When in Romania

XIX: Hereafter

"Okay fruitcake, I've just about had it with you!"

"Peter, calm down."

"This guy's been floatin' around like goddamn Yoda for days while we rot in here, and he won't even tell us what's goin' on!"

Milena sighs, rolling her eyes as Peter Quill strikes up yet another unsuccessful argument with Dr. Strange. Gamora tries her best to calm him, but there's really no stopping him when some of the others join in, adding fuel to the fire.

All the while, the winds rise and fall through the orange-hued world within the Soul Stone. It's covered in sand mostly, with some scattered rocks and mountain cliffs. There's no hunger or pain (or bathrooms), but there's no death either, from what she can tell. There are hundreds of them, just inside this pocket of the world, but if Thanos accomplished what Strange claimed, then there should be trillions of people, somehow spread out across several interior domes within the Soul World.

They're all frustrated. They all want to go home, but getting at each other's throats isn't going to solve anything. Mila shares a look with Sam Wilson, who shakes his head in annoyance.

"He might have a point," he says. "Strange claims he's seen the future, but he's not telling us what he knows."

"It's only been five days," Wanda says dryly, her voice dull and coarse. "Just an eternity to go."

Mila and Sam glance at her, then at each other. Mila is worried about Wanda, whose grief and pain is obvious enough without it radiating from her aura in waves.

"The stones no longer exist in our time," Strange finally admits. "But they still exist in others."

The two perk up at this, and Mila turns her head to look at Strange.

"Our time?" Mila says. "Do you mean to say, in the past, the stone still exists. So we still exist?"

"Yes," he nods. "Here in this world, time is fluid. What's only days for us in here is probably years for them outside, in the real world."

Years? Mila thinks in alarm. Pain twists in her heart. Would it really be years for their friends, for Steve?

Bucky.

She holds a hand to cover her gasp. Will he even remember her by the time they get back? Will he have come to resent her, or have completely moved on?

She doesn't know which is worse.

"What do you mean the stones no longer exist in our time?" King T'Challa asks. Shuri stands closely at his side.

"Thanos has destroyed them," Strange says. There are some unsettled murmurs through the crowd of people, many of them Avengers, like Peter Parker, Nick Fury and Maria Hill, and allies like the Guardians.

"But you're implying someone's gunna go back and steal them somehow," says Fury, raising a brow. "Like Back to the Future?"

Strange's eye twitches as his lips purse. "Not quite."

But he refuses to say anymore, leaving Mila with more questions than answers. While Sam goes over to speak with Fury and Hill, she stays with Wanda, who doesn't seem to care one way or another about their fate. She reminds Mila of herself, after she escaped the Siberian HYDRA facility. She'd been alone, with no path and no real reason to keep going other than the instinct of self-preservation.

"Clint and Steve are still out there, you know," Mila says. She sits beside Wanda on a rock while the latter idly coils a bit of red energy around her fingers. "They'll need you when we get out of here."

Wanda doesn't answer her for a while, but eventually she lowers her hand, letting the energy dissipate.

"With all this power in my hands, I couldn't stop him," she says. "I couldn't stop any of it."

Mila sighs. "You don't have to put that on yourself. You did the best you could."

Wanda recoils at her hand of comfort, so Mila leans away, giving her space.

"When it counted, I was weak," Wanda says. "My brother is dead, and now the only man I've ever loved is also…"

She tries to blink away the tears in her eyes, then she huffs and wipes them away as she stares at the sky. It's dyed in a burnt orange and yellow, as if in a perpetual dusk, but when the sun that marks their time falls, a dull red moon takes its place.

"This world is so strange," she whispers.

Mila agrees. Though there's something else about it that unnerves her. Like the sun above them is a pair of eyes she can't shake, watching her every move.

Hesitantly, she places the palm of her hand on the sandy ground. The feeling is stronger, and she closes her eyes. She senses something, a strange awareness, and she concentrates on that intensity.

"Milena," Wanda calls her. She opens her eyes and realizes her hand is glowing, pale yellow like her eyes when she activates her powers.

"What the hell?" she wonders.

