Dinner with the Avengers wasn't something that Emma ever thought she would be having. If someone told her she would be eating with the Avengers a week ago, she would've laughed for the first time in a long time. It was a completely ridiculous idea. The odd sort of dining room, the Avengers seemed to have, was right down the hall from the conference room but directly next to the kitchen. The kitchen looked like it had many upgrades that were probably beyond the appliances that normal people had but this was a place that Tony Stark had designed, after all.
Emma watched with curious eyes as all the Avengers gathered around the long dining room table. They had excited looks on their faces as if they had been waiting all day for dinner…or maybe they were just excited to eat together. Emma wouldn't know. The room smelt faintly sweet with the hint of seasoned vegetables in the air. She didn't recognize what kind of food it was…it didn't seem familiar to her at all.
Emma glanced at Steve who was her…what was he to her? She didn't think she could go around calling him grandpa and Emma already had a father. She supposed he might've been something like an uncle or older brother to her but for now Emma was just going to call him Steve. Steve who was her last remaining blood relative. He seemed like a good person but Emma hadn't met many good people in her lifetime to be a good judge of character.
She watched as Steve's smile brightened up his whole face as he listened to something Sam had told him. He would glance back at her every so often when he thought she wasn't looking. It was obvious he held some kind of concern for her but Emma didn't think she was deserving of it. She felt a pair of eyes on her and looked up, meeting Natasha's gaze. The redhead gave her an understanding smile and Emma knew that it wasn't just to be nice. Natasha actually understood her on some level. Emma had a feeling that if she would ever happen to make a friend it would probably be Natasha.
"So you're Emma." A soft voice said and Emma immediately looked up. There wasn't much that managed to escape her notice but Emma guessed that she was far too distracted at this point. She met the gaze of a woman with red hair that was several shades lighter than Natasha's own red hair. There was something different about this woman and Emma could immediately tell that she wasn't like Natasha in the least bit. Her smile was warm and friendly…almost motherly. Her pale blue eyes were full of light and happiness. The woman was also very tall, especially in the heels she wore, towering over Emma. While Natasha reminded Emma of her mother in the looks department…this woman reminded Emma of her mother because of her kind smile.
"I've heard so much about you from everyone else so I've been very excited to meet you. I'm Pepper Potts." She introduced, holding her hand out to shake and Emma grasped her hand gently. This woman looked to be the fragile, delicate kind. She wasn't someone that Emma would've preferred to hurt had she been back at Hydra. Emma smiled back at her even though it felt a bit odd but Pepper's smile was infectious. She thought she remembered Steve mentioning someone by the name of Pepper buying her the clothes she was now wearing.
"Emma," Emma said politely. "Thank you for the clothes by the way. Steve mentioned that you got them for me."
"Don't mention it." Pepper told her dismissively. "I never get to shop for any girls around here. Natasha won't let me shop for her. It's just a lot of shopping for the guys. You have idea how much I needed that." Pepper told her and she got the distinct feeling that she was right about before. Pepper wasn't a part of any of this. No, she was just along for the ride because she was with Tony. Emma could already tell that Pepper was an exceptionally kind and calm person so she didn't understand one bit about how a woman like her got involved with Stark. Emma had only spent close to an hour and a half in the same room as the man and she already disliked him. It was clear that the billionaire liked getting on people's nerves.
"Well, thanks anyways." Emma said.
"Really, it's no big deal." Pepper replied before moving on with the conversation. "I was actually thinking that whenever you felt up to it we might go shopping to build up your closet a little more. I got you some other outfits but I just thought it might be nice to get out of the tower and get some fresh air." Emma stared at Pepper with a genuinely surprised expression on her face. Before Emma could even reply to Pepper's suggestion, Steve stepped in.
"Okay, Pepper, I think that's enough." He told her, an amused smile on his face as he looked at the excited strawberry blonde. "We don't want to overwhelm her."
"I can leave?" Emma asked. Steve and Pepper turned to look at her, both with confused looks on their faces. "I can leave the tower?" Steve had a very serious look on his face as he thought of a way to best approach this subject.
