Avengers - Civil War AU - Kintsugi Golden Repair 2.0 - ABANDONED

"No, it's okay. I understand. He hurt you, hurt your brother," Buck soothed and honestly, as long as she was covered he didn't care much either, and he was grateful she was clean now. He came close and squished both her cheeks lightly, being playful to ease the situation a little more, too, "You did good." Letting her go, he went and pulled the sheets down enough for when she was dry enough. Soon there was a knock on the door and he answered it, relief rushing out of him when he saw Kerica, "Good, good, you're here."

"I hope you like what I brought," Kerica told Jayden, walking close slowly, staying arm's length away, and offering her the folded pile of an all black fleece shirt and black/grey plaid fleece pants, "It's cold in the castle. I mean, I can always find something else."

Jayden blinked at the pile of clothes and looked at Kerica curiously before turning to Bucky. "For me?" She pointed at the things Kerica was holding and then to herself. At Bucky's nod, she looked at the clothes again. She brought her hand up and gently ran it across the fabric. Her eyes lit up and she smiled. "Soft!" She took the clothes, accidentally letting the towel drop but she didn't care. She heard someone yelp and a soft twitter of laughter, but she didn't know who it was. She got rid of the towel on her head too so she could get herself dressed. She placed the clothes on and she patted the fabric happily when she felt how soft it was. "Thank you." She said, suddenly turning shy only for a brief moment before she held her finger up and dove right back into the bathroom, dragging the towels with her.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Pietro," Kerica giggled and shook her head. When J.J. came back out, she smiled, "Those fit you pretty well. Do you want me to brush your hair?"

Jayden blinked and thought about it for a moment before diving back into the bathroom and taking out a comb. She walked back out and handed the comb to Kerica before scooting on the bed, bringing her legs together in a cross. "You're not scared." She was getting used to talking in simple sentences again rather than childish ones. "Why not?"

"Is there a reason I should be?" Kerica asked and got on Bucky's bed, getting behind J.J. and started from the bottom, working her way up.

"She doesn't know, though...I feel like she wouldn't be scared of you anyway," Bucky explained, "She was never scared of me."

Jayden nodded and just shrugged. "No reason." She didn't want to say anything that /would/ scare her. As much as Bucky was trying to tell her that Kerica wouldn't, she didn't want to test it out. She hummed softly as Kerica combed her hair. It felt strange, nice even. She was really gentle and this place was soothing. "The guy's gone." She finally said after a moment. "Can't hurt us or bring us back to the Cage. I'm worried about Slate now. Can't undo it. I hope he doesn't change." Her shoulders slumped suddenly, accidentally tugging at the comb. "He's safe here...if he does...maybe. Don't want him to be a weapon or a dog."

"He won't be," Buck told her firmly, "Everything's going to be okay. We just have to wait and see. I have to ask, did you manage to get anymore information out of him before...yeah. Like where the next base is?"

(I'm thinking somewhere like a secluded part of England? Maybe?)

"He said the radio thing was transmitting to England somewhere." Jayden frowned. "I can probably work with it, see where it goes. I just got the general area. The radio thingy still works, just not the transmission. They might've turned it off, but that's okay too. England isn't huge. It'd be nice to go there again. I liked the trees and the hills. Real green."

"Real green. We'll just have to be careful not to be spotted. I'm sure T'Challa's technology will keep us cloaked, and we hit it hard and fast like the other one," Buck agreed, and he smiled as J.J. started to lean into Kerica's gentle touches. Kerica liked combing his hair, too, so he knew she was headed into dreamland, "We can talk more about it later. I should go check on Steve."

"Tell him sorry." Jayden waved sleepily. She was starting to have a real hard time keeping her eyes open. She couldn't recall the last time she slept. So it really didn't take her long to crash. Not in the slightest.

"She really is adorable," Kerica smiled tenderly and just stroked her hair now she was done combing, "I'll stay with her. Better tell Pietro she actually fell asleep, too."

"I'll go do that. Thank you again," Buck nodded to her, and headed out his room to go find the Captain. They had some planning to do, and maybe Natasha could figure out how to trace the radio back, too.

()

A couple weeks later, well into the beginning of December, They had located the England Base and their injured had recovered fairly well. Slate still had nightmares, but no more seizures. Pietro's leg had healed quite well, and the day before they were scheduled to leave, he proved that.

He'd been terrorizing her all day.

First Pietro switched J.J's drink on her, to which she gagged and nearly spit it out. Then he tripped her during training and caught her before she hit the ground, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead before letting her go to 'thump' the rest of the way. Next he moved her chair during lunch over about two inches to the right, and she didn't even notice that one, too busy reading her book, until she reached out for her drink and couldn't touch it.

His favorite thing to do, was when she was distracted enough, he would pick her up, and place her down. It wasn't awful, but the thing was, was that he was so fast that a "pick up" and "set down" would be in two different rooms. An example would be if she was walking down the hallway to go to the library, she'd suddenly be walking down the hallway in another area of the palace entirely. A few times she got so turned around and lost, she texted her brother and admitted that she was lost, resulting in Bucky swearing that they would need a GPS on her. Apparently, no one really believed that she was just suddenly moved, as Jayden was famous for getting lost naturally.

Pranks were not her thing. Not that she didn't they weren't /fun/ or anything, but every idea that she had for getting him back was shot down immediately. One idea had been a dead rat, and that made /everyone/ who heard the idea cringe. Another was that she could find an eye somewhere and stow it. Bucky and Steve both told her that she didn't really understand how pranking /worked/. They tried teaching her, but...Pietro was really good at making it backfire.

The water bucket was supposed to drop on him when he opened the door, not on Wanda.

So Jayden was trying to figure out another way to make it work. She knew that there was an /art/ to do this. But it was an art that she just wasn't good at figuring out. Pietro obviously was a master and expert at it, but asking him for advice was just cruel.

It was already near sunset, and at the moment she was just laying down on the ground, staring up at the ceiling, legs and arms spread out like she was going to do a snow angel on hard ground. The humidity of the jungle stuck to her skin and she could hear the insects buzz around. She was really glad that no one was in lounge area on the balcony. She was certain she'd get some weird looks from the onlookers. She was hoping the ceiling and the jungle would have ideas. But...neither one of them were talking much today.

"My sister's hair is /still/ damp from ze water bucket," Pietro was suddenly there, peering down over her, silver-blue eyes wild and carefree, his mind a static buzz like usual, "I commend yu for zat one. Yu tried so hard. I vould've never known it vas zere."

"Did I do something?" Jayden questioned looking up at him. The way that he was positioned made him look upside down to her. She grinned a little at the thought of him actually running up the ceiling, but kept that thought to herself. "All day. I had to get reinforcements. My brother doesn't know what to do. I got lost five times. /Five/. This Palace is huge."

"Your puzzled face is just so cute," Pietro grinned at her hugely, and he was dangling a camera above her all of a sudden, "I stole Kerica's camera and took pictures of yu each time. My favorite is when yu reached for your juice at lunch."

"You're weird." Jayden declared as she closed her eyes and shook her head from side to side. "You take pictures of weird things. Why would you take pictures of that?" She opened her eyes to look at him. "You probably run away when a camera is taken out."

"Kerica's ze only one who's been able to catch me," Pietro looked proud of that fact, "She has a fast-snap option vhere yu hold ze button down and it takes a lot of pictures at once. She's also very sneaky. I only sit down and take /nice/ pictures vhen Wanda asks me. Sometimes."

Jayden nodded and gently patted the ground to let him know he could come down next to her. "She should ask you more often. I want one."

"Maybe. Possibly. Ask her," Pietro slung the camera over his shoulder and laid down beside her, head propped up in his hand and he slung his other am and one of his legs over her, pulling her close, "Got yu."

Jayden's sprawled out form turned more into a cuddle and she laughed. Normally she knew she would have felt trapped. But when Pietro did it, well...it was just one of those things she believed only Pietro could do. There was a /lot/ she was learning that only he and Bucky could do. Sometimes Wanda. Slate sometimes could do them, but when he was out and stuck in the hospital room, he couldn't. It made him both happy and really overprotective. She understood why. "Where's home to you?" She asked after a moment. "City? Country? Snow?"

"Home...is vhere my sister is. Home is here. I have to be with my twin, so rain or snow or sunshine, I'll be vherever she is," Pietro nodded firmly, "I traveled for a month just to get here. Yu were an added bonus," he smooched her forehead.

"I'm a....good thing?" Jayden turned a little more into him so she could look at him curiously. "The kisses...good things I know...but you like me?" She was trying to puzzle it all out.

"Yu are a very good zing! I do like yu," he didn't skip a beat, "Zese last several weeks have been a roller-coaster, with my emotions going this way and zat because I vas impatient at my leg for taking so long to heal, and yu vere vorried for Slate, and Natasha's been acting strange, too. All in all, zough, I really enjoy being around yu."

"Everything was topsy-turvy." Jayden agreed as she smiled. "I like you too. You're one of the safe ones." She told him honestly. "Nat likes Slate I think. That's why she's acting weird. Doesn't like that Slate was injected. We're waiting for the worst."

"I zink he's gotten a lot better," Pietro felt his heart flutter at her admission, "He doesn't have seizures anymore. It's a good zing zose vere temporary. He healed up fairly quickly once zey stopped, too. Zat might be do to ze serum. He's vell enough to be approved for ze mission tomorrow, after all. So...I don't zink it's a bad thing. How it happened vas bad, I will agree to zat...especially since my sister and I vent zrough ze same zing."

"Same thing?" Jayden asked sharply, looking at him. She should've went a little worse. Forget that she had basically ripped the man, she should have kept him awake while she did it if that was true. But, it was over and done with and she felt herself relax, well...slump. "We're out of the Cage now though. For now."

"Metal rooms instead of a Cage and more zan just one or two opponents," he explained, settling his arm down and laying his head on her shoulder, "I spoke vith Slate...and related vith him. I hated hearing my sister's screams, and zey kept us separated by a zick vall in small boxes. She doesn't mind small spaces as much as I do. No place to run. No freedom. No /air/."

"Kennel." Jayden whispered hoarsely. "Small spaces...not soft. Hard floors."

"Cold," Pietro shuddered as he echoed with her, "I don't mind ze cold that much, but still...I understand more zan I really should," he held her tighter, just shy of uncomfortable, "Zey von't get yu, I'll make sure of it. I vould rather go back before I let yu or Wanda go zrough zat again."

"Don't want you to go back." Jayden frowned at the whine she made. She didn't whine all that much, but it was scary. "Not you. You can run. I can keep Wanda away from the Cage. They like me." She frowned deeply. "They want me home."

"Zey can't have yu...you're mine," Pietro said stubbornly, "Zey aren't home. Home is here vith me and Slate."

"Then don't get caught easy." Jayden retorted back, this time with a bit of a smile, "and okay."

~*~

Tony could not believe what was happening right about now. In everything that could happen, Captain America and his Firefly crew had decided to show up in the England base that had been on their radar and General Ross had given the go to have it destroyed. For a moment, it was like everything fit back together with the Captain shouting orders and everyone working as a team to keep the soldiers at bay and to destroy it. Natasha had worked herself up to the floor with all the technology in order to start working on getting something destroyed or erased, Tony wasn't sure but he hoped that Vision would be able to stop her. After all, they too were probably after the same information that they were.

What was even weirder about this, was that there were three people in Capiscle's group that Tony never seen before. Two of them were fucking terrifying, wearing nothing but blue and armed to the teeth with spears and swords, appearing and disappearing as if by magic to instantly kill the soldiers. The other one was just...flipping weird. Tony could have /sworn/ he had seen this person before too. He was pretty certain that he would've known that there was an Agent in S.H.I.E.L.D. that acted like a squirrel, though so maybe not. Hell his parkour abilities could rival the Captain's and Pixie's. He skittered across a fucking roof beam, only to stop, turn around and shoot people while running backwards and jumping off with a grace of a damn cat, heading up the floor where Natasha and Vision were most likely located.

He was kind of surprised that while Scarlet Witch was there, and was holding on her own with the guards oncoming their direction, her brother wasn't. Quicksilver, he would have thought, would be there with her. Maybe he was, and he was just too damn fucking fast for him to know or not. He didn't hold too much of a grudge against Wanda though. He had tried to do what was best for her, and she was still young. She would make mistakes and he could only hope that she make the good ones.

The Winter Solider on the other hand was another story entirely. Tony seen the man fight, had been on the end of the gun that had shot off point blank in his face. His style was just as deadly and graceful as Romanoff, but he could see that he was holding back. He could kill practically everyone in this room without so much of a drop of sweat going down his face, but instead he was doing the whole "Good guy non-lethal" parameters that just...bothered Tony. He was watching the Captain's back, which was no shock to anyone. However, there was something that just...didn't sit right with him. The brutality was there, but hidden.

Needless to say, it was chaos all the way around. Tony's orders might have been to gather the intel and end the base, but he couldn't be too certain about the Capsicle and his rag-tagged team. When the fighting slowed down, and there was less Hydra to worry about, Tony managed to find a moment to breech the topic.

"Hope you know Cap, you're still a wanted criminal. Any way I can change your mind still?"

"Not really." Steve responded, tossing his shield at a Hydra agent that was just about to take a shot at him. "You make it sound I don't know what it's like to be on the wrong end of the law before."

"You're outnumbered, Tony," Sam called on his com, "You and Vision can't take us in by yourselves, and we have Nat on our side this time."

"Plus five-six others you never fought before," Kerica replied, and that list included herself because she would never win against Tony's suit in the past. In T'Challa's special suit, she just might be able to put a few claw-marks in it, scratch that gold and red paint.

“Steve are you up to sharing?” Natasha questioned over the com. “There’s more in this hide out than just the passcodes, but I can destroy those so we don’t hand them over to the Capitalists.”

“I don’t know. Hey, Buck…its your call.” Steve answered as he threw his shield towards Bucky. He knew his friend would grab it out of midair and use it before tossing it back. As Sam would call it, the Greatest American Game of Frisbee. Though, Steve was pretty certain that it would be a limited game considering who could only be apart of it. Suits not included. “Do we share or do we destroy?”

“Or keep.” Natasha helpfully responded. “We might want to keep some of this.”

"I remember much, but details that I didn't consider important a the time are lost to me. I'm seriously thinking we should keep it, comb through it, and then destroy it later. Of course, that would give them cause to step up their game so we might be in danger..." Bucky considered, the shield bouncing off of three skulls before boomeranging back to him and he tossed it back to Steve just in time so he could punch a fourth right in the nose, the /crunch/ quite satisfying to his ears.

"We are handling ourselves just fine so far," Sam fired one of his wing rockets at a Hydra goon going after Draco while he was distracted with another. Draco could handle a lot as he's seen, but there were more than one well-trained Hydra Agent that could get the best of them. He gave a thumbs-up to the man clad in blue as he whipped around.

---

"Natasha," a soft gentle voice called from behind the redheaded woman, and Vision held his hands up in surrender when Nat trained a gun in his direction. He had turned his com off so she spoke freely, "I do not wish to fight you, but I need the intel for my own mission. The destruction of this base is of no issue. If you let me scan the computers, I will turn right back around, and go where I really wish to be." With his telekinetic powers he didn't need to wait for a flimsy disk.

Natasha looked over at Vision and she thought about it. A part of her knew what Vision was capable of and even if she did say “no”, there was really nothing that she could do to stop him. She also knew that he was the entire reason Pietro was at Wakanda. “Are you coming back with us or are you staying with Tony? Wanda misses you.”

