Chapter Text
Chapter XII
Brooklyn, 1940
What the hell just happened? Lucy wondered to herself as she grabbed her handbag and left the bar. Her hands shook, almost as though she was cold. Her nerves were on edge, and her heart race grew with each passing moment.
Adeline followed close on her heels, and Lucy needed a moment in the fresh air. As soon as Lucy drunkenly stumbled close to the vehicle that Adeline and her had arrived in, she knew she would be in for an earful.
She took a deep breath in the night time air and closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. Her heart started pounding as hard, and she could feel herself begin to relax.
Lucy could smell the stale cigarette smoke. She almost found herself looking for the man she had just met, Steve. Although she knew it was wrong, she wished she could just see him one last time. Her heart quickened again, not because of anxiety or nerves. But because of excitement, and possibly a slight bit of infatuation. She felt like a schoolgirl with a crush, and perhaps that was why she was feeling so anxious and guilty. On one hand, Lucy only wished to see him once more, to look at those steel-blue eyes, and feel her heart pound a little bit faster from excitement instead of anxiety.
On the other hand, she dreaded it. Because she knew if she saw him once more, she would do something very, very foolish.
But there was no one. Only an elderly woman from an apartment above, smoking out her window in her nightgown.
Lucy looked up and figured she must have been the one to turn on the music for them while they were dancing. The older woman gave her a small, sad, smile. Lucy couldn't return it, she only looked down at the pavement and swallowed a lump in her throat.
The driver opened the door for Adeline, who was impatient to get home. "Lucy!" She snapped harshly. She was pissed, Lucy realized. Her sister, who was usually gentle-hearted and calm, was the very opposite in those moments. But Lucy wasn't sure as to why, though. After all, it wasn't any of Adeline's damn business of what Lucy did.
Lucy shut her eyes tightly again, trying to stop the spinning sensation she was experiencing from drinking too much. "Coming!" She replied. Her breath became more labored, and anxiety rose in her chest once more. This night, Lucy realized, was too much. It was too much, and she had had too many drinks, and nothing was making sense. She also felt the sudden urge to vomit, and her palms few sweaty.
Lucy shut her eyes tightly once more and inhaled deeply. She tried to gain as much fresh air as she could before she had to get inside the car and feel as though she would suffocate.
With a heaviness in her heart, she went to the car. She wasn't sure why she was so sad, but all she knew was that it was welling up in her body and growing with each passing moment. It almost felt as though she was walking away from something….
She realized for the first time in months she was truly and genuinely happy in those few fleeting moments while dancing with Steve.
That's what it was that she was walking away from. Happiness.
It broke her heart all over again because in those moments she realized that perhaps she and Daniel weren't as happy as they could have been. They had their happy moments, of course. Sometimes, she was happier with him than she had ever been perhaps in her entire life. But then again, Lucy wasn't sure she had ever really been happy. Maybe she didn't know what true happiness felt. That is, until that moment.
Though she didn't have time to think about that since as soon as both she and Adeline sat in the car, her sister turned to her with anger in her eyes. Lucy suddenly felt a pit grow in her stomach, and the guilt returned with a vengeance.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Adeline demanded, clearly frustrated. Her brows were furrowed, her expression almost enraged. Lucy could smell the fresh leather of the seats in the car, and she made eye contact with their driver through their rearview mirror. He politely rolled up the partition with a hand crank, giving the two sisters their privacy.
"Jesus Christ," Lucy rolled her eyes, slurring slightly, "Would you relax!" Adeline was being too nosey and should have minded her own business. She was younger, and what the hell did she even know about the situation, anyway?
"No! What the hell were you doing with that man?" Adeline crossed her arms as she scolded Lucy like a child. In those moments one wouldn't be able to tell that Lucy was six years older than her. The way she was being reprimanded made shame settle deeper into her bones and it put her teeth on edge.
"Nothing!" Lucy exclaimed frustratedly, "And it's none of your business, regardless!"
"You remember you're engaged, right? To Daniel! Just because he's an ocean away, it doesn't mean you can fool around with any man who thinks you're pretty." Adeline's tone was meant to cut deeply, and it worked. Lucy was revolted at her accusations.
"What the actual hell is wrong with you!?" Lucy demanded to know instead, looking at her younger sister in shock," You're being a little brat! And how fucking dare you even suggest that I would cheat on Daniel!"
"What the hell is wrong with me? What's wrong with you! You were pouting and crying about how much you missed him and the first opportunity you get you're flirting with a stranger!" They wouldn't be having this fight if they weren't drunk.
Beatrix never drank, because she knew how detrimental it was to their relationship when they were all together and drinking. Too often, the parts of them that were similar to their father came out while drinking, and it always ended with them yelling and fighting.
At Beatrix's wedding, Lucy and Beatrix got into a fight. What it was about, none of them could remember, but it resulted in Beatrix crying in her wedding dress and Adeline having to interfere. Beatrix hadn't drunk since, but Lucy and Adeline kept up the habit.
