Summer couldn't wipe the enormous smile off of her face as she led Bucky by the hand out of his room, into the hallway and towards the room where her son was still asleep. Her legs were sore and a bit shaky, but the latter was due mostly to the lingering shock and pure happiness still coursing through her veins. Nothing in the whole world could distract her from the extremely important task at hand: waking David up with the good news.
When she got to the door, Summer glanced back at Bucky and widened her smile before turning and opening the door, leading him inside the room and carefully avoiding stepping on toys that littered the floor. David was curled up and asleep under his covers, and the television on the wall was playing the menu of the DVD he had fallen asleep to, providing a whimsical soundtrack as Summer made her way to the bed. She perched on the top corner, facing David, and Bucky sat closer to the bottom, facing away but watching with a stubborn smile of his own as Summer gently shook her son awake.
"David," she called gently, in what she referred to in her head as her "mom voice", and it took a few moments for him to stir and slowly open his eyes. Once he did, he looked at her and then closed his eyes again, rolling over to ignore her, so she laughed and gently shook him again.
"Come on, kiddo. It's time to wake up, and I have something big to tell you."
At that, David opened his eyes again and rolled back over, blinking at her with curiosity in his sleepy eyes. That was also when he noticed Bucky's presence down near his feet, and David looked back and forth between the two of them like they each had sprouted alien heads.
To be fair, they did look quite ridiculous with the smiles plastered on their happy faces, Summer especially.
"Guess what B-..." she quickly corrected herself, "Daddy gave me?"
David stared at her blankly until she held up her left hand, showing him the ring that Bucky had himself showed him only two days before. It was then that David paused, stared at the ring, and then shot up suddenly while rapidly signing to both of them with a big smile growing on his face.
"Whoa, slow down," she laughed, unable to quite decipher what he was saying since he was going so fast. David then paused impatiently and started over, and when she was able to follow this time, she grinned and replied, "Yep, he asked me."
The little boy then utterly mauled them both, incredibly excited and instantly full of joy, and if it was possible to get any happier than she already was, it certainly happened in that moment.
In the midst of the impromptu, deathly-tight group hug, Summer looked at Bucky from over David's little shoulder, and he caught her gaze and returned the smile that she sent his way. They'd both predicted this jubilant reaction, but there was nothing quite like experiencing it.
After he pulled away from them, still smiling, David bounded up and out of bed, and went about his usual solo routine for dressing and getting ready for the day while practically bouncing the whole time.
Now sitting next to Bucky, Summer nudged him and said, "Told you he'd freak out."
"He looks happy," Bucky said quietly, smiling back at her.
"He is happy," she replied. "You've totally changed his life, you know. From the very start."
Bucky smiled softly and nodded, then looked away, appearing to be in thought. Summer smiled and laid her head on his shoulder, hoping that knowing the good that he had done for the both of them would help combat all the guilt she knew he carried with him every day. Some of the guilt was for them and the danger they'd faced because of him, and the loss of their house. The rest of it was for actions that he had never been responsible for but he still carried the shame of anyway.
That guilt, though, seemed to be slowly easing from his shoulders with the more time that passed. She suspected that it was partly due to his part-time job as a masked vigilante, which gave him a much-needed sense of truly helping others and slowly making up for all of the blood on his hands. But, as she watched Bucky's bond with her son deepen over time, she could see how that was also helping him to see himself in a different light. A year ago, the word father would have made him run for the hills and possibly never come back. Now he welcomed that word and seemed honored to take it on.
And he wanted to marry her. She still couldn't believe it.
Her head still on his shoulder, Summer held up her left hand in front of her and admired the ring now sitting upon it for what was probably the hundredth time in just an hour. She felt Bucky's head shift against hers as he also looked at her hand, and then his right one was holding hers and his thumb running softly over the stone.
"It looks perfect on you," he said quietly.
"It's beautiful," she smiled.
"It's not too old fashioned?"
"Definitely not," she assured him. "It's vintage." She lifted her head to look him in the eyes and grin. "Kinda like you, actually."
He exhaled a chuckle and then kissed her, softly and sweetly, at least until David reappeared in front of them and started tugging excitedly on both of their hands. Summer broke away with a quiet giggle and let David drag them both to their feet.
"Ready to spread the news?" she asked him, and he excitedly nodded. Then he held up his hand and wiggled his fingers, as if to mime magic, which she knew to be his personal sign for Wanda, and then he pointed to himself. "You want to tell Wanda yourself?"
He nodded, then sprinted for the door. She wasn't surprised. As time went on, he only got more and more glued to the woman's side, enough to make Summer worry that Wanda would get annoyed, but she had assured Summer multiple times that she didn't mind in the least. It was a relief, because David currently considered Wanda among his favorite people in the universe, and that was no small feat.
Her own excitement building once again, Summer held Bucky's hand in her own and smiled at him once more as they left the room, then headed towards the kitchen, her thoughts racing with all the names and people she needed to blurt out the news to. There was everybody here in the tower, and then there was Paul and Sarah, and that was mostly the whole list, but she knew a lot of people in the tower...
Once they had approached the kitchen, Summer smelled coffee in the air and found Steve to be the only person present there or in the entire common area. He was also half asleep, in a too-tight white t-shirt and blue pajama pants, and his hair was sticking up rather comically as he looked their way and smiled cheerfully.
"Morning," he said. "I made coff-oomph."
David had all but jumped on him, making his sentence cut off and tired eyes widen at the sudden assault. Then David was beaming and once again signing rapidly, and Steve, the poor barely-conscious guy, watched helplessly and had no clue what the kid was telling him.
He looked at Summer and Bucky for help, and they both smiled before turning to each other. Unspoken words passing between them, Summer broke out into her idiotic smile and stepped forward, proudly holding out her left hand to display the ring and squeaking, "We're getting married!"
Steve stared at her hand, blinking once and then looking up at her, smiling, and then looking at Bucky, who was standing there and grinning with nothing but pride and happiness on his face. Steve's smile became enormous.
"Oh my God, congratulations, guys," he gushed, first drawing Summer into a hug and just about engulfing her. She was used to super soldier hugs, but Steve was basically a human version of Thor, and he nearly squeezed the life out of her before letting her go and then hugging his best friend.
It was, surprisingly, the first time she had ever seen them hug. She suspected that it wasn't a coincidence and that they actually probably hadn't hugged much at all, because Bucky's arms hung awkwardly at his side for a second before he snapped out of it and returned the hug. Sometimes it was easy for Summer to almost forget that Bucky still had a lot of memories left to recover and that, while he and Steve were close, they still weren't where they had once been. But that gap was ever dwindling, and the way that Bucky smiled and genuinely hugged Steve back was a good sign of that.
When Steve pulled away, he looked so incredibly happy that it made Summer actually hurt a little inside.
"This is great! You sure didn't wait long," he said, clapping Bucky's shoulder.
Bucky shrugged and replied, "Well, someone reminded me that I'm not getting any younger, so..."
"So you knew too?" Summer grinned at Steve, who nodded sheepishly.
"Yeah, I did. But only since two nights ago. And I only told Nat."
"Told me what?" Natasha asked, strolling into the room with her hair up and face make-up free, still stunning in loose black shorts and one of Steve's shirts.
Summer wheeled around, smiled excitedly at her, and thrust out her hand. She was starting to really enjoy this stuff. "We're getting married!"
Natasha smiled quietly at her and Bucky behind her, then took her hand and adjusted it so she could see the ring better. Then her smile grew as she looked back up and pulled Summer into a hug, which was also a rare occurrence. "Congratulations. I'm happy for you two, I really am."
Summer squeezed her happily and then pulled back, pleased by the genuine smile on Natasha's face, and then she watched as Nat smirked at Bucky and said, "Good job on the ring."
"It was my grandmother's ring," he replied, playing off the compliment but surely secretly appreciating it.
"Nice. So let's hear it," Nat said, heading for the coffee.
"Hear what?" Summer asked.
"The story," Natasha grinned over her shoulder. "How he asked you."
"Oh," Summer smiled, looking at Bucky and then pausing before giving her answer. "Well, we woke up today and had a... tickle war, and then he asked me. And it was way more perfect than I just made it sound."
