Some Things Never Sleep

by Lucky Strike's alter ego

"You never learn when to quit, Spider-Twerp." She told him. "Spider-Twerp?" Spider-Man questioned in disbelief as he glared. Emma smirked. "Well, you annoyingly seem to get in my way all the time. That and you don't look or sound like a man to me." She explained. "I am a man." He told her angrily. "Somehow I doubt that." The first time Emma and Peter met didn't exactly go well.

76. Chapter Sixty Nine: Part II

Author's Note: Happy One Year Anniversary, guys! I can't believe it's only been a year since I started this story. It feels like so much longer. I also can't believe I actually manage to finish Part II in time. I literally just finished it and I couldn't wait to get it out to everyone.

I'm also including some lyrics from a song I was listening to while writing the last two parts of this chapter. This chapter is kind of a tear jerker. Well, maybe it's not but I know I cried a lot while writing it. The song also made the last two parts of this chapter super emotional for me too. The song's called 'Stranger Still(Acoustic Version)' by Blossoms and parts of the song kind of reminded me of Emma and Bucky even though the song doesn't have to do with fathers and daughters. I think the song's about a girl who left this guy who's still in love with her but there's a couple lyrics that really stuck with me as well as the longing and sadness conveyed in the song through the music so I'm still using it for this chapter. If you want to you should listen to the acoustic version of that song while reading the last part of the chapter. I don't know about you but I think it made me cry even more when I edited that last scene.

Have you guys seen Ant-Man and the Wasp yet? I won't spoil anything but I just want to say that Marvel's super evil for those post credit scenes. But all in all, I really enjoyed the movie. It was nice to have a good laugh after all the shit in Infinity War.

Purplestan: Emma's not going to be super detailed when she tells Steve and Bucky. She was only detailed in telling Peter because she had never really talked about it with anyone to that extent before. It's still going to be super emotional for her though.

Snapplecrackles: I kind of decided what I'm doing with the Infinity War storyline but I'm also not completely sure because I've heard rumors that there's going to be a five year time jump in the next Avenger's movie(rumored to be named Endgame). Apparently they casted a sixteen year old actress to play Scott's daughter Cassie which is why people think this. I do have an interesting idea for what would happen if there was a time jump but that's why I'm in no rush to write the Infinity War storyline. I still have a long way to go so I'm not worried.

Assbitch67: I just want to say it's not going to be forever until Steve, Bucky, and everyone else find out about Emma and Peter. The waiting to tell Steve and Bucky thing until things finish out with Rumlow isn't going to go exactly like they had planned. Nothing ever does. You'll also see a suspicious Natasha again in this chapter. And I know I haven't given Emma and Natasha much time to interact but I was mostly just focusing on her reunions with Bucky and Steve. We'll see more interactions between Emma and Natasha over the next few chapters.

Gilyflower: Thank you for reminding me of that! I also forgot about that and I'll make sure to do something with the Ned comment when I get the chance which probably won't be too long.

extremeninja09: Your comment made me laugh so much! It actually inspired to write a certain part in this chapter which I'm sure will become fairly obvious when you read it.

Blue: Emma and Peter only text each other when they let each other know where the other's at. I don't think they're really a texting sort of couple and Emma's definitely not someone who's into texting if she's anything like me which a small part of her is. It's not that I don't like texting but it's just something I neglect. I just feel like seeing or talking to people in person. The whole constantly checking your phone thing annoys me. I know I sound like the oldest twenty year old but I'm really not great at getting back to people about things in that form. Emma's the same way. Besides she's not really like other teenagers since she doesn't like social media, texting, or doing normal teenager stuff. Emma and Peter also spend a lot of time together so there's really no point in them texting too. However, your review kind of gave me a really interesting idea for the next chapter which I'm really excited to write so thank you.

I was also thankfully able to update the chapter just in time for the anniversary which makes me so happy that things worked out this way. I really want to write the AU ideas someday although I'm pretty sure the first one will make me cry a lot. I also have a couple of other ones I'm thinking of listing on there too although I doubt I would ever do all of them.

alleya02: I know it's been forever since Emma and Steve have been together. I think we've spent more of the story without him than with him. It took a lot of patience but I'm glad I was able to wait this long because I wasn't sure if I could make it. There was a couple instances I just wanted to give in and bring them all back but I've had this storyline planned for so long that I knew I had to stick with the plan.

Darcy showing the videos to Steve and Bucky is eventually going to happen but I'll just say that it's not going to be the way they find out. I have a much funnier and amazing scene planned for that moment. I also know that Darcy hasn't been in the chapters lately, only for like a minute, but she will probably make a return next chapter when she meets Bucky.

Another random account: Sorry but your emotions will probably be more of a mess in this chapter. I honestly didn't even cry writing the last chapter but I did writing this one and it's super hard for me to cry.

Abigail Zimmerman: Thank you so much for the long review! I love super long reviews like these. Yeah, I really wanted to make it clear that this story isn't going to be all about sex. There's honestly probably not going to be more than a couple sex scenes in this whole story. I feel like I'll only include them if they're important to the story. The rest of the time, I'll probably just allude to it if it happens. Emma also only makes sexually suggestive comments most of the time because she's trying to get a reaction out of Peter. She likes making him blush but if he didn't react to the remarks then she probably wouldn't make them. Anyways...thank you for the review!

e2: I understand how you feel about the story and especially about the Thor: Ragnarok storyline but I can't rush these things. Especially when it comes to Emma finally being reunited with Steve and Bucky. It's important to the story(and to me) for them to have some time together before the whole world goes to shit again because once we get to Thor: Raganrok we're not going to see Steve and Bucky for a while because Infinity War also happens directly after Thor: Ragnarok. I'm not really in a rush right now but I don't personally feel like I'm dragging things out. Each chapter comes really naturally to me so I never feel the need to drag things out. The pace I'm going is just the pace I'm going so I'm not going to rush things. I'm super excited for the Thor: Ragnarok storyline too but it just requires some patience or else the story would just feel too rushed and then it would kind of be terrible.

Victorie the Posh Totty: Thank you! So glad you love the story and I hope you like the new chapter.

Leosright: I do have a reason for giving Emma the power of flight which will come up more over the next several chapters as we discover more about Howard Stark's super soldier serum. There was never any information about how Howard Stark created the serum, the one Emma was injected with, so I decided to be creative and go with it in this story.

Radioactive88: I was almost finished editing this chapter when I got your review but I'm glad. I just got some sad news right before I read your review and it just made me feel a bit better so thank you. It almost made me happy that you mentioned the beard. Steve's beard is a weird thing for me. I'm not sure if I love it or hate it. Kind of both, I guess. You'll definitely be seeing a lot of that kind of Bucky in this chapter. I hope you enjoy!

Thank you for all the reviews! I'm kind of proud that I was able to answer most of them but I'm still sorry if I didn't get to you. If you have any questions just PM me. Thanks for all the favorites and follows too. Also, I hope everyone here in the states had a great 4th. I spent the 4th watching Scream Queens on Hulu while dogsitting for my brother. It was actually the best 4th I've had in a while.

I also don't own the lyrics of the song 'Stranger Still' by Blossoms.

---

Since you've left my heart, there's a vacancy

Now I'm torn apart while I wait to heal

Say you want, say you want

Say you want me to save you

I'll wait, I'll wait for you

-Stranger Still(Acoustic) by Blossoms

---

"What are you still doing here, kid?" Tony asked Peter when he noticed that everyone else had left the lab. Most of everyone was getting reacquainted with their missing teammates but Tony didn't really have it in him. There was still a tension in the air that he would rather avoid. There was already so much that he had on his mind now. He was pretty sure the others were probably still pissed at him. Tony still remembered the way the others had looked at him in betrayal when he saw them at Raft. He doubted much had changed since then, but this was for the best, after all. Everyone was here to save the world…to save Emma.

"I just wanted to give Emma some time alone with her grandfather." Peter told the older man and Tony couldn't resist smirking at the kid. He was kind of glad for the kid's company even if he wouldn't admit it. It took a load off his shoulders at a time when he needed something like that.

"I happened to notice the thing back there with you and Mini Cap." Tony told him which made Peter blush. "How come you two told Cap you were just friends? Didn't want him to beat you up for playing tonsil tennis with his granddaughter?" Tony didn't think it was possible for the kid to blush more than before, but it was. He now understood why Mini Cap loved teasing the kid so much. The kid was hilarious when he was embarrassed.

"N-No." Peter denied as he stumbled over his words. "Emma just thought it would be a good idea if we waited to tell him about us until all this Hydra stuff is finally over. There's just a lot going on right now."

"I know, kid. I'm just messing with you." Tony told him before raising an eyebrow at him. "I think Cap will be okay with it though…when you guys tell him, I mean." Peter gave him a hopeful look.

"Really?" Peter asked him, and Tony smiled at him.

"Yeah, you're a good kid. I'm pretty sure when Cap was so busy not having a life and planning one for Emma instead, you were probably the guy he imagined for her." Tony said in a light-hearted tone. "Honestly, we all thought she'd end up with Loki so you're definitely a step up."

"Uh…thank you, Mr. Stark." Peter told him although he sounded unsure. Tony then shrugged.

"Of course, I would be more worried about daddy dearest if I were you. Let me tell you that I in no way envy you." Tony told Peter in a joking tone, but he was kind of serious at the same time. "I mean, I have some experience with father-in-laws and let me tell you how much Pepper's dad hates my guts. He'd probably kill me if he thought he could get away with it."

"Yeah but you're you." Peter said, and Tony gave him a slightly offended look.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Tony questioned, and Peter blushed before elaborating.

"Oh, I just meant that you kind of…well, you…uh…you may have had a not so nice reputation with girls before Pepper." Peter said nervously, afraid of hurting the billionaire's feelings. Tony surprised him by laughing in amusement and shaking his head at the young teenage boy.

"Yeah, I guess I was an idiot in those days. I kind of have to pay for it now with Pepper's dad." Tony told him sincerely. "I doubt that man will ever not hate me."

"Well, I think you're great, Mr. Stark." Peter said loyally, and Tony smiled softly at the teenage boy.

"Thanks." He told Peter before deciding to give Peter a bit of advice for the future. "Let this be a lesson to you, kid. Don't do what I did."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked in confusion and Tony sighed.

"Emma's the only girlfriend you've ever had. Someday when you're older, you might get curious which is only natural because you're so young and inexperienced." Tony told him honestly and Peter looked offended at Tony's remark. He huffed angrily as he crossed his arms.

"Are you saying that I'm going to cheat on Emma?" Peter said angrily, and Tony groaned because he hadn't meant to piss Peter off. He was never exactly tactful when giving out advice which is what he'd been told in the past.

"No, I'm just warning you. There might come a day when you wonder what being with someone else would be like." Tony told him, and Peter shook his head furiously.

"No, I won't. I won't ever want anyone other than Emma. She's the only one for me, Mr. Stark." Peter told Tony firmly and Tony wanted to groan at how little the kid listened to him. It wasn't like he was accusing him of anything. He was just trying give him advice.

"I'm trying to be realistic here, Peter. Emma and you are both so young. You don't know what else is out there which is why I, as someone whose seen all that's out there, am going to tell you that there isn't anything else." Tony told him sincerely and Peter's angry look faded as a confused one took its place. He swallowed hard as he stared at the young, inexperienced boy.

"I just don't want you to make the same mistakes I did. You're never going to have what you have with Emma with anyone else. Believe me when I tell you that you'll never find another one like her out there." Tony said and there was a look of regret on his face that made Peter stop and listen. "If you ever let her go, it'll be the biggest mistake you ever make."

"I don't want to let her go. I love her." Peter told him softly and Tony nodded. "I'm never going wonder about being with someone else either. I already know there's no one else like her. How can there be?"

"I know you love her, Peter. I'm happy for you two crazy kids but I just wanted to make sure you knew that. I don't want you to ever have any regrets." Tony told him, and it was one of those rare occasions that Peter could tell that Tony really cared. Not just about Emma but about him too. Peter knew he wasn't just saying this for Emma's sake just like those other times, but this was more for Peter's sake.

"I'm going to marry her, you know." Peter said quietly, and he wasn't sure why he was telling Tony this. Maybe he wanted to let Tony know how serious he was about Emma or maybe he just missed having a father figure. If Uncle Ben was still around, Peter knew he would be talking to his uncle about Emma nonstop but he had been lacking in that sort of male figure in his life for so long. Tony looked up at Peter, but he didn't seem surprised, yet he didn't seem unsurprised either. He almost seemed a bit amused.

"Are you now?" Tony questioned, and Peter nodded, feeling very confident about that fact.

"Yes. I know we're young now but in a few years' time, I'm going to marry her. I've already decided this." Peter told him before looking slightly confused as to why Tony wasn't weirded out by this information. "Aren't you going to tell me I'm stupid?"

"Well, I would except for one tiny factor." Tony said calmly before smirking at the teenager. "How does Mini Cap happen to feel about this marriage proposal by the way?" Peter blushed as he shyly looked away from Tony.

"Um…I mean, she's kind of happy about it." Peter told Tony who looked incredibly doubtful.

