Hey guys! Today was super boring again. I miss working. Anyways, here's the new chapter! I'm introducing quite a few new characters in this one and I hope you like it!
Please let me know what you think! As always, I own nothing (I wish I did) and all mistakes are my own. Thanks for reading! xx
Skye's tummy felt like it was full of butterflies and she was nervous about being so far away from May. She kept reminding herself that Natasha and Trip were good. They hadn't been mean to her and they told her that they wanted her to be here with them. Trip was still talking about the playground and the play structures that it had, but Natasha seemed to sense that Skye was feeling nervous, so she offered the little girl her pinky. Skye gratefully took it and tried to focus on what Trip was saying.
Skye could see the playground approaching. It was pretty awesome. It looked like a really big wooden castle and had slides and monkey bars coming out of it. There was a big swing set next to it, and a bridge, made of tires, that was connected to the big castle. It had a wooden seesaw, a whirl-a-round, and a funky, geometric dome. It was the coolest playground Skye had ever seen and she was excited to play on it. There was a few other kids climbing around the play structures, but Skye was focused on the swings.
They finally made it to the playground, but Skye was reluctant let go of Natasha's hand. She didn't want to walk away from them and have them leave her here.
"Here we are Skye. You wanna go play?" Trip still sounded really excited even though he was big and probably wouldn't be able to climb around the castle. Older kids were weird.
"If I go play, you guys won't leave me right?" Skye sounded unsure of herself and looked at the ground as she said it.
"Yes, of course we'll still be here Skye," Natasha answered her and tightened her hold on Skye's pinky to reassure her. That made Skye feel a little better. They hadn't lied to her yet, so she nodded.
"Actually, Trip, you wanna go on the seesaws? I haven't been on one in forever." Natasha was smiling happily.
"I haven't been on one in a while. Let's do this," he smiled at Skye and walked over to the seesaws.
"What're you gonna do Skye?"
"I think… I wanna go on the swings?" She phrased it as a question and grinned a little when Natasha nodded enthusiastically.
"That sounds fun! And look, you can see us from the swing set. If you need us, we'll be over here okay?"
Skye nodded again and felt Natasha untangle their pinkies. She watched the older girl make her way towards the seesaw where Trip was waiting for her, and then made her own way to the swing sets. No one else was using them, so she chose the one on the end. She hopped up on the seat and started swinging slowly. She didn't try to go too far up, because she was afraid she would fall off, but it was still really fun.
She had been swinging for a couple of minutes before she heard two kids bickering to her right. She looked over and saw a boy and a girl her age digging in the sand and tugging a plastic shovel between them.
"Fitz! You got to use it yesterday, it's my turn remember?"
"No! You used it yesterday, it's my turn today!"
Both of them said their words funny. Skye slowed down and came to a stop on her swing. She stared at the two kids. Even though they were fighting, they were smiling at each other and looked like they were having fun. Maybe they wouldn't mind if Skye played with them? She carefully got off the swing and made her way over to them. They were still bickering as she approached.
When they spotted Skye, they stopped and stared at her. Skye didn't really know what to say, but she was saved when the girl opened her mouth and spoke instead, "Hi! Do you want to play with us?"
Wow. That was easy.
Skye smiled and nodded. She kneeled down in the sand next to them and watched as the boy stole the plastic shovel from the girls hand and grinned triumphantly. The girl just rolled her eyes and smiled at Skye. She pointed at the boy, "That's Fitz. He's usually nicer than this."
Fitz gave her a stern look but pointed at the girl and said, "That's Simmons. Well, her name is actually Jemma, but I call her Simmons. Hey, why do I call you Simmons, Simmons?"
Jemma didn't bother answering him but continued to stare at Skye. The little girl wondered why until she remembered that she hadn't told them her name.
"Oh! My name's Skye."
"That's a cool name! Fitz, isn't that a cool name?"
"Yeah, it's pretty cool Simmons."
"We were trying to build this sandcastle to look like the playground. Wanna help?"
Skye nodded again and the three of them started digging. Fitz was surprisingly good at it and Jemma mostly provided little shells and leaves that they could use to decorate the sandcastle, but no one minded. Skye was having fun. These two were really nice and maybe they could be friends.
She softly said, "So… do you guys go to school here?" She kept her eyes focused on her hands, which were currently trying to sculpt the sand into looking like the seesaws. She wasn't doing a very good job.
She heard Fitz answer her, "Yeah! We're in Ms. Hill's first grade class! We've never seen you before, do you go to school here?"
Skye still wasn't happy about having to change schools, but maybe if she was put in the same class as these two, it wouldn't be so bad. "I'm new here, but I'm supposed to start school on Thursday."
"Cool! Maybe you'll be in our class!" Jemma was smiling brightly at her.
They went back to digging and Skye couldn't stop from grinning. She just made two friends and it hadn't even been hard!