"Tickle war?" Steve asked, brows slightly raised.
"Is that a child-safe euphemism?" Natasha asked.
Bucky shook his head. "No. It was an actual tickle... war."
"I guess it was one of those things where you had to be there," Summer shrugged. "But it was seriously awesome."
"Well, this is great," Steve smiled. "And I think a certain little boy might actually be the most excited about it."
True to his words, David was still bouncing around, at the moment looking for more people to tell the good news to, and Summer shared another smile with Bucky before they eventually managed to wrangle the boy to the table and start actually having breakfast.
After that, there was a steady stream of newly-awake people making their way into the room, and the story was retold with each one. First there was Sam, who had been out of the loop and was the first to be actually surprised by the news. He gave Summer a one-armed hug and patted Bucky's non-lethal shoulder, and when she mentioned the "tickle war" portion of the story, he grinned and said, "So that's what the kids are calling it these days." Before she could set him straight, Darcy popped up and gave her a whole new set of problems.
"Oh my God!" she said, plopping down at the table next to Summer and inspecting the ring. "Nice! Like it's old looking but good old. Like the kind of ring you'd see on a classy, pretty old lady, not the angry ones that throw their shoes at you for accidentally cussing in front of them."
"Yeah, that's... uh... accurate, I guess?" Summer shrugged, smile plastered to her face.
"Man, this is great! So what kind of wedding are you gonna have?" Darcy asked, letting go of her hand and pushing her glasses further up her nose, looking at them both.
"I actually... have no idea yet," Summer admitted, glancing at Bucky to find him as clueless as she was.
"Dude," Darcy waved her hand vaguely, "you should totally go get hitched in Vegas. Just imagine it. All the Avengers in Vegas. Just imagine what could happen."
"Vegas would never be the same," Summer replied, eyes wide.
"I know. But no, seriously. Church wedding? Outside wedding? Destination wedding? Elopement?"
Summer shrugged helplessly. "Oh man, I don't know. I'm gonna have to think about it for awhile."
"Oh fine," Darcy sighed. "So, what about babies?"
Summer choked on the sip of coffee she had been drinking, and David, two seats away at Bucky's side, instantly looked up and smiled brightly at Summer as she tried not to sputter everywhere.
"I, uh... what about them?" she smiled uneasily, glancing nervously at Bucky in the process.
"How many are you gonna have? Because let's face it, you guys will make ridiculously pretty little people."
"We, uh... um... haven't actually..."
Thankfully, just in time, Darcy's phone rang at that moment, and she groaned as she checked the ID and muttered, "It's my mom. We'll finish this talk later."
"... Okay," Summer said, face slightly red as Darcy got up and headed out of the room. She looked at Bucky, whose expression wasn't nearly as nervous or suddenly anxious as hers was, but she couldn't quite bring herself to actually address the topic at hand.
Getting engaged was a big enough step, she thought. Talking about this also... wasn't it a bit much? She didn't want to scare Bucky off or put a damper on what was otherwise an incredibly happy day by bringing up something he might not feel comfortable with yet.
So, she fidgeted nervously instead of growing a pair and actually talking about it. Then when Wanda showed up in the kitchen and David saw her there, he all but jumped off of his seat and headed her way, then unintentionally made Summer's ordeal even worse.
She watched as David ran up to the woman and tapped his temple, and Wanda blinked tiredly at him before giving him a small smile and gamely following his lead.
Then Wanda looked Summer's way with a quietly surprised expression, and Summer's face-splitting smile returned at full force.
"Oh," Wanda said, drawing her hand away and looking at the couple in question. "You are getting married?"
Summer nodded from the table and replied, "Yup. Since this morning!"
Wanda then glanced at David and then said, "And you... are you..."
Summer paused, then watched Wanda gesture vaguely to her stomach before she suddenly got it.
"Oh! No! No, I'm not... pregnant," she replied, face burning as she wondered why - why, God, why - this had to keep getting brought up today of all days.
"Oh," Wanda said, perhaps a little embarrassed herself. She gestured to David and said, "He showed me a picture in his head, and you were... holding a baby, so..."
Thanks, Darcy, Summer groaned internally, though she was also simultaneously surprised and maybe a little touched that David was so instantly a fan of the idea. At least she didn't have to worry about his reaction to a potential new baby's presence.
"Oh, yeah, no... Darcy just put the idea in his head like five minutes ago, so..." Summer again glanced at Bucky, who still looked impressively neutral, though also amused at her slight floundering.
"Oh. Well, congratulations," Wanda smiled before turning her attention back to David, who was tugging on her sleeve and probably not ready to leave her alone for at least the next hour.
Summer smiled and looked away, glancing again at Bucky, who had barely taken his eyes off of her since Darcy's interjections. She looked away and then looked back at him a few times, trying to get her nerve up, and finally she managed to suck in a breath and say, "So..."
He raised an eyebrow and leaned his head on his hand. "So."
Before she could even begin to blurt something out, however, Steve walked by and (thankfully) ruined the moment by giving Bucky's shoulder a heavy pat and saying, "Take the day off, pal. We can handle training without you today."
"Oh. Thanks," Bucky nodded to Steve, who gave him another pat and turned to Summer next.
"Figured you guys could use the time to get some stuff squared away. Maybe get started on wedding plans," he grinned.
She smiled back. "Yeah. We probably should do that, since right now I have no idea. About anything."
They both chuckled at her, and then Steve paused before saying, "Well, I'm just happy for you both. Enjoy your day. Tell me all about it later."
Bucky chuckled quietly and nodded again, and with that, Steve left them alone. Summer had officially lost her nerve, and when Bucky looked at her again, she decided to deflect by asking a completely relevant question, though it was one she knew he likely didn't really care about.
"So, do you want to get married in a church or outside?"
He just smiled and finished his coffee. Summer smiled back and laughed to herself, having a feeling that it was going to be an interesting day and that the baby topic would come back up one way or another.
Not too much later after that entertaining breakfast, Bucky found himself standing on Paul's doorstep, next to Summer, waiting for the door to open. She bounced excitedly on her heels after she knocked on the door, and between them, David was doing nearly the same thing.
Then Paul opened the door, looking like he had just rolled out of bed, and as he squinted at them, Summer squealed and shoved her hand in his face.
"Hey, what are you guys doing h... what the hell, Summer," he groaned, pulling away from her hand, "are you trying to punch me?"
"No, you idiot, look!" she exclaimed, nearly smacking him as she thrust her hand out again. "Look!"
Paul narrowed his eyes and grabbed her hand, then looked closer and promptly snapped his head up, looking back and forth between them.
"Are you telling me it finally happened?"
Summer laughed and nodded. "Yes!"
"Oh my God, my sister's marrying a creepy old man," Paul said before drawing her into a big hug with a huge smile on his face.
If Bucky was just the slightest bit relieved that Paul didn't freak out and immediately announce his disapproval of the idea, he kept it to himself and simply mentally chided himself for being nervous in the first place.
"Come in, come in," Paul said, releasing Summer and then dragging her inside. He then patted Bucky on the shoulder and said, "Me and you are having a talk by ourselves later."
"Oh no, Paul, please don't -"
He held up his hand and smiled. "It'll be a good talk, calm down. Besides, if I was gonna break the shotgun out, I would have done it a long time ago."
He then smiled at Bucky and let him step through the door, and Bucky looked up to find that look of pure joy on Summer's face that hadn't left once since he had asked her to marry him. He reached out and took her hand as Paul closed the door behind them and said, "Okay, you guys head to the kitchen and I'll get Sarah, because she'll kill me if I hear the whole proposal story before she does."
He then headed up a nearby staircase, and Summer steered both David and Bucky towards the kitchen. As she did, though, she leaned in close to Bucky and asked barely above a whisper, "This is all okay, right? I don't want to overwhelm you with all of this."
"It's fine," he assured her. "It's worth it to see you this happy."
Her smile widened and she couldn't help but lean up and kiss him briefly, before they entered the kitchen and took their seats at the table there.
