Description: Winter's Legacy is the spin off to A Long Winter. The one shot to preface this story Shattered Ice, can be found as the last chapter of A Long Winter. Winter's Legacy centers on Kyra Barnes, age 28. It is the year 2043 and after decades of overpopulation, wild environmental change, and the discovery of a hospitable planet ripe for colonization, humanity is desperate for a second chance. As Chief of Staff to a Senator on the US Subcommittee on Science, Space and Competitiveness, Kyra slowly uncovers a vast conspiracy that will threaten Earth, and the only chance at survival humanity has, colonization. Racing against time and an unknown foe, Kyra must battle her own demons, and those dug up by her enemies.
Author's Note: For those of you who have read A Long Winter, welcome back! For those of you who haven't, please do! There is back story that will be important, and you also don't want to miss the prequel Shattered Ice! I am so pleased with this story, and I hope you all will be too. It's a labor of love for me, and I plan on taking my time to make sure that this gets told right. That being said, please review so I know what you are thinking! Enjoy!
Kyra unlocked her front door and quickly entered her top floor apartment, smiling weakly when she heard the familiar "Mreow" from her cat, Sherlock. "Hey buddy" she whispered, her voice hoarse from crying.
She had been at her mother's grave, and was, as she was every year, a hot mess. Kicking off her boots, she leaned down and scooped Sherlock up into her arms, smiling faintly when he bumped her chin with his head, purring. She stroked his silky fur as she made her way to her kitchen, determined to have a cup of tea.
Sherlock jumped from her arms and onto the floor, bushy tail swishing as he watched her move about the kitchen, preparing her tea. When she leaned against the counter to wait for the kettle, he stretched himself up on two legs, chirping softly, begging to be petted.
Kyra smiled, he always seemed to know how to make her smile.
She contented herself with rubbing his head and ears for a few minutes until her water was hot enough, and then poured the water into her oversize mug. Padding softly into her living room she sat down on the couch and closed her eyes, inhaling the comforting scent of mint. It was her surefire way of calming down, and curing a headache.
After this morning's visit to her mom's grave and her breakdown, she definitely had one. She cracked an eye when Sherlock jumped up and settled on her feet with an imperious look in her direction, before laying his head down and closing his eyes. Shaking her head, she smiled and sipped her tea and looked at the clock, it was only 2pm.
She would be meeting her dad and Uncle Steve for dinner at 5pm at her father's, as they did every year, so they could all be together. She was planning on making an apple crumble, but it would only take about an hour. Kyra sighed and wondered if there would ever come a time when she didn't get completely bowled over by emotion on the anniversary of her mother's death.
She knew her father was doing better, he and her Uncle Steve had been working together for years at a local gym, training people, and that gave him a lot of satisfaction. But she knew that her dad still had nightmares, and he sometimes had a haunted look that broke her heart.
Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair and grimaced, it was greasy and sweaty. She would have to shower after making the crumble. Sipping the tea slowly, Kyra began to unwind and felt the tension in her body relax. As every year, she still felt sad, but was able to relax and process her emotions faster than the year previous.
When she had drained the last of the tea she glanced down to Sherlock and gave him an apologetic smile, "Sorry buddy!" she whispered as she pulled her feet out from under him. She laughed as he opened an eye to give her a disgruntled glare before falling back asleep.
Shaking her head with amusement, she went into the kitchen and tied on her mom's old blue apron and set about preparing the apple crumble. She switched her StarPad on to her favorite electroswing playlist, and hummed and danced as she baked. Forty minutes later she was smudged in flour, and a light sheen of sweat, but her crumble was baking in the oven, and would be perfect after dinner.
Glancing at the clock, she winced when she saw it was 3:10pm, she would have to rush through getting ready. Running to her bedroom, she stripped her floury clothes off and flipped the shower on as she picked out her outfit. Nothing fancy, it's just us-she thought to herself, grabbing a pair of her favorite flare jeans and flowy sheer floral shirt for over her tank top.
Tossing the clothes on her bed, she jumped in the shower, sighing with relief at the warm water. It was late April, but with the climate change the ground was still frozen, and snow was still likely to fall until mid-May.
