A/N: Usually it's at this point that I explain why I posted later than normal. I have to admit that, this time, I don't have an excuse beyond the fact I genuinely didn't realise so much time had passed since I last updated this. Sorry. Hopefully you'll enjoy it though!
Review Response(s):
CheekyLittleFoxy: Not sure I've ever heard some ask to witness someone's raging pregnancy hormones, but alright... Each to their own, I guess. As for the other bit, I'm not saying. Maybe. Maybe not. You'll just have to wait an see.
9 - Bambi and Stoo
Joseph Coltrain was kept under relatively light sedation for the journey back to New York, and while Bobbi kept a very close eye on him, Bucky and Daphne were kept as far away from him as possible. Neither of them were feeling any especially violent urges towards the man, but they could understand Coulson's caution. He had, after all, played a part in the murder of dozens of people, not least of all the Barnes' personal friends. So the two of them stood to the side with Daisy and Fitz, keeping them entertained with stories of their marriage and their various friendships over the years, and the two Agents returned the favour once they ran out of ideas. While Daphne knew a lot of it from her time in her first world, they provided extra information between the end of her knowledge span and the present time, catching her up on everything that had happened with the other Inhumans.
About three-quarters of an hour before the plane was due to land, Coulson's phone went off in his pocket, playing a song that Daphne knew better than most, due to the fact she knew how to play it on the guitar. Bucky and Daphne exchanged looks of amusement, him clearly having the same thought as her.
"I miss my guitar," she murmured to him, leaning her head on his shoulder and sighing softly when his metal arm automatically wrapped itself around her waist, tugging her flush against his side.
"Which one?" he asked teasingly.
Daphne rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, you know that doesn't matter," she retorted with a lopsided grin. "Any old thing will do."
Bucky nodded. "Yeah, I know. I'm still kinda surprised you didn't take one with you."
"And risk it getting lost or damaged? No, thank you, I think I'd rather go without."
Bucky cocked an eyebrow. "It's hardly like you don't have enough money to pay for a replacement."
She shook her head. "That's not the problem. I've had most of those guitars for years; they have a lot of sentimental value to me."
Bucky nodded his head slowly. "Well, I guess that explains while half of them are in the basement." Daphne winked at him, then pulled away from him, sliding into the co-pilot chair and striking up a casual conversation with Agent May. Bucky had been right in his preliminary assumptions - the two could go from conversation to conversation like they'd known each other for years, with no awkward silences or pauses; simply flowing from one to the next without thought. Daphne had a peculiar ability to bond with most people, but he knew this particular friendship was triggered by her many similarities with May.
He distantly heard Coulson hanging up the phone, and turned to the Director with a serious expression on his face. "Do you think you can clear a training room in time for us to arrive?"
Coulson stared at him in confusion. "Why would I do that?"
Bucky glanced over at Daphne, laughing and smiling with a smirking Melinda May, and his gut twisted slightly. "For Daphne. She needs to let off some steam."
"What?" Coulson's frown deepened. "Why would she need to let off steam? She looks perfectly happy to me."
"Yeah," Bucky agreed, "she does." He sighed. "Look, I've known that woman for most of my life, and she gets hit hard by having to split from people she loves. Harder than I do, and believe me when I say this whole thing is killing me on the inside. Daphne's very good at hiding it, maybe even from herself, but I can tell that she's bottling up all the bad stuff inside her. I think a sparring match will help to get that out of her system, but if there's anyone inside other than me..."
Coulson nodded in understanding. "They might become a genuine target," he concluded. "I can get a room clear. Try not to get hurt, either of you."
Bucky sent the man a crooked grin. "I can't promise that," he said. "But, at the very least, it'll be an interesting fight. I haven't fought against her since before she went to Asgard. Before then, I would beat her in a sparring round pretty much every time. Now it's anyone's guess as to who will win."
"Just try not to break anything," Coulson muttered, amused.
Bucky's grin widened. "Then don't leave anything breakable lying around," he shot back. He then turned to walk away, only to pause and face Coulson again. "Actually," he mused, "I think I have an even better idea."
Daphne looked around her, frowning when she noticed that May was lowering the quinjet to the ground, even though the cityscape of New York could only barely be seen in the distance. Coulson had approached May and murmured lowly in her ear several minutes earlier, no doubt informing the woman of their new landing point, but Daphne had no idea what that would mean for them. They still had Coltrain on board, after all, and they really needed to get him back to HQ to be questioned.
"Where are we?" she asked the Agent as the jet landed on the ground with a gentle bump.
May shrugged. "Some kind of farmhouse. Not sure why, but Coulson said it was important we landed here before going back to headquarters."
"Wait, wait, wait..." Daphne blinked, glancing suspiciously over her shoulder at Bucky, who was sat on his own scratching a very happy-looking dog behind the ears. She then looked out the windscreen, carefully eyeing the trees and long grass surrounding the plane. "A farmhouse, you said?"
"Yes," May said, glancing at the older woman upon hearing her tone. "Why?"
But Daphne ignored her, getting out of the seat and heading towards her husband, who looked up and smiled at her when he noticed her approaching. "What are we doing here?" Daphne hissed at him, in no mood to return the smile.
Bucky just rolled his eyes. "No need to act so defensive. There's just a few things I need to get sorted before we can head to the city. Besides, there's a possibility that some of our friends are here, and I think we both want to see them again after so long."
"Bucky, you just gave away the location of our home to a bunch of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents," Daphne murmured lowly, narrowing her eyes. "The whole point of this place was so we were kept away from the eyes of organisations like this."
