Hey everyone, just wanted to apologize for the delay. I wanted to update a bit sooner but I got a stuck for a bit but then figured it out pretty fast. Anyway this chapter is pretty slow for a bit but it leads to some answers about what's to come. I wanted to thank everyone who's read and commented. I really like hearing from you all. I'm also still waiting for suggestions for the series of one shots about this story I'm going to write. It's all going to be based on what you want to see so send me a message or comment so I can get started. Anyway here it is thank you :)
After I left the apartment I didn't feel like going straight to the market for groceries so I took a detour. I ended up at my favorite café where I always ended up running into Peggy. I ordered a coffee and a croissant and sat down in my usual seat. I was grateful that the café hadn't been damaged by the recent air raids. This place had the best pastries on this side of London, and it had the perfect view of the Thames.
I was enjoying a quiet cup of coffee while reading a book of Edgar Allen Poe's poems and stories when someone sat down in the seat opposite of me. I looked up and saw a familiar bowler hat then looked back down and kept reading.
"Morning." I greeted without looking up from my book.
"Morning. I wasn't expecting to see you without Rogers and Barnes so soon." He teased.
"Needed some space to figure some stuff out." I said.
"Got in a fight already huh?" He said already knowing the answer.
"Don't want to talk about it." I said turning the page.
"And that's why you're here." Dum-Dum said.
"I was just enjoying the sunshine" I retorted. He looked up and chuckled. The sky was grey with all the clouds in the sky.
"You missed a lot of thing while you were gone. We got sent back to France and we were out there for two weeks before we finally found the base. With backing from the army we had it taken down in an hour. Then we raided through it. Found all the places most of the weapons were shipped out to. We decided to come back, something about you being turned into a four year old, except that when we got back you were gone, and had been gone for two weeks. They were a wreck. Barnes almost strangled Stark. Philips sent Stark back to the States for a few weeks, because of it. Two weeks and you were still gone, Philips said we couldn't wait around with the war going on so we went back to the front lines, following Hydra's breadcrumbs." He said.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked. It wasn't like him to go into detail. Dum-Dum would normally just give me a brief summary ending it with 'and we kicked all their asses back to Germany'.
"Because you didn't see how wrecked those two were while you were gone. They fought harder and honestly, they were down right scary while we were out there. They didn't want to come back. We had to send Philips a message without telling them asking him to order them to come back. Kid, I don't know what's going on between the three of you but what I do know is that you three need each other. You're a wreck when you're apart and so are Barnes and Rogers. You three need each other but you're not going to solve anything by running away." He said
"I'm not running away." I said adamantly.
"You're sitting outside when it's about to rain reading one of the most depressing authors in history." He deadpanned.
"Poe isn't depressing, he's misunderstood." I argued.
"Just think about it." He said getting up. "And get inside before it starts raining." He tipped his hat before walking away.
"Great" I muttered. I paid the check and walked to the grocery store. The market was probably closed because of the weather. I did my grocery shopping and then walked back to the apartment. About a block before getting back home, it started raining. I was soaked before I walked into the apartment. Bucky and Steve weren't home so I put the groceries away before going to shower. It was still early and I really hadn't gotten much sleep last night so I took a nap in the spare room.
The only problem is that even in my sleep I can't run away from my problems. I closed my eyes and I was back in the study. The stone was sitting behind the desk with its arms crossed just looking at me. The flash backs that pose triggered. All the times Nana caught me staying up late in the lab, or when I'd try to sneak cookies when she wasn't looking. Unfortunately, this wasn't Nana.
"Here we are again." I started.
"Here we are." It said.
"Why are we here? For someone who says they don't like interfering, you tend to show up a lot."
"I am making sure there was no residual damage from the last time shift." It said with its eyes glowing.
"Yeah, what happened that last one hurt a lot?" I said.
"Two identical singularities in the same plane of time. What did you expect? I had to get you out of there while I could." It explained.
"The older version of me and me in the kitchen." I said confirming what I had already suspected.
"Normally after a jump it takes time to build up that energy and then I slowly spread it throughout your body slowly so you won't be effected by the rapid shift in the time continuum. That last time, I had to rush it before either of you said anything that could cause irreparable damage to the timeline, that's why you felt it."
"A little heads up would have been nice. Also why the hell did you make me lose two and a half months? I could've really used that time to plan how to save Bucky or at least get control of the new powers."
"Like I said before, I was in a rush to get you out of there. I didn't really have time to aim your landing properly, be grateful you didn't end up in the dark ages." It scoffed.
"True, or got turned back into a toddler."
