Chapter 38

He looked down at his new screensaver on his phone while he waited for Nat and Bucky to return from their meeting with Murdock and Nelson. He managed to snap a pic of Natasha during their gorilla safari. She looked so happy and beautiful while she watched the apes. She had this little smile on her lips and her eyes were gleaming. He was pretty sure that this was the greatest photo anyone has ever taken. Natasha was really ecstatic about this trip and thanks to autopilot he had joined the mile high club on their way back to New York.

He wished he knew that she wanted to see the gorillas in Rwanda for so long because he would have loved to have taken her sooner. She was so mesmerized by the animals and he vowed to take more trips like that with her.

The elevator doors opened and Nat and Bucky came out of it laughing and with pizza boxes. They met Bucky's lawyers after office hours so no one would see them. So far no one knew that Bucky was in New York and they intended to keep it that way for a little longer.

"Hey Punk" Bucky shoved him the pizza boxes into his arms. "I'm gonna get plates."

Natasha smiled at him and he put the pizza on the table. "Hi.I missed you, doll."

She tilted her head up and he leaned down to kiss her. "I wasn't that long gone."

She laughed when he tried to slip his tongue into her mouth. "Stop that!"

He grinned and pinched her waist. "I always miss you."

She rolled her eyes at him but he knew that she was secretly pleased. Bucky came back with plates and napkins and they sat down on the couch to eat the pizza.

"How did it go with Murdock and Nelson?"

"Foggy was alone. Matt had "stuff" to do." Nat explained implying that he was daredevilling around.

Bucky shoved a whole pizza slice into his mouth. "They are working on presenting my case to the Attorney General. You gonna have to testify for me, Stevie. They think that the AG can't go against Captain America without backlash from the public."

"Of course. Anything you need, Buck." They smiled at each other. He would help him in any way possible.

Wanda would come to the Tower tomorrow with her brother to try to read Bucky's mind. On the one hand to try to erase the Winter Soldier and on the other hand to look for valuable information in case they needed to get a deal with the Justice Departement if they won't grant him immunity. Vision already tried to scan Bucky's brain with the mind stone while he and Nat had been in Africa but appararently his powers couldn't penetrate thoughts. Vision theorized that the mind stone gave that power only to Wanda.

Nat was done with her pizza before them and got up to change into different clothes. She came back in one of his hoodies and yoga pants and Bucky went through Netflix to find something for them to watch.

She snuggled into his side and pulled his arm over her shoulders. He loved it that she was so small and fitted so perfectly against him. Almost like they were made for each other. Maybe they were. His ma always told him that everyone had a soulmate and he would find his one day.

Bucky finally decided on a movie - The Princess Bride. It was coincidentally the first movie he had watchend with Na a few weeks after Fury partnered them up. She looked up to him and the smile on her face told him that she remembered it too.

"I love you." He whispered into her ear and she pressed herself closer to him.

"I think Tony has been quoting this movie quite a lot." Bucky commented when the credits rolled.

"92 % of the things he says are pop culture references." Nat said and he had to agree. He got caught up on pop culture with Nat's help but he still only got like half of Tony's references. They watched a few episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine before they called it a night. Nat was already sleeply and crawled under the blankets while he got ready for bed in the bathroom.

He got into bed and she immediately scooted over to him and wrapped herself around him. He wondered what people would say if they knew that the Black Widow loved to cuddle.

"Steve?"

He played with her hair. "Mm?"

"You are the love of my life." She whispered softly. "I wanted you to know that."

He rolled her gently on her back and hovered over her so she would see his face. "You are the love of my life, too." He brushed his lips against hers. "You are the first and only woman I will ever love."

She smiled at him with tears in her eyes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pushed him down until their chests touched.

He tried to get up but her hold tighten around him. "Nat, I'm crushing you."

"No, stay. Please." She kissed him and then buried her face in his neck. "Don't go. Don't leave me."

"I'll never leave you." He promised fiercely because her voice sounded so small and vulnerable when she said it. He felt so honoured that he was the only one who got to see this side of her. They fell asleep with him on top of her.

They made slowly and gently love the next morning after they woke up. They were in no rush to reach their climax and basked in each other. She gasped every time he moved in her and he was overwhelmed by his love for her and her trust in him.

"Mm" She sighed after he plopped down next to her. "Best way to start your day." She stretched her body in a way that reminded him of a cat. She grinned at him. "You can wake me up like this every day."

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "Don't tempt me."

She kissed him and then got out of bed. He admired her naked backside and grinned at her when she turned around and caught him. "Like what you're seeing?"

"You know I do." He laughed and frowned when she covered herself with her robe. She briefly left the bedroom and came back with a shampoo bottle in her hand. "I forgot to put it in our bathroom. It was still in my bag." She explained when she saw his confused face.

She slid her robe off her shoulders. "You wanna join me in the shower? You know to save water." She winked and walked into the joining bathroom.

He quickly got out of bed and followed her only to do his part to save the planet and not because he wanted to ravish her.

He went with Bucky and Natasha to the gym floor to meet Sam for some training. Nat left them after some time because Tony wanted to talk to her.

They went to the common floor afterwards and Rhodey walked towards them with an amused look on his face. He wanted to ask him what was going on but he already heard Nat and Tony arguing.

"Is there really no one else who can do it?" She sounded annoyed.

"Why are you acting like this? Isn't that your literal job?"

"Ask Hill! She works for you!"

