Once the judge had set Bucky's bail, Tony was ready to post it within the hour. Bucky didn't come home that night, however, because the lead investigator on his case argued that it would take at least a few days to get the house arrest and surveillance systems set up that the bail was conditional upon. This in turn led Summer to mentally throw a fit, because then Bucky would miss his daughter's first birthday and it was highly unfair because regardless of the extenuating circumstances, they had the money and therefore he should be allowed to come home.
So then, the next morning when Matt and Foggy told Summer that Bucky for sure would not be home for two more days, she was ready to collapse into a puddle of tears before Natasha suggested something that saved the day.
"Just celebrate her birthday two days late," she told Summer. "She's a year old. She doesn't know what day it is. And this way he doesn't have to miss it and she'll have both of you there."
Of course. Summer had then praised Natasha's genius and unfailing common sense, and with Esteban and Nicolo's help, delayed the party. It was a compromise, yes, but so was life in general and she accepted that. She then focused all of her energy on getting everything ready for Bucky to come home.
She reorganized their room, hanging and putting away his clothes and other belongings that she had been avoiding doing since the thought of it had been too unbearably sad until then. But now that he was coming home, she wanted everything to be perfect and him to be as comfortable as possible, since she imagined that his mental state wouldn't be the best and he would need time to adjust. And that was fine. Anything he needed, she was more than happy to provide.
And so, she sat tight for two days. Matt and Foggy made sure that Bucky knew when he was coming home as well, and meanwhile, on TV and the Internet, people reacted to the televised arraignment.
While there were a handful of those who felt that the judge had displayed a bias in the defense's favor, most felt that his comments were fair, but the setting of bail was met with far more shock. Talking heads wrote it off as special treatment and the $15 million price tag as laughable, since clearly Tony Stark was bankrolling the whole operation and it was all a crock. Others who disagreed noted some rather notorious criminals who had also been granted bail in the past, and they considered the terms of bail more than fair. Still others wondered aloud if all the Avengers weren't all going on trial in a very real sense.
It was a fair point. Much of the commentary surrounding Bucky and the coming trial wasn't even centered on his crimes themselves or his own complicated history, but rather the entire team and their role in the world. Their very existence and operation in the field challenged the global law-enforcement establishment and left a lot of people wondering just how trustworthy they really were, especially following the Ultron debacle and the revelation that a very wanted fugitive had been operating on their team for nearly two years.
Summer found it all incredibly frustrating. Critics of the Avengers were trying to paint Bucky's case as one that could potentially bring down the whole team and give rise to measures that could greatly impede or altogether end their work, and that was fair to neither the team as whole or Bucky.
It would only serve as further fuel for Bucky's inevitable guilt, Summer knew, and there were moments where the magnitude of it all would hit her and she would wonder if they really could make it out of this and come out the other side at least mostly intact. Even if Bucky was eventually acquitted - and that was a massive if - what would reliving the horrors of his past and dragging everyone who cared about him through the mud do to him once it was all over?
If she spent too long thinking of such things, she knew that eventually she'd be paralyzed by worry and anxiety, so she kept busy. And when the FBI went in and out of the tower over the next two days, setting up the perimeter that Bucky would be confined to, she didn't mind because she knew that it meant she was one step closer to getting Bucky back.
And when that day came, she bounded out of bed with more energy than she'd had in weeks and piled in a car with Steve, Matt, and Foggy, and rushed across town to finally bring her husband home. It would be a surprise for the kids, since her irrational fear of telling them that their Daddy was coming home only to have everything suddenly fall apart and crush their hopes kept her from telling them, but she was pretty sure they wouldn't hold it against her.
The whole way there, she prayed that her fears were indeed silly and that everything would go as planned. And for once, they actually did.
Upon arriving at the FBI building, the group was led to a small waiting area. They were instructed to wait there and that Bucky would be brought to them there, so they each sat and patiently waited as they were told.
Summer was so nervous and amped up that she feared that she may shoot up through the ceiling and explode at any given minute. Sitting down by her feet was a bag she'd brought for Bucky, containing clothes and shoes for him and, because she was Summer, snacks like muffins she'd made and a few other things he liked. She was aware that he probably wouldn't want to eat anything on the very short ride home, but she couldn't help herself.
"So," she said to Matt and Foggy, trying to start a conversation before she lost her mind, "are you guys coming back to the tower with us after we get him?"
"Well, we need to make sure that he gets settled in properly," Matt replied. "He'll need to get a monitoring device on as soon as we get there, and we'll also be making sure that you guys aren't being overly monitored."
"You mean like make sure they don't secretly set up a camera in our bedroom?" Summer asked.
"Among other things," Matt nodded.
"Okay. Yeah. Good idea, because the last thing I need is an accidental sex tape leak." She then paused, cringed, and said, "I'm sorry, I babble when I'm nervous."
Foggy laughed and coughed at the same time, and Steve smiled put an affectionate hand on her arm. "It's okay. We'll make sure there's no cameras in there."
"Definitely not the kind of public relations you want," Matt said with a faint grin, and Summer rolled her eyes at herself before laughing and shaking her head.
"See, this is why I should never give interviews to anyone," Summer said. "I'd probably say the stupidest things and end up getting ripped to shreds."
"I'm not sure about that," Matt replied. "Given how public this case is, you're going to have start thinking about how to handle the press. You can't hide from it, and it could end up working to your advantage."
"... Yeah, but maybe that should be left to Steve," Summer said with a shrug. She then looked at Steve and said, "You're so much better than me at... speaking, in general."
"You sure about that? You're the writer," he pointed out, and before she could reply with all the reasons why being able to write and verbally speak were two completely different things, the sounds of footsteps approaching down the hallway behind the closed doors of the waiting room stole both of their attentions.
It took all of Summer's self control to stay seated and not jump up to press her face against the door to peer through it, but she somehow managed to stay put. Then the footsteps stopped and the doors opened, and a few heavily armed guards walked Bucky through them.
It was the first time that she'd seen him unrestrained since the day that they'd taken him. He was still in prison clothes and his hair had grown a few inches during his incarceration, but he looked a little better that day, undoubtedly because he was indescribably relieved to be going home.
The minute that his eyes met hers, Summer's self control flew out the window and she leapt out of her chair and ran the short distance to him. She hit him with enough force that he swayed back for only just a second as her arms wrapped around him and her face buried itself in his neck. She hadn't gotten to so much as brush his hand in two months, and she'd been waiting so long to hold him again that it almost didn't feel real.
His arms almost immediately rose up and closed around her, hugging her back lightly at first and then nearly crushing her to him. One of his hands went to the back of her head and his eyes closed as his nose skimmed her hair, taking in the familiar, comforting scent of it, and when Summer managed to pull away, she only did so she could take his face in her hands and kiss him.