"I'm not doing that ever again. Howard did learn his lesson but it really drained me. That's part of the reason you ended up having so much time with your father and ended up in this mess." It said shaking its head.
"Well, thank you for that. It was good to see him, even if it wasn't the same dad from my time. I've missed him a lot."
"You're welcome but I don't think I'll be doing that again anytime soon." It said.
"I understand and appreciate it. I need to focus on controlling telekinesis and figuring out how to save Bucky." I said.
It just sighed. "You're still with that. I would have thought you would understand by know. Time wants to happen Nora. It has to happen and it will happen one way or another."
"Doesn't mean I can't try." I said.
"Instead of focusing on the future you should focus on the present. You were lucky I managed to get you back before your anniversary." It said.
"Anniversary?" I said confused.
"You don't know?" It said surprised. "Huh, Looks like after all these years I can still be surprised after all. Well, I'll leave you to it. Oh and Nora, stop being a moron, you don't have a lot of time left with them, you really want to spend it fighting and ignoring them?" It snapped its fingers and then I was waking up.
I looked around and heard the rain falling outside. Then I heard a clacking sound of veggies being chopped and metal spoon hitting a pot. I got out of bed and walked over to the kitchen. Bucky and Steve were cooking dinner. Steve was stirring the pot and Bucky was chopping veggies.
I walked over to the kitchen and opened the cabinet to see the calendar we left hanging in there.
I looked at the today's date and started laughing. "Son of a bitch"
"Doll, you okay?" Said Bucky a bit concerned and I started laughing even harder.
"Do you know what today is?" I finally managed to say.
Bucky looked at the calendar and said "Yeah it's October 25th." He said.
"Do you know what that means?" I said.
"Uh.." He gave me a confused look before he turned to Steve who just shook his head and shrugged.
"You seriously don't remember. Where were we a year ago?" I said.
"Being held prisoner by Hydra." Bucky deadpanned.
"And what else?" I said.
"I got nothing." He said.
"Its October 25th, exactly one year ago today, we met, for the first time ever." I explained.
"Oh…" He paused for a bit and then "OH!"
"Yeah, I forgot too." I said grabbing a glass of water.
"Would this be our anniversary or would it be when the three of us saw each other for the first time?" Steve asked.
"I don't know we never really talked about this." I said.
"We've got busy with everything." Bucky said.
"Me disappearing and reappearing out of the blue probably didn't help either."
"Despite its ups and downs it's been a good year." Steve said trying to lighten the mood.
"It really has." I said with a sad smile.
"Come here." Bucky says pulling me to him and hugging me. I hugged him back and for some reason I started tearing up. Bucky started to pull away but I held onto him and sobbed. "Doll." He said holding me tighter and resting his head on top of mine. I'm such a wreck.
I heard Steve walk over to us and wrap his arms around us. "Sweetheart I know you don't want to talk about it, but if you want to we're here, we're not going anywhere."
"We've been together a year Doll, you know we're not going anywhere. To the end of the line remember." Bucky said and I nodded.
"You two literally ran out of the room when I told you." I said sniffling.
They both tensed when I said it. I let go of Bucky and went to see what they were cooking. I stirred the pot and finished chopping the vegetables.
"Nora, we messed up. We shouldn't have left like that; we were just caught by surprise and needed to process it." Steve said.
"Mhm, Now that you had time what do you have to say?" I asked dreading the answer. They both just stood there speechless. "Yeah, thought so. Which is why I propose we forget this entire conversation ever happen."
"Nora we can't just sweep this entire thing under the rug." Steve said.
"Then what are we supposed to do? Talk about it cause you don't even know what to say." I answer.
"Fine then I'll start." Bucky said. "We love you, and we're really sorry we walked out last night but it doesn't change anything. So what if you can't have kids, the three of us together that's a family."
"Really, because I know you already had names picked out." I said remembering a conversation we had months ago.
"It doesn't matter, we don't need kids Nora. As long as the three of us are together that's all we need." Bucky said. I looked into his eyes and I could tell how much it hurt to say that out loud.
"Do you agree with him?" I ask Steve.
"I was an only child and it's been me and Bucky since I was sixteen. I always thought I wasn't going to have kids, it doesn't matter to me. I have you two, that's more family than I grew up with." He said. Somehow something that was supposed to make me feel better actually made me feel guiltier.
Bucky noticed and elbowed Steve's side. I pretended not to notice and went back to cooking. "It's fine, we're good." I said. Out of nowhere I started getting light headed and the room was spinning. I dropped the knife on the ground and started swaying. Next thing I knew I was in Steve's arms sitting on the floor.