"Really?" Tony questioned and Peter practically pouted as he begrudgingly told Tony about Emma's actual answer to Peter's idea of getting married.

"No. She actually told me that she's never going to marry me. Emma said that marriage is for lame and boring people like you and Pepper." Peter said truthfully, and Tony couldn't contain his laughter anymore. "Emma also said she would much rather live in sin."

"Yeah, that sounds like Mini Cap. Good luck with that one, kid. She's going to drive you nuts." Tony told him, and Peter smiled at him.

"She's already driven me insane." Peter replied but the smile was still present on his face. "But only in the best way."

"Glad to hear it." Tony said before smirking once more as something else came to mind. "I also wouldn't be talking about marriage too loudly now that her gramps and old man are back. Especially daddy dearest."

"What are you talking about?" Peter asked in confusion. "You just told me that Emma's grandfather will like me." Tony shrugged.

"Maybe but I can't say the same for Barnes. He's literally every guy's worst nightmare for a father-in-law. Pepper's dad is probably not even a quarter as bad as him." Tony told Peter and he honestly meant every word he said. He wasn't going to lie. Tony might've been a little worried for the kid's safety. "I don't know him on a personal level, thank god, and I hope I never do for obvious reasons but from the way Mini Cap always talks about him, I can tell they're close."

"But I don't see why he can't like me." Peter argued. "I'm good to Emma. I love her so much and I would never hurt her either." Tony sighed heavily as he was reminded yet again how young and inexperienced Peter was when it came to these things.

"I know that, kid…and you know that too but you're forgetting one thing." Tony told him, and Peter scrunched his face up in confusion.

"What's that?" Peter asked, and Tony just looked at him as if it were obvious.

"You've stuck your tongue down her throat and groped her boobs and ass on numerous occasions. Why else do you think he'd hate you?" Tony said to him sarcastically and Peter's eyes widened as he blushed in embarrassment once more. He seemed to be doing a lot of that during this conversation. Mr. Stark seemed to be even more blunt than Emma was.

"W-What are y-you talking about?" Peter stuttered as he looked at Tony with an expression of horror on his face. Tony scoffed as he gave Peter a look of disbelief.

"You think I'm stupid, kid? Do you honestly expect me to believe that you and Mini Cap haven't been up to anything naughty?" Tony then rolled his eyes as he continued. "This entire place has cameras everywhere. You and Mini Cap's horny teenage make out sessions in the recreational area during movie night haven't gone unnoticed. You two should really be more discreet."

"Oh…I forgot about the cameras." Peter said quietly as he looked fearfully at Tony who had warned him once against Emma and him inappropriately touching. He thought Tony was going to kill him, but he was surprised yet again to see that Tony appeared amused at the most. "You're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad?" Tony questioned, and Peter looked at him in disbelief.

"Because you clearly told Emma and I not to do stuff like that." Peter told him, and Tony just rolled his eyes.

"I told you that because that's what an adult is supposed to say to two horny teenagers who live in rooms right next to each other and who seldom have adult supervision." Tony informed Peter in a tired voice. "I didn't think you two would listen anyways because you never listen to me. Especially Mini Cap. Mini Cap does what Mini Cap wants."

"So why haven't you grounded us or anything?" Peter questioned, and Tony almost laughed.

"Me ground Mini Cap? Are you insane? I don't have a death wish." Tony told him, and Peter was starting to think that maybe Tony let Emma get away with a lot of stuff. Not that Peter was complaining or anything. He didn't think he could complain about any of the stuff he and Emma did when they were away from prying eyes…or at least when he thought they were away from prying eyes.

"I also don't know how to ground Mini Cap without her somehow threatening to cut my balls off so I'm just going to leave this for Cap and the Manchurian Candidate to handle." Tony said almost casually, and Peter gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked carefully, and Tony smirked at him.

"You don't think things around here are going to be the same now that they're back, do you?" Tony asked rhetorically before clarifying. "What? You think that you and Mini Cap can go sneak off to do gods know what with her gramps and old man hanging around? You weren't around when Cap was here, kid."

"I don't understand." Peter said in confusion and Tony just looked entirely amused as he stared back at the naïve boy.

"When Cap was here he watched Mini Cap like a hawk. He rarely let her out of his sight." Tony informed him as Peter began to connect the dots. "The days of you and Mini Cap sneaking around with each other to unleash your little horny teenage desires are over. You honestly think that once Cap learns that you two are an item that he'll just let you be around her unchaperoned? He's going to keep a very close eye on you." Tony then sighed before continuing as Peter's eyes widened in surprise as he considered what Tony was telling him.

"I can't even imagine what daddy dearest is going to be like when he learns his precious little girl is in the clutches of a horny teenage boy. I can't stand the guy, but this will definitely be entertaining." Tony then laughed before winking at Peter. "Don't worry, kid. I'll protect you."

"He can't be that bad." Peter said nervously although he didn't sound very convinced himself.

"Look at it this way, kid. This guy obviously has an attachment to Emma and so does Steve. She's the most important thing in their lives." Tony explained to Peter to help him understand that things were different now. "They're both used to having Emma to themselves and they're probably okay with sharing her with each other because they're old war buddies. However, I can tell you now that they're not going to be okay with sharing her with you." Peter gulped as Tony moved closer to him, giving him a serious look.

"You're the kid that wants to get in Mini Cap's pants." Tony told him rationally and Peter opened his mouth to argue but Tony didn't let him finish. "Don't deny it. You're a little goody two shoes but you're still a teenage boy. I was your age once and I know exactly what goes through your mind." Tony didn't waste any time making his point in the discussion.

"Anyways…this also means that they're destined to not trust you or even like you. You make one tiny little mistake and you're dead." Tony told the now scared boy. "They'll probably even get Romanoff, Wilson, and Barton in on it too."

"Why are you telling me this?" Peter questioned, looking scared out of his wits. Tony realized that Pepper was right. He was really bad at comforting people. "I was looking forward to meeting her dad and now I don't know how I feel."

"I just wanted to warn you that things aren't going to be the same around here." Tony said as he shrugged. "I wouldn't really worry about it that much, kid. Mini Cap's crazy about you. She won't let them kill you."

"Gee, that's comforting." Peter said sarcastically.

"You're welcome." Tony said smugly, and Peter decided to distract himself from the thought of Emma's father who he was now terrified to meet. He gave Tony a slightly curious look as he brought up something that Tony had been avoiding talking about. Not even Pepper managed to get anything out of him about the subject.

"So, uh…how are you feeling?" Peter asked Tony slightly nervously as he changed the subject. He really didn't want to think about what Emma's dad was going to do to him. Tony gave him a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" Tony questioned, and Peter blushed as he nervously fidgeted with a loose piece of thread on the hem of his shirt.

"I meant how do you feel about Emma's dad coming back…especially since…you know…" Peter awkwardly trailed off and Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Since he killed my parents, you mean?" Tony inquired, and Peter swallowed hard before answering.

"Yeah…that." Tony just sighed.

"Am I excited that the guy who murdered my parents is coming here? No. Obviously not." Tony stated before he sighed heavily. "However, I get that it wasn't really him. It was Hydra the whole time."

"It probably still doesn't make it easier seeing him, right?" Peter said sympathetically, and Tony looked down at his hands before nodding.

"No, it doesn't." Tony admitted before realizing that he was just going to have to somehow get over it…at least for now. "But I don't have a choice. You were right last night. This is the right thing to do and this is going to be what's best for Mini Cap."

"Isn't this going to be super awkward for you though…the both of you?" Peter questioned, and Tony rolled his eyes.

"It's already awkward, kid." Tony told him as he shook his head. "Anyways…it looks like I'm just going to have to deal with it."

"I'm sorry." Peter said sadly, and Tony gave him a slightly bewildered look.

"Sorry for what?" Tony questioned, and Peter shrugged.

"For having to do this. I can't imagine how hard it must be for you." Peter said honestly before continuing. "Don't get me wrong. I wanted him to come back because of Emma but I know it can't be easy for you. I'm sorry if I pushed you too far last night."

"You were right to push me. Everyone was right about me sitting on my ass and doing nothing." Tony admitted. "You finally got me to realize what I had to do. Thank you."

"I'm still sorry." Peter told him quietly and Tony gave him a small smile.

"I'll be fine, kid. I mean…Manchurian Candidate and I aren't going to be shooting hoops any time soon, but I'll be fine." Tony said reassuringly to Peter. "Don't worry about me. Your priority right now is Mini Cap, okay? You got it?" Peter nodded although he still looked slightly concerned for Tony.

"Yeah…I-I got it. Emma's safety." Peter told him, and Tony continued to smile at him as he awkwardly patted him on the shoulder.

"Good." Peter then gave Tony an unsure look as he looked up at him.

"Do you want a hug or something? You seem like you might need one." Peter told the billionaire who made a face at Peter's suggestion.

"We're still not there, kid. Don't ruin the moment." Tony told him, and Peter nodded, realizing he probably misjudged the situation. "I'm not Mini Cap. If you want a hug, you better go talk to that girlfriend of yours."

"Right, yeah. Sorry." Peter hurriedly said as they moved past Peter's odd suggestion. There was a silence that then fell between the two of them which made Peter regretful because now he was just left alone with the thought of Emma's dad. Now he wasn't so confident about meeting him anymore. The thought of ever meeting the Winter Soldier again was always intimidating but now that Tony discussed how much the former assassin was going to hate him, he was even more scared. What was he going to do? Tony was right. Emma's dad was never going to like him. Peter was dating the man's daughter and not to mention the fact that he and Emma had decided to take that next step in their relationship. What if Emma's dad found out about that somehow? What if Emma told him about that? Emma never had an understanding over what she could or couldn't share with people…especially people like her dad and grandpa. Peter only realized after that long conversation with Tony that he was doomed. He had a feeling that the Winter Soldier really wasn't going to like him.

---

Her heart might've jumped out of her chest as she stared up at the sky. Emma realized in that moment that her father was finally coming…the moment she had been dreaming of for a long time. It had slightly surprised her to hear that her father had been in Wakanda all this time, but she was mostly just happy to have him back. Everyone was waiting outside on the landing pad for Emma's father, T'Challa, and Shuri to arrive. Well…not everyone. The only ones that didn't seem to be around were Tony and Peter. Tony for obvious reasons and Peter because he probably wanted to keep Tony company while also letting Emma spend time alone with her family. Emma really couldn't ask for a more understanding boyfriend.

Vision and Wanda also seemed to not be around, but they were probably having weird reunion sex. She had seen the way they were staring at each other earlier and it was enough to make her want to throw up. Emma kind of also wondered how the hell sex with Vision would work. Not because she was interested herself, gross, but just because she was curious. Did he even have a penis? Could he conjure one up like he conjured up his cape? If so, then was he just like a walking, talking dildo? Could Wanda just tell Vision what she wanted, and he'd make it happen? Emma decided that she would ask Wanda but only to embarrass her although not in an "I hate you" way like it used to be with them. More like in a "I guess I don't hate you" kind of way.

"What are you thinking about?" Steve asked her as they stood by themselves a short distance away from the others. Emma shrugged nonchalantly, not at all ashamed by her thoughts. She had half a mind to share her theories about Vision's penis with Peter just to embarrass him. Emma also wanted to ask the android himself to see if she could finally manage to get a reaction out of him.

"Just something to distract myself with. I'm really nervous." Emma said as she kept staring up towards the sky. It was true too. Emma was, in fact, nervous. The only time she had felt this nervous before was when she told Peter she loved him for the first time.

"Why are you so nervous? It's only Bucky." Steve asked her, almost amused at the sight of a nervous Emma. She shrugged.

"I don't know. It's been so long since I've been around him and I'm not talking about that day in Germany." Emma confessed as Steve listened to her. "The only time I had with him was in Hydra…when we killed people. I guess I'm just afraid that we won't have anything in common now that we're not in Hydra." Steve gave Emma a sympathetic look as he rested his hand on her shoulder in comfort.

"I'm sure that's not true, Emma." Steve told her honestly. "Bucky and I spent some together before he went into the Cyro-Chamber. He loves you just the same as he did all those years ago. That will never change." Steve then briefly paused before continuing and Emma watched him with her full undivided attention.

"I used to be jealous of you and him, you know." Steve told her somewhat hesitantly and Emma gave him a confused look.

"What?" She questioned, and Steve swallowed hard before continuing.

"I know it sounds stupid…to be jealous of my best friend but it's true." Steve said quietly. "When I woke up from the ice all those years ago, I thought I lost everything. I thought I lost Bucky, Peggy, my son, and even you. It was more painful than you can imagine."

"But then I learned you were alive." Steve told her, a small smile graced his face. "I don't know what I expected when we rescued you. I know it's silly, but I thought you'd come running into my arms and we'd run off into the sunset together. It's naïve, I know." Emma shook her head, a sad smile on her face.

"It's not naïve." She said softly but Steve just continued.

"I heard the way you talked about him all the time…how you considered him to be your father. I guess I always wanted you to think of me like that…like a dad." Steve said as he looked almost shyly away from her and it was then that she could really see the similarities between him and Peter. Emma almost smiled at the sight. "But then Bucky and I got to talking about when we were hiding out in Wakanda together. I realized that there was nothing to be jealous about." Emma raised an eyebrow at Steve's explanation.