The kiss was short but more emotional than any in recent memory, an expression of everything they couldn't say to each other in a roomful of other people. When it was over she smiled and still held her hands on his face, her eyes shining with unshed happy tears as she said, "I'm sorry, I just... I couldn't help myself, it's been so long..."
He nodded, his right hand briefly cupping her cheek as he looked at her with eyes that were haunted but, in that moment, so happy to have her back in his arms and be free that his small smile wasn't the least bit forced. "I know. I love you."
"I love you too," she whispered back before kissing him one last time, neither of them caring one bit about the guards looking on or what they might have thought. They'd earned their happy reunion, as short as it was, and they soaked it up like water in the middle of a desert.
Summer, after forcing herself to pull away from him, glanced at the guards and then reluctantly took a step away from Bucky, though she kept her hand linked with his - her right with his left.
One of the guards handed Summer a plastic bag, muttering, "Personal effects." She nodded and took it, and then another guard said, "You'll be escorted to the tower by a few of our agents who will fit you with a monitoring device and make sure the terms of bail are being met."
The guards then left them there to stand outside of the doors, and the minute that they closed, Summer let out the breath she'd been holding. She also let go of Bucky's hand so that Steve could properly hug him next.
As Steve squeezed his best friend and muttered irrational apologies that Bucky immediately shot down, Summer glanced down at the bag in her hands and peeked inside of it. His clothes from the day of his arrest were in there, along with his phone that had been undoubtedly wiped for data, a hair tie, his shoes, and his wedding ring. She plucked the ring out, then set the bag down next to the one that she'd brought for him on the floor.
Steve pulled away from Bucky, giving his back a few pats and looking perhaps like he was trying not to get overly emotional himself. Then Summer walked quietly back to Bucky's side, grasped his right hand and slid the wedding band back on to his finger. She looked up at him after, and his jaw clenched as he looked from her eyes to the ring and then back to her.
She smiled at him, then linked her hand back with his and gave it a soft squeeze. He then turned towards Matt and Foggy and told them quietly, "Thank you."
"It's our pleasure," Matt replied with a nod. "We're as surprised as you are that they took our deal."
"It's true. It was mostly my idea, by the way," Foggy added with a slightly cheeky smile. Bucky almost smiled back.
"We should get going," Steve said. "Get the stuff at the tower over with so you can settle back in."
"Oh," Summer said, letting go of Bucky's hand to grab the bag that she'd brought. "I brought you clothes. And food. I don't know if you're hungry, but just in case, I brought muffins and a granola bar and... yeah."
That brought a smile to Bucky's face. He took the bag from her and pulled out his clothes, then started changing without a second thought. She was glad, because she couldn't stand one more minute looking at the standard-issue prison clothes.
Once he looked like himself again and was in jeans, a black shirt and a dark blue jacket, Summer also pulled off an extra hair tie from her wrist and handed it to him. He took it with an audible sigh of relief. He was clearly very sick of his long hair, and she couldn't blame him.
"Ready?" Steve asked once Bucky's hair was tied up and out of his face at last.
"God, yes," Bucky replied, reaching out to take Summer's hand one more time.
On their way out, Bucky got a certain sad look on his face and then said so quietly that only she could hear, "I missed Adelaide's birthday."
Summer shook her head. "No you didn't. Her party's tonight. She doesn't know the difference and I wasn't gonna have you miss it."
His eyes softened, her words surprising him, and he asked softly, "Do they know I'm coming home?"
She shook her head. "It's a surprise."
Their brief conversation then ended when they walked out of the doors and were then escorted back towards the garage, but Bucky's expression remained hard to read. He seemed relieved and happy to be going home of course but equally guarded, like maybe it was all an illusion or something that the courts would revoke out of the blue and leave everybody even more devastated than they already had been. Summer couldn't blame him, because in the back of her mind, she had the same fears.
But she stayed focused and stayed positive, not letting go of Bucky's hand once as they made their way through the building. Once they got to the garage and they all got inside of the car, she and Bucky and Steve took the backseat - which was thankfully roomy - and Foggy drove while Matt took the passenger seat. Then two cars full of agents and techs followed them on to the road and towards the tower.
Bucky stayed quiet, his eyes drifting from either the city to Summer or Steve, and the short ride was nearly silent. Summer was bursting with questions for him - how did he feel, was he hungry, had they fed him, did they hurt him, had he been sleeping, were the nightmares back? - but she kept it all inside, not wanting to overwhelm him or bring up anything unpleasant. Mostly, she just wanted to get him home, get the stupid ankle bracelet on him, and then finally get the damn FBI out of their hair.
And that was exactly what happened. They arrived at the tower, led the agents up the private elevator and to the floor that they lived on, and the entire process ended up being fairly quick. With the kids out with Darcy for lunch, the agents calibrated the device and then attached it to Bucky's ankle, explained where he could and could not go with it, and what would happen should he breach the conditions. They also explained that they had access to surveillance of the common areas of the floor but would not be watching around the clock - rather, they would only check in if they had a reason to, like the ankle monitor giving an alert.
Once everything was explained and all the necessary things were in place, the agents left. Tony had been there to "supervise" it all, and as Bucky sat at the kitchen table with a surprisingly sleek and waterproof (and bulletproof) ankle monitor on his right leg, Summer finally let herself breathe.
He was home. He was okay. He was no longer suffering alone. She could care for him again and they could face this fight together instead of through a glass window once a week.
First thing was first: kiss him again, tell him how happy she was to have him home, and then fix him his first real meal and cup of coffee in two months.
"Well, that could have gone worse."
Bucky glanced up at Tony, who had been the one to utter that sentence, and he found it hard to believe that any of this was real. He was at the tower, no longer in a dark cell underground with the world's smallest cot and nothing to do but think until he went crazy. He wasn't free, exactly, but he was safe and the smell of coffee and pancakes were in the air.
And it was all in large part thanks to Tony himself.
Bucky watched quietly as Steve and Tony talked, Matt or Foggy chiming in here or there, and it struck him how very instrumental each of them had been to him being allowed to go home. Steve was campaigning in the press on his behalf, his lawyers were dealing with the headache of the courts and the FBI, and Tony... Tony had paid $15 million to post bail for his own father's killer to be allowed to go home and be reunited with his family while he awaited trial.
How could such a thing ever be repaid? It simply couldn't be.
And behind him, Summer, a woman who he would never deserve and was nothing short of a goddess in his eyes, was bustling about fixing him food and working so very clearly hard on helping him feel okay again.
He didn't deserve her. He didn't deserve any of them.
Steve's phone rang, drawing him away for a moment. That was when Tony glanced Bucky's way, paused for a moment as if thinking, and then walked over to sit at the table in a chair next to him.
"So," Tony said, "hanging in there?"
Bucky nodded. "Yeah."
"Good. I do know what it's like being stuck in a dark cave for awhile. Starts to really screw with your mind."
Bucky stared at the other man for a moment before furrowing his brows slightly, wondering how in the world to say what he wanted to say. He ended up taking the simple route. "Thank you."