I couldn't hear anything, except a buzzing sound. I saw Bucky and Steve move they're lips talking over me but I couldn't hear them. Eventually their voices started to get muffled but I could hear them talking until it was clear.
"Nora, Doll can you hear me?" I heard Bucky ask.
"Yeah," I sat up and my head was pounding and my ears were still buzzing slightly.
"What happened? Are you Okay?" Steve's voice sounded so loud it was making my headache worse. I groaned and put my hands on my temples rubbing circles.
"Ow, please don't be so loud. My head hurts." I said closing my eyes.
"Come on, sit down on the couch." Steve said. I was about to take a step but felt my knees buckle and I was starting to fall but Bucky, who was standing in front of me, caught me.
"You're not walking anywhere." He said picking me up and carrying me to the couch. When he set me down I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my head against them trying to shield my eyes from the light. What the hell is going on? I hadn't used any powers and it had been a day since the last time jump. I started feeling really tired even though I had just gotten up from a nap.
Steve sat down on the couch and pulled me to sit in his lap. Bucky came back with a glass of water and some aspirin. He put the pills in my hand and I swallowed them, chugging half the glass of water in one go. The light wasn't bothering me as much as before so I finally managed to look up. I saw Bucky looking at me worried and Steve looked like he was about to cry. I'm such a moron. I seriously doubted whether or not these two cared about me only because I was insecure. I'm such a bitch. I was so caught up in what I was feeling I never saw how much Bucky and Steve were affected. They both looked like they hadn't slept well in days. Bucky hadn't shaved in a few days and he had a bit of stubble. Steve just looked exhausted and afraid to say anything so he wouldn't set me off.
"I'm sorry." I said resting a hand on his cheek. He put his hand over mine and kissed the palm of my hand.
"You don't have anything to apologize for." He said
"Yes I do, I've been horrible to both of you since I got back." I said.
"Doll, it's not your fault. We haven't exactly been the best either." Bucky said.
"We shouldn't have walked out last night." Steve said kissing my forehead.
"I should've told you months ago." I said.
"Why didn't you?" Bucky asked.
"It's been a crazy year. After we left Azzano, they took blood samples and everything was normal. It wasn't until Gramps started looking through it to see if there were any effects from the time jump that he noticed the blood sample wasn't degrading like normal blood samples do. We ran tests for a few months to see if there were any changes and it stayed the same. Then before my birthday last year I had that sparing match with lieutenant Moore and he elbowed me. I had a nasty bruise but in less than an hour it was gone. I didn't think much of it at first, I told Gramps about it. We ran more tests but at that point it was pretty much confirmed I wasn't aging. Then I was late and we still hadn't done anything that could've have gotten me pregnant that I realized me not aging had other effects. I was going to tell you, but we were kind of busy fighting Hydra, and we were never really alone or there was never a right time to do it and I kind of forgot about it." I said.
"You've been dealing with this on your own for almost a year?" Steve asked.
"Kind of, I was in denial for a while. Then after three months without a period it was kind of hard to deny." I said.
"Damn it Nora, you should have said something." Bucky said getting a bit teary eyed.
"I know and I'm sorry." I said tearing up as well.
"Nora, it's okay. We'll figure it out, together but please, don't shut us out." Steve said tearing up.
"I won't I promise." I said putting a hand on his cheek and kissing him. He pulled me closer and kissed me back.
We separated and I sat on the couch. Then I leaned over and kissed Bucky. We stayed like that for a minute or so until the kitchen timer rang.
"Got to get the bread out of the oven" Steve said standing up.
"I'll help." I said. I was about to stand up when Bucky pulled me back down.
"Oh no you don't. Sit down; we'll get everything ready. Just rest a bit Doll." He said kissing me and then standing up to go help Steve finish making dinner.
I watched them move around the kitchen in sync with each other. Nana once said find yourself a man that knows his way around the kitchen and enjoys it. Well I found two.
They put together everything in a dish and made the pie surprisingly well. Dinner was pretty quiet. Bucky and Steve filled me in on everything that happened the past two and a half months. I could see what Dum-Dum was talking about now. There were certain points in their stories they would get these really dark looks, like they were flashing back and it was obvious they weren't including a few details here and there.
By the time they were done telling me they're stories I was falling asleep at the table. Why was I so tired? I took a nap and was very well rested. I hadn't used any powers or had any time jumps. The blood tests had come out normal, since Gramps hadn't said anything or called.