"I'm happy that you had someone who cared and loved you for all those years when I couldn't. I'm glad Bucky had that too." Steve told her truthfully and Emma smiled at him. She placed her hand in his as she looked up at him with a kind expression on her face.

"I do consider you to be my father as well, you know." Emma told him abruptly and Steve gave her a surprised look. "I don't know why I never called you that, but I guess change is difficult for me."

"What about Bucky?" Steve asked her softly and Emma laughed.

"I don't mind having two fathers, Steve. It's 2017. A girl can have more than one father." Emma told him much to Steve's surprise.

"Yes, but Bucky and I aren't…you know we're not…well, we aren't like that." Steve said as he blushed, and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Steve. I know you and Papa aren't gay lovers. I'm aware of that." Emma told him before smirking. "Although you can tell me if you and Papa ever…experimented in your younger days. I wouldn't mind." Steve gave her a disgusted look.

"Don't be gross." Steve told her, and Emma snickered.

"Geez, Steve. I know you're from the 1940s but there's no need to be homophobic. Love is love…attraction is attraction." Emma remarked, and Steve groaned.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Steve told her, and Emma just laughed at him.

"Still…I don't mind having two dads." Emma told him truthfully once she sobered up from her laughter and Steve gave her a sad look.

"I always wanted you to have a mother though. Every girl needs a mother." Steve told her, and Emma shrugged.

"Not me. I never needed a mother. I just needed you and Papa." Emma told him, and Steve smiled at her. He reached forward and gently tucked a loose strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. As the sunlight hit her face, he noticed that his granddaughter looked remarkably pretty. He always thought she looked beautiful but now that she was older he noticed that she had something of a rather womanly beauty about her. It made Steve slightly troubled because it proved to him how much she had grown up. He didn't doubt that she had a lot of boys chasing after her at school. The only thing that brought him some comfort was the fact that he knew Emma wanted nothing to do with those boys.

"Two fathers you'll have then." Steve told her, and Emma smiled at him again. She was about to respond when they heard something in the distance. They both stared back up at the sky and a smile graced Emma's face as she saw an aircraft in the sky. It was a high tech looking one, even more high tech than any of the ones Tony had made. Everyone grew quiet as the aircraft landed and Steve thought it was best to mention something to Emma before he went and got ready to greet the group when they exited the aircraft.

"I should mention something to you, Emma." Steve started to say but Emma was barely paying attention.

"Yeah." She said distractedly.

"You don't have to bow to T'Challa or anything. It doesn't work like that in Wakanda." Steve informed her, and Emma nodded as she took in that information.

"Good. I wasn't going to anyways." Emma said dryly, and Steve gave her a stern look. He swatted her on the arm and she fought the urge to laugh at him. She knew it sounded ridiculous but she kind of missed it whenever he lectured and scolded her.

"I still want you to treat him with respect. He's helped me and Bucky out a lot. We owe him big time." Steve lectured, and Emma just rolled her eyes at him.

"I was only kidding. I'll try and be nice to him." Emma said, and Steve gave her a pointed look.

"Be nice to his sister too. She's a really nice girl but she hasn't spent much time around kids her own age. I know you know what that's like." Steve told her seriously, wanting to make sure Emma was on her best behavior around the king and princess. "Just be nice to her and show her around." Emma sighed heavily.

"Fine…I'll be nice to the princess. She helped Papa, so I suppose I owe her." Emma said but she honestly hoped this princess wasn't a prissy little bitch like she always imagined princesses to be like. Emma would be damned if she had to hang around some pampered princess who thought she was better than everyone else. Of course, Emma didn't voice these thoughts to Steve because she knew he'd lecture her again about being nice to people. It was funny how Steve was the only one she'd actually listen to.

"I'm glad to hear it." Steve said as the aircraft finally landed. Emma swallowed hard as she stared at the large aircraft, feeling nothing but the feeling of butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. The anticipation of finally seeing her father after so long was almost too much to bear. She couldn't believe it. He was finally here.

The doors finally opened, and Emma saw three figures walk down the ramp. She frowned when she noticed that not one of them was her father. T'Challa came walking down the ramp and onto the landing pad with two women on either side of them. One was a woman who looked to be around T'Challa's age. She was dressed in a very beautiful but intricate looking garment with a large and pretty (at least to Emma) looking spear in her hand. However, the thing that Emma noticed the most was that the woman had no hair. She assumed that this must've been one of the warrior women she had been hearing about ever since Wakanda made themselves known to the public. The woman had an expression on her face that told Emma that she wasn't a woman to fuck around with. Emma resisted the urge to smirk. She was sure the woman might be fun to spar with.

The other woman at T'Challa's other side didn't look to be a woman much at all but instead a teenage girl. This must've been the princess Steve had told her about. Shuri. Emma didn't know what she had expected when she finally met the princess, but it certainly wasn't the girl standing next to T'Challa. The girl was beautiful not doubt but she wasn't dressed in a frilly gown or wearing a tiara. Emma didn't know why she thought she would be wearing a tiara. She knew Thor, who was also a prince, yet he never wore a crown as far as she was aware. Emma supposed what surprised her the most was the fact that the princess looked like any other girl. She didn't dress much differently than herself or Michelle.

"T'Challa." Steve greeted casually, and the king grinned back at Steve as they met on the landing pad. At this point in time, the rest of everyone had joined the party as they gave T'Challa and the two women welcoming smiles except for Emma who just crossed her arms and looked at them suspiciously. She had a reputation to keep up, after all.

"Captain." T'Challa greeted in his thick Wakandan accent and even though Emma was keeping up a tough exterior, she really had to take the time to admire T'Challa's good looks. She teased Peter all the time about how hot she thought the Black Panther was but, in all honesty, the Wakandan king really was attractive. However, Emma still didn't think he was nearly as hot as her little Spider-Twerp. No one was. Besides…T'Challa was super old which was gross. He wasn't elderly like Tony, but he was still old.

"I'm glad you came. Thank you." Steve told the king and T'Challa just nodded.

"Of course, Captain. There's no need thank us." T'Challa told them before smiling at each of the other Avengers. "Despite the circumstance, it's great to see all of you."

"We missed you too, Bagheera." Sam said as he smirked at the king. The warrior woman glared at him while the two royals only seemed to laugh. T'Challa shook his head in amusement.

"Its great seeing you again, Sam." T'Challa said before his gaze finally landed on Emma. His smile seemed to brighten up the moment he saw the blonde girl.

"Miss Rogers, I feel like I already know you. Your father and the Captain have told us all so much about you." T'Challa told her as he greeted the teenage girl. Shuri gave her a curious look as well because this was the girl that Bucky had spent so much time talking to her about. Shuri almost felt like she knew Emma Rogers as well. Emma kept a calm demeanor as she looked at the king carefully.

"Really?" Emma said quietly and T'Challa nodded.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person…or on better terms I should say." T'Challa said as he winced at the memory of him and the blonde fighting last year at the airport. He was slightly ashamed of how he had fought against a child that was the same age as his sister even if he hadn't known it at the time. T'Challa regretted his actions and wished that he hadn't acted so hastily after thinking he knew the truth behind his father's death. He was just glad that he hadn't hurt the young girl in the process.

"Same here." Emma said, still keeping herself at a distance and especially since she didn't really know T'Challa. The man must've been informed of Emma's distrustful nature as he only smiled at her before introducing the two women at his side.

"This is Okoye." T'Challa introduced as he nodded towards the older looking woman at his side. "The head of the Dora Milaje and my most trusted general." The woman only looked at Emma with a stoic expression on her face before giving her a brief nod.

"And this is my sister Shuri." T'Challa said as he gestured to the teenage girl who smiled brightly at Emma.

"My brother's right. We feel like we already know so much about you. Bucky can never shut up about you." Shuri said as she looked up at the tall blonde. Everyone watched Emma interact with the Wakandan royals because they had no idea how she would react to them. Emma was perhaps the most unpredictable person they knew. Everyone just hoped that she wouldn't offend anyone. It was silent for a moment before Emma said anything but when she did everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"Is it true that you helped my father?" Emma inquired curiously and Shuri smiled at the girl before nodding.

"Yes, I did." Shuri admitted as she then happily explained just how she helped Emma's father.

"I created a digital representation of his brain using the most high tech of bioscanners in Wakanda so that we wouldn't damage his brain while I attempted to find the problem." Shuri explained as she went into full scientist mode much to Emma's bewilderment.

"It was only then that I could figure out what the damage was which were the trigger words in Hydra's programming. From there I created an algorithm that would reset Hydra's programming and-" Emma interrupted the princess before the girl could ramble more about stuff that was really beyond Emma's understanding.

"I don't care how you did it. I'm just glad that you did." Emma told her bluntly and anyone else might've found the blonde to be rude but Shuri already knew what Emma was like from all of Bucky's stories. "I owe you." Shuri just smiled at the blonde before shaking her head.

"You don't owe me anything. I happen to really like your father. He's good company." Shuri told her and Emma gave her a doubtful look.

"I find that hard to believe. Papa's about as good company as I am." Emma told her, but it was then that she saw someone else walking down the ramp from the corner of her eye. She hadn't forgotten about him, but she had just been distracted by meeting T'Challa, Okoye, and Shuri. Everything seemed to stop the moment she saw her father walk onto the landing pad.

He looked different than what she remembered. Well, Emma didn't really know what she expected him to look like after a year. She noticed that he had a different arm than before. The arm seemed to glimmer under the sun as the light hit it. His hair was longer than she remembered, and he also had more scuff than usual although nothing like Steve's beard. There was something else that seemed different about him too. She didn't know what it was. Perhaps it was the fact that he looked healthier than she had ever seen him. There were no bags under his eyes nor was there any tiredness to be seen there. Emma was frozen, but it was only when his eyes landed on her that a huge smile broke out across his face. It struck Emma that she had never seen him look that happy before. She couldn't help but smile back, his smile truly infectious.

"Get the hell out of my way, Prince Charming." Emma told T'Challa as she rudely shoved him aside and sprinted towards her father. Okoye didn't look pleased at Emma's action but Shuri seemed to be laughing hysterically at her brother. Steve tried apologizing for his granddaughter's antics but the Wakandan king just chuckled in amusement.

"Papa!" Emma exclaimed as the pair met each other half way. She immediately ambushed her father with a hug as he also wrapped her in his arms before lifting her up and spinning her around in a circle. Emma giggled as everyone watched in fascination as the two usually stoic former assassins were more emotional than they had ever been seen to be before. The only ones who didn't seem surprised were Steve, who knew the real Emma and Bucky, and then T'Challa and Shuri who were lucky enough to see Bucky's softer side.

"Malen'kaya." Her father said in Russian before he set her back down on the ground. He seemed just as happy as she was as he beamed down at her.

Bucky couldn't believe the fact that Emma was finally right here in his arms. He placed his hands on either side of her face as he stared down at her, taking in everything about her. Her familiar long blonde hair, Steve's eyes, and how bright and beautiful her smile was. Bucky also couldn't help but notice how grown up she looked. Was she this tall last time he saw her? Bucky couldn't remember. It was hard to believe that little girl, the one who used to follow him around everywhere, was the same girl standing before him today although she appeared much older than she was back then. Emma was nearly a woman now, he remembered. Sixteen.

Somehow, even with all the years that had gone by, she still looked at him in the same way as she did all that time ago. Even when he was mean to her and told her to go away, she still had that look of love and admiration on her face. However, it was clear to Bucky that Emma wasn't that five-year-old girl anymore. How did time go by so fast? It didn't feel like it was that long ago when she was so small that she hadn't even come up to his waist. Now she was only a couple inches shorter than him. Bucky kissed the top of her head before pulling away to look down at her.

"You really need to stop growing. Every time I see you, you look older." He told her, and Emma just laughed.

"That can't really be helped, Papa." Emma said as she then gave him a curious look as she looked him over. "You look like Father John Misty."

"Father who?" He questioned as he gave her a confused look, but Emma couldn't help but smile at him.

"I really need to show you my iPod some time." Emma told him, and he smiled back at her.

"I'd like that." Bucky told her before the happy expression on his face morphed into one of concern as he remembered just why he was there. "Are you alright? I heard about the attack last night." Emma just shook her head at him.

"I'm fine, Papa." Emma promised as she tried to reassure him. "Everything's fine…or at least it will be now that you're here." Bucky nodded but he still seemed worried.

"I promise I won't let anything happen to you. I'll kill those Hydra bastards if it's the last thing I do." He told her sincerely, his eyes full of promise. Emma sighed but nodded.

"I know." Emma told him because she did, in fact, know. She knew the lengths her father would go so he could protect her just like he knew the lengths she would go to make sure he was safe. There was a time long ago when they were all each other had. Emma would never forget that feeling.

"Buck." Steve greeted as he walked up to the pair. The blonde man grinned at his old friend while Bucky grinned back at him.

"Steve."

"How are you doing?" Steve asked him, and Bucky shrugged before looking at Emma who smiled back up at him.

"I'm doing good…more than good actually." Bucky told him, his arm still around Emma. Steve nodded.

