Open Wounds - A Bucky Barnes Soulmate AU

Chapter Twenty-Five

It was nearly a year and a half before you and Bucky returned to the tower. Oh, you'd visited once or twice, but now you were back for good. Ready to be put back on the roster and kick some ass. The peace had been good for you. For both of you. But now you were ready to return to the chaos.

As if thoughts of chaos had summoned him, Wade appeared beside the car before you'd even shut the door. You grunted as he wrapped his arms around you in a bear hug. You returned to embrace with a smile. "Hello, Wade."

"You're never leaving again. It's been too long. I missed you, princess."

"You just saw her last week," Bucky said.

You glanced over the top of the car and met his gaze. Amusement danced in his eyes.

Wade threw his head back dramatically. "Exactly. Forever."

You stepped back and shook your head. "Where's Matt?"

"With his girlfriend," he answered with a scoff. "I tried to tell him it was a bad idea to date anyone with widow in their name but does he listen to me? No."

You patted his shoulder as you stepped into the elevator. "No one listens to you, Wade."

Bucky coughed to cover his laugh when Wade gasped dramatically. You leaned into your soulmate's side and he wrapped an arm around you to keep you close as he kissed the top of your head.

You intended to drop your things off in your room before tracking people down and saying hello. However, the door opened on a different floor and you were greeted with a room full of people shouting surprise. You blinked for a moment before looking up at Bucky. He shrugged and stepped out, keeping hold of your hand.

"Surprise, bestie," Wade said, clapping his hands like an excited kid. "This was all my idea."

"I hate surprises, Wade." You voice was flat, emotionless.

"I mean, I didn't know anything about this. Blame Tony."

Said billionaire stepped forward. "Thanks, Wade." He kissed your cheek then looked you over. "You're looking good, Junior. Healthy. How are you feeling?"

"Back to my usual snarky self, Stark. Thanks for asking."

He grinned. "Perfect. I'll let you mingle, but we're staked out in that far corner when you want to catch up."

Bucky nodded and gave your hand a squeeze before pulling you into the crowd. It should say something about how long you'd been gone that the two of you were willingly talking to people. You both hated crowds of any sort.

You were in mid-conversation when a hand fell on your shoulder and you glanced back to see your father. Your cheeks hurt with the intensity of your smile as you spun and launched yourself at him. You hugged him tightly and his return embrace was just as firm. The two of you talked fairly regularly but you hadn't seen him in over six months. "Hi," you finally said, your voice little more than a whisper.

He chuckled. "Hello, sweetheart. I missed you, too." He kissed the top of your head as he held out a hand to Bucky. "Barnes."

Bucky shook the offered hand with a quiet, "Phil."

Finally, you released him and straightened. He kept one hand on your back as you stayed beside him. Bucky moved back into your space and wrapped an arm around your waist. You were beyond content in that moment.

"This is some party," Phil murmured before sipping at his drink.

"Stark," was all you said. That was enough really.

As your two favorite men talked quietly, you ran your eyes over the people that filled the room. Surprisingly, Tony had kept the guest list down to people that you actually knew and were happy to see you back in the city. And there were a lot of them. Some of them you hadn't even realized you had missed until this moment.

A couple of hours later found you standing on the balcony enjoying the breeze while the party went on in the room behind you.

"You okay, beautiful?" Bucky asked and you turned to him with a smile.

You leaned against the rail behind you as you watched him saunter over to you. "Perfect."

He placed a hand on the railing to either side of you boxing you in. You tugged him closer by his belt loops and kissed him softly. When you separated, he traced his bottom lip with his tongue and gave you a lopsided smile.

"How are you?" you asked.

"Perfect," he echoed your words. Closing his eyes, he laid his forehead against yours. "I love you so much."

The words warmed you as much now as they had the first time you'd heard them. "I love you, too, baby."

"I need to ask you something," he said softly, taking a step back.

You tilted your head as you looked at him. "Anything."

He opened his mouth without speaking. Once. Twice. After the third time you couldn't help but chuckle in spite of the unease starting to churn in your belly.

"Just ask, Bucky. It can't be that world changing, whatever it is."

He huffed a laugh and started to pace. "Why is this so hard? This shouldn't be hard. I asked your dad. I asked Clint. Hell, I even asked Wade, so why can't I ask you? It should be simple."

You stepped in front of him to interrupt his pacing and his rambles. You put your hands on his arms and squeezed gently. "Breathe, Buck."

He grinned and swooped in for a kiss. It was gentle and loving and happy. "God, I love you."

"I believe we covered that already. Now, what is going on with you?"

He took your hand and pulled you further away from the railing. "This is good. Now if I drop it, it won't immediately bounce off the edge never to be seen again."

You were so confused. "Drop what?"

In answer, he got down on one knee and pulled a small box from his pocket.

You gasped, though you supposed you really shouldn't be that surprised. It wasn't as if the two of you hadn't discussed marriage before.

He grinned at the sound and snapped open the box. The perfect ring was nestled in the velvet. He said your name to bring your attention back to him. "Life has rarely been kind to either of us. There has been more than once that I wanted to tell Fate to fuck off. But then the universe brought me you. And yes, we're broken and bitter sometimes, but our souls fit together. Even if the universe hadn't marked us, I would know you were mine. I would have found you in a sea of millions and brought you home to me. We both know you are never getting rid of me, so marry me. Please?"

Tears had been streaming down your cheeks almost from his first word but the please made you laugh. "Of course I'll marry you, Bucky Barnes. You're my whole world."

He surged to his feet and wrapped you in his arms as he kissed you before slipping the ring on your finger. The sounds of cheering drew your attention and you turned to find the party lined up along the windows watching the two of you. You laughed again and wiped the remnants of tears from your cheeks.

Bucky stood behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist while he rested his chin on your shoulder. "You happy, baby?"

Happy seemed like a simple word for the deep feeling of love and contentment that flooded you. You were going to marry the love of your life and all of your friends and family would be there to cheer you on along the way. This man that you were so uncertain of in the beginning, the man that you'd sworn to kill once upon a time, had picked up all your broken pieces and glued them back together. This may not have been the life you once envisioned for yourself, but it was kind of perfect.

"Yeah, I'm happy, Buck. So happy."

***

And once again, we have reached The End. Thanks for coming along on another journey. I hope you enjoyed this one. Thank you for reading.