Thunders Legacy [B. Barnes] [Thunder Wolf B.2]

Chapter 16

Fern sat on the edge of her seat as Bucky drove up the long dirt road that led to their home. It was strange to think of something as a home without the Thunderbirds, but she also knew that home was wherever Bucky was.

"Remind me why we had to drive up here instead of landing next to the house like always?" Fern asked, watching as some of the animals from the forest raced along side the truck. She rolled down the window happily, waving at all of them; this right here also reminded her why this was a place she called home.

"Tony said everything hadn't been cleaned up enough for us to fly in." Bucky chuckled, slowing the truck.

"Knowing Tony, that just means– My house." Fern gasped. The truck rolled to a stop, and Fern stumbled from the cab before Bucky put it in park and turned it off. The area was clear; it looked like a battle didn't happen here nearly a year ago. The front was now a wide enough area for two quinjets to land, all clean and well-kept; someone had spent days landscaping it. A brick walkway stretched into the open space leading up to the house.

The house. It was not the house Fern remembered; it was bigger. Given the log cabin treatment on the outside, Fern fell in love. It looked three stories tall, and on the top was some kind of platform.

Fern glanced around the area once more, taking it all in. Though the house stood out from the forest around it, it had been so well landscaped and built it seemed to blend into the woods.

Arms came around her waist, a body pressed against her back, lips pressed to her temple, and she smiled. "Welcome home, doll."

"I know it's been a while since I was here, but how?" Fern turned in Bucky's arms, staring into the ocean-blue eyes.

"Well, when we didn't know if you were going to make it, Tony and I came to an agreement. The forest would become a wildlife refuge, fully funded and taken care of by the money that SHIELD and the government owed Harver for all of his work. If that ever ran out, Tony would take over. We were going to clean everything up and let the land take over the area where the house sat; we didn't want anyone in the forest. But if you did wake up, we started planning a house. Large enough to hold everyone but not be overwhelming for you. A lab for Tony and Bruce, a training room, space for Ryker, Elder, and Buzz to do as they please, and anything else you could ever want. But the most important is that up there," Bucky points to the platform on the roof. "A space for Mellan and the others to stay close by when they come home."

"You thought of everything, didn't you?" Fern smiles, feeling a tear slowly roll down her cheek.

"I tried. But I knew you would want him close if you had the choice. The mountain nest would have been fine, but I worried that it could have been traumatizing for him though he didn't spend much time there. So it was best to give him a place close to you, his home." Bucky pressed a kiss to her cheek, ridding it of the tear.

"You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, James Barnes. I'm not sure what I would do without you at this point. I don't know who I would be if you had never come into my life. But with you here, I'm not worried about the future because you're by my side. So all that matters is right here and now." Fern pushed to her tiptoes and caught his lips in hers. The kiss is short and sweet when she hears voices behind her. Looking up at him, Bucky's face has gone blank. "Buck, you okay?"

He blinks, smiling when he looks into her eyes. "Where did you go?" She asks, pressing their foreheads together.

"You did it again."

Fern's face drops for a second, "I really don't mean to do it. Thunder didn't tell me how to control it." Tucking her bottom lip between her teeth, Fern tries to smile.

"It's okay. It was good. Really good." Bucky grinned, pecking her lips. "Now we either give the welcome party a show, or we can go greet them."

"We should probably greet them. But you'll tell me what you saw later, right?"

"Maybe. Or I'll let you see what it is in a couple of years." Bucky turns her, giving her a gentle push to the others as they approach.

"What's got you all up in smiles?" Sam asks, standing to Bucky's left, and Steve stands to his right.

"A few little rugrats running around and a smiling beauty behind them."