Chapter 97
Hey everyone. Here's the next one. I'm trying to update as often as I can but some recent life events have made it hard for me to focus. I'll work on this everyday but the chapters are going to be around this length if not shorter for a while. Sorry. On a lighter note we get the besties back together in this one. I missed writing Jess. So here it is. Let me know what you think. :)
The days following went along kind of like that. Bucky would talk occasionally ask questions about random flashes or about Steve. I'd answer as best as I could and he'd go back to answering in random grunts. At least he didn't ignore us like before. Oh who am I kidding, it was like living with a moody brooding teenager. I didn't complain though, Bucky was safe, there weren't any assassins after any of us and I was time jump free for almost three weeks. That was the longest I'd ever gone without one.
Things at work were great, Kate got a job offer from a hospital in Seattle and was leaving at the end of the week. Wren was doing a bang up job as chief of the ER and Jess found out she was having a daughter. I had gotten a head start with the baby shopping except this time I did make sure Jess approved each of the choices, I just didn't let her see the price so she wouldn't complain. I had even caught Wren planning out redecorating one of the rooms downstairs for whenever both the kids stayed over.
We were enjoying a rare day off when we got a call.
"Go for Nora." I said.
"Hey stranger." Jess greeted.
"Hey sis, long time no see or hear." I said.
"Is that Jess?" Wren asked. "Put her on speaker."
"You're on speaker." I said.
"Hey you two we haven't heard from you in almost two weeks. How was the honeymoon?" She said.
"It was good." I said giving Wren a look.
"We got tans." Wren said.
"That we have to see." Jess said. "So listen we were thinking about having Sunday brunch tomorrow. Apparently there's a game on and I can't stand the smell of wings right now…"
"That sounds great." I said. "The guys can stay in and we can go out for mani/pedis."
"Ah it's like you read my mind." She said.
"Need us to bring anything?" Wren asked.
"Just your wonderful selves." She said.
"German chocolates it is." Wren said.
"That's why you're godfather." She said.
"See you then." I said.
"You forgot to mention one big thing." Wren said.
"What?" I said.
"Did we have a kid?" Bucky said running in here making me spit out the coffee in my mouth.
"What?" Wren said.
"I was in a bar with Steve and a red head in a weird hat said that if he didn't know any better he'd have thought you were pregnant. I felt surprised but Steve gave me the same look before we ran out of there." Bucky said.
"You were pregnant?" Wren said looking over at me.
"No! Do you think if I had a kid or if I was ever pregnant I would have told you already?" I said. "Buck relax we don't have a kid and I have never been pregnant. Remember how I said that Aiden killing me wasn't the first time I died? Well some things happened afterwards. There were side effects."
"What side effects?" Wren asked.
"I was tired constantly. I slept all the time. I ate a lot. Seafood made me nauseous…"
"I can see why you thought she might be pregnant." Wren told Bucky.
"It lasts a couple of weeks. I'll sleep like the dead. I'll eat my weight in ice cream or pasta and then there'll be a time jump and we're back to normal." I said.
"That's good to know, I was actually starting to get a bit concerned. You sleep like the dead." Wren said.
"And I knocked out for twenty hours straight followed by chugging down a gallon of rocky road." I said.
"That was pretty impressive." Wren said.
"So that didn't happen?" Bucky asked.
"I've never been pregnant but that was probably the conversation you had before I got turned onto a four year old." I said.
"You got turned into a four year old?" Bucky asked looking at me like I'm crazy.
"Stone got mad at Gramps for trying to trigger a time jump and decided to teach us a lesson. Usual tantrum." I said with a shrug.
"Usual?" Bucky questioned.
"Yup." Wren and I said at the same time.
"Right." He said before walking back to the living room.
I sighed and leaned back in my chair.
"He's making progress." Wren said.
"I know, It's just hard to watch." I said.
"Give him time." Wren said.