"Of course you can leave but not by yourself. We're not going to keep you cooped up in this tower all the time." Steve told her. "I mean…Pepper or I might accompany you since New York is a big city after all and you're only thirteen." Emma looked down at her hands.
"Hydra never let me leave the base…only for missions." She admitted quietly. Steve's expression hardened and Pepper just looked like she wanted to hug the young girl and never let go. Steve definitely wished that he had been given some time alone in a room with Rumlow and Pierce. He actually was alone in a room with Pierce and Steve desperately wished that he had taken the time to beat the evil man to a bloody pulp. Steve still couldn't believe that Pierce had done what he did to his own granddaughter. He remembered the way Pierce had talked about them…as if he cared and as if he actually loved Emma and her mother. However, it was all a lie.
"Well, this isn't Hydra." Steve reminded her gently. "Maybe next week we can do what Pepper suggested and go shopping." Emma smiled at Steve and for the first time Steve felt as though it might've actually been a hundred percent genuine. Pepper had a knowing look on her face as she glanced between the two. She knew that this would be a very good thing for the both of them. Steve had always been so lonely especially since he thought he had left everything behind when he crashed into the ocean all those years ago. Emma would be very good for him to have around.
"I hope you like Chinese." Pepper told her suddenly, steering the conversation away from any thoughts that Emma might be having about Hydra. Emma gave her a curious look. "It's just takeout so nothing fancy."
"That's fine." Emma told her. "I don't think I've ever had Chinese so I'll be happy to try it." She hoped that her politeness didn't sound too forced. Hydra had taught her how to be such a good actress that Emma wasn't sure how to genuinely feel about things sometimes. In a moment like this Emma was afraid that she came off as too rehearsed or fake. However, Pepper didn't give any indication that Emma came off that way and excitedly told her how much she was going to love take out. Steve gave her a reassuring look that practically told her to do whatever Pepper Potts wanted. It was clear that Pepper was a bright and happy kind of person that made it her business to make sure everyone felt at home and comfortable in the tower. Emma was just unused to people like Pepper but she thought that she would like the strawberry blonde anyways. She already saw a lot of her mother in Pepper.
After dinner, some of the other Avengers decided that they wanted to hang out in the living room of the main floor. They insisted on Steve and Emma staying but Steve could already tell that the teenager already had enough for the day. She looked slightly overwhelmed by everything that had happened within the past couple of hours so he bid them goodnight and began to lead Emma to his floor of the tower. The tired look on Emma's face told Steve that she was more than willing to just call it a night and plop down in a nice, warm bed.
Emma knew that Steve had said that Stark had given all the Avengers their own floors but she still hadn't expected Steve's living space to be that enormous. It was more like a giant apartment than it was a room. There was a large kitchen, fully equipped with updated appliances, that opened up to an equally large living room. The living room contained a big, modern looking sectional couch that sat directly across from a gigantic flat screen television hanging on the wall. She was surprised to see how open and bright everything was. There were glass windows that took up entire walls and gave Emma a beautiful view of the entire city. The first thing she noticed about New York, as she gazed out the window, was that there were lights everywhere. Emma had spent so long living in that Hydra base that she didn't think anything could be that bright and colorful.
"Why didn't we eat here if you have your own kitchen?" Emma asked quietly as she looked out the window. Steve stood a ways back, deciding to let her explore his apartment suite on her own.
"We decided that it was better if we did things as a family. Isolating ourselves in our apartments isn't going to make us stronger as a team." Steve told her and Emma nodded as she continued to look out the window. She spotted, with her enhanced vision, someone in the building directly across from the tower. It must have been some kind of company since the person was hastily typing away on their computer inside an office setting. It was strange that someone could be doing something so ordinary while being in a building that was directly across from a tower full of superheroes.
"That's a good strategy. Everyone will rely on each other better if they can trust one and other." Steve just shrugged at her comment.
"I guess but I think it's also a good way not to be alone." Emma glanced back at him, tearing her gaze away from the person in the office. She searched Steve's eyes, trying to find something but not even she was sure what she was looking for.
"Come on, I'll show you to your room." Steve told her, breaking the silence. Emma nodded silently as she followed him down the hall where he was leading her. There was three rooms down the hall, she noticed. One of which she could only assume was Steve's room and the other would be hers. The third room was mostly like a guest room or something similar. He opened the door of the first room that was positioned down the hall and Emma was immediately taken by surprise.
