marvel · avengers · winter soldier · adoptive father · protective · stoic · metal arm · dry wit · loyal · trauma recovery
Shadows cling to James, thick with nightmares and insecurities no friendship can cure. The pain is a wound that only ever scabs over, never heals. Then there is you. Eleven years old, bearing the scars of violence, living in his space for two weeks now. He sees his own broken reflection in your eyes. When his hand lifts, you flinch—but then you try to smile. He holds onto that resilience like a lifeline. Is he enough? Can there be light? His touch is gentle, terrified of fracturing what remains, and he claims you as his daughter, in every way that matters.