i hate you but

y/n was beyond shocked when she’d received the call from the kids’ grandparents. First off, she didn’t know them nor has she ever met them. From what Cassy had told her, her husband’s parents were major snobs like everyone else from that side of the family. That she only ever put up with them to please her husband and so her kids would have good connections with their entire family.

So, to say she was beyond shocked when they called to meet up with her was an understatement. Yes, she was sure they’d found out about Cassy’s death and their son’s imprisonment, but y/n had no idea how they’d found out about her being their legal guardian and how they found her number.

They were quick to get to the point, though. They’d left her with a location, time, and the words “Meet us there and don’t be late. We want to talk to you about something concerning our grandchildren.”

Of course, y/n knew she couldn’t say no to them. It would’ve been against Cassy’s intentions for her children for y/n to reject the kids’ grandparents’ attempts to insert themselves into their lives.

y/n, her blank after the funeral, drove the car away from the graveyard, tears welling up in her eyes. She found herself wondering that if she’d stayed, would Cassy still be alive? Would she have been there to tell Cassy not to get into the car with her drunk bastard of a husband?

“Aunt y/n, you’re overthinking again,” Ethan chuckled nervously, noticing the look on y/n’s face as he sat in the passenger seat next to her.

“Sorry about that. I uh, I was trying to think about what we should have for dinner tonight,” y/n mumbled absentmindedly, staring at the fluorescent red glow of the traffic signal.

“Can we have cake for dinner?” Jackson, oblivious to his Aunt’s attempts to cover up her grief, questioned excitedly.

“Sorry, buddy, but your mommy would haunt me if I let you have dessert for dinner,” y/n chuckled lowly, earning a slow nod from Jackson as he sank back into his seat.

Olivia, noting the sad tones in her aunt’s voice, reminded herself to have a talk with her aunt. The funeral left all of them—Allie included—exhausted whether it be physically or emotionally. In the past week, Olivia saw how her aunt acted as though I was okay; even being faced by the reality of it the day y/n fetched her from Midtown for the first time.

“You know what, why don’t we stay at home for dinner and order a few boxes of pizza instead?” y/n suggested, earning an eager nod from Jackson as he excitedly repeated ‘yes’ loud enough for everyone in the car to hear him.

It both fascinated and scared Olivia how y/n bottled everything up whenever she was around them. How she acted like how the media perceived her; a strong-willed Avenger, not once faltering. It also concerned her; how often did y/n take the time to admit to herself that she wasn’t okay? How much time a day did y/n have to cope with her sister’s death while being tasked with taking care of four kids.

Excluding the time y/n left Olivia and Allie with Bucky when she went to fetch Ethan and Jackson, not once did she hire someone to watch the kids nor did she leave the younger kids alone at the house. Hell, when y/n went to the grocery store, Olivia and Ethan had to remind her that they could be left alone in the penthouse.

Hesitantly, she left them there, only taking Allie and Jackson along with her as she bought the groceries. Olivia knew Jackson was a handful when it came to grocery shopping. That’s why It didn’t quite shock her when her aunt walked into the penthouse, a trolley full of grocery bags, with Jackson diving in to grab the snack he’d convinced y/n to buy for him.

‘Just like he used to do with mom’ Olivia chuckled to herself that day.

The moment y/n got out the car, she took Allie’s sleeping form from Liv, earning a ‘thank you’ knowing damn well Allie was going to be harder for Olivia to carry now that she had to walk up to their place.

“Auntie y/n, you’re ordering a pizza for us still, right?” Jackson questioned, tiredly rubbing his eyes.

“Yes, I’m ordering a pizza still,” y/n nodded, earning a hug around her legs from Jackson, “but please, take a nap before the pizza gets here. You’re looking pretty tired buddy.”

That was what Jackson did the moment they got up to their place. He rushed to his room, got in his bed, and drifted off to sleep. His little “nap” however, was extended when y/n couldn’t bring herself to wake him up from his sleep.

He was surprised to wake up with the sun in his eyes and the scent of toast filling his room. He frowned, disappointed at his auntie y/n for not waking him up when the pizza arrived. When he entered the kitchen, he found his aunt cooking eggs on a skillet while his older siblings ate in peace.

“Auntie y/n, you didn’t wake me up for pizza,” he frowned, looking up at her.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that buddy. You know what? You can go have pizza for breakfast, just let me heat it up real quick. Also, take a bath too, we’re going to go see your grandma and grandpa later,” y/n requested, earning an eager nod from Jackson, not noticing the way Ethan shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“Aunt y/n, how about you don’t bring any of us or Jackson when you go to meet grandma and grandpa. If they want to see us, they could just visit us here. Maybe they just wanted to talk to you,” Ethan shrugged, trying his best to act nonchalant. He didn’t want him or any of his siblings to be there when their grandparents dropped the bomb on his aunt y/n.

He especially didn’t want to see the disappointment on her face when she finds out he was the one who called their grandparents in a fit of rage before deciding he enjoyed living with his aunt. He knew that she would fight to keep custody of them, but he didn’t want to be there to witness the harsh exchange of words he was sure would happen.

“Are you sure I can leave you three here? I mean, I’ll still bring Allie with me, but are you sure you’ll take care of your younger brother?” y/n questioned, raising a brow at Ethan as she crossed her arms.

“Yes, I will. As a matter of fact, can I please borrow your phone? I’ll just put my number in and everything,” Ethan requested, earning a sigh from y/n as she unlocked her phone and handed it to Ethan. He grabbed her phone eagerly as he began scrolling through y/n’s contacts, looking for Bucky’s phone number and inputting it into his phone before placing his contact in his aunt’s phone.