"For the giant check I wrote the government? Yeah," Tony nodded. "No problem."
Bucky shook his head slightly and replied quietly, "I never would have asked you to do that. You didn't have to. You -"
"Yeah, and a couple years ago I would have let you rot in there. Funny how things change, huh?"
That was when Summer came over and set down an enormous plate in front of Bucky, along with a mug of coffee that immediately made his mouth water once the aroma wafted up to his nose.
Tony looked at the food and then asked Summer expectantly, "Where's mine?"
She smiled and simply gave him a big hug instead. Tony chuckled and told Bucky over Summer's shoulder, "This is what she does now. Hugs me. Constantly. It's getting exhausting, honestly."
"Yeah right," Summer chuckled, pulling away and then turning her attention back to Bucky. "Darcy's on her way back with the kids, so... maybe ten more minutes."
That gave him just enough time to scarf down all the food and get some of his energy back before he was at last reunited with their two kids. He nodded, and then Summer looked at Matt and Foggy and asked, "Pancakes?"
Both of their replies came simultaneously.
"That's not necessary, but thank you."
"Oh please, yes."
Summer laughed, eyeing Matt first and then Foggy, who glanced at Matt and shrugged, "What? I'm hungry, and do you know how long it's been since I've had homemade pancakes?"
"We have work to do," Matt said, turning back towards Summer, "and I wouldn't want us to impose."
"Okay, you're aware that you two are a huge part of the reason why I have my husband back and he's not gonna miss our baby's first birthday, right?" Summer asked, ready to not take no for an answer. "Sit down and eat. Please. It is the absolute very least I can do."
She talked them into it, and as they made their way to the table, Summer assured Tony he'd get served next and then bustled back off towards the pancakes which, thankfully, she had made the day before and only needed to reheat. Bucky watched her with a quiet admiration, as always aware of her ability to keep going and take care of people even when he could tell how little she'd been taking care of herself.
She was visibly thinner than she'd been two months ago, and when he had hugged her back at the FBI building, he had felt how bony she'd grown in such a short amount of time. He could imagine all too easily her going about her day, taking care of the kids and making phone calls and dealing with the mess that he'd made when he had been arrested, barely stopping to eat a full meal once throughout the day. He knew how she got, how her anxiety could sap her appetite and make her simply forget to eat, but he had been hoping that Steve or Natasha would have kept an eye on her and made sure that she took care of herself. Then again, they had all been busy and chances were that they had tried.
He wasn't at all surprised when Steve ended up at the table with his own big plate of food, all of the men eating and complimenting Summer on her cooking skills - Foggy especially, who was in heaven - while she sat next to Bucky with just a cup of coffee in her hands.
He was halfway through his own plate when he became genuinely full. He had been refusing food most of the time, like an idiot, and his stomach had shrunk considerably during his time away. So, he slid his plate to Summer and gave her a look that said eat this and do not even attempt to argue with me.
She looked at him in surprise and then shook her head. "Oh, no, no, I'm fine. I'm not hungry."
He stared at her both incredulously and knowingly, and he was about to argue when her phone buzzed with a new test. She quickly read it and then smiled at him excitedly. "Darcy's here."
Tabling his scolding for a later time, he straightened up and felt a sudden burst of his own anxiety fly through his stomach. He'd been missing David and Adelaide so badly, torturously imagining in his solitude what it would be like to come home to their hugs and Adelaide's squeals and David's big brown eyes saying what his verbal words never did. But now that the moment was here, what if it went completely differently? Adelaide was so tiny still, just barely one - what if she had forgotten him, or at the very least needed to warm up to him after being separated for so long? What if David was mad at him for leaving, what if -
"You okay, Bucky?" Steve asked, breaking him out of his sudden panic.
Bucky nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine."
He wasn't, but everyone was well aware of that already. Summer stood up and took his hand, guiding him up to his feet as she hurried towards the elevator. She stopped halfway there and then told him to wait there before she continued on, and he put his hands in his pockets and waited impatiently.
He watched as the elevator doors opened, his eyes on Summer as she knelt down, probably in front of David, and spoke to him in hushed tones. Above her, he could see Adelaide's foot hanging off of Darcy's hip - clad in a purple sparkly boot - but that was all, and he was suddenly so nervous he could hardly move.
But then Summer straightened up and was guiding David forward, covering his eyes while Darcy did the same with Adelaide. Summer grinned at Bucky, and he managed to just grin back before she and Darcy had walked half the way to him. Then she said "Surprise," and pulled her hands away at the same time as Darcy pulled hers from Adelaide's eyes.
David dropped the drink he'd been carrying to the floor in shock. His eyes were as big as saucers, and from Darcy's arms, Adelaide took one look at Bucky and pointed at him and squeaked, "Dada!"
David started running as soon as he realized that Bucky was real and not some bizarre figment of his imagination. Adelaide squirmed and pushed at Darcy until she put her down, and then all of Bucky's momentary fears vanished as both kids came running to him. He knelt down, smiled and felt his eyes start to get watery as he held out his arms and caught David in them first.
David launched himself at him so fiercely Bucky was briefly astonished by the kid's strength. And then, just behind him, Adelaide was running on her much shorter legs and, much like her mother had done on multiple occasions, she tripped and hit the floor. There was a collective oh no! from everyone, including Bucky, but the tough little girl merely giggled and got right back up, then jumped into Bucky's other waiting arm.
And then, for a few blessed moments in time, everything was all right. He didn't think about the trial or the challenges that he faced, the hardships that were only beginning and the ways in which everything would only get more difficult as time went on. None of that mattered for a little while, because he was back where he belonged and he had his two precious kids back in his arms, and he felt like he'd just gained back two irreplaceable pieces of himself that he could hardly breathe without.
He kissed David's forehead, through his hair, then grinned down at Adelaide as she looked up at him and kept chanting dada over and over. He kissed her next, on her cheek and then her forehead, and he squeezed them both and told them that he loved them and had missed them more than words could say.
As he held them close, Bucky looked up at Summer and grinned at the happy, teary smile that graced her face as she looked on. Behind him, back at the table, Steve and Tony were watching as well, and Foggy told Matt, "If you could see this right now, you might die from the cuteness."
"I can hear it," Matt replied with a small smile. "The little girl is very... squeaky."
"I do think she's broken her previous squeak record," Tony noted. "This is even surpassing that one time I tried to bribe her into letting me hold her by giving her pixie sticks."
"She stayed up until four in the morning," Steve recalled. "Summer almost killed you."
"Yeah. Think I've made up for it, though," Tony said, and Steve wholeheartedly agreed.
Meanwhile, David finally let go of Bucky and then let him stand back up. David turned back to Summer and started rapid-fire signing, and she fought to keep up with it and then smiled, "Yep, he's staying home with us now. He still has to go to court and it's going to be like it is on TV when someone goes on trial for something bad they did, but he gets to live with us while it happens."
