i hate you but

“I swear to god, if these old bats followed me home, I’m filing a fucking restraining order,” y/n muttered under her breath as she made her way to the door, looking through the peephole to see who was on the other side, her breathing jagged and nervous, afraid of who could be on the other side of the door.

The moment she peered through the glass, she was put at ease, but also shock; her teammates stood on the other side of the door. Sam, standing impatiently in front of the group, placed his brown eyes against the other side of the peephole before speaking.

“So, are you just going to stand there or are you going to let us in?” he quipped, pulling a chuckle from y/n. Unlocking the four—you could never be too sure when you’re an Avenger—locks before swinging the door open.

“y/n!” a familiar redhead exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her closest friend from the Avengers. y/n, a smile on her face, hugged Wanda back before pulling away and giving them a questioning look.

“How’d you guys find me? Wait, why are you all here?” y/n raised a brow at the bunch.

“Well, you weren’t exactly making yourself that difficult to find,” Rhodey coughed sarcastically, earning himself a glare from y/n.

“So, why are all of you here?” y/n questioned, wiping the tears away from her puffy eyes as she shoved her hands in her pockets.

“Well, we didn’t mean to find you on purpose, we were looking for Mister Barnes, but then we found you and well, you have a right to know…” Peter started, only to trail off, his gaze wandering to Ethan seated at the couch, “Hey, dude.”

Ethan, although weirded out by the fact that his friend was casually hanging around the Avengers, waved back, an awkward smile on his face.

“Okay, kid, go talk to him while the adults talk,” Clint chuckled, nudging Peter further into the room and to the couch where Ethan sat.

“Wait, what do I have a right to know?” y/n questioned, raising her brow as she crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring the way Peter conversed with her nephew.

“HYDRA activity. We’ve been trying to squash out as many of the growing HYDRA bases as possible, but this one…it’s different. They have at least seven enhanced agents stationed there,” Wanda explained, earning a nod from y/n before getting distracted, “Hey, this is a nice place.”

“Where the hell did HYDRA get these enhanced? Wasn’t SHIELD supposed to keep tabs on these individuals?” y/n panicked, nervously biting onto her lip.

“Well, HYDRA got to them before SHIELD could, from the looks of it,” Sam muttered.

“And you’re planning on raiding the base, when?” y/n questioned, raising a brow at them.

“In a few days. Raiding this base has taken some planning with the heavy security of the base and everything. We’ve got it handled, but I think we could really use some of your help,” Sam responded, a cheeky smile on his face.

“Are you sure you really need me on this one?” y/n shook her head reluctantly, pulling a snort from Rhodey.

“Better safe than sorry, l/n. You’re one of the best agents we have when it comes to hand-to-hand combat,” Rhodey shrugged, earning a sigh from y/n. Though it’d been nearly two weeks since she’d gotten custody of the kids and she hasn’t gone on a single task for the team, she knew it was inevitable for her not to get called in on a mission.

“And you’re sure you need me on this one?” y/n hesitated, earning a nod from Wanda, “Well, I guess I’m going back to work.”

“Let’s celebrate. Wait a minute, where the hell is Bucky?” Sam questioned, raising a brow at y/n.

“Oh, uh, he’s in Allie’s room!” Ethan responded, trying to get up from the couch, but falling onto the ground.

“This you kid?” Rhodey questioned, chuckling at the fall the boy took.

“Or better yet, is he Bucky’s?” Sam smirked, earning an eye roll from y/n.

“Where the fuck did you get that conclusion?” y/n shuddered, the thought of having her own kids terrifying her. Having to take care of Cassy’s kids was more than enough.

“Well, I don’t think you noticed it, but we were following you from the quinjet and well, Bucky was holding onto this kid who looked just like you,” Wanda chuckled, searching the room for Bucky and the baby.

“If you’re implying that Bucky and I have some sort of secret family, you’re wrong. The kids are my sister’s and I got custody of them when she—well, passed,” y/n, hesitant to say the last words, frowned.

“Oh, is that, is that why you took the break?” Sam questioned, his voice quieting down.

“Yeah, I needed some getting used to, well, all this,” y/n chuckled nervously, motioning towards the area surrounding her.

“How’d Bucky get thrown into the mix?” Wanda questioned, staring at the tray of snacks on y/n’s table.

“Well, I kind of figured out about y/n’s situation, and this little one took a liking to me,” Bucky’s voice chimed in from behind them. The team turned to find Bucky, making his way to them from the hallway, holding onto a small toddler who fiddled and tugged on his hair.

“Wait, so Agent l/n’s your aunt?” Peter’s loud voice came, pulling a chuckle from y/n.

“Yep, that’s my stubborn nephew who fucking hates me,” y/n mumbled under her breath.

“Jeez, I apologized,” Ethan frowned, earning a look of confusion from y/n’s teammates.

“Yeah, well your grandparents are taking this case to court now, so there’s a chance I’ll never see you again,” y/n sucked in a breath before letting out a nervous chuckle. Yes, she knew Tony Stark’s lawyers could handle the case, but what if they couldn’t?

