Ashes of the Heart

Steve stood at a distance from the others, almost completely obscured from the crowd gathering by the cook tent by a stack of lumber. He had one arm around Bucky and one around Runa, both of whom had arms around him. Together they stood and looked at the barn that their friends and neighbors had come to help them build, the clean smell of sawdust in the air, as well as the rich, smoky smell of barbecuing meat, the pork and beef cooking since shortly before dinnertime.

“That is a mighty fine barn.” Bucky finally said, admiring the tall, two story structure.

“That it is.” Steve agreed.

“It’s a good start.” Runa said quietly. “And it’s the right way to start, with everyone here, working together.”

“We are very blessed in our friends.” Steve agreed.

“And each other.” Bucky added. The three looked to one another, before they moved to share another hug between the three of them, and kisses that were more chaste than the ones shared the previous night, but still filled with warmth and affection.

There was a cough from behind them, and the three separated quickly, all turning to look at the one who had caught them in the act.

Reverend Fury.

Runa felt the blood drain from her face all the way down to her toes.

“Don’t stop on my account.” The Reverend drawled.

“Reverend, it isn’t what it looks like.” Steve tried to say, flushed from the embarrassment of getting caught by the Reverend of all people.

Fury gave him a dry look, one that said Steve was a terrible liar and not fooling anyone. “From what I’ve heard and seen, it is exactly what it looked like. So,” He looked the three over, “When are you going to ask me to perform this marriage ceremony properly?”

The three stared at him blankly.

The Reverend smiled. “You three aren’t the first ones to feel this way.” He assured them. “Mister Rogers, the entire town knows that you and Mister Barnes are close, closer than brothers. Closer than most lovers. That was a part of the reason everyone was so surprised when you said you had sent for a bride. And you, Missus Rogers, I’ve seen you with them both. I’ve seen them with you. I may only have one eye left to me, but I’m good at watching people, figuring things out about them. It’s not hard to figure out that you care for the both of them, and they both care for you. Maybe even love, but that’s not for me to say.” The three looked at each other in surprise, not having dreamed that they had been obvious enough for Reverend Fury to find out. He smiled at them, and continued. “There are folks in this nation already who have more than one spouse; granted, it’s usually men marrying multiple women… But if a man can have two wives, why can’t a woman have two husbands? It would take some mighty special people to pull that off, though. The law might say it’s wrong, but anyone who watched the three of you together would know that sometimes, the law isn’t always right when it comes to matters of the heart.”

Bucky grinned suddenly, before looking to Steve and Runa. “All right,” He demanded, “Who wants to get married?”

~*~

The news spread quickly through the crowd of people who were preparing to settle down for supper and the celebrations to follow. The crowd began to buzz with surprise, until Reverend Fury stood up on a chair and called for attention.

The tall man looked over everyone as they gradually fell silent, giving him their attention.

“It seems that I don’t need to make this announcement, but I’m going to do it anyway. You’re all invited to a wedding tonight, a special wedding in the way that all weddings are special, but a touch different. Love is love. You know it, I know it, and God certainly knows it. God created love. God gives love. God is love. When two people love one another, that’s just fine. More than fine, that is a celebration in the eyes of the lord. It doesn’t matter who those two people are, as long as their love isn’t hurting anyone else. Oh yes, love can hurt, love can hurt something terrible, but it can also heal. Heal a heart and soul better than anything else God or man put on this planet we call home. So when three people come together and realize that they truly love one another and want to be together, who are we to stop them? People are meant to love and be loved, it is a gift given to us from the good Lord himself. So when people come together in love, it is the duty of those around them to wish them joy and happiness. Life can be a cold, hard place, but love makes it easy. Love is a shelter in the storm. The entire community here in Amaranto Springs is fueled by love, so I am asking all of you today to stand witness to a rarer type of love than what we usually see. If there are any who object to this, well, I’m sorry. I’m performing the marriage ceremony whether you object or not, but I still hope you come to wish these folk happiness. No one will chase you off; everyone here worked hard and deserves tonight’s celebrations just as much as everyone else. All I ask is that you keep any negative opinions to yourselves. The world has too much negativity in it already, and we should seize joy and happiness where we can find it. Now, with all that said, please gather in front of the barn for the ceremony. It’s as good a place as any.”

The whoops of approval and the applause that followed his speech made Reverend Fury smile as he stepped down off his chair.

~*~

The first time Runa was married, it was in a beautiful cream-colored challis dress in front of a church, to a handsome man dressed in his Sunday best.

