#sam Wilson x Maria hill

[mellpenscorner]

Scrolling through the same seven gifs of your non-canon/kiss-less otp like they'll actually kiss if you just hit the next button one more time.

[literaryavenger]

Happy Birthday

Summary: It's your birthday and the only person who doesn't seem to be excited about it is you.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: Mentions of death. Angst. Fluff. Language probably. My poor attempts at being funny.

Word Count: 2.5K

A/N: This story was completely self-indulgent, but I hope someone out there likes it!

Masterlist

You’ve always been very reluctant to celebrate your birthday.

You haven’t had a birthday party since you were 12. The following year your mom died a couple of days before and neither you nor your family were in the mood to celebrate anything.

It wasn’t by any means unexpected, she had been sick for a few years, but it still hit you hard.

You were the youngest and were far too young when she first got sick to really understand everything going on.

You were 8 and all you really remember is watching your mom get more and more sick until eventually there was nothing more the doctors could do.

Her death hit you hard and you closed yourself off, never talking about it or even crying after the day of her funeral. To this day you’ve still never cried, in front of others or even by yourself.

You started exercising to channel all your energy, refusing to do anything more like the therapy your family suggested. 

When you were 15 you discovered SHIELD and decided you wanted to help others, so you signed up for the SHIELD Academy, working your hardest and pushing yourself to your very limit.

You ended up being not only the youngest cadet ever, but the youngest to actually graduate and then the youngest recruit at SHIELD at only 16 years old.

Natasha was very impressed when she heard about you and took a liking to you, convincing Fury to make you part of her team during her missions and teaching you everything she knows.

That’s how you ended up in the Avengers Initiative, not that you felt you didn’t deserve it since you know how hard you worked and everything you gave up to work towards this achievement. 

The team themselves were initially skeptical since you were barely 18 during the battle of New York, but they were quickly proven wrong when they saw how well you handled yourself against the Chitauri. 

You were devastated when SHIELD fell, but carried on as an Avenger, battling Ultron and then moving to the Compound with the team.

You met the actual Bucky for the first time when you were 22, during the whole Civil War thing with Baron Zemo. Like Natasha, you were on Tony’s team, fighting mostly Pietro, but the conflict eventually ended. 

It took Tony some time to get over the whole “Bucky killing his parents while brainwashed” thing, but, as he likes to say, he can’t call himself a genius without admitting that Bucky didn’t have much of a choice. 

Thanks to Tony’s help Shuri was able to find a solution to Bucky’s brainwashing faster than she would’ve alone, meaning Bucky didn’t have to go back into cryo and was pretty quickly cleared to join the team, about a year after the airport battle in Leipzig.

You were warmly accepted by everybody and, the more the team grew the more you felt at home with these people.

And now you wish you could burn down the whole compound because, somehow, Tony convinced you to have a birthday party for the first time in 13 years because, in his words, 'you only turn 25 once'.

Good news is you managed to make him limit the guest list to the team and other people close to you like Maria Hill and Fury. Bad news is you’re still gonna be the center of attention, which you hate.

You couldn’t stop Tony from making everyone dress up for the party, and you couldn’t stop the team from getting you gifts even though you insisted all you wanted was everyone together and to have fun with them since for the longest time nobody ever even knew when your birthday was. 

What you didn’t realize was that the only person more worried than you about your gifts was Bucky.

Since he joined the team the two of you have gotten close, starting with his first training with the team where he very loudly told Steve about his disbelief that someone as young and small as you could actually be an asset to the team.

You quickly put him in his place by taking him down after less than two minutes of sparring, taking full advantage of his underestimating you because he “didn’t want to hurt a pretty little thing like you.”

Admittedly he was impressed and wasn’t shy about letting you know that, while the rest of the team snickered at his initial shock when you pinned him down.

You became friends after that, not as close as you’d like but friends nonetheless.

If you were honest with yourself you’ve been harboring a little crush on the supersoldier, but he’s never shown any interest so you resigned yourself to just being his friend.

Something that you did come to treasure, though, is your and Bucky’s late night talks.

It started with you walking in on him in the kitchen on a late night where you couldn’t sleep, nothing new to you, but the two of you barely talked other than acknowledging each other.

You took a bottle of water and left.

A couple of days later you ran into him again and you stood there in silence while you made yourself a cup of tea and then left for your room.

A few days later again he was just sitting there and said nothing as you made your tea, except this time you put a cup in front of him and silently took a seat next to him at the counter.

Two nights later when you arrived at the kitchen he was already there with a cup of tea in front of him and one in front of the seat next to him.

You didn’t want to assume it was for you, but you took a chance when you noticed it was the cup you always used, a blue mug with Stitch on it that says “Let’s get weird”. Your favorite in fact.

You hesitantly sat down next to him and, without you having to ask or without even looking at you, he told you that the nights you stay up late because you can’t sleep you tend to be more quiet during the team dinners and while you hang out afterwards.

You didn’t say anything in return and just sat there, trying not to overthink how much he seemed to watch you.

But the more nights you spent like that, the more you two talked and you gathered quickly that Bucky is a very observant person, nothing more.

You loved the time you spent together after dark where you’d talk about everything and anything, but come morning it was almost as if it never happened, which you came to accept.

It weirdly made the nights you spent talking even more special, which was almost every night.

But back to the present, you’re currently getting ready with Natasha and Wanda, who know much more than you about hair and makeup and are always happy to help you out with getting ready for Stark parties. 

You put on the black cocktail dress with rhinestones all over the corset and a slit down the left side, then the three of you make your way to the party room and you take a deep breath before entering.

Everyone is already there, all dressed up in fancy clothes as they all shout “Happy Birthday”.

You laugh and say hi to everybody while they all take turns hugging you, there’s not too many people but everyone important to you is there.

Even Laura and Clint’s kids are there, which you consider a second family at this point, since Laura always did treat you like a daughter.

You hate to admit that it's a nice party.

Knowing you, everyone makes an effort to not put you too much at the center of attention and you just go around talking to your friends like every other party.

Eventually time comes for the cake and, the moment you kind of dreaded, opening the gifts.

Since it's the first birthday you allowed the team to celebrate everyone decided to go all in for your gifts, which you picked up on from the very first gift you open.

Pietro got you a first edition of “The Picture Of Dorian Gray” which is your all time favorite book, Wanda and Maria got you a leather jacket and an amazing pair of boots that you knew were expensive because you were all out shopping together when you came across them.

Steve got you a gold heart-shaped locker with a picture of the team inside it, Natasha got you a charm bracelet with a little charm to represent everyone on the team, and Sam got you a cute necklace with your birth stone on it.

When you open Fury’s gift you start laughing since it's a gun, a SIG SAUER P226 to be precise, which is very Fury.

“It was my first gun when I joined SHIELD.” He says with a smile and you smile back, knowing how much thought he put into this gift.

You open Clint’s gift next, a bow and arrow that he already taught you how to use, and Laura got you a pair of diamond earrings.

Your heart melts when you open Lila, Cooper and Nathaniel’s gifts, respectively a friendship bracelet, an Avengers action figure of yourself and a Stitch plushie.

The three of them hug you tightly as you say thank you and now you only have two gifts left, Tony’s and Bucky’s, and they’re both little boxes. 

You open Tony’s next, thinking it’s some fancy necklace or earring but you frown when you see a car key.

“Is this the key to your car?” you ask Tony, knowing full well you’re holding the key to an Audi R8 Spyder, the car Tony’s let you borrow so many times you’re now wondering if he’s gifting you his spare set of keys.

“No.” He says casually “It’s the key to your car.”

You’re even more confused and simply stare at him with your mouth gaped, not really processing the information.

“Y-you… You got me a car?!” You almost yell out of shock and everyone else starts laughing at your antics when you start basically jumping up and down and hugging Tony, squealing like a little girl.

“Well, come on, let’s go see it!” Tony says enthusiastically after you’ve calmed down, and you get up, just as enthusiastic, but are stopped by Steve’s voice.

“Wait, wait. You have one gift left.” He says, picking up the small box and giving it to you. “It’s from Bucky.”

You were so pumped up by the car, you almost forgot about it and completely miss the mischievous look Steve gives Bucky and the murderous glare Bucky gives back.

You also miss Bucky starting to protest before you open his gift, but he instantly shuts up when he sees your face falling the second you open it.

It’s a small necklace with a blue rose in it, it really looks like something you’d give a little girl more than a 25 year old woman.

You look at it for a minute, running your finger on it before you raise your head and look at Bucky.

The whole room goes silent as they all watch you worriedly, everyone noticing immediately that tears are streaming down your face.

Nobody understands what’s happening and nobody knows how to react or what to do, it’s like they’re all frozen by the sight of you being vulnerable for the first time ever. 

Meanwhile Bucky’s heart is beating so loud he’s sure everyone around him can hear it, and he feels himself starting to panic at the thought of having ruined your birthday with that stupid gift.

Everybody else got you expensive gifts and all he did was get you a small, cheap necklace that reminded him of a story you briefly talked about once on one of your late night talks about a necklace you had as a kid.

He saw it at the mall while looking for a gift for you, remembering the sweet smile you had on your face when you mentioned it and the fleeting sad look he thought he saw when you told him you lost it when you were 12.

He was really proud of himself for that gift, but the more he saw the other gifts you got the more he regretted his choice, especially after Tony gave you a fucking car.

And now you were crying, not saying anything while just looking at him.

He doesn’t know what to expect from you at the moment, nobody does, he thinks you might yell, throw his gift back at him, tell him how much you hate it and him.

But you surprise everyone by throwing your arms around Bucky’s neck, hugging him tightly while crying into his shoulder.

You honestly forgot telling Bucky about that story and certainly didn’t expect him to remember it, especially since you always got the feeling that he didn’t care about your talks as much as you.

You just assumed that come morning he deleted everything you told him to make room for more important things, and you didn’t blame him.

But he didn’t.

What you didn’t tell him about the necklace is that your mom gave it to you because blue roses were her favorite, you had that necklace since you were born but you somehow lost it the day of her funeral.

That day you lost the two most important things in your life and cried yourself to sleep, and that was the last time you allowed yourself to be weak and cry.

Until today.

Bucky hesitantly wraps his arms around you, rubbing your back hoping to get you to calm down. He looks around at the rest of the team, panicking a little and not knowing what to do.

Everyone else is as clueless as he is, never having seen you in such a state before.

Bucky starts apologizing, his heart breaking at the sight of you crying, and he feels horrible that it’s because of him.

You shake your head quickly and pull away a little to look at him, wanting to reassure him you’re not sad or angry but incredibly happy, but words refuse to come. You take a deep breath to calm yourself and finally manage to speak.

“Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.” It’s quiet, but it’s something, and it’s enough to make Bucky let out a breath of relief at knowing you don’t hate him or his gift.

He brings you back in for another tight hug, almost forgetting about everyone else in the room as you hug him back without hesitation.

You’re honestly not even embarrassed at crying, all you care about at the moment is Bucky, his arms around you while he lets you bury your face in his neck, like you’ve been wanting to do for years now.

“Happy birthday, doll.” He whispers in your ear and, for the first time in 13 years, you really feel like it is.

[sycamorelibrary754]

The Doting Tree

Summary: During your visit to your grandmother at her assisted living community, you learn that Bucky has been regularly volunteering there as a part of his therapy sessions with Dr. Raynor.

Pairings: Bucky x Platonic reader

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: None

A/N: Who doesn't want to see Bucky healing?

"Ms. Y/L/N, Mr. Stark requests your presence in his lab," Friday announced, pulling you out of your intense focus.

"Can it wait, FRIDAY? I'm swamped with overdue mission reports here," you replied, shuffling through the stack of papers on your desk.

“Mr. Stark says you have a phone call,” FRIDAY responded.

“A phone call?” you asked, puzzled, picking up your phone. “No, I don't.”

“In his lab, Ms. Y/L/N,” FRIDAY said.

"Okay,” you said as you rubbed your tired eyes. “Tell him I'm on my way.”

Walking into Tony's lab, you found the genius hunched over his desk, tinkering with one of his holographic interfaces. His phone was propped between his ear and shoulder.

“Really? I had no idea,” Tony said with a surprised look. “Y/N is so at ease on the motorcycle you would never know she didn't learn to ride a two-wheeler until she was nine.”

Your eyes widened. "Oh my God. Who are you talking to?" 

"One moment, ma'am," Tony said before placing the phone against his chest.

"It’s your grandmother," Tony said. "She called the front desk trying to reach you, and they patched her through to me." 

"What? Why didn't they call me?" you said, reaching for the phone as Tony pulled it away. 

"Because this is way more fun," Tony smirked. 

"Gimme the phone!" You snapped.

Tony placed a hand on your forehead to hold you at arm's length like an annoying older brother while putting the phone back to his ear.

"Y/G/N, your granddaughter just walked in. So, I’m going to pass you over to her," Tony said. "No, don't be silly. It's no problem. I enjoyed talking with you, too. Feel free to call back anytime. My pleasure, ma'am. Bye-bye."

You sighed as the billionaire finally handed over his phone, walking back toward the pane-glass windows for some privacy.

"Hi, Grandma," you chirped.

"Hello, dear, so good to hear your voice," your grandmother said.

"How did you end up on the phone with Mr. Stark?" you asked.

"I accidentally deleted your cell phone number, but your mom has your workplace down on this list she made, so I called information and then was connected to your lovely boss," your grandma explained.

"Ah, I see. Well, he’s not technically my boss, more like an annoying man-child who pays for everything," Smirking back at Tony and sticking your tongue out.

Your grandma asked, 'What is this I hear about you riding a motorcycle?”

"Oh, no need to worry. I’m a professional, and it's part of my job," you reassured her.

"Still," your grandma began. "I hope you're wearing a helmet."

"Always, Grandma, don't worry,” you fibbed. “So, how are you?” Doing your best to shift the conversation away from your dangerous life as an Avenger.

"I’m good, sweetheart. I'm just wondering when you're going to visit me. It's been a while since I’ve seen you,” your grandma asked. 

Your heart broke at her words. Your grandma lives in an assisted living community near the compound called The Doting Tree. You did your best to see her often, but the unpredictable nature of your work made regular visits difficult.

“I know; I’m sorry. Things have been hectic lately, and I just got home from a work trip a few days ago. How about I stop by tomorrow around noon?" you asked.

“That would be great," she exclaimed. "See you then!"

"Okay, bye," you said, hanging up Tony’s phone.

You gave Tony his phone back, and he handed you a hundred-dollar bill in exchange.

“What's this for?” you asked.

“I may be an annoying man-child, but even I know you treat Grandma like a queen,” Tony quipped with a wink.

*^~^*

The following day, you joined the rest of the team for breakfast. Wanda had made her special chocolate chip pancakes and fresh orange juice for everyone. You sat beside Bucky and began squeezing Maple syrup over your pancakes. 

Pepper set a plate in front of Morgan and sat beside Tony. "So, what's everyone got lined up for today?"

"Nat and I are getting the recruits up to speed," Steve replied, digging into his pancakes.

“That sounds interesting,” Pepper said.

"It would be interesting if they paid attention this time," Nat remarked, downing the last of her orange juice.

"I always paid attention," you declared confidently.

"Sure, Y/N, you ran those extra laps after training at Nat’s request just for fun," Maria teased.

"Yelena and I are off to an advanced obedience class with Lucky and Fanny," Kate said. "This week, it's all about the army crawling!"

"By the end of the training, they'll be more mission-ready than your little recruits, Natasha," Yelena teased as she cut into her pancakes.

Nat leaned over and flicked her sister's arm.

"Ow, son of a—"

"Language!" Steve interjected.

Yelena was about to retort, but then she caught Morgan's smile and shut her mouth.

"I’m supposed to meet with Secretary Ross, but I'd much rather catch the new Godzilla vs. Kong movie. Anyone up for it?" Rhodes suggested.

"I'm in!" Sam exclaimed. "How about you, Buck?"

"Can't make it; I'm tied up," Bucky replied, sipping his orange juice.

“Come on, man, how often do we blend in with the crowd?" Sam quipped.

"I can't, Sam," Bucky replied with a shrug.

"Your loss," Sam retorted. "What about you, Y/N?"

"I'd love to, but I promised my grandma a visit," you replied.

"That's thoughtful of you, Y/N," Wanda chimed in.

"Oh, that reminds me, guess who didn't learn to ride a bike until they were nine?" Tony butted in enthusiastically.

You rolled your eyes. “And that's my cue to leave," you said, getting up. "Catch you all later.”

*^~^*

You made great use of Tony's money by treating your grandma to a lovely bouquet of roses and a box of her favorite chocolates. When you arrived at The Doting Tree, the scent of Fabuloso greeted you, mixing with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee from the communal area. Passing through the lobby, you exchanged a warm smile and a wave with Joan, the friendly receptionist stationed behind the oak desk.

You knocked eagerly on the door of room 508, and the sound of your grandmother's footsteps grew louder before she swung open the door.

"Y/N!" she exclaimed.

"Hey, grandma," you greeted her with a smile. "These are for you," you said, handing her the roses and chocolates.

"Oh, you didn't have to, sweetheart," she replied, taking her gifts.

You hugged her and were instantly transported back to his childhood. Her warm embrace was a comfort you didn't know you were missing.

"Please, come on in, Y/N," she said as she broke the hug.

As your grandma whipped up a delightful batch of creamy, rich hot chocolate, the cozy aroma filled the room, enveloping you in warmth and comfort. You lost track of time, immersed in lively conversations and shared memories as you leisurely walked down memory lane. She asked about your work, and you carefully selected the most positive stories to share: the most recent Stark Gala and the Avengers community outreach efforts. You wouldn't dream of telling her about the near miss on your last mission when Nat's impressive scissor-leg neck grab saved you from a potentially fatal situation.

I can't believe how quickly time has flown by," your grandma exclaimed, glancing at the clock. "Movie night starts downstairs in fifteen minutes."

"Oh, in that case, I'll leave you to get ready," you replied, getting up.

"Nonsense," she insisted. "I'd love for you to join me. Tonight is Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, a classic from the Golden Age of Hollywood."

You quickly checked your phone and were relieved to see no missed calls or texts from Fury, Maria, or Steve.

"Great, I've never seen it, and I’m free for the rest of the day," you said.

"Wonderful, let’s go," your grandma replied.

*^~^*

When you and your grandmother arrived in the small community theater, the Doting Tree staff handed out popcorn and queued up the movie. You followed your grandma to two empty seats near the end of the row. 

Hi, Y/G/N, I was hoping to see you here tonight," the brunette woman with half glasses beside her confessed.

"I wouldn't have missed this for anything. You know Jimmy Stewart is my favorite!" your grandma proclaimed. "Oh, Betty, this is my granddaughter Y/N, she's one of those Avengers!" she proudly introduced.

You felt slightly embarrassed by the attention but extended your hand to Betty. "Hi, Betty. It's great to meet you."

"It's lovely to meet you, dear. Y/G/N has told me so much about you!" Betty said.

"All good, I hope?" you joked.

"Of course. I don't know how you all do it, but thank you for everything you've done."

"It's my honor, ma'am,” you said.

"Excuse me?" a man in a sweater vest behind you said, catching your attention. "I couldn't help but overhear. You mentioned you're one of the Avengers?" 

"That's right," you replied.

"Do you happen to know James? He's one of our volunteers. My buddy Walter swears he's an Avenger."

"James?" you asked, puzzled. "We don't have anyone named—"

"Alright, folks," a familiar voice interrupted.

"Bucky," you whispered to yourself in surprise.

Your friend stood at the front of the room, looking effortlessly stylish in a casual navy crew neck shirt, perfectly fitted jeans, and trendy sneakers. His beaming smile transformed his entire appearance, making him almost unrecognizable.

"Tonight's movie is one of my favorites, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," Bucky announced, clapping his hands together. "Jimmy Stewart was one of my favorite actors when I was a kid."

"Not to mention Jean Arthur!" someone shouted from the back row, and the room erupted in laughter.

“Alright, Stacy, can you turn off the lights, please?” Bucky asked one of the staff members.

As the idealistic young Jefferson Smith was appointed to the United States Senate, your attention continually drifted to Bucky. You observed as he quietly passed a box of Nestle crunch bites down the row to one of the residents and whispered something to the woman beside him, who laughed in response.

*^~^*

When the credits rolled, and the lights came on in the theater, you lingered at the back of the room while your grandmother caught up with her friends. Perhaps it was the spy-like instincts that Natasha had instilled in you, but you couldn’t take your eyes off him. You were captivated by the transformation in his demeanor. The man who once seemed only to wear a scowl now appeared happier than you had ever seen him.

You walked over slowly as he was engrossed in conversation with a man you recognized as Richard Swanson. According to Joan, he was one of The Doting Tree’s oldest residents in time and age. Tall and slender, with a confident posture that hinted at a lifetime of discipline and care, he still boasted a thick mane of hair that belied his age. The strands, once a rich chestnut, now shimmered with a distinguished silver hue, the only overt sign of the passing years.

"What unit were you in, Barnes?" Mr. Swanson asked.

"107th Infantry Regiment, sir," Bucky replied.

"No kidding?” said Mr. Swanson. “I was in the 103rd."

"I remember that regiment," Bucky said, snapping his fingers. "You were guarding the Trisssana Bridge, right?"

"That's right," Mr. Swanson replied. “My cousin was in the 107th Regiment. Maybe you knew him? Tim Dugan.”

"Wow," Bucky sighed, his voice trailing off as he paused to reflect. "Tim Dugan. I haven't heard that name in almost 80 years," Bucky said, his eyes distant with memories. "I did know him. He was a good man," Bucky reminisced, a hint of wistfulness in his voice.

He was indeed," Mr. Swanson sighed, his tired eyes reflecting the long day he had endured. The elderly gentleman checked his antique pocket watch. "I've got to get going. It's almost past my bedtime," he chuckled softly as he patted Bucky on the shoulder with a sense of fondness. "See you next time, Barnes."

"See you, Mr. Swanson," Buck called out, his voice carrying a tinge of warmth and respect.

"Bucky?" you said softly, careful not to startle him as you approached.

He turned at the sound of your voice, his eyes meeting yours with surprise. "Y/N? What are you doing here? I thought you were visiting your grandmother today?"

"I am; she lives here," you explained, a gentle smile gracing your lips.

"What are you doing here?" you asked, your curiosity piqued.

Bucky took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, the weight of his thoughts evident in the furrow of his brow. "Alright, look,” running his hand through his hair nervously. “Dr. Raynor thought it would be good for me to volunteer here. Spend some time with people from my generation," he said. "I resisted at first, but now..." he paused, looking around at the bustling activity of the assisted living community. "It's nice.”

"That's awesome, Buck. It's clear that the residents appreciate having you around, but why didn't you mention it to us?" You inquired.

"I just didn't want to deal with the inevitable jokes and questions from everyone," he explained.

"Oh, come on, Bucky. It wouldn't have been that bad. They would have been supportive," you reassured.

"After you left, Tony told the bike story and bought you a kid’s bicycle as a joke," Bucky deadpanned.

"Jackass," you remarked dryly.

"See," Bucky declared.

"But a supportive jackass, Buck. We all give each other shit, but at the end of the day, we're a family," you insisted. "Everyone would get it."

"Maybe," he mused. "When I'm here, I'm not an Avenger, The Winter Soldier, The White Wolf. Hell, I’m not even Bucky."

"I've noticed that, James," you said with a smirk.

Before he could respond, your grandma and her friend Betty strolled over to where you were standing.

“James, I just had to tell you how much I enjoyed tonight's movie. You have impeccable taste,” Betty said, touching his metal arm.

“Thanks a lot,” Bucky replied.

“Will you join us for our knitting class next week?” she asked eagerly.

“Work can be unpredictable, but I'm planning on it,” he responded.

“Wonderful!” Betty exclaimed. “I've been knitting a scarf for you, honey.”

Bucky blushed. “Oh, thank you. I can't wait to see it.”

"I see you’ve met James, Y/N,” your grandma said. “We’ve so enjoyed having him here the last few months.”

“Oh,” you said, looking between Bucky and your grandmother. “Yeah, I just had to come up and tell him how much I loved the movie, too.”

“Right,” Bucky said. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“Well, I’m feeling a bit tuckered out, Y/N,” your grandmother said. I think I'll call it a night.”

“Okay,” you said. “I'll walk you back to your room.”

“Okay, goodnight, James,” your grandmother said.

“Goodnight, Y/G/N,” Bucky replied.

You turned back toward him before following your grandma out of the room and whispered, “Don’t leave. I'll be down in a few minutes.”

Bucky nodded in agreement.

*^~^*

As you stepped off the elevator and entered the lobby, the warm glow of the chandeliers illuminated the spacious communal room. Your eyes scanned the area, searching for Bucky. After a moment, you spotted him sitting on the plush sofa, engrossed in a copy of Lord of the Rings, which he had plucked from the nearby shelf.

Sitting beside him, you couldn't help but ask, "So, what do people think James does for a living?"

With a half-smile, he replied, "Well, those who don't know who I am think I’m a mechanic at that garage on Wilshire."

The image of Bucky as a mechanic made you chuckle, and you leaned in to hear more.

"The ones who do, like Mr. Swanson, don't give a damn about who I am or who I‘ve been," he continued, returning the book to the shelf. "All they care about is living each day to the fullest."

As you silently nodded, you reflected on his words, feeling the weight of the conversation settle in. "I understand, Buck," you said, patting his thigh. "I'm glad you're finding fulfillment here, and you can trust me to keep this between us."

"Thank you," he sighed, a sense of relief in his voice.