"I'm glad to hear it." Steve told him before a more serious expression came across his face. "Listen, I think it's about time we head inside though. The faster we get this thing figured out, the faster we can end this once and for all."

"Wow, Steve. Way to go dark on us." Emma remarked, and her father gave her an amused look.

"Don't worry. We'll catch up later." He told her, somehow knowing what she was thinking. They had spent so much time together that it was always like that between them. Her father had never spoken much during their time at Hydra, so she learned to communicate with him in other ways. Whether it was by reading his facial expressions or body language, she learned how to read him, and he learned how to read her. They were in sync.

"I guess we should head in then." Emma said in response and Steve just nodded before he walked back in the direction towards the building. Emma and her father followed him as everyone else began to head inside.

As they walked back into the building, Emma could tell that her father was tense. Years of reading his body language taught her this. She knew why he was tense too. It was because he would be standing face to face with Tony Stark for the first time in a year. The last time they met hadn't gone so well so she could only imagine how difficult this was for him. Emma knew her father enough to know that he would never admit to something like that aloud, so she didn't question him about it. She just slipped her hand into his and squeezed his hand comfortingly. He looked down at her and they exchanged a smile as he squeezed her hand back. The two then walked into the compound in each other's company and it was like they were never apart.

---

There was a definite awkwardness in the room as everyone stood together in the lab. The Avengers weren't going to waste any time starting another meeting because they didn't have a lot of time on their hands. Hydra was most likely planning another attack and they needed to act fast. Everyone was even more tense than before now that Bucky was in the room. It didn't escape anyone's notice how Bucky and Tony purposefully avoided looking at each other. Emma expected this though. She didn't expect all to be forgotten but hopefully things wouldn't be this bad forever.

"So, Diego Ugalde is the only thing that connects these weapons and Hydra." Steve stated as he looked around at everyone. T'Challa nodded.

"That is who the man claimed to work for when we questioned him about the smuggled weapons." T'Challa confirmed. "I do not know if we should rely on his words. He is a smuggler and a common criminal."

"We've been monitoring his activity ever since you sent us that interrogation video last week." Rhodey told him. "So far he hasn't been doing anything suspicious. Throwing parties and having women over. Nothing weird for a celebrity." It was then, however, that Fury cleared his throat.

"T'Challa might be more right about this guy than you think." Fury stated as he looked around the room. Emma gave him a curious look. "I remember that name coming up in a debriefing of a mission over a decade ago." Natasha furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and Maria also looked confused as well.

"What mission?" Natasha questioned, and Fury sighed.

"In 1998, we discovered that Santiago Salazar was selling advanced weapons to numerous crime organizations as well as corrupt governments in Mexico. Weapons that he had obtained for an unknown third party." Fury said, and Emma was even more curious than before but mostly because she noticed the way her father stiffened when he heard the name.

"Santiago Salazar? Are you talking about the drug dealer…like the one that took over for Escobar and the Cali Cartel?" Emma asked, and Peter looked between his girlfriend and the former director of Shield curiously. He always wondered how Emma seemed to know so much about everything because Peter hadn't heard that name in his life. Maybe Pablo Escobar but definitely not Santiago Salazar.

"The very same one." Fury answered but continued to explain how Salazar and Ugalde were reverent to what was going on. "We sent two of our best agents on a undercover mission to try and uncover who was giving the weapons to Salazar. Agent Pierce and Agent Rogers."

Everyone turned to look at both Emma and Steve when they heard the names. The grandfather and granddaughter both looked just as surprised as everyone else at this information. Emma knew that her parents were Shield agents, but she rarely heard anything else about them. Clint's eyes widened realization when he heard this information. This must've been the mission Margot and Steven went on all those years ago. It was so top secret that not even Clint knew what really happened during that mission. Margot only ever mentioned that she and Steven posed as a married couple. She never said anything else and Clint never asked.

"Did you ever find out who was giving him the weapons?" Maria asked him, and Fury shook his head.

"No, we didn't. On the last night of their mission, Rogers was in a meeting with Salazar and potential buyers of the weapons…the night Salazar died." Fury said as he glanced from person to person. "He mentioned that Diego Ugalde, the actor, was one of the men at the meeting."

"Did you find anything on him?" Emma asked, and Fury looked back at her.

"The guy's record was clean. There was no trace of him in any illegal drug or weapons dealing. Nothing in the black market either." Fury told her, but it was then that Bucky stepped in. Bucky who had been rather quiet during the whole discussion until then.

"I remember them." Bucky said quietly, and everyone turned to stare at him. Even Tony, despite how difficult it was. "Salazar and Ugalde. I remember them."

"So, Salazar did work for Hydra then?" Clint mused aloud but Bucky shook his head.

"No, he didn't. He didn't know who Hydra was. They claimed to be someone else but he was eager to sell the weapons, so he didn't ask any questions. His mistake." Bucky informed everyone. Fury just nodded.

"After we discovered the reemergence of Hydra a few years ago, I suspected that they might've had something to do with Salazar, but I could never be sure." Fury added as he looked at Bucky. "You were the one who killed him, weren't you?" Bucky swallowed hard before nodding.

"Yes…I was there that night. The night you mentioned from before." Bucky admitted and Emma just continued holding onto his hand to show her support. Tony rolled his eyes. Was there anyone that this guy hadn't killed? "Hydra ordered a hit on him."

"Why?" Steve asked him, and Bucky shrugged before answering.

"I think it was because of your son, Steve." Bucky told him, and everyone grew very quiet when he mentioned Steven Rogers Jr. Bucky briefly remembered the familiar blonde man from that night all those years ago. They had briefly locked eyes with each other through the darkness before Bucky had run off. It was only now, after everything had become much clearer to him, that he realized that the blonde man must've been Steve's son…Emma's real father. "Your son and Emma's mother were getting too close to the truth and Hydra knew it was too risky to kill them, so they had me kill Salazar to shut him up."

"They would do that? They would even consider it?" Clint asked softly, becoming more involved in the conversation now that he heard Margot's name. "Pierce would do that to his own daughter?" Emma nearly rolled her eyes at Clint's question. She thought he was being stupid for someone who had been a Shield agent for most of his life.

"Pierce had no qualms about sending Rumlow to kill my parents and kidnap me years later so yes…I really don't think he had a problem with it." Emma said bitterly, and Steve gave her stern look for talking to Clint like that. She didn't know why he had a problem with that. She was just speaking the truth.

"What about this Ugalde guy?" Sam asked Bucky. "Do you remember him?" Bucky sighed heavily before nodding.

"Unlike Salazar, Ugalde knew what he was doing. He actively worked as a member of Hydra." Bucky told them as he recalled the first time he met the man. "I was there when Pierce recruited him. He took Salazar's place as Hydra's leading weapons dealer."

"I don't understand." Natasha said as she shook her head. "Was Hydra selling these weapons all along? How come they weren't on anyone's radar until now?"

"Hydra used to sell advanced weaponry in Salazar's day but nothing like the ones used in the attack last night." Bucky explained as everyone listened carefully to the former assassin. "They used to buy weapons from different weapons company. They seemed to like the weapons from Stark Industries in particular." Everyone then turned to Tony who looked almost dumbstruck at this news. Steve raised his eyebrows at the man while Rhodey just gave him a look of understanding.

"Stane?" Rhodey asked him and Tony nodded as he groaned.

"God, that evil old bastard's been dead for almost ten years and he's still haunting me." Tony said before looking back at everyone. "Dad's old business partner, Obadiah Stane, was selling my weapons to a lot of terrorists but I guess it shouldn't surprise me that he also sold the weapons to Hydra."

"I suppose the question we should be asking then is when did Hydra progress to weapons powered by the Tesseract?" Vision inquired, and it was Maria's turn to respond.

"I might actually be able to answer that." Maria said as she looked at Clint and Fury who both nodded in understanding because they were beginning to realize the same thing.

"Seventeen years ago, Shield ordered a raid on an old warehouse of Salazar's. He had been dead for years at the time." Fury said, and Maria continued from there.

"Agent Rogers, who was deputy director at the time, led the raid with Barton and I as well as a scientist." Maria informed everyone before her eyes finally rested on Peter. "Dr. Richard Parker…your father, I believe." Emma's eyes widened in surprise as she looked back and forth between Peter and Maria. Even Peter seemed surprised at this.

"You never told me your father worked at Shield." Emma said in surprise, almost hurt at the idea that Peter never told her something that important. Bucky looked in between his daughter and the teenage boy curiously as he noticed the boy for the first time during the meeting. Bucky and the others who had just arrived didn't have much time to get acquainted with any new individuals since the meeting started the second they walked into the room. Bucky wondered who the boy was. He seemed to be someone that Emma was on friendly terms with considering the way she spoke to him. She seemed almost offended that he didn't tell her about his father working for Shield.

"I uh…didn't know." Peter said, still in shock from this information. Emma just stared at him as she tried to understand this. Wait...did this mean their parents knew each other?

"Your father didn't work for Shield. He was on loan to us from the CIA." Clint informed them, but Peter was still confused. "Both your parents were although your mother didn't go on the mission. She was a data analyst, so she stayed behind with Margot." Emma didn't miss the way Clint talked about her mother…how he didn't refer to her as Agent Pierce or Emma's mother like the others did. He just called her Margot.

"That doesn't make any sense." Peter stated, beyond confused at this information. "Uncle Ben and Aunt May told me they worked at a college. They never said anything about the CIA." Maria just shrugged and even Tony was confused by this. According to the information he had retrieved about Peter when the kid first appeared on his radar, Peter's parents did, in fact, work at a college. He never saw anything about them being CIA agents. Yes, this was very suspicious.

"Well, he was a very gifted scientist. He was there to record and study any data we received from the warehouse." Maria said, and everyone listened carefully to what she said next. Peter was still shocked by this information. His parents and Emma's parents had met each other? How could that be? And did May know about his parents being in the CIA? If he did then why didn't she ever tell him? "We found the blueprints for weapons. Ones that I don't think we're much different than the ones in the attack last night."

"You're saying that Hydra made these weapons seventeen years ago?" Steve questioned, and Maria shrugged.

"More than likely. We thought that the blue prints were only plans for the future. Dr. Parker didn't seem to believe that there was a power source capable of powering such weapons." Maria said, and Fury nodded. "Not one made from mankind anyways and in a way, he was right."

"Steven suspected that the blue prints referred to the Tesseract as a power source but back then I wasn't concerned. The Tesseract was locked up nice and safe so why would I?" Fury explained, and Steve just nodded before looking back at Bucky.

"Do you know anything about these weapons?" Steve asked him, and Bucky just shook his head.

"I was only on a need to know basis. They only had use of me when they wanted someone dead." He said darkly, and Tony forced himself to look away from the former assassin as he tried to think of anything other than that video he had seen in Siberia. Now wasn't the time to let his personal feelings get in the way.

"Does this mean that Hydra had these weapons for seventeen years?" T'Challa asked, looking incredibly confused. "I don't understand. Why use them now and not before?" Natasha nodded along with T'Challa's question.

"Yeah, why not use them before? And why would they just give those other weapons to Salazar to sell too? Why didn't they use it themselves?" But it was Emma who answered them this time.

"Hydra's always liked to insight chaos…to reap wars. They thrive in chaos. That's why they gave the weapons to Salazar to sell in the first place or I'm assuming at least." Emma said seriously before continuing. "As for these Tesseract powered weapons…they were saving them for something big." Emma briefly paused as everyone listened to her intently.

"They probably didn't use them during the whole fallout of Hydra a couple years ago because they had Project Insight back then." Emma informed them, and her father nodded in agreement. "Other than Papa and me, Project Insight was their greatest hope. When you guys destroyed Project Insight, you destroyed one of their most powerful weapons. Not to mention how Papa ran away from them and when you rescued me. These weapons are all they have left."

"Are you saying that Tesseract and Vibranium made weapons are Hydra's back-up?" Tony asked her. "Because as back-ups go, you have to admit that it's not bad."

"So, what do they want?" Wanda questioned because she was fairly familiar with Hydra although not as much as Emma or Bucky. "They want to destroy the Avengers? Take over the world? What is it?" Emma shrugged.

"You never know with Hydra. Your guess is as good as mine. We're not going to know what they truly have intended unless they spell it out for us." Emma said and a serious look crossed Steve's face although deep down he was very concerned for his granddaughter.

"Well, we do know one thing." Steve stated as he stared at Emma and Bucky. "They really seem to want you…the both of you more than likely." Bucky shook his head.

"They want Emma more than me. Trust me when I say that." Bucky told everyone because he wanted to make it clear how much Emma was in danger. "You heard the things I told you about Hydra's squad of assassins. They're all gone now so Emma's the only one left. The assassins and Emma were supposed to be better than me in every way. Worse than the Winter Soldier. She's worth more to them than I am."

"But she's a child." T'Challa argued and Emma almost wanted to glare at the king, but her father stepped in before she could. Bucky then held up his arm, the one that wasn't made from Vibranium. He pulled the sleeve up and everyone could see what was hidden underneath. Everyone remarked at the large scar on Bucky's forearm as well as the fact that it looked like a small chunk of flesh was missing. They were surprised at this because everyone knew more than well that Bucky, Steve, and Emma had remarkable healing capabilities. So why hadn't Bucky's wound healed?