"I've seen this before," Wanda admits. "When Thanos…when your power touched the gauntlet, I think it may have been reacting to the stones. I tried to wake you after the blast threw us, and a gold shield appeared around you and stopped me. It felt very similar to my own."

Mila's eyes widen. Then with a determined frown, she focuses back on the presence she'd sensed. It doesn't take her long to find it again, because when she does, it's almost like consciousness. Thinking.

She feels its satisfaction. Pleasure, at so many souls trapped here in its domain. They feed its power.

But then there's something else, a terrible, agonizing pain that chokes a gasp from her.

"Mila?" Wanda asks, worry entering her voice. "What's wrong?"

The aura is more familiar, and close.

"Clint?" Mila says aloud.

"Whoa, what the hell?!" Sam exclaims. Wanda turns to see Natasha Romanoff lying on the ground a few feet away, panting for breath. Her eyes wildly take in her surroundings and the many faces watching her with shock.

"Where the hell am I?" she gasps.

Wanda wastes no more time and touches Milena's shoulder. Through the other woman's mind, Wanda's able to find the consciousness she's focused on. She reaches out with her own telepathic awareness and tugs gently on Clint Barton's.

Clint.

"Whaaat the fuck?" His voice is loud and startled. Despite herself, Wanda can almost see him physically tripping up at the sound of her voice in his mind. She smiles.

It's Wanda. And technically Mila too, but she figures it's best to keep it simple.

"Wanda. You…you're alive? Where are you?"

That should probably be obvious, considering what you have in your hand.

Clint pauses, then he nods with a shaky breath.

"…Right. Sure," he says."Is…Natasha—"

Yes, she's here. In a manner of speaking. Wanda sighs. Okay, listen closely.

Clint emerges from the lake, breaking the water's surface with a deep breath to suck in much-needed air into his lungs. He swims and walks out onto the bank dripping wet. Okoye has lowered her spear, but she's still very suspicious, while Bucky just looks anxious.

Clint grins with tears in his eyes. He shows them the glowing orange Infinity Stone.

"She's alive, Buck," he says. "They all are."

Bucky's legs get a bit weak with his overwhelming relief. He looks over at Okoye, who seems like she's about to do something she'd much rather not. After what he'd told her, he's not surprised that she is still a bit shellshocked.

"Go," she sighs. "Before I change my mind."

"Thank you," Bucky nods. And with a press of a button, they're back several years in the future. Steve, Tony, Scott and Banner are there, along with Nebula, Rhodey, Rocket and Thor. They all have the right stones they were looking for, but Clint breaks into their celebrations when they realize Natasha isn't with them.

"Where's Nat?" Bruce asks worriedly. Steve and Tony's faces fall.

Bucky lowers his head. Clint's voice surprises him though.

"I know what we need to do," he says. He holds up the Soul Stone, bright and glowing. "All we need is this."

"What do you mean?" Steve asks.

Clint explains that in order to get the Soul Stone, it demands a sacrifice of the thing you love most in the world. For him, at that time, it had been Natasha. And she had known that when she sacrificed herself.

But as soon as Clint woke up in the stone's inner world, he didn't just get the stone in his hand. He heard Wanda in his head.

"We don't need the whole gauntlet of stones," he says. "She told me that the stone collected all of their souls like a purgatory. Whoever uses the stone can bring them back."

"So we got all these things for nothing?" Scott exclaims.

"Not for nothing, we have a better plan now. We just need to decide who's gunna do it," Rhodey says.

"Yeah, you mean who's gettin' fried," Rocket snarks.

"That's unnecessary," Thor says, even though he sways a bit on his feet. He carries a heavy stench of alcohol. "I'm the strongest, I should do it. Let me do it—"

Tony and Steve stop him from grabbing the Soul Stone, and Clint steps back a few. While the others manage to talk him down and start arguing amongst themselves, Bucky shares a look with Clint.

"Can I see it?" he asks.

