#uncle!bucky

“Hey, how is it going here?”

Peter looks away from Bucky’s phone where he was watching Youtube and up at the nurse. The boy doesn’t answer, and looks down at the phone again. Truth is, if he speaks, he will just cry again.

“He’s all right. He stopped coughing 15 minutes ago.” Steve informs the nurse. Peter watches from the corner of his eye how the nurse checks the monitors. The nurse had put a clip on Peter’s finger, and it is starting to irritate him for real.

“Yeah? How are you feeling, cutie?” The nurse asks, trying to catch Peter’s eyes without any luck.

Peter realises now that he must speak, or else he won’t be left alone.

“Am okay. When are Daddies coming?”

“Soon, sweetheart, soon.” Bucky says for perhaps the hundredth time.

Peter huffs softly, and repositions himself on the hospital bed to continue watching Youtube, but then his ears pick up on two familiar voices. The boy feels his heart swell in his chest, and his eyes burn with new tears.

Within a few seconds, Stephen and Tony show up from behind the curtain separating Peter’s bed spot from the others’ in the ER. The two Daddies rush over to Peter, hugging and kissing him while he starts to cry all over again. Tony goes to sit down with Peter, rocking him in his arms, while Stephen turns to Bucky, Steve, and eventually the nurse.

“I’m so sorry, Stephen- we-” Steve starts, looking pained and sorry. Bucky looks just the same.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault. I’m just glad we weren’t too far away.” Stephen says, looking at the nurse. “Has a doctor seen him yet?”

“Not yet, but we are working on it. He’s stable now, so he’ll be okay. We just have to follow the formalities and wait for the doctor.”

Half an hour later, all five walk out of the ER. Peter is half asleep in Tony’s arms, drapped over his Daddy’s shoulder like a rag doll. Stephen is close by, gazing at Peter lovingly. Bucky and Steve feel just a bit left out. Maybe a bit stupid too, even though both Stephen and Tony had assured many times that it wasn’t their fault. The guilt still lingered.

The four men stop in the parking lot, having realised their cars are in opposite directions. Tony gently stirs Peter awake from his dozing.

“Wanna say bye to Uncle Stevie and Bucky?”

Peter rubs at his eyes with a big yawn before fixing his gaze on his Uncles. He smiles at them sleepily, waving his hand at them. It makes Steve and Bucky’s heart ache even more.

“Buh-bye!”

“Bye, Peter! We’ll see you soon, yeah?” Steve waves.

“Make sure to sleep in tomorrow.” Bucky says with a grin.

They are just about to part ways, when suddenly Peter cries out.

“Wait! Wha-what ‘bout waffles for breakfast?”

Oh! Bucky and Steve had promised Peter waffles for breakfast earlier in the day. However, the two men had completely forgotten about it when Peter had his asthma attack, naturally. And now, Peter is obviously going home with Daddies, even though that wasn’t the plan originally. But, they had promised waffles…

“How about- would you three like to come for breakfast tomorrow?” Bucky asks.

In the darkness of the parking lot, Bucky and Steve can see Peter nodding eagerly at his Daddies.

“Please, Daddies!”

“Oh, okay. I think that sounds amazing in fact. Is 10 okay?” Tony asks.

“Perfect.” Steve replies.

Bucky has had to deal with bullies a lot in life.

I mean look at what Steve had to go through and you can one hundred percent bet Bucky was there helping him out the whole way through.

So when Sam’s nephews come up to him and ask him for advice on bullying, because one) they find him to be the cool uncle who is there to help with anything and two) they’re too scared to tell Sam.

Bucky asks what happened, how did they handle it, and when they tell him they didn’t know how exactly to handle it, he figures now is a good time to give them advice.

Normally he would say “kick them as hard as possible”, but that was the advice he used to give Steve. And well...Steve was a grown ass man.

So, this time he says if they try it again you call someone. Doesn’t matter if it’s a teacher on campus or Bucky, but they get someone there fast to deal with the situation.

He also tells them that fighting is never a good idea, but if it happens, they should use the moves their Uncle Sam taught him.

It’s an early Tuesday morning when Bucky gets a call on his phone from the principal at the school saying his nephews had been in a fight.

Sam’s face when he heard the principal say Bucky’s nephews was honestly the funniest thing Bucky had seen in awhile. And he laughed all the way to the school as Sam drove, grumbling about how they called Bucky instead of him.

The two boys are sitting in the office with two other boys and they just so happen to be glaring at each other. That is until the two superheroes walk in, and their faces shift.

“Uncle Bucky!” they shout, getting ready to hug him when they see that Sam is standing right next to him.

“A fight? Really?” Sam asked, ignoring the way Bucky waved at them.

“They were bullying us and Uncle Bucky said that if a fight starts we should use the moves you taught us to-”

“You did what?”

It’s at this point Bucky realizes....he fucked up. And he can’t really meet Sam’s eyes. “They came to me for advice.”

“Alright let’s go.” Sam ushers them outside but not before letting Bucky turn to the principal and say to call the other kids parents. They should know better than to resort to bullying someone. With a terrified nod, the principal is already grabbing the phone, feeling relief go through them once the door shuts closed.

“I’ve never been an uncle. So I tried to help,” Bucky said watching as the boys he considered his nephews hopped into Sam’s truck. Now talking about a video game that was being released soon.

Sam patted his shoulder, the smile on his face a reassurance that Bucky did nothing wrong. “You’ll need some practice old man. But you did good.”

“Yeah?”

Sam nods. “Just don’t tell Sarah. She’ll have both of our heads.”

“Got it.”

Stars lit up the sky as you floated above the metropolitan horizon of New York. Your mask covered the bottom half of your face, but you could see your breath cloud as the evening became cold. Landing on a rooftop, you squatted and scanned the area for any disturbances. Your eyebrows furrowed as you saw a group of bodies, all crowding around a young woman. The heat signatures they gave off were crazy, deep reds and bright oranges almost hurting your eyes. You jumped across a gap to the next building, trying to get a closer look. Then the woman screamed.