"She had a temper tantrum when Karpov backhanded her once." Bucky stated as he continued to show them the wound. Emma blushed because she knew very well what he was talking about. Peter clenched his jaw because he didn't like the thought of anyone hurting Emma in any way and especially when she was just a child. "She had nearly gouged his eyes out when I stopped her. Big mistake. I pissed her off and she bit a chunk out of my arm. She was seven."

"I said I was sorry about that." Emma muttered as her father pulled the sleeve back down before smiling at her. He gently ruffled her hair.

"I know, Malen'kaya." Her father murmured to her and Peter watched the two curiously. It was different watching Emma interact with her father and grandfather. He had never met anyone she appeared to be so close to before. The interactions with her father were actually very interesting to him. The way they held hands and how close Emma stood to him.

There was another thing Peter noticed about Emma's father. It was the fact that he didn't look as scary as Peter thought he would look…especially after that conversation he had with Tony earlier. Bucky Barnes even looked sort of nice…maybe. He seemed happier and more carefree than Peter thought but maybe that was because he was reunited with Emma. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Emma's father looked quite happy. Peter also wondered about the name her father called her. It sounded Russian, but Peter couldn't be sure. He wondered what it meant.

"That's why Hydra liked her." Bucky told T'Challa as well as the others. "She had the looks of a child, but she was far more dangerous than any of our targets could ever imagine. You don't understand how important she is to Hydra."

"So, help us understand, Bucky." Natasha told him as everyone's attention was glued to both Bucky and Emma. Bucky sighed heavily as he spared Emma a glance before looking back at everyone. Peter didn't really think he believed Emma's dad about her. Emma wasn't dangerous. But it seemed like love had made the teenage boy blind to just how dangerous she really was. Emma felt the same way about Peter even if he didn't know it. Emma would never hurt Peter, but she knew that there were ways she could hurt him even though he was stronger than her. It was the same as how Peter was stronger than Emma and could easily overpower her and do whatever he wanted if he desired it. However, they both knew the other would never do any such thing, so they never considered one and other dangerous.

"They invested so much time, money, and energy into her training. They wanted her to be better than me…to be more efficient. I was never enough for them…I had a lot of flaws which is why they always had to wipe my memories." Bucky said sadly, and Emma watched him silently. "I think they were hoping that they wouldn't have to do anything to Emma. That she would be easier to handle but a stronger and better weapon at the same time. They were hoping that a child would be easier to brainwash."

"I thought you said that they didn't want to do anything to Emma to make her comply?" Steve questioned, and Natasha shook her head.

"There's other ways of brainwashing someone without frying their brains. The Red Room had a lot of efficient ways of brainwashing back in the old days." Natasha told Steve. "Back in the thirties, they used to train girls as young as Emma was. They brainwashed them with images discreetly placed in cartoons and books. It wouldn't be hard to brainwash a child."

Emma knew that Natasha had a point. She supposed that Hydra might've brainwashed her in a different way than they had brainwashed her father. They used her father to brainwash her when they realized that the two had formed an attachment. Hydra would threaten him to make her comply with missions and when she completed the mission successfully, they would allow her to spend time training with him as a reward. It was enough to make Emma stay and never even attempt to escape. They had tried to tell her lies about the good she was doing but Emma never paid attention to them. She didn't care about whether or not she was doing the world any good. Her father was the only thing she had cared about back then.

"Look, you have to realize that Emma is important to Hydra." Bucky said as he tried to get everyone to see his point. "They'll do anything to get her back. They believe that they'll be able to get whatever they want if they have the Viper Assassin under their control. Everything Hydra does is a way to get Emma back and when they have her there's no telling what they'll do."

"I know, Bucky. We're all here now so Emma's safety is going to be one of our main priorities." Steve told him because he cared about Emma just as much as Bucky did.

"If they get their hands on her, they'll do to her what they did to me to ensure she never escapes again." Bucky told everyone, looking incredibly panicked and Emma frowned. Usually she would be annoyed by the fact that everyone was talking about her like she wasn't there, but she was mainly concerned about her father. He looked so worried. "They can't take her. We'll never see her again."

"They're not going to get her, Mr. Barnes. I won't let that happen." Peter said determinedly as he spoke up. "I promise." Bucky took a moment to stare at the teenage boy again, not noticing the small smile Emma gave the boy. He really had to wonder…who the hell was this kid? Why was there even some kid at this meeting? However, before Bucky could even respond to the kid's odd statement, Steve took over from there.

"We should form a plan then." Steve announced as he went into Captain mode. "I say we should interrogate the Hydra agent we have in the medical bay to start things off. We should see what he has to say…maybe he'll break. How's he doing?" Tony sighed as he brought up a surveillance video of the agent in his hospital bed. Everyone winced at how badly beaten up and injured the man looked. The Hydra symbol carved into the man's forehead really seemed to confuse them as well.

"He's talking but nothing useful to us. All he's doing is asking for a lawyer." Tony said in a bored voice before he smirked at Emma. "I think we should stick Mini Cap on him. I'm sure he'll talk then." Steve and some of the others gave her a surprised look.

"You did that?" Steve questioned, and Emma shrugged before answering.

"It was self-defense." Emma retorted and somehow most of everyone doubted that or at least that she had to go as far as she did to defend herself. Natasha just smirked at the young girl, impressed by her work, while her father gave her a proud smile.

"That's my girl." Bucky said approvingly as he patted her on the shoulder. Everyone stared between the two, unsure if they should find the encounter cute or creepy. Bucky congratulating Emma was almost as if he was congratulating her on acing a test or winning a soccer game. "What knife did you use?"

"A Ka-Bar but it was his knife. Not mine." Emma told him delightedly, happy that someone was finally proud of her fighting skills for once. "I took it from him. He didn't even see it coming."

"Good." Bucky said as he continued to look proud of her. "I taught you well."

"I know you did, Papa." Emma said as she smiled back at him. Steve had a look of bewilderment and disapproval as he looked in between his best friend and granddaughter. Everyone else just stared in shock at the two. Not sure what to make of this encounter. It wasn't until Tony awkwardly cleared his throat that they brought everything back to the task at hand.

"Right, well…I'm just going to ignore whatever the hell that was and mention that we should probably take another look at those weapons Hydra left for us." Tony said as he looked away from the creepiness that was Emma and Barnes. He could probably go his whole life without seeing or hearing something like that again.

"I'll send for Selvig, Foster, and Susan to come down and have a look." Steve looked up curiously when Tony mentioned Susan because he wasn't aware that she was here at the compound. However, he managed to remain professional and decided that maybe he would have a chat with her later when things weren't so complicated and dangerous like they were now. Tony then glanced in the direction of Shuri as he spoke again.

"Your highness?" Tony said with an almost teasing smile as he gave her a cocky smile. "You care to join in too? I've heard that you're even smarter than the likes of me. I'd like to test that theory." Shuri looked excited at the prospect of finally getting to work with Tony Stark but mostly she was just excited to bash his technology.

"Do you mind, T'Challa?" Shuri said as she looked at her brother. The Wakandan king just chuckled at the excited look on his sister's face.

"Go ahead. This is why you've come along with us, after all." T'Challa told her and Shuri seemed happy at his response. Tony then glanced at Peter.

"You want in on this too, Kid?" Tony asked him, and Peter seemed surprised that Tony asked him for his help in the first place. Tony had never asked him to help out in the lab before. Not to mention Tony was asking him to not only work with him but the princess too. Peter was only a little bit starstruck being around the Wakandan king and princess. He had never been around royalty before. Princess Shuri was also supposed to be one of the smartest people to walk the earth too.

"M-Me?" Peter said as he stumbled over his words before blushing. "Uh…yeah. I'll help. Of course, I'll help, Mr. Stark." Emma gave him an amused look. Her boyfriend was such a dork sometimes.

"Great." Tony said as he nodded in approval.

"What about Ugalde?" Rhodey inquired and Fury sighed before answering.

"Let's leave him be until we get more information from Collins. For now, let's just let him stay comfortable." Fury stated, and Emma had to agree with his plan. "The second he thinks he's under suspicion, he'll be gone, and it may be a while before we find him again." Steve nodded in agreement before looking around the room.

"Are we all in agreement then?" Steve asked, referring to how everyone felt about the next steps they would be taking in this battle against Hydra. Everyone seemed to nod which left Steve satisfied. Tony clapped his hands together as he then wrapped the meeting up.

"Everyone working in the lab with me just stay down here. Everyone else can settle into the rooms on the second floor but I have to tell you everything's a real dump right now." Tony informed everyone as he mostly directed his attention to the people who had never been to the compound before. "There's a training facility on the other side of the compound that should be in tact and there's kitchens literally everywhere so help yourselves."

It wasn't until Tony finished speaking that the meeting was officially over. People then began to speak amongst each other as they were left to their own devices. Emma couldn't help but notice how many people were here now. There was so many compared to last night. She was even becoming confident that they may stand a chance this time. Emma felt a hand rubbing her shoulders and she smiled as she looked up at her father. He returned her smile and Emma couldn't help but feel like she could get used to this…having her father around again and for it to be like this.

"Are you okay?" He asked her softly and Emma nodded.

"I'm better than ever." Emma answered, and it was true. She felt better and even more safer than she had felt several short hours ago when she didn't have her grandfather nor her father at her side. But now they were both here and she was happy.

"Uh…Mr. Barnes?" Peter said hesitantly as he approached Emma and her father. Emma just smiled at Peter in amusement while Bucky just looked at him like he didn't know what the hell he was doing there.

"What?" Bucky said gruffly, clearly not happy at being interrupted during his moment with his daughter. Peter gulped as he stared up at the former assassin. It was clear to him that Bucky wasn't nearly as polite or friendly as Captain America was.

"I uh…well I um…" Peter said nervously, and Bucky gave him an impatient look, clearly not as amused by him as Emma was.

"Well, what the hell is it? Spit it out." Bucky said impatiently, and Peter blushed, clearly not expecting this from Emma's dad. He had considered what Tony told him earlier, but Peter was expecting a first meeting between himself and Bucky to be something like when he met Steve just a short couple hours ago. The meeting with Steve went well but Peter was starting to think that this one might not go as well. Rhodey was somewhere in the background, laughing at a terrified looking Peter Parker. Even Tony, who had less than pleasant feelings about Bucky, couldn't help but laugh at the kid.

"I'm Peter Parker. I just thought I would uh…introduce myself." Peter nearly mumbled and Emma winced because she knew her father didn't like mumbling. He would always scold her when she was little for doing the same thing.

"Why?" Bucky questioned, and Peter suddenly wished he was anywhere other than there. Maybe Peter shouldn't have even come over here. He looked to Emma for help, but she just smirked at him. Peter wanted to glare at his infuriating girlfriend whose greatest hobby in life was seeing him be humiliated.

"It's just that I'm…well, I'm kind of…you see…" Peter said as he continued to stumble over his words before laughing nervously. Bucky looked at Peter like he was something he had never seen before but not in a good way.

"I'm Emma's friend. We're friends and I've always wanted to meet you because she talks about you all the time. I kind of even feel like I'm friends with you too. That's crazy, right?" Bucky looked at the boy in disbelief before looking back at Emma as if he was asking her if this was true. Could she really be friends with this guy? Emma just shrugged.

"We met before. I don't know if you remember me or anything, but we met in Germany." Peter mentioned as he gave Bucky a goofy smile and Bucky looked back at him with a confused look on his face. What the hell was this kid talking about? Bucky was pretty sure he would remember meeting such a fucking weird kid.

"You kind of threw this gigantic metal sign at me and then I threw it back." Bucky's eyes widened in realization before an annoyed look came over his face. The former assassin narrowed his eyes at the boy and the goofy smile fell right off Peter's face.

"You're that little asshole from the airport." Bucky accused, and Peter's eyes widened at the tone of the man's voice. Emma was no longer snickering in amusement as she then looked between her father and boyfriend worriedly. She found her father's attitude towards Peter hilarious at first but now it was starting to get serious. Emma didn't expect her father to welcome Peter into his arms and start calling him son anytime soon, but she still wanted her father to like Peter. This was important to her.

"I-I'm actually Spider-Man but yeah I'm the guy from the airport." Peter said as he tried to laugh off Bucky's glare before completely changing the subject. "I notice that you have a different arm than last time. I think this one looks way cooler…not that the other one wasn't cool but I just-" Bucky then interrupted Peter, soon growing tired of the boy's rambling.

"What's your problem, kid?" Bucky asked him impatiently and Emma swallowed hard before she stepped in from there. She didn't want Peter annoying her father so much that her father snapped.

"Peter's my friend, Papa." Emma said softly as she smiled at her father, trying to calm him down. Her father's expression softened when he looked at her. "He's nice and he's been really good to me while you and Steve were away."

Bucky just stared at Emma as he tried to piece together what she said. He just didn't understand it. Emma was friends with this kid? How could that be? He had only spent about five minutes in the boy's company and he already found him to be annoying. How could Emma stand this kid long enough to consider him to be her friend?

"Right…" Bucky trailed off, still not quite sure of what to make of Emma's apparent friendship with this kid. He also just wanted to get away from the kid. "I think I'm going to go talk to Steve for a few minutes. You don't mind, right?" Emma just shook her head.