I was resting my head on my arm looking at Steve and Bucky as they told me about the week they spent in Italy on a recon mission when my eyes closed and woke up when it fell of my arm. I woke up with a gasp.
"I think it's time you went to bed." Steve said.
I didn't even have energy to answer. "Hm" Was all I could manage.
"Okay Doll, Bedtime." Bucky walked over to me and put my arms on his shoulders. He put an arm under my knees and the other on my back to lift me up. I rested my head on his shoulder and drifted back to sleep. Lucky for me I was still in the nightdress I put on for my nap. Bucky put me down on the bed and draped a blanket over me before heading back to the kitchen.
Third Person's POV-
Bucky walked back into the kitchen where Steve was starting to clear the table. "Is she asleep?" Steve asked.
"She's knocked out." Said Bucky looking a bit concerned.
"She took a nap before dinner and she was still falling asleep at the table." Steve pointed out.
"And she fainted. I have a feeling she couldn't hear us. She just looked up at us confused." Bucky said.
"She has to go see a doctor" Steve said.
"Of course she does and she will even if we have to drag her to one." Bucky said. They were quiet for a minute before Bucky spoke again. "I can't believe I forgot our anniversary."
"All things considered we never really decided what our anniversary would be, the day you two met when you were captured by Hydra or when the three of us found each other two days later when I rescued you both." Steve said.
"I think we should stick to the latter, the way we met wasn't exactly a happy place or the way either of us pictured." Bucky says. "We should do something, maybe even give her the ring."
Unbeknownst to Nora and everyone else, Steve and Bucky had started looking at rings after Bucky's birthday earlier that year. Steve had seen it in a shop close to the pub the team frequented when they were in London. They had taken advantage of Nora's many outing with Howard and the time jumps to go talk to the shopkeeper and ask that they keep it on hold while they payed it off.
"We can't give her the ring yet. I don't think it's the right time. Also we haven't asked Howard for Nora's hand." Steve said making Bucky groan.
"Do we have to?" Bucky complained.
"He's the only family she has Buck, We're not exactly sticking to tradition considering the three of us can't get married but we can at least do this. Our parents would roll over in their graves if we didn't at least ask for his blessing." Steve said.
He sighed and rolled his eyes but knew Steve was right. "Fine But when would be the right time?" Bucky asked.
"Not right now, we just got her back, and not her birthday either. Knowing Howard, he's probably planning a birthday party like last year, if not at least a dinner that'll turn into the two of them somehow ending up in another country." Steve said.
"We'll be in London for Christmas right? The team sent in a joint request. Falsworth is coming back to spend it with his parents and fiancé." Bucky reminded him.
"That's right, he approved it a month ago. We do it here on Christmas morning, just the three of us." Steve said.
"I don't know, Christmas is a good time to do it but I think we should do more. Something a bit grander." Bucky said.
"Buck, Nora is probably one of the easiest people to please. The girl's dream date is dinner at home and you trying to teach her to dance. I don't think grand gestures are the way to go." Steve said.
"You're probably right. I think the ring will be surprise enough." Bucky said. "Let's finish cleaning up and go to bed. I missed having Nora in between us to hug in our sleep." Bucky said picking up a plate.
"Yeah, I missed her too."
Next Day- Nora's POV
I woke up alone in bed. I heard someone in the kitchen and I guess Bucky and Steve were making breakfast. I got in the shower and got dressed like usual. I walked out to the kitchen and Steve and Bucky were standing next to the table just waiting for me to walk over.
"Morning" I greeted, a bit weirded out by their strange sneaky behavior.
"It's actually after 12, Doll." Bucky said.
"What? No." I saw that they were serious. "Really?"
"We were going to wake you up, but you were tired and thought you needed some rest. That being said you're going to go see a doctor today." Steve said.
"Okay, can we eat first though?" I asked.
"You're not going to fight this?" Bucky said surprised.
"No why would I? I fainted last night and I'm sleeping more than any normal person would. I need to go see a doctor." I retorted.
"That's good." Steve said setting a plate on the table. I walked over and about halfway there I started getting light headed again and if that wasn't bad enough I started getting the chills.
"On second thought, I think I may have to skip breakfast." I said closing my eyes to stop the world from spinning and putting my hands on the table to hold myself up.
"Nora what's going on?" Steve asked getting worried.
"It's happening again." I opened my eyes and saw that I was glowing again. The light got brighter and brighter until I couldn't see. When the light dimmed down I opened my eyes and I was at my house again.
"Nora?" I heard a familiar voice say.
"Hey Wren" I said looking at him before passing out. I felt myself fall into someone's arms and then nothing.