A/N: A day early, normal updates will still come on Thursdays, but this is my graduation weekend so I am slammed and I didn't want to miss a week! Leave me comments as a graduation gift maybe ;)

Also speaking of gifts, at the very end is a bonus scene that doesn't really fit in anywhere, but it was fun to write. Love y'all!

[p.s. I am on tumblr (my username is 'lostinthemcu') and you can shoot me questions about the story there!]

Chapter #15:

The Godfather

"They slipped briskly into an intimacy from which they never recovered." –F. Scott Fitzgerald

"What the actual fuck did you do?"

Instead of turning around to see the judgmental look on Sam's face, I just kept my eyes on Bucky who was moving around the kitchen minding his own business. His hair was pulled up into a messy bun, his new arm was on full display as he wore a loose tank top that read 'I FLEXED AND THE SLEEVES FELL OFF', pajama pants covered in tiny Captain America shields, and navy-blue crocs.

"Isn't he super adorable?" I grinned and Steve chuckled under his breath from beside me. He was reading something on his phone, his arm lazily slung along the back of my chair at the table we sat at.

Sam blinked and motioned to him, "Why? Just…why?"

"Bucky just wears whatever he finds in his closet." I shrugged. "I'm pretty sure Clint put that tank top in there. The pajama pants are definitely Tony. Then I bought him the crocs because I know he wanted something comfortable to walk around in."

"All of you created a damn monster is what you did." Sam replied. "He's an abomination." Bucky began to pour the fresh coffee he had made. Sam smirked, "I'm gonna make him cry."

I turned in my seat to slap him on the arm, "Will you please be nice to Bucky? He's settling."

"I could, but that isn't nearly as fun as what I'm doing now."

"Bullying? Really?"

Sam clicked his tongue at me, "It's therapy, Aj."

"For you or him?"

"If we both get something out of it isn't that a win-win?" Sam shrugged.

I opened my mouth to argue, but he just held a finger up to stop me and I rolled my eyes. He began to tread toward the kitchen where Bucky was pouring a second mug of coffee. I glanced to Steve, "Aren't you gonna do something?"

"Hmm?" Steve looked up from his phone, then glanced into the kitchen before shaking his head, "Absolutely not, no. They're like toddlers. I'm not getting in the middle of that."

"Aw, is the big, bad Captain America scared?" I teased.

Steve smirked and pointed to his two friends, "Of them? Hardly."

We both glanced over in time to see Bucky lift his gaze from the coffees he had prepared to give Sam a skeptical look. Sam just shook his head in disappointment and motioned to his feet, "Dude, what the fuck are you wearing?"

Bucky just shook his head with a grimace, "I'm really not looking to get fashion advice from a guy that wears a pair of giant wings and swim goggles out into public."

"You son of a bitch." Sam gasped as Bucky began to walk away from him. "Steve, come get your boy before I end him!"

Steve held a hand up, not looking up from his phone, "Sorry, I can't hear you."

Bucky sat down across from me and slid a mug of coffee to me. I shot him a grateful smile and took a quick sip. Bucky was nearly as good as Clint when it came to making coffee, but unlike Clint who refused to put anything in any coffee regardless of the owner because according to him sugar and cream were caffeine sins, Bucky always made my coffee perfect to my liking.

"Thanks, Bucky." I beamed, content, "By the way, I like your crocs."

Bucky winked while Sam glared at me from behind him in the kitchen.

"Where's mine?" Steve questioned.

"You don't even like coffee." Bucky replied dryly.

Steve shrugged, "It's the thought that counts."

Sam dropped down into the seat by Bucky with a frown, "Yeah, how come you didn't get me one either?"

"You were literally just in the kitchen, you ass." Bucky scoffed.

Steve smirked, set his phone down, and shrugged, "I guess we know where his loyalties actually lie."

"I have not been subtle about that, punk." Bucky snorted, then motioned his mug toward me. "Unlike you two, she doesn't annoy the shit outta me."

I covered my mouth with a fake gasp, "Ass and now shit? Bucky Barnes, I can't handle that kind of talk coming from you. My innocent ears can't take it!"

Bucky shot me a look, "Don't you start. I'll take that coffee back."

"No, you won't." I hummed then raised my eyebrows at him as a I took a long sip. Bucky tried to level a glare at me, but the curl of his lip wasn't very intimidating in my eyes. The conversation slid to something else, and I listened happily. A week had gone by since the trial, and Bucky had just been glowing. He still worked through his struggles with Muneeba, and he still had nightmares, just a couple days ago I had to run up to his room to help snap him out of a real nasty one, but during the day he seemed lighter. He smiled more, didn't hesitate to laugh at a joke thrown out, he'd give back as much shit as Sam threw at him, and it just seemed like some sort of weight had been taken off his shoulders. It did my heart good to see him carefree around the Compound like this.

Natasha sauntered into the kitchen and I perked up at the sight of her bold, red hair. I called out to her, "Nat! Thank God, you're here. The boys are so boring." Said boys chorused out a complaint, but I ignored them and hopped up from the table with my mug of coffee to walk over to her. "What're you up to?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Natasha replied. "You up for a girls' day brunch?"

My eyes widened in excitement, "Oh my God, yes!"

"I thought you were gonna come train with us in the next hour?" Steve spoke up.

I set my mug on the kitchen counter and held my hands out to physically weight the pros and cons, "Let's see… go day drinking with the girls and eat good food while gossiping about you dorks or go to the gym and sweat a lot while Sam teases me about the amount I can lift?"

Sam waved his finger at me, "She's right. I was going to mock her."

"I'll bring y'all back a croissant." I scooped my mug to take it with me then looked to Natasha again in excitement. "Girls' day!"

Without another word, I hurried over to the elevator to head up to my apartment to get ready. Things had felt better around the Compound. Maybe it was the good news about Bucky being not guilty and free to be in public that had everyone on cloud nine, but the energy was just… happy. The Avengers had a couple small missions the last week, but it was random things not even associated with Strucker or the mutants. Plus, on the mutant front, the X-Men hadn't been seen or heard since the team last ran into them. I didn't know if that was Nick Fury working his Nick Fury magic, but I was grateful all the same. Even the bubbling anger that had re-awoken after my trip to Alabama, had simmered some. It sat in the corner of my mind and waited for a moment to show it's face, and sometimes I'd have random moments where it did just that, but for the most part I've managed to keep it smothered down. I think being distracted by seeing Bucky doing so well played a big part in that.

The only thing that hadn't worked out perfectly yet, was the Frank Castle thing. Karen had handed the man over his dogtags and had even given him my number, but that's all she said she could do. Apparently, the mystery 'maybe my guardian angel' man had taken the dogtags, grunted, and then slipped my number into his phone without a word. I didn't know what to do with that information.

As I got into my apartment, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I took another sip of the coffee Bucky made me before setting it on the counter and digging it out. Surprisingly, the text was from Natasha.

'Wear the outfit in the bag on your bed if you're ready. If not, then save it and wear something colorful. Proud of you all the same.'

Her words caught me off guard. Proud of me? Wear if I'm ready?

I hurried to my bedroom and spotted a cute, red and white giftbag sitting at the foot of my bed. The card on the front just had a small red heart and Natasha's name. Curiously, I dug through the tissue paper until my hands found the clothes. It was a pastel blue-green dress. The color was gorgeous, and the material was soft and flowing. I held it up to examine it more. The skirt was long, it'd probably sway around my ankles, and it was an open vent style with a slit on the side that looked like it'd only be seen if I stuck my leg out. The waist was high, a band of the same-colored material wrapped around the waist a few times before tying in the front. The tricky part came when I got to the top half of this thing. It was halter neck and sleeveless, and the entire back was open.