She scrubbed her body down quickly, using her favorite lavender soap. Wincing as she dragged her fingers through her hair, Kyra cursed her forgetfulness, she was supposed to have gotten it trimmed weeks ago, but work had been all consuming lately.
Finally, when she was clean she shut the water off and wrapped her robe around her and a towel around her head. After drying off she pulled underwear and a bra on, swiftly applied a light powder concealer and some mascara, leaving the rest of her face undone. She didn't need to look her best just to spend time with her dad and Uncle Steve.
Dressing quickly, she followed her nose out to the kitchen, where her crumble was just finished baking. She set it on the counter, and saw that it was only 3:45pm, she had just enough time to put some conditioner in her hair and braid it before she had to leave.
Grabbing her jacket and scarf from her bedroom, she went to the kitchen to put her crumble in a travel container, and check on Sherlock's food and water. Hearing his food bowl being filled, he sauntered around the corner, giving her a brief "Meow" of thanks before digging in. Kyra laughed and shook her head, "Getting snobby sir."
Receiving nothing more than a flick of the tail, she laughed and wound her scarf around her head and neck, ensuring she wouldn't get too bad of a chill. She locked her door behind her and made her way down to the parking garage and her car. Traffic in and out of DC was bad enough in the days of her early childhood, but now, with world population hovering at 20 billion, and DC being one of the largest cities in the world, it had grown steadily worse.
She had the option to take the maglev lanes out to her father's house, but like the "EasyPass" of the old days, they were expensive. When she pulled out of the garage and saw the logjam of cars on 95, she quickly changed her mind, moving swiftly to the maglev lane.
Her car quickly settled into autopilot once she entered her father's address, and began its journey. Kyra watched as the scenery outside passed by at nearly 200mph. The maglev lanes had been installed about ten years ago, when she was just 18, and at that time, maglev cars were a brand new invention coming partly from the car industry and partly from Stark Industries. Now, all major cities had maglev lanes, though it seemed to do little to alleviate the traffic.
Lost in thought, Kyra barely noticed when her car came to a halt at her exit, waiting for her to take control. Shaking her thoughts off, she placed her hands on the wheel and sped along quickly the last few miles to her father's house.
As she turned into the driveway, she once again smiled wryly at her father's refusal to update. He had of course updated all the heating and cooling systems, per the government requirements for all citizens, but her childhood home looked much the same today as it had when she was growing up. Colonial style, eggshell blue with white shutters, and a red front door. Her father had added a wraparound porch at her mother's request, and a literal white picket fence, making it into an idyllic home.
As she shut off her car, she spotted her Uncle Steve's motorcycle, and grinned. The government had tried to make him get rid of it, and he had told them, over his dead body. She looked up at the porch, spotting movement, and smiled when she saw her dad and Uncle Steve coming around the side of the house. Waving, she grabbed her crumble and her purse, and stepped out of the car, just as her Uncle Steve got there, grabbing the crumble container out of her hands.
"Here, I got that. You shouldn't have to carry all that" he said with an affectionate smile. She gave him a wicked grin, "All that? Or maybe you just want a sneak taste of dessert, huh Uncle Steve?"He gave her a mock hurt look, "Me?! I would never!"
Laughing loudly, Kyra leaned in and kissed him warmly on the cheek, "Hey Uncle Steve, how are you?" He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and brushed his lips against her scarf covered hair softly, "I'm good sweetie. Let's go see your dad."
Kyra nodded and followed him up the short walk to where her dad was standing on the porch, waiting. She gave him a once over, noting that he looked tired and sad, with some dark circles under his eyes indicating to her he had been having nightmares. Sighing softly, she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, tucking her head under his chin, breathing in his familiar scent, that took her right back to being small.
She remembered when she was little and had a nightmare, her father would lay down with her, tucking her head into his chest, rub small circles on her back, and sing to her softly. After a time, she would fall back to sleep and in the morning, she would tell her dad what had scared her, and he would tell her not to worry, because he would always be there.
Now, she fought back tears, because she knew there was little she could do for her father and his nightmares. She hugged him tighter and whispered, "Hey daddy." She felt him cough slightly before speaking, and when he did, his voice was ragged, "Hey baby. It's good to see you."
Kyra took a deep breath and pulled away, smiling shakily up at her dad, "You too dad." She cleared her throat before continuing, "Did you get the groceries for dinner?" Her father nodded a look of relief flitting over his face- they weren't going to talk about her mom just yet.
