I twist the band on my finger, it's been at least three weeks since Bucky proposed and I'm still over the moon, I never thought I could get something like this, a happy ending to go with the long crappy life I had led.
Now I get to move on, knowing Hydra have been dealt with, knowing that they can't hurt anyone anymore and knowing my work is done.
It gave me a sense of peace, wanting, understanding, the path I walked on, is now smouldering fire, instead of the raging one I used to walk on.
Now I get my happy ending, with the people I love and can protect. It's been a long road, but now that ends and I can be happy.
'It was my mothers you know', Bucky says, pulling me out of thought as I stare down at him whilst he lays on my chest, like he always does when I'm reading a book to him.
Currently I'm reading The Hobbit to him, ever since he introduced me to the series, I became in love with it, even more when he geeks out and tells me little fun facts when we've reached a certain part and it makes me laugh that he loves something this much and I can share it with him.
'What', I ask.
'The ring, it was my mothers', he says and I'm looking down at the vintage band, it was a beautiful one I thought he'd picked out for me in a shop, but clearly not.
'Really', I said full of excitement and cheer whilst he laughs and nods, 'yeah, I kept it safe all these years', he says and I'm beaming, because I love it even more now and will cherish it just the same.
'I love it', I tell him and kiss his cheek whilst he smiles and just when I wanted to take his lips too, we heard a small whimper and when I look over at a sleeping Grace on Bucky's pillow with Emori sleeping on her chest, I move my hand and stroll it down her cheek whilst humming a lullaby that calms her.
When she's quieted down, I take my hand back and look at Bucky, who was smiling at me and then takes my hand and kisses it, which makes me smile too.
________
When I've finished using the bathroom, I go back into the room and become surprised when I see Bucky swaying side to side with Grace sleeping on his shoulder and I smile at the scene before me.
It was beautiful, the shadow of the moon bouncing off of his left arm, the soft beats of the stereo that matched his swaying, and the delicate sounds of humming vibrating through his chest, it was an epic scene, one that I will always cherish.
'She was crying', Bucky tells me when I'm out of thought and he stares at me with a smile and I nod, 'she gets nightmares', I whisper, making sure I didn't wake her cause she looked peaceful in this moment.
'I could tell', he replies and then goes over to the bed and when he goes to set her down next to the sleeping kitty, she immediately grips onto him which makes him laugh against her, 'no', she whispers to him and we both laugh, 'only because I owe you a dance', he whispers to her and she falls right back to sleep with a small smile on her face.
'Night, night, Papa', she whispers and we're both surprise whilst I see Bucky's hand tighten around her, 'goodnight Grace', he whispers back and then falls back into his dancing whilst I smile, he doesn't have a problem with what she just called him, which makes me love him even more.
________
*Steve POV*
I was walking down the corridor when someone muttering caught my attention and when I look into the library, Evie is there, muttering to herself on top of the ladder, reading the spines of the books that must have caught her attention.
When I step inside, I continue to stare up at her, today she was wearing a dress, with pink, green, orange and blue flowers scattered everywhere on it, she looked nice in it, even though I saw Y/n give her trousers or jeans before, but she refused to wear them because she was much more comfortable in a dress, like she said so Y/n didn't really pressure her into it, just let her wear whatever she wanted.
When I stopped myself from staring to long, I take the book I wanted and when I'm ready to step out, I hear the creak of the ladder and when I turn, I see Evie hanging with one foot on the ladder whilst the rest of her dangles away from it and a second later she's lost her balance and falls, but I've already caught her.
I'm then watching her open her eyes, blink a few times and then watch her eyes move to my own, 'are you okay', I ask and she quickly nods whilst I carefully put her back on her feet, 'I'm okay', she confirms and then takes a step back whilst I watch the tip of her ears and her cheeks turn a shade of pink, 'are you hot', I ask, because she looks flustered and a little embarrassed, 'No, I uh...', she stumbles and then sighs, 'No', she replies and I nod and hold the ladder, 'it moves', I tell her and move it side to side, 'see', I said, so she knows.
'Oh', she says when I take my hand back, 'thank you, I didn't know that', she says and I nod.
'Steve', she calls out when I stop next to the door and look behind me, 'thank you', she says, 'For the uhm...', she adds, pointing to the ladder and the spot I caught her, so I share a smile and nod, 'It's no problem', I said, 'I take it as a serious job to catch people falling off ladders', I said and it earns me a short giggle, it was light and a little breathless, but it was beautiful just the same.
'Well thank you', she says and I give her a short nod and walk out.
When I'm ready to take the next corner, I see Nat, Sam, Bucky, and Tony, just stood their staring at me, 'Barnes, you know him better then anyone, did his parents drop him on his head when he was a baby', Tony asks and I stare at them dumbfoundedly, I have no clue what he's talking about or what he meant by that.
'Not sure if he was, but it wouldn't be surprising if they did', he replies back and I hear Nat tsk, 'oh, they definitely did, because he wouldn't be an idiot right now', she says and they're all just stood their, agreeing to the idea.
