Till I Die (Bucky Barnes)

33

~Bucky's POV~

~Seven Years Later...~

The sun shone high in the sky as Ophelia and I took Damien for our daily walk. He's already seven years old and looks like me: dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. Much to Ophelia's annoyance, he even picked up on my charm from the forties. Ophelia was sitting on a picnic blanket when Damien waltzed up to her and held out a bouquet of wildflowers he had picked himself. 

"For you, mother," Damien said with a boyish grin. Ophelia giggled and took the flowers, "Thank you, honey." I walked up to Damien and ruffled his hair before he looked at me with a proud grin. He loved his mother very much and respected her. He didn't have an insufficient bone in his little body. He was an easy kid and never got sick. Bruce did confirm that he had the serum inside him, but only five percent. 

Ophelia looked at me with a knowing grin; I shrugged with a smile. "Hey, daddy," Damien said. I smiled at him and knelt to his level, "Yeah, bud?" "Will I grow to be handsome like you?" he asked. Ophelia giggled softly. "You'll break hearts, buddy," I replied. Damien smiled, showing off his baby teeth. "So, I'll meet a dame like momma then?" he asked. "Dame? My goodness, he is certainly like you, James..." Ophelia replied. 

"Your momma is special, bud," I smiled. Ophelia's phone rang, and she looked at the caller ID, confused before she answered. "Penny? It's been a long time; what's wrong?" Ophelia asked concerned. 'Penny?' I thought to myself. Ophelia stood up and raised her hand to give her a minute; I nodded. "Woah, Penny! Slow down! What happened?" Ophelia asked. About two minutes later, I saw her face shift from concerned to furious.

Her demon horns grew, and her wings unfurled, causing Damien to clutch my hand tightly. "Pack what you need and come to the location in my text. I'll take care of everything else, okay, sweetie?" Ophelia asked. She smiled softly when she heard a response and hung up before texting quickly and putting her phone in her back pocket. "Momma?" Damien asked worriedly. Ophelia's form shifted back to normal, and she kneeled, smiling softly at Damien.

"Momma's okay, honey. Momma's friend will stay with us until a problem can be fixed, okay?"Ophelia asked. Damien smiled and nodded, "Okay, momma, I'll be a good boy!" Ophelia looked at me with her, 'Take this matter seriously' face. I nodded, gathered our blanket, and held Damien in my arms as we returned to the compound. "Got your text, Lia. Everything is ready for her arrival," Tony said. 

"Who's arrival?" Loki asked, confused. "Penelope Winters, she was a friend before I met my ex-boyfriend. I lost touch when Zachary forbade me to hang out with her anymore. She is super sweet and shy, and we became close..." Ophelia replied. I kissed her temple softly, "She's safe with us for now, right?" Ophelia nodded, "She told me what happened over the phone, and I almost broke it..." 

"I-I'm sorry, broke it?" Clint asked anxiously. I nodded, "She turned into her Hybrid form." "Damn..." Bruce mumbled. Ophelia ran a hand through her hand and sighed, "Please, don't scare her away... She's been through a lot." "Mr. Stark," FRIDAY said. "What is it?" Tony asked. "I have a Penelope Winters requesting entrance," FRIDAY replied. "Send her in," Tony replied. "Yes, sir," FRIDAY said. 

Ophelia returned to the door, soothing a little younger woman with a small suitcase. "I-I'm so sorry again, Lia..." she sniffed. She doesn't look like she's faking it; I sniffed the air subtly or smelled like it. "No, no, honey. Don't apologize; it's not your fault," Ophelia rubbed her shoulder. Penelope then looked at us and wiped away her tears, "Excuse my state, I'm not having the best week right now..."

Ophelia waved Damien and me over first. "You're safe here, and this is a no-judgment zone. And this is my husband and our son, Damien," Opehlia introduced. Damien held his hand with a smile, "Hi, pretty lady." Penelope giggled softly and shook Damien's hand gently, "Hello, good sir." I held out my hand, "Hi, I'm Bucky. Excuse our son; he got it from me back in the forties..." "It's okay. It made me feel a little better," she said, firmly shaking my hand.

Ophelia introduced everyone and left Loki for last. "Last but certainly not least, this is Loki Laufeyson," Ophelia said. "The God of Mischief?" Penelope asked Ophelia curiously. Ophelia shrugged with a small smile, "In the flesh." Penelope and Loki looked at each other a little speechless, before Loki held out his hand. Penelope placed her hand in his before he kissed the back of it softly without tearing away his gaze. 

"A pleasure to meet you, Lady Winters," Loki said, straightening up to his full height again. Okay, so they're smitten with each other already. "A pleasure to meet you as well, y-your Highness," Penelope nodded in respect. "There's no need for that; just Loki is alright," Loki said, dismissing his title. Well, that's rare... "Loki," Ophelia said. Loki looked at her, "Yes?" "Why don't you give Penny here a tour and meet us in the living room when you two are done?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't want to be a bother..." Penelope shook her head. "You are not a bother, Lady Winters," Loki said. Penelope looked at him before she nodded, "O-okay if you don't mind then, Loki..." Loki smiled softly and held out his arm, "Not at all, shall we?" Penelope hooked her arm through his and nodded, "We shall..." As they walked away, I turned to my wife with a knowing grin.

She looked at me, playing innocent, "What?" I chuckled, "Nothing, nothing at all, my lovely wife." Damien ended up going to play a board game with Steve and Sam. I walked behind Ophelia and hugged her to my chest. She sighed softly, leaning her back to my chest. I kissed her neck softly before kissing her cheek. Ophelia smiled softly, "Hi, honey." "Hey, Doll," I mumbled and watched our son playing with his uncle and godfather.