Soldier (A Bucky Barnes Fanfiction)

Chapter 11

|Friday, June 8, 1945|

Adeline hadn't seen Bucky since that May night. Some nights she would call out for him, hoping he would come back. Other nights she even got on her knees to pray. Adeline barely left her room, not wanting any reminders of their once perfect relationship. Rumors flew around Brooklyn about her and her late fiancé. Rumors about how both Steve and Bucky parted this world. All Adeline could do was keep her head down and try to move on. She had gotten approval from the M.O.R. to return to the force and Adeline had thought long and hard. She kept Bucky's notebook underneath her pillow, reading an entry every night.

"You can't go back, Adeline," William said. "Just take the job in D.C. It'll make both mom and dad sleep easier at night."

"You know I can't William," Adeline responded, continuing to pack. "I don't fit in here anymore. This job will give me a fresh start."

"You're going to get yourself killed," William shot back.

"The M.O.R. is where I belong," Adeline retorted.

"Adeline, stop!" William gripped her wrists in his hands. "Just stop. Stop trying to carry around a torch for Bucky, for Steve. They're gone. And they're not coming back if you take this job."

"I find it funny how you think this is about them," Adeline spat, pulling her arms away, taking William aback by her strength. "This isn't about Bucky or Steve, this is about me. And I'm doing what's right for me, not for anyone else. I've lived my entire life trying to please other people and I thought that was all that my life was ever going to be. But the war opened up my eyes and I  know what I need to do." Adeline shut her travel bags forcefully.

"Or has the war blinded you?" William shouted after her as she walked out of her room. Adeline marched down the stairs, holding her head high, walking past her disappointed parents who thought they were going to have a son in law upon her return. Her mother held a handkerchief close to her chest, watching her only daughter go.

Adeline leaned her head on the train car window, not seeing anyone to bid her goodbye. She looked to the empty seat in front of her, willing herself to see Bucky there to console her, but he never came as she rode the rest of the train ride in a saddened silence.

|Los Angeles, California|
|Thursday, June 21, 1945|

Adeline had gotten herself settled in at the M.O.R. headquarters in California. The city life wasn't much different than Brooklyn, but to Adeline everything had changed. She felt as though she had started fresh as she wasn't constantly reminded of her late lover and friend.

"Adeline! Are you deaf? Lunch orders, now!" The second in command, David Johnson snapped his fingers in front of Adeline's face. David Johnson was a good looking man in his late twenties. His blonde hair was always slicked back and his suit was always freshly pressed. He took pride in his position and took every opportunity to push Adeline around.

"Can't you see I'm busy?" Adeline asked. "And I did it yesterday." Most women who had joined the M.O.R. during the war were now happily married with kids but Adeline was not like them.

"Do you really want to push your luck, Adams?" David growled. "You're not even on a case right now, what could you possibly be doing?" Adeline bit her lip. She wasn't on the investigative team and she wasn't supposed to know as much as she knew about the M.O.R.'s ongoing investigation. Adeline took a calming breath, snatching up the lunch order papers from her desk.

"Also, coffee for the investigative team," David shouted as he walked away. Adeline took lunch orders putting them in for the cook. She then brought in the tray of coffee for the investigative team. She always made sure to pour the coffee slowly so she could gather as much information as she could.