'You know I'm stood right here, right', I said.
'Oh we know', Sam says this time and puts a hand on my shoulder, 'we may need to train him for the real world', he says to the three, which makes them laugh, but I'm still confused, 'get back in there Rogers, you can still salvage the situation if you need to', Tony says and then pushes me back into the library, 'talk to her, it'll be great', Nat says and now I know where this is going, and understand what they we're talking about, 'we just did, besides I'm fine where I'm at and...', I begin when Tony interrupts with the roll of his eyes, 'and nothing, if you haven't notice, she's the girl version of you, get to know her Rogers, your not that old that your brains gone empty', he says and I'm sighing when they close the door shut infront of me.
When I'm left in silence, it's only then that I hear the soft notes of music playing from somewhere and when I turn and walk over, I see Evie reading something for a few seconds and then she set's it down and begins to stand up.
'No, that's not right', she muttered, and I watch her move her feet, then spin, then she trips over her feet and falls, and this time I'm to late to catch her, 'you must be really clumsy', I said and chuckle when she frowns at me, 'I'm not clumsy', she says.
'Then why are you on the floor', I ask and watch her mouth open and close and instead she sighs which makes me laugh, 'I like sitting on the floor, it's comfortable', she says and I only nod, 'right', I said, not believing the words out of her mouth, 'what are you doing anyway', I ask when she gets back on her feet and runs her hand on her dress, 'I was learning to dance', she replies, 'For Y/n and Bucky's wedding', she explains and I'm beginning to understand, 'you need a partner for that', I said and she nods and tucks a fallen strand of hair behind her ear, 'I know, but the book says that you can learn by yourself too', she says and I shake my head.
'A book won't teach you anything', I said and put out my hand to her, which makes her stare at it and then me, 'what', she asks.
'I'm going to teach you how to dance', I reply and when I see her contemplating it, she holds my hand, whilst I take the other and put it on my shoulder, then put my own on her waist and draw her closer.
'Ready', I said and see her cheeks go pink again, 'yeah', she says, nervously and I take a step back, 'we don't have to do it if you don't want to', I said and she shakes her head, 'No, no, it's okay, I want to', she says and I nod.
When I take a step, she follows the process, but stands on my foot and I smile, 'sorry', she says and I chuckle a little, 'when I step forward you step back', I tell her and when she nods, I move forward and she does it, 'same again', I instruct and she falls into step with me.
'That's...', I begin when she steps on me again, 'ugh', she sighs and I know she's becoming frustrated, 'this is pointless', she mutters to herself and I shake my head, 'this is only your first lesson, you'll get better', I said and watch her nod, 'I'm trying to, Bucky made a deal with me, so I'm not about to lose to him', she says and I laugh to myself, 'He's harmless, he won't hold it against you if you lose', I said and watch her nod, whatever the deal is, I'm sure he won't.
'That's not really reassuring, but okay', she says and I chuckle before I know it, 'He's my best friend, I know him more then anyone, we went through thick and thin together', I said.
'Like', she asked and looks up at me, 'the war, losing him from a moving train, finding out he was alive after all that time', I begin and watch her nod, 'yeah, I read about it and know all about it', she said, 'I learnt about you too, the serum, how you became you, the war, how you helped saved everyone', she listed and I listened, '...I was actually working on a secret project for Y/n and Oscar, to find you, I almost did, but it led to different outcomes and I wasn't able to see if I was right and save you', she says and I'm surprised.
'You tried to look for me', I said and she nods yet again, 'Mmm, so you would help us with Hydra, and we didn't need to go through it alone', she answered and I begin to understand, 'I would have helped you', I said and she smiles, 'I know', she says.
'This must be all so weird for you, I read how you woke up, so it must have been weird you to wake up in a new world'.
'It is, I woke up, and the world was different, there we're new threats, new enemies, more violence, and it took me so much time to adjust, honestly I'm still adjusting but from one fight to another, I didn't get a chance to take it all in first, to take in where I was, to learn to adapt to society quickly and to learn the new ways, it was so different and chaotic, I wasn't able to stand still and take in where I am', I reply, honestly.
That was nice to get of my chest, to reply to something without being judged for it and for someone to hopefully see it how I see it, 'I understand', she says and I'm looking down at her, 'this is all new for me too, it's different, Y/n's learning to adjust too, Oscar's already learnt to live through it all, but it feels like I'm born again, and I need to...', she begins until I interrupt her, 'start again', I finish and our eyes meet, 'yeah', she sighs, 'exactly', she says.
'All of its new, I have to learn to adjust, Y/n's teaching me everything she's learnt, but I don't want to get in her way, she sacrificed her life for everyone, for the people that both know and don't know what she put herself through, and she made it through the fire still intact and putting herself through a future I know she deserves, so I don't want her to stop for me, or anyone, she deserves to be happy now', she says and I'm internally agreeing.