He handed y/n her phone back, a small smile of victory on his face as he stared contently at Bucky’s number in his phone.

“I saw that. Why the hell did you save his number?” Olivia whispered, staring at Ethan in curiosity.

“Something’s going to happen and I need him to be there for aunt y/n when it does,” Ethan shook his head dismissively.

“What? Are you supposed to be some kind of psychic?” Olivia scoffed, eating a forkful of eggs.

“No, but I did something and I have a feeling aunt y/n’s going to find out about it later,” Ethan shook his head.

Forty minutes before four, y/n, Allie, and Allie’s baby bag in her arms, she left the building, waving goodbye to her niece and nephews. The moment the door shut behind her, Ethan immediately called Bucky’s number, praying that he would pick up as soon as possible.

“This is James Barnes speaking,” came his very serious-sounding voice after three rings.

“Dude, it’s me, Ethan, y/n’s nephew. She just left the building and I think she’s on her way to meet my grandparents,” Ethan rushed to get his words out as quickly as possible.

“Look, kid, I’m kind of busy right now,” Bucky chuckled.

“My aunt has a shit ton of free time. How busy could you possibly be?” Ethan huffed impatiently.

“I have a gun aimed at a man’s head, so I’d say I’m pretty busy,” Bucky chuckled, “but look, if I finish this mission early, I’ll try to drop by for your aunt, okay?”

“Yes, please, thank you!” Ethan exclaimed excitedly before the call was dropped Bucky.

y/n, entering the busy Starbucks establishment, found herself searching for the kids’ grandparents. It proved difficult to do so when she didn’t even know what they’d looked like. Luckily for her, she was approached by an aged woman, looking very impatient as she pointed to a table where an old man sat.

y/n followed her to the table, taking a seat on the soft plush chair, watching as the man took a sip from his coffee cup.

“I’m assuming you’re y/n l/n?” he questioned, looking y/n up and down, making y/n feel inadequate under his gaze. Based on the way he dressed and the Rolex strapped onto his wrist, this man was rich. y/n could barely recall Cassy telling her that her husband came from a wealthy family.

“Yes. Yes, I am,” y/n nodded, letting out a tight-lipped smile.

“I’m going to get straight to the point; how much is it going to take for you to give up custody of the kids?” the man questioned, crossing his arms over his chest impatiently.

“Pardon me?” y/n’s eyes narrowed at the man’s audacity.

“Are you deaf, woman? I asked you how much it would cost for you to give us custody of my son’s children,” the man rolled his eyes.

“No, I’m not deaf, but there is no way in hell I’m giving up custody of my sister’s kids,” y/n shook her head in disapproval.

“Look, if this is because you think you owe it to your sister to take care of her kids, we waited until after the funeral to call you up for a reason. She’s six feet under now, you don’t have to worry about her corpse showing up at your house to haunt you,” the woman smiled a fake one, placing her hand on y/n’s shoulder, her words disgusting y/n.

“No, it’s not because I think I owe it to my sister to take care of the kids. I love them with all my heart and they’re my family,” y/n scoffed.

“Family? They’re my son’s children. What experience do you have in raising kids?” the man, she didn’t even bother learning their names at this point. She didn’t respect them enough to do so.

“The only kid you raised is in jail for manslaughter after he killed his wife, so I don’t think you have a right to lecture me on raising children,” y/n shook her head in disapproval.

“Look, we have more than enough money to provide for the kids. If you’re anything like your sister, I doubt you can handle the financial toll of raising four children on your own,” Mrs. Langdon scoffed, judging the way y/n was dressed too.

“What kind of job do you think I work at?” y/n chuckled darkly, staring into Mr. Langdon’s eyes for a response.

“A desk job just like how my son found your sister,” Mr. Langdon responded bravely, pulling a fit of laughter from y/n.

“Damn, so you really didn’t do your research,” y/n chuckled before deadpanning, “I’m an Avenger.”

“And we’re supposed to believe being running around in a costume while destroying the streets of New York is a job with a pay good enough to help you raise four children?” Mrs. Langdon chuckled as though y/n told her the funniest joke she’d ever heard.

“Yes. I make more than enough money to support myself and the kids, plus, there’s the retirement fund and trust fund my good friend, Tony Stark, set up for me, so yes,” y/n shook her head, flashing the pair a grin.

“Come on, y/n, the kids deserve to live with a loving couple just like they’ve been raised since birth. Based on your current situation, I doubt you even have a father figure for these kids,” Mr. Langdon shook his head.

“Actually, she does. Sorry, I’m late, doll,” came a familiar voice from behind y/n as she felt a pair of lips on her cheeks, catching her by surprise.

“Cky!” Allie exclaimed, a smile on her face as she reached for him in an attempt to get him to carry her. y/n, still in a bubble of confusion, handed her over to Bucky as he took the seat next to her.

“And this is your husband?” Mr. Langdon raised a brow at y/n.

“I wish I could have the honor to call her my wife someday. Right now, I’m just going to have to settle for being her boyfriend,” Bucky chuckled, flashing y/n a look of ‘play along’.

“Well, I don’t think the six of you are going to fit in your two-bedroom apartment,” Mrs. Langdon chuckled.

“Who told you about my old apartment?” y/n’s eyes widened in shock.

“Didn’t you know? It was Ethan who called us about your current situation. Hell, he was begging us to take custody of them,” Mr. Langdon chuckled.

“Oh. Well, I’m not giving up custody of the kids and that’s final,” y/n shook her head, getting up from her seat and walking out the café, Bucky trailing behind her.

“Don’t you dare think we won’t take you to court!” Mr. Langdon yelled out before y/n finally got out the door.