Entwined | Bucky Barnes *On Hold*

Chapter Nine

~Amelies POV~

I cried.

Bucky cried.

D'Arcy cried.

It was safe to say it had been a very emotional day.

D'Arcy had asked if she could call us Mum and Dad, rather than Ammy and Bucky, and it was a question that we hadn't really been expecting.

We thought that one day, further down the line, she would want to call us something different, but she'd only been our daughter for a month or so.

I'd kept it together, and nodded quickly before pulling her into a hug. Bucky meanwhile, burst into tears and had to excuse himself before running back in the room and enveloping us both in an extremely tight hug, crushing us both in his arms.

A week later and it was still surreal.

D'Arcy was sat at the counter of the bar, drawing on her pad of paper as Bucky kept her company whilst I worked. I wouldn't let her visit in the evenings when the rowdier groups began visiting, but whilst it was fairly quiet I figured there would be no harm in her sitting here.

River was refilling the ice bucket, when she dropped the frozen bag, and the ice smashed on the floor beside her foot. She yelped, and jumped back, hitting her arm on the counter of the bar before slipping down onto the floor.

D'Arcy squeaked at the noise, her eyes wide as she peered down at her. I was already crouched beside her on the floor, reaching my hand out to offer River help to her feet. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She murmured, her cheeks now a dark red as she turned to brush the ice into a bin. "Sorry."

"It's okay," I smiled, "as long as you aren't hurt."

"I'm not, thank you Amelie." She scurried to the back, disappearing into another room to collect a replacement bag of ice.

"Is she okay?" Bucky asked quietly, making sure she couldn't hear him. "I mean, she's really quiet."

"She's always quiet." I shrugged, "that's just who she is. We both used to be quiet."

Bucky furrowed his brows. "I'm calling it. She's too shy around us."

"People are allowed to be shy Bucky." I scolded him, "She suffers from anxiety, she's bound to be a little... shy."

D'Arcy passed me a slip of paper. 'Can I have some lemonade Mum?'

"Of course you can sweetheart." I passed Bucky a glass. "Can you fill that, I'm going to check on River."

I watched Bucky scoop our giggling daughter into his arms, and slide over the top of the bar to access the lemonade hidden behind it.

I pushed the door to the back open, a smile still fixed on my face as it swung shut behind me. I couldn't help the grin grow as I heard Bucky doing an impression of a lemonade guarding bear, who was giving his precious drink away to the princess who deserved it the most.

My smile died when I saw River.

She wore long sleeves, always did, and I never questioned it. I figured she just got cold easily, and kept warmer with her arms covered. But with her sleeves rolled up, I could see the deep purple bruises and slashing scabs of dried blood.

She was tearful as she examined them, before she rolled her sleeves down and buttoned them at the wrist. She shook slightly, rubbing her hands along her dark jeans, before huffing a breath through her lips and wiping at her face.

"River-" I whispered.

She jumped out of her skin, spinning around with a look of pure terror on her face. "Amelie! Sorry, I'll be right out."