It was a large room, much larger than any room she had ever stayed in, and it made her room back at Hydra look like a tiny shoe box. It was like the other places within the tower with the far front end of the room completely made of a glass window that gave her an amazing view of the city. Thankfully that was the only glass wall, the rest of the walls were normal and without glass. The other walls were painted a lavender purple that looked rather girlish but Emma appreciated the color since she had been so used to staring at white walls and concrete floors for the past nine years. It almost reminded her of the room she had when her parents were still alive although that room was painted a very bright pink.
A massive bed was situated with the headboard against one of the walls. It looked to be a whole lot bigger than the tiny twin sized bed she had always been given at the Hydra base. The comforter on the bed was a darker purple than the purple that colored the walls. The bed was also covered with various matching pillows. More pillows than Emma thought that one person could ever use.
There was a desk that sat right next to the glass wall that overlooked the city. Two nightstands on either side of the king sized bed as well as a large flat screen TV hanging on the wall directly across from the bed. Emma didn't even know if she ever remembered watching TV. Her parents might have let her watch children's programs when they were still alive but that was about it. A couple of modern oddly shaped chairs were positioned in front of the TV, making what looked like a miniature living room fully equipped with a glass coffee table that had a few different kinds of teen magazines. Emma raised an eyebrow at that. She didn't think that she would be the type to read fashion or gossip magazines especially since Emma would have no idea what they were talking about. The last fashionable item that Emma had picked out for herself was the little pink bows she would tell her mother to put in her hair but that was when she was four.
There was a door to what Emma could only assume was a bathroom and another door that must have been the closet. The walls, despite their color, were pretty blank and empty but it wasn't like Emma had expected to have anything to put on them. The only possession that she had brought with her was probably her Viper Assassin uniform and there was no way anyone was going to let her go near that thing. Emma didn't even know where they put it. It might be wise to inform them that it contained poisonous gas but something told her that Jarvis probably already told them.
"Pepper put all this together for you." Steve told her as he watched Emma look around the room, a faint smile on his face. "She loves decorating and rearranging so it was a blast for her to do this. I've never seen her so excited about putting a room together for anyone but I think it's just because she's never had the chance to put a room together for a teenage girl…so as you can see she went all out." Steve then chuckled as he thought of the enthusiastic girlfriend of Tony. Emma didn't say anything as she continued to look around the room. Truthfully, she was in shock because she couldn't believe this room was hers. She thought the hospital room had been nice but this was far beyond that.
Emma let her eyes drift away from the empty walls before she finally focused her gaze on a large bookshelf on the side of the room where her and Steve were standing. It was possibly the most enormous bookshelf that Emma had ever seen…even bigger than the one in Colonel Karpov's office. It was packed with dozens upon dozens of books. Maybe even a hundred books. From what she could see, all the books on the shelf were fiction. Emma had only just finished reading her first fictional book the day before. The endless options of books in front of her was overwhelming and she couldn't wait to get started. Steve smiled when he saw her eye the collection of books.
"That was my idea actually…the bookshelf, I mean." Steve told her and she looked back at him curiously. "Tony said that no one reads books anymore. He said that he has an endless library on all the tablets within the tower but it's not the same to me. Nothing beats a good physical copy of a paperback in your hands." Steve remarked and Emma smiled at him.
"I agree. I'd prefer to read something real…something that you can actually touch." Emma said, agreeing with his statement. Steve returned her smile, feeling as though he was actually making progress with her…that he was actually connecting with her on some level. Granted that it was a very small level but it still counted to him.
"Well, you have a pretty big collection here. I picked out a lot of the classic literature. Stuff that I used to read when I was your age but there's some more modern books here." Steve told her, gesturing to the assortment of books. "The others kind of had a hand in picking a lot of the books that they thought you might like."
"This is too much." Emma said softly, her eyes looking quite guilty. Steve analyzed the expression on her face and there seemed to be many mixed emotions for the first time since he met her. Just when he thought he couldn't see any detectable emotion on her face he then saw so many emotions that he couldn't pick them apart.
