Prelude Two
Alya’s eyes fluttered open as the sun’s rays beamed through her window.
Glancing at her clock, she saw that she’d only been sleeping for a few hours. It was all she could manage to do these days.
She was still grieving her mother and everyday was a reminder that she wasn’t here anymore, but she didn’t feel as hopeless as she had when she first got the news.
At least, most days she didn’t.
Her Uncle Sam told her that was what grief was.
An ocean full of uncontrollable waves that would shove her in every direction and just when she figured out how to ride one, another would come to knock her over.
But, after a while, she’d get the hang of it and those big waves would become ripples she’d get used to swimming around.
Having Steve around helped tremendously.
Keeping his word and respecting Natasha’s wishes, it was no question that he’d remain close. Alya was elated to find out that they’d be sharing an apartment together.
As much as she wanted him to live in the same place forever, she understood when Steve told her that this was only temporary to make the transition smoother. She and her father needed to learn how to navigate with one another without him being a buffer.
Because the last thing he wanted to do, was step on Bucky’s toes.
He wanted them to be able to find their new normal.
After the Blip, the world was now getting used to having double the population. At first, it was a little chaotic, but everyone was beginning to get back into the swing of things.
Which meant that Alya had to go back to school.
The twelve year old used to love school, but she didn’t know most of her classmates due to the fact that a lot of them weren’t dusted and were now five years older than she was.
But, to her luck, Riona was still in the same grade.
On the first day, the two girls ran right towards each other and embraced tightly.
It was such a relief to know that they still had a friend.
It was the only thing making school bearable.
And Peter took the train from Queens to the apartment to pick her up so that they could ride together. Alya enjoyed the company and was grateful for a little piece of normalcy where she could forget everything that was bothering her.
At first, Bucky wanted to know who this teenaged boy was that was knocking on his door first thing in the morning, calling for his twelve year old daughter, but relaxed when Steve explained everything with a very amused look on his face.
But he trusted him and showed him as much when he handed the boy a key to get in.
Though that didn't mean he wouldn't give him a hard time.
“Hey, Sleepyhead.” Bucky knocked on the door before entering the room.
The room didn't have much personality yet. With everything going on, they didn't have much to time to go out and shop for decorations or paint, but Bucky promised himself that they'd get to to that as soon as they could.
Alya preferred to leave the door open because Bucky always left a small light on in the kitchen and she could see the glow from her bed. She couldn’t handle lying in the dark. It made her thoughts run away from her faster than she could keep up.
It was always quiet at night and that was the perfect time to be reminded that her mother was no longer with her.
She couldn't crawl into bed with her when she was scared. She wouldn't hear her laugh or see her smile.
The dark was too consuming and it seemed like the less light there was, the more that ache in her chest ailed her.
“G’morning.” She spoke quietly, sitting up and rubbing her tired eyes.
“How’d you sleep?” He asked, moving to sit on her bed while also keeping his distance.
He may have been her father, but they didn't know each other very well.
And now that he was her primary parent, what little relationship they had before needed to change.
But that would happen with time.
Alya shrugged her shoulders, tracing the stitching on her comforter. It was grey and didn't have anything particularly special on it. She could think back and remember a time when she and Natasha decorated her room so vibrantly and she didn't want to replace those memories with anything else.
"Fine."
And it was true. For the few hours she did sleep, it was fine.
Better than waking up from the dreams she had most nights.
They were never nightmares. Natasha was always alive and well in them.
No, the nightmare was waking up and remembering that she was gone.
“Alright, well, you’ve got a bit of time before school. You want some breakfast?”
“No, thank you.” She shook her head.
Bucky bit back a sigh at her answers.
He knew this was going to take time, but he was trying his best to connect to her, but no matter what he did, he just couldn’t seem to reach her.
But he wasn’t about to give up.
It was hard to watch her like this.
There were some days where he’d physically have to pull her out of bed because she would just lay there and stare off into space.
Fortunately, as the days went by, she was getting better and better.
“Well…..” Alya looked down at her tummy when it growled loudly. “Maybe Peter’ll be hungry when he comes…..can you make pancakes?”
“Only if you get up and get dressed.”
She was going to be alright.
Bucky was positive of that.
“Whoa! What happened to your face…?….And your jacket?”
Alya rolled her eyes at his audacity, but she couldn’t exactly be mad. Peter knew her very well and if she looked like something went wrong, then she wasn’t hiding it well enough.
“There’s nothing on my face.”
“I know you. You got into a fight.”
Her day at school hadn’t gone as planned.
There was another classmate of hers that was alive for those five years, too, and now she was in the same grade. As bad as Serena had been, this girl was even worse now, seemingly picking on everything that appeared to be weaker than she was.
And Alya was one of her targets.
The twelve year old guessed it was some kind of need for revenge.
She was just glad that she was had the good sense to provoke her off of school grounds so that neither one of them got into trouble.
“Brandy.” She told Peter, sitting down next to him on the train.
“Again?” He’d been told about Alya’s first run in with the girl and he couldn’t believe that after all of that, she was still trying this nonsense. “What happened?”
“She just started in on me is all.” Alya shrugged.
