the strongest avenger (3)

9

As the taxi drops me off at my house, I realize that I made the right choice in the end. While it was hard saying goodbye to new friends, except for Druig, he was easy to say goodbye to, Im glad that I'm home.

I didnt tell Bucky that I was arriving, but I know he's here based off the cars in the driveway. We upgraded to an SUV after Peter was born, because our compact two seater wasn't cutting it.

He still has his motorcycle, but he definitely doesn't use it as much as he wants.

Entering through the garage, I grin as I step into the kitchen. Bucky's head whips around and a large smile forms on his face as he sees me. He misses my protruding belly due to the thick sweater I'm wearing.

"Snow!" He strides over from where he was at the stove and pulls me into a hug. "You didn't tell me you were coming home."

"I wanted to surprise you." I say while my arms wrap around him. "What are you cooking it smells good?"

"Just some pasta," he pulls back and cups my cheeks, pecking my lips before stepping back. "Steve stopped by, he's back in town and took Pete for a walk."

Steve working with SHIELD has it's benefits as he gets to continue helping his country like he always wanted, but he travels a lot with them so it's hard for him to come over and visit. But whenever he's in the area, he makes a point to see his godson.

"Is he wearing his jacket?"

Bucky sends me a look as if to say 'obviously'.

"I'm just checking." I raise my hands in self defense and follow him to the stove.

"So how did everything go? Were you able to get rid of the Deviants?"

"Well..." I trail off and explain to Bucky everything that went down and about the Emergence.

By the time I'm done, dinner is ready and the table is set.

"That's...a lot of information to digest."

"I know." I run a hand over my hair as I sit down at the table.

The door to the garage suddenly opens and I turn to see a big blonde walking in with my son on his hip.

"Tal!" Steve's eyes light up as he sees me, and then he looks at Peter. "P, your mommy's home."

"Ma!" He squeals and throws his arms in the air, his blue eyes opening wide.

"My little pickle!" I get up and make grabby hands at Steve, gesturing for him to give me my kid.

Steve hands him over and I hug him close, his little arms wrapping around my neck as I close my eyes and breathe in his baby scent.

"Thanks for taking him." Bucky says as Steve walks around the table and sits down.

"Anytime, Buck. You know I love spending time with him."

Opening my eyes I turn and meet Steve's eyes.

"Well," I start while rubbing Peter's back. "how would you like to watch two more?"

Steve's face contorts into a look of confusion as I turn to Bucky who's brows are furrowed.

"Our little peanut here is going to be a big brother soon."

Bucky's mouth pops open and his brows fly up. He rapidly blinks and then stands, walking over to me.

"What? Are you sure?" He asks with a look of awe in his eyes.

I prop Pete on my left hip, and use my right hand to lift up my sweater, exposing my noticeable bump. Steve's eyes bug out of his head as he takes this in.

Bucky's frozen for a moment, and then he reaches out and places his metal hand on my stomach. Looking up, his shocked face forms the largest smile ever.

"How far along are you?"

"A few months." I say sheepishly.

"Months?!" His eyes widen even more.

"I wanted to be a hundred percent sure. The last one was really hard with Pete...and I was scared I would have another miscarriage so I waited longer to tell anyone." I say with a little shrug of my shoulder.

"Miscarriage?" Steve asks from his spot sitting at the table.

"She had two before Peter." Bucky explains grimly.

"Three." I whisper, breaking eye contact with Bucky and giving Steve a sad smile.

"Three?" My heart breaks as I see Bucky's distraught face.

"You were so sad with the first two..." I start. "When I found out I was pregnant again, I waited longer and then...well. I didnt want to make you more sad."

"Here, give me Pete. Ill bring him upstairs while you guys...talk." Steve gets up and holds out his arms for Pete.

I silently hand him over and watch as Steve takes the stairs two at a time to give us some privacy.

Bucky takes my hand and pulls me down to sit on his lap.

"Snow, we're in this together." I look down at him from where Im perched on his lap, my hand playing with the ends of his hair.

"You've been through so much, James. I didn't want to pile anymore onto you."

He takes my one hand and pulls it to his heart. "We. We have been through so much. And we can get through anything as long as we do it together."

"You're right." I say while letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not mad at you, Angel. I just dont want you shouldering everything on your own."

"Okay." I give his hand a squeeze.

Bucky lets go and places his hand over my stomach.

"I can't believe we're having another one." He says with a smile. "We're gonna be parents of two!"

Letting out a chuckle, I caress his cheek with my fingers. "Three, love. We're going to be parents of three."

"What do you—" He abruptly stops as it dawns on him. "Twins?! Are you—Are we having...?"

"We're having twins James." Leaning down I press my lips to his and then pull back.

"Two more, my love."

"Holy shit! We're gonna need to do some renovations."

Letting my head fall back, I laugh hard.

Ultimately, I did the right thing by coming home and not putting myself at risk. As my family grows, I realize that I need to put us first over everything. No matter how much I want to help others and do what I can, I need to put my children and family first.

They make me happy, and Im always strongest when Im with them.