"Morning, Harry. We need to talk," Hermione said as she stepped into Harry's office, shutting the door behind her.
Harry blinked. "Good morning, Hermione." He brushed his hand over his privacy charms and cleared his desk of his current project to make room for her. "A spontaneous coffee break or a coffee bribe?"
She smiled sheepishly, dropped down onto the seat in front of his desk and handed him one of the two cups of coffee she had in her hands. "Maybe a little bit of both? I'm kind of running on two hours of sleep."
"Did something happen?" Concern flitted over his face.
"In a way," Hermione said, "do you remember when Kingsley read us into the Avengers profiles?"
Harry raised a brow. "Yes?"
"Has the ICW ever come to a decision? About briefing them on the Wizarding World. I tried looking for an update and couldn't really find anything this morning."
"As far as I know, they wanted MACUSA to put together a security measure of ensuring nothing like a S.H.I.E.L.D-HYDRA infiltration will occur risking exposure." His brows furrowed in thought as he sipped his coffee; his free hand searched through his desk drawer for the folder about the Avengers Initiative. "And depending on the measures MACUSA put together, the ICW would reconvene the meeting to either approve or decline the motion of reading them in."
Hermione grimaced. "Let me guess. MACUSA has been getting a lot of internal pushback against the read-in, delaying any sort of work on said security measure."
"Something like that."
"I need a meeting with someone trustworthy in MACUSA then."
"Why?"
She hid her pursed lips behind her coffee mug. "It's James… I want to tell him that I'm a witch."
"Oh! I didn't realize you were getting on that seriously yet?"
Hermione glanced away. "It's not like that. We haven't really spoken about it. I just don't want to start anything serious without telling him first, you know?"
"The Statute won't allow you to tell h-"
She rolled her eyes and set her mug down on his desk with a little more force than necessary; the sound of the porcelain landing on wood was sharp enough to cut him off.
"The Statute shouldn't apply to trustworthy family or soulmates. Why do we have to lie to our muggle partners until we get married and have a magical child?"
"I'm not disagreeing, however, we can't guarantee every muggle, good-intentioned or trustworthy, will keep it a secret."
"James would."
Harry stared at her, setting his mug down carefully. She could see from his expression that he was connecting the dots.
"Back up a moment… are- are you telling me James is an Avenger?" His voice raised slightly in shock.
Hermione's gaze didn't waver from his. "The Statute won't allow me to tell him because as previously stated, I'm not married to him nor do we have a magical child… this is my workaround."
His hand came up to remove his glasses and then he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Hermione," his tone pleading, "tell me you're talking about James Rhodes and not James Buchanan Barnes."
She squared her shoulders. "You know very well that I don't write on my left arm."
"James Barnes is the Winter Soldier!"
"So what if he is?" she asked defensively, crossing her arms over her chest.
"He's dangerous!"
Hermione stood from her seat, planting her hands on his desk nearly knocking both of their coffees over and levelled their eyes.
"You won't change my mind on this," she said, tapping her finger against the desk before straightening her stance. "I'll acknowledge that James could be dangerous, but the same could be said about any one wizard or witch in this world that has a wand in their hand and the nerve to cast any magic with intent to harm. Being dangerous doesn't make a person evil."
Silence hung heavy between her words. "And James isn't evil. Trust me on this," she finished softly.
His green eyes searched hers. Then he sighed and nodded. "Okay. I'll trust you on this. It's… it's just a lot to take in."
She smiled brightly, tension leaving her body as quickly as it appeared and she settled back into her seat. "Eventually, you'll trust him too. I really think you'd like him."
Harry looked skeptical at that.
"At any rate," she said, "wouldn't you rather he be on our side?"
"I won't argue there. I'll need to reach out to Kingsley, he should still have good contacts in the states. We'll have him get in touch with MACUSA and see if we can convince everyone to read in the bloody Avengers." Harry grumbled, "the paperwork is going to be a nightmare."
