behind blue eyes [bucky barnes]

anniversary chapter one

"Today's music ain't got the same soul. I like that old time rock and roll."

Song: Old Time Rock & Roll by Bob Seger

. . . . .

August 11, 2006

Eleven year olds weren't supposed to be as good at fixing cars as Maria was. Mechanics who were quadruple her age spent years and years training and shadowing to become proficient at restoring and reviving vehicles. But she was a prodigy of sorts - or a superhero if one asked James Rhodes - that could listen and diagnose a car within minutes.

There was something about the act of getting her hands dirty with grease and bringing a machine to life that brought her peace. Arguably it was in her genetics - a predisposition to mechanics that was inherited from her father. Regardless of what was going on around either of them, if Tony or Maria Stark needed to breathe and clear their head, they could be found beneath the hood of a car.

Which was exactly where Tony found his daughter at an ungodly hour the night before she was to move into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Tony couldn't deny the proud satisfaction that roared in his veins at the sight of his daughter manhandling an engine like a professional. The grease that stained both her skin and clothing was like a badge of honor in his family, and who was he to deny her the right to bear it? The man wanted to soak in the image for as long as possible, knowing that his time was short. But that didn't stop concern from taking hold of him.

"Fuck," grunted the child, who was immediately reprimanded by Tony's artificial intelligence named JARVIS. "Miss Stark, a young lady such as yourself should never say such heinous words." Tony couldn't help the curl of his lips that followed when his headstrong daughter flipped the ceiling the bird. "Fuck. Shit. Damn. Bitch. Pussy-"

"I think you might give him a stroke, squirt," Tony called out from his place against the wall, finally alerting his daughter to his presence. "Serves him right," smiled the preteen as she grabbed a wrench from the toolbox and began working once more on the vehicle. A heartbeat of silence passed before Maria was looking over her shoulder at her father with a mischievous grin on her face - the same one Tony wore when he wanted to get into some trouble. "Wanna help?"

"You never have to ask," grinned the man, who walked over and began aiding his daughter. They worked in silence for nearly an hour - the only words being shared being those that came when Maria had to ask for another tool. Tony indulged her... though he began to see exhaustion swipe across her features. The same features that had won him over eleven years prior, turning him from a bachelor to a single father in seconds.

"What happened to my mom," Maria suddenly asked - her movements stilling as she continued to stare at the engine that was now repaired. A sharp intake of oxygen filled Tony's lungs. He hated when she asked questions, but loathed the responses he was forced to give even more. Her entire life had been built on a lie... at least that was what his best friend continuously pointed out to him. Rhodey had never been a fan of the deceit, but he didn't know the full truth of her heritage. The truth that would set in motion a chain of events that might one day kill them all.