After a few moments, she walks out of the bathroom and James is speechless. He truly has nothing to say. Her dress was a navy blue cocktail dress with gold accents, which matched the gold, diamond studded rose necklace he gave her. She noticed he was just standing there and she smirked. 

"Cat got your tongue?"

"I.. uh.. wow.." He still has no words. Zoe grabs her purse.

"Well, you just gonna stand there?" 

Her words break James out of his trance and he walks up to her, kissing her firmly on the lips. He pulls away and says to her "You look amazing. I mean, you always look amazing, but--" before he could finish his sentence, she gives him a quick kiss in return. 

"Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself." She smiles, putting his tie back into place. "Now let's go, since 'we're late.'"

"Yes, ma'am."

James opens the door and they exit for their dinner.