The second time Runa was married, it was in a simple purple calico day dress in front of a newly erected barn to two handsome men dressed in their soiled and stained work clothes.

Oddly enough, she was more excited for the second wedding than she had been for the first. And while she knew she would always treasure the memories of both her weddings as if they were priceless jewels, the second was the more beautiful of the two.

It was finally putting things right, to the way they should have been all along.

“Steven Rogers, do you take Runa Rogers to be your wedded wife and James Barnes to be your wedded husband, to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love them, comfort them, honor and keep them for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to them, as long as you all shall live?”

“I do.” Steve said firmly, a broad smile on his face.

“James Barnes, do you take Runa Rogers to be your wedded wife and Steven Rogers to be your wedded husband, to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love them, comfort them, honor and keep them for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to them, as long as you all shall live?”

“I do.” Bucky promised, grinning just as broadly as Steve was.

“Runa Rogers, do you take Steven Rogers and Bucky Barnes to be your wedded husbands to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love them, comfort them, honor and keep them for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health and forsaking all others, be faithful only to them so long as you all shall live?”

“I do.” Runa said in a joyous, clear voice, feeling as if her face would crack from how large her smile was.

“Then by the power vested in me by the Lord our God, I pronounce you husbands and wife.” Reverend Fury smiled at the three of them. “Now you may kiss one another to seal the union.”

The three drew together into another group embrace, Steve kissing Runa before Bucky kissed him and Runa kissed Bucky. There were cheers all around, and if any objected to the unorthodox marriage, they didn’t show it.

Bucky was the one to raise his head and smile over at the crowd first. “And now, if the ladies say it’s ready, let’s all settle down for supper, fellowship, and then a good time.”

His words were greeted with more whistles and cheers.

~*~

Dinner was wonderful, a giant picnic served buffet style, everyone eating and drinking happily. People came up to the newlyweds frequently to wish them well, and thank them for such a spread. Steve always smiled and told them that, while they might have supplies the foodstuffs, all the credit went to the ladies who had spent the day turning it into a meal the President of the United States would envy.

Once the food had been devoured, Runa stole kisses from both Steve and Bucky before hurrying to where basins of hot water had replaced the platters and dishes of food. She helped to scrub the dishes, the women and children all helping so that the task took hardly any time at all. By the time they were done, the musicians were taking up places inside the empty barn, tuning their instruments in preparation for the dancing to come. Lanterns were lit to illuminate the building and people crowded inside as the dancing began.

Bucky grabbed Steve by the hand and dragged him, protesting, onto the dance floor.

“Buck, you know I don’t know how to-”

“Well tonight you’re going to learn. You’re going to dance with me, and then with Runa, and you’re going to like it.”

Steve laughed. “Well, when you put it like that, I guess I don’t have much of a choice, now do I?”

“No choice at all.” Bucky grinned as he and Steve moved around the dance floor together, Steve frequently looking down at his feet while Bucky quietly gave instructions or praise as needed. By the time the dance had ended, Steve was doing passably fair, and Bucky smiled as he handed him off to Runa, who had stood on the sidelines watching.

“Once you two take a turn around the dancefloor, it’ll be you and me, darlin.” Bucky promised her. “Steve can dance with Laura then. We’ve got to keep him dancing tonight, all right?”

“All right.” Runa grinned as she took Steve’s hand and pulled him, laughing and only half protesting, onto their makeshift dance floor.

The dancing lasted well into the night, and between them, Bucky and Runa managed to keep Steve dancing through nearly all of it. None of them lacked for partners; everyone who lived on Bluestone Ranch getting at least one turn about the dancefloor, though in the cases of Iris and Wanda it was quite a few more than that as men vied to dance with them. Runa saw Iris dance with Bruce at least three times, and she felt a thrill of excitement race through her at that. Iris deserved someone, and if it happened to be Bruce, well, that would be just fine! It was good to have a doctor in the family, or so she had heard.

Late that night Runa smiled as she watched the last wagon roll down the drive towards the road as the revelries finally came to a close. Bucky was talking to Iris, and Wanda was cleaning up the last of the party detritus.

“Wanda,” Runa walked over to her, “Some things can be left for tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to put it off, Runa.”

“I’ll help you. Tomorrow. It’s late. We should all be curled up asleep in our beds.” Runa protested, looking to the tent she shared with Iris and Wanda, only to gasp as arms wrapped around her from behind. She looked up, and found Steve smiling down at her. “You startled me.”