Hermione hummed. "It won't be that bad, I've been working on Magical NDAs all morning. It should be finished in a few days if I have the magic right. Everyone involved will have to sign it before it's filed and sealed. I'm sure if it gets approved they'll assign the Avengers some sort of Handler to limit the flow of information. And if we pitch it right, we could probably convince the ICW and MACUSA to keep everything in-house to a certain security level and the rest of the magical world doesn't have to be any wiser that the Avengers are 'in the know'?"
"Really thought this through haven't you?" Harry said, then huffed. "I'm sure that NDA will somehow make the unbreakable vow seem like a better option."
"Sometimes you say the nicest things, Harry!"
Hermione was taking her lunch hour at her desk, too tired to go anywhere. Alone with her thoughts, she stared at the Avengers file Harry leant her. He told her to read it cover to cover. Hermione didn't want to read it though. It felt too much like a breach of privacy despite the fact that a lot of it was public knowledge.
She pushed the folder away. The bit of information she did know about the team and their history would be enough. If James ever felt comfortable enough to open up more, she'll be there to listen.
Although, now that she had some context, she understood James a little better. His little quirks made more sense now that she could tie it into Avengers' activity. She couldn't help but smile as she scrolled through their message history and looked at the photos she'd taken of their writing.
She was on her fourth cup of coffee when a message from James buzzed on her phone. Hermione straightened in her chair, trying to reign in the sudden nervous bubble that built in her chest. She'd been waiting for a message as patiently as she could since their talk the night before.
JAMES: I hope your opinion hasn't changed with some sleep?
HERMIONE: Of course not! Although, I'm sorry if I was forceful last night.
She bit her lip as she waited for an answer.
JAMES: please don't apologize. I'd been wanting to tell you for a while. I just needed a little bit of prodding.
Hermione sighed, thumbs hovering over the keyboard on her phone. She felt a stab of guilt. She really wanted to come clean then and there about her magic, damn the ministry and the statute. But Hermione knew she had to be patient and wait until the Avengers were read in.
HERMIONE: I'm glad. Any plans today? I thought you'd sleep in a little longer. It must still be early over there.
JAMES: I was thinking if you're free tonight
JAMES: would you be comfortable with a video call?
She blinked. That was not what she'd been expecting.
HERMIONE: Yes, I'd love to!
JAMES: Is 8 PM your time okay for you?
HERMIONE: That's perfect.
JAMES: I'm looking forward to seeing you at 8 then.
She smiled at her phone, excited for a moment before panic settled in. A video call shouldn't make her feel as nervous as she did just then.
HERMIONE: I'll see you soon
She replied, her heart racing.
Ron was waiting for her when she got home from work. He was sitting at her dining table. A spread of Molly's cooking still steaming was set out in front of him and in his hand was a copy of her NDA draft.
"Harry's a gossip," she said in lieu of a greeting, she leaned against the entryway to her dining room.
He set the paper down and raised a brow in her direction. "Are you implying you wouldn't have told me your boyfriend is a renown super-soldier formerly brainwashed assassin?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Of course I would have told you! You're the one ambushing me in my own home before I even had the chance," she replied, "Also, he isn't my boyfriend."
"Soulmate then."
There was a beat of silence before Ron sighed and stood from his chair, approaching Hermione. "Is that big beautiful brain of yours doing that over-thinking thing because you're lacking proper sleep and running purely on coffee?"
Hermione leaned into the hug he pulled her into with an amused huff. "Maybe," she mumbled against his chest.
She could feel his smile as he pressed a reassuring kiss on her forehead.
"Don't sound so surprised, Hermione," he said as he led her towards a chair and pushed food in her direction. "I've learned since our Hogwarts days."
She thanked him for the food and they ate in comfortable silence.
"What has you worried?" Ron finally asked after he finished his first plate full.
"It's silly."
Ron shrugged. "Silly or not, you're worried about it."
Hermione's expression pinched in thought before she sighed. "I'm just nervous. I have a video call with James tonight."
She hit him over the shoulder when Ron wiggled his eyebrows at her.
"He cares a lot about you, Hermione. Explain to me why a video call would change that," he said. "Harry told me you nearly hexed him in half defending James, why won't you lift yourself up the same way? Go on. Reason it out loud."
