"I already called my suit," said Tony, leaning against the wall, breathing deeply. "Emmy needs to get somewhere safe."
"The take her," said Bucky, holding Emmy out to him.
The little girl giggled and kicked her legs in excitement. She was having a lot of fun, surrounded by her Dad, Papa, Uncle Bucky and Uncle Clint. The explosions which had been sounding for the last few minutes reminded her of home in Daddy's lab. It wasn't home, but it was close.
"We need a plan," said Steve, taking Emmy from Bucky, allowing the girl to root in his jacket until she found one of his many handkerchiefs and waved it around.
"Papa!" said Emmy, tugging Steve's shirt and waving the white cloth in front of his face.
"Yes, it's very nice, baby," said Steve. "Plan. We don't know who exactly we're dealing with. We need to regroup. They're hitting us where it hurts the most."
"Look, I'll take Emmy and slip underground," said Clint, rubbing his face. "You guys distract them long enough to give us a head start. We'll meet back up when in a few hours."
"Bucky should take her," said Steve.
"She knows Clint better," said Tony.
"Yeah, but Bucky has more experience disappearing without a trace. Clint's good, but we need the best."
"Rude," grumbled Clint.
"Emmy, who do you want to hang out with for the next few hours?" said Tony, always wanting to keep his daughter in the loop. He understood what it was like to be young but intelligent and everyone always talking over you. "Uncle Clint or Uncle Bucky?"
"Daddy!" said Emmy, pointing at Tony. "Daddy! Papa!"
"No," said Steve. "Daddy and I have to work for a bit. You need to go with Uncle Bucky or Uncle Clint."
Emmy frowned and shook her head.
"Daddy. Papa."
"I'm sorry baby, but that's not an option."
Emmy pouted, clearly not liking what was happening. The adults were talking over her again but she didn't mind, she leaned against Steve's chest, twisting the handkerchief around in her little hands.
"Steve, I'll take her," said Bucky with a sigh. "If it is Hydra, I don't think I'm ready to take them on without reverting. She'll be safe."
"You let anything happen to her and I swear I will not be very happy and the last time I was very unhappy I blew up an entire terrorist camp with scraps. Do you understand me?" said Tony quietly.
"Got it," said Bucky, biting back a snarky comment because honestly, that was the same thing he would have said if he had a daughter.
Steve handed Emmy over to Bucky.
"Papa?" said Emmy, reaching out to Steve.
"Honey, you're going to have to go with Bucky for a bit," said Steve, cupping Emmy's face with one of his large hands. "We'll see you in a few hours, understand? Can you be a big girl and be good for Uncle Bucky just like you are when Uncle Clint or Uncle Bruce watch you?"
Emmy nodded, still twisting the handkerchief in her hands.
"Good girl. I love you."
With their customary kisses to the forehead, Bucky took Emmy out through the back window. Emmy watched sadly over the assassins shoulder but didn't make any sound of complaint.
-Winging It-
"Alright kid," said Bucky after several hours. "We're going to stay right here until one of those people you call family show up. This is our go to meeting spot, not that we've ever used it before."
Emmy looked around the small diner. She liked it, it reminded her of the diner Papa had taken her shortly after they got her from the home. Daddy said Papa liked diners because it reminded him of his old home, Papa said Daddy liked diners because they served unhealthy foods. Emmy liked them because whenever they went, she got a strawberry milkshake.
"What can I get you?" asked a young woman with short black hair, leaning over the table close to Emmy to get a better look at the young girl. She had a kind smile and soft brown eyes.
"Look!" squealed Emmy, holding up a small remote control to a car. "I made it better!"
"That's stupid," said Ty, a six year old boy with more freckles than brain cells. "You're stupid. Miss Sunset! Emmaline broke another toy!"
"Did not!" shouted Emmy.
Emmy hadn't been at the home more than a week and already every toy that had been broken or that she decided to play with had been thrown back at her in the form of punishment.
"Emmaline!" screeched Mrs. Sunset, marching into the room, face flushed with fury and sun from where she had been outside with the other children.
"I didn't break it!" said Emmy. "I made it better."
"You weren't this much trouble when your mother was around," growled Mrs. Sunset, yanking Emmy by the arm up the stairs faster than the girl could walk, causing her to trip and hit her shins. She hadn't quite mastered stairs because of her size and the quick pace only made it worse.
"No!" cried Emmy, struggling when she saw where they were headed. "No! I'll be good!"
"Shut up, brat!"
Mrs. Sunset threw Emmy into the closet, making the small girl hit the wall hard before she crumpled to the ground. Mrs. Sunset continued to yell but Emmy was too dazed to really follow. All she knew was that she was a bad girl, that she wouldn't get punished if she would just be good, shut up, and stop breaking things. There was more hitting then and yelling and by the time it was over, Mrs. Sunset locked the door and walked away, leaving Emmy alone in the dark, in pain and wondering why her mother had left.
"Come on, come back," said Bucky, his voice floating and far away.
Emmy blinked up at him, the diner coming back into focus around her. She noticed that they were alone, the lady with black hair had left, and she was sitting on the table, legs dangling off edge, facing Bucky, both of his hands bracing her.
"You with me kid?" said Bucky, back bent a bit so his eyes were level with Emmy.
Emmy blinked, hand clenching in her stolen handkerchief.
"Kid? Come on, Steve is going to kill me if he finds out I broke you. Say something! Wait, no, you don't talk. Okay, why don't you just nod or something?"
"Papa?" asked Emmy softly.
"There we go!" cheered Bucky, his face lighting up. "Say something else!"
"Daddy?" said Emmy, uncertain as to why Bucky wanted her to talk and not sure what to do about it.
"Alright, now you've exhausted your vocabulary. You okay? You're safe, you know that, right? That lady, whoever she was, can't hurt you anymore."
Emmy nodded, looking down at the handkerchief she had taken from Steve before they left. He always carried handkerchiefs around with him and this one still smelled like him.
"Papa," whimpered Emmy.
"I know kid," sighed Bucky, bringing the young girl in close to sit on his lap instead of the table, looking around for any sign that the others were coming. "He'll be here soon."