Chapter 5
“So, Sam was beaten by... who?”
“He calls himself ‘Ant-Man’. Heard of him?”
“Yes.”
“Should we go after him?”
“Not yet.”
“...Good talk, Tones.”
---
“Well, this is a nice surprise.”
Steve and Toni turned to see Clint and Natasha in the doorway to the Mansion’s gym. Toni was holding her red and gold shield, and Steve was in his Mark 2 Iron Captain armor.
“Yeah, because I'm sure you had no idea we’ve been here for the past three hours.” Toni snarked, and made her way over to her friends, tossing her shield aside. Steve pressed his arc reactor, waiting until his new suit fully retracted into itself before joining them.
“How’s wedding planning going?” Clint winked at them.
“Actually,” Steve hesitated, “we already did that. We didn't want to have a big thing, more chances for the press or some crazy villain to crash it.”
“I get that. Congratulations.”
“But we’re back now.” Toni continued, calling her shield to her hand and leading the group out of the gym, folding it into a watch. “The Winter Soldier has almost completely wiped Hydra off the map. We’ve managed to track him to Bucharest, where he’s staying. When the time is right, Steve and I are going to offer him asylum here in the Mansion.”
“Does the government know about this?”
“You're funny.”
“Well, so long as you're here, we have a mission.”
“Um, actually.” Toni looked nervous, “Why don't you just take Steve? I've... got some work to do, for Pepper.”
“...Okay.”
---
As soon as they were alone, Steve turned to her.
“You wanna tell me what's up?”
She shook her head.
“Not yet.”
---
“Payload secure. Thanks, Sam.”
“Don't thank me.”
“I'm... not thanking that thing.”
“His name is Redwing.”
“I'm still not thanking it.”
“He's cute. Go ahead, pet ‘im.”
---
“You know, he knew you. You pal, your buddy, your Bucky.”
---
“How was it?”
“Not yet.”
---
“All of your projects have just been approved and funded!”
The crowd cheered, and Toni tried to keep her hands away from-
Well, it didn't matter. No one could notice, yet, anyway.
---
“I work for the State Department. Human Resources. I know it's boring… but it enabled me to raise a son. I'm very proud of what he grew up to be. His name was Charlie Spencer. You murdered him. In Sokovia. Not that it matters in the least to you. You think you fight for us. You just fight for yourself. Who's going to avenge my son, Stark? He's dead… and I blame you.”
---
“11 Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Lagos, Nigeria, last month. The traditionally reclusive Wakandans were on an outreach mission in Lagos when the attack occurred.”
---
“What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeria?”
---
“Captain Rogers wished to know when Mrs. Rogers was arriving.”
“Thank you, Vision, we’ll be right down.”
---
“Five years ago, I had a heart attack. I dropped right in the middle of my backswing. Turned out it was the best round of my life, because after 13 hours of surgery and a triple bypass… I found something 40 years in the Army had never taught me: Perspective. The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives… but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some… who would prefer the word ‘vigilantes’.”
“And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?”
“How about ‘dangerous’? What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?”
---
“For the past four years, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution.”
“The Sokovia Accords?”
“Approved by 117 countries… it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary.”
---
“Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords. Talk it over.”
“And if we come to a decision you don't like?”
“Then you retire.”
---
The Avengers stared at the packet, waiting to see who would make the first move.
“Steve.” Toni turned to him, “I'm ready to talk about it.”
Steve nodded.
“So am I.”
She led him to the next office, blacking out the windows for privacy. They could hear their teammates beginning to argue, already choosing sides.
“Toni, we have to do something.”
“Do we?”
“Don't be ridiculous, we can't just retire, but I don't trust-”
“Why can't we? Huh? Give me one good reason why we can't retire, and I’ll give you one reason why we can.”
“We have to do what's right for the world. Their future”
“No, we have to do what's right for our world. Our future.”
Steve froze. Toni sighed, reaching into her purse.
She slowly put the pictures on the table, sliding them over to Steve.
“Is that...”
“Brooklyn Rogers.” She nodded, looking up at him with tears in her eyes. “They say a mother knows these things.”
At his shocked silence, she continued. “Don't talk to me about the world, Steve. I have my world right here, in this room.”
Steve sat down, holding one of the pictures in his hand.