"Let’s go home," Bucky said, a hint of determination in his tone.

As you both said goodbye to Joan in the lobby, you stepped out into the refreshing early evening breeze.

"Alright, see you at home," you said, heading towards the bus stop.

"You took the bus here?" Bucky inquired.

"Yeah, just didn't feel like driving today," you replied.

“Want a ride? I've got Nat's motorcycle," he offered, nodding towards the bike.

You arched an eyebrow, "Does she know you have it?" You knew Natasha didn't just lend her bike to anyone. You had learned that the hard way during one of your early missions together.

"Yep, she allows me to borrow the motorcycle in exchange for helping with recruit training," Bucky explained as he slipped on his leather jacket.

"Alright, I'll take your word for it," you agreed.

As you were getting ready to hop on the back of the motorcycle, you spotted the extra helmet hanging on the back. 

“Really?” Bucky quipped. “You never wear a helmet out in the field.”

“I know,” glancing back at The Doting Tree, “I just want to keep a promise to my grandmother,” you said with a smirk.

“Good call,” he replied with a grin.

You fastened the helmet and hopped on the back of the bike, wrapping your arms around Bucky’s waist. With a twist of the throttle, the bike roared to life as Bucky revved up the engine. Together, you both zoomed out of the parking lot, heading back toward the compound with a newfound sense of camaraderie and understanding.

[screechcat]

Y/n looking around the common room, with all of the Avengers talking, playing board games, and watching movies.

They sigh in content, finally feeling relaxed and safe.

Sam: What are you so smiley about L/n?

Y/n hums: Just happy is all

The others glance around at each other and smile. Y/n had been pretty new. Coming from a bad background like most of them. This was the first time they said something like that.

Tony: I think this calls for an Avengers pile.

Y/n's eyes widen in horror.

Y/n: Dude, I said I was happy, not wanting death.

Thor: To late!

All of the Avengers pile onto the couch with Y/n effectively trapping them.

Y/n struggles and tries to get away.

Y/n: Guuuuuuysssss! Get offah me! This sucks!

Nat hums: Bull

The others murmur agreements.

Not too long after Y/n gives up and just lets it happen.

Y/n: ..... okay, maybe this is nice

Peter: I knew you loved us!

Y/n half asleep but still sarcastic as ever: Don't tell my teammates. It'll go to their heads.

They chuckle, and after a while, they all drift off to sleep.

It was a sight to see for Maria the next morning. The Earth's Mightest Heros and most skilled people in a giant pile on the couch happily sleeping.

[arlana-likes-to-write]

Lighting Bug - Chapter 22

Masterlist

Warning: guilt, form of self-harm, swearing, mention of death, Bucky needs a hug, mention of nightmares and past abuse

Relationships: Wandanat x daughter!reader, Maria x reader (platonic), Sam x reader (platonic), Bucky x reader (platonic), Rhodey x reader (platonic)

Word count: 3.5k

You were exhausted right down to your bones as you sat at the counter with a cup of tea in your hands and stared into the green liquid. There was no way you were falling asleep with those images moving in your head. “Hey kid,” Sam said suddenly. You jumped at the unexpected voice. “Are you okay? Your bagel has been done for a few minutes.” You forgot you put one in there. You stood up to grab it but Rhodey held out his hand to stop you. He grabbed a plate and placed the bagel on it then spread on it that you must have gotten out. Gods, you were beginning to lose it. You smiled as he sat in front of you.

“I didn’t sleep well last night.” You answered Sam.

“Nightmares?” Rhodey guessed.

“More like a memory,” you took a bite of your bagel, hoping they wouldn’t ask more questions.

“Rhodes and I haven’t gone to the batting cage in a while. Do you want to join us?” Sam asked. You stared at him, slowly chewing on the bagel. You had no idea what a batting cage was. “It’s a baseball thing. You go and hit baseballs and pretend to be a pro athlete.”

“Ohhh,” you said, standing up to throw the other half of your bagel away. “You could have just said that.” Sam sighed, shaking his head. “Sure I have nothing planned for today.” Plus it would be nice to get out of the tower. “FRIDAY, can you tell Natasha and Wanda where I’m going to be?” You made a mental note to ask Tony for a new phone.

“Of course, Miss. Y/n,” the AI said. “Have fun you three.” It was a 45-minute drive from the tower in a part of town you had never been to. ‘Caesar’s Bat and Pizzeria.

“Can we get pizza after?” You asked as Rhodey parked the car and you unblocked your seat belt.

“We can get whatever you want,” he said. The three of you got out of the car and walked over to the building. Sam held open the door for you. The sound of loud arcade machines and laughter made you jump.

“My favorite Avengers!” A man said from behind a counter. “Where the hell have you two been? Thought you forgot about ol'Casear.” Sam chuckled.

“Hard to forget you, big man,” Caesar glared at him.

“Are you calling me fat?” You tried to cover your laugh with a cough but Caesar glanced at you. “You guys adopt a kid or something.”

“Eh kind of,” Rhodey shrugged. “You got a spot open for us.” The man continued to stare at you but you smiled and gave him a small wave.

“Yeah, same spot as always,” he said. “Come find me if you need anything.” You followed the two Avengers to a stall in the corner, there was no one next to you, and you were grateful to look like an idiot in front of some strangers. The space reminded you of the shooting range at the tower but instead of targets at the end, there was a screen.

“Wait,” you said, sitting down. “How is any of this safe with it being inside and this close to one another?” Sam smiled.

“It’s all VR,” he pulled out his wallet and pulled out his wallet, took out a car with the shop’s logo, and scanned it at the table you were sitting at. The table changed to a TV screen and it showed a baseball stadium. “You can change the stadium where you are hitting. We’ll keep it at Yankee for now.” Rhodey appeared with a bat and goggles. “Watch this.” You watched Rhodey put on the goggles and stepped into the open space. The screen changed to a character stepping up to bat. “You can change the speed of the ball pitched, complete challenges, and set up tournaments.” He began and he hit the first ball pitched to him. It sounded like you were at a baseball game.

“This is cool,” you said. “Is this place new?”

“Sort of,” Sam looked around to make sure no one was near and leaned closer. “Caesar isn’t from here.” What the hell did that mean?

“Come again? Like he’s not American.” He glared at you before rolling his eyes.

“No, like not from Earth.”

“He’s an alien?!” You half shouted in surprise. Sam put his hand over your mouth, still glaring at you. You pulled his hand off. “You just told me a man isn’t from Earth, how did you expect me to react?”

“With a little more respect and dignity,” you punched him playfully. “Besides he’s not an alien, he’s a Skrull,” you stared at him, head tilted to the side. “Oh my god,” he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Skrulls are shapeshifters and their planet was destroyed so until Fury and Carol can find them a new home, they are living here,” you frowned.

“Why can’t they just live here?” You asked.

“Because humans aren’t known to accept those who are different,” Rhodey said, taking off the googles. Well, you knew that firsthand. “Do you want a turn?” He asked you.

“Uh maybe I’ll watch Sam then I’ll go.” While Sam was taking his turn, you went to get drinks from Caesar’s daughter. Her name was Jasmine and you liked her, her smile was infectious but you couldn’t help but watch the father-daughter duo. If anyone but Sam told you they weren’t human, you would think they were crazy. You guessed that was the problem with the world you lived in, some people had to hide their true selves just to survive.

“Alright, kid, batter up,” Sam said, handing you the VR set. You smiled, taking it from him. Oh, you wished you could make the world a better place.

*

While Sam and Rhodey were waiting to get their pizza from Jasmine, you were sitting at one of the empty high tops and eating away at one of the cheese slices. You tried to wait for the two Avengers but the smell was making your stomach growl. “I know you,” Caesar said, walking over to you as you sipped on your blue Gatorade. You stared at the man as he sat in the empty chair next to you. You hopped he knew you, you spent like 2 hours at his fine establishment. “Hey,” he stuck his finger at you. “Your that teenager that can cast spells and shit.” You blinked at him.

“You mean conduct electricity.” He snapped his fingers.

“That’s the one,” he tapped his fingers against the table and looked at you then to the Avengers. “People are talking about you.”

“Me?” You questioned. “Whose talking about me?”

“The type of people you ain’t want talking,” Oh. Well, that sort of answered your question. “Look, kid, something ain’t right. People are talking, then disappearing, and ol’Caesar is just trying to run a business, you hear?”

“Why are you telling me this and not the two Avengers behind you?” You hissed, leaning closer to him.

“Hey, watch the attitude, short stuff,” you leaned back in your chair, mouth slightly open. “Just because I listen don’t mean I know what’s going on,” you rolled your eyes. “My advice is keep your ears open and listen. Maybe you can figure out what’s going on before everything goes to shit.” He mumbled the last part and left before Sam and Rhodey joined you.

“Don’t listen to anything that nut job rambles about,” Rhodey said. “He’s got a few screws loose.” You smiled, giggling slightly. But what he said rattled you to your bones. What the hell was going on?

*

Caesar was saying goodbye to Sam and told him to not be a stranger. Your eyes wandered to the small arcade they had. There was a crane game filled with small rubber ducks. You walked over to it and looked at all the different duck variations - one was dressed like a police officer, and another had a book. But one that caught your eye was a duck wearing a green jersey with a soccer ball. It looked familiar. There was a memory deep within you but everything you tried to grab onto it slipped out of your fingers like water or smoke, the longer you stared at the dumb duck. “Hey, kid,” Rhodey said. “Are you ready?” You nodded, walking over to him.

“Bye Caesar,” you waved as Rhodey held open the door for you.

“See you around, short stuff,” you rolled your eyes and walked to the car.

“Short stuff, eh?” Rhodey teased. He got into the driver’s seat. You huffed, buckling into the back.

“Don’t even start,” he laughed as Sam finally got into the passenger seat.

“Sorry about that. Caesar likes to talk,” you giggled and Rhodey started the drive back home.

*

“That was a lot of fun,” you said to Sam as you exited the elevator to the common floor. “We should do that again.” Your smile faltered as Bucky turned around from his conversation with Maria. The color drained from his face as if he were looking at a ghost. He left without another word to you, Sam, or Maria.

“Okay,” Maria slowly said. “I wasn’t done talking to him.” You sighed.

“Not your fault, kid,” Sam smiled, resting his hand on your shoulder. “He just needs to get out of his head. I’ll go talk to him.” Before he turned to leave, he reached into this pocket and handed you a rubber duck. The same one you were looking at. Before you could say anything, he smiled and left.

“What was that about?” She questioned. You looked at the duck and put it in your pocket.

“It’s a long story,” you said. “Do you want the spark-notes version of the story?” She nodded. So, you gave her a short-handed version of the story you gave to the other Avengers. It was surprisingly easier.

“Shit,” you said. “I missed one hell of a party.” You rolled your eyes with a smile. “So,” she leaned back in her chair. “A little spider told me that I’m going to be training you. Are you thinking about joining this ragtag group? Fury said you did well in Overwatch .” You shrugged, tracing the random designs on the table.

“I don’t know,” you said. You weren’t against being an Avenger, maybe in a year or two but right now you weren’t ready. “I just want to get my powers under control so I don’t hurt myself or anyone else.” Maria smiled.

“I can help with that but I’m not gonna go easy on you just because you are Romanoff’s kid,” it wasn’t the first time someone at the tower referred to you as Natasha’s or Wanda’s kid but every time a warm feeling spread across your body. Your parents were never proud of you. They barely gave you enough to survive.

“I expect nothing less,” you said. “Can you teach me how to shoot a gun?”

“Stop asking people that,” Natasha said before Maria could answer. The Black Widow appeared behind you. You pouted which caused her to roll her eyes.

“Awe come on Nat,” Maria said. “Let the kid learn how to shoot. Are you afraid she’ll be better than you?” Natasha ruffled your hair.

“Yeah,” she deadpanned. “That’s exactly why I don’t want her shooting a gun,” you pushed her hand away and fixed your hair. “But we can teach her how to be safe around one.”

“How about we stop talking about me like I’m not here?” Maria hushed you.

“I’m wheeling and dealing for your benefit so hush,” she teased. You stuck out your tongue at her. Maria gasped. “Do you want to start training right now?”

“Children,” Natasha warned. “No fighting on the common floor. The last time a fight broke out we needed a new TV and a couch,” you giggled. “Come on, kid. Tony wants to have a meeting about your schooling.” You nodded. “We’ll figure out a training schedule that won’t conflict with her classes.” She said to Maria.

“Aye, aye captain,” she gave the Black Widow a salute. You smiled at the interaction.

“See you around, Maria,” you said and followed Natasha to Tony’s lab where Wanda was already there. You weren’t nervous. The test was the hard part of all of this and they were proud of how you did. But it was nice having the couple on either side of you as Tony rattled off a plan. The textbooks you needed were already ordered, minus a math textbook that he already had, and if you needed additional books for essays or projects he gave you a debit card to buy them. You didn’t bother putting up a fight with that. As for your ‘teachers’, Vision was going to help you with history, Bruce and Tony were for math and science, and your training with Maria counted as your physical education credit. The extracurricular would be business with Pepper and art with Steve, the two agreed to shadow you during those times. It seemed like a lot of work but you were ready to finally go to school and learn.

*

You had to get out of the tower. Every room you entered and Bucky so happened to be there, he left. It was a little maddening. So, you sat on the balcony with a textbook in your lap and the rubber duck in your hand. There was a part of you that was associating this duck with Bucky. But that couldn’t be correct. “Hi,” you spun around to see Steve walking over to you and hiding the duck underneath the book. You smiled at the blonde and looked at the book. You figured he was here to talk about Bucky. God, it felt like when you first moved to the tower. Instead of you running away, it was him. Steve sighed and sat down next to you. “Beautiful view,” he said, looking towards the city. “What are you doing up here?”

“Just reading,” you gestured to the book in your lap. It wasn’t the full truth but it got the point across.

“It’s about Buck, right?”

“I just don’t want him to be uncomfortable in his home,” you shrugged.

“It’s your home too,” he sat down next to you. That was true. You tapped your fingers on the page you were reading.

“He was here first,” Steve nodded and put his arms on the back of the chair. He didn’t continue the conversation so you went back to reading about ration language and how it was used to describe the association between two or more qualities. You were learning that you did not like math.

“Do you blame him for what he did to you?” Steve broke the silence. The question made you look up at the city. “It’s okay if do. The whole situation is so complicated. Complicated. That was one word that barely touched the surface to describe the relationship you had with Bucky Barnes.

“I don’t,” you softly said. You saw the super solider look away from the city but you kept your eyes trained on the skyline. “At first I did but we were both just trying to survive. It’s not our fault that some of the world is evil and we were subjected to it.” Steve chuckled and you looked at him.

“You’ve changed so much from that little girl that Wanda and Natasha brought to the tower,” he said while standing up.

“Wait, is that a good thing?” You asked.

“Yeah,” he kissed the top of your head. “A very good thing.”

*

As night fell on the tower, everyone seemed to be asleep except you and the former Winter Solider. His back was to you so he didn’t see you, which didn’t give him a chance to run away. “Do you want some hot chocolate?” The soldier jumped and spun around to look at you. “Don’t run from me, please,” you pleaded. You heard him sigh and stand up to join you in the kitchen. He sat on the island with his hands folded on the counter. You began the process of making the hot chocolate in silence. But you noticed he wasn’t looking at you, he stared at his hands as if he was afraid he was going to snap and hurt you. When the hot chocolate was done and topped with marshmallows and cinnamon, you pushed his mug over to him. He wouldn’t take it. You sipped on yours. “Are you okay, Bucky?” You asked. “I want to help but I can’t if you don’t tell me what I can do.”

“How can you be in the same room as me?” He softly asked. “After everything, I did to you.”

“That wasn’t you,” you simply said, sipping on your hot chocolate.

“I could have killed you,” he finally looked at you. Since last night, Bucky wouldn’t allow you to get this close to him. His eyes were bloodshot.

“No,” you firmly said. “The Winter Solider almost killed me. Bucky Barnes would never.” You held his stare, blue eyes locked onto yours until he looked away. “How much do you remember about our time together?” You asked. Bucky sighed.

“It comes and goes,” he said. “Like waves, crashing into me and I’m drowning.” You smiled, tracing the rim of your mug. The marshmallows were melted and stuck to your finger.

“Me too,” you admitted. “It wasn’t all bad.” You licked the marshmallow off your finger and put your hand in your pocket. “My brain clouded all the good with the bad. Do you want to hear one of the good ones?”

“Yes,” he whispered. “Please.” You smiled.

“I hadn’t seen you for a few days and I knew better than to ask about you because that resulted in a punishment,” he chuckled slightly. “One day I was brought into a room and you were there. I think they wanted you to train me and you did but I hurt my shoulder. I tried to hide my tears but you knelt at my level, whipped away my tears, and reached into your pocket,” you mimicked this part of your story and held out your hand. “And when you opened it, there was a little rubber duck.” You showed him the duck.

“What?” He questioned. “A rubber duck?” You smiled as the confusion was all over his face. “You’re making this up.”

“I’m not,” you laughed at the deadpanned look he was giving you. “I swear! Look I was equally confused when you handed it to me. It was a rubbed duck just like this one,” you placed it on the counter between you and him. When your laughter died down, your smile became sad. “When I destroyed the faculty, I tried to find it but it was destroyed in the fire.” Finally, he took a sip of his no longer hot chocolate and picked up the duck with his flesh hand.

“I need time to process the new memories,” you nodded.

“I got nothing but time,” you said. “I’ll be here when you’re ready.”

“Thank you,” he smiled. “For the talk and the hot chocolate.”

“Of course,” you cleaned your mug. “Try to get some sleep. Good night.”

“Night, doll,” he said. But you knew sleep wasn’t going to be an option for you. Every time you closed your eyes, your past played out in front of you. It was like Yelena said, there was a scab over a wound you had and although it was healing every time you rubbed against it it hurt more. Your feet led you to the training area, and the sound of your footsteps echoed against the quiet room. It was weird being here when no one else was here. You could do anything without the watchful eyes of the Avengers. You could train, lift some weights, or go for a run. Instead, you walked over to the machine Tony and Bruce built you.

It was in the corner of the room, a white sheet over it that you took off and stared at the machine. Fingertips tracing every part of it. With a sigh, you took a few steps from it and faced the machine. You closed your eyes and let out a few deep breaths. When you open your eyes, you let out of stream of electricity towards the target. You only cut it off when the batteries were full but it wasn’t enough. So you replaced the full batteries with empty ones and did it again. And again. And again. Until your chest was heaving and your legs felt like jello. A yawn escaped your lips and you took it as your sign to be done. You recovered the machine and took a long walk back to your room.

As soon as your head hit the pillow, you fell into a dreamless sleep.

_

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[mxltifangxrl]

You, Me, and the Sky Above

Pairing: old!Bucky x old!f!reader

Summary: R has been married to Bucky for several decades, the two old and grey together with children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of their own. What happens when they pass away in the arms of the other?

Warnings: mentions of death, fluff, female pet names

As I laid in bed attempting to fall asleep, I could tell my time was approaching quickly. I knew for a while that I didn’t have much longer being 96 years old. My precious husband, Bucky, had always taken care of me but now I know he won’t have to worry his heart anymore about making sure I’m okay. I can finally rest knowing my life was filled to the brim with joy.

“You alright, doll?” Bucky asked softly as he entered our bedroom.

I opened my eyes to look at him, tears filling them as a smile formed on my face. “More than. I hope you know how much I love you, James.”

As we slept that night, he held me in his arms for what neither of us knew would be the last time. I dreamt of my life; all the memories I’ve made on my own and with my own family.

I opened my eyes to a beautiful scenery. Sunny, bright skies, lush green grass, vibrant colors. And him.

“There’s my beautiful wife…just you, me, and the sly above” Bucky said.

“My God…Look at you, handsome. You look just like you did when we met all those years ago.” I told him with a grin, walking over to him happily.

“I can say the same about you, my dear.” He said, pulling me into a loving kiss.

“What do we do now?” I asked softly, missing my children deeply.

“We wait to welcome our own miracles to this beautiful place. In the meantime, There’s some people you’ll be happy to see.” He told me, taking my hand and leading me toward a beautiful home.

“When did you pass, honey?” I asked, curious as to how long he had been here without me.

“Not long after we went to bed. At least you were in my arms.” He told me, caressing my face gently.

When the door opened, I was greeted by several familiar faces. In front of me stood Sam, Steve, Bruce, Natasha, Maria, Tony, Rhodey, Happy, Scott, Hope, Sarah, Nick, and Yelena.

“Oh my gosh… You’re all here..” Tears filled my eyes quickly as I went to them all, pulling them into hugs that have been missed for several years.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Years passed as Bucky and I made Heaven our home with all our closest friends. It was like getting to experience a whole new life together.

A knock sounded on our front door as we read together in the living room. Upon opening the door, we were greeted by our eldest daughter.

“Rebecca! Oh my goodness, my dear! Your father and I have missed you so much.” I said, hugging her tightly.

“I’m finally home, mommy..” She replied with tears and a smile.

“You, me, your father, and the sky above… forever and always.”

[romanoffsbish]

Mom, Dad, I’m…

Wanda Maximoff x R

Blackhill ; Bishova ; Stony ; BuckySam

Happy Pride Angels, 🌈❤️

Warnings: Attempts at Humor. Heteros.

"Detka, can you go get some tomatoes from the garden? Steve already ate all of the freaking salsa," Wanda grumbled dramatically, falling into your arms as you were mid conversation with Natasha and Maria about their work.

"He probably intended to bottom tonight," Natasha remarks with a shit stirring grin, you cackled in solidarity, but the both of you stopped when your wives stood shoulder to shoulder with a menacing tilt to their heads.

——

"Welp, those tomatoes aren't gonna pick themselves," you noted before running off, you avoided looking back, afraid to see Natasha's stony glare as you abandoned her with them.

Every man for themselves a mantra you live by, well, only when it comes to angry spouses. As an Avenger you were as selfless as the rest, but now you got to be more selfish in retirement.

Natasha, unfortunately, was your victim.

When you entered the massive greenhouse you took a second to admire your wives handiwork. The brunette had a knack for gardening, a green thumb if you will. The greenhouse was her go to place to find her zen after a day of dealing with you, Billy, Tommy, and Ella.

The witch loved you all, her beautiful family, but some days the lot of you made her feel a tad bit homicidal. On those days she gardened.

It wasn't hard to find the tomatoes, they were ripe and ready on a set of entangled vines. But before you could bring it to her, you were too enamored by the conversation your kids were having in their little cove behind the garden.

"I can't do it," Tommy groaned. "Yeah they just won't understand," Morgan Stark agreed with him, and you leaned in to hopefully garner more context for their troubled minds.

"At least Uncle Tony is bi," Raina Belova countered, "He'll be more understanding."

"Have you met our dad?" Anthony, the only Jr present, said in an incredulous manner. "He even claims Fido is gay, he's totally unhinged."

You had to put a hand over your mouth, the amusement you were experiencing was unreal.

"Couldn't be us," Elena teased, "I'm gay as hell, and Bryce here is both queer and nonbinary."

Oh goodness... Never in your days did you expect your kids to keep secrets from you, but for it to be such a silly one it honestly made you want to interrupt the conversation at hand.

To remind them that no matter what, you'd all continue to love them, but it was too funny.

"Mama is going to be mad," Celeste Belova added, "She always said being gay is the way."

"I thought she was ace?" Billy inquired. "She is, but that doesn't make her any less gay."

After the conversation moved on to who they were crushing on you snuck back to the party. The overall consensus being that every last one of your collective brood, besides your youngest, Ella, who was only five, and Natasha and Maria's powerful duo, said they're straight.

"Where have you been?" You ignored your wife, handing her the basket of ingredients while calling all of your friends to the dining room. Tony whined, "What is so important?"

"You guys will not believe what I just heard..."

Wanda rolled her eyes as you spun your tale, she chopped up the tomatoes, jalapeños and onions as you enamored the group of friends.

"Thank God we're safe," Maria teased, turning to her wife with a genuinely relieved smile. "Right? Can you imagine having to attend two straight weddings? And pretend to like it?"

"Oh jeez," you gasped, "I didn't think of that."

Wanda tossed the ingredients into a bowl as the lot of you bantered back and forth, her patience already running thin with you all.

"Y/N, this joke isn't funny." Yelena shook her head in defiance when you reminded her that this wasn't a joke. "You don't know what you are talking about. Must be hearing loss..."

Kate put a hand on her wife's shoulder, "It's true Lena, they've both told me already."

"You traitor!" Yelena ripped her arm away as if the raven haired woman had burned her skin.

You now worried that you'd inspired divorces.

"No," Tony gasped, shaking his head in fear as the unexpected reality set in. "You're lying, you have to be. No son of mine is straight!"

"Honey," Steve called out for him, "It'll be okay, we always knew it would be a possibility."

"It most certainly is not okay," he grimaced, then in a flash he was outside, calling for your children to gather around the hibachi station.

"Where's the fire pops?" Morgan jests, but quickly zips her lips as she sees her dad looking as if he was on the verge of a breakdown.

"Tell me Y/N's lying," he pleads, "That you're not straight, my fragile ticker can't take this."

"Tony!" Steve shrieked, "Don't use an old ailment to guilt the kids into being gay..."

"Stay out of this babe!" He growled, "As far as I am concerned they're gay. Y/N's a liar."

"Am not!" You gasped, "They're all heteros."

"Not us!" Bryce interjected. "We're queer."

"That's our precious babies," Natasha coo'd, arms opened wide for her kids to run into, and the both of their teens instantly ran at her.