My eyes widened as a I blew out a slow exhale. Wow. Yeah. I see what she meant now when she added the 'if you're ready' part. Was I ready? Technically speaking, the world had seen my back. I had even seen an article online talking about my experience and a few media outlets had requested interviews with me through Inara. I told her to say no to them all, I wasn't quite ready for that yet, but what about this? Going out in public with my back on display. Two weeks ago, training in the gym with Natasha wearing my shirt I would've said hell no, but it was a little different now… At least, it felt different.

With a twist of my lips, I began to pull off my pajamas. It took me only a couple minutes to pull the dress on and adjust it around me. It was comfortable that was for sure. The material felt nice on my skin. I walked to the bathroom to look at myself in the mirror. As always, Natasha had picked something I looked great in. She never failed there. Slowly, I turned around and glanced over my shoulder into the mirror. Those pale, lightly raised lines stared back at me. Revulsion, disgust, chills… none of the usual emotions I felt while looking at them ran through me. There was some melancholy, a little apprehension, but overall it was kind of…normal. Business per usual. No heart stopping flashback. That was probably the best I could ask for as of right now.

Swallowing the nervous lump in my throat, I made my decision and turned to start doing my hair and makeup. As I got ready, the excitement of girls' day began to build back up inside of me. A smile flittered onto my features. Here's to the girls.

Sam was scrolling through Instagram when he heard the sound of Wanda and Natasha talking. All three men glanced up from where they sat to see the women walk into the room. Natasha was doing something to Wanda's hair as they walked.

"There it should stay in place now." Natasha hummed. She had on some kind of solid black jumpsuit that was tight around her ankles and had spaghetti straps. Her bright red heels were the kind that Sam was 80% sure she's used to main and/or kill someone with before. She had recently cut her hair short again and it was curled to perfection.

Wanda, on the other hand, had on a sleeveless, black crop top that was form fitting and tight around her neck. She also had on dark wash shorts, black vans, and a colorful headband looped around her head keeping her hair out of her face while it was pulled up into a loose, messy bun.

"Look at you, ladies!" Sam cheered. "Killin' it, as per usual."

"Thank you!" Wanda said happily while Natasha smirked and replied, "We know."

Steve chuckled, "Where are you ladies gonna get brunch at?"

"Malibu." Natasha answered and all three of them leaned back in surprise. "Tony made us reservations." She tilted her head with a shrug. "Apparently, the place has a fantastic view and incredible cocktails. Also, it serves french toast sticks. Aj's favorite."

Sam chuckled, "Last I checked, Aj's favorite was just food. The girl will basically eat anything that doesn't eat her first."

"Anyways," Natasha chimed, "When she comes down tell her to meet us in the hangar."

Bucky shook his head as the two women called out their good-byes, "I still don't get this modern brunch thing. It's just a late breakfast with alcohol. What's the big deal?"

"It became a thing after World War II—" Steve began.

Sam, who figured a joke would be more fun than a history lesson, slapped Bucky on the back, "You don't get it because your ancient ass is still stuck in the ice age." Bucky rolled his eyes, mumbling curses in a different language, while Sam snickered under his breath. "Get it? Because HYDRA put you on ice?" Steve shot him a glare, but Sam wasn't overly concerned. It wasn't a joke he'd make a month ago, not even two weeks ago, but he's seen the man grow a significant amount this last week. Bucky leveled a dead panned glare at him, but Sam could still see the amusement there, "Come on, man. You know I'm playin'."

"Sleep with one eye open, Wilson." Bucky narrowed his eyes at him, but the corner of his lips twitched up into a smirk. Steve shot him one more look, but Sam ignored him again. Steve's relationship with Bucky was a lot of overprotective hovering. It was understandable. He wanted what was best for Bucky and didn't want to lose his friend again. Aj's relationship wasn't too 'mother hen' like Steve's was, but the two teased and flirted with one another enough that Sam didn't consider it the typical friendship either. Especially since Bucky was head over heels for the woman. This meant that Sam had to take on the role of normal friend. It was his job to call Bucky out on his bullshit and mess with him anytime the situation arose. Sam wasn't going to tiptoe around Barnes. It wouldn't help him to have everyone in his life treat him like he was made of glass.

Steve pulled the attention back to himself, "I want you two to work with the shield today in the gym. Clint too if he wakes up in time to join us."

"I'm good at a lot of things, Steve, and throwing that damn frisbee ain't one of them." Sam scoffed.

"That's why I said we need to practice."

"You think you're good at a lot of things?" Bucky replied.

Sam shot him a glare, "As a matter of fact, I think shield throwing might be my only flaw." Bucky raised his eyebrows skeptically and took a sip of his drink. "What?"

"I can just think of a few more flaws."

"Oh yeah? Name 'em."

"Self-reflection is part of the journey. That's what Muneeba says." Bucky shrugged. "You can find true peace once you find and then accept your flaws. That's what I did."

Sam's eyes widened a bit, "You accepted your flaws?"

"No, I accepted yours." Bucky replied. "Makes dealing with you a helluva lot easier."

Now it was his turn to level a glare at the dark-haired man while Bucky gave him a smug smile. Bucky's eyes darted across the room at the sound of the elevator, came back to him, then snapped back to the elevator, widened, in a signature double take. Sam glanced over to see what had caught the man's attention and his own eyes landed on Aj. Steve turned to look as well as she strolled out of the elevator. She was all done up in a pretty dress with her hair half pulled back. Sam noticed she was nervous based on the way she let one hand play with the band of the watch on her left hand.

"How's it look?" Aj smiled and did a slow turn.

Sam caught sight of the scars on her revealed back and a rush of pride brought a soft grin to his lips. He could hardly believe this was the same touch starved woman he sparred at the Tower with after Tony bailed her from the drunk tank. Aj had come so far since day one and seeing it shine through in moments like this made his day.

The two old men sitting at the table seemed too in a daze to even talk so Sam took it upon himself to reply. He lifted his fingers to his mouth to let out a loud whistle then shouted, "Hot damn, girl!"

Aj burst into laughter at the action and the sound of it seemed to finally snap the idiots beside him back into the moment. Steve cleared his throat," You look—Wow." Aj opened her mouth, but Steve continued before she could speak. "And no, I don't mean 'wow, how could you wear those shoes with that dress'. The other wow."

Bucky nodded from beside him and Sam glanced over to see the man wearing a dreamy look on his face. Sam would bet his entire bank account that Steve had the same dopey look in his eyes, "You're… gorgeous, doll."

Aj bounced in place, her hands lifting to cover her blushing cheeks as she grinned, "Thanks. Y'all are the kind of confidence boost every girl needs." She let out a breath and Sam watched as her shoulders relaxed back into her full stance. All nerves gone. "Have y'all seen Nat and Wanda?"

"They said to meet them in the hangar." Sam replied. "Have fun, honey."

"Alright, well I'll see y'all later." Aj gave a quick wave before moving to leave.

As she left the room, Sam stood from his chair laughing, "You guys are some lovestruck fools." Both of them shot him a light look of annoyance, but neither one made an effort to argue otherwise. Sam clapped his hand with a grin, "Come on, Romeo and Romeo, let's go throw the frisbee around."

The hangar sat on top of the underground parking garage, their private side of it at least, so it wasn't shocking that I'd be meeting Natasha and Wanda here. Any confusion I had wasn't surrounding that at all. No, what I was confused about was the fact that both women wore all black. They looked fantastic, beautiful, but the matching color scheme seemed odd.

"Aj!" Wanda squealed in excitement. She trailed off into a long string of Sokovian that I didn't understand, but the tone was explanatory enough. She hurried forward to hug me and I returned it just as happily.

When she pulled away, I turned to give Natasha a tight hug, "That's for the dress. It's amazing."

"You're amazing." Natasha replied with a smirk. "I'm proud of you, милый."