"I really hate time." I said
"We're going out tonight." Wren said.
"We are?" I asked.
"We need to work on your teleporting." Wren asked.
"I thought we agreed that was a fluke." I said.
"It's a fluke we haven't tested out. I want to try one of the things they used to train me but modified." He said.
"You sure that's a good idea?"
"Probably not but most of our friendship is based on bad ideas." He said with a smirk.
"Can't argue with that." I said smirking back.
Later that night-
We got out of work and instead of coming back home Wren teleported us to the roof of a skyscraper.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"Roof of Bank of America Plaza." He said. "Tallest building in Dallas."
"Okay, Why are we here?" I asked.
"Training. After I got my powers I only managed to trigger them the one time and then I just wouldn't do it. So my trainer through me off a cliff." Wren said.
"What?"
"Yeah, he said I'd either teleport back to the top or go splat. Methods were a bit extreme but they did get results." Wren said opening up a duffle bag he was carrying and pulling out a harness.
"This is the weirdest date night ever." I said.
"You can say whatever you want but there's never a dull day with us." Wren said.
"Good thing I chose not to wear a dress today. Or heels for that matter." I said. I looked down at my dark blue jeans and brown booties. I was also wearing a white V-neck top and brown leather jacket. My hair was up in a braided ponytail with a few loose strands framing my face.
"So what I take the plunge and see what happens." I said looking over the ledge.
"Yes and no. Yes you're jumping but not alone. Jacket off." Wren said taking his off.
I slipped off my jacket and waited. He started putting on a harness that attached me to him. I back was to his front.
"We'll both go. You're going to try and teleport us back here. If we get to close to the ground I'll get us back here." Wren said.
"How do you know when you need to take over?" I asked.
"If after five seconds you can't handle it I take over. Now get ready." He said adjusting the harness.
"I really hate this idea." I said.
"You'll thank me when you can teleport to Paris for random shopping trips on your own." He said.
"Yeah if I live that long." I muttered.
We stepped over to the ledge and I looked down.
"Don't let me die Wren." I said.
"I've got your six. Whenever you're ready." He said.
"Okay. On three. One, Two…" I didn't get to three because Wren pushed us off. "AH!"
"Focus." He said. I closed my eyes and just kept picturing the roof of the building. "Times up." He said and then we crashed onto the roof.
"Uh." I groaned.
"You have to stay focused." He said.
"Would have been better if I didn't get pushed off without knowing." I said.
"Sometimes it's better if you don't see it coming." Wren said.
"Well don't do it again." I said.
"I won't now let's go again." He said.
Ten Tries Later-
"This isn't working" I said.
"It will, just keep trying." He said.
"Wren, I'm tired and hungry. I can really go for some ribs. Can we call it a night and try again another time." I said.
He sighed. "You're right, guess we can stick to energy control and manipulation for now," he said undoing the harness.
"We jumped off this damn building ten times and we didn't get anywhere." I said groaning.
"It takes time and practice. You'll get it." He said.
"Doesn't feel like that." I said and then there was a flash of light. "Aya not a great time."
"It's the best time actually." She said coming closer to me and using an energy blast to push me off the building.
"Nora!" Wren shouted.
"AH!" I shouted. "Roof, Roof Roof Roof!" and then it happened. One minute I was free falling and I felt it, the surge of energy. I moved it around and then I was back on the roof, on my feet.
"Oh Crap!" I said as I saw where I was.
"It worked." Wren said looking at me and making sure I wasn't hurt.
"You baby her too much. A little push would have been enough." Aya said.
"That's your version of being helpful?" I exclaimed.
"It worked didn't it?" She said with a shrug. "Try teleporting to the house."
"Really?" I said.
"Close your eyes and picture the kitchen. Feel that rush of energy and let it wash over you." Aya said.