There was that bundle of doubt growing in her, asking her what would happen if the court found her unfit to care for the kids. She was single, she had no experience whatsoever in raising kids, she was constantly putting her life on the line with every mission. Who was to say leaving the kids with their grandparents wasn’t a better idea than leaving them with y/n?

“If they want the kids, can’t you just…use your connections to, well, y’know?” Rhodey ran his thumb over his throat as though to signify slitting their throats.

“That’s illegal and don’t talk about death around the younger kids,” y/n chuckled, taking Allie from Bucky’s arms.

“Yeah, guys, she’s a mom now, don’t set a bad example around the kids,” Sam quipped, earning a slap to the shoulder, courtesy of y/n.

“Bucky sets enough of a bad example for Allie and I don’t think I want you idiots to do the same thing,” y/n shook her head.

“Yep, setting the example for my protégé’s my job,” Bucky smirked, pinching Allie’s cheek before making his way to the kitchen and pulling a snack from the

“Oh look, aren’t they just one happy family,” Sam chuckled.

“In more ways than one now that the idiot’s saying he’s my boyfriend,” y/n scoffed, earning a look of shock from everyone else.

“Ha! So, you guys really are dating!” Rhodey exclaimed, acting as though they’d caught y/n and Bucky in the act of something unspeakable.

“You’re talking about Aunt y/n and Mister Barnes, right? Didn’t you know about them? He visited like four days after mom…” Olivia trailed off, walking right into the room.

“Another one? y/n, you poor thing,” Wanda frowned, wrapping her arms around y/n jokingly.

“The Avengers!” came Jackson’s voice from behind Olivia.

“He looks just like y/n too!” Wanda exclaimed excitedly, making her way towards Jackson to squeal excitedly at the way he looked up at her with his e/c eyes.

“Are we going to ignore the fact that y/n’s niece basically told us Bucky and y/n are together?” Rhodey raised a brow, motioning towards Olivia.

“I’m confused. Were they not dating?” Ethan chimed in.

“Wait, you’re serious? Agent l/n and Sergeant Barnes are together?” Peter chimed in. Before y/n could respond, Bucky was right next to her.

“Yes. Yes, we are,” Bucky cut in, giving y/n a warning look before whispering, “Look, if you really want us to stand a chance against their grandparents in court, we shouldn’t tell anyone this is fake. Some of our teammates suck at lying.”

“You’re talking about Rhodey, right?” y/n chuckled, before earning a nod from Bucky as a response.

“How long have you idiots been, well, you know?” Wanda questioned.

“Well, when we started arguing, we kind of realized that well, she’s the woman of my dreams,” Bucky smiled, leaning against y/n’s shoulder.

“Is he good in be—” Sam tried questioning, only earning a smack on his arm, courtesy of Bucky too.

“There’s a five-year-old in the room with you, I’d watch my language if I were you,” Bucky shook his head, earning a fit of laughter from everyone else.

“He’s turning into Steve. There’s a reason we let him go back to the past, y’know?” Sam chuckled, pulling laughs from everyone else.

“Enough about me and Bucky! Do you guys want to stay over for dinner or something?” y/n offered, watching the way everyone’s eyes lit up. Being away from the compound made her forget how much her friends could consume in a day!

“Wait, auntie y/n, why are your teammates here?” Olivia questioned, looking to y/n for an answer.

“Well, they were looking for Bucky, but now I’ve been told we’re going to have a mission in a few days,” y/n chuckled nervously, waiting to see how they would react to her statement.

“Auntie y/n, that’s so cool! Can I go?” Jackson questioned, looking up to y/n with excitement.

“Sure thing, buddy,” Sam smiled, picking Jackson up and lifting him over his head.

“Sam, there is absolutely no way you’re taking my nephew with us on a mission,” y/n shook her head in disapproval.

“Why can’t I go, Auntie?” Jackson looked to y/n, a frown on his face.

“Well, buddy, you’re too tiny to go with us on a mission. Maybe we can bring you along when you’re older, though,” y/n chuckled nervously, watching Jackson have fun with the other Avengers.

“Who’s going to stay with us?” Olivia questioned, looking up to y/n.

“Crap, I forgot about that,” y/n clicked her tongue, a frown on her face.

“Well, maybe you can find an agent to look after them. I don’t think you’re the type of person to leave their kids with random babysitters,” Clint chuckled, knowing damn well how overprotective parents could get.

“The only other agents I trust are Maria Hill and Nick Fury, so there’s no way in hell I’m finding a babysitter in time,” y/n frowned.

“I can probably get Laura to watch the kids,” Clint shrugged.

“Are you sure? I don’t really want her to go through all that trouble,” y/n shook her head, feeling a little bit of pity for Laura.

“She likes kids, it’s fine l/n,” Clint reassured her, patting y/n on the shoulder.

“Then it’s settled. I’m going on my first mission in forever,” y/n chuckled nervously, pulling cheers from all her teammates—and Jackson.