I felt my cheeks grow hot in embarrassment at the outward show of love in the form of a compliment and rolled my eyes, "Yeah, okay." She chuckled and I motioned to the two of them. "You guys look hot as hell! How come I missed the 'wear black' memo?"

"We have our reasons." Wanda replied slyly.

I chuckled, "Fine. We ready to go?"

"We're still waiting on some people." Natasha replied.

I quirked an eyebrow, "Who?"

"Them."

She pointed behind me, and when I whirled around I was greeted by an excited scream. Darcy, wearing a black, breezy dress, came careening across the hangar, "Happy birthday, bitch!" She barreled into me, nearly taking us both to the ground, but I managed to keep us upright. Just barely. I laughed and wrapped my arms around her. The last time I saw Darcy was thanksgiving. I kept up with her over text and video calls, but it wasn't the same. "Are you surprised?"

"Yeah!" I replied, pulling back, "Especially since it's not my birthday."

"Happy early birthday then." Jane chimed in as her and Alex trailed after Darcy at a more relaxed pace. Jane had on a black blouse with jeans. Alex wore a baggy black shirt that hung off their bare shoulder and gray, distressed shorts.

Alex grinned, pointing to Darcy, "How come you didn't tell me you had such cool friends? I knew keeping you around would reward me with something."

I gave them both quick hugs, the smile on my face unfaltering, "Seriously, what the hell is this?"

"It's girls' day birthday edition!" Darcy replied. She dug around in her purse until she pulled out a bright pink sash that read, 'Birthday Girl!' on the front. I laughed again while she wrestled it around me. Darcy adjusted it one last time.

Alex leaned forward, "Don't forget the crown."

"Right!"

"Crown?" I blurted. Seconds later, Darcy whipped out a plastic tiara that she settled in my hair. I snickered and shook my head, "I look like a sorority girl celebrating her 21st birthday."

Jane nodded, "That's kind of the point, I think."

"Alright, we're meeting Pepper 12:30." Natasha began to lead us away and my eyes widened at the mention of Pepper. Wasn't she out in Malibu? "The quinjet is waiting."

"Wait." I stopped, but Alex and Darcy were quick to push me forward so I was still stumbling forward, "We're going to Malibu for brunch?"

Natasha turned, her red hair swishing around her mischievous features as she shot me a wink. It was my only answer until we got to the quinjet that was out on the tarmac waiting for us. Excitement bubbled up inside me as the confusion got pushed to the side. The quinjet would get us to Malibu in a little over an hour and a half which was significantly faster than a commercial flight or even Stark's private jet.

The quinjets were designed for mission work, not comfort, but as we walked up the ramp to enter my eyes widened for the twelfth time in the last half hour. Someone had brought a couple couches into the space, hooking them to the wall so they didn't slide around, and at the center was one of Tony's fancy coolers. The kind that had the glasses held inside.

Natasha moved past it to the cockpit while Alex hooked their phone to a portable speaker off to the side. Music filled the metal walls of the quinjet as the ramp closed behind us. Darcy was the first to get to the cooler and she hit the switch to open it. A cloud of dry ice smoke plumed out of it as she began to pour champagne. We quickly sat down as the jet rose into the air, and the moment it smoothed out Natasha came back with a smile.

"What brought this on?" I asked, taking the flute of champagne from Darcy, "My birthday isn't for another 8 days."

Natasha hummed, "Well, Tony and Clint are adamant about planning your birthday party alone—"

"You're letting the two of them plan my actually birthday?" I asked.

"Let is a strong word." Wanda chuckled.

Alex held their own flute up, "You have birthday girl authority can you stop overthinking it and just get plastered?" I smirked at their words then shrugged. I didn't have to be told twice to drink heavily. Without hesitation, I downed the entire flute of champagne with ease. Everyone cheered loudly and Darcy moved to pour me another glass. With the second glass, we tapped glasses in more 'cheers' fashion. After the following sip was taken, Alex pointed to Wanda, "Hey, aren't you 18?"

"Drinking age is 18 in Sokovia." Wanda replied innocently. A small grin on her lips as she took a sip of her drink.

I grinned, "Come on, Alex. Drop the bartender routine."

"No, it's time to pick up the bartender routine!" Darcy shouted and scrambled to find another cooler. This one was longer and when she opened it up it was basically an entire bar. I let out a low whistle in surprise.

Jane chuckled, "Tony told us that Alex was the reigning authority on all things drink."

"Well, Stark is the leading authority on that. Plus, he isn't wrong." Natasha shrugged. The words made Alex swell in pride and I laughed under my breath. Alex chugged their own flute of champagne, cracked their knuckles, and then went to town to making drinks.

"No orders?" Darcy asked

Alex shook their head, "Nope. I'm gonna make the drink based off the vibe."

The atmosphere was comfortable as we laughed and caught up with one another while Alex worked on the drinks. For Darcy, they made a something vodka based with a blueberry kind of syrup. It ended up a magenta color and Alex poured it into a martini glass.

Darcy took a sip, paused while staring at the drink, then looked back up at Alex, "This is fucking amazing." She took another sip. "Are you single?"

Alex winked, "I call it 'Hot Nerd Sex'."

"How is that name so perfect for this?" Darcy demanded.

Jane raised an eyebrow at her with a laugh, "Are you saying it tastes like hot, nerd sex?"

"I'm saying it tastes like hot, nerd sex feels." Darcy replied.

Alex moved on and pointed to Wanda. She bounced in her seat and we all watched the master work. For Wanda's drink, they went with bourbon, simple syrup, some lemon juice, and a splash of red wine. It wasn't a combination I would make, but then again I was the idiot that poured straight vodka into a cup, threw a lime in, and then called it a cocktail. Alex poured the dark red drink into an old-fashioned glass then pushed a cherry onto the rim before handing it over.

"It's a 'Sokovian Red'." Alex made up from the top of their head.

Wanda took a sip, beamed at us, and nodded, "Pietro is going to be so jealous of me."

We laughed as she took out her phone to probably text her brother a picture of what was happening. Alex moved to the next drink. For Natasha, they used ginger beer, kahlua, vodka, and some kind of dark flavoring. The combination created something pitch black that she poured into a martini glass.

"It's the 'You Could Step on My Throat and I'd Thank You'." Alex said and Darcy nearly choked on her own drink while laughing.

Natasha took a sip and her eyebrows raised appreciatively, "Impressive."

"Put that on my tombstone." Alex whispered to me and I rolled my eyes. They turned to make Jane's drink. Tequila, coconut water, and some kind of blue liqueur. It was poured into a tall cocktail glass and was a shocking blue color. They handed it over and Jane immediately began to take a sip, "I call it 'Fucking Lightning' because you're, you know, fucking lighting."

Jane spat out the mouthful of drink she had in surprise and we all burst into laughter. She wiped her mouth then held a hand over it to cover it while she continued to laugh. Alex whipped around to look at me. They narrowed their eyes, studying me, and I rolled my eyes, "You've already made me my signature drink. Remember? The 'Bloody Knuckles'?"

It was the drink Alex had made for me when I first walked into the bar. They had taken one look at me, said I looked like shit, I flipped them off, and then they came back with my signature drink. Alex nodded once then turned to work. They grabbed the rum which made me raise an eyebrow because I knew the 'Bloody Knuckles' was a scotch-based drink. Alex was a flurry of various liquors and I narrowed my eyes at it. They finished, poured it into a beer glass, then stuck a lime on the rim. They grinned at me as I took it, "It's called the 'Badass Motherfucking Queen'."

I chuckled and felt my cheeks burn as everyone cheered loudly. Not knowing what to say, I took a big sip and nearly choked on it. I forced myself to swallow, it burned the entire time down, "That's…" I coughed. "That's just a mix of weird liquors."