I closed my eyes and sighed. I picture the farm. The yellow cream walls, the granite counter tops. The cookbooks set up and the kitchen island. I felt the energy start to wash over me until I felt the air around me change. When I opened my eyes I was at the house. Bucky was just staring at me dumbfounded.
"I just teleported." I said not being able to keep the smile off my face. "Sorry, I probably freaked you out. I'm just going to…" But before I could leave he stood up and hesitantly put his arms around me. For a second I thought I was dreaming until his grip tighten and I heard him sob.
"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked pulling away slightly and I put my hand on his cheek.
"I-I'm sorry." He cried.
"Bucky you have nothing to apologize for. None of this is your fault okay? I hate seeing you like this and I know it's hard but you can't keep bottling this all up. If you can't talk to me then talk to Wren or we'll find you someone to talk to but please don't shut me out." I said.
"I'll try." He said pulling me into another hug.
I looked over to the side and saw Wren. He signed to me that he was going to give us some space and be back later with dinner. I nodded and signed thank you back before he teleported away.
Third Person's POV-
Nora had teleported away and Wren was left alone with Aya.
"It never ceases to amaze me how oblivious you two can be." Aya said.
"Excuse me?" Wren said.
"You know what I'm talking about." Aya said tilting her head.
"Nora's my best friend, an can you please not look like that it's really weird talking about not loving my best friend when you look like her." Wren said.
"I never said anything about love." Aya started. "And if it bothers you so much…" She said before turning into a fifteen year old girl with tan skin, long brown straight hair and doe eyes.
"That's low even for you." Wren said.
"She was young when Aiden killed her. Fifteen right?" Aya said.
"Aya…" Wren said hating how she was taunting him.
"Poisoning along with her father… what a way to go. Then again he stabbed Nora with his bare hand so at least he takes out the women in your life quickly…"
"Shut Up!" Wren shouted.
"Not until you accept the truth." Aya said.
"What truth?" Wren said.
"That you care about Nora as more than just a friend." Aya said.
"She's my best friend I care about her that's all that matters and that's all you need to know." Wren answered.
"Let it out Wren." Aya said looking right at him. "When you're with her what's it feel like?"
"What do you want me to say? That when I see her everything brightens up. That she makes me want to be a better person and that the fact that I have her in my life even if I don't deserve makes me feel like I'm the luckiest person alive? That I want to tell her how amazing she is and how much I love her but I can't because she's in love with Steve and Bucky and I'm not even mad about it. I knew from the beginning what I was walking into and I didn't care and I still don't. I just want her to be happy even if it means that it's not with me." Wren said.
"Feel better?" Aya said.
Wren just nodded. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because you've had a hard couple of months and you needed to vent. Your feelings for Nora are clouding your judgment. Nora could have gotten that after one or two falls but you refused to let her go alone." Aya said.
"I've put her in enough danger. I won't risk her like that again." Wren said.
"You and Nora are meant for each other. When it comes to each other's safety you would burn down the world and not even bat an eye. I told you before you had a job to do…"
"Yes I know and I've done it and continue to do it." Wren said.
"But is it your priority?" Aya asked.
"Nora is my priority. She's not a job or a tool for you to use whenever you want Aya." Wren said.
"She has a part to play." Aya said. "Remember that." Then Aya disappeared.
Wren took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He just admitted that he was in love with his best friend and he accepted that they were never going to be more than friend. Nora was too good and he didn't deserve her. All that mattered was that she was happy. He picked up his things before going to check up on Nora and make sure she had actually made it to the house.
He teleported to the mud room and put the duffle bag in the hall closet for late. He walked to the kitchen and watched Nora and Bucky hugging. He smiled. It was time Nora got her happy ending. She saw him and Wren signed that he was going out and that he'd be back later with dinner. She said thank you and he was off.
Wren didn't go straight to pick up dinner. Instead he made a visit to the two people that never steered him wrong. He teleported onto the porch of their house before ringing the doorbell. Sam opened the door and was surprised to see Wren.
