The person within

Chapter 12

Lea woke with the sun. She squinted to the other side of her room, blinded by the small ray of sunlight shining through her open window. Her dress lay hanging over the armchair in the corner, the memories of last night's events flooding back to her. Without realizing it, a small smile crept onto her face as she thought about her memorable night's experience. After she left the roof with Bucky, they had both headed back down to the party where they were met by confused looks by most people, with the occasional smirk from Tony or Sam. The party continued without a hitch, everyone getting significantly drunk and carrying themselves up to bed.

Unfortunately for Lea, when she got up out of bed and headed downstairs to the kitchen to where she normally found Bucky wallowing in his thoughts, his presence was missing, taken up by the all-too-familiar face Sam Wilson.

"Morning sleeping beauty. Isn't it a little early for you to be up? I thought because you were so adamant about the whole beauty sleep thing after last night that you might want to-"

"All right, all right, I get it, Sam," she shot back sarcastically. "And isn't it a little bit late for you to be moping around in the kitchen while the two grandpas, who by the way are over 100 years old and can still beat you in a running race, should be out running with them," she shot back innocently.

"Nice try Buttercup, but Elsa and Anna who always somehow manage to act like an old married couple left for a mission. Or at least Mr bionic snowcone is. Capsicle's just the getaway driver. They left pretty much as soon as you went off to princess dreamland."

"Shut up, pigeon."

"DID YOU JUST CALL ME A PIGEON?! YOU ASSHOLE MOTHERFU-"

"Kidding, Kidding," Lea said in a rush laughing. She swore she saw her life flash before her eyes.

"Oh, alrighty then, well see you later I guess Birdbrain."

"You are walking on thin ice, you hear me? Thin ice. Until next time, weird girl."

Sam walked off cackling maniacally, leaving Lea alone with her thoughts in the kitchen. She just stood staring at the splashback tiles for a solid 5 more minutes before another impromptu guest interrupted her train of thought.

"Oh, hey there you are," said a voice from her left, snapping Lea out of her daze.

"Oh, hey Clint. And who's this adorable little munchkin?" Lea indicated to the small little girl propped up on Clint's hip. She grinned widely, letting the gap where her two front teeth would normally be shine through.

"I'm Lila! I am 6!" she beamed, struggling to hold up the numbers on her hands, before holding up a lopsided 4 1/2.

"Well, aren't you gorgeous?" she smiled at the little girl who simply radiated with happiness. Clint set her down on the ground, where she ran off to heaven knows where in order to find herself something else to do (Lea just prayed she wouldn't find any of Tony's suits, or Clint would hide in the vents forever.) But 5 minutes later, she came bounding back with Tony's little girl Morgan who must've been the same age as Lila, and Lea's skateboard being dragged across the carpeted floor.

Clint quickly walked over to her, taking the board off her and handing it back to Lea with a quicky sorry, but Lea just smiled and laughed and said that it was all fine. The two little girls sat down together in the corner, setting up what looked to be like a tea party with their stuffed animals.

"So, why were you staring at the wall. Something on your mind?" Clint began, clearly not what Lea was expecting as his choice of a conversation starter.

"Oh, not much just thinking about Steve and the storm trooper's mission."

"Ah, back to the Barnes slander. I like it, Picasso," Clint remarked sarcastically, adjusting his hearing aid from behind his ear. "Still romanticizing over him like a lovebird, Cinderella."