911 | james barnes

017

9:31am, September 13, 2013

New York City, New York

"Dad! Wake up!" Violetta chanted, jumping up and down on her father's bed. His groans of disapproval only spurred her on, jumping higher and faster.

"Dad!" She squealed as her feet were pulled from beneath her, the vice grip of her father's arms wrapping around her torso as his fingers dug into her sides relentlessly. The cacophony of squeals, laughter and pleas to stop brought a smile to many of the other Avengers' faces.

"Why are you waking me up so early, pumpkin?" Bruce questioned as his daughter caught her breath.

"I thought we could maybe celebrate Mom's birthday together. I didn't get to do anything for her while I was at the Academy, and I hoped maybe we could do something now that we're here together." Violetta mumbled, her fingers dancing around the fraying edge of the shorts she had stolen from Natasha's closet. Her eyes grew watery at the lack of memories she had of her mother.

"Of course we can, pumpkin. I can take you around the city and show you all of your Mom's favourite things. How does that sound?" Bruce said, reaching forward to grab the teen's hands as he looked at her, her features so much like her mother's that Bruce thought she was made of divine conception. Violetta nodded in response, a small smile gracing her features as she looked at her father, her dad.

"Now go get dressed. And wear comfortable shoes! Your mother didn't believe in cabs!" Bruce called as she flitted out of his room, scuttling toward the elevator. He laughed a bit, standing up from his own bed and shuffling into his closet. Just moments later, before Bruce had even picked clothes out, Violetta was back, knocking at his door.

"Come in!" Bruce shouted over his shoulder, reluctantly pulling a button-up shirt and slacks from their hangers. Hearing the soft patter of footsteps, he looked up to see who he was sure was Irina Tchaikovskaya.

"Dad? Is this okay?" Instead of the husky voice of his lover, he heard the soft whisper of his daughter.

"You look beautiful, pumpkin. Just like your Mom." Bruce smiled as Violetta grinned, spinning around before walking back out of the room. He quickly got changed into his regular attire before running after her.

"So, where are we going first?" Violetta asked as the elevator opened, J.A.R.V.I.S. already having set their destination to the ground floor.

"There's a diner not far from Times Square that your mother loved going to for waffles. She always said the view of the square was much more fascinating during the day than it was at night." Bruce remembered, nodding along to what he was saying.

"Why?" Violetta questioned, desperate to learn as much as she could of her Mom.

"She said she liked to feel as though she was the only one seeing the beauty. In the morning, there was rarely anyone paying attention to what was happening around them, all they wanted was to get to their boring old office job and waste away their life for eight hours a day. At night time, everyone looks at the lights. She always said 'beauty of which you can only see under the guise of the night is no such beauty'." Bruce uttered, his eyes filling with a light Violetta had not seen in him since she had returned.

"She sounds incredibly prolific." Violetta commented as they continued walking down the bustling streets of New York. Her arm was wound around his elbow, his body taking the brunt of most pushing and pulling around them.

"She was. I actually have a present for you when we get back, as well." Bruce told Violetta as they reached the old diner. They pushed their way through the doors, the smell of stale coffee and sweet syrup floated through the air. Bruce led his daughter to a booth next to the large window that looked out into the streets, commenting something about how her mother loved to watch people as they wanted to get from something stupid to nothing at all. The two sat down comfortably, Violetta in her mother's vacant seat with her father across from her.

"I'm really glad we did this, pumpkin." Bruce commented, the laughter dying down as the now empty plates of waffles lay forgotten on the table.

"I am too, Dad. I'm sorry you didn't get more time with Mom. I blamed myself when I was in the Red Room. If I was never born, you wouldn't have lost the love of your life. You wouldn't have lost your first born a few years later either. Sometimes, I wake up and I still feel like all I've ever done is cause you more pain. And I'm so sorry for that Daddy. I never wanted you to hurt." Violetta confessed, breaking down into tears as Bruce hurriedly stood from the bench seat to hold his daughter.

"Vi, you can not blame yourself. For anything that's happened. Did you know that before you were born, your mother and I talked about what would happen if she had complications? She told me, 'Bruce, my love, if anything ever happens to me and you have to choose between me or our little baby girl, you need to choose her. She is my destiny. When God conceived her, he knew that this is what I was made for. To bring a beautiful, intelligent girl into the world that would change it for the better. I have lived my life, and I will always regret not letting our daughter live hers.' It was like she knew she wouldn't survive your birth. Maybe she did, but I am still, to this day, grateful that she told me that. Because for all of the years that you were gone, I kept thinking to myself, what could I have done that would have kept you out of harm's way? But I knew because of your mother, that whether you were still alive or not, you were changing the world and it was God's plan for you. So please, do not ever think that I would have been better off if you were never born, because this is what your mother wanted, and it's what I still want." Bruce ended, tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at his first born, his pride and joy.

"Thank you Dad. And thank you Mom."