"What's too much?" Steve asked, genuinely wanting to help Emma through whatever she was feeling.
"All of this." Emma replied as she gestured around the room. "I don't deserve this. I've done some really terrible things. I belong in a cell somewhere…not staying in a nice room in a tower full of people who do good things." Steve frowned at the way she spoke about herself. It was in that moment that he realized who she reminded him a lot of. Natasha.
"Don't say those things about yourself." Steve told her.
"It's the truth." Emma admitted, looking up at him. Blue meeting identical blue. Steve just shook his head at her, wanting to prove to her that she was wrong about herself.
"No, it's not. Those things you did…you were forced to do them because Hydra was threatening someone you love." Steve told her firmly. "That person isn't really you, Emma. That person is someone Hydra made." Emma swallowed nervously as she gazed back at him.
"I don't even know who I am." She whispered and Steve's expression softened at her frightened tone.
"Well, let's figure that out." Steve paused as he thought of something he could say that would comfort her. "We've all done bad things. Don't think that any of us are saints. Stark made the money for this tower, we're living in, off selling weapons that caused a lot of death and destruction. Banner demolished cities. Thor lives for war and we all know about the lives that are ruined and lost in war. Natasha and Clint both have equally as shady pasts."
"And you?" Emma asked. "What could Captain America have done that's so bad? You're known for your morals." Steve shook his head.
"I killed a lot of people in the war…men who probably had families waiting for them back home."
"They were Nazis." Emma told him, dismissing his admission but Steve's expression didn't change.
"Killing isn't something that anyone should take lightly. No matter the justification." Steve said, his gaze gentle as he looked down at her. "We've all taken lives Emma and most of us didn't even do it for someone we loved. Greed, power, freedom, madness, and glory but never for love."
"It doesn't make it right." Emma told him even though she sort of saw the point he was trying to make.
"No, it doesn't." Steve agreed. "But you're not alone in the way you feel…not here. We all have pasts and we'll never judge you for yours. If you ever need to talk our doors are opened."
"I'll see." Emma said which roughly meant that she would think about it but she promised nothing. Steve nodded, accepting her answer for now. She was still new to him and everyone else so it wasn't like he expected her to tell him everything. These things would take some time. When he first woke up after the ice he remembered not wanting to talk about it…to pretend that everything was normal but eventually he opened up to his teammates and they never made him regret it.
"Well, I guess I'll let you get some rest." He glanced past her at the two separate doors in her room. "You've got your own bathroom and closet. There should be a few outfits in the closet and some pajamas. There's not a lot yet but we'll take you shopping in a few days after you get a little more settled." He told her and Emma nodded.
"If you need anything, I'm right down the hall so don't hesitate to call me." Steve continued to tell her and Emma couldn't help but find him amusing. He seemed very concerned as he continued to think of anything else she might need. It was nice to see that someone cared. There had been only one other person that cared about her but she hadn't seen him in so long. "If you have any other questions I guess that Jarvis can answer them."
"Thank you, Steve." Emma told him but he could tell that she hadn't just meant to thank him for the room or his helpfulness. There was a tiny gleam in her blue eyes that might have told him that she was thanking him for everything. He smiled one last time at her.
"It's not a problem." She nodded but didn't look any less thankful. There was a silence between them that wasn't awkward or weird but peaceful. It was like they had the tiniest bit of an understanding and it gave Steve hope that he could actually have the sort of family life that he always dreamed of having. Something that he had thought he left behind in a much different life. "Goodnight, Emma." She smiled back at him.
"Goodnight, Steve." And with that Steve left the room, shutting the door behind him softly before he continued down the hall to his own room. Things were definitely looking up for him and Emma. He couldn't wait to spend more time bonding with her even though he knew that he had all the time in the world. It was an odd notion since time hadn't seemed to agree with him in past but he finally felt as though time was finally on his side. Steve only wondered what tomorrow would bring.
"What are you doing in here?"
"That's a silly question. I'm here for you, princess."
"What are you doing?! Get off of me!"
"Shhhh…don't scream, princess. Everything will be fine."