Bucky and Sam had entered your backyard just as the revelation took place. You all watched as they took three steps back, baby carrier in hand as they looked to your kids as if they were all diseased. "We're just being cautious."

You snorted softly, "We understand fellas."

Wanda glared at you, but you remained unfazed for now. Too busy finding the dramatics entertaining to see the horror. Wanda saw it though, she looked out to see all of the kids wearing terrified expressions. She was about to console them, but then a fight broke out beside you, and you had to laugh.

"This is all your fault Kate Belova!" Yelena shrieked, "It was all of that organic mac and cheese you fed them when I was on missions!"

"Mac and cheese being healthy doesn't make a child straight," Kate shrieked back, hands running down her face as she realized her plans for a peaceful barbecue ended with this.

"If it had been orange they might have been more connected to the rainbow Kate!" Yelena went on, "It's like our gay power source."

"Well, with Wanda's garden the kids eat the entire rainbow and look at them, straight."

Yelena found your assistance unwelcome, "Keep out of this Y/N Maximoff. Your kids aren't all old enough to say yet, you still have a chance! Mine are all done... Stupid preteens"

"Well, that's not exactly true," you reasoned, "None of you have been to college yet, that's when you'll really know if you're gay or not."

Natasha, Yelena and Tony all nodded, they found your reasoning the most logical. It was a lot easier than accepting they're all straight.

"Okay, that's enough!" Wanda interjected, her tone terrifying, "Look at what you're doing to them. They can't help it if they're straight."

"I wanna be gay like mama," Ella murmured, clearly she just wanted to fit in with the crowd, and therefore you praised her, "Smart girl."

Wanda entered your mind with a warning, she smirked as you lifted Ella onto your hip, then you fell into unexpected silence by her side.

"Haha, you're like so whipped, "Yelena cackled.

Wanda glared at her. "You don't scare me wiggly woo, my kids being straight is enough."

"Yelena," Kate sighed, "Knock it off, and try telling the girls that you love them."

"Of course I love them," she rushed out angrily, "That's not even a question, they're moy deti."

(My babies)

Celeste and Raina ran into the blondes side, their tears of relief soaked into her shirt, and made her see they were genuinely scared this would lose them her love. "Shh, mama loves you always, even if you make dumb choices."

Tony and Steve were in a standoff of sorts, the billionaire sipped on his margarita slowly as they appeared to be having a conversation with only their eyes. Tony rolled his, but after a moment of incoherent grumbling he nodded. Morgan and Tony Jr. approached their dads after being called forward, Steve embraced them first, and wholly. Tony gave them both side hugs, and whispered that he just needed time to cope, but he loved them regardless.

Then you heard him brush by with his son, begging him to take it back, only to find out his son was in a long term relationship with a girl. That study buddy of his was so much more...

Like father, like son you suppose.

You looked out to see your boys stood side by side, Billy gripped Tommy's hand for dear life. Wanda was about to call them over, but you beat her to it as guilt overwhelmed your heart. The boys scurried over, and Wanda sent you an adoring smile as you kissed the both of their heads, and hugged them tight. "I love you," falling from all of your lips in succession.

After everyone had time to process the news, the vibe returned to one of relaxation. Wanda set up the grill for Sam, and the master chef himself began to put on a show for everyone.

Once the plates were served you all moved to the fire pit, where you talked about all you'd missed in each other's life while the younger kids sat in front of the projector playing Up.

Then, as the sun officially fell, everyone began to clear out. Saying their goodbyes at the front door, where you hugged each kid, an apology of sorts on your lip for the drama you stirred. Each one forgave you, some even thanked you for finally getting the conversation over with.

When everyone was officially gone you moved back outside to clean up. Tommy helped you, while Billy helped clean the kitchen so that Wanda could focus on Ella's bath, and bedtime.

It was an entire hours worth of work, you were beyond exhausted as you fell into the mattress. You nearly passed out without your wife, but soon enough Wanda slipped into the bed. She wore a thoughtful expression, weighing out whether to disturb you or not, but she soon reasoned you'd appreciate her words, "Detka..."

"Yes baby?" You rolled onto your side, using your elbow to prop yourself up so you could look down at her. She looked to you with a warm smile, then she was yawning, "Don't worry." She paused to pull you into her arms before whispering in your ear: "Billy was not being honest. We do indeed have a gay son."

You laughed so hard tears streamed down your face and pooled in the crook of your equally as amused wife's neck. That was the last thing you expected to hear from her, if anything you had anticipated a continuation of her scolding.

"I'll scold you more tomorrow," she teased, "But for now, we should get some sleep."

——

1,844 Words

[headcanonthings]

Bucky: *Sneaking out of Clint's room*

Sam: *Sneaking out of Steve's room*

Bucky and Sam: *Freeze and stare at each other*

Sam: What are you doing?

Bucky: What are YOU doing?

Sam: That’s Clint's room

Bucky: That’s Steve's room

Maria: *Sneaking out of Natasha's room and freezes when she sees Bucky and Sam staring at her*

Maria, Bucky, and Sam: *All awkwardly staring at each other*

Maria: …You never saw me. I never saw you.

Bucky and Sam: Agreed.

[braveclementine]

Chapter 28

Warnings: None

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own a few OCs like Elizabeth, Katherine, Stacy, and Jessie. I do not condone any copying of this.

You and T'Challa were standing in a chapel like building, black twine encircling both of your wrists while the Wakandan. . . priest(?) spoke Wakandan during the entire ritual. You and T'Challa stood there, staring into each others eyes before the black twine was burned, letting it all burn away to ashes below your feet.

T'Challa swept you up into a passionate kiss in front of all of Wakanda, which was met with the cheers of the people, screams of little kids, and a few cat calls from some of his friends from the border tribe.

Soon after, you were saying good-bye to Okoye, Nakia, Shuri, and his mother before very quickly heading onto the Quinjet and heading home.

Though you had loved Wakanda, you couldn't wait to be back in New York. The others seemed to feel the same way.

You were curled up between Tony and Stephen, both of them holding you. You were feeling uncomfortable on the plane ride there, every bump made you groan in pain, willing yourself not to throw up. You wished Stephen would just portal you guys to the Avengers compound.

However when the Quinjet finally touched down the ramp unloaded, you saw that you weren't near the Avengers tower. In fact, you weren't even in the city. You weren't even sure you were still in New York.

"Where are we?" You asked, looking around.

There was a very, very large mansion spread out on a large plane of green grass. There was large forest surrounding it around the back and sides. Both the front and back lawns looked absolutely huge and upon looking around, you could tell that this place would have everything you guys needed.

"Welcome home." Tony said with a grin.

Your heart melted a little. Bucky picked you up, carrying you over the threshold before putting you down inside the house.

The inside of the house was huge, but there wasn't a single spot of room wasted. There was a living room, a dining room, a very large kitchen and breakfast room, three offices, two bathrooms, and a very large library on the bottom floor. Upstairs was another two bathrooms, a dozen bedrooms, and a few balconies, one of which led out to the deck outside.

There was also a basement that contained a movie theater, a workout room, a gaming area completely with both board/physical games, a pool table, an air hockey table, along with two TVs that were equipped with every device available.

The backyard was very large, with only a huge pool, complete with a diving board and water slide alone with a greenhouse farther out. There were several fruits and vegetables growing in the greenhouse.

"This place is amazing Tony." You complimented after you guys had settled back down in the living room. Your stomach was rolling a little, but you weren't sure if that was because you were getting pre-period cramps, or if you were still feeling guilty about the whole Dora Milaje incident.

Tony grinned, proud of himself, "Glad you like it gorgeous."

"What state are we in?" You asked, curious.

"Ohio." Tony said with a shrug. "It's not to far from New York, but it had a lot more land than the ones we were looking at in New York. Besides, it's a bit quieter out here in the country."

"This is actually set on a nice plot of land." Stephen said next to you. "you could technically start an entire farm on here if you wanted."

"Maybe we could bring Samantha and Stella over, eh Buck?" You asked, winking at him.

He chuckled nervously, brushing his hair back from his face as Sam and Steve both turned to look at him.

"Who are Samantha and Stella?" Steve asked.

"His goats in Wakanda." T'Challa answered. "His milk goats."

You were now imagining all of them living on a farm. Wearing plaid flannel shirts and blue jeans. Chopping wood. Milking cows. Shearing sheep. Feeding the pigs and chickens. Collecting eggs. You could imagine some of them in the gardens, working the plants.

Steve, Bucky, and Sam were the easiest to imagine this scene along with Rhodey, Clint, and Fury. The others just seemed impossible. You didn't think you'd seen Loki wear jeans once. Thor maybe as well could pull off the farmer look as well. T'Challa, Tony, and Stephen on the other hand? Absolutely not. Tony only wore suits, Stephen rarely changed out of his wizarding clothes, and T'Challa wore traditional clothes almost all of the time.

As the night wore on, movies playing on the TV, you started to drift off. You could feel Stephen picking you up in his arms, bidding the others good-night as he carried you up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms. You knew Tony was around as you could hear him talking softly to Stephen.

"Hey sweetheart," Tony said softly as they sat you upright on the bed. You blinked before leaning your head on his shoulder, trying to fall asleep. He chuckled gently. "You gotta get into some pajamas. You're going to be uncomfortable if you stay in that dress all night."

You ignored him, making him sigh in fake exasperation. "You want me to undress you then?"

You nodded, already half-asleep. You could feel his fingers unzipping the dress behind you, sliding the shoulders of it off, before you were nodding off.

The last thing you felt was being slipped under silk sheets, a warm arm holding you tightly to their chest.

***

You bolted upright, leaping out of the bed, stumbling into the bathroom, the door banging against the wall behind you.

"Sweetheart?" Tony's tired voice was drowned out as you vomited into the toilet. You heard feet hit the floor behind you before Tony was pulling your hair back as you emptied your stomach into the bowl.

Once you were done, you rested your forehead on your arms.

"Darling?" Stephen's voice was behind you now as well.

"Shit." You groaned. "I feel terrible."

Stephen's hand landed on your forehead, "You do feel warm. Tones, do you mind going downstairs, grabbing the ginger ale and some saltine crackers. I think there might already be a thermometer up here."

"There is." Tony said, knocking on one of the drawers as he passed by to leave the room.

Stephen rummaged in the drawer to pull out the under the tongue temperature reader. He pulled off the plastic cap, writing your name on the back with sharpie before crouching in front of you. "Open Y/N."

You did, letting him stick it under your tongue. You held it there until it beeped, showing that you had a 103 degree fever. The news made you vomit again, this time Stephen being the one to hold your hair back.

After he figured you were done, he helped you gently back into bed. Tony came back with a cool glass of ginger ale, so cold that perspiration was already dropping down the side of the cup. A box of saltine crackers was under his arm and he was holding a large pot in the other hand- probably so you could throw up without running to the bathroom.

"Here we go baby girl." Tony said, sitting next to me on the bed.

"Tony, you'll get sick." You mumbled, taking a small sip of the ginger ale, nibbling at a cracker.

"You need to keep up your fluids," Stephen said, completely disregarding your worry. "Salt isn't particularly good when you're sick so if you're going to be eating crackers to settle your stomach, you need to keep it balanced with plenty of water and ginger ale." [You could supplement with Sprite if you want to]

You nodded.

"I'm kind've disappointed." Tony said softly and both you and Stephen looked at him. He gave a small shrug, "Was kind've hoping you had morning sickness."

You smiled a little, "Sorry."

Tony shook his head, "I just want you to get better."

The others visited you throughout the day, which was met with your weak protests. But they figured if they were going to get sick, it was better they were all sick at once than having them someone sick every three days for a month.

They were all so sweet and attentive, laying with you, making sure that you got enough fluids. Loki loved coming in and reading more of that poetry to you. For example, the poem the second poem that he read you had laughing so hard that you got hiccups:

starkle, starkle, little twink, Who the hell are you I think. I'm not under what you call The alcofluence of incohol. I'm just a little slort of sheep, I'm not drunk like thinkle peep. I don't know who is me yet, But the drunker I stand here the longer I get So just give me one more fink to drill my cup, 'Cause I got all day sober to Sunday up.

Loki, not knowing the song of twinkle twinkle little star was a bit confused about why you liked the poem so much. Despite this, he enjoyed that you were laughing at it, and let you read it over and over as you hiccuped, tears streaming down your face with laughter.

[I mean- I though it was funny]

And then there was another one that sounded just beautiful, if not a little creepy.

There's a truth not many know, About the world while you're asleep That the wind slips through your window, To steal the secrets that you keep, And if you don't believe me, Then you're welcome to your doubt, But have you never stopped to wonder, What it's whispering about? What else in the world Could make the treetops bend and sway But the weight of all the words, that no one ever dared to say? And since it's while your sleeping Secrets are easiest to take It's no surprise those with the deepest are the ones kept wide awake.

"Is that why you don't sleep?" You asked Loki teasingly.

Loki chuckled, appreciating your humor. "Naturally my Queen."

After you'd gotten better, most everyone else had either gotten it and it had passed, or they hadn't gotten it at all. Except Bucky who had it really bad.

He was shivering under his blankets, his nose red and his lips blue. Except that he always kept saying he was hot, trying to throw the blanket off of him.

For the most part, Steve, Sam, and Stephen stayed with him, taking care of him. But you tried to get some time with him, curling up with him while he pressed his cold face into your neck.

You wanted to surprised him for when he got better, so you grabbed Loki and the two of you went out into the town.

"What are we getting?" Loki questioned, following you along. You both ignored pointing fingers and stares from passerby's.

"You'll see." You said, gripping his hand before dragging him to a pet store. You and Loki looked around before you found two kittens and a puppy that you both wanted and were sure that the others would want.

[The two kittens are a species called Munchkin kitties. I don't know the dog breed I'm sorry]

The first kitten was a white kitten with grey eyes that reminded you of Bucky. The second kitten was black with such blue eyes you could've sworn that it was Loki impersonated. And the puppy was just to cute to pass up on.

"Okay, this one is adorable." Loki said, cradling the black kitten in his arms. The puppy was on a leash while you tried keeping the other kitten in your hands. It was a very squirmy kitten and it took a minute before it finally settled contentedly on your shoulder. You were sure that it wouldn't last long.

"Are we getting any other pets?" Loki asked as you moved through a second pet store.

"Yes." You said. "I want two rabbits as well. I think it's only fitting, after all, I want pets that everyone wants. And I absolutely adore rabbits."

"Why two?" Loki asked.

"Rabbits are very social creatures. They can actually die of depression so if you get a rabbit, you should always get two so that they are never lonely. Human interaction can only be so much for them."

"Interesting." Loki mused as you looked over the English lops that were sitting in the area. The kitten in your hands sniffed at them in interest. One of the bunnies stood up on its hind legs, sniffing at the kitten before tentatively starting to groom it behind the ears. The kitten purred, closing its' eyes. You and Loki exchanged a look.

"That one." The two of you said together.

[There are four pictures. The first picture is them as a baby. The second picture is them full-sized]

"They're adorable." You cooed. The brown Miniature English Lop eared was a girl and the blue miniature lionhead was a male.

"They are quite cute." Loki admitted, holding the cardboard carrier case with the two bunnies inside gingerly. "This kitten is still my favorite though."

"I got him specifically because he looks like you." You said with a smile, feeling giddy as the two of you got back to the car. Loki said he would sit in the back with all of the animals.

You drove slowly so that you didn't make any sudden stops, turns, or starts. When you got home, Rhodey and Clint came out to see where you guys had gone.

"Oh Fury is going to freak." Clint said with delight, picking up the white ball of fluff in one hand. The cat peered up at him.

"That one is kind've Bucky's." You admitted. "and the black cat is kind've Loki's. But the dog and the bunnies are all of ours."

Rhodey picked the puppy up, which immediately started to lick his face energetically.

You took the white cat from Clint, trading the two bunnies for her. You carefully made your way up the stairs while the others downstairs started crowding the other animals.

You knocked on the door, hearing Steve say, "Come in."

"Cover his eyes Steve." You said before you entered the room.

You heard Bucky mumble a weak protest as you came in, making your way over to the bed. You watched Steve's eyes widen and then a smile break out on his face. You sat down on the edge of the bed. "Okay."

Steve removed his hand and Bucky looked at you and then at the white fluff in your hands. Bucky's face lit up in delight and you quickly reached out, placing the kitten in his hands.

The kitten stood up in his two hands, starting to nuzzle and knead the metal hand like it a toy. Then it hopped off his hands, making her way up to his chest, curling up into the tiniest ball you'd ever seen.

Bucky was grinning so wide it was like he had never been sick. "She's adorable. What a good little kitty." He petted her with two fingers. "Does she have a name?"

"No, you can name her." You said.

Bucky continued to look down at her, petting her, "Alpine."

"Cute." You commented. "I wonder what Loki will name his cat."

"There's another cat?" Bucky's eyes lit up even more if that was possible.

"And a puppy and two bunnies." You said sheepishly. "I wanted to make sure everyone had a pet that they liked. I mean, for the most part we're sharing the animals. Like how we'll share kids. But I thought you'd like your own cat."

Bucky motioned for you to lean over so that he could kiss your forehead. "Thank you doll."

"Anything for you Buckaroo."

Clint, Sam, and Rhodey came upstairs at that moment, bringing in the bunnies and puppy to see Bucky as well.

Bucky smiled, watching how attentive the bunnies were with the puppy, both of them climbing all over the poor dog.

"We thought you'd name the bunnies Y/N." Rhodey said with a grin.

You smiled back, "That's Cinnamon roll and that's Boba." You said without any hesitation.

Steve chuckled behind you, "Cute names."

"What's the dogs name?" You asked.

"We haven't decided yet." Rhodey said.

Suddenly you heard the door open downstairs and you heard Fury give a strangled cry before he shouted, "What the F-"

[swan-of-sunrise]

Endgame (Chapter Ten)

Summary: Following the funeral to honor Tony and Natasha, Steve volunteers to return all six Infinity Stones to their original timelines and makes a surprising decision.

Pairing: Steve Rogers X Reader

Word Count: 6.3k

Warnings/Disclaimers: None

A/N: This is sad, ya’ll, there’s no way to sugar-coat that lol but things will lighten up a little towards the end of the chapter so hang in there! Thank you for reading, I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Ten One Week Later… (Previous Chapter)

The funeral was held on a beautiful autumn afternoon, on the banks of the lake bordering the Stark family’s eco-compound. There were only thirty-eight people in attendance, as per Pepper’s insistence; she only trusted the small number of people who knew Tony best to be around Morgan, who was understandably distraught and confused by the sudden loss of her father. Following the instructions given to her by Natasha, (Y/N) reached out to her best friend’s adoptive family and informed them of her death, but Alexei and Melina informed her that they wouldn’t come without Yelena, who was inconsolable with grief and unable to face her sister’s funeral. All across the world, people were celebrating the return of their loved ones and mourning the loss of Iron Man and Black Widow but there on the secluded eco-compound, friends, teammates and allies came together to mourn Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff.

While the other funeral attendees stood outside in the crisp October sunshine and distracted themselves with stilted small talk, a small gathering was taking place inside the farmhouse. Thor was leaning a shoulder against one of the living room support columns, Bruce was hunched over near the kitchen to avoid hitting his head on the low ceiling and (Y/N) stood between Steve and Clint while Pepper, Morgan, Happy and Rhodes were seated around the coffee table, upon which an Iron Man helmet sat and projected a recorded hologram of its inventor; before the time heist, Tony had seemingly taken the same precaution that Natasha had and recorded a final message to his family and close friends, and Pepper wanted to wait and watch it until they were all gathered together.

(Y/N)’s eyes welled with tears as Tony’s message began to play. She still couldn’t quite believe that she’d never hear her friend call her ‘Austen’ again, the silly but inexplicably heartwarming nickname he’d bestowed upon her the moment they first met, or have a chance to fully reconnect with him in the wake of Siberia and Thanos’ Snap. With that being said, the brief time she’d known the billionaire was time that she’d treasure and never forget, and she was truly honored to have known the man behind the hero.

“Everybody wants a happy ending, right? But it doesn’t always roll that way…maybe this time. I’m hoping if you play this back, it’s in celebration. I hope families are reunited-” (Y/N)’s eyes briefly flicked over to Carina, napping peacefully near the window in her floating pram. “-I hope we get it back, and something of a normal version of the planet is restored. If there ever was such a thing…” The hologram of Tony shook his head in amazement and smiled. “God, what a world. Universe, now. If you told me ten years ago that we weren’t alone, let alone, you know, to this extent? I mean, I wouldn’t have been surprised, but come on, you know? The epic forces of darkness and light that have come to play…and, for better or worse, that’s the reality Morgan’s gonna have to find a way to grow up in. So, I thought I’d probably better record a little greeting in the case of an untimely death – on my part – I mean, not that death at any time isn’t untimely. This time travel thing that we’re gonna try and pull off tomorrow, it’s got me scratching my head about the survivability of it all. That’s the thing. Then again, that’s the hero gig; part of the journey is the end.” He scoffed at himself before standing from his chair and moving towards the camera. “What am I even trippin’ for? Everything’s gonna work out exactly the way it’s supposed to.” The hologram of Tony leaned down to stop the recording, his sudden smile seemingly aimed at his red-eyed daughter cuddled up to his wife’s side. “I love you 3,000.”

The message suddenly ended and the hologram faded away into nothing as the farmhouse full of mourners took a moment to wipe their tears away and compose themselves. (Y/N) took a steadying breath before turning towards Steve and adjusting the crooked knot of his black tie for him, murmuring under her breath so that only he could hear her words. “Are you okay, Steve?”

Her husband nodded but remained silent, wiping away some of the tears that managed to escape his eyes while she gently smoothed out the nonexistent wrinkles of his suit’s lapels. (Y/N) witnessed Steve mourn far too many losses over the years, but the loss of Tony and Natasha seemed to affect him on an entirely different level; she wondered if it was because they were among the first people he’d befriended after coming out of the ice into an unrecognizable world, or if it was because he somehow found a way to blame himself for their loss, but it was clear to her that he wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. Distractions helped – the super-soldier was more than busy organizing the secure clean-up of the Avengers Facility wreckage and spending his spare time finally bonding with their infant daughter – but Tony and Natasha’s losses remained constant on his mind. Hopefully today will bring him a sense of closure, (Y/N) thought as she slipped her hand into his and gave it a comforting squeeze, will bring us all a sense of closure.

“Pepper’s ready to begin.” She turned to see Clint, who was holding the wreath they’d worked on together in Natasha’s memory; it was an arrangement made from the wildflowers that grew in the field behind the Barton’s barn, and at its center were the spy’s crossed batons they’d retrieved from the battlefield. The archer’s eyes were rimmed in red but he mustered up a small smile for them both as he offered her the wreath. “I know I said I’d lay it with you, (Y/L/N), but I…I-I just…”

(Y/N) nodded in understanding and accepted the wreath with her free hand. “It’s okay, Clint. I’ll do it for the both of us.” He swallowed thickly, giving her a chaste kiss on the forehead and exiting the farmhouse to stand with his family outside. As Rhodes and Happy followed Pepper and Morgan out onto the wraparound porch, (Y/N) brought hers and Steve’s joined hands up and gave his knuckles a reassuring kiss before following after them.

Walking down the porch steps and along the path that led to the dock, (Y/N) took the opportunity to study the impressive gathering of heroes around her. Clint and Laura Barton’s arms were wrapped around Cooper and Lila’s shoulders, and Laura’s fingers soothingly carded through little Nathaniel’s shaggy brown hair; Peter Parker’s eyes were red with grief and he was trying in vain not to cry as his Aunt May rested a consoling hand on his arm; Stephen Strange and Wong stood together, but the doctor’s gaze was diligently trained on his polished dress shoes and there was something almost akin to guilt written across his face; Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne stood alongside their daughter Hope and Scott, the former rival of Howard Stark putting aside their personal history to pay respect to his fallen son; the Guardians of the Galaxy looked slightly out of place amongst the other attendees, but they – particularly Rocket and Nebula – appeared genuinely sorrowful for the loss of Tony and Natasha; T’Challa, Shuri and Okoye watched their procession with saddened eyes, the three of them all too familiar with the pain of loss; Sam and Wanda stood beside Bucky, who only came after (Y/N) and Steve convinced him that he deserved to attend despite what the Winter Soldier had done to Tony’s parents; a teenage boy around Peter’s age hovered near the back of the gathering – according to Pepper, Tony had been his mentor from a young age and even provided him with a scholarship so he could attend MIT – and behind him stood Carol, the captain’s hands clasped together as she gave the procession a nod of respect; Secretary Ross, Maria Hill and Nick Fury stood the farthest away, with the Secretary of State avoiding the pointed glares that the other two were giving him.

The attendees gathered along the grassy shore of the lake and watched as (Y/N) and Steve followed Pepper and Morgan onto the dock. When they reached its end, the older woman crouched down beside her daughter and they both gently placed their wildflower wreath onto the calm water; the first iteration of Tony’s arc reactor was affixed to its center and the sun reflected off its metal, which was etched with the playful words ‘Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart.’ With Steve’s assistance, (Y/N) lowered herself and – ignoring the twinges of pain caused by the pull on her many stitches – laid Natasha’s wreath onto the water beside Tony’s. The four of them stood at the end of the dock and watched the wreaths slowly drift away and as (Y/N)’s free hand fiddled with the black fabric of her dress, a random memory of Natasha forcing her to wear her Boyz II Men shirt to the U.N. instead of her mourning dress came to mind and she couldn’t help but smile fondly to herself. Her eyes remained trained on the two floating wreaths as she quietly hummed one of the R&B group’s more emotional ballads under her breath and thought about all those they’d lost in the years-long fight against Thanos.

