AN: Don't own the Marvel.
For Steve, the Wakandan lab hadn't changed that much in the past twenty years. Every surface was still polished and free from dirt and dust. The heat in the room was a touch on the uncomfortable side but it was nothing compared to the heat of Wakanda's jungle outside. The cryo tube was empty for the first time in twenty years. Steve glanced at the empty tube and then over at the bed where Bucky was lying. Wanda stood at the head of the bed with her hands on her son fifteen-year-old son Billy's shoulders. The boy's hands were glowing a soft blue as he kept them just to the sides of Bucky's head. The dark haired boy had been working on Bucky's brain for the last hour.
"Mom, I think I have it all," Billy said nervously. He shifted one hand over Bucky's face before giving a confident nod. "The triggers are gone. Everything that could trigger the Winter Soldier is gone or modified. He'll still remember."
"That is what you wanted, yes?" Wanda asked Steve. The blond gave his teammate a nod. Wanda kissed her son on the head and patted his shoulders. "Extract yourself Billy. Just like we practiced when you did this to X-23." A minute passed. The blue energy on Billy's hands slowly dissipated into his hands. He pulled away, slightly exhausted from the experience. "I am proud of you."
"Thanks Mom. I'm going to go find Teddy now, make sure Tommy hasn't tried to kill him yet." Before Steve could express his thanks, Billy was out the door.
"Are you sure he doesn't have some of his uncle's speed powers?" Steve joked standing up.
"Only when it comes to his boyfriend. Tommy caught Teddy and Billy kissing the other day and has been threatening the shovel talk. Will you be all right alone until he wakes up?" Wanda inquired. "Or would you like the company?"
A throat cleared in the doorway. A young man of eighteen stood there with his close cropped hair and electric eyes. He was wearing the uniform of the Black Panther. Behind him, a blond teenager a year younger than the young Panther stood with his sparring gear on. It was a base black pair of pants that came up to a torso that had a V design of the stripes from what resembled Steve's first 21st Century uniform. It then had black arms from the shoulders down. He had a thick gauntlet on his right wrist and a black disc shield mounted on his back.
"We will stay, Aunt Wanda," the blond said. "If that's okay with Dad. Azari's mom said he had to be here because it was written that T'Challa was supposed to be. And, um, I wanted to meet him. Really meet him that is."
"Sit down Jamie, Azari." Jamie was Steve's only child and he technically wasn't even his child. Eighteen years ago, a terrorist cell had gotten their hands on a sample of Steve's DNA and managed to clone him. They were in the process of taking down the organization when Steve stumbled upon the artificial womb holding his nearly to term clone. There had been talk about terminating the clone but Steve refused. He, Bruce (recently returned from a long vacation in Fiji), Tony, and some Wakandan scientists had managed to bring him to term. He was healthy and a hefty ten pounds compared to the measly four he had weighed at birth. He was named Grant James Rogers, though everyone called him Jamie. He was Steve's world and had grown up hoping that one day he would have the chance to meet the man that had captured his dad's heart.
Azari jumped atop a table and perched like the cat that he was. He had been in this room many time over the course of his life. His father had told him that if anything ever happened to him, it was his duty to represent T'Challa to Bucky. Twenty years after Bucky had gone into the cryo chamber, Azari prepared to meet the man that was worth his country nearly starting an international incident over.
The occupants of the room continued to sit in silence for thirty minutes longer. The monitor over Bucky's head showed an increase in his breathing followed but a slight increase in his heart rate. Steve straightened up from where he had been leaning against a lab table. Bucky's chest rose higher on his next intake. Steve moved up next to his bed.
"Buck? You awake?" Bucky huffed out a breath at Steve's question. "Bucky?"
"Stevie? 'at you?"
"Yeah it's me Buck. Can you open your eyes for me?" Steve coaxed. Slowly, Bucky blinked the sleep out of his eyes and let his eyes search the space above him. They locked onto Steve's face nearly instantly. "Hey, there's my best guy."
"You're still my punk," Buck muttered. "I'm warm."
"Wakanda is warm," Azari joked from off to the right. Jamie picked up a short blanket from beside him and twisted it up. He aimed at the back other teen's neck before whip-snapping him with the blanket. Azari howled and tackled Jamie from across the room. Both Steve and Bucky turned their attentions to the teenagers. Jamie had Azari pinned on the ground only to have Azari nip him on the ear when the blond went for a head butt.
"Are they dating?" Bucky inquired to Steve.
"Jury's still out. Boys." They both looked up at Steve. They had the decency to blush. "Thank you. Bucky this is Prince Azari, the current Black Panther. His father was T'Challa." Bucky looked at him sharply, noticing the change in tense Steve used. "The blond is my son, Grant James Rogers, who will hopefully replace me as Captain America one day."
"Wait, did you name your son after me?" Bucky questioned quickly.
"I could never settle on a name. Natasha got her hands on the birth certificate while I was extracting him from that artificial womb. She thought it was fitting. I thought you'd take it wrong," Steve muttered.
"I like my name! Part my dad and part the man that my dad cares about," Jamie huffed. "And if you don't like it, you can shove it."