"Stop…stop it, please. Please don't…please don't…"
"You're so beautiful…just like your mother."
Emma awoke from her nightmare, gasping for air. Tears streamed down her face as she struggled to get her breathing back under control. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest. The images from her nightmare still flooded her mind even though she tried with all her might to think of literally anything else. Think, Emma, think. She told herself forcefully as she struggled to think of something better…something that was happier. Her mind drifted back to Harry Potter. Emma thought of the orphan boy who discovered he had magical powers. A secret that his evil aunt and uncle had kept from him. She thought of Harry going to Hogwarts for the first time, basking in awe of the enormous, magical castle with moving portraits and ceilings that portrayed the night sky. Emma imagined Harry as he walked side by side with his new friends, the first friends he could call his own…Ron and Hermione. And just like that…the images disappeared from Emma's mind and she was able to breath normally.
"Miss Rogers, are you alright? Your heart rate has elevated to an alarming rate." Jarvis stated as she started calming down from her nightmare. "Shall I call Captain Rogers?"
"No, I'm fine, Jarvis. Just another nightmare." Emma replied as she laid back against the large assortment of pillows.
"If you're quite sure, Miss Rogers." She sighed.
"I'm sure." It seemed like that was enough of an answer for the AI system as he immediately ceased his questioning. Emma wasn't sure how long she had been lying there in bed, trying to go back to sleep and hopefully a dreamless one at that. She shifted in bed several times but found that the bed was too soft…the pillows were incredibly soft with all the feathers they contained inside. It should've made her comfortable but instead it made her feel all the more restless.
With a groan she got up from the bed that was much too soft. She had no idea what time it was but by judging the night sky, she had to say it was probably in the early hours of the morning. Emma glanced around the room cautiously before deciding that she wanted to walk around. The room suddenly felt a bit too suffocating to her despite it's massiveness. Without giving another thought to her idea, she quickly exited her new bedroom and walked down the hall to the living room. Maybe she could get some rest if she slept on the couch. It was most likely harder than the bed and much more comforting to Emma.
Emma had since changed, from the outfit Pepper had picked out for her earlier, into a pair of simple blue pajama pants that were decorated with cartoon looking penguins. The shirt she wore was a loose fitting t-shirt that matched the design of her pajama pants, displaying a smiling penguin wearing a multi-colored scarf. Emma wondered if girls her age were meant to wear clothing like this. Probably, she thought. It looked a little childish but she was still a child after all, wasn't she? Emma remembered walking into her closet to find the pair of pajamas and closet was a roughly humble name for it. It was more like a second bedroom than it was a closet with a cozy little chair placed inside next to a huge mirror. Emma wondered what purpose the chair served if she was just meant to try on clothes inside the closet. Pepper had gotten her more than a few outfits but the clothing took up close to zero room in the massive closet.
Emma quietly padded down the hall, not wanting to make any extra noise that could wake Steve up from his sleep. It was alarmingly dark inside the living room but Emma was thankful for the dead silence. It was almost sort of calming as she walked into the living room. Emma made her way to the couch when she saw that she wasn't the only person that couldn't seem to sleep. The young blonde spotted the familiar figure of Steve sitting on the couch as she walked in. He didn't even notice her until she walked right up to him. He was just seemingly staring into space. Emma thought he might've been lost in his thoughts until he finally lifted his head and looked at her. A smile made it's way onto his face as he saw her.
"You couldn't sleep either?" Steve inquired and Emma shrugged before taking a seat next to him on the couch. She made sure that there was still plenty of space between them.
"Not really." Her answer was short and vague, making it clear that Emma didn't really feel like talking about it.
"The bed's too soft, isn't it?" Steve asked quietly. He knew that Emma didn't seem to be the kind of person to want to talk about her problems but he wanted to make sure that she knew that it was okay if she did. Emma glanced back at him through the darkness of the room, carefully analyzing his face. She didn't say anything for a moment because she was trying figure out if he had some kind of other super power…if he was not just a super soldier but if he was also a mind reader.
"Yes, it's exactly that." Emma said, leaving out the part about her nightmare. "How did you know?" Steve shrugged.
"It's the same for me." He admitted. "Or at least it was. Now it's not so bad for me but I still have my moments." Emma gave him a curious look.
