A Little Calm...

Wedding Present

Devil Doesn't Bargain - Alec Benjamin

Wanting to avoid a scene, Bucky took Fury into one of the lounges of the house that was open to guests whilst you put Dina to bed. It didn't take much as nothing was even close to waking her from the exhaustion the day had caused her. Not even a stir as you gave her a fresh diaper and put her in a cosy onesie as apposed to her flower girl outfit. When you come downstairs with baby monitor in hand, Fury is stood in the centre of the room whilst Bucky sits on the arm of one of the couches.

Y/n
"Whilst I'm happy to see you Nick, you usually only show up when you need something nower days."

Fury
"Am I not allowed to offer my congratulations?"

You and Bucky both stare at him, arms folded with unconvinced expressions.

Fury
"Okay, I understand your wariness, but I promise this is a social call."

Bucky
"Since when do you make those?"

Fury angles his head with an offended glare, reaching a hand into the inside pocket of his jacket.

Fury
"You're gonna wanna rethink that attitude when I give you this."

Handing him a slip of paper, Fury then steps back to sit in a quaint looking armchair, completely contrasted by his signature noir getup. Bucky unfolds the paper and gives it a quick skim read before looking back up.

Bucky
"What is this?"

Fury
"Your wedding present."

Leaning over Bucky's shoulder, you try to make sense of the mess of words, neatly blurted across the page.

Fury
"Retirement papers for one Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, if you want it."

Y/n
"Retirement?"

Bucky
"He's firing me."

You look down to see a slight smirk in the corner of Bucky's mouth. It's not his usual sarcasm fuelled one, however. You can actually see some happiness behind it.

Y/n
"And that's a good thing, why?"

Fury
"He'll be taken off my emergency contact list for one."

Bucky
"It means I won't have to fight every time they ask me to. I get to choose which calls I answer."

Y/n
"You got to do that before though, didn't you?"

Fury
"Technically, yes. Nobody ever pulled rank on him. But I'm willing to bet you've stayed in the fight this long because you felt like you were doing your duty, right?"

Bucky
"Yh, but discharging me isn't gonna change the fact that you still need me."

Fury
"Nope, but in the decision between who needs you more now, it's gonna be a hell of a lot easier to make the obvious choice."

Fury looks up at you but Bucky's eyes stay fixed on him.

Y/n
"Okay, slow down a minute. I still don't get why this is such a big deal. I mean, okay, Yh, he won't be forced to fight anymore (not that he ever was), but what does that mean for working with Sam, and the training program?"

Fury
"As far as I'm concerned, he can continue with whatever he wants on that front. I'd prefer if if he stayed on but that's his call."

Bucky
"I can't exactly stop, it's my only form of income."

Fury
"That's the other part."

A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke

Pulling out a larger chunk of folded up paper, Fury leans across the room to give it to Bucky.
Bucky opens this one quicker with a loud huff, only reading it for a few seconds before giving up and looking to Fury for more answers.

Fury
"You really think that in the century you've been on this earth, you didn't have a pension scheme or an inheritance or two?"

Bucky
"Well I was a soviet assassin for most of it and I don't really have many relatives so, no, not really."

Fury
"We tracked down as much as we could and put it all together there for you. You may not recognise some of the names but just trust that they're distant relatives. You'll find the lump sum with a cheque on the last page."

Flicking through the pages, you and Bucky quickly scan all the pages as you go.

Y/n
"How many of these names are made up?"

Fury
"Classified."

Finally you reach the last page and instantly are drawn to the number at the bottom.

Y/n
"Holy shit that's a lot of zeros..."

Bucky
"Fury, I didn't earn this money, it's not mine-"

Fury
"Yes, it is. Call it a consolation."

Bucky
"I can't accept it."

Fury
"Yes, you can and you will. I know the war isn't over but your battle ended a long time ago, soldier. I'm sorry it's taken me this long to get round to it, but it's time to hang up the arm. Not literally, of course."

Bucky looks to you hoping that you'll join his side but you can only show him a face of deep thought.

Fury
"Besides, if you think this even puts a dent in my budget since the government realised they needed heroes on my terms, you got another thing coming."

Almost as soon as Fury stands up, one of the staff for the house knocks lightly on the ajar door before entering to announce the arrival of the babysitter.

Fury
"That as my cue, I'll show myself out."

Just as Fury heads towards the door, he turns back briefly to give Bucky a stern look.

Fury
"Barnes. Cash the cheque. If you don't, I'm just gonna come and bother you again. And next time it'll be in the middle of pushing out baby number two."

His last words trail off as he exits to the lobby and then through the large, heavy front doors of the house.

Time - Mikky Ekko

Bucky
"Son of a bitch."

His words are said through a breathy laugh, but the sentiments of the words remain in the back of his throat.
Getting up at a casual pace, Bucky heads towards the large fireplace just to his left. He reaches his arm out to toss the paper into the crackling flames but you lurch over to stop him, almost stacking it over the sofa in the process.

Y/n
"Woah, what are you doing?"

Bucky
"Y/n, we can't accept this money."

Y/n
"The hell we can't! Buck, this could be your ticket out."

Just then, you're once again interrupted by the door opening to your babysitter with a huge grin on his face.

Babysitter
"Hey guys! Congratulations! I don't mean to interrupt, if you just show me where the room is I'll get out of your hair."

You look sternly at Bucky one last time, simultaneously warning him not to burn the paper and letting him know that this conversation isn't over.

Y/n
"Thanks, she's just asleep up those stares. I'll show you."

Guiding the babysitter up to the room, your eyes barely leave Bucky's until you physically can't see him anymore, making sure he's not about to chuck the papers in the fire.