She's right, from everything I have seen from Y/n, she's given up more of her life then anyone I know, she sacrificed herself more ways then one and protected those she loved, so I know that she is one of the people I know that deserves her happiness now, she deserves to move past what she's been put through and give the mantle onto someone else, a new set of superhero's to rise up and take down our enemies when we aren't able to.
She deserves her house in the mountains, the huge lake, cows, and most importantly Grace and Bucky, he's been put through so much and deserves to settle down now, he more then earned it and I know he's been thinking about it, even though he hasn't mentioned it to me yet, but I know he'll always follow Y/n, they're a match I knew would happen since the day she came to the compound, and seeing as she's a girl version of Bucky, I know they'll make each other happy, and they deserve it.
'I can teach you', I offered, 'I'm not doing anything important, so I can teach you everything I've learnt if you'd like', I said.
'Oh, uhm, I don't want to be a bother, you must be busy with all the missions, so I don't want to get in the way of that', she says.
'You won't, I'm hardly doing anything, so I wouldn't mind', I said, I mean every single word, Tony came to me a few days ago and suggested I retire, he knows how tired I've become with all of this so when he suggested it and it got me thinking, that did I really want to be doing this forever, Sam's doing great with his training, he's progressing faster then I hoped he would and now I know he's ready to take on my mantle and go on to do great things, he'll be a great choice to lead the new generation of superhero's and we can rest now.
'Are you sure, I don't want to pull you out of your responsibilities', I hear her say and smile, 'I'm sure, I wouldn't mind at all', I said and when she smiles, and jumps up with excitement, she stands on my feet, 'first, medical care, its too expensive', I joked and it earned me a laugh which brightened up her whole face and eyes, and I swear it's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
________
'What are you doing', I ask and sit beside Evie whilst she holds a pen between her teeth, Grace sleeping in her lap and a notepad infront of her, 'I'm just working on some recipes', she says, and then takes the pen out of her mouth and begins to write in her pad, '...there are so many recipes that I'm used to so I'm learning, but I'm also tweaking them so it's to my preference', she adds.
'You should try them out', I suggest and she's quick to shake her head, 'No, they're just for fun, besides I don't want to get anything wrong', she says and I laugh, I doubt she could, I've eaten what she's made and it's amazing to say the lease, so I don't know where she's getting the doubt from, seeing as I know she's a better cook then everyone in this city.
'If you don't cook the recipes you've tweaked, how will you know if they're good', I said and watch her think about it and then sigh, 'Fine, but if it goes wrong, I blame it all on you', she says, pointing the pen at me whilst I chuckle.
'Let me put Grace in her bed and you can help me', she says and before I could go against the idea, I didn't, I haven't cooked since I was in the second world war, so I wouldn't mind falling back into it and teaching myself something new.
________
'You plated it better than I did', Evie says and I chuckle to myself, 'I like art so I see this more of an art project then anything else', I said and she smiles and nods, 'oh if that's the case, we tell people that, I don't need my reputation to go down because of you', she says and I laugh with her.
'So', I state, 'how long have you been into cooking', I ask and begin with the next plate, 'since I was six, I loved it, my mom got me my own set of kitchen utensils and I learnt from there', she replied and I smile, 'at eighteen, I opened my dream café and it was amazing, until it got blown to bits', she says.
'I'm sorry, we didn't intend for your café to get blown up', I said and watch her nod, 'I know, it sucks that I lost it, that's all', she says and when I'm ready to say something else to her, Wanda interrupts us, 'what smells so good', she asks and we look over to see her with the team on her heal, 'Evie made food', I tell them, 'sit, lets eat', I add and they're all taking a seat whilst I look at Evie, who looked at me and then the team, 'I'm still practising, so it probably won't be as good', she mutters more to herself.
'It looks good, probably as tasty as it looks too', I said and nudge her with my shoulder which earns me a small laugh and I smile at her, she's so bright and happy and I like it, it's nice to have her around in the compound.
I then look at the team, who were all exchanging looks with me, and I stare at them confused because I don't know what they thinking, so instead, I take the plates of food and pass it to each and everyone one of them.
'This is so good, could I get seconds', Pietro says and I watch a huge bright smile play on Evie's face, her whole face lit up and her eyes sparkled so bright, I took that as a sign of how happy that made her, 'there's enough for more then seconds', she responds and Pietro smiles at her with the team.
Then Y/n and Bucky walk in, 'we made dinner, come and eat', Evie tells them and Bucky pulls out a chair for Y/n, where she takes a seat and once he pulls her chair in, he takes a seat right next to her, 'where's Grace', Evie asks her sister when she hands her a plate and puts it between her and Bucky, just so they could share it, 'she's with Nat', she replies and just on queue she's walking in with her in her arms, 'goodie, my tummy is hungry', Grace announces and we're all laughing.
Once they've taken a seat, and have gotten their plates, I pull up a chair for Evie and sit beside her once she's settled and we begin to eat.