When Steve tried to steer him away from the room, Bucky wouldn't budge. There was no way he would go any further away than was completely necessary. He would have stayed in the room if Loki hadn't been so adamant. Nadia had backed up the trickster as well.
"Taica, I'm sorry. We really do need the room." She looked apologetic. "We'll let you back as soon as we can." She hugged him tightly. Though Nadia did her best to rein in her own nervousness about assisting Loki with the difficult spell, Bucky could feel the tension in her body.
He hugged her back tightly, "You can do this." They held each other for a moment, trying to give their reassurances through the contact.
This had to work.
Before Bucky finally stepped out, he held Renny's hand, squeezing it and leaving a lingering kiss on her forehead. "I'm right outside, Sunshine. Right outside." Steve sat beside him on the set of chairs by Renny's door as it shut.
Peter would also have been there to provide what moral support he could, but he was still a student, not just an Avenger. Nadia insisted that she would be alright even if he went back to Queens. She would keep him updated. Besides, if anyone knew what they were doing when it came to magic, it was Loki.
With their enhanced hearing, both super soldiers picked up Loki's voice when after almost an hour of silence he said, "Let's begin."
Five days.
It had been five days since the procedure. A process that took several hours. Two to carefully scribe the runes and lay the proper components, another to chant and cast the spell, and a few more minutes to let it settle.
Not much had changed during the first day. It was on the third that a hint of color had returned to Renny's lips. Bucky also swore up and down that her hand felt warmer in his. Steve smiled and agreed with his friend. He didn't have the heart to tell him no. Her skin still felt cool under his touch.
Nadia would have stayed as much as her grandfather did by her Maica's side, but Loki would somehow coax her out of the room a few times. Steve guessed that the trickster somehow manipulated the youngest Capelli. He knew Nadia was actually strong enough to stave off most of that kind of magic, as she had bragged to him before, but was obviously drained from performing the spell that would help Renny. So he let it slide. One thing he could be sure about the god of Lies was that he really did care about Nadia's well-being.
When Nadia would return, Steve would try his own hand at convincing Bucky to do the same, but the man wouldn't budge.
"I can't... I just can't leave her this time, Steve." Bucky's voice was hoarse as he shook his head. He remembered how Renny had stuck with him even when he was the Winter Soldier. Memories of her treating him behind the backs of his HYDRA handlers became clearer in the last few months since going to the archives. Everything she did for him… This was inconsequential compared to that.
Steve sighed, "She loves you, Buck. You know just how much. She'd be mad at you for treating yourself like this."
The dark-haired man shook his head once again and just repositioned himself in his seat.
"Please, Taica. At least eat something." Nadia pleaded. She brought some sandwiches and a small bag of cookies with her.
"Or take a shower, or a walk." Steve listed down, "Just take a breather. It's not healthy to be staying in this room." The man tried to reason.
Bucky didn't feel like eating. He wasn't hungry. He didn't really want anything but for Renny to open her eyes. "I don't-"
"Quit bickering." A barely there voice spoke.
All arguments immediately stopped, heads all whipping to focus the figure on the bed. Pale gray eyes squinted at them through half opened lids.
"So noisy-"
Chaos.
"Bucky!" Steve yelped in concern at his pal's almost impossibly fast shift of movement.
"Maica," Nadia whispered, her tone almost disbelieving.
"Oh, God..." Bucky breathed.
The dark-haired man choked, and like a blanket over her torso, he draped himself over her. He wrapped her in his arms and dug his nose into the crook of her neck. He could feel her pulse, like a fluttering butterfly. Not strong, but alive.
Alive.
His grip tightened, though he was still aware of himself enough not to crush the woman underneath him.
"Hey, pancakes..." She managed to breathe out.
That did it for him.
Sergeant.
Howling commando.
Assassin.
Super Soldier.
None of it mattered.
James Buchanan Barnes cried.
His sobs were almost silent, but his shoulders shook and tears streamed down his face. Not that anyone but Renny could tell from the wetness that had formed on her shoulder. Weak as she was, Renny mustered enough strength to lift her arm around the man, curling her fingers into his back.
Nadia knelt on the other side of the bed and took hold of Renny's free hand, squeezing it. Renny's eyes flit around the room, not seeing another member of her family. When she felt Nadia squeeze her fingers again, she looked back at the young woman.
Pale grey eyes met hazel.
"Anya?"
Nadia shook her head.
Bucky squeezed Renny tighter, and her breath caught in her throat.
She had known. Well... Made a deduction ever since her short interaction with Bruce before the battle... But she'd never had actual confirmation.
The eldest Capelli pulled her granddaughter to her and kissed her hair. Nadia had crawled onto the little space left on the bed and curled close to her grandmother. The young woman put one arm around Bucky's back too.
Everything seemed to have hit Renny at once then.
Thanos was dead and gone.
The universe had been saved from his twisted dream.
Her obligation was done.
Done.
The love of her life had lived through the war.
Her daughter was dead.
But Nadia was here.
Perennial Capelli held onto what was left of her family, soft sobs tumbling from her lips as she finally found release.
"Nenny Penny?"
Oh my God.
She hadn't heard that nickname in thirty... Almost forty years.
One look at the door and she was greeted with a colorful bouquet of flowers.