Hurt flashed across his silver-blue cybernetic eyes, and he closed them, "No, I cannot go with you. I miss her as well...as I have portrayed in my letters. If I go Tony will be alone, and his level of grief is already great. I agree that a lot of it is his fault, but everyone has their own /valid/ point to why they agree or disagree with the Accords. I will not be swayed in mine, and so I will stay with Tony. Once you let me do what I do, I will spend what little time I have with Wanda, fighting by her side."

"And if Tony changes his mind and comes to our side?" Natasha couldn't help but to prod. "Will you still side with the Accords?"

"I will not. I will not stand alone on something that everyone else is against. In reality, I would be relieved. Inside I could agree still, but I will gladly turn by back if it meant we were all fighting as one once more, and I could be with the woman I love. Natasha, please. The more we talk, the more my opportunity fades," Vision's lips turned down in a frown as he turned pleading eyes on her. He just wanted to do what he came here for and leave, not be interrogated.

“It’s all I wanted to know.” Natasha said gently as she moved aside. “Have at it and then go fight with Wanda.” She knew the Witch would be ecstatic for the opportunity, even if it was just a little time.

---

“You know,” Draco spun his spear and stabbed it through a man’s chest before disappearing into the shadows in time for a bullet to wiz by and appear behind /that/ one. “In all my time training, I never envisioned my skills being used for like this.” He felt a bullet graze his shoulder. As he spun around to hit the man, Nyah’s knife was already protruding through his chest and the agent fell.

“Where are you two located?” Steve questioned through the comms.

Draco nodded his head at her and disappeared through the shadows. “We’re on the third floor.” He explained into his. “I also have to say I’m not a fan fighting with wires on me.”

"It can be a bit strange if you're not used to it. I remember learning how to keep focused on my fight but still understand my com, because I tended to accidentally tune out one or the other," Kerica chatted to Draco.

Draco was about to answer that when he had to pull his spear out and had to fight mano a mano with the man who was so foolish as to come close and try to attack him head on. The man was good at trying, but Draco was better at wielding. He snapped his kick into the man’s torso to get him to back off and he quickly stabbed the man in the neck. He felt the presence of another and he knew that he was going to get severely wounded when he heard a loud “POP” and a wall crashing next to him. He spun around to see Sam giving him the thumbs up and he nodded his head and gave him a wave. No time for formalities and he wasn’t sure what the “thumbs up” meant. “I know what you mean.”

"Natalia, you've been quiet for a while. Is everything 'A OK' up there?" Buck asked as he came barreling towards Steve and kicked a guy behind him square in the jaw, sending him flying.

"I'm alright." Natasha said after a moment. "Was trying not to die." She shot the man three times in the chest and she rubbed her throat. He had her up against the wall and it had taken a bit of maneuvering for him to be the one up against the wall instead. She felt bad for shooting him. She should've broken his wind pipe, but all was said and done. "Is Nyah on the third floor with you Draco? If I'm quiet, she's silent."

“If she is, I haven’t crossed her path.” Draco responded. “Give me a moment, I’ll search.” He quickly started using the shadows as the fastest way to get to her, wherever she was. He was worried. He saw her fighting, and a few times she would go down to the first floor to be with her lover and protect him when he needed her. He could understand that, but if she wasn’t on the first floor, and no where near Natasha and Slate, then…he feared the worse. “Nyah, <sweetheart> where are you?” He pressed his fingers tight to his ear, not wanting to miss a thing.

But no one responded and his worry increased. “I’m going offline. I’ll communicate to you if needed, but you guys talk to me when you need me.” Draco explained before muting it the best that he could. He needed to focus on finding Nyah.

James stared at Steve, the eye cameo making his paling skin more noticeable. He didn't like what he was hearing...or not hearing, in this case. "Let's keep moving." It was all they could do while they waited for a report. He hadn't...felt anything different. He hadn't felt like anything was wrong, but now his gut was twisting and he tried focusing more on the link between himself and his beloved.

Steve nodded. Nyah was tough, though he had to think about what to do if there was a problem. His mind went through a few scenarios and he picked the best three that he could think of and the worst three. Right now, since things were hanging in the balance somewhat, he decided not to say anything. Keep moving, and they went deeper into the base. "We stick to the plan for now."

Clint had been staying with Slate this whole time, and after hearing Nyah was missing, the two of them started their own scouting, as the shadow didn't reach certain places. Their sharp eye-sight helped a lot in it's own way for that sort of thing as well. Clint fired off an explosive arrow towards two guys and it blew them away before he jumped off of what used to be a walkway and crept around below, before he spotted a ripped piece of blue cloth, blood staining it's corners. Plucking it, he was certain it was the same shade as their assassins. "Slate! C'mere!" he hissed and waved after the boy picked off a man across the roof with his sniper rifle. As soon as he was beside him he held the cloth out and they shared a look of panic. Hurrying through the halls they knocked in doors that hadn't already been kicked or blown open.

Slate's breath caught and he pointed at blood that wasn't attached to a Hydra body. It led deeper into a maze set of rooms and they heard female whimpering. Clint set a few trap arrows around the perimeter of the outside room while Slate slipped further in, and he was surprised at his own reflexes as he knocked away a spear from his neck. He really wasn't used to his new abilities yet, and he immediately sushed the shadow who cried out and scrambled back, "Nyah? Nyah, sugah, it's alright, it's Slate."

She was dizzy from the blood loss and she was trying to breathe as she pressed her hand into her wounds. She kept herself upright by holding onto the wall, but if someone was to really look into the room, he would see a puddle of blood. “Slate?” She asked, her voice wrecked and weak. “I couldn’t…my comm….” She gestured over towards one area of the room. The com had been knocked out of her ear and when she grabbed it and tried to work it, something in it must have been jerked out of place because she could hear them…but she couldn’t seem to communicate back. The only hope she had was to stay in the room and hope that someone would figure it out. She couldn’t even reach James…or Bucky for that matter. She was too busy trying to breathe…and make sure that her panic didn’t make her bleed faster. She suddenly bent over and fell hard on her knees as she tried to fight another wave of nausea. “<Please help me>.” She begged. “<Whatever help is to you.>”

Slate didn't understand her native tongue, but he hurried forward and he ripped off her hood, unwinding it and tying it where he needed it, and applying pressure, "Hawkeye! Call the others!" his hands weren't free anymore. He should've thought about that.

"On it!" Clint pressed his fingers to his ear, "We found her! Draco, get to our location, she's in a shadowy place. Steve, you have T'Challa's device to call for evacuation. We need it. Now. Nat, you better have that intel."

Wanda couldn’t believe the flurry of conversation that just suddenly happened through her com. Natasha saying that she already had it, Steve snapping to get done, and she could hear Draco from somewhere above saying something about getting to her right now. It was so hard to focus, and she felt her heart leap into her throat, because she knew that something bad happened. Something terrible and…she caught one Hydra agent by surprise, but she failed on getting the other one. She could’ve sworn she felt her life flash before her eyes when she saw a yellow beam take the Hydra agent down. “Dragule, Vision…” She smiled brightly. “I missed you it’s been so long.”

Vision let out a whoosh of relief as he laid eyes on her and he scanned the area before he wrapped his arms around her and held her close and tight, "Iubit, Wanda...You're safe. I am sorry I couldn't be with you sooner, and now I hear the others scrambling, so we'll be apart again." He pulled back and cupped her face in his red hands, marveling just for a moment at the contrast, before he swooped down and kissed her hard and fast. Just a moment...it was all he wanted. She responded to him, and they drew into each other deeper. It ended far too soon, and he pulled away, every fiber of his being screaming not to, and he kissed her forehead, "I am sorry for everything, and I forgive you. Now go, hurry to your extraction zone. Mr. Stark and I will finish things off here."

"Continue to write to me and I'll respond." Wanda promised as she kissed Vision's cheek. She felt her tears fall down her cheeks, but she knew that she'd meet him again. Once wasn't going to be enough for her. She lingered, just a moment longer before she ran off. Her heart breaking in her ears as she did.

X

"Nyah!" Buck screamed, dropping everything as he ran onto the stealth jet. She was being hooked up by Slate, Clint, Wanda and Kerica in the medical bed, a few of T'Challa's men that had driven on the jet also assisting. T'Challa must have had it at the ready several kilometers out since it hadn't been that long before it showed up. A man stepped in front of him and he almost ripped his face off, "Get out of my way!"

"Sir, you will only get in the way. We have specialized medics working on her right now," the man said calmly, hands at his sides, keeping himself from appearing threatening. When Captain Rogers stepped onto the jet he nodded to the Soldier, "Please contain your friend." Even behind him, Slate was the only one who stayed by Nyah as the rest moved to strap in. The medics were trying to stabilize the bleeding, but it was everywhere, even trailing on the metal floor of the jet and it dripped off the table. Her breathing was labored even if she had a breathing mask on. The man held his ground as Bucky took a step forward, their armored chests thumping together.

“Bucky.” Steve walked over to his friend and gently gripped his friend’s shoulder. It was gentle so that Bucky could shrug him off if needed, but firm so that it would ground him. “Nyah needs help.” He said softly. “She needs blood and she needs medical assistance. She won’t get either from you and the longer you deny her the help…she’ll die.”

“This is her battle to face.” Draco agreed solemnly, staying far behind. He had taken off his mask, bruises decorated his face as well as cuts and blood. He looked exhausted, but his eyes were firm and kind. “I have faith she’ll win. I’m going to stay nearby. Will you stay with me? I can use the company…and the shared hope.”

"Steve...Draco, I..." Bucky was starting to hyperventilate and he glanced around the jet as everyone had now sat down, and they were far in the air. The faint sound of explosions as Tony and Vision blew up the base below reached his ears. He spotted two seats open on either side of Kerica who'd taken off her mask and she had a few purple spots from where her head collided with the inside of it. On the other end of one empty space was Nat, and if he couldn't be with Nyah, he'd go to his other two loves, dragging his ever-constant lover Steve with him and he settled down, eyes glued to Nyah's medical table as Nat and Kerica put their hands on his shoulder/thigh respectively.

"Meanwhile, don't mind me, I'll just be the resident side-medic," Sam chimed as he popped up next to Draco and pinned the disappointed blue ninja between an ice-pack and a wet sanitizing cloth, the ice on a bruised cheek and the cloth cleaning the cut on his forehead, "Hold still."

Draco sputtered. "You, friend, could be one of Teresa's heirs. I didn't know you were near me. Ouch! What is in that? Alcohol?! Hey. Hey. They're just cuts!" Steve had to let out a weak chuckle, but he gripped Bucky's hand softly.

"Keep it up, ninja boy. It'll only take longer the more you struggle. Just let me get it done, then I'll go torture someone else. Probably Clint. He can't even open his eye because of the blood from cut he got on the last sprint out of there," Sam grumbled as Nyah's monitors for her stats was going insane. This was the best he could do, damn it! "And you got blood on your shoulder, too. Where'd that one come from?"

"Umm...I think I was covering for someone." Draco carefully peeled the fabric away to see what it was. "Oh, just a bullet graze. Good. I thought for a moment that I somehow, someway didn't notice that I got shot. That would be painful and heartbreaking. My teacher would whack me."

"Better just be a bullet graze," Sam coaxed Draco to hold the ice pack while he folded his cloth differently and swiped at the shoulder wound until it was clean, "I'm sure you could bandage yourself from here, yeah? First aid kit is on the wall," he said and dabbed at a small cut on his cheek from where he'd been punched just because it was bugging him, but froze mid-stroke and his stomach dropped to the ground far below them as he heard two bone-chilling sounds.

Nyah's heart monitor going flat and Bucky's scream.

Clint stood up out of the way as Steve jumped from his seat and held Bucky from rushing over when he launched to his feet, Kerica and Nat grabbing both arms as well, practically hanging off of him with their full weight as Steve's arms bulged a bit from where they held his torso. Slate was assisting the medics by using his newfound strength to keep her from bleeding more as they scrambled for more tools and fresh gloves, the ones they tossed completely soaked red. Slate was a good medic, giving suggestions here and there. Three years on the run and only being able to apply medical aid to yourself and your sister did wonders, he supposed.

Draco’s head snapped over towards the medical table, his breath stopped and his face practically pale even if it was hard to tell with his skin color. His hands went tight onto the chair’s sides as he watched the doctor’s move around, trying to save Nyah. He could hear Bucky’s heartbreak, it rattled his own soul. He took a sharp breath in and let it out slowly. He couldn’t hear her. The duet that she had with Bucky just disappeared with a faint echo and his own soul felt like a piece of it vanished. Draco stood up, but he didn’t dare move anywhere towards the table. “Not yet.” He said aloud, firmly. “Not yet. Come on Nyah…you got three of us here. I’m not losing hope yet. You’re not dead. This isn’t your first battle…you told Death no before. Tell it to him again and find us. Any one of us. No one’s going to care who you use as a light, just…pick /someone/ to follow. Please. Nyah…” Draco’s voice cracked as the monitors still continued to go flat. “You can’t leave. You never said goodbye, damn it. You never said goodbye. <Wake up, he needs you. He needs you so much.>”

Kerica 'omphed' a bit as the four of them crumbled to the floor, Bucky and Steve on their knees and tears streaming down Buck's face. From her position she saw Steve's eyes shining but he was in too much shock to even shed them. Nat's hands were in Buck's hair and she heard the redhead whispering Russian. She caught a few words, but her focus was on the monitor, willing it to beep. This couldn't be happening. A hot flare of anger flooded her body and while everyone else was panicking, she stood up and stormed over. Everyone was too surprised to stop her and she was too fast. She reached her and /slapped her/ before Slate grabbed her by the shoulders and yanked her back, "WAKE UP YOU BITCH!" she screamed, "I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN NOW WAKE UP AND PROVE ME WRONG!"

Draco wished that this moment wasn't so heartbreaking. He walked over to Bucky and took a breath. Before he could say anything, before he could do anything. The monitor began to beep again. Slow, but steady and it forced the doctors' to work a little more quickly and shouting to make sure that they could keep her stable and her heart beat going.

Natasha let out a breath that she was holding and she continued to stroke her hand through Bucky's hair. She couldn't believe that whatever Kerica did had worked.

A sharp intake of breath and Kerica started crying herself now, but this was more in relief. She leaned back against Slate and he guided her back to the others, and Steve had pulled away from Bucky. She hit the ground and threw her arms around her boyfriend's neck, her face in his shoulder. "She heard me..."

"We stopped the bleeding! It hit her kidney, as well as a few other places," one of the medics shouted, "She's stabilizing."

"She's doing good, Barnes." Natasha said softly to Bucky, still combing his hair. "You picked a strong fighter. We just need to get her home and have Dr. Rivera and Dr. Knight take a good glance at her to make sure nothing else can go wrong and she'll be back in your bed before you know it. You know that, right?"

Bucky sobbed in relief again and he reached up, bringing the three of them into his arms and he kissed Kerica's forehead, muttering 'thank you' under his breath over and over, switching between English and Russian and just rested his head on Steve's other shoulder.

"Talk about a rollercoaster and no vomit bags," Sam griped, watching Clint pat Wanda's head as she finally put her hands that had been covering her mouth over her chest. He stepped close to Draco and put his hand on his uninjured shoulder, "She picked somebody, alright. The most unlikely, considering they'd been fighting before you joined the group."

"I'm still trying to figure out how I managed to be apart of this group." Draco snarked back. "Considering the fact that I only kept bringing your group injured people like a cat bringing back dead rats."

"T'Challa-cat is proud of those dead rats, that's for damn sure," Sam nodded firmly, squeezing his shoulder, and as they wrapped Nyah up and allowed Bucky over, they all could breathe again.

