Diana, dressed in a blue chiton, stood with Tony - the Iron Man armor, along with Diana's, presumably already stowed aboard the quinjet - and Bucky when Steve approached with her mother.

He glanced at her, and for the briefest of moments, panic fluttered across her expression. Steve grinned, hoping to silently reassure her that they had gotten along well enough, at least warrior to warrior if not suitor to parent.

Son to mother.

At any other time, Steve might have shied away from those words, from that thought. Now, though - now they settled comfortably, surely, in his mind and heart.

As he drew closer, his attention shifted to Bucky. "You okay, Buck?"

Bucky grinned. "The only man on an island full of beautiful women? Course I am."

Then he sobered. "Yeah, punk, I'm as okay as I can be, given the circumstances. Be better if they find out those words."

"You don't have any idea about them at all?" Steve asked.

"I know they use 'em, and I know they use the chair after, so I won't remember."

Steve couldn't help frowning at the reminder of what had been done to him - what Steve had allowed to happen. If he'd searched the ravine where Bucky fell, maybe -

"Steve." Bucky's voice cut into his reverie, and Steve slowly met his best friend's gaze. "It's not your fault. It's Hydra's fault, and they're dead. Or will be, if what Stark says is true."

"Well," Tony said, "maybe not dead dead - depends what crimes they're charged with and how they're sentenced. But the organization will at least be crippled."

"That'll do," Bucky said. "That'll definitely do. Thanks."

Steve watched his oldest friend and one of his newest friends shake hands, then clapped them both on the shoulder.

"We'll find those words, get you fixed," he said. "Then -"

"Then you'll show me this brave new world we ended up in," Bucky finished, and Steve was grateful, because Bucky's words were far more optimistic than anything he might have said.

Steve pulled him into a hug. "Take care of yourself."

"I'm not the one who never knows when to back down from a fight." Bucky slapped him on the back, then pulled away to look at Diana.

She smiled and hugged him equally hard. "Take care of my sisters - and let them take care of you, too."

"You take care of him," Bucky countered, jerking his head in Steve's direction.

"Hey," Steve protested half-heartedly. "I'm Captain America."

"Still a Brooklyn punk." Bucky grinned, then shook Tony's hand with a, "Thanks - for everything," that Steve didn't quite understand, but figured he didn't need to.

"See you on the other side," Tony said, then nodded to the queen. "Nice island you've got here."

Before Hippolyta could respond, Diana took two steps forward, and then the two women held each other tight. Hippolyta spoke to her daughter in Themysciran Greek, and Diana responded in the same language.

When Diana stepped back from the embrace, she faced her mother and the other Amazons who'd gathered to watch the quinjet depart. She raised her arms, crossing them over her chest so that her bracers clanged softly.

As one, her mother and her sisters returned the salute.

With a last nod to Bucky, Diana turned and strode toward the quinjet.

"Thank you, ma'am," Steve said to Hippolyta.

"Be welcome on Themyscira, Steve Rogers," she replied. "Friend of the Amazons."

There was something behind those words, Steve thought, but now was not the time to find out what. Instead, he bowed briefly, awkwardly, and turned to join Diana and Tony on the quinjet.

The ramp raised behind him, and Diana was in his arms almost before he'd cleared it.

"Everything okay?" Steve asked, just loud enough for her to hear him over the roar of the engine.

"More than okay," she murmured against his neck. "My home is safe, another friend is returned from the dead, and my mother approves of my love."

"Agapitos, you said." Steve paused, considered the word, ventured, "Beloved?"

She nodded. "I could think of no other term as accurate."

There was, really, only one response he could make. "I love you."

Diana smiled and stretched up - not too far - to kiss him, long and languid, a wordless confirmation of their feelings.

When he finally - finally; he'd lost track of time - had to break for air, Steve rested his forehead against hers.

"One of the claims I made against someone using my name and likeness without permission from my estate has already paid off."

"So soon?" Diana murmured. "I thought court cases could last for years."

"Most do, according to what I've read," Steve said. "But this company capitulated after a single letter informing them that we intended to sue. They chose to pay a lot of money up front to avoid the risk of paying a lot more money later."

"Excellent. Have you decided what you're going to do with the money?"

Steve smiled. "I'm buying a house."

Diana pulled away from him to stare up into his eyes. "A house?"

"In Brooklyn, on the water. The neighborhood took a fair amount of damage during the -" Steve broke off, debating how to refer to the Battle of New York. "During the invasion. The house itself isn't damaged badly, but because the neighborhood around it was, the price is actually reasonable. Or so my real estate agent says, no price is what I would call reasonable these days."

"It sounds lovely."

"It needs some work," Steve said. "But that's okay - it'll give me something to do after I finish OCS."

Diana frowned at him, obviously puzzled. "That can't be all you're doing after OCS?"

"No," Steve agreed, and took a breath. "I'm going to request a position at Fort Hamilton. It's in Brooklyn, and that's perfect. My alternate choices are Fort Drum and Fort Dix. Any one of the three is a permanent position, but I can be available to the Avengers as needed."

"I would've thought the Avengers would train together, like a regular army unit."

"We will," Steve said, "but I envision the Avengers as being more like the National Guard, one weekend a month and two weeks per year. Everyone has lives, and with a little luck and the grace of God, we won't be needed very often."

"It sounds like you've thought this through very well," Diana observed. Steve felt his face flush - from her, that was high praise indeed.

"Believe me, there were lots of conversations with my attorneys, Tony, and others."

"I admit to being surprised you're not going back on active duty."

"I don't feel comfortable fighting today's enemies," Steve admitted. "During the war, you and I fought a definable enemy. War today is different. Besides state against state warfare - like the Korean War, or Operation Desert Storm - we have war against ideologies. Only it's not against ideologies per se so much as it is against the followers of those ideologies who commit horrible acts of violence while looking and acting like ordinary people. That's - too much for me to deal with, in addition to dealing with a new century and new technology. An administrative or training position suits me fine."

Diana had cocked her head to one side while he spoke, and Steve found himself wondering if she didn't somehow embody the truth her Lasso compelled.

"It's not what I would have expected," she said finally, "but I think it's a good choice."

Steve took a breath - it was now or never. "The house I bought - it's big enough for us. Us and a family and room for guests, too. If you want."

He watched her breath catch in her throat. "Steve -"

"I loved Peggy Carter once," he said evenly. "But that love died when I went into the ice - even if I took a while to realize it. It freed me to love again - and I love you."

"So you said." Diana's tone was neutral now, and it hurt almost as much as her anger would've. He could only press on and hope for the best.

"I want to spend my life with you. Marry you. Raise children with you, if that's what you want. Either way, I want our house to be open to friends, yours and mine, wherever they come from and whatever they do. Please, say you'll live with me, share your life with me."

Diana looked at him for long moments, and Steve briefly wondered if he'd miscalculated. The she smiled, wide and bright.

"I love you, Steven Grant Rogers," she said, "and I will live with you and share my life with you."

= = = END = = =

Although I've marked this story complete, another scene or two have been dancing around in my head. I may add them later if they stay scenes. If they morph into another story, well, then … I'll post that, too, after a *long* conversation with my muse. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!