David understood then, as best as he could, and then he turned around and beamed up at Bucky before grabbing his hand and dragging him away. Bucky, holding a still-babbling and incredibly happy Adelaide close, grinned at Summer and then let David drag him down the hallway and towards their room.
"Oh I know what he's gonna show you," Summer smiled as she followed them. "You're not gonna see this one coming."
Bucky glanced at her in curiosity just before David threw open the door to Summer's room and brought them all inside. Bucky looked around, finding the room mainly as it had looked back when they had lived in the tower before, but his attention was stolen by a little black blob of fur uncurling right in the center of the bed and then looking up at them with his bright green eyes as if to say who dares to disturb my nap?
"... It's a cat," Bucky said, stating the obvious.
David raced off to grab the cat, and Summer explained, "Yeah... he found it outside one day, with Darcy. I wasn't sure about it at first, but the kitty's helped him out a lot. It's been a good distraction for him and Addie. They absolutely adore him."
To prove her point, David then came back with the kitty in his arms, smiling proudly as he held him up for Bucky to see. Bucky eyed the thing a bit warily, and then he reached out with his free hand, his left, to pet the kitty's head. The coldness of it made the kitty flinch, but then he got used to it and purred happily, closing his eyes.
"Oh good, he likes you," Summer said. "He's very picky about people. He doesn't like Steve and he absolutely despises Tony. Like he hisses if Tony even looks at him."
"What's his name?" Bucky asked, still not really sold but, if the kitty made his kids happy, that was all he needed to know to gladly tolerate it.
"... We haven't figured that out yet," Summer shrugged. "We just call him Kitty right now."
"Looks like a spoiled brat," Bucky chuckled as he pulled his hand away and was immediately met with the kitty's eyes opened and shooting him a look like excuse me, I didn't say you could stop. Definitely a spoiled brat.
Adelaide then started squirming to get down, and as soon as Bucky set her down she grabbed the kitty from her brother and snuggled it before sitting down to play with it. Bucky sat down on the edge of the bed and Summer did as well, both of them watching the kids play and show off how awesome the kitty was. Summer's hand quietly slipped into Bucky's, and he turned and looked at her to find a soft, gentle smile on her face as her fingers twined with his.
"I can't even tell you how happy I am to have you home," she told him quietly. "I'm just... I'm so happy."
He smiled at her, a little smile that felt strange to him after two months of convincing himself of the lack of hope and the futility of dreaming of home. But now he was here, at the tower with his kids playing at his feet and his wife at his side, and he could still hardly believe that it was real.
He kissed her, softly and briefly but enough to let her know that he felt just the same as she did. She then laid her head on his shoulder, and he wondered being allowed home like this wouldn't just end up being even more cruel if he was eventually sentenced to death or life in prison. Maybe it was, but it ultimately didn't matter because he wouldn't have dared chosen any differently.
Adelaide looked up at him and smiled, then whooped with laughter when the kitty playfully jumped at her. She fell backwards, giggling all the while, and Bucky let himself laugh for the first time in ages. It was good to be back. It was much more than merely good.
Summer was happy. She was all abuzz with newfound energy and cheer, and it only grew when Nicolo and Estsban arrived ready to help her transform their floor into a little girl's birthday paradise.
The two men were nearly literal lifesavers, arriving with two cakes - one giant one for everybody and one little one for Adelaide to smash her pretty little face into - and several huge bags full of only the very best decorations. Everything was pink and covered in princesses, which would likely make David shudder but would utterly dazzle his sister.
The three of them got to work while Bucky kept the kids inside of their room. As they worked on blowing up balloons and hanging the birthday banner and an obscene number of streamers, the party's guests began slowly trickling in. First there was Sam and Wanda, the first to come home that day from working at the facility, and Clint wasn't far behind. Tony and Pepper were set to come by later, and Summer had made Matt and Foggy swear to come back for it after they had left a few hours before. Steve had headed out for a bit, and the last to arrive would likely be Natasha, who had been holding down the fort for Steve at the facility all day. Paul and Sarah along with their entire brood of kids were on their way.
Summer's enormous pile of gifts for Adelaide were all on top of the equally enormous kitchen table, which was also where the banner and bulk of the balloons were hanging from. Everyone who came brought a gift as well, by the time that everybody would get there, she would have a small mountain of gifts to unwrap. That was if she even wanted to unwrap them - babies were tricky like that.
"Once again," Esteban said after everything was finished and the three of them were standing back to admire their good work, "I astound myself with my own brilliance."
"... All you did was blow up balloons and help me hang up the banner," Nicolo pointed out.
"Excuse you," Esteban retorted, "I did all the shopping and picked everything out."
"I found the cake lady who gave us the little baby cake for free," Nicolo argued.
"You know what," Summer smiled, putting her arms around both men, "you're both amazing and I could kiss you both for helping me so much. Actually, I think I will." She then laid two smackers on each of their cheeks and then hugged them tighter as they laughed. "There. Now where is everybody?"
"Right here," Clint said, hovering over the big cake and shoving his hand behind his back, totally not like he had been about to steal a taste of the icing or anything. He slowly backed away after Summer shot him the stink eye.
Meanwhile, Sam was shaking one of Adelaide's presents and listening to its contents rattle. Summer looked at him in confusion and he said, "What? I wanna know what's in everybody's presents."
Summer grinned and then began walking around, double checking that everything was ready and in its correct spot. She couldn't get the party started until Steve, Natasha, and Paul were all there, so she took the bit of downtime to clean up the mess, have a snack, and catch up with Esteban and Nicolo, who she hadn't seen as much of lately as she would have liked.
Then, nearly an hour later, Paul arrived first with his big fat family, and then Steve and Natasha also returned. Since all the critical people were back, Summer excitedly dashed off to her room and burst inside of it. What she found was so cute that she could have simply expired where she stood.
On the bed, the birthday girl herself was curled up on her father's chest, taking a nap, and snuggled on Bucky's other side was the kitty. David was sitting next to him, petting the kitty and watching a movie on the TV, which Bucky had also been watching until Summer had opened the door.
"Aw," she smiled quietly, stepping inside and carefully walking to the bed. Bucky grinned up at her, clearly happy with the arrangement, and she said, "Almost everybody's here. We're ready."
"Doesn't look like she is," Bucky replied, looking down at the blissfully peaceful face of his daughter.
Summer nodded, touching Adelaide's little fat cheek and then glancing at the kitty. "Dang. Someone really does like you."
"He just climbed up here and fell asleep," Bucky shrugged. "I don't get it."
"Believe it or not," Summer grinned, "you are extremely likable. But we've gotta wake this baby up. Otherwise she'll be up all night."