And each time it resulted in disaster unless Mr. or Mrs. Lee was to intervene. Once, at a dinner party before Lucy leaving for France, she and Adeline got into it, and it resulted in Mr. Lee sending both adult women to their rooms like reprimanded children.
That's not to say they never had fun when they drank, or that never got along while under the influence. Usually, they did. But when they fought, oh, they fought badly.
Lucy wanted to pull her hair out and scream at her little sister, "Oh my God! It was only a stupid dance!" It hadn't been though, and Lucy knew she was lying to herself if she believed that. Adeline saw straight through her.
"No," Adeline said harshly and insisted, "It wasn't! I saw what I saw, you can't lie to me! If I didn't walk in and intervene when I did, you would have kissed him and don't try to deny it!"
Anger rose inside her and Lucy's eyes narrowed, "Even if I did, it's none of your fucking business!" Lucy would have never. Although, the thought did cross her mind once when he looked at her lips. She could see his eyes trail there, resting on them. Hers drifted to his as well, and for a brief moment, she wondered what he tasted like. Their lips meeting almost seemed destined and meant to happen. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to Lucy, as though it was something as simple as nature.
Like waves crashing on a shore, like a heart-pumping fast with anticipation, like lightning striking. Every instinct she had made her want to kiss him. It was nature, and chemistry, and every driving force in the universe like a gravitational pull which made her feel the need to have his lips against her own.
But the weight of her ring on her finger was heavy, as was the Star of David necklace that rested on her collarbone.
She loved Daniel. She loved him more than anything. But the last few months, with the constant fighting and the yelling and the screaming and the going to bed angry, it was wearing her thin. She wasn't happy in those few months.
And Daniel broke her heart. He refused to come with her to America. He chose his life, his home, and his family over her. Even though it wasn't safe, and all she wanted was them to be together and to not live in fear.
But he was prideful and made excuses. He said he wouldn't get a job since he didn't speak English, and he didn't want her to feel as though she had to provide for him. In those moments when he spoke that, it made Lucy feel as though everything he told her about how they were equal partners, and how he wasn't intimidated by her career and drive, and how she wasn't his seemed like a lie. Daniel always claimed he was on her side, on the women's side. Daniel liked to claim that he was what scholars and theorists were now calling a feminist, which was something in a rising social movement. Lucy had never known that there was a name for someone who supported women. She had always had those thoughts and beliefs, she didn't need a word to describe it. But Daniel liked to fit into categories, and he swore to her that he would never think of her as anything less than equal. But when it came down to it, he couldn't stand the thought of her being the sole provider. He was the man, that was his job. And Lucy hated that idea.
He was too prideful to allow his partner to provide for them. He was worried about how it would look, and what people would think. It was that very pride that kept them apart.
He made more excuses, saying his parents needed him and they were sick. She offered to move them to New York and the Lee's would see that they got better medical care than they would have gotten in France. He still said no.
She didn't realize how selfish he was being until that moment. And all the fighting and the arguing had finally broken her.
It was starting to become evident while she was in Paris. Her happiness began to dim.
She recalled one particular fight, worse than all the others. An unforgivable one, which played in her head over and over that as she danced with that stranger. She shouldn't have felt guilty for flirting, she shouldn't have felt guilty for dancing. And she shouldn't have felt guilty for just once, wondering what possibilities lay ahead beyond her future with Daniel.
The idea of a marriage suffocated her. She didn't want to be the ideal wife, who catered to their husbands every need. Who took their last name, and left her own identity behind. The one who had dinner on the table every night, and who gave up her career to have children. The one who made all the sacrifices, as her husband thrived.
She couldn't be like that. She wouldn't be like that. She was too spirited, and Daniel knew that. That's why he said they wouldn't have children if they could help it. He didn't want her to give up what she had worked so hard for. But if she became pregnant by accident, then what? She would be forced into the life that she didn't want, and that terrified her.
In a way, he was supportive. But he wouldn't ever understand what she went through.
She was ripped out of her thoughts as Adeline snapped back, "It is my fucking business! Because you're being a whore—,"
"A whore!? You better watch your fucking mouth." Lucy growled. She hated that term. Too often since she began living with Daniel after they were engaged, too many people treated her like a harlot. He, of course, suffered no repercussions.
But at University she was an assistant professor at (the same one Daniel was a professor at as well) had called her in to talk about her ethics. Rumors were going around that she had been living with Dr. Rehal, and sleeping in the same bed before marriage. It looked too scandalous, and the men on the panel were concerned about how it would look on them if one of the very few women employees they had was whoring herself to other facility members.
She recalled how they had found out in the first place. Lucy and Daniel didn't at first disclose their relationship since he had become a professor before her getting her Ph.D. He was helping her with her doctoral thesis and was her professor at one point as well.
After she became staff though, it was obvious they were dating. And no one cared if a professor chose to spend his time with the archaeologist who was part-time staff.
