Bad Dreams
"Did you do it?" Sam Wilson's voice rang through the phone.
"No, I didn't," Allie sighed. "You know I didn't."
"Yeah, I know," he sighed. "Just needed to hear it from your mouth."
"Has anyone on that end assumed I did it?" she asked.
"I don't think anyone has really thought you did. I mean, it doesn't sound like you."
"You mean considering everything I've been doing the past six years?" she had a grin to her voice.
Sam's laugh could be heard over the phone. Allie sighed and looked back towards her family, all still eating as they glanced over to here every once in a while.
"Listen," Sam said softly. "I'll come and get you tomorrow morning. We'll take the Quinjet and get this all sorted. I know you'll be fine, but I just have a feeling that you're still going to be drug into this one way or another."
"I do, too," she sighed. "Early morning?"
"Around breakfast time?" Sam said and Allie hummed in approval.
"At least I'll get to still see Steven off to school that way."
"I'll see you tomorrow morning then. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Allie hung up her phone and put it back into her pocket as she walked back to sit at the table. Steve and Bucky both had raised brows at her as Sharon had a frown on her face. None of the children knew that something big was going on, just that their Mom had been talking to their Uncle Sam.
"Is everything okay?" Steve asked as he took a drink of his water.
"It's going to be," Allie gave a small smile. Turning to the kids before any of them talked about the situation at hand, she gave a little sigh. "Why don't you guys go off and play, okay?"
"But what about dessert?" Sarah narrowed her eyes.
"When we're done eating dinner, we'll come and get you for dessert," Bucky promised as he realized what Allie was doing.
"Okay," Steven shrugged and hopped out of his seat. Sarah soon followed before Steve helped out by taken T.J. out of his high chair.
When the children could be heard playing in the other room, all four of the adults looked at one another. Allie ran a hand through her hair and simply shrugged.
"He's coming to pick me up tomorrow morning," she began. "He says no one has assumed it was me, but I'm sure the media will concoct a story before I know it."
"Are we sure it's actual fire and ice?" Steve suggested. "I mean, what if it's an illusion?"
"Steve," Allie sighed. "If it were an illusion it would be gone by now. Besides, I'll find out for sure what's going on tomorrow."
"Is it the government calling you in or Sam?" Sharon took a bite of her food.
"I'm not foolish enough to believe that the government won't want to speak to me about it," Allie sighed and Bucky put his arm around her shoulder.
"Well, we just hope for the best tomorrow, right?" Steve smiled.
"Yeah," Allie muttered as she furrowed her brow at her plate. "Can we talk about something else? If my entire day tomorrow is going to be about that damn building, I'd rather focus on something different right now."
"Alright, like what?" Steve suggested.
"Well, you two wanted to talk to us about the wedding," Allie suggested.
"If you're wanting someone who's good at planning more things, it's not me," Bucky admitted and Steve rolled his eyes with a grin.
"It's not that much about planning," Steve started. "Well, I mean it is."
"Spit it out," Allie smirked.
"We'd like the kids to be in the ceremony," Sharon said.
"Really?" Allie furrowed her brow. "That's all you wanted to say?"
"Well, we wanted to make sure it was okay with you two," Steve shrugged. "They're your kids after all."
"And they're your niece and nephews," Allie smiled. "If you want them in the ceremony, just ask them."
"Are you sure?" Steve asked.
"Of course," Bucky shrugged.
"What did you want them to do?" Allie asked with a grin.
"Well, since I have you and a friend of mine as my bridesmaids and Bucky and Sam are Steve's groomsmen, we thought it might be nice to have Sarah as a junior bridesmaid and Steven as a junior groomsman. Then maybe T.J. be the ring bearer?" Sharon smiled.
"You want Mr. Independent as the ring bearer?" Allie grinned.
"He wouldn't have the actual rings," Steve assured her. "Knowing him he'd see Clint or Scott and walk to them instead."
"It's true," Bucky took a drink and nodded. "The few times we had those large cookouts down in Louisiana with everyone over the summer, he always seemed to be trailing anyone but us."
"So you wouldn't mind?" Sharon asked.
"Like I said," Allie smiled. "They're your niece and nephews. I think it's sweet that you want them to be a part of things."
"Besides, I think Sarah will be excited to have an excuse to look like an actual princess," Bucky said as he peeked around Allie and noticed the kids fighting over a toy. "Hey, hold on."
