Chapter 76: Cleanup

"You know, this was a lot easier when you had your own bed." Steve remarked, pushing Bucky's metal arm away from the center of the bed. Bucky let out a quiet snort of a laugh, shaking his head.

"You're fine. You take up less room now." he said, sitting up and rolling over to the side of the bed. He stretched and twisted, his joints popping with the first movements of the day. His shoulder was stiff for a moment until he shifted it around, getting the tissue to loosen. "Coffee?"

"Please." Steve said, also sitting up. Bucky could see the moment where his blood pressure dropped with the change in position, and he blinked a few times before the lightheadedness faded. Once he was settled, he reached for the orange bottles on the nightstand, popping them open one by one and dropping a pill into his hand. Bucky got up and tiptoed into the kitchen, though he knew that Nicoletta and Mika wouldn't wake up. They were passed out on a mattress on the living room floor, spread out with their fingers barely touching and Luna asleep at their feet. It had been a week and a half since "The Blip" as the media called it, and Bucky had yet to actually share the mattress with his wife. He didn't mind so much; after all, as far as he knew, they'd been together every day, but her sister had been missing her for the past five years.

The sputtering of the coffee machine seemed unusually loud in the quiet morning, but the women still slept soundly. It was a few minutes before Steve joined him in the kitchen, pouring a cup of the hot brew and adding just a touch of sugar to it. He was supposed to be drinking decaf, but decided that was one thing he was not going to give up with his new life. They stepped over the mess in the living room and slid open the balcony door, allowing the dog to join them before closing it behind them and settling in the chairs. The Brooklyn street below them was already bustling with activity, and Bucky eyed everyone in the immediate vicinity, looking for threats. Steve said they had won, but he couldn't help but feel like the next danger was lurking somewhere in the city streets, biding its time. At one point in his life, he thought that he would get over his paranoia, but it seemed he had to accept that it was just part of his personality now.

"Feeling okay today?" he asked Steve, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. Just when he'd gotten used to giant Steve, he had to go and lose the effects of the serum. Steve shrugged, taking a sip of the caffeine the doctor recommended he avoided.

"Not so bad. Modern medicine is pretty great, turns out." he said with a grin. He looked back out over the balcony rails, sighing in contentment. "To be honest, I'm almost relieved. I needed a reason to retire and start over."

"You're shacking up with my sister-in-law, I'd say you were well on your way to 'starting over'." Bucky said with a fake threat in his voice. Steve had the audacity to grin, laughing at the sentiment.

"I'd say it was a recent development, but honestly, it's not." he said. His fingers looked extra bony, holding onto the coffee cup. Bucky wondered if, now that they had access to proper nutrition (unlike in the '30's), if Steve would be able to put on a little weight. He shook his head to rid himself of the thought, and also to shake off Steve's pride.

"Oh, we know." he replied, taking another sip of coffee. "You two were not near as stealthy as you thought you were."

"Yea, well, I never was cut out for the spy business." Steve said, still not apologetic. He actually looked at ease, despite the slight wheeze in his chest. "Mika say anything about going back?"

Bucky shook his head. "I think she's enjoying the city too much. Plus she won't leave Nicoletta now." he said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the balcony railing and heaving a sigh. "Looks like I may be back in Brooklyn for a while. Don't worry, we'll get our own place eventually."

"Hey, if rent is gonna get as bad as it was a few years ago, we may end up having to be roommates again just to afford Brooklyn." Steve said with a laugh. After a moment, he sobered, and looked to Bucky with a request behind his eyes. "Sam's gonna need you, you know."

"Nah, Sam doesn't need anyone." Bucky replied, though the thought was definitely prevalent in his mind. The world needed Captain America, and Bucky's original job was to do the things that Captain America couldn't. "But Lord knows he could use a little help sometimes."

"You're not wrong. Both of you are gonna have to help with the clean up." Steve agreed. He looked back behind him, finding Mika and Nicoletta just beginning to stir. He was silent for a long moment, turning the empty coffee cup around in his hands. "We're all gonna have to piece things back together."

"But at least you're not alone." Bucky pointed out. After everything that had happened, everything they'd gone through, he was also glad not to be by themselves. He could give Mika as much support as possible, but he had a feeling she was going to need her sister soon. Steve finally tore his eyes away from the sisters, giving him a small smile.

