It's been three years since the end of the Blip. After the defeat of Thanos everyone expected to begin living their lives again. But a year later Earth was invaded by an alien species called the Others. Part of a group or hive consciousness no on...
In a ceremony the following month at the White House in a liberated Washington, D.C., the Avengers were all given the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction and the Congressional Gold Medal for finding a way to defeat the Others and pave the way for humans to take back their planet. Bucky was asked by PR experts employed by the President's office to cut his hair, trim his beard and wear a suit to the ceremony based on a survey they did. Apparently many people thought he was homeless or a member of a motorcycle gang. He did cut his hair short and trimmed his beard but wore black jeans, motorcycle boots, an open necked black shirt and a black jacket to the ceremony.
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As he received his Presidential Medal there was a certain irony that a man who had admittedly killed the 35th President of the United States as a brainwashed assassin was now being honoured by the 47th President. Bruce, who had declined to attend received his medals later at the Bunker by a special delegation from the two senators of New Mexico. He put them in a drawer and never looked at them again. The rest of the team retreated to Avengers HQ for a week, to rest, relax and rejuvenate. Bucky worked on his motorcycle in the garage and the PR people managed to get a picture of him before he told them to "get the hell out of my face".
A week later a request was made by the producers of CBS Mornings who had reclaimed their New York studios for the Avengers to make an appearance on the show. They planned to broadcast live from Times Square to let the people of New York, who had started returning to the city, thank the team on air and to also show how the city was being rebuilt after the occupation. It was propaganda for the masses but Steve thought it was worth it to help lift the spirits of a population that had lived under siege for two years. At first Bucky wouldn't do it but Steve and Sam found a very good bottle of scotch and convinced him to at least make an appearance. He did it on condition that he could ride his motorcycle onto the set and that he would only answer two questions. He wasn't being difficult. In fact, he thought he was being reasonable, given his penchant for being an introvert.
On the day of the broadcast Bucky did exactly as he said he would. He rode up W 45 Street to the CBS Building. Security guards pulled the security fences back as he rode helmet-less through the crowds of people who had gathered to see the heroes. He began to reconsider his decision and almost took off but kept his eyes on Steve standing beside the outdoor set and pulled up in front of him.
"So much for a quiet entrance," said Steve, smirking at him. "Your arrival just sent these fans into a tizzy."
Bucky looked back at the crowd. Many carried signs with their favourite Avenger's name on it. He noticed many of those with his name also said "Marry Me." Turning back to Steve he rolled his eyes.
"You've got to be kidding me," he said in almost disgust.
"You're a star, Bucky," said Steve. "If it's a popularity contest you have about a third of the fans here, mostly female by the way, if you're interested."
