彡 EPILOGUE
❛ sincerely, yours ❜
TWELVE YEARS LATER
"William Maddox, I hope you're not corrupting my children!"
Will - who was not the same scrawny eleven year old Hestia once saved - looked up sheepishly from the experiment he was performing. Next to him, Antonia Natalia and Pietro Steven Barnes looked up with wide eyes at their mother.
Pietro was born one year after Hestia and Bucky got married, while Antonia was born two years after Pietro. Now, with Pietro being ten and Antonia eight, the two were rather known for getting into mischief.
Antonia had Hestia's dark and thick hair and Bucky's bright blue eyes. She had his attitude but also his love for other people, making her and Bucky the perfect partners in crime.
Pietro was an exact copy of Hestia, from dark hair to dark eyes. He inherited her bluntness and her cockiness, which Hestia still liked to take pride in.
"Of course not, I was just showing them some chemistry." Will smiled slightly, a blush covering his cheeks while Antonia and Pietro snickered.
Hestia crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "So, showing them how to build a bomb is 'some chemistry'?"
Will frowned as he made dramatic gestures with his hand. "A bomb? Who said anything about a bomb?"
"Don't worry mom, we're not gonna blow up our school yet." Antonia smiled, dimples showing as she tried to appear innocent.
"We're doing that when we graduate, of course." Pietro added, his eyes wide in fascination at the thought of blowing up his school. "It'll be something to remember us by."
"What am I raising, terrorists?" Hestia huffed, her eyes fleeting between her two children before she looked at Will and pointed her finger at him. "Don't teach them how to blow up stuff."
"Fine, fine." Will sighed before quietly mimicking her words under his breath.
Hestia narrowed her eyes at him. "You still like Lady Gaga? And Lady Gaga only?" she raised her eyebrows.
"She's an icon!" Will huffed before looking down at his phone. "I gotta go, Ezra's waiting for me."
"Say hi to your boyfriend for me. He's my favorite anyway." Hestia smirked lightly.
Will rolled his eyes with a smile of his own before ruffling Pietro and Antonia's hair. "See you around, kiddos."
"Bye, Will!" the two chorused as they watched him rush outside in the rain.
Hestia turned to her two kids who were sheepishly looking at the ground, but she could see the smiles they were trying to hide. "Come here."
With big smiles, the two rushed to Hestia as she crouched down. They crushed her in a tight hug, almost making her fall over. She kissed both their head before squeezing them one last time, then pulling away.
She was still crouched before them as she put a hand on each of their cheeks, checking for any scratches. "Make anyone cry today at school, you little devils?"
"I punched a boy!" Antonia proudly announced, grinning, showing the gap she had because of her missing tooth.
"Morgan had to bribe her with food so she would leave the boy alone." Pietro explained further, his hair sticking everywhere.
"Remind me to thank Morgan." Hestia muttered before giving a smile at her two children. "Well, I'm bringing this up at dinner. Can't wait to hear what your dad has to say."
Both Antonia and Pietro's eyes widened as they looked at their mother, who stood up. "You can't tell dad!"
"And why is that?" Hestia raised an eyebrow in amusment.
"Well-" Antonia spluttered as she looked at her brother for a better excuse. "Well, because daddy will punch the boy too!"
"Why did you punch him, anyway?" Hestia wondered as she used her powers to float Antonia and Pietro's jackets and backpacks to her. She helped them get dressed as Antonia started explaining herself, Pietro interfering from time to time.
"Well, this boy-"
"August."
"Shut up, Pietro. But yes, his name is August - I know, weird! -"
"I think it's quite unique-"
"Shut up! But anyway, August kept pulling my pigtails in class, and he kept smiling when I turned to look at him, as if he didn't do anything!"
"So she punched him!"
"Well, I obviously did, Pietro!"
"And he just sort of looked at her like she owned the world. Pretty weird."
Hestia looked at her two bickering children, a knowing smile on her lips. She couldn't wait to tell Bucky.
"Well, enough of that. I don't know about you two, but I'm starving." Hestia huffed, lightly smirking when their eyes widened at the idea of food.
"I want food!" Pietro added enthusiastically.
Hestia laughed as she ruffled his hair. "Good to know, little man."
She extended her arms and Antonia and Pietro quickly grabbed them, practically jumping on their toes at the idea of food. "Okay, well, it's raining. We'll have to run to the car, okay?"
Antonia and Pietro quickly nodded. When Hestia opened the door with her powers, they quickly rushed to the car, their hair and clothes already soaking.
Hestia jogged up to them and quickly opened the car. The kids quickly climbed in the backseat and Hestia buckled them in before she entered the car. The three were soaking wet as Hestia turned on the heater.
She started the car before driving in reverse and heading home. "Now, why was Will teaching you two how to build a bomb again?"
"He works at NASA, mom!" Pietro huffed. "We have to use that to our advantage!"
Hestia grinned, shaking her head.
━━━━━━━
"Buck, we're home!"
Hestia shook her body, goosebumps rising on her skin because of the rain. She quickly got Antonia and Pietro's jackets off as she hung them, doing the same with her own. Taking off their shoes, Hestia ruffled her children's hair in order to dry it a little.
Bucky's head popped up from the kitchen, a smile blooming on his lips. "Hey, doll." he grinned before looking at the kids. "Menaces."
"Dad!" the two yelled, almost as if they hadn't seen Bucky that morning.
They rushed towards him and jumped in his arms, Bucky chuckling as they each tried to hug him tighter. He perched each child on one side of him, holding Pietro with his metal arm because he was a little heavier and Antonia with the other one. "What trouble have you been up to, today?"
"Will taught them how to build a bomb." Hestia snorted as she walked forward, giving Bucky a kiss that he returned immediately. She grinned against his lips when she heard the kids make disgusted noises.