"Hey," Sam said.
"I'm in love with Nora." Wren blurted out.
"Come in." Sam said ushering him inside.
"Hey Wren, I thought you weren't coming by until tomorrow?" Jess asked pulling him into a hug.
"Just missed you guys." Wren said.
"We missed you too." Jess said.
"We would have been around sooner but work's been hectic." Wren said.
'Busy tracking down my older brother, helping Nora's formerly brainwashed soulmate regain his memory and dealing with the fact that I'm in love with my best friend' Wren thought.
"I'm about to head to bed." Jess said. "This little rascal is wearing me out."
"Oh should I…" Wren said getting up.
"No stay, have bro time but you better be here for brunch or else I'm driving to the ranch and dragging you and Nora over here." She threatened.
"Don't worry we'll be here." Wren promised with a small smile. With that Jess kissed Sam good night before walking to their room.
"Let's grab a beer and go outside." Sam said opening the fridge and handing one to Wren.
They sat down in the patio chairs and Wren started talking.
"Nora knows how to teleport," Wren started.
"Seriously? How?" Sam said.
"Incident after we got back, she teleported from her room to the kitchen without realizing it. We were training after work." Wren started.
"How do you train for teleportation?" Sam asked.
"You free fall off the top of a skyscraper." Wren said.
"What?!" Sam shouted.
"Relax I was with her the whole time, we never made it to the ground. And that was why Aya showed up. We took of the harness and she pushed Nora off the building on her own. Nora teleported back to the top and can now do it on her own." Wren said.
"That's good right?" Sam said.
"That's great. But after Nora teleported to the house Aya and I talked…" Wren started before taking a sip of his beer.
"We talked about Nora. She said that the reason it took so long to trigger a teleportation was because I was babying her and the reason I did was because of my feelings for her and of course I tried to deny it but Aya got under my skin by turning into someone from my past and it all just came out." Wren said.
"So you finally noticed?" Sam said.
"What?" Wren said.
"You and Nora are completely oblivious to your feelings. Everyone can tell except you two." Sam said.
"What I feel doesn't matter, Nora's in love with Steve and Bucky and honestly I'm okay with just being friends." Wren said.
"Really? Then why are you here instead of back home?" Sam asked.
"I needed to vent with someone that wasn't millions of years old." Wren said.
"Tough love huh?"
"I hate that term." Wren said.
"Are you going to tell her?"
"No, I'm happy just having her be a part of my life. I'm not going to ruin that or give her something else to worry about." Wren said. "I should get going, I said I was going to stop by and pick up some ribs for dinner.
"Look on the bright side now that Nora can teleport you can alternate picking up takeout around the world." Sam said with a smile.
"That does sound nice." Wren said with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Nora's POV-
"I was holding you and were bleeding out crying. Steve was holding both of us. I said meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me and if I had to do it all over again I would. You said you wished you had more time and then you stopped breathing Steve kept calling your name and everything gets fuzzy." Bucky said
I wiped my eyes and took a deep breath to calm down. "That was Oradour-sur-Glane, France summer of 1944 if I remember correctly. We were chasing leads on Hydra and we heard rumors of tanks that shot blue beams that sounded like Hydra so we went in. the town was deserted as we later found out one of the commanders Deikmann had actually ordered the entire town be eliminated. We figured that out after the team found a mass grave. They found us and they pinned us down in a bell tower. During the chase I got shot and I died. When I woke up I was under debris and collapsed buildings. I found my way out found you guys and the rest is history." I said.
"That was the first time you…"
"Yeah." I said "We went back to Paris until gramps showed up a few days later after you and Steve called him to talk me into getting checked out which led to us trying to trigger a time jump that ended with me being turned into a four year old."
"Your life is complicated." Bucky said.
"Yeah, it is. Three years of moving through time and figuring our that things aren't always what they seem or in my case finding out people I thought were dead aren't actually dead." I said.