Most of the kids were at school that day, minus two year old Sofia and baby Marina, so there was no stampede of children to greet them or eight year old Maya to turn Bucky's face into her personal makeup canvas. Instead, after only a few moments, Paul reappeared with Sarah, who had Marina on her hip, and Bucky watched with endless amusement when Summer jumped up to shove her hand into yet another new face.
All morning, he had watched with ever-growing amusement and affection as he watched her share the news with nearly everyone she knew, utterly glowing and giggling and practically walking on air as she did. Now, that affection all but tripled as she hugged Sarah, then came away suddenly holding little Marina, who had giggled and latched herself to Summer during the hug. Then she sat down next to Bucky, and while the sight of her holding this particular baby had always stirred something buried within, now he knew exactly what it was that caused it. And Summer seemed terrified of even broaching the subject.
After they had told the proposal story - and gotten the same reaction from Paul as Sam regarding the apparently hard-to-believe "tickle war" - Paul didn't wait too long to suggest leaving the women alone to talk wedding things so that they could have their own "man to man" talk.
Paul took Bucky outside, in the backyard, which as backyards went was pretty nice. There was an in-ground pool and a big trampoline, two sandboxes, a swingset and various other stuff that made it a kid's dream. He wondered if Paul wasn't hinting at something by bringing him out there, but Paul ended up sitting him down a little picnic table that was almost comically too small for either of them to comfortably fit in.
"So," Paul sighed, leaning his arms on the table, "this is definitely happening."
Bucky smiled, just a little, and nodded. "Yeah."
"Not gonna lie," Paul said, looking down, "I do wish that you had asked me first, just because our dad's not around and I try to fill in for him as much as I can."
"I know, but... that's why I asked David's permission," Bucky explained. "He's... the boss."
Paul smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. He sure seems happy about it. And I noticed what he's calling you know."
"That just started. Started when I asked him about marrying her, actually," Bucky replied.
"I'm sure I don't have to tell you how big of a deal that is," Paul said. "I mean, that kid is extremely selective in who he'll even acknowledge. And for him to actually call you that - that's huge, man."
"I know. Trust me, I know," Bucky said quietly. "It scares me but at the same time I just... it feels right."
Paul nodded. "Like marrying her?" After Bucky nodded, Paul added, "You know that it's gonna be actually forever, right? My sister's extremely traditional, even if her life so far has been the opposite. She's wanted this longer than she'll admit."
"You mean marrying me?"
He nodded again. "And babies. Maybe you haven't noticed this but when she holds my baby, she looks over at you with these giant sparkling Spongebob eyes basically begging you to knock her up."
Bucky stared at the other man and said, "I... no, I haven't noticed that."
"Probably because you're too busy staring at her like your begging her to let you knock her up. Which I find completely disturbing, don't get me wrong, but seriously, have you guys even had that talk yet?"
Bucky shook his head. "No."
Paul sighed and muttered, "See, she won't take the initiative here on almost anything because she's scared of scaring you off. And that's not your fault or her fault, it's Mark's fault. He shut her down every chance he got when it came to everything, so now she's got this mortal fear of asking for basically anything."
Bucky frowned, having not really noticed this before but now that Paul mentioned it...
"So for now, I think it's on you to bring up stuff like that. And don't just ignore it or put it off, because I guarantee you she doesn't want to wait that long."
"You sure?" Bucky asked.
"Oh yeah. And now that you're engaged..." Paul shrugged. "Just talk to her about it. That's what the engagement period's for. Lots of talking. And arguing too, because everybody's stressed out with wedding plans and family members and whatever drama inevitably happens, so it's great practice for being married."
Bucky nodded, though inside, he was screaming a little. Asking Summer to marry him had been easy and incredibly simple, but now with everyone suddenly talking about babies and stress and all of these things that he wasn't sure how he felt about... it served as a rather efficient buzzkill, to an extent.
"But hey, for what it's worth," Paul said, "you have been a good father to my nephew. You've taken better care of my sister than I thought any guy she went for ever would. And this is coming from someone who used to trust you about as much as I'd trust Peter Pettigrew."
"... Who?"
"She still hasn't gotten you to watch the Harry Potter movies?" Paul asked, as if such a thing was truly shameful. Bucky shrugged no, and Paul sighed, "Such a slacker. But anyway. You see my point."
He nodded. "Yeah. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Also, good job on that ring."
Bucky couldn't help but smile, this being the second time he'd gotten that particular comment that day. "It was my grandmother's."
Paul's eyebrows shot up his head. "Whoa. That makes it, what, two hundred years old?!"
"Not quite," Bucky said, trying not to roll his eyes. "But it's old. And it's been through a lot."
"Fitting, then," Paul smiled. "Oh, and one more thing. Summer's got that whole self-sacrificial streak thing in her, which is fine, but don't let her cheat herself out of a good wedding just for the sake of being cheap or easy or whatever. I grew up with her, so I know more than anyone how much she's always wanted an awesome wedding. Not necessarily a big one or anything, but just... a really nice one, with a big dress and the whole nine yards. So make sure she has that."
Bucky nodded, unwilling to have it any other way. "I will."
"Good." Paul then paused and added, "And it goes without saying that if you screw this up or leave her that I'll find you and make you die a very slow, painful death."
"Of course," Bucky shrugged. That really did go without saying, especially since Bucky would hurt himself long before Paul ever could if he ever ended up being stupid enough to do either of those things.
"Sweet. Okay. Then I guess we're done here. Now just take a look around and catch a glimpse of your future."
Paul then waved dramatically to the backyard in general, and Bucky chuckled quietly while sweeping his eyes over the space and everything kid and family related within it.
A part of him was still significantly scared, but he knew he could, and would overcome it when the time came. There were, however, two things he needed to talk to Summer about first, and he planned to do this before the day was over.
Summer left her brother's house absolutely buzzing with excitement. Her brother and sister in law had been the first actually married people she'd gotten to talk to since becoming engaged, and after Sarah had started a lively conversation about the joys and stresses of wedding planning, Summer suddenly couldn't wait to get started. She had no clue where to start, but once she figured that out, she was fairly confident that it would be fun, and besides, she did this kind of stuff for a living now. It would be a breeze.
Then, upon returning to the tower, Bucky had surprised her by telling her to get dressed and ready to go out - as in going out - and then briefly headed to his room before all but disappearing before she even got a chance to tell him goodbye or ask where they were going.
After that, she asked around to find out who was willing to take David while she and Bucky were gone, and after Steve volunteered, Natasha suggested she tag along and make it a movie date. From there, it turned into a group outing with Sam and Darcy, and after David tracked down Wanda and begged her to come also, the group was complete. They left before Summer did, in order to grab something to eat first, and she couldn't believe how normal everything was under the seeming weirdness. David's trust in people had never been higher, and she couldn't have felt safer knowing that he would spending his day with no less than half of the Avengers. Really, what more could a mother ask for?
After they had gone, she focused on getting ready and fell into a deep, dark hole of angst when faced with the very real dilemma of whether to wear a bra or not wear a bra with the white sundress that she had chosen to throw on. Ultimately, she decided to be brave and not wear the bra, only because the straps of it would have been distracting (to her, at least) under the much thinner ones of her dress, and the dress actually had a bit of built in support, which was helpful. Then, with that decided, she decided to be even braver and wear heels for the first time since her accident.
The shoes in question were a pale, pretty yellow pair with small heels, nothing like the skyscraper-high ones that she owned but wasn't comfortable wearing yet. She figured she could handle the shorter heels, and after slipping them on and running a brush through her hair, she grabbed her purse and headed out of her room.
She checked her phone and found a text from Bucky telling her to meet him outside in fifteen minutes, and she smiled at his oddly mysterious way of treating this particular date before as she headed out of the hallway. Then she paused at the sight of Tony and Vision standing in the middle of the kitchen, Vision coughing with what looked like a glass of whiskey in his hand.
"Oh come on, man - that's my best stuff right there," Tony said, watching as Vision sputtered like a kid who had just had their first taste of hard liquor. Because he sort of... was.
"That is the most unpleasant drink I have tasted," Vision said, handing the glass back to Tony. "Thank you for sharing, sir, but..."