Until she visited his office one day, and they were the only ones in the room. He had pressed her against his desk, his lips grazing up and down her neck, and her leg was against his hip, his hand went into her dress, trailing up the soft skin of her thigh.
When suddenly the door opened and a student walked in.
Daniel quickly followed the student out and trusted that he would be discreet against what he saw. He agreed, but as it turned out, Lucy had given him a bad mark in one of her classes. Word got around and made it to the university panel. And although Lucy and Daniel were engaged, they wanted to avoid a scandal. They had told her to keep her whorish ways to herself and threatened her job.
There she was, almost losing her job. As Daniel, who was there for support, was not even addressed once even though he was an active participant.
Lucy hated that even though he was the only man she had ever been with, she was too often accused of being a whore. She stood there, reprimanded and degraded and humiliated in front of a panel of men, who would never understand what it felt like to lose their dignity like that. And now, her little sister was accusing her of being one as well.
"Well if you don't want to be called one than don't act like one." Adeline shot back, her fiery expression reflecting their mothers. She had always been the pretty one. Beatrix was the caring one, and the kind one. Lucy was the smart one, with the spirited temper. Things came easier for Adeline than it did for Lucy and Beatrix. Although everyone knew the Heinrich girls had been blessed with looks, and pretty was a price that they paid to be validated in the world. And Adeline was given everything she had always wanted. She barely remembered what it was like to come from nothing and live in constant fear. Lucy and Beatrix did though, and it had affected them well into their adult lives, whereas Adeline could live in bless and pretend she had always had the life the Lee's had given her.
"When did you become such a little shit!?" Lucy demanded to know. She remembered when Adeline was a sweet, young girl. Before her father murdered their mother, and back when she was timid. Although Lucy liked her spirit now, it wasn't exactly ideal when she was arguing with her. "And I'm your older sister! It's not up to you to look out for what I do or monitor my behaviour! So watch your mouth, and mind your own goddamn business!"
"When did I become such a shit?" Adeline laughed, "You mean, when did I grow a spine? Is that what you're asking? It was when I realized you didn't fucking have one!" She said resentfully and crossed her arms, looking at the front window. The driver thankfully minded his own business if he heard anything through the partition. Lucy could only imagine how awkward it was for him. She tried not to think about that though and focused on the fact that her sister just called her spineless, which was something she had never been accused of before. If anything, she was always the opposite.
She figured Adeline must have been more wasted than she realized, and Lucy shook her head, "What are you even talking about? God, you're just drunk!"
"What do you mean what am I talking about! I'm talking about how before the Lee's took us in you were different! You were soft, and weak! You weren't like how you were now, and because of that mom is dead!"
Lucy's heart dropped when Adeline spoke those words. She saw how tears pricked in her eyes, threatening to spill over. Lucy could only ask, shocked and confused, "You think I killed mom?" Her disbelief was audible, and her heart began to pound once again in her chest as Adeline's words ripped through her brain. This, of course, was something that had haunted Lucy since the very day it had happened. It was something she never voiced out loud since it was of course ridiculous. There was nothing she could have done. But still, there had to have been something, anything, she could have done to save their mother. She didn't, though, and she had stood there like a frightened child, weak and helpless and spineless. Just as Adeline had said.
"If you stood up to him more, as you would now, maybe she would still be here." The venom was obvious in Adeline's voice, as was the resentment. She spat her words out, and it wasn't meant to just hurt. It was meant to burn, and sting, and cause Lucy pain.
Anger rose in her chest, and suddenly Lucy knew she couldn't take this shit from a child. Adeline didn't remember what it was like. She would never know the fear that Beatrix and Lucy had felt. "I was sixteen! I was beaten around! If I was late for school, I got hit! I missed doing a chore, I got hit! I spoke back, I got hit! You think it's easy developing a spine when you're getting the shit kicked out of you?" Lucy couldn't believe Adeline was blaming her. The resentment she held for years was just emerging, and she had a feeling that it had nothing to do with the fact that she had been dancing with Steve. "You think it's easy being confident when you know what happens if you do?!"
"If you had just pretended to be like how you are now and stood up to him, mom would be alive."
"I'm failing to see how you being a brat has to do with me not standing up to our father." Lucy wanted nothing more than for the car ride to be over or for the conversation to change. She felt as though if she stayed there any longer she would scream. Adeline was too young to remember the constant fear of living under their parent's roof. She couldn't have remembered how their father had once broken Lucy's arm because she was walking home one day by a boy from school.
"I'm not being a brat! I'm standing up to you! And you think I'm being childish."
"You called me a whore, and then proceeded to go on some stupid bullshit how I killed mom! I was a victim too, Adeline! As was Beatrix, as were you! If I stood up to him more, I probably would be dead too! You are being childish. And learn to hold your liquor, goddamn it!" She sneered and turned away from her; unable to even look at her. Adeline kept quiet, she only bit her lip and refused to look at Lucy, clearly fuming. "Anything else you wanna get off your chest?" Lucy scowled and asked bitterly, her voice spewing harshness.