“How do I say goodbye to what we had? The good times that made us laugh outweigh the bad…”

When they first met, Tony welcomed her into the Avengers Tower with open arms and from then on, he always treated her as a friend, even during the complicated events revolving around the Sokovia Accords. His laughter was infectious, his constant jokes and nicknames were accepted with loving exasperation, and his loyalty to his friends and family was something that (Y/N) always admired greatly about the self-proclaimed genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist.

“I thought we’d get to see forever, but forever’s gone away. It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday…”

Vision was a gentle soul and while the other Avengers found it difficult to converse with the thoughtful android, (Y/N) loved hearing his thoughts on history and literature. They bonded over their shared worry for Steve and Wanda whenever they’d embark on missions together, and Vision trusted her enough to begin asking her about how human emotions – specifically, the ones centering around romance – worked. He was brave in the face of overwhelming danger, his capacity for kindness was second to none, and (Y/N) hated that Wanda was suffering under the loss of such a wonderful person.

“I don’t know where this road is going to lead. All I know is where we’ve been and what we’ve been through…”

(Y/N)’s friendship with Loki was as unexpected as it was exceptional. Not only had they been forced to work together to survive on a hostile alien planet, but the God of Mischief helped her give birth to Carina and protected them both from harm, showing (Y/N) a softer side of him that few others had ever had the privilege of seeing. Beneath the dark façade he used to scare others away, he was truly heroic and for as long as she lived, she would never forget how he saved her daughter’s life and lost his own in a desperate but brave attempt to save the universe from a threat he knew all too well.

“And if we get to see tomorrow, I hope it’s worth all the wait. It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday…”

Although she’d never had the opportunity to meet Gamora, (Y/N) knew enough about the Daughter of Thanos from Rocket and Nebula’s stories to form an understanding of her. Gamora’s life before joining the Guardians of the Galaxy was filled with trauma and pain, but she proved that she possessed an empathetic heart when she abandoned her adoptive father and devoted her life to protecting the universe from him, a life that she’d come to lose in exchange for the Soul Stone. By a trick of fate, however, 2014 Gamora was with Thanos when he transported his army through their Quantum Tunnel and she was seen fleeing the battlefield shortly after helping them defeat Thanos for good; nothing could ever replace what Nebula and the other Guardians lost that day on Vormir, but (Y/N) hoped that finding that version of Gamora would help them cope.

“And I’ll take with me the memories, to be my sunshine after the rain. It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday…”

To (Y/N), losing Natasha was like losing a sister and she knew that for the rest of her life, she’d never stop missing the spy. But because Natasha wouldn’t want her to wallow in grief, she focused on all the happy memories they shared, from the first time they met in the National Mall and she smirked as (Y/N) teased Sam to the last smile they shared before embarking on the time heist. The night before the funeral, as she cuddled up to Steve and was soothed to sleep by his warm embrace, she decided that the best way she could honor Natasha – and everyone else who died in the fight against Thanos – was to put her skills as a writer to good use and write a book; people deserved to know the woman who sacrificed her life to save the world, and (Y/N) needed to ensure that her name would never be forgotten.

“And I’ll take with me the memories, to be my sunshine after the rain. It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday…”

As they watched the wreaths glide atop the lake’s steady water, (Y/N) closed her tear-filled eyes and sadly smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The funeral was followed by a quiet outdoor reception and while the others chatted amongst themselves as they sampled hors d’oevres, (Y/N) sat on the porch and waited for her Tylenol pill to start kicking in; as a result of the Battle of Earth, she needed twelve stitches for the gash along her stomach, eight stitches to close the cut along her collar and two for the small wound on her right temple, and she was becoming increasingly annoyed by her slow-healing body and how weak her injuries made her feel. She kept her mind off her injuries by watching Steve interact with Morgan, Nathaniel and Lila; the super-soldier was feeding Carina her bottle and smiling as all three children fawned over the infant, and (Y/N) was pleased to see Morgan crack a tiny smile for the first time that day when their daughter’s tiny fingers wrapped around one of hers.

“Pepper sent me up here to give you this, and she said to make sure you ate all of it,” Maria remarked as she walked up the porch steps and offered her a paper plate of cheddar and broccoli mini-quiche. “I think there was some talk of ‘by any means necessary,’ but I can’t be too sure.”

(Y/N) chuckled. “I guess it’s a good thing I’m hungry.” Thanking the agent, she took the plate of food and placed it on her lap. “In a few minutes, you’ll be able to report back to your boss that your mission was an overwhelming success.”

“And here I thought that I was your only boss.” Both women turned to see Nick Fury approaching them, his hands in his pockets and a pensive expression on his face. “You mind giving us a minute, Hill?” Maria nodded and patted (Y/N)’s shoulder before heading off to join Clint and Wanda standing near the dock. Fury took a seat in the empty wicker chair beside hers and while she nibbled on a quiche, he looked out at the glassy lake and sighed. “I can see why Stark moved his family up here. It’s peaceful…but one thing I’ve learned about certain kinds of people is that no matter how peaceful their surroundings are, they’ll never find satisfaction in it so long as there’s someone out there in trouble. Those are the real heroes; the ones in the position to fight the battles that most could never dream of fighting, the ones who choose to become something more…” The corner of his lips curved into a smile as he glanced sideways at her. “The ones who help save the world in any way they can and who don’t need anyone’s permission to do it.”

(Y/N) couldn’t help but snort in amusement as she recognized her own words being spoken back to her; she’d said the exact same thing to Fury over eight years earlier, right before he allowed her to join the Theta Protocol and travel to Sokovia to save its citizens from Ultron’s attack. “You’ve got a long memory, I’ll give you that. This isn’t some sort of recruitment speech, is it? Because I have to say, this is kind of an inappropriate place for one…although, you did once try and recruit me in the middle of a cemetery, so this is sort of on-par for us.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Mrs. (Y/L/N), but today’s my day off.” Fury’s chuckles died off and his expression shifted into a more somber emotion. “To tell you the truth, my days of recruiting heroes might already be behind me; I always thought that finding them is the hard part, but today’s shown me that losing them for good is even harder.” (Y/N) pursed her lips and nodded as the former director watched Steve cradle a giggling Carina in his arms. “No, I’m here to offer you and Rogers the same set-up I offered the Barton’s when they decided to get married and settle down.”

Her brows shot up in surprise. “You want to give us a farm so we could live off the grid?”

“Doesn’t have to be a farm and it doesn’t have to be off the grid, just someplace far away from prying eyes where you can raise your daughter together in peace.” Reaching into his pocket, Fury withdrew a business card and placed it on the arm of her chair and stood. “Take all the time you need to talk it over with Rogers, then give me a call with your answer. It was good to see you again, Mrs. (Y/L/N).”

Fury turned and started to walk away, but didn’t make it far until (Y/N) called out, “Did you know? When we first met in that hideout in D.C., did you know what was going to happen?”

He stopped and turned back around to face her, his eye twinkling with an unknown emotion as he smiled to himself. “Natasha asked me that same question once, so I’ll tell you what I told her: you never know, you hope for the best and make do with what you get. And that’s remained constant, for the most part, but in this specific instance? I may know a lot and see even more, but not even I could predict what an unpublished historical-fiction novelist would end up bringing to the table.”

With a final nod, the former director stepped off the porch and strode across the grassy bank towards Rhodes and Pepper, leaving (Y/N) alone with her thoughts. A quiet life with Steve and Carina sounded like a dream come true, but she couldn’t quite picture what that might entail for them; after all, she was an award-winning novelist and a college professor and he was still Captain America, the Star-Spangled-Man-With-A-Plan. A quiet life wouldn’t quite come as easy to them as it had Clint and Laura Barton. And that’s without considering what Steve might be picturing for our future as a family, she thought as she slowly finished her mini-quiche and stared off at the lake.

“I think someone might be missing you, sunshine.” (Y/N) tore her gaze away from the glistening water to see Steve settling himself onto the unoccupied wicker seat beside her; Carina was beginning to fuss in his arms and (Y/N)’s arms itched to hold her, but her stitches made it difficult and she didn’t want to risk accidentally dropping her. “See, angel? Your ma’s right here.”

(Y/N) adjusted her daughter’s blanket and gave her a smile as she began to calm down. “Aw, are you getting sleepy again, lemon drop?” Carina yawned, snuggling further into Steve’s arms while her parents shared a quiet chuckle. “Must be all the fresh air here. Back before we fought Hela and saved the Asgardians from Ragnarok, I promised Cari that the three of us would go someplace warm and sunny where she could see the sky. I started out feeling terrible that she’d spent the first month of her life trapped on a literal garbage planet, but then we were in space and on Asgard and then Thanos…well, you know the rest. All that matters now is that we’re finally together as a family again.”

Steve nodded in agreement and jutted his chin out towards the business card resting on the arm of her chair. “Is that Fury’s phone number?”

“He offered us a similar set-up to Clint and Laura’s.” (Y/N)’s fingertips thoughtfully caressed her daughter’s soft cheek as she continued. “He wants us to give him a call once we’ve decided where we want to go from here.”

The super-soldier was silent for several moments, and it wasn’t until Carina had fallen back asleep that he finally spoke. “Yeah, I’ve been giving that a lot of thought lately, since even before the time heist. But it wasn’t until Tony and I traveled to 1970 and I saw Peggy again that I finally knew what I wanted.” (Y/N) quickly looked up at him as he took a deep breath and reluctantly met her gaze. “(Y/N), there’s something I need to tell you…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following week was filled with tearful goodbyes and promises to keep in touch. Thor was set to make a brief visit to New Asgard before departing Earth with the Guardians of the Galaxy; (Y/N) understood the Asgardian’s desire for change and wished him luck on his search to find himself, tearfully reminding her friend that if he needed anything at all, their door would always be open for him. Rocket and Nebula surprised her when they presented her with her own Volkswagen Bug, miraculously and inexplicably restored to its former glory; she suspected that the mechanical geniuses might’ve obtained some replacement parts through illegal means but she kept her thoughts to herself and accepted their thoughtful gift, giving the normally-reserved pair large hugs and standing alongside Steve as they watched the Benatar take to the skies.

Clint, Laura and their three children returned to their farm; the Barton’s were kind enough to offer Wanda a place to stay, but the younger woman politely declined their invitation and claimed that she had something to take care of. (Y/N), who suspected that Wanda would try to track down Vision’s body and demand its return from whichever federal agency claimed it after the Snap, hugged her tight and wished her luck. The loss of yet another person in Wanda’s life was obviously hitting her hard, and (Y/N) silently hoped that she would reach out to her old friends and teammates for help or support if she needed it. Rhodes was reinstated by Secretary Ross – albeit reluctantly – as an officer within the Air Force, while Happy continued his work as head of security for Stark Industries and Pepper returned as its CEO.

Scott traveled back to San Francisco with the Pym-Van Dyne family, eagerly looking forward to reconnecting with his daughter Cassie and catching up on the five years he’d lost while trapped in the Quantum Realm. Stephen Strange returned to the New York Sanctum Sanctorum and resumed his post as its protector while Wong, the new Sorcerer Supreme, moved into Kamar-Taj to continue training the young sorcerers who lived there. Peter Parker was re-enrolled in his old high school, with his aunt and friends there to support him as he tried to return to some semblance of normalcy. And T’Challa, Shuri and Okoye returned to Wakanda, with the Black Panther resuming his rule as the King of Wakanda and working out how his nation could provide relief to the millions of displaced and struggling people scattered across the world.

While construction crews worked to remove rubble and debris from the former site of the Avengers Facility, Bruce built a new Quantum Tunnel in the woods near the lake and the day after it was completed, the few remaining Avengers gathered for one final mission: to return the Infinity Stones back to their original timelines. But this time, it was a mission that Steve and Steve alone would be embarking on, and no amount of arguments from Sam and Bucky could convince him otherwise.

“Now, remember, you have to return the stones to the exact moment you got them,” Bruce explained, opening the locked case resting on his makeshift desk to reveal the stones resting in their own individual settings. “Or else you’re gonna open up a bunch of nasty alternative realities.”

Steve nodded and closed its lid before activating the locking mechanism. “Don’t worry, Bruce. Clip all the branches.”

The scientist watched him take the case before averting his saddened gaze. “You know, I tried. When I had the gauntlet, I really tried to bring her back.” (Y/N) and Sam exchanged a saddened look, and her hand slipped into her pocket to touch the red hourglass-shaped buckle she’d carried with her since Natasha’s death. “I miss her, man.”

“Me, too.” Steve gave Bruce’s uninjured forearm a comforting pat and fell into step between (Y/N) and Sam as they walked towards the illuminated Quantum Tunnel.

“You know, it’s not too late for me to come with you.” Sam offered the super-soldier a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Seriously, Steve, my wings are in the trunk. Just say the word and I’ll go put ‘em on.”

“You’re a good man, Sam,” Steve grinned but shook his head. “This one’s on me, though.”

While Bruce continued to make last-minute adjustments to his equipment, Steve approached Bucky, who was standing guard beside Carina’s floating pram and letting her hold onto the index finger of his vibranium hand. “Don’t do anything stupid ‘till I get back.”

“How can I? You’re takin’ all the stupid with you.” Both men shared matching smirks of amusement before hugging; Bucky’s eyes briefly met (Y/N)’s over Steve’s shoulder and she gave him a reassuring smile, understanding exactly why he was so worried for his old friend. She and Steve only told him of his plan the night before, after all, so it was a miracle that the super-soldier was handling the news as well as he was. They separated after a moment, and Bucky gave him a forced smile. “Gonna miss you, buddy.”

“It’s gonna be okay, Buck.” He clapped Bucky on the shoulder before bending down to kiss Carina on her forehead. “I’ll be back before you know it, okay? Be good for your mom, angel.” The infant babbled and wriggled around as Steve gave her another kiss and when he straightened, he turned to face (Y/N); his azure eyes were filled with determination but as they took her in, they softened and he gave her a tender smile. “I love you, (Y/N). I always have, and I always will.”

“I love you too, Steve.” Her husband’s hand cradled her cheek and their lips met in a gentle but passionate good-bye kiss. When they finally pulled away, she held his face between her hands and smiled up at him as she forced herself not to cry. “Go get ‘em, sweetheart, and come home safe.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Steve winked and gave her another kiss before ascending the steps and standing at the center of the new Quantum Tunnel.

Sam’s brow was furrowed in confusion as the super-soldier tapped his wrist to activate his Quantum suit into covering his red-white-and blue uniform. “Wait a sec, how long is this gonna take?”

“For him? As long as he needs. For us? Five seconds,” Bruce replied from his control booth, waiting until Steve picked up Mjolnir to hover a hand over a lever to continue. “Ready, Cap?” Steve took a deep breath and gave the scientist a nod, and Bucky’s hand slipped into (Y/N)’s and gave it a gentle squeeze. “All right. We’ll meet you back here, okay?”

“You bet.” The Quantum suit’s helmet enveloped his head and the machinery surrounding him began to hum.

(Y/N)’s hand gripped Bucky’s tight and she anxiously bit her lip as Bruce started his count-down. “Going Quantum in three…two…one!” In the blink of an eye, Steve shrank into nothing and the three of them watched the vacant platform with bated breath while Bruce began his next countdown. “And returning in five…four…three…two…one!”

There was a blinding flash of light and a figure appeared on the platform, hunching over as if catching their breath; the Quantum suit deactivated to reveal their small frame, old-fashioned clothing and a large circular leather case slung over his shoulders. Chaos erupted all around (Y/N), with Sam ordering the figure to stay still and protectively putting himself in front of her and Carina while Bruce frantically checked to make sure his equipment hadn’t malfunctioned, but all she could do was release a shaky breath and quickly sidestep her best friend to ascend the Quantum Tunnel’s steps.

“(Y/N), what the hell are you doing?!” Sam’s hand latched around her wrist to halt her. “We don’t know who the hell this guy is or-”

“Easy, Sam.” Bucky stepped forward and rested his flesh hand on Sam’s shoulder. “She knows what she’s doing.”

Giving the super-soldier a grateful look, (Y/N) turned and continued up the steps while one of her hands slipped into her pocket to grip a stun disc. “Steve?” Her husband, nearly a foot shorter and a hundred pounds lighter, raised his head and met her gaze; the instant his azure eyes found hers, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was her Steve standing before her but after 2014 Nebula’s effortless deception and the heavy price they’d paid for it, they agreed to take precautions on the off-chance that history would repeat itself. “Steve, what’s the special nickname you gave me when we first started dating? The one that you’ve never used unless we’re entirely alone?”

Steve’s lips curved into a wide smile. “Tiny Dancer, because you always reminded me of the woman that Elton John was singing about in the song.” (Y/N) surged forward and pulled him into a hug that he was eager to reciprocate. “God, I missed you, sunshine. Doctor Erskine worked as quickly as he could but all I could think about was getting back home to you and Carina, and I-”

“It’s okay, sweetheart, you did it, you made it back to us just like I knew you would.” They pulled away only for Steve to hold her face between his hands and soundly kiss her, sighing happily against her lips when she returned his passion-filled kiss. When they eventually separated, she couldn’t keep herself from smiling widely as she took in his altered appearance. “My handsome husband. I take it that there weren’t any complications?”

Before Steve could answer, the sound of a throat loudly clearing caused them both to look over at Sam, who was standing by the platform steps with his hands on his hips and a brow arched in shock. “Cap?”

“Hi, Sam.” With a sheepish expression on his face, Steve followed (Y/N) down the steps and stood before their two friends, his eyes briefly flicking over to Carina’s pram before turning his attention back to Sam.

A knowing smile began to play on Sam’s lips as he slowly pieced everything together. “So, did something go wrong, or did something go right?”

“Right, definitely right.” A loud sigh of relief escaped Bruce and he immediately stopped fiddling with the switches on his control booth, and Steve chuckled. “Sorry, Bruce. Before I volunteered to put the stones back, I thought that maybe I’ll try some of that life Tony was telling me to get. So, I paid a visit to an old friend and managed to have most of the serum’s enhancements reversed; I’m in mostly better health than I was in 1943, since a reversal of the serum can’t just un-cure medical conditions, but other than that, I’m still just a kid from Brooklyn.” Muscles and super-soldier serum or no muscles and super-soldier serum, (Y/N) silently agreed with her husband, recalling their frank conversation the week earlier right after the funeral…

“Yeah, I’ve been giving that a lot of thought lately, since even before the time heist. But it wasn’t until Tony and I traveled to 1970 and I saw Peggy again that I finally knew what I wanted.” (Y/N) quickly looked up at him as he took a deep breath and reluctantly met her gaze. “(Y/N), there’s something I need to tell you…”

“What is it, Steve?”

“Seeing the life that Peggy led after I went into the ice and that old photograph of me on her desk got me thinking, about what our future could look like depending on the choices we make now while we still can. It’s time for me to hang up the shield and finally live my life as Steve Rogers,” Steve explained, leaning forward in his wicker chair and adjusting his hold on Carina so that he could rest a hand on one of hers. “I never thought I’d feel guiltless at the idea of stopping, but I don’t. All that matters to me now is you and Carina, sunshine, and to make sure that it stays that way, I have an idea…”

Bruce walked over to their group and smiled. “Good for you, Steve. Tony, he…he’d really be proud of you.”

Sam nodded. “I’m happy for you. Truly.” Steve’s azure eyes shone with gratitude at their friends’ acceptance, but (Y/N) saw a flicker of sadness cross her best friend’s features. “Only thing bummin’ me out is the fact I have to live in a world without Captain America.”

“Oh, that reminds me…” With (Y/N)’s help, Steve shrugged off the leather case off his shoulders and leaned it against the steps before unzipping it to reveal an undamaged red-white-and blue vibranium shield. “Try it on.”

The smirk on Sam’s face vanished as the implications of Steve’s invitation settled in. He looked over at Bucky, who gave him a firm nod, and then at (Y/N), who beamed in happiness for him; the night before, Steve told her and Bucky what he was intending on doing with the mantle he’d carried for eighty years and while a part of her was wary of the pressure her best friend might feel, she knew in her heart that there was no one better suited to be Captain America than Sam Wilson.

Still looking a little uncertain, Sam picked up the shield and carefully slipped the leather straps onto his left arm; he stared down at the shield in silence, and (Y/N) and Bucky shared a smile as Steve quietly asked, “How does it feel?”

“…Like it’s someone else’s.”

Steve shook his head and waited until Sam met his gaze to speak. “It’s not.”

(Y/N)’s eyes prickled with unshed tears as she watched her best friend struggle to hold back his own; he took a deep breath and looked out through the trees at the nearby lake before looking back at Steve with an earnest smile on his face. “Thank you. I’ll do my best.”

“That’s why it’s yours,” Steve answered with a grin and both men shook hands, Sam’s large hand enveloping Steve’s newly-smaller one.

(Y/N), making sure to mind her stitches, practically launched herself into her best friend’s open arm and gave him the tightest hug she could manage. “I’m really proud of you, Sam. This doesn’t mean I’ll stop calling you ‘Birdbrain,’ though; that nickname’s for life and not even Captain America can change that.”

Sam laughed. “I read you loud and clear, Booksmart.” He kissed the top of her head and wiped a stray tear away as they pulled away. “So, what’re you three gonna do now? Settle down on a farm like the Barton’s and make a half dozen more of these cutie-pies?” Carina, who was now contentedly nestled in her father’s thin arms, giggled as Sam tickled the patch of skin under her chin.

“Steve Rogers living on a farm?” Bucky scoffed with a twinkle of amusement in his blue eyes. “This punk’s a born-and-raised Brooklynite; all that farm-fresh air might finally do him in.”

Steve rolled his eyes as he rocked Carina. “A hundred and six years old and still a mother hen.”

“Punk.”

“Jerk.”

“Are you gonna keep on writing, (Y/N), or are you gonna go back to teaching at Brooklyn College?” Bruce asked. “My fans absolutely love your books, and I hear that your students are really missing their favorite professor.”

With a mischievous smile, (Y/N) looped her arm around Steve’s narrow shoulders and shared a loving look with him before turning her attention back to the three men standing before her. “We have a plan that sort of includes a little of all of the above, actually. What’s say we explain it to you guys over some lunch at that diner down the road? Our treat.”

“Thanks, doll. I could really go for a cheeseburger.”

“Wait a sec, how do you know what a cheeseburger is?”

“Because I ate my first cheeseburger in 1935, Birdbrain, the same year that they were invented.”

Sam and Bucky continued bickering as they walked along the makeshift path to where they all parked and while an amused Bruce egged their argument on, (Y/N) and Steve trailed behind the boisterous trio, lost in their own little world and the long-awaited promise of a peaceful life together with their beloved daughter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Did anyone see that coming?! I hope that you guys like the deviation from canon, it’s the ending that I always thought they’d go for with Steve lol thank you all so much for reading and commenting! I’ve created a Spotify playlist inspired by this series, and I’ll be updating it every time I upload a new chapter. Enjoy!

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5L6MERx3PIydW3FyNPqYvl?si=ad6c46de8e954c11

Epilogue

“Endgame” Masterlist

Tagging: @mrs-obrien @lahoete @awkward117 @cminr @natdrunk @momc95​ @savedbystyle @miraculouscloud @awkwardnesshabitat @marinettepotterandplagg @mangosandmimosas @supersouthy @benakenalove @brooke0297 @hufflepeople @becausewelie @outoftheregular @junipermurdock @ladydmalfoy @mads-weasley @username23345 @crist1216 @capswife @lilmschild @avngrsinitiative @crowleysqueenofhell @y-napotat @mary1raven @groovy-lady @ljej95 @innersublimefury @prettysbliss

[joylovesthings]

Phoenix: who the hell eat all of my food cuz whoever did is going to-

Bucky: I did sorry doll

Phoenix: is going to be forgiven do you need more food cuz I can buy more

Sam: now what the fuck

Hill: Steve he said a bad language word

Steve: ONE TIME IT WAS ONE TIME

[bucky-h0e]

Of Summer Days and Winter Nights

A/n: So this is the first chapter! It will only be a sort series, as this is my first attempt at writing a full series. I usually just do Social Media Au's or headcannons. I am happy to receive any feedback! I hope you guys enjoy it! Definitely not proof read and definitely a little bit all over the place.

~

Chapter One

The kingdom was bustling with excitement as the workers of the castle went about making the final arrangements within the grand hall. With the guests arriving soon, and so much more to be done, Y/n decided that it would be best if she stayed out of the way for the morning. Knowing that, if she were to help, she probably would make the situation more stressful for those trying to organise the mass amount of bodies preparing the room for the 'opening ceremony' as her father had called it.

Really, it was a lavish excuse to see old friends and potentially find love alongside it. At least, for Y/n anyway. She had met with multiple suitors throughout the years, knowing most of them and rejecting just as many. There was no one in the land that she hadn't met and saw a future with. Except of course, her dear friends that she had met through her lifetime; even that had been scarce. The only three people who had been so lucky included; Lady Maria Hill, Lady Natasha Romanoff and Lady Yelena Belova.

They had all met by chance at another of these gatherings, held within the Kingdom of Asgard, ruled over by King Odin. It had been where Y/n also met Prince Thor and Prince Loki, both having come back from battle. Her father, always reluctant to visit his old friend, begged her to go with him and keep him company - that had lasted for all of ten minutes before he wondered off to talk to said friend.