"Of course not. Go talk to him." Emma told him before a more serious look came over her face as she realized something she was going to have to do…today. There was really no more time to put it off. It had to be done right now.

"Hey, do you think you guys can meet me upstairs in a little bit? I have something I need to talk to the both of you about." Emma told her father who gave her a curious look before he nodded nonetheless.

"Yeah, I'll tell Steve." He promised before he gave her an affectionate look and ruffled her hair playfully. Without another word, her father walked off in the direction of Steve, leaving her and Peter alone. It was only when her father was clearly distracted by his conversation with Steve, that they began speaking.

"Your dad hates me, Emma." Peter said abruptly as he looked at her with a worried expression on his face. Emma turned to look at him before she rolled her eyes at his dramatics.

"Don't be silly, Peter. Papa doesn't hate you." Emma told him, and Peter scoffed.

"Yes, he does. You saw the way he talked to me." Peter told her, and Emma just dismissed his complaint.

"Papa just takes a while to warm up to a person…just like me. I didn't like you when we first met either." Emma said before giving him a flirtatious look. "But now I just want you to make love to me. See? Things can change."

Peter's eyes widened in horror as he then clapped his hand over her mouth before looking around the room to see if her father or grandfather had heard. Fortunately, neither Steve or Bucky seemed to have heard Emma. They were both laughing about something. Emma smirked at Peter, who looked beyond terrified at this point, as she smacked his hand away. He was so cute when he was scared.

"Are you trying to get me killed?!" Peter said in a hushed voice as he glared at her. "And I thought you said no flirting." Emma laughed but neither her or Peter noticed that her laugh had managed to get the attention of a certain former Russian spy. Natasha watched curiously as Emma laughed at something the teenage boy said to her, but she was too far away to hear what they were talking about.

"Now what's going on over there?" Natasha said to Clint and Sam who she was standing next to. They both gave her confused looks, not having a clue as to what she was talking about.

"What?" Clint questioned, and Natasha nodded towards Emma and Peter. They followed her gaze and saw what the now platinum blonde haired woman was talking about.

"Is she actually laughing?" Sam questioned as he frowned at the sight. "What the hell, man? Do you know how hard it is to make her laugh? What's that kid saying that's so funny anyways?"

"She looks happy." Clint observed but Natasha was suspicious.

"Haven't you noticed that something feels a little off since we've gotten back?" Natasha said quietly, and Sam shrugged.

"Are you talking about that awkwardness between Steve and Tony? I think everyone's noticed that, Natasha." Sam said, and Natasha just rolled her eyes.

"No, I mean that…I just feel like something happened here while we were gone. Not the Hydra thing but something else." Natasha said, not really understanding what she was saying herself. "I also feel like the others know something we don't."

"You're just being paranoid, Nat." Clint told her, and Natasha chose not to say anything else, but she was still incredibly suspicious as she continued to watch Emma and Peter interact. Yes, there definitely was something going on here. Natasha just wasn't completely sure what that something was.

"You really know how to make me laugh, Parker." Emma told Peter from their little corner of the room. He pretended to be mad at her, but she knew he really wasn't mad.

"I'm serious, Emma. He really hates me." Peter said before whispering. He looked stressed out by this news. "If he hates me now then how is he going to feel when he finds out about us?" Emma sighed.

"You're being ridiculous, Peter. I already told you that he doesn't hate you." Emma told him once more and Peter bit his lip nervously, looking very scared as a thought crossed his mind.

"What if he makes you break up with me?" Peter wondered aloud, and Emma really thought he was being stupid now. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Stop being so dramatic. Papa's not going to do that." Emma said, sounding very sure of herself. "Even if he did then I wouldn't listen to him. I love him but he can't tell me what to do. I'm almost an adult now and I know what I want…which is you." Peter blushed.

"I don't think your dad would be cool with that." Peter said quietly but Emma looked defiant.

"Well, he's going to have to deal with the fact that there's another guy in my life now." Emma told him, and Peter swallowed hard as he looked back at her.

"I really want to kiss you right now." Peter said quietly, and Emma gave him an amused look.

"You're acting like we haven't kissed each other in days. Are you forgetting the fact that you had your tongue in my mouth this morning?" Emma said, and Peter looked around in fear again as he tried to see if anyone heard her. No one seemed to, but he really needed Emma to stop talking about that if she wanted him to live to see another day.

"I really wish you would stop talking like that." Peter muttered, and Emma laughed again.

"For what it's worth I really want to kiss you too, Parker." Emma told him, and he actually managed to smile and calm down when he heard that. However, his smile faded once he remembered what she told her father before he left.

"You told your father that you had something to talk to him and Steve about?" Peter asked her as he changed the subject. "Is it what I think it is?" Emma knew exactly what he meant when he said that. She smiled before she nodded.

"Yes." She answered shortly, and Peter felt the urge to hug her, kiss her, or just something so that she knew that she would be okay no matter what. But he knew he could do no such thing. Not in public at least.

"I'm proud of you." Peter told her, and Emma felt a bit better about the situation after hearing that. She looked at Peter adoringly.

"Thank you." She said softly, and Peter smiled back at her.

"No matter what happens, I'll still be here for you. You know that, right?" Peter said as his eyes met hers. Emma nodded once.

"I know." Peter seemed satisfied with her answer, so Emma decided to change the subject once more. She was going to tell Steve and her father the truth. There was no other way around it.

"Tony's finally letting you work in the lab with him…that's a big deal, right?" Emma said, and Peter smiled brightly as he felt the excitement come over him at the thought of finally being given an important role in the lab.

"Yeah, not to mention I get to work with Princess Shuri. She's supposed to be even smarter than Tony or Bruce Banner. I mean, she even helped your dad. She's also pretty too." Peter said obliviously as he forgot he was talking to his girlfriend and not Ned. Emma immediately glared at him. Peter's face paled when he realized what he had said to Emma. He laughed nervously as he tried to cover up his mistake.

"O-Of course she's not as pretty as you, Emma. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life. Not even a princess can compare to you." Peter said as he sucked up to her and Emma scoffed.

"You're full of shit, Parker." Emma told him, and Peter pouted.

"How come you can say how hot you think T'Challa is, but I can't even make a small, unintentional comment about Shuri being pretty." Peter pointed out and Emma huffed.

"Because when I say how hot T'Challa is, I only mean to tease you. I don't actually mean it." Emma replied. Well, T'Challa was hot but Emma didn't really see him that way. Her cute little Parker was way hotter to her than some silly king. Peter smiled sheepishly.

"Well, I was trying to tease you too." Peter said, and Emma narrowed her eyes at him. He was a terrible liar.

"No, you weren't." Emma said, and Peter wished that he could kiss her so that she could see that she was being silly. Peter understood where she was coming from. He got jealous all the time too. Especially when he saw the way guys like Flash stared at her.

"You don't have anything to worry about, Emma. I really meant it when I said you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." Peter said, being his usual cheesy self and Emma found it impossible to be mad at him. Besides… he did seem sincere when he told her that. Emma just didn't like hearing Peter call another girl pretty. Especially a girl who happened to be a princess and one who could understand Peter's interest in all things science way more than she could.

"Just because we're pretending to be just friends right now doesn't mean you can forget that you have a girlfriend." Emma told him, being her bossy self and Peter fought the urge to smile at her in amusement. In all honesty whenever Emma was jealous it really turned him on. He didn't know why but he liked how possessive she could be. She was never that bad when it came to other girls. Only when she thought certain girls were interested in him, but Peter wasn't interested in those other girls. Just her. His girlfriend was crazy, but Peter didn't mind one bit.

"I know, Emma." Peter said as he smiled at her, still clearly amused by her jealous nature.

"As long as that princess keeps her hands to herself then we won't have a problem." Emma said seriously, and Peter felt the distinct urge to grab her and kiss her senseless.

"I only have eyes for you, Emma." Peter told her as he looked at her adoringly. Emma rolled her eyes playfully but smiled at him nonetheless. They smiled at each other for a moment before a curious look came over Peter's face as he looked between her and the Wakandan royalty who were across the room talking to Vision and Wanda.

"How do I even say hello to them?" Peter inquired, and Emma gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked, and Peter nodded in the direction of T'Challa and Shuri.

"Like is there some formal greeting I have to do when I talk to them…like the Queen of England?" Peter asked innocently. Emma almost opened her mouth to tell him no since Steve said a formal greeting wasn't necessary but then she felt mischievous as she looked at her naïve boyfriend. An idea formed in her head as Emma gave him an innocent look as she answered him.

"Actually, there is." Emma said with a straight face. Peter raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of formal greeting?" Peter asked her, and Emma shrugged.

"A curtesy." Emma told him, and Peter stared at her in wonder.

"A curtesy? Really…" Peter trailed off and Emma nodded. "For guys too? I thought only girls curtseyed."

"Steve said it's the same whether you're a girl or a guy. That's how I greeted him and his sister out on the landing pad earlier. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about." Emma informed him, and Peter also nodded, putting what Emma said to memory.

"Okay. A curtsey…got it." Peter said before locking eyes with her again.

"I guess I'll go now. Good luck with your dad and grandpa." Peter told her sincerely and Emma smiled at him, almost feeling bad for messing with him. Almost.

"Good luck with the science stuff." Peter just smiled at her before he hurried after T'Challa and Shuri. Emma watched him go with a look of extreme amusement on her face. Despite how much she teased him, she knew she loved everything about him. Even the stuff that was annoying. He was a dork, but Emma loved him for being a dork. She only messed with him and teased him because she loved him that much.

"You were talking to that little boy for a long time." Sam remarked suddenly as he went to stand next to Emma, eyeing the teenage boy in the distance. Emma was broken out of her thoughts as she looked up at the man. She almost wanted to tell Sam that there was definitely nothing little about Peter, but she also knew it was probably best that she not mention that.

"So?" Emma retorted, and Sam raised an eyebrow.

"So, I just noticed that it's kind of weird." Sam told her.

"What's so weird about it?" Emma asked him, and he shrugged.

"I don't know. Last year you were beating the shit out of that guy in Germany and now you just happen to be good friends? It's weird." Sam told her, and Emma stiffened before she maintained a calm composure.

"I don't think there's anything weird about it. That's how Natasha and Clint met and they're good friends." Emma said coolly, and Sam raised his hands up defensively.

"Okay, I get it. He's your friend. That's nice." Sam told her honestly although he was kind of a little suspicious after Natasha's remark earlier. "I'm glad you have a friend. Having friends is a good thing."

"Thank you." Emma said quietly but she immediately smiled brightly when she watched her boyfriend finally approach T'Challa and Shuri. She immediately elbowed Sam in the ribs and he looked down at her in surprise.

"What?" He asked her, and Emma nodded her head towards the sight before them.

"Just watch." Emma told him as Rhodey walked up to them. He gave Sam and Emma a curious look as he noticed their gazed fixed on Peter, T'Challa, and Shuri.

"What's going on? What are we watching?" He asked them with interest, but Emma and Sam just shushed him. Rhodey instead chose to watch quietly to see whatever the hell it was that Emma had planned. It didn't take long to see what Emma was talking about as the teenage boy randomly curtseyed in front of T'Challa and Shuri.

"You're highnesses." Peter said politely as he curtseyed and Emma, Sam, and Rhodey began laughing at the scene, unable to control themselves. T'Challa gave the teenage boy a bewildered look while Okoye just looked disgusted. Shuri seemed to find the situation amusing as she tried to hide her laughter.

"That is unnecessary. You do not have to do that." T'Challa told Peter who blushed in embarrassment before turning and looking back at Emma who seemed to be laughing at him with War Machine and Falcon at her side. He glared at her. He knew he shouldn't have trusted her. She just loved messing with him, didn't she? She was such a spoiled little brat. A spoiled little brat he loved but a spoiled little brat nonetheless.

"What are you up to, Emma?" Steve asked as he walked to her, Sam, and Rhodey. Her father joined them too as he gave her a small smirk.

"I've only been here for an hour and you're already getting into trouble." Her father told her in amusement, but Emma just shrugged.

"That was a nice one." Rhodey told her as he grinned at her. "I have to try that out on someone in the future."

"You should try it on Bruce. Thor would never fall for it. He's a prince himself, after all." Emma recommended before giving it another thought. "Maybe he would fall for it. He told me about all those snake pranks Loki played on him so Thor's obviously not the sharpest tool in the shed." Rhodey's eyes sparkled with mischief before he nodded and walked off. It was only when the colonel left that Steve gave her a pointed look.

"You shouldn't talk about Thor that way." Steve told her, and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Yes, grandpa." Emma said sarcastically although she was honestly happy Steve was here in the first place for her to be sarcastic with. She missed their banter. Sam and her father snickered at the stern look on her grandfather's face. The stern look then changed as he remembered how much he missed Emma this past year.

"You got that kid good, Em." Sam told her with a grin on his face. He patted her on the back before he left just like Rhodey did. He was probably going off to go talk to T'Challa or maybe even to tease Peter. Emma was then left alone with Steve and her father. The two men looked down at her almost expectantly, but they also concerned.