When Hermione didn't respond, Ron smirked at her. "You can't, can you?"
"Shut up, Ron."
He laughed and helped himself to more food.
"Sometimes, Hermione, you're so focused on taking care of everything and everyone, you miss the little things," Ron said, patting her hand gently. "Harry and I might worry about his history. But if there's one thing I've noticed... It's that James takes care of you, even from however far away he is. Ever since you've started talking with him, you've slowed down a little; stopped being so stressed and overworked."
Ron waited for a beat, making sure she was listening before continuing. "Hell, Hermione, you took time off for the first time in how many years? I have to think it's probably under his influence."
"I suppose," she murmured, ignoring the slight flush to her cheeks.
"Don't 'I suppose' me," he said with a huff. "Ginny calls it your shared self-care routine. It's the little things you and James do together. Like trying new recipes with him or your two-person book club you gush about all the time. And you can't tell me that the playlist he put together two weeks ago is not some subtle attempt at wooing you. He takes care of you, your happiness, and your smile. Yes, that one you're trying to hide from me right now because you know I'm right!"
Ron poked her cheek. "A video call with him won't change the fact that you're both fools at least halfway in love with each other."
Hermione laughed. The tension she'd built with her nervous energy easing little by little. "Thank you, Ron."
He grinned. "You're welcome. However I'd also appreciate a 'You're right, Ron. I was overthinking again because I'm living off of an insane amount of coffee right now and probably only an hour of slee—"
"You have to be out of here before 8," she said instead, cutting off his horrible impression of her.
Ron laughed. "Alright, alright."
Hermione fussed in front of the mirror trying to tame her hair into settling down. Her stress and magic did her no favours. Giving up on that, she paced in her living room waiting anxiously. The nervous energy Ron had managed to somewhat ease was back with the impending call.
Would they start with a regular phone call and then transition to video? Should she call or would he call? Why was she so nervous? They've been friends for months, writing and talking with each other for hours. She shouldn't be as nervous as she felt. Ron was right, why would a video call change anything?
Her racing thoughts cut short when her phone buzzed exactly at 8. She stared at the screen, seeing James' name above the video call request. Hermione quickly settled at her desk and propped her phone up to stand.
She took a calming breath and answered. In the few seconds it took for their videos to load, she attempted to brush her hair away from her face in a presentable way.
Her screen went white for just a split second and suddenly she was staring right at James.
She'd vaguely known what he looked like. Seen his photo once or twice on the telly when the Avengers made international news. But, seeing him in a casual hoodie with a shy smile was completely different from the Winter Soldier persona that the general public portrayed him as.
"Hi, James," she said, hoping it didn't sound as breathless as it actually was.
The way his eyes crinkled when his shy smile grew a little wider was too cute. Before today, her heart tended to melt at the sight of a cute kitten. But something about James' smile just warmed her to her core in a similar way.
"Hi, Hermione," he said as he leaned a little closer to his camera. "It's lovely to put a face to a voice now."
She returned his shy smile. "It is really nice to see you." Hermione pat her cheeks trying to cover her faint blush. "Sorry, I don't know why I'm so nervous."
"I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling nervous," he admitted and they shared a light laugh. The weight of her nerves seemed to lift with that.
Hermione couldn't help the way her smile widened watching him laugh with her. She tracked the way he tilted his head back with the movement of his laughter and the way his eyes seemed to rove across his screen, likely taking in her image the way she did him.
"And actually… You uh- you can call me Bucky if you like?"
"Bucky?" she echoed.
He nodded, his smile never wavering. "Everyone I care about calls me Bucky."
"I get nickname privileges, now?" she asked teasingly.
"Do you have one? I don't think you've mentioned any before."
Hermione shrugged, propping her chin on her hand. "Not quite a nickname, we mostly have odd monikers on my side of the world."
Bucky raised a brow, "No elaboration?"
Her pinky tapped her lip in thought, the corners quirking up when she saw his eyes catch her movement. "Not today."
There was a shift in his smile that looked more like a smirk. "Okay, I'll hold you to that then. I can think of a few nicknames for you if you want one."