It was then that she had bumped into a sulking blonde, annoyed that her father had dragged her to that event. After agreeing with her, the two became quick friends sharing stories of their childish fathers. After meeting her sister and friend, the rest had become history. Y/n knew that no matter the road she decided to take, she would always have her three friends supporting her. Her father, deemed this to not be enough and urged her to at least give one man a chance this time round. It had been why so many kingdoms had been invited to the two week long festival.

Preferably, courting would be announced between the first night and third day, with marriage being announced by the end of the two weeks.

"It's how your mother and I did it." Her father stated when she questioned the 'ideal' timeline. Of course, her father and mother had been madly in love at first sight. He smiled as she reminded him of this.

"My sweet girl, when you find yourself so deeply in love with one person, you can't help but move that fast. Any day could be their last, it's best not to waste time on if, buts or maybes." Fondly, he reached forwards to tuck a loose hair away from her face, "That is why we raised you to speak your mind and be confident when doing so." The pair both smiled at each other before leaning back in their chairs, Clemont sighing softly as he mutters, "It also adds to my greying hair."

Sighing, Y/n began to make her way to the library, knowing her father would most likely be there 'reading'. Sleeping is more the term she would use, that or he would be munching on some cake he managed to convince one of the cooks to sneak him. Despite being King, it was clear that the servants working within the castle cared too deeply for the royal family to allow any harm to come to them - including health issues. During one of his check ups from the royal physician, it was decided that the King's diet would need changing before it got out of hand. The only way they managed to get him to agree was to compare her father's diet to that of King Odin, for once, King Clemont's odd rivalry with Odin became of help.

Smiling at the memory of her father being told his diet was worse than Odin's and the up roar that had caused, Y/n opens the doors to the library. Looking around until she spotted the man she wished to see, she walks along the main aisle to the window which over looked their gardens. Spotting him lounging on a chair with a book in hand, she was surprised to find him actually reading.

"My King," She announced her presence with a smile and a bow, waiting until he gestured to the chair next to him with a small grin.

"Princess, to what do I owe the pleasure?" He hums, folding the corner of his page. A shiver ran through her at the sight as she sat and rested, her posture remaining straight.

"I was wondering," she starts, looking out of the windows to watch the hard work being done to decorate the gardens. "Who exactly will be coming to this festival? King Odin perhaps?" She glances at him and hears a scoff in return.

"Unfortunately." The kings mumbles, "The fool would probably start a war if he was not invited." Sighing softly, he tilts his head in thought, rubbing his beard. "Well, Lord Stark, of course."

Y/n nods, of course Lord Stark would be attending. A party wouldn't be the same without the Stark house causing some sort of mischief. No doubt his lovely wife and friend would be there to make sure he does not get too out of hand.

"Lord Fury will be there, presenting Lady Hill." Another nod. "Lord Shostakov, presenting Lady Romanoff and Lady Belova." Again, she nods, she had already been informed by the ladies themselves. Sighing, she drops her posture, fully resting on the chair. "Anything I don't already know father?" she teases.

A laugh leaves his mouth before he hums in thought. A grin breaks out and he glances at her, pulling out a letter from him pocket. Glancing at it, she saw the symbol of the Blank Panther and gasps. The kingdom of Wakanda had made it's return. It's had been away, mourning the death of his father. From what she understood, upon seeing a weakened kingdom, they had faced many threats from outsiders. Of course, King Clemont had offered his assistance but Wakanda and her people were adament that they could handle themselves. They needed to do it to prove that no matter what, they would stand strong. The last she had heard, her old friend was now reigning monarch.

"T'Challa?"

With a nod, the King hands her the letter, smiling happily. It had been his wish once that they would be wed, T'Challa and Y/n. But alas, T'Challa had his heart set on another. Yet, his loyalty and friendship with Y/n remained strong, with his letter promising the presentation of three new suitors. Y/n blinks, glancing at her father.

"He's presenting this year? I'm sure Princess Shuri said she wouldn't be coming." She muses, wondering how T'Challa managed to convince his sister into this.

"She's not, I believe. At least I hope not, I don't have enough chambers set up if that is the case," Clemont frowns, looking our the window and beginning to question whether or not he'd ordered for the right amount of rooms to be made up.

"Then who is he presenting?"

The King shrugs. "Suitors for you I'd imagine. You know how fond of you he is," He smiles softly before turning to a maid nearby, asking them to prepare a few extra rooms just in case. After she bows and takes her leave, the king relaxes back into the chair and looks at his daughter.

"And why would he bring suitors just for me when there are plenty of other fine young women in the kingdom?" She looks at him, eyebrow quirked. Chuckling, the older man shrugs and shakes his head, "He is your friend, princess. He wants you to be happy just as I do. Besides, I highly doubt Shuri would allow him to do something like this for her. Let him have his fun." He gazes out the window with a sigh, smiling softly. This would be the year she would find love, it had to be. Hopefully, with T'Challa bringing more suitors, Y/n would finally find the man she would spend the rest of her life with.

The pair sat in silence for a little while longer, watching as the last finishing touches were made in the garden. A knock at the door interrupts their peaceful silence. As the king calls for whoever it was to enter, the door opens quickly, banging the walls slightly. Only one person could make that kind of entrance. When Y/n looked over her shoulder, sure enough there was Lord Anthony Stark in all his glory. He bows ever so slightly, never the one to follow customs to their fullest extent before he walks towards the pair.

King Clemont II and Sir Howard Stark had been close friends. Brothers in battle and rivals in the ballroom, they were well known amongst the young ladies, having many maidens fawning over them that the men had once turned it into a competition. Safe to say that their future wives very quickly shut that down, way before they were ever married. The bond between the royal family and the house of Stark continued after Howard's death, with the title falling to Anthony and Clemont taking him under his wing, finishing the training which Howard had started.

They hadn't grown up together, but Y/n did see Anthony as an ally, distant but still trustworthy. She was sure that if she had been born male, then the two would have shared a relationship similar to their father's. They were close enough to be informal with each other, though it wasn't clear if this was because they respected each other enough to do so or that neither of them simply cared for the others titles. Admittedly, there were times where his actions annoyed her, but she was never in the position to say anything; they were always harmless anyway. At least, for now.

"Lord Stark! What a pleasant surprise!" The King exclaims, standing from his chair and holding out his hand for Y/n to take. Doing so, she stands and prepares to greet the man standing before them. "Lord Stark." She bows in greeting, lowing her head before standing upright, her posture straight and proper.

"Clemy, Y/n, you are aware your guests are here and yet the king and princess are no where to be seen?" The man muses, watching in amusement as the King gasps and readies himself to leave, his hand dropping Y/n's own. "Very improper," Tony scolds playfully, offering his arm to Y/n. With a roll of her eyes, the princess takes his arm and the pair wait for the king to move before they follow, keeping pace as the group walks out of library and down to the grand hall, where their guests were undoubtably waiting.

Entering the hall, it seemed just as lively as it was before, except this time, Y/n was sure that not a single bit of the floor was even visible. The bottoms of capes and skirts brushed the flooring, the intricate designs of the royal mark hidden amongst the mix of fabrics. Their mark branded the walls, small banners and flags fixed to the large columns towards the sides of the room. The light was warm, having been given by candles which hung all around, Y/n wondered how many people it had taken to light as many candles as their were. How many times would they have to be replaced before the night was through? She searches the crowd, trying to spot the familiar faces of her friends. Frowning, it takes a while before she sees a familiar head of red hair, next to blonde. Natasha and Yelena. Nodding to them in a quick greeting, she can tell that they two are looking for the final member of their quartet. Never before had Y/n seen so many people in one room before, in fact, the hall seemed far too small.

Nobody wanted to squeeze in together, why would they. Most of the people in the room were high status or royalty. Servants stuck to the edge of the room, trying to organise this mess before anything got out of hand. Men were getting restless, annoyed with being in such a small space as one another, all trying to impress the women that surrounded them. Finally, Y/n spotted Maria. She was in the middle of a group of men, displeasure clear on her face as she grimaced at their sorry attempts to impress her. Feeling for her friend, Y/n nods for one of the King's guard to aid her by making a pathway towards her caretaker, Lord Fury. With a look up to her friend, Maria nods thankfully before walking towards the taller, one eyed man, not subtle in giving him an earful for leaving her in that situation.

With a smile, Y/n shakes her head, standing at the bottom of the steps, just enough ahead that she wasn't apart of the crowd but that the King held the attention of the room. Tony leaves her there, ensuring that she is safe behind the barrier the King's Guard had made, before entering the crowd and standing beside his wife and a younger, brunette boy. He was skinny, clearly uncomfortable in the clothes he was wearing, as if he was not used to the material. He must be who Tony was presenting, she recognised him from her visits to the Stark house. Looking through the crowd, she can't help the frown on her face. She had found Maria, Natasha and Yelena. But T'Challa was no were to be seen. She could see Princes Loki and Thor, Lord Banner and Lord Barton, his family who he would undoubtably be presenting alongside their newest addition, Lady Kate Bishop whom he had taken under his wing the past year.

The king clears his throat, standing at the front of the room. Sighing, she looks towards her father, sad to not have been able to spot her old friend.

"Everyone! Your attention please!" As if by magic, the clatter and noise which once filled the hall stops as all attention turned to Y/n's father.

"Firstly, I would like to thank you all for your attendance! This is the first time something of this scale has been done, we have many kingdoms joining us here. It is my privilege to host this Courting Festival. Please, make yourselves comfortable." He smiles, looking at the crowd.

"Your chambers have been prepared and your luggage already taken to them, please be patient with my staff as they guide you through the castle halls. As you are all aware, there will be an itinerary, which has been drawn up and will be found in your chambers. Our first event is the Moonlight Ball tonight where each person will be presented and introduced, preparations have already been made. Please, freshen up and return to the Grand Hall within the hour, there is no time to waste! If you don't act quickly, you may find your one true love to be snatched up by someone as equally charming," The king jests, some laugh along with him, others are not too fond of the idea of competition. He continues anyway.

"I hope you all enjoy the festival and your stay at this castle. Even more so, I hope that you all find someone dear to you." With that, the crowd all bow to the King as he steps down, his hand reaching for Y/n as she smiles.

"Did you practice that father?" She muses, kissing his cheek softly as she hears her name being called. He chuckles, "Entirely made up my dear, now go. Your friends are calling, I have nurse maids waiting for you all in your room, their fathers have already been notified." With a final kiss on the cheek, Y/n turns and walks towards her friends.

Upon getting closer, it seems that none of them could contain their excitements as they ran to each other, grasping one another and holding themselves tight together.

"Thank god! I thought I may have to punch my way through the crowd earlier," Maria states, pulling away slightly, rolling her eyes at the men which eye the small group of women. Y/n laughs.

"Exactly why I cleared the path for you Maria, can't have these men walk around with bruised egos, there's plenty of time for that within the two weeks." The women all grin and nod, infamous for showing up their most annoying suitors.

"Please, let us get away from this room, the smell they are releasing is terrible," Yelena groans softly, her accent shining through. "It's like a fog, it feels as though I should swim my way out." The group begins their trek to Y/n's room. Arms linked and strides in sync with one another.

"So, a little bird told me Prince T'Challa is making his return. Will he be bringing his wife and child? Or will he bring an infuriated Shuri?" Natasha muses, grinning at Y/n as the latter rolls her eyes.

"King T'Challa is in fact coming with suitors, not brides." Y/n confirms, looking at the red head on her left.

"No Shuri? So we will have to rely on Stark to entertain us for the next two weeks, sounds exhausting." Maria, who stands on the right of Y/n groans. "Besides, where was T'Challa? I didn't see him in the hall." Shrugging, Y/n turns her attention to Yelena, who makes a noise of amusement on the other side of her sister.

"He'll probably make a dramatic entrance. You know him." The blonde shakes her head as they enter Y/n's room, their dresses and nurse maids ready to dress them and prepare them for the ball. The women separate, their conversations continuing as they prepare for the night.

"You say dramatic and all I think of is Stark, T'Challa would be more... elegant." Maria grimaces as her hair is retied into a tight bun and her corset readjusted. Y/n nods, agreeing. She holds the corset in place as is is tightened, taking steadying breathes to prepare herself.

"Ah, but Wakanda have just won a war. He'll make a show of their strength, through the suitors he brings." Natasha points out, sitting on the bed in order for her shoes to be put on. Yelena sits beside her, already dressed and prepared for the night ahead of them. She lets out a small gasp and scandalous grin, "Imagine the effect it would help if the suitor presented by King T'Challa would court and marry the Princess Y/n." She winks at her friend, Y/n laughs in return.

"We'll see. I promised my father to keep an open mind this time. I'm just waiting for someone... sane." She states, looking in the mirror. Her dress was much more detailed than her friends, on account of her status, which annoyed her. Sure the trouble was the same, but she wished that she wasn't so out of place from her dear friends. "Someone who isn't all, for King and Country, you know? Just someone loyal and kind." She sighs, these days it was getting harder to find anyone like that. It was a thin line, she knew, but she was sure that if she looked hard enough she would find it.

Turning to her friends, she sagged in relief at their supportive smiles, all of them dressed and ready to get this night over with. As they group together, their arms find themselves around one another's waist, forming a circle.

"You'll find it one day, you don't need to marry to be a great Queen." Maria states, bumping their heads together gently as Y/n nods. She knew that, she just didn't want to spend the life alone all the time. "Besides, if you don't find it, then we'll just come live with you." Natasha follows, grinning at her as Yelena gives off a confused look, "Was that not always the plan even if she does marry?"

The group laugh together, glancing at one another before they all follow Maria's lead in taking a deep breathe and releasing it. With a smile, Y/n breaks away first as they prepare to take their leave from her chambers.

The walk back to the Grand Hall is not silence, full of inside jokes and the sharing of memories of when the girls would torment the knights during their visits. It made the journey quicker, yet Y/n could begin the feel the nerves build in her stomach. Outside the grand hall, servants stood, forming a queue of men and women up for presentation, ready to be announced as they entered the hall.

"Well Ladies, good luck. If all goes well, at least one of us will be courting by the end of the night." Y/n states, bidding her friends goodbye as they are rushed off to their positions. She would go last, as was custom for the hosting country of balls and galas. She watches and listens as people are lead into the hall, the big doors opening and closing, the voice of the announcer echoing through both the hall and corridor just outside.

"Lady Maria Hill, presented by Lord Nicolas Fury." She smiles as Maria makes her way through the door, catching a glimpse of her curtseying to the room before the doors are closed. A couple more men and women make their way through the door.

"Master Peter Parker, presented by Lord and Lady Stark." Peter Parker, Y/n couldn't help the shock. Parker was their stable boy, how on earth had he convinced Tony to present him? Perhaps Anthony Stark truly did have a heart after all.

"Lady Natasha Romanoff and Lady Yelena Belova, presented by Lord Shostakov." Smiling again at the two remaining friends , Y/n makes her way to the back of the line. She nods politely at the few she knew as she passes, stepping forward each time the line shortens. In front of her were three gentlemen, who each bowed to her as she passed. She hadn't seen these men before, yet the looked familiar. They stood together, strong like a wall. Moved in sync like a team, if you didn't pay a lot of attention, you would assume they were the same person. Yet when Y/N looked closer, there was a clear hierarchy.

The one in the middle, the taller of the three stood straight. Short blonde hair having been recently cleaned, a blue cape covering his back. He stood slightly a head, she realised. He was the leader. He held himself as one, strong and silent, steady yet ready to spring into action.

The one on the left, he was slouched slightly. An hidden attitude present. He leans forward and mumbles something to the blonde, which they both chuckle at. He was relaxed, but still ready to take action. It was odd. He didn't have a cape like the leader, but rather, the collar of his armour was adorned with feathers. Falcon feathers, Y/n realises.

The third remained stoic. His hair long and recently washed, just like his leader. His left hand was gloved and rested on the sword at his side. He was on alert. His eyes were blue, she noted as he looked back, most likely feeling the stares she gave the group. She lowered her gaze, nodding her head apologetically as he did the same to her. His hand lowered from the sword and y/n released the breathe she didn't know she was holding. This man... he was breath taking.

As the queue lowered to just them and her, she felt the tension leave his shoulders. He relaxed for all of two seconds, before his stance became rigid again as the doors opened.

"Sir Steven Rogers, Sir Sam Wilson and Sir James Barnes. Presented by his royal highness, King T'Challa of Wakanda." The door opened, the three men stepped forward and bowed deeply. The two men following the lead of the blonde. As the doors closed, Y/n caught her breath.

She nodded to the guard to give her a second, her hand resting over her beating heart. She knew those names. The travelling knights. They went across the land, helping people just for the sake of helping. They had no loyalties to kingdoms, though she was sure they all originated in this one. They served no king nor queen solely. they only served the people who needed them and accepted no fees in doing so. They were truly, three of the most noble of knights. The one who caught her eyes, Sir James Barnes. She was sure of it, she had heard of his stoic nature, always on alert, always prepared for a fight. Wary of strangers and large groups.

She frowned, he must feel so uncomfortable. That is why he only relaxed when they were the last ones left. She would attempt to get him alone, so that he could feel more comfortable. she nodded to herself, it was the right thing to do. Perhaps, if she were lucky, he might let her join him.

Shaking her head, she straightens up as the door opens and her father slips through the crack. Worry clear of his face as he holds her arms gently, "My dear? What is wrong? Have you taken ill?" He frets.

She shakes her head and smiles shakily, "Father... I-" She stops herself. She shouldn't jump into it, she knows this. But still, she hadn't felt this feeling with any other man. And just by seeing him? They hadn't even spoken and she was acting like a little girl. shaking her head clear, her smile turns strong as she nods, "I'm fine. Just... nerves." She attempts to calm him, and he nods almost buying it. Almost.

"Nerves?" he asks and she nods, not understanding his implications, "Nerves?" He states again, giving her a pointed look, seeing right through her façade. He too had nerves when he met his wife, the look currently on his daughter's face reminded him of that day. Which could only mean.

"It's one of them!" He exclaims, clapping his hands and ignoring her efforts to shush him, "Which one? Sir Rogers?" she shakes her head and sighs, rubbing her temples. Clearly, her father could read her better than she thought.

"Sir Wilson?" He tries again, shocked to see her head shake.

"S-Sir Barnes... sweet heart..." he pauses, blinking. She frowns and steps away, "Father..." she looks to the ground, why would her father have this reaction. Shaking his head, the king steps forward, a smile of his face, "It's brilliant news my dear, just a shock is all. He isn't the most... sociable of the trio.." he admits, never one to lie to his daughter, "It may be hard to get his attention..." he frowns at the sullen expression on his daughters face. Lifting her chin gently, he traces the skin there with his thumb, "But if anyone is stubborn enough to do it, it'll be you."

Smiling softly, Y/n still couldn't escape the nerves in her stomach, her hand gripping one of his whilst the other rests on her stomach. She nods softly, "We'll speak more later dear, lets not keep your knight waiting." The king teases with a grin, laughing as she smacks his chest lightly. Turning, he nods to the guards and the doors open.

The entire room turns from their quiet whispers, the worried looks over her friends reaching her. She nods to herself, squeezing her fathers hand in embarrassment as all eyes are on her.

"Princess Y/n, presented by his royal highness, King Clemont the Second." The group bow before the royal family, the two doing the same before they make their way down the stairs. The room bursts to life once more, people re joining conversation, men approaching women, small groups forming. Y/n was glad that the attention did not stay on her for much longer, except she could feel stares. As she looks out over the banister, she spots blue eyes, never leaving her figure as she moves down the steps. Maria waits for her at the bottom, Yelena having been stuck behind a large group and Natasha speaking to who Y/n recognised as Sir Rogers. Finally, they land at the bottom of the stairs case and her fathers kisses her head before departing.

Y/n spots T'Challa heading her way, concern on his face. She spots those same blue eyes still looking at her, still never leaving her as she grips Maria's hand. Feeling her friends arms come around her she frowns, turning to her with a slight whine in her voice.

"Tonight is going to be a long night."

~

OSDAWN Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Taglist:

@thehumanistsdiary @browneyedgirl22 @tf-is-fanfic

[literaryavenger]

I love you and I hate it - part 2

Summary: After your fight with Bucky, you put all your efforts into avoiding him, convinced that your friendship is over. Bucky, however, has other plans.

Pairing: Best Friend!Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader

Warnings: Reader being dramatic. Angst. Language maybe. Minimal use of Y/N. Fluff. My poor attempts at being funny.

Word Count: 4.5K

A/N: I promise I didn't mean to make it this long, but I couldn't help myself, again, and I didn't want to end on another 'cliffhanger' so here it is! hope you like it!

Part 1

Masterlist

Bucky can't believe what he just heard... You like him?

No, you used the word ‘love’. You love him.

Do you love him?

Certainly, he would’ve noticed if you did... Right? He is a trained assassin, he was taught how to see beyond people’s words and actions.

And he knows you, you can deny it all you want, but he knows you better than anyone. He knows you better than he knows himself.

And if he’s being honest, you know him better than anyone ever has, Steve included.

You feel safe, you feel calm. You feel like the peace he’s always wanted, the quiet he needs.

You feel like home. In a platonic way, of course.

Right?

His thoughts of you are interrupted by Sharon’s voice. He didn’t even realize he was back at the party.

"Where did you go?" she asks and, suddenly, her grip on his arm was just a little too tight for his liking. But it was probably nothing.

"I went to check if Y/N was okay."

"Oh." something in her voice felt wrong, but Bucky tried to ignore it, that is until what she said next.

"Why would you even care about her? All she does is embarrass you like before. She’s useful to no one, I heard the only reason she’s even on the team is because she slept her way to it." she laughed like it was the funniest thought in the world, and Bucky couldn’t ignore it anymore.

Not only was she saying hurtful, untrue things about his girl, but she has the audacity to laugh at her own cruelty?

"How dare you?" he does his best not to yell, but his tone still startles Sharon. "Y/N is the best agent in all of Shield, that’s why she got in the team! She’s not an embarrassment, she’s a valued member of our family and she’s my best friend! Of course I care about her, she’s the most important person in my life! Don’t ever talk about her that way again."

Sharon seems shocked at his words but, looking around, she realizes people are starting to stare so she tries her best to defuse the situation. "Alright, I’m sorry, I won’t say things like that again. Let’s just calm down and have a nice rest of the evening, ok?"

In his head Bucky knew her request was reasonable, he could forget about this and keep having fun with his girlfriend. But in his heart he just knew he couldn’t let it go.

The words were coming out of his mouth before he can stop them, not that he even wants to.

"You know what, Sharon? This isn’t working. We have to break up." He doesn’t even give her a chance to say anything before he’s turning around and making his way to his room.

Meanwhile, on the roof, Steve’s trying to talk you down the ledge. Metaphorically speaking, obviously. 

"He hates me, Steve." you can't stop the tears.

"Stop saying that, sweetheart, he doesn’t hate you."

"You saw what happened at the party, the way he looked at me. And he heard me say that I love him and walked away like it was nothing." You sniffle. "If he didn’t hate me before, this certainly pushed him off the edge."

Steve has nothing to say to that, he knows Bucky doesn't hate you, but he also knows that you’re too stubborn to hear any reason, especially not right now when you're in the eye of the tornado and can't see a way out.

Right now you need a friend and shoulder to cry on, usually Bucky would take on that role, but, given the circumstances, Steve decides to step up and be that friend.

He wraps his arms around your crying body and holds you as you let it all out. Neither of you say anything else, the only sounds in the dark of the night being your sobs, until eventually you calm down and after a few moments of silence Steve glances down to see you fell asleep. 

Not wanting to wake you he carefully picks you up and makes his way to the elevator.

When he gets to the floor you both reside in he finds Sam and Natasha chatting at the kitchen counter, probably about to go to bed after coming up from the party.

Sam gives him a confused look, while Nat seems to understand what is going on right away as she moves without saying a word, walking ahead of Steve towards your room.

She opens the door for him and walks in behind, moving the covers back as he lays you on your bed as carefully as he can, and then Nat delicately takes your heels off before covering you with the duvet.

As they’re leaving your room the door opposite yours opens, revealing a hopeful Bucky but when he sees it’s not you, his face becomes stoic once again. He’s about to ask where you are when Natasha beats him to the punch.

"Leave her alone, Barnes. You’ve hurt her enough already." Is all she says before she steps into her own bedroom.

Bucky looks to his best friend for help but, at his confused face, the blonde super soldier just shakes his head in disappointment and walks away without a word.

Bucky stands there for a few minutes, just staring at your door like he's gonna will you to open it and talk to him.

He sighs and goes back to his room where he spends the next few hours overthinking about you and this whole night, eventually falling into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning when you wake up you feel at peace for about 10 seconds before the events of last night hit you like a truck, and all you can feel is humiliation.

How can you face the team after they witnessed your fight with Bucky?

How can you face Steve after he saw you at your most vulnerable and, apparently, carried you to bed after you cried yourself to sleep?

How can you face Bucky after he heard you say you love him and he walked away from you?

You can’t, that’s the answer.

Should you just move out? Just quit the team, ask Hill to be reassigned? Maybe you could even get transferred to another country...

You’re not overreacting, right? This is a very embarrassing situation and you have every right to want to run away from all of it.

As you’re making up an escape plan in your mind you hear a knock on your door, followed by Steve’s voice. "Hey, are you awake? We just want to make sure you're okay…"

You try to be as silent as you can, slowing down your breathing praying he’ll think you’re sleeping.

You can hear him exchange some muffled words with what sounds like Natasha, and then you hear their footsteps as they walk away, so you let out a relieved sigh.

Okay, step one is definitely getting out of this room, it’s just the most obvious place where to look for you.