"What, so you can be the martyr?" Clint says dryly. "You might look like Jesus with the hair, but—"

"They way I see it, it's up for grabs between the two super soldiers," Rocket says, loud enough to earn the attention of everyone else in the room. "Thor's an unstable puddle right now, so they're the only ones who've got a snowball's chance of surviving and doing it right. Am I wrong?"

"You're not wrong," Bucky says. He turns to Steve, who's looking at him like he knows exactly what he's thinking. Together they step off the quantum platform so they can talk in some relative privacy.

"Buck—" Steve starts, shaking his head.

"I've got the arm for it," Bucky's lips quirk towards a smirk. They both glance at his vibranium arm instinctively, and his metal fist clenches. The arm is attached to his nerve endings, which allows him to feel pretty well with it, but if it gets destroyed it won't cause him the same trauma that losing an arm would for Steve. And that would probably be the least of the damage.

"You never gave up on me, even when I'd given up on myself," Bucky says quietly. "After everything I've done, it's time for me to pay it back."

Steve frowns deeply. He understands Bucky wants to redeem himself, but that doesn't mean he wants to see him do this.

"It should be me," he says stubbornly.

"Why?" Bucky snorts. "So you get to be the hero again?"

Steve smiles grimly. Bucky finally notices Tony, who's watching them while shifting a bit impatiently. Bucky has a feeling he doesn't like being excluded from doing the job, but he knows Steve and Bucky stand a better chance of surviving.

"Let me do this," Bucky says. For you. For everyone.

He knows, meeting Steve's stare, that this is something he can and should do. Even if he doesn't make it. The way he sees it, the world needs Steve Rogers more than it needs Bucky Barnes.

Steve still doesn't like it, but he doesn't have a real argument against it.

Tony sighs heavily. "All right, come on. We need to take this outside."

He leads them outside the compound, where Tony enacts a protocol to seal up the walls and roof behind them with layers of reinforced steel. Ahead of them is a wide grassy field overlooking the Hudson River. Really, it's a beautiful day.

Tony hands Bucky the gauntlet he created with a pointed stare.

"Don't mess this up, Tin Man," he says, rapping Bucky's metal shoulder lightly with his fist. The corner of Bucky's mouth raises slightly. He slides his left hand into the gauntlet, and it automatically adjusts to the size and width of his mechanical arm.

Clint then hands him the Soul Stone, dropping it into his right hand with a heavy sigh.

"You've got this," he says. His eyes are intense, and Bucky knows he's trusting him with his family. With everything.

Bucky nods.

Steve is the last one to grip his shoulder in support.

"Bring 'em back," he smiles, but it soon drops. "Hold on as long as you can."

They both know he's made his peace with the possibility of death, but it doesn't mean he isn't going to fight. He's done giving up.

He places the Soul Stone into the gauntlet, and he feels a burn like electricity shoot up his arm and spreading quickly across his chest and around his neck. He grips his wrist tightly as his teeth grind against the pain.

"Bucky, you okay?" Steve shouts. Bucky can't answer in words, so he just nods. Once he mentally adjusts to the pain, he breathes in, then out again, long and slow.

His shaking fingers come together and snap once.

An invisible shock blast shakes the room and beyond, but for Bucky, the pain is only gaining. With a final gasp, he finds enough strength to shove the gauntlet off of his hand and falls to his knees. His metal arm is nearly charcoal, with sparks coming from the frayed parts and making his fingers twitch involuntarily.

He feels Steve's hand on his other shoulder and thinks he hears him saying something, but his ears are ringing. He closes his eyes to the warmth of the sun until his pain subsides into a familiar dull ache, and his hearing clears.

A cellphone rings.

Bucky opens his eyes and watches Clint reach into his pocket. Trembling, he raises the phone to his ear and answers, "Laura?"

"Hey Cap," he hears Sam, clear as a bell. "On your left."

A large, golden circle materializes, creating a portal that Bucky can see through to a familiar green field.

A tall man glides out of the portal first, a long red cape billowing around him. Behind him, Sam finally steps out to greet Steve, who gets up and shakes his hand. Bucky's smile grows as more and more people he recognizes step through the portal—T'Challa and Shuri, even Wanda.

