Amazed

Chapter 53: Old men

It didn't take long for Bucky to dive right back into his physical form. There was nothing holding him back any longer from seeing his best friend for the first time in nearly 100 years. The fact that the two were even alive was a miracle in itself.

As his eyes opened, Steve knew immediately that he was back. The hardness of The Winter Soldier had faded away and was now painted with the softness of Bucky Barnes.

"Buck? Is that you?" He asked choking back tears.

He smiled back doing the same, "Yes, now unlock me so I can hug you, you old ass man!"

Wanda, Stephen, and Y/N had returned to their physical forms just in time to watch him unlock Bucky and pull him into the tightest hug that either of them had ever experienced. They laughed and cried as they rocked back and forth in their hug.

Y/N looked over at Wanda and teased her for tearing up, "Shut up. It's sweet!" She whispered over to them as she laid a punch in their arm.

The three of them gave Steve and Bucky the room so that they would be able to sit down and catch up, "We should also probably go and call everyone in to let them know," Wanda stated.

With that, Y/N headed up to Tony's office to have him call everyone to the conference room. Though Steve was incredibly happy to have him back and the three of them had seen how genuine he was, that didn't mean the rest of the team would be comfortable with him being out of his cell.

Everyone except Steve rolled in just a few minutes after Tony had FRIDAY call out for them. Luckily, Tony had even managed to get Nick on a call so that he was able to hear the progress they'd made.

Yelena made her way next to Y/N with a massive smile across her face, "You did it?!" She whispered as she threw her arms around their neck, "Oh my god, you did it!!!" 

They smiled as they hugged her back. It was a good feeling to get this done. Helping him free himself from the grip HYDRA had on him felt as though it had started helping their healing as well. 

"Alright everyone," Tony started, "We have some big news for you."

He nodded over to Y/N, hinting at them to announce what they'd accomplished, "Oh, that's me okay," They said as they leaned forward and placed their elbows on the table, "Wanda, Stephen, and I took a leap today... I know that you are all aware of what happened with me and how Wanda had pulled me from the astral dimension."

They looked around the room to gauge how everyone's reactions were starting off, "Well we did that with The Winter Soldier, or as Steve knows him, Bucky."

Everyone's eyes widened as their eyebrows shot up. It was shocking to hear that the plan Steve had garnered up actually worked, but as everyone knows and hates, he was usually right anyway.

"I spoke with him in the astral dimension. We shared a moment, much similar to the one I shared with Wanda, and I saw so many memories of his. He really seems like a good person," They stated as they took in a deep breath knowing that what they'd be asking of the team might also reflect how they think of Y/N, "and I, well we, think that he would be a great asset to the team."

The team began looking around to see how each other felt. Some seemed relatively okay while a few, mainly Clint and Nick, were rather skeptical.

Before the two could say their worries, Nat stood to respond, "I think it's a great idea, Y/N," She started which created a warm feeling in their chest, "We've seen how good someone can be even though they'd been beaten down by HYDRA," She said as she looked around at everyone before glancing back to Y/N.

"We are in the presence of someone who has a heart of absolute gold but was unfortunately taken advantage of by one of the shittiest organizations we've ever known. If they can come out of this, look at someone else who has been through the same and call them genuine... I don't see why we wouldn't trust them," She finished before sitting down.

Y/N smiled and nodded back to Nat, thanking her for having their back. The team sat in silence as they thought through what the best course of action would be.

Before long, Nick spoke up through the call, "I'm a fan of Y/N, you know. They've done great work with us. We're also highly aware of Wanda's history with HYDRA as well," He stated which caused Wanda's head to fall a bit. Y/N leaned over placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and offering a smile.

"What I'm saying is that we have two people who have shown us who they are and given us all that they can. I say that we keep him under surveillance for a bit, have him and Y/N work on their trigger words, and then see where we are then," He finished.

Yelena smiled hearing the recognition that Y/N was getting and knowing that they were finally going to get to start healing. She laid her head on their shoulder as they continued the meeting.

Tony stood to offer his opinion and some parting words for the meeting, "I agree. Steve can be the one in charge of watching over him while Wanda and Y/N start working with him on the trigger words. If all goes well after they get those under control, we can start working towards using their knowledge of HYDRA to get in and finally take them down."

With this, no one seemed to object. Tony noted the end of the meeting and told everyone that they could head back to what they were doing prior. As everyone made their way out, he stopped Y/N short before they could leave. They waved Yelena off saying that they would catch up with her.

"How are you doing?" He asked.

They smiled at his question, "I'm... oddly good? It feels like I finally have a path. Before, I didn't even know any of this was possible... but I guess I never really gave myself the opportunity to try either?"

"I'm glad to hear that," He started as he placed his hand on their shoulder, "and I wanted to tell you that I am so proud of you. You and Peter are like the kids I never wanted."

"Hey!" Y/N exclaimed through a laugh as they nudged him.

"Shut up and listen to me!" He said as he got a bit more serious, "You have come so far and I know you have a ways to go, but you're going to get there. As you said, you have a path now and I want you to know that this team will do whatever, whenever to help you get down it."