"You said you wanted to talk to us about something?" Steve inquired curiously, and Emma's eyes widened. She had almost forgotten about that in the midst of pranking Peter. However, she knew she couldn't run away from Rumlow any longer. She had run long enough but she couldn't do it anymore. Telling Peter had been the first step but now she was faced with the prospect of telling Steve and her father. It didn't matter how scared she was, she still had to do it. But Emma knew she could do this…she had to. Rumlow wasn't going to have any more control over her. This was what she had to do. Emma sighed as the smile fell off her and a more grim look took it's place. Steve and Bucky exchanged a concerned look as Emma looked back up at them, an unreadable look in her eyes.

"We should go upstairs."

---

"So, what did you want to talk to us about?" Her father asked as he and Steve both sat on the edge of her bed. The room was still a mess from the explosion, but Emma hadn't had the chance to clean it up.

Bucky couldn't help but look around the room as he sat there next to Steve. He had never seen this part of Emma's life before, so he was curious about what she had been up to these past couple years. There was artwork that looked to be her own that littered the walls. Bucky nearly smiled when he admired Emma's talent for art. She was more like Steve than he imagined. Bucky also noticed an almost library like collection of books on her very large bookshelf. He could see all the classic literature that he remembered Steve burying his nose in as a kid but there was also books that looked more modern. Not to mention the large collection of vinyl records Emma seemed to have next to a record player and he couldn't help but notice all the posters on her walls that featured musicians that Bucky wasn't familiar with. There seemed to be a lot he was learning about Emma just from sitting in her room. He almost wondered whether or not they had anything in common at all, but he stopped when he saw the vintage Casablanca movie poster that hung above her bed. Bucky hid a smile. Maybe they had something in common, after all.

"Uh...yeah." Emma said as she nervously chewed on her bottom lip. Bucky was snapped out of his thoughts as he and Steve looked at Emma curiously. Steve eyed her nervous gesture, finding it odd because Emma was rarely nervous about anything. He wasn't forgetting the fact that she had been pacing the room just a second ago.

"Does this have to do with Tony or something?" Steve asked her, and Emma looked at him in surprise. "Natasha told me things weren't going that great between you guys last time she saw you." Steve wasn't sure if she and Tony were really okay like he said. He wanted to hear it from her.

"Tony?" Emma questioned before shaking her head furiously. "Tony and I are fine. We made amends or whatever months ago. I just decided that life's too short to hold grudges." Steve gave her a surprised look before he smiled at her. Bucky just looked curious.

"That's great, Emma. I'm proud of you." Steve told her, and Emma felt guilty at his praise. She didn't think she deserved it…not after she had lied to him for so long. Bucky gave her a worried look because he could tell from her body language that something was wrong.

"I um…well, I actually need to tell you guys something else." Emma said as she tried to prepare herself to say this. For some reason it felt harder to tell Steve and her father this news than it was to tell Peter. Maybe it was because she had been hiding this from them for so long. Emma just knew that she had to get through this. No matter what reaction they had to the news.

"Tell us what?" Bucky asked in confusion, looking concerned at Emma's odd behavior. Emma swallowed hard.

"There's something I never told you about what happened to me in Hydra." Emma said slowly as she looked between the both of them, trying to get a clear image of what their reactions were but they still looked incredibly confused. Her father just shook his head before he gave her a sympathetic look.

"Look, Emma, you don't need to say anything else. You and I both know what we went through in Hydra and that's enough." Her father told her softly, thinking that he knew everything that happened to her. "You don't have to say anything else."

"But you don't know!" Emma told him, her eyes welling up with tears. Steve and Bucky both gave the teenage girl concerned looks, not having a clue as to why she seemed so upset. Emma sniffled as she momentarily looked down at the ground, trying to gather the courage to finally tell the truth, before she looked back up at them. Her gaze softened when she looked at her father.

"You weren't there, Papa. They put you in the Cyro-Chamber, remember?" Emma said as she tried to get the words out. "It was when I was thirteen. Right before Steve and the others rescued me."

"What are you talking about, Emma?" Steve asked her in confusion and Bucky looked just as confused. It sounded like Emma was starting to lose it. She wasn't making any sense. Emma shook her head.

"I-It was Rumlow." Emma stated, her throat thick with emotion.

"I don't know what it was that set him off that night." Emma told Steve and Bucky who were still not understanding what Emma was saying. "I don't remember if I said something to him. I know you always told me to not mouth off, Papa, but sometimes I can't help it." Emma then looked down sadly, finding it difficult to look them in the eyes.

"Maybe it was just him. Maybe he always wanted to and something held him back from doing it before but maybe he just couldn't stop himself anymore." Emma said quietly as a tear fell down her face. Steve's heart nearly broke at the sight because he didn't know what was causing her to cry. It was rare that she cried but when she did, it broke his heart. Bucky felt overcome with emotion as well as he watched the scared and hurt look on her face. What frustrated him the most is that she wouldn't say what it was. What was she talking about? What did Rumlow do?

"Jesus Christ, Emma, just tell us. What the hell did Rumlow do?" Her father demanded, and Emma knew that there was no going back from here. Once she told them then that was it. She could never take it back or pretend it never happened. After this, it was more than likely that everyone would know. Emma didn't like the idea of it, but she didn't have a choice anymore. She was done running from her problems.

"He raped me." Emma finally said with as much strength as she could manage. It was silent in the room for a couple minutes after Emma finally confessed the thing she had been hiding from everyone all these years. Her father and Steve stared at her in silence as they tried to process this information. A part of them might've even thought they heard her wrong but the look on her face told them otherwise.

"I-I didn't know what to do." Emma said, explaining her actions when neither Steve or her father said anything. "He came into my room and threatened us, Papa. I just thought it would be easier to let him do what he wanted. I didn't think it would be as bad as it was." Emma then sighed heavily as she began to conclude her confession.

"I just thought you two should know. I have a feeling it's going to come up now that Hydra is back, and I didn't want you finding out from Rumlow of all people." Emma said quietly as she avoided their gaze, looking deeply ashamed.

Steve didn't know what to say…or what to feel as he began the very slow and difficult process of finally discovering the secret his granddaughter had been keeping from him all these years. He could barely process what she just said. Raped. Emma was…raped. Rumlow…Steve could barely think without seeing the face of Rumlow popping up inside his mind. He gritted his teeth as Rumlow's familiar arrogant and burnt up face flashed before him. The image filled Steve with so much rage and disgust but also sadness and pain as he remembered the scared and distrustful look that had been on Emma's face the first time he met her.

Suddenly everything made more sense. How distrusting she had been towards everyone in the beginning…especially men. The way she flinched and gave Thor a terrified look when he got too close to her after they met that first time. The nightmares. Steve remembered how bad her nightmares were and now he was starting to think that maybe her nightmares weren't about the experiments, torture, or killing. Maybe it was about Rumlow all this time. She had always been so defensive and angry whenever he pushed her for information. Steve now knew why.

The super soldier felt sick for the first time in years as he realized what Emma had been through. That man…that bastard had raped his granddaughter. His granddaughter who was only a child…a little girl. Rumlow had done the most grotesque and evil things to Emma who was just an innocent child, her only fault which was that she was born with Captain America's blood running through her veins. Red Skull, Loki, Ultron, Zemo…none of them compared to the evil that Rumlow was.

It was then, however, that Steve's thoughts were interrupted by Bucky who abruptly stood up from the bed. The former assassin had a very dark look on his face, his fists clenched, as he stood there in silence for a moment. Emma looked up at him in surprise, but he didn't give her a chance to say anything as he began to storm off in the direction of the door. The teenage girl felt like she was about to be torn in half from the way her father was walking away from her.

"Papa?" Emma questioned but he kept walking away. Tears began to stream down her face as she watched him walk away from her and ignore her. "Papa, please don't go! I'm sorry!" She then flinched when he slammed the door shut behind him. Emma felt heart broken when she realized that he was angry…at her probably. Why else would he just leave like that without saying anything?

Emma stood there crying as she stared at the closed door, feeling like she had let her father down in some way. She hadn't meant to disappoint him…she just wanted to protect him. She then felt arms wrap around her and she allowed herself to bury her face in Steve's chest as she got his shirt all wet and gross. He held her close to him as he ran his fingers through her hair comfortingly, whispering sweet nothings to her just like he used to whenever she had nightmares. Emma just continued to sob into his chest, fearing that she had somehow made her father hate her.

"It's okay, Emma. It's okay." Steve whispered to her and Emma just sniffled before she spoke.

"Papa hates me!" Emma cried as she clung onto Steve. "He hates me! He can't even look at me!" Steve felt his heart breaking at the way Emma cried. He had never heard her cry like that and he wished more than anything that he could somehow take her pain away and make it his own instead.

"He doesn't hate you, Emma. I promise that he doesn't." Steve told her, but Emma just shook her head.

"You saw the way he left. He's disgusted by me!" Emma said in a sad and tortured voice and Steve felt a couple tears of his own fall down his face.

"No, he's not. He's just confused and angry. That's all it is." Steve told her and he mentally cursed Bucky for leaving like that. He understood that Bucky was shocked and angry about the situation but that didn't give him the right to storm off like that with Emma in the state that she was. Now Emma was convinced that Bucky hated her which couldn't be farther from the truth. Steve knew that Bucky loved Emma as much as he did which was a lot.

"I don't blame him." Emma said, sounding broken. "I'd be disgusted by me too." Steve then pulled away from her so that he could look her in the eyes. He gave her a very stern look even though Emma could see the tears that had fallen down his face. His hands were firmly planted on either side of her shoulders.

"Listen to me, Emma. I never want to hear you say that about yourself again." Steve told her seriously as Emma just stared back at him with wide eyes. He gave her shoulders a little shake when she didn't respond. "Do you understand me?" Emma furiously nodded as she swallowed hard.

"Yes…I understand." Emma said quietly, and Steve's gaze softened as he stared down at her. He tentatively reached a hand up to stroke her cheek softly, a sad look on his face.

"Why didn't you tell me, Emma? Why did you keep this from me?" Steve asked softly, and a guilty look came over Emma's face. "Three years and you never said anything."

"You always loved me…even from the beginning." Emma told him as she stared back at him. "You didn't really even know me, but you still loved me." Emma briefly paused as she forced herself not to break down again and cry again, but she could still feel the tears leaking from her eyes.

"You showered me with affection and love. You hugged me, told me how you loved me, and tucked me in at night. No one's ever done that to me before. Not even Papa." Emma admitted as she bit her lip nervously. "You've always been desperate to make sure that I know I'm loved. As much as I claimed to hate it, I actually appreciated it." Emma then looked down at her feet, suddenly feeling ashamed again.

"I guess I was just scared that it would all go away if I told you the truth." Emma said sadly as Steve looked heartbroken at the sight of her. "I was afraid that you would never look at me the same way again."

Steve melted at the sight of his sad and tortured granddaughter. Someone that had been more hurt than anyone else. The thought that Emma had lived with this secret on her own for the past three years was almost too much for him to bear. It broke his heart to know that she had felt this way this entire time. Steve immediately pulled her back into his arms and held her close.

"Nothing could ever make me not love you, Emma. Especially something that's not even your fault." Steve told her sincerely. "I'll always love you. No matter what. Never forget that."

"I'm sorry I doubted you." Emma told him, but Steve just shook his head.

"You don't need to be sorry about anything right now." Steve whispered to her. "I'm actually proud of you."

"Really?" Emma asked him, and he nodded.

"Yes, I know how hard this is for you. I'm proud that you told me." He told her because he knew this is what she needed to hear. Steve really was proud of her, but he just wished that she had told him a lot sooner. Steve wasn't going to scold Emma for this, however, because he knew she was in a fragile state. He also couldn't pretend to understand that he knew what she was going through. Steve didn't know a thing about the kind of trauma victims of sexual assault went through.

"You're not mad at me?" Emma asked shyly, and Steve just kissed her forehead as he continued to hold her.

"No. You didn't do anything wrong." Steve told her before a dark look came over his face at the thought of Rumlow. "It was that bastard who did. He's the one who needs to pay for this." Emma then pulled back to look up at him. She smiled a sad, watery smile as she wiped the tears from her face.

"Hey, you said a bad word." Emma teased although her voice was still thick with emotion. The expression on Steve's face softened.

"I guess I did." Steve said softly before a more serious and questioning look came over his face when he then recalled something that he thought he had forgotten long ago.

"Wait…is this what you saw when Wanda made us see those things?" Steve remembered how badly Emma had reacted to the mind tricks Wanda had played on them. He remembered the way she freaked out and scratched the hell out of Clint, Thor, and himself. Steve had never seen her so terrified and so haunted as she did then. Emma bit her lip nervously before nodding.

"Yes." Emma said, and Steve suddenly looked angry but not at Emma.

"You mean to say that Wanda knew all this time and she never said anything?" Steve said, raising his voice. Why Emma had always hated Wanda suddenly made sense. The thought that he had spent all this time with Wanda, but the older girl never thought to say anything pissed Steve off. He even a felt a bit betrayed. Emma's eyes widened as she furiously shook her head.