Adeline, like a spoiled kid, only rolled her eyes, "You don't get it. My entire life, I looked up to you. I thought you were the greatest. And then I grew up and realized that you weren't all that was made out to be. And then you act as though your life is so great now you've finally got some spunk, and the next you thing you do is fall all over the first guy to show you some attention. You're not the hero I thought you were back then, and you certainly aren't now."
Lucy understood now how it all related. Perhaps she was a little slow, due to the alcohol. Adeline looked up to her, and when she realized she wasn't as strong back then as she was now, she felt deceived and cheated. Now, she realized she was never all that she thought Lucy to be.
Before she could open her mouth to something back, Adeline snorted, "Can you even imagine how hurt he would be if he found out? Daniel would have never done what you did."
Her heart dropped again, and Lucy found herself raising her voice "But he did!" She snapped back and her voice broke at the memory. Tears welled in her eyes, and she felt her stomach turn. "So don't sit there and pretend you know me, or us, or anything about our relationship."
Adeline's headshot back at Lucy's words, her eyes reflecting confusion. Her mouth dropped as she looked at her in shock. Since Lucy and Daniel had gotten together, Adeline had believed they were perfect. She would visit them in France, or read what Lucy told her in letters and think there was no better couple. After all, she had never seen a real couple in a loving, functional relationship before. So she had idolized them. Of course, they had Mr. and Mrs. Lee, who loved each other in some particular way. But it was more or less an arranged marriage set up by two successful families, and there was a significant age difference. There was fondness and some love, but Adeline didn't want that. She had always been envious of Lucy and Daniel, and to her, they were everything she could have hoped for in a relationship.
To hear that something happened shattered the illusion.
Lucy thought back to the day that had caused their biggest fight. Daniel had come home, his head down and looking ashamed. Lucy had been reading by their little window nook. It was raining, and she liked to watch the droplets run down the glass, and see how their window plants collected water in their small leaves. She loved the smell of the city after the streets had been soaked. Her book was about something that she couldn't remember, perhaps Hellenistic pottery, or Roman fortifications. Either way, it hadn't caught her interest, but what did make her perk up was the guilty look on her fiance's face.
When she asked him what was wrong, he only shook his head and refused to even look at her. That set Lucy off, immediately she knew something had happened. Her heart dropped from her chest into her stomach.
She had gone after him into the kitchen, leaving her little comfy spot by the window. Her book lay on the floor, disregarded and strewn about in a disorderly manner.
Lucy had followed him into the kitchen. As she thought back to her memories, all she saw was a haze. It was like she was reliving all of it, but as she watched, everything was underwater and distorted. She figured it was the alcohol doing that, making it so she couldn't remember everything properly.
She had asked him what was wrong. He just stood there, refusing to meet her gaze. His hands gripped the counter tightly as he hunched over ever so slightly. Lucy asked again, and he turned around with a guilty expression and could only whisper that he was sorry.
Worry struck Lucy like a bolt of lightning. It slammed into her body and gripped her until she couldn't breathe. She asked what he had done with a shaky breath. Her eyes were wide and fearful, thinking of the worst possible outcome.
He had begun to explain that it was an accident, and he hadn't meant for it to happen. There was a secretary for the professors at the university; one that Lucy knew well. Her name was Emile, and she had long, thick, curly red hair. She had pale blue eyes and a small disposition. She was the first friend that Lucy had made at the university, and they had gone out for drinks once or twice.
Daniel explained that they were in his office alone, and she had begun kissing him. He was shocked and surprised when it happened, and he didn't know how to react,
As he spoke, Lucy recoiled back in shock as he tried to touch her at that moment, to comfort her as he assured her it meant nothing and was a mistake. His eyes seemed so sincere and sorry, and he promised she was the only one he wanted to be with.
Did you kiss her back? Lucy had asked, her voice dripping with venom.
He looked down and swallowed a lump forming in the back of his throat. Shame welled inside him, and he could only say one quiet word. Yes.
She refused to know anymore. He tried to justify it, and tell her what happened, and how far it went. Lucy screamed at him to stop while covering her ears, angry tears flowing down her cheeks.
With her hands pressed to her ears, she shook her head as she refused to listen to him. He tried to explain it meant nothing. It was a mistake. You are the only person I ever wanted. She used to believe him when he said that, but afterward she had her doubts.
He had hurt her. In more ways than one, she realized. He was the one person who promised to never do so, but in the end, that promise had been broken. That was the first night they had ever spent alone from one another. She had left him to return to her flat, and she cried herself to sleep that night from his betrayal.
She and Daniel had never really recovered. They fought more, and Lucy was constantly paranoid. Emile had tried to go to her and explain what happened herself. Lucy told her to stay the fuck away from her and stay away from Daniel. She told her if she ever got between them again, she would be sorry, and she wasn't someone she wanted for an enemy.
Emile had quit in the next few weeks. It was obvious Daniel was beating himself up over the situation, and she had eventually forgiven him to the best of her abilities. Lucy became less paranoid, and it was almost as though they were back to normal. Almost.