"Yeah, yeah," Tony sighed. "Well, maybe one day you'll acquire a taste for it. She sure did."
Summer suddenly smiled at the unexpected acknowledgment, glancing at the clock on her phone before stepping closer to them. "Yeah, that stuff is pretty delicious."
"See? Told you," Tony said to Vision before turning and flashing a smile at Summer. "So, I hear congrats are in order."
She managed only a smile back before Tony threw an arm around her and gave her a small but surprisingly affectionate hug, patting her back as he pulled away. "Yup," she grinned. "I'm so excited I might die."
Vision listened with interest as Tony replied, "Yeah, I can tell. So, when's the wedding?"
"I'm not sure yet," Summer replied, again checking her phone. She had about ten minutes left. "We've got a lot to talk about."
"I bet," Tony nodded. Then he paused, glanced down at the glass still in his hand, and said, "Now don't get me wrong here, because the last thing I want to be is a giant buzzkill, but I do have something serious to ask you about all this."
Her smile shrunk a little. "Oh. Okay."
"You know what you're getting into, right?"
Summer's smile returned at that question. "You mean with Bucky? Yeah, I've got a pretty good idea by now."
Tony squinted a little and said, "That's not... exactly what I meant. I meant your life. What it'll be like once you make things permanent."
"I... well, I don't think it'll be much different, honestly," she shrugged, wondering exactly what Tony was getting at.
Tony glanced over at a wall and nodded, then said, "Yeah, you're right. This is exactly what it's gonna be like," he gestured to the tower in general. "You're gonna be on the run for the rest of your life. You and your kid."
"... On the run?" she asked in slight confusion.
"Yeah. You know that everybody and their third cousin is looking for him. CIA, FBI, every country that HYDRA ever screwed over, which is a lot. Every shadowy, scary intelligence agency you can think of and the supposedly 'good' ones too. Want to know why they haven't found him yet?"
Summer stared at him and asked in a small voice, "Why?"
"Because every week, me and Nat leak false info to those bastards. Last week there was a Winter Soldier sighting in Berlin. This week it was Bangkok, which, by the way, is my favorite city name ever, but I digress. They haven't found him because we've been covering for him and sending them on very well constructed wild goose chases. And erasing every trace of his existence that we can."
Summer felt her jaw drop a bit. Of all the things she had imagined being among the main reasons why Bucky was currently free, it wasn't that. "Holy crap."
He took a sip of the whiskey in his hand. "Yeah. It's not easy, either, but we've managed to stay a step ahead of everyone. Otherwise he probably would have been killed or arrested months ago."
She was speechless. Natasha she could see doing this, but Tony? It wasn't the sort of thing one would expect considering the history between the two men. After floundering in silence for a moment, she asked quietly, "Does he know?"
Tony shook his head. "No. That was Steve's call. Something about stress prevention and keeping him from freaking out and pulling a Twilight and splitting for your safety. But my point is, I don't know that we'll be able to protect him forever. It's working now, but if somebody picks up a real lead one day? Wouldn't be good, kid."
"But..." Summer tried to find something to say, anything, but Tony painted such a grim picture that she couldn't form a single word.
"Look, like I said, I'm not trying to be Captain Party Pooper here. I'm really not. If you're happy then you're happy and you should do what keeps you that way. But you're a good kid and I just want to make sure you know all of what you're getting into."
She nodded, understanding where he was coming and actually rather touched by the concern. Tony was the Avenger she probably saw the least of out of all of them, but he had been the first one she had ever spoken to, and he had slowly warmed up to her since her arrival at the tower ages ago.
"I understand," she finally replied. "And thank you for doing that for him. I wouldn't ever ask you to do it after... what happened."
Tony nodded, then shrugged and said, "Well, I heard your kid's calling him 'Dad' now. I happen to know how bad it sucks to lose your dad."
"So do I," she replied. "It's the worst."
"Yep. Even if they were a dick," Tony said matter of factly before blinking and changing the subject. "But anyway. Good talk. Hope I didn't ruin your mood too much."
"Not at all," she shook her head. Then she paused and decided to heck with it and hugged Tony, taking him by surprise and not caring, because if he was one of the main reasons why Bucky was with her and not dead or in prison, then he deserved a lot of hugs.
"Oh, hello. Wasn't expecting this," Tony said, patting her back as she poured all of her gratitude into a big squeeze. Vision watched with a quiet, small smile on his face, surely fascinated by her odd human behavior.
She pulled away and then smiled, "Yeah, me neither, but just take that as a hug from all of us. Thank you for helping him."
Tony nodded. "I'd say no problem but it actually is a pain in the ass. But you're welcome. Going somewhere?"
"Yeah," she smiled. "Date, I guess." She checked her phone and then said, "I actually have to go out and meet him now."
"Well, have fun," Tony said, knocking back the rest of the drink and then setting the glass down. "And don't start looking over your shoulder because of what I told you. The whole point of it is so you don't." He narrowed his eyes then and said seriously, "Got it?"
"Totally," she beamed as he then gave her one more pat and walked away, leaving her standing in front of Vision and turning her smile on him.
She was just about to turn and leave when Vision said in his usual quiet, thoughtful manner, "I look forward to this... wedding. It sounds nice."
"I think it will be," she smiled. "And hey, it'll be your first wedding you've been to. That's awesome. Make sure you bring a date."
He paused. "A date?"
"Yeah. Everybody brings dates to weddings. And besides," she added casually, "Wanda will need a date, too."
His already puzzled expression grew more curious, but Summer merely left it at that and left with a quiet goodbye. She'd never been much of a matchmaker, but she had called that one awhile ago before anyone else had. If it ever came to fruition, she'd be the first to break out into an "I told you so" dance right in the middle of the tower.
Making her way to the elevator, she checked her phone once more and found herself right on time. She headed down to the ground floor with a smile on her face, a part of her still slightly disturbed by what Tony had told her, but the rest of her too optimistic to let that worry get her down. She had already known that Bucky was a very wanted man, and now she knew that one of the world's richest and smartest men and a world-renowned spy/assassin was watching out for him and covering his tracks. In the end, finding this out only made her feel more secure.
So, with her smile still stuck on her face, she headed out of the tower and on to the sidewalk, under the warmth of the sunny afternoon sky and still firmly on cloud nine. She looked around for Bucky, expecting him to be on foot and already waiting for her, but he was nowhere to be found. She checked her phone again, ignoring the sound of a rather loud engine approaching as she started texting Bucky to find out where he was at. The engine sound grew louder, until it was right in front of her, and she was just about to hit the send button when she looked up in annoyance.
Then her mouth fell open and she dropped her phone on the sidewalk, because the obnoxious sound was coming from a sleek black motorcycle that had just pulled up and came to a stop only feet from where she was standing, and sitting on top of that motorcycle was the unfairly gorgeous creature she was lucky enough to call her fiancé.
He was dressed to murder her, in black leather pants that she hadn't seen since their Coney Island date ages ago plus a jacket to match, white t-shirt underneath, and aviators that he took off as he turned his head her way and grinned like the cocky jerk that was still very much alive underneath everything he'd been through.
"Need a ride?" he asked as she stood there staring and gaping like an idiot. The fact that his hair was windswept and perfect was just icing on the maddening cake.
"... Where... why... how?" was all she managed to get out of her mouth, only making him grin more.
"Where is a surprise. Why is... obvious. Not sure how to answer the how," Bucky replied. Then he dropped his eyes down, trailing them all the way to her feet before slowly bringing them back up again and grinning, "I like that dress."
She snapped her mouth shut at last and then picked up her miraculously undamaged phone, then stepped closer and asked more coherently, "Where did this come from? Is this yours?"
"Actually yeah," he replied, leaning back some but staying where he was as she ran her wide eyes over the bike. "And it's from Steve."
"Steve?" she repeated, staring at the thing with both admiration and terror.
"Yeah. Gotta have some way to get around, being 'on the team' and all," he explained, catching her eye and grinning widely again. Then he handed her a helmet that had come from out of nowhere and said, "Hop on."