~*~

The moment Nyah entered the hospital room, it was chaos. She heard the stats reports and the fact that she had crashed from the other medics, and Bucky refused to leave her side. He stayed for as long as he could, only leaving far enough to be outside the doors when Tersea was busy running tests and to make sure that she had the equipment needed to keep her breathing, stable, and secure. The only time, only once, did Bucky leave farther than the door and that was when Teresa could swear a near blood oath that Nyah wasn’t going to die. He ate, came back from changing clothes, and now he was lying on the bed, his hand loose around Nyah’s.

It was a sight that was both heartbreaking and lovely to see. She knew that he was still armed, ready to attack at any given moment in case Teresa or someone became compromised. She took a breath and started her morning routine on checking her patients up. She felt Nyah’s head to make sure she didn’t have a fever and she looked at the monitors for changes. Then she carefully pulled the covers up and to the side so that she could check on the dressing and the bandages.

Which was where things went from bad to worse. She noticed blood on the dressing gown when she went to pull it up to check on the dressings. She pulled it back further and her eyes widened in absolute horror. Blood. A lot of it. None of it came from the dressings or the stitches, which meant something else happened. Teresa knew that Nyah was pretty damn regular with her cycle. There wasn’t any reason for it to begin or end early…and not with this /much/ blood. Nyah was probably already in so much pain, she couldn’t feel it.

"Mm...Teresa?" Buck mumbled, eyes not even opening as he shifted from the pull of the blankets, "Do I need to move?"

Teresa balked at it. A part of her wanted to say no. To cover this up and hope that Bucky didn’t notice, but at the same time she wasn’t stupid. His nose would tell him that there was blood. “Yes.” She said firmly. Something in her expression must have got the message because the moment that he got up, she tugged the blankets down further to see how badly Nyah bled during the night, and to see what she could do about it. Nothing, was the answer. But she needed to take a sample, to make sure that what she was seeing and what was happening was correct. She couldn’t lose her head just yet. She went over to the other side of the room to grab a swab and carefully dipped it in the blood, moving it around to get a good amount of it before sitting up. “I’ll be back with a new stretcher, clean sheets, and a new dressing gown.” She told Bucky as she moved the blankets up. “Keep an eye on her. Any pain she feels take note where it is if she’s able to tell you okay? And call me on the red button. If she wakes up, keep her calm and red button."

Bucky was so exhausted he'd barely made it to the chair beside Nyah's bed, but he kept on alert and his hand had found Nyah's again. He watched Teresa walk away and he plopped his head on his beloved's shoulder, grunting. "I don't know...if I'm tired from yesterday or our link is making everything worse. Maybe it's both," he rambled to her, even knowing she was fast asleep. Steve and the others had stayed with them for quite a while before going to their own beds. He hoped Steve and Kerica had slept beside each other or for God's sake he'd smack Steve. This had been awful for everyone, though mainly because of him, and he knew being alone wouldn't have been a good idea. T'Challa, Scott, JJ, and Pietro had all been shocked and horrified at what occurred, even.

Bucky let go of her hand in favor of grasping her face in his hands and he kissed her firmly, swallowing her squeak of surprise. She was awake. She was okay. Fresh tears burst and he sobbed into her mouth out of relief, "Prekrasnyy...honey, love...you're okay..."

Nyah could only smile weakly as she reached up and gently cupped his cheek with her hand and kissed him again. “I’m okay.” She promised after a moment. “I…ache a little. Sore. But…I’m alright.” She sighed as she moved and winced when she felt her legs rub together. Still sticky as hell. “I’m sorry. I almost lost.”

"N-Nyah..." Bucky choked on another sob, "Babe...you...did. You did lose. You crashed on us in the jet. I...lost you..." he stroked his flesh and metal thumbs over her cheeks.

Nyah stared at him for a moment, like she couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. She took a breath in…and out. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to take this news. She felt scared, she felt sad, she felt proud that she managed to survive but…she reached up and took his hands in hers and rested her forehead against his. “I’m sorry.” She felt her voice crack. “I didn’t…I knew I was dying…but….” She hadn’t actually thought she would die. “I left you.” It tore her to pieces.

Teresa came back with a stretcher and Nyah blinked, looking over at her tiredly. “Teresa? What?”

“I have to have Bucky move you, sweetheart.” Teresa said gently. “Just so I can strip the bed and I can give you a new dressing gown.”

“Why?” Nyah asked as Teresa carefully pulled the blankets down. Nyah stared in shock and horror at the blood that was underneath her legs. “<Oh my god>.” She felt her heart race quickly. Near death…and she was still bleeding? She could feel it rub against her legs and she felt her stomach give. Oh god no. No…

"Teresa..." Buck was holding Nyah tightly in his arms as he held her bridal-style. His was already spouting a duel waterfall, and his throat was tight and raw with emotion, but he tried again with more force, "Teresa, she was injured in her kidney, and a few other places, but nowhere...to cause that. That's a lot of blood." Not nearly as much as the jet, but it soaked the sheets right through.

Tersea quickly moved the blood-stained stretcher out of the way to replace it with the one that wasn't filled with blood. She took the blue dressing gown and gently gestured Bucky to set Nyah down back on the bed. "I ran a test on the blood to make sure that what I was looking at wasn't a premature cycle." She took a breath in and out. "I am....so sorry." Teresa felt her heartbreak. "It was a miscarriage."

Buck was aware he made a choking gasp; had felt his throat contract to do so. Yet now he couldn't breathe. Nyah's shriek of mixed reactions sounded far away. With the way he paled, the green tone to his skin from being sick to his stomach was extremely evident, yet...the world went topsy-turvy and he vaguely remembered hitting the hardwood floor before everything just...stopped, going black and silent.

~

Bright light faded in and out...going from fuzzy to vivid until he saw concerned eyes that were a stormy blue and golden locks that were messy and uncombed fell over one side. Black circles were under his eyes and even super-soldier status couldn't make /those/ go away. "You are why there's a term called 'beauty sleep' and you didn't get any."

“I tried to get some.” Steve admitted after a moment as he pulled away from looking down at Bucky. “Teresa called me to help you out…and we had to knock Nyah out.” Steve took a shuddering breath and shook his head. “It’s been…a bad night and day already.”

Buck stared back up at the ceiling, "I am trying hard not to, but grab the trash bucket anyway. I'm...I'm trying to work my tongue around the word...to tell you what happened..." he heard Steve scramble and the bucket landed right where he'd be able to roll and dump the non-existent contents of his stomach if the need rose. It took many, many long, excruciating minutes and Buck felt the rolls and twists every time that /word/ rattled in his head. Lip and chin quivering, he sucked in a few breaths, his saliva already tasting like bile, but he spit it out with a forceful rush, just wanting it /done/. "Miscarriage." And he lost it, his stomach sinking in and his world spun again, gripping the sheets as he hurled.

Steve gently rubbed Bucky’s back and pulled his hair away from his face so that it wouldn’t get into the vomit. His mind was…blank. A miscarriage. Steve didn’t know…what to think or to do. Nyah obviously didn’t know, he knew that she wouldn’t have gone out into the field had she. “Buck…” His voice cracked. It explained why Nyah had been shouting apologies and begging for understanding. Undoubtedly Draco was with her now, at the ready in case she woke up from being sedated. “I’m…so sorry.” He felt his heart sink down into his stomach as he continued to rub his best friend’s back. “I didn’t know she was pregnant. I wouldn’t have let her out on the field.”

Wiping away the tainted spit, Buck shifted so he just laid on his stomach, head buried in his flesh arm. Was he out of tears yet? No...apparently not. He had 70 years worth, at the least. Before and after he didn't know. He'd cried when he'd been on that two year run, writing his memories down in the journals. This though...this was awful. "How...many more times...does my heart have to break...before it's even been...twelve hours, let alone...twenty-four?" he asked between deep breaths and broken cries, "No one knew...because it's only been two weeks. We...after the first base...James and I broke the glass and that was it. You know...I'm a lot smarter than that. I guess subconsciously...I said 'fuck it' since it'd already happened...and didn't think about it afterwards." He hated this admission to his friend. He hoped Steve wasn't disappointed with him. They weren't ready, but this was the worst thing he could imagine, besides killing Steve with his own hands. They would've adapted, god damn it! If Clint could do it, they could! He thumped his fist at that mental thought and another sob from deep in his chest wrecked through him.

“Shhh.” Steve murmured softly as he gently took Bucky close and started stroking his hair, much like Natasha had done on the plane. “You always told me that the moment you found a girl you could stand longer than a day, she was going to have your kids. Used to brag about how many of them too. Sometimes you say three…other times I think the highest you went was twelve and I laughed at you.” He took in a deep breath and let it out. “You and James…I can’t think of anyone else who deserves a family more than you and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry that it was taken away from you. I’m here, Buck. For all it’s worth. I can tell people if you need me to…or I can keep this silent so that no one bothers you. I can also give you back to Nyah….she needs you and I know you need her. Especially right now. Just...tell me what you need from me."

Buck gripped Steve's shirt tight, breathing deep, letting Steve's scent and the way he stroked his hair just how he liked calm him down. Nat was good, but Steve had been doing it longer and knew just where to scratch or where to pull just a tiny bit before petting and stroking. He was finally able to think clearly after a little while and he took a very deep, calming breath and let it out slowly, "If you...let me borrow your phone, I can use it to tell everyone in a mass text. I don't have everyone's contact number, just the common ones like you, Kerica, and Sam...I don't even have Nat's new number."

"Sure." Steve carefully let him go so that he can pull out his phone. He watched his friend struggle with the phone for a bit, wiping away run away tears and his heart broke further. He knew how Bucky would feel about this, but James...did his solider side know what was happening? Did he understand how close he was to having something of his? How angry, frustrated, and hurt was he? When the text sent out, and Steve was handed his phone back again, he gently wiped away Bucky's tears. "Do you want to see Nyah or do you want to rest? Sleep more?"

Sniffing, Buck heaved a shaky sigh, "I'll...go see her. If Draco punches me I deserve it, so don't...don't do anything." He shook his head, "Tell me something else. What did you do after we got back?" he asked as he stood up, using Steve for support as his legs trembled, but was able to steady himself and Steve guided him out of the room.

"Took Kerica and had her cuddle me to sleep. We tried reading. We tried making out, but I freaked out." Steve groaned wiping his hand over his face. "We tried tea, coffee, anything. We just...could only lay in bed...wondering if we were going to wake up and discover that Nyah died in her sleep or something. Kerica might've gotten her to fight once, but...there's only so much she could do."

"I'm sure I said thank you about twenty times in each language, but really...Kerica is an anomaly, Steve. Everyone else besides Slate and the medics were just acting all helpless, and what does she do? She slaps my girlfriend. A few seconds later, she comes back to us. I'm not even asking how, because our lives are full of unanswered questions anyway," Bucky was talking a bit faster out of nerves, but Steve could easily keep up anyway.

"Well, Kerica's not the type that likes the word "dying" and Nyah isn't the type at all to just let someone slap her." Steve smiled gently, even if it didn't reach his eyes. "You don't...have to thank me Buck. I'm just...both happy and sad...that you at least got to have one person come back to you alive. In the end...Nyah will probably want to try again. This time...with all the knowledge."

"A question for another day," Bucky whispered. They had to get over this hurdle first before facing the next one. He stopped them several feet from Nyah's room out of earshot. Draco and Sam were talking quietly. Falcon really was such a people person, able to get almost anyone to talk and he was the best kind of help one could ask for. He swallowed thickly, "It's hard to believe it's already the beginning of December. Thanksgiving wasn't that long ago, and Christmas is just around the corner." He paused, chewing his bottom lip, "We should decorate. Make a trip to the City and get presents."

“I wonder if they celebrate Christmas.” Steve muttered softly. “It’d be fun to know if they know what it is. Dancing should be involved too. Music. A good celebration.” He gently squeezed Bucky’s shoulder.  “Maybe, if we figure out what they celebrate instead, we can do a combination. I bet it’d look amazing and it’d give Nat something to do. She’s always on about parties.”

A wry smile spread on Buck's face. Steve mentioned dancing of his own accord. The few lessons they'd done had really boosted his confidence a shit ton. "We should watch White Christmas together with Kerica. I'm sure she'd love it." He steeled himself, and stepped forward. Sam looked up when he was close enough and that alerted Draco. His stomach twisted and he prepared for his self-proclaimed brother to do his worst.

Draco walked over to him with a purpose. Before Bucky could say anything he surprised him by wrapping his arms around Bucky’s neck and pulling him close into a hug. “It killed us,” He muttered into Bucky’s ear, “to know that we lost something that we could’ve protected.” He pulled away and his eyes just looked at his soul. “It kills you too.” He closed his eyes and a few tears fell down his cheeks. “I am so sorry, Toror. I wish I was able to sense it earlier. I would have had her take the Reds.”

"The Reds?" Buck asked and kept himself in-check. He'd cried enough, and he knew he was going to get a lot of 'I'm sorry's from here, "It's only been two weeks, Draco, as I told Steve, so...no one's at fault here except me, I guess. I should have taken precaution, had Teresa check her out beforehand. Yet I didn't, and here we are."

"Red are what we give to those who have high value. Mothers. Physical healers. Sometimes fathers if they wish." Draco explained and he wiped away tears. "Nyah could've done it too." He pointed out softly. "Neither of you did, but I don't blame you, Toror. I know how you long for a family, stability. Peace. I see it in your soul. She wants it, too." He took a breath again. "Grieve together. Heal together. You both feel like you failed...and it's not true."

"How so? How is it not true, sobrat?" Bucky watched as Sam bowed out, joining Steve outside to talk to him instead about what was going on. Nyah's stats were steady, and so he focused on Draco, "Just...tell me what you're thinking, because my mind's a mess."

"How can you fail at something you didn't know about?" Draco looked up at Bucky. "Both you and Nyah share the same guilt over how you were supposed to know, and you just didn't. I know you feel like there's so silver lining to this, but you will be able to plan for the next time. She'll take the Reds sooner. You both will know what you want."

Bucky knew he had a point, and perhaps later they would both see the reason and the truth, but right now he felt just as horrid as he had before, "What does Green mean in your culture?" he asked randomly, thinking of her nightgown and how lovely she had looked in it. Imagining her clad in all red instead of blue was quite the mental picture, since he enjoyed wearing red himself. They would both know what they wanted and they would be ready. That he could agree to at the least.

“Green?” Draco asked as he thought about the color. “It means connection. Children mostly wear it since we can camouflage them if need be.” He looked back at Bucky. “But it also means innocence and calm. It’s a color meant to soothe. A lot of the injured sometimes wear green. It reminds them of good memories. Happy memories.”

Ideas popped in his head. Christmas. Reds and Greens. Santa and Elf outfits. "Do combos of colors like red and green have any special meaning or is it just a mash of previous meanings? Because there's this holiday that's been around for ages...Christmas. I was just talking to Steve about it and we were even wondering if you celebrate something different or similar or anything."

“We don’t call it Christmas. But we call it the Yuletide. Ours is a little earlier than yours, but..” He smiled. “A combination would be fun to do. The colors we use for the celebration is reds, greens, whites, and pinks. Red we consider life, so pink naturally is the color of love and family to us. Green communication. Red Life, white peace and serenity. Well wishes is what it all means when you combine the four of them. Different color combinations do mean different things.” Draco was grinning a little. “We normally have a bonfire. Music. Dancing. A large feast. I think it’s the one holiday I know of that has very /little/ in the way of differences.”

"That sounds...blissful," Bucky sounded breathless, picturing it. Oh, it would just tease the hell out of Steve if the little lady that was anything but pure wore a white Christmas dress...just like the one from White Christmas, or something highly similar since she hated things on her neck. If they couldn't find anything in the City they might have to order something. He had an image in his head and he'd be damned if it didn't play out. "We'll have to talk to T'Challa about it."