Bucky stood up from the table and walked over to them, scolding them and telling them to play fairly.
"So are you going to ask them tonight?" Allie shook her head at her kids.
"We could ask them tonight," Steve started as he too looked over at the kids. "Or, we could take them for dinner and they can spend the night one day when you get back so you and Bucky can have a night off."
As Bucky walked back over and placed his hands on Allie's shoulders, rubbing gently, Allie quickly nodded at Steve.
"Please and thank you," she grinned.
"I have a feeling I missed something that'll make me very happy," Bucky grinned.
"Well, you can just tell me I'm the best brother-in-law ever," Steve grinned.
"Considering I never got to meet my other two? Sure," Bucky shrugged.
"Okay," Allie scoffed as she turned to look up at him. "You just took something that's going to be nice for us and turned it dark."
"Well, I'm just speaking the truth," he shrugged.
"Get your hands off me," Allie rolled her eyes with a shake of her head.
Bucky grinned and leaned down to kiss her. Steve shook his head and Sharon simply smiled and finished her plate. Allie took in a breath as Bucky sat back down. Turning to face the kids, Allie called out to them.
"Do you guys want dessert?"
No words were uttered as the three had made their way back to the table and happily waited for one of the adults to hand them their dessert.
Neither the next day or the wedding were mentioned again that night.
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"Goodnight," Allie smiled as she tucked Steven into his bed, kissing his forehead.
"Goodnight!" he grinned.
Allie turned off Steven's bedside lamp before walking to the door and closing it behind her. T.J. was sat on Allie's hip as Bucky came from Sarah's room. Walking to the last little room, T.J.'s nursery, Allie and Bucky put him to bed before walking to their own room. Allie took a deep breath as she closed their door.
Allie changed into her pajamas as she pulled her hair back and away from her face. Despite knowing that she needed to prepare herself for the next morning, a part of her wished that she didn't have to at all. Her gut told her that everything was going to be fine, but her heart still felt the stress of what would be waiting for her.
"Are you going to be alright tomorrow?" Bucky asked softly as he sat down on their bed.
"Of course," she smiled. "I'll be just fine."
"I'm sorry that you have to go in," he sighed.
"It's alright," she gave a small attempt at a smile. "I mean, it shouldn't be too difficult of a problem to help solve, right?"
"I wouldn't think so," he shrugged.
"Besides, the sooner we get this problem solved, the sooner we can carry on with our lives."
Allie walked over to their closet and pulled a bag out, placing it on the bed and beginning to pack a few shirts and pairs of pants. Bucky sighed as he took another bag out and packed Allie's suit for her.
"Just in case," he assured her when he noticed her raised brow. "You'll be with Sam and I'm sure he'll have his suit on hand."
"I just hope that I don't end up needing to use it," she sighed. "I'd prefer this to be a single meeting and done type of occasion, but I doubt it'll end there."
"I know," he nodded.
"Are you going to be okay here?" she asked softly.
"Of course, why do you ask?" he laughed.
"You've burnt almost every meal you've cooked on your own and we have three kids," Allie smirked.
"I'll just buy a pizza if I burn dinner," he shrugged.
"Then they'll associate me being gone with pizza and want me to leave more often," she frowned.
"Then we'll also have a pizza when you get back," he grinned.
"Are you trying to tell me that you want pizza?"
"Maybe."
"I'll strike up a deal with you," Allie smirked. "Don't burn down my kitchen and when we have our night alone after I get back," she trailed off as she walked up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "We'll make pizza together."
"And for dessert?" he smirked as he leaned down.
"The same as breakfast the next morning."
"Oh, now I like the sound of that," he whispered against her lips as he kissed her.
"I thought you would, Sergeant," she smirked and Bucky came undone.
Before she could even take another breath, Bucky had captured Allie's lips roughly. In a fast moment, Bucky had Allie held up and against him by the backs of her thighs. Allie had her arms draped against Bucky's back, leaning down into the kiss.
Setting Allie gently on her back on the bed, not once breaking the kiss, Bucky found himself gently hovering over her. One of Allie's hands had found itself around Bucky's shoulders, pulling him even closer, while the other snaked its way through his hair.
Each time they took a breath, it was as if the two had shared the same air. Warmth surrounded them, almost tempting Allie to make sure that she wasn't accidentally allowing her skin to become hot.