"Have you spoken to him?" Bucky asked and I knew who he was talking about. I was dreading this question.
"No I haven't spoken to Steve since he crashed the plane in the Atlantic in 1945." I said.
"You haven't spoken to Steve in seventy years?" He said surprised.
"Didn't really get a say in that. Aya forbade me from going to him. Said something about having a role to play and me not interfering. Got close a couple of weeks ago ended up with a giant migraine and a bloody nose." I said.
"Was he okay… From what I did to him?" Bucky asked.
"He's was fine. Serum probably helps healed him faster." I said.
'He looked pretty healed when he was making out with that blonde.' I thought. I couldn't tell Bucky not yet anyway. Him getting better comes first we can deal with Steve when he's ready.
"I can't see him." Bucky said.
"Buck, if you want to see him, I can find a way to get you to him but I can't go with you." I said.
"I'm not ready to see Steve. I know who he is I know he meant something to me but I don't remember him." He said.
"Give me a minute, I have something you should see." I said before teleporting up to my room. I grabbed the box of photos Peggy gave me along with the picture I kept on my nightstand and went back downstairs.
I set them down on the living room coffee table in front of him.
"Theses are pictures Peggy gave me after I got back. They're all from the time I was in the forty's and a few from you and Steve's childhood. I can't fill all the gaps from way back then but I can tell you stuff you two said." I said.
"That's coney island." He said picking up a picture of him and Steve as kids.
"Yeah, you told me you guys would save up your allowances and sneak off when you had the chance." I said. "I think that one's from the time you made him ride the cyclone, probably explains the look on Steve's face."
"He was really small." Bucky said. "Can I look through these later? I'm kind of tired."
"Sure." I said with a small smile. "Get some sleep."
"Thanks." He said before getting up and walking into his room.
A few minutes later Wren showed up with bags of take out and a few grocery bags.
"Hey," I said getting up to help him.
"Hey, our regular place was closed so I popped over to California and grabbed dinner. I also grabbed some steaks and I got you this." He said.
"Half baked ice cream, just what I needed." I said. "You know you have to start showing me some of your favorite food places so I can take over take out duty."
"Getting ahead of yourself don't you think? We don't even know how far you can go yet." Wren said.
"I'm ready to try it out whenever you want." I said walking over and suddenly getting really lightheaded.
"Oh yeah forgot to mention the first few days after you start teleporting you're probably going to get dizzy and you should also start eating more. More powers more energy and energy comes from…"
"Food, I get it." I said.
"Good, come on, sit down and eat." He said helping me to a chair. "Is Bucky joining us?"
"Uh, I don't think so he said he was tired and went to bed." I said.
"Did you two talk?" Wren asked.
"A bit, I pulled out the box of photos and got through some of them but he was tired so we called it a night." I said.
"Guess we'll just leave him some of these for tomorrow." Wren said sitting down.
"So what's next for training?" I said.
"First we have to see how far you can go and see if you can teleport someone else, maybe even more than one person." He said.
"Is that going to involve me free falling from another skyscraper?" I asked biting into a rib.
"No that was just to trigger a teleportation. From here on out it's up to you. You took to it pretty fast." He said.
"It felt as natural as breathing." I said.
"That's good, just got to regulate your diet and make sure you're taking in enough calories and I know just the thing to help out with that. Say hello to the nutribullet." He said handing me a very familiar nutrient bar.
"You named a nutrient bar after a blender?" I said. "Not very original."
"There's no blender named nutribullet." Wren said.
"Friday?" I said.
"Available in red and black, the blender can be paid off in five installments of $19.99. Limited time offer." She answered.
"Oh, might have to pitch it some other way." He said.
"You going for that grant?" I asked.
"Nora I am the grant." Wren said.
"Oh, right." I said. "Taxes?"
"You have any idea what a pain it's going to be to file joint taxes in this country and in England. Bloody hell I'm one step away from claiming Axl is actually our child." Wren said.