“That's her head.” Toni pointed, smiling despite everything. “And look,” She leaned over his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his neck, and he could feel the small bump pressing against his back, now that he knew to check for it. “Her hands are balled up into little fists.”She bumped her forehead against his cheek. “We got a little fighter.”
He knew she meant it in a good way, but the thought of his daughter having to fight the way he had... just no.
“Toni, I can't sign.” She sighed, nodding.
“And I have to sign.”
“I have to keep fighting.”
“I know.”
“To make the world safe.”
“I know.”
“For her.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“So where do we go from here?”
Steve turned, pulling Toni into his lap. He curled a hand protectively over her stomach, pressing a kiss just below her ear.
“What if someone is counting on this dividing us?” He asked suddenly.
“What do you mean?”
“What if there’s something we’re not seeing?”
---
“We need a plan.”
“I have one, but you're not going to like it.”
“As long as we stay together.”
“Always. Sort of.”
---
Steve walked back into the room with the Avengers, tears in his eyes. Toni had taken the pictures, and he was left holding her rings.
He looked up at them, letting the tears fall.
“She left.”
That was when he got the text.
---
“Margaret Carter was known to most as a founder of SHIELD… but I just knew her as Aunt Peggy. She had a photograph in her office. Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I never told anyone we were related.”
---
Later, it was just Steve in the church, long after everyone left. Toni seemed to materialize next to him, squeezing his arm. “You shouldn't be here.” He whispered.
“You need me.” It wasn't a question.
“Always.”
“Then I'm here.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too. How’s everyone dividing?
“Natasha, Rhodey, and Vis want to sign. Pietro, too, I think. But not without Wanda.”
“You’d think after Sokovia she would jump at the chance to shift the blame.”
“She's just a kid.”
Toni put her head on Steve’s arm.
“What about Clint? Backing Nat?”
Steve hesitated.
“Actually, it looks like Clint, Sam, and Wanda are following the shield.”
“That's good, that they're following you, and not really fighting the accords. It'll be easier to keep them out of trouble, when the time comes.”
“Nat doesn't think it’s all that great.”
“They’ll be okay.”
Toni perked up slightly, listening.
“Someone’s coming. I have to go.”
“Go where?”
She smiled, a light dancing in her eyes.
“Stay safe. That's an order.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
---
“Just because it's the path of least resistance doesn't mean it's the wrong path. Staying together is more important than how we stay together.”
“I let my wife walk out over this. Don't even try.”
“I know. I'm sorry”
“Then what are you doing here?”
“I didn't want you to be alone.”
---
“Wakanda is proud to extend it’s hand in peace.”
“EVERYONE GET DOWN!”
---
“When you were spying on us from across the hall...”
“You mean when I was doing my job.”
“Did Peggy know?”
“She kept so many secrets. I didn't want her to have one from you.”
---
“Steve, they're linking the bombing to the Winter Soldier.”
“It can't have been him, our intel has him laying low in Bucharest for nearly a year.”
“Well, we better check in on him now.”
---
“T'Challa. Task force will decide who brings in Barnes.”
“Don't bother, Miss Romanoff. I'll kill him myself.”
---
“You're gonna have to hurry. We have orders to shoot on sight.”
---
“Do you know me?”
“You're Steve Rogers. You're married to Toni Stark.”
“That's right.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“I killed her parents.”
“We know.”
“Is she going to kill me?”
“No, but I'm going to need you to come with me. There are people coming for you, and they aren't planning on taking you alive.”
“That's smart. Good strategy.”
“Buck, I know you weren't in Vienna. But they don't. Come with me.”
“Okay.”
---
“Breach! Breach! Breach!”
---
“Congratulations, Cap. You're a criminal.”
---
“So, you like cats?”
“Sam.”
“What? Dude shows up dressed like a cat and you don't wanna know more?”
“Your suit… it's Vibranium?”
“The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations. A mantle, passed from warrior to warrior. And now, because your friend murdered my father, I also wear the mantle of king. So, I ask you… as both warrior and king… how long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?”
---
“Consequences? You bet there'll be consequences. Obviously you can quote me on that 'cause I just said it. Anything else? Thank you, sir.”
“Consequences?”
“Secretary Ross wants you both prosecuted. Had to give him something.”
There were too many people around. He wanted to hug her, or at least tell her how gorgeous she looked in that red dress. It was clear she was trying to prove that she didn't have any weapons on her, but he could recognise her watch, the one that housed her shield. It comforted him, knowing she could protect herself if needed.
