6 MONTHS LATER
Rhiley Stark had built herself a simple life.
The waves that crashed against the jagged Maine coastline were steady and strong, a rhythmic heartbeat against the quiet. The sea wind was cold, sharp enough to sting the skin, and she liked it that way. It kept the fire inside her from burning too hot. Kept her grounded.
She wasn't hiding.
There were no more burner phones. No go-bags. No late-night flinching at the sound of helicopters overhead. She hadn't disappeared. She had simply... stepped away.
This life, small and quiet and real, was the one she imagined Maggie would have wanted for her. The one James would have begged her to live.
Mornings were tea and worn paperbacks—her collection started with one Bruce brought to her hospital bedside, and now filled shelves in the cozy spare room she'd converted into a guest space. That same room was open to anyone who needed a place to land. Bruce had stayed the longest. Natasha had stayed once. Clint had left a crossbow bolt in the door frame.
But Steve visited the most.
Of all of them, he was still the only one who knew everything. Her real name. Her real birthday. That she'd fought beside him in the war. That she had bled and burned and nearly died more times than she could count long before the world had any idea who Tony Stark was.
The secret weighed heavier every day. She could feel it pressing against the walls she'd built. If Tony ever came—if he knocked on her door and stood on that porch with those stormy eyes of his—she knew she'd tell him everything. Even if he laughed. Even if he called her crazy. Even if he never looked at her the same way again.
She needed answers. She needed to understand why Howard had erased her from existence like she was never real. Why the brother she'd once trusted with her life had left her behind.
Because it couldn't have been just grief. Peggy wouldn't have let that happen.
The kettle screamed from the stove, pulling her out of her thoughts. She poured her tea into a chipped mug, the scent of mint and honey rising with the steam. She cradled the warmth in her hands and just let herself breathe—
Her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She sighed. "If this is another spam call, I swear to God—"
"Miss Rhiley."
She froze.
The voice was calm. English. Unmistakable.
"Jarvis?" she said, slowly setting the cup down. She hit the speaker and leaned on the counter. "You know, I'm still getting used to this whole robot thing. Aliens, gods, telekinesis I can wrap my head around. But AI, Tony-level robot intelligence? That's where I draw the line."
"He doesn't know I'm calling, Miss."
"Please don't call me 'Miss.'" She rubbed her temple. "Tony didn't tell you to call me?"
"He would have me disassembled if he knew."
Rhiley narrowed her eyes. "Then what's wrong?"
"He's unwell."
She slid up onto the counter, mug forgotten. "You called me because Tony's... sick?"
"You're family."
"That's not why—Jarvis. I'm not—" She caught herself.
There was a pause.
"I ran your blood."
YOU ARE READING
Radioactive | Bucky Barnes
Fanfiction"I want to go back to the time you first told me your name." Rhiley, the twin sister of Howard Stark, finds herself wrapped up with the one and only James Barnes. The next time she sees him is on her new assignment with the 107th Infantry Regiment...