"Why do you make that sound like a challenge?"
His chuckle sounded different when she could mix it with his expressions. There was something mischievous about him now as he casually rested his face in his hand almost mirroring her; there was something in the slow way his eyes seemed to take her in like there wasn't actually a screen and distance between them.
"Isn't it a challenge?" he asked. "The fact that you don't have a nickname might mean you vetoed all of them because you didn't like them… I'll endeavour to find one you'll like."
"I wish you luck."
There was something in his expression that Hermione couldn't decipher through the screen, but his smirk softened back into an easy smile.
"Tell me about your day."
Hermione didn't know what it was exactly, why it was at that moment she felt something click into place. Any worries she'd had were gone. She knew then, everything was going to be alright.
Her cheeks were almost starting to hurt because she couldn't stop smiling at him.
Days passed by quickly after that first video call. She'd stayed up later than she anticipated that night but held no regrets. Soon it had been over two weeks and video calling was almost the norm in their routine now.
It was a Friday afternoon home early for once because of some overtime the previous week. Hermione's phone rang while she was making a snack.
When she answered it, the video opened up to the image of a fluffy white cat curled in a lap. She gasped and then cooed.
"Oh! You got her?" she asked.
"Meet Alpine," Bucky said. She could see his hand slowly brush through her fur. He brought the camera closer and Hermione could hear purring.
She couldn't help but coo again. "She's beautiful, Bucky. I'm so happy that you brought her home."
The video flipped and she could see his grinning face. "She settled into the tower a lot quicker than I thought she would."
"She has great instinct and perhaps great taste in men," she teased.
He laughed. "She did claw at a few folks here. Seemed to know which ones on the team were bird-themed."
"I'm sure she'll become an even greater hunter under your watch."
"I'll make sure of it." That same eye-crinkling smile he gave her had her heart fluttering.
"Ah- now that she's home what are your plans?" she asked, "Oh, you know if you're comfortable with exchanging addresses I can send you a few treats and toys. Some that my old cat Crooks loved. Your cat can never be too spoiled."
"You don't have to," he insisted but his eyes were already focused on Alpine again.
"I want too! Send me your address, okay?"
Bucky looked back up at her a glint in his eyes "Only if you give me yours?"
"Consider it done," she said as she swiped out of the video call for a moment to text him her address. "Now, tell me what you got planned for Alpine."
"I took time off from missions for the next while unless it's one of those "the world is ending" emergencies. I just want to make sure she's comfortable here before I leave on longer missions. And it'll be nice to just have some downtime for the next while."
She watched him lean back to lie down on the floor as he spoke his phone held up above him. Alpine, seemingly happy with the new position crawled up his chest and curled up against his neck. Bucky hummed and Alpine purred in response.
A thought drifted in her mind soft and content as she watched Bucky pet Alpine and listened to him talk about his plans. Just a simple ' oh, this… is what I want. '
"One day soon, when she's comfortable enough and ready for some travel, maybe Alpine and I can try and visit you? Or you could come to visit us when you have time?" His voice was low and soft.
"I'd really like that, Bucky."
He looked up at her then. "So, you'd be okay with meeting in real life?"
"Didn't I tell you that you'd never get rid of me?" she asked teasingly.
"You did."
"Now that you've got a new cat. You really wouldn't be able to get rid of me. Consider me a part of your life forever. And that does mean I would like to meet you in real life one day soon."
He chuckled. "Duly noted."
There was a beat of silence.
"Actually, while we're on the topic of visiting, I have a work thing coming up and I might be in the city. I don't know when yet. But when I do, I'll let you know. Okay?"
"Really? In New York?" He asked eagerly.
She hummed in agreement. "I didn't mention it sooner; I didn't want either of us getting our hopes up if things fell through. But last I heard, things are working in my favour."
His expression seemed to light up with the thought of meeting in real life. "I'm looking forward to hopefully meeting you soon then."
"Me too."
They shared a bright smile.
