With a list of names written in his little brown book, Bucky Barnes is determined to make amends for all he has done. But when he can't make amends with the man that saved the world, he has no other option but to turn to his daughter - Estella Stark.
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Estella was left alone in her bedroom for the second time that day, where everyone seemed to accept that she needed to be left alone. Her cold fingertips found warmth with the clothes she folded and threw into her opened jet black suitcase, which was placed neatly on her bed. She was not really packing properly; she had only been throwing clothes in her large suitcase and calling it a day. The day had been hard enough, and all she wanted was to be back in her apartment and away from everyone. She felt like she was suffocating out here; so, she planned to leave once Morgan goes to sleep tonight. She quite literally could not wait to get out of this environment, where she was constantly reminded of her father's death.
She licked her lips nervously as her mind began to play scenarios of the moment she tells Morgan she is leaving. She pictured her little sister whining and crying, gripping onto her legs as Pepper desperately trying to pull the little girl off of Estella. Or maybe Morgan would not be as emotional as she thinks; maybe the little girl will know that she is better off without Estella there with her. Morgan did not need her. She had her mother and Happy, and that is all she really needed.
The gentle knock on her bedroom door and the quiet squeak of it opening forced herself out of her head and back into reality. Her tired and sore eyes snapped up to find Steve leaning his body on one side of the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest, his face falling into a frown. He was dressed in his Captain America gear, for whatever reason. His bright eyes stared down at the packed suitcase that was sinking into her bed, before his eyes moved to stare at the floor, losing himself in his own head.
"Is it Halloween already?" Estella joked with the roll of her eyes, trying to avoid the awkward tension.
"I see you're packing," Steve stepped forward into her bedroom, and quietly closed her bedroom door behind him. He did not find her joke funny; it seems. "Where are you heading off to?"
Estella narrowed her eyes at him. "I could ask you the same question, Cap."
"Gotta return the stones." Steve shrugged his shoulders as he rested his hands on his thick belt. "You?"
Estella could feel her heart sink at his words, but she had no other option but to ignore it. "You're returning the stones?"
"I have to." A long sigh fell past his lips that were curving into a slight smile, his eyes starting to avoid her own. "Can't screw the rest of the world up after we just got it back, can we?"
"Yeah, well, mine's already screwed up." She muttered under her breath as she turned her body to face the suitcase again and avoided the stinging she felt in her eyes. Her hands held up an old band tee that belonged to her father from his teen years, a shirt that had now become apart of her collection of comfort clothing.
"Is that why you're packing your bags?" Steve questioned, though it had not been out of curiosity like she thought. He was genuinely concerned about her, and he did not want to leave if he were unsure that she would be okay.