Bucky nodded, and then he sat up fully and they began the rather daunting task of waking a happily sleeping baby. First they tried talking and gentle jostling; she merely snuggled closer to Bucky and stayed fast asleep. Summer then tried changing her diaper, since that normally pissed her off enough to wake her, but no dice. She even changed her clothes and dressed her in the special pale pink and aqua blue birthday tutu dress that she'd bought for the party, but she remained all but dead to the world. It was time to break out the big guns.
The big guns was the "Everything is Awesome" song from The Lego Movie. When awake, the song made her bounce and giggle from one end of the room to the other. When asleep, it woke her right up. And that time was no exception.
She was grumpy though, so Summer let her nurse for a bit before trying to get going. It leveled out her mood and woke her up fully, and after she was done, Summer asked her, "Ready to go open all your presents? Everybody's here - Uncle Steve, Auntie Nat, Uncle Paul..."
"Dada!" the baby replied, grinning and pointing to Bucky happily.
Summer smiled widely. "That's right. Daddy's here, too."
Adelaide then babbled dada over and over, scrambling off of Summer's lap and going back to Bucky. Bucky grinned and scooped her up, getting off the bed and saying, "All right, let's go spoil you rotten."
Summer chuckled and then got up along with David, and she grabbed one more thing that was very important to put in place before they walked out to the party: a sparkly light up tiara that said birthday girl in big pink letters. Once it was on her daughter's head, then they were off.
Summer and Bucky were both in for a surprise of their own. While Summer had been trying to wake Adelaide up, Esteban and Nicolo had added another banner to the bevy of decorations - one that said welcome home, just for Bucky. And as much as the gesture touched her, Summer saw just how much it meant to Bucky as well when she looked up at him and saw the surprise in his eyes.
Paul was the first to grab Adelaide and give her a big hug, while Natasha waited her turn and gave Bucky a touch to his arm and told him she was glad to have him back. He smiled at her and thanked her quietly, and then Wanda gave him a hug that only took him a little by surprise. Next came pats on the back from Sam and Clint and more smiles, and Adelaide ended up in Natasha's arms next. She hogged her for a bit, not letting Steve or Clint have a turn, and they both cried foul as David made a beeline for his sole male cousin and started showing off the kitty who was unsurprisingly nestled in his arms. The cousin, Gabriel, wasn't impressed, but all of Paul's daughters flocked to David and began all but drooling over the kitty.
Everything was loud and cheerful and it was a hugely welcome change from the mostly silent somber mood that so much of Summer's days had suffered from.
The first thing they did once everyone had settled down a bit was start opening presents. Adelaide ended up being a natural at it, tearing off the wrapping paper with gusto, and David insisted on being the one to help her with the ones that she had trouble with. Nicolo took pictures as she devoured her gifts, some of them small like a teddy bear that David had picked out for her and others larger like a princess castle set from Summer. And then, when Adelaide opened up what turned out to be an oversized stuffed Hello Kitty and proceeded to hug it like it was her favorite thing of all, Bucky looked at Summer with an expression as if he could have cried right then - the reason being that he'd seen that same toy in a store months before and had thought that Addie would love it. Summer had gotten it so that even if Bucky hadn't made it to her birthday, there would still have been a gift that was genuinely from him.
Tony and Pepper arrived just in time to give their own present, which was a rather huge ball pit that made both Adelaide and David's eyes nearly fall out of their head. Steve was recruited to help Tony assemble it, and the very moment it was together, both kids - and Sam, because hello, giant ball pit - dove into it. Darcy ended up jumping in, too, and that was the chaos that Matt and Foggy showed up to.
A stray ball flew right at Matt's face, and Summer was about to yell at him to watch out when he ducked just in time to avoid impact. She paused and then glanced at Bucky, who seemed to be as equally impressed and confused as she was, and then she shrugged and jumped up to greet them. On her way there, Vision flew right past Foggy and nearly made him faint on the spot as he gasped what the hell is that?
After laughing and introducing the two men to the android in their midst, Summer gave both Foggy and Matt hugs, both for coming and for simply existing. If she'd had any doubts on hiring them, they had certainly been obliterated the moment Bucky was freed on bail. She chatted with them, complimenting Matt on his more casual look - he was rather pretty, now that she was less miserable and able to notice such things - and she was in the midst of laughing with them when she glanced over to where Bucky had been and realized that he was gone.
She looked around, but he was nowhere to be found. She couldn't help the sick feeling that instantly unfurled in her gut, nor the way that her face paled as her eyes began scanning the whole area more frantically.
Natasha saw this and quickly reached out to her, tapping her arm to get her attention. "He's out on the balcony. He's fine. Just seemed like he needed a minute alone."
"Oh. God, thank you," Summer gushed. "I thought... I don't even know what I thought, I just..."
"I know," Natasha nodded. "Go on, check on him. I'll keep an eye on the little ones."
Summer gave Natasha her deepest thanks before quickly heading Bucky's way. She didn't once consider if maybe he was better off getting a breather alone, mainly because she felt like such a failure for not even noticing when he'd left. She'd just gotten him back, and she was already letting herself get distracted and miss his cues for when he needed something.
She found him out on the balcony alone, leaning on the rail and gazing out at the skyline with a thousand yard stare. She knew that he could hear her coming, but she still approached him slowly and quietly. She took her place next to him, one of her hands also gripping the rail, and she looked up at him cautiously as she said, "You okay?"
"Yeah," he nodded, blinking out of his stare and refocusing. "Yeah, I'm fine. It just got really loud and I... I don't really know, actually. Just needed a minute, I guess."
Summer nodded, reaching out and placing her hand on top of his own. "It's okay. If this is all too much for you, don't feel like you have to endure it. You've been through a lot, and I don't expect you to just... bounce back and everything be fine right away."
He shook his head, staring forward. "It's my daughter's first birthday. I have to be there."
"Yeah, but... after we do the cake, I wouldn't hold it against you if you wanted to go and be alone while the party finishes up. Just... whatever you want to do, whatever you need, I want you to have it."
He glanced at her then, eyes conflicted. "But all these people are here and I owe them so much. And they put that banner up for me..."
"Yeah, they love you," she replied softly. "They also understand that you've been through hell. They're not expecting anything from you. You have to know that."
He looked away then, shaking his head again. "It's just... a few days ago I didn't think I was ever getting out of that cell. And now I'm here and I have you guys back and everybody's here and giving me hugs and..."
"It's too much?" she guessed.
He looked at her again, nodding almost imperceptibly. "I can't... relax, I can't stop thinking. I had Addie sleeping in my arms and all I could think about was how I'd better enjoy it while I can because soon enough I'll be back in a cell and I won't get out of it this time."
Summer moved closer to him, tugging him by his hand until he was facing her, slight shame and immense frustration in his eyes as she looked up into them. She brought both of her hands to his face and said, "Please don't dwell on that. I know it's hard not to - trust me, I do - but look how far we've already come. And there are people who really do believe in you, people we've never even met who post stuff online and vote in polls, and they know you're innocent. We can win this. We can."
"But if we don't..."
