FORTUITY ☆ B.BARNES ✔️

36; We Need To Talk

FINALLY, MAEVE WAS FREE. She was yearning for freedom, the freedom to fight and go wherever she wanted to. Being grounded was not something she wanted. After finally enduring the painful hours of staying guarded and safe inside the Avengers tower, she was free. Captain Marvel was ordered to go and find Seraphina with half of the Guardians, with Sam included as an extra measure. The others were forced to take care of Maeve, an order she did not take kindly to.

As she trained, she realized how much time she hadn't spent with everyone else. Sure, she was mad at them but it's not like they wanted to treat her like a baby. Especially Bucky, he was always so protective of her. It irked Maeve, noticing that these past few days had become so unbearably lonesome. It held a feeling of discomfort, but then again, how could she be unsatisfied with it? She had known loneliness her entire life, maybe being with the Avengers showed her what she was missing out on.

She would patrol the city nonstop, killing whatever inhuman alien lurked in the shadows. One hundred and two, not that she was keeping count. Maeve came back well over midnight, and after receiving a well-deserved, mouthy scolding from Wanda and Bruce, she tiptoed into bed beside a sleeping Bucky who was actually not asleep. He was just too disappointed to talk to her. Sometimes she wouldn't even come back until sunrise, and everyone was up then. Only now was he noticing the repercussions of keeping Maeve Conner grounded and caged. After letting her out, she was wilder than ever.

Of course, Maeve wasn't the only person that he had acquainted during his time with the Avengers. No matter how much he missed her, he had other people. Bucky had actually planned to talk to her about overworking, but they never seemed to have the time. He did keep himself occupied, training, learning how to play the guitar, and getting to know people. Dominique, out of everyone else, seemed to be extra enthusiastic about spending time with Bucky. They would meet at the training room and spend a good two hours there, helping each other in a totally platonic way, or so he thought.

Part of the reason why she was mad at Bucky the most was that he was spending more time with Dominique than her. She didn't like to admit it, but Maeve knew it was her fault as well.

We need to talk.

Maeve had never heard such a demanding sentence like that leave Bucky's lips before. She stopped beating the punching bag and sighed.

"What?"

An expression of hurt fell over his face. Maeve didn't realize how mean she sounded. She meant to say "What?" in a polite and curious manner. Maeve had never heard herself ask that question in a harsh, bothered tone that people used when they did not bother to care. His hurt expression was subtly, barely there, but she noticed it for sure. How could she not?

Bucky cleared his throat in slight awkwardness, and continued.

"I'm worried about you, Maeve." He finally says. She sits down on the bench and drinks her water, but her eyes were trained on him showed him that she was indeed listening to every word.

"For?"

There was a pause, an unfamiliar, ugly pause.

"You're overworking yourself. You need to rest once in a while." His answer angered Maeve way more than it should have. It probably shouldn't have angered her at all. He meant it in a caring way, but Maeve made herself believe he was merely patronizing her.

"That was what I was doing for two whole weeks. So no, I'm not going to rest again. Why are you telling me this now?"

Bucky was pacing around, wallowing in his aggravation, and deciding whether or not he should retort. He was so, so close to keeping his mouth shut, to not make the situation worse than it already was. But Bucky was not going to let her have the last word, not again. He was not going to give her the pleasure of winning this small argument.

"That's not the only issue, and you know it."

Maeve was walking away, and hearing those painful words, she turned around.

"What are you saying?" She asked, but she knew full well that he was talking about the slow deterioration of their relationship. It was slow, but it was progressing for sure.

"We never talk anymore, we need to communicate in order for this to work. You're never around. Do you even love me anymore?" It pained him to ask that last question, mainly because Bucky never thought he'd need affirmation of her affection towards him.

"Of course I love you, why would you think that? And you know - maybe if you weren't so occupied with other people, I'd actually be bothered to talk to you! It's not my fault. I'm hurt too!"

Maeve was not the type to get jealous, and Bucky knew that. So that meant his friendship with Dominique actually meant something to her, even if it was in a negative way.

"I know you're hurt but all I'm saying is that you're over-working yourself. I know I said I have other people to hang out with but that doesn't mean I don't need you. I don't know... Maybe if the both of us had taken some effort to spend time with each other it will work. I promise-" He was cut off by Maeve.

"No, I think," she said, voice wavering a bit, "I think we should - take a break."

This was not how Bucky pictured this would go. Knowing Maeve, he was sure a 'break' meant 'we should never see each other ever again'

"What? No! Maeve I came to fix this I swear."

"I know, I decided this. Listen, I don't have time for this. I don't have time for you. This fucking space demon came to kill me for a power I don't even want! You know how much revenge I want! And you said it yourself, you have other people. You and I both know this clearly isn't working." She stated, the cracks in her voice worsening with each word. Bucky had nothing to say, he was going to lose her if he didn't do something.

"I-" Bucky started, but he quickly looked away. Crying in front of her now was the worst thing he could do, he wasn't going to give her that.

"We're all we've ever know since we got here." He concludes, tearfully.

"I know." Maeve whispered pulling him into a hug, "Look, it's not now or never. But, this isn't working out. You and I both know." Bucky hugged back, embracing her as hard and as passionately as he could, desperately trying to prove to her the love he still had for her.

"Please don't end us. You can't, Maeve."

She sighed, "Come on, don't be like this. You're making this harder than it already is, man."

Maeve pulled away, and stared at him for a moment. Bucky refused to look at her. She shook her head and kissed him on the cheek, he leaned in as if it was a natural reflex. The feeling of her lips lingered for a long time even after she had pulled away. Even after she had grabbed her things and walked out of the training room. Even after she was long gone. The consequences of avoiding a small rift in their relationship had just blown up in his face.

One more kiss, and one more after that, and perhaps just another to make him satisfied. No matter how much he would love that, Bucky knew that wasn't going to happen. Not for a long time.

"Fuck."

-

A/N: wow this episode was fucking sad.