Bucky's lips found themselves trailing down the crook of her neck, finding her sweet spot and relishing in the small gasp that came from her lips as he continued his work.
Allie found that she quite liked having a husband that spent most of his free time creating artwork. She could tell that each kiss that he laid against her was almost like one of his paintings or sketches. Each one had intention. Each one was its own masterpiece. Even when needing to have to watch her necklines the next day, it was as if she was his canvas.
As he became satisfied with his work along her neck, Bucky's hands found themselves at the hem of her pajama top, quickly pushing it up and off of her.
The pattern between them was the same that it always was, but still felt fresh and exciting. He would plant soft kisses against her stomach and ribs. She would smile in ecstasy. As he left the small kisses against her scars as he often did, making her breath hitch, Allie balled the bedsheets in her fists.
"Is this your way of telling me to stay home instead?" she teased softly, breath hitching mid sentence.
"That depends," he whispered against her. "Is it working?"
"I don't know. Keep going to find out," she smirked.
"Yes ma'am," he smirked in response. "Gladly."
Going back to his work, the pace began to quicken, both struggling to maintain a steady breath as his shirt fell to the side and hands found their way to waistbands of pajama pants. Lips finding their way back to lips as if they were puzzle pieces, the two smiled at each other before a frantic knock sounded on their bedroom door.
"Mommy? Daddy? Are you awake?" Steven's voice came from the other side of the door.
Bucky and Allie looked to one another, both trying to steady their breathing to respond. Bucky propped himself on his elbows, tilting his head in the direction of the door to speak.
"What is it bud?" he asked.
"I had a nightmare," Steven said and it sounded as if his voice was quivering.
Allie looked to Bucky and nodded in the direction of their door.
"Remind me why we had not one, not two, but three of these mood killers?" Bucky whispered.
"Because doing it whenever and wherever we wanted was too easy. We needed the challenge," Allie teased. Bucky stood and went to walk over to the door before she cleared her throat causing him to look back at her. "Toss me your shirt."
Bucky obliged as he picked it up off of the floor and handed it to her, allowing her to put it on before he opened the door. Steven stood in front of him while wiping tears from his cheek. It only took one moment for him to look past his dad and towards his mom before he sprinted over and jumped onto the bed, crawling close to his mother's side.
"Woah, woah," Allie whispered in surprise as Steven buried his face against her and cried. "What's wrong?"
"I had a nightmare," he choked out in a sob.
"Do you want to tell us about it?" she asked softly as Bucky still stood at the door in shock.
"It was scary," he said, his voice muffled by the shirt she was now wearing.
"Well, what happened?" Allie asked.
"You disappeared," he muttered bluntly and Allie and Bucky quickly looked at one another. They supposed that that would be a terrifying nightmare for anyone to have. "And I saw it."
"Well, I'm right here in front of you," she assured him. "It was just a bad dream."
"But it was scary," he cried.
"I know," she nodded and quickly brought her hand to softly brush his hair with her fingers. "Like I said, it was a bad dream. We all get them."
It took a moment of Allie simply sitting and holding him to get Steven to stop crying. Whatever his dream had contained had clearly scared him. Part of Allie wondered if the nightmare happened because she was leaving with Sam the next morning for their mission. Bucky simply moved Allie's bags to the side of the room to take downstairs in the morning.
A soft padding of new footsteps alerted Bucky to the new intruder as Sarah appeared in the doorway and glared over at Steven.
"You're loud," she complained.
"Sarah," Allie said, a warning edge in her voice.
Steven was still laying against his mother, holding on to her tightly as if letting go of her would make her disappear. Sarah looked between her brother and her mother and seemed to understand that Steven wasn't loud to be loud. Looking at her quick turn around of attitude, Bucky was amazed. Kids truly had an intuition of their own.
Sarah skipped over and crawled into the bed, making her way to Allie's open arm. Bucky looked at the sight of his wife holding their two older children and he smiled. As much as he wished they could have continued their private dance of kisses, the image in front of him reminded him why the "mood killers" were worth it.
"You two didn't wake up T.J. did you?" Allie narrowed her eyes slightly, half teasing and half serious.
Bucky leaned towards the hallway, listening for the tiny padding of feet from the escape artist. When nothing could be heard, he turned back to Allie with a grin and closed the door.