You leapt down from the building, landing in a crouch as the bodies turned to look at you. You stood up quickly, taking in the gasps from the men as they realised who you were. The first man sprinted towards you, throwing a punch at your face. You blocked it with your forearm and jammed your fist into his stomach, doubling him over in pain. You drew your knee up to hit him in the face and jumped over his falling body. Throwing yourself onto the floor, you swung your leg in front of you and tripped up two of the remaining five bodies. As they fell you grabbed their heads, banging them together just hard enough to knock them out for a few hours.

A knife flew by your face, missing you by only a few centimeters. You turned quickly, sprinting towards the attacker and buried your elbow in his face, taking out his legs with your foot. As he fell to the ground, you grabbed his body and threw it against the remaining men, taking them out like bowling pins. Walking towards the young woman, you helped her up and checked her over.

“Thank you,” she stuttered, tears falling on her cheeks. You gave her a smile, hidden by the mask, before sending her on her way. You began lining the bodies up against a wall, ready for the police, when the sounds of footsteps approached you from behind. You spun, holding your hands up in a defensive measure.

“Hello (Y/N),” a man in basic black and purple armor spoke, a quiver strapped across his back. You were taken aback by his use of your name; you had never told anyone of your true identity.

“How do you know my name?” your voice was tense, as were your fists. “Who are you?”

“I’m Clint, this isn’t my normal way of introducing myself,” the man laughed to himself, rubbing a hand against his forehead. “I’m just gonna cut to the chase, we need your help.”

Days later you found yourself in Europe with Captain America, having been recruited for his fight against Tony Stark. The two of you had clicked instantly, him taking the fatherly role that had been missing from your life. You trained together, Wanda helping you with controlling your powers and Steve taking responsibility for your hand-to-hand combat. The progress you saw within yourself in just a few days was outstanding and you found yourself imagining a life with the team, training and becoming friends. But that was a dangerous fantasy.

                                                    ———–

“Take the new guy, he seems about your age,” Steve didn’t look at you as he spoke, his eyes still focused on Tony as he ran across the airfield. “Save Buck and Sam.”

“Ah, my boys always need me,” you laughed despite your anxieties. Sprinting towards the glass building, you flew into the air and crashed through one of the walls. You landed in a traditional “superhero” pose, looking up to assess the situation. Bucky and Sam lay on the floor, tangled up in some kind of web, as Spiderman crouched against a tall pillar.

“Woah, you can fly?!” the kid spoke, his voice revealing his youth. As you considered, he probably wasn’t much younger than you, a year or two at most. How could Tony bring in someone this young?

“Hey kid, haven’t you got homework or something to be doing?” you cocked him a brow, a smirk hidden beneath your mask. Spiderman’s eyes flicked up to you, widening in shock. You threw yourself towards him, arms outstretched to tackle him to the ground. Landing with a thud, you launched Peter across the room where he hit and slid down the wall. You bolted towards Bucky and Sam, ripping apart the webs that bound them. “What would you boys do without me?”

“Probably not have all of my food stolen,” Sam muttered, standing quickly and bringing his hand to his goggles. You sent him a glare before standing alongside Bucky. Glass shattered behind you, and you turned to see Spiderman caught by one of Sam’s drones, pulled outside.

“That works,” you shrugged your shoulders, leading the pair of men towards the building’s exit. “I can’t believe you got your asses handed to you by a kid.”

                                                   ————

Deep breaths echoed, bouncing off of the prison cell walls. You sat by the bars, your arms wrapped around them and your hands intertwined. Your head rested against the cold metal, your eyes barely open as exhaustion took over your entire body. You had barely eaten, you couldn’t remember the last time they had given you water and you were sure the fatigue was obvious on your face. A sigh escaped your lips as you forced your head up to look across at Clint in his cell. He was sat on his bed, his head in his hands - as had become his usual position.

The opening of the main door caused you to look up; you half expected Tony to be back to gloat about his victory, to try and weasel any secrets out of you, but the silhouette in the doorway was taller, broader. As he stepped into the light, you heart broke and your lower lip quivered. Steve’s face was rugged, a hint of a beard tickled his jaw as he walked towards Sam’s cell. The two had a brief conversation, Steve glancing around the room at several points. You assumed Sam was explaining what had been going on. Steve reached into his pocket, pulling out a tablet that had hacked into the Raft’s mainframe. With a click of the screen, the cell bars lifted and you lifted yourself from the ground slowly. Your head spun and your legs shook beneath you as you stumbled your way to Wanda’s cell.

Wanda was the weakest of the group, she had been wrapped up in a straitjacket with an electric collar around her neck. Her eyes were sunken, deep bags hanging beneath them. She dragged her eyes up from the wall to look at you. A tear landed on your cheek as you knelt down before her, looking for some way to remove her restraints. Your breathing sped up as you began to panic, unable to find a solution. A hand touched your back, throwing you off balance as you spun around quickly, falling as your head went fuzzy. Large arms wrapped around you as your consciousness began to fade. You forced your eyes open just long enough to see Steve’s face, smiling down at you as you drifted off to sleep.

                                                          ———–

“She needs to be here, where I- we can look after her.”

“She’s old enough to make this decision herself.”

The steady beeping of medical equipment steadied your breathing as you began to regain consciousness. You tried to lift your hand, but it felt like dead weight. Your fingertips twitched and you let out a soft groan, attempting to communicate with anyone who was in the room.

“Hey kiddo,” Steve’s voice calmed your racing heartbeat as he stepped towards your bed.

“Where are we?” your throat felt as though you had swallowed broken glass and the taste in your mouth was foul.

Steve looked towards the other man in the room, who you could now see was Sam. He sighed, his head hanging before looking back up at you, “A safe house in Sweden, the whole team’s here.”

“How did you- what happened?” your eyebrows furrowed as you coughed, your chest aching with each exhale.

“Well, I couldn’t leave my best girl,” Steve smiled up at you, but his eyes showed his true sadness. “Can’t be part of a team if the rest of the team isn’t there.”

“So, everyone’s staying here? What about Tony?” Steve flinched as you mentioned the name, taking a deep breath before speaking.

“We have to stay under the radar, according to everyone we’re criminals now. Tony isn’t going to try and change that. Nat, Sam and I are going to go underground and Wanda’s gonna be with us most of the time. What you do is up to you,” Steve looked up at you once again, his eyes pleading for you to stay.