She didn't see why he needed to know every detail about this fight. It wasn't as if she was ever going to get beat up.
And part of her like the fighting. It wasn't like it was back in the Red Room, she wasn't being forced to participate and could (once she mustered up enough self-control) walk away any time she wanted to.
But landing hit after hit was exhilarating for her and she didn't want to stop.
“Alya.” Peter, tilted her chin so she was now looking directly at him. "Spill."
While no one at school knew who her parents were, they were, for some reason, under the impression that she was at least a fan of the Black Widow.
She really didn’t know how they came to that conclusion, but she had to ride the wave.
Her guess was that Brandy just wanted to hurt her by saying awful things about Natasha. But, to her credit, she was saying it all in ignorance.
That didn’t mean that what she was saying wasn’t getting to Alya.
Day after day, Brandy knew that she was working the younger girl’s nerves, adding fuel to the fire whenever she could.
Until, one day, Alya had enough and stopped walking away whenever she was confronted.
The way she saw it, Brandy had one more insult left before Alya had no choice but to rectify the situation.
Funnily enough, the insult that was the straw that broke the camel’s back wasn’t even about Natasha.
It was about Tony.
And before she knew it, her fist was hurtling towards Brandy’s face. She didn’t bust her nose like she did Serena's, but she did give her a nice shiner.
And Brandy fought back, tackling her to the ground. Unfortunately for her, Alya knew what she was doing and decided not to fight to the best of her ability.
But they did roll on the ground for a while before some older kids from Peter’s high school jumped in and broke them up.
“I got into a fight.” Alya confirmed. “So, what?”
“Is that what you’re gonna say to your dad?” Peter quirked a brow. He understood how hard this time was for Alya, but he also saw how her attitude was getting worse and worse. He just hoped Bucky stepped in before she got out of control. “Can I be there when you do?”
“You know, what? I’ll walk to school by myself tomorrow.” Alya pulled her chin out from his grip, only succeeding because he allowed it.
“Alya, you’re twelve years old.” Peter gave her an uncharacteristically stern look. “You’re not really allowed to go anywhere by yourself.”
He knew that wasn’t true, but the girl was in such a state of grief that he didn’t want her to be alone.
If she was alone, that meant that she could do stupid things that might end up hurting her or someone else.
“Says, who?”
“Me.” He gently slapped her upside her head, getting a look of shock on return. Usually it was Pietro who put his hands on her in reprimand and Peter was the one who ran interference. She guessed that because Pietro wasn't here, Peter was slipping into the role of 'bossy older brother'. “Stop trying to push me away. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Yeah, okay.” She scoffed.
And part of her truly believed him, but she'd been hurt by the twins' absence and she didn't want to feel that way again, so she made herself indifferent.
“I promise.”
“Yeah, you hear from the twins lately?” She spat.
“They’ll come back.” He assured her. “They’re just having a rough time right now…..just like you. But that doesn’t mean they don’t love you.”
Alya knew he was right, but she missed her brother and sister. Not hearing from them like this was worrying and she hoped that they were okay.
She wasn’t even mad at them anymore.
She just wanted them to come home.
“Baba?” Alya called as she entered the apartment, leaving her schoolbag by the door, a place where she knew Bucky didn't like her to leave it. “Uncle Steve?”
As time went on, she was beginning to do little things that she knew she wasn't allowed to do.
She didn't know if she was trying to see what she could get away with, or if she was trying to see how far she could push her father.
Maybe it was both, but she was having a really fun time with it right now.
“On the couch.” She heard her father call, surprised when he didn't get on her case for the bag at the door.
Alya followed his voice and stopped short when she saw that he and Steve weren’t alone.
There was a woman sitting by them, too.
Alya took a good look at her and noticed that she was wearing a well-ironed suit with matching black patent high heels. She had a black leather briefcase that Alya was sure was full of different documents and her face was devoid of anything that could indicate whether or not something was wrong.
“Hi, you must be Alyona.” She smiled, standing up to greet her. “I’m Grace Thorne.”
Alya took a step back and peered around behind her to look at the two men in the room, hoping they could clarify exactly what this was.
But when Steve raised an eyebrow, she pursed her lips and did what she knew he wanted her to do.
“Hi.” Though she wasn’t very friendly about it.
“I know you’re wondering what this is all about, so why don’t we sit down and lay it all on the table?”
“Okay….”
“Alya, get yourself something to drink before we get into it.” Bucky advised.
Alya nodded and headed right for the kitchen where Mischief was drinking some water.
“Привет, детка. (Hi, baby.).” She scratched behind the cat’s ears. “What did you do all day? You hungry?”
“She’s been fed, Doll.”
If Alya hadn’t realized the situation was serious, then she knew it now. Mischief was her responsibility. She was the one who made sure she was fed and healthy, (though Bucky knew she was only twelve, so he helped out without her knowing), so if someone fed her before she got a chance to, then this was going to take a while.
She wondered if the word about the fight she’d had with Brandy made it all the way back to Brooklyn before she did.
Heaving a sigh, she gave Mischief one last pet before standing up and getting a bottle of water and making her way back to the couch, sitting impossibly close to Steve, who wrapped an arm around her.