"It is you... Isn't it?"
He must have noted how she immediately perked up at the nickname. His eyes were as warm as ever. Well, with that spark (actually a roaring fire) of sass and the bit of brokenness he hid so well, ever since he was a kid.
She smiled and shrugged, "Hello, Tinker."
"God. It is."
It had been another week since she woke. It was only yesterday that Bucky had finally agreed to take some time out of the infirmary.
That couldn't have been a coincidence.
Tony put the flowers in a spare vase on a second side table. While he went through the motions of arranging the flowers, Renny could tell he was glancing at the second, much smaller bunch of baby's breath and daisies.
His tone was casual, but she could pick up on something confused and accusing when he spoke. "I can't believe you're actually still with the Manchurian candidate. It wasn't like the praises he sang about Capsicle, but he did mention how close you and the Tin Man were during the war. He's not the same Bucky you knew in the 40's, you know."
She grimaced.
Right. The last time Bucky and Tony interacted with each other was in Siberia. When the billionaire found out that it was the Winter Soldier that had killed his parents. Then he tried to kill Bucky too.
Still... That was two years ago... But there was no set time frame for forgiveness. Especially when the person murdered your parents.
"I know." She took a deep breath. Why Nadia didn't include Tony when she brought the others to the archives...
Well...Her granddaughter had the guts to reveal the truth to four people.
Nadia told Renny that she didn't want Tony to have something else that would bother him. Her father wasn't exactly the epitome of good emotional coping. Especially with the genius stressing so much over the recent news of Pepper's pregnancy.
Renny steeled herself. She could handle spilling the beans to one person. The one person who would most likely not take it very well.
"I stuck with him during most of his HYDRA days." She admitted to him.
"I know." Tony returned as he shrugged.
Renny straightened. How?...
As if she'd said the question out loud, he replied, "Peter told me the gist of it. He can get really carried away when he's emotional." The man turned around, looking out the window instead of at the woman on the bed.
Renny sighed deeply, "Please don't hold any of this against Nadia." The young woman would be crushed, especially when she was growing so close to her father. "I made the rules. She was following my orders. I'm sorry."
Sorry about your parents.
Afghanistan.
Pepper almost dying several times.
"About not doing anything."
Tony surprised her again when he said, "No." His voice was firm. ""Not doing anything"?" His tone was incredulous, "You don't get to apologize."
Renny curled into herself this time. She could understand how he could be angry. How could he not? Tony always felt strongly about things even if he tried not to show it. Maybe he even hated her now. She wouldn't be surprised-
"You don't get to apologize for the pancakes or PB&J sandwiches, the little games you used to insist on us playing, the aspirin, the coffee in the cupboard, the orange juice, or being the pain in the ass informant for Pep and Rhodey."
Renny's eyes widened and her body tensed. For a few moments, she stared at her hands and he stared at her. He remembered those things?
Then, Renny shocked the billionaire when she started chuckling. Oh she remembered all those times. Anya took over for her when her daughter thought that she'd help out her mother by taking the fate of the most prominent person off the list of her responsibilities.
"Well that just proves that you were my childhood stalker." Tony said, plopping down on the seat beside her bed with folded arms. "Pieced it together after the kid spilled your story."
Renny's chuckles turned into a full on laugh and she finally looked him in the eye again. "Yeah..." She breathed shakily when her laughter slowly calmed, tears in her eyes, "You were always too dang smart for your own good."
Silence ensued once more until Tony spoke again, "You know you could have asked for help, Aunt Pen. You didn't have to-"
Renny shook her head, "You know I couldn't have-"
"Bull-shit." Tony said firmly. "There are so many of us. We could have easily strategized something. Worked something out. I mean," he pointed to himself, "Genius billionaire philanthropist? Gosh, Strange and Banner are geniuses too. Or the other heroes? Maybe not tell them the truth, because honestly it does sound crazy even if I believe you, but nudge them in the right direction! You could have taken your pick! Something!" Tony huffed and dragged a hand over his face to calm himself down.
"Would you have believed me?" Renny said plainly, her voice tired.
There it was. More like she expected.
Tony's rant.
She knew this wasn't going to be easy. "You know how volatile time is, Tony. I was terrified of making a mistake. An irreversible chain reaction." She put a hand on his head and the man was struck by the nostalgia of the times she did the same when he was much younger, a silly grin on her face." You know I can't manipulate people for shit."
He shot up from his seat and turned around, running a hand through his hair, "You still didn't have to go through it alone."
Tony started to walk away when she spoke up again, "I had my girls. And because you took Peter and my Nadia under your wing, I still have her. Thank you."
He paused for a second at the doorway, almost like he wanted to say something. After a moment, "I've had her around too. So thanks." Then he left.
Renny smiled. Much better than she expected.
A/N: So this story is coming to a close. The next chapter will be the last and will be kind of an epilogue to wrap things up. There is a bit that I worked on and am considering including at the end of the story as part of the epilogue. It's a little more of a plot bunny that will bring the story back to Peter and Nadia. I'm not positive I will have the time to write out a proper multi-chapter story though.
So what do you guys think? Should I put it in the next chapter or not?
Thoughts on this chapter? On the story in general. I always love to hear (read) from you.
Til next time~