Natasha steps out after them, and Clint almost drops his phone. He wears a stunned, slightly guilty look on his face, but Natasha just smiles and offers him a strong hug.

Then a smaller woman with wild dark hair steps through. Her gaze is wide and worried as she looks around. And then her beautiful brown eyes find him, instantly filling with tears.

If he had the strength, Bucky would heave himself onto his feet and go to her, but he can't. He's forced to wait a near eternity while she hurries to him.

He knows his own eyes are burning when she drops to her knees in front of him and throws her arms around his neck. So he ignores the agony radiating from his skin and the muscles in his chest and arms and holds her just as tightly with his uninjured arm. Her name falls from his lips like a prayer.

Though suddenly she gasps and pulls back. Her brown eyes search his before they run over his body.

"Why're you in pain? Are you hurt?"

Bucky shakes his head, and he smiles. "Not really."

Just a few feet away, Steve hugs Wanda close.

"I'm sorry, Wanda," he says earnestly. "I'm sorry about Vision."

She breathes shakily, and her grip on him is like a lifeline.

"Me too."

She pulls away from him after a few moments, tears trailing down her cheeks. Steve wipes them away with a small smile on his face. Though she can't quite return it, he knows she appreciates the gesture.

Sam approaches on his left side, and the two look over at the sweet scene taking place. Milena holds Bucky's face tenderly, in light of his injuries. Even kneeling on the ground, he's much taller than her. So she brings his face down to her for a shaking, desperate kiss.

That night, after the Infinity Stones are returned to their proper timelines, Tony Stark throws the party to end all parties. Most people get excessively drunk (Thor and the Guardians), while some like Steve, Sam and Wanda find a quiet corner to talk and reminisce.

But Milena and Bucky have already gone upstairs to his room. Not only can she tell he wasn't that into the crowd of people and loud music, but he truly seems exhausted and still in pain from using the Soul Stone, despite the doctor's work. Shuri had even brought him another vibranium arm she had made and stored in her lab (courtesy of Dr. Strange's portal weaving).

"Do you want to try another shot of morphine?" Mila asks him. Bucky shakes his head negatively. He also doesn't quite look at her as he moves to his bed.

"Want some water then, maybe? Tea might be better," she says, thinking out loud. Again, Bucky just shakes his head.

"Don't worry about it," he murmurs. When his back lays on the mattress and his head hits the pillow, he sighs and settles his metal arm carefully at his side while his hands rests on his stomach. Mila sits on the edge of the bed next to him and slips her hand in his.

Usually he would thread their fingers together, but maybe he's too much in pain to do so. She looks down at him with a smile, gently touching his cheek. Her heart is so full that it aches, so why can't he hold her gaze?

After a moment, his eyes shift away from her, confusing her more. He's putting a clamp on his emotions, probably to discourage her from reading him. She respects his privacy, of course, but she can't help but feel incredibly hurt. Is he mad at her?

She now knows it has been five years since they lost to Thanos. In that time, had he moved on from her? From them.

Swallowing past that painful thought and the urge to break down right there, she decided to be direct.

"Do you not want me here?" she asks. Her voice manages to be steadier than she feels.

Bucky's blue eyes widen, clearly started. But the fact that he doesn't have anything to say answers that question for her. Mila turns her head from him so he doesn't see her reduced to tears, and she stands up from the bed.

"I'll be in the shower."

Without looking back at him, she heads into the private bathroom in his room and shuts the door. She turns the shower on so he can't hear her crying and sniffling. Mila then glances up at herself in the mirror and wishes she hadn't.

She looks pale, eyes read and puffy. Her clothes are borrowed from Natasha, and it's just a simple black dress that hugs her form and cuts at about mid-thigh. The five-inch silver heels are a bit much, but they do go nicely with the dress.

Those heels are the first to go, then her earrings and bracelets. With the metal bands clanging and the shower running, she doesn't hear the bathroom door open.

She does stiffen when she senses Bucky's presence, turning around swiftly. The look in his eyes makes her freeze, her breath catching in her throat. To anyone else, it would seem stoic and emotionless. But she sees the fear and pain there, deep and cavernous.