He could only hope she had a suit stashed somewhere.
Sam was looking at him from his right, and Natasha was behind Toni.
Fuck it.
“You look beautiful, Toni.” He looked at her sadly, trying to look heartbroken. Her mouth was a tight line, but her eyes were dancing.
“I know.”
---
“The glass is soundproof. Just make an angry face every now and then and we should be fine.”
“I've missed you.”
“Me, too.”
“How was the doctor?”
“Looks like Brooke’s lungs are going to be perfectly functional.”
“Any traces of the serum?”
“None so far. I think we might just be getting a normal little girl.”
“All I've ever wanted. Next step?”
“Haven't talked to my next step yet, but I think I've found us the perfect babysitter. Look sad.”
Steve saw Ross glaring out of the corner of his eye, and looked up at Toni. Thinking about their baby, his eyes filled with tears pretty quickly.
“It’ll be over, soon, baby. I promise.” She pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, and left him sitting in the room, alone.
He watched her leave, trying his best not to smile as she swayed her hips.
He almost couldn't hold it in when she breezed right past the secretary, shutting him down completely.
---
“Longing. Rusted. Seventeen. Daybreak. Nine. Benign. Homecoming. One. Freight Car.”
“NO!”
---
“Soldier?”
“Ready to comply.”
“Mission report. December 16, 1991.”
---
“Who are you? What do you want?”
“To see an empire fall.”
---
“Please tell me you brought a suit.”
“Nope. Brought a dress. I got a shield, but I can't use it.”
“What?!”
“Now isn’t the time. Just trust me. Take this,” She spun the watch, unlocking the shield and thrusting it into Natasha’s hand, “If you see Steve, tell him I'm safe.”
“What?!”
“Go!”
---
Natasha locked eyes with Steve as he ran.
“She's safe!”
Steve stopped dead in his tracks, running in the opposite direction.
Huh.
---
“You could at least recognise me.”
---
“He asked me again if you were going to be there. I said I wasn't sure. You should've seen his little face. Just try, okay? I'm going to bed. I love you.”
---
Steve glanced at his phone. ‘Their not wrong about the oversight, just about the how. We’ll need an alternative for them.’
‘You got any ideas?’
‘Working on it.’
---
“Steve.”
“Which Bucky am I talking to?”
“Your mom's name was Sarah. You used to wear newspapers in your shoes.”
“Can't read that in a museum.”
---
“I'm not the only Winter Soldier.”
---
“Steve, if we call Toni-”
“I can't. I won't risk her.”
“She’d understand.”
“But you don't.”
As if she could hear them, Steve’s phone buzzed with a text from her.
‘Call Ant Man.’
---
“What happens when the shooting starts? What, do you kill Captain America?”
“If we're provoked.”
Toni snarled. “You listen very carefully. It doesn't matter what happens. You touch a hair on his head, I won't hesitate to kill you. You let me deal with my husband.”
“I thought you were separated. You're not wearing your rings.”
“Don't test me, Ross. I signed your papers, but don't think for a second I won't go back on them to protect Steve Rogers.”
“Ms. Stark-”
“I’m still married.”
“...Fine. Whatever. Barnes would've been eliminated in Romania if it wasn't for Rogers. There are dead people who would be alive now. Feel free to check my math.”
“All due respect, you're not going to solve this with boys in bullets, Ross. You gotta let us bring them in.”
“How would that end any differently from the last time?”
“Because this time, I won't be wearing kitten heels. 72 hours, guaranteed.”
“36 hours. Barnes. Rogers. Wilson.”
“Thank you, sir.”
The secretary left, and Toni sagged in relief, poking at her stomach in annoyance.
“Do you ever chill, kid?”
“Wow. Didn't see that coming.”
Toni looked at Natasha with an apologetic smile. “We haven't told anyone. Well, I can only assume Sam and Barnes will find out soon enough.”
“You and Steve have a plan, don't you?”
“Of course.”
“Sticking together?”
“Always.”
“Good.”
She hesitated, before gently putting a hand on Toni’s stomach.
“How is...”
“She's perfectly healthy. Want to see pictures, Auntie Nat?”
“... I’d like that a lot.”
---
“Peter Parker? I'm Toni Stark.”
“I-”
“Can we have a minute, May?”
