10 Years Time

Chapter Twelve

Bucky wanted to fight him, but he knew Steve was right. They needed to think worst case scenario given the events unfolding tonight.

"Ok. Yes. Always. I'll always take care of her Steve. You know that."

"Ok. You make sure that Clint, Sam, and everyone else does too. If anything happened to her-"

"I know. I won't let it though. Not on my watch nor anyone else's. Everyone cares too deeply for her to watch anything bad happen."

"I know." He let out a sigh looking back down at her room. "She's going to change so many things Buck. This place will be a better place with her in it. That woman is something else." he said with such pride, but also such sorrow.

"You found quite the girl Cap."

"Too bad I can't keep her." he sighed before walking by himself back to the king.

_____

Two days had gone by since the day Y/N had almost taken off after Steve. She had avoided her father like the plague knowing she wouldn't be able to hold her tongue. There was so much she wanted to scream at him about, but she knew it would get her nowhere. Not until she was the head ruler of their home.

But as the second day came around, she found Bucky and asked for an update. She had calmed down since the first time she had heard of the news of him being sent off, so when Bucky said a few more days, she didn't fight him. Did she become more worried? Yes. But Steve knew what he was doing. She had faith in that.

Then a few days carried on into a week. She became more frantic. Concerned that something had gone wrong.

Bucky and Clint reassured her saying that Sam had reached out to them and told them that the mission had become more promising than they thought, and they would be staking it out a little longer.

Y/N hadn't known that was a lie made up by Bucky and Clint, so she brushed it off again having faith that Steve would be ok.

It continued like this for a month. The princess finding the acting captain and his co-leader when she wasn't buried by books and avoiding her father. She would ask them for updates, and they would come up with some lie or excuse as to why he wasn't back yet.

All elaborate enough that she would hold herself back for one more day before jumping on her horse and running to him anyway.

That was until one day she was making her way to the training room to check on the women-warriors, or the A-Force as they named themselves. Just about 10 feet from the door she overheard some soldiers talking about a mission around the corner. One that sounded a little too familiar.

"Yeah, no. I heard that it was supposed to be a month long mission. King Stark had been so furious with Captain Rogers about something, he literally shipped him off on a pointless stake out. From what I heard Captain Barnes talking about, it may be a whole other month before he gets back."

"Wait, so what was Stark mad at him for? What could he have done so wrong that he would send his best Captain on a wild goose chase?"

"No idea. All I know is the King was in a fit for a few days. He's been stern and short with everyone since. But if you ask me, I think it has something to do with the princess. They haven't been in the same room as each other unless for a meeting. Even then, the guards say they're super cold and distant with each other."

"Do you think the rumors of Cap and the Princess are true? You know, the one where-"

"They're hopelessly in love with each other? Wouldn't doubt it. Have you seen the way the man's eyes glaze over when she's anywhere in sight? It's like all the authority and poise of a Knight melts. I mean still stupidly intimidating, but he softens around her."