He reaches out with his flesh hand first, tracing along her wrist and up her arm, while the other finds the swell of her hip. His fingers brush her neck, then the side of her face in a soft caress. When he finally pulls her into his arms, she goes willingly, holding him back while tears burn down her cheeks. His touch is desperate with the weight of what he's been holding onto for so long.

His lips press against her skin as he buries his face in the crook of her neck, and with one hand he turns the shower off.

"I'm sorry," he says.

Mila is shaking in his arms, but she finds the courage to speak.

"Talk to me," she says. Bucky shakes his head.

"No matter what I did, back then during the fight, I was still going to lose you. If you fought with us, or if you stayed in the tower," he says. "I didn't know how much feeling…normal and alive, was because of you."

Mila has a lot of things to say about that, but she reminds herself to let him speak. She knows this is hard enough for him without her interrupting.

"I told myself if I ever saw you again, I should've let you go so you'd have a chance. But I guess I can't," he admits. Pulling away just enough to see her face, he reaches up and holds her cheek again, letting his thumb brush her lips.

"I love you," he says, "and that scares the shit out of me."

Mila's heart swells at his admission. She grabs his wrist firmly, holding his hand to her face.

"It doesn't have to. We're together now," she smiles up at him. "You're stuck with me, Bucky Barnes…so don't you dare let me go."

His slow smile warms her, and when he kisses her, she responds to him immediately. Her body curves into his, and as her fingers slide into his long hair, his hands ease behind her thighs and pull her up onto the edge of the bathroom counter. He stands between her legs and lets his hands roam up higher on her soft thighs, squeezing teasingly.

Mila yelps, smiling into his mouth. She bites his lower lip in retaliation and lets her nails drag across his scalp.

Bucky groans and edges up the hem of her dress, exposing more of her as his hands are smooth across her inner thighs. He suddenly pulls her flush against him, so she can feel (in more ways than one) what she's doing to him.

She gaps, and he uses the opportunity to tangle his tongue with hers and angle his mouth more ardently over hers. Then he feels her fingers drift and catch on his shirt, first tugging at the collar. She pauses, making an annoyed sound when she realizes it doesn't have buttons.

He chuckles and pulls away long enough to yank the shirt over his head while her hands are already undoing his belt buckle.

"Bed, or shower first?" Bucky offers. Mila smiles up at him cheekily. There's a warm sparkle of anticipation in her hooded eyes.

"Surprise me," she says.

He smirks, reaching behind her and finding the zipper on her dress. It starts just below her neck, and he drags it slowly a few inches, letting his hand graze her skin. But then he stops.

She blinks up at him in confusion, but before she can ask what's wrong, he pulls her against him again and kisses her deeply. It's the kind of kiss that makes her toes curl as she wraps her legs around his waist. Admittedly, she's a bit distracted, so when she feels something ripping at the seams, brushing along her body and suddenly exposing her back to the cool air, her nails dig into his back on instinct as her hips buck into his.

Bucky hisses at the sting of her nails in his burned flesh, but there's delicious friction between her center and his straining in his pants. Despite the lance of desire making her skin flush hotly, she realizes two things at once: one, he'd ripped her dress clean in half. Two, her nails had been scratching directly over his burnt skin. She lets go of him with a gasp.

"I'm so sorry, did I hurt you?" she asks in alarm.

Bucky smiles, shaking his head. His hands cup her cheeks and he dips low to kiss her, silencing her apologies. With one hand, he peels what's left of the dress away from her body, leaving her in a strapless bra and underwear. Despite her growing desire, Mila glances down briefly at the ruined dress.

Sorry, Natasha. I owe you one.

"Don't you ruin this bra." Her head pulls away from him with a grin. "The rest of my stuff is back in Wakanda."

Bucky smirks back and, with a raise of his brow, he reaches around her and tears the clasps free with a flick of his wrist. The mangled thing falls away from her, leaving her full, round breasts free for him to reacquaint himself.

"What a shame," he murmurs against her lips. His hands find her tender flesh and she nearly trembles in pleasure.

Sighing, she laughs in amusement. "You're gunna pay for that."

