Chapter Text
Just like that, a month was gone and moving day was here. Things had been relatively quiet. You were sent on a couple surveillance ops, tracking renegades and remnants from Hydra, not much panning out. It was hard not to feel like things had been too quiet for too long and wonder when the other shoe would drop. But that was part of the life and each of you did your best to just be grateful for the quiet while you had it.
You passed a box to Bucky as soon as he entered the room. He read the words scrolled on the side and laughed.
“Are you sure you want to trust me with this?” When you looked back at him, he was smirking, holding the box out hesitantly, emphasizing the black writing that clearly read “paints, brushes, sketchbooks”.
You rolled your eyes. “Consider it a second chance. If you find a cliff to dump them off between here and the garage, then I guess it would serve me right.”
Bucky laughed again, pulling the box into his chest and leaning over to kiss your cheek. “I promise I'll never lose your paints again, doll,” he swore. “Unless your life is on the line. Then all bets are off.”
“I guess that's fair,” you conceded. You lovingly patted his cheek, placing a peck to his lips. You swung a bag across your body and glanced around your now empty room. “That's the last of it. Ready to get on the road?”
“Yep, let's go,” Bucky waited for you to walk out before following.
You made your way down to the garage. There were moving vans and people everywhere, a veritable circus. You wove your way through the chaos to the far end where the team's personal vehicles were kept. Everyone else had left about an hour ago. Leaving just your car and Bucky's bike.
As you approached, you saw Peter and Ned leaning against the trunk, waiting. Bucky handed Peter the box he was carrying.
“Make sure that stays safe, kid,” he instructed with a serious tone, but he couldn't keep the mocking grin from his face.
“Uh, okay…” Peter eyed the box skeptically, but took it gingerly from Bucky's hands and tucked it safely into the back seat.
Bucky walked over to his bike, grabbing a heavy jacket that was lying across the seat. He held it out to you and you took it, slipping your arms inside. It was heavy, and more importantly, it was way too warm.
“Buck, do I have to?” You whined, shrugging at the unwanted covering. “This thing is uncomfortable. Can't I just put my faith in you to keep us safe?”
Bucky didn't even bat an eyelash.
“Nope,” he replied, handing you a helmet.
You took it with a groan. “This is more gear than I wear on a field op,” you grumbled.
“You can keep complaining, doll, but I'm not budging. I don't take chances with your life,” Bucky grinned and tilted his head. “And you look fucking hot in leather.”
You whipped your head back around toward your car and were relieved to find that the boys were already inside. You turned back to Bucky with a chastising look.
“Good thing my nephew was out of earshot, Buck,” you chided.
Bucky just shrugged, grin still in place. He turned and swung his leg over his bike, gesturing for you to do the same once he was seated. You did, sliding in behind him. Before putting on the helmet, you made eye contact with Peter and then signed that you would meet them at the compound and they should call Bucky if they needed you guys. Peter looked confused for a moment. You signed again, more slowly and you saw him mouth “oh, okay” before signing back “okay, see you later” and starting the car.
You watched Peter and Ned pull out and put your helmet on. You wrapped your arms tight around Bucky's waist.
“You ready, babe?” Bucky asked, grabbing his helmet off the handle. You nodded. He nodded back, slipping the helmet on.”Hang on tight, doll.”
Moments later you were weaving through city streets and then it wasn't long before you were out of the concrete jungle. The traffic was thinner, and then you were exiting the highway onto empty roads lined with trees.
You found yourself enjoying the ride through the countryside. Trees and fields flew by in your periphery. You felt Bucky slowing down as you came around a bend in the road. He pulled over on the gravel, coming to a stop and shutting off the bike.
Bucky took off his helmet and you were quick to follow suit, glad to be rid of it. You took a deep breath and smiled when you turned to face you.
“I can breathe again,” you gratefully sighed.
Bucky chuckled, gesturing for you to dismount. He took the helmet from you and you did as he asked. He followed, setting both your helmets down.
“What's going on, Buck, we're only about halfway there?” You asked as you unzipped the heavy leather jacket.
“Come on, I want to show you something,” he replied, taking your hand and guiding you toward a barely perceivable path.
You made your way through knee deep brush and through some trees, and then you were staring out over the valley as the river snaked through. It was a lovely view.
“This is so nice,” you said as you watched the water flow.
Bucky nodded. “I found this spot on a ride once, years back when I first got back. There was very little that brought me any kind of peace then, but this did. I used to come here all the time, for peace and quiet, but I haven't been back for a long time now.”
You smiled. “It's a beautiful spot. I can understand why.” You took in the sweeping view in the late morning sun, appreciating the landscape.