She still had felt that she couldn't fully trust him. Something had happened between them, and it never was right again after. They still loved each other and wanted to be with one another. But it wasn't the same, and eventually, Lucy was consumed with this feeling that perhaps he wasn't the one after all. After all, how could she marry someone who she didn't fully trust?
Even laying in the same bed, mere inches apart, she felt worlds away from him. The spark they had was gone and replaced with mistrust and doubt. Daniel carried on like nothing was wrong over time, and it could have been that he didn't feel what she felt. He still felt as though they belonged together. She was indifferent.
Perhaps that was the reason as to why she had been so attracted to that stranger? Steve, Lucy played his name in her head. She could be transparent with him, and he had been the most trustworthy person she had ever met. And she had hardly even known him…
She trusted him more than her goddamn fiance, she realized with a sadness in her heart.
Lucy didn't expand further on the topic with Adeline. She owned her no explanation. Instead, she looked out the window, the same way she did all those months before on the day that everything changed.
"I'm sorry," Adeline said in a small voice. She refused to still look Lucy in the eye. The fight they had was too bad, and neither of them was ready to talk and make up.
By then, it had begun to rain as they sat in the car. Lucy watched as rain droplets ran down the window, creating small streams. She sat there in silence and gazed at the small veins that the water cut through on the glass, and felt as though the clouds were pouring out. She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood in her mouth to keep tears from welling in her eyes.
She would not cry, despite the fact that she had never felt so empty and alone.
Brooklyn, 1940. Three days later.
It was rare when Steve Rogers was the one worrying about Bucky Barnes. Usually, it went the other way around. Since they were kids and met in the schoolyard, Bucky had always been looking out for him. Steve never had many friends and he struggled with fitting in.
For Bucky, all that stuff was easy. He made it look so effortless and so simple. Although he would never admit it out loud, Steve was always jealous of him for it.
He wished just for once, he knew what it was like to live in his friends' shoes. To be noticed, and not just go through life as though and be overlooked, as though he weren't even there. He wanted for once, someone to notice him, and pay attention. Not as the sidekick, or Bucky's little friend, but his own person.
He wanted to know for once what it was like to raise his hand in class and not be disregarded. He wanted his employers coming up and mentioning his performance and saying how they thought he deserved a promotion. He wanted to know what it felt like to gaze upon a room and his eyes meet with a gal's and have the connection be so instant that they would be drawn together.
Those were the things Steve was always envious of Bucky for. For being noticed, and having things come so easy for him.
But following few days after Steve and Bucky had gone to the pub, it was the first time Steve had not only felt bad for his friend but was also happy he didn't have his life.
Steve recalled how Bucky's eyes had befallen upon woman across the room. It was like something he had never seen. At first, there was nothing as he gazed out and saw a room filled with boring, uninteresting people.
The next moment, he watched almost as it was in slow motion. Bucky's mouth fell open slightly, and his eye reflected something that Steve could only imagine as awe.
Steve gazed at what had captured Bucky's attention. His eyes fell on a woman, sitting at the bar a little way off. She had long brown hair, and was laughing wildly after having just throwing her head back and taking a shot. She had grimaced first, which Steve could only describe her expression as less than flattering as she cringed, but then her smile that followed was something else.
Bucky had fallen under her spell, and he turned to Steve at that moment and could only say, Do you see that girl?
He said yes, and cracked a joke. But what surprised Steve the most was the words that followed, I'm gonna marry her.
Throughout all the years that Steve had known Bucky, he had never ever mentioned marriage. Not even in passing, or feigning the smallest amount of interest in it.
Steve, on the other hand, always wanted to get married. He wanted to find a girl he connected to, one who understood him. He wanted to fall in love, and get married and start a family. Bucky never seemed to want any of that until that moment.
Until he saw a dame across a bar and fell head over heels for her in what seemed like a span of fifteen minutes.
Apparently, that's all it took for Bucky Barnes to realize that she—that woman— was what was missing from his life.
But it wasn't meant to be. She had a fiancé, and Bucky was left feeling as though the thing he didn't even know he had wanted until that moment had slipped through his fingers.
And in the three days that had passed since he had met her and had his heartbroken, his mood could only be described, in a nice way, as irritable. Actually, no. Steve changed his mind. Bucky wasn't just being irritable. He was being a dick. A flat out, straight up, dick.
Steve understood it was difficult, and if he was being honest, he wasn't sure he had ever seen Bucky in such a mood before. Especially about a dame, no less.
But it had been enough for Steve to recognize, that it was rough having your heartbroken. And for once, he wasn't envious of Bucky. Not after seeing what a sour mood he was in, and how saddened he was by the whole situation.
It had made Steve concerned, and a little careless at work. Especially when Bucky was moody, and taking it out on others. He had snapped at their floor manager, and was in that moment, getting a stern talking to in his office.
Steve could see from the office windows how the manager was notably frustrated, and Bucky was arguing back. Trying to figure out what was being said, Steve accidentally continued running the machine he was operating and caused an accident.