"Let me. You should be with Nyah." Draco gently squeezed Bucky's shoulder. "I still can't believe you that I was going to punch you." He laughed gently as he walked off shaking his head as he placed his hands in his pockets.

Well, he was very happy that hadn't been the case, and Buck pulled the chair up, slowly taking Nyah's hand and he hesitantly brushed her cornsilk hair from her forehead, "Hey, baby...I'm here. I didn't mean to leave you alone," he whispered softly.

Nyah looked up at him, having been awake from the sedative for a while but pretending to sleep. Her eyes were still watery, but she gripped his hand just like she did before. "I'm sorry." Her voice broke. "I didn't know. I didn't know I was..." her voice trailed off and she choked. "I'm so sorry."

"Baby, stop," Bucky whispered, "Just stop. You don't need to apologize to me. We're...we're so far from okay, but we're here. We're together. It's /going/ to be okay. Maybe not tomorrow, but we'll get through this. We can talk all about it in greater detail once you're out of this hospital bed and in your own room and we can be in private. Alright? We're going to make it. We can do this."

Nyah nodded,  even though she was in tears and everything around her felt like it was in shambles, it was....it was just nice. To hear that they were going to be okay. "I didn't mean to die on you either. Can you...if I scoot over will you hold me?" She had a feeling he needed the cuddles /just/ as bad as she did.

"Oh, honey, of course," Buck watched her and even tugged at the blankets so he could crawl beneath them and he wrapped her up, careful of her bandages, and kissed her tenderly, "I was scared I wouldn't hear your song again. Kerica brought you back to us, did you know that?"

"Yes she did..." James muttered, "Strode right past everyone with their gaping mouths and wide eyes and smacked you and screamed at you, calling you a bitch while she said she told you this would happen. Slate pulled her back and then your monitor went off. I was pretty sure I'd never heard a more wonderful sound in my life. Then I thanked her so many times. Steve had to hold me back from you, she and Natalia were hanging on my arms, and Sam was soothing Draco. It was a hellride."

"James..." Nyah took a breath and sighed it out. "It appears I owe her a thank you too." She gently reached up and traced his cheek, feeling him shift and pull her close. It was a little bit of a shame that this bed was too narrow for them. Otherwise, she would've rested her head against his chest.
"So close...yet so far, aren't we? Just so /tired/ and not physically." He sighed and nosed her hair. James' voice was gruff, but in a lot more control than Bucky's. There was no more separation, not really, just the clear distinction that when he was serious or needed to act and speak without being compromised, he would switch, "Never thought I'd ever get to see what it was like. You were just the first step and it felt so natural. A child in the mist of it all...perhaps this is a hidden blessing? I feel so heartless when I say those words. Yet we need more time. More time for us, before we add a little one. I was on edge that night...I did not think. All I knew was that I had to break the hold on me and all I wanted was you."

“I wasn’t ever going to deny you.” Nyah closed her eyes and tried to breathe normally. “You’re right. It was fast. I swore to you that I’d slow down, but I guess…I’m just always one to dive in head first. I didn’t think I could conceive. To know I was close to giving you a family, it hurts. It hurts a lot. Unplanned, unknown…I feel like I murdered someone. I didn’t give them a chance.” She whimpered but she continued on. “But it’s something we should’ve talked about. Something we should’ve discussed. My heart breaks…I still feel…guilty and failed. I feel like, I feel like I got screwed over.” She shook her head sadly. “I didn’t know…and when I did know it was too late to fix. Too late to do anything. I think that’s…the worst. I didn’t know and I couldn’t fix it when I did.”

James just stroked her hair, the curls tangling around his fingers, "I understand, prekrasnyy. I do. It's going to be alright. We'll talk about it. We'll share our dreams and fantasies and talk about how and when we should make it a reality. This is not the type of world we bring a little one into right now. Calm yourself," he soothed, "How about we rest and sleep? I am sure Teresa will wake us when she needs to take more tests."

"Sleep sounds good." Nyah admitted and for a few moments they were still, silent with James stroking her hair and she just soaked up the attention...until they were both asleep from the comfort that the other could give.

()

"Bucky! Are you really going to play your guitar rather than help?" Kerica put her hands on her hips, red garland hanging behind her from where she'd stopped pinning it. It was several days later and the majority of them were healed.

"Hey, it was my idea anyway, and music helps people work faster, right?" Bucky beamed at her, flashing his lashes all innocently at her.

“Lazy.” Draco admonished as he stood on a ladder and eyeballed the garland that was hanging from the ceiling. “Are we wrapping this thing around the pillars or are we leaving the pillars alone?” He questioned.

“Pillars.” Steve answered back as he lifted his ladder and moved it away from where he was working on the ceiling. “This is more extravagant than Tony’s party and we’re barely starting.”

Nyah just laughed from her position on the couch, a clipboard in place as she weaved ribbons and doing her own types of decorating for the party. She had piles of small crafts in front of her and it was fun considering that Jayden, who didn’t remember much of Christmas besides a present or two from Slate and a lot of snow, was helping her with the crafts. Petrio nor Wanda celebrated the Solstice nor Christmas, but were eager to help anyway. “Everything is extravagant to you, though Steve.”

“Forgive the poor boy growing up with little.” Steve stuck his tongue out at Nyah who merely raised an eyebrow at him.

"He's just a poor boy from a poor family." Scott sang as he walked through the doors with Sam. "I don't even like that song and I have the lyrics ingrained in my head. No don't you /dare/ start a chorus!"

"God help the outcasts~" Kerica hummed softly from her workspace, doing her normal and instead of chorusing Bohemian Rhapsody, she went straight for The Hunchback, "Hungry from birth~ Show them the mercy~ They don't find on earth~" Bucky seemed to recognize the song as he strummed his guitar to follow and she blushed hotly.

"God help my people~." Nat sang from her position from handing Slate a hammer. "We look to You still~. Go help the outcasts~. Where nobody will."

"I ask for wealth~" Slate cooed as his fingers gently brushed Nat's.

"I ask for fame~" Sam decided to chime in. Hey, this was a good song.

"I ask for glory to shine on my name~" Bucky hummed softly.

"I ask for love I can possess~" Wanda sang lightly.

"I ask for God and his Angels to bless me~" Jayden answered as she eyed the glue on her little craft, Pietro's voice echoing with hers.

Kerica looked at Nat and was a little giddy, beaming brightly, "I ask for nothing~ I can get by~"

"But I know so many." Steve continued the song, without hesitation. "Less lucky than I."

"Please help my people." Wanda, Natasha, and Jayden sang together in near perfect harmony. "The Poor and the downtrod~."

"I thought we all were~" Kerica was melting, her hands clasped around some garland as she clutched it to her chest.

"The children of God~" Clint's rich baratone joined the chorus from nowhere, slipping in with a box full of more supplies.

"God help the outcasts~" Pietro added again, zooming around and kissing both Wanda and then Jayden on the cheek.

"Children of God..." Scott sang quietly from his little corner and he smiled brightly. "That was Cassie's favorite movie for a long time."

"I don't know who's to blame here, Steve, you, or me," Kerica laughed, her cheeks as red as the decorations as she turned back around to pin another strand.

"Glad to know we're not all tone deaf," Clint had to make the joke.

Sam snorted and covered his mouth, "Hey man, you said it not me."

Nyah's eyebrow went up as she watched Draco look over at Sam. Oh. Oh that poor sweet boy. She placed her crafting things aside and walked over to him and tapped on him the shoulder. Draco spun around to see who it was when his face went from pleased, to absolute horror. "Nyah no."

"Nyah yes. I don't know what it is but do it," Bucky called, strumming his guitar for good measure.

"You let her take risks but hell if I jump out of an airplane without a paraschute." Steve gave Bucky a playful glare.

"YOU HAVE!" Kerica whipped around to point at Steve.

"See?" Bucky shrugged, "What I say doesn't matter you'll do whatever it is anyway."

“There, you see him.” Nyah gently pulled Draco close to her and made him look over at Sam, ignoring the peanut gallery that was going on behind her. “Sitting there across the way~ He don’t got a lot to say, but there’s something about him~. And you don’t know why, but you’re dying to try, you wanna kiss the boy.”

“Oh my god.” Draco looked mortified and he was about to say something, but Nyah was already pulling him away.

“Yes you want him. Look at him I know you do~. It’s possible he wants you too, there’s one way to ask him~. It don’t take a word, not a single word. Go on and kiss the boy.”

Draco was about to try to cover her mouth, but Nyah was faster. She grinned as she ran away from him and towards Sam.

“Sha-la-la-la-la, my oh my. Look’s the boy’s too shy, ain’t gonna kiss boy.
Sha-la-la-la-la isn’t that sad? It’s a shame too bad~, you’re gonna miss the boy. Go on and /kiss/ the boy.”

Sam had been /really/ confused at first, but then he realized they were /gender-bending/ the song and it clicked. Bucky had stepped right up to the task of following the tune with his instrument and he had to give him a 'what the fuck' expression. How did /Bucky/ know this song? Why did he even ask anymore? Probably youtube. He looked back at Draco who looked ready to slink into the shadows and escape, but he just put his hands on his hips. He hadn't really swung that way, but hell, with the amount of bromance between him and Steve and even Bucky now, he really didn't feel...wrong about anything. Why the hell not?

“You know those movies where these people dress up as certain things from comic books and what not and try to do crack versions or music videos using these characters? I feel like I’m in one.” Draco chased after Nyah but Nyah again was a little faster and this time was towards Scott’s corner.

“Nows your moment. Floating a blue lagoon~. Boy you better do it soon, no time will be better~. He won’t say a word, and he won’t say a word until you kiss the boy.” Nyah grinned as she ran off, singing the chorus and Draco trying to stop her.

But then she stopped back where they had been, and she grabbed Draco’s shoulders and her smile disappeared into something more comforting. “Sha-la-la-la don’t be scared. You better be prepared. Go on and kiss the boy. Sha-la-la-la don’t stop now. Don’t try to hide it how…you wanna kiss the boy. Go on and kiss the boy.” She spun him around and gently pushed Draco towards Sam.

Sam just arched a brow, and found that Draco's look of horror, hesitance, and the way he shyly looked away was rather endearing. He widened his stance just a bit, issuing a challenge. He wouldn't really know if he was /actually/ okay with that sort of thing unless he tried it, right? Draco was still too far to grab, but he wasn't going to try anything unless he moved forward on his own.

Draco’s cheeks, if they could burn a hotter red than they already were, would’ve made him look like a hot pepper. It was amazing there wasn’t any steam. Nyah hummed behind him, clearly prepared for the last chorus if he wasn’t going to do it. The challenging stance was a bit welcoming. It was almost like a dare. He took a breath in and out, thought about it, and then thought about it again. To move? To not? He decided to move forward. He got in front of Sam, but…

He suddenly realized that they were too close and this was probably a real bad idea and why did Disney songs have to be the reason for this? Goddman it. He turned away.

"No you don't," screw his role of 'being silent' because there was no evil sea witch in this scenario, just the pushy female crab, and he grabbed Draco's shoulder, tugging him by his blue shirt that was a similar shade to his blue ninja robes, and he pulled him closer so their chests collided and the boy 'omphed'. They were roughly the same height, so it felt nice that there was no 'up' or 'down', just level as he tilted his head to avoid bumping noses and met lips so soft and plush he could've been kissing a woman and wouldn't know the difference. He was okay with this. This was cool.

Draco couldn’t believe that Sam was actually doing this. Though whether or not he actually wanted to do this or because it was a dare or if it was to get Nyah off of his back, he wasn’t certain. But, he accepted it. He closed his eyes and fell into the kiss. It lasted a bit longer than he thought, but it didn’t go any deeper and when they pulled away. Draco could only smile, hoping that this wouldn’t make them awkward.

"Kiss me too fiercely, hold me too tight~ I need help believing, you're with me tonight~" The irony of the lyrics were not lost on Bucky. They were /exactly/ why he sang them, "My wildest dreamings, could not foresee~ lying beside you, with you wanting me~"

"I was wondering when he'd show why he's in love with my soulmate." Draco looked up at the ceiling, his cheeks still red. "He shares her love for embarrassing people."

"Seems legit," Sam agreed, though realized he hadn't let go of his shirt, "You look good in blue. Matches your eyes. Noticed that on the jet the other day, actually."

"Thanks. So far I don't think you look bad in anything." Draco admitted as he looked Sam up and down and smiled a little more.

Sam let go and patted the winkle a bit, "So much for music making people work faster."

"I'm sorry!" Kerica cried indigently from the next window, finally finished with the first one after being distracted a bunch of times.

"Why should I worry? Why should I ca~a~re? I may not have a dime. But I got street savoir-fare." Scott sang, snapping his fingers and winking over at Kerica. "The rhythm of the city, but once you get it down said you can own this to-own, You can wear the crown~~!"

Kerica jumped at the opportunity, echoing with Scott as they did the chorus together, Bucky jumping tune with them and she was amazing he kept up with all these different references, "Why should I worr-ay~? Why should I ca~a~re?" she rocked her body side to side with a big grin on her face, "It's just doo-wopulation! But I got street savoir-fare~! Ev'rything goes~ Ev'rything fits~"

"They love me at the Chelsea, they adore me at the Ritz." Scott jumped into the song just as easily as he sang the Outcast song.

"You would've been an awesome addition to the Disney movie nights, Scott." Steve laughed, shaking his head highly amused.

"I have an awesome collection of music and I know all the words." Scott saluted.

"I haven't actually seen these movies but I found a few Disney song collections on youtube and I'd let them play in my apartment just to fill the void," Buck explained, "Since I know you are all confused."

"We used to like the Disney movies when they came out," Steve recalled. "We watched them all. You liked the stories, and I just really loved the artwork. I considered trying to figure if I could work for them once, try to draw things by hand, but now everything's all CGI."

"And that's a whole other ballgame," Buck nodded, "That's okay, though. I'm enjoying this mish-mash we're all doing. So we've been playing off of what people say or do, but are there any songs anybody wants to just sing because they can?"

"Go the Distance from Hercules?" Clint offered curiously.

Buck smiled a little bit, "That sounds like fun." He tuned the gears a bit and tested it a bit before he started a soft twinkle tune.

Clint bobbed his head a little bit to the instrumental piece before he smiled at the cue change, "I have often dreamed of a far off place...Where a hero's welcome would be waiting for me..." he imagined his family, how they were always so happy to see them. He might see if T'Challa would set up a meeting after new years. They might expect a holiday visit but he didn't care. "Where the crowds will cheer when they see my face, and a voice keeps saying 'this is where I'm meant to be'~..."

Kerica felt the song and the way Clint spoke-sang the words pull at her heartstrings, and she bit her lip while he continued to awe them, never missing a beat or cue or even a voice pitch. He may be deaf with a hearing aid, but boy...Clint nailed it.

Clint enjoyed listening to Bucky's instrumental with the way he filled the large room with the sound, and he took a deep breath, having kept time with the beats and his own memory, "I am on my way~ I can go the distance! I don't care how far~ Somehow I'll be strong! I know every~ mile~...will be worth~ my while~...I would go 'most anywhere~ to find~ where I~ belong~..."

Jayden, who had been most involved with her project and had ignored everyone up till now, had stopped in her crafting to look over at Clint with surprise written all over her face. The song, even though it matched Clint's hopes and dreams, and how he wanted to see his kids and his family again, hit very close to home to her, too. She carefully set aside her project and turned around, crossing her legs and just watched Clint, with wide green eyes and a soft expression on her face.