"You're right." he said, pushing himself up. Inside, Nicoletta was up and moving, getting prepared for the day much faster than Bucky thought she would. "I've got another damned doctor appointment. You okay holding down the fort?"

"I'll try not to burn the place down." Bucky said, standing up and following Steve back into the apartment. The coffee machine was hard at work again, and Luna trotted happily over to the now-awake Mika, nuzzling her in an effort to get love. Steve slipped into the bedroom while Bucky sat next to Mika, his weight making the mattress sink and her roll towards him. Luna didn't like losing her attention, getting up and wriggling between them in an effort to steal it back.

"Good morning." she mumbled, reaching out to rest her hand on his thigh. He gently grasped her fingers, still relishing in the warmth of her skin. Everything was so new and different that it soothed him to have something so familiar.

"Morning." he murmured back. In the other room, they could hear Nicoletta and Steve speaking in quiet voices, though they couldn't quite make out the words. "How did you sleep?"

She shrugged, and he noticed the shadows under her eyes. "Not great. I keep having the weirdest dreams. Actually, everything just feels kind of weird." she said. She looked up at him, and for just a moment he was caught by how beautiful she was, even with her messy hair and tired eyes. "Does it feel weird to you?"

"A little bit." he admitted. He had the sneaking suspicion that they weren't exactly talking about the same thing. She nodded, obviously feeling the same thing he was. Steve and Nicoletta came out of the bedroom then, dressed to go out into the world. Mika sat up, moving like her body was tired, and he had to resist the urge to pull her so she could lean against him. For the hundredth time, he wondered if she was in the same...state that she was just prior to the snap.

"You two off?" she asked as Nicoletta poured coffee into a travel mug. Steve was at the door, pulling on a jacket.

"Yep. I live for doctor appointments now." he said with a grin. Nicoletta shot a glare at him, but the expression changed to a warm smile as he helped her into her coat.

"We shouldn't be more than a couple hours. Want us to bring back breakfast?" she asked. Bucky shrugged in response, but Mika lit up at the idea.

"Can you bring pancakes from that place?" she asked. They'd visited the diner a few days before, and clearly she hadn't stopped thinking about it since. At Steve's affirmation, she visibly relaxed, a smile on her face as she sang, "Thank you!"

"We'll be back with sustenance." Steve said, pulling the door open and letting Nicoletta go in front of him. With the two of them gone, the apartment was quiet, and Bucky easily gave in to Mika's tugging to lay down next to her. Luna grunted in response to being shoved out of her space, going to pout at the foot of the mattress. Bucky felt no remorse as he circled Mika in his arms and held her to his chest.

"Are you okay?" he said lowly, speaking in Romanian. Again she shrugged, though this time she couldn't meet his eyes.

"I don't know." she answered. "I just feel like...something's missing, in the back of my mind. Like there's something I was supposed to remember, but I don't." she explained, and he let out a quiet huff of a laugh. "What?" she was defensive, and he felt bad for his response.

"Nothing, I just...can sympathize." he said. After all, that was the feeling he'd been dealing with ever since he'd walked away from his handlers all those years ago. She buried her face in his chest, trying to hide her chagrin.

"Right, sorry." she said, her voice muffled by his skin. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and squeezed her a little tighter.

"Nothing to apologize for." he said. "I just wish I could tell you if what you're feeling is normal. But I'm not exactly a good control to compare to." She sighed heavily, shifting against him slightly. She was antsy, annoyed by what she was feeling inside, and he wished so badly that he had the answers for her. He paused for a moment, deciding how to gingerly approach a subject that had been at the back of his mind ever since the dust settled. "Perhaps...you should also go to the doctor. Or at least take-"

"No." she said immediately, scrunching up slightly to make herself smaller, even if she didn't move away from him.

"Mika, we have to know eventually-" he tried to persuade her, but she shook her head.

"No we don't." she said childishly. She knew she was being irrational, but with all the emotions that were swirling inside her, she didn't want to take a chance of adding more stress.

"Mika." he said her name softly, tenderly, trying to show his love with just the one word. She hid her face for a moment longer before looking at him again, and his heart broke at the tears in her eyes.

"I'm afraid." she whispered, one tear falling. He brushed it away with his thumb, but unfortunately that one drop unleashed the flood. Mika sat up abruptly, tears coursing uncontrollably down her cheeks. "I can't - I mean, what if it's negative? Or worse, what if it's positive?"

