𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕦𝕟 𝕚𝕤 𝔾𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕃𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣- completed but editing

Chapter 46

My sweet sixteen was rapidly approaching. Tony was planning a party at the Compound and he was staying all week to make sure it was perfect.

I was excited, everyone who worked at the Avengers Compound was invited. The party was outside, in the field next to the buildings. I had wanted a party at night with string lights and greenery and that was the theme Tony was building.

Wanda was excited for me, she talked about party plans and what we were wearing constantly.

Two days before my birthday, Bucky sent me a present. It came in a questionably large box and Steve brought it to my room with a wink.

The man had gotten me a lot of stuff. There was another necklace, with a moon charm instead of a star, like the last one. There was a bracelet made of his hair, that I immediately put on and a notebook, copied from his own, full of observations that he noticed about me. And there was a letter. It was so long that it could have doubled as a novella.

On his birthday in March, I had sent him a similar bracelet, with my hair, a candle made from my perfume, a copied picture of me, making a heart with my hands, and a long letter.

Steve dropped by later and saw me, reading the notebook. "Tony requests the birthday girl's presence to taste test cake."

I scrambled up. "Cake!"

Wanda was already there with Sam. They were perched on barstools, staring at the eight different cakes lined up.

"Dig in, guys," I said, entering. "Just save at least a bite for me."

I settled on the vanilla cake with raspberry jam filling. It was beautiful and everyone else liked it too.

On the night of the party, I made a grand entrance on Tony's arm, wearing a lavender, thick strapped dress with a slit in it that made its way up to mid-thigh.

"Tony," I leaned in to whisper in his ear. "I wanna get a tattoo."

He pressed his lips together to stifle a smile. "We'll discuss it later. But I think you can if you want."

Clint, Laura, and Gigi were there, G barely leaving my side all night. Thor had mysteriously been unable to attend, although he had been invited.

My subtly colored, pink lips slid into a smile as I mingled with the attendees, a pink cocktail in my left hand.

Everything was beautiful. Above us, strings of greenery and twinkle lights created a canopy. There were fountains and assortments of flowers. The servers were all dressed in a shade darker than mint green and slid through the people carrying hors d'oeuvres and tiny desserts.

The cake was delicious and we ate it while sitting in a circle, the Avengers and my sister each giving a small toast.

After the guests left, the chef brought out a smaller cake for us to eat together and a box of sparklers to carry on the birthday tradition. We danced and ate and laughed until sun up, and we all went to bed, exhausted and full of cake.

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"A tattoo?" Steve nearly spat out his scrambled eggs. "You are kidding, right?"

I shook my head. "I really wanna get one."

Natasha stood next to me. "I think that if Li Anne wants a tattoo and is oki with whatever she wants on her skin forever, she should get one."

Sam turned to me and asked, "What do you want to get?"

I motioned to my left arm, just above my elbow. "I want three ink rings, right here. They symbolize my mother, my brother, and my dad."

"See?" Tony interjected. "It's not just some random skull!"

Steve pulled me aside. "What does Bucky say?"

"He wants me to be able to make peace with my past and if this is the way to do it, he's all for it."

We rejoined the group. "Fine," Steve gave in. "Do it."

I had an appointment for the tattoo artist to stop by the Compound the next week.

With the matter settled, I went on the roof to tan.

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I hadn't anticipated the actual needle giving me the tattoo but my cloud numbed the pain. Steve couldn't watch but Sam and Tony stayed with me, asking questions about the people I was commemorating in ink.

They already knew about my dad because of his past Avengering experiences but they loved hearing about my mother and Danny.

When it was over, Steve came back in, just as the artist was bandaging the three rings.

It was permanent and I was beginning to feel the weight of it. I read the letter Bucky sent me that morning.

Dear Li Anne,

I don't know if it has happened yet or not, but I am very hopeful for you and excited about you making peace with your past.

Your mother sounded lovely and kind and I would have very much liked to meet your brother. I haven't found much about my family yet, except my parents.

July here in Romania is hot but I discovered that popsicles are still around. I eat at least three a day. Here, there are fruit markets everyday and I've been trying new ones.

You looked gorgeous in your latest photoshoot, I put it on the ever growing wall of your pictures.

I don't just tell you that you are beautiful because that's all I see of you. I tell you how beautiful you are because I hope that one day, you won't just see yourself as an experiment or an Avenger, you will see you how I see you. You are a beautiful woman that I adore more than anything and hopefully, someday, that will be enough for you.

I miss you more than words can say and emotions can feel,

Nothing means more to me than you,

Bucky

He was my safe place and my haven. I could tell him everything, and I did. Nothing meant more to me than him. My only wish was to see him again.