They were almost done with their sandcastle when Skye heard someone calling Simmon's name.
"Oh! We have to go Fitz! We'll see you later Skye!"
"Yeah Skye, we'll see you later!"
They both waved at her as they ran towards the woman who was calling them. Skye waved back at them and went back to the swings. She was thinking about her new friends when she heard someone say, "Hey, get off. I want to use that swing."
She looked up and there was a boy standing in front of her. He looked like he was a little older than she was and he didn't look very nice. Skye slowed her swing down to a stop. She wasn't going to let some bully scare her. Jonathan was bigger than this kid and she never backed down from a fight with him.
"No, I'm swinging on this one. There's an empty swing down there." She tried to start swinging again, but the kid's hand shot out and grabbed the swing's chain and wouldn't let her move.
"Too bad. I want this one, so give it to me." The boy puffed out his chest and tried to look bigger.
Skye could feel herself growing angrier. No one else was using the swings and there was a bunch of open ones. Why was he trying to steal hers?
She hopped off the swing, but stood in front of it so the boy couldn't get on. "If you don't want to use another one, you can use this one when I'm done! But I'm not done yet, so wait your turn!"
She saw the boy's face get angrier. He looked like he was about to push her when Skye heard a voice speak up from behind her, "Is everything okay here Skye?"
She looked back and saw Natasha and Trip standing behind her. She instantly felt better. When she looked back to the boy, she saw that there was an older boy standing behind him. Where did he come from? They both looked kind of similar and Skye guessed that they were brothers. The older boy looked way scarier than the younger boy, and he was staring menacingly at Skye.
The older boy put his hand on the younger boy's shoulder and squeezed. She saw the younger one wince, but he didn't say anything. When the older boy spoke, his voice sounded like a growl, "Yeah, there's a problem here. This kid won't let my little brother use the swing."
Natasha took a step forward so that she was standing right next to Skye, "Oh really? Because from what I saw, your little brother was messing with my little sister for no reason. If he wants to swing, he can use that one over there." She crossed her arms over her chest and didn't back down when the older kid stepped towards her.
Natasha might not have been scared, but Skye sure was. The older boy was big and he looked really mean. He had the same look in his eyes that Mr. Ramsey always had when he was about to do something scary. Skye took a step back and accidently bumped into Trip. He smiled reassuringly at her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.
The older boy wasn't backing down, "If my brother wants to play on this swing, then your little brat should let him."
When he said that, Natasha took a step closer and uncrossed her arms. Skye couldn't see her face, but from the way she was standing, Skye could tell Natasha was getting angry. Natasha's hands curled into fists and when she spoke, it was quiet and she was saying her words differently, like she had an accent. Skye thought that it was scarier than if she would have shouted.
"Listen here, I won't let you or your little brother bully my sister. If you have a problem, you're going to have to take it up with me and my brother here, understand?"
The older boy eye's flicked up and glanced at Trip. His eye's momentarily landed on Skye and he sneered at her. Skye backed up farther into Trip's legs. She was scared that the boy would actually fight Natasha and it would be all her fault. She didn't want Natasha or Trip to get hurt because of her. She whimpered. Trip surprised her by quickly lifting her up and setting her on his hip. He was gentle, and even though his action shocked Skye, it helped to reassure her. From up here, the boy didn't look as tall and imposing as he did before.
The older boy sized Trip and Natasha up. He seemed to relent, but didn't want to look like he was giving up, "The swings are stupid anyways. Come on Grant, let's go," he squeezed the little boys shoulder again and Skye could see that it hurt. The little boy didn't say anything, just winced again and let himself get led away by his older brother.
Skye watched them go. They walked right out of the playground and headed down the street. When she looked back, Natasha was taking deep breaths and had turned around so that she was looking at Skye. She walked up to her and looked her over, as if looking for any injuries.
She took in Skye, who was still clinging to Trip's neck, and seemed to note that she was fine, "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"
Skye shook her head. She wasn't hurt, but she felt really guilty. She had almost made Natasha and Trip get into a fight because of her.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean for anything bad to happen., I-" Skye was mumbling, but Natasha cut her off, "This wasn't your fault маленькая звезда. That kid was picking on you and you stood up for yourself."
"Yeah… but you almost got in a fight." Skye was still mumbling, but Natasha didn't look mad at her, she was smiling gently instead.
"Listen Skye, we're family now, and family takes care of family. I wanted to protect you and stand up for you. Trip did too. And anyways, that guy wasn't going to actually fight. He was all talk."
Skye felt Trip nod and started to feel better.
