Sitting down to dinner at the Avengers compound was a strange occurrence. Everyone had their own place at the table and yet it seemed Madison had fit right in with little to no adjustment needed. Bowls and platters of food were passed from hand to hand as each person's request were filled. Conversation flowed freely and easily among each member sometimes to their neighbor, other times at higher volumes to someone several seats down. It was very much a family environment. So it was strange to have a hush fall over the once boisterous table as Tony came and claimed his spot.
Each member sat pushing food around on their plate as they waited patiently for whatever was going to happen. It only took the few looks of daggers shot from Pepper, Tony's way for him to finally speak up. "Madison, I feel I owe you an apology," he started, grabbing his glass of scotch and taking a large sip before continuing on.
"I've not been especially kind to you lately and you should know that has nothing to do with you. This whole situation has me terribly stressed out and I'm taking my anger out on the wrong person. You don't deserve the way I've been treating you."
Bucky turned his head to Tony staring him down, letting him know he wasn't finished yet with the apology.
"If you wouldn't mind, I'd really like for us to talk after dinner so that perhaps we can work out some more details of areas where you can help with the whole Thanos situation…" he was floundering now. "If you want that is." Pepper cast him another glance and a nod as she motioned for Tony to not forget to include what else they had talked about.
"And if you still want to call me Uncle Tony, then I'd really like that too," he finished, taking another large gulp of scotch as he sat back in his seat as though he were exhausted from the effort of admitting he was wrong.
Bucky reached for Madison's hand to offer his support if she didn't want to accept Tony's apology. "Thanks…Uncle Tony," Madison said, giving him a small smile accepting his apology. "I'd like that."
The rest of the meal proceeded pretty much as it had begun with everyone digging back in, being loud and boisterous with one another. Laughing at jokes that weren't terribly funny, telling stories about adventures they had been on. Before too long two hours had passed by easily and everyone sat at the table full and satisfied.
"That was a delicious meal, you guys," Madison said before pushing her chair back slightly to get up. This roused Bucky who had been resting his head on Madison's shoulder having almost fallen into a food coma, having eaten far too much. A super soldier's metabolism burnt food fast, but that didn't mean they couldn't overindulge ever so often.
Madison began reaching for some of the plates and taking them to the kitchen island to be cleaned up.
"You guys made this delicious meal, how about Madison and I take care of the clean-up," Tony offered, pushing back from his own chair and taking more plates to the island.
"I'm not passing up on that offer, that's for sure," Sam said, jumping up from his seat and heading for the gaming room. "Hey Steve, how about a little pool. Loser has to run an extra two miles tomorrow." Steve just laughed and headed for the gaming room, "You're on, but don't complain tomorrow when your quads are howling at you from those extra miles."
"Speaking of pool, I think I'm going to head over for a quick dip while you two get these dishes cleaned up." Pepper leaned over and kissed Tony's cheek, whispering a 'be nice,' to him before smiling and heading for her room to get changed.
"The pool sounds amazing." Nat said, grabbing Wanda's hand and dragging her up from her seat, feeling far too full to move. "Come on soldier, you're coming too," she said, grabbing Bucky's hand and directing him toward the hall way to the dorms.
As the girls and Buck headed down the hall Madison could hear him complaining about wanting to catch the ball game on the TV before she turned to where Tony stood stacking used dinner plates.
The family room had cleared out pretty quickly with each member giving reasons for why they couldn't hang around any longer. Perhaps it was fear they would be dragged into clean up duty but more than likely it was to allow Madison and Tony some time to spend together alone.
"I really did mean what I said earlier," Tony said, scraping some leftover food into the garbage bin. "I am sorry for how I've been treating you lately. I should never have taken my frustrations out on you. That wasn't fair." Kindness and regret could clearly be heard in Tony's voice as he watched as Madison poured the contents from the cups down the sink. "I know, it's really okay," she said, offering Tony a smile.
Tony and Madison worked to finish clearing the table and storing away the leftovers. It only took about forty-five minutes for the kitchen to be put to rights again and for the two of them to head off toward the lab to check on the status of the SOS signal.
Bucky did not like being pulled away from the table like that by Nat. He intended to turn the TV on, feigning watching something of interest so that he could be close by if Maddie would need him. But Natasha was having none of that. Between she and Wanda Bucky didn't stand a chance as the two ladies practically forced him into his room to change into board shorts to go swimming. "And don't come out there until you've changed mister," Wanda yelled at him from outside the door. He could hear the two girls giggling as they walked away.
Wanda and Natasha were like having sisters again, always bossing Bucky around to get their way. But Bucky didn't mind, it felt good to feel like part of a family again after so many years of being alone.
It only took Bucky a couple of minutes to strip off his clothes, and slide on a pair of board shorts for the pool. The only time he would ever agree to wear flip-flops was when they were going to be hanging out around the pool, something that until very recently Bucky wouldn't have really even entertained the idea of.