"Why would that be worse?" he asked, feeling like an ice pick had been pushed between his ribs as he sat up with her. She shook her head, resting her hands on his chest.

"No, not like that, that's not what I meant." she said. "I want to have a family with you. But everything is so messy right now, I mean we lost five years but somehow we didn't lose any time at all and there's these dreams of another world but they feel so real but they can't be memories, can they? And I keep feeling like something is wrong and I just…" She trailed off, shaking her hands as she tried to verbalize the storm going on in her mind. "There's been so many changes, and I'm afraid of another one."

He put his hand on her cheek and she leaned into it, the tears slowing slightly now that she'd finally gotten that off her chest. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, her chest heaving with the weight of her thoughts. She waited for his response, nervous that she'd said something unforgivable. Bucky returned her gaze, steady and unwavering. In this crazy world where everything was uncertain and unstable, he would be her constant.

"No matter what, we'll get through it all. Together." he said. He wanted to tell her more, to say how he could be her rock, to say that he would still go to the ends of the earth for her, but the words stuck in his throat, held back by her face as her expression softened. She rested her forehead against his, her crying finally stopped.

"I'm sorry I've been distant the past few days." she whispered. Her shoulders were hunched, as if the guilt was drawing her down. The apology surprised him; he hadn't considered her distant at all.

"You still have nothing to apologize for." he said. While he missed sharing a bed with her every night, and longed to have their old secluded life back, he also knew that she was completely right - everything was going to be different now. He knew how to handle change, knew how to adapt to any situation. She'd accepted their move to Wakanda with grace; she was allowed to accept this move with a little less poise. She leaned forward to give him a soft kiss, her lips still wet from her tears. He held her in place for just a moment longer, taking in every sensation that the brief moment offered.

"Okay. I'll take the test." she relented. There was no trepidation in her voice. He pulled back just enough to kiss her forehead, letting the affection linger.

"No matter what, you have me." he said. His affection for her burned through his chest, and he found that he didn't much care about the results of the test, he only cared about her. She nodded, taking a deep breath before crawling off the mattress and digging through the grocery bags they'd accumulated in the corner of the living room, finding the pink box she had quietly purchased the week before. She didn't hesitate, going to the restroom before she could lose her nerve. A few minutes later she came out with the capped pregnancy test, setting it on a spare takeout napkin on the coffee table and sitting on the couch. Bucky joined her, putting his arm around her as they sat and waited.

"This is going to be the longest three minutes of my life." she said, leaning her head back against his arm and covering her face with her hands. She couldn't look at the test, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from it. He'd been all confidence earlier, ready to support Mika no matter the outcome. But he quickly realized that his fate was also sealed in that little plastic wand, the one that decided whether or not he was going to be a father.

The seconds ticked by slowly, and after the first minute he looked away from it, instead pulling her to his chest and murmuring soft encouragements in her ear. If he was a praying man, now would be the time for it, though if he was honest he didn't know which result he would pray for. It felt like hours before her phone started buzzing, letting them know that the time was up, and she missed the screen a few times before finally getting it to stop. With the same conviction she had earlier, she picked up the test and held it up, letting them both see the result.

Negative.

Her breath left in a rush, and for a moment they were both numb. Negative. Had it happened because of the battle? Or because of the snap? There was no way for them to ever know. Mika nodded to herself, letting out a long breath as she set the test back down on the table.

"This...this is good." she said, and despite her earlier sentiments, Bucky thought she sounded a little bit disappointed. "Now we can get our lives together. And when we're ready - I mean, if we're ever ready…"

"We know we have the option." he finished for her. In his mind, he'd thought for the past however many years that he was sterile. He'd only known otherwise for what felt like a couple weeks, and was relieved by the knowledge. Maybe they would have a family, or maybe they wouldn't. But at least, if they wanted to, they could.

"Right. We have the option." she agreed, her posture slightly more relaxed than a moment before. She took his face and kissed him deeply, her muscles relaxed as his arms snaked around her to kiss her again and again and again. She pulled back with a mischievous grin, her fatigue seemingly slipping away. "I need to shower. Care to join me?"

"You sure that's a good idea?" he asked with one eyebrow lifted. He couldn't deny he wanted to, but the last thing they needed was another scare. Her grin widened, her hand resting dangerously high on his thigh.

