Love and loss. Two very strong emotions that the world was feeling with the aftermath of the war. The world was healing, which was hard to do when so much happiness was flowing through their hearts. Those who had disappeared were home again, but the...
A couple days went by, slow and smooth. There wasn't much for them to do as Bruce was out of town and Pepper was focusing on Morgan's school project with her, so Sam and Bucky trained more than usual. Their morning were cluttered with running, sparing, and trips into the gym. They made bets and beat one another while exceeding their own goals. It was hard to admit, but they seemed to make one another stronger. By the time their meeting started they both were a sweaty mess.
"Thanks for cleaning yourself up for us." Rocky chuckled from the monitor. The alien girl was staring blankly at Rocket while Drax munched on a bag of chips. Everyone was present on the screen beside Quill. "He's uh...going through a lot."
"We all are." Sam crossed his arms and nodded, if he had to hear one more time that someone was going through something he would scream. "I want you all to listen to me."
The door slowly crept open which made them all stir their attention from Sam. Wanda walked into the room, an apologetic look on her face. Bucky sat up straight, his eyes locked with hers and much to his surprise, she smiled to him. It was small and gentle, but it was still a smile.
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"Nice of you to join us." Sam motioned to an empty chair and Wanda took it. "As I was saying..." Wanda crossed her legs and tucked hair behind her ear. "We need to spot feeling sorry for ourselves." Everyone looked up in curiosity. "I'm tired of hearing that you're all going through something. Guess what, so am I. I don't have to roll off everything that has happened to us because we were all there. But we're all stronger than sorrow and pity." Pepper watched Sam speak, pride welled in her smile. "Stop acting like you're alone, because we are all in this together. We beat Thanos, together. Steve always said that together we are unstoppable." Sam clenched his fist, "And I'm saying it now. So suck it up. We're here...together."
Everyone was silent because not a soul in that room could argue with this speech. Wanda herself picked at her hand with her eyes on her lap. More words of wisdom clawed their way into her mind, this time from Sam whom she didn't expect to reach her on such a level, even if he wasn't speaking directly to her, she felt it. Bucky sucked in air roughly before breaking the stillness. "Thank you." Sam's eyes clicked onto the soldier's before he smiled, feeling thankful Bucky was here. "We all lost something. None of us are alone." As he finished his sentence he found his hues involuntarily seeking Wanda's. Wanda's breath shook as she looked up, gently staring back.
"I think," Pepper pushed out, "We all need to take a week off. We all need time to stop considering there is something out there coming for us. Let's face it, maybe there is. But I think for at least a week..." Morgan climbed onto her mothers lap and yawned in her arms. The little girl screamed Stark with her hair, skin, and eyes. As her little lips smiled, they all smiled back. "We need to shut off our Avenger mind and just live...normally."
Everyone felt heavy, their minds feeling open and sprawled out for everyone to see. Every word that was spoken was right, and they all knew it.
"I agree Pepper." Sam folded his hands together in front of him. "One week off." He looked around to the team, to his team. Eyes stopping at Rhodes who nodded with approval. "That's an order."
They all separated, screens went black, chairs pushed in. Rhodes appeared in front of Sam and pressed his hand into his shoulder. "He choose good." Rhodes nodded, feeling proud of everything Sam was. "We are all going to be in great shape and that's because of you."
"The way he pushes me in the gym? I'm in better shape than I've ever been." The way Bucky walked up to Sam was light, the two gazed at one another. "I'm...proud of you. But don't tell anyone." Bucky smiled.
"That means a lot...but I'll tell everyone." Sam laughed in unison with the two men, feeling for the first time in months, happy.
As the compound emptied Wanda escaped into her room, she landed on her bed and sighed to herself. If one more person spoke to her with wisdom she might scream. It was like indirectly, they all knew she needed hope. The light on her ceiling was off, but she starred at it with a stern look, all the gears in her head turning.
As night crept up on New York Sam left for his vacation, saying he needed to see something other than the inside of the training room. Buckysaw him off, then decided it was the kind of day he needed to retreat early. The only two in the building, Wanda and Bucky, took to their rooms and scrawled into bed before the clock struck nine.