---
“I didn't apply for an intern-”
“I know. I need your help... Spiderman.”
“Uh-”
“Relax, your secret is safe with me. And hey, after this, I can get you a real internship, if ya want. And how are you with babies?”
---
“When you can do the things that I can, but you don't… and then the bad things happen… they happen because of you.”
Toni smiled at the kid.
“Oh, yeah. You're definitely babysitting my kid. Let’s go, you ever been to Germany?”
“Uh, no?”
“Don't worry, you’ll love it. I’ll even let you meet my coworkers. From a safe distance, of course. Not letting you fight yet.”
“Fight?”
“Trust me.”
---
“I'm sorry.”
“If you do this… they will never stop being afraid of you.”
“I can't control their fear, only my own.”
As soon as they were gone, Vision sent a text to Toni and Steve.
‘They left, just like you said, Mrs. Rogers.’
---
“You know where they are.”
“I know someone who does.”
---
“I’m sorry. About everything.”
“You were just doing your job. When this is all over... The three of us should get lunch.”
“That... would be nice.”
---
“What timezone is this?”
---
“They're evacuating the airport.”
“Stark?”
“Rogers. Why can't anyone remember that?”
“Whatever. Suit up.”
---
“Wow, it's so weird how you run into people at the airport. Don't you think that's weird?”
“Definitely weird.”
“Toni, what are you doing here?” Steve looked at the team behind him. They all had weapons drawn.
He heard a soft beep in his ear. “Play along, Stevie.” she whispered, and he nodded slightly, just enough that she could notice, but no one else.
He trusted her.
---
The kid stole his shield.
He could only assume Toni explained everything to him, but he couldn't be sure.
Regardless, Toni saw something in him, enough that she apparently wanted him to babysit.
“Captain. Big fan. I'm... Spiderman.”
Big fan? Maybe he wasn't so bad.
---
“Time to be dramatic. I love you” She whispered in his ear, and it killed him that he couldn't say it back.
“You are such a sap.” She giggled.
---
“You have a metal arm? That is awesome, dude!”
“Stevie, once this is over, I think Uncle Bucky and Big Brother Peter will get along really well.”
Steve heard a squeak. “Big Brother Peter?”
Steve rolled his eyes, ducking behind a truck so his teammates couldn't see him talking. “The kid is in our private channel now?”
“We’ll get dinner soon. Trust me, you'll love him.”
“Really, Mrs. Rogers?”
“Focus, kid.”
---
“Guys, look. I'd love to keep this up but I've only got one job here today and I gotta impress Mrs. Rogers, so, l’m really sorry.”
“You’ve already impressed me, Pete. Keep up the good work.”
---
“Mrs. Rogers, they're not stopping.”
“Neither are we. It'll be alright, Peter.”
---
“Clint.”
“Hey, honey.”
“We still on for lunch tomorrow?”
“Depends on how hard you hit me.”
---
“Toni said you could hold up the gangway?”
“Don't worry about it, Mr. Captain. Sir.”
“You got heart, kid. I’ll see you at dinner.”
---
“We gotta go. That guy's probably in Siberia by now.”
---
“We need a diversion, something big.”
“I got something kind of big, but I can't hold it very long. On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half… don't come back for me.”
---
“Give me back my Rhodey.”
---
“I'm Clint.”
“I don't care.”
---
“Wanda, I'm sorry.”
“I'm sorry, too.”
---
“RHODES!”
She caught him just before he hit the ground.
“Toni?”
“I've got you. You're okay.”
Sam landed a few feet away, running over.
“No more.” he crouched down by them, Toni held Rhodey tighter, nodding at Sam.
“Turn yourself in.”
“But-”
“Trust me. Us. We’ll keep you safe.” She promised.
---
“Pete, get back to the hotel. Now. Take a shower, I’ll be back before the sun sets.”
“Promise?”
“I promise, kid.”
---
“You have a plan, don't you?”
“Of course.”
“Does it involve telling me?”
“...I'm sorry, Bucky.”
“Don't worry about it... You’re an ally.”
---
“The fake doctor is actually Colonel Helmut Zemo, Sokovian Intelligence. Zemo ran Echo Skorpion, a Sokovian covert kill squad.”
“So, what happened to the real Broussard?”
“He was found dead in a Berlin hotel room. Where police also found a wig and facial prosthesis approximating the appearance of one James Buchanan Barnes.”