You get up and out of your awfully classy dress, take a shower being sure to clean away all the makeup from last night and put on the most comfortable sweats you own.

Just as you’re opening the door you can see Bucky opening his about to get out and, in a panic move, you run back inside your room and slam the door shut.

Very subtle, yes.

You rest your back against the door and can hear him sigh and then walk away.

You wait a few minutes, just to be sure, and then relax a little. Your plan was to go to the gym and work out a bit, but now all you can think about is getting the hell out of this compound.

You grab your purse, make sure to have your phone and keys in it and open the door, making sure no one’s around before getting out.

You’re practically running, taking the stairs for good measure, and in a flash you’re at the garage. You jump in your car and drive away as fast as you can without breaking the law, not even knowing where to go.

Once you’re in the city you stop at a cafe for breakfast near your favorite book store, the one you and Bucky have visited together a hundred times.

Okay, stop that. No more thinking about Bucky.

You spend the rest of the day just going from one store to the other, stopping to have lunch at the diner you always go to when you’re in the city, and trying not to kick yourself for not being able to stop thinking about Bucky.

Seriously, why can’t you stop thinking about him?

It doesn’t help the fact that every one of your favorite places has at least a hundred and twelve memories of Bucky.

God, have you ever gone anywhere on your own in the last two years?

The more memories come to mind the more you think that maybe transferring wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Go somewhere new, get a fresh start.

When it starts getting dark you decide to drive back to the compound, but when you park and turn the car off you can’t find it in yourself to get out.

You take out your phone, which you’ve been ignoring all day, and go through all the messages of your worried friends, hating yourself a little more when you catch yourself looking for his name in your notifications.

Just as you’re about to answer Tony’s texts first, you get a call from Steve. You stare at your phone, unsure if you can stomach answering him right now, but your decision is rendered moot when someone taps against your car window.

Your head snaps towards it and you let out a breath of relief when you see Steve standing there, holding his phone and using it to tap on your window again.

You close your eyes for a second but resign to your fate as you gather your things and get out of the car.

When you lock your car you turn to see that Steve moved to be leaning on the trunk of your car, so you join him and wait for him to say something, not knowing what to say yourself.

"So," he starts, with his arm folded in front of his chest and looking at his shoes "you’re avoiding all of us now?" You let out a sigh, feeling bad for hurting his feelings.

"I’m sorry, Steve. I just…" you can’t even look at him as you talk, so you just look ahead of you at all the cars "I’m just embarrassed. After everything that happened last night, I don’t know… God, you even carried me to bed like a child." you cover your face with your hands.

You finally look at him when you hear him chuckling. "That’s what friends do, Y/N. They lean on each other." he bumps your shoulder with his playfully.

"I know we’re not as close as you and Bucky, but I am your friend too. I’m not gonna judge you for last night, I just want to make sure you’re okay. That’s what we all want. You made us worry that you might run away on us." He says the last part as a joke, but you can’t help looking away from him.

That’s exactly what you wanted to do.

You bite your lip as he keeps looking at you and you feel like he can see the gears turning in your head, like your thoughts are so loud and your guilt so visible that he knows right away he was right on the money.

"Y/N…" it’s almost a warning, but you still can’t find the courage to look at him. "You were seriously thinking of running away?!" he seems almost shocked.

"Okay, it’s not like I’m a teenager running away in the middle of the night after a fight with her parents!" you finally look at him. "I was just considering… I don’t know, maybe asking for a transfer?"

"So you actually want to leave the team just because you had a fight with Bucky?" He scoffs.

"It’s not just the fight, Steve, he knows I love him and he doesn’t even care!" You yell before sighing and lovering your voice.

"Do you realize how much that hurts? And now I’m supposed to, what? Just go back to how things used to be? Pretend like nothing happened? Even if we’re not friends anymore, he lives across the hall from me! I’m bound to see him and it’s gonna hurt every fucking time!" You’re almost crying, again, but you hold back not wanting to go through that again and you look away.

"I know it hurts, trust me, sweetheart, but… what about us?" you look at him again as he goes on. "We’re your team too. We’re your friends, we’re your family... You can’t just leave us. I'm not saying it's gonna be easy, but we can help you make it better. We all care about you a lot." It’s honestly a miracle you’re not crying already. You feel him take your hand, but don’t look away from his face.

"Please let us help you." you squeeze his hand and nod, not trusting your voice not to break and the flood to hit as soon as you open your mouth.

He smiles at you and you can’t help but do the same. "Good. Then let’s go up and have dinner like we always do." He starts walking and taking you with him, his hand still in yours.

While you’re waiting for the elevator you can’t hold yourself back as you turn to him and give him a tight hug. "Thank you."

He hugs you back just as tight. "Anytime, rookie." you snort and let go of him, giving him a punch in the arm you’re sure he didn’t even feel as he laughs with you.

When you get to the big kitchen most of the team is already there and you sit down next to Natasha while Steve sits at her other side.

The seat next to you is quickly occupied by Sam as he bings the pizza to the table. He gives you a side hug and squeezes your arm in sympathy but aside from that nobody even mentioned what happened last night, which you're grateful for.

You eat like always, having conversations, laughing and teasing each other like normal, you didn’t feel like anyone was pitying you and you realized Steve was right: these people are your family, you could never leave them.

And, as you watch Loki and Peter trying to make you laugh by messing with Thor’s hair, putting tiny umbrellas in it while he's not looking, you just know they’re gonna help you through everything.

What makes you sad to notice is that one brooding super soldier is missing, though you don’t bring it up for fear of opening that particular door.

And that’s how you spend the next few weeks: avoiding anything and everything that has to do with Bucky, including the man himself.

You start training with Natasha and realize how easy Bucky went on you.

You do more missions with Sam and Steve and realize that missions aren't as fun for everybody as they were for you and Bucky.

You hang out during your down time with pretty much everyone and realize that you couldn’t have as much fun with everyone as you had with Bucky.

So yeah, as much as you could avoid Bucky and talking about him to anybody, he lived rent free in your head.

Fun, huh?

It also didn’t help the look that Steve gave you every time you basically ran out of a room as soon as you caught a glimpse of your former best friend. 

Everybody noticed the change in your friendship, but it felt like they all took a silent oath to not mention anything to either of you, and you were glad they were respecting your choice to stay away from Bucky.

He, on the other hand, was going crazy.

He hasn’t seen you in weeks, except for those few seconds before you realize he’s in the same room and run away.

He doesn’t hear your voice unless he’s eavesdropping on you with someone else, but even then he never hears his name come out of your mouth.

Nobody will tell him anything about you, the only thing he can get out of Steve is ‘she’s okay, just give her time’.

He’s been trying his best to give you the space you need, but he feels like he’ll lose his mind if he doesn’t hear you say his name soon.

It’s been a month of successfully and not so subtly avoiding Bucky.

There was one time where, as the team about to land for a mission, he got much too close to you for your liking and you thought he was about to say something so you grabbed a parachute and quite literally jumped out the jet, then walked the rest of the way to the Hydra base.

Everyone had to wait for you, some annoyed, but most found the situation too amusing to be bothered by it.

Anyway. 

You’re at the gym for an early morning workout, a habit you took to when you started avoiding Bucky.

You know he usually stays up at night. Occasionally because he still gets nightmares, usually because his overthinking mind tortures him until early hours. So he uses mornings to sleep in when he doesn’t have missions.

You’re on the treadmill when you hear the doors of the gym open behind you but think nothing of it, assuming it’s just Steve replacing his morning run with a workout because it’s too hot to run outside.

When you don’t hear him say anything, you’re about to turn your head to see who it is, but before you can do anything you feel two hands, one cold and one hot, on your waist.

You squeal when they pick you up and take you away from the treadmill, setting you down on the ground in front of it before turning off the machine.

"Bucky, what the fuck?! I could’ve gotten hurt!" you were so shocked you didn’t even fully realize you were actually talking to the person you’ve spent so much time and effort avoiding, or that you were walking backwards while Bucky was getting closer to you.

"Oh please, I’d ever let you get hurt." he’s sounds almost amused, like this is a normal thing between you two, but the truth is he’s just happy that you’re actually talking to him.

When your back hits the wall you realize too late that it’s Bucky in front of you and suddenly you’re looking around you to find a way to escape. But all you find is that he’s successfully trapped you between the wall and his body, his hands on the wall at either side of your head.

You swallow hard and if he notices he doesn’t say anything, but your brain is too busy registering the warmth of his body so close to yours to even be ashamed right now.

"Is this the only way I’ll get to talk to you now?" you almost miss his question, your eyes snapping up to meet his and, where you expected to see a smug look at having caught you not only off guard but also ogling, you found a frown and a slight pout.

Something about the hurt on his face stopped you from lying or straight up kicking him so he’d move and you could run away.

No, Bucky was your best friend, you’ve always felt the need to be honest with him ever since that first day, and even now you owe it to him to tell him nothing but the truth.

"I just need time." You hoped he understood.

"How much more time do you need?" Apparently not.

"I don’t know, can’t you just be patient?" You can't believe you really have to ask him this.

"It’s been a month, doll, I think I’ve been plenty patient. Are you planning on avoiding me forever?"

"Not forever… just… I don’t know." If you were being honest with yourself, you didn’t know how long you would’ve kept on avoiding him.

You were so busy doing the actual avoiding that you didn’t take the time to think about when you’d be able to stop.

You let out a sigh, but didn’t look away from his eyes for a second. He needs to know you meant every word you're about to say. "I was hurting, Bucky. I still am. I get that you have a girlfriend-"

"I broke up with her." he interrupts you.

"You… What?" you weren’t expecting that. "When?"

"The night of our fight. I would’ve told you sooner but it was hard to catch you, you know, with you avoiding me and everything."

You almost lost your train of thought, but it didn’t matter that he was single, he was still the first one to walk away, why was it so wrong for you to do it now?

"It doesn’t matter… I know you don’t owe me anything, but you walked away from me. From my feelings." you can see Bucky’s confusion so, before he can say anything, you explain yourself.

"That night on the roof. I know you were there, you heard me say that I loved you and you walked away like it was nothing. Like I was nothing. I know you don’t like me like that, and I can live with that in time, but it hurt. It still hurts." you don’t know what you were expecting him to say, but it definitely wasn’t he says next.

"Do you remember the day we met?" you furrow your brows in confusion but he waits for you to nod before he keeps going. "We’ve never really talked about it, have we? It's ironic since we’ve talked about pretty much every topic we could possibly come up with. But that day, you introduced yourself and I just got up and walked away. Kind of what you’ve been doing this past few weeks."  he chuckles a bit and you have the impression he's getting closer to your face, but you're probably just imagining that.

"Yeah, I thought I did something wrong, but you were just a rude bitch." he laughs and you can’t help but smile.

"I’m sorry about that, I just… the second I saw you I felt weird. And when you talked to me it was too much, I couldn’t handle it. I didn’t know what I was feeling and my brain just screamed at me to get out, so I did. Then you came to my door and said all those nice things and that weird feeling started to feel more and more comfortable as you talked. It was nice. Then we became friends and I guess I just dismissed that feeling as friendship. It was a different type of friendship that I’d never had... But then again I’ve never been this close to a woman. Emotionally speaking, of course." His hand comes to cup your cheek and you can’t speak, so he takes the opportunity to say everything he needs to say.

"This month has been hell for me, doll. I’ve missed you more than I’ve ever missed anybody in my entire life. Not being able to spend time with you, joke around, talk to you, barely even see you. It's been driving me insane. Being away from you for so long made me realize what that feeling was. You’re not just my best friend, you’re my person. You’re my calm, and my reason. You’re my happiness, my home. You’re the love of my life."

"What?" you're basically whispering, so quietly you’re sure he wouldn’t have heard you if he didn’t have super hearing.

"I love you too, doll. I love you." he holds your face in his hands "I love you."

You feel like your brain shut down all of a sudden. You barely know how to breathe, let alone talk. All you can do is stare at him, the look he's giving you making you weak in the knees.

"You’re killing me here, doll. For the love of god, say something, angel." The nickname seems to snap you out of it, and there's only one thing in your mind left to ask.

"If you love me, why didn’t you tell me on the roof?" He let out a deep sigh, you can feel his breath on your lips, but you try your hardest to focus on his words and not his lips.

"For one I was still with Sharon. And I didn’t really know what I was feeling. Also, I wasn’t even sure you were serious. Honestly, I was just confused about the whole thing, and still mad about the fight. Nothing good would’ve come from me staying and talking to you that night. I probably would’ve ended up hurting you more." All that makes a lot of sense, sure, but it doesn't change the fact that it hurt.

The look in Bucky’s face at the moment though makes you want to forgive him right this second and let this whole thing go. Pretend like the last month didn’t happen. 

So that’s what you do.

"What if…" you start, looking back and forth between his eyes and his lips "what if we forget all of this happened?"

"No." he answered so fast and firmly that it made you furrow your eyebrows in confusion and disappointment. "I don’t want to forget anything about us, doll. Good or bad, it’s all worth it, as long as it ends with you in my arms."

You're melting and can't hold yourself back, you grab his face and bring his lips down to yours.

He freezes, probably not expecting it, but when you're about to pull away, he holds your face to keep you there, deepening the kiss.

After a few moments you hear someone clear their throat and almost throw Bucky off of you, looking behind him while he turns to see who it is and you see Steve and Sam standing there, amused looks on their faces.

"We were just talking." You blurted out and Sam cracked and almost doubled over with laughter.

"Really?" Steve said while raising an eyebrow, almost exasperated and knowing damn well what you were doing.

"Sure they were, Steve, she was obviously trying to get the word out of his mouth!" Sam said to the blonde, still laughing his ass off.

"Oh, of course she was. Tell us, sweetheart, what did you find in Bucky’s mouth?" Steve was now laughing too, and you were so embarrassed you hid your face in Bucky’s chest.

He wrapped his arms around you, barely glaring at the two laughing idiots. "Ok, just get out of here, punks." Fortunately for once in their lives they decided to actually listen and left, their laughs echoing through the halls.

"You okay there, doll?" Bucky was now chuckling at your embarrassment.

You raised your head and, meeting his eyes, you said "I can’t believe Captain Dumbass is making fun of us for kissing."

He started laughing and you gladly joined him, looking forward to making up for the time you missed with him, unknowingly promising each other to never let go of the other ever again.

taglist: @mostlymarvelgirl @spookyparadisesheep @scott-loki-barnes @pattiemac1 @emerald-writes @sapphirebarnes

[sycamorelibrary754]

Guardian Angel

Chapter 11: Full House

Summary: Following the harrowing near-death encounter in Rome, you and everyone else are navigating the aftermath. On top of that, the weight of the secret about your parents' intentions to drill in Sokovia continues to burden you. As you and Wanda take the next step in your relationship by moving in together, the looming truth about the secret remains unresolved.

Warnings: Reliving past trauma, angst, crying.

Word Count: 3.5k

A/N: Time to tell Wanda the truth.

Guardian Angel Masterlist

It had been precisely fourteen days since the harrowing brush with death in Rome. Following extensive scrutiny, SHIELD pinpointed the irregularities in the catacombs to a deserted island situated along the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. However, their lead soon dissipated, leaving the investigation at a standstill. With everyone grappling with the lingering trauma of being confined underground, the case was pushed aside to allow for emotional recovery. Fury insisted on mandatory sessions with Dr. Raynor at the compound, much to everyone's dismay, including you. 

Do you remember how you felt when you saw them fall?" Dr. Raynor inquired. 

"Scared," you replied, your voice flat.

"Anything else?" she asked, reaching for her pad and pen.

"I don't remember... I think I blocked it out."

Dr. Raynor took another tact to try and bring down your walls.

"You're not an Avenger, are you, Y/N?" Leaning back in her chair. 

"Definitely not."

"And you own a...," she paused to flip through her notes, "sweet shop?"

"Yes, The Candy Bar."

"Sounds delightful.”

“It's the most normal aspect of my life at the moment," you say, running your hand through your hair. "It's the one constant."

Ah, because you live here, correct?" 

"That’s right.”

"And you and Ms. Maximoff are a couple?" 

"Yep, we've been together for five months now."

"How's it going?"

"Unbelievable, she's incredible."

"How did you two meet?"

"Her kids ran into me one day," you said with a smile, remembering that fateful encounter at the coffee shop. "And then..."

Dr. Raynor noticed the sudden shift in your demeanor.

"Y/N?"

"Hmm?" you answered, momentarily lost in my thoughts.

"And then?"

"I was in a serious car accident, and Wanda saved my life,” you said softly. 

"So, it's safe to say you trust Ms. Maximoff with your life?"

"Absolutely, without a doubt.”

Alright, let's dive into this," Dr. Raynor started. "How did it feel to watch the person you're in a relationship with, the person you trust with your life, jet off to a catacomb in Rome, putting themselves in harm's way to save the team?"

You nervously twisted the fabric of your shirt, avoiding eye contact with Dr. Raynor. "I haven't been that scared in ages.”

“Have you talked to her about how you feel?” Dr. Raynor asked.

“Oh, God, no. I was just so relieved when she brought everyone back that I pushed all that aside,” you explained.

“Do you always push aside your feelings?” 

“Not always.” 

"But sometimes?" Dr. Raynor jotted down notes on her pad.

"I suppose," you said, wondering how the conversation had turned in this direction. Bucky was right; that notepad was passive-aggressive.

Dr. Raynor glanced at the clock and put down her notepad. "Our time is up, Y/N, but I want you to consider this: Being honest with those we care about is essential for building trust. How can your relationship with Wanda progress if you aren't open with her?"

It hit like a ton of bricks again: Tony, the newspaper, your parents, Sokovia, and the guilt that weighed a ton.

*^~^*

"Tony!" You burst into the lab, calling out his name. “Tony!”

The genius responded as he rounded the corner, manipulating virtual elements as he moved with Dum-E following closely behind. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Willy Wonka?"

"We need to tell Wanda about my parents' drilling in Sokovia," you said urgently. “I can't take the guilt anymore.”

Tony removed his glasses and sighed. "I know. I've been grappling with that since we've been home, too. Our little underground adventure kind of threw everything into chaos."

“Boss,” FRIDAY interrupted. “Ms. Maximoff has just arrived and is looking for Ms. Y/L/N.”

“Tell her I’ll be right up, FRIDAY,” you said.

“Okay,” Tony said, running his hand over his face. “Here's what we'll do. I'll do some research and call a team meeting. You take Wanda and keep her out, and about so I can determine our next steps.”

You nodded. “I was going to take her by my apartment to pick up some stuff.”

It suddenly dawned on Tony. “Oh, right, your apartment.”

“What about my apartment?” You asked nervously.

“Well, here’s the thing…” placing a hand on your shoulder. “Cap turned it into a safe house.”

“He did what?” stunned by his words.

“It’s the perfect downtown location in a nondescript building,” Tony defended.

“What did you plan on doing when I moved back to my apartment?” You shouted.

“We hadn't thought that far ahead,” he reasoned. “Frankly, once you started dating the little witch, we figured the problem had solved itself, and you would move in with her.”

“Well, we haven’t thought that far ahead," you exclaimed in frustration, resting your head on the cool steel of the billionaire’s workshop desk.

"Why not? Pepper told me Billy and Tommy love you. What’s the problem?" Tony inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know. I want to give Wanda space to find her footing again," you replied reluctantly.

"Y/N, I need you to understand something," Tony said firmly. "I was there the day Wanda came back after Westview. She was completely lost, struggling to make sense of everything. She only found her footing again when she found you.”

The genius could see the wheels turning in your head. "Just something to ponder," he said, giving you a friendly pat. "Oh, and you'll want this," he added, quickly jotting down a series of numbers on paper and passing it to you.

As the elevator ascended, you consciously tried to steady your racing thoughts by taking deep breaths. The burden of concealing this truth from Wanda had begun to take a toll on you.

Wanda greeted you with a warm smile as you walked into the kitchen. "Hey there, sweetheart," she said, a look of concern crossing her face. "You seem a bit flushed. Are you feeling alright?" She reached out as if to check your forehead.

"I'm fine," you replied, skillfully evading her touch. "I was thinking we could stop by my apartment today. Since it’s now a safe house, I should grab some things." With that, you grabbed your keys.

"It’s a what?" A mixture of confusion and anger was evident on her face. "When did that happen?"

"I'm not exactly sure," you answered, taking her hand in yours. "But I have a feeling I won't see my security deposit again."

*^~^*

A sense of unease gnawed at you as you approached your apartment. You couldn't shake the feeling that your landlord and neighbors would go ballistic if they found out the Avengers sought refuge in your place. The faded number 19 still clung to the door, a poignant reminder of all that had changed since you last stood before it with Wanda.

The key slipped into the lock, and with a twist, the door swung open to reveal a scene straight out of a spy movie.

"Holy moly," you gasped, taking in the high-tech security measures that now guarded your home.

"I swear, I'm going to wring Steve's neck for this," Wanda fumed.

Reinforced walls and a cutting-edge surveillance system watched over the space like a hawk, ready to pounce on unwanted visitors. Closed-circuit cameras and motion detectors stood vigil, creating an impenetrable fortress around you.

You took out the piece of paper Tony had given you and punched in the sequence of numbers on the keypad. The panel beeped and flashed "Defense system in sleep mode.”

"So, what are we searching for, babe?" Wanda inquired. 

"Just some more clothes and a few books I've wanted to read. I've devoured almost everything in the compound library, and my wardrobe ran dry ages ago," you answered, surveying the room cluttered with empty pizza boxes and a cheeky IOU note from Yelena for $22.50.

As you moved around your apartment, Wanda stayed close behind, offering to help clean up and carry the stack of books you had taken from the shelf. She blushed as you showed her the outfits you selected from your closet.

After one last glance around your home, you stated, "Okay, I think that's everything."

"Wait, Sweetheart," Wanda said with a concerned look. "I want to talk to you about something,” placing the books on the coffee table. 

Your heart sank as if it had dropped into the pit of your stomach. Did she somehow know? Had she heard your thoughts in the kitchen? She had assured you that she would only do that in case of an emergency, but now you couldn't shake the feeling that she might be onto you. You knew you had to come clean and tell her everything. It wasn't fair to keep her in the dark.

"Wanda, I..." you began, trying to find the right words.

“Move in with me,” Wanda cut in, her tone filled with determination.

“What?” you exclaimed, your eyes widening in surprise at her sudden suggestion.

“Move in with me,” she repeated, her voice soft but persistent. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that, but I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I want to wake up to you every morning and be there when you come from the Candy Bar smelling like chocolate.”

“I- are you sure? What about the boys?” you stammered, taken aback by the unexpected proposal.

“I spoke to Billy and Tommy this weekend, and they couldn’t be more excited,” Wanda explained, her eyes filled with sincerity.

Overwhelmed, you embraced Wanda tightly, pouring all your feelings into the gesture, then tenderly kissed her, conveying everything you felt at her offer. Then you looked into her eyes. You couldn't do it. So, instead of telling her the truth, you pushed your feelings aside, just like Dr. Raynor said. 

“Let’s do it. Let’s live together,” you finally whispered, the decision settling in your heart.

*^~^*

The team huddled around the conference table, absorbing the feature of your parents displayed on the massive screen at the head of the room.

“Onyx Petroleum is seeking permission to conduct an untested deep-sea operation to drill for Vibranium on remnants of Sokovian soil. They already have approval from Slovakia and the Czech Republic,” Tony explained as he walked around the table.

"Y/N's parents?" Yelena inquired, arching her eyebrow curiously.

"Why didn't she ever tell us?" Kate wondered aloud, sounding a mix of surprised and concerned.

“Not everyone has parents they're proud of,” Natasha said solemnly.

“The European Union is standing firm, but our intelligence indicates that Onyx Petroleum currently has 200 lobbyists in Brussels,” Maria continued. "They've held 327 high-level meetings with top European Commission officials since European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker took office after the Blip. They've successfully delayed, weakened, and sabotaged EU action on the climate emergency – watering down renewable energy, energy efficiency, and greenhouse gas targets while securing profitable fossil fuel subsidies."

Thor's voice dripped with sarcasm as he declared, "I'll give them a taste of what a real climate emergency looks like.”

Steve leaned in, his eyes narrowing. "How long has Y/N known?" 

"Since before Rome," Tony replied, tapping his fingers on the table. 

Bucky chimed in, "Does Wanda know?" 

Tony shook his head. "No, but she will soon. It's killing Y/N, keeping this from her." 

Sam leaned forward. "What's our next move?”

"Reconnaissance?" Clint suggested.

"Infiltration," Bruce replied firmly.

"Can't Y/N assist us with that?" Nat asked.

"No, I already tried. Her parents cut off her access to all of their financial accounts and company databases when they disowned her," Tony explained.

"They disowned her?" Yelena's expression contorted in anger.

"Yes, when she turned 18 and refused to take control of the family business," Maria interjected.

All eyes turned to the Deputy Director.

"The Overwatch allows for plenty of conversation time," the brunette remarked.

“Where's their main office located?" Peter inquired.

"San Francisco, California," Maria replied.

"Scott," Steve said to himself.

"I'm going to reach out to the incredible Shrinking Felon," Tony announced. "Let's all be there for Wanda and Y/N because this will go over like a lead balloon.”

*^~^*

As you and Wanda stepped off the elevator, she said, "Friday, tell everyone to meet us in the common area, please."

The team slowly wandered in, their eyes on both of you standing before them.

Wanda began, "Everyone, we have some news."

"We know, and we just want you to know that we're here for you," Kate interrupted, smiling sympathetically.

In response, your eyes widened, and you vigorously shook your head behind Wanda to get her attention.

