School has started, so I probably won't update as much now.

Maria gripped the railing tightly, so hard that her knuckles turned white. The wind whistled through her hair and undid her bun.

Last night's events flashed through her mind relentlessly, her brain refusing to let go of the wounds that had opened again when Bucky had struck her.

Maria bent over a homeless person slumped in an alleyway. Bucky stood a slight distance behind her. Maria met the homeless man's eyes as she unfolded a hundred dollar bill from her wallet. His eyes went wide as she handed it too him.

"I know what it's like." she said. She reached out to shake the man's hand, not caring how dirty he was. She knew the feeling of being treated like trash. She wasn't going to be the one that would treat this man like he was someone's garbage.

Something hard clamped down on her waist, shoving her against the hard brick wall of the alleyway. Maria's eyes took in Bucky's dark, menacing gaze. Immediately she knew what was going on, but the metal arm was gripping her body so hard that she thought her ribs might re-break.

"Pick on someone your own size." Bucky growled.

Maria knew it was coming. She knew by his tense body language and his angry tone that there was most certainly a hit coming. She had had too much experience with her father to ignore the threat of physical harm.

But there was no way out.

So she took the hit.

When she recovered, she dragged Bucky back down to the Avengers tower and threw him onto his bed.

Maria immediately went to speak to Clint. To let it all out. To feel his comforting presence beside her as her mind relived the first eighteen years of her life, strike by strike, until it was morning and Clint left. And then Maria had brushed makeup on her cheek and left her hair tie on the dresser, her hair falling in front of her face to shield the bruise.

She had become too much of an expert at concealing what she so desperately wanted to hide.

"Maria?" It was Bucky. Maria whipped around quicker than she had intended. "I'm so, so sorry that I hit you. I didn't know what I was thinking and I hope you aren't seriously hurt. I want you to know that I'll always be there for you and I'll never do that again."

"It's alright. I'm fine." Maria said.

"Maria, I wanted to ask you... would you like to be my girlfriend?" Bucky stammered. Maria's heart stopped. She had never in her life been asked that before, and somehow she had never thought anyone ever would, either.

"I... of course, Bucky."

I realize the ending was rushed and I'm sorry the wedding scene wasn't there, but I want to move on to other story ideas and I hope I didn't disappoint you guys. Feel free to continue it or add onto it if you want, but I want to let this story go. I worked on it all summer and I had a lot of fun doing it, and you have no idea how much your reviews meant to me.

~rohanyoshi