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Maybe it was the fact they were exhausted. Maybe it was the fact they had just saved the world. Maybe it was the fact they had been left so emotionally raw after battling the void. They wouldn't be able to tell you why. They barely knew each other, barely trusted each other. But respect, eh, maybe. Maybe they just refused to believe in the whole team thing. Whatever the reason, after all the press, the limo somehow in tack, no idea how it got here, was taken back to Alexei's flat and they all just crumbled.
There was none yet all the trust in the world placed into this. Suits were removed and replaced with actually clean fabric, provided by Alexei, that they all were swimming in. None of them spoke as they pushed the arm chairs facing forward against the front of the couch to create a mattress of some kind.
Despite his grumbling John found himself sat next to Alexei, who simply wrapped an arm around the soldier and pulled him into his side. John begrudgingly leaned in as he propped his feet up on the same arm chair cushion that the guardian had, tension slowly bleeding out. Yelena squished into her father's other side, sitting sideways to comfortably place her legs over his lap, resting her head on his shoulder with a slight reluctance.
Yelena looked up when she saw and felt a pair of feet rest in her lap. Locking eyes with Ava, who had made herself comfortable in the other armchair. She had a comforting smirk on her face, Ava reached for Bob's legs, as he timidly placed himself down next to Yelena, and forcefully placed them down on her lap. Smile softened as she rubbed reassuringly at Bob's shins. Bob simply stuttered out a sigh as he relaxed and cautiously wrapped an arm around Yelena, who moved it into the place she wanted. The couch was not made for four people, it was barely made for three, but none seemed to care, all wanting rest and maybe a little comfort.
Bucky passed them all a blanket each, before simply flopping down over all their legs, eliciting groans and not so quiet protests from the rest, though none made a move to move him off. With his free hand, Bob gently placed it in Bucky's hair, whose head had ended up in his lap, and had softly started playing with it. Yelena, in a rare show of hesitation, slowly started following the patterns of Bucky's metal arm.
Alexei, John, and Ava quietly made work of spreading all the blankets out over them all. Bucky being entirely covered from head to toe in the process, but he seemed incredibly more content with the warm cocoon of darkness and the hand in his hair.
Finally settled, all the tension seemed to bleed out of the room at once, Bob rested his head on Yelena's shoulderblade. Ava melted into the armchair and moved Bucky's right arm closer so she could trace patterns on that arm, still keeping a hand on Bob's shin. John, without realising, had started rubbing Bucky's calf, admitting to himself that the added weight was nice, was grounding in a way he hadn't felt since one of Lemar's hugs. Alexei started to play with his daughter's hair, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead and surveying the others before smiling happily smug to himself at the relaxed look of everyone. This was his team, his new makeshift family. It was a bit cut and paste, but he has it now, and he's not letting go.
Alexei was the first to fall asleep and was quick to let everyone know with his snores. Bucky lifted his head from under the blankets blinking bleary-eyed up at Bob before turning his gaze to Ava and then back again, clearly confused on what was going on and on the verge of sleep himself. Bob barely stifled the quiet giggle that left him, before messing with Bucky's hair. ‘It's ok you overgrown cat, just Alexei's loud ass snoring. Go to sleep.’ He seemed happy with Ava's answer and hid himself back under the blankets, tucking his face into Bob's stomach this time, who couldn't stop himself from smiling and continued to fiddle with his hair.
Yelena shifted her head and watched the scene with a surprisingly softening heart. She knew Bucky felt safe if Alexei's snores didn't instantly set him on high alert. Yelena turned back to her father and looked past him to see that John was also asleep and judging by the evened out rise and fall of the blankets, Bucky had too. Another loud snore pulled laughter from the three still awake, but Bob was quick to drift off after, fully content and relaxed for the first time, in well, in a really long time.
Yelena yawned and couldn't help but think that Bucky turned himself into a weighted blanket on purpose, because the added weight really was reassuring and comforting. So much so that she felt her eye lids become heavy with sleep, she'll blame her sleep in the morning on Bucky, and definitely not on the fact that she god forbid felt safe for once.
Ava's legs had already gone slightly numb, but she wouldn't dare more, not being able to feel her legs was a later Ava's problem not a now her problem. She closed her eyes and got comfortable. As sleep took her, for the first time since she was little she went to sleep with a smile.