"Thank you?" Wanda replied, a hint of confusion in her voice as she tried to make sense of the young archer's words. She had grown accustomed to Kate's habit of saying quirky things, so she didn't dwell on it for too long.

"What is it?" Yelena said, moving closer and draping her arm around Kate's shoulder, signaling her to keep quiet.

"Y/N and I are moving in together!" She announced, pulling you into a tight hug and kissing your cheek.

The room fell into a hush for an eternity until Steve's voice shattered the silence.

"Wow, that's fantastic news, you two," Steve exclaimed.

“Yes, congratulations,” Nat said, offering a warm hug.

As you embraced the Black Widow, she leaned in and whispered urgently, "We know, and you need to tell her as soon as possible.”

Locked in her intense gaze, you found yourself speechless before your attention was gently diverted elsewhere.

"When are you moving?" Sam asked.

"Right away, most of my stuff is already here, so it shouldn't be too complicated," you replied.

"We could use a strong, super soldier to help us with the move, especially since he's the one who displaced Y/N in the first place," Wanda said, giving Steve a sly look.

"Of course, first thing in the morning," Steve promised.

"I'm in, too," Bucky chimed in.

Wanda checked her watch as it beeped with a reminder.

"I need to go pick up Billy and Tommy from soccer practice. I'll see you tomorrow, sweetheart." She kissed your lips and rested her hands on your shoulders. "I'm so excited."

You couldn't tear your eyes away as she stepped into the elevator, and the doors closed. 

“I’m so screwed,” you muttered. 

"What the hell was that?" Tony exclaimed, "I thought you were going to tell her."

"I know, but then she asked me to move in, and I just couldn't go through with it," you said, burying your face in your hands.

"Y/N, do you want Nat and I to be there when you tell her? It might make it easier for both of you," Maria offered.

"No, thank you. I need to handle this alone," you said with a deep breath.

*^~^*

The next day, Steve and Bucky came over to lend a hand as you and Wanda packed up your belongings. You all loaded everything into two of Tony's cars - you rode with Bucky while Wanda hopped in with Steve.

As the car sped along the open road, you found your gaze fixed on the passing scenery, lost in your thoughts.

Bucky glanced over and attempted to lighten the heavy atmosphere. "That's a good impression of me," he joked.

Feeling the weight of the unspoken truth, you sighed heavily. "Instead of jokes, how about some advice on what to say to my girlfriend," you said

"You tell her the truth, Y/N," Bucky replied reassuringly. "Wanda knows what you've been through with your parents and that you would never do anything to hurt her."

As Bucky approached a red light, you caught a glimpse of the redhead extending her hand out of the car window, offering a slight wave in your direction. You reciprocated the gesture with a wave of your own.

“The longer you wait, the worse it's going to be when she finds out,” Bucky counseled.

As the cars rolled into the driveway, Billy and Tommy emerged from the house, welcoming you with warm, tight hugs.

Hey, Billy, Tommy! How are you?" you greeted the two boys with a warm smile.

"We're good, but today is about you," Billy replied, beaming.

"Come on, we have a surprise for you!" Tommy chimed in, grabbing your hand and leading you towards the house, the excitement evident in his eyes.

As you glanced back at Wanda, she just shook her head, indicating that she had no idea what was happening.

"Go ahead, Y/N," Steve said, giving you an encouraging nod. "We'll get started here."

You followed Billy and Tommy into the house, curious about the surprise they had in store for you. They led you to the kitchen, and your eyes widened with astonishment as you saw a homemade banner hung across the kitchen cabinets that read, "Welcome home, Y/N!"

"Aww, boys! This is so sweet!" you exclaimed, overwhelmed by their thoughtful gesture.

But the surprises didn't end there. With a mischievous grin, Tommy super-sped away and returned with a plate of fresh chocolate chip cookies in a millisecond.

"Wait, you made these yourselves?" you asked incredulously, eyebrows raised in surprise.

Billy enthusiastically nodded and exclaimed, "We've been honing our baking skills since we made those brownies together when Mom was away.”

"And she lets you use the stove alone?" you asked, a hint of skepticism in your voice.

"She never said we couldn't," Tommy replied cheekily, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

You couldn't help but chuckle. "Very sneaky, Tommy."

Taking a bite of the cookie, you savored the warm and gooey chocolate chips, the perfect combination of chewy and crispy. "Oh my gosh, you guys! These are delicious!"

"Seriously?" they exclaimed in perfect unison.

"Yes, well done, you two," you assured them, genuinely impressed by their baking skills.

Their faces lit up with joy as they exchanged a quick high-five, proud of their accomplishment.

Before leaving, you grabbed some cookies for Wanda and the guys. "Thank you so much, boys. You certainly made me feel welcome.”

*^~^*

The day was long and exhausting, but all the boxes were finally unpacked, and you were officially moved into your new home. Steve and Bucky graciously offered to take the boys to dinner, giving you and Wanda some much-needed alone time. You ordered a delicious pizza from your favorite spot, allowing Wanda time to relax instead of cooking. After a leisurely dinner, you snuggled on the couch under a cozy blanket while soft, soothing music played from Wanda’s cherished playlist, creating the perfect ambiance for a peaceful, intimate evening.

"I’m so happy you're here," Wanda said, gently caressing your cheek.

"Same here," you replied, leaning into her touch. "Thank you for inviting me to move in. I know it takes a lot to open your life to someone."

"There was a point when I thought I'd never let anyone back into my life, especially after everything the boys and I have been through," she sighed. "But you... helped me tear down those walls and regain my trust."

"Oh God.” You knew it wasn't the right time, but it pained you to wait any longer, knowing it was undermining the trust you'd built. “There's something I need to tell you," your voice wavering slightly.

What's wrong?" Wanda said, noticing the change in your mood.

"Do you remember when I told you about my strained relationship with my parents and Onyx Petroleum?" 

“Of course, I know how much that hurt you, love.”

"Well, I found out that Onyx Petroleum is seeking approval to drill for Vibranium," you hesitated, your voice catching in your throat. "On what's left of Sokovian land.”

"I don’t understand," she said, her thoughts racing. "What do you mean by what’s left of Sokovian land? There's nothing left."

"That's what I thought, too, but Tony said—" you started.

"Woah, hang on," Wanda interrupted. "Stark knows? How long have you known about this?"

"Since right before Rome," you confessed.

Instantly, you could see the pain in her eyes. "You've known all this time, and you didn't say anything?" she said, getting up from the sofa.

"I wanted to, sweetheart. I did, but I didn't know how to tell you," you rambled. "The truth is, they are trying to gain permission from surrounding nations to perform an underwater drilling operation, but the team is working on it and will stop it. I promise."

Wanda’s lip trembled at your words. "You promise? How can you promise anything? You lied to me.”

"No, I didn't! I would never lie to you,” You insisted.

"Every moment you spent with me for the last two weeks that you didn't tell me was a lie," she argued, tears welled up in her eyes.

You took a deep breath, trying to stop your tears from falling. “Honey,” you began, reaching for Wanda, only for her to pull away, leaving your heart shattered.

“Don't, please,” she said, wiping tears from her cheeks. “I need to be alone for a while.” 

You nodded in understanding and took a step back, giving her some space. Wanda slowly turned around and walked back to her bedroom, the room now yours as well. Overwhelmed with emotions, you sank back onto the sofa and let the tears flow. It was far from the ideal start to your new life living together.

Taglist: @xxxtwilightaxelxxx @bibliophilicbi @darkstar225

[mrs-johansson]

Chapter 4: Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Partners in crime

Part 8:

“It was him. He looked right at me like he didn't even know me,” Steve looked in front of him, still in shock.

“How's that even possible? It was like seventy years ago.” Sam thought out loud.

“I met him months ago and he didn’t recognize me, don’t take it personally,” I said. “Zola. Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him and…”

“None of that's your fault, Steve,” Natasha said, leaning back, her shoulder still bleeding. “Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky,” Steve mumbled. “Steve, get your head out of your ass. She’s gonna bleed out if we don’t get a doctor and you’re daydreaming about your long-lost friends. Can we not focus on you for one second?” I raised my voice. He was surprised by the quick mood change but then nodded.

Suddenly one of the guards pulled out an electric rod and neutralized the other guard and knocked him out. The guard took off their helmet and to everyone’s surprise, it was Hill. “Ah. That thing was squeezing my brain,” she complained. “Who's this guy?” She asked, referring to Sam. “You’re kidding, right? I was ready to stab you if you didn’t do anything,” I said and she just shrugged.

***

Helping Natasha out of the car, Maria led us into a compound thing, which was deep in a forest. Walking through a tunnel, a man jogged toward us. “GSW. She's lost at least a pint,” said Maria, to who I’m guessing is a doctor. “Maybe two,” I murmured as I saw the blood gushing through her fingers as Nat held pressure on the wound. “Let me take her,” offered the doctor. “She'll want to see him first,” we all looked at Maria then quickly found ourselves in front of an iron door. “He’s alive, isn’t he?” Natasha spoke weakly, anger crossing her face. The agent just nodded and I pushed open the door out of frustration.

And there he was, Nicky Fury laying in a hospital bed behind a plastic curtain. “You piece of shit, Fury! Should’ve seen this coming,” I walked closer to him. “About damn time…”

We all gathered around his bed, while Nat was getting treated. The squeeze of her hand and the scrunch of her nose was a sign that it was most definitely painful. “Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, one hell of a headache,” Fury listed his injuries. “Don't forget your collapsed lung.” “Oh, let's not forget that. Otherwise, I'm good.” “I don’t see how that is good…” Maria and I shared a look but she just shrugged.

“They cut you open, your heart stopped,” Natasha’s worried voice was something we don’t hear often. “Tetrodotoxin B. Slows the pulse to one beat a minute. Ban-” “I made that for Banner, his stress. For a Hulk, not a human. And it didn’t work on him. Are you out of your mind Nick?” I stepped forward and he shook his head. “He tested it before I used it.” “Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?” Steve questioned. “Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful.” “Can't kill you if you're already dead. Besides, I wasn't sure who to trust…” Glancing at Tash I could see how hurt she was from that. Since I’ve known her, she had problems with trusting in others but nobody thinks about their trust in her. People are so quick to judge because she was a spy, but she would be the first person that I’d trust with my life.

“Can we clean up somewhere?” I turned to Maria and she nodded. Reached my hand out to Nat and she took it then we followed Maria.

I asked for some clean clothes from Hill and washed all the dirt off of my body, but Natasha sat still, looking straight ahead. Wetting a smaller towel, I sat next to her. “Look at me please,” I said lowly and she turned her head but looked past my shoulder.

Gently cleaning her face, I didn’t want to bother her thinking but I know she was hurt. The empty look in her eyes was painful to see. “Nobody knew Nat,” going over the bloody part of her shoulder, she still didn’t speak. “Tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing, tell me that you would have told me or him, that you were planning on faking your death,” her eyes were quick to meet with mine. She didn’t understand my sudden mood change, but I needed her to listen. “Nick would put his life in your hands. Don’t ever doubt his trust, Tash. It was better this way, believe me,” “Don’t defend him,” she murmured. “I’m not defending him, I’m trying to protect you, Natalia. What if you knew and Barnes found you, hm?” “He wouldn’t hurt me,” she shrugged. “Why wouldn’t he?” I looked at her with a frown and she looked down then stood up with a sigh. “Talk to me.” I straightened up but stayed put.

Natasha was pacing the room. Then spoke. “As you know he became a trainer in the Red Room after I had my graduation. He was controlled then too, but much less. And he didn’t get missions at the time so he was there a lot,” she said. “The important part is?” I interfered. “We had an affair, okay? For years, and I didn’t want you to know because everything happened with him it was with my consent but with you it was different.” Her words were shocking. “How? How was that possible?” I shook my head out of disbelief, feeling my throat tighten up. “I was young and I thought I was in love. He was one of the only real human interactions that I had left.” “How did it end?” At that point, I couldn’t even look at her. “They caught us. He was taken immediately and hasn't seen him for at least a decade after that.” “You could’ve at least told me, Nat. Yes, it is a sensitive subject but damn this… I thought we were done with secrets,” I stood up and buried my head in my hands. “Gosh… This was the last thing I would’ve thought of as a problem. The problem is not even who, but why didn’t you tell me? I shared my whole life with you, and I was patient and understanding but I guess I’m still not enough to have your trust, huh?” I spread my arms getting angrier. “Y/n you know it’s hard for me to open up, and you accepted that when we got into a relationship,” Nat spoke up. “Yes, but we’ve been together for some time but sorry for assuming that you would trust me after this.” “I do trust you,” her calm demeanor was very frustrating. “No, you don’t. Natasha, I barely know anything about your past. Other than the Red Room, I know nothing,” I let my voice rise because I was just tired and I was not having her denial. “Why is that important?” Her voice got louder too, but I was ready to end this conversation. “You know what, please don’t talk to me until you learn about how a relationship works. I really tried my best to help you see it, but you just don’t want to so… let’s forget this until then.”

***

Sitting around the table, we were trying to go over the plan, but it was damn hard to focus when I basically just broke up with my girlfriend and she was sitting in front of me. Uncomfortable, that’s what it was.

Fury was just staring at a picture of Pierce. “This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said, "Peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility." See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues,” he grumbled. Thanks, Nick, fuel the fire with your thoughts on trust issues. “We have to stop the launch.” “I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore,” said Fury and opened up a case with three chips in it. “What’s that?” Asked Sam. “Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized,” Maria let us know the information, showing us the screen. “We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own.” “They are all connected, right?” I asked and Hill nodded. “One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational a whole lot of people are gonna die.” “We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA. We need to get past them, insert the server blades, and maybe, just maybe, we can salvage what's left…” “We're not salvaging anything. We're not just taking down the carriers, Nick, we're taking down SHIELD,” spoke Steve with his usual heroic voice, trying to play angel. Yeah, I’m mad at everybody at the moment. “SHIELD had nothing to do with it,” said Nick. “You gave me this mission, this is how it ends. SHIELD's been compromised, you said so yourself. HYDRA grew right under your nose and nobody noticed,” Steve pressed. “Why do you think we're meeting in this cave? I noticed.” He really did, the note he left. “And how many paid the price before you did?” This is getting personal. “Look, I didn't know about Barnes.” “Even if you have, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalized that too? SHIELD, HYDRA, it all goes,” I’m taking a break after this for sure if there’s an after. “He's right,” Nick looked around the others, then me. “I still have a job if SHIELD falls,” with a shrug, I leaned back in my chair. “Well... Looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain.”

[arlana-likes-to-write]

Battle Scars by Paradise Fears

Summary: You are an empath living in the Avenger Towers. It isn’t your job to help the Avengers when their feelings get out of control but you do it anyway. What happens when you go on a mission and now the empath needs help? 

Warning: mentions of guilt, depression, anger, doubt, sadness (all of the emotions and past traumas of specific Avengers), human trafficking 

Word Count: 7.5k

Please read the end note after this story! It would mean the world to me and my family

Growing up was hard. You were constantly tired as you feed into the emotions of those around you. It started with a tight feeling in your chest as if a ton of bricks were resting there. Then the feeling moved to the base of your head, almost like a headache. Soon you began to feel whatever that person was feeling. It could be anger, grief, sadness, depression and on the off chance; happiness, joy, or pleasure. As you got older you learned to control it. It only took real intense emotions that would call on your mutant powers. So living with the Avengers was a challenge. They were intense people with even bigger emotions. You drank calming tea, meditated, and journaled to keep your own emotions in check. You weren’t a full time member of the team - you spent a majority of the time in the lab with Bruce and Tony. It was rare that you saw action in the field but you were prepared when duty called. Like this past weekend. The world seemed to be on a different level and the Avengers were sent to all corners to deal with rising threats. You were in the compound when Maria approached you with a mission report. You took it without hesitation and now as you sat in your room, a blanket wrapped around you tightly -protecting you from the world, you wished you told Maria no.

The mission went south as soon as you stepped down in Uganda, you were working closely with the Wakandans. Numerous reports of children going mission and the rumors of a human trafficking ring, meant you and T’Challa had to work fast before they left the country. You weren’t fast enough. You closed your eyes, wishing for the images of inside the shipping containers would leave your mind. Sometimes you wished the others had your ability so they knew you were hurting and they could come to you like you’ve done so many times for them. 

*

Steve Rogers; Captain America 

FRIDAY announced the arrival of the team but you knew they were back as soon the quinjet landed. Guilt. It was a powerful emotion and it was confusing one of your teammates and in turn, consuming you. You closed your laptop and headed to the elevator. Before you pressed the button, the door opened and Tony was leaning on the metal wall. “Tons, are you okay?” He nodded, pushed himself off the wall, and walked out the elevator. He didn’t look injured, just exhausted. 

“It’s not me you're feeling El,” He said, placing a hand on your shoulder walking into the lap. El wasn’t your real name, it was your given name by the Avengers as your birth name carried too much trauma. It was short for elephant as Vision let slip that elephants were some of the most empathic creatures. But you weren’t a big fan of being called an elephant so El was the next best thing. “What happened?” You asked, following the billionaire. He became a father figure to you since your parents disowned you when you told them you were going to join the Avengers. Tony fell into his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose. The mission was supposed to be a recon on an old HYDRA facility. There were rumors of a new super solider serum and Fury wanted the Avengers to get their hands on it before someone else did. Steve, Tony, Sam, Natasha, and Maria were sent on the mission - that was a week ago. 

“Mission went sideways. It was a trap.” Your stomach dropped. “Wilson and Romonaff are in medbay.” 

“How bad?” You asked. 

“Wilson broke his arm. Romonaoff got it worse - she got a nasty hit to the head. She was unconscious the entire ride back home.” You nodded. “It’s Steve.” Tony whispered. “Steve is who you are feeling, tread lightly.” You gave him a smile and walked back to the elevator, asking FRIDAY where the super soldier was. The AI informed you that Captain Rogers was in the training room - he asked to be alone. You huffed as your rode the elevator to the training room. You wondered if you should have made a stop at medbay but you knew Dr. Cho would have her hands full and Yelena and Bucky would be down there. It was a quick walk to the training room when the elevator stopped. You were greeted with darkness, the windows were covered and a majority of the lights were off besides one. The soldier was illuminated by the light and was punching a sandbag. A pile was forming of ones he destroyed. Oh Steve, you thought, leaning on the door frame. With a hard swing from his right hand, the sandbag broke off the chain and flew towards the wall. 

“You know,” You said, making your presence known. Steve’s shoulders tense up. “I don’t think Tony would appreciate how you are treating the building's equipment.” Steve sighed. 

“I was wondering how long I had before you found me.” You hummed, pushing yourself off the walk and walked over to the soldier. Your footsteps echoed against the wall. 

“I’d say 4 sandbags.” You joked. Steve smiled. “FRIDAY, open the window.” The AI listened to your request and the New York sun lit up the darkness. “Please advise the other Avengers that the training room is off limits.” 

“Understood, El.” 

“I gave FRIDAY that same order but it appears it didn’t work.” You shrugged, sitting on the floor, and patted the empty space next to you. Steve stared at the empty spot and you gave the stubborn captain a pointed look - he sat down next to you. With him being this close, you could feel his guilt. It was suffocating. 

“What’s your favorite part of the day?” You asked, looking forward. He didn’t answer so you answered your question. “Mine is dawn. Dawn means to become day in old English so it’s the first sight of lightness in the morning.” You explained, looking at Steve. He was wondering about your answer. “Do you know why dawn is my favorite?” He shook his head. 

“Why?” He questioned, his voice shaking. 

“Because,” You said slowly. “No matter how dark it is there will be light towards the end. It may take some time but light will over power the darkness.” Steve let out a shaky breath and his blue eyes were glossy with tears.

“It’s so hard,” his voice cracked. “It is so hard to make the final call and it is possible that one of you or all of you don’t return home.” You laced your hand with his. 

“Sam and Natasha are going to be okay.” You said. “You brought them home.” He shook his head. 

“We got lucky this time. What if we aren’t so lucky next time?” He asked. It was a valid question, a question you didn’t have an answer to. This job was filled with uncertainties and a million ‘What if?’ questions. 

“Then we deal with it together because you are not alone and keep marching on. We’ve all got battle scars and you’ve had enough just don’t give up.” You gave his hand a a tight squeeze. “This is worth fighting for. You are worth fighting for.” You watched as a few tears slid down his face. His guilt was still there but it wasn’t as strong. 

“Thank you.”

“Captain Rogers,” FRIDAY’s voice called out. “Dr. Cho wanted me to inform you that Miss. Romanoff is requesting to see you.” You saw the tension leave his shoulders. You gently patted him on the bag. 

“Go get her tiger.” Steve got to his feet quickly, stumbling slightly. You giggle at the flush of embarrassment that graced his cheeks. He gave you a grateful smile and jogged to Medbay. You sighed, leaning back and closed your eyes. You liked the quote by Umar Iban Al-Khattab: ‘No amount of guilt can change the past and no amount of worrying can change the future.’ 

*

Yelena Belova; White Widow 

It wasn’t a normal occurrence for you when sleep avoided you. You laid in bed; hands behind your head as you stared up at the ceiling. A sudden rush of anger passed through you. The strong emotion took your breath away. It was anger mixed with sadness. You slowly sat up. “FRIDAY, who is up right now?” You asked the AI. 

“Miss. Belova is in the kitchen and The Boss is in the lab with Mr. Banner.” You nodded, grabbing a sweatshirt from (you were pretty sure the sweatshirt belonged to Steve) and a pair of fluffy socks. The compound was always freezing at night. You left your room and walked the empty and dark halls to the kitchen. You figured you were feeling Yelena’s range of emotions. She returned from a mission with her sister, they were going on a recon mission to a lab. They’re primary object was to sneak in and steal some intel. You reached the kitchen and saw Yelena sitting at the counter, two bottles of vodka out and a shot glass. She saw you immediately so you didn’t have a chance to watch her. Instead you gave her a friendly smile, grabbed two spoons from the drawer and opened the freezer. Chocolate ice cream. Perfect. You closed the freezer and leaned against the counter. Yelena’s green eyes never left you.  

Yelena was a new addition to the team and you knew she was cactious of you, Natasha must have told her about your ability. You offered her the extra spoon. “Want soom?” You offered. She looked at the spoon then the ice cream. 

“No.” She said, simply. You shrugged, putting the spoon down and opened the ice cream. 

“If you change your mind, the offer still stands.” You took a spoonful and ate it. Out of the corner of your eye, you watched the White Widow take a shot and fill it again. 

“Isn’t that Sam’s ice cream?” She questioned. You looked at the container and saw in horrible penmanship Sam’s name and a drawing of a falcon. You smiled.  

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” You almost dropped your spoon as the smile graced the Russian’s face. A wave of silence passed you two as you ate ice cream and she drank her vodka. Soon you noticed Yelenba looking at the spoon. She took it slowly and you pushed the ice cream container closer to her. “What’s your favorite ice cream?” You asked. She thought for a moment, took a spoonful and ate the chocolate ice cream. 

“Mint chocolate chip.” You scrunted your nose. She laughed, throwing you head back. “What? It’s not good?” You shook your head. 

“Not for me.” You mumbled. Her laughter made you smile. Her earlier feelings of anger and sadness were disappearing but they were lingering.

“So what is your favorite ice cream?” She asked. 

“Rocky road.” You said without hesitation. “I have good memories with my parents sitting at a pond, eating rocky road and watching the ducks.” You said, sighing. You couldn’t tell if this overwhelming sadness was your own emotion or Yelena’s. 

“I like mint chocolate chip because it reminds me of a time before the Red Room.” She stopped, taking another shot of vodka. You didn’t prompt the blonde to continue, hoping she would on her own. “Alexi took Natasha and I to a small ice cream shop. We had to stay in the car and he didn’t know what ice cream flavor kids liked so he got us mint chocolate.” You smiled as you listened to her talk. “Natasha didn’t like it but I ate all of mine.” She sighed. Yup, you thought, the sadness was coming from her. Her jaw clenched as she threw back another shot. The anger was back. “I hate them so much.” She confessed. 

“Who do you hate, Yelena?” You asked softly. She looked at you, blinking her green eyes at you. She shook her head. 

“Nobody,” she said suddenly. “It’s not important. You have more important things to do.” She stood, gathered her bottles of liquor, and shot glasses. “Thank you for sharing ice cream.” You stared blankly as the White Widow headed back to her room. You broke out of your trance and ran after her. 

“Yelena,” her name stopped her. “You’ve had enough, just don’t give up. You are worth fighting for. You know we’ve all got battle scars. Just keep marching on.” She didn’t respond or turn around to look at you. “You are not alone.” Her body began to shake. 

“I’m angry at Natasha, Alexi, and Melina.” She answered, turning to face you with tears coming down her cheeks. “Why did they give me back to the Red Room? Why didn’t Natasha come back for me?” You weren’t sure if she wanted you to answer or she was just throwing these questions to the universe. “We got separated on our mission and I found my way out of the lap and I couldn’t find Natasha. I thought she left me again.” Her hands tightened around the neck of the bottle. “I don’t want to be alone again.” You took a few tentative steps towards the Russian, closing the distance. 

“You aren’t alone.” You said, taking the glass out of her hands. “As long as I’m here you won’t be alone.” She looked into your eyes, looking for any lie in your words. She chuckled, whipping away her tears. 

“Natasha was right. You are a weird one.” You laughed, throwing your head back. 

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Come on, let's go watch a movie.” You held out your freehand and the Russian took it. 