"Lucky for us, I also thought to grab condoms when I grabbed the test." she said. This was probably not an appropriate time for them to have sex, but he couldn't deny that he understood her reasoning; he too wanted to feel close to her, one with her. They needed to take time to just lose themselves in each other, to forget what was going on in the world around them.

"You'll have to help, it's been a few decades since I've used one." he teased. She laughed, going to find the other box and tear it open as he pulled off his shirt.

"Don't you mean you've never used one? I mean, even if they were invented back then, it's not like you ever would've had experience." she said, tearing one of the foil squares free of its mates. He picked her up around the waist and threw her over his shoulder, letting out an annoyed sound.

"An old joke and a virgin joke?" he said, trying hard to stifle the laughter in his chest. It wasn't really that funny, and their situation was definitely not funny, but it was such a normal occurrence that he welcomed it. "Alright, time to show you once and for all…"

They ran out of hot water before they ran out of energy, barely managing to get actually cleaned up and dressed before Steve and Nicoletta returned. The negative pregnancy test was properly hidden and disposed of, as was the condom and box, but the look they got when they walked in with breakfast said that they had suspicions of their activities regardless.

"Good visit?" Mika asked, getting plates out of the cupboard and refusing to meet their eyes as she put them on the table.

"Not the worst one." Steve replied, settling down at the table. He wasn't exhausted, but he definitely didn't have the stamina he used to. She could feel the grin he was wearing as he spoke. "Anything interesting happen here?"

Immediately they both thought of the negative test, but neither one of them mentioned it. It was still too personal, the emotions too raw. They still weren't exactly sure how they felt about it. "Nothing out of the ordinary." Bucky remarked from the couch, his voice a little too even. He flipped through the channels of the television, eventually settling on the news. The woman on screen talked about the cleanup involved for the Avengers complex, the video showing the destruction upstate. Despite the week of work, it seemed the cleanup crew had barely made a dent in the carnage. Mika was just about to turn away, not wanting to relive that night yet, when the screen changed.

A special report aired, and though she couldn't exactly hear what the news anchor was saying, she could see the picture of a man on the screen. She didn't recognize the name underneath the picture, but something about his face tugged at her memory. Where had she seen him before?

"Turn that up?" she asked, going to stand next to the couch without putting down the silverware she'd grabbed moments before. Bucky furrowed his brows but honored her request, raising the volume so she could understand what she was saying.

"-Stoica was transferred to a hospital in Bucharest after collapsing on a plane from Rome. Sources say he was coughing up blood, convulsing, and yelling delusional things such as, quote, 'don't let me fall' and 'I'm breaking apart.' Though initial tests do not point to a contagion, all travel between Rome and Bucharest has been suspended and the areas quarantined until any biological agents are ruled out-"

"Do you know him?" Bucky asked, his voice, making Mika jump. She blinked a few times, still staring at the man.

"I don't know the name but...he looks so familiar." she said. She felt the annoying sensation she'd spoken about earlier, where there was something locked away in her mind that she couldn't access. Where had she seen him before?

"Well, looks like any plans to go home aren't going to happen for a while." Nicoletta said, though she had difficulty sounding sad about it. Despite the tragedy of this man's illness and the possibility that something worse could be at play, she was glad that there would be an excuse for Mika to stay longer. Despite Bucky's words that morning, she was still nervous that they would go visit their mother and decide to stay back across the ocean.

"Yea." Mika agreed, distracted. Bucky was still eyeing her, and pushed up from his position on the couch to come stand next to her, gently prying the cutlery from her hands. She shook her head to clear the cobwebs, allowing him to take them from her and going to sit at the table. The conversation picked up around her, but she was still in her own world, trying to unlock her brain. She felt like it was important, remembering who this guy was.

Her pancakes were cold and everyone else's plates were nearly empty when the memory came to her, broken and grainy like damaged film. She remembered seeing the guy up on a balcony in Bucharest, back in her old neighborhood. Remembered seeing him argue with another man. Remembered him falling, landing on the concrete.

And she remembered watching, in a red-tinged world, as he was dusted away.

Ruh roh! What's going on! Another mystery mayhaps?

I'm sorry this chapter is a little short, I didn't think I was going to have time to update but I really wanted to! Hopefully this chapter helped answer some questions, and also gave y'all a good little tease of what's to come!

Thank you so much to those of you who took a moment to review! The feedback really helps keep me going, so thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me. I love hearing what you think!

Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter!

-XM