"Yeah, you are a badass motherfucking queen, but I just wanted to pour you the absolute strongest drink I could physically fit into a glass." Alex shrugged. "My goal is to get you white girl wasted today."

We all laughed again, and I took another sip of my overpowering drink as the buzzing happiness settled on my skin.

God, I loved these people.

Steve walked back into the common room while buttoning up his shirt. Bucky, Sam, and Pietro were watching something on the TV. Based on the quality, it looked like one of Sam's horror B-movies.

"Have you guys seen—" Steve began, but the voice of the man he was looking for interrupted him.

Tony swept into the room in his usual fashion, "Come on, gramps. You're keeping me waiting."

"Where are you guys heading?" Sam asked. "And when you come back from wherever can you bring food?"

"I have a kitchen fully stocked for you people and a cafeteria downstairs with the best chef this side of the country." Tony narrowed his eyes.

Sam shrugged, "I want pizza though."

"We're going to see Peggy." Steve interrupted the food argument. His eyes darted to Bucky, "Actually, you know, she'd probably love to see you, Buck."

Bucky nodded, "And I'd love to see her, but I… I don't think I'm quite ready to venture out. The media is still camped outside the Compound waiting for me." He shifted in his seat. "Maybe next time? Tell her I said hello though."

"Who is this Peggy?" Pietro finally turned away from the movie long enough to ask. "I've heard this name around here before."

Steve began, "She's my—"

"My Godmother." Tony cut in. He shot the blond a light glare, "How many times do I have to tell you, Steven, you don't own the rights to her." Steve rolled his eyes, and Tony looked back to Pietro. He rested a hand on the couch to lean on as he spoke, "Peggy is Steve's 'Once Upon a Time, Happily Ever After' that didn't happily ever happen, and she was more of a father figure to me than my own father." He paused then grinned. "Funny story, actually, if Father Time here—" He slapped his hand onto Steve's chest lightly, "—hadn't fallen into a puddle and froze for 70 years—"

Steve shook his head, "It was an ocean—"

"Then Old Man Steve Rogers would be my Godfather." Tony smirked.

Sam chuckled under his breath while Bucky's eyes slowly widened in realization of the truth. Steve, who had heard this a number of times, shook his head, "You know I hate it when you say that."

"That's why I say it, Rogers. Now come on."

Steve followed after his friend with a small smile. It was a weird thought which is why he didn't think about it often. Tony was entirely right though. When Tony had been born, Howard Stark made Peggy his godmother. Peggy took the role seriously and she played a significant hand in Tony's upbringing. Tony nearly visits Peggy as often as he does, but they didn't often go together. Like the genius had said though, if Steve hadn't been forced to fly that plane into the ocean, if he had been able to get to that date…

He knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would've been his forever. One date would've turned to many which would've turned into a ring and then a family. It meant when Tony was eventually born he would've been a huge part of his upbringing as well. Sometimes, when Tony was on a bender or wouldn't leave his lab for days, Steve would wish it did play out like that just so he could've helped his friend more. Steve would've never let Tony hurt like this. He would've been the father the guy needed. Again though, that line of thought always seemed to end there and it always felt so goddamn weird.

Steve liked the relationship he had with Tony and he liked what he had now in this time. Looking back at 'what could've been' never helped anyone.

They told me we were meeting Pepper at the brunch place. What they didn't tell me was that Daisy, Kate, and Simmons were also going to be waiting there dressed to the nines in all black just like the others.

"Happy Birthday!" Simmons bounced in place once before wrapping me up into a tight hug. "I feel like I haven't seen you in so long! I mean, I was there for the last meeting, but we didn't even get to really talk!"

"It has been too long." I agreed. When she finally released me, I moved to greet the others just the same as the others who had been on the quinjet with me greeted the crowd as well.

Pepper smiled warmly, "Let's get to the table, shall we?"

The brunch place was set on the cliffside with a view of the ocean. Our table was on an outdoor patio, under a decorated awning that provided some shade. It was gorgeous and looking out over the water all I felt was warmth. Maybe it was just the alcohol in my blood, but I had a feeling it had a lot to do with our last trip to the beach. Seeing the water didn't put ice in my veins anymore. The first memory to come to mind these days was sitting on the beach staring out over the water with Bucky.

"This is so amazing." I gushed, face warm with a mix of embarrassment over being pampered and just plain love. There wasn't a single person on this planet who was half as lucky as I was, and that was a statement I didn't think would ever apply to me personally, "Y'all are incredible."

Darcy clapped her hands and lifted the menu, "Alright, enough sweet and soft emotions. It's time to rack up Tony Stark's credit card bill. Where is the waiter? We need to order drinks!"

The flight to Malibu alone had me tipsy as hell. I hadn't had anything to eat this morning, unless you counted the coffee Bucky had made me, and it didn't help that they had all pushed a new drink into my hand every single time I finished one. As if to prove that line of thought, a new round of drinks was ordered and soon enough I had a mimosa in hand. The mixing of types of alcohol was what was gonna get me today.

As we ordered food, I took a few pictures with Daisy who sat on my left and Natasha who was on my right as well as just taking candid pictures of the entire table. For the hell of it, I also took a quick selfie and snapped it to the few people I had on snapchat. Half of which were already at the table.

Conversation and laughter filled the air as the group got caught up with one another and just relaxed. It was moments like this that made forget the energy running through my veins. My body and mind were too preoccupied with joking with Darcy or teasing Alex or just being in general awe of Natasha to crave a fight. People always said laughter was the best medicine. Turns out, they kind of knew what they were talking about.

"Darcy, it's your turn." Simmons raised a glass to her.

The woman cracked her neck in both directions then clapped her hands, "Bring it! I've been preparing for this moment my whole life."

Natasha chuckled, "Fuck, marry, kill. Vision, Aj, and Bucky."

"Wait, I'm part of—"

Darcy answered before I could even get my sentence out, "Kill Vision, Fuck Aj, and Marry Bucky." I blinked in surprise before bursting into laughter. Darcy winked at me, "I'd show you a damn good time, birthday girl." She turned to the rest of the table. "Also, it's nothing against Vision. I'd teach him a thing or two as well, but… that's the way the cookie crumbles."

"And marrying Bucky?" I asked.

Darcy sighed dreamily, "I just want those hunky, strong arms wrapped around me while we cuddle in a big blanket and watch romcoms."

"That sounds like exactly where Aj would want to be." Pepper teased.

"I don't think anybody would complain about being there." I joked. "Bucky is very cuddly."

Daisy nodded, "Yes, that is what the ex-assassin is. Cuddly."

"I can think of a few other places that Aj would like to be." Alex snickered. "Namely under the ex-assassin."

I inhaled the sip of cocktail in my mouth and immediately began to choke. As I tried to get oxygen back into my lungs, all my loving friends just laughed in amusement. Quickly, I shook my head, but Darcy was the one to cut in, "Wait, wait, I thought she was supposed to be under the other super soldier? The blond one?"

"I—" I tried to cut in.

"Captain 'stick in the mud' is old news." Alex argued. "Bucky Barnes swung in and swooped her off her feet."

Darcy's eyes widened, "Are we about to have our first fight, new bestie?"

I raised a hand, "Do I get an opinion in this at all or…?" They both said 'no', and I nodded, "Okay, sounds about right." In one swift movement, I downed the rest of my drink then stood up. "I'm going to the bar to grab another cocktail. Anyone?"

A few people raised their glasses asking for another, but Kate stood up with a grin, "I'll go with."

"Sure." I shrugged and the two of us walked across the balcony to get to the bar and order drinks. I readjusted the sash I had on with a chuckle to myself. This was outlandish and crazy, but God did I love it. Kate leaned against the bar with me. She opened her mouth to say something, but her eyes darted to over my shoulder, and she nodded once. I glanced behind me to see a guy stroll up with a charming grin.