She looked at Grace and wondered if the woman was ever going to start explaining why on earth she was here.
While she waited, she sized her up, taking in all her features.
Grace had pale skin and brown hair, but not so brown that it looked black. Her blue eyes seemed to have the ability to pierce whoever was looking directly at them and her mouth gave the impression that she spent a lot more time frowning than she did smiling.
“I see you’ve been acclimating just fine.” The woman began.
“Why are you here?” Alya blurted, her tone coming off as rude as she meant for it to.
“Alyona.” Bucky gave her a look at the same time that Steve firmly tapped the side of her thigh.
“That’s quite alright, Sergeant Barnes.” Grace smiled politely. “I’m sure it’s very unsettling to come home and find a stranger with a briefcase sitting on your couch. I’m here on behalf of the DCFS.”
That was just short for the Department of Children and Family Services.
Alya knew that much and she didn't like it.
This lady was here to either take her away, or to threaten to do so.
“Why?” She screwed up her face.
“Just to make sure that you’re safe and healthy.”
“I’m fine. You can go home now.”
The next warning shot she got from Steve had a little kick to it. So much so, that her hand flew to block him from doing it again.
But Steve leaned down and whispered something in her ear. “Be polite. I'm not gonna tell you again.”
"You didn't even tell me the first time." She spat back sassily, earning herself another one to which she quickly pushed his hand away to rub out the sting. She also fought the urge not to hit him back, though she knew that wouldn't be smart. "Ow.....Okay, okay. I'll be good. Stop doing that. It's not nice."
Steve had to fight not to roll his eyes at her audacity, but left it alone.
As long as she remained respectful, he didn't care what she thought of his supposed 'hypocrisy'.
“Alyona—” Grace tried to move on from that little hiccup.
“—Alya.” The twelve year old interrupted gently, adding a soft, “Please.”
“Alya.” The woman corrected herself kindly. “Your father is going to be in and out of court for the next few weeks or maybe even the next month or so. We need to make sure that you’re set so that the case can proceed.”
“Court?” No one ever told Alya about any of that.
What did her father need to go to court for?
Actually, she was glad she didn't ask that out loud.
Sometimes she forgot that her father was the Winter Soldier because he never behaved that way.
He was so gentle and kind, the warmth in his eyes never faded whenever he was looking at her.
“It’s a necessary formality.”
“It’s okay, Doll.” Bucky assured her.
“Are you going to jail?” Alya's eyes widened.
If he went to jail, what would happen to her?
“No.” Steve spoke firmly. “He just has to go to a few hearings. It’ll be over before you know it.”
He and Bucky were going to sit Alya down and tell her all about this as soon as she got out of school, so it wasn't such a shock, but things changed and Grace arrived earlier than originally planned.
“Okay….but why’s she here?”
“Because while the court proceedings are happening, you cannot stay with your father.”
“Then where will I go?” Alya’s heart began to race.
Sam was all the way in New Orleans, Yelena and her grandparents were in Russia, her maternal grandparents were in Wakanda, and Clint had his hands full with his own family.
Where would that leave her?
“That’s what we want to discuss.” Grace continued. It was to her understanding that Alya couldn't continue to reside in that apartment while her father was there, so they had to figure out a game plan.
“You’re staying right here with me.” Steve gave the social worker a look, almost as if he were daring her to say anything on the contrary. He'd had this conversation with her already and he really wasn't sure why she chose to bring it up after he made it clear that Alya wasn't going anywhere.
“Your uncle will be granted temporary custody of you while we get this sorted out.” Ever since the Blip, things weren't going the way they normally did, so Grace would probably have no choice but to let Alya stay with Steve.
Everyone was still trying to get their lives back on track, they wouldn't have the time or the energy to foster a child.
Alya could tell that this definitely wasn’t what was supposed to happen, but whenever Steve spoke, people listened and it wasn’t as if anyone was going to go against him.
“But there will be periodic check-ins, so you need to make sure that everything is in order.” Grace told them. “And as another condition, you’ll need to go to therapy.”
“Therapy?” Alya screwed her face up. “Why?”
She'd never been to therapy a day in her life.
She never needed it.
Why was this lady trying to force her to go now?
“Well, you’ve just been through something very traumatic and we want to make sure that you’re in a good mental state.”
Alya still wasn't understanding this.
From the minute she was born, she was thrown into a traumatic situation that only stopped when Natasha found her. After that, she didn't have to face the traumatic situations on her own.
She was devastated now that her mother was gone now, but she didn't need to talk to anyone about it, it was none of their business.
“You just wanna know what your files won’t tell you.” She muttered, though it was loud enough to hear.
And Steve must've agreed with her because he didn't say a word.
“We just want to make sure that everything is okay with you and your father.”
“It won’t be so bad, Buddy.” Steve rubbed her back. This was all so new to Alya, so it made sense that she'd be a little apprehensive. “Do you remember when Sam used to help people at the VA?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, that’s just what you’re therapist will do.”
Alya wanted to tell him that she trusted Sam, she would never trust whoever this therapist was going to be.
But she kept her mouth shut.