*

Bucky Barnes, White Wolf 

You watched the Quinjet touch down, wrapping the rain jacket tightly around you. It was down pouring in Upstate New York. This was the type of weather where you wished you were curled up in your room, under blankets and hot chocolate. But you were waiting for members of the team to come home from a mission. Bruce, Sam, Bucky, and Steve were returning home from clearing out an old HYDRA base, a simple mission. But Bucy stumbled upon mission reports of him as the Winter Soldier and it triggered a depressive episode. Sam sent you a text on their way home. Bruce was the first out of the Quinjet. He descended the ramp and jogged over the covering where you were standing to avoid the rain. You smiled at him. “How’s the team doing, doctor? Any injuries?” He shook his head, spraying water on you. 

“Cap dislocated his shoulder but nothing major besides,” he waved his hand. You nodded, he was talking about Bucky. 

“Headed to the lab?”

“Yeah after a shower.” 

“I’ll see you down there.” He placed a gentle hand on your shoulder. 

“Take your time, kid.” He went into the compound. Next to descend the ramp was Captain America. He was stretching his shoulder as he didn’t seem to be bothered by the rain. 

“How’s the shoulder, Captain?” He shrugged. “I’ve had worse,” You laughed, shaking your head. 

“Natasha is waiting for you. FRIDAY alerted her that you were hurt.” Steve groaned and followed the same path as Bruce. You waited for the next member to come out but no one did. You groaned, ran through the rain, and up the ramp into the Quinjet. You loved the sound of rain hitting metal. On any other day you would enjoy the sound but as you walked through the Quinjet to find Bucky and Sam, a cloud covered your mind. It stopped you in your tracks. Darkness, regret, and sadness crept through you. You felt cold. You shook off the feeling and continued. You found Bucky, sitting on the ground, Sam kneeling in front of him with his hands on Bucky’s knees. The cute interaction made you smile. Sam looked away from his boyfriend and smiled. 

“Hey, El.” You waved. “He’s barely said a word and hasn’t moved.” You nodded, walking over to them. You placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder. 

“I got him.” Sam nodded, standing up. He pulled you into a quick hug. 

“Thank you.” His words vibrated through his chest. You scrunted your nose, pushing him away. 

“You stink.” Sam laughed, shaking his head. 

“Yeah, yeah.” He bumped your shoulder against yours as he left you and the super soldier alone. His head was down, staring at his hands. You sighed and sat next to him. 

“If you could be an animal, any animal in the world, what would you be?” You asked. He didn’t respond, he made no sign that he heard you. “I think I’d be a butterfly. Across different cultures, the butterfly has become a metaphor for transformation and hope. It starts with a colorless caterpillar and turns into an exquisite winged beautiful creature.” You explained. He leaned his head back and was looking forward. Progress. “White Wolf.” You whispered. “A wolf symbolizes loyalty, protection, and freedom.” He let out a shaky breath and his blue eyes were glossy with tears. “In many Native American cultures, wolves are scared creatures. They are strong and courageous.” You looked at the soldier. “I think the Wakandans picked a perfect name for you, Bucky. You are a wolf.” He shook his head. “Why not?” You asked. 

“I hurt and killed so many people.” His voice was shaky as tears fell from his eyes. “I’m not a protector but a monster.” Your heart broke at the way he was talking about himself. 

“The Winter Soldier did those things. The White Wolf didn’t.” He formed his vibranium hand into a fist, opening and closing it. “Better days are near. Hope is so much stronger than fear. You’ve had enough just don’t give up. You are worth fighting for. We all have battle scars.” You stood up, taking your rain jacket off, and held out your hand. “Do you trust me?” You asked. He looked up at you. 

“Of course.” He said. 

“Then trust me when I say I trust you with my life Bucky Barnes and I know everyone behind those walls,” You pointed in the direction of the compound. “Do as well.” He hesitantly put his flesh hand up to grab yours but you pulled your hand back. Confusion flashed across his face. “Other hand.” You told him. He sighed but grabbed your hand with his vibranium one. The temperature difference shocked you. You pulled him to his feet and dragged him out of the Quinjet, down the ramp, and into the rain. 

“What are we doing?” He asked. 

“Teach me how to dance.” You said, grabbing his flesh hand. His eyes grew wide. 

“What?” He questioned. 

“You heard me, old man. Teach me how to dance.” 

“In the rain?” You nodded. “Right now?” You nodded again, excitedly. “Why?” He asked. 

“Because it’s fun.” You said simply. He gave you a pointed look. You shrugged, rolling your eyes. “Have you seen Shawkshank Redemption?” You asked. Bucky shook his head. “Remind me to have a long talk with Sam on what movies he’s showing you.” He smiled. “Towards the end of the movie, one of the characters stands in the pouring rain with his hands stretched out.” You demonstrated the iconic scene with your hands outstretched to the sky. You grabbed his hands again. “Rain is a symbol of rebirth, the flow of life, and cleansing.” You squeezed his hands. “Your memories of the Winter Soldier won’t go away overnight and that quilt, anger, and sadness you carry may never leave you.” You told him honestly. “But you will learn to cope with it. Some days will be better than others. Let today be a reminder for you that you are still alive and so many people care about you. You are not alone.” Your smile grew. “So cleanse away those thoughts and dance with me.” Bucky chuckled, shaking his head. 

“Alright, let’s see those moves.” The darkness was still looming over Bucky but just as a rainstorm, the clouds passed and the sun began to shine again. 

*

Maria Hill; Deputy Director of SHIELD

You regretted saying yes to Wanda. She had a date with Vision and she asked you to finish her mission report and hand it in to Maria. Bucky and Sam invited you and Yelena to play Guitar Hero but you had to decline because it was impossible for you to say no to the Sokovian. You groaned, putting your hand up to knock on the Deputy Director’s door but stopped. Intense feelings of guilt, stress, and dread washed over you. You shook off the feeling and knocked on the door. It took a minute but you heard Maria call out, “Come in.” You opened the door and stepped into her off. Ah. It was Maris you were feeling. Her desk was covered with files. She had another desk with a 3 screen computer system and you could make out emails that needed to be answered. A bottle of whiskey was on her desk, unopened but you could bet she was itching to open it. 

“What can I do for you?” She asked. Her question broke you out of your trance. 

“Mine and Wanda’s mission report.” You said, holding up the folder. You watched Maria suppress a sigh. Over the years you’ve learned to never ask if someone was okay if you could feel their emotions - they would deny something was wrong. You walked over to her desk and handed it over to her. She reached out for it with a tired smile. 

“Thank you.” She went to grab it but you pulled it away. 

“Are you hungry? Because I haven’t eaten all day and I could eat.” It was a small lie but Maria didn’t need to know that. She shook her head. 

“I’m not hungry.” Well that was a lie. “Besides, I have too much to do.” You handed her the folder but once again as soon as she was  going to take it you pulled it away. Her glare would send any agent or Avenger running but you smiled. “I’m about to kick your ass.” 

“I know.” You jumped on the empty space on her desk to sit down. “I’m thinking Chinese or maybe Italian. No Indian. Ugh Mexican.” You were swinging your feet, careful not to damage her desk. “What are you thinking?” 

“If I give you an answer will you leave and give me your mission report?” You nodded. Maria sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Fine Indian.” You smiled, jumped off her desk, and handed her the file. 

“I’ll be back.”

“Can’t wait.” Maria deadpanned. You rolled your eyes at her dry humor. An hour later you found yourself back at Maria’s door. This time you entered without knocking. Nothing in her office changed besides the bottle of whiskey was now open. “Food delivery.” You said, kicking the door closed. You sat on the empty space on the ground with your back resting on the wall. You began to lay out the food, glancing at Maria. “Are you going to join me?” You asked. 

“Why do I have a feeling you won’t let me say no?” You smirked. 

“Because you know me very well.” Maria rolled her eyes, standing from her desk and walking over to you. She made sure to grab the whiskey. She sat in front of you and chose her food. You ate in a comfortable silence until Maria broke it. She took a hefty swig of the whiskey. 

“I know what you are doing.” You hummed, unable to say anything with a mouth full of food. “You can sense I’m feeling a certain type of way and you think it’s your job to help.” You whipped your mouth with a napkin. “I’m fine.” Debatable. But you kept that comment yourself. 

“I’m not doing anything.” Which was true. “My mom told me that working on an empty stomach leads to mistakes and mistakes will make work take longer.” “It’s hard to take advice from a woman that disowned their own kid because they wanted to do good.” You were shocked at Maria’s bluntness regarding your family. She winced. “Sorry that came out wrong.” 

“No, I mean you aren’t wrong.” You sighed. “My relationship with my biological family ended poorly but I found a new one because of it. You, Nick, and all the other crazy characters that live here are my family.” Maria nodded. She was looking down at her food, stirring it. She appeared to be lost in thought and her emotions were muddy, you couldn’t pinpoint what she was feeling. You wondered if her feelings had to do with the idea of family. There were rumors that the Deputy Director had family issues of her own and her agent assumed that was why she’s so unpleasant. You bite the inside of your cheek. “Are you up for a little adventure with me?” You asked. She looked up at you. 

“Oh what the hell. You’ve already made me behind.” You smiled, cleaning up the food. The first step was the fridge then you lead Maria out of the compound to a remote area of the property. You were close to the treeline but had a lot of empty space to move around in. It was twilight - the sun was beginning to set and the stars were coming out. The air seemed fresser here. “Why did you bring me out here?” She asked. 

“To scream.” 

“Excuse me?” She questioned. You nodded, jumping on the balls of your feet. 

“One of the best things about nature is it’s the world’s best secret keeper. You can tell it anything and it will hold it forever.” You explained. You had good memories of yelling your secrets with your brother at your vacation home in Maine. “Even if you don’t say words and just scream or yell or laugh or cry. The trees, the stars, and the moon will listen.” Maria looked confused. “Allow me.” You looked up to the sky and screamed. You looked back at the SHIELD agent and she was shocked by the sound. But you felt freer, the weight that you felt on your chest was a little bit lighter. This time you yelled looking at the ground. “Try it.” 

“You are insane.”

“Probably but have I ever steered any of you in the wrong direction before?” Maria sighed and shook her head. You waved your wan, telling her it was her turn. She closed her eyes, looked up at the sky, and screamed. You cheered and clapped your hands. She yelled again. On her third scream, you joined her. “How do you feel?” You asked. Her cheeks were flushed and her chest was rising and falling, a little faster than normal. 

“Better. A lot better.” You smiled. 

“Tell nature everything. Tell it all of your secrets.” With a deep breath in and out you yelled, “I wish I was good enough for my parents. I wish I didn’t miss them and I hate that I still love them.” Her face softened as if a part of her understood everything you confessed. “Your secrets are safe with me and nature. Scouts honor.” Maria chuckled, pending down to pick up a rock. She threw it in the air and caught it a few times before tossing it into the woods. 

Placing her hands on her hips, she yelled, “Sometimes I wish I declined the promotion of Deputy Director.” You kept your face neutral at Maria’s confession. “I lose sleep at night when I send the Avengers and my agents on a mission because I worry they won’t come home.” Your heart broke. “I have to pick and choose who we help and it kills me that we can’t help everyone.” You smiled at her. “I want people to see me. Not an agent or Deputy Director, just Maria.” She yelled one more time and fell to her knees. “I wish I could be good enough for my dad.” She whispered. You sat on the grass in front of her. The only noise between you two was Maria’s labored breathing as she tried to get her heart rate under control. 

“I’m proud of you.” You said. Her head snapped up to look at you. “I know I’m not the person you want to hear it from but it doesn't make it any less true. You have an incredibly difficult job and many agents and Avengers give you shit for doing your job. I also bet dealing with Fury isn’t a walk in the park either.” Maria let out a wet chuckle, whipping away a few tears that fell. “But never doubt we don’t have faith in you.” She let out a shaky breath. “We’ve all got battle scars. You’ve had enough, just don’t give up and stick to your guns. Keep marching on.” You took Maria’s hand in yours, squeezing it. Her emotions weren’t as cloudy. 

“Thank you for this.” She said softly. She let go of one of your hands to cover her mouth as she yawned. 

“Come on, Deputy Director, you need sleep.” You stood up, pulling her to her feet. “And before you argue with me if you go get some sleep I will help you tackle that mess of an office.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“No I don’t,” you said. “But I want to help if you want me too.” You gave her the option to not feel as if you were pressuring her. 

“I’d love your help.” You began your walk back to the compound. She put her arm around your shoulders. “They are missing out.” She said, “You are one hell of a superhero.” You smiled, looking at the ground. “I’m proud of you too.”

*

Natasha Romanoff; Black Widow 

You hated being cold. It was winter in Upstate New York and you were not having a good time. Yes, it was pretty and snow meant Christmas but you had half the mind to march to Tony and ask him why he didn’t build the Avenger’s compound in Florida. You were bundled up in a fluffy blanket with hot chocolate in your hands near the fireplace. You were reading when you heard footsteps headed your direction. Grief and sadness as the Black Widow sat next to you. You put your book down and opened your arms. Natasha didn’t even hesitate to move to sit between your legs and you wrapped the blanket around her. The redhead slumped against you, allowing you to hold her weight. You and the Black Widow had a complicated relationship. She hated that you always knew her true feelings and it took years for her to realize you weren’t going to use it against her. It wasn’t until after your fight with Ultron, Natasha started to trust and open up to you. She was the only person in the compound to come to you when her feelings got out of control. It was comforting to know she trusted you on such an intimate level and you weren’t going to break it. You rested your head on her shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?” You asked. She didn’t answer verbally but you felt her shake your head. “Okay, we can just sit here until you are ready.” The Black Widow just returned from a mission with Steve, Wanda, and Vision. They were in Russia for 3 days. You knew she was going to struggle being there. You sighed. She was warm and you were jealous. 

“You are always so cold.” She mumbled. You rolled her eyes. 

“Trust me I’m aware.” The redhead chuckled. “But at least I have a best friend as a heater.” You gave her a squeeze. You got the opposite reaction you thought you were going to get. Natasha tensed up in your arms instead of relaxing more. “Tash, talk to me.” You whispered. 

“Can we go to your room?” She asked, her voice was shaking. You nodded. 

“Of course.” The Black Widow was comfortable showing emotion in front of you, Steve, and Yelena but not the whole team. You lead the redhead to your room. You held open the door and as soon as Natasha walked in, she climbed into your bed. You closed the door, joining her, and she moved to lay her head on your chest. As routine, you began to run your fingers through her hair. You felt her tears on your shirt but you didn’t call attention to it. You let her cry. You weren’t sure how long you laid there but Natasha sat up and leaned against the wall. 

“I hate Russian missions.” she said, rubbing her eyes. You sat up and handed her tissues that you kept on your nightstand. She took them with a smile. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” She shrugged, looking up at your ceiling. 

“The mission went well. We got in and out without any problems.” She closed her eyes. “We were leaving and I saw these kids playing soccer in the street. Just kicking a ball with no care in the world and I was looking at these kids and I saw myself and Yelena.” She shook her head. “I don’t know we didn’t have that. I mean we did but it was for a mission it wasn’t real.”

“Natalia.” You said. She winched at the name. It was an argument that happened a lot when Natasha first told you about the Red Room mission in Ohio. You determined early on that Natasha told herself that her ‘family’ wasn’t real to help with her guilt and to make it hurt less that they gave her away. The Russian sighed. 

“Yes, yes, I know the mission gave me a real family.” You smiled. “I got angry watching these kids because what they had was stripped away from me.” You nodded. A normal childhood. A childhood that wasn’t about training or ballet lessons. 

“What else happened?” You asked, it wasn’t the whole story. 

“One of the kids got hurt. She had to be 6 maybe 7 and an older kid ran over to her. It was nothing major, just a scraped knee.” She looked back at you and you watched tears start to leave her green eyes. You had a pretty good idea why seeing this was affecting her but you learned it was best for people to say it out loud if possible. “She was only 6 too.” Yelena. You were feeling guilt and grief pulsing through the Black Widow. “And I just left her. I didn’t go back for her.” You knew Yelena and Natasha had come to an understanding of what happened all those years ago but it didn’t make the pain and the guilt any easier. “I let her get controlled.” You shook her head. 

“That wasn’t you Natasha. You had no idea what was going to happen to Yelena.” 

“I should have gone back for her.” You shrugged. “Maybe you should have or maybe Dreykov would have gotten you under his control too.” You grabbed her hand, running your thumb over the back of her hand. “The world is filled with ‘What ifs’ and we’ll drive ourselves mad thinking about what could have been.” You knew from first hand experience. Many nights you lie awake wondering what your life would be like if you said no to Tony. What if you didn’t join the Avengers? “We can’t join the past but we can live for the future.” 

“Would you change the past?” She asked. You thought for a moment, looking at your connected hands. 

“No, I love the life I’m living.” You squeezed her hand. “Definitely how I thought my life would be but I can’t complain.” She nodded her head slowly. “You’re not alone anymore, Nat. Neither is Yelena. Some days that guilt will eat you up inside but better days are near. Just don’t give up.” Natasha squeezed your hand back. 

“I’m glad life brought us together.” She confessed. “You have done a lot for me, for all of us.” You felt your cheeks burn at her honestly. 

“Just doing my job.” Natasha rolled her eyes and pushed you gently on the shoulder. 

“Your job isn’t to be our therapist but we approached it.” You shrugged. 

“Miss. Romanoff, Miss. Belova is looking for you.” The AI said. You looked at Natasha. 

“Movie marathon?” You suggested. “We said we’d try to watch all the Harry Potter movies in one sitting.” 

“FRIDAY, tell Yelena where I am and bring snacks and drinks.” You laughed as Natasha got comfortable in your bed. You grabbed the remote and queued up the first movie. Life hasn’t been the kindest but you wouldn’t change it 

*

El; Empath 

“Has anyone seen El?” Maria asked, walking into the common area holding a folder in her hands. Natasha laid on the couch, her head in Steve’s lap and her feet in Yelena’s, who was playing Mario Kart against Bucky and Sam. 

“FRIDAY said they were going to shower and be right out.” Sam said, without looking away from the screen. Natasha looked at Maria and saw the worry on her face. The Black Widow sat up, earning a curse from her sister. 

“What’s wrong, Maria?” She handed Natasha the folder. 

“That is T’Challa’s report on their mission.” Maria watched Natasha open the report and the color drained from her face. 

“Nat,” Steve said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “What happened?” Bucky paused the game. Natasha cleared her throat. 

“We arrived at the abandoned warehouse at 0700. Upon searching the area we found no signs of anyone being there for some time. Our last area to search were two large shipping containers.” Natasha sighed. “As we got closer, we noticed the smell. El opened the first container. Inside were the bodies of 15 children, ranging from 5 to 16. There were no survivors.” Natasha closed the file. A heavy silence filled the common area. 

“How do we help them?” Yelena asked, breaking the silence. “They are always there for us, how do we be there for them?” 

“I have an idea,” Maria said. “But I’m going to need help.” 

*

You didn’t expect a knock on your door and you were tempted to ignore it. But another round of knocking forced you to leave your cocoon of blankets and walked to the door. A wave of emotions rushed through you; anxiety, hopefulness, excitement, and joy. It was a weird mix and you had to compose yourself before opening the door. It was Maria. Today was full of surprises. “I haven’t finished my mission report.” Truth be told, you haven’t even started the report. The idea of having to relive the past 48 hours made your stomach turn. “I’ll have it on your desk by tomorrow morning.”

“I’m not looking for your report.” Oh. Before you could question why the Deputy Director was at your door she continued, “I read T’Challa’s.” Oh. You didn’t know the King of Wakanda needed to write mission reports. 

“Oh.” You said, looking down at your feet. “I uh well you know how things went down then.” You felt tears in the corner of your eyes. A headache was forming and your chest hurt as you held back the tears. Maria held out her hand. 

“Do you want to go on an adventure with me?” She asked. It was a strange deja vu moment. How many times have you stood in front of the team with your hand out hoping they took it? You wanted to crawl back into bed and ignore the world but you took her hand. You barely got the chance to close your door before Maria dragged you to the elevator. She pressed the button and waited for the metal door. 

“Where are we going?” You asked. She gave you a smile. 

“The roof.” She said as the doors opened. The roof of the compound was your favorite place. It allowed you a place to sit in silence; to feel the wind, listen to the trees, and look at the stars on a clearless night. The roof also allowed you to get away from everyone when you needed a break from their emotions. The elevator opened and you stepped onto the roof. The normal bare roof was transformed. A protector was set up, playing the intro to Hercules. It was one of your comfort movies. In front of the projector - were an assortment of pillows and blankets. Yelena was sitting on some of the pillows with a bowl of popcorn trying to throw pieces into Sam’s mouth while Bucky watched. Natasha and Steve were pouring chips into bowls. 

“What is this?” You asked. Your voice caused your teammates to look at you. 

“This,” Sam answered. “Is our version of the talk you give us.” You looked at him confused. Maria led you to the pillow fort and you sat down. Steve and Natasha joined you. 

“You are always there for us no matter what we are feeling without us needing to ask.” Maria explained. 

“This is us doing it for you.” Bucky shrugged. “Words aren’t our strength but Maria thought a movie might help.” The SHIELD agent blushed at being called out that this was her idea.

“We can watch it with you or if you prefer to watch it by yourself, that’s okay too.” Steve said. It was weird, you were feeling no overpowering emotions from them just you own. You were overwhelmed.  

“Uh, stay please.” You cleared your throat. “Please stay.” Yelena smiled. 

“We got you, dorogoy.” You found yourself resting your head on Maria’s lap with Yelena laying next to you as Natasha started the movie. 

“Do you think Thor has met Hercules?” Natasha asked as the muses began to tell the story. 

“He’s met Zeus, so probably.” You said, taking a handful of popcorn. 

“Sh,” Sam said, throwing a piece of candy at you. You gasped, taking the candy and unwrapping it. You eat it. “Stop talking.” 

“Can we sing?” Yelena asked, glancing at him. He thought about it. 

“I will allow singing.” Yelena gave you a high five. You were feeling better surrounded by people that loved you. 

*

As the credits began to roll, the reality of the situation you experienced crashed down on you. You turned your head into Maria’s lap and bit back a sob. Her hands immediately wento your back, soothing your cries. “We weren’t fast enough,” Your words were muffled but you knew you had their attention as the movie was muted. “Everytime I close my eyes I see that shipping container. Gods, I wish we were faster.” You cried. How many families had to be notified? Families were broken. Sons and daughters were lost. Siblings were never coming home. “They were right.” You said. The words of your parents echoed in your mind. Failure. Worthless. 

“Who are you talking about, malen’kiy slon (little elephant)?” Natasha asked. 

“My parents.” You felt Maria tense up. “They didn’t just not want me to become an Avenger but they said I wasn’t good enough to become one. They said I’d fail.” 

“No,” Natasha said. You heard movement and soon you felt warm hands on your arms and pulled you into a seated position. “I won’t sit here and let you think bad about yourself. They were wrong.” 

“Nat.” You said, slowly. 

“She’s right.” You looked at Bucky. “What happened in Uganda wasn’t your fault.” You looked down, feeling shame creep around you. Maybe if one of them took the mission the outcome would have been different. You weren’t an Avenger. You weren’t a hero. 

“Why do you like the stars so much?” Sam asked. The question caused your spiraling thoughts to stop. You didn’t look up. 

“I like them because of the stories they tell.” Steve answered. “History is persevered in the night sky.” You smiled, looking up. 

“I think they are pretty to look at.” Yelena added. “It’s amazing to think we live underneath such a work of art.” Your smile crew. It was an interesting feeling being on the other side of your silly little question game. 

“I like them.” You began. “Because they are a reminder that we aren’t alone. While you are looking at the stars someone else could be looking at them too.” You let out a shaky breath. “And..hundreds of years ago someone was standing in your exact spot, looking at the same stars.” 

“Exactly,” Maria said softly. “We’ll carry you home. You’re not alone. Keep marching on.” 

“This is worth fighting for.” Sam said. Natasha gave your arms a gentle squeeze. You looked at the red head. 

“You know we’ve all got battle scars.”

“You’ve had enough. Just don’t give up.” Steve said. 

“You are worth fighting for.” Yelena smiled. “Just keep marching on.” You nodded, whipping away your tears. You laughed. 

“I thought you said you guys were bad with words.” You joked. 

“We learned from the best.” Maria smiled. 

“Thank you,” You said. “Thank you for this. Can we watch another movie?” You asked. 

“Anything you need.” 

“Ooo I get to pick.” Yelena jumped up and picked The Incredibles. She laid back next to you, grabbing your hand. 

“Great choice.” Bucky said. You couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not. You didn’t care as you leaned back in Maria’s arms. The Avengers were fighters, soldiers, and righteous. They were once lost, broken, and defeated. But they all had battle scars. As the movie began you were grateful to call them family and home.            

_ 

I’m not the type of person to ask for help but I feel a little helpless. Hurricane Ian devested my home town (I don’t live in Florida anymore) but I lived where the path of the hurricane directly hit for 13 years. That being said my grandfather lives down there and his house was damaged. My grandfather hasn’t had the easiest few years. His wife (my grandmother) passed away 2 years ago during COVID, he’s recently been put on oxygen, and he’s a lone done there. My parents are working on getting down there but the city is a mess and he’s without power and electricity. 

I’ve added my kofi donation page to this story. All donations no matter how big or small will go directly to helping my grandfather get back on his feet and help get my parents down there. They will be missing work by going down there so it will help with bills. 

I appreciate all the support and love you all have given me. If you happen to donate I’d love to write you a personal story for a fandom of your choice. Any amount will help. 

Much love. -Arlana