the dark sapphire -Bucky Barnes-

61

When Lean got home that evening, she immediately heard her daughter's loud laughter coming from the basement. Confused, she put down her bag and climbed down the stairs. The laughter grew louder the closer she got to the door to the guest room, and when she opened it, a beaming Marisa immediately jumped out at her. "Mom, Mom, Ally can make things fly with her mind!" Marisa exclaimed happily as she threw herself into her mother's arms. "Really?" Lean looked at Marisa with a grin before grinning at Ally who was still sitting on the floor.

"And she doesn't need stairs, she can walk through circles and then she's right in the kitchen. i walked through a circle with her. It was so cool! I want to be able to do that too!" Marisa continued. "I believe you, sweetie. I'm glad you had such a good day" Lean stroked her daughter's hair "Will you please go take your school stuff to your room? And after that come to the dining room, we'll have dinner, ok?" she asked Marisa, who nodded, packed her things in her school bag and left the room.

"Thank you for keeping her busy. I hope she didn't mind" Lean turned to Ally when Marisa was gone. "Oh no..." Ally declined. "...She didn't bother us. We did homework with her and then I showed her what I could do. we all had fun, didn't we?" she looked at Bucky and Sam who were still sitting on the bed and nodded. "Good, I'm glad to hear that. Do you guys want to join us for dinner in a minute?" Lean asked. "Sure..." Ally stood up. "I'll help you set up."

"Your daughter is great by the way. i like her inquisitive nature" Ally mentioned as she fixed dinner with Lean in the kitchen.She had arranged with Sam and Bucky that the men would eat downstairs since Bucky still wasn't supposed to be out of bed and Sam would therefore keep him company downstairs while Ally ate with Lean and Marisa. "Thanks, that means a lot coming from you" Lean smiled at her. " Its true though.She asked us so many questions and wasn't even intimidated when we explained that Bucky lost his arm and has a metal arm because of it" Lean laughed. "That's a lot like Marisa. With things that would intimidate most kids, she's so fascinated and interested" she explained as she set the table.

"She's in bed now" after eating Lean had sent Marisa upstairs to change into her pajamas and then go brush her teeth while Ally and Lean cleared the table. Afterwards Lean had gone to Marisa and read her a good night story and had now rejoined Ally, who had done the dishes and then sat down on the couch in the living room. Exhausted, Lean settled down next to Ally. "she's still all excited because you have powers". Ally had to laugh before her face turned serious. "I told her that it has to be our secret. Do you think she'll keep it to herself?" Lean nodded. "Marisa is really good at keeping secrets for her age. You don't have to be afraid" Ally nodded in relief.

"Can I ask you one more question?" Ally asked hesitantly, not knowing if her question would bring up an unpleasant or painful memory in Lean. "Sure, go ahead and ask" Lean smiled at her. "Where is Marisa's father?" Ally asked gently. She had seen a man in a few photos with Marisa and Lean, but neither Lean nor Marisa mentioned a father or husband. "He...died" Lean sighed "Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked" Ally suddenly felt guilty, she knew how hard it was to talk about the loss of a loved one, even if it was ages ago, the pain was still there. For the same reason she didn't like to talk about the death of her parents.

"no, it's ok. He was a firefighter, died in a house fire when.... he was trying to save the homeowner" Ally noticed tears welling up in Lean's eyes, so she put her hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "Marisa was only two years old. She can barely remember her father, but I told her many times that her father was a hero" "I'm sure she knows that. I'm really sorry" Ally said and pulled Lean into a short hug.

Lean said goodbye to bed shortly after. She had had a busy day and would have to work again tomorrow, so she was craving sleep, which Ally completely understood. They wished each other a good night before Lean went up the stairs and Ally went down the stairs.

Sam and Bucky were sitting on the bed watching a video when Ally entered the room. "There you are. I thought you were just going to be upstairs for dinner" Bucky smiled at her after noticing her and Sam put the iPad on the side. "I was talking to Lean some more. Did you miss me?" Ally smiled back before dropping onto the bed between Sam and Bucky. "Yeah, Sam's just not as entertaining as you" Bucky gave Sam an amused look. "I just didn't want to cuddle with him, that's why he says that" Sam retorted. "Don't lie. I didn't want to cuddle" "yes you did" "no I didn't" the two glared at each other. "Ok guys, alright, stop it. That' enough. no one wanted to cuddle with no one, alright?" Ally rolled her eyes in annoyance. Every once in a while, these two were worse than preschoolers.

Sam and Bucky continued to stare at each other for a moment before Sam got out of bed. "Anyway, I'm going to bed now. Well, to my mattress. Have a good night, you two" he bowed before walking out of the room. Ally looked after him with a grin. Yes, the boys could be annoying, but she was also glad to have met them.

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