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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The chill of the Autumn night air brushed delicately against her exposed skin, leaving goosebumps appearing along the skin of her arms and her legs. Her tired eyes were drooped, though if she had been surrounded by any warmth right now, she was certain she would fall asleep in an instant. The loud sounds of cars rushing by her and the gust of cold wind that hit her skin was enough to keep her awake to walk along the streets beside Bucky Barnes, though it only made her feel more sober than before. The bottom of her feet ached horribly the more she walked in her heels, but the clicks of her shoes against the pavement were all too satisfying for her to remove.
Bucky walked beside her as if the cold and the busy night of New York had not bothered him. Then again, he had a leather jacket that warmed his arms and body, and he was down one arm. His leather glove kept his flesh hand warm, so he did not have to worry about the cold air like Estella did. She had wished that Bucky grabbed her a coat before he so rudely tore her away from her own birthday party, seeing as the silky red dress did nothing to keep her body warm and cosy. Not to mention, Bucky's freezing cold metal hand had been ever so gently holding her wrist to prevent her from wandering away from him.
She was upset about the cold, being someone that preferred the warmer weather to the colder but knowing that Bucky was actually here did make up for it. Maybe it was just the fact that he called her beautiful that encouraged her to be so forgiving, considering he had never complimented her, but either way, she was somewhat content. The night would be excellent if she had her bottle of tequila in one hand, with a long coat to keep her warm for her night stroll. The sickly feeling growing in her stomach as the alcohol slowly began to leave her system could have been avoided if Bucky had let her take a drink with her. She was usually on the verge of alcohol poisoning before this feeling would set in, too drunk to even remember feeling sick.
"I hate this." Estella whined, grumpily staring at Bucky, though quickly finding that he looked like he was some form of art. The many colourful lights that lit up the city shone down on him in just the right way; making him appear to me some sort of gleaming angel. Her heart felt as though it had stopped when his face turned ever so slightly, his blue eyes burning into her own. "It's cold. I... I want to be blackout drunk. Don't feel the cold when I'm drunk."
He made her nervous, and she hated it – that was already established. But in an odd way, he calmed her. Maybe it was just right now that she felt the odd sense of calm. Her dad would never shut up about the way Pepper made him feel, the way that one good look in her eyes would make him feel warm and safe. Estella could understand that feeling, because she felt that sense of warmth and safety within her stepmother too, but she could never quite understand why her father always melted beneath the woman he loved more than anything. It was only now, staring deeply into Bucky's eyes, that caught a glimpse of what her father felt.
Not a single word fell from his perfect lips as his hands rose to the top of the zipper of his jacket, his eyes maintaining eye contact with hers as he slowly undid the leather jacket. It felt like a slow motion sequence in a romantic comedy, and honestly, Estella did not mind so much. What was left of the alcohol in her system soothed her enough to actually enjoy the sight in front of her, allowing her to melt beneath the man just like her father would with Pepper. The only thing she hoped for what that she did not look as hopeless as she felt.