"You can't do that, I already claimed him as a dependent. The terms different but its kind of the same thing." I said.
"Bloody hell, he's going to be the child of divorce." Wren joked.
"I get primary custody." I said.
"Can I have weekends?"
"Every other weekend." I said.
"Put in holidays and I'll settle." Wren said.
"I can live with that." I said laughing.
"I got a call from Sam and Jess reminding us we're having brunch." Wren said.
"I'm looking forward to it." I said.
"You going to tell them about…"
"Not yet, Jess is carrying a human being inside of her. If I told her she'd just worry and she needs to focus on the baby right now." I said.
"She's going to be furious when she finds out." Wren said.
"I can handle Jess being angry at me but I won't let it effect her health or our god daughter."
"Probably for the best." Wren said as he got up to start cleaning.
"You remember where we left the souvenirs we got for them?" I asked.
"Downstairs closet in a transparent bag." Wren said.
"Cool." I said. "I'm calling it a night."
"You okay to make it upstairs?" Wren asked
"I'll manage." I said before teleporting up to my room.
Third Person's POV-
"A man with a metal arm isn't very common how the bloody hell does no one know who he is?" Aiden yelled and he slammed his hands on the table.
"The arm could just be some sort of armor." Simon said.
"That wasn't armor that was cybernetic. It wasn't something you can find anywhere."
"You Idiots. The answer is hiding right under your noses." A woman said throwing a newspaper on the table. Aiden picked up the newspaper and read the headline
SEARCH FOR WINTER SOLDIER HITS DEAD END
"Son of a bitch." Aiden said.
Then Next Day- Nora's POV
I woke up and had a cup of coffee with Wren and Bucky. We went through a few more pictures and he wrote it all down in one of his journals. I didn't want to over whelm him or make him feel frustrated so I decided to help him catch up on the wonders of modern pop culture. And sticking to the theme that is my life we started with a classic.
"Back to the Future?" Bucky asked confused.
"It's a classic." I said.
"Well…" Wren said. "It's a relative classic."
"Should I have started with Doctor Who?" I asked.
"Just play the damn movie." Wren said.
We got through the first movie and about thirty minutes into the second when Wren and I started getting ready to head to Sam and Jess' house for Sunday Brunch.
I wore a floral patterned skirt that fell a bit above my knees with a pearl tank top and my necklace along with a turquoise beaded necklace. I put my hair into a half up fish tail braid half down hairstyle.
"Nora you ready yet?" Wren called out.
"Yeah just a sec and done." I said walking out of my room. We went down stairs and grabbed the souvenirs.
"Are you sure you're okay with us leaving?" I asked Bucky.
"I'll be fine. I have a lot of catching up to do." He said looking at the list of movies Wren and I had made for him.
"If you need anything just tell Friday and she'll let us know. We can be back in the blink of an eye." I said.
"I know." He said. I walked over and hugged him. He still hesitated before putting his arms softly around me. He let me go pretty quick and I stepped away.
"We'll be back later." Wren said.
"Enjoy." I said leaving him to continue his movie marathon.
"Which car we taking?" Wren asked.
"I thought we were just teleporting there?" I asked.
"I'm gonna show you a neat trick now pick a car." He said.
"I'll go with the Audi. It's a nice day." I said.
"Hop in." He said getting into the driver's seat. And we were off except that as soon as we were out of the garage we were driving up the street to Sam and Jess' house.
"Whoa" I said.
"You can't teleport entire rooms with you but anything that moves say a car or a motorcycle, just like teleporting another person." Wren said.
"Fun." I said.
"As a ground rule no teleporting your car to another country, stick to the city you're in." Wren said.
"Noted." I said.
"Here we are. Get ready." He said.
"You make it sound like we're walking into a war zone." I said.
