I blinked slowly, my waking brain taking a moment to comprehend the city lights flashing by outside my window. I yawned and stretched, straightening up and turning to the driver's seat.

Uncle Bucky shot me a grin, "Good to see you up, sleepyhead."

"Omg, why did you let me sleep? How boring for you!"

He chuckled, "I figured you needed it. Besides, silence doesn't bother me."

I looked back out the window, trying to place our location, but either I didn't know this street, or didn't know it well enough to recognize. I turned back to my uncle, "Where are we?"

"Just crossed the Hudson. Should be back at the tower in about 15 minutes."

"How long have I been asleep?!"

He chuckled again, "Well, you fell asleep at some point in New Jersey, so maybe about 40 minutes?"

I dropped my face into my hands, "Ugh, I am such a bad road trip partner. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Sunshine. I guess all those attempts at bowling just wore you out."

I scowled at him, "Hey, I played a perfectly respectful game. You cheated!"

Really, I should have known better than to go up against a super solider ex-assassin in a game requiring precision aiming and skill.

He chuckled and shook his head as he made a turn. "Maybe you'd have a better chance against Tony. Wouldn't recommend inviting Peter though."

I rolled my eyes. Obviously inviting Peter would be a disaster. Even without the Spiderman skillset, he would probably just calculate the best angles for throwing. As it was, he would just beat me soundly. Or obviously throw the game in an effort not to make me feel bad. But Dad… actually, he could probably do the same thing.

Why was I surrounded by geniuses and superpowered people? I sighed, accepting my fate at never winning another game of bowling ever again,

"I don't know, I think I may just stay away from it for awhile."

We lapsed into silence as we traversed another city block, but as the tower came into view, I spoke again,

"Thank you for this, Uncle Bucky. I had a really great time."

"So did I…"

There was a weird tone to his voice, almost like he was sad. I cocked my head, "So why don't you exactly sound thrilled?"

He glanced at me, flashing a smile, "I loved the time with you, and getting to see where you came from. Getting to see how Liz was living, getting to learn more about Mary. It was great."

I narrowed my eyes. "That doesn't answer my question."

He sighed, "Perceptive, aren't you?"

"Unh huh."

"That place was your home. In many ways, it still is. Moreso than… here. Made me realize how rough this transition has probably been for you."

Another quick glance before turning away to avoid my eyes. "Made me realize maybe you would have been better off not getting pulled into this life… that maybe we shouldn't have made you stay here."

I stared at him in shock. Yeah, I definitely still missed my home and it had been lovely being back there. But now, most of the time, I couldn't imagine leaving the new life I was making here. "Uncle Bucky—"

"We're here—and Tony is waiting."

And he was, I could see him standing by the elevator as we pulled into the underground parking. He perked up when he saw us, heading for the space Uncle Bucky was parking in.

I was running out of time to correct Uncle Bucky. I tried again, "I don't think—"

He sighed, "He really couldn't wait a moment longer, could he." He gave me a soft smile, "Not that I blame him, you're very lovable, Sunshine."

He gestured his head towards Tony who was almost at the car now, "Time to go, c'mon."

He opened his door and got out, leaving me lost for a second, before Dad opened my door from the outside and I automatically took his hand to help me from the vehicle.

"Ah, Pumpkin, I missed you." He pulled me into a tight hug, and I returned the motion, wrapping my arms tightly around him, "Missed you too, Dad."

"I have some snacks and stuff upstairs, if you're hungry. I wasn't sure where you'd be at for meals."

Uncle Bucky pulled my bags out of the trunk and lifted them onto his shoulders, "I did feed her, Stark, it's like 9pm, we had dinner around 6, and some snacks since." He shot me a side glance, "Though maybe her nap made her hungry again, sleepy little girl we've got here."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms, "I am not a little girl."

Dad ruffled my hair, "If ya say so, kid. Now c'mon up, Peter's excited to see you too."

We all headed for the elevator, Dad fishing for information about the trip as we rose up to the penthouse.

Uncle Bucky and I took turns fielding questions and thankfully the doors were soon opening up into the penthouse. I stepped out, giving a slight scream as Peter barrelled towards me and scooped me up in a hug.

I held on as he swung me around, laughing as I said, "I've only been gone for a day and a bit!"

"Yeah,but technically I didn't see yousinceFriday, so it's been a wholeTWOdays!"

I chuckled, conceding his point, then told him to put me down, which he immediately did.

Dad raised his eyebrow at Peter, "Really, kid?"

Peter just shrugged and dragged me over to the couch, "Sooo, how was your trip?"

I fell back against the cushions, "Good, but tiring. Did I miss anything interesting here?"

Dad shook his head, "Nope, nothing, nothing at all—"

"Tony accidentally spilled juice on one of the Conference leaders, in front of the whole auditorium!"

Dad's ran his hand over his face in exasperation, "What happened to keeping that between us, kid?"

Peter pulled out his phone, ignoring him as he continued, "There's even a viral video!"

Tony's head whipped up in surprise, "There's a WHAT!?— FRIDAY immediately remove that from the internet and all devices!"

The A.I.'s voice chimed out, "Right away, Sir."

Peter cut in, "Leave mine, Fri!"

"Of course, Peter."

Dad sputtered incoherently and started trying to convince FRIDAY to also delete Peter's copy. Meanwhile, Peter finished pulling up the video and passed his phone over to me. I giggled watching it play out on the screen in front of me. Dad had tripped over a stray cord and dumped almost an entire jug of juice (which he had been using for demonstrative purposes for some science gibberish I didn't follow), onto a smartly dressed man sitting on the stage next to him.

I looked over at the man in question, still arguing with his misbehaving A.I., "Very sauve, dad."

He shot me a glare but I just rolled my eyes. I got back up, moving over to where Uncle Bucky stood awkwardly next to the other chair. "Are you hanging out for a bit, or heading out?"

"I'm gonna head home for the night. I have to leave for a small mission tomorrow, but I'll stop by again in a few days when I get back."

I frowned, "You'll be careful?"

He grinned at me, "Always, Sunshine."

I gave him a tight hug and he kissed the top of my head before letting me go. "Goodnight, Y/N," he paused and waved at the other two, "Goodnight Peter. Stark."

"Goodnight, Mr. Bucky!"

"Night, Barnes."

And off he went.

Peter also headed out, wanting to get in some more patrol time. I settled back on the couch, chatting with Dad for awhile longer before he sent me off to bed with a hug, kiss, and a "Sweet dreams, Pumpkin."