That evening, before Hermione fell asleep, she got a text message with Bucky's address and a photo. It was a selfie, Bucky with a soft peaceful smile on his lips, laying back against his bed with Alpine curled against him, her head pressed against his jaw. She quickly saved it and after a moment's hesitation, saved it as her background photo.
The thought came back again. She really wanted this. A life with Bucky; a life with the potential crazy of melding the magical and superhero worlds together… but also the peaceful quiet parts where it could continue as things have been with skin writing, and texting, and calling. She wanted it all; to be by his side when he needed her, and to have him by her side when she needed him.
Good Night. Bucky wrote on her knee, Sweet Dreams, Hermione.
She looked at the photo once more before locking her phone. She was happy.
As far as Mondays went, it was slow for once. She'd spent the rest of her weekend watching all the videos and photos Bucky sent her of Alpine like the proud cat-dad that he'd very quickly become.
Hermione was in the middle of organizing her project folder when Harry burst into her office. "We got it," he said in a hurry.
"What?" she asked startled.
"The Avenger's read in. It's been approved. They'll be read in. Today. Noon their time."
Hermione stood abruptly almost knocking her chair down. "Really?"
"You can thank your NDAs, it's what pushed the vote in your favour. MACUSA and the ICW approved the motion," Harry said. "Kings got us an International Portkey, it's set to leave a quarter to 5. Meet me at the departures office at 4?"
"Yes, of course! Thank you, Harry. I really owe you one."
Hermione spent the rest of the morning confirming her vacation with her boss and then rushing around to get her projects handed off to other colleagues while she was away. She passed by the menagerie to pick up her promised treats and toys for Alpine and then quickly apparated to the closest point to her flat.
It was almost 3 by the time she crossed the lobby of her building but she wasn't too worried. With the help of magic, she'd be able to shrink and pack all of her things in no time.
"Ah, Ms. Granger," the concierge of her building called to her. "You're back early."
Hermione paused and smiled at the man. "Good afternoon, Mr. Agnesi. Yes, something has come up so I'll be travelling out of town for a few weeks. I've got to pack."
He bent slightly reaching behind the reception desk and picked up a wrapped package. "Lucky timing then, this just came for you. I didn't want to leave it unattended by your door."
She took the package curiously but thanked him and continued on her way.
It was a medium-sized box but lighter than she expected it to be. It was addressed to her but just a first name and had no return information. She walked into her flat and set the box on her table. A quick cursory scan with her wand revealed no dangers. When she gently peeled open the white and gold gift wrapping paper and lifted the top of the box she gasped.
Inside were three bloomed sunflowers. Tucked underneath a ribbon that was tied around the stems was a card with very familiar cursive writing.
Hermione,
I pulled in a few favors to get this to you as soon as possible. I wish I could see your face when you get them. These sunflowers aren't enough to convey how thankful I am to have you in my life but it's something I wanted to send you all the same. You said it'd been some time since you'd last gone to see the sunflower fields; that you used to go with your parents during the summer? I hope you enjoy them.
I just wanted to let you know that these last few months have been some of the happiest I've been in quite some time and I have you to thank for that. You've been an encouraging ray of light in my otherwise kind of messy life. I look forward to reading your messages and hearing your voice when you call. It makes me happy to know that you're happy and seeing your smile always makes me smile.
In all my good days and bad days, you've been sending me care and support. Sometimes I feel like I haven't done enough for you as you have for me but I know you'll wave those worries away without a second thought.
You tell me often that I'll never be rid of you, and just the other day, you said to consider yourself a part of my life forever. And I really do want that. I don't know where our paths lead but I'm hopeful that you would like to explore a path together as something more than just friends and soulmates. To see what forever could bring us?
Yours,
Bucky
She blinked back her happy tears before they could fall and laughed. Her thumb brushed over his elegantly written Yours, Bucky.
She couldn't wait to answer him in person.
I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS.
The next chapter will be the last one, but I'll likely expand this universe with some connected one-shots because I love the little world I created!
any typos are my own. In my excitement to get this out, I might have missed a few!
There's a moodboard that a reader stilleundregen made for me for this fic! It's on my tumblr or at the end of this chapter if you read this on AO3. check it out if you like moodboards!