"Hey I—"

"Sorry, I don't speak english." I shook my head.

He blinked in surprise, "Oh, uh, where are you from?"

"Alabama." I replied and focused back on Kate, "How've things been at the Playground?"

Kate watched the guy slink away silently and chuckled, "Interesting method." I shrugged. "Playground's been good. Busy. I've been meaning to swing by the Compound though."

"Yeah, Pietro misses you." I replied. "Kid, won't shut up about you actually."

"He's sweet." Kate nodded. My eyes narrowed a bit at her in question. Kate was being unusually soft spoken. She was usually so loud and bright. Kate's eyes met mine again and for a second, she just stared. There was a look in her eyes, I was just sober enough to notice it, but I was too tipsy to recognize it. Before I could ask her what was wrong, she pasted on a grin, "I need to stop and see Star too. I really miss her."

I nodded, "She misses you too. I assume. The girl still won't say a word to me for some reason."

"It just takes her a little while to warm up to people."

"Hmm, I guess." I replied. The bartender came back with our drinks and Kate helped me scoop them up and take them back to the table. As I sat back down, I caught the tail end of the conversation. "Wait, what about Thor?"

Natasha shook her head, "Even Jane hasn't heard from him in ages."

"I'm starting to get worried." Jane said. She sighed and leaned her elbows on the table, "I want him to be okay, but I'm kind of glad he's kept his distance just because it lets me put off what I think I'm gonna do…"

Kate raised an eyebrow, "And that is?"

"I've been thinking of breaking up with him." Jane admitted sheepishly. "Not because he isn't anything short of wonderful, I mean—Thor is incredible, but this distance thing is really, really rough. I thought it'd get better, but it only got worse after the whole 'possessed by red space ether stuff'."

I blinked in surprise, "Possessed by what now?"

"It's a long story." Darcy whistled. She glanced around, "Any new relationships about to start?"

Kate pointed to Daisy, "Daisy's dating the devil."

"He isn't the devil! He just…made a deal with the devil." Daisy mumbled the last bit, then quickly shook her head, "And, wait, no, Robbie and I aren't dating."

Alex looked skeptical, "The devil's name is Robbie?"

The conversation fell from the tense news of Thor back into something comfortable and humorous. It wasn't hard to let the mood pull me away like the current of a river. I felt good. I felt like I was floating.

Bucky grinned to himself as he took another screenshot. Aj had told him the whole point of snapchat was that the pictures weren't supposed to last forever, but he wasn't crazy about that. When it came to her at least. How could she send him a picture of her looking so fucking cute, grinning ear to ear like the physical manifestation of soft morning sunlight, and not expect him to save it? In fact, he was a little embarrassed to admit that's what most of his camera roll on his phone was of. Only a little though.

The proximity alarm overhead began to go off and Bucky's eyes widened in surprise. He glanced over the back of the couch at Vision who was standing in the kitchen making lunch for Star. Seconds later Pietro sped into the room, "What is happening?"

"Sam's out with his wings. He might've just accidentally set it off." Bucky pushed off the couch, shoving his phone into his back pocket, "Vision, get Star to a safe room just in case. Pietro, come with me. We're gonna check the control room."

Vision scooped Star off the ground with ease and moved with intent down the hall to the closest safe room. Pietro kept pace with Bucky as they went the opposite direction to get into the control room. The kid was buzzing with unshed energy with every step. The edges around him were blurry as if he were physically stopping himself from speeding away. Bucky hesitated outside the control room door, his hand hovering over the security pad. He swallowed, set his right hand against it, and seconds later the door opened as FRIDAY welcomed him inside.

"FRIDAY, please pull up the security alert." Bucky said as he sat down at the main console chair.

"You got it, Sergeant." FRIDAY replied. The screen filled with a live feed of the rooftop towards the edge of the campus where some storage sheds were.

Bucky narrowed his eyes, "Patch me through to Wilson, FRIDAY."

There was a crackle of static before Sam picked up, "Bucky?"

"There was a security breach." Bucky replied without greeting. "Rooftop of storage shed 2A. You in the area?"

"I can be in a second." Sam replied. "What's it showing on the camera?"

"Nothing." Bucky replied. "It's reading as a sensor trip, but the camera isn't picking up on anything." He turned to look at Pietro. "Go sit with Vision and Star just in case." Pietro nodded with a reply in Sokovian before blinking out of sight leaving a rush of wind behind him. Bucky turned back to the screen just in time to watch Sam, in the Falcon suit, land onto the same rooftop as the sensor trip. "Anything?"

"I'm not seeing any—" Sam paused, "Hold up." Bucky leaned forward as a second of silence passed over the line. Sam spoke up again, but it wasn't directed at him, "I can see you!"

Suddenly, a man grew from a spot on the roof. Bucky's eyes widened in shock. What the fuck? The guy was wearing a red and dark silver suit with a matching silver helmet. He hit something on the side of it and the helmet folded back to reveal a white man with hazel eyes that gave Sam a lopsided, awkward grin.

He raised one hand, "Hi, I'm Scott."

"Did that guy just say 'Hi, I'm Scott'?" Bucky asked skeptically. No part of that introduction screamed HYDRA to him. Neither did the friendly grin on the man's features.

Sam ignored him and spoke to Scott, "What are you doing here?"

"First off," Scott held out a hand, "I'm a big fan."

"That's a first for you, huh?" Bucky called out.

Again, Sam ignored him, "Appreciate it. So, who the hell are you?"

"I'm Ant-Man." Scott replied in a serious tone.

Bucky actually laughed out loud, and he even heard Sam snicker over the line. Bucky shook his head and leaned back in his seat, nothing about this screamed danger to him so he pulled out his phone to text Pietro an update, "What's with all the damn bug names?"

"What? You haven't heard of me?" Scott chuckled awkwardly and shook his head, "Nah, you wouldn't have heard of me."

"You wanna tell me what you want?"

"I was hoping I could grab a piece of technology." Scott pointed off to the side. "Just for a few days. I'm gonna return it. I need it to save the world." Scott chuckled. "You know how that is."

"I know exactly how that is."

Bucky lifted his legs to rest on the edge of the computer's console, "I say we give it to him. I already like bug boy more than your bird ass."

"Located the breach. Bringing him in." Sam spoke to him. "Also, can control room shut the fuck up?"

Four things happened at once then. Bucky chuckled, Sam reached for Ant-Man, Scott hit a button on his suit while calling out an apology, and then the man shrunk into a black dot that Bucky could barely keep track of on the screen. It was easy to keep track when the black dot jumped up, caught Sam in the chest, and threw the Falcon back across the roof. Sam used his wings to catch himself and Bucky saw the black dot get blown off the roof.

"Hey, you knocked him off the roof."

"Yeah, I can see that!" Sam snapped. "He's got some sort of shrinking tech."

"Yeah, I could see that." Bucky replied. He leaned forward a bit, "You need back-up?"

Sam scoffed, "No, I don't need back-up."

Well, that was that then. Bucky leaned back into his seat and got comfortable. He asked FRIDAY to keep the cameras on Sam so he could watch just in case things took a turn for the worse. Sam landed on the lawn and went to slam his foot down onto a spot on the grass. Bucky watched as the dark spot flipped all around him and Sam got punched and shoved back multiple times before letting two of his weapons come to hand. He flew back while firing.

Bucky chose that moment to pull out his phone to record. Figuring out how to access the security camera's recording system was beyond him, but he could manage this.

Sam stopped firing, glanced around, and then he began to fist fight the air and it looked like the air was winning. He yelled out in frustration, throwing out a punch, and this time he managed to hit just right. Scott grew back to normal size and rolled backwards onto the lawn. Sam grabbed him, flew up into the air, but Scott shrunk and fell to the Earth. When Sam tried to get a hand on him again, Scott threw his legs around Sam's neck, gripping tight, in a very Natasha-esque move. Sam activated his jets to try and break the hold, but it led to them just sliding around the lawn connected to one another.

