AN: Tumblr prompt: Drabble a continuation on Danny as the Winter Soldier because gosh darn it that needs a happy ending. Where the avengers take him stargazing and in that moment they see the same Danny from before as he looks at the stars in awe. And in that moment, Danny sees them as well.

Drabble 94-Child of Winter part 2

It had been a couple of days since the incident. They all tired not to think of it. Most of all Bucky. The last thing he needed was a Winter Soldier 2.0, this time with ghost powers. Thankfully though, they hadn't done much (well, when you compare him to Bucky). They had taken away his memory, and had bulked him up a bit, but other than that he was, for the most part, unharmed.

Every time Bucky walked in to the med bay to talk to Danny or check up on him, he starred at him with blank, bright green eyes. He was confused and scared, like a kid who lost his mom in the store. Except he was a kid who had no idea who he was, or any of them, and that absolutely terrified him. It terrified Bucky, too.

The kid was quiet most of the time, only talking to answer simple questions like if he remembered any of them or not, or if he was feeling any pain. Usually to that one, the answer was always his head. And Bucky understood that completely.

While with Hydra, Bucky had done his best from the very start to remember things. He would lock them in a tight little box tucked away in the back of his mind. He wanted to keep the most precious memories safe. Because of that box, the first things he remembered were Steve, small and sickly, and the bear he had given his now 90 year old kid sister, Becca. He remembered the overwhelming scent of cinnamon from the times he spent in the Red Room, training little girls to murder. It hurt like a bitch when his box had been unlocked, his thoughts swarming and overwhelming. They were the gateways to more memories.

Danny's just hadn't been opened yet.

He wondered what Danny's gateway memories would be. Would they be ghost hunting, or his sister? Maybe his two weird, nerdy friends with their cryptic sense of humor? Or maybe the stars. Bucky wouldn't put it past him with how many good memories Danny had of them.

And just like that, an idea erupted in his eyes.

'Wait, wait, wait," Sam said, holding his hand up to stop Bucky's excited chatter. "You want to do what?"

"You heard me, feather brain," he replied, ignoring the dignified croak Sam made. "It might fix his brain, trigger some memories. It worked for me, when Steve was being a sap, so it might work for him."

Sam, being the kindhearted person he was, finally sighed. He wanted what was best for Danny, and to help him get better. He wasn't sure if this was the right way to do it, but it was definitely worth a shot.

Russia was known for it's cold winters and even colder politicians, but Natasha had connections. Good connections. So the cold wasn't a problem, and they ended up staying on a clear night, rid of any bad storms. It was an amazing night for stargazing.

They were all heavily bundled up in heavy coats and hats, shivering as they stared up at the sky. The only person who wasn't trying to stay warm was Danny, who was wearing a long sleeved shirt and a light jacket. The kind you would wear on a breezy November evening in New York. Not in the middle of the night in fucking Russia.

Obviously they couldn't be out there for too long, but they would be out there as long as they could stand. Danny would outlast all of them, and due to his several decades in cryo, he'd probably last longer than the others as well. And that was fine. He actually wanted to stay out here and keep Danny company, just in case something actually happened. He would need someone who understood what it was like. And while he was terrible with emotions, he would for sure try his best.

They sat there in shitty lawn chairs for hours, starring up at the stars. Tony was the first to go, and then Bruce. When Clint's teeth started chattering, Natasha had taken him inside to help him warm up. Not long after, Steve had followed, having grown bored and cold just sitting there in silence. Steve enjoyed the silence sure, but only if it was in a comfortable place. Fucking Russia wasn't it.

They sat there for significantly longer than the others, and just when the cold started seeping into Bucky's bones is when it happened.

"Was the pain normal?"

Bucky had almost started dozing off, and had to ask for the question to be repeated. When it was, Bucky sighed and placed a comforting, metal hand on Danny's shoulder and giving it a small squeeze.

"Yeah, kid. But it gets better. It stops hurting after a while."

"I remember being scared. Terrified that I wouldn't see you guys again..." Danny trailed off. Bucky thought he was gonna be in tears soon, so he took the hand on Danny's shoulder and wrapped it around him, pulling him into an awkward hug from across the lawn chairs. Bucky saw one tear slip down silently, and decided not to comment on it as Danny leaned his head over and rested it on Bucky's shoulder.

"How did you do it, man," he asked. He sounded tired. Exhausted, really. Bucky shrugged with his real shoulder, not really sure how to answer.

"I don't know. Took some time to heal, I guess," he said. It wasn't anything in depth, and he had no idea if that was a good thing or a bad thing. But at least Danny was back.

"Thanks for finding me," he said. His voice was quiet, and Bucky was met with the harsh reminder that Danny was just a kid. A scared kid that was fighting the world's problems and biting off more than he could choose on a daily basis. He needed someone to help him shoulder that weight, because if Danny was anything like Bucky, he was carrying all of it on his small shoulders. If he didn't take the time to heal, he would break.

"Do you remember everything?" Bucky asked. It was Danny's turn to sigh, and he looked down before giving a small nod.

"Yeah," he said. "But I don't want to."

"I'm sorry I can't do more for you," Bucky said. And he meant it. It bothered him to his very core that he couldn't fix the problem with a fire of a gun or a slash of his knife because the problem was in his head, it was mental. It was traumatizing. It was going to need time.

They sat in silence for a little longer, starring up at the stars in a comfortable silence. The wind had picked up a little, adding to the cold, but Danny just smiled and shed his jacket.

Bucky drifted off with a smile on his face, glad that his friend was finally in safe hands. It would be okay. It had to be. Because he was Danny, and if Danny was gone then the Avengers would be gone. He had become the unofficial heart and soul of the team, the glue that kept them together, and without him and his weird friends cracking jokes and kicking ass then really there was no point. And Bucky knew he wasn't the only one who saw that.

Danny was family, and the Avengers protected their family with a passion unlike any other.

Danny glanced over at Bucky's snoring form. He looked utterly spent, with heavy bags under his eyes and worry lines on his forehead. They had all worried about him, and he was pretty sure Natasha had killed a few people trying to find answers. And despite everything that had happened, he was happy. Tired, sure, world weary definitely, but happy.

He was finally home again.