She shook her head to hush him. "I don't accept that. I don't. I can't let myself believe that after all you've survived and the one in a million chances of us even meeting let alone getting married and having a family, that after all of that, it was just for nothing and you're going to be put away for crimes you didn't really commit."
"But I did, Summer," he muttered. "I did, and the chances of me walking away from this..."
She swallowed, thinking for a minute, and then she replied, "They're a hell of a lot higher than the chances were of you picking my doorstep to pass out on. Or the chances of me even existing because you saved my grandma from a concentration camp when she was on the brink of death. Or the chances of you falling in love with me. Those were longshots. This honestly isn't."
Bucky stared at her for a moment before murmuring, "How can you believe that?"
"Because I have to," she replied. "And until you believe it too, I'll believe it for the both of us."
Bucky's frown deepened just slightly, but it was enough to spur Summer into pulling him closer and wrapping her arms around him once more. She held him close, her chin resting on his shoulder, and she wished that she could just... wave a magic wand or use some fairy-tale style spell to go back in time and take this all away, make it seem like nothing more than a bad dream. But she couldn't do any of those things, and all she could do was make sure that he knew he wasn't alone and that she would love him and give him everything he needed no matter what.
After she slowly loosened her arms and pulled away just enough to meet his gaze once more, she leaned in close and laid a soft kiss on his lips before saying, "Let's go back in and do the cake. Then after that, if you want you can go to bed, or just... get some time alone, or do whatever you need to do, okay?"
He nodded, though he then said, "I'm sick of being alone. And I can't sleep either. I haven't slept a whole night since... before."
She nodded understandingly. "Okay. Then just stay close to me. Try to tune out the noise if you can, and just... try not to think, okay? And if it all starts getting to you, let me know and we'll figure it out."
He nodded, and she smiled and gave him one more kiss before taking his hand in hers and leading him back out towards the party. She could only hope that the rest of the party would be easier for him, but if it wasn't, her feelings wouldn't be hurt in the least. He was doing the very best that he could, and she utterly hated that something so seemingly simple was so difficult for him.
Once they made their way out back to the party, Summer found that her kids had exited the ball pit and that Paul's daughters had commandeered it, and they were using it to wage all-out war on Sam and his newly recruited lieutenant, Clint. David was back with Gabriel, and they were both watching with fully rapt attention as Wanda performed rather impressive tricks for them, and Adelaide... she was sitting on Matt's lap and giggling joyously as she ripped his glasses off of his face. Natasha was sitting with them, laughing along with Matt at the baby's antics, and it wouldn't have been such a big deal if not for the little look on Adelaide's face.
"Oh dear God," Summer said as she looked on. "Our daughter has her first crush, and it's on our lawyer."
Bucky groaned. "... I was starting to really like him, and then you go and say that."
"Well obviously I don't mean crush crush," Summer waved him off. "I mean a sweet little innocent baby crush. And look at her. She's in baby-love."
It was true. Matt poked her cheek to be silly, and she cracked up giggling and then smacked her forehead on his shoulder because she was so darn happy.
When Summer and Bucky made their way over to them, Natasha looked up at them and said, "I think someone's found their new favorite person."
"I can see that," Summer grinned.
"I swear I didn't even do anything," Matt chuckled, putting his glasses back on after wrestling them from Adelaide's grip. "I was just sitting here and all of a sudden there's a baby climbing up into my lap and smacking my face."
"She only does that to people she really loves," Summer smiled back.
Just then, David's kitty went walking by, and Adelaide caught a glimpse of him and suddenly dove to the floor to go after him. "Ouch," Natasha remarked. "Looks like the kitty ranks a little higher than you."
"That's okay," Matt chuckled. "I knew I'd get boring sooner or later."
After grabbing the kitty, Adelaide came toddling back their way, kissing the kitty on his pink little nose while he merely remained still and took it. Then she took him to Bucky and handed him over, and once again, as soon as the kitty was in Bucky's arms, he was purring in bliss.
"That's so not fair," Summer said, watching as the kitty even let Bucky scratch his belly, which was shocking. "What a little jerk."
"A very pretty jerk," Natasha added. "You know, he kind of reminds me of Loki. Black fur, green eyes, acts like he's king of the world."
"Oh my gosh, you're right," Summer laughed before she suddenly froze and an invisible light bulb popped up over her head. "Loki. We should totally name him Loki."
Bucky looked at her pointedly. "You want to name an innocent cat after that guy?"
"Well..."
"Oki!"
All eyes went to Adelaide, who grinned before jumping up and exclaiming once more, just in case they'd misheard her, "Oki! Oki! Oki!"
Summer then proudly turned back to Bucky with a smug smile. "Say no to that, I dare you."
Bucky merely shook his head and looked at the kitty as he said, "Sorry, man. Guess you're Loki now."
"As long as David approves," Summer nodded. And a few moments later, after David thought hard and decided the name was acceptable, he gave his blessing. The newest member of their little family was, rather humorously, Loki.
Following the impromptu christening of the kitty, Summer decided that it was time to get to one of the best parts of a baby's first birthday, which was the cake. She got the little round cake that was just for Adelaide and put it on the tray of her high chair, then had Bucky put her in the seat while she grabbed a sparkly "1" candle and put it in the center of the cake. Adelaide stared at it with great curiosity as Summer grabbed a lighter and told everyone to get ready and for Estsban to hit the lights.
Once the candle was lit and the lights were dim and more than one person was filming on their phones, Summer grinned and started singing the Happy Birthday song. Everyone soon joined in, including Bucky as he stood on Adelaide's other side, though David next to him kept silent and watched his sister with a big grin as she watched everyone sing and got a big smile on her face. Once the song wound to a close, Summer told Adelaide to blow out the candle, but as she'd expected, Adelaide didn't really get how to do it. And that was perfectly fine, because her parents and her big brother blew out the candle for her.
Everyone clapped, and Adelaide started laughing and clapping too. More pictures were snapped and Summer quickly removed the candle, setting it aside to save in Addie's baby book later, and then she began getting Adelaide's tutu dress off since, of course, a baby smashing a cake while fully dressed was never a good idea.
Darcy took over cutting the bigger cake for everyone while Summer set aside Adelaide's dress and then excitedly waited to see what she'd do with the cake. David as baby had shown no interest in his own first cake and had not only not touched it but not really eaten it either, and she knew that it wasn't uncommon. Addie was also a fairly clean child, the sort who would whine when her hands were sticky, so what she would choose to do with the cake was a great mystery.
First, she reached out and poked the side of the cake. Then she stared at her finger and the bit of frosting on it, and then she poked it again, harder that time. Her eyes got a little bigger and she looked like she was deep in contemplation, trying to figure out what the heck the thing was. Then she curled her hand into the cake and pulled away a fistful of it, and that was the moment that she giggled and decided that it was awesome.