"You should break that hold!" Bucky offered from the comfort of his seat. Scott suddenly shrunk and it caused Sam to flip forward and land roughly on his chest. "Or that."

Sam got back to his feet, "Not helping, Barnes!"

"You said you didn't need back-up."

Sam marched across the lawn, "He went into the storage shed."

"He said he needed some tech to save the world, remember?"

Sam scoffed, "I don't think Stark rents this shit out."

He stepped into the storage shed and the gate slid down behind him. Bucky asked for the inside view, but FRIDAY notified him that the sheds' security didn't include visual. That seemed like an odd thing for Tony not to include, but maybe the shed was just filled with junk. Apparently, some of that junk was going to be used to save the world by Ant-Man though. Seriously, what was up with these superhero names?

Bucky jumped when Sam burst out of the metal gate flying, "He's inside my pack!"

"Tony's gonna be pissed you broke his garage door." Bucky replied.

Sam flew haphazardly in the air for a little while longer before hitting the ground. He slid far enough to leave a long line of broken ground. Bucky watched the man push to his feet, look around, then rip off his goggles in annoyance. There was a pause before Sam glanced around the area, looking for the closest camera.

"It's really important to me that no one else finds out about this, Bucky."

"Hmm?" Bucky spoke up as he sent the video he took to every single number in his phone, "How important to you?"

Sam grumbled, "What the hell do you want?"

"Admit I make a better sandwich than you do." Bucky said without hesitation.

"You son of a bitch." Sam replied. "You tried to feed me a peanut butter and mayo sandwich! You want me to 'admit' that's better than my masterpiece."

Bucky shook his head even though Sam couldn't see it, "That was a popular sandwich back in the 30's."

"It died with the Great Depression for a fucking reason!" Sam replied.

Bucky got up as Sam left the view of the screen. As he walked out of the control room, he called Pietro to let him know the coast was clear. A second after the boy picked up, he was suddenly also standing in front of him. Bucky glanced at him, the phone, then back at him while hanging it up.

"Coast is clear."

"What was the breach?"

Bucky shrugged, "Some guy who says he needed to save the world. We gotta deal with that, but as of right now there's no sign of danger."

"Was he HYDRA?"

"No," Bucky shook his head, "I really don't think so. Go tell Vision what I said, yeah?"

Pietro disappeared and Bucky stuck his hands into his pockets. He really didn't get any HYDRA vibes from the, 'Hi, I'm Scott' guy. Still, he had technically stolen something from Stark which meant they should probably look more into that. Luckily, if the storage shed wasn't even covered with video surveillance that probably meant Stark wasn't keeping weapons of mass destruction in there.

"Hey!"

Bucky turned around to see Sam marching down the hall, "You made quick time. Wow."

"Thanks for the help." Sam scoffed.

When he caught up to him, Bucky turned and walked down the hall with him, "You said you didn't need back-up." He shrugged. "Ant-Man, though?"

"Everybody has a gimmick." Sam shook his head.

"Yeah, alright, Falcon."

Sam shot him a glare before motioning toward him, "You got your phone on you?" Bucky nodded and fished it out of his pocket. Sam probably didn't have his since he was in the suit and had been up in the air. He held his phone out and Sam took it, "We should call Tony and ask what he had in that—" The screen lit up and Sam stopped walking. "What the hell is this?"

Bucky pointed to it, "A phone."

"I—" Sam shot him a deadpanned glare before holding it up and pointed to the screen. His lock screen wallpaper was a picture Aj had taken of the two of them at the beach. Her arm was outstretched to snap the picture and his right arm was around her shoulders. It had been when the others went out on the boat and they stayed behind. "Really?"

Bucky shrugged nonchalantly, "Nat said people make their wallpapers things they like looking at. I like that picture."

"This is the most domestic, boyfriend shit I've ever seen and you're not even her boyfriend." Sam replied. He shook his head, "How do I explain this to your ancient ass?"

"I get it—"

"It's like a modern-day locket!" Sam said firmly. "You know, the necklace with the pictures in it—"

Bucky sneered at him, "I know what a locket is, you ass."

Sam nodded one then held the phone out to him, "Unlock it."

"…No." Bucky replied and moved to take it from him.

Sam yanked it away and held it out as far as he could to keep it out of Bucky's reach, "Unlock the phone!"

"Give it back!" Bucky snapped and for the next couple minutes they wrestled in the hallway like toddlers fighting over a toy in the sandbox. Bucky knew it wasn't dignified in any sort of way, but he had already dedicated to the action. Might as well win the fight.

Unfortunately for him though, his four-number password was easy enough to guess. Sam tried '1111', '0000', but then he tried '1917' and the phone unlocked. Fucking Steve told him to just use his birth year. He was changing that immediately and then he was going to fist fight his long-time best friend.

"Oh my God." Sam said slowly. His home screen was also a picture of Aj, but this time it was one she had sent over snapchat with her nose scrunched up. Sam just stared at him and Bucky rolled his shoulders awkwardly.

"It's a—It's a good picture of her." Bucky replied and Sam raised an eyebrow at him. He quickly snatched the phone from Sam's hand and shoved it back into his pocket with a frown. "Hey, I said Steve was more than welcome to keep flirting with her and he even had my blessing to ask her out. I think I'm entitled to making her my wallpaper." Sam just stared at him more. Bucky scoffed, "Plus, the technology alone is…incredible."

"Uh huh."

"We used to just carry around a photo of our best gal in our pockets, and they were black and white, and the quality wasn't great and now I can just have any picture I want all the time of—" Bucky shook his head, "I mean, not that Aj is my gal. Not officially or…"

Sam just stared and Bucky just dug himself deeper into the hole he had made. He forced himself to stop talking and just nodded once. Sam lifted a finger and pointed it at him firmly, "She ain't even yours and you're whipped."

Whipped? Bucky narrowed his eyes, "No?"

"Not physically like—" Sam made the hand motion and the sound of a whip cracking. "It's slang. It means you'd do absolutely anything for the woman."

Bucky shook his head, "Of course, I'd do anything for her."

"That's not—It's different—" Sam sighed, "You know what? Never mind, man." They began to walk down the hall again and only got a few feet when Sam pointed at him, "Hey, and change your damn password too."

"I know!" Bucky scoffed.

Sam shot him a look, "And it can't be Aj's birth year this time."

"I wasn't gonna…" Bucky shook his head, mumbling, "I wasn't gonna do that." Sam raised an eyebrow and he had to physically resist the urge to punch the man. "Shut the hell up. This is why I didn't hesitate to send that video of Ant-Man kicking your ass to everyone."

"You what!?"

Tony leaned against the wall waiting. He had already scrolled through all the pictures sent to him of Aj at her brunch day in Malibu. The birthday girl was beaming in every photo that was taken and that brought a smile to his own face. Her last decent birthday was probably back when she was still living with Rosie as a kid. Tony was determined to break that trend of shitty birthdays.

He also watched the video Bucky had sent him of Sam getting his ass kicked. Tony wasn't sure what he was more surprised by, Bucky figuring out how to record and send a video or a guy named Ant-Man breaking and entering into his storage shed. Admittedly though, Bucky got a grip on technology much faster than Steve had so it wasn't too big of a shock overall.

Tony had logged into his systems to see what was taken, but the shrinking man had essentially stolen garbage. It was some old signal decoy prototype that had been designed and built out ages ago by one of his dad's partners at the time.