"He really is a heavy sleeper," he smirked.
"Can we stay in here with you?" Steven asked.
Bucky and Allie looked at one another and sighed. Whatever they had started was not going to be finished that night. Nodding to their kids, Sarah and Steven both happily crawled under their parents' large comforter and laid as close to Allie as they could.
"I see how it is," Bucky said as he crawled in.
"Mommy's warmer than you," Sarah shrugged as Bucky pulled the comforter over himself.
"That's true," Bucky agreed and Allie rolled her eyes.
As the children made themselves comfortable, they looked expectantly at their mother. Raising her brow, she looked at them with a confused grin.
"What?" she asked slowly.
"Tell us a bedtime story," Sarah grinned.
"Once upon a time, two little goblins let their mommy go to sleep before her grand adventure the next day. The end," Bucky grinned and both children glared at him.
"I asked Mommy to tell the story," Sarah told him and Bucky pretended to be offended.
"What story would you like?" Allie asked as she smiled down at them. "A fairy tale? A funny story about Uncle Steve?"
"Tell us the story from Italy," Steven perked up.
"I've told you that story so many times," Allie laughed. After telling the story of her big reunion with Bucky at the basecamp in Italy one time as a bedtime story, she found that it had become one of Steven's favorites. "Don't you want a different story?"
"No," he shook his head.
"Tell the story," Sarah gave big puppy dog eyes.
Allie looked over at Bucky who simply copied their daughter's expression. Taking a deep breath, she nodded her head and adjusted how she was sitting, watching as Bucky laid down and looked up to her to listen to the story as well.
"Once upon a time," she began and both kids perked up. "There were two best friends. These best friends always seemed to go everywhere together. Other people would even tease them that they were in love, but both said it wasn't true."
"Were they really in love?" Sarah asked.
"Shh!!" Steven glared at his sister.
"They were in love. But neither of them knew it," Allie looked at Bucky who smirked at her. "One day, one of the best friends had to leave to become a soldier and fight an evil army. The other best friend left soon after to be a nurse and help soldiers like her best friend.
"When the nurse met a group of soldiers that her best friend knew, she thought her best friend was gone forever," Allie softened her voice for dramatic effect. Sarah's eyes widened as Steven smiled, already knowing the end of the story. "But one day, the nurse's brother came to visit the camp she was at and went off in search of the best friend. The nurse thought that she had lost both her brother and her best friend."
"Did she?" Sarah interrupted again and Allie stifled a laugh.
"Well," Allie's eyes flicked over to Bucky and stayed trained on him. "While she was sad and on her own, another soldier came and found her and told her that there was something big that she needed to see. So she followed and was given a very happy surprise."
"Ooo! What was the surprise?" Sarah asked and Steven silently glared at her once again.
"She saw both her brother and her best friend," Allie smiled. "The two best friends were back together."
"Did they get to be in love?" Sarah asked and Steven had had enough of her interruptions.
"The best friends were Mommy and Daddy," he spoiled for her.
"What?" she asked as she looked up at Allie. "Really?"
"Steven, you ruined the best part of the story," Bucky frowned.
"Hey," Allie said. "I think the whole story has much better parts."
"Another story?" Sarah asked and Steven joined in turning to face Allie.
"Another night," she assured them. "Because the sooner you go to sleep, the sooner you'll see Uncle Sam."
"Uncle Sam!" they shouted in unison.
"Hey! Your brother is sleeping in his room," Bucky warned. "Unless you want him joining in, I suggest you go to sleep. Quietly."
It didn't take long for the two to start snoring like their father as they remained curled underneath the blanket and beside their mom. Bucky smiled at Allie and rolled over to turn the lamp on his nightstand off.
"You sure you don't want to tell me another story?" he whispered.
Allie let out a small huff of a laugh, careful to not wake either of the kids attached to her side as she tried to shimmy her way down to lie down as well. There wasn't much moonlight streaming in the window that night, but with what light did shine through, she was able to make out his soft grin.
She smiled at him. Even awake, he looked peaceful. He'd kept his beard that Allie had liked, his hair only slightly longer than it had been when Steven was born. Having the kids had helped Bucky be even more at peace with his vibranium arm, often letting the kids swing off of it when playing outside. Even that night, it was comfortably laid across Allie and the kids.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you, too," she smiled.
And they too went to bed.