𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘯𝘦𝘥

𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘕𝘪𝘯𝘦

☆゜·。。·゜゜·。。·゜★

Steve sat in a dusty booth in the back of Queens for Kings.

Addison had noticed him a few minutes ago, lounging with the man who she could only assume was Michael, Mila's father, and Warner. It took a few minutes before Addison was able to excuse herself from the group of rowdy bikers that had been celebrating her return to the Sons of Lucifer, for however long it was. Which she was hoping was not long at all. As much as she was mad at Bucky for what he said, she missed him, and the security that came with being with him. She found herself constantly reaching for the ring that was no longer on her finger, or turning in hopes of finding him watching her across the room. While she was punishing him, she realized, she was also punishing herself.

"You're not very good at hiding," Steve grinned as Addison approached, stopping at the head of the table with a warm smile on her face.

"I'm not hiding from you," She replied calmly, shooting Steve a genuine smile, "And my lovely husband hasn't found me, so I'm hiding pretty well."

"He's just aloof," Warner added, nudging Addison's thigh with his shoulder, "How is he supposed to find anything or anyone when his wife isn't at his side."

Addison shook her head, letting out a small laugh before she turned her attention to Michael, who was watching on with a smile. "Hi, Addison Barnes," She reached her hand across the table, letting Michael shake it, "You're not an easy person to track down you know that?"

"You've got to live under the radar when your child's grandfather is Vaughn Novikov."

A silence passed between them because while everyone at the table knew how ruthless Vaughn was, Michael and Addison had a much more intimate understanding of how he dismantled a person. Michael is still hiding, and Addison, we'll Addison is just trying to make it through the next day. It was an exhausting life to live, and no one else could truly understand how strong the monster they were going up against once again.

But instead of spilling all of that out on the table, she cleared her throat, plastering on a smile that she used when she was talking to politicians.

"What do we gotta do to get you back on Barnes Territory?"

Addison turned her attention to her brother-in-law, a sad smile on his lips and she couldn't help but walk around the booth to wrap her arms around him from behind. "Steve I have to make him sweat," She kissed his cheek and smiled when he chuckled, leaning back so she didn't have to stretch so far to reach him. "He tossed me aside like I meant nothing, I'm important in the world, I know I am, but I'm not about to let him think that because he thinks it's too hard to love me, the new me who suffered at the hands of his grandfather, I'll still stick around to be his doting wife. I'm not okay with the way things were going, and I'm not going to pretend that I am."

Warner turned his attention to his little sister and Addison took the hand he offered, smiling at her brother. "Are you at least staying somewhere safe? Not in a shitbox?"

"I'm staying at Keegan's, in a spare bedroom, he's never there anyway so I spend most of my time here."

It had only been a few days, and everyone was feeling the rift in the Barnes family. Bucky was always on his best game when he knew that Addison was close by. She was the pillar of strength when the entirety of the family felt like it was crumbling. Addison had resided in the depths of hell and came out on top. Battered, bruised, and scarred, she still came out on top. And her tenacity with that, her steadfast personality made everyone be at ease. She was the best wife, sister, and friend anyone could ask for.

Steve and Addison's bond had grown over the years, he had always had a sort of brotherly protection over her, but since that day he watched her almost drown a year ago in the bay, he couldn't stand the fact that she could be hurt. Addison always wore an armor of strength, sure she cried, but she always, always came out like a wildfire. Strong, fast, resilient. It's those attributes that Steve no longer only saw her as a little sister but as an inspiration as well.