Weapons | Bucky Barnes x OC

13. EAGLE

January 11, 1983.
Washington, D.C.

'I come up hard, baby, but now I'm cool.
I didn't make it sugar, playin' by the rules.
I come up hard, baby, but now I'm fine.'

A jazz tune began to play in the space as the car was started and pulled  away from the driveway.

"How much time?" asked the blonde-haired girl of about twelve years old in the passenger seat.

"We literally just turned the corner, Honey." the man in his late thirties who drove the 1970s Ford chuckled softly as the girl snorted and shifted nervously in the seat.

"Where are we even going, papa?" she questioned, drawing imaginary objects on the window.

"We're just going to pick up mom from work." David Mitchell patiently acknowledged.

"But papa, I'm bored! Why couldn't I stay home? I'm almost 12 now!" she literally begged, crossing her arms and pouting at him.

"You're still too young to be home alone." he scolded her as the little girl sighed, rolling her eyes. "Okay okay, I give up.." the man let out a frustrated sigh.

Reluctantly, he took out the tape currently playing in the car stereo, holding it momentarily between his teeth as he searched for another one in the compartment under his seat -while holding the steering wheel with his left hand.
Then he finally found it and slipped the worn out tape into the car radio, right before putting away the other one in the compartment. Just in time to see the biggest of smiles grew on his daughter's face.

"Papa you're the best!" the notes of Maddie's favorite song filled the car and she immediately began singing in excitement.

"..I know nobody knows where it comes and where it goes, I know it's everybody's sin. You got to lose to know how to win.." Maddie sang, swinging her head slowly and watching the landscape roll out the window. The houses reduced every so often, but never completely left room for trees and nature. Besides, it was just a 20 minutes drive from Annandale to Washington D.C.

"Now, I know your birthday is next week.." he started. "..But I can't wait to see your reaction." he opened the glove compartment in front of her and Maddie screamed sharply at the mere sight of the object.

She pulled a comic book out of the compartment and clutched it wordlessly in front of her. She ran her fingertips over the title, it was the latest Star Wars issue she was eager to read.She immediately began to leaf through it.

Madison Mitchell loved comics, not to mention her huge collection of Captain America comics. Starting with her grandfather and then her father, from the postwar period onwards they collected the comics celebrating the hero who saved the world, up to Maddie so that she could read them.

Madison loved superheroes and the fact that one of them really existed gave her goosebumps. On the other hand, David Mitchell was more than happy to read new comics her daughter finished, or take her to the movies to watch Star Wars together, or read The Lord of the Rings for her before bedtime. But the thing he loved most was to tell Madison about his work and how SHIELD was created.

Maddie even had a picture of her parents with Peggy Carter hanging in her bedroom, since the woman became a source of inspiration for her. In fact the little girl dreamed of joining the SHIELD Academy, or US Air Force. A dream much supported by her mother Janet, while David was quite reluctant to have her daughter risking her life doing their same job. Let's say he wanted something quieter for his little princess.

Over the years David was a huge fan of Steve Rogers, and surely talking about his adventures was his favorite story to tell Maddie. Of course his favorite one was how Captain America saved Maddie's grandfather and his comrades during war. The two of them loved spending afternoons together at the Smithsonian, especially in the exhibit dedicated to him.