So many things seemed to be changing around the compound with the arrival of their new addition. Bucky found himself lost once again in thought about Madison only to be abruptly yanked back to the present by the pounding on his door from one of the girls telling him to, "move your ass soldier."
Grabbing a towel Bucky opened the door and dashed after the two girls that had scampered off down the corridor attempting to get away from him. All three made it to the pool in practically the same time, casting their towels carelessly off to the side as they each dived in. Pepper had been relaxing on a hot pink float, enjoying the last few rays of sun when the three 'children' had come racing in. But all she did was laugh at their antics, paddling a little to take her further away from ruckus.
As the girls continued to splash one another Bucky turned his attention back to the sliding glass doors of the compound they had just left. He had a clear view of the kitchen and could see Madison and Tony talking. Pushing the water and wet hair from his face he couldn't help his attention being drawn to Madison, trying to be sure she was alright.
"You know she's a big girl. I think she can handle herself against Tony," Pepper said as she floated into Bucky's line of vision.
"Tony was an asshole to her earlier," Bucky said, as he wiped his face again of the water droplets falling from his lashes. "Sorry, but he was."
Pepper just laughed, "Trust me, I know what Tony can be like when he gets stressed and realizes he can't solve the world's problems." Pepper lay there floating along quietly thinking. "I told him this morning that I was pregnant."
"Wow, that's…amazing. That's really terrific, congratulations," Bucky said, bobbing up enough to quickly peck Pepper on the cheek.
"Thank you," she said, giving Bucky a look somewhere between a smile and worry. "I'm just not so sure this is the best timing."
Bucky hadn't thought about children since before the war. With everything HYDRA put him through and his mind not being in the best of state, the idea of having a child in his life seemed very foreign to him. But Pepper was a different matter. She was always so kind and sweet with just the right amount of backbone to run a Fortune 500 company and keep Tony Stark in line; she'd make an excellent mother.
"Babies tend to be like that. They don't really believe in timelines and fitting in. They just somehow come along right when you need them to," Bucky said, leaning back to dip his head in the water. "But babies are precious. If the universe saw fit to bless you with one, well then…" he paused, thinking about what he was saying, "you must be doing something right."
Pepper settled her hands on her still flat stomach and looked up at the ever darkening night sky. The yard lights had long since cut on and everyone was beginning to wind down. The girls had gotten out and wrapped themselves in robes as they sat on recliners along the pool quietly gossiping back and forth to one another.
Bucky looked to the kitchen and noticed it was now empty so he instead decided to swim a few laps before getting out. Swimming was peaceful to Bucky. One of the perks of being enhanced meant that he could do things like hold his breath for much longer under water. So swimming the length of the pool in one breath was an easy task for him. Head down under water, all he could hear was the force of his arms and legs as they kicked to propel him forward. The chill of the water was relaxing to his muscles, and he found it easy to clear his mind of almost everything.
After having finished his swim, Bucky climbed out of the pool, grabbing his towel he began drying off as he walked over to the girls. They were still gossiping away as he sat down on the foot of Wanda's recliner.
"So I forgot to ask, how did the motorcycle ride go this afternoon?" Natasha looked to Wanda and winked before turning her attention back to Bucky for him to explain. Bucky just laughed at their antics before explaining that they had a good time. "I took her for ice cream. She seemed to really enjoy it."
"I bet she did, all snuggled up to the back of you. Holding on tight so that you'd keep her safe," Wanda joked, teasing Bucky about how cute they must have been. Bucky's cheeks were beginning to hurt he was laughing and smiling so much.
"Oh my god, he's actually blushing," Wanda laughed, sitting up and poking James in the side.
"We had a good time," he said, laughing more as the girls continued to tease him.
The night was turning out to be the ending to a really good day.
After everyone had dried off and gone inside, Bucky decided to go ahead and get ready for bed before going to look for Madison. So like other nights he laid he night clothes out on his bed including a t-shirt so he could wander around the compound. He hung up his board shorts to dry out before stepping under the hot jets of water in the shower. His skin smelled slightly of chlorine from the pool so it felt good to feel the water wash that away.
Normally he would have saved shaving for the sink after his shower but tonight he figured it was easiest to just cover everything in one go. Bucky wiped off the mirror that was attached to the wall before applying a small amount of shaving cream to his face and lathering it up. It tingled a bit as he drug the razor along the contours of his face removing the growth of beard along his jawline and cheeks.
Bucky wasn't a vain man, but even he had to admit that when cleaned up, he was still a good looking man even after all these years. The serum prevented the many wounds he had received to his face over the years from scaring at all, so he still had the same youthful look he did back in the forties. This got him thinking again about aging and the older couple he and Madison had met at the ice cream shop. Would he outlive everyone he loved because of the serum? How do you love someone knowing that they will die so much sooner than you, leaving you here on Earth without them for God knows how long?