His eyes drifted up just as Steve stepped out of Peggy's room. Tony had visited with her first since he knew the soldier always took much, much longer. The look on the blond's face told him the visit hadn't ended well either. Tony raised an eyebrow and Steve nodded, "She forgot towards the end that I…"

Alzheimer's disease was the worst affliction a person could age into. Nobody could convince him otherwise of that fact. As terrible as it was for Peggy to lose parts of herself, it was agony for her loved ones around her see it happen live. Sometimes Tony would come to say hello, walk down memory lane or just visit, and midway through she would look at him like a complete stranger. The only memory of Tony Stark she had was a snot nosed kid who was still throwing temper tantrums. It was devastating.

"Her doctors were telling me that it's getting worse." Tony said softly, putting his phone away.

A pained look crossed his friend's features as he took that news in, "I could tell." Steve, with his eyes closed, shook his head, "There's nothing we can do?"

"We haven't cured that one yet." Tony replied. "Our hands are tied."

Steve mumbled a curse and Tony matched his pace as the two men began to make their way to the exit. The look that the blond still wore on his features was pained and distressed. Tony found himself asking the question hanging off his lips without hesitation, "You still love her, don't you?"

The man beside him came to a sudden stop at the end of the hallway and shot him a confused look. Steve shook his head, "Well, yeah. I'll always love her, Tony."

"Right. Of course." Tony bobbed his head and scratched his jawline. He let his fingernails rake through the hair there twice before asking his next question, "How do you know that Aj isn't just a rebound?"

"A what?"

"A way to get over Peggy." Tony explained.

Steve's eyes widened then his brows furrowed and then that little line of anger between his eyebrows appeared. It was like watching a man move through the seven stages of grief all at once. Well, maybe not all. Steve seemed to stop at anger, "Are you kidding me?" Tony didn't reply and kept his features solemn. "Of course, that's not… The feelings I have for Aj are real. They're not just a knee jerk reaction to losing Peggy."

"I'm not asking as a way to try and hurt you, Steve." Tony said slowly. "I'm asking because I want you to pause and think." Steve's anger melted away as confusion replaced it. Tony paused for another moment before continuing, "Steve, do you love Aj?"

"I…" Steve hesitated. "I think so."

"You think so?" Tony pressed.

Steve's features briefly hardened as he spoke firmly, "Yes. I love her."

"The way you loved Peggy in the forties?"

A look of melancholy flashed in his eyes as he let out a soft sigh, "It's… different. I haven't known Aj for as long as I knew Peggy."

"When did you realize you had any sort of feelings at all for Aj?"

Steve paused to think, "Um, around thanksgiving. We had been dancing in her apartment."

"Okay." Tony nodded. "When did you know you loved Peggy?"

A softness filled Steve's eyes and his lip twitched up in the corner marginally at whatever memory he was thinking of. Tony kept his mouth shut and just waited for the explanation. Steve cleared his throat, "Bootcamp. A guy was mouthing off to her. Said a crude comment and…" Steve chuckled. "Peggy just laid him out."

Tony snorted and mumbled, "Well, you obviously have a type." Steve shot him a light glare, and he shook his head to return to the point he was still trying to make, "Another question then, do you think you could ever love Aj the way you loved Peggy? That kind of 'happily ever after' love? That 'white picket fence, 3.5 kids, a dog, and a boring retired lifestyle' kind of love?"

"I think so." Steve nodded.

Tony pointed to him, but not in an accusing manner, "Again, with the think."

"Tony, what do you want from me?" Steve sighed irritably. He ran a hand through his blond hair leaving it a bit of a mess. "Aj means…means the world to me. She's important to me—so important, but… Peggy was my first love. I mean, they say you never forget your first. Do you get that?"

Tony shrugged, "I've heard the saying. Can't speak from experience." Steve raised an eyebrow at him, and Tony gave him a smile, "Pepper. She was the first woman I've ever been in love with. She's the only woman I'll ever be in love with."

Steve's annoyance faded at the confession, "Did you know you loved her right away?"

"I didn't even think I was capable of that kind of love until a while after I met her, Rogers." Tony chuckled. He thought back to Pepper's first day of work with him. God, he had been an ass to her. Just to see how she would handle it too. She lasted three hours with his ridiculous requests until she snapped at him. He grinned, "Pep definitely didn't love me right away. Her feelings for me were more along the lines of exasperation or exhaustion." Tony shook his head. "But when I did realize the feelings were there, in that moment… I knew I couldn't live without her. That I wouldn't ever want someone else the way I wanted her in my life. I could spend every single day of the rest of my life with Pepper by my side, but it still wouldn't be enough. I'd still crave more."

Tony's train of thought had been derailed and he couldn't quite remember the exact point he was trying to make with this line of questioning. He only remembered the gist of it. He shrugged, "I don't know if that's a first love kind of feeling to have or if it's a soulmate thing like Clint likes to talk about—"

"Do you believe in soulmates?" Steve asked.

Tony opened his mouth to reply with a joke, but then he met the tall man's eyes and again he was reminded how young Steve truly was experience wise. He closed his mouth with a tight-lipped smile before shaking his head and finding a more serious answer, "If you had asked me that a handful of years ago, I would've said 'absolutely not', but…" Tony shrugged honestly, "Being with Pepper… I don't know what a soulmate would be classified as or how it's supposed to feel, I don't know if Clint is onto something or he just hit his head one too many times, but… if soulmates existed, I can't imagine it feeling any stronger than how I feel for Pepper now. I can't picture a level of love above what I already have with her. Does that answer your question?"

Steve nodded slowly. A look of devastation flashed on his features again and he spoke softly, "What if Peggy was my soulmate and I missed my chance?"

"I'm no deity, by any means, but I don't think it works like that." Tony clapped his friend on the side of his arm reassuringly. He nodded once then chose to add, "I wasn't trying to give you the ninth degree on that Aj stuff, I just… I want you to think this through. I don't want either of you to end up getting hurt because you're trying to fit a circle block into a triangle shaped hole. You know?"

"I do." Steve gave him a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Thanks, Tony."

"Anytime, god-daddy."

"Please, for the love of everything good in this world, don't ever call me that again."

[BONUS SCENE!]

It was ironic that the record for 'Most Liked Instagram Photo' was broken by a guy who was born in the 1910's. Like, who would've ever called that one? It was Steve who posted the picture with the caption, but it was me who took the picture, so I partly claimed credit for that record. It'd be on every single resume I put out into the world starting now.

Hell, I was going to start introducing myself with that accomplishment.

'Hi, my name is Aj and I'm the one who took the picture of the two gorgeous, elderly soldiers that broke the internet.'

The picture was really simple. It was centered on Steve and Bucky. They were in the compound's shared living room standing by the railing. Both were laughing and had arms wrapped around one another, trying to keep the other standing. Technically, it had been game night and the two cute soldiers were laughing hysterically at their friend Sam Wilson who had just slipped, and face planted during an impromptu game of Twister. Sam wasn't in the picture though and nobody mentioned that the men out of time were lowkey bullying the Falcon.

Steve had posted the picture with the caption, 'Till the end of the line' and the world collectively lost their minds. The name of the PR game was to paint Bucky in a good light. We all knew he had a heart of gold, but we were still trying to convince the world of it too. A picture like that, reminding the world that he was Steve's long lost, yet recently reunited, best friend did wonders to his image. It reminded people that he was a war veteran like Steve, but where Steve got frozen in a block of ice for nearly 70 years, Bucky had been a POW, a victim of HYDRA.

Since the post had done so well, the PR team decided it was time for Bucky to join the Instagram crowd. They'd have to keep a close eye on it. People on the internet were assholes sometimes and the last thing we wanted was for Bucky to stumble over a shitty comment about himself, but the gains outweighed the risks.

Nobody would've guessed that Bucky would take to Instagram like a fish to water.

The PR team told him to post pictures about how he felt about the Avengers. Heartwarming shit that made him look kind and accepted and part of the family. Bucky sort of followed their instructions. He did post about the team and he did share how he felt about each member of his new adopted family. It just wasn't what one would call heartwarming, per say.