"Go wash your hands so we can eat." Bucky ushered the kids, letting them down on the ground, their bickering echoing as they ran towards the bathroom.
Bucky put his arms around Hestia, planting them firmly on her hips as he brought her closer and closed the small gap between them. He kissed her like it was the first time again, in Hestia's small kitchen, her perched up on the counter and him between her legs.
A meow was heard and the two broke away from their kiss to look at Alpine Junior. After Alpine died three years ago, Hestia and Bucky quickly realized they couldn't function without a cat in the house, so they got Alpine Junior.
"Had to ruin the moment." Bucky grumbled, setting his chin on Hestia's head, her laughter shaking his entire body.
They pulled away when Antonia and Pietro quickly entered the room and sat down at the table, their plates ready to be filled.
"What'd you make, Buck?" Hestia asked curiously as she sat down at the table across from Pietro.
"I made my famous pasta, the one that Ma taught me!" Bucky called from the kitchen before he brought a pot filled with pasta.
He set it down and the kids quickly put in their portions, not even managing to thank Bucky, before they started eating.
Hestia smiled gently as Bucky sat down next to her and they each got their own portion.
"So, what's with the bomb?" Bucky asked playfully as he looked at the kids.
Antonia groaned as Hestia snorted in her drink. "It's not that important, dad. It's just..."
"A bomb." Pietro finished with a satisfied nod.
"You two are gonna be the death of me." Bucky grumbled, shaking his head in the process.
"You don't say, you grandpa." Hestia teased him.
Bucky looked at her, his lips pulled into a smirk. "What did I say about you calling me that, huh?"
"Are we seeing aunty Wanda this weekend?" Antonia interrupted them, her eyes wide.
When Pietro was born, Wanda cried when she heard his name. Then, she alongside Sam were made his godparents. They both cried then.
When Antonia was born, Peter and Thor were made godparents. They cried too.
Of course, the kids considered all the avengers aunties and uncles, even Loki - who came back after he messed up the timeline. It was something that made Hestia and Bucky happy, seeing their kids get along with everyone.
Even Morgan, who was graduating the next year, loved the two troublemakers. It only made Hestia wonder how much their namesakes would've loved them.
Tony would have definitely spoiled them, not caring that they weren't his children. He would've built them stuff most certainly and he would've teamed up with Will to help the kids make a bomb.
Natasha would've taught them how to fight and would have definitely had sleepovers with them, eating as much ice cream as possible.
Steve would have taught them to tell right from wrong and he would've definitely acted like a mother goose.
Pietro would've probably taken each child on his shoulder and ran around everywhere, stealing stuff and buying endless amounts of chocolate.
And Vision, well Vision would've told them the most interesting and weird facts ever.
"Yeah." Bucky swallowed his pasta. "Heard Loki and Thor were coming over - some presents may have been mentioned."
As expected, the kids' eyes lightened up at the mention of presents.
"You just had to say it." Hestia muttered, her lips lifting up into a smile.
━━━━━━━
"Sleep tight." Hestia kissed Pietro's forehead, brushing away some hair. She walked away, turning to close the door, stopping when he called.
"Mom, I love you!"
Hestia smiled, her heart swelling. "I love you too, baby. Now go to sleep."
She smiled to herself again as she closed the door and looked to her left, where Bucky was just closing the door to Antonia's room.
He gave her a tired but loving smile as he grabbed her hips and steered her backwards towards their room. He kicked the door closed with the heel of his foot and backed her towards the bed.
The back of her knees hit the bed and Hestia fell on it, Bucky on top of her. He kissed her again before he pulled away, resting his face in her neck, giving kisses now and then.
"Go get your pajamas on, brush your teeth and then we can cuddle." Hestia whispered, her eyes fluttering closed.
"Mhm, no." Bucky groaned, his voice muffled in her neck.
"Yes. I need to do the same anyways, Buck."
"Fine."
He reluctantly got up and Hestia did the same and in less than five minutes, they were all dressed and back in bed, under the covers.
"Remember the first time we kissed?" Bucky asked, a nostalgic smile on his lips as he played with some strands of hair that framed her face.
"Yeah, you used a quote from The Selection in your dedication." Hestia snorted, crawling closer to him as he put his arm around her waist.
Bucky huffed. "It was a good quote. Really inspirational."
"Whatever you say, Buck." she smiled as she kissed him, Bucky grasping the back of her neck to deepen the kiss. "Your daughter punched someone today at school."
"Why?" Bucky frowned, protectiveness taking over.
Hestia chuckled. "He was pulling her pigtails. God, I can already feel the enemies to lovers trope coming to life."
Bucky snorted. "No boy is coming close to our daughter, I promise you that."
"Ah, you can be so dumb sometimes, Buck." Hestia teased as she squeezed his cheeks between her fingers, laughing when he swatted her hand away.
It was quiet for some time as he took her hand in his and traced the wedding ring on her finger and she did the same with his.
Hestia looked at him fondly. "I'm in love with you, Bucky Barnes."
Bucky smiled. "And I am completely, madly and utterly in love with you, Hestia Barnes."
Antonia Natalia Barnes was named after Anthony 'Tony' Stark, a man with a heart of gold who sacrificed himself for the universe and left a daughter and a wife behind, and Natasha Romanoff, a woman with a dark past who overcame her fears and gained what she always wanted - a family.
Pietro Steven Barnes was named after Pietro Maximoff, an orphan who gave his life to save a teammate and an innocent child, leaving behind a sister and a team of friends, and Steven Grant Rogers, the scrawny little teenager who was thrown into a fight and sacrificed everything for the people he loved.
THE END!
(and yes! i fucking named their
daughter after me. antonia supremacy! )