Safe Haven | B. Barnes

the unloved

Warning: scenes and descriptions of abuse in content! Reader discretion is advised!

Marge frowned when she received the letter that Diane Ramsey had pulled out of the adoption. It wasn't unexpected, she had seen how unsure and how nervous the woman had been.

Still...

Marge was disappointed though, disappointed that a sweet little girl was given horrible parents and a bad start in life. Marge could only hope things would get better for Angie.

The woman had no clue how to tell the young girl either, not that she was sure Angie was expecting much. It was all very sudden that she would pull out like that. And Diane seemed to be a very devout and caring woman.

Marge filtered air through her nose and tucked the papers away in the back of the paper filer on her desk. Laughter caught her attention, bringing her back to the moment.

Outside, on the porch and on the grass, Angie was playing A quiet version of hide and seek with Mr. Barnes. He would "chase" her, close enough to make her squeal and run, but far enough to make sure it was all play.

Soon, Louie, Dustin, and Morgan started playing freeze tag with the man with the metal arm and Angie.

Once, Bucky caught up with Angie and gently scoped her up with his flesh arm, leaving her hand and legs free so she wouldn't feel threatened and afraid. When Angie was brought up and over his shoulder, she threw her head back, and for the first time ever, a real laugh erupted from her belly.

Marge's grin transformed into a large smile. Tossing a glance over to the paper stuffed away, a thought entered her mind.

Perhaps it was best that Diane decided not to adopt her. At least for now.

She turned back to the scene in front of her only to see that Mr. Barnes was now seated in the middle of all the kids excluding Elliot, Andre and Nathan, were playing their version of Marco Polo with him. One of the girls, perhaps Morgan managed to put a few flowers in his hair.

The sight was something to behold.

And the man needed a haircut. Badly.

When Bucky returned inside, smiling and in a good mood, Marge pulled him aside, "Mr. Barnes? Would you like me to cut your hair? I've done all the boys' hair, and it doesn't look too bad."

Bucky paused and looked down. His hair was well passed his collar bone and was a couple of inches before his armpit. After thinking for a moment, he agreed.

The next thing he knew, tufts of brown hair were falling off his shoulders and suddenly, his neck could breathe. It wasn't until Marge turned on the razor did he realize what he was really doing. Part of him was glad he was letting go of the hair, another part of him felt naked without it.

Since the evening was nice, Marge decided to cut his hair outside, and the boys were still playing "football". All the girls went inside to wash up and settle down to watch a movie.

Eventually, Bucky's new look drew a small crowd. The boys were watching intently, Elliot cracked a joke about how Marge kept shaving off random bits of hair, leaving him worse than how he started.

While Marge began dusting off the errant bits of hair, Bucky finally mustered up the courage to ask.

"Margaret?"

"Hm?"

"What happened to Angie?"

Marge inhaled sharply.