“I-I don’t know.” “I don’t want to interrupt a lovely moment,” Sam stepped forward, his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “But you’re young. You can’t be giving up your life before you’ve even had one.”

“Whatever you do,” Steve started, rubbing the back of your hand with his thumb. “We’re always here for you, whatever it is, I’m here.”

In the time after Germany, your physical and mental health took a hit. It took you days to be able to walk again, and weeks beyond that to start training. Natasha and Clint would often find you pottering around the safe house at 3am, a dazed look in your eyes and various weapons in your hands. Not to mention the nightmares, they woke not just you, but Steve who would race through from his room - adjacent to yours - when you began screaming, your lungs crying out for oxygen. It was decided that you would go with Wanda, she was the only one who could fully comprehend what was going on in your head, and you would return when you had fully recovered. Whenever that was.

“I’ll come visit as soon as Wanda thinks it’s okay, kid,” the tears in Steve’s eyes threatened to spill as he held you close to his chest. Your cheeks were already damp with salty tears as you had said your goodbyes to the rest of the team. Your arms were tight around Steve’s waist, and you didn’t want to let go. He pulled back to push loose hairs away from your face and to look into your eyes one last time. “I love you.”

“I love you, and thank you,” you hesitated. “Dad.”

———————————————————————————————————

You kicked your leg out as you leapt into the air, thrusting your foot into the chest of an Outrider and slicing another in half with your blade. As you returned to the ground you drove your foot into the fallen Outrider’s face, leaving the Wakandan dirt splattered with black blood. You wiped your face with the back of your hand, a grimace painted across your expression, before looking up to see Steve struggling against a pack of creatures. You launched yourself into the air before hurtling into the group, sending Outriders flying in all directions.

“Thanks kid,” Steve breathed, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he tried to regain his momentum.

“You know, maybe you’re getting too old for this,” you joked with a quick salute. Steve simply raised an eyebrow at you in response and the two of you sprinted in seperate directions. You grabbed a pistol from the holster at your thigh and sent bullets flying towards two Outriders, dark gore showering the dusty ground beneath you. You increased your speed as you lifted off the ground, taking an aerial view of the battle. From your viewpoint, you saw Wanda fighting against one of Thanos’ children, and she wasn’t exactly winning. You bolted towards her, your hair flying behind you as you landed on the ground, sending dirt flying from under your feet.

“She’s not alone,” Natasha spoke as Okoye readied her blade. You stood next to the assassin, fists out in a fighting position. Proxima Midnight looked between the three of you before lunging towards Okoye, blades prepared to strike. She dove, striking at Okoye’s chest as you plunged your foot into her lower back, tripping her onto her back. She rolled up easily, landing in a crouch as she kicked out at Natasha’s feet. Wanda, now up from the ground, lifted Proxima into the air and sent her flying into one of Thanos’ large tanks.

“Anyone got eyes on Vision?” Sam’s voice came through your comms and you spun quickly to see Vision fighting another of Thanos’ children. You gave Wanda a quick nod before she used her power to give you a boost into the air. You hurtled through the air to the forest, your landing ruined by the dense trees. You dropped through branches before arriving at the floor, the air sucked out of your lungs. You wheezed, your eyes closed as pain surged through your entire body. Your adrenaline was starting to wear out, and you weren’t unscathed from the fight. Looking down at your body, blood and dirt was caking your armor, skin exposed to show deep wounds. You lifted yourself onto your knees, looking up to see Vision stabbed by Corvus Glaive. You stood quickly, grabbing a dagger from your belt and lunged towards the creature, sinking the blade into his side.

Suddenly, Corvus was tackled to the ground and you whipped around to see Steve getting to his feet, yelling across at you and Vision. Vision was visibly injured and struggling to move. He nodded at you and the message was clear. You sprinted towards Steve and Glaive, landing a punch on Glaive’s cheek and kicking your shin into the back of his knee. As he fell, he grabbed your arm and threw you into a tree, your spine curving around the trunk. You cried out in pain as you landed against the ground. Steve blocked Glaive’s blade with his shield, landing a punch and grabbing the blade and throwing it in the opposite direction. Glaive grabbed Steve by the neck, throwing him onto a fallen tree where Steve rolled, grimacing in pain. Corvus walked towards the tree where you were still shaking with agony, and wrapped his hand around your neck. You gasped for breath, your eyes beginning to go hazy.

As you sucked in a shallow breath, Glaive’s eyes went wide. His body lifted as a blade protruded from his chest, revealing Vision holding the staff behind him. Letting go of the stave, Vision fell to the ground. You gasped for oxygen as Steve sprinted over, blood trickling down his face from a cut on his forehead. You crawled towards the pair as Vision’s eyes began to droop, Steve holding his head.

“Hey, you’re good,” you spoke slowly, breathlessly. “We’ve got to get you out of here, okay? I can take you-”

“There’s no way you’re doing anything,” Steve’s voice was stern. “You’re injured, we can’t risk you any further.” “Steve, we need to get him out of-”

“I know, but-”

Wanda arrived on the scene, her face painted with worry as her eyes landed on Vision.

“Don’t cut me off!” your voice was raised, filled with urgency. “I can fly him up, get him back into the building. I’ll take out all of the Outriders, I can do it.”

“It’s too danger-”

Steve stopped speaking as dark clouds appeared between the trees, an ominous noise wiping out all cries from the battle field. A large figure stepped through them, a familiar golden glove decorating his left hand. He tensed and flexed his fingers, the stones making beautiful sounds as he glanced around, assessing the area. You looked towards Steve, his eyebrows furrowed as he stood.

“He’s here.”

———————————————————————————————————–

early 2018 - remote europe

The bed creaked beneath you as you sat, the old wooden bed frame groaning at your presence. You pulled the medical kit out from your drawers, opening it to grab the antiseptic and cotton wool, before pulling up your shirt. A grimace crossed your face as you pressed the ointment to your skin, the stinging sensation dancing across your stomach. Grabbing a bandage from the box, you unwound it and wrapped it around your torso, ensuring it was tight enough to stop any bleeding. Then you moved on to the multiple wounds across your arms.

