Chapter Text
Sam was the only person awake in the apartment, as usual. Bucky wouldn’t wake up for hours, and it was a coin toss with you. This was his time for peace and quiet, the only time he got. He loves to sit with a good book and a better cup of coffee. It was the only time he allowed himself to completely forget work. Which was why he found the sudden buzzing of his phone extremely annoying. He gave the lit-up screen on the table next to him a glare before picking it up. Seeing the name, “Dr. Stephen Strange,” made his irritation turn to concern.
“Hello, Doctor,” Sam answered. He tried to remain calm, but Strange never got ahold of him, especially this early, unless there was a problem.
“Sam,” Strange replied, “I have a bit of an issue. One that I want to preface.” The surgeon paused, waiting for Sam's permission to continue. Sam sighed and sat back in the recliner.
“Preface away,” he answered. He held his phone with his shoulder as he marked his page and traded his book for his coffee.
“You are in no way obligated to help in this situation. I will completely understand if it is asking too much. Honestly, I just need advice. I have no idea what to do with him,” Strange rushed out. Sam could hear a frayed, irritated tone in his voice. He could almost see the man pacing back and forth and the wild hand gestures he was making.
“What are we doing with who now,” Sam asked, questioning if he wanted the answer.
“Well, I don’t know exactly what happened. All I know is that Loki is still a chaotic pain in my ass, changed or not,” Strange grumbled the last part.
“Wait, I thought Thanos killed Loki,” Sam interrupted. “Yep, definitely too early for this shit. This shit should wait until at least noon,” Sam thought with a sip of his warm coffee.
“That was my understanding as well. But it has something to do with ‘time heist,’ that went down. He appeared in my library about a week ago. If it helps, Wong gave him a few good bruises. He warned me that things were going to get messy with our timeline. He said that he was going to try and fix it, but he might need my help,” Strange explained. “He was underexaggerating, by a great deal. Time has been throwing up people from all over the timeline to my Sanctum for about two days now. I have been able to place a lot of them back where they belong. But, some are proving a little harder, and I need to find a place for them to stay until I can get them back.”
Sam groaned, getting where this was going. “And I am guessing that is where I come in,” he asked. The doctor hummed in agreement. “Who,” he asked. He tilted his head back to glare at the ceiling. He had a feeling he knew, but he wanted to make sure.
“Steve Rogers,” Strange replied like he was ripping off a band-aid. Sam felt at odds with himself. He was kind of excited to see his best friend again, but situations had changed… People had been hurt because of Steve’s choices.
“When,” was all that Sam could get out. His concerns instantly went to you. He knew you would never take Steve back, but how would you handle having your ex flung back in time.
“I would guess about ten years after he went back in time,” came the crisp answer. Stephen Strange was no idiot. He knew of the relationship you shared, and the living situation. He had tried to find any other way around it. But Rogers was asking questions that there was no way in hell he was going to answer.
Sam wasn’t sure how to navigate this situation. He needed back-up, specifically that of a certain slumbering assassin. “Look, I don’t know how to deal with this,” Sam answered honestly, “But, I will wake up Buck, and we will head to the Sanctum. We can try and figure out how in the hell this is going to work.”
“Thank you, Sam, I really appreciate it,” Strange said with a tired sigh. Sam felt bad for the eccentric man.
“Eh, don’t get too hopeful. There is a good fifty percent chance Bucky kills me for waking him up,” Sam warned with somewhat forced humor. Strange’s laughter was the last thing he heard before ending the call.
Sam drained the rest of his coffee before setting it aside. “Okay, Sammy, you can do this,” he whispered to himself. He pushed himself out of the chair and crept to the closed bedroom door. He slowly opened the door while holding his breath. At first, all that was visible were two lumps under a mountain of blankets. As he crept towards the bed, a cute smile crept across his face. Your back was pressed to Bucky’s, and his face was buried in your shoulder. This was his favorite sight in the mornings, his two sleepy lovers still curled around each other.
Slowly he moved to place a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. His hand didn’t get the chance to land as his wrist was snatched in Bucky’s tight grip. Glancing at Bucky’s face, he was that Bucky had cracked one eye open to glare at him. “What do you want, Wilson,” came the warning growl from his boyfriend. Sam sighed at the dramatics.
“Strange called me. We are needed at the Sanctum,” he whispered, glancing at your still sleeping form.
“Just us,” Bucky questioned suspiciously.
“For now,” Sam answered, twisting to get his wrist free. Bucky’s grip didn’t budge as he continued to glare a Sam. Sam could see the debate going on in Bucky’s head. He had had the same one before answering the phone. It was the ‘is this really worth it,’ debate that was common in their line of work.
Finally, he released Sam, who grumpily tried to rub the circulation back into his hand. Bucky turned to press a kiss to the back of your head before he slipped out of bed. He was careful not to wake you, so you only grumbled at the loss of heat. Sam softly pulled the blanket over you, causing you to cuddle in comfortably. Meanwhile, Bucky quietly shuffled around for clothes. Sam pressed his own kiss to your temple before following Bucky out of the room.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sam drove his car down the crowded New York streets. He huffed at the traffic, praying that the trip would go quicker. Bucky sat silently next to him. The blued-eye man hadn’t said another word after Sam had explained the situation. No, Sam had turned up the radio to avoid the awkward silence. Bucky glared out the widow coldly, not even looking at Sam. Sam glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.