They were a family. Families looked out for one another. Natasha and Trip wanted to protect Skye. She felt her eyes starting to well up, not because she was scared, but because she was happy. They had said they wanted Skye to be a part of their family, but Skye didn't really believe it until now. Her other foster siblings had never really stood up for her before, they were more likely to be the ones picking on her. She'd never had a real brother and sister, but now that she knew that this was what it was like to have some, she never wanted to go without them again. She felt protected and safe and cared for.
Trip was still holding her to him, he was swaying gently from side to side, and Natasha was still smiling at her. Skye smiled back. She didn't really know what to say, but they didn't seem to mind.
Trip jostled her a little bit so that she looked at him, "How about you come play with us? We were gonna go on the monkey bars."
Skye nodded and Trip set her down and they made their way to the monkey bars.
When Natasha said that they should head back home, it was starting to get dark and Skye was tired from running around. Trip had been chasing her through the castle and she was grinning. He kept hitting his head because he was too tall, but he didn't slow down. When Natasha shouted at them that it was time to go, Skye actually felt a little relieved. She was getting tired and her feet were starting to hurt because her shoes weren't really that good.
They started walking back home. Natasha and Trip were laughing and talking about something that was going on at school and Skye was shuffling behind them, moving at a slower pace. All of a sudden, Natasha's phone rang.
She answered it, "Hello?"
She listened to what the person on the other end had to say before telling them that they would be home soon and hanging up.
"That was mom. My friends came over earlier than I expected, let's go guys."
They started walking faster, and since Skye was struggling to keep up before, she lagged further behind. Natasha looked back, saw, and slowed down. When Skye caught up, she asked, "You feeling tired, маленькая звезда?"
When Skye nodded, Natasha bent down in front of her, "Hop on."
When Skye didn't move, Natasha glanced back at her and smiled, "Come on. I'll give you a piggyback ride."
Skye had no idea what that was. "What's a piggyback ride?"
Trip turned to look at her, "Girl, what have you been doing? Piggyback rides are probably the only good thing that comes out of being small. Hop on Natasha's back and she'll carry you home."
When Skye still looked unsure, Natasha encouraged her to wrap her arms around the older girl's neck and her legs around her waist. Skye did as she was told and when Natasha stood up, she let out a yelp. Natasha laughed and asked if she was okay, Skye nodded and felt Natasha's hands reach out and grab her thighs so that she could hold her up. They started walking back towards the house.
"Natasha?" The older girl hummed in response, so Skye continued, "What does that word mean?"
"It means 'little star'. I don't have to call you that if you don't like it." She sounded unsure of herself but Skye quickly reassured her, "No! I mean no, I like it. You can call me that." Skye smiled but Natasha couldn't see and that was okay.
Trip and Natasha started talking again and Skye felt her eyes grow heavy. Natasha's gentle steps were lulling her to sleep and Skye couldn't stop her head from falling to rest on Natasha's shoulder. Her eyes fell shut.
Skye was in the weird space between sleeping and consciousness when she felt Natasha walk up the front porch steps and open the door to their home. She groggily lifted her head. When they stepped into the living room, Skye saw a group of boys sitting on the couch talking to May. She crinkled her nose. Who were these people?
When the group saw Natasha and Trip, they shot up and started walking towards them, loudly saying hello and smiling. They looked friendly, but they were all pretty big. Skye froze and wiggled around so that Natasha would set her on the ground. Natasha obliged and Skye instantly hid behind her legs.
She heard Natasha say hello to all the boys. She was laughing and sounded happy, so they must be the friends that she was talking about. If they were Natasha's friends, then they couldn't be that bad, but Skye didn't trust them enough to talk to them.
She heard a deep voice say, "Nat, I remember you saying that you had a new little sister. Is that the little princess that just ran behind your legs?"
Well. She had always wanted to be a princess.
She peered around Nat's legs and looked up, up, up towards the three boys. They were all smiling at her. She didn't say anything.
The same guy spoke again, "Nat, why didn't you tell us you had a princess for a sister?" He got down on one knee in front of her and bowed. He looked silly. "You're Majesty, my name's Clint. It's an honor to meet you." He was kneeling. Skye smiled. She looked up at Natasha and the older girl was smiling too.
Clint looked up and winked at Skye. He then stood up and introduced the two other boys. He pointed at the blonde one, "This is Steve," and then he pointed at the dark haired one, "and this is Bucky."
The blonde spoke as May made her way over to the group, "It's a pleasure to meet you Skye." He smiled at her and the Bucky nodded.
They all seemed nice, so she shyly waved at them before running over to May.
"Mom, we're gonna work on our project in the living room. Is it okay of they stay for dinner?"
May grinned, "These three are always welcome to stay for dinner."
The boys all thanked May and then let themselves be led away by Natasha.
May kneeled down in front of Skye, "Did you have fun at the playground?" Skye nodded at her and smiled. She really did have a lot of fun with Trip and Natasha.