“Got yourself in kind of a bad state, kid,” you turned slowly to see the familiar face of Sam Wilson. “Need a hand?”

An aggravated sigh left your lips as you stood from the bed, “How did you find me?”

“Well, the deal was you were with Wanda. But that’s obviously not how it played out,” Sam gave you a serious look. “She told us the last place you said you were going and we took it from there.”

You rolled up the leg of your suit, cursing under your breath as you saw the bruising that had begun to appear. “Are you alone?” The uneasy tone of your voice didn’t go unnoticed. Sam looked across at you, his eyebrows furrowing slightly as he considered the team.

“We didn’t want to undo anything Wanda might have-” Sam struggled for his next word, thinking carefully of his next word.

“Fixed?” you finished the sentence for him, looking up and giving him a breathy laugh. “Well, don’t worry. I can take care of myself.”

“You don’t have to.”

The words stopped you in your tracks.  You took a deep breath, turning to face the man before you.

“You’ve heard about the Infinity Stones?” Sam crossed his arms over his chest.

“Wanda and Vision mentioned them a few times, told me a bit about them. Why?” “Some big, scary guy is trying to get them all. They went for the Mind Stone, but we got to Vision first.”

“Is he okay?” you spoke, your voice raising slightly with concern.

“He’s fine, he’s back at the compound with Steve and Nat,” Sam stepped towards you. “We need you, (Y/N).”

“Now, where have I heard that before?” you joked with a sigh, rubbing your forehead with your palms.

“He needs you.”

You looked up, pained eyes searing into Sam’s.

“What’s the mission?”

                                                          ——-

The quinjet landed beside the Avengers facility and your heart jumped the second you reached the floor. You were instantly aware of how you looked, the weight of your backpack, the noises your jacket made as you stepped off of the jet. Sam moved to stand beside you, giving your shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“You ready, kid?”

You gave a quick nod in response, your eyes fixed on the main doors directly in front of you.

“You’ll be fine,” Sam began to walk, his large strides putting distance between the two of you. Gritting your teeth, you forced one foot in front of the other, counting down the seconds until you were inside. The training hall was the exact same as when you had left. A sense of comfort washed over you, releasing the tightness in your chest as you looked around. A small smile broke onto your face as memories flooded back: training with Bucky, long nights talking with Wanda, Natasha trying to teach you new moves, leading to you on the floor, the breath stolen from your lungs.

Footsteps alerted you to a presence behind you and you spun around to meet Wanda’s kind eyes.

“Hey,” you breathed, a wobble in your voice.

“I’m sorry, I know you wanted to be by yourself bu-” Wanda began to walk towards you, taking your hands in hers.

“It’s okay,” you reassured her, pulling her into a hug. “I understand. Plus, everyone was probably missing me tons. You know, I don’t know how they survived without me.” You feigned a confident front, but you weren’t sure that Wanda was fooled.

She laughed nervously, taking your arm in hers and leading you towards one of the main rooms. You stopped before the door, looking across at your friend. She gave you a comforting smile before opening the doors and walking in. Your body felt like lead as you stepped through the doorway, seeing the same people you had left two years ago.

Nat’s eyes met yours and she rushed over, wrapping you in her arms. Although she rarely showed it, Natasha was one of the most caring people you had ever met. It was an extreme contrast to the act she maintained, but you knew her in a way no-one else did. She pulled back, her hands on your shoulders as she studied your face. You could see the relief on her face as you took in her appearance.

“I like the hair,” you let out a laugh. “You know, it’s hard for a redhead to pull off blonde.”

“Good thing I have the attitude for it,” she smirked, hugging you once again before returning to the large screen in the centre of the room.

You spotted Vision at the other side of the room, talking with Wanda, and gave him a quick wave. He responded with a smile, still growing accustomed to human greetings.

“Where’s Steve?” you spoke softly, to no-one in particular.

Natasha turned to look at you, “He’s in his room. Something about not wanting to make you uncomfortable or nervous.”

“I’m gonna-” you trailed off, leaving the room.

The corridors were hauntingly familiar, the same lights flickering as your shoes moved quietly along the wooden floor. 84. It was still 84 steps from the stairs to your room. Your heart rate increased as your hand stroked the door handle, pressing it lightly to reveal your room. Nothing had been moved, it looked as though you had been there only yesterday. The light streamed in from the closed window, thin, white curtains sitting perfectly still. You walked slowly towards the centre of the room, dropping your backpack onto your bed. It was a weird sensation, being back in a place that held so many mixed emotions.

You were snapped out of your memories as footsteps quickly approached from behind. You spun around and saw Steve standing in the door frame, an apologetic look on his face.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you were back already,” Steve diverted his eyes, avoiding meeting yours. “I thought someone was-”

He stopped talking as you walked towards him. Once you were within touching distance, your lower lip began to quiver and you wrapped your arms around him quickly, sobs escaping your lips. He sighed in relief and hugged you back.

“I’m sorry,” you spluttered, pulling away to look up at him. “I shouldn’t have gone off on my own, it was stupid and-”

“Hey, no,” Steve pulled you back into his chest. “I just-, I got scared. But that’s my fault, not yours.”

You stayed in the same position for a few minutes, just taking comfort in his familiar heartbeat. When you pulled away, he wiped the tears from your face before walking you back through to the meeting room. Natasha was now joined by Rhodey and they were deep in discussion, frequently referencing to various sheets of paper that were strewn across the table. They looked up when you entered, Rhodey folding his arms across his chest.

“Welcome back,” you hadn’t met Rhodey before, only briefly encountered him at the airport battle, but you could tell you were going to get along with him pretty well. “You heard of Thanos?”

———————————————————————————————————

“What did you do?” Thor bellowed. The gauntlet was fried, burned into Thanos’ skin. The titan looked around, a smile growing across his face, before summoning a portal and falling through. You looked across at Bucky, who was standing from where he had been thrown. A sense of unease settled across Wakanda and glancing around, it was obvious that everyone felt the same. You launched yourself into the air, trying to see the battlefield, to see if the same dread could be felt across the nation. And that’s where you saw it. Soldiers floating away in the wind, nothing but ashes. Your heart dropped as your mouth opened, your breathing staggering. You crashed back into the forest, looking around at your fellow Avengers.

