Forget Me Not - Bucky Barnes X Steve Rogers X OFC

The Safety Of The Farm

The small jet arrived an hour later and was warm and auto-piloted meaning they could just relax. The screen in front of them lit up with a strange ringing sound and Bucky leant forward to tap the screen on the red icon. Tony Stark's face was on the screen then making Addy sit up a little straighter so that she could see him and hear what he had to say. “Wow! You two look like shit!” Tony said the second the video call connected making Addy sigh, “Well you'd look like hell if you'd been forced to run from your home, steal an old lady's car and then had a motorway chase with idiots shooting at you the whole way” Addy retorted which earned a chuckle from the billionaire. “Right, so everything is set up. Laura is expecting you and Clint will meet you there. Laura has been wired money to help get you anything you need since I'm assuming you didn't pack anything during your escape. Stay safe you two” he said before signing off, for a man in the middle of a mission on the other side of the world he sure was good at helping people in need, more so that Nick Fury who was three hours away in the city and hadn't been bothered to help. Addy worried how Steve would be handling this, if he even knew at all that was but she couldn't worry about that now, she had bigger issues starting with this weird healing thing. First her shattered leg healing overnight and now her body was physically rejecting bullets. Her brain was fried and she needed some sleep and by the looks of it, so did Bucky. He'd been so brave during all this mess and she thanked the stars she had him by her side. The jet flew silently in stealth mode until they were hovering just above Clint and Laura's farmhouse whereupon it landed right in the backyard. Clint was outside ready to meet them, Laura by his side and the children were peeking cheekily out the window and watching everything that was happening. “Gosh you look a right mess! Should I grab the first aid box?” Laura asked nearly falling clean over when she saw the state of Addy’s clothes, “It's fine Laura, thank you though” Addy said giving the older woman a tight hug. “The spare bedroom is made up, there's hot water in the shower and Laura will go into town later and grab you some clothes. For now you can borrow something of ours” Clint said after he'd given Addy a hug and shook Bucky's hand. The children were silent as they entered the house, pretending to play so they wouldn't get scolded for snooping. “First left is yours” Laura called as they ascended the stairs, the shower was heavenly warm and Addy was relieved to shed the layer of dried blood that had coated her body and when she exited the shower dressed only in a towel she saw Bucky sitting on the bed cleaning her blood from his metal arm with a clean towel. “Some day huh?” she said tiredly and Bucky couldn't help but chuckle, it had been some day after all. Laura entered a moment or so later carrying a pile of clothes, “Sorry Bucky, I'm not sure we have much for you to wear but I've fixed a few shirts of Clint's and they'll do for now” Laura said holding up one of Clint's old shirts that had one sleeve cut off to accommodate for Bucky's large metal arm. “That's really kind of you Laura, thank you” Bucky said giving the woman a smile for her efforts. Laura left feeling happier than when she'd gone into the room and Addy got to work making a list of things that they needed and the sizes they had to be to fit. Laura was thrilled to go on a shopping spree and went a little wild buying a few extra things like toiletries, undergarments and makeup supplies but they were well appreciated. Bucky quite liked the blue hoodie that Laura bought for him as it had a large letter B on the front and made sure to thank her again, Addy on the other hand dove for the winter leggings and long sleeve top both in matching shades of black. “So you can heal fast and this only happened after the launch disaster?” Laura asked at dinner once Addy had finished telling the story from start to finish, “That's really cool Aunty Addy! You're a super soldier like Uncle Bucky and Uncle Steve now” Clint's son enthused as he tucked into his dinner but the innocent comment made Addy freeze, could there be a connection between her weird new powers and the unique talents that Bucky and Steve possessed? “In any case, Bruce is already looking into it. They think the activists used alien tech to sabotage it and you may have been exposed to some degree while you were trapped” Clint said soothingly as he passed the basket of fresh bread around to his daughter. Addy managed a brave smile, as if none of this concerned her but just beneath the surface she was a mess of panic and fear.

She managed to make it through dinner and dessert before excusing herself to the bedroom where she slipped into bed and buried herself under the covers before letting loose the tsunami of emotions that had been building since the day before. Bucky paused outside the door having heard her muffled sobs through the wood, he was just about to walk in when he heard a quiet little voice behind him. “Uncle Bucky?” it was Laura and Clint's daughter standing on the landing clutching a plastic bag, “I was wondering if you would give this to Auntie Addy? She gave me some when I was sad and now I think she needs some” the little girl said as she handed over the plastic bag which Bucky could now see was half full of little chocolate hearts wrapped in rainbow foil. “I'll make sure she gets them” he promised but she wasn't convinced and held out her pinky for him to swear, only leaving when he'd shaken on their promise. It made him wonder about his level of interaction with the children, none of them were frightened of him and all of them called him Uncle which indicated a level of familiarity. Still deep in thought he entered the room and closed the door again, “You have a gift” he said quietly which made Addy peek out from under the pillow and revealing her tear stained face. She ate four of the chocolates before setting them aside on the bedside table , her hands now seeking his in this moment of utter vulnerability. “I'm so sorry Buck, all this has happened because of me” she said, her voice breaking as another round of tears slipped down her cheeks. He ran through a half dozen things to say but none seemed to feel right, none seemed to be the right level of comforting and as he opened his mouth to speak he found himself lost in a memory. The memory was foggy, unclear and strange enough that he didn't immediately recognize anything until he heard Addy speaking. “You know I'll follow you two to the very ends of this earth and beyond, whatever it takes for us to stay together” she had said, and the memory seemed to clear so that he could see himself cuffed to a table in a police custody room with Steve cuffed to the other side and Addy cuffed directly to her chair. “Whatever it takes for us to stay together” echoed around in his head as the memory faded away and in that moment he truly understood Addy and the person she was, she was the glue that held everything together and sometimes glue isn't enough, sometimes glue needs a staple or nail to continue holding things together and right then and there Bucky decided he would step up to the plate regardless of his memory problems and whatever else they were due to face in the coming days. “Whatever it takes for us to stay together” he whispered as he drew her in, her sobs now quieting as she held onto him and he held her. By morning Steve had come back, leaving the mission at 99% completion in the hands of Natasha, Tony, Sam and Thor so that he could be with the two loves of his life. He was let into the house by Laura who offered him a hug and a warm cup of tea which he gratefully accepted before heading up to the spare bedroom where Bucky and Addy were still sleeping. His heart swelled in his chest when he saw them cuddled together on the bed, a small mountain of tissues in the trash from Addy’s emotional breakdown and Bucky's arms locked around the small blonde like a protective cage, nothing was going to hurt her with Bucky around, not now anyway. He didn't want to wake them just yet but he didn't want to sit there like a creep so he slid into the bed on Addy’s other side and cuddled in, their reunion could wait until later.