She didn't actually eat a single bite, but she smashed the cake to bits and then pounded the tray in glee until every inch was covered in cake and frosting. She was so excited that she insisted on sharing the joy, reaching out and grabbing both Summer and Bucky's faces and getting the mess on them, and as for her brother, she picked up a handful of the cake and dropped it right on top of his head. Summer wasn't sure she'd ever seen the child so happy in her life. And she just might need a hose to get her clean later.
All in all, everything went perfectly. Bucky held himself together and the party grew a little quieter as the crowd thinned out. Tony and Pepper bade them farewell, and Paul and his gang were the next to leave. Matt and Foggy headed out next, and they narrowly avoided getting covered in cake as well. Esteban and Nicolo lingered a bit longer, helping Summer clean up all the wrapping paper and plastic dishes, and they made sure that Bucky knew how thrilled they were about his homecoming before they left. Then all that were left were the tower's regular residents, and it was time to get Adelaide cleaned off and her new toys to the room that Summer had set up for her and David.
It had been, for the most part, a very good day. She hoped that Bucky's first night home would also be just as much of a success.
After the kids were all cleaned off and tuckered out and Summer was just about equally as exhausted, she tried to get them to go to bed in their own room but, completely understandably, they didn't want to be away from Bucky. And that was how the four of them plus little kitty Loki ended up curled up in bed, three out of five of them asleep.
Adelaide was tucked between Summer and Bucky, and David along with his kitty were sprawled out on the foot of the bed near their feet, like one would expect from a dog. But David liked it there because he could see everyone from that angle, and it was just about the only available space for him anyway.
That left Summer and Bucky awake, both of them lying facing one another and Bucky absently running the fingers of his left hand through his sleeping baby's hair. Adelaide and David looked most similar when they slept, angled a very specific way and with such peaceful looks on their faces that the calm was contagious.
"I missed this," Bucky said quietly, still staring at Adelaide and playing with her hair. "Towards the end it had been so long since I'd seen her and I didn't have a picture or anything, just my memory and... I had this stupid fear that I'd forget what she looked like, or what she sounded like when she laughs."
Summer frowned, her own finger tucked in one of Adelaide's little fists. She'd fallen asleep that way. "That's not stupid. I would have been scared of the same thing."
"Were they okay without me? Really?" Bucky asked her very seriously.
She paused before she slowly replied, "No. David had a really hard time adjusting and he had bad dreams a lot. He's had more meltdowns in the last two months than he had in the last two years. There were even days where he'd barely look me in the eye. Adelaide, she bounced back a lot faster, but... she's a baby. Babies are a lot tougher than we give them credit for."
Those words pained Bucky, and Summer could tell, but she also knew him and knew how he always needed the truth regardless of its nature. "And you?"
She paused and then shrugged, "I've just kept busy. Best way to keep myself distracted and not lose it."
"You've lost weight," he noted. "I didn't really notice until today."
"I... well, my appetite has just gone to hell," she replied. "I have to force myself to eat, and I do, but..."
He suddenly looked at her with concern and then muttered, "You're not... pregnant, are you?"
"No," she assured him. "I checked. Twice. Just to be sure."
He then nodded with visible relief in his eyes. They were silent then for a moment, until Summer took note of his general exhausted appearance but lack of sleepiness. "Want me to turn off the lights?"
"If you want," he shrugged. "I don't think I'm gonna sleep much tonight."
Frowning, Summer sat up a little and replied, "I could stay up with you."
He shot her a barely-there smile and shook his head. "No. You need your sleep."
"So do you."
Bucky paused and let out a short sigh. "I'll be all right."
But he wouldn't be, and they both knew it. "What about maybe... a cup of tea? I don't know... we could watch a movie. I could make you something to eat." When none of those things seem to rouse his interest, she glanced at the hair framing his face, loose from the bun at the back of his head that was more voluminous than she had remembered, and she then suggested, "I could cut your hair."
His eyes perked up then, but only for a moment before he said, "You don't have to do that."
She gave him a look. "I could be blind as a bat and I'd still be able to see how much it's driving you crazy. Come on," she said, sitting up carefully and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Let's get you looking like your old self again."
She then got up and headed into the bathroom, and just like she knew he would, he followed. She dug out all of her hair cutting tools and laid them out while he sat and took his hair down, the ends of it surpassing his shoulders just enough to have officially reached the point of being too much. She loved his long hair, but... a change was certainly in order, for more reasons than one.
He stayed quiet when she made her way over to him and dampened his hair slightly with water from the sink before combing through it, getting out every last tangle. She worked gently, tapping his shoulder to tell him to take off his shirt, and after he did, she put the scissors to his hair and spent the next twenty minutes carefully cutting it so that he looked more like his old self from the war and not the assassin created by HYDRA.
And that, Summer knew, was why he had been so agreeable to the idea. It wasn't so much the hair itself or his annoyance with it, but rather the image of it and what it would always represent and remind him of. As much fun as she'd had with the hair, seeing his mugshot with his hair long and loose around his face, just as it had been during his darkest days, had made her feel a nagging sense of guilt. It was only hair, yes, but the world was an appearance-obsessed place and, if he wanted to show it that he was no longer what he had once been, then the first place to start was his hair.
And when she was nearly finished, cleaning up the sides and making sure that it was all even, she found herself astounded by what a change a haircut could make. He was still exhausted and his eyes were still haunted, but he looked once again like the man he'd been on their first date all the way to their wedding day. She'd missed him like this, and she grinned as she set her tools aside and then touched his cheek while she admired her work.
"Feel better?" she asked with a small grin.
He reached his right hand up and closed his eyes in relief to not find a curtain of hair dangling over his neck or grazing his jaw. "So much better. Thank you."
"No problem," she smiled, standing between his legs and brushing back the few front pieces of hair that were trying to stick to his forehead. "I do love you like this. Reminds me of our wedding."
His lips quirked up in a smile, and his hands that had been dangling in his lap went to her hips, more of an instinctual movement than anything, and he said, "Yeah... I kinda missed you cutting my hair, honestly."
Her smile lingered, and it hit her all over again how incredibly lucky she was to have him back. Whether it was permanent or temporary didn't matter and she certainly wasn't going to think about it at that moment. Instead, she leaned down and kissed him - really kissed him, for the first time that day.
It was slow and still tentative, and she gave him the chance to pull away if he wasn't quite the in right frame of mind to reciprocate. She leaned her forehead against his after her lips left his, waiting for him to give her a cue one way or the other. She had no expectations and would have accepted anything, but there was no denying the thrill that raced through her when he leaned up to capture her lips again himself.
It was no wonder then how she ended up sitting sideways in his lap, her hands in his newly shortened hair and his lips nearly desperate on hers. There was one big problem though, and she decided to give voice to it when they came up for air.
"The kids are in our bed," she said, a little breathless, "and we don't have a whole house to ourselves anymore."
He looked from her eyes to her lips and back again, and he seemed to be at a loss for solving their dilemma. At least until she glanced at the rather roomy and accommodating bathtub literally only a few feet away from them.