Then she wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him fully while he explores her body again, eliciting moans and sighs that are better than his memories.

Eventually, his desire is too much to handle to keep things slow. He turns on the shower again and, after shedding the rest of their clothes, he has her wrap her legs around him again so he can bring her into the hot steaming shower.

He takes her against the wall, fast and rough and desperate as the wet spray washes away the gloom of the past five years, if even just for a moment. She holds him to her afterwards, pressing his cheek against her breast and he can feel her heart beating so fast as they both come down from waves of pleasure.

She sighs, a sweet sound above his ear. Bucky smiles.

"You made me wait a long time for you," he says. He lifts his head to look down at her with affection, blinking water out of his eyes. "I love you…so much."

Mila holds her hands on both sides of his face and brings him down to her again. She plies his lips with soft, tender kisses. And when she speaks, her voice is just as gentle and strong as he remembers from his dreams.

"I love you too."

She silently vows that she's going to tell him more often from now on.

After they finally make it out of the bathroom wrapped in surprisingly warm and soft towels (It's like a hotel here, my God, she thinks), Bucky sits on the edge of his bed looking for a shirt in the nightstand drawer, but Mila effectively stops him by pushing him back on the bed a little, and she straddles him while his towel hangs lower and hers rides up.

She smiles down at him, dragging her fingers lightly down his collarbone, and Bucky grabs her other hand to finally thread their fingers together.

"I love you," she blurts, though it comes out in a whisper. Bucky's lips quirk up into a smile, and the moment his hand reaches the back of her neck and pulls her down into his kiss, the fall back into the pull of each other.

This time they try harder to take their time, with the realization that the have time. It doesn't have to be as rough and tumble as the first. Their kisses and their touch are still passionate, but he holds her less painfully and more tenderly, while she teases him more and is more stubborn about reciprocating all the attentions and pleasure he gives her.

Later though, Milena thinks there's only a couple hours left of the night before the sun rises. But she can't think of sleep yet. There's so much she wants to know, so much she has to tell him. She lays against his side and rests her hand on his sweaty chest, and in the quiet she tells him about what she encountered in the Soul Stone, her strange new power included.

Bucky's brow furrows and his eyes darken with curiosity (and some worry for her).

"Show me," he says.

Mila concentrates, and soon she's able to call up the familiar energy into her hand. It glows pale gold, just like her eyes.

"Do you know what it does?" he asks.

"Other than what Wanda told me, no," she shakes her head and releases the energy. Bucky takes her hand. Mila glances over at him and sighs at the expanse of burns across the other side of his chest. How is he even laying down normally?

"Are you sure you're not in pain?" she asks. With a blush, her eyes avert from his. "We weren't exactly being…gentle."

Smirking, Bucky looks down at her and brushes his thumb across her bottom lip, earning her attention back to his face.

"You mean you weren't being gentle."

Mila's expression flattens at his teasing, making him laugh and grab her hand before she can move away from him.

"I'm a little sore," he admits with a shrug. The truth is, he's faced worse pain. But he bends down the few inches it takes to press a lingering kiss to her lips. "You couldn't make me regret it if you tried."

Mila smiles when they part, but it soon fades into a frown the more she stares at him.

"You volunteered to use the stone, didn't you. Why though?" she asks. "I thought Steve would've taken the responsibility."

Her eyes watch him perceptively, and Bucky knows it's useless to lie while they're touching.

"They need him more," he says. Even before he said it, he predicted exactly how she's reacting now, glaring at him with tears in her eyes. It's the truth though, and he doesn't want to lie to her anyway.

But she doesn't argue like he expects her to. She only looks away from him while her tears fall. He reaches for her cheek, bringing her back to him and brushing the moisture away from her eye.

"I'm so incredibly proud of you for what you did. But that's not a good reason, Bucky," she finally says. "Your life is worth just as much as his, as much as anyone else's."

It's hard to believe her, but Bucky knows he will try. He now has many reasons to try.