“Something’s not right, people are-are-” you stuttered, your heart racing faster than it ever had. Steve looked across at you, concerned.

“Steve,” Bucky’s voice came from behind you as you turned. A pile of dust was on the floor, where Bucky’s body would have fallen. Your breath hitched as tears pricked your eyes. Steve staggered over, his heart breaking in his chest. Kneeling down, he ran his fingers through the remains of his best friend, his face obvious with distress. He looked up between you and Thor, the three of you sharing a thought. What the hell is going on?

Something inside of you felt off. Your stomach lurched as you looked up at Steve, tears beginning to stream down your cheeks. He stood quickly, racing over to hold you in his arms.

“Steve, I-I don’t know-” you spluttered, tears staining his armor.

“It’s okay, it’s going to be okay,” Steve’s voice cracked, his facade of strength dissolving before your very eyes. Natasha burst through the trees, her breathing heavy and her face panicked. You had never seen her this way before, the unshakable assassin, shaken. You fell to the floor as your knees gave out, Steve going with you. He held you in his lap, his hands running through your hair.

“What’s going to happen?” your voice wavered as you looked up at your mentor, your face tacky with salty tears.

“I-I don’t know,” Steve could barely look at you, feeling sick to his stomach. “But it’s going to be okay, I’m gonna figure it out, okay?” He nodded, trying to convince himself most of all.

Your legs went numb and you tilted your head to look down, but Steve placed his hand under your chin, lifting your eyes back to his. Your breathing sped up, panic settling in your stomach as you felt like you were going to throw up.

“I love you, Dad.”

Steve fell forward as your body dissolved before him. A tear fell from his eyes onto the ashes on his arms. Natasha walked towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder as she chewed on her bottom lip, her anxieties getting the best of her. Steve looked at the floor, his body heating with despair and anger.

“This isn’t over. I will get them back, and I will kill Thanos.”

Your eyelids were heavy as light beamed through the thin layer of skin. Squinting, you lifted a hand to cover your face and sat up slowly. Steve was gone. Looking around you could see Bucky standing up, Sam on the floor and the tree guy next to a log. But no Steve, no Natasha, no Rhodey. You made eye contact with Bucky, and confusion was plastered across his face, as you were sure it was across yours.

“Where’s Steve?” you stuttered, your legs shaking beneath you. Stumbling over to Sam, you took his hand and he gave it a quick squeeze. “Where’s anyone?” “I don’t know,” Bucky spoke slowly, moving to join the pair of you as T’Challa and Wanda emerged from seperate parts of the forest. You lowered yourself to the ground slowly, your body exhausted from whatever had just happened. Sam rubbed his forehead, desperately trying to hold it together and figure out an answer to the thousands of questions running through his head.

Your breathing was speeding up, your heart pounding in your chest; it felt as though your ribs were about to explode from the pressure. Your worried eyes met Bucky’s and he knelt down beside you, taking your hand in his larger, calloused grip. He gave you a soft smile, exaggerating his breathing to encourage you to fall in sync with his. Due to his past, Bucky was no stranger to anxiety and thus he was the one you always went to when your body started to act against you. He was more than happy to help, seeing you like a little sister and wanting nothing more than to protect you from the big, bad world. Your lip quivered before you took it between your teeth, hard enough to draw blood. Your eyes darted between Bucky and Sam, but as you looked at them you saw them looking in an entirely different direction.

A man stood before a glowing, amber circle, his red cape floating behind him as he strided towards you.

“My name is Doctor Stephen Strange. I was with Tony Stark as we fought Thanos, and I’m assuming you lost as we did,” Stephen’s eyes danced across the group, trying to devise the leader.

Sam stepped forward, “Nah, this is our victory party. You don’t see the balloons?” Despite his jokes, his voice was dark, serious.

“It’s been 5 years since our defeat,” your eyebrows furrowed at Strange’s statement. “And the Avengers need us.”

———————————————————————————————————–

“Avengers, assemble.”

Roars broke out from all around you, an army running and fighting as one. Steve was at the forefront, his shield in one hand and Mjolnir in the other. You could see the grime and dried blood that coated his face from your position, despite being fairly far away. You sprinted forward, a cry escaping your lips in anticipation of the extreme battle that quickly approached. Holding your arms out before you, you launched yourself into the air and thrust your fist into an oncoming Leviathan. The punch reverberated through its entire being and it began to fall as a white horse came flying through the air, the Valkyrie atop it slicing the beast’s spine. You sent her a quick smile before turning to observe the ongoing battle. You bolted into a large group of Outriders, a shockwave exploding beneath your feet and sending creatures flying into the air, where they were quickly taken out by Tony and Pepper. You were moving at an incredible pace, legs and arms flying as you obliterated any Outriders that dared to threaten you.

“What do I do with this thing?” Clint’s voice was familiar over comms, and instantly you knew the object he was referring to. The gauntlet.

“Get it as far away from here as possible,” the sound of Steve’s voice made your heart skip a beat. A smile broke onto your face as you realised, this could be it. This could be the end of Thanos, the end of constantly looking over your shoulder for trouble. You could have a life after this. Your eyes roamed the battlefield, searching for a glimpse of the red glove. Amongst the hoards of creatures, you spotted Clint diving and dodging oncoming attacks and bulleted towards him, your feet leaving the ground and your body becoming streamlined.

“Hey kid, not really an ideal time,” Clint spoke, his breathing heavy as he dodged under a blade that flew towards him.

“Gimme that thing,” you nodded towards the gauntlet.

“Hell no, I’ve already fallen for that once today,” he continued to run, the glove tucked underneath his arm.

“Clint,” you looked at him, your eyes stern. “I can fly. They can’t get it up there.”

The man hesitated a moment, before holding the gauntlet out to you, “Touché.”

With the gauntlet secured in your grip, you bolted into the air, your hair flying out behind you. The roars of battle echoed from below, but your focus remained on getting the glove away from Thanos. A searing pain shot through your abdomen as you were thrown to the ground. Looking down, you saw the hilt of a knife sticking out of your side. You gasped, blood trickling down your side as you brought yourself to stand again, gripping the knife and pulling it out of you. Gritting your teeth, your eyes roaming for the perpetrator as you began to run. Your feet were heavy beneath you, swinging back and forth across the uneven battlefield. Shots rang out around you, but you didn’t flinch. Once again, you jumped into the air, throwing your head back to look at the ships above you.

