I'm With You 'Til The End Of The Line: A Bucky Barnes Fanfiction

I Suppose I'm Dining with Princesses

RECAP: STARK, BANNER, NIKKI, AND BUCKY ARE MISSING. NIKKI MET DAKOTA AND THEY ARE IN CENTRAL PARK. BUCKY IS STILL AT THE HYDRA BASE. RHOADY RESCUED TONY FROM HYDRA, AND STEVE, NATASHA, AND CLINT ARE LOOKING FOR ALL OF THEM. BANNER'S WHEREABOUTS ARE UNKNOWN.

I Suppose I'm Dining with Princesses

Steve's POV

I headed back into the city, determined to find Nikki, Bucky, Banner, and Stark. So far, they had been unsuccessful, except for the site where Banner hulked out. My main priority is Nikki. She's too young to be out there, alone. The day was beginning to end. The sky was slowly darkening. No one said a word as we instinctively headed back towards the S.H.I.E.L.D. base.

Nikki's POV

"Well, it's almost supper time. You got a place to go?" Dakota asked.

"No," I replied quickly.

A look of pity crossed his face. "You can eat and crash at my place," he proposed. "Dad won't be home tonight. He's working the night shift."

"What about your mom?" I wondered.

"Well, she went to a friend's house. A guy. Then again, that was five years ago..." he trailed off.

Realization hit me, "Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have a-" I was cut off.

"It's fine. She always seemed distant even when she lived in the same house as us. She never cooked, did laundry, or took us places. She never smiled," Dakota explained.

"Um, okay. Are you normally alone at home then?" I asked out of curiosity.

He smiled, "Alone with my little sister."

By now, we were entering a condo neighborhood. Big houses. Everywhere. They all looked the same, I wondered how Dakota knew which one was his. As I looked closer, each house had a different porch and sidewalk. Some sidewalks were as straight as a line, others squiggled like snakes. Dakota stopped in front of a condo with a winding sidewalk and two-pillar porch.

"Well, here it is," he addressed. He unlocked the front door and pushed it open. I stepped into a cavernous room that seemed to go on forever. The floor was covered with a plush carpet, the furniture was leather, the ceiling was peaked and wooden, and the T.V. was a huge flat screen. A glass coffee table sat in the center with newspapers, magazines, and little girl toys. It smelled like fresh wood.

Just then, a voice screeched, "Kota!" Little footsteps were quickly pattering down a staircase somewhere. Around the corner came a little girl with bright blue eyes and dirty blonde hair. A little kitten trotted at her heels. "Guess what I-" she met my gaze. "Who's she? She's pretty," she commented as she neared her brother. Her eyes never left me.

"This is Kaylee," Dakota answered.

"Hi, Kaylee," she greeted.

I smiled and bent down to her level. "Hello. What might your name be?"

She smiled. "I'm Taylor."

It was then I noticed she was in a princess outfit. "Oh, my! Why, you're a princess!"

She blushed and grinned. Dakota was smiling as well. "Well, I'm going to start on supper. Why don't you show Kaylee the guest room and entertain her until it's ready, Taylor?"

"Okay!" With that, she grabbed my hand and pulled me to the staircase around the corner. She ran up the stairs as I trailed behind her. When I reached the top, she grabbed my hand again and dragged me to a room at the end of the hall. "This is going to be your room. Are you staying the night?"