"She says I don't pay her enough for this."

"You don't pay me at all!"

"I let you and your boyfriend and his buddy live here rent free."

"We can still go back to our apartment in Brooklyn."

"Just one week, Nat!"

"Steve is the only one who gets to call me that."

He had to smile at that. Bucky called her in the beginning Nat but when he noticed that no one sides him did that he dropped it and called her Natasha.

"Fine, Natasha! Just one week and then we see how it went?"

"No and you can't even decide that! You're on the bench remember? You're not an active Avenger right now! Steve is the only one who can make those decisions."

"And you're is second in command and his hunny bunny! Convince him with your wicked ways!"

"You want me to use sex to convince my boyfriend to recruit a teenager for the team?"

"Don't phrase it like that! That makes me sound like a weirdo."

What the fuck were the two talking about? He glanced at Bucky who looked similiar lost and they walked around the corner where Nat was standing with her hands on her hips and Tony was sitting on an armchair.

"Okay, what's going on?" He asked mostly directed at Nat.

Tony opened his mouth but she sent him a death glare. "Tony has the brilliant idea to have me spy on a teenager to see if he is the right fit for the Avengers."

"What?"

"There is this kid in Queens that calls himself Spiderboyman or something and he has incredible skills that can be valuable to us." Tony said and held his phone up showing a video of someone somehow flying around in the streets.

"That kid is fifteen years old, Tony!" Nat barked. "He is still a child!"

"He'll love being an Avenger!"

"You want to recruit child soldiers?" Bucky asked incrediously and looked disgusted.

"What no!" Tony looked appalled by that. "We train him and take him on non-combat missions!"

This was destined to end in a disaster. "Tony, that's not a good idea. We can't take a minor on our missions. Are you out of your mind? That's way too dangerous!"

"What was Natasha even supposed to do?" Bucky asked.

She rolled her eyes. "He wants me to go undercover as a teacher at the kid's school because he's not entirely sure he found the right kid."

"I'm like 95% sure Peter Parker is Spidermanboy. I just need you to confirm that."

"Nat's not gonna do anything!" He decided and used his Captain America voice. "We are leaving that boy alone. If he needs our help he'll get it but otherwise we stay out of his way."

Tony crossed his arms and pouted. "Fine. I still think he'd be a valuable asset."

"Let him finish high school first!"

Tony got up. "I'll be in my lab. The Maximoffs should be here around 4 pm. I think Wanda still has a test at noon."

Wanda and Pietro came to the Tower in the late afternoon and told them over coffee and cake how they were doing at college. They both obviously loved it and he considered putting them both on the bench until they graduated. Being both students and Avengers seemed to be too much and he wanted them to have a normal and safe life after everything they'd been through. Their powers were useful in the field but he knew that they could manage without them for some time.

"I've been reading on mind control and memories and I think that I can lock the Winter Soldier in some kind of cage in your mind so he can't take control over you." Wanda explained after they were done eating. "Going through your memories should be easy for me. I practiced on Pietro and it worked everytime."

"Thank you so much, Wanda." Bucky smiled at her thankfully.

She nodded and explained that she would start to help trigger his memories before she would lock the Winter Soldier away. She needed to get to know his mind before she would be able to do that.

"How much do you think you already remember?"

"Bits and pieces. I remember a lot of the time right before and after I joined the Army. Some things about my childhood. I remember everything from my last wipe but then there's this void."

"We'll start with your childhood for happy memories before we get to HYDRA."

Wanda left with Bucky to go to Nat's old floor where she and her brother were staying to get some quiet for their first session. They came back two hours later and Bucky remembered a few embarrassing stories about him that he had of course to share with Nat and the others. Great!

A few days later he got an invitation from the White House for some kind of gala. Tony got the same one and said that he heard that a lot of powerful politicians would come as well, including the Attorney General. This could be the perfect opportunity to get a foot in her door for Bucky's immunity.

He showed Nat the invite after she came back from a meeting with Hill. She met her quite often in the last time but she didn't tell him what for.

"You should go." She handed him the invitation back after she read it. "For Bucky and for the Avengers. Maybe after meeting you they hurry up with coming up with plan about how much authority we will get as the Avengers."

"I thought so too." He felt his palms getting sweaty. "Do you wanna come with me? As my date?"

"I don't think that's a good idea. They obviously don't want me there or they would have invited me." She acted nonchalant but still seemed a bit hurt by it. "And it's probably not helping our cause or Bucky's if Washington finds out that Captain America is dating a Russian assassin."

"I don't care abou that."

She gave him a small smile. "I know that, babe. But most people do. These people do and we need them on our side. To bring the Avengers back and for Bucky's freedom."

"Then come as my second in command. I'm sure that people can't have a problem with that. This way they see who will lead the Avengers." He took a step closer to her and kissed her forehead. "Please, come with me."

"Okay." She finally said.

"Great." He couldn't help but beam at her. "Does that mean I get to see you in a ball gown?"

"Well the dress code does say black tie..."

He took her hand and twirled her around. Thanks to her he was now a pretty decent dancer. "I'm sure you will be the most beautiful woman there. Well, you are the most beautiful woman everywhere at any time."

She rolled her eyes but her cheeks turned a bit pink."You're biased."

"Nope. That's a scientific fact." He declared confidently because really how could there be someone more beautiful than Nat? It was just impossible. He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. "I'll show you just how beautiful you are."

She laughed and he was pretty proud when her laughter turned into throaty moans.