"And what changed?" She asked, inquiring about what he meant about it not being so bad anymore.
"I met people…let them in." Steve replied. "Sam helped a lot because it's what he does. He helps out a lot at the VA." Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"Why?" Steve gave her a small smile.
"Because he understands. He's a lot like us, you know." Steve told her and Emma felt even more confused. Did Steve mean that Sam was enhanced like they were? He was a pretty muscular guy but Emma never got the feeling that he was like her in any way.
"He's a super soldier?" Steve laughed at her question before briefly shaking his head.
"No, I just meant that he's a military man. He was used to sleeping on a pile of rocks before he came back home." Emma looked down at her hands, not knowing how to feel about what Steve just told her.
"It's not the same." She said quietly and Steve raised his eyebrows.
"Isn't it?" He challenged but Emma just shook her head.
"No, it's not." She told him. "I'm not military. I'm just a lab rat that Hydra wanted to make into a weapon. I was just a weapon for them to control."
"True but we all know what it's like taking lives…fighting." Steve said in response. "Coming back home and adjusting to a normal life is difficult for everyone. Sam had a lot of problems adjusting to normalcy and he's helped a lot of people who went through the same thing."
Emma could hear the suggestion in his comment but she wasn't sure when she would be ready for something like that. To go and talk with someone about her life back at Hydra. No, she didn't think she could do that anytime soon. There wasn't really anyone who could relate to someone like her. She was a child that had been a pawn in someone else's war…someone else's fight.
"Sometimes I would fall asleep in a tree." Emma admitted, her voice just a quiet whisper. "The targets would sometimes come around later than when they were supposed to so I would rest. Sometimes I would wait there all day so I didn't have any other choice but to sleep in the tree. I'm a light sleeper so I wasn't worried about sleeping through my mission…my hearing is really sensitive after all."
"I can still feel the leaves between my hair and the branches digging into my back." Emma continued and she could tell that it was difficult for Steve to hear this but he seemed more than willing to listen anyways. "There was a squirrel up there, I think. He was on the tallest branch and I could hear him moving around." There was a brief moment of silence between them after Emma finished her story. Steve didn't really know what to say to something like that and Emma didn't have anything else to say on the subject.
"Will it get easier?" Emma asked him suddenly and Steve just stared at her, giving her a reassuring look. It seemed to be a look that he often gave her…something that would encourage her or make her feel better. It was unlike any sort of look she had received before. No one ever cared enough to make her feel better about herself. Her father cared as much as he could but didn't understand sentiment like she wished he could sometimes.
"With time, yes. As long as you're around people who care about you." He told her gently and Emma nodded.
"That's good to know I suppose." She responded before they fell into another brief period of silence. She wasn't really sure what else to say but Emma was thankful that the silence wasn't awkward between them this time. Steve bit his lip nervously as something popped into his mind. It was something he had been meaning to share with Emma earlier but everything happened so quickly. He wasn't sure if now was the right time but he knew that there probably was never a right time to tell her something like this.
"There's something that you should probably know." Steve spoke quietly, breaking the peaceful moment of silence. Emma glanced back at him, her eyebrow raised in a curious fashion but she didn't say anything. She just remained silent as she waited for him to tell her what he wanted to say. "I want to tell you this now rather than later because I think it would be better if you heard this from me rather than anyone else."
"What is it?" Emma questioned.
"It's about Pierce, Emma." He told her seriously and this made Emma all the more curious. Pierce? What about Pierce? Emma had thought that they had gone over the topic of Alexander Pierce quite a bit in recent times. At the debriefing she had found out all that she wanted to know about the crazy old man. He had been killed. That was really all that she needed to know about him too.
"What about him?" She asked. "What? Is he not actually dead?" Steve shook his head furiously.
"No, he's dead." Steve replied. "He's definitely dead but…well, I guess there's no better way to say this so I'll speak plainly." Steve looked directly at Emma, locking his gaze onto her confused one.