A few moments later, Bucky was locking the bathroom door while Summer felt the water as it filled the tub from the tap. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Bucky turn and look at his reflection blankly in the mirror above the sink, and the numb way that he stared at himself prompted her to straighten up and go to him.
She wrapped her arms around him from behind and gave herself a boost on her tiptoes so that she could put her chin on his left shoulder. She didn't mind the chill of the metal one bit - in fact, she had missed it greatly.
Neither of them said a word because neither of them needed to say anything. She knew that he was struggling with himself and his past as deeply as he ever had before, and he knew that she loved him unconditionally regardless of any of it. And that left them where they were, which was straining to reach somewhere in the middle where they could be on the same page.
As the hot water continued filling up the tub, she laid a soft kiss on the side of his neck and then reached her hands down to start undoing his jeans for him. He watched her in the mirror, nothing about it overtly sexual or innocent either, and that was what she was aiming for - just simply caring for him, regardless of where it led.
And that was how he ended up in the bathtub alone at first, sunk to the shoulders in water so hot that it felt like heaven. Summer was at his side, fully clothed and sitting on a little stool she used to sit on when she gave the kids their baths, and it was her mission to not have him lift a finger if he didn't have to.
First she washed his hair, taking her time with it and dragging it out by massaging his scalp in a way that had him relaxing and all but melting under her touch. His eyes were closed and lips slightly parted, both arms hanging limp over the sides of the tub, and inside she was full of glee that her plan was working. He deserved to feel good for a night, that much was unarguable.
Once she was finished with his hair, he was fully relaxed and nearly asleep, but her next actions slowly woke him up. She used a soft cloth and his own soap that he'd left behind before the arrest to wash the rest of him, and she did it just as slowly and deliberately as she had done with his hair. Her fingers gently kneaded his neck and shoulder muscles which were in great need of such a touch after the way that he'd been sleeping for two months, and his eyes opened by the time her hands had made their way to his chest.
She felt her cheeks heat up as their eyes met, but she didn't let the increasingly heated look in his gaze derail her from her mission. She kept her focus steady when his metal fingers brushed her chin and then tucked her hair behind her ear, and she even stayed strong when she ran the cloth down his legs and felt the way that he tensed every time she touched his thighs. If it had been any other time, she might have teased him purposefully, but such an idea was unthinkable that night.
Still, she kept it all innocent, even when she brought the cloth back up and over his stomach, carefully avoiding another part of him that her gentle touches had slowly awakened. She met his gaze again and felt a grin spread across her lips, and she let go of the cloth and let it float away so that it was just her palm on his skin under the water. Then his left hand slid behind her head and tugged her closer, and she nearly stopped breathing when she heard him groan the moment their lips touched.
He controlled the kiss, making it deep and heated from the start, and she knew all too well what he was asking for and what he wanted. And since this was all about comforting him and making him feel good, she didn't hesitate to tangle her tongue more deeply with his and slide her hand down his body until he broke the kiss to gasp softly at her touch. Her hand found him aching, more than ready for her and anything she was willing to give him.
Her eyes opened and found his open as well, fixed half-lidded on her as his lips parted further. She leaned in more, halfway in the tub herself at that point, kissing his neck as she slowly began to move her hand faster. His hand clenched in her hair and he couldn't stay still, hips chasing her touch and breaths coming ever faster, and when she raised her head to kiss him again, his mouth devoured hers with a rough groan that sent her body tingling with her own need. She sped things up, knowing it was what he needed.
When they broke for air, he closed his eyes before leaning his head back briefly and shuddering, and she watched him greedily, feeling like she just might burst herself. But then he suddenly clenched his jaw and brought his head back up, all but gasping, "Stop, Summer, stop."
She immediately did as he said, letting go of him only to be grabbed by his two wet hands and nearly hauled right into the tub as she was. She managed to get her shirt off and had just kicked off her pajama pants when he pulled her into the water, straight on to his lap as he kissed her with a fierce hunger that felt as good at it hurt. He grabbed at her like she might disappear at any moment, and it was a flurry of rushed movements that got her bra and underwear off just before everything slowed back down and she held his gaze as she languidly sank down on him. His fingers dug into her hips and she watched the pleasure wash over his face, all of it heightening her own feelings and making her hold him as tightly as she could as she began slowly moving with him.
They kissed and clutched each other and, as things began to move faster, water splashed over the sides of the tub to the floor and on top of their discarded clothes. He kissed her desperately and quietly but roughly groaned into her mouth, her own mind leaving her as the heat and underlying emotions got to her and left her almost surprised to arch and use his neck to keep from crying out. It set him off just after, but he couldn't keep himself quite as quiet as she had, and she was perfectly fine with that.
Nothing about it had been rushed or rough or hard, but it left them no less wrecked in the aftermath. They stayed in each other's arms, still connected in every way that they could be and eventually opening their eyes and looking at one another in the quiet, pleasant haze. She ran her thumb over his flushed cheek, her brain fuzzy as she kissed him softly and then said, "I love you so much."
He groaned and kissed her again. "I love you too." Then he drew away just to look at her again, that loving and adoring look in his eyes melting her all over again as he added, "I can't believe you're real."
She knew that he didn't mean that in a cheesy greeting card sort of way, but rather in the sense that she was indeed real and not a figment of his imagination that he had dreamed up to stay sane while trapped in the government's cage. She smiled and quietly replied, "I can't believe you're finally home."
He almost broke then, and she could see it on his face. But before he could fall back into despair, she hugged him tight and held the back of his head as he laid it down on her shoulder. She kissed his wet, much shorter hair, holding him as close to herself as she could and praying that she never had to say goodbye to him again.
Her hopes and prayers were all she had. They had to be enough for the both of them, since he seemed so low on both, but God help her if she wasn't going to fight with every last inch of strength in her being to see them both through it.
A/N: So! A bit of a happier chapter this week, which I think was definitely in order :D There's a lot more to go, of course, and things MIGHT get worse before they get better, but... you'll all just have to read and see what happens :D and Matt and Foggy will both be around a whole lot as time goes on, so I'm super excited that you all have had such a good reaction to them being brought into things :) I'm definitely not the first to have the idea, but hey, what better choice of lawyers for Bucky's trial? And one review mentioned my Matt/OC story and the possibility of more of a crossover, and I'll say yes, there's a good chance Siobhan will eventually pop up in this story at some point :) I'm all about crossovers.
ANYWAY :D thank you guys for your lovely reviews and for being just fabulous and making my week with your feedback, and thank you to midnightwings96 for just being the absolute best and pretty much my favorite person EVER. The next update will hopefully come next week, but it might take me an extra week to get out because school just started up again for me and I've gotta do some catching up, PLUS I'm kind of working on part of a top secret future story, so... it might be a little longer for the next chapter. Just a heads up :D I love you all and see you soon!