Cheeseburgers
Allie woke up on the Quinjet.
Confused, she tried to sit up straight right away, feeling sick to her stomach as she did so. Wanda was sat next to her, sighing in relief as she woke up.
"Thank goodness," she sighed. "Sam, Allie's awake."
"Good evening, Sleeping Beauty," Sam grinned.
"What happened?" Allie asked. The only thing she could remember was hitting the ground only to briefly wake to see a hazy face looking down at her and clicking their tongue.
"We got your ass out of there, that's what happened," Sam stated bluntly.
"But what happened at the lab?" Allie pressed.
"We weren't alone," one of the agents said from across the Quinjet.
Allie took in the appearance of the two. They were the only ones in the jet that hadn't even known of the lab's existence. Let alone someone being there.
"Whoever it was is definitely the person that iced over the building in Washington," Wanda sighed. "How are you feeling? That ice it you fast."
"Queasy," Allie swallowed. "That ice was cold."
"Ice usually is," Sam smirked.
"Sam, this isn't funny," Allie sighed. "I've never felt that sort of pain around ice."
"Okay, well look at this way," he sighed. "We have more answers than we had originally. We know that you're not alone with these powers. We know we have a way to tell if it was you or not."
"That's not all," Allie sighed.
"What do you mean?" One of the agents asked.
"I can't get rid of ice that I didn't create," Allie sighed.
The jet went silent as they realized the inconvenience of the situation. They were on their way back to Washington. Wanda placed her hand on Allie's shoulder, rubbing gently as Allie brought her hand to her forehead.
The silence melted away as the government agents began to speak to one another about what had taken place. Sam continued to sneak glances to Wanda and Allie who were silent the rest of the way to Washington.
Each moment felt as if they were walking through Jell-O. Washington seemed to move as quickly as it did slowly. Meetings with Senators and government officials seemed to pass in the blink of an eye as Allie continued to try and piece together what had happened at the lab.
One thing was clear to her: her short trip was going to turn into an indefinite matter.
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Familiar roads began to come into view as Sam, Wanda, and Allie made their way to the Barnes home. Taking her phone in her hand, Allie made sure to let her brother know that she had made it back, surviving her trip that seemed to have lasted forever. When she put her phone back into her pocket, she rested her head against the window.
"Are you feeling okay?" Sam asked her and Wanda perked up in the backseat to listen.
"I'm fine," she sighed.
"Are you?" Wanda raised her brow.
"I'll be fine," Allie corrected. "I just want this to work out."
"It's going to," Sam assured her. "These attacks are happening in more than just America. The Senator said it himself in our meeting. These other places have to decide if they want to be involved in this. If they do, they'll come here and we'll go from there."
"And if they don't decide to get involved? Won't that make it harder to try and find whoever these people are?" Allie's brow raised.
"Allie, let's worry about that when we get there, okay?" Sam sighed.
Looking over at him, Allie frowned until she felt Wanda's hand gently reach for her shoulder. Allie looked to Wanda who sat with a 'Sam is right' look. She nodded as she turned her attention back to the road and watched her house come into view.
"God, it's good to be home," Allie sighed.
Sam pulled the car into the driveway, honking his horn as he parked. Bucky soon appeared in the front door, smiling in relief as he realized who was there. He crossed his arms against his chest, leaning against the doorframe and watching as Allie got out of the car.
"I'll get your bags," Sam assured her and she began to make her way towards the door.
The pain and queasiness she had felt on the Quinjet was still present. Masking it to the best of her ability, Allie watched as Bucky simply tilted his head in the doorway and called out to the kids. It didn't take long for Steven and Sarah to appear in the doorway. Both were looking up at Bucky expectantly, but he simply nodded in Allie's direction. Eyes lit up as they fell on her.
"Mommy!" Sarah yelled as the kids raced outside to meet her.
Bucky simply watched them run over to her, frowning only when he noticed her hiding a wince when the kids thudded against her. She simply smiled and pushed away pain as she knelt down and kissed both of them on the forehead.
"Were you guys good for Dad?" she smiled.
"Yes," Sarah nodded quickly.
"No you weren't," Steven argued before looking at Allie. "She tried to flush T.J.'s toy down the toilet!"
"You did what?" Allie's eyebrows shot up.
"Did not!" Sarah glared at Steven.
"Did too!" Steven shot back.
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did she?" Allie mouthed to Bucky who nodded.
"The night you left," he said simply.
"And you didn't think to tell me?" she stood with a raised brow.
"It didn't flush, the toilet's not clogged, I washed the stuffed animal, it's fine," he shrugged.
"Well, when she waterboards another toy, make sure I know," Allie tried not to smirk where the kids could see.
Steven and Sarah found themselves fizzling out of their argument as they turned back to Allie and tightly held onto her. She winced again, Bucky being the only one who could see. Frowning once more, he looked to the kids.
"Why don't you go inside and get your present for Mom," he suggested and the two raced to the house. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," she lied.
"We don't bullshit each other," Bucky reminded her. "How are you feeling?"
