Cruel Summer

Chapter 39

A/N: The epilogue will be out tomorrow with some info regarding my next MOTA fic, so pay attention to that. I'm excited to wrap this one up and work on my next fic! As always, let me know what you all think! And please, if there's anything you have questions about or would like to see more of, come chat with my on my tumblr @luminouslywriting

Chapter Text

Summer, 1960

Meg settled into the stands of the park, eyes locked onto the unfolding game just up ahead. Florence was at the bat, a grin on her face as Jason Rosenthal pitched the ball. Bucky stuck close to the sides, calling out orders to his side of the team.

The annual gathering of the Hundredth Bombing Group was currently occurring and everyone had turned up in full force, families in tow and ready to catch up with their old friends. There was a level of comradery that went deeper than just friendship with all of these men, and it was something that Meg had come to be very fond of over the years.

Over the years, the kids had come together to be just as close as most of their parents were. And considering the fact that Bucky Egan had, in fact, organized an official children's baseball team years prior, this summer was a matter of pride for him. The year previous, he had finally lost out to Rosie's team—and it had been a source of bragging amongst the men and the children who were on the opposite team.

As for Meg, she was content to just watch the children menace around the field and have fun with her husband and the other dads. Well—most of them anyway. Gale Cleven sat beside Marge, hand in hers as he watched Bucky get overly invested in another run.

"He's gonna be doing this until he dies, you know?" Gale said, glancing over at Meg.

Meg just grinned at the scene before her. "Yell at children that they're failing the American dream by disgracing baseball? I agree."

"Oh he's never yelled at the girls though," Marge cut in pointedly.

"I don't think he could. Your girls are angels," Meg insisted. "I'm just surprised he convinced them to get on the field at all."

"That probably has more to do with JJ, Buck, and Flo, than anything else," Gale pointed out, gesturing at the teammates who were excitedly hugging each other as the inning was ending. "Those four are menaces together."

"My children are horrible influences, I'm aware."

"No," Marge elbowed Meg. "Rachel's just as rambunctious as your boys sometimes. I swear that one day they're all just gonna do something that blows us all away."

"Hopefully not literally," Gale mumbled, shaking his head as their younger daughter Bea nearly slammed into one of the other boys.

"Well Professor, here's to hoping," Meg retorted, a grin on her face as Bucky finally left the field to join the other parents. He was nearly out of breath from yelling out plays and trying to get them to pay attention to him. As he approached, Meg handed him his water bottle, a soft smile on her face. "Have fun, baby?"

"These kids," Bucky let out a breath. "They're gonna just do their own thing, I guess."

"Oh it had to happen sometime," Meg said with a grin. Just then, little Margaret came running up to her, a whole handful of daisies in hand. "What'd you find?"

Margaret beamed as she deposited the daisies into her mother's lap. "Lots and lots of flowers! Auntie Jean says that daisies mean joy!"

Bucky plucked a flower from his wife's lap, then deposited the flower into Maragret's braids. "There! Now you're our little bundle of joy, just like always."

Margaret leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her father's cheek. "You're the best!" She dashed off, clearly out to find more flowers.

Marge just let out a dreamy sigh, soft smile crossing her features. "She's darling. I'm so glad you had another little girl."

"I'm biased and so are you. We named her after you," Meg said with a light grin.

Bucky just grabbed Meg's hand before Marge or Gale could retort to that particular comment. "Come here, honey," Bucky tugged her up to her feet and Meg followed after him, a blissful smile on her face.

"What are you up to?" Meg questioned, shaking her head at Bucky.

"Nothing too devious, I promise," Bucky's grin said otherwise though, and Meg had half a mind to just run away from this kind of situation now. This was exactly how they had ended up with Margaret seven years previous. They walked hand in hand down a path in the park, coming to a stop near the lake. For a moment, they just reveled in the view and in each other's presence.

"Are you getting sentimental on me, Colonel?" Meg questioned lightly, glancing over at him.

"Just thinking about retirement. We're getting old."

"Not that old," Meg said, shaking her head at him. "You make us sound all boring now."

"Not my intention," Bucky grinned, slipping his arm around her waist. "No, I was just thinking about this view. And about how many times I just wanted to spirit you away to some remote country life where the world didn't ever have to touch you again."

Meg hummed at the dream, pressing a kiss to his hands. "That's a nice dream. Is that still the plan?"

"Well all I need is you and our family. So I'm thinkin....maybe once we're both ready to be done, we just move to the country and we stay there. No more planes and no more spies."

"I think that your dream is my dream," Meg murmured. "It's you and me forever, you know that? No rules in our heaven, no more secrets just to keep each other. Just you and me."

"You and me."