Kyra smiled, "Ok then, let's go get dinner ready." Her dad nodded again, and squeezed her shoulder before walking in the house. Kyra followed, glancing over her shoulder to her Uncle Steve who gave her a sympathetic smile, before turning her attention to the house.
As she walked by the stairs to the upper level, she winced, thinking of the four years she had spent sneaking in and out of the house, going drinking with friends, driving with boys, and generally making bad decisions. Her father had been in a deep depression, and had barely noticed her comings and goings.
SHIELD had given them compensation for her mother's death, and had paid for her schooling, but it hadn't been enough in her opinion.
Her father had crawled into a bottle for four years, and it had been her Uncle Steve that had stepped in and parented her for that long dark stretch, making sure she had food, and her ass was kept out of juvie. If she hadn't been so naturally smart, she would have failed out of high school from all the skipping.
Her father had only emerged from his dark depths after she had been arrested for vandalism with three other kids, two of whom had been high.
Her Uncle Steve had picked her up from the police station that night, silent with livid anger. She had sat, staring down at her clenched hands, terrified he would never speak to her again. When they had pulled into her driveway he had silently followed her into the house where her father was waiting, sober. He stared at her for a long moment and then shook his head, "Your mom would be so disappointed."
At that she had been overcome with anger, shouting at him about how mom would be disappointed in him for neglecting her. They had devolved into a shouting match until Uncle Steve stepped in and made them sit down, and talk calmly and openly about what was really eating at them.
After that things got a little easier, but Kyra still had acted out occasionally.
Looking back she knew she had been doing all of it to get her father's attention, but there was a part of her that knew it was also her way of coping with her loss.
Sighing, Kyra shook her head to dispel the memories and entered the kitchen behind her dad. She smiled at the smell of her dad's homemade meat sauce simmering.
She dropped her purse onto the kitchen table and went to the counter where the pasta was waiting to go into the pot of water that wasn't boiling just yet. She looked around and saw that her dad had left out the asparagus, Portobello mushrooms and bell peppers for her to prepare.
"What would you like me to do with this Kyra?" her uncle asked, holding up the carrying case containing the apple crumble. She pointed to the empty space on the counter, "Just set it there and I'll take care of it after dinner. Why don't you guys grab a beer and chill."
Her uncle smiled at her, "How did you know that was what I wanted to do Kyra?" She grinned back wryly, "Maybe because I want one too and I was hoping if I encouraged you to get some, you would grab me one?"
He laughed and nodded, "Sure thing."
Steve grabbed three beers from the fridge, handing one to Bucky and the other to Kyra, keeping the last for himself. He held his out, "Cheers guys. To Rose." A spasm of grief passed over both Kyra and Bucky's faces, but they each gave him a small smile and clanked their bottles against his, "Cheers. To mom" Kyra murmured. "Cheers, to Rose" Bucky murmured.
Kyra took a long swig of her beer, letting the cool rush of the alcohol wash away the bitter taste of grief in her mouth. Sighing she set her beer on the counter, "All right, time for me to get to work on these veggies. You guys relax." Her dad smiled at her and raised his hands in surrender, "Yes ma'am!"
Laughing, she turned to the vegetables and began to chop them into similar sizes, her mind lost in the task. She coated the vegetables in balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, fresh cracked pepper, sea salt, and on the baking sheet threw some fresh rosemary sprigs.
Covering the sheet with aluminum, she put the pan in the preheated oven and checked the pot of pasta water and saw that it was just boiling. She threw the tortellini in and reduced the heat just a notch, and sipped her beer with a contented sigh. She loved to cook; it was a skill she had picked up from her dad, who had taught her before she left for college so she didn't suffer college food.
Peering into the living room from the doorway, she smiled when she saw her dad and uncle watching old video of them together, and some video of them with her mom. She watched as her mom turned and noticed she was being filmed and flipped off the camera. Kyra covered her mouth, stifling a laugh.
Her mom's laugh rang through the room when her father picked her up and spun her around, slinging her half over his shoulder. Her mom slapped his back, yelling at him to put her down. Kyra smiled sadly, they both looked so young and happy.
She turned away and went to check on dinner, sipping on her beer.
