War Guilt [#Wattys2015]

Chapter Twenty-Six

New York, Untied States, 1952

Maria

It had been a few months since the incident with the suited man. I still feared going outside, thinking that if I did I would see him again. Ryan helped me a lot though, I'm so grateful that I had him.

As the days went, Peggy became more distant because of her work. I never knew that working at the telephone place was so important to her. But a while after I found out that she was actually working for the SSR. God, how I admired her ability to be able to put up with the men in her office. I had actually met a few of them after she told me about her real job. There was a man named Daniel there who had to use a crutch to walk. I noticed the way he looked at Peggy; he definitely felt something for her. I'm sure she liked him too.

I had tried so many times to get Ryan into finding someone. But he would always tell me that he didn't need anyone.

"I have you, I don't need anyone else," he would say.

Which was true. As far as I knew, he would have me forever. But I wouldn't have him forever. I had gone to see a special scientist that was friends with Peggy at the SSR and they told me that I was ageing at least two times slower than normal.

"You'll outlive everyone here. But don't get me wrong, you may age slower but you're not immortal. Just be careful," he said. Hence why I was super paranoid about the suited man.

Healing was a long and slow process but I eventually went back to being 'normal' again. In reality though, anyone who went to war and survived will never be 'normal' ever again. But we tried our hardest.

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I was sitting in the lounge room at work, Ryan sat opposite of me. I'd finally got him into dating. He was meeting up with a woman named Carey. I'd met her a few times and thought she would be a nice match for him. When I saw her walking in the direction of the V.A I hopped up and walked over to Ryan.

"Remember," I started "just be you. She'll love you." I said before leaning in to give him a small peck.

I could see the blush rise on his cheeks, a small but nervous grin pulling at the corners of his mouth. He wrapped his arms around me.

"Thank you Maria," he whispered before letting me go.

I watched him walk over to the door. He hesitated for a moment, taking a second to turn and look at me nervously.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too," I replied.

He smiled then pushed the door open to meet Carey. I watched as he pulled a few flowers out of his jacket for her. She grabbed her cheeks before accepting them. They then walked away, hand in hand, to wherever it was that Ryan was taking them. I never thought for one second that that could be the last time that I would see Ryan.

After I finished work that day I decided I was confident enough to go for a walk near the forest. I had to face my fear one day. I walked down there slowly, taking in every sound and sight. I neared the edge of the forest when all of a sudden I blacked out again. When my head cleared, I found myself in the same place as the last time.

"Oh god no! Why did I do this!" I screamed.

Again, I ran around frantically, trying to find a way out. I was anticipating the thought of seeing the suited man so I let a protective golden glow cover my skin. What a sight I must have been. Just as I thought, the suited man stepped out of the trees. This time, however, he didn't pounce on me or try to hurt me. He also looked a bit different. His hair was longer and his face looked like it hid a lot of pain. He still had that mask over his mouth but there was something about his eyes that I thought I knew.

"Please, leave me alone," I said as I backed away from him.

His metal arm shone in the last remaining beams of sunlight. It glinted amazingly. I was very intrigued. Then he stepped towards me again. I continued backing up until I hit a tree. He stopped.

"What do you want?" I asked him.

He stared at me blankly. Suddenly his flesh hand made it's way to his mask, pulling it off slowly. My heart jumped and boomed in my chest. My eyes were wide with shock and my mouth agape.

"Bucky?" I asked quietly.

He looked at me with a confused expression. I wanted to run to him and have him hold me in his arms, but he wasn't the Bucky that I remembered. He was different; broken and used.

A tear escaped my eyes and I slid down the tree until I hit the ground. My gaze never once leaving the man standing in front of me. He walked over to me and picked me up in his arms. He wasn't looking at me that time, but I still looked at him, afraid that if I looked away he would be gone. He walked us into the trees and away from the city, to a place that I didn't know and had never seen before. A place that would change me forever. A place where I would become a weapon of Hydra.

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"We have her sir, the asset collected her."

"Wonderful. Begin operation NovaStar doctor."

"Yes sir. Get the girl! Bring her to the lab"

"Hydra is going to change the face of the world..."

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