Three of his co-workers, who he could only describe the relationship between them all as strained, suddenly were pushing him around. They were saying how they were gonna smash him to a pulp after they finished for ruining Carmichael's hand (who, in Steve's defence, didn't know existed — and how was he supposed to know he had a football scholarship ? Where did this guy even come from ? And what was their issue with him?) the accident had caused the young man to break his hand, and now Steve had to pay for it.
Which he assumed would involve getting his face punched in.
And he was right.
He stood there in a back alley at work. A scene he was no that all unfamiliar with. Back alleys seemed to be his natural habitat, and they all involved him getting beat up. Usually, though, Bucky was there to have his back. But not this time and Steve was there looking guilty and slightly stressed all on his own. He had tried to apologize for the accident, saying he didn't do it on purpose. But the three guys were insistent on him needing to pay, so Steve sighed as he stared at them.
It would be hard working with them all afterward. Especially if Bucky found out and went after them. He was walking on thin ice already, and although they had been at Lee's Steel Company since high school, it didn't necessarily mean that he wouldn't get in trouble. Bucky was already getting chewed out enough for his attitude. He didn't need fighting and causing a commotion to be on his file either. So Steve was prepared to take the three guys all on his own.
He raised his fists, preparing to punch first. Steve was sure that if his opponents got the first blow, he would likely hit the ground immediately. After all, they all had several inches to nearly a foot on him.
Just as Steve threw the first one and it was quickly dodged, he was grabbed by the shirt and prepared for a fist to fall upon him.
But the blow never came. A woman's voice called out "Wait!"
And when he opened his eyes from squinting in preparation for that pain, she stood there like a vision.
Steve couldn't believe his eyes, a woman stood there with a driver. Her car door was open, and she had just gotten out of it. She looked almost like the woman from the bar a few nights ago, the one Bucky was enthralled with.
Only she wasn't. This woman was very, very different.
"What's going on here?" She asked sternly. Her eyes shifting to the four of them, and noticed how he was about to get a beating despite being much smaller than them.
Steve couldn't believe the woman. If she looked anything like a goddess the other night, she looked other-worldly now. Her hair was in loose curls, her makeup done differently. She wore the nicest gown he had ever seen, clearly going to some fancy, high-class event. It was scandalous for the times, yes. But she made it tasteful, and it looked as though her skin was coated in diamonds. It had a low cut front, and an even lower back, which draped down past her waist. It clung to her curves, and if Bucky was there he might have just dropped dead.
What the hell was she doing there? At a steel factory in Brooklyn? On the poor side of town, looking like a million bucks?
The man about to beat the hell out of Steve had to collect his jaw from the floor and shoot back "No offence lady, but this doesn't concern you." His gruff tone was meant to threaten her. Steve saw how his eyes raked down her body, and he felt another urge to punch the man.
But this lady was tough, that much was obvious. She stuck her chin up and then answered in a cool tone. Her driver looked amused as she spoke and he chuckled ever so slightly, "Actually, it does concern me." She said and then gestures to the factory, "Do you know who owns this place?"
"I work here, of course, I know who owns it. The Lee family owns it." The man scowled and dropped Steve, who stumbled back. Although he still had a strong grip on his arm, to ensure he wouldn't run.
Steve was still surprised as hell that she was there. He wondered if she knew Bucky worked there, and why she was in the area. Surely, it couldn't have been for him. Not dressed like that, at least.
Steve was still unsure if she was in fact, the same woman from the other night. She looked like her, but nothing about that woman had suggested she was quiet that rich.
"Mr. Lee raised me. This is his company. My sister will inherit it, and therefore this is my business. Now, you will let that man go. Otherwise, you will never work in this city again." Her voice was as cold as ice, and something told Steve that she meant business, "Here at Lee's Steel Company, we don't tolerate violence. No matter the reason behind it."
The man released Steve's arm reluctantly, and turned to him, "You better watch it, punk." He threatened. Steve knew he was safe for at least a little while, but this dame wouldn't be around forever to keep an eye on him. Steve's heart raced a little bit, and he was still prepared for the man to get in at least one hit. His adrenaline was racing, and he wondered how long he would be safe for.
Carmicheal gripped his injured hand tightly and scowled at Steve as he walked away. Steve tried to murmur another apology, but he didn't want to hear it. The man who was about to hit Steve brushed the lady's shoulder with his harshly as he passed her by and his posse all followed as they walked away. She rolled her eyes, and smirked slightly at their wounded egos.
Soon it was just her and Steve in the alleyway. "Are you alright?" She asked kindly, noticing his flustered state. She had a worried look in her eye, clearly concerned for his well being.
"Why did you do that?" He asked her, curiously. Steve wanted to know why exactly she had stepped in.
"As I said, this is my family's company. We don't like violence happening between our employees. Plus," She offered him a kind smile, "I don't like bullies."