“Why haven't you been back in so long?” You asked, turning to him with a furrowed brow. “We weren't far away. I'm surprised you never showed me before.”
Bucky shrugged, a small half smile on his lips. “I guess I stopped feeling like I needed it, after Steve brought me to live at the tower,” Bucky tilted his head, looking you in the eye. “When I met you.”
You gave him a soft, sincere smile, leaning in to put your head on his shoulder. You found yourself wondering, for the millionth time, how you two had ended up here. Sometimes it still seemed so surreal. Bucky dropped your hand and put his arm around your waist instead and you did the same to him. You moulded to his side like it was made for you to fit there.
“If only the world knew just how soft and sentimental the Winter Soldier really was,” you said. “They'd be more afraid of a litter of puppies.”
You turned to look at him with a teasing smirk and kissed his cheek. Bucky rolled his eyes and you laughed.
“It's only for you, doll,” he replied, squeezing your side. “And the world hasn't known fear until they're standing between you and the espresso machine at 3am before a 9 hour flight to Bucharest. Winter Soldier or not, I've never been so convinced I might die.”
You chuckled, patting his back. “Nah, you would have been fine, healing factor and all that. But, yes, I won't lie, I did briefly consider maiming you…” you darted your eyes to his metal arm “... Again.”
Bucky's eyes flew wide with shock that quickly turned into disbelief, but he was grinning. “Jeez, babe, hit a guy where it hurts, why don't ya?”
Bucky just shook his head and laughed when you replied with an innocent pout. He kissed your temple. “You're gonna be the death of me, doll, I just know it.”
You cocked your head with a devilish grin. “I kinda like knowing I have that effect on you; not many people can say they have the ability to bring a super soldier to his knees.”
Bucky raised an eyebrow, voice dropping just a little. “I'll get on my knees for you anytime, love, you just say the word.”
You just rolled your eyes, turning back to the view. “Maybe later,” you replied. “After my nephew leaves,” you added with a pointed look.
Bucky looked at you offended. “What do you take me for?”
“For someone who fucked me into the gym mats to avoid a conversation,” you deadpanned.
He ever so subtly winced. “Okay, okay… after he leaves,” he conceded with another smirk.
You rolled your eyes again. “We should get back on the road. Everyone else will be done by the time we get there and we'll never hear the end of it for finding a way to avoid unpacking.”
“Alright, we'll go,” Bucky agreed. “I thought you might like to paint the view,” Bucky gestured out over the valley. “But you put your paints in the car.”
“Oh,” you reached into your bag hung across your torso and pulled out a small tin. “I always have paints on me.”
Bucky just laughed again. He let go of you, grabbed the jacket off your shoulders, and set it on the ground.
“Well go ahead, then,” he waved toward the jacket. “I know you want to.”
You did a little excited hop, dropping to sit on the jacket and opening your tin. You got to work laying down colors in a tiny sketchbook, lost to the feel of the brush and the landscape you were capturing
Bucky stood behind you, watching you work and feeling himself fall in love with you all over again. He probably didn't tell you enough, but he loved this side of you. He respected the side of you that took out opponents and never missed a target and came out covered in blood and dirt with a straight face. He even found that side of you unbelievably attractive. But when you were lost in a landscape, biting your lip in concentration as you ran your brush over the paper, when you had your guard down and just existed with this simple thing that made you happy, that's when he knew he couldn't live without you. That was the part of you that needed protecting and nurturing.
And he would be damned if he ever watched anything or anyone take this away from either of you.
You continued to work at your painting and Bucky took out his phone, snapping a picture. He smiled looking at it, your braids draped over your shoulders, staring out at the valley, brush dripping colors. He wanted to remember this.
***
When you finally arrived at the compound, the team was buzzing around, boxes everywhere, laughter and chaos drifting through the hallways. You dodged out of the way as the Maximoff twins and Nathaniel raced toward you, ignoring you and Bucky and shouting at one another.
You stopped at the doorway, staring into your new living space. It hit you that this wasn't just yours, but yours and Bucky's and you felt a jolt of nervousness. It was exciting to take this step, but a big change nonetheless. You felt Bucky squeeze your hand.
“You okay, doll?”
You smiled. “I'm okay, Buck” you assured him.
You stepped inside and set your bag on a table by the door. There were boxes everywhere. Furniture was scattered and frames and paintings were leaning against walls.
You glanced around the open living area, noting doors that lead to closets and the bathroom. Tony decided that since everyone basically always cooked and ate together he would forgo the individual kitchens this time.
You looked around again, frowning this time. “Where's Ned and Peter? I didn't see them when we walked in.”
Bucky shrugged. “I didn't either. Maybe you should call Peter?”