She stared down at the helmet with wide eyes and immediately started shaking her head. "Oh God, no. I can't. No."
"Yes you can," he assured her with a smile, making her take the helmet as he drew his hand away.
"No, I've never been on one of these things before, and I'll probably like panic and cry -"
"You're gonna be fine. Do you trust me?"
She snapped her eyes up to his, inwardly cursing all the freaking leather and the hair and just him for being so perfect. "Of course I do, but -"
"Then put on the helmet and get on. You're gonna love it."
She eyed him skeptically. "And if I don't?"
He shrugged and replied, "Then I'll pull over, but that's not gonna happen. Come on, Summer." He smiled and motioned for her to get on, and she gulped before looking down at the helmet again.
She couldn't believe she was doing this. She'd rather just sit there and stare at him sitting on the thing, not actually ride it herself, but she still ended up shoving the stupid helmet on her head and letting him help her get on the bike behind him.
"You know," she muttered once she was sitting behind him, trying to figure out where to put her feet and also trying to smooth out the skirt of her dress, "what is it with you and getting me to ride things? If it's not your... you know... then it's your hand, or your face, and now a freaking motorcycle..."
His grin widened as he turned and looked at her, fully amused as he replied, "I see where your mind's at."
"Oh, like you didn't know that's where my mind would be the minute I saw you sitting on top of this thing in leather and those sunglasses."
"Yeah, but you knew the same thing when you put that dress on," he pointed out, looking her up and down again in a way that made her heart pick up some. He touched one of the dress's thin straps and said, "It's so thin. I'd rip it in half and fuck you on top of this bike right now if I could."
Her jaw dropped - again - and she didn't say anything, because she knew only incoherent jibber would come out if she actually tried.
He simply grinned wider and kissed her softly, then slipped his sunglasses back on, turning back around. He then reached behind him and took her arms, wrapping them around his middle as he said nonchalantly, "Hold on to me tight, okay?"
"... Okay. Where are we going?" she asked nervously, doing as he said and trying to clear her mind of the images he had just placed within it, but it wasn't easy.
"Out of the city," he replied. "And if you get scared or need me to stop, just pull on my jacket."
She anticipated pulling a lot. "Okay."
"Ready?" he asked.
Before she could squeak out an answer, he kicked the engine back to life, and she jumped as soon as it happened. Her arms held on to him for dear life, and she squeezed her eyes shut as he drove them into traffic.
At first, it was horrible. She felt like an insignificant bug surrounded by much bigger cars and trucks just waiting to smack into her and send her and Bucky flying into the pavement, but she didn't pull on his jacket. She was determined to at least give this a decent try, and by the time he had gotten them out of the city and on to a less busy highway, she finally managed to start calming down and letting herself actually look around rather than just keep her eyes closed and chant prayers for survival in her head.
It actually wasn't so bad, she decided. Once she got used to it, it wasn't as terrifying as it had been at first. In fact, after awhile, she started to think that it was even a little fun.
Then a semi passed them, and the terror returned tenfold. She still didn't pull on Bucky's jacket, but she did make about ten different deals with God in as many seconds.
It felt like an eternity passed and like they should have crossed at least two state lines by now when Bucky finally took an exit off the highway. In reality, it hadn't been even ninety full minutes since they had left the city, but nonetheless, Summer's relief was palpable when his speed decreased and he drove them into a small city that she'd never been to before.
It was one of those cities that was often overlooked, probably only stopped in by non-residents for the sake of getting gas on the way to somewhere else, but Summer found it cute in an unassuming way as Bucky parked them in front of what looked like a tiny downtown square. As soon as the engine was off, she took the helmet off and left it on the seat before bolting to her feet and letting out the world's most relieved sigh.
"You okay?" Bucky asked, taking the glasses off again and hanging them on the collar of his white t-shirt as she turned around and looked at him wearily.
"Yeah, I think so. Just had like twenty near death experiences, but I'm good."
Swiftly, he secured the bike and then got off of it and walked to her, smiling reassuringly as he said, "We never even came close. We were fine. But if you were that scared, you should have told me."
"No, I didn't want to be a baby about it," she muttered, running her hands through her hair to try to reverse the havoc the helmet had played on it. "And it was fun. Just not when there were semis trying to kill us."
He chuckled and then threw his right arm around her shoulders, walking her to the nearby sidewalk. "You did great. And nobody tried to kill us." Then he paused and kissed her temple. "Thanks for doing this with me, sweetheart. I've been wanting to take you out on that bike since I got it last week."
She sighed and leaned against him. "Well, hopefully the way back will be easier. By the way, why'd you bring us here?"
Looking around the simple, quiet buildings that surrounded them, Bucky replied, "I just figured getting away for awhile would be good. No tower, no city, nobody we know. Gives us a chance to talk."
Hands linked as they walked aimlessly down the sidewalk, along the small businesses that populated the area, Summer looked up at him and asked, "About wedding stuff?"
"Yeah. And other things," he said, giving her a small smile.
She grinned back, though she wasn't sure what he was getting at. "Okay. Like what?"
"Well, first, do you want to walk or do you want to find something to eat?"
"Definitely walk for now, because I'm still getting over the urge to throw up," she said, making him grin again before he nodded. "So...?"
"So," he replied, and she could tell by the little smile on his face that whatever it was that he was about to say, he was a bit nervous. "I've been thinking."
"Okay," she smiled, stomach knotting up slightly as she waited.
"I talked to your brother, and we didn't talk about this, but... some stuff he said made me want to ask you about it today."
"About what? Kinda on the edge of my seat here," she said, letting out a slightly nervous giggle.
He took a moment, his eyes thoughtful as he looked ahead and gathered his words. Then he turned to her and asked, "Are you going to take my name?"
She nodded quickly. "Oh yeah. Of course."
He nodded back. "Okay. Then... I think David should have it too."
Her steps slowed, and he came to a stop while looking at her like he was nervous for her reaction. Which he totally shouldn't have been.
"You mean... you want to adopt him?" she asked. He nodded, and she watched relief set in on his face as she smiled so widely it almost hurt. "That's.. oh my God. Yeah! I would love that - he would love that. That's perfect!"
"Good," he smiled, still looking incredibly relieved, and his hand squeezed hers briefly as they started walking again. "Just... with him calling me Dad now, it feels like the right thing to do. Make it official."
"Yeah," she agreed, still looking up at him with her huge smile. "You know that this is a huge deal, right? I mean, he's never even met his real father, and this is just... I don't know what to say."
Bucky smiled back before asking quietly, "Will his real father be a problem?"
She paused. "Well... I don't think so. I'm sure he'd be happy to sign his rights away and not have to worry about sending me checks every month. I'll have to actually get in touch with him, though."
"Can't a lawyer do that for you?" Bucky asked.
"Yeah, but that's the other thing... I have a feeling we're gonna need, like, probably Tony's help with the legal stuff." When Bucky looked slightly confused, she added, "Because you don't exist, technically, and you can't just walk into a courtroom and petition for an adoption. Same thing with a marriage license, actually."
"Right," Bucky muttered, turning his eyes back to the ground.
"But it's okay. We'll make it happen," she smiled.
Never in a million years would she have believed back she and Bucky had first met that he would be marrying her one day and adopting her son, but that merely made this day all the sweeter for how truly unexpected it was.
Bucky looked up and smiled back at her, glancing at a store they were walking past - a tiny photography studio - and then he drew a breath and said, "The other thing I was gonna bring up is sort of... about the same kind of thing."
Summer glanced over at the store that he had looked at, and sure enough, in the window, there was a giant picture of a little baby girl dressed from head to toe in pink frills. She then turned back to Bucky and said cautiously, "You know we don't have to talk about this now. I mean, proposing and adopting David are both huge enough, you know, and -"
"But I want to talk about it," he said quietly, coming to a soft halt on the sidewalk.
She nodded, fiddling with her hair and having no idea why this topic, more than any other, made her so nervous. "Okay," she said, and then he was pulling her by her hand towards a little bench sitting nearby.
Once they sat down, Summer started fidgeting with the hem of her dress with her free hand, and this didn't go unnoticed by the man sitting next to her.