"You haven't talked to your best friend in two and a half weeks and you're not telling her about your soulmate who is currently sitting on your couch watching classic sci-fi while eating hohos." Wren said.
"You walking in there after revealing you're a trained assassin and your older brother and his associate are buried somewhere in the forest behind the house." I said.
"Point taken." He said. "We are about to blatantly lie to our best friends."
"For their safety." I added.
"Ignorance is Bliss." Wren said.
"Come on, time to get your bro on." I said getting out of the car.
We walked up the porch and let ourselves in.
"Hey." I greeted.
"Auntie!" Connor said running over to us.
"Hi bud." I said picking him up. "I missed you."
"Why you gone so long?" He asked.
"We were on vacation but we brought presents." Wren said showing him the bag with the souvenirs.
"Presents!" He yelled jumping over to Wren.
"Nora!" Jess yelled running over and pulling me into a hug.
"Jess!" I said.
"I missed you so much." She said squeezing me.
"Missed you too sis, and missed this little princess even more." I said rubbing her stomach.
"Sit down, the brunch buffet is ready." Jess said.
"Jess you didn't have to do all this." I said.
"No way. Come on eat and tell me all about your honeymoon." She said.
We chatted away brunch and by the time the game started I had Jess ready to go.
"So where we going?" She asked.
"I was thinking mani pedi and facials." I offered.
"Getting pampered does sound nice." Jess said.
"Hop in" I said unlocking the car.
"So what's going on with you and Wren?" Jess asked.
"Same things as always, sham marriage, work, duking out who's turn it is to cook dinner, training. Just the usual." I said.
"Really?" She said with a smile.
"What?" I said.
"Oh nothing," She said.
"Jess…" I started.
"You guys are a lot more touchy than when we last saw you." Jess stated.
"Touchy?" I asked.
"You guys were holding hands and giving each other side hugs." She said.
"I give Sam side hugs all the time." I said.
"Sam doesn't tuck your hair behind your ear when you're talking and he knows it's bugging you." Jess said.
"We're just good friends." I said.
"you wiped some syrup off the corner of his mouth with your thumb. You say your friends but your actions say otherwise." She said.
"Jess, I get that you ship us or whatever your calling it but Wren and I are as platonic as it gets. We spend basically every minute of everyday with each other so we're obviously very close." I said.
"Extremely close by the looks of it." Jess said. "Have you by chance started, I don't know feeling differently towards Wren. I mean it doesn't have to be love just I don't know anything?"
"Uh, I mean I obviously love the guy not in love but love him either way. And after the past few weeks I have a new understanding about why he sometimes puts up walls. I feel lucky that I met him. I mean you saw what I was like after Bucky and Steve were gone."
"You don't need to remind me. Dean still asks Sam about you."
"Ew he does?" I said a bit grossed out.
"I would have thought that after you changed your number and then you got married he would have gotten the hint." Jess said. "But to him you were the one that got away."
I got the chills at that. "Anyway I was in a really dark place and I guess it wasn't until I got to Afghanistan and met Wren that I got out of that. I'm not saying that you Sam and Connor didn't help it was just…"
"We treated you with kid gloves and Wren dragged you out to the world sometimes literally?" Jess said.
"You guys kept me going but Wren made me want to live again." I said.
"Are you sure…"
"For fucks sake Jess we're just friends who are there for each other and care enough about each other to get married to get each other out of their legal troubles." I said.
"If you say so but I do have to say… you two would make cute babies."
"Jess!" I said making her laugh.
Third Person's POV-
Bucky looked around the house and saw all the pictures Nora had displayed around the house. Some of her with a man that looked to be her father and another dark skinned man. There were pictures of her with a blonde woman and tall man. Then he found a picture of Nora and Wren with a young boy probably around three years old. They looked like a family.
'Where do I fit into all of this?' Bucky thought.
Nora built a life for herself. A life away from Steve and himself. He could never give her any of this, not after everything he did.
Was Nora better off without him?