“Just yes or no. You’re not mad at me right,” he asked with a quiet sigh. Rationally he knew that wasn’t the case. But, sometimes Bucky’s moods stirred up his own insecurities. His words made Bucky’s eyes snap to him. Bucky felt guilty in an instant, making some of his irritation dull.
“No. I am sorry,” Bucky mumbled. He placed a comforting hand on Sam’s thigh as he turned to glare out the window. Sam relaxed back into his seat, tension visibly leaving him. One of his hands dropped to give Bucky’s a squeeze before returning to the steering wheel. The rest of the drive was spent in far more comfortable silence.
Finally, they were able to pull into a discrete parking space not too far away from the Sanctum. Sam turned the car off and turned to Bucky. His eyes met stormy blue ones, he could easily see the mix of dark emotions sitting there. Sam took the hand still on his thigh. He brought it to his face and pressed a few soft kisses to the back of Bucky’s hands. Bucky’s scowl broke for the first time that morning, soft smiling replacing it.
Bucky’s hand moved to cup Sam’s cheek, pulling him into a loving kiss. They stayed there for a moment, sharing small comforting pecks. No words were exchanged; they weren’t needed at the moment anyway. The two simply took a moment to enjoy the small moment of calm. A small ding brought their attention to Bucky’s phone. A text from you scrawled across his screen. “Where did you guys go.”
Bucky handed Sam the phone to let him type back, “Strange needed our help. We will call you later. Sorry beautiful, we didn’t want to wake you.”
“Fine, but Strange owes me,” was the grumpy reply you gave. “Oh, she had no idea,” Sam grumbled as he handed Bucky the phone back. Bucky chuckled, pulling Sam back in for one more, longer, kiss.
“Come on, sugar. Let’s get this over,” he whispered against Sam’s lips. Sam sighed before nodding and pulling away. The two got out of the car, making their way down the crowded street. Bucky subtly entwined his fingers with Sam’s, tucking both hands into the pocket of this leather coat. The one he was finally able to wear again without being hounded by reporters.
The pair strode up to find Pepper Potts standing at the door of the Sanctum. “Hey Pep,” Sam greeted, surprise lacing his voice. She gave them a tight smile as they walked closer.
“Hey, you were smart to now bring her,” she commented.
“We were worried it was a mistake,” Sam answered honestly. Pepper’s smile became more genuine as she took in the concern on the men’s faces.
“No, I think if you two should explain things. We all know her flare for the dramatics,” she assured, causing Bucky to snort.
“Steve’s just as dramatic. So, this is going to be fun. Any tips on breaking the news,” Bucky joked. Pepper laughed, glad to see Bucky open up more. The three of you were good for each other. Part of her wondered how Tony would feel about his adoptive little sister being in love with Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson. She could almost hear the rant now.
“I am afraid that is out of my range of expertise. I am just glad it isn’t me,” she teased back. Bucky shot her a grateful smile. “Strange had been having quite the time with all this. I finished helping with young Rhodey, and that was an adventure,” she continued, pointing towards the doors. Before either could respond the doors burst open, and Strange’s red cloak was motioning for them to come in. Pepper laughed, “Looks like you two are needed. I’ll let you go. Let me know if you need anything.” She walked away with a small wave.
Bucky and Sam followed the flapping cloak down long hallways before stopping in front of a door. “Thanks, friend,” Sam said as he moved towards the door.
“Really? I thought your talking to your drone was bad enough,” Bucky teased quietly. Sam just rolled his eye and pulled the door open. Strange sat at a large table stiffly. But, it was the man sitting next to them that had their full attention. Steven Grant Rogers watched awkwardly as his two best friends entered the office. Bucky shut the door, and they both took a seat across from the pair. The tension was thick in the air. Strange carefully watched the group, afraid that any moment it could turn into a brawl.
“Thanks for coming,” Strange began in a strained voice. Bucky and Sam nodded to him but remained quiet. “I am having a hard time stabilizing Roger’s timeline. I think it is because the time travel already left it weak. But, I have made some progress. I am pretty sure I can get things straightened out within a week,” he explained.
“A week isn’t too bad,” Sam tried to offer optimistically. Steve nodded in agreement, but Bucky didn’t budge. The Steve before them had obviously aged. Silver hair now intermingled with blonde, and wrinkles crinkled the corners of his mouth and eyes. Steve seemed to know that he had fucked up because he stayed silent.
Bucky was never prepared to see Steve look older than he did. He thought that seeing elderly Steve would be the worst of it. But seeing a middle-aged Steve was much worse. This was the Steve that he had imagined retiring with one day. This was the man he pictured when they planed their lavish lives after the war. This who he once pictured his children calling “Uncle Stevie.” That man got to exist, but it was without him. The realization hit him harder than it should have. He gripped his knee with his vibranium hand to keep it from twitching.