"Can we talk about this later? I really would like a bath," she suggested.
"A bath? That tells me everything I need to know," he sighed. "I'll go draw a bath for you up in our bathroom."
If eyes could change into the shapes of hearts, Allie's did so in that moment as Bucky kissed her cheek and made his way inside. Sam and Wanda both walked up and looked at her.
"You two make me sick," Sam placed the bags down on the porch and folded his arms across his chest.
"What?" Allie asked incredulously. "Why?"
"I heard what he said. Drawing you a bath," he shook his head.
"How does that make you sick? It's sweet," Wanda questioned.
"Exactly," he continued to shake his head. "It's too sweet."
"Well, I'll take it," Allie groaned as she began moving towards the door.
"Wait, Allie, I was joking," Sam followed her, picking the bags up again.
"I can tell by how unfunny you are," she quipped and the three walked in the house.
T.J. was on the floor playing with blocks before he noticed Sam and Wanda, making his way over to them and requesting to be picked up. Wanda quickly obliged and Allie made her way to living room where she sat down. Small, thundering footsteps could be heard as Steven and Sarah made their way back downstairs.
"Here!" Steven smiled.
Steven had a handful of brightly colored flowers and Sarah held up a canvas. On the canvas, it was clear that Bucky had let them in his art room. All sorts of colors filled the space, Bucky's handwriting in thick black letters reading Love Steven, Sarah, and T.J. across the brush strokes. Allie smiled as she kissed the tops of their heads and went to put it on display in the kitchen. Taking the flowers from Steven, she placed them in a vase, displaying them along the kitchen counter.
"Hey, love," Bucky whispered to her as he walked into the kitchen. "It's ready."
"Alright, thanks," she said softly. "I like it by the way."
"They wanted to do something for you," he grinned.
"I like the choice of flowers, too," she laughed. "They're colorful."
"Steven's idea," he continued to grin. "I have something for you, too."
"Oh do you?" she smirked.
"Not that," Bucky rolled his eyes. "Yet."
"Then what is it?" Allie asked softly as she began to walk past him and to the stairs, turning to Wanda and Sam for only a moment. "Could you guys take the kids outside to play while Buck and I talk?"
Wanda nodded and the two took the kids into the backyard. The laughter could be heard ringing outside, finding its way inside and making both Allie and Bucky smile. Walking up to their bedroom, Allie tried to contain her winces as she took off her tactical gear and went in their en suite. Sitting on the counter was a vase of red roses. Laughing softly, Allie turned towards Bucky.
"Was this what you had for me?" she smiled.
"I know it's nothing grand, but-"
"You know I like flowers," she laughed.
"Yeah," he nodded.
Slipping into her bath, Allie took a deep breath. Bucky leaned against the doorframe, folding his arms across his chest as he frowned at her wincing. Looking at the ground, he shook his head.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" he asked in a voice so soft that it was almost a whisper.
"Have you ever had your ass handed to you? By someone with abilities like yours?" she sighed.
"Did you really have to ask that?" he frowned.
"James, I'm not the only one with these powers," she frowned. "I don't know where they got them, but they knew about the lab. I had my ass handed to me without a chance to even fight back."
"What do you mean?" he asked as he looked back up to her.
"They came out of nowhere. James, I didn't even stand a chance. If Wanda and Sam hadn't been there," she sighed and paused before looking at him. "I don't know if I'd be home right now if it hadn't been for them getting me out of there."
"How did you not see them? Allie, you're usually noticing things behind me or your brother or anyone else," he furrowed his brow.
"The ice," Allie's eyes furrowed. "I was looking at this ice that they'd made. I found something interesting about these powers of mine."
"And what is that?"
Taking a deep breath, Allie made a clump of ice in her hand. Holding it out to Bucky, she nodded for him to take it in his hands. He took it, looking around as if it was supposed to be obvious. He frowned at her when he didn't understand what she meant.
"Look at the pattern," she instructed.
"Okay, so I see the pattern," Bucky confirmed.
"Good," she said as she made a second clump of ice and threw it to him as well. "Now look at that pattern."
"It's the same," he said after looking for a moment.
"Exactly. It's like a fingerprint," she said. "That's what we discovered. If you grab my phone, I can show you what I mean."
"I believe you," he assured her.
"I figured that you would," she sighed and quickly made the ice disappear from his hands. She sunk further down into her bath, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her head against them. "Everything is just far more complicated than I ever thought that it was."
Bucky nodded his head. Walking over and sitting beside the tub, he took Allie's hand in his. Kissing the back of her hand, he watched as she looked back to him. With everything that they had seen in all the time that they had been together, he wasn't sure that he'd ever seen her looking quite as defeated as she did then.
"I just want to lay down," she whispered.
"Then I'll grab you a towel," he smiled.
Not another word was said in the bathroom as he handed her a towel and let her simply wrap herself in it. Draining the water, he watched as Allie simply walked back into their bedroom and laid down on the bed, still wrapped in her towel.