"Well," Steve said and adjusted his shirt collar, which had gotten messed up after the other man had grabbed it, "Thank you, Miss...—,"
"Ah, Lucy." She interjected her name after he had trailed off. "Lucy Heinrich."
Steve knew for sure that the lady at the bar hadn't told Bucky her name was Lucy Heinrich. Lucy and her sisters were in the news several years ago. Apparently, her father had killed their mother and the Lee's were kind enough to take the poor orphan girls in. They were high socialites now, and the youngest one of them, Adeline, was often in the papers. Steve remembered reading about it, and later when he worked at the Lee's Steel Company, people would talk about the Heinrich girls, and how the Lee's taking them in turned their lives around.
Clearly, she seemed to be doing well for herself. Considering she literally was wearing a dress which looked like it was made of crystals.
"Miss Lucy," Steve said and nodded in thanks, "Thank you again."
He noticed the ring on her finger, it was hard to miss considering its size. He wondered if her fiancé was as rich as her, and he knew that regardless of who it was, the guy could offer her a whole lot more than Bucky ever could.
She frowned as she looked at him, a glimmer in her eye. She smiled ever so slightly, the corner of her lips lifting. "Have we ever met before?"
"No, we haven't." He suddenly felt nervous, a dame like that had never really talked to him for so long. Usually, they just brushed past him, and never noticed him, let alone recognized him from somewhere.
"No umm, we haven't met." He said, and she nodded, putting her mind at ease. Steve didn't know why he did it, but he couldn't help himself in that next moment. "But, I think you met my friend the other night. At the pub, in downtown Brooklyn. You were with another dame. You said your name was Emma."
Her mouth dropped in surprise, and she seemed flustered. Suddenly, her calmness disappeared and Steve wondered if he should have brought it up. Her breath caught and her gaze fell on anything but him. She turned around suddenly and looked at her driver. He seemed to understand that she wanted him to wait in the car, and he turned around and left the two of them alone. Steve suddenly wish they weren't alone, especially when her deep eyes finally settled on him, "You're Steve's friend?" she asked.
"Yeah," Steve said. He didn't tell her that he was Steve. He mentioned nothing of Bucky's real name, or who he was. "He umm... He's a little hung up on you. You left quite the impression, I guess."
Her face dropped, an expression of sadness prevalent on her face. Her brows furrowed together, and she admitted sadly, "Is he alright?"
"He'll live." Steve crossed his arms defensively. He didn't know what kind of person she was, but all he knew was that she led his best friend on that it had broken his heart. "Although, leading a guy on while engaged to another isn't a nice thing to do."
She licked her lips and looked at Steve seriously, a guilty expression struck her features, "I didn't intend for that night to go that way. I wish things had gone differently. And I wish..." She pauses for a moment, and sadness and pain washed upon her. Steve had never thought he had seen someone so sad, and it caused an uneasy feeling to settle within him, "I wish we had more time."
He didn't know what to reply with. All it seemed to him, was that she really shouldn't have been marrying the guy she was engaged to. Not after forming such attachments to a literal stranger.
"You must think I'm terrible," She tried to give a soft smile, to hide the fact that her eyes began to shimmer with tears, "Some kind of..." She sighed deeply and shook her head before whispering as though the words hurt her, "Some kind of a whore, or something."
Steve's eyes widened at that moment. He quickly answered, "No, of course not!" He had thought her a lot of things, but a whore wasn't one of them. "I would never!"
"If it's any consolation," She continued, "I'm a little hung up on him too."
Steve was surprised to hear that. He would have thought that she would have gone home to her fiancé and forgot all about Bucky. He figured she wouldn't have given him another thought, but it appeared Bucky's feelings towards her was mutual.
"I'm sorry for maybe overstepping," Steve began hesitantly, "But if you feel this strongly about a literal stranger, why are you getting married?"
She sighed once more, and refused to look him in the eye again, "It's complicated. My fiancé and I have been going through some difficult times, and he's in another country. We've been fighting a lot, and now I'm not even sure I want to be married..." She blinked back tears but somehow found that strength to look at Steve, "I love him, and I want things to work out. But sometimes distance is difficult."
Steve nodded, looking at her once more. She looked out of place in that alley, and he noticed how people walking by looked at her with wide eyes. He was still questioning why exactly she was there. Let alone talking to him for so long, and why she felt the need to intervene upon seeing him about to get pummeled.
"I understand," Steve said, although he wasn't sure he ever could. He wasn't sure if he could ever understand what was going on in her life, or how truly sad she was. She had a hard life, and he didn't need to know about her tragic family history to have figured that out. Her expression said it all. "I don't think I should tell Buc—Erm, Steve, about this meeting." He caught himself almost using Bucky's real name. Steve knew it would be best to keep it from his best friend, despite it hurting him. But he knew if Bucky found out she was there, that he would take it as a sign and go after her.
She looked even sadder, and her eyes dropped before she said quietly, "I suppose you're right. It's for the best." Steve was positive he had never seen anyone quite so sad looking, and also beautiful.