The next time Tony Stark throws a party, it's to officially celebrate his retirement. At least, of the Iron Man suit. In six months, he's been able to completely revamp the Avengers tower in New York. He still lives with Pepper and his daughter in his cabin upstate, so the tower technically belongs to Steve and Natasha, who are taking full responsibility of the Avengers along with Sam, Wanda, and Rhodey.

Tonight, that leaves Bucky and Sam playing a game of pool while Milena shares a vodka on the rocks with Steve's fifth of whiskey.

"I'm worried about Wanda," Mila admits to him. She still senses darkness in the telepath, even though she does seem better now that they're back among their friends. Their family.

Steve nods. "I'm looking out for her…well, you know. We all are."

"For sure," Mila nods.

But she feels a subtle, but warm thread of affection when the blonde looks over at Wanda, who's talking quietly with Nebula and Gamora. Steve's blue eyes are softer, just a touch.

Mila smiles slowly and sips her cocktail.

Bucky notices her sly look and raises a questioning brow. She arches her brows and looks pointedly at Steve, who shifts his gaze once he realizes that he'd been staring at Wanda.

Bucky inwardly sighs. Outwardly, he shakes his head at his girlfriend. She polishes off her drink and asks Steve if he'd get her another one. Being the unfailingly courteous man he is, he goes directly to the bar. Mila saunters back to Bucky and drags her hand delicately down his back to peer at their game over his shoulder.

"I'll play winner," she grins at Sam, who leans on his pool stick confidently.

"You mean me," Sam says. "I've got him cornered."

Bucky doesn't bother rolling his eyes, but he does lean in to whisper in Mila's ear.

"Leave it alone," he warns her. Meanwhile, Steve is getting distracted at the bar when Wanda joins him for another drink.

Mila smiles up at Bucky all the same.

"What?" she asks innocently. Her eyes dip to survey the game on the table. Sam did seem to have Bucky on the rocks. "Looks like he's got you beat."

Bucky glances down at the table, then back at her. He starts at her high heels, dragging over the rest of her form in a navy dress that clings at the bust and waist, flaring at the hips.

That look he gives her is sinful though, and it makes her skin prickle pleasantly and her face flush when his eyes finally meet hers.

He takes aim, and with one precise thrust, the cue ball ripples into the solid colors until each one falls into the four corners pockets of the table.

Sam stares down in disbelief. When Mila finally gets over her shock, she smiles and claims the pool stick from Sam's hand.

"My turn!" she chirps.

"I call next," Tony says. He comes up behind her and grabs her shoulder along with Bucky's. Bucky stops himself from stiffening, but just barely. They've gotten to a much better place, especially since Tony is the one who worked out his pardon from the government.

"It's kinda sad, you not takin' advantage of my hospitality by living here full-time," he says, but in a way that lets them know he doesn't really mind. Actually, Mila senses that he's fishing for information. "I hear ya'll are taking a trip. Eloping in Vegas?"

Sam sits back with a smile and crosses his arms. No doubt he wants to know where this is going. Bucky and Mila share a look, but neither of them give anything away. She turns to Tony with a rather coy smile.

"It's an overdue trip," she says simply. "We'll be back in time for the next mission."

"You mean Barnes' next mission," Tony says. He lets go of them to grab the beer Sam offers him.

"Little bird told me you're going back to school," he adds, raising a brow. "Avenger in training."

Mila smiles more genuinely. While she still doesn't consider herself an Avenger, she does plan to train more with Clint and Natasha on honing her newfound powers activated by the Soul Stone. She still doesn't understand them, but when she does, maybe she and Bucky can talk about her helping with Avengers issues.

"Training only," she says. "I plan to actually go back to school though."

"Psychology right?" Sam cuts in. Bucky wraps his arm around her, effectively knocking Tony's hand off his shoulder. He gives Mila a proud smile.

"Her doctorate," he says. She nods, blushing. She technically has two degrees under the name Lesya Belevich.

"Gunna fix all our broken heads, huh?" Tony smirks. "Won't that be swell."

She rolls her eyes. "Not sure if that's possible, in some cases, but yes. I want to help people in a better way."