"So we're that kind of tired?" he mused and she simply nodded.
"Lay with me?" she asked.
Obliging, Bucky kicked off his shoes and laid beside her, wrapping his arm around her waist. The two were silent as they could still hear the loud laughter of the kids and playful yells from Sam outside. Neither knew how long they'd been laying there in silence. Allie was just happy to feel as if she could breath for just a moment.
Allie sighed as she settled closer against Bucky, staring at the space in front of her. Eyes finally falling on the pictures on her nightstand, she smiled softly. Two pictures were sat in small, tidy frames.
One image was from early 1940s Brooklyn. Taken shortly after Bucky had received his official Army uniform, he'd spent an afternoon with the Rogers siblings all decked out in it. Teasing him, Allie had taken his hat and worn it. Steve had taken the picture, Bucky noticing the camera and wrapping his arms around Allie, chin on her shoulder, as she closed her eyes and gave a silly grin.
The second picture was from their time in the Commandos. Sat on Bucky's lap, Allie had her arms around his shoulders as he held her waist. They were both smiling, but neither looked at the camera. They hadn't even known that a picture was taken until it had been given to them.
Her grip tightened on Bucky's arm and she bit her lip.
"James?" she asked softly.
"Yes, love?" he responded just as softly.
"If everything goes the way we're hoping it will," she began. "Will you be by my side for it?"
"Without hesitation," his voice was firm. "That's not even a question."
She took a deep breath as a strong knock sounded on the front door and Steve's voice rang throughout the house.
"Where's my little sister?" he called out. "Is she in one piece?"
"Yeah, I am," Allie yelled. "Stay there, I'll be down shortly."
"You know, we could see if he'd take the kids this weekend," Bucky suggested as Allie pushed herself off of the bed and walked to the closet, pulling out a comfortable pair of pants and a loose-fitting shirt.
"That's incredibly last minute," Allie sighed.
"Well, it's Friday, he offered to take them when you got back, he adores them," Bucky listed off.
"But we can't just spring that on him. We would be scrambling to pack things for the kids," she countered. "Plus I've missed them."
"I know you've missed them," he sighed as he rubbed his temples. "But you need to recover. You can't exactly do that when you've got kids constantly bouncing on and around you."
"James," she sighed.
"Allison. I've only been on dad mode this week. Let me be on husband mode this weekend," he grinned. "Solely husband mode."
Pulling the shirt over her head, Allie looked at Bucky and narrowed her eyes slightly. He wasn't budging. Sighing to herself she nodded.
"Okay."
"Perfect," he smiled brightly. "Let me go talk to Steve."
Before Allie could say another word, Bucky had left the room and his footsteps could be heard against the stairs. Voices could be heard bouncing against the walls as Bucky greeted Steve. Sharon's voice quickly joined the mix as Allie looked at herself in the mirror. Pushing her hair out of her face, she let out a deep sigh. She looked as tired as she felt.
Walking downstairs, Steve smiled at her. Quickly walking up to her and wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace, his brows furrowed in confusion when she tensed up.
"I'm guessing it's a good thing that Sharon and I are taking the kids this weekend then?" Steve frowned.
"I'm fine," she rolled her eyes at her brother.
"So wincing means fine now?" Sharon frowned.
"I'm fine," she pressed again.
Sharon and Steve simultaneously gave her a frown as the kids could be heard rushing into the house, followed by Sam and Wanda urging them to slow down. Steven and Sarah were automatically hanging off of Steve's arms, greeting Sharon with toothy grins.
Allie was surprised that she was still able to hear anything after her kids began to scream in joy after being told that they'd be spending the weekend with Steve. Bucky volunteered to go and pack the kids bags, Sam and the kids themselves joining him to help bring the bags down, as Allie seemingly explained what had happened for the millionth time.
"So," Steve began. "You're not fine."
"I will be fine," Allie sighed.
"Promise me you'll take care of yourself this weekend," Steve sighed.
Allie had her eyes narrowed at her brother, looking over to Sharon who gave her a small frown. She sighed as the footsteps came thundering down the stairs as the others returned.
"I will," she promised.
"Good," he said. "Now let me go out and get dinner for all of us. Does that sound okay?"
Allie looked at Bucky who nodded and sighed. Wanda was stood with T.J. in her arms, easily holding the now sleeping toddler. Sam had Sarah trying to jump onto his back while Steven was swinging his arm back-and-forth.
"Alright," she nodded.
"So what does everyone want?" Steve grinned as he turned to face the others.
"Cheeseburgers!" Sarah and Steven shouted.
"I like the sound of that," Steve grinned.
"Cheeseburgers it is," Bucky grinned.
Steve's car wound up being packed with people as Steven and Sarah happily ran to join him and Sharon on the way to pick up dinner. Sam and Wanda began to unwind in the living room as Bucky moved the kids' bags to sit closer to the front door. Allie looked back to the new painting sitting in the kitchen that read her children's names.
Closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath, Allie knew that Sam was right. Things were going to happen the way they were supposed to.
Everything would be alright.