Sam shot him a worried glance but said nothing. He, instead, turned to Steve and Strange. “As you know, Strange, the issue isn’t us having a place for Steve to stay. The problem is that we don’t have any say in the matter.” Steve sent them a strange look. Bucky sighed and rolled his eyes. If they didn’t address some of his questions now, they would hear them all the way home.
“Ask your questions, Steve,” he barked to the blonde. Familiar blue eyes locked on his for a moment. Bucky could tell that he was trying to get a read on him, but he was obviously failing.
“Thanks,” Steve said cautiously, “When did you two start living together?” His eyes darted between the two. Sam gave Bucky a telling look. He was letting Bucky know that he didn’t have to tell Steve about their relationship if he didn’t want to. Bucky gave him a fierce look Sam couldn’t quite read. His vibranium moved from his knee, reaching out to entwine with Sam’s.
“Let’s see, had to be sometime after we started dating, right? No, it was definitely, after we started fucking,” Buck answered sarcastically. Both Sam and Steve blushed brightly, and Strange tried desperately to hide his chuckling. Sam squeezed his hand gratefully, sending him a small smile.
“I.. What I am trying to say is…congratulations,” Steve tried to fumble out awkwardly. The whole situation had thrown him for a loop. This was not what he had expected when he returned. He thought they hated each other, but he was never good at reading these things. Sam mumbled a small thanks. Bucky only nodded and moved closer to Sam. “And you live with someone else,” Steve tried to continue.
“Yes, we live with Y/N,” Sam answered simply. He was testing waters. He was curious to know just how much of a shit show this would be.
“Why,” Steve almost demanded. His suspicion was easy to read, which didn’t bode well for the conversation.
“It was the only way we could get her to come home. Said she didn’t want to be alone,” Bucky countered with a raised brow. It wasn’t far from the truth. That was the original reason they had started living with you. Granted it had only taken a couple of months before they had moved out of the guest bedroom and into yours. Steve glanced down with a guilty look, scratching at the back of his head. “That was after we had to chase her across multiple countries because she was scaring the fuck out of everyone,” he added coldly.
“So, it is up to her, right,” Steve clarified softly, trying to move the conversation elsewhere.
“One hundred percent,” Sam replied simply.
“Then why didn’t you bring her,” he asked, suspicions again rising. Bucky glanced at Strange. The doctor looked extremely nervous, and the cape seemed to be moving breakable items out of the room.
“Look, there are things we have to talk about. We could do it here, but only if Dr. Strange is comfortable with it,” Bucky said, looking towards the tall man. Strange let out a breath of relief and the cape paused its actions.
“Well, I know it is a private matter. It might be best if it was kept that way. Especially for Y/N’s sake,” Strange offered. Bucky and Sam nodded; Steve looked like a lost puppy.
“Let us go call her, and we will figure something out,” Sam agreed. He and Bucky stood and strode out of the room. They stood in the empty hallway, huddled around Sam’s phone.
“Please tell me you are on your way home,” you greeted.
“Not quite yet, sweetheart,” Sam answered, making you groan.
“But I am so bored,” you whined. They both chuckled at your antics. They could hear the T.V. blaring in the background.
“Doll, we have a bit of a situation,” Bucky started.
“Is Stephen okay,” you asked, concern lacing your voice.
“He’s fine. Stressed out of his wits, but fine,” Sam assured. He pressed into Bucky, who was leaning against the wall. He wanted to feel as close to Bucky as he could, desperate for the comfort he could provide. Bucky let his cool vibranium arm around Sam, pulling him closer.
“Then what’s the problem,” you asked.
“Well, it would seem there have been some issues with the time magic stuff. Strange has had people randomly appearing from all over. He needs some help housing someone until he can get them back to their time,” Sam explained.
“Who,” you demanded suspiciously.
“You aren’t going to like it, doll,” Bucky warned. He winced at the growl you gave.
“Who the fuck is it,” you demanded again.
“Steve, from about ten years after he left,” Sam answered anxiously. The line went silent, and all that could be heard was the cartoon you had been watching.
“I see. How long,” you whispered. Sam and Bucky shared a concerned glance.
“Strange thinks he can get it sorted out in a week,” Bucky answered. Again, there was a long pause.
“Fine. He can stay here on one condition,” you answered.
“Anything, sweetheart,” Sam instantly promised, prompting a small hint of a laugh from you.
“You have to take a two-week vacation. I am not dealing with him alone for a week. And I need a week for it to be made up to me,” you answered.
“Then you have us for two weeks,” Bucky promised. Sam hummed in agreement. He couldn’t lie; spending two weeks with his two favorite people sounded nice.
“Does that mean I get whatever I want,” you teased coyly. There was a devious grin on your face that they weren’t lucky enough to see.
“Anything your heart could want, sweet girl,” Sam rumbled in that voice. It was the tone of voice he knew got you worked up.
“You’re going to explain it to him, right,” you asked, suddenly nervous.
“That’s why we came alone,” Sam assured. You sighed out a small thanks. They spoke to you a little longer, trying to reassure you. They whispered, “We love you,” before they ended the call and walked back to the office-like room.
“Come on then, punk,” Bucky announced as they walked in.