Bullets flew past you, bolts of energy and weapons you couldn’t recognise skimming your armor. Leather could only hold off so much, and little cuts and digs were becoming bigger and more painful. You could feel your power draining as your body began to give out, failing under the increasing pressure of losing oxygen and blood. Your eyes struggled to remain open as the air became thinner and you felt your grip on the gauntlet loosening. In a panic, you scrambled to hug the glove to your chest and you began to fall. The ground was closing in as you squeezed your eyes shut to prepare for impact.

“Hi, I’ve got you!” a familiar voice rang out as you felt arms catching you. You forced your eyes open and saw the familiar mask of Spiderman. A breathy chuckle escaped your lips as Peter raised an eyebrow, a cheeky smile across his face. “I thought you said you could fly.”

You simply nudged him in response, trying to maintain any kind of energy that was left in your exhausted body. “You have spider-legs now?”

“Oh these things?” Peter glanced at his suit as you reached the ground, him letting you down gently. “That’s not even the best bit.” He reached out for the glove, and you gave it to him gladly. You smiled at him before he swung off, gauntlet in hand. You allowed yourself a few moments to catch your breath, glancing around at the battlefield and trying to find your teammates. You spotted Rhodey in the air, thrusters lit up as he attacked a Leviathan, with Sam on his tail, shots firing out at a rapid speed.

Blood rushed through your body as you gathered your strength to stand, muscled legs holding you up. A herd of Outriders watched you rise and sprinted towards you, teeth scratching and drool flying as they ran. You gritted your teeth as your rubbed your hands together, readying your familiar fighting stance. Your fists acted upon muscle memory, driving into chests and faces, legs flying and stomping on fallen creatures. Your armor became covered in Outrider gore, staining your skin with a deep blue tint. You fought until an entire group of monster corpses lay at your feet, your breathing was heavy and sweat droplets coated your forehead. With a quick swipe of your hand, your face was almost cleared of Outrider blood and your eyes focused once again as you looked towards the surrounding creatures.

“I am inevitable,” Thanos’ voice rang out over the battlefield and you spun to see the heavy gauntlet on his hand. Your breath caught in your throat as his fingers touched, the sharp snap cutting through the dense air. A confused look appeared across the titan’s face as he turned his hand, revealing the lack of infinity stones. You gasped as your eyes roamed to Tony, who was kneeling with the stones implanting on his suit.

“I. Am. Iron Man.”

A sharp, metallic tone shattered the air. Pain was instantly shown on Tony’s face as his body crumpled to the ground. The hoards of creatures that had begun to charge towards you stopped, all seeming to share a thought. These monsters that you had previously thought incapable of emotion were scared. A quick look around the battlefield showed that their entire race was reacting the same way. The area was almost silent, only heavy breathing could be heard over your comms.

Your feet began to move slowly beneath you, carrying your body towards the familiar presence of Wanda, who was stood near to you. Without turning to look at you, she took your hand in hers, her eyes still glued to the titan knelt in the centre of the fight. Around you, ships fell from the sky, exploding as they met the ground. Fire burst out in the perimeter of the battlefield, but you couldn’t tear your eyes away from the monster stood before you. His breathing slowed as his eyes dropped to the ground, his elbows resting on his knees. He remained there for a few seconds before looking up towards Tony, and dissolving away with the wind. Your breath hitched in your throat as he turned to ash. You tilted your head up to look at Wanda as a single tear rolled down her face. She dragged her eyes towards you and a relieved smile broke onto her face as she looked at you. You pulled her into a tight hug, sobs escaping both of you as you felt her arms around you.

You pulled away after a few moments, your tearstained face smiling up at her with a mix of relief and heartbreak. You couldn’t imagine the cacophony of emotions whirring through her body. Your heartbeat was steadily increasing as you looked around the battlefield, looking for one person. Steve. Your comms were alight with conversation and celebration, making it impossible to identify individual voices. And then, from across the battlefield, your eyes locked with his. A breathy sob escaped your lips as you began to sprint towards him, your injured legs stumbling as you crossed the uneven terrain.

His arms were around you within an instant, your face pressed into his chest. Tears spilled from both of you, neither in belief of what had actually happened. Steve pulled away to look at your face, and despite being in his old uniform, you could see the weathered effect the past 5 years had had on him. His eyes were swimming as he assessed your face, barely an hour older than when you had disappeared before him. Your mind raced with questions but you couldn’t bring yourself to speak.

“Hey kid,” Steve’s voice cracked as he looked down at you, his hands on your shoulders.

“Hey,” you stuttered, your voice shaking. “So, it’s not weird that I called you dad right?”

Steve laughed, shaking his head, “It would be an honor.”

He pulled you into him once again, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. You spent a few moments just relishing in the familiarity of your family. Wanda had approached the pair of you, alongside Bucky and Sam. Steve took Bucky into his arms, patting his back as he pressed his face into Bucky’s soft shoulder. Sam jokingly wrapped his arm around the pair, encasing them in a group hug. You smiled at the action, taking Wanda’s hand once again. Once the group of boys had separated, Steve gave Wanda a quick hug, smiling at his friend. You situated yourself between Steve and Bucky, an arm around each as you settled into the comfort of your family.

Peering around the group, you noticed an empty space, “Where’s Nat?”

Steve’s face dropped as he looked around the group, “She -uh, she didn’t make it.”

Your eyes clouded over as your eyes fell to the ground. The group shared a few minutes of silence, grieving for your fallen sister. You reached to take Steve’s hand in your own, giving it a squeeze and looking up at him through clouded eyes. “She knows we won, and we won for her.”

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Tony’s lakeside cabin was beautiful during the summer, the rays of sun beaming through the windows. You could have sat out by the lake for hours, not a single thought crossing your mind. It was peaceful, and you felt the most peace in knowing that Tony and Natasha were at peace as well. The funeral had been deeply emotional; you hadn’t known Tony too well yourself, but seeing the effect he had had on people’s lives proved to you how important your job was. You sat on the porch, watching Tony’s young daughter as she played by the lakeshore. An absent-minded smile danced across your face, the cool breeze tickling your face.

