#winterbornwidow

12. The emotional hug

He had been terrified but he had tried his best to hide it from all of them; it wouldn’t have done any good to show any sort of fear. But once Bucky was free and back home, he had latched on to each of them individually, scooping up the youngest of the triplets and holding her just a bit tighter than normal as he buried his nose in her hair.

The first time he fell, he’d been far too young to understand it at the time despite the fact that at three years old, he understood much more about the world than any normal toddler. She had been home with her mom and he had come over with his mom to let Bex run to the store while their dads were out being heroes. EJ had found her in her bed, the pink, sparkly bear he had helped pick out clutched in his little arms. She had smiled at him when he climbed up on the bed and offered her the bear; she took it and kissed him on his cheek and he knew...

He was older the next time and he’d learned about a new emotion he hadn’t felt before as he fell. It was strange having to share both of his friends with their new cousins and he found himself envying their cousin, Shane. Shane got to stay, EJ had to go home to get ready for school. Except for the weekends when Pepper and Tony agreed to let him stay over for the night. He had gone into the bathroom to change into his pajamas and had been about to walk back into Sarah’s room when he paused. They were both sitting cross legged on the bed, Sarah holding Shane’s hands as she spoke quietly; he didn’t know what she was saying but she was gentle as she spoke, his heart growing as he watched the two of them before they both smiled towards the door and she called for him to come back in...

The third time, he had been thirteen and packing up to go live at his father’s Alma mater for the next few years to further his education. He had been fine with the idea of moving out of New York until they had both come to say goodbye. He’d hugged Shane tight, the younger boy about an inch shorter than him now, before he’d moved on to say goodbye to Sarah. She’d tucked herself into him and reminded him that this wasn’t forever, they would see him over breaks and holidays and they would all be back together before he knew it. There had been tears in her eyes but she wanted him to go; she gave him the courage to get in the car and he thought he couldn’t love her more for that...

Until he came home. The degree was in the mail, the place for him at Steve’s new Avengers Academy had been secured, and she had been there to welcome him home once they finally arrived. He’d just seen her over spring break but he was convinced she had gotten more beautiful since then, her head barely coming up to his shoulders now. A beaming smile had been on her face, the same one he recognized from break when the three of them had decided to figure out how this whole thing would work between the three of them, and his heart felt like it was going to explode in his chest...

EJ had been the one to go out and make the announcement to the family about the birth of their newest, little, perfect baby girl. He had stayed out for a few minutes, accepting the congratulations and giving the doctor’s time to get Mom and baby settled. By the time he headed back to the room, Sarah and Shane were huddled together over the newest member of their family.

Snow White: Your muse wakes up from a deep sleep to discover my muse has been taking care of them.

“What about her?