Winter's Daughter

Chapter Nine

You are currently cutting the cake and placing them onto plates. You had just sung "Happy Birthday" to Killian. Killian was in the living room opening his presents. Professor X, who was fashionably late as usual, had gotten Killian a telescope that was light enough to carry around for when he wanted to be a pirate, but powerful enough to be able to look at the stars. Ororo got him a pirate ship lava lamp (because she 'lavas' him). Bobby and Rogue got him a snow cone maker. Logan got him a new big set of colored pencils. Natasha and Wanda got him some books filled with pirate stories. Sam and Steve combined their gifts and gave him a pirate hat and eyepatch (both of which Killian promptly put on). That left Bucky and Rebecca's gift.

Killian pulls out the tissue paper from the bag and pulls out a fairly decent sized box. Killian then pulls off the lid and gasps. You walk over to the boy to see what it is. Peering into the box, you see a beautiful intricately designed hilt of a toy sword with the blade covered in an equally beautiful scabbard. The scabbard had Killian's name printed on it in a flowing font.

"Come on now, boy. Let's see what you got," Professor X encourages.

Killian lifts the sword out of the box with pride. He unsheathes the sword like a pirate would and inspected the blade. It appeared to be made of metal, but the edges of the sword were rounded off rather than being tapered like a real blade. On the blade, it read "Sir Killian James (L/N)" in the same fancy flowing font that was on the scabbard. Killian giggles with delight as he sets the sword aside.

"Thank you, Rebecca and Sergeant Barnes!" Killian shouts as he lungs to hug Bucky who was sitting on the other side of him.

"You're welcome, kid. Happy birthday," Bucky smiles and hugs the boy.

You smile at the scene. Killian has the biggest smile on his face. Wanda is taking pictures of everything so you won't miss a thing. Everyone laughs when Rebecca jumps onto her father's back to join in.

"Alright, who wants some chocolate cake?" You ask as you get up.

"Me!!" The kids shout as they run to get some.

You smile and give them both a slice. As you hand out the slices of cake, Bucky notes how Killian isn't touching his. Instead, Killian, attempting to be discreet, adds a few cookies and some pizza to the plate and hides the plate under the couch before getting another plate of cake. This slice he actually eats. Bucky doesn't say anything about it. It's clear Killian doesn't want anyone to realize something is up.

After Killian finishes, he excuses himself and takes the plate he had hidden with him upstairs. Bucky, wanting to make sure everything was okay, follows the boy at a distance. Bucky watches as Killian enters a room at the end of the hallway. The man stops at the doorway to peer into what he assumes to be the office you had told Killian and Rebecca to stay out of. A desk with a computer and piles of books and papers sat in the middle with a chair tucked neatly behind it. There are a few bookshelves and a large window. On the far side of the room sat a table with some picture frames and a vase of flowers on it inside a little alcove in the wall.

Bucky quietly watches from the doorway as Killian pushes the plate onto the table. Then Killian pushes himself up onto it to flick a switch on the right hand wall of the alcove. A light turns on to reveal a number of pictures, various awards, and other objects hung in the alcove in the wall. When Killian is safely on the ground again, Bucky knocks on the door to get the boy's attention. Killian whirls around shocked and almost a little frightened, but seems to relaxes when he sees Bucky.

"Hey kid," Bucky smiles. "What's that?"

"It's mommy's memorial," Killian says. "She keeps pictures off all her old friends and family here. She told me stories about all of these people."