But just as you pulled your phone from your pocket, the boys waltzed through the door, boxes in hand. Peter walked to the center of the room and set down a tower of boxes he had carried in. He stood up and smiled, not breaking a sweat. Poor Ned set down his last box and sat on it, huffing.
“That's the last of them,” Peter said, clapping his hands.
You gave him a grateful smile. “Thanks, bug. You guys could have waited for us. You didn't have to do that all yourselves.”
“It was no problem, Agent YLN,” Ned wheezed with a bleary eyed smile.
You stared at the poor boy with sympathy. “I think I saw Vision making lunch. Why don't you guys go get something to drink and see if it's ready?”
They nodded and headed to the kitchen. You took a breath, grabbed a box, and got to work.
You weren't sure how much time passed as you and Bucky unpacked and arranged furniture. You left him to arrange his books on the shelves and you hung paintings and pictures, occasionally asking for help when you wanted something higher up than you could reach.
Your friends and family filtered in and out throughout the day. Steve came by and helped Bucky set up your bed frame. Sam came by to laugh at Steve and Bucky as they tried to assemble your bed frame. You rolled your eyes at all of them, continuing to organize.
You were finishing up with the bathroom when Kate came in and offered to help. You handed her a box of toiletries and she placed them one by one in the shower while you chatted. She was bringing the empty box to the counter when she paused.
“What kind of bird is that?” She pointed to a small framed painting on a shelf.
“That's a kestrel,” you replied.
“Oh, I guess I didn't know what they looked like,” Kate commented, examining the painting. Under the painting was a caption; tiniest bird of prey. Kate's eyes got wide as she made the connection. “Is that why Thor always calls you that? Because it's the tiniest bird of prey?”
You chuckled. “Clint gave me the callsign ‘Kestrel’ when we were at SHIELD, mostly as a joke, but it stuck. Thor wanted to know why. I told him it was because it's the tiniest bird of prey and Clint likes to remind me he's the big bird on this team. Thor got a kick out of it. Says it every time he sees me now.”
Kate laughed, rolling her eyes. “Except now he has Sam to compete with. This team has a weird thing for birds.”
You both laughed. Bucky appeared in the doorway, Steve over his shoulder. They looked between you, smiling, but clearly wondering if they should ask or if they would regret it.
“Kate was learning about why Clint calls me ‘Kestrel’,” you explained.
“Oh, right,” Steve nodded. “The whole “littlest hawk” thing, right?”
You nodded.
Kate crossed her arms. “Well, now I'm the littlest hawk, so how does that work?”
Before you could reply, a stampede of tiny feet could be heard entering the room.
“Uncle Steve!” Their little voices squealed.
You and Kate watched, practically in stitches, as the twins and Nathaniel rushed Steve. Steve grinned at you both before allowing himself to be tackled to the ground by the swarm of little boys.
“Ahh, you got me! You're too strong!” Steve dramatically declared as he hit the ground.
They were tugging at his limbs as he laughed. “Mom said to get you because it's time for dinner,” Tommy declared.
You snuck over, grabbed the closest child, which happened to be Nathaniel, and laughed at his surprised yelp. You leaned down to tickle him just a little and gave him a peck on the cheek.
“I'm too big for kisses, Auntie Kes,” Nathaniel whined, wiping his cheek with a petulant pout.
You gave him a sad face. “Aw, no more kisses?”
Kate walked past you and picked Nathaniel up, throwing him over her shoulder and he belly laughed. “Nathaniel Pietro,” she chided. “You'll hurt Auntie Kes’ feelings. No one is ever too old for kisses.” Kate looked him in the eye before peppering his tiny face with butterfly kisses and he had no choice but to giggle.
“Exactly,” you agreed with Kate.
Bucky was helping Steve to his feet, Tommy and Billy each clinging to one of his legs. You gave Nathaniel a smile, stepped over to Steve and kissed his cheek. “See, Uncle Steve still gets kisses too.”
Steve shook his head and chuckled, reaching down to untangle the twins from his legs. They looked up at him grinning.
“Alright, we better not keep your mom waiting,” Steve said, motioning everyone towards the door.
“Come on, Uncle Bucky,” Billy said, darting over to grab Bucky's left hand and pull him toward the door.
You saw Bucky stiffen as the boy pulled him along. Bucky liked the kids, but they usually ran right for you and sort of just tolerated him as in your orbit. He willed himself to relax as the small boy’s hand held his.
“Did you help with dinner?” Bucky asked Billy as everyone made their way to the kitchen.
“I cut vegetables,” Billy proudly replied.
Bucky's eyebrows raised in surprise. “Your mom lets you use knives?”
You laughed and Bucky turned to look at you, confused. “What? Isn't he kinda young?”