Not with the back-alley curiosities shop she used to have. But with an actual degree behind her and a legal way to practice therapy…if with some unorthodox techniques. She doesn't plan to stop using her powers if it makes a positive difference.

"You're going to be great," Bucky says. She turns her face up to him and smiles, forgetting that Sam and Tony are watching them with a shared knowing look.

It's really late by the time they get home, and Milena is more than a little tipsy (and handsy). Bucky shushes her with a laugh when she nearly stumbles into the wall, pulling her close to him while he fishes into his pocket for his keys. Their apartment building is relatively small, even for Brooklyn, but their two-bedroom is on the fifth floor and it's safe. Bucky has made sure of the security himself and knows all the staff by name.

By the time he gets the door open, Mila's wandering hands are already making his skin heat up in anticipation. Her feverish kisses along his throat manage to distract him. He pushes her back gently into the doorframe and kisses her soundly. His metal hand bites into the wood frame as he leans into her, and she presses herself flush against him.

That is, until someone clears their throat behind them.

Bucky snaps his head to the side, body fully tense to react, only to roll his eyes at Steve Rogers. He has his own keys in his hand and unlocks his apartment door, directly across from theirs.

"You should probably shut the door," he smirks, and disappears into his apartment.

Mila laughs, resting her forehead on Bucky's chest. He holds her more gently in his arms.

"We do have a morning flight," he says. She only shrugs with a dangerously flirtatious smile.

"We can sleep on the plane."

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA

It's a hot, Romanian summer.

Sweltering really. Emil itches for a cigarette, but doesn't feel like making the trek downstairs just to sweat while he smokes. So instead, he reads the paper and frowns at the state of world affairs. The only thing going right is the Avengers are reformed, and they'd managed to save their world once again.

The TV is on in the living room that afternoon, which means his wife Lina is dozing off during The Price is Right.

There's a pot of stew sizzling on the stove, and Emil's eyes flick up when the lid starts wobbling.

"Lina," he calls. Taps impatiently on the table when he doesn't hear an answer. He calls his wife's name again loudly, just as the doorbell rings.

"Lina, the door!"

"You get the door," she says grumpily. She brushes past him in the kitchen to get to her stew.

"Why didn't you tell me this was boiling over?" she asks. The doorbell rings more insistently. "Get off your ass and see who's there!"

"I swear to the Lord in heaven, why did he bless me with such a darling angel? Don't know how it happened," Emil throws up his hands wryly as he groans getting out of his chair.

"You should be so lucky," Lina grouses after him, even as she smiles in amusement. "Just see who it is. I'm sure it's Vera asking for more of the sweet cake I made yesterday."

Emil rolls his eyes. He goes to unlock the door and mutters, "Yes, if she wants indigestion, by all means."

He opens the door and finds the doorway filled by a tall young man, familiar and blue-eyed, but they look much clearer and softer. While the young woman at his side is still warm and smiling just the same as the days he knew her as Lesya.

"Hello, Emil," she says. "Has it been too long?"

"Bucky Barnes and Milena Malikov," Emil gasps incredulously. He holds a hand trembling to his heart to make sure his pacemaker isn't ticking out on him.

Then he grins, ushering them in through the door.

"It's about damn time."

AN: First off, a huge thank you to everyone who's been following this story; either since the beginning or along the way. It's hard to believe it started back in 2016 after Civil War released. I really only meant it to be about 3 chapters, and it became this story.

When in Romania is finally done for real this time, though I may revisit this world and these characters again in one-shots, or maybe an AU if there are any requests or suggestions.

I will say I teased the possibility of Steve/Wanda because I think they had a lot of meaningful moments throughout the movies, and they understand each other in a unique kind of way, which I find interesting. I considered tying things up with Steve/Nat, but I think they make more sense as friends and confidants, not so much as romantic partners. But I have read Steve/Nat stories that I've enjoyed a lot, so I'm not knockin' it either. The one thing I wanted to do was preserve Steve's character arc in moving on from Peggy in the modern world, finding his place with solid friends like Sam and Bucky (on and off the battlefield).

Anyway, I'm relieved to have finally finished this. If there are any loose ends I didn't think of, feel free to let me know!