The Captain's Husband

30. Homecoming (Bucky)

"Steve! Bucky!" Natasha squeals excitedly as she sprints toward us, knocking us both on our asses when she collides with us.

    Wanda vaults over the railing and skips over to us once Natasha pulls us back to our feet. Then Natasha hugs Steve, not quite ready to let him go just yet.

     Wanda appears in my arms, already hugging me, saying, "Welcome home, Bucky."

     I hug Wanda tight as I say, "Missed you, angel."

     She gives me another squeeze before letting go and stepping back, saying softly, "Charming as always."

     Natasha hugs me before I can respond to Wanda, squeezing me so tight that I can feel it in my ribs.

     "Don't you ever do that to me again, James," Natasha tells me.

     I hug her tight and press a kiss to the top of her head, "I don't think we had a choice in the matter, Momma Spider."

     "I'm glad you're home," she says as she lets me go and presses a kiss to my cheek. "I've missed you, sweetheart."

     "Missed you too, gorgeous," I say as I beam a smile at her.

     She grins, soaking up the love that's come back into the tower. While Wanda chatters away about the team, Steve slips his arm around my waist and steps closer to me, pressing kisses to my cheek with a smile that's brighter than the sun.

     Oh, love.

     Sam and Rhodey lead the others down the stairs to us, and one by one, they welcome us back home. Once we manage to wear the team out, we go up to our new floor with Natasha, Wanda, Clint, Sam, Peter, T'Challa and Tony.

     Tony shows us around the floor, making sure to point out every little piece of Stark Industries tech in the place along the way. Then he finally sits down and takes a moment to breathe. While the others settle down, Steve and I change into more comfortable clothes. Then, we join them in the living room, taking our usual spots on the couch. Wanda and Nat immediately move closer to us, bundling up in big blankets and curling up between us.

Steve and I lace our fingers together, and then we look after two of the strongest women we've ever known.

Nat is like our mom, and she has been since Steve and I were repackaged as a package deal. She's always there protecting us, keeping us safe and reminding us to be healthy. Wanda is like our little sister, and we love her to pieces. She looks to us for guidance, affection, protection, and stability. It's sweet of her, and we appreciate her genuine sincerity.

After a few short minutes of us petting their hair like they're cats, they both fall asleep, snuggled up together in a pile of blankets between Steve and me. This is like a cue for Tony, who lets out a massive sigh of relief.

"I never thought Natasha would sleep again," he says softly. "She hasn't slept since the week before you two were killed. What a relief..."

Clint nods, and I notice the circles around his eyes. Then I notice the circles around Tony, T'Challa, and Sam's eyes.

How bad was the aftermath exactly?

Steve jumps ahead of me.

"How bad was it?" Steve asks.

Peter frowns, "Worse than JFK, Princess Di, Michael Jackson, Muhammad Ali...all of those funerals."

Tony sets his hand on Peter's shoulder, saying, "You shouldn't have seen any of it, kiddo."

Peter looks down at his feet as he says, "It's part of the job...being an Avenger and everything. I had to be there, Dad."

The fight with Thanos. The funeral. The aftermath. The poor kid saw everything.

     "I'm thankful that you're both alive and well," T'Challa says after a moment. "It's been too quiet without you."

Steve squeezes my fingers and I can't help but smile as heat floods my chest. But then Tony opens his mouth.

"I'll be the first to admit that it's been a long five years," Tony says softly. "Quiet, motionless...that's the best way to describe it. We were too shocked, angry, and depressed to make any major changes or move forward. Sure, I finished up a couple projects and I've invented a handful of things, but starting new projects, especially ones that I know you both would've loved to have helped with, was a nightmare. Natasha went to Europe for a year to rehab her mental health. Clint went home to his family every weekend and came back during the week to check on us. Sam threw himself into his work at the VA. Bruce hid in the lab. I never saw him anywhere else. Wanda locked herself in her room and meditated there for months, surviving on barely anything at all. Vision and Thor wandered the tower aimlessly searching for anything to distract them. Fury fell off the map after the funeral...again. He hasn't made contact with anyone in years. Sharon stepped down from her job and moved from D.C. to London. We haven't heard from her since she left." He looks at the floor. "Your deaths left us so broken that even the civil war between us over the Accords can't compete with it. It felt like the earth stopped spinning."

Steve and I hold on even tighter to each other's hand. Neither of us know what to say.