The Beauty of Winter. (Fanfic)

29

"Maybe, in one of those infinite realities Strange told us about, you're lay here next to me, holding my hand and telling me it's all going to be alright." You lay on your bedroom floor, whispering to yourself. Well to Bucky but you knew he wasn't there to hear you. "I can't believe it's been five years since you disappeared. No one else is around much anymore. Stark had a kid, if you didn't see." You pause, as though you were waiting for some sort of response, "so he left, but it's okay because Morgan is so adorable I can't be mad. Nat and Steve are the only ones who really such around..." you laugh slightly, thinking aloud. "God, I have become a child to them both. Does that mean they're like a thing?" You pause again- startled as you actually gain a response.
"No we aren't 'a thing' but we are both worried about you."

You open your eyes, looking over as Steve sat down on the flood beside you.
"Hi Steve..." you say like children do as they greet a teacher each morning, the monotone voice and completely void of enthusiasm.
"Woah calm down y/n, don't get too excited to see me!" You watched as a smile grew on his face, and you couldn't help but smile too. "Pietro should be back later. I know you would want to see him." You think about how Pietro had been there for you the last five years, becoming your best friend. You had found the pain faded ever so slightly when he put the effort in to make you smile or bring you something to eat when he noticed you go dizzy when you stood.

"Later, how slow do you think I am?" You look up, seeing the ridiculously goofy smile on his face, jumping up to hug him.
"Obviously no faster than a turtle would be." You joke, nudging his arm slightly before seeing his eyebrows furrow,
"When did you last eat? Steve said it was bad but I didn't think he meant this bad." You turn your head, glaring at Steve as he sat on your bedroom floor still. You felt Pietro place the tips of his fingers on the top of your head, turning it back towards him, "Okay grumpy, you're coming with me."

You both walk through the streets, ending up at a familiar little diner.
"You didn't tell me we were coming here," you huff as he pulled you through the door of Angie's cafe. You glance over to the booth in the corner of the room, feeling your stomach twist in knots as a wave of deja vu hit you.
"Correction, I never told you where we were going in the first place." He sat yoh at a table, watching you as your eyes fell back on the table in the corner. "Tell me about him, I want to know everything."

"Oh my god and there was this one time when we both got really drunk and Bucky decided to try and make pancakes. I ended up with one on my ceiling." You laugh, thinking about all of the good times, wiping away a stray tear before grabbing a couple of fries from the tray in the middle of the table. "Enough about me and Bucky though, you and Wanda were thick as thrives, there's no way you didn't cause total mayhem." You smile, a genuine smile as Pietro begins to talk about the shenanigans he and Wanda used to create.

It was late into the night by the time you got home, laughing and joking around like yesterday didn't exist and tomorrow wasn't going to be filled with pain. You were both surprised to see the lights were on and people could be heard talking in the other room. You made your way through, standing in the door way, listening as Steve stood speaking to Tony.
"If you do this, you bring them back. Don't change anything that happened the last five years. Got it?" Tony was stern, speaking strictly like Steve was a child asking for a new toy.
"We got it Stark. We could actually pull this off..." You hear Nat, unable to pinpoint exactly where she stood in the room. Tony pressed a button, a model opening up in the center of the room,
"This would work, build this and you can bring all who blipped away back."

You take a sharp breath in, listening to what they were saying, had they really found a solution? You walk into the room, all eyes falling on you as you did.
"Stark, if this might not work, you need to be honest with me. I can't get my hopes up, not if they'll simply be crushed." You lock eyes with him, Tony simply nods his head at you. "Then tell me how I can help." You look at the others in the room, feeling thankful for all they have done for you, including this. Without hesitation Tony sighed,
"You'll be no help to us unless you start eating. Properly eating. So until you're at a healthy weight again, you aren't allowed to help."

His words stung, but you took them on the chin, knowing that you would do anything I'd it meant bringing Bucky back. And so it began, everyone spending days on end, piecing together another of Tony's crazy inventions. You thought that since you were forbidden to help in other ways, you might as well make food for everyone while you made your own. Pietro always stayed with you, keeping you company as you began to train again, preparing yourself for what could be the fight if a lifetime. You also found yourself spending increasingly more time taking care if Morgan. This only fueled your ambition, thinking of having your own daughter with Bucky one day.
"Little Winnie," you whispered to yourself as you lay in bed, exhausted from the long days that had been continuous recently.