Little Wing - Bucky Barnes x OC

Stay

A/N: Who am I? Posting twice in one week?

To be honest, I've had this chapter sitting in my drafts for longer than I'd care to admit. It's been revised many, many times. I swear I have this whole thing memorized by now. It's probably the most important and chapter in this entire story. Definitely the climax in the plot.

Warnings/TW: Abusive parenting (Emotional abuse, but there is a *small* moment of physical abuse) Stay safe bbs♥️ if any of you are worried about being triggered, please don't read. And please don't hate me for this. Cue the sad music for this one.

~

Dove smiled at the page she had just written and decided to share it with Bucky later. She closed her journal and rolled over on the grass of her backyard so she faced up towards the sky. Her elbows ached from keeping herself propped up in one position for so long.

She squinted. Her long lashes cast shadows over her eyes to shield her sensitive pupils from the bright light of the sunset, though it was not enough. Using the bound paper, she held it beside her head and her scrunched features relaxed.

A pair of birds flitted overhead, soaring off to freedom. The clear expanse was only marred by a few fluffy clouds that were turned bright pink with the setting sun. The breeze was gentle and had a slight chill, like a whisper caressing her skin. Although, the message it provided between the gusts of wind wasn't a pleasant one like she had hoped for.

There was a feeling of melancholy to it. The warm feeling of beginnings had been replaced with a slight crispness of a change in season. Even the leaves that covered the tree overhead had gotten the memo. The tips of them had already started to turn yellow. Dove couldn't help but think: the end was near.

The end of her absolute favorite summer. One that she knew would forever be looked back on with fondness. Her own personal Summer of Love.

Regardless, that was nothing to worry about. She was headed for bigger and better things. So many possibilities. Endless, in fact. She was going to chase after her dreams and she knew everything would be better then. She would finally be happy. She would have room to grow.

And the best part was, Dove was embarking on the adventure with her best friend and the love of her life would be joining them once he graduated. What could possibly go wrong?

Even though the year apart from Bucky wouldn't be easy, she knew it was worth it. He was worth it. They would build a life together in the city, surrounded by art and culture and excitement. They would live out their lives trying to make it in the big city. Dove would finally publish her work and Bucky would become a successful architect. They'd find a place of their own. Maybe they'd even get a cat.

Either way, simply leaving Roseworth would be enough. As that was the ultimate goal since the day she was able to form her own opinions about the world. To leave the nest.

Dove swung her legs high in the air and brought them back down quickly, giving herself momentum to sit up on the grass. She gathered all of her things as she stood and proceeded to sprint barefoot across the backyard, into her house. Her eyes flicked over to the clock on the wall and saw that it was already getting late. Shit. She bounded upstairs to the bathroom to get ready for the evening.

Bucky had invited her over for dinner with his mom and sister, as they had returned from their stay in Brooklyn the day before. Dove was nervous, to say the least. She had known Winnifred and Rebecca her entire life. Their families were incredibly close, although the circumstances had changed quite a bit since she last saw them. And Dove was determined to get Winnifred's approval.