"Down an unknown road~ to embrace my fate~...Though that road~ may wander, it will lead~ me to you~...And a thousand~ years...would be worth~ the wait...It might~ take~ a lifetime...but somehow~ I'll see it through~..." Clint felt his throat tighten, his eyes closed by this point as he focused on the melody to fit his parts, "And I won't~ look back...I can go~ the distance.  And I'll stay~ on track, no, I won't accept defeat~... It's an uphill~ slope...but I won't lose hope~... 'Til I go~ the distance, and my journey~ is complete~..."

Natasha knew how much this tormented Clint. Being away from his family when he retired from not signing the Accords, and from just wanting to be with the new baby. She knew that he and Laura had it all planned out, for when he was captured, to what would happened to them. She missed them. She missed the kids and everyone in his family. It just hurt that the only way he showed this, was through song, and possibly by himself.

He suddenly upped his pitch to belt the next line, startling a few of them, "But to look beyond the glory~ is the hardest~~ part! For a hero's strength~ is measured~ by his heart~~~!" Clint clenched his jaw as Bucky did an agreeing howl to punctuate this point, and he opened his eyes to glance towards Steve, the super-soldier jumped a bit, before he looked around the room at the others, "Like a shooting~ star~~...I will go~ the distance~...I will search~ the world~...I will face its harms~...I~ don't care~ how far~...I~ can go the distance~... 'Til I find~ my~ hero's welcome~ waiting~~ in~~ your~ arms~~~..." He walked over to Wanda and he smiled as he hugged her, and he opened his other arm to hug Pietro when he flickered over. His more or less adopted kids. "I will search~ the world~...I will face~ its harms~...'Til I find my hero's~ welcome~...waiting~ in~ your arms~~~..."

"I like your voice." Jayden practically swayed back and forth happily at the end of the song, of the powerful happiness that punctuated the last verse. "I haven't seen that movie I don't think. If I did, I was human then." She paused. "Well...full human."

"You've always been, Jaybird," Slate said firmly, "Being /there/ didn't make you any less human. Your favorite movie was actually Bambi."

"What's your favorite movie, Slate?" Buck asked curiously.

"Spirit, hands down," Slate beamed.

"Oh my God, that plus Clint's song made me remember one! I Will Always Return?" Bucky pointed at Slate.

"God yer an asshole, I love Get Off of My Back," Slate grinned mischievously.

"He used to ride horses." Jayden smiled happily. "No surprise a horse is his movie."

"How about you sing Buck?" Steve smiled. "Then Slate can show us how it's really done for those us from Brooklyn and the city."

"Because being Southern means I play guitar," Slate snickered, "I'm down."

Buck actually stood up, stretching his legs while he tuned for the new cords and he walked closer to Steve, "You'll like this, I think. Hmm...ah, there we go." He nodded as the right note hit his ears, "I hear~ the wind~ call my name~...The sound~ that leads~ me home~~ again. It sparks~ up the fire~...a flame~ that still burns~...To you~ I will always~ return~..." He cooed at Steve, watching his facial expressions, "I know the road~ is long~ but where you are~ is home~...Wherever you stay~ I'll find~ the way~...I'll run~ like the river~...I'll follow~ the sun~...I'll fly~ like an eagle~ to where I~ belong~..."

Kerica put her hands to her mouth and she bounced in place, "This was one of my favorites, too," she whispered to Slate who grew extra bright-eyed, "Oh, this has so many meanings right now, it's beautiful."

"Hon, I agree, just look at 'is face," Slate enjoyed Steve's reactions.

Steve was used to Bucky serenading him. The only reason why he was used to it, is because back when they had the radio and it was playing a song they knew of, Bucky would just start singing it if only to annoy Steve, or if he wanted to know if it was something he could try on a dame. However, with him singing with his guitar, actually singing to him was a whole other matter and it made his heart melt.

"I can't stand~~ the distance~! I can't dream~~ alone~!" Bucky was far from shy as he let his raspy voice bounce off the walls, "I can't wait to see you~! Yes I'm on my way home~" He turned and looked at Nyah, "Now I know it's true~...My every road~ leads to you~...And in the hour~ of darkness~ Your light~~~ gets me through~~!" his fingers flew over his guitar, his body bobbing along, and he flashed that charming smile at his beloved, "/You/ run~ like the river~!" He glanced back towards Steve, "/You/ shine like~ the sun~! Yeah! /You/ fly~ like an eagle~!" He closed his eyes, positively glowing with his happiness, then he strode over to Nyah now, "Yeah, /You/ are the one~! I've seen~ every sunset~ And with all that~ I've learned~..." his voice turned soft, "Oh, it's to /you/~ I will always~, /always/~~ return..." he was still plucking the last strings of the notes as he kissed Nyah sweetly.

Kerica squealed and clapped her hands, a few others doing small claps along with her, "Oh, Bucky! That was fantastic!"

Nyah smiled into the kiss as she gave him one back, her hands gently cupping his cheeks. Steve felt his heart swell and he looked over at Kerica, his eyes shining with adoration and just love. "I guess it's your turn Slate."

"Haha, /yee-haw/!" Slate bounded forward and snatched the guitar easily since Bucky didn't have the shoulder strap on, prancing away and he fiddled with it, "It's been way too long, whoo boy!"

"Never, in all my years working with you, have I /ever/ heard cowboy come from your lips." Natasha snickered as she came over closer.

Slate blushed fiercely even as he was grinning like a cat that got the cream, "Darlin', I'm full o' surprises," he winked at her and became giddy again as he got his fingers accustomed to the strings and started with his tune, dancing easily in place, giving no warning, just plowing right to it, "Ya think that you can take me on~? Ya /must/ be cra-zy~..." he enjoyed the laughs he received, "There ain't a single thing you've done~ That's gonna phase meh... Oh, but if ya wanna have a go!" he had been dancing in a slow circle but then he jumped right back to facing Nat, eyes wide and wild and the grin had only turned impish, "I just wanna let chu know~~..." he winked at her again, "Yeah! Get offa mah /back/ and inta mah /game/!" he threw his body back around as he continued to rock out and danced around the room, occasionally throwing glances over his shoulder, "Get outta mah /way/~ and outta mah /brain/! Get outta my /face/~ or give it yer best /shot/~! I think it's time ya betta face teh fact...Got offa mah back!"

Jayden clapped excitedly, and then putting her hands at her ankles as she perked up at the song. She laughed and beamed brightly at her brother as all the weight looked like it disappeared from his shoulders. This was what she was hoping for when she came here. Even the look in his eyes were less haunted and more playful.

Slate plucked the strings for a few seconds before sliding right back into it, "Ya know it's all just a game...d'at I'm playin'..." a few more strums, and he slowly turned back around, facing Natasha fully again, "Chu think d'at you can find a way in? D'at's what I'm sayin'...Oh, but if ya wanna have a go~...I just wanna let chu know~...Oh~..." he belted the chorus again and then really did go into a guitar solo, rocking out on it, sang the chorus a third time, before... "Ya know d'is train is comin' off d'is track...Get offa mah back!" he heard Bucky start whistling in time with his song, "Yeah! Get offa mah back~! Get off! Yeah! Uh..." he repeated 'get off' a few times before doing once last strum, "Yeah! Get offa mah back!" the whoops and cheers made him laugh deeply and he bowed.

Draco smiled brightly at the scene and he gently walked away from Sam to go over to Nyah and whisper something into her ear. Even though he would do it with the drums, since he was more musically inclined that way, he knew that his soul-mate had a good voice, she would be able to carry the background tune without a guitar. Nyah smiled at him and kissed his cheek, whispering something back before letting him go. "I think Draco is going to steal your patient if you're not careful, Bucky." Nyah teased her lover softly.

"Aw, I can share," Bucky smiled at Nyah and Draco, "Need help at all with whatever you're planning?"

"Can you carry a drum?" Nyah questioned, curiously as she looked at her lover. "Or at least do you have one hidden somewhere?"

"I can drum, yeah. Hey Steve, wanna help? What song are we doing?" Buck tilted his head, brows furrowed.

Slate looked at the guitar he held and he brought over, "Just use the back of it, it'll work just fine. I'm sure three people will fit around it for drumming."

Nyah forced Bucky down to her level to whisper the title in his ear. Steve had walked over in time to hear a part of it and he blinked in surprise. What was with the secrecy? He glanced over and noticed, much to his shock, Draco had approached Jayden. "Oh..." This could be interesting.

Decorating had pretty much all but stopped, Pietro and Wanda really the only ones still doing anything because of speed and magic respectively and they weren't familiar with all the songs anyway. Kerica decided to walk over and she sat next to Nyah, though not in the way of the guitar that had been placed flat on the ground, "Draco dueting with Jay?"

"Looks like." Nyah looked over at the two of them. Draco gently was holding a hand out to her and Jayden blinked in surprise as she let him stand her up. Nyah took a breath in and started the beat.

Once Nyah had set the beat they could follow, Bucky started following, keeping time, and then Steve followed once he'd memorized it. Kerica's breath hitched and her eyes widened, "Damn, no flute to play along," she muttered but she settled herself differently, sitting straight and she started humming instead to replace the flute they lacked.

Pietro stopped now and he even placed his hand on his sister's shoulder, curious to what Draco and the others was doing. Draco had started a slow dance and while the song was lost on him, his eyes widened as Draco started singing.

Draco gently pulled Jayden up, just in time for Nyah to begin the drum and everyone’s started their part. He guided her to the middle of the floor and spun her to look at him, and carefully positioned themselves so that they could start the dance. “As you go through life you’ll see~, there is so much that we~ don’t understand. And the only thing we know~ is that things don’t always go~ the way they planned.” He gently spun her around so that she could see everyone in front of her. The way he spun her, had her back against his chest and their arms intertwined so that she couldn’t escape unless he let her. It was a gentle trap, but one full of intention. “But you’ll see everyday, that we’ll never turn away~. When it seems all your dreams come undone.”

Sam felt his breath leave him in a rush as he listened to Draco sing. His normal voice was one thing, but the way it /vibrated/ with his natural humor and lightheartedness took him by surprise. The way he danced with Jayden was so gentle yet firm, brotherly or fatherly he wasn't quite sure. It was adorable either way. The words, though...the words were meant to be helpful, and that struck him on a deeper level, being a soldier of healing himself. Draco had a message to convey. He did recognize this song and once his mind caught up with the tune, he hummed along in the background, scooting closer to where Nyah and the others were so Draco could /see/ him helping out in his own way.

Draco smiled at Jayden’s confusion. Apparently she was sensing that his mind was not keeping in time with the song. “We will stand by your side. Filled with hope, and filled with pride. We are more than we are-, we are one.” He could hear everyone practically chorus the “one” part and Nyah sang her part. It was a chant that wouldn’t make sense to anyone unless they understood the language or understood what it was that was being said. He picked up Jayden’s waist and gently spun her around before letting her go, much like how a father would pick up a child to spin them around.

“If there’s so much I must be~ Can I still just be me? The way I am?~” Jayden questioned, her voice still not good for singing, but she carried the harmony decently.

Slate's Adam's Apple bobbed with his raw emotion hearing Jayden's words. He knew the song vaguely but wasn't that familiar with sequels. He could still hum along, the melody easy enough and the way their voices mingled was very intense. Jayden was still very unsure of herself, even after the three years of being together. Should he have tried better? Gotten them a real apartment, maybe on the outskirts of a town so they could go visit it but still be able to go home away from crowds and noise if it became too much? She still thought she wasn't that human. Her earlier comment really had hit him deep. Also, being tortured again now doubt erased a lot of the work he'd done. Not to mention his own trauma and seeing him suffer. Fuck...his mind just kept racing and he shook it, trying to focus on the song again.

"Can I trust in my own heart?~ Or am I just one part?~ Of some big plan?~" Jayden continued, looking down at the ground, not really dancing anymore, but holding onto Draco's hands tightly enough to convey that the song was hitting home. At least, her verse was very close to her own personal thoughts.

Pietro wanted to go to Jayden at that, but was sure it was better to stay where he was. He just wanted to chase away her uncertainty and help her trust herself because she really did have a wonderful heart. It was in how she acted, her own thoughts and how she treated everyone else around her. She thought she was someone scary who could hurt everyone but he knew she was really scared of herself and he didn't want her to be. He wasn't scared of her at all. He knew what he could do, what his sister could do...most certainly what Bucky could do. He wasn't scared, because none of them wanted to fight, to be this way.

Draco gently pulled Jayden close, but not too close since he knew that she'd just feel confined. He held her hands back, just as firmly as she was holding them, and brought her wrists up to his lips and he pressed a kiss on the scars littered all over. "Even those who are gone, are with us as we go on~. Your journey has only begun~." He gently spun her to face the crowd and held her shoulder tightly. "Tears of pain, tears of joy, one thing nothing can destroy~." He spun her, and held her shoulder tightly. "Is our pride, deep inside, we are one." Again everyone chorused the one and this time Jayden could see everyone's expressions, and she could catch snippets of their thoughts.

Family was a common thought in all of them. Kerica was just so /happy/ to be giving Jayden something special. Slate's mind couldn't be read but his face was hopeful. Clint was kind and firm, believing as the others did. Pietro had flashed over to join in the humming and while his mind was buzzing with the static fast as ever, one word slipped through the cracks and that was 'love'. Bucky was proud, of her and of Draco. Sam was also proud, and 'healing' was strong in his head, very sure that this song was good for her.

Natasha was still as complex as ever, but she could feel the strongest support and loyalty coming from her. Steve was already coming up with several different game plans, all of which of ways he could support her and figure out what she needed. A lot of it was about talking to Slate, or seeing what he could do to help out Bucky. She couldn't hear Wanda, but seeing her with Pietro already told her enough. It told her a lot. Scott's mind both enraged, sad, and just filled with fatherly concern. He worried that he didn't check up on her enough when she was laid up at the hospital with Slate, even if he was in his Ant-Man costume so he wouldn't get attacked. He didn't know much on how to support someone who went through something terrible like that, but...Scott hated the idea that someone young was in that position to begin with.

Nyah...her mind, besides Draco's was the clearest. No obstetrical courses to run around in, no fleeing thoughts, it was calm like a river. For someone who went through trauma, of losing both a piece of her life and her soul, was thinking of a way to help Bucky as discretely as possible. Bucky was supposed to be taking care of Jayden, because he needed to finish his healing. And the only way he was going to do that, was to heal someone who went through the same thing, even if it was different.

Jayden wished she could tell Nyah that her worry and concern was supposed to be on her health. Not on Jayden.

Draco noticed the look on Jayden's face and he smiled as he gently left Jayden's side to go next to Sam. "We are one, you and I~ We are like the earth and sky~. One family under the sun~." He had pointed at the earth and the ceiling as he said this and when he mentioned family he made a wide circle with his hand to indicate that he meant all of them. "All the wisdom to lead~ All the courage that you need~ You will find when you see we are one."

Sam patted Draco's back as the humming and drumming came to a tapering end and he grinned, "How about we all give J.J. a hug?"

"Oh, me first!" Bucky shouted, bouncing up and being the first to tackle the white haired girl.

Slate quickly jumped on him and shouted, "Let me hug my sister first!"

Pietro watched the fight slowly break out on who got to hug Jayden next and he flashed over to Wanda, whispering to her, "I know ve saw one animated movie...zat one vith ze little voman in ze flower and ze prince vith vings. Vhat vas ze name of zat?"

"Thumblina?" Wanda thought for a moment and then nodded her head. "I think that was the title...why do you ask...oh." Her eyes brightened. "Go for it."

Pietro went over to a far corner and brought out the phone T'Challa had issued him. It was it's own version of a smart phone, but more secure and smaller so they could communicate on missions without too much fear. He loaded up the internet and searched for a list of songs, trying to find the name of that /one/ he was thinking of. Once he did, he listened to it, watching everyone trade hugs with Jayden in the meantime. He just wanted to refresh his memory, and he hoped his accent wouldn't get too in the way of the words.

