The alarm let off a soft beep, waking Steve. Beside him, Bucky slept through it, his head on his shoulder, his arm across his chest. Steve nudged him gently, kissing the top of his head. "Hey, Velcro Boy. Wake up! We have a debriefing this morning!"

Bucky moaned, shifted his position, moving even closer. Steve gently pushed him away forcing him to turn over on his back. "Good morning," he mumbled.

"Are you all right?" Steve asked, the memory of the past few days fresh in his head.

"I'm fine. You kept me awake last night," Bucky said, keeping his eyes closed.

"I told you, it was all your call. Not my fault you wanted to keep going," Steve said. Bucky's demeanor amused him.

"No one will believe this, any of this," he said, finally raising himself up.

"Believe what?" Steve asked.

"That we spent the night together and passed the time in one long intense make-out session and not going any further. That's not normal, is it?"

"It's normal for us. It's called homo romanticism... and sensual attraction."

"That sounds... interesting... What's it all mean?" His hair was falling on his face. He pushed it aside with his metal hand.

"There's a computer over there, you know how to use it. There is one thing I want to know... and be honest."

"Ok... what?"

"Was it better than Paris?"

"Much better."

"Good. That's how I wanted it to be."

"It's like you knew what to do and what not to like you were there last time." Bucky opened his eyes but directed his gaze toward the far wall. "I suppose... if you want to... cross the next line... just let me know..."

It took Steve a moment to realize what he was saying. "You mean sex?"

"Yeah, I mean, everything, all the parts work, even if I don't..., you know... it's not my thing... but if you want to..." Bucky still wouldn't look at him. Steve knew this conversation was uncomfortable for him.

"You don't have to do this..." Steve began

"You're my partner and I love you," he said, the cadence of his voice sped up a little, as if he wanted the conversation over as soon as possible. "If we keep fooling around with each other, something will happen... for you at least... but I'm good with the things are, but I mean if you want too... just let me know."

Steve slipped back into the bed, wrapping his arm around him.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm good for now. If anything changes, I'll let you know. From what I've read about this, you can go through the motions, maybe even enjoy it, but your mind would be off somewhere else... fishing on the lake, shooting bad guys.." Bucky's tensed up muscles relaxed at his words. "You don't have to act so relieved," Steve said, playfully pushing him onto the floor.

A few seconds later his head popped up over the edge of the mattress." Did you just kick me out of bed?" He asked climbing back into the bed and covering himself with the blankets which Steve immediately tore off. He finally sat up and reached for his black tank top that Steve had removed in the night. "Not that I'm complaining," he said. "But why now?"

Steve pulled on a shirt, knowing it had slightly mussed his hair. "At first, we were just kids, didn't understand what was going on, then there was the war, then we lost each other and now... you got your Steve back, I got my Bucky back. We both found the person we've been waiting for. I love you, you love me. No reason not to. Now you need to get up. The team is planning to reveal all to Wanda and Vision today and we'd like you to be there if you can wake yourself up."

He ran a comb through his hair, giving himself a quick look in the mirror. His mind went back to the past."Remember that one time during the war, we were coming home from a mission and we had to spend the night in that farmhouse and sleep in the same bed. We made a big joke about it, moaning about it in front of the guys, but we didn't mind. Didn't mind at all... and we had to make sure we were up before the rest of them so they wouldn't know." He looked into the past for a moment, seeing it clearly, then brought himself back around. He didn't know why he thought of that long-forgotten memory. "Hurry up while I throw together something to eat."

"I remember that," Bucky said as he walked through the door. "I remember all of it. That was my life. How did you know?"

Steve stopped for a moment to consider Bucky's question. He could see the memory, recalling every moment and all emotions. He had no answer.

An hour later the team met together but this time they met in a much smaller side room, which to Steve was a more sensible choice. The only guards were outside the door, none inside. T'Challa smiled at Bucky when he entered the room. He took his debt seriously once confiding to Steve that Bucky had not only saved his life but the future of Wakanda. When Steve repeated it to Bucky, he responded that his heroics were exaggerated. All he did was stop a beam from hitting T'Challa, something he could have done himself if he had seen it coming.

Wanda and Vision were together and Wanda's eyes flitted about the room, her eyes settling on each of them. He shared Bucky's suspicions she knew something was wrong. Vision was once again trying out his human appearance. He was as close to convincing as he had been before but there was still that emptiness behind his eyes.

