The Silent Shadow || marvel

18- our last dance

EIW: sorry for the random tense change, but I physically can't write in the past tense anymore it feels scratchy, this is also un-edited... sorry, but new chapter so yay!!

Lana swings silently on a rusty swing set adjacent to a plastic slide. She and James are at the small local neighborhood park with a few rickety playground equipments he only half trusts and a blanket of stiff silence.

She sits quietly and almost unmoving beside the skinny stick in her hand that she repeatedly clangs against the swing beside her.

James's eyebrows form two scrunched caterpillars as he watches his daughter make a sad excuse for playing. She seems sad and not herself, which he doesn't understand. She seemed just fine only moments earlier when he had gotten home, and when they arrived at the empty park full of leaves and plastic, her mood went astray.

His mouth is in a deep frown while he thinks of the possibilities for her sudden decline in mood. She's only eleven, so mood swings aren't as prominent yet as they're expected to be when she's 13. God, Bucky is anything but excited about that; he remembers just how terrible his sisters were back in the 40s- faintly, that is, his memory is barely beginning to return to his old and foggy mind.

Her thick black hair is hard to see in the dark and ominous atmosphere that is Romania at 8:30 pm. The watery light from the streetlight shines right above her like a ghost light in an empty theater house. She's wearing it with bows- no surprise there, and a simple light pink dress so fair it looks tan.

He made sure she had eaten before they left, even triple-checked to make sure she had actually taken as many strawberries as she said she did so she wouldn't be hungry. James wants to ask, but with evidence of his past experiences, the question seems to be a sore subject for her.

Seeing his daughter sad is never a nice feeling, it's a feeling that scares him and makes his heart feel like a widow's heart when it aches for her love. James debates if he should simply just ask her the question. They're in an empty park anyhow, and the nearest house is about half a block to their right. If she blows up, he'll have the opportunity to deal with it in an enclosed and mostly empty scene.

"Want me to push you, Lana?" He offers, already knowing what she'll answer with.

"No."

Just no. It comes out in a small sing-song-ish tune like the song of lies sirens sing to coax their victims. Only Lana is lying to fool her father she's fine, he knows it, she knows it, there's no escaping it.

"You want to go get ice cream?" James tries again, desperately hoping she'll agree to the sweet treat.

"No." The girl repeats.

James sighs. He places his point and thumb over his eyes to prepare himself before he rises from his comfortable position on the bench.

If he's being honest, Lana's unpredictability scares him. She's strong and fast and those lungs, god she can scream for hours if inclined to.
But he'll never admit it. He can't ever admit it because if he did, it would mean they have a problem. And a problem is something they can't afford, not right now, not when everything is just starting to be normal.

After an appropriate amount of self-preparation and an idea in mind, James rises from the wooden bench. He walks over to his daughter, the tanbark sounding like a wind-moving wind chime under his feet as he steps.

Svetlana knows he's coming yet doesn't move. No over-dramatic sigh or annoyed grumble emanates from her as he approaches and James is feeling braver already.

When he reaches her he taps her shoulder gingerly, wanting do to anything but scare her despite her knowledge of his presence. She's jumpy, HYDRA made them jumpy.