"How are you feeling after that?" Bucky asked J.J. as he ruffled her hair, "Draco had a lot of great points. Funny how a /Disney song/ is able to portray things much easier than I ever could."

Jayden was a little surprised at the hair ruffle, but she had been more shocked at all the hugs that she was getting from everyone. She didn't really like that they crowded around her, but at the same time she felt....secure. They didn't mean her harm and she knew that they weren't going to hurt her. She thought about what Bucky asked, and she shrugged. How was she supposed to feel? She wasn't certain. It was nice to know that they all thought of her as apart of their pack. She wanted to be apart of it, she wanted to prove herself and show that she can be just as good as they were. But, at the same time, she saw the way Bucky acted with Nyah. How Sam and Draco were slowly coming together. She watched Slate and Natasha interact and...

Could she /have/ that?

"Did anyone see where Pietro went?" Kerica asked, breaking them from their separate talks, though she suddenly yipped as a metal flute was shoved in her hands and Pietro was standing before her. "Did you make a trip to the music room /just/ for me to have the flute?" she blinked at him and he just nodded. Her brows furrowed and when he leaned down to whisper into her ear she too a moment before her brain registered the song he was requesting of her, "Oh geez...it's been a while. I didn't watch that one nearly as much as the others."

"I have the video?" Pietro offered helpfully, hopefully.

"Okay, let me watch it and I can do it," Kerica agreed and she tucked the flute under her arm as she walked off with Pietro's phone.

Buck watched the interaction, assessing what was going on as Kerica did some ghost movements with her fingers to follow the tune, her brows furrowed deeply in concentration. "Well then, I guess I'll go bug Nyah. We can chat later about all this if you'd like?" he squeezed his arm around J.J.'s shoulders again.

"Okay," Jayden said after a moment and watched Bucky leave to go with Nyah. She was hugged a few more times before everyone left and she decided that she should get out from the middle of the living room, certain someone else was going to take the stage.

She didn't get very far before Pietro caught her, and he brought her into a slow-dance when Kerica gave him the thumb's up and started the soft, whimsical, fairy-like twinkle tune, getting louder as she figured out her rhythm.

"Let me be your vings~" Pietro's cheeks were flaming. As much as he tried, he couldn't get rid of his accent, but at least most of his words came out clear. Slate had also grabbed the guitar first, doing gentle 'thum-thum's in the background, "Let me be your only love~...Let me take yu far~ beyond ze stars~..." he did like despite his flaws how his voice vibrated much like he did when he was pent up with energy. "Let me be~ your vings~ Let me lift yu high~ above~" He took her by the waist and lifted her as far as his arms would stretch, then spun her around a little bit, "Everything ve're dreaming~ of vill soon~ be ours~. Anything~ zat yu desire~ Anything~ at all~ Everyday~ I'll take yu higher~ And I'll never let yu fall~!"

Jayden was surprised by the song, mostly because it was Pietro singing it and that every word that he was singing she knew was meant to be true. She stared at him, unable to comprehend that he wanted her to be...well...loved. That he wanted to be her mate and give her everything that she could wish for, desired for.

"Now /that/ is the most adorable thing I've seen all damn day," Sam grinned widely.

"I thought it was Draco and Jayden." Steve teased Sam as he looked over at Kerica's flute playing. It was beautiful, and just another thing that Steve was happy to learn about his girlfriend. He wasn't anywhere musically inclined like her and Bucky were.

"No, that was intense, like being cuddled by a cat whether you like it or not but it's cute anyway so you give in. This is like two excitable puppies and it's just cute by default. I know you like dogs, Steve," Sam smirked, "Though cats seem to me warming up your heart lately." Bucky was a brooding cat and Kerica was the saucy one and they were both feisty.

"They kind of are, aren't they?" Steve mused as he looked back over at Jayden and Pietro. Her tension was bleeding out the more Pietro danced with her, and sang to her. She still had worry etched in her eyes, probably something that'd take time, but...yeah he could see it.

Pietro was still going strong, not even listening to the others, all of his focus on those beautiful vivid green eyes possessed by a very special person, "Let me be~ your vings~...Leave behind ze vorld yu know~...For another vorld of vondrous zings~~~! Ve'll see~ ze universe~ and dance on Saturn's rings~~! Fly~~ vith me and I~ vill be your vings~~~!" He kissed her nose playfully, cutely, as he allowed a few seconds for Kerica to flutter her flute and show off a bit, "Anything~ zat yu desire~ Anything~ at all~~!"

Jayden's cheeks reddened at his kiss and smiled as he continued to dance with her, melting the world away as well as her own concerns about the past and the present. "Anything at all~?"

"Everyday~ I'll take yu higher~ and I'll never let yu fall~~~!" Pietro felt his heart flutter in his chest and he held her just a little tighter. He could feel his sister's adoring, approving eyes on him and he blushed darker, his smile shy as Jayden sang the next line. This really had been a good idea, yeah? Jayden was special, and he wanted her to feel that way. He wanted her to be loved...especially by him. They hadn't been together very long at all, but they knew all the important parts and any small detail could easily be discovered as time passed. He had realized a long time ago that life was too short to dwell on things too long. If it felt right, then do it. If it felt wrong then don't do it unless otherwise provoked. Simple as that. This felt right.

"You will be~ my wings~..." The line was sang with a bit of hesitance, considering that she didn't know the song all that well and she wasn't certain if she was singing the right part. Not only that, it felt like...she was letting him /do/ something. It was very scary to lean on someone...

"Let me~ be your wings~..." Pietro kissed her cheek in reassurance. She was doing just fine. This was what he wanted, her to trust in him and let him guide her and help her and love her. He wanted to be her everything.

"You will be my only~ love~..." Jayden's throat tightened a little at the word. Love was so foreign to her. It didn't make sense to her much, but she was going to try.

"Get ready for another vorld of vondrous~~ zings~~~!" Pietro spun her out from him, though instead of spinning her back he zipped so he would be right there when she came to a stop, catching her again in his arms.

"Wondrous things are sure~ to happen~~..." Jayden sang, a little more confident when he caught her and feeling a little more joyous in the thought.

"We'll see~ the universe and dance~ on Saturn's rings~" The two of them echoed together in harmony with Kerica's flute and Slate's thrumming.

"Heaven~ isn't too~~ far..." the elder Maximoff breathed hotly.

"Stay~~ with me~ and let me be your~/You will be my~ wings~~~!" They let their voices taper off and he surged forward, giving her a searing, claiming kiss.

Jayden was shocked at the kiss. Forhead kisses, fly by kisses, they were all something she grew used to with Pietro, but this was direct. This was the moment where his mind was no longer static, and every thought that he had bled into her mind. Mostly it was all hopes, and love. All of it was things that he said already, did already. She closed her eyes and pressed back, hoping that...for against all odds...he could hear and feel her reply as deeply as she felt his.

"And another one down," Slate strummed.

"And another one down," Bucky repeated.

"Another one bites the dust!" they chimed.

"You two, I swear to god, don't ruin the moment!" Kerica admonished as she came over, 'thwap'ing them both on the head with the flute just so it would sting but not hurt.

"Let's do a request song!" Sam piped up, "Anyone got a song they'd like someone to sing?"

"Steve." Scott called, making the good ol' Captain look at him with a slight expression of horror. "Have you seen Mulan?"

"I have..." Steve said slowly.

"You should sing the song with the army. What was it...Man out of you! Please oh please!" Scott begged.

"I can get drums! Draco, Nyah?" Pietro offered.

"Yes." The two  of them said together, making Steve sigh with a bit of exasperation, but there was a bright smile on his face as he took his own stage.

"Sounds like you're already outnumbered if you wanted to say no," Buck smirked slyly at Steve.

"I swear to god I'm doing Mulan's part and there's nothing you can do to stop me!" Kerica pointed at her boyfriend, "Draco should be Chien-Po!"

"I'll do Yao!" Bucky brightened.

"I can be Ling," Sam snickered.

"Ya 'ave a full cast, 'ere, Steve," Slate cracked up.

"What did we just start, Nyah?" Draco asked with a bit of a tease in his voice as he shrugged and grabbed his drum from Pietro when he came back.

"A Disney marathon." Nyah replied as she took her own drum and set it down on the ground, wincing a little since her wounds were acting up a bit but she was alright. She got herself ready and let Steve begin the song.

Steve did not just sing, however. If he was going to throw a performance, he was going to /do/ a performance. "/Let's get down to business!/" He pretended to swing a sword. "To defeat. The Huns~. Did they send me daughters? When I asked~ for sons?~" He gestured to the group behind him.

Bucky was glad to get his own guitar back as Pietro had come back with a spare for Slate so they didn't have to share anymore. He kept good time with Draco's and Nyah's drums. He'd been in the thick of the war so he never saw Steve's show performances even though he knew about it. This was a treat for damn sure and the best part? Steve was going with it, not embarrassed at all.

"You're the sad~dest bunch I~ever met." He started military walking before them, acting like he was going to evaluate them. "But you can *bet* before we're through~ Mister I'll~ make a man~ out of you." He stopped at Kerica and pressed a hard finger against her chest, forgetting momentarily that he should be careful with his strength.

Kerica took it in stride, her eyes bright and she swiped his hand away with a playful grin, putting her body into a defensive stance. He quickly got the hint and she threw a slow punch, fully intending him to catch or block it. Pretend to be shit and then take him by surprise, all for the show.

"Tranquil as a forest~" Steve sang as he pretended to kick her ankle from underneath her since she was supposed to be bad at fighting. "But on fire within~" He threw a punch that made her pretend to knock her head backwards. "Once you find your center~ You are sure~ to win!" He pretended to shake his head in mock disappointment when she fell to the ground and was on her knees looking angry at herself. "You're a spineless, pale-, pathetic lot and you haven't~ got a clue. Somehow I'll~ make a man out of you."

"Never gonna catch my breath~" Draco sang from his drums, making his voice a little raspy like he /had/ just been running.

Bucky also made his voice raspy, going extra deep, and a bit pathetic and dramatic on top of it, "Say goodbye to those who knew me~!"

Sam pitched his voice high and squeaky, enjoying how Draco jerked and tried /really/ hard to keep his composure while Clint and Scott weren't so inclined, "Boy, was I a fool in school for cutting gym~!"

"This guy's got 'em scared to death!" Scott chirped for the odd man out for Mushu between pants.

Kerica had gotten back up and tried to "fight" again and Steve had "knocked" her back into Clint who choked on his laugh to catch her, "Hope he doesn't see~ right through me~" she cooed, wavering her voice /just so/.

"Now I really wish that I knew how to swim~!" Draco sang again his laughter echoing in the lyrics.

Nyah nearly cracked up but held herself together.

"Be a man~" The chorus sang together and Steve took over. "(To Be a Man) We must be swift as the cours~ing ri~ver. With all the force of a great typhoon~. With all the strength of a rag~ing fire~. Mysterious as the dark side of~ the moon~!" He gently pulled Kerica and the rest of the group who didn't have instruments to act like he was going to give them instructions. "Time is racing towards~ us! Till the Huns~ arrive~. Heed my every order~, and you might- survive~." He broke them up and Kerica and Steve started to play spar again, Kerica failing again. This time he shoved her away. "You're unsuited for, the rage of war, So pack up! Go home. You're through~. How could I~ make a man out of you~." He turned his back to her, and was about to stomp off as if horribly displeased.

Kerica actually made /contact/ this time, knowing this was where the game chanced. She swiped her leg up and her toes hit his right ass cheek, which made him stumble at the force. He hadn't been sure what would she would do, and that was her advantage. While he was bent over for that split second, she took from the movie and 'climbed', jumping onto Steve's back, making sure her aim was good so she wouldn't hurt him for real, and she flipped up and around, landing on her feet right in front of his face.

"(Be a man) We must be swift as the cours~ing river." Steve put his hands up and this time their play sparring was a little faster, but Kerica was a lot more confident in her movements and it flowed like a dance of it's own. "(Be a man) With all the force of a great typhoon~ (Be a man) With all the strength of a raging~ fire~. Mysterious as the dark side of the moon~" It ended with Kerica nearly punching Steve in the face, but he moved just right so that it would look like a knock out and everyone cheered and clapped.

This was more of a performance.

Steve laughed as he got up from the floor, looking sheepish. "I haven't preformed in a long time."

Kerica grabbed his hands, "That was so much fun, though! Mulan and Pocahontas were always tied as my favorite movies."

"Have you ever dueted with Bucky before?" Wanda couldn't help but to ask.

"A few times...but not like...a performance thing." Steve laughed. "Oh no. You're going to make me sing again aren't you?"

"Oh this I got to see." Natasha snickered.

"What are we dueting?" Bucky was on his feet in an instant.

"Streets of Gold, guys! In honor of Scott here and good ol' New York!" Sam cheered.

"Oh damn." Steve laughed. "He knows the way to my heart, Buck."

"That's why he's our friend," Buck nodded firmly and his eyes landed on Jayden as Slate started the tunes for them, "AHA, SHE'S PERFECT!" he shouted, surprising Steve and he lunged for Jayden, grabbing her hands and pulling her towards him and Steve.

"Why am I in this?" Jayden whined. "I did two songs!"

"So you'll do a third." Steve replied.

"You don't have to sing this time, you're being sung to," Buck promised.

Scott laughed at the horrified look on her face and it was so clear that she didn't know Oliver and Company. "Oh god this is perfect."

"We're going to clean you up child and give you some on the job training." Steve nudged Jayden into his arm and winked at her before Bucky grabbed her.

Bucky tipped up Jayden's chin with a smirk, "Now Listen up you've got a lot to learn, and if you don't learn, you don't eat," he poked her in the stomach and when she looked down he flicked her nose, "Hah!!"

"But if your tough and always use your head, you'll feel right at home on the street." Steve ruffled her hair and smirked as he was swatted away.

"When you've got talent everythin' is free. Watch how we do things, oh~ I'll guarantee~!" Bucky eyeballed Steve and jumped and planted his feet, he and Slate blowing into the chorus notes while he and Steve belted...

"You're gonna see how the best survive! We make an art out of staying alive! If you do just as you're told...These are Streets of Gold~!"

"(Streets of Gold)!" Slate, Scott, Clint, and Sam all chorused loudly.

"Every Boulevard is a miracle mile! You'll take the town, and you'll take it with style." While they sang the chorus, Steve broke into a dance, sometimes grabbing J.J with him. Now it wasn't a dance where two people just held each other and followed the other's steps. It was more or less like a Zumba class where the teacher had the student play "follow the leader". So far, Jayden just watched as he swung his hips and moved himself in ways that reminded her of some people in a rave. "If you play it brave and bold! These are streets of gold!"

Then he stopped and pointed at her with a playful wink. "Now listen here, honey. To live from week to week, you need technique so you practice everyday."

Bucky was grinning like the Cheshire Cat, trying not to laugh at how Kerica pouted but she was smiling anyway. He got close to J.J. and bounced his body as he rubbed his shoulder with hers, "The only rule is thou shall not get caught! Get what you can and then get away. Remember all the ways that you can hide..."

"Remember that we're always on your side." Steve hip-checked her before going towards Bucky and singing along with the chorus with him, grinning bright as Jayden just watched the two of them with a mixture of confusion and happiness was on her face. "When you got talent everything is free. Watch how we do things, ooooh I'll guarantee! You're gonna see how the best survive. We make an art out of staying alive! If you do just as your told. This are streets of gold!"