"You okay?" he asked, eyes going from her nervous hand to her face, which flushed a little when she looked up and met his gaze.
"Yeah, I'm... well," she sighed, deciding that it would be best to just get this over with and blurt out everything currently swirling around her brain, for better or worse. "I know what you're going to talk about, and I'm just afraid that everybody immediately jumping to the whole baby talk thing today is making you do this, and I don't want that. Because you've come so far, and we've come so far, and we're taking big enough steps as it is without talking about this, too."
"I'm not bringing it up because Darcy did," Bucky replied. "Or Paul."
She blinked. "He brought it up, too?!"
Bucky simply smiled and said, "If I'm adopting your kid, Summer, it's probably... normal to talk about this next. Not that I would really know, but... just feels that way."
Summer couldn't really argue with his logic. She released her dress and sucked in a breath, trying to keep her hand sitting still for the time being as she said, "Okay. You're right."
Bucky only let her prepare herself for a few seconds before he dived right into the as-yet uncharted territory in their relationship. "Do you want more kids? With... me?"
She looked up at him and felt her words fly out of her mouth so fast that it almost left her dizzy. "I've wanted to have your babies for, like, ever now."
His eyes widened by just a fraction and his little surprised smile was instant. "Really?"
"My God, yes," she half-groaned. "I've been holding it in for a long time because I was pretty sure I'd scare you to death if I said anything, but..."
"That doesn't scare me," he assured her. "At least not that part."
She paused, searching his face for clues as to what all was going through his head at that moment. "What does scare you?"
"I guess it's just... the idea of a baby," he said, looking down at their still-joined hands. "I wouldn't know what to do with one. And with what I do..." He trailed off, jaw clenching almost imperceptibly.
"By what you do, you mean being a hero and saving people and catching bad guys?" she smiled. "Because it's pretty damn cool. What kid wouldn't want a superhero for a dad?"
"I'm not a -"
"You kind of are," she interrupted, still smiling. She used her other hand to turn his face back towards hers, making him look her in the eye. "And as far as the baby stuff, you'd learn. It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. I did with David. If I did, anyone can."
He looked at her a bit skeptically. "What if I can't?"
"Can't get the hang of it?"
He shook his head. "No, have kids."
She stared at him in slight confusion for a moment, wondering why that would even be a worry of his before she caught on. She dropped her voice to a whisper, just as a precaution, and asked, "You mean because of... the serum, or the... freezing, or something?"
"All of it," he said. "I mean, I have no idea either way. It's not like I've been tested, but... when it comes to people like them, there's a... tradition of eliminating the potential for certain things." He glanced at Summer and quickly added, "But I was just a gun, and I wouldn't have had the chance anyway. So maybe they left that alone."
Summer had never thought of that. Bucky was so healthy physically and overall the very picture of the male form at its peak, like Steve, that the question of fertility hadn't even occurred to her once in her entire time of knowing him.
"Yeah, I would think so," she replied. "Seems like that would have been the last thing they'd worry about, considering, but... if you want, you could get tested, just in case."
He looked at her, a hint of caution in his eye, and asked quietly, "And if it turned out that I can't?"
"Well, I'd be bummed out," she admitted, figuring there was no use in hiding that fact, "but it wouldn't change anything for me. There's a lot of options these days for couples with fertility issues. And even without all of that, I'd still be incredibly happy with you and David. I want babies, but I don't need them to be happy. Trust me."
"You sure?"
"Positive," she smiled. "And besides, if you ask me... I think it's more likely that you've probably got, like... how do I put this... crazy-fast, like, Olympic-grade, extremely functional super-sperm."
She hadn't maintained her previous whisper-time for that particular line, and she said it unintentionally loudly just as an old lady walking three yappy little teacup dogs walked past them. As Bucky laughed at her terms of choice, the old lady sent Summer a rather pointed glare, and her face turned bright red before she broke into her own giggles.
"... And I just basically yelled that for this entire city to hear," she said, covering her face as the old lady strolled away with her nose in the air.
Bucky pulled her against him with his arm around her shoulders, smiling against her hair. "Yes you did. But I appreciate the vote of confidence."
She groaned at her own ineptitude before dropping her hand from her face and peeking up at Bucky. "Yeah, you're welcome." They sat there for a few moments, both seeming to simply absorb everything they had talked about so far. Then a thought popped into Summer's head. "I wonder if the serum you got would affect a baby somehow."
"I don't know," Bucky said quietly. "I guess it could."
"I mean... I would guess that it wouldn't hurt the baby at all. Unless it like... grew too fast because of it, or... needed extra calories and nutrients and I couldn't... supply them."
She glanced up at Bucky and got the feeling that she wasn't exactly easing his mind. "But," she quickly added, "from what I've heard, Steve should be able to have kids fine. So you should too."
"But I don't have what Steve has," Bucky reminded her. "Same effects, but different stuff."
"I know. But I really doubt anything bad would happen. We can talk to a doctor and get this all figured out soon. But," she straightened up and looked him in the eye to make sure he was listening to her, "I mean it, though. No matter what, we'll be fine. I'm not worried."
He nodded, accepting her sincerity and not questioning it. "Okay."
"Okay," she smiled. Then she paused. "Does this mean I can get off the shot now? Or should we wait until we're married?"
It still felt incredibly strange to say the word married so casually, but she absolutely loved it. Bucky's expression became more thoughtful before he asked, "How long do you want to be engaged for?"
"Not that long," she replied without hesitation. "But planning a decent wedding takes awhile, even for a small one."
She paused, thinking, running through a number of possibilities in her head as Bucky waited for her to come up with a number. A year felt way too long, but a few months probably wasn't enough to find and order a dress and get everything else squared away. Maybe it was best to meet in the middle.
"Six months, maybe?" she suggested with a shrug.
Bucky nodded. "I can live with six months."
"Okay. And actually, I would be due for another shot around then, so... I can just get off of it then. And ask a doctor about everything first."
He nodded again. "Yeah."
She smiled again, the muscles in her face almost aching at this point with all of the excessive smiling she had been doing all day. "I still can't believe we're doing this. Can you believe we're really doing this?"
"Barely," he admitted, hand going to her face to brush his thumb along her cheek. "I love you."
She smiled even more and then leaned in close, kissing him sweetly and mentally squealing in pure bliss. She had meant what she said to him. No matter where they went from here and how much bigger their little family eventually got or if it remained the same, she would be incredibly happy and satisfied either way. There was no room in any of this for sadness or worrying, at least not today, and after she pulled away from the kiss to find them both grinning like morons, she all but leapt up to her feet and dragged him off the bench.
"Let's go find something to eat and walk around some more," she said happily, walking ahead of him until he caught up with her in one stride and kissed her again. She grinned more after pulling away and asked cheekily, "Hungry?"
"Always," he murmured, stealing a kiss on her neck before she giggled and pushed him away, keeping him at arm's length so he wouldn't devour her right there on the street.
"Come on. Food first, then you can try to distract me," she said, staying ahead of him as he scoffed at her words but went along with her anyway.
From there, they continued to traipse around the unfamiliar town on foot, and Summer convinced him to settle on the very first diner they came across when she realized how starving she suddenly was. She felt strangely lighter and more carefree now that they had talked through things and even set a timetable for the wedding, not to mention finally had the baby talk, and she was still utterly ecstatic over the adoption thing. Simply put, the day had been pretty damn near close to perfect, minus the whole motorcycle-induced panicking thing, but she could deal with that.
At the diner, they ate cheap but surprisingly tasty food, and Summer laughed while showing Bucky pictures Steve texted to her of the whole group at the movie theater. In one picture, David was drowning in popcorn and sandwiched between Steve and Wanda, his two favorite people present, and Sam was photobombing from behind with a devastatingly serious model-esque expression on his face. Then, in another, Steve was getting actively pelted with popcorn from Natasha, and while David was cracking up at this, Sam was still crashing the photo, this time Darcy's help as they both shot the camera their best I'm sexy and I know it grins.
