Longing •Bucky Barnes•

58. Together Again

"I can't believe she's awake. I don't even know what to say." I said and I felt his hand on my upper back.

"Helen doesn't seem to have full confidence that she'll ever be able to go back to normal." Peter said and I watched as she struggled to make each step as her body was held up by various equipment. "She at least thinks she'll make it."

"I wasn't ever expecting to see her up and standing again. I'll take what I can get." I said shaking my head. "Is she talking?"

"Not yet, she mainly responds with blinking or small head movements." He said. "Come on, Morgan is very excited to see you guys. She was up all night when I told her you and Bucky were on your way home."

We walked back and away from Pepper. She seemed completely unfamiliar with Peter and I just now. It was so odd to see someone you know so well look at you with empty eyes as if they hadn't even known who you were. It hurt, but I knew it was probably oh so much more confusing for Morgan. Her own mother hadn't even recognized her.

I was upset that I hadn't been here for her, but I knew Peter had done his very best to help her understand. We walked back out and I saw Bucky talking with her and I just walked over and wrapped my arms around the both of them. I was finally back with my family.

Peter said his goodbyes and headed home. Morgan was excited to be back with us, but I could tell she was sad to say goodbye to him. She clung to Bucky only wanting to be carried which was rare for her, she normally wanted to be able to run ahead of us. She however, had a hand on me whether it was playing with my hair or holding my hand. She was completely stuck to us as we walked back to the small apartment we had resided in before.

We walked through the doors and I had felt so foreign in my own space. I had been on edge and I'm dangerous situations my body was fighting me to stay alert. Bucky set Morgan and our bags down by the door and he set her down gently. I could see her smiles as she looked to us and I smiled back.

"Alright what do you want for lunch kiddo?" Bucky said and I had never been thankful to hear such a calm question.

"Can we have grilled cheese?" She asked and Bucky nodded to her.

"Whatever you want kiddo, you want to help me?" He asked and she nodded excitedly.

He lifted her up and set down on the counter. He started to grab the ingredients and I watched as she was sat on the edge of the counter. He handed her some cheese and bread and she placed it next to her.

"I'm going to go change and put our stuff away" I said softly knowing Bucky had her.

I grabbed our bags and took it back to our room. Most of what we did have was dirty clothes and weapons. I threw the clothes in the hamper and I took the weapons quickly into the closet to be locked away. I took off my jacket and saw the dark bruise on my shoulder. It was still just as stiff as it had been the day after I had woken up with it.

The bruise radius had grown and I knew I was going to have to make a stop to Helen and her team at some point though I had firm plans to put it off for the moment. I had wanted to have time with my family, a few hours wouldn't hurt it anymore than I had been already.

I changed into a fresh jacket because I didn't want to make Morgan worry if she saw it. I closed my closet door and I headed back out into the kitchen area already smelling the food. I walked out and saw Morgan eating handfuls of cheese straight out of the bag as Bucky worked on cooking lunch. Normally I would tell her to not ruin her appetite, but I didn't care. I walked up to her and just hugged her and watched Bucky cook. He wore a soft smile and I could tell he was content.

"Are you guys going to leave again?" She asked and we both stiffened and looked to her in shock of the questions.

Bucky stopped moving and he looked to me. We both had been at a lost for words. I looked to her who didn't look upset, rather calm of anything.

"No, of course not." I finally spit out. "We're here to stay."

"I was thinking we could move back to the lake house if you wanted." Bucky said looking to Morgan.

He looked to me for a small moment because we hadn't spoken about this. We had moved here because of his issues and it was cut off when we had to leave to go handle the Flag Smashers. I know Bucky had his issues and everything, but the root of the problem was that he didn't trust himself. While he had made efforts to improve himself I wasn't sure if he was ready yet.

"I miss the lake house." She said and Bucky fully turned to me.

"What do you think?" He asked and I once again struggled to speak.

"Are you sure?" I asked because I never wanted to move in the first place. I was ready to move for him but otherwise I never wanted to leave.

Bucky knew that and I knew he felt guilty for it, but I knew it was necessary at the time. I tried to make the move as good of an experience as it could have been, but I knew that it could be a long time before we ever got to even think of going home. It didn't help that we had to leave and go on a mission when we did but I tried my best to keep Morgan happy when I could.

"Positive." He said after a short second of thought. "The idea of packing up again isn't exactly something I look forward to, but I want to go home. As long as my ladies are happy with that."

I looked to Morgan and she wore a big grin. She was nodding her head excitedly and I smiled down at her pushing her hair back. I turned to Bucky and he pulled my head in and kissed my forehead and kissed the top of Morgan's head.

"Can we start packing now?" She asked excitedly.

"How about we start tomorrow. I think we have a lot of fun things to catch up on." I said sweetly. "I say we have a game night tonight."

"Can we build a fort?" She asked looking at him with anticipation.

"Of course we can." Bucky said and I let out a sign of relief that I had my family back.

We ate our lunch and we gave Morgan a very watered down and child friendly version of our trip. She always seemed interested in the whole super hero gig which of course worried me, but that was a lecture for another day. We played board games and built a fort. It wasn't long before she had fallen victim to an overdue nap. From what Peter had said she hadn't slept much the previous night anyways.

I had even drifted off under the make shift fort we had built covering the entirety of the living room. I was so happy to be home it was nice to just be able to spend time with Morgan and Bucky and just be normal again. I lifted my head after a while and looked over to see Bucky laid on his back fast asleep covered in a unicorn blanket. He had an arm around me and Morgan laid in between us. She had been clung around my waist and she looked fast sleep.

Bucky had noticed my sudden movement and his eyes slowly opened and looked over to me. We laid there for a long while just looking into each others eyes. I didn't feel the need to talk, I was just filled with a warm feeling of content. This was all I ever wanted even if I didn't always know what it was. I saw his smiled grow after a moment.

"I love you." His lips mouthed not wanting to wake her up by speaking.

"I love you too." I replied silently as I let my tired eyes close letting myself descend back to sleep.