Bucky clinched his jaw trying to stop his eyes from clouding over with moisture when his mind took a dark path of thinking about Madison no longer being in his world. She had only been here for less than a week but already he knew in his heart that he wouldn't be able to take it if something were to ever happen to her. Quickly, he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. Thinking about such things never helped anyone to solve any problem. Today had been a good day and Bucky was determined to not allow it to be ruined by dark thoughts.
Shampooing and conditioning his hair took only a few minutes more. Turning off the water, Bucky wrapped his towel around his waist before stepping out onto the bathmat. Walking to the sink, Bucky looked into the mirror at the face that stared back at him. If anyone looked at him they would swear he was still in his late twenties, not someone who had technically been alive for over a century. Would there ever be a time when his own mind didn't drive him towards self-doubt. What happened to the young, confident man that could flash a smile a pretty girl's way and she'd be all over him?
"Will you always be fucked up Bucky?" he asked his reflection. Walking into the bedroom Bucky sat on his bed while he slipped on his boxer briefs. He almost always wore socks to bed because he had a tendency to pull the covers all askew during the night and few things were worse than waking up with cold feet. Standing up after slipping his legs into his sleep pants, he pulled them over his hips to his narrow waist and secured them with the tie. Grabbing his t-shirt and slipping his feet into his slippers he headed down the hall towards the lab to look for Madison.
He was dressed for bed, but his nerves still felt frayed so he wasn't really ready for sleep just yet. Padding down the steps he stopped just shy of the lab as he watched Tony showing Madison a diagram on the screen. He watched as she bit her lip concentrating on the information she was reading on her tablet compared to what Tony was showing her on the screen. After a few minutes of awkward gawking Madison must have realized that she was being watched because she turned slightly and caught Bucky watching her. She waved a hello before waving him to come into the room.
Tony was just finishing up something on thermodynamics when Bucky stepped into the lab. "So you think we could increase productivity if we raise the levels by 10% without having to change the coolant to argon gas," Tony said, studying the diagram on the screen again. "What's up James," Tony casually asked as he sat back at his desk to make the adjustments Madison suggested.
Bucky didn't feel like telling Tony he came down just to see Madison so instead he asked if any progress had been made yet on finding Thor's ship.
"No," Madison said frowning. She helped Tony to resend the signal again, foolishly thinking that her touching the computer to send it would somehow magically make it work, only it didn't. "We're still bouncing it around out there. If Thor's there though he should receive it." Madison flopped down in the chair nearest her, frowning at the lack of progress they seemed to be making.
Bucky instinctively reached out his hand to softly stroke the back of Maddie's neck to try to ease her tension.
"We've got to find them before it's too late," Madison mumbled to herself. Of course being so close and having enhanced hearing Bucky heard her, "we will," he said softly, trying to offer as much support as he could.
"Have you had a chance to work anymore on that timeline we were talking about earlier," Tony asked Madison? "Yeah, I've not been able to add a lot more events than what we talked about already, but some of these may be able to be changed to make some difference," she said before swiping a file in Tony's direction. It appeared out of thin air on Tony's desktop screen for him to accept and open. Looking it over he made a few notes before saving it and closing it back down. After forwarding it back to Madison's tablet he told her, "It's getting late. You should head off to bed. I'm sure the girls have things planned for you tomorrow, and if you are game for it, I'd like to test out the powers you seem to have inherited from Wanda. Get a feel for how far exactly they go."
This of course peaked Madison's interest and worried Bucky. "Do you think that's such a good idea Tony? I mean she's not used to them yet, what if she does something that she can't control?" Madison frowned at Bucky stealing all the thunder before she even got a chance to voice an opinion.
"We can have Wanda there too. Anything Madison can do, surely Wanda can counter since they technically are her powers. She needs to learn to be able to defend herself Bucky. She lives with the Avengers, danger is practically around every corner."
Bucky was about to object again ready to argue that Madison would never be put in a situation of danger as long as he was around but never got to make that argument. He felt the gentle tug and squeeze of his left hand as Madison reached with her own to hold it. She was looking up at him so sweetly, there was no way he was going to be able to argue with that look.
"Fine, but I'm going to be there," he finally relented. Madison let out a yip of delight as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around Bucky. "Thank you," she said kissing his jaw, "thank you," another kiss this time on the cleft of his chin, "thank you." This one was a quick peck to the lips that made Bucky smile. Making Madison happy was so easy and her good mood had a tendency to rub off on Bucky.
Madison grabbed her tablet before linking her fingers with Bucky's and pulling him towards the lab door. "I'll see what I can think up and get this back to you tomorrow morning," she told Tony. The door to the lab had just whooshed open when everyone in the room stopped dead in their tracks.
It was faint, but you could definitely make it out, a static transmission, "Hello, this is Thor Odinson responding to an SOS call from Earth, please respond."