“Hey kid,” Steve approached you, his hands in his pockets as he sat next to you. You lifted your eyes to meet his, noticing the nerves he was trying to hide. Your eyebrows furrowed, but you shifted to give him some space.

“Hey,” your voice was soft. “How is everyone?”

Steve took a deep breath, surveying the horizon before you, “As good as they can be, I guess. Bruce is setting everything up, should be ready to go pretty soon. Best to just get it all fixed now.” You nodded up at him, leaning your head on his shoulder. He responded by wrapping his arm around your shoulder, hugging you into his side. “Can we talk?”

“What else were we doing?” you turned to face him, your entire body shifting as you crossed your legs beneath you.

“I mean, a serious talk.”

“Of course, what’s up?” nerves rumbled in your stomach as he looked down at you, his well known “serious face” on display.

“I think I’m going to stay there,” Steve’s eyes dropped to the floor, as though he was trying to look at anything other than you. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Where? What are you-” you stopped yourself as realisation vibrated through your body. “As in-?”

Steve nodded, his eyes clouding with tears.

“With Peggy?” Your voice cracked as you felt your throat thicken. Tears threatened to spill, but you focused all of your efforts into staying strong, for him.

“I- I can’t stay here when I could be living the life I truly want.”

You ducked to meet Steve’s eyeline, drawing it back to you. Giving him a reassuring smile, you took a deep breath and composed yourself. “I understand, and I love you. No matter what.”

Steve pulled you towards him, tears falling from his eyes onto your hair. He pressed a kiss to the crown of your head then placed his cheek on top. He could feel your chest rising and falling unevenly as quiet sobs escaped your lips. Your face was pressed into his shirt, taking comfort in being able to hear his heartbeat.

“Say hi to Peggy for me,” you smiled, your lower lip quivering as a tear dropped onto your cheek. Steve pulled away from you, taking your face in his hands. He pressed a kiss to your cheek, his eyes alight with emotion as he looked down at you.

“Do you want to come out, stand with Sam and Buck?” You nodded in response, taking his hand gently in yours. “I’ve spoken to Bucky, but we’re not gonna tell Sam. I don’t think he would take it too well.”

“Judging by some of his previous reactions, I would say you’re correct,” you laughed slightly as the two of you left the lodge. The brief walk through the forest was a daze, you barely felt as though your feet were touching the floor. You tried your hardest to take in every moment, knowing it would be some of your last with Steve, but your uncertainty took hold of your consciousness.

You reached the clearing where Bucky and Sam were deep in conversation with Bruce. The pair turned as they heart your footsteps, Bucky giving you a knowing smile as his eyes met yours. Sam jogged over, throwing an arm around your shoulder.

“You okay, kid?” he looked down at you.

You wiped your face quickly, having forgotten about the tears. “Yeah, just allergies.”

“I keep telling you to go outside, instead of stuck in your room all day,” Sam’s eyebrows raised in an “I-told-you-so” manner.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” you shoved his chest jokingly, making a beeline towards Bruce. You watched as he pulled a small briefcase out from beneath the table. Steve stepped towards you, unclasping the buckles to ensure that all of the Infinity Stones were counted for.

“Remember, the exact second they were taken, then-”

“Then back, yep. Got it,” you were surprised at how Steve sounded, confident. He closed the case, taking it in one hand and Mjolnir in the other. It still shocked you to see the magnificent hammer in his grip. He climbed the stairs, not looking back at the group of friends behind him. You found yourself moving towards Bucky, wrapping your arm around his.

“Okay, and 3, 2, 1,” Bruce pressed a button on the machine and Steve was gone. You breath faltered and Bucky reached to take your hand, his eyes still fixated on the spot where his best friend had just stood. You remained silent, not wanting to bring Sam’s attention to you, not wanting to let him know anything that was happening.

“And back in 3, 2, 1.”

You turned your head into Bucky’s shoulder, trying to steady your breathing as you began to accept that he was gone.

“Where is he?!” Sam’s voice boomed through the bare clearing as he glared across at Bruce, who was panicking and rushing around his equipment.

Bucky nudged you with his shoulder, causing you to look up and across at the bench by the lake. A small silhouette was outlined in light, white hair sitting atop of a frail, old body.

“Sam,” Bucky’s voice pulled Sam out of his confusion as he turned, following Bucky’s gaze towards the old man. “You go ahead.”

Sam walked over slowly, his hands in his pockets as he looked out to the water. You watched the conversation, too far away to hear any of the words spoken. Bucky remained in silence, your hand still in his. He pulled his eyes from the scene before him and looked down at you, trying to gauge your feelings towards the situation. “You wanna go speak to him?”

You considered for a moment before shaking your head. “We said our goodbyes, I’m okay.” Bucky gave you a soft smile before turning his attention back towards his friends. You pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before spinning on your heels, your gaze fixed on the cabin through the woods. A tear fell to your cheek as you left, leaving behind the comfort of your father. Thoughts spun through your head as you walked, but you brushed them to the side.

Hence, this task he was assigned to was his favorite. He looked forward for doing it; he applauded himself for being able to do it and being trusted by others to carry it out. It brought such happiness to him that he almost cried happy tears when he was asked to do it.

It was simple task for any normal person, but for Bucky, it felt like a validation from people around him that the former assassin “The Winter Soldier” was trusted by not only his fellow comrades but people he now called his family.

Thus, he is truly grateful for the miniscule happiness allowed for him to have.  

The task, anyone might not understand the fuss. They will feel it was totally mundane but for Bucky it was best part of his day. 

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The task was to pick up Nat & Sam’s daughter from school.

“Riley Alianova Wilson”.

Apple of Bucky’s eye.  Around whom his whole day was planned.

“Riley” was the proof that even when Avenger’s saved the day, they actually didn’t save the day.

The collateral damage was always there, and there was nothing they could do about it.

A typical mission, some enhanced caused havoc and Avenger’s tried to keep it away from civilians but the fight still caused casualties. What was left behind, were rubbles and tiny cries.