"Emma, Pierce was your grandfather. I'm not sure if you already knew that or not but I needed to tell you." Steve finally said. This did nothing to ease Emma's confusion as she stared blankly at Steve. Steve figured that it was safe to say that Emma definitely did not know that Pierce was her grandfather. He could see Emma's bewilderment and surprise written all over her face. Emma could hardly believe her ears as she took in the information Steve just gave her. Pierce? Her grandfather? No, that just couldn't be possible. Emma didn't understand.
"No…that just can't be possible." Emma proclaimed as she stared at Steve. "I thought you were my grandfather. How could Pierce be?"
"I am your grandfather, Emma, but Pierce was your mother's father." Emma just shook her head furiously as she tried to get a grasp on what he was telling her.
"No, that can't be right. If he was my grandfather then would've never hurt me like-" Emma suddenly stopped herself as she thought about what she was saying. What was she even saying? She let out a humorless laugh as Emma realized what she was about to say. "No, who am I kidding? Of course he would hurt me. The man was insane. Me being his granddaughter wouldn't get in his way." Her laughter stopped as she glared at the wall in front of her.
"God…I just can't believe that he was my grandfather this whole time. That means he had his own daughter and son-in-law murdered before kidnapping his granddaughter and experimenting on her." Emma said bitterly. "What a sick bastard." Steve shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he heard his granddaughter curse.
"Language." He scolded softly and Emma turned to look at him suddenly, a bewildered look on her face.
"What?" Steve cleared his voice before he spoke a bit louder.
"That's no language for a young lady your age." He told her and Emma just stared at him like he was some sort of weird creature at the zoo.
"Are you being serious?" Steve's firm look told her all she needed to know and she let out an exasperated sigh as she rolled her eyes but she knew what he was doing. He was trying to keep her mind off the subject so she wouldn't dwell too much on this. "You really do sound like a grandpa. I'm sorry…what a sick jerk. Nope, that doesn't sound fitting at all."
Steve could only laugh instead of acting angry with her. He was seeing a different side of Emma which he could tell she didn't normally show. He was forever grateful that she was letting him see that side of her. Emma smiled at him playfully, thankful that she was able to let her mind drift away from Pierce. Emma was glad that Steve told her the truth about Pierce but that didn't mean that she wanted to dwell anymore than she had to on the topic. It was good that she knew but now she just wanted to think about something else…anything else. She suddenly thought of something that she had been curious about ever since that day the Avengers rescued her from the Hydra base.
"You said that you were best friends with my father." Emma said quietly. Steve glanced up at her in surprise since the question had literally come out of nowhere.
"What?" He asked, completely confused as to what she was talking about.
"That day that you guys rescued me from the Hydra base." She explained. "You told me that you were best friends with my father…that you grew up with him." It suddenly dawned on Steve that Emma was talking about Bucky. It felt odd to him that Emma referred to Bucky as her father but he guessed that was just something that he would have to get used to.
"Yeah, we were." Steve replied softly, his gaze not as serious as he recollected all the times he had spent with his friend back before the ice…before Bucky had been taken and turned into the Winter Soldier. "We still are, I guess, but I doubt he remembers me that much."
"I think he remembers you more than you think he does." Emma told him honestly. Her confident tone was what captured Steve's attention as he gave her a curious look.
"What do you mean?" He questioned and Emma just smiled. It was a small smile but it was still a real, genuine smile. It seemed like her smiles were becoming a little more frequent but Steve wasn't complaining. It made Emma look like the young girl that she was.
"He used to tell me that I reminded him of someone." She said thoughtfully. "I wasn't stupid. I knew that he was this aggressive, trained killer but he was always gentle with me or as gentle as he could be. He took care of me a lot but I always wondered why." Emma looked back at Steve like she had finally found the answer to the question she had always wondered about. "Now I know."
"What do you know?" Steve asked, still not understanding what it was that Emma was trying to tell him.
"I would ask why he took care of me and every time he would tell me that I reminded him of someone." She explained almost happily or as happily as Emma could seem. Steve was starting to see what Emma was getting at. Tears flooded his eyes as his mind went to Bucky. "He said that he didn't know who but I think I reminded him of you."