"(Streets of Gold)!" those who considered New York their home sand/shouted this this time, really into the song and enjoying themselves.

"Every Boulevard is a miracle mile! You'll take the town, and you'll take it with style! If you play it brave and bold! These are Streets of Gold!" Bucky hooked his arm with Steve and they both grabbed one of Jayden's hands and spun around in a circle as they sang the last bits of it, letting their voices drift off along with the notes.

Draco clapped his hands together when they ended their song. "Man that was upbeat. For a moment there, I worried I jumped everyone on the depression train. Glad that there's two songs at least that didn't require tissues."

"You started it." Scott laughed. "Oh gosh, whose going to go up next?"

"I know d'ere's one person 'ere I'd love ta 'ear sing..." Slate looked at Natasha hopefully though shyly, his cheeks blotched with color.

"Me?" Natasha quirked an eyebrow at Slate, a small smirk playing on her lips. "You sure you want me to steal the boys' thunder?"

"Consider it stolen, I think the volk shchenku deserves a break," Bucky laughed as he squished Jayden's cheeks together.

Steve laughed as Jayden let out a squeal that sounded like a puppy's excited yip. The playful nature that Bucky /had/ with Jayden wasn't lost on him. It made his mind go a little on the dark side, but he shook it off as fast as he could. This moment didn't need his thoughts or his worries. He felt someone tap his shoulder and he blinked when Natasha walked by him. He smiled, a weight lifted. If she ever had been injected with anything, he was certain Nat would be a mind reader through and through.

"Alright then." Natasha took a breath and let it out. "Unfortunately for you lot, it's not going to be any heroic anthem." Her smile turned into something a little more terrifying. "Let's spice it up with something from the villain's side."

"I wouldn't expect anythin' less, Darlin'," Slate was excited and watched her tell Nyah and Buck what she was planning.

Nyah began the drums, soft, bringing in the dark atmosphere that Natasha was going for. The guitar helping it out. "Trust in me~" Natasha sang as she walked slowly towards Slate in a predatory manner. "Just in me~ Shut your eyes~ Trust in me~" When she got to him, she placed only a finger on Slate's shoulder as she walked around to his back. "You can sleep~" She covered his eyes with her other hand, her mouth pressed against his ear. "Safe and sound~ Knowing I~ am around~..." She left him with a smirk on her face.

Kaa...the Snake from Jungle Book. Slate was floored, biting his lips to keep away a moan at her voice /slithering/ down his spine just like she was intending. Her breath on his ear was sinful and he /loved/ it. By the end of her tantalizing song he was either going to have a raging boner or be a puddle on the floor. If she let him, though....perhaps he could catch her and dance with her. He set his guitar to the side and decided to try for it, spinning around with the speed he had gained and his hand found her waist, his hand hunting for her hand and he placed a kiss on the back of it before he did a side-step and swept them in a circle. Keeping in time with the drums Bucky's guitar, Kerica having joined with her flute in the background.

"He knows how to /tango/," Clint's jaw dropped as he did a few more key moves.

"Line-dancing's boring for him." Jayden responded from her position on the floor. She only glanced up to see what her brother and Nat were doing only to go back to Pietro's phone to look up another song. She was just thankful that her brother was taking the spotlight for once. Thank god.

"Deep South knows how to have dance sex?" Sam was also dumbstruck, "This may turn out to be an /entirely/ different type of entertainment. If it gets too dirty I might feel like I should pay."

"Slip into a silent slumber~," Natasha sang as she flowed with his dance. It surprised her that it was the dance he chose, but she couldn't help but to feel pleased that it wasn't all country that he knew. "Sail on~ on a silver mist~...Slowly and surely~ your senses will cease to resist~..."

They stepped between legs and around legs and Nat would swing hers around here and there, sometimes sliding on the back of his, he'd lean into her and she into him, acting predatory on each other. He'd spin her out but when she came back to him his hand would slide up during her twirl from her waist to her shoulders, his dark grey-blue eyes that were his namesake locking on emeralds. He spun them both around this time, her leg hooking over his hip and his breath hitched but that was his only betrayal, not losing a beat into the next move.

"Just relax~" Natasha cooed as she kept her eyes locked on Slate. "Be at rest~ Like a bird~ in a nest~. Trust in me~ just in me~ shut your eyes~ and trust in me~." They danced through the instrumental, Kerica making her flute a bit more noticeable. But Natasha didn't really care, nor paid any attention besides the man that was guiding her around the room, seductively teasing her. She wondered who was hypnotizing who here. "Trust in me~ just in me~ shut your eyes~ and trussssst~ in me." She grinned at the dark look in his eyes, and they danced for a bit longer till everyone stopped playing. "Not bad, cowboy."

He had to swallow back the sound he wanted to make, be it a whimper or a growl he wasn't sure, but he cracked a smile for her, the spark never so much as sizzling out just because they stopped dancing, "D'at was a bit more d'an I expected, but /worth it/, Darlin'," he cooed a bit, keeping her close and he moved them back towards the couch, "Thank you, for singin' for me."

"Any time, it was fun." Natasha smiled as she walked off of the center of the room with Slate, not parting away from his arm until they reached the couch, and even then, she sat with him. Jayden didn't even blink and Natasha had to mentally let out a relieved sigh. She supposed that Jayden knew Natasha wouldn't hurt Slate.

"Hey Keri, you haven't sang yet." Steve looked over at his girlfriend and gestured to the room. "Do you want to?"

Kerica's cheeks immediately bloomed, "I-If you'd like me to."

"You did a great job playin' with Steve there before, why not take the spotlight for a little while?" Clint coaxed.

"You were really giddy about Colors of the Wind. Seeing how you portray that will be really interesting, I think," Sam tapped his chin.

"Seems it's not just Steve," Buck laughed.

"Guess not," Kerica agreed breathlessly and nodded, "Okay...Nyah? Draco? Do you know the song at all to play?"

"Are you kidding?" Draco grinned brightly. "We can play it easy." He grinned at Nyah who shook her head with a smile. "Go on then." He gestured for Kerica to get on the floor.

Setting the flute to the side, Kerica did so while the two started up their beat. It seemed Slate knew this one so he took his guitar when Bucky handed it to him, refusing to move away from Nat which she found cute. She contemplated just who she should direct this song to. Steve? Classic, but...not quite. He would just have to enjoy her voice. Scanning the crowd with their instruments ready, she landed on Jayden. Maybe...it wasn't to anyone specific. No. This wasn't that type of song. Still, she decided one person would be best to start with before she spread it out to the rest. Voicing thoughts of another. She didn't put the pressure on Jayden to bring her into her stage, but she came and got on her knees, the motion making her look from her phone at her. She just sat in front of the girl as Draco and Nyah thum-dummed beautifully, "You think I'm an ignorant savage...and you've been so many places, I guess it must be so~ But still~ I cannot see~ If the savage one is me~...How can there be so~ much that you~ don't know? You~ don't~ know~~~..." Slate was soft on his guitar. She smiled tenderly at Jay.

Jayden blinked as Kerica had at down before her. But instead of being weary of being grabbed, it was just like Kerica was just singing. She was thankful she wouldn't have to move at all. However this song...she hadn't heard this song in a very long time. Since.../before/.

Kerica stood up now and spun herself away, hopping on her tip-toes and she did her own solo performance in dancing, "You think you own whatever land~ you land on~...The Earth is just a dead~ thing you can claim~" she spread her arms out to gesture, "But I~ know every rock~ and tree~ and creature~...Has a life~ has a spirit~ has a name~!" Her flourishes were with her arms and hands here, first down, down, up mid-way and offering, up, up and then gracefully hugging herself and she spun again. She wasn't singing to just a single person now, keeping it general, but she loved thinking about Draco, Nyah, and Jayden, how the three of them would resonate and the formers' drumming echoed her feelings, sure and strong.

Even if their races were different, and their culture was different, the bases held the same. Everything was as precious as the last. Draco looked over at Nyah who was watching Kerica, neither one of them faltering in their beat. He smiled softly, knowing she wouldn't see it, before turning his attention back on Kerica. The Earth was more alive than anyone here. They were only temporary. The earth would one day decide if they continued on or not, as well as the gods of old and new.

"You think the only people~ who are people~ Are the people~ who look and think like you~!" she swirled her hand around her face, tapped her head and then spread her arm out wide towards the lot of them, "But if you~ walk the footsteps of a stranger~..." she glanced again towards Jayden and beamed, "You'll learn things you~ never knew~ you never knew~..." and now her favorite bit.

She jumped down towards Jayden, "Have you ever~ heard the wolf cry~ to the blue~ corn~ moon~?" she swiped her finger up along Jayden's throat and flicked off her chin, the answering howling cry she got made her happy and she bounced back up, twirling towards Draco and placed her hand on his arm, "Or asked the grinning~ bobcat why~ he grinned~~?" the one he flashed her was feral and wild, and she was light on her feet as she moved around the room once more, "Can you sing~ with all the voices~ of the mountain~? Can you paint with all~ the colors~ of the wind? Can you paint~ with all~ the colors~ of~ the wind~~?" she /did/ look at Steve for this one, winking because he was such a fantastic artist.

Steve's cheeks reddened and Jayden looked just as perked up as she had when Slate had taken the stage. She was bearing her teeth, like she was ready to howl again when the need arose. Maybe they worried too much about her.

Kerica caught Pietro's hand, "Come run~ the hidden pine trails~ of the forest~!" he buzzed around her in that blue-silver flash and made her hair fly around her face, "Come taste~ the sunsweet berries~ of the Earth~!" she motioned a poised hand towards Wanda who waved her own hand and her magic twisted around Kerica's hand and arm, and it rolled across her shoulders, down and around her other side up towards the ceiling, then she hugged herself and turned in a fast circle, "Come roll~ in all the riches all around you~ and for *once*, never wonder~ what they're worth~!"

Kerica took a breath, taking it easy for a second, "The rainstorm~ and the river~ are my *brothers*~!" she motioned one hand each towards Scott and then Sam, "The heron~ and the otter~ are my *friends*~!" next she did a arms-out deep bow to Clint and Nat, "And we are all~ connected to~ each other~...In a circle~ in a hoop~ that never~ ends~~!"

Bucky was continually amazed at how Kerica danced so beautifully both sparing and by herself and he absolutely enjoyed how she included people in her song in a much deeper way than just different singing parts. She really was such an anomaly and a wonder. He was going to let her breathe after this, maybe steal Jayden again for a duet song if she hadn't found one for herself, and then he was damn sure going to have Kerica and Steve sing together.

Kerica's voice hit it's peek, the highest and strongest before her voice would crack, spreading one arm up in a snap above her, looking at the ceiling, "How *high*~ does the sycamore~ grow?! If you cut it down~ then you'll~ never~ know~!" she crashed her hand back drown, staring at them all intently, and stepped boldly closer, arms out, "And you'll *never*~ hear the wolf cry~ to the blue~ corn~ moon~~!" Nyah and Jayden both howled this time, "For whether~ we are white or copper~ skinned~~! We need to *sing*~ with all the voices~ of the mountain! We need to paint with all~ the colors~ of the wind~! You can own~ the Earth and still~..." she decided to end where she began, on both knees in front of Jayden, this time grasping her hands, "All you'll own~ is Earth until~ you~ can~ *paint*~ with all~ the~ *colors* of~ the~ wind~..."  her voice tapered off and she leaned forward, kissing her in a sisterly manner on the forehead.

"You are so adorable!" Scott squealed suddenly as he clapped.

"Did you honestly just /howl/?" Draco turned to Nyah whose cheeks reddened. "You should save those kinds of tricks in the bedroom. Buck might get jealous."

"I loved how you had Pietro and Wanda do their thing with you," Clint praised watching at Kerica placed both hands on her cheeks, being shy.

Bucky laughed and he leaned into Nyah, giving her a surprise kiss, "I like it, shows you can be a bit feral yourself, instead of a poised healer," he smirked.

"It was fun to be apart of it rather than be a spectator." Wanda agreed with a smile on her face as she looked at her brother happily.

"There is a reason why I am an assassin." Nyah pointed out with a smile. "And I don't think you'd like me as much if I didn't have a bit of a wild side."

"Does that mean I have to watch out, too?" Sam eyed Draco with an arched brow.

Jayden fiddled with the phone for a bit, wondering, debating. Should she? She was a terrible singer and everyone else looked like they were having fun. But was this too much? What if everyone was getting bored? She frowned a little as she thought about it. Should she or shouldn't she, that was the question.

"Maaaybe." Draco grinned slyly. "You'll have to wait and see. I have to claim you first before I can show you anything."

"Wrong term to use." Nyah snickered.

"Court. My bad." Draco shrugged with a laugh.

Clint made a low whistle as Sam shifted in his seat, "Either way, the hint was made."

Pietro had come beside Jayden once Kerica left and he tapped her shoulder, "Zey seem to know ze vild songs. Zey could help yu out if yu need," he nodded to the video she had on the screen.

"You find something finally?" Bucky asked, "Awesome!"

Jayden blinked and blushed a bright red as she was outed. She carefully stood up and looked at Pietro who gave her a nod, a bright smile on his face. A gentle word slipped through the static, encouraging and bright. "/Go/". She took a breath and walked over to Nyah and Draco. "Can I sing next?" Her voice wavered a little in fright. "I found a song. All drums."

"Does anyone mind Jayden taking the floor next?" Draco asked the crowd at large to make sure that no one was about to jump in before Jayden made her request. When he got a chorus of negatives, he grinned at her and nodded to the floor. "The world's your stage and you have a part to play."

Kerica settled beside Steve and leaned into him as she watched Jayden fidget. With all the encouragement, she was sure it was overwhelming. This was a large leap she was about to make and she couldn't help but grin, wondering just what song she picked. Though, all drums...hmm...Draco and Nyah began to pump out the melody and her brain clicked 'Tarzan'. She had been a Disney buff hardcore. "My dad teased me I could go on one of those trivia TV shows with how much I killed my VHS tapes before we replaced them with DVDs," she shared, "There are few Disney movies I never watched again. Bambi was one, as well as Fantasia. I liked Fantasia 2, though, strangely enough."

"Prince of Egypt and Joseph King of Dreams were my two picks." Steve agreed, eyes on Jayden but he easily wrapped an arm around her, holding her close. "Though if you were to talk to me way back in the day, I'd say Snow White would be my favorite, or something close to that. Looks like she's about to sing..."

The drums began to beat, and Nyah and Draco did something else with the song. They added their voices humming and adding a flare to the song that wasn’t there in the original. Jayden smiled a little and she looked at all the eyes that were on her. It was strange, unfamiliar and yet so at home to her. She wouldn’t ever be preforming for a song, but with a knife in her hand. It was so vastly different. She didn’t really know what they’d consider entertaining. She decided to do what Kerica did and started with Slate, rather than Kerica. “Whatever you do, I’ll do it too~. Show me everything and tell me how~.” She pressed her hands against her heart. “It all means something, and yet noth~ing to me~.” She dropped her hands, shrugged, and walked away from him and towards Bucky and Draco.

Slate was alert at the song, recognizing and he bobbed a little with the beat, and his eyes brightened. Was she showing them her trust and faith through her song?

A knife twirling show? How fun. That was Buck's main thought as the song just began, though he perked as she came closer. Her lyrics were curious indeed. He hoped she was going to enjoy herself, no matter what.

“I can see there’s so much to learn~. It’s all so close~ and yet so far~.” She reached out towards them but let her hand closed her expression helpless. “I see myself as people~ see me~.” She let out a playful growl, even if it wasn’t apart of the song and did a fast spinning kick in the air, slicing the person in front of her and twirling the knife through her fingers. “Oh I just know there’s something bigger out there!” She gestured around the room broadly.