“So jumpy.” He teased. “See, this is why I didn’t want to wake you up in church.”

She flushed, swatting at his arm. “I’m not that bad.”

“Only sometimes.”

“Sometimes, then.” She agreed, closing her eyes and leaning back against him, covering his hands with her own. It was nice to be held like this, she decided.

“Come on. It’s time for us to go to bed.” Steve murmured. Runa sighed; a near perfect moment ruined by practicality.

“I’ll say my good-nights, then.” She murmured as Bucky came up, wrapping arms around both Runa and Steve.

“I’m certain no one will mind if you head off to bed without saying good-night.” He smiled down at her. She looked up with a slight frown.

“What about you two?”

“Oh, we’ve already decided that you’re sleeping with us from now on.” Bucky said oh-so-casually.

“We are married, after all.” Steve agreed. “And Bucky and I could use your brand of softness between us at night, even though all we’re going to do is sleep.”

She flushed at that. “But, my things-”

“Iris, Laura, and Wanda all helped move your things to our tent right after supper, when the dancing first started and we made certain you were distracted. So you can’t use that as an excuse.”

“I need to change-”

“We’re married, darlin’. You can change in front of us and we can change in front of you.” Bucky reminded her gently.

She bit her lower lip, heart pounding. “All right. I see you two have already thought of everything.”

“We can’t leave it all to you, General.” Steve teased her, “We have to do our fair share of the planning and doing some of the time.”

She smiled at that. “Well, I suppose.”

“Come on.” Bucky said, releasing them but catching up one of Runa’s hands and one of Steve’s as he released Runa as well. “Let’s get to sleep. Tomorrow comes early, and it’s going to be a long day.” He walked with them back to the tent, which was a relatively nice affair, a wall tent that was large enough to stand up in, smaller than the one the women had shared, but still roomy. Bucky and Steve had said it was just like the tents they had when they were officers in the army.

When she entered the tent it was dark, but she could make out the shadowy shape of the trunk she had stored all her clothes and things in, beside the one that Bucky and Steve were sharing. She went to it and drew out her nightgown, feeling more comfortable changing in the darkness. Steve and Bucky entered behind her, and the only sound was the rustle of fabric as the three of them stripped off their clothes. She could hear one of her men getting down on the bed, as she reached back to unlace her corset, and didn’t bother to fight back the grin that came when she thought of Steve and Bucky as her men.

“Need help?” Bucky asked quietly, his voice almost in her ear. She jumped slightly, before flushing.

“I’ll be fine.” She assured as he ran a hand down her back lightly until he found her hands at the bottom of her corset.

“Here. Let me help. It’ll be quicker.” He said, batting her hands away and undoing the laces, fumbling in the dark a moment before he let out a little curse, causing Runa to laugh softly. “What, did you knot these?”

“I did not.” She reached back again, slipping her hands beneath his and finding the lacings before sighing, “It seems I did. Or you pulled them the wrong way.”

“I’ve got it. Just give me a minute.” Bucky said as Steve chuckled in the darkness. Finally Bucky managed it, and loosened the corset enough for Runa to unhook the busk. Bucky set the corset on top of her trunk, the rest of her clothing following before she pulled on her light nightgown. She could feel him still standing behind her as she did.

“You don’t have to wait for me.” She pointed out softly as she turned, pulling her nightgown into place.

“Yes, I do. Otherwise you’d have to climb over to me to get into bed.” He reasoned, making her smile once more. He placed a hand on the small of her back and guided her into the bed.

“Are you afraid that I’ll go running off into the night?” She asked.

“Maybe not running off into the night, but I know sleeping with the both of us can’t be an easy thing to wrap your mind around. You’re more used to sleeping with Iris than with us.”

“I’ve slept with Steve far more than I’ve slept with Iris.” She countered as she laid herself down next to Steve, who wrapped his arms around her while Bucky laid down, spooning against her. Runa tensed a moment, but then relaxed. Steve placed a kiss on her forehead, Bucky placing a kiss on her temple, before the two of them shared a quick kiss.

“I like this.” Runa murmured, already beginning to doze; she wasn’t used to late nights any longer.

“You’re not the only one, sweetheart.” Steve murmured. “Things have never felt as right as this does.”

“Will you two stop jawing and get to sleep?” Bucky mock grumbled. Steve and Runa both stifled laughs at that.

“Whatever you say, Bucky.” Runa smiled, wrapping an arm around Steve as she snuggled back against Bucky.