Just as she was plating dinner and setting it on the table her dad and uncle came around the corner, sniffing.
Kyra laughed, "You two are like dogs!"
Her dad and uncle gave her a sheepish smile before sitting down at the table, inhaling deeply from the steam wafting off the plates.
"Smells great Kyra" her dad said, giving her a grin before grabbing his fork and digging in. Her uncle followed suit and soon both were grunting their appreciation.
Kyra grinned and grabbed more beers from the fridge before sitting down at the table with her family. She ate contentedly, enjoying her dad and uncle ribbing each other, reminiscing about the old days with SHIELD and her mom. Thanks to the super soldier serum in both of them, their aging had been slowed, but they still had some grey hairs and lines on their faces.
Eventually her own aging would be slowed from the serum, something that she tried not to think about too often.
When they had finished eating her dad and uncle shooed her out of the kitchen to relax while they did dishes. Kyra pulled her book from her purse and curled up on her dad's couch to read, quickly becoming engrossed.
When her dad and uncle came back in the room a little while later, they lowered their voices, smiling at the sight of her asleep, her book resting on her stomach. Bucky grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and covered her gently, knowing from the dark circles under her eyes that she was probably tired from grief and working too hard.
He and Steve sat down in the small sunroom off the living room, sitting quietly for a few minutes, watching as a light dusting of snow fell.
Finally Steve broke the silence, "Bucky, are you happy?" Bucky looked over at him in surprise, "What do you mean?"
Steve raised a brow, "I mean, are you happy with your life? It's just you me and Kyra. Have you ever thought of…dating?"
Bucky frowned at him, "Steve…that's…not even an option. Rose was my one and only."
Steve nodded, "I know man. But, you never know, you might find someone to spend time with, to care about even if you didn't love them like you loved Rose."
Bucky shook his head, "I don't see that ever happening. Where would I even start?"
Steve chuckled softly, "How about that woman from the gym? The redhead? I think her name is Malorie. You train her on Wednesday's?" he prodded Bucky, trying to get him to remember.
Bucky thought for a moment, "Right, Malorie. She's nice. But what makes you think she's interested in me?" he asked cautiously.
Steve grinned, "Oh my old friend. She smiles at you like you're the guy that hung the moon. She laughs at the stupid jokes you make. And she only wants you to train her."
Bucky sat for a long moment thinking and then a ghost of a smile played on his lips before dying, "Kyra would hate me. I could never disrespect her mom that way."
Both men turned when they heard a noise, and were startled to see Kyra standing there. She had tears in her eyes when she spoke, "Oh daddy no. I would never hate you for wanting to be happy. And you wouldn't be disrespecting mom. She would be mad at you to think that you were holding yourself back from happiness." She reached a hand out and laid it on her dad's shoulder, squeezing, "I love you dad. I only ever want you to be happy."
Bucky took a deep breath to steady himself and then reached a hand up to grab hers, smiling up at her, "I love you too baby. I promise I won't do anything to upset you or to dishonor your mom's memory.
Kyra held his hand as she reached up to wipe a tear from her eye. She glanced over at her uncle whose eyes were misty with unshed tears but still smiled brightly at her. Kyra leaned down and brushed a kiss against her dad's cheek, "I'm going to stay here tonight, I'm too tired to head back."
Her dad nodded, "Your room is all ready."Kyra whispered her thanks and then went over to her uncle to press a kiss to his cheek as well. "Night Uncle Steve" she whispered.
"Night Kyra" he whispered back, tugging on her braid.
Kyra grabbed her book and purse and headed upstairs to her old bedroom. Stripping off her flowy shirt, she quickly undid her bra and threw it on the floor with her shirt. Walking to her closet she grabbed an old long sleeved shirt and pulled it on over her tank, kicking off her shoes before crawling into bed with a small groan.
She lay in darkness for a long time, staring up at the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. She went through the good memories of her mom, like a picture book, and fell to sleep slowly, a small smile playing at her lips.
Author's note: I hope you guys enjoy this story, it's so fun for me, and for my two betas! I wouldn't be here without them! I love you two, and I thank you so so much! Morbidly-Funny and Mad As A Hatter 13, I owe you both so much! Song that inspired this chapter is: "Talking to the Moon" Bruno Mars