The briefing with T'Challa went well, and he informed them of the reaction to his press conference and the fallout. World leaders were angry at the duplicity but the fall of the major Consortiums and Colonel Rhodes polished treaty proposals gave them something to think about. It would be a rough couple of months as the World Security Council hammered the treaties into something everyone would be happy with.

After his talk with them, T'Challa left them alone.

Wanda and Vision exchanged a glance. "You have something to tell us," Wanda began. "Something you have been keeping secret since the great battle." An uncomfortable silence followed.

"Yes we do," Tony began. " Something that will seem unbelievable to you at first. The fact is, the only reason we haven't said anything to you before this is we wanted you to focus on the mission, and not... this."

"So what is... this?" She asked. Tony nodded toward Natasha and she retold the whole story, beginning with their version of the fight with Thanos, the aftermath, his defeat and the unexpected appearance of Wong in the compound and telling them what he had found.

Wanda got up and walked toward the window, staring out at the sky. "Vision noticed the inconsistencies in personalities at first. If he were not who he is, I would say it was his imagination but the more I listened and watched I came to realize he was right." She turned to face them. "It was during the last mission, on the plane, I knew for certain the people I had worked with, the people who saved me, had changed. I admit, and it would have been a last resort, I might have entered your minds to get my own answers. I'm glad it didn't come to that."

"I do not possess intuition nor are the basics of human nuisances something my programming notices, but I am alerted to changes in basic human personalities and there were too many that I felt compelled to share my findings with Wanda," Vision said.

"We were acting out of character," Steve said. "Bucky and Sam noticed the same things. We honestly didn't think we could fool anyone for long."

"So what happened, after everyone disappeared in your world?" Wanda asked, still at the window.

"Total chaos," Tony said. "Planes fell out of the sky, patients died on the operating table because doctors and nurses disappeared, parents lost children, small children left wandering the streets, elderly people left alone because their caregivers were gone, lack of emergency personnel in place to take care of the endless chaos... then there was the long-term fallout. There were even bizarre situations of people who had grown up on farms but who'd left for other careers being forced to go back, at gunpoint, because food needed to be harvested right away and they were the only ones with experience to do it. It was... a terrible situation."

"Animals wandering loose in the streets, basic services disrupted, trash everywhere, first world countries became third world countries and third world countries..." Bruce added.

"And people took advantage like they always do. Unscrupulous people seized power at all levels, from elected officials to neighborhoods..." Rhodey said.

"You spared us from all that." Wanda said, "I suppose we should thank you."

"It was the least we could do, but even then we couldn't escape the consequences. We still created chaos, this was just a kinder gentle chaos," Steve said. "It's our way of justifying all this to ourselves."

She returned to her place by Vision. "Thank you for telling us," she said. She returned to her seat, taking Vision's hand, keeping the thoughtful expression on her face. The team allowed them a few moments before continuing.

"And now, for what's next," Tony said "I'm going back to New York. I've put it off for too long. There are things I need to take care of and Rhodey is going with me. He'll spend his free time dealing with bureaucrats, hammering out the language of the treaties. Anyone who wants to come with me is welcome. There is also the possibility of us... zoning out and I want to be at home when that happens, and I want to tell Pepper everything. So... I'm leaving in three day's time. I'll have someone fly out here to pick us up, so I can leave the Quinjet. That way, if we're needed for anything, you can fly to meet us," He said, giving one long pass around the room. "Stay or go, it's up to you."

"I'll probably go back with you," Natasha said. "They'll release Clint soon, as he'll need someone to look after him, at least for a few weeks." She and Bruce exchanged a look. "And I will tell him."

"I don't know," Bruce said. "I'm learning so much here and the Wakandians seem happy to teach me. Part of me wants to go back, but the other part wants to continue with my education. Three days did you say?"

"Three days."

"I don't know what to do," Wanda said. "I might go back eventually but not yet. I want to stay a little while longer because Shuri is still working with Vision. I'll not go until he's ready and to be here is to, rest. I need to rest."

"Well, if the Wakandians don't mind me hanging around, I'm staying," Sam said, his words bordering on defiant. Ever since the team's revelation, he ceased keeping his growing relationship with Thula a secret.

"They won't mind," Bucky said. "All I have to do is ask. You can stay as a guest of the White Wolf."

Steve didn't have to take time to consider. He and Bucky exchanged a glance and then he addressed the room. "I'm staying," he said. Pure relief crossed Bucky's face. Steve winked at him and didn't care who saw or what they thought.