“I wanna know~ can you show me?~” Jayden questioned as she did a run and a spin in the air, keeping the knife close so that she wouldn’t accidentally fling it around. “I wanna know~ about these strangers like me~.” She landed, and bent down with one knee on the ground and the other up as she looked around like she was looking at people unfamiliar to her, knife at the ready. “Tell me more~ Please show me~. Something’s familiar about these strangers like me~” She spun around in a circle and sighed loudly like she was lost and confused.

This song had a lot of meaning behind it in a lot of ways. Sam supposed several of their songs were like that, personal and deeply close to their hearts and not some random song picked for the hell of it, yes even Man out of You in it's own way. Each song shined a light on the one who performed it, how they persevered it or how it pertained to their life or even the person it was for. Sam loved every minute of it, and he grinned brightly, an idea popping in his head for his own solo when he felt it was his time to shine. Not yet, though, certainly not yet.

While the music played she walked around, sometimes doing something that would turn her from looking human, to the exact thing she feared. She would do what some would call a Kata, but then she’d suddenly get on all fours, legs knees bent and her knife pointed in a defense like she was getting hit or felt like she would be about to. She continued doing different martial arts and knife moves before she just suddenly stopped like something interested her and this time she looked over at Pietro, but she kept him at a distance, to show something rather than to tell. “Every gesture, every move that he makes~. Makes me feel like never before.” She smiled brightly and this time she tackled the floor and rolled on the ground like she was just too excited before getting up again. “Why do I have, this growing need~ to be beside him?~” She looked again confused, but she did this towards him, getting up with a grace that very few could have. Her hands didn’t even help her off of the floor, using all the power in her legs to get her up. She hesitantly took a few steps towards him, knife poised by her side.

Pietro crouched just a bit, poised to tackle her or avoid her, but as long as she didn't gesture or touch to signal him, he would stay where he was, grinning brightly. He was happy to just be mentioned in her song, and the words rang true, didn't they?

“Ooh, these emotions that I never knew~” She ran her fingers through her hair and placed the knife down towards Steve and Kerica as she walked by them. “Of some other world far~ be~yond~this place~. Beyond the trees~, above the clouds~. I see before me a new horizon!” She energetically ran, only to stop to do a one legged spin, trapping her leg much like a ballerina, but less poised and far more clumsy hands stretched out rather than over her head.

Natasha's inner ballerina nearly winced at the move, but she had to admit it was cute to see her let go and play. It was like watching a puppy with a new toy in all honesty.

Clint covered his mouth to stifle a chuckle, settling into the couch just a bit more. Pietro seemed like he was going to break his stance to catch her so she didn't hurt herself, but he didn't, letting her catch her own balance.

“I wanna know~ can you show me~. I wanna know about these strangers like me~.” Jayden went to Scott and Clint much to everyone’s surprise “Tell me more~, please show me~ Something’s familiar about these strangers like me~” Since they were close to Pietro, she went over to him and held her hand out. “Come with me now to see my world~. Where there’s beauty be~yond your dreams~” Well, it was actually a lot of bloodlust and horror, but she didn't think editing that into the song was going to be helpful in /any/ way shape or form.

Giddy, Pietro took her hand eagerly, letting her drag him onto the floor but he lifted her way up this time and sat her on his shoulders, stretching his arms out and looking up at her. He didn't know this song at all, but this seemed like it would be a lot of fun anyway.

“Can you feel the things I feel?~” She asked. “Right now, with you?” She reached down to grab his hands with hers, being careful with her balance since she knew that her depth perception was horrible and what looked far was actually quite closer to her than she thought. Or the opposite depending. “Take my hand. There’s a world~ I need to know~.” Her voice was pleading, almost desperate this time.

Slate watched as Quicksilver squeezed her hands in reassurance and smiled tenderly at her. Pietro kissed both hands and the elder brother couldn't help but feel /more/ than okay with the blond man with his baby sister. All he wanted was to protect her and love her, and he couldn't have asked for more. He was an older brother as well, even if he was a twin, so he knew what it was like to worry and not want to see harm come to the one most precious to him. Through the ups and downs he was sure were going to happen, he knew their love would be pure and it was certainly something to admire.

Wanda clasped her hands together tight as she smiled at her brother and his happiness. Nothing more was clear to her, than how he treated Jayden. He stayed with her when she was feral and would attack anything to everything, and he was with her now. It was the strangest pairing, she'll admit it and it was a fast fall....but that was his name. Quicksilver. If he could run fast, he could fall in love fast and it made her happy that he found someone to smile at, to smile for other than her.

She gently moved so that she could get off of his shoulders and with his help she landed on the ground just fine. Instead of just letting him go to go back to his little hideaway, she dragged him over to Steve and Kerica for the last chorus. “I wanna know~, can you show me?~ I wanna know about these strangers like me. Tell me more~ please show me~ something familiar about these strangers like me~.” She looked over at Slate and Natasha as she sang the last line, still holding on to Pietro’s hand, feeling it shake. “I wanna know~.” And the drums ended abruptly.

"Whoop!" Kerica cheered, "Aw, Jay, you did a wonderful job!"

"Well done! You and Pietro are one of the cutest. Second only to my best pal and his girl, sorry," Bucky laughed. He had nestled his guitar on a couch cushion and stood up, "Is your throat sore?"

"No." Jayden shook her head. "You're going to make me sing again?"

"Well, have you seen any movies in the last three years on your run with Slate?" Buck asked curiously.

"We saw Brave playing in an electronics shop," Slate supplied.

"That one was kind of everywhere, though not like Tangled or Frozen," Buck rolled his eyes, "Okay, well, do you remember the song 'Learn Right By Me'?"

"Lemme look at lyrics." Jayden told him as she took Pietro's phone again to see if she recognized the song. She read for a bit and smiled. "I can sing." She handed the phone back to Pietro and shrugged. "Tell me when."

"I got the strings," Slate cracked his knuckles. This was a bit of a fast one and he straightened up so he would have a bit more control, planting his long legs firmly.

"Perfect...I'll start, volk shchenku," Buck nodded. He paused as he let the timing settle and then he took a breath and he reached up, patting her head, "Though I may speak~ some tongue of old~, or even spit out some holy word~..."

"I have no strength~ with which to speak~. When you sit me down~ and see I'm weak." She didn't swat him away like she had done with Steve, but she just watched him. Much like how a child would when they were trying to learn to do a new thing. This new thing that she was learning? Fuck if she had a clue. Affectionate touches that weren't just her brother and Pietro she supposed.

His ragged raspy voice mingled with hers in a sort of eerie way. As smooth as his normal speaking voice could be, his vibrating vocal cords seemed to always end up sounding like this. Not that it was unpleasant, but there were a few times where he wished he could be suave when singing to Nyah. "We will run~ and scream~. You will dance~ with me~. We’ll fulfill~ our dreams and we’ll be free." He took her hands in his and guided her into a slow dance, though it wasn't intended to be anything more than just them moving around.

"We will run~ and scream~ You will dance with me~. We'll fullfill~ our dreams and we'll be free." Jayden's voice echoed with his. She was a little surprised when he took her into a dance, but she was especially surprised with that thought. Her eyes flicked over to Nyah who was smiling over at them. Couldn't he see that his singing voice was already attractive to his mate? She didn't understand the longing, but she supposed that if she had to change things about herself, her list would be pretty long. She forced him to spin her around just for the hell of it trying to bright his mood.

He did smile at that and he upped the pace of their tiny dance, kind of feeling like a father dancing with his daughter and his heart clenched, but he leaned down and bumped his forehead with hers, "We will be~ who we are~ and they’ll heal~ our scars~. Sadness will be~ far away~." He could handle this. This family of adopted brothers and sisters, fathers and children. This would suffice until he had his own.

She let out a playful growl in return when he bumped his forehead with her, but she was happy and pleased with the affection. /This/ she was used to. Mostly from other animals. "So I had done wrong~ to prove me right. My judgement burned in the black of night."

"When I gave~ less than I take~..." Bucky felt the words resonate and he gave a small growl in return, nipping at her ear and smirking as she jumped. It was all in play and the growl hadn't even been rough. See? They could be themselves. Becoming a part of this group didn't mean changing who they were, just improving upon and being even deadlier and formidable in the end, because the lone wolves had a pack now to live and protect by.

"It is my fault~ my own mistake~." Jayden grinned as she tested the limits a little. If she was a puppy, her tail would be wagging and she'd be jumping all over the place trying to wrestle him and rough house him. Slate only rough-housed her a few times that was was mostly because sometimes she'd get too into it and was on the brink or really hurting him. However, this was  a song, unfortunately, and tackling someone to the ground, as fun as that would be, wouldn't work so well. "We will run~ and scream~." She pulled him close to her before pulling back and doing her own spin, mostly using him as a pole. "You will dance~ with me~. We'll fulfill~ our dreams and we'll be free." She jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly, nosing his cheek.

Buck was too busy singing along to laugh, but he supported her and held her just as close, "We will run~ and scream~ You will dance with me~. We'll fullfill~ our dreams and we'll be free!" He kissed her cheek and tried to bite at her nose, spinning them around really fast a few times before he set her back down on her feet, "We will be~ who we are~..."

"And they'll heal~ our scars~." Jayden was smiling brightly at him, knowing the song was coming to a close. She was glad that the dark thoughts went away.

"Sadness will be far~ away~!" Buck stopped their dance and he tickled her sides just a bit, making her squeal and jump away and he /did/ laugh this time, "Very good, very good!" he praised.

Jayden smiled happily as she came back and hugged him, this time for a more ulterior motive. Since she already got him at her level, she murmured into his ear. "You'd be a good dad." She gently kissed his cheek before pulling away. "Any pup is happy to have you. Bloodline or not."

Kerica watched as Buck stared at Jayden a bit dumbstruck for a second, before his eyes started to shine and he looked about to squeeze her in half the way he scooped her up in his arms, nosing her shoulder. "He deserves a family," she murmured quietly to Steve, "I know you agree. That was just the one that hammered it home."

"It's a no wonder why Jayden's his first patient." Steve murmured softly back to Kerica. "If she can make him realize it's okay to want, then..well...she's a good fit for him." He paused in his words and he continued on. "Nyah told me she was thinking about what you said. About other options she can take. I don't know if she has a plan or not...but...it's been on the back of her mind. I think her near death and Bucky's reaction hit very close to her."

Kerica's eyes softened and she glanced towards Nyah, "I sure hope so..." their quiet conversation was abruptly cut off as Bucky suddenly pulled away from Jayden and pointed right at her.

"KERICA!"

"WHAT?!" she just decided to shout back, humoring him.

"Pick a song, any song, I don't /care/ just /sing/ with Steve!" Bucky sniffed his order, "Watching you two earlier, then your song...it was amazing and I want more."

"Demanding..." Kerica muttered but she pulled out her phone and started google searching some duet songs, "How much sap are you okay with?" she asked Steve.

"I want syrup so sweet I choke on it," Clint smirked.

"I'm doing a duet with /Steve/, so he gets to decide the level of...syrup sweetness?" Kerica wasn't entirely sure how to word that and Clint just cracked up, causing her to stick her tongue out at him. She turned her attention back to her phone and hummed a bit as she scanned the lyrics of the one she found first from Anastasia, only to shout when deft hands plucked it from her. Steve had used the arm he had around her to his advantage to steal her phone, "Oh no, Steve! Give it back, I was still looking! That one's sap level is probably super high!" She didn't want Steve to sing something with her if he didn't feel it, too, and while she liked it herself the chorus especially hinted at 'forever' and the 'future' and fuck she was going to start panicking...

"So?" Steve asked as he scrolled the down the lyrics. It was a good song and the lyrics were pretty. It also might bring them closer, and maybe there was a few things he could get through to her using it. "I think we should sing it. Clint said he wanted to choke. We can do that with this." He paused a little. Maybe she didn't want to sing something like this? Maybe it was too much? "Unless you're uncomfortable?"

"N-No, it's just...unexpected," Kerica admitted quietly and she passed the lyrics around the instramentalosts to see who knew it. It looked like Nyah and Bucky did. Bucky really /had/ gone on a Disney Song Binge. Taking a breath, she nodded her consent to Steve and stood up, wringing her hands nervously.

Buck wanted to strangle them both and he plopped down next to Nyah who was stretching her fingers and rotating her wrists from all of the drumming she had done, Jayden going back to Pietro. He had his guitar ready to do a duet of instrumentals with her, but he whispered before they started, "I swear they worry too much about whether the other is okay with something rather than what they /want/. I bet half the things they fret over aren't even worth fretting over to begin with."

"Both of them are used to being overlooked. What do you do when someone's attention's suddenly on you in a way you can't remember?" Nyah asked rhetorically as she watched Steve and Kerica stand in the middle of the living room. "I admit though, it's getting kind of sad to watch them like that." She agreed as they signaled that they were ready.

Bucky's chords ended up going a bit longer than intended and he had to re-do her cue about twice before Kerica unstuck her throat, her singing voice breathy, "We were strangers, starting out on a journey~ Never dreaming~" her voice wavered but she steeled herself. They were /doing this/, "...what we'd *have* to go through~ Now *here we are*, I'm suddenly standing~ At the beginning with you~..."

“Nobody told me~ that I was going to find you~.” Steve sang, gently taking her hands with his to assure her and kept his gaze locked on her. “Unexpected~ what you did to my heart~ When I lost hope~ you were there to remind me~ This is the start~.” She reminded him of so much. Bucky was right, she was an anomaly. But she was his…and that was all that mattered. And this? If Jayden finally hammered in that Bucky deserved a family, then this song and this moment was enough for Steve to make up his mind.

The way he /looked at her/. Kerica reflexively squeezed his hands, sinking her head into shoulders shyly, her face hot, her throat burning, but she kept her eyes on him as they sang their chorus, "And *life* is a road that I wanna keep going. *Love* is a river, I wanna keep flowing. *Life* is a road, now and forever~, wonderful journey~" There it was. Part of the song but in /her/ voice and something flickered passed in those endlessly blue eyes of his, causing the corners of his lips to turn up a bit more and her stomach did weird butterfly flip-flops.

“I’ll be there when the world stops turning~, I’ll be there when the storm is through~” Steve gently had spun her around, but he didn’t really dance with her. This..this was more or less a confession than anything else. She had held him during a storm. They were both watching their family crumble, but growing stronger with new blood and new cultures and friends. This was something they needed. At least, he did. He hoped she did too. “In the end I wanna be standing at the beginning with you~.”

With that little spin, Kerica's grin had returned and she relaxed into him instead of standing apart being so rigid, "We were strangers, on a crazy adventure~" she giggled just a small bit, remembering when she joined SHIELD and the whole rollercoaster ride since then with plenty of ups and downs, all worth it in the end.

“Never dreaming~ how our dreams would come true~” Steve never thought he’d get another chance to fall in love, especially with someone that was like her. It made him happy that she wanted to chose him, even if her hope faded that his eyes would never go to her side.

"Now *here we stand*~ *unafraid* of the future~ At the beginning with you~" They'd both made it so far, hadn't they? It was wonderful to think about how they'd come so far in their relationship as friends and now as significant others.

“Now I know my dream will live on~ I’ve been waiting so long! Nothing’s gonna tear us apart.” So far, nothing has, and Steve was starting to think that nothing would at all. They sang the chorus again and looking deep into each other’s eyes, Steve cooed the very last verse. “In the end I want to be standing, at the beginning~ with you~” He grinned bashfully as he broke contact, his smile practically stretching out the sides of his face. “Was that syrup enough for you to choke on?” He asked Clint.

"Hmm, well..." Clint was about to give a smart reply when Kerica tugged