“Son of a bitch. Tell Steve he was dead on, and get this to Ross.”
“Yes, Boss.”
---
“The Futurist, gentlemen! The Futurist is here! She sees all! She knows what's best for you, whether you like it or not.”
“Give me a break, Clint. I had no idea they’d put you here. Come on.”
“Yeah, well, you knew they'd put us somewhere, Toni.”
She flicked her wrist, and the camera shut off.
“Steve told you?”
Clint smiled.
“No, but I knew you had a plan.”
---
“Toni?”
She turned to Sam. He nodded at her. Clearly, Steve had filled him in.
“Congratulations.”
She smiled.
“You gonna be her Uncle Sam?”
She walked away, smiling as he groaned.
---
“So? Did he give you anything on Rogers?”
“Nope. Told me to go to hell. I'm going back to the compound instead, but you can call me anytime. I'll put you on hold, I like to watch the light blink.”
---
“She's gotta be a hundred years old right now.”
“So are we, pal.”
“He can't have been here more than a few hours.”
“Long enough to wake them up.”
---
When Toni appeared in the doorway, Steve lowered Bucky’s gun before he could even raise it.
“Calm down, Manchurian Candidate.” She stepped out of her suit, and Steve saw the padding she added in around her stomach as it shut into sentry mode. “I'm not after you, but if you point that thing at me we’re gonna have a problem.” She smiled sweetly up at Steve, as if they were choosing a movie on a Thursday night. “Hi, honey.” And she looked so innocent, stretchy jeans and a flowy white shirt covering her bump, all he wanted to do was pick her up and lock her away from anything that could hurt her or their daughter. “Hey. Caveman.” She snapped him back to reality, back to her.
“I only got one heat signature before coming in, so I'm just gonna stay in the back and let you two handle any fighting, okay?” Bucky was staring, confused, but Steve nodded. “Use your shield. Stay safe.” He waited until she had her shield raised in a defensive stance.
“Where is he?”
---
“If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep”
---
“You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?”
“I thought about nothing else for over a year. I studied you. I followed you. But now that you're standing here, I just realized… there's a bit of green in the blue of your eyes. How nice to find a flaw.”
---
December 16th, 1991.
They watched the video in horror.
When the Winter Soldier punched Howard, Toni whimpered, turning into Steve instinctively. Bucky looks mortified, reliving what he did.
They watched the video, and Zemo watched them. Waiting for blood.
---
“Toni. Don't.”
Zemo has left, but he won't get very far. Black Panther will catch him, and hold him down until Ross’ jet comes.
“I want him to die.”
“I know.”
“He wanted me to kill you. He thought I would-”
“But you wouldn't. I know that, so who cares what he thought?”
“I would never.”
“Toni. I know.”
Bucky was looking between her and the now blank screen warily, until smiled comfortingly at him. Looking through the Winter Soldier, she spoke directly to Bucky Barnes.
“I know what it’s like, to be used as a weapon. I don't blame you, so you shouldn't blame yourself.”
Bucky Barnes turned to his best friend with a soft smile. “It seriously took you 100 years to find the perfect gal?”
Steve gave him a light shove. “Did better than you, at least.”
Toni smiled at the boys, before realizing what was about to happen.
“Ross is coming, and you're both wanted. We have to go.”
---
“Justice will come soon enough.”
“Tell that to the dead.”
“The living are not done with you yet.”
---
“Meals at eight and five. Toilet privileges twice a day. Raise your voice, zap. Touch the glass, zap. You step out of line, you deal with me. Please, step out of line. Hm? So how does it feel? To spend all that time, all that effort… and, to see it fail so spectacularly?”
“Did it?”
Ross held up the day’s paper, showing the headline ‘AVENGERS RETURNED HOME’.
“It did.”
---
Steve and Toni made it back to Germany about five minutes before the sun set.
Their armor retracted, and they stepped out into the alley beside the hotel Peter was staying in. Toni had texted the kid to meet them outside in the suit she packed him. The formal one, not the Spider themed one.
“Mrs. Rogers!” Peter smiled brightly as he rushed over to them. His smile faltered when he saw the look of horror on her face. “Um-”
“Which one of those dumbasses punched you in the face?!” She demanded, while Steve gently ushered them into the car Happy had just pulled up in. As soon as they were seated, Toni grabbed the first aid kit that Steve insisted Happy put in every car Toni gets in and started cleaning the cuts around Peter’s black eye, frowning every time he winced from the pain. “It- I sorta, I was distracted by Mr. Bucky’s cool arm, and I kinda ran into a wall.” Steve couldn't help the laugh he let out, but when Toni glared at him, he could tell she was fighting back laughter as well.