Bucky sighed, standing up and taking Daphne's hands in his own, tightening his grip when she weakly tried to tug them away. "Daphne, listen to me." Daphne slowly stopped struggling, letting out a long breath, and then lifted her eyes to his. Bucky dared to take another step forwards, leaning his head down so his forehead was pressed against hers. "These people are trying to give us our lives back," he murmured. "And I know you trust them even more than I do. It's safe to do this - I'm sure they won't come here often. Or ever, unless they truly have need. Trust me. Please?"
Daphne sighed again, moving so she could pull him into a hug, her head resting on his shoulder. Bucky didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her. "Always," she whispered. "Just warn me next time."
Bucky chuckled, leaning back and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yes, ma'am," he murmured in return, before planting a lingering kiss on her forehead and pulling away only as the jet door opened. Then, with his hand still cradling hers, he pulled her towards their house, letting the curious S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents file out behind them, taking in their surroundings with confusion. Besides Coulson, none of them knew where they were, as neither he nor Bucky had deemed it necessary to inform them of their new destination.
Daisy noticed Bucky and Daphne walking towards the house like they'd done so a thousand times, and then realisation struck her. Her eyes widened, her jaw fell, and she whirled on Coulson. "This is where they live?!" she squeaked.
Coulson just blinked at her. "Yes."
Daisy beamed at him, looking around her again. "Oh my God, it's so beautiful! Look at this place!"
"Very much the American dream," Hunter pointed out, looking slightly less pleased to be here.
"Like you'd know!" Bucky called over his shoulder, grinning at the Brit. "You're not even American!"
"Neither's your wife, mate!" Hunter shouted back.
Bucky just laughed and retorted teasingly, "I'm not even sure she's properly British, either." Daphne immediately smacked him on the chest.
"Don't push it," she hissed mock-sternly, only to smile when he just winked at her. "So where exactly are you dragging me?"
"Training room."
"Why?"
"Because I haven't sparred with you for months and I'm feeling a little restless," he told her, glad he didn't have to lie to her whilst keeping his true reasoning a secret. Daphne would flip if she knew what his true intentions were, claiming she was perfectly fine thank you very much. "Besides, you're a little more durable than they are," he added, throwing his thumb over his shoulder.
Daphne narrowed her eyes at him, clearly showing her suspicion, but then shrugged and let it go. He was glad - he really did hate lying to her, and if she'd pushed for information, he would have probably just come out and said the truth. As much as she needed to let out a little excess frustration, he didn't like the idea of her being mad at him.
Both of them paused when they noticed movement from within the house, becoming progressively more tense as their cautious allies created a line that spread out around them. Just as Daisy was about to reach for her ICER, the door opened, and out stepped none other than Steve Rogers, wielding his shield and clearly expecting a threat.
His eyes scanned over them, coming to a sudden halt when he clapped eyes on Bucky and Daphne, completely missing the fact that Coulson was standing just to their left.
Bucky didn't so much as blink when Daphne suddenly sprung away from his side, only strolling calmly forwards as Steve dropped his shield on the ground and then rushed to meet her. Daphne threw herself at Steve, wrapping her arms around his neck and dissolving into delighted giggles as Steve swept her up off her feet and spun her around, his own elated laughter echoing hers. Bucky was about five metres away when Steve finally let Daphne go, only for the woman to grab the blonde's face with both hands and plant a fierce but quick kiss on the man's lips. Bucky almost cracked up at the dumbfounded expression on Steve's face, slapping his brother on the shoulder to snap him out of his daze and then pulling him into a firm hug. Steve smacked him on the back, then pushed him away and looked at them both.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"Just a drive-through," Bucky said, grabbing Daphne's hand and tugging her against his side. While he wasn't angry at either of them for Daphne's uncontrollable enthusiasm (in fact he had found it rather hilarious), he still felt the need to remind everyone that Daphne was solely his. "More to the point: what are you doing here? This isn't your house, in case you've forgotten."
Steve chuckled, shaking his head. "We've been looking after the place for you," he explained. "One of us will visit once a week to make sure everything's in place. Wanda and Pietro spend half their time living here." Bucky opened his mouth to talk again, but Steve beat him to it. "Technically, they do live here, so you can't refute that. You took them in, remember? But they're over at the facility for now, so it's just me and Bambi."
Daphne and Bucky exchanged glances, both sharing the same thought - that, at some point during their absence, Steve must have absolutely lost it. "Bambi?" Daphne echoed with an arched eyebrow.
Steve blinked, then a sad but understanding expression fell into place. "Yeah, it's a nickname." He glanced behind them, once again managing to miss Coulson standing right in front of him (though at least this time the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director had mostly turned his back to the house), and then smiled. "Come on in."
"Oh, great. Thanks," Daphne murmured sarcastically. "Invite us into our own home, why don't you?" Steve chuckled, grinning back at her, and then led the way inside.
"So who's this 'Bambi' gal you were talking about?" Bucky asked, looking around, expecting said girl to be nearby, but the house was the same as always.
"Stoo!"
Bucky and Daphne tensed until they were barely breathing, their faces freezing in shock. Two pairs of sharp eyes watched as Steve gave them a very soft smile, before he turned away towards the lounge, scooping up a little body from the ground.
For a moment there was no movement from any of the occupants of the house, before those bright, familiar, emerald green eyes skipped over to Daphne and Bucky, and then her whole face lit up with delight. She stretched out her little hands, making grabbing motions and cried, "Mama! Dada!"