"No, no, I'm honored. I never thought you'd name your son after me Steve."
Azari stepped forward and held out his hand. Bucky shook it, letting his eyes scan the teen.
"My father praised your fighting. He also praised your devotion to your friends. Welcome back, Sergeant Barnes. Wakanda will always be open for you as it is for the rest of the Avengers. We look forward to having you join our community as they have."
"You have your father's talent for politics," Bucky noted. Jamie stepped up next. He was swallowing and running his hand against the side of his pant leg as if to remove sweat. His palm was sweaty when Bucky grasped it.
"I have been waiting to meet you my whole life, sir. I grew up visiting you in this room. Dad told me all the stories, even the 21st Century ones. I even still have my Bucky Bear that dad had made for me when I was born. And while I'm glad you're awake sir, you have to know that if you hurt my dad's heart I'm going to hurt you," Jamie stated firmly.
"Jamie!" Azari hissed.
"Why don't you boys go train? I think Billy could use the help keeping Tommy away from Teddy, don't you? Or play tag with Torunn. Just, don't level half the city in the process," Steve instructed.
"Yes sir." The pair marched off, Azari softly chastising Jamie as they went.
"An interesting son you have there," Bucky whispered. "He's almost grown." There was a pause. Bucky was giving Steve a chance to answer the question without his prompting.
"Twenty years, five months, two days, and one hour," Steve replied, "exactly. We talked to telepaths over the years who refused to work with such a delicate case. They didn't want to anger the Avengers."
"So the triggers, they're still there?"
"No. Billy, that's Wanda's son, took them out or altered them. Nothing will turn you into the Winter Soldier or allow you to be controlled. The few that had to be altered also related to the movement centers of your brain, we couldn't risk removing them completely. Instead, the triggers just allow you full control," Steve explained.
"You let a kid dig around in my head!"
"He had to do it for X-23, a friend of ours. She was similar to you. That's how we knew it would work. You're safe, Bucky. You're free."
"It's not that, he's a kid! He shouldn't have had to see what's in my head, Steve. Would you want Jamie poking around in the dark spots of your mind?" Bucky demanded. It was a valid point, one that quieted Steve instantly. "I don't want that kid to have nightmares because of what's in my head."
"Billy knew what we were asking of him. He could have said no. We would have found another way."
"And waited another, what, twenty years, Steve? I'm surprised you made it this long," Bucky grunted. He turned away from his old friend, staring at the cryo machine. Still, he knew what Steve had said was true about his mind because for once he felt an odd sense of peace over him. He glanced over his shoulder at Steve. The blond was staring at the ground sadly with the famous kicked puppy look that Steve had mastered as a child. And in traditional Barnes fashion, he couldn't stay mad at Steve for any length of time. He walked over to him and placed his hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. That was a low blow."
"No, you're right. I don't know if I could have waited another twenty years. I can't count how many times I've stood in this room and debated whether to thaw you out again or not. I did it when my son was born. I held Jamie in my arms as I sat in front of that tube, debating for hours. I wanted to introduce you to him them, my little boy to the one person I cared about most in this world."
"Steve."
"Truth is Buck, I can't live without you. If I have to live without you for one more day, I might lose my mind. I miss you Bucky. I haven't had you at my side for longer than I would care to admit. I need you with me. I need you," Steve earnestly said. He reached up to hold Bucky's hand. "I can't live without you here."
"Steve, you've been living for yourself and your son for twenty years," Bucky insisted. "You don't need me here to complicate it."
Despite his words, Steve knew that he was lying. The blond grabbed him around the waist and dragged him in close. He locked lips with Bucky, his hand moving from Bucky's shoulder to cup his face. For a tense minute, Bucky didn't move. Then, his hand moved to the small of Steve's back, pulling to bring them closer together. The kiss deepened until they were both nearly out of breath from the intensity. Pulling apart, the pair stared into each others' eyes.
"I've wanted to do that since we were seventeen," Steve murmured.
"Fifteen," Bucky mumbled back, his eyes scanning Steve's face. "Please tell me that's not going to be a one-time thing."
"I want to do it again and again until the end of time," Steve replied. "The Wakandans have offered to marry us, if we want."
"Trying to make an honest man out of me?" Bucky joked.
"You two are sickening," a voice said from the doorway. The pair looked over to see Tony standing there with Natasha and Clint looking over his shoulders. "Truly sickening. The kids have hacked into the security feed and already put your loving reunion up on Youtube. It's gone viral already. Mama Azari wants to know if we're having a party tonight."
"You sure know how to ruin a moment," Steve grumbled as he let his forehead fall onto Bucky's shoulder.
"Hey Bucky," Clint called to him with a smile. "Good to see you up and moving again."
"Barton."
"So what's the verdict?" Tony asked looking over the pair. Bucky looked at Steve and gave him a smile.
"It's been a while since I've danced. It's time for a party," Bucky settled. He leaned over and captured Steve's lips once more. Tony and Clint groaned audibly while Natasha laughed.
"I still haven't learned how to dance," Steve commented.
Bucky smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Then I guess I'll just have to teach you."