---
Toni had booked a room a few doors down from Peter’s. “Get some sleep, kid.” She hugged him tightly. “You’ve earned it. We’ll eat breakfast on the plane home, okay?”
---
“So?” Toni smiled from the bed as Steve folded his suit carefully. Their armors had returned to the compound, and Happy had left them a suitcase for the night. “He’s adorable, isn’t he?” Steve smiled, shaking his head.
“Yeah, Toni. He’s adorable.”
---
Back at the compound, Bucky had shut himself up in the room the voice in the ceiling, F.R.I.D.A.Y., she had called herself, led him to. There were too many people, and he didn't know or trust any of them. Steve had assured him they were friends, but the only one he’d really met was-
“James?”
Sam.
He heard the door open and close, but he didn't turn away from the window. He listened to Sam’s footsteps until they stopped on his right side.
“Sure is pretty.” Sam commented. Bucky had been staring out the window for maybe an hour, he hadn't even noticed how nice the water looked.
“Thinkin’ of takin’ a swim?” He tried for a witty smile, but it looked more like a grimace. “We could, but I’d hate to have come this far only to be eaten by a shark.”
“Just punch it in the nose, ‘s what Toni told Steve.”
“Oh, just punch it? That easy, huh?”
Bucky let out a small laugh at the thought of Steve’s five feet tall wife punching a giant shark, but it only lasted a second.
“I can't stay.”
Sam smiled comfortingly at him.
“Because you think they wouldn't accept you.”
Bucky turned to him for the first time, “How-”
“You’re not the first soldier to come back a different man. Granted, your situation is more... extreme, but at the end of the day-”
Bucky shook his head. “Wasn't me.” he mumbled, “I know it wasn't me. They- I was just a vessel, really. They didn't want to risk any familiar faces breaking through their programming. Lot of good that did them.”
“Do you want to talk?” Sam asked gently, in what Bucky could only assume was his therapist voice. “How old are you?”
Bucky took a seat on the crazy comfortable bed. “I don't know. I... it feels like I've lived a hundred lives, but at the same time...”
“How old were you when you fell? You had so many different records-”
“I was 17.”
Sam stared at the man- boy? In stunned silence.
The world had been too cruel to Bucky Barnes.
“Steve and I were neighbors, growing up. He was older, but so small, we looked the same age. So, when Erskine helped Steve enlist... I followed him.” His brow was furrowed as he remembered a time long gone. “So when he became Captain America, I just kept following him. It’s all I've ever done, really. Because we needed each other. But-” Bucky Barnes looked up at Sam, and there were tears in his eyes.
“I don't think he needs me anymore.”
And Sam didn't even think twice before wrapping the kid up in a hug.
“Dude’s about to become a dad. You think he won't need his little brother to help out?”
Bucky tensed up. “The Soldier- He, I can't-”
“Hey, you are not the Winter Soldier. But if it makes you feel any better, we have 5 months before we need to worry about the baby.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Sam clapped Bucky on the shoulder as he stood up. “Well, the Soldier or James, do either of you want some food? I haven't eaten since before Germany, and I know a great recipe for pizza.”
“...James would like some pizza.”
“And the Soldier?”
“He... is not in charge.”
“Good answer.”
---
Toni rested a hand on her stomach, smiling as she watched over her family. Wanda had her head in Pietro’s lap and her feet in Vision’s, and the twins were trying to explain various emojis to Vis. Clint and Natasha had a corner claimed to themselves, those two hadn't let each other go since Clint had come back from the Raft. Rhodey was telling Peter a story, judging by the look on his face it was probably about his girlfriend from when he had first joined the air force who went missing. Sam was showing Bucky Snapchat, and the two were laughing loudly at the filters. That made her smile, seeing Bucky embracing the new century. Looking around, she realized she might have a thing for adopting broken people, and piecing them back together in a beautiful mosaic around her.
A warm hand covered hers, and Steve rested his chin on her shoulder.
“You alright?” He asked, and she turned to him, smile growing impossibly wider.
“I'm home.”
---