Thus, the 'Dumbass Series' was born.

The very first picture Bucky posted was of Steve. It was during a mission, though I couldn't remember what mission he had snagged the photo from, but it was definitely toward the end of it based on the injuries and exhaustion. Bucky took the photo in selfie style with his face in the corner drawn solemnly in tired resignation as he stared into the camera. Just past him, was Steve, taking up most of the photo, looking at Bucky with a sheepish smile and mild fear in his eyes. Both men were in uniform and covered in a layer of grime, sweat, and superficial injuries. Bucky posted the photo with the caption, "Dumbass #1: Steve 'I'm about to get murdered by my best friend because I thought it was a good idea to run directly at a firing gun turret with just my shield and plucky attitude' Rogers."

Everyone lost their shit at that. Not only did it show a different side to Captain America, but at that point nobody other than the team would've guessed that James Buchanan Barnes had a sense of humor.

The next photo was of Sam Wilson. In that same style, Bucky was in the corner of the picture, his hair tied up into a half bun, as he drank coffee from his mug with the same look of boredom in his eyes. Behind him, Sam had been in the middle of eating when he snapped the photo. That left Sam looking at Bucky, annoyance and confusion on his features, mouth opened wide as he tried to eat his burger in peace. Bucky's caption for that had been, "Dumbass #2: The Pigeon".

Everyone, except Sam, thought that one had been hilarious.

Sam actually posted his own picture of Bucky literally a few hours later. The picture was of Bucky standing in the kitchen with his messy half bun wearing his Captain America pajama pants, the ones with the tiny shields decorating it, a black wife beater, and his crocs. Bucky was glaring in the photo at Sam and flipping him off. Though Sam did have enough foresight to cover the hand flipping him off with the skull and crossbones emoji. The PR team would go back and forth for a few days on whether that was better or not. I had actually been in that photo too. My feet were at least. You could see half my body sitting just outside of view, and if you could see my face you would've seen me laughing my ass off. Sam's caption had been, "Everyone pray for my man at jbbarnes. He ain't sick, but he's stupid as shit."

Next was Natasha Romanof. She had come home sick after a mission. The mission had been easy enough she just had poor luck with ending up soaking wet in the freezing cold. On day two of her cold, Natasha had parked herself on the Avengers' couch to watch movies while buried in layers upon layers. Two sweaters, neither belonging to her, sweatpants, and a scarf wrapped around her neck enough to cover the lower half of her face. Bucky had taken the selfie with himself in the corner, drinking from his mug, while Natasha sat on the couch glaring at him while looking like death warmed over. He captioned it, "Avenger #3: The only one with any braincells (also that's my sweater)."

After that picture came Clint's. Like usual, Bucky stood in the corner bored and drinking his coffee, but behind him Clint Barton was a blur of movement midair as he fell out of an airduct. How Bucky ended up with the picture was still argued about today. Some say it was just perfect timing while others said Bucky had purposely knocked him out of said airduct. Clint swore it was the latter while Bucky said it was the former. Nobody cared enough to check FRIDAY's security feed. The caption had been, "Dumbass #4: Bird Number 2 Man."

Of course, Clint then had to leave a comment saying, "How am I bird #2? I was an Avenger first, Pigeon boy at sammywilson should be #2." Which made Sam add his own comment of, "Both of you can eat shit and die." The PR team was quick to end that string of comments. This was a heartwarming, loving family after all.

Sort of.

Next was Tony. It was almost too easy to get a weird picture of Tony because all you had to do was walk into his lab at some weird time. The picture Bucky got, again, had him in the corner, but this time he made sure his entire mug could be seen in the photo. It was a white mug with the words 'Capt. America Rulez, Iron Man droolz' on the side. A custom mug I had ordered ages ago when Tony had annoyed me about something or another. In the background, Tony was laying on top of his lab table, passed out, hair a mess, and drooling. The caption was, "Dumbass #5: Metal man with sleep habits worse than mine".

Tony, who had no qualms with the picture but many qualms with his title, replied back with, "I demand to be moved to dumbass #1 this is outrageous". Steve replied to Tony, "at youknowwhoiam we can arm wrestle for it" and Tony, never being able to not be the last one to speak, ended it with, "at captainsteverogers I'm turning your buddy's arm into a paper weight next update". The PR team let all of that slide since it didn't end with a threat to anyone's life.

The next picture was a double. The Maximoff twins. Pietro still had a bad habit of not checking corners when he was speeding around the Compound and it left us with a variety of accidents. Bucky and Sam had been bringing a cake upstairs to the Avengers only section of the Compound. It had been my birthday cake. A cake I never got to see or taste, mind you. Pietro in normal fashion whipped around too fast and collided with Sam who had been holding the cake. Wanda, who had been close by, rushed over to try and help the mess her brother had gotten himself into. So, the picture was Bucky taking his usual selfie, but since he didn't have his coffee mug he threw the camera a peace sign. In the background, Pietro had a face of apologizing panic while an angry, cake covered Sam pointed at him. Wanda was trying to pull Sam off the ground with a worried look herself. The caption had been, "Dumbass #6: Fast kid + Avenger #7: Glowing kid (ft. cake covered pigeon) (also hbd and sorry at therealAJB)"

Bucky hadn't gotten a chance to get a picture of Thor yet since he was MIA, and he still unfortunately hadn't met Bruce since he was still out on his own. I thought that meant the series had come to a close. It had been a fun month of watching Bucky explore Instagram and overall, it had gone well. The world saw Bucky in a better light and a lot of people actually left comments on his posts that he would reply to. All good things. I usually went in when he wasn't using it and deleted any of the ruder comments left by internet trolls and idiots.

Since I had believed it to be the end, I had been caught off guard during my morning coffee when I noticed I had a notification saying I had been tagged in a photo posted by Bucky a few hours ago.

"Holy shit, am I dumbass #8?" I chuckled to myself and quickly opened the app.

Tony stumbled into the kitchen with a groan, "Coffee."

"I just made a fresh pot." I said without looking up to see his zombie form searching for a mug. Based on the look on his face, the idiot hadn't gone to bed last night like I told him he should.

The app loaded and I went to the picture only for my eyes to widen in surprise. Like all his other posts, Bucky was in the corner of this one. He held his mug in usual form and tried to hold a bored look on his features, but I could see the slight uptick of the corner of his mouth. Behind him, I was sitting on the couch in my lazy day clothes with one leg pulled up to my chest while I leaned on it. It was movie night, and I was laughing at something out of view, but I couldn't remember what had caught my attention. My smile was broad, my eyes were lit up, and I looked good. This wasn't what I expected.

"Now that's just adorable." Tony hummed from over my shoulder as he stared down at my phone. He read the caption aloud, "'Avengers Babysitter: Hey, doll'. Wow, that's his cute little nickname for you, right? Doll?"

I blushed and mumbled my response, "Maybe."

Tony stepped away and narrowed his eyes at me, "I don't need to give you the birds and bees talk do I, sunshine?"

"Tony, I would literally rather die." I said back quickly. Tony snickered to himself and gave me a wave before stumbling back to his lab. I rolled my eyes and looked back at the photo with a small smile of my own.

Avengers Babysitter. That was fairly accurate. I scrolled down slightly, and my eyes landed on the pre-loaded comments that sat right below his caption. The first was Sam who left, "Gag me, it's too early for this bullshit" to which Bucky replied, "At sammywilson bite me, bird".

The second comment under that though, was from a complete and total stranger. She left a comment that read, "Why does at therealAJB get a pretty picture while the others don't? Love you btw!" It was a good question. It was a question I was asking myself. Both me and the stranger got an answer though because Bucky had left a reply.

"Cause she's pretty in every picture."