"Really?" Steve questioned and Emma nodded, causing a big smile to make it's way onto his face. "That sure sounds like Bucky…the fact that he took care of you, I mean. He was always taking care of me. You should've seen me before the serum…I was a tiny little guy who always loved picking fights. I would've gotten beaten severely if it wasn't for Bucky always stepping in."
"What was he like?" Emma asked Steve. She was genuinely curious about the life her father led before he became the Winter Soldier. Steve seemed all too happy to share that kind of information with her.
"He was really generous…offered me a place to stay after my mother died. He was always watching out for me like that." Steve remarked as he thought about the moment he and Bucky shared after his mother's funeral. Bucky had been more than a friend to him…he had been a brother. "Bucky was also quite the charmer. Girls always liked him because he was charming, funny, and handsome."
Emma frowned a little at what Steve was telling her. The man Steve was telling her about sounded completely different than the man she knew as her father. Steve was talking about someone who seemed so carefree and happy. Emma didn't think that she had ever seen her father smile much less laugh. He was always such a guarded person, almost aggressive to anyone who wasn't her. The man Steve was talking about, or Bucky as he was apparently called, seemed like someone else.
"He sounds so different than the person I know." Emma commented sadly. She glanced away, lost in her thoughts. "Papa is a very guarded person who never hugged me or so much as smiled at me but I knew he cared deep down. I even think he might've loved me if he were capable of such a thing. He's my protector and always has been."
"We started out as friends, you know. Or at least in my mind we were friends." Emma continued to say and Steve listened to her intently, curious about her version of Bucky. "I was so terrified of him when we first met. He had killed a man right in front of me but with time I grew to admire him. I admired him for all the wrong reasons. I think…I even hero worshiped him on some level. He was strong, powerful, and emotionless. All those things evoked fear into the hearts of all the people around him and I wanted to be like that." Emma told Steve. She looked back to see if he was horrified by what she had to say but he just looked calm. Steve just seemed to be listening to her rather than judging her.
"I thought if I were like him that people would fear me too and they might leave me alone. He was so good at everything he did…killing, weapons, and not feeling anything. Every time I failed a mission it was only because I was too emotional and I envied him for letting go of that part of himself. I know that Hydra beat those emotions out of him a long time ago but I still wished that I could be just like him." Emma said, finishing up her recollection of the Bucky she knew. Steve wasn't sure what to think about something like that. He knew that the Bucky that Emma knew was beyond different than the Bucky he knew but it was something that he hadn't wanted to think about until now.
"So as you can see, we know two very different people, Steve." Emma told him sadly. Steve, however, didn't look convinced.
"Maybe we don't." He told her and Emma gave him a bewildered look, not understanding what he was saying. "Look, I just mean that Bucky's different in a lot of ways. He's different than the guy I grew up with in Brooklyn but maybe he's not completely different. He took care of you at the base. That's not the Winter Soldier. No, that's the Bucky I knew."
Emma carefully considered what Steve told her and decided that he might be right. The Winter Soldier was a fearsome, emotionless killer. In what world would a cold blooded killer like the Winter Soldier care about a little kid? No, maybe there had been a part of Bucky within her father this whole time. A part of him that allowed himself to take care of her because she reminded him of a life he had long ago.
"You might be right about that." Emma finally admitted and Steve smiled softly.
"Maybe I am." He said before he reflected on the relationship his granddaughter and best friend had formed, unknowing to the connection that they shared which was him all along. "I'll always regret not being around to protect you but I'm glad that you at least had Bucky with you…that you both had each other." Emma smiled softly as she looked at Steve.
"I didn't have anything else but I did have papa." Emma replied, remembering her father's face and hoping that she would never forget any detail. Steve gave her a surprised look when he heard her response.
"It's funny…" Steve trailed off as he glanced down at her. Emma raised an eyebrow with a questioning look on her face.
"What is?" Steve just shook his head as he smiled.
"I used to say the same thing." He remarked. "Even when I had nothing I had Bucky." Emma stared at him, not sure what to say but she knew how she felt. It was odd that she could bond with someone over her father. She never thought she would ever meet someone who could rival the love she had for her father but she had been proven wrong. It made her happy to know that she wasn't the only one in the world that loved her father. Her father was loved unconditionally by one other person too.
"I guess we have more in common than I thought."