"It's not her fault." Emma said quickly, even surprising herself by coming to Wanda's defense. "I made her promise not to tell anyone and she felt so bad that she didn't say anything. It's my fault. I shouldn't have made her do that. It was wrong of me." Steve calmed down a bit when he saw the guilty look on her face.

"Please don't be mad at her, Steve." Emma said, and Steve swallowed hard before nodding. He could tell that it would upset Emma if he were to be mad at Wanda and he didn't want to upset her anymore.

"I won't. Just don't cry anymore, okay?" Steve said to her and Emma nodded as she buried her face in his chest again and Steve wrapped his arms around her once more. They stood there for what felt like hours with Emma wrapped up in his warm embrace. Even though they had spent so long apart, it almost seemed like nothing had changed. She had spent so long without the presence of her father and Steve in her life that it always felt like there were two pieces of a puzzle missing. They had only been back for a couple hours but now it felt like everything was right in place. Like the missing pieces had never been missing in the first place.

"Do you think you can tell the others about Rumlow?" Emma asked Steve in a small voice. Steve looked down at her in surprise.

"You really want me to?" Steve asked her. "I won't say anything if you don't want me to." Emma just shrugged but she knew the truth of the situation. She knew everyone would find out eventually anyways.

"They're going to find out from him anyways. I know him, Steve. The first chance he gets, he'll brag about what he did." Emma said honestly as Steve watched her. "I'd rather not have everyone be caught off guard by the news. Let's not give him the advantage."

"Are you sure?" Steve asked her, still seeming hesitant. Emma just nodded.

"Yes. I'd do it myself, but I don't have it in me to do this all over again." Emma told him, and Steve sighed but nodded nonetheless. "I know it's asking a lot."

"No, I'll do it but only if you're sure." Steve said to her.

"I'm sure. I don't want to hide anymore." Emma replied, and Steve knew that he would just have to tell everyone else. Emma was right in a way even if he didn't necessarily like it. Rumlow was going to mouth off and tell everyone about what happened, and it was better if no one was caught off guard when he did that. Steve still didn't like it because he could tell Emma was incredibly uncomfortable.

Even though Steve wasn't showing it right now, he was beyond angry. He just hid his anger for Emma's sake unlike what Bucky did. Steve knew it wouldn't do Emma any good to see him ranting about how much he wished he had already killed Rumlow in Lagos last year. It also wouldn't do her any good to hear him tell her how guilty he felt about this because it was his fault, after all.

He was the one who just had to volunteer to be experimented on during the war. Steve just had to serve his country, didn't he? He was so young and stupid back then that he never thought of what the consequences of his decision could be. Look at where it had gotten him. Steve had left Peggy to raise their son all on her own…a son Steve didn't even know he had until his son was long dead. His son and his daughter-in-law who were killed because of him. His granddaughter who had been kidnapped, tortured, and even raped all because she had the misfortune of having the remnants of his super soldier serum in her body. This was all on him. Everything that had happened to Emma in that base, and even all the people she had killed or hurt, was all on Steve. Emma wasn't at fault for any of it. Steve was just going to have to live with the fact that he was responsible for all of that. He became responsible the day Dr. Erskine showed up at the clinic and offered him an opportunity.

"I love you…you know that, right?" Steve whispered to her as he continued to hold her. "I love you so much." Emma just nestled her face against his chest.

"I love you too…dad." Emma said as she blushed, not sure how Steve was going to react to that last part. Steve's eyes slightly widened as he looked down at the top of his granddaughter's head of blonde hair. She didn't look up at him but remained with her head buried in his chest. A smile then formed over his face as he kissed the top of her head once more. He felt beyond elated at the fact that Emma had just called him "dad". It was a feeling that caused him to momentarily forget about all guilt and anger he had inside him. He allowed himself to be happy in that moment solely because Emma had called him dad. This was the best welcome back present he could ever receive.

---

Emma left Steve in her room shortly after their little moment. She told him that she really needed to talk to her father and Steve claimed that he needed to discuss something with Natasha although Emma knew he just wanted to give her and her father some much needed time alone. Emma couldn't begin to describe the emotions she was feeling as she walked to the room her father supposedly staying in. She felt a bit better after all the comforting Steve had done but she was still afraid of the idea that her father was angry at her. That was the last thing she ever wanted. Her whole life she had been afraid of disappointing him and now she was scared that she had finally done it for real.

She pushed the door to the room open and stood in the doorway momentarily. Emma had never felt so nervous in her life as she stood there and watched him as he sat on the edge of the bed, his back facing her. She anxiously chewed on the inside of her cheek as she hesitantly walked in and shut the door behind her. He didn't say anything as she walked in, but she knew that he was fully aware of the fact that she was there. When he continued not to say anything, Emma decided to be the first one to speak.

"Are you still mad at me?" Emma asked quietly, and her father looked up at her in surprise, not expecting that question.

"Why would I be mad at you?" He asked in confusion as Emma crawled over across the bed and sat down next to him. She shrugged.

"I don't know. You ran away and ignored me, after all." Emma told him, and Bucky looked down in guilt.

"I'm sorry I did that. I just couldn't control myself anymore. I didn't want you to see me like this." He said, and Emma looked confused until she saw the multiple holes in the wall from where he had more than likely used the wall as his own personal punching bag.

"The wall will be fine. We'll just tell everyone that it was another casualty of the explosion." Emma told him before she gave him a small smile, feeling relieved at the fact that he wasn't angry with her. "Besides…I've seen you do worse." Bucky shook his head at the way she said it like it was a good thing…a funny thing.

"I wish you hadn't." He told her. "I'm a monster. I tried to train you to be one as well which makes me an even bigger one."

"That wasn't your choice. That's what Hydra made you do." Emma told him confidently, but Bucky didn't buy it.

"You've seen all the bad parts of me. All the evil things I've ever done." Bucky said, sounding incredibly lost and confused. "Steve's seen all the good, so I get why he cares but you…you loved me even when you had only seen the evil. I never gave you a reason to love me, yet you did." Emma didn't seem bothered by his statement in the least bit. She just smiled.

"I always knew you cared about me. Deep down." Emma told him truthfully. "You never said it, but I knew it from the littlest things you did. The way you brushed your fingers through my hair when you thought I was asleep. The way you lied to protect me. All the time we spent training out in the forest together and how you held me close when it was too cold, so I wouldn't freeze." Emma paused briefly before she continued.

"I think there was a tiny part of Bucky Barnes hidden inside the Winter Soldier all that time and that's why I loved you." Emma told him, and Bucky looked away from her. It was only then that she noticed the tears spilling from his eyes. It had been hard to see in the darkness but now Emma could see him and his tears. She frowned.

"Are you crying, Papa?" Emma asked in both surprise and concern. She had never seen her father cry before. Not even once. The sight of her father crying really worried her.

"This is all my fault." Bucky told her, referring to what she had confessed to him and Steve earlier. "I was so selfish."

"What are you talking about, Papa?" Emma asked him, and Bucky sniffled. She was still bewildered at this emotional side of her father. It was something she never thought was possible.

"I was too selfish and evil to let you go." Bucky admitted to her. "I should've helped you escape years ago but I didn't want you to leave. I didn't want to be alone. You were the only light I had seen in years and I didn't want to be without you."

"Papa, I wouldn't have left anyways. Not without you." Emma told him as she gazed up at him, tears flooding her own eyes. "I didn't want to be without you either. You were like a light to me too."

"It doesn't matter. I should've let you go because maybe if I did that sick bastard wouldn't have done that to you." Bucky told her, feeling like a complete and utter failure. "But no, I was so selfish that I couldn't bear to lose you. I just wanted to keep you there no matter the cost and look what happened to you."

"I already told you that I never would've left, Papa." Emma said as she then wrapped her arms around him but unlike the times when she was a child, he didn't push her away. He just buried his face in her hair. "Remember what I used to tell you? Partners forever and then a year." Bucky laughed sadly at the familiar words. Words that he hadn't heard in years.

"I never deserved you." Her father said sadly, and Emma just shook her head as she held onto him.

"Yes, you do." Emma replied as she then pulled away a bit, so she could look at him. She noticed that her father looked just like he did the day she first met him. The same long brown hair, the same pale blue eyes, and the same face that she had grown to love. He had looked colder, more robotic, back then but not anymore.

When Emma was a little girl she had always thought he looked like a Disney prince. She used to wonder how handsome he must've looked when he smiled or laughed. Before Emma considered him to be her father, she had always dreamed about marrying him which now seemed ridiculous and gross, but she knew it was only because he was the first person she had ever loved. Granted she didn't understand the difference back then between the love you felt for a father and the love you felt for a lover. She had been so little, after all, but she had always loved him.

Her father had never beaten her to a bloody pulp or called her names…he had only cared about her even if it was in the smallest of ways. Her father had considered her to be like a light to him in that base, but she looked at him the same way. Even though her life at Hydra had been filled with pain and horror, Emma never considered it completely bad because at least she had her father. She didn't think she would ever wish away her time at Hydra because that would mean wishing away her father. Emma would never wish him away. He was the first person that had ever loved her since the death of her parents and he was the first person she had ever loved in return. She loved Steve and Peter too, but her father was the first one.

"I'm so sorry, Emma." Her father told her, and she just kissed him softly on the cheek, his stubble slightly scratching her lips, before she pulled away. Emma snuggled against him like she used to when she was little. She always pretended to be cold, so he would let her, and he would always pretend like he didn't know she was lying.

"It's okay. It's not your fault." Emma told him even though Bucky felt like it was. However, he knew better than to tell her this. It was obvious to him that she was the one who needed the comforting. Not him.

"I won't let him touch you ever again." Bucky promised her, his voice dead serious. "I'll make sure he dies a very painful and long death. He'll regret the day he hurt you. I promise." Emma just held onto him, basking in his familiar scent and embrace.

"Spasibo, Papa." Emma told him softly in Russian because this was normal for them. She had killed for him numerous times in the past and he had done the same for her. There wasn't a bond that was anything like theirs. She knew he would kill for her again because he could tell that she was scared and in pain. There wasn't anything that Bucky wouldn't do for her.

"Vse dlya tebya, Malen'kaya." Her father murmured, and Emma pulled away once more from her. She bit her lip nervously and he gave her a curious look.

"Do you think we can sleep now?" Emma asked him hesitantly. "I'm just tired. I can barely keep my eyes open." The expression on her father's face softened as he looked down at her and noticed that she did, in fact, look exhausted.

"Of course. You've had a very long day." Her father told her, and Emma smiled softly. He then moved away as Emma laid back against the bed, her father making sure her head was resting comfortably against the pillows. He pulled one of the blankets over her, making sure she wasn't too cold. Emma gave him a fearful look as he stood above her.

"Are you going to leave?" She asked, her voice full of fear at the prospect of him leaving her alone. She didn't want to be alone. Not now. Her father just smiled down at her.

"Never again." He said softly as he then laid down next to her and Emma felt like a child again. She smiled in satisfaction as she rested her head against her father's chest.

"I missed you." Emma told him as they laid there in the darkness and suddenly it was like they were somewhere else. They could've been in that forest in Siberia for all she knew because it was just like it was then. Emma had been frightened things would be different between them now. They had spent all those years killing and inflicting chaos that she hadn't been sure if they could be the same now that they were out of Hydra. However, Emma realized that she was wrong. It was never all the killing and pain that made her father and her close. It was the love they both had for each other. The bond. Emma still loved her father as much as she did then, and she could tell he felt the same way.

"I've missed you too." He told her as he wiped the still wet tears from her face. It was then that he gave her more words of comfort. Words that made her safe enough to finally fall into a long and peaceful sleep.

"Know this, Malen'kaya. You can sleep knowing that as long as I'm here no one will ever hurt you again. I'll keep you safe." Her father told her comfortingly and Emma felt safe at his words. She believed him.

Emma didn't respond to his words as she finally allowed herself to close her eyes, finally feeling at peace after so long. They didn't tell each other they loved one and other because that just wasn't them. They didn't need to say it. Emma and Bucky both knew how they felt. There was no doubt about it. Emma was eventually lulled to sleep by her father's heartbeat. Bucky watched her sleep as he tried memorizing all the features on her face. It was so odd seeing her like this now. He had always had the image of a little girl whenever he tried to picture her in his head but now she looked more like a woman.

Bucky allowed a smile to form across his face as he watched the peaceful and carefree look on her face as she slept. For the first time in forever, he finally felt happy. Despite the lingering anger and pain, he felt at what happened to that same little girl he loved so much, he allowed himself to just be happy that he was here with her. They would deal with everything that came with Emma's confession in the morning. For now, he could just sleep, knowing that she was right in front of him. With that, Bucky's eyes fluttered shut as he also soon fell asleep next to Emma.

A father finally reunited with his daughter.

---

Another Author's Note: I just wanted to let you guys know real quick that I intentionally didn't write a conversation between Emma and Peter this chapter talking about the fact that their parents met each other. They have a lot on their minds right now but they'll have that conversation very soon. Emma just needed to focus on telling Steve and Bucky the truth while Peter also was just so terrified of Bucky that he probably just momentarily forgot.

Translations:

Маленький/Malen'kaya: Little One

спасибо/spasibo: Thank you

Что-нибудь для вас/Vse dlya tebya: Anything for you