"You're pretty dirty sweetie, how about you take a shower and then you can help me get dinner ready?" Skye nodded again. She liked helping Phil cook breakfast and she was eager to help again. May ushered her up the stairs and grabbed a pair of pajamas from Skye's room before leading her into the bathroom. May turned the water on and Skye stepped into the tub and shut the curtains. She was washing her hair when she heard May call her name.
"Yeah?" She tried to rinse away the shampoo without getting any in her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut.
She heard May reply, "I was thinking, after we go to your school tomorrow to sign you up, how about we steal Natasha away from her school and go shopping together, just the three of us?"
Skye paused before she answered. She didn't want May to buy her things that she didn't need. She had clothes. They weren't the best and they fit weirdly, but they worked.
"Um, you don't have to take me shopping May, that's okay."
"Skye, we want to buy you clothes. It'll make us happy to buy you new things, okay? You don't have to feel bad because this is something we want to do, alright? May's voice was kind and she sounded like she really meant it, so Skye relented and agreed.
"Great! Are you ready to get out?" When Skye said yes, she saw May's hand reach through the curtain and shut the water off. Skye pulled the curtain out of the way and stepped into the towel May was holding out for her. May helped her dry off and get dressed. After May brushed her hair, they made their way to the kitchen.
Skye watched as May pulled a chair up to the stovetop and told her that she could help stir the noodles. She climbed onto the chair and carefully stirred. The spaghetti sauce was already ready and May was putting the garlic bread into the oven.
Skye could hear Natasha laughing in the living room and hoped she was having fun.
The garlic bread was almost done and May left the kitchen to go add more chairs to the dining room table. She came back towards Skye and took the pot full of noodles over to the sink to drain the water out. Skye climbed off the chair and heard May tell everyone that dinner was ready. Phil still hadn't come back from the hospital, so May made a plate for him and put it in the fridge.
She helped May bring the food to the table and saw everyone else starting to sit down. The seats filled up and she ended up between May and Bucky. May helped her fill her plate with food and then everyone dug in. She was trying and failing to get the spaghetti into her mouth rather than on the napkin in her lap. She looked over when she saw something strange.
She was looking at Bucky's left arm. When she looked closer, she saw that it wasn't a real arm, it was plastic. She glanced up and saw that he was staring at her. He didn't look mad that Skye had been ogling his fake arm, instead he just grinned at her.
"Why does your arm look like that?" Skye couldn't believe she said that. What if she hurt his feelings? Skye didn't like it when other people commented on how small she was, and she bet Bucky didn't like it when people talked about his arm.
She was about to apologize when Bucky answered, "When I was about your age, I was in a car accident. Everyone else was okay, but I lost my arm. They gave me this fake one instead." He didn't sound mad that Skye was asking about his arm.
She felt sympathy and sadness flash through her. If his car accident was anything like the one she had been in, she knew how bad that was.
He didn't look sad. He had said what happened in a pretty matter-of-fact tone, but he could be faking it, so Skye wanted to reassure him, "I'm sorry. I was in a car accident too." She felt her throat start to close, so she couldn't say any more.
She felt May run a hand comfortingly down her back and saw Bucky give her a sympathetic look, "Car accidents are really scary and I'm sorry you had to go through that."
Now Bucky was trying to make her feel better. He was being really kind and it made her feel better. Her throat stopped feeling so tight. It was nice to know that someone else understood what she had been through. It probably wasn't his fault that he got in the car accident though, but it was Skye's fault that she had been in hers.
"Does it hurt?"
"It feels achey sometimes, but other than that, I barely notice that it's there. Do you want to touch it?"
Skye didn't know why, but she kind of did, so she nodded and he brought his arm closer to her. It was flesh colored and looked pretty normal. She touched where his forearm would be, and it was cool rather than warm.
"Check this out," there was a whirring sound and then his hand started moving.
"Woah! That's pretty cool." Skye admired his hand some more, "I like it."
Bucky smiled at her, "I'm glad you like it Skye."
After that, they all went back to eating their dinner. When they were done, the group went back into the living room to work on their project and May told Skye that it was bedtime. May followed Skye upstairs and into her room. Skye jumped onto her bed and May pulled the covers up and over her body.
"Did you have a good day today?" May asked
Skye didn't even have to think about it before answering, "Yes."
May smiled at her and leaned forward to brush Skye's hair out of her eyes.
"Good. Goodnight sweetie. Sweet dreams," May whispered it and leaned back to smile at Skye.
"G'night May." Skye snuggled deeper into her pillows and heard May walk out the door.
How did you guys like it? For real though, I am so in love with Bucky and his metal arm. Like... metal arms shouldn't be something I'm attracted to, but I am...is that weird?
Anyways, leave me a comment and tell me what you thought. Who did you like the best in this chapter? I think Clint was my favorite. He was so cute with little Skye :) Thank you so much for reading! xx -Ariel