By the time Summer and Bucky were done eating, they lingered at their table and chatted about less heavy and more frivolous things than they had on the bench, passing the time effortlessly and eventually almost losing track of it. The afternoon slowly turned into early evening and gray clouds covered up the previously brightly shining sun as they finally paid their bill and decided to leave, hand in hand and looking just as goofy going out as they had going in.
"So," she said as they stepped out on to the sidewalk again, heading back in the direction they had walked there in, "what kind of wedding would you want?"
He let out an exhale of a chuckle and shook his head as they walked. "The kind where we get married."
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but I mean like... outside or inside, at a church, or..."
"I really don't know," he admitted with a shrug. "I don't think I really have a preference. Whatever you want, I'll be fine with."
"If you say so," she sighed, shooting him a smile. Then, as they crossed a street and got started on the next block, something suddenly occurred to her for the first time. "Wait a minute. We're getting married."
"... Right."
She slowed down her steps and looked at him with a slightly shy little grin. "That means we get to have a honeymoon."
He grinned back, eyes shifting to something a bit more playful and mischievous than before. "You're right."
"Can you imagine... an entire week... completely to ourselves?" she asked, eyes a little wide as she considered the alien prospect. No kids, no Avengers, no work... just two of them completely alone in some place they would have all to themselves.
His arm was then around her waist, tugging her closer as his lips brushed teasingly at her ear. "I can definitely imagine that."
"You sure you want to wait a whole six months?" she asked, peeking up at him and grinning before she suddenly felt something wet on the tip of her nose.
They both looked up at the sky at the same time, just as another raindrop splashed on her face, this time right in her eye.
"Ow," she muttered, covering her eye with her hand just before Bucky started cursing. Two raindrops quickly became a million, and just like that, they were suddenly being quickly drenched in the unexpected downpour.
And they didn't even have a car to escape to. Fantastic.
Summer groaned in dismay and held one hand over her forehead to keep her eyes shielded as Bucky grabbed her hand and then started quickly dragging her somewhere, and she had no idea where he was taking her until they got there.
There ended up being an alleyway, one that wasn't completely safe from the rain but was much better than where they had been. Summer turned and looked out at the street, barely able to see anything through the rain, and she looked down at herself and fought the urge to slam her head into the wall. It just figured that the one day in her entire life that she'd chosen to wear a thin white dress with no bra on, this would happen.
"Well, this is great," she muttered before turning to Bucky and immediately freezing where she stood. She'd been so busy angsting over her current drenched status that she hadn't noticed his, and his was... well, it was worth staring at for awhile.
He stood a few minuscule feet away from her, a few stray pieces of soaked hair stuck to his forehead and his clothes as wet as hers was. His right hand wiped his eyes free of the water clouding them, and then he blinked a few times and looked at her in a way that made her freeze even more.
She felt like a wet dog, but apparently, that was the last thing she looked like. He ran his eyes from top to bottom, from her drenched hair to her feet in those small-heeled yellow shoes, and then his gaze lingered entirely too long at her chest for his own good.
She couldn't blame him, though, and she couldn't blame herself for taking him in just as greedily before grabbing him by his jacket in the very same moment that his hands shot out to her. Their lips met in a sudden, mutual frenzy, and then her back was slammed - somehow gently - into the alley wall, her body pinned between it and the very eager man suddenly kissing her like he needed her more than air.
His hands started out her hips, gripping them and pulling them against his as they kissed like mad, and then in seemingly no time at all he was bunching up the skirt of her dress and pulling it up her thighs.
"Whoa," she said breathlessly, breaking the kiss and suddenly noticing that her hands were under the front of his shirt. He stared at her, eyes wilder than she expected and breathing through parted lips as she managed to squeak out, "We're in public."
"Nobody can see us," he told her, and a quick glance that she stole into the rain outside of the alley served as confirmation of that. Then he was kissing her neck, one hand letting go of her dress to trail up her stomach and over her breast through her now see-through dress, and any reservations she might have had to begin with evaporated into smoke when he groaned against her wet skin and snuck his leather-clad thigh between her legs.
"Okay," she squeaked, one of her hands now tightly gripping his slick hair as his hand on her hips ground her against him. "Yeah, you're right, you're... definitely... uh..."
Then he lifted his head and grinned at her, casting one more look out of the alley to check that the rain hadn't let up before he kissed her lips again and slid his hand to one of the straps of her dress. He kissed her deeply, his tongue doing almost filthy things with hers as his flesh hand's fingertips slipped under the strap and into the top of her dress. He squeezed, and she moaned quietly into his mouth and ground harder on his thigh.
There was something about doing this almost in the public eye, almost where they could be caught, that made it even more thrilling than usual, and while she hadn't expected that, Summer relished it as much as she could tell Bucky was. He broke their kiss and yanked down one side of her dress, then ducked his head down and made her bite back a yelp while his mouth worked its magic on her now-very exposed breast. Her hips moved with greater urgency and she held his head close to her, then checked the rain one more time before letting her free hand go to his belt.
His headed lifted as she worked on getting the thing undone, and then he was helping her as he met her gaze and, to her delight, grinned softly at her. She grinned back and bit her lip, then giggled when he pushed her hand away and moved his under her dress, where he slid down her underwear with surprising gentleness. Then, just in case he had a sudden stupid moment and was about to toss the fabric on the dirty ground, she took them from his grip and then shoved them into a pocket inside of his jacket.
He merely grinned again and kissed her once more before making her giggle against his lips by picking her up and pinning her to the wall all over again. She wrapped her legs - still sore from the night before and already shaking a little - around his hips and held on to him tightly, alight with anticipation as he slid into position and then broke their kiss.
His forehead was against hers, his hair dripping with tiny droplets of rain and landing in various places on her as he opened his eyes and looked into hers with a heart-stopping intensity. She froze and stared at him, then lost her breath when he said in a low, lust-filled tone, "Don't you dare keep your voice down."
She gulped. "But..."
Keeping his eyes locked with hers, he shifted them just enough and her words died in her mouth, becoming a gasp that she couldn't hold back as he stopped teasing her. He kissed her again, enjoying the way her head dropped back against the wall and eyes closed as he moved in a deceptively leisurely pace, as if he had all the time in the world to torture her.
He leaned in and brushed his lips along her ear, saying in that same maddeningly dark tone, "Nobody else can hear you. Nobody's even out there." He kissed under her ear, along her neck and then back up again as his pace slowly increased, noises of his own escaping in the process. He never could keep himself quiet, she was well aware.
It was pure, exquisite torture, made all the more incredible by the thrill and the slight fear caused by where they were doing this, and she was putty in his hands. He knew this, working her expertly with his body and hand as he coaxed her with words spoken sweetly and seductively into her ear at just the right moment.
His voice was shaky and his breath came in heavy pants as she almost lost her mind. "Come on, baby."
That single term of endearment whispered into her ear at these sorts of moments would be the death of her, she was sure of it.
Moving faster and so close now to his own end that she could feel it, he sounded a little rougher and more desperate as he then said, "Say my name, Summer, please..."
And just like that, it didn't matter where they were, whether they were in the privacy of their own room or semi-exposed in an alleyway during a rainstorm, because she trusted him with everything she had within her and couldn't help but obey. And the best part of it all was how tightly he held her and moaned out his end against her neck, every bit as lost to her as she was to him, just like always.
For something rather quick and sudden in an alleyway of all places, it left Summer feeling as warm and fuzzy and loved as she would have had this happened back home in Bucky's bed. In fact, as they recovered and he gently and reluctantly set her back down on her feet following several long, quiet moments of bliss, she felt his chest rumble against hers with a barely audible but deep laugh.
"What?" she asked in a hoarse voice - how loudly had she said his name? - smiling dumbly as he straightened up and started fixing her dress for her, gently tucking her breast back inside.
His eyes met hers and his grin widened, his breath still coming heavy as he shook his head and replied, "I can't believe we just did this here."
"You can't?" she said, slightly dumbfounded. He fixed his pants as she said with a smile, "This was your idea."
"I know. I'm a bad influence," he grinned, straightening out his jacket and then pushing his hair off of his forehead. "Sure you still want to marry me?"
