Opposites

37

 "Papa, do I have to go? Can't I just stay here and try to avoid HYDRA people for the rest of my life?" Bucky chuckled softly and picked me up to hold me. It was the day that I was going into Cryo freeze. Bucky would be going under tomorrow, so that meant we were going to be away from each other for even longer.

"I know you don't want to," he said gently "but this is going to help you. I'll be right there with you Cecilia, and I won't leave your side. OK?"

"OK." I mumbled, hanging my head sadly.

"Hey," Bucky chastised "don't look so sad. It's making me depressed." He tapped my nose, causing me to giggle despite my efforts not to. "Was that so hard?" Bucky teased.

"Yes." I said stubbornly. I heard him sigh heavily as he sat down on the bed and set me in front of him. Quickly, I scooted so that my back was facing him as he started brushing out my hair.

"Your hair looks like a rat's nest." he said playfully. I elbowed him with a smirk and laughed as he complained dramatically about his ribs being broken. "Say you're sorry!" Bucky whined, tickling my sides. I squealed and tried to fight him off.

"I'm sorry!" I shrieked "I'm sorry." Bucky laughed and stopped the torture, letting me catch my breath. "That wasn't nice." I muttered.

"Yeah, I know." he said unapologetically. Bucky finished brushing out my hair before standing up, leaving me curled up in a ball on the bed. "Come here Kiddo." he said softly. I reluctantly stood up on the bed and padded over to him so he could pick me up and carry me out of the room and towards the lab.

"Oh good, you're here!" Bucky set me down as we entered the lab and saw Shuri darting all over the place. I nervously hid behind Bucky, wrapping my arms around his leg. "Mr. Barnes, you two can come over here!" Shuri called. Bucky looked down at me, shook his head tiredly when he realized I wasn't moving, and started walking, leaving me holding onto his leg so I wouldn't fall off.

"So how is this going to work?" Bucky asked as he finally made it over to Shuri.

"Well, we're going to suspend Cecilia in cryo-freeze while the cure is being synthesized, then we're going to administer it while she's still under and then when we wake her up, she should be as good as new." Shuri said brightly.

"Can you make her less strong too?" Bucky said dryly "It feels like all the blood is being cut off from my leg." I smiled up at him and he ruffled my hair with a small smile before pulling me off his leg and setting me on a nearby chair. "You're going to be just fine." he whispered as Shuri finished setting everything up. I frowned and held up my pinky.

"Pinky promise?" I asked suspiciously. Bucky chuckled softly and wrapped his pinky around mine.

"I pinky promise." he replied. He hugged me tightly as I trembled in fear. "Shh," he soothed "it's OK Doll. Everything's OK."

"Cecilia, are you ready?" Shuri questioned, watching the two of us sadly.

"I have to go?" I mumbled to Bucky, waiting for confirmation.

"You have to go." he said reluctantly. I slid off the chair and hugged him one last time before walking over to Shuri. "I love you Doll." he called.

"I love you too Papa." I answered back as I hopped into the cryo-freeze pod and braced myself. The door slowly shut and then... everything went black.