She looked back to him and tried to give him her best smile, when all of a sudden they were interrupted, "There you are!" A man's voice said behind them, and Steve's eyes almost widened to see Mr. Lee standing there, "I saw the car over here and got worried!"
Mr. Lee made visits to the factory every few months, but Steve had never seen him before. Never before had he been in the presence of a billionaire; except maybe Lucy, if her fortune was as large as her adopted fathers.
He had just come from the factory but was wearing a tuxedo, which seemed odd to Steve. "Crisis has been averted! We can go to the antiquities auction now!" Steve wasn't sure what crisis had forced Mr. Lee to come all the way to the factory, but clearly, that was the reason as to why they were both there.
"Perfect," Lucy had to have been the most talented actress in the world, to put on a smile so fake that even her adopted father couldn't tell anything was wrong. "What a relief!"
"Yes, we're very lucky." He smiled back, and his gaze then fell onto Steve. "Ah, hello! I'm Mr. Lee, I own this fine establishment. And you are Mr. —?"
"Ugh, Rogers." Steve's eyes widened as Mr. Lee outstretched his hand to shake his. He couldn't help but smile, especially at his genuine interest.
"Ah, Mr. Rogers. Thank you very much for keeping my Lucy company... There was an issue I had to deal with on our way to auction."
"My pleasure," Suddenly Steve felt very shy. He couldn't look Mr. Lee in the eye, and he directed his gaze downwards.
The older man turned to Lucy and sighed before putting his hands in his pockets, "While my dear, shall we be off?" He said. "I believe Howard Stark said he would hold us our seats, so we shouldn't keep him waiting."
Jesus Christ, Steve thought. This woman was literally in the company of billionaires but somehow managed to be attracted to Bucky Barnes, of all people. From one of the poorest families of Brooklyn, who didn't even have two dimes to rub together.
"Of course," She smiled at Mr. Lee, who then went off to the car, although skeptical to leave her alone with Steve in a strange alley.
She turned back to Steve, and once again her smile fell, "Take care of yourself." Lucy told him and then added before she turned away, "And ummm... Please make sure he's alright." Her voice was quiet, and the words almost looked as though it hurt her to say.
"I will. It was nice meeting you, Miss Heinrich."
"You as well, Mr. Rogers." She said once more, before turning around and gathering her dress before she walked to where the Rolls Royce was parked.
She didn't look back, and Steve was sure if she did she would have burst out crying judging by how heartbroken she looked.
She got in the car after the driver held the door open for her. They drove away not long after that, clearly off to whatever auction they were going to.
Steve stood there with his hands in his pockets, knowing he could never tell Bucky about their meeting. He would have never heard the end of it, and he was positive by the way Bucky had been acting the last couple days, that we would search the entire city for her if he had known there was even the smallest possibility of her reciprocating the feelings he had.
Steve was left along with her thoughts for only a moment as he had an internal debate with himself on what the right thing to do was. A voice rang out happily as Steve looked up, "There you are! Been lookin' all over for ya, punk!" Bucky said a little too happily, considering he had been chewed out by their floor manager, and also pouting around the last couple days. "You'll never believe who's hand I just shook!" Steve was distracted watching the black car drive off, seeing how it disappeared from the view. It would have killed Bucky to know how close she was.
"Mr. Lee?" Steve guessed as Bucky started saying his name.
"Yeah! How'd you guess?" He smiled, his face covered in grime from the long day's work.
"Just saw him." Steve shrugged and said nothing more, "Any idea why he was here?"
"No idea! Some urgent business with stocks or who the hell knows. Just came barging in dressed in full out tux while Mackmalley was chewin' me out! Said he was on his way to an auction with his daughter to meet THE Howard Stark, but they had to make a quick stop! He shook my hand and everything," Bucky's smile was wide as could be, that it almost made Steve forget about the sad interaction he and Lucy Heinrich had just shared.
"That's great, Buck!" He was happy that this was the first time in days that Bucky had seemed more lively. At least he wasn't moping anymore, and he seemed in a better mood than before. He hadn't seen Lucy. Which was what Steve was afraid of.
"Yeah, how about that though, huh? I think things are gonna start to turn around for me. I promise I'll try to stop being so sour in the next couple days," Bucky began to apologize, realizing he hadn't exactly been easy to deal with since the whole 'Emma' fiasco. "Sorry I've been acting like such a goddamn jerk."
Steve pursed his lips together, and gently pat his friends back, "It's all good, Buck."
No, Steve decided finally. He wouldn't tell Bucky about him meeting Lucy.
Bucky began speaking as they started walking together and put his hands in his pockets. "What are you doing in this sketchy alley, anyway? And no one is tryna hand your ass to you? That seems unusual. I'm beginning to just think you like alleys."
Steve couldn't help but chuckle, despite the uneasy feeling he still had. Although he knew it would be for the best, he knew Bucky would likely be hung up on her for a while... But it would be better than him knowing her real identity, and knowing he never really had a real chance with her.