She rolled her eyes, grabbing one of the sides of jacket and pulling it open to retrieve the underwear she'd stashed there. "Sure you want to marry a girl who just moaned a guy's name embarrassingly loudly in the middle of a downtown alleyway?"
"As long as it's my name," he grinned back as she slipped the underwear back on. Then he slid his jacket of and draped it over her, which she was extremely thankful for, considering the rather sheer state of her dress at the moment.
"Thanks," she said, sliding her arms through the too-long sleeves, though they surprisingly weren't too terribly oversized.
He nodded. "You ready to head back out?"
She glanced out of the alley and saw that the rain had died down quite a bit, which was incredibly convenient. Hopefully it would stay that way and they wouldn't get rained on the whole way home.
"Yeah," she replied, smiling up at him. "Now that I can barely walk..."
He grinned back and kissed her again, holding her to his side after he turned and started walking them out of the alley. "I'd say I'm sorry, but..."
"... But lying's not your thing," she finished for him, leaning on him and letting him help her walk because her legs, especially her recovering one, really did hurt. But it was worth it.
The rain stayed away as they made their way home. She ended up enjoying the ride home much more than she had the ride there, holding on to him slightly less tightly and laying her head on his back as she watched the clouds in the sky break just enough to watch the sunset in a way she never had before.
All in all, not a bad first day of her engagement. Not bad at all.
Much, much later that night, Summer couldn't sleep. Her day had ended as lovely as it had began, with herself and Bucky putting David to bed and taking turns reading him stories until he fell asleep. Then she and Bucky had a little more than an hour to themselves before he slipped out his window and headed out into the streets, leaving her with nothing to do but lay there in his bed and think. The nice thing was, all of the things she was thinking about were good for a change.
Still, she had no hope of falling asleep anytime soon, so she got up and wandered into the kitchen for a drink of something, thinking she would surely be the only one up at this hour. But she wasn't.
Natasha was there, sitting alone at the table and drinking what looked to be a cup of tea. She smiled as soon as Summer came into view, then said, "And here I thought you'd be passed out from all the sex I can only imagine you and Barnes have had today."
Summer smiled a bit sheepishly, heading to a cabinet to grab a cup. "Actually... it wasn't too many times. We do have some self control."
Then Summer immediately cracked up at herself, because they really didn't, and everybody knew it. Including Natasha, who simply gave her a look over her mug.
"Okay, fine," Summer replied, ending up settling on a boring old glass of water from the sink. After she filled it up, she turned around and headed for the table, adding, "But no, I can't sleep because I've got so much to do and think about now. It's insane."
"The joys of wedding planning," Nat smiled as Summer took a seat. "Just take it slow and don't overthink it. You've got time."
"Six months," Summer replied, sipping the water. "But like... I've gotta think about dresses. I don't even know what kind of dress I want."
"Then trying them on will be all the more fun," Natasha shrugged.
"I hope so. Will you come with me when I go? I'm gonna desperately need your opinions."
"Oh of course," Natasha replied lightly. "It'll be fun. I've actually never helped anyone pick out a wedding dress before."
"Really?" Summer asked with a smile. Then she worked up her courage and asked Natasha something that she was pretty sure would be impossible to misinterpret. "Ever been a maid of honor?"
Natasha slowly set her mug down, and Summer watched as a real, genuine smile spread across the woman's face. There might have been some surprise there too. "Can't say that I have."
"First time for everything, though, right?" Summer grinned, expression hopeful.
"If you're sure," Natasha nodded.
"Oh I am. Just... you know... try not to outshine me too much," she half-joked.
"I don't think you'll have to worry about that," Natasha shook her head. "Got a date set yet?"
"No date yet, but... soon," Summer smiled. "I am just... ridiculously excited."
"Enjoying being engaged?"
"Oh yeah," Summer blushed before pausing and blurting, "We had sex in an alley earlier."
Natasha paused her mug halfway to her mouth and raised one eyebrow. "Nice. Alley sex is always fun."
"Yeah..." Summer sighed and leaned her head on her palm, unknowingly chewing her lip as she briefly got lost in thought.
"What is it?" Natasha asked. "I can see you overthinking."
"Oh, well..." Summer sighed and eventually said, "Well, the thing is, I've been thinking, and the wedding night is supposed to be this big special thing, but... we've already done pretty much everything." She paused. "Well, everything I'm willing to do."
"I'm sure it'll still be special," Nat assured her.
"But will it?" Summer asked. "I mean... I don't know. I wish I could do something special for him. Like, if I was you, I'd just like... I don't know. Do some super sexy burlesque dance and blow his mind, but..."
Natasha didn't say a word. Summer looked up at her, saw the glint in her eye and the faint smirk growing on her face, and Summer's eyes widened. She knew what that look meant.
Summer had only one word to say. "No."
Natasha raised her eyebrows and cocked her head. "You could."
Summer shook her head adamantly. "I couldn't."
"I could teach you."
Oh God. "I'd suck."
"Not with enough practice."
Summer began to desperately grasp at reasons why this definitely wouldn't work. "But my leg..."
Natasha shrugged. "It would be great therapy for it."
Summer began to sink down in her seat slightly, groaning as she said, "But I just... I can't, Nat. I can't. I mean, stripping and stuff?" Pure terror overcame her at the very thought.
"Look," Natasha leaned forward, "he drools over you with your hair in a knot and no makeup and sweatpants on. Right?"
"... Right," Summer agreed cautiously.
"So just imagine what he would do if on your wedding night, you sat him down in a chair, then put on a song and danced for him. And yes," Natasha smirked, "stripped."
Summer simply stared at the other woman and shook her head, her eyes huge.
"He'd never forget it," Natasha said. "And he definitely wouldn't be expecting it."
Summer gulped. "... You really think I could do that?"
"You can do anything you want to do," Natasha replied, fully believing what she was saying.
Summer couldn't help but smile, because Natasha had just unknowingly quoted Bucky himself when Summer had told him the same thing regarding the very same topic. During that undercover op at the burlesque club, she had admired the courage and talent of the ladies while also saying that she could never do it herself. Bucky had simply looked at her and told her that she could do anything she wanted to.
... Maybe he and Natasha were on to something. Maybe?
"How would we... start?" Summer asked in a small voice.
"Well, we would come up with a routine. You'd need to start practicing right away. Three times a week, maybe more once we get closer to the wedding day. Just to make sure. It's a very choreographed type of dance and you'll need to know it inside and out. But all of that preparation will help your nerves, because it'll all be planned out and there won't be any surprises."
"... Oh God. Okay."
...Could she really do this?
"It'll be fun," Natasha said. "It'll help with your control and coordination, plus it'll be good for your leg. And once you do it for him... he'll never be the same."
Summer couldn't believe she was considering this. But... honestly, when it came down to it... why the hell not?
Natasha was right. She was always right. And she was offering to teach her.
She did want to make the wedding night special, after all. And if this wasn't special, not to mention a fantastic gift to her future husband, then she didn't know what was.
Well, you only live once, right?
"So, what do you say?" Natasha asked.
Summer swallowed down the fear and nagging insecurities telling her to run the other way, and instead felt her face start to heat up with what had to be a particularly vibrant blush as she sighed and said, "You know what? Let's do it."
Natasha smirked and leaned back in her seat. "Well, this is going to be fun."
Summer giggled nervously and then covered her face with her hands, having no idea what she had just gotten herself into, but at the same time, she was pretty sure that one day she'd look back and be extremely thankful that she had the guts to just do it.
If it wasn't before, her wedding day was definitely going to be one interesting affair now.
A/N: sorry for the slightly late update! I just finished this chapter a few hours ago lol, because for some reason this chapter was extremely hard to get out. But, thanks to the help and ever-awesome ideas of midnightwings96, I managed to finish it ALMOST on time. Thank you guys SO MUCH for reading and reviewing, and for all the lovely feedback for last week's chapter :) This chapter here is a bit filler-ish, but all the ones in the near further aren't, so yay! Lol. Oh and! If any of you are in the mood for a Steve/OC story, check out Mooka333's It's Been a Long, Long Time. She's a lovely writer and lovely person, and her stuff is totally worth a read :D Thank you guys again, and I will see you all next week! :D