Natasha & Sam just couldn’t move past the cries, decided to take next step in their relationship and thus,

Enter tiny bundle of joy, in lives of Avengers.  

She captivated everyone with her smiles and tiny feet pitter-patter.

Bucky was happy for Sam & Nat, the vision of tiny bundle in Nat’s arm brought tears to his eyes. He always regretted not being able to save her from Widow’s fate.  

At first, he was skeptical and, that somehow, he will do worse, he still remembers how scared & worried he was to be around a baby.

On one sleepless night caused by Riley’s teething and every effort made by Sam failed to sooth her. To make matters worse Nat was on intel mission that meant total silence.

Exhausted, Sam came to common room to see if change of scenery will calm the baby. This didn’t make any difference either & in the end baby crawled into an unsuspecting super-soldier’s lap all the while sucking & biting his cold metal fingers, which brought her gums some relief.

Sam begged reluctant Bucky not to move, and hence started new friendship where the ex-assassin was in charge of the baby whenever she was crying or in distress and many times people around found her sleeping on Bucky’s chest while her hands were tangled in his hair and Bucky humming old songs to her and metal arm making circle on her back.

Since then they were inseparable.

First time when Sam asked Bucky to go pick Riley from school brought tears in his eyes. Sure, he took care of her, baby sat her when both her parents were on missions or on dates. But to trust him to go outside and the trust they put in him was something else for Bucky.

So, when Nat or Sam were, not around which was at least 2-3 times a week Bucky happily obliged the duty.

Every time he got near the school his heart raced. He worried for her safety, deep down he knew everything was fine but his anxiety still got best of him. Then she always came running towards him with biggest smile and calling him,

“Uncle Bucky”, he just eased up.

On the ride back home, Riley filled him with her day, telling him anything & everything she did at school. Bucky enjoyed hearing about her life. She laughed and told him stuff; no doubt she was dramatic like ‘bird brain’ & sharp like her mother. His friends were doing great job raising their kid.

In his eyes Riley could do no wrong. He was the one she came running to, when she wanted to hide or got into to trouble with either or both of her parents. Usually she got away with it as Bucky made some excuses for her or defended her. All in all, Bucky was whipped.

Yup, when it came to the little girl Bucky was ready to see other way.

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So today was no different, Nat was training new recruits with Barton and Sam’s meeting had run longer than expected. Bucky jumped to the opportunity to pick up the little troublemaker.  

As usual Bucky waited for her at the spot, he did one look over breathing easily realizing there was no eminent threat. There were only fellow parents who were either ogling at him or giving him weird looks, which the Ex-Winter soldier was used to ignoring by now.

He spotted ‘Riley’ when she walked out of the front door, she spotted Bucky pretty quickly. He waved at her, she waved back half-heartedly and her usual smiley face was worried today. It looked like she was holding back tears and it put her surrogate uncle at unease. Suddenly Bucky wanted to run towards the little girl, take away whatever was causing her stress, but he held off against his instinct and waited.  

The moment she reached him, Bucky crouched down to her level, Riley wrapped hands around his neck, leaning her head on his shoulder and her lips quivered.  

Bucky just cooed her, coaxing her to take her time in telling her what was wrong all the while rubbing her back soothingly.

“Uncle Bucky” Riley called

“Yes Sweetheart” Bucky asked

“We are not friends with Brooklyn anymore because she said I dress weird” Riley informed

Bucky let out a small laugh, he was worried problem would be something bigger but this was not what he expected. None the less he will keep his promise to her and do whatever she wants.

So as usual he did pinky promise, and agreed that he will not be friends with Brooklyn and will not talk to her father as well.

Then to cheer her up, Bucky promised to watch “Tangled” again.

He swore his heart just skipped a beat, when she hugged him a little tighter and her smile got wider.

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Couple of days later as promised, Bucky & Riley were watching “Tangled” for thousandth time singing along the songs.

Their performance was interrupted when Natasha called her daughter,

“Riley Alianova Wilson”.

Uh-Ohh. Nat, full naming her daughter only meant the kid was in trouble.

Bucky quickly hid the child behind the couch sitting straight, putting on news on the TV, trying to look nonchalant.

“James” Nat called him

“Yes?” Bucky asked

“Where is she?” the mother asked

“Where’s who?” the super soldier asked feigning confusion

“You are perfectly aware who I’m asking about” Widow crossed her arms

“No, I’m not. You have to be specific” the ex-assassin told her

“James Buchanan Barnes” Natasha said “Tell me where my daughter is right now”

“Oh, you are looking for Riley?” Bucky asked “Haven’t seen her today”

Natasha was losing her patience with Bucky’s theatrics but before she could accuse him she heard her daughter’s giggles and she walked past him to find her baby girl, who was trying very hard to stifle her laughter.

“Riley” Nat called

“Hi Mommy” the girl waved innocently

“I received a call from your teacher today, saying that you are not talking to Brooklyn and that you told her that you don’t want to be friends with her. Care to explain?” Natasha asked her daughter

Now Bucky understanding everything, decided to interrupt.

“Well, Brooklyn said that Riley dresses weird so, we decided not to be friends with her anymore” Bucky explained

“We?” Nat asked astound “You knew about this and didn’t think of telling me or solving the issue”

“Hey now” Bucky raised his hands, as if to defend his actions or rather to say he didn’t regret them

“I don’t make the rules to this gang shit, I just play my role” he said

The mother looked at her daughter who looked pretty smug about her godfather taking her side and defending her.

“Well fine then” Natasha said “if that is the case you won’t have any problem explaining the same Gang stuff to her class teacher tomorrow”

Suddenly, Bucky was not so sure about his allegiance, but then he looked at the kid, who was looking up at him with eyes full of hope he just shrugged and replied,

“Sure, I’m not afraid of kindergartner teacher” Bucky said “I’m an ex-assassin remember, I can handle anything” giving unnecessary flex to his left arm.

Natasha tilted her head smirking at him, “Sure, sure if you say so James” she said “The meeting is tomorrow after school be there” turning on her heel.

Leaving Bucky & Riley to plot their way out of this trouble.   

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