Timeless Love

Slipping through my fingers 💔

Warnings: domestic violence, alcoholism, swearing
Word count: 3k

1928
"Where are you going?!" Michael growls as he sees his youngest daughter trying to walk out of the door. Y/n sighs heavily and turns around to look into her father's eyes which show nothing but drunkenness and anger. "I'm meeting Mary." Her father's gaze softens a little bit and he almost seems relieved. He simply nods while taking a sip of his beer, y/n watches him closely as he sips on the beverage. He was tense but after the sip his shoulders seemed to relax.

"Very well. Go on then, don't be late for dinner though. Daddy doesn't like it when you are late." The little girl can only nod. She is not afraid of her father, she isn't afraid of anything. And she always tries to tell her mother that! But the way her dad squints his eyes and drinks his beer makes her wonder if she's really not afraid of him. Why else would she feel the feeling in the tip of her stomach that makes her want to throw up?

"Now give daddy a kiss." He points to his cheek that has a few stubbles on them since it's been days since he last shaved. He spends his days in the living room or in the dining room. He wakes up in his armchair, eats the food his wife made, goes back to his armchair and eventually falls asleep in there. Only to wake up in the next morning doing the same routine over and over again.

Y/n makes her way to her father in small steps and pressing a small kiss on his cheek. His growing beard tickles her a bit. When she pulls away, she slips her shoes on and walks out of the door where Mary is already waiting for her at the small gate with her famous lopsided grin on her lips.

Mary is the youngest of the group, being born in September 1920. Bucky is the oldest and he always makes it clear to the rest, where they can only roll their eyes anymore. Mary is the daughter of a wealthy man, an officer of Brooklyn. Mary's mother and Lilith have also been friends since they were teenagers which got these two so close in the first place.

"What took you so long y/l/n?" She asks with a smirk and wraps an arm around her best friend. Y/n only sighs and shakes her head, not wanting to talk about it. "Nothing, let's just go." Mary obviously knows what's going on in her family but doesn't ask further questions and only walks towards the small hill where their favorite spot is hidden.

They've discovered it a year ago after y/n stormed out of the house, crying after her father raised his hand at her again. She just just ran and then found this huge oak tree. No one has noticed it before because it was away from the streets and hidden by the hill. They always sit at the tree and talk about everything that's going on in their lives; school, family, or Bucky's new crush. Which changes basically every week.

Mary and y/n reach the tree and the first thing that catches Mary's eyes are the two branches near the tree. "Miss y/l/n, are you ready for a good old sword fight?" Y/n looks down at the branches in her friend's hands but eventually shakes her head no with a soft sigh. "I shouldn't... My father doesn't like it when I get my clothes dirty. And girls don't play with branches."

Mary can only groan when she hears this explanation. "Come on y/n! He's not here and there are no such things as 'boys and girls games'. You should do what you want, not your father." She is right, y/n thinks as she listens to her before taking another look at the improsives swords. "Fine. You won."

Each of them takes a branch and begin to play a sword fight. The warm late summer air is filled with laughter from the two girls.

"Stop! Stop!" y/n laughs and drops her branch to the ground, holding her stomach as she tries to catch her breath. Mary does a little victory dance and laughs louder at y/n's amused smirk. "Now, it's time for your punishment." Y/n's jaw drops and she looks at her best friend with wide eyes. "P-punishment?"