Billy lightly waved his free hand. Blue energy flashed and then a small paring knife appeared in it.
You snapped your head toward him. “Whoa, who taught you that?”
Billy giggled. “Uncle Loki.”
You rolled your eyes. “Of course.”
When you entered the kitchen all the kids scattered again. Everyone else was already waiting. Wanda was shouting to come grab plates because she wasn't going to serve people, while Vision was dishing up those plates and handing them out. Sam was chatting with Ned and Peter and Kate immediately went to join them. Clint, Laura and Natasha were at the table and you, Bucky, and Steve joined them.
“Everyone all settled in?” Clint asked.
“More or less,” you replied with a shrug. “A couple boxes left. You guys?”
Natasha rolled her eyes, sipping at her wine glass. “Captain ‘up before the ass crack of dawn’ over here had us unpacked by lunch.”
Steve put his hands up. “I know, I'm sorry. Old habits die hard.”
Natasha winked at him, putting a hand on his leg. “I'm just teasing, stud,” she cooed.
“What about you, Hawk?” You asked, smiling as you felt Bucky lock his hand with yours.
“Actually,” Clint said, sitting back. “I'll just stay in a guest room when I'm around.”
Natasha raised an eyebrow at him. “Hawkeye, are you finally going to hang up the bow? For real?”
Clint slowly shook his head. “I'll start by cutting back and see how that goes.”
Steve reached over to pat his shoulder. “Good for you, Barton.”
You all echoed his sentiments. You gave Clint a bittersweet smile. “I'll miss ya, Hawk. But I'm glad. The kids will be so happy to have you home more.”
Laura nodded, turning to give Clint a grin. “We all will.”
The night went on with laughter and food. The Stark family showed up eventually. Tony surprisingly let everyone know he was also planning to cut back on field missions. There was discussion of all the big changes for a while and then slowly, the crowd thinned.
The Barton family headed home to the farm, Kate in tow. Wanda and Vision picked up sleeping boys and headed back to Jersey. You told Peter you didn't want him driving back in the dark and you set him and Ned up in one of the guest rooms. Steve got a call and said he needed to head to his office for a bit, taking Bucky and Sam with him, but assuring it was nothing to worry about at the moment.
You and Natasha were cleaning the kitchen while you waited for them to get back.
“How do you feel about Clint leaving?” You asked as she handed you a pan to dry.
Natasha gave you a smile. “I'm happy for him. Really. Nobody's gonna shoot at him in Iowa, so I don't have to worry about him anymore.”
You smiled back and nodded. “Yeah, me too. I always worried about his family whenever we were in the field. I'll miss the jackass, I'm sure, but it's a good thing.”
You continued to dry dishes quietly in thought for a few moments. “I don't know if I could do it,” you remarked. “I think I would go crazy, feeling like I wasn't being, I don't know, useful? Maybe that's not the word. But I think it would eat me alive, just sitting it out, leaving the world saving to other people.”
Natasha just laughed, giving you a sideways look. “When you have kids, you'll change your mind. Clint used to say the same thing. The day Cooper was born, I saw it change, the look in his eyes. You'll see.”
You just snickered and gave her a sideways look. “I'm not having kids, Nat. That life's not for me.”
“Fair enough,” she replied. “Still, you have Barnes. Maybe you guys will wanna go find a quiet corner and raise an army of cats one day, who knows.”
You couldn't help the cackle that escaped your chest. “Yeah, maybe. What about you? I don't suppose the Captain ever thinks about hanging up the shield.”
“He does, actually,” Nat said, a distant look in her eyes. “But, much like you, I'm not sure he could live with it. Maybe someday. We'll see.” Nat was draining the sink and rinsing the last dish.
“Speaking of someday, when are you and Barnes gonna tie the knot?” She handed you the dish, wiggling her eyebrows with a smirk.
“I don't know, Nat, we haven't talked about it much,” you replied with a shrug. “There's no rush. We kinda rushed and did things all out of order already.” You gave her a sheepish smile and she laughed.
“Just as long as I get to be there. No running off to elope,” Nat said with a fake seriousness.
“Why, Natasha Romanoff, don't you know you're gonna be my maid of honor?” You grinned at her, putting a hand on your hip.
Natasha froze, staring at you, eyes wide. “Wait- really?!”
You just laughed and threw your arms around her. “Of course! Who else would it be?” She hugged you back and you both squealed with excitement. “Besides, I can't imagine he would have anyone but Steve as best man. I can't make him walk around holding somebody else's arm all day. He'd just have his awkward face in all the pictures.”
You laughed together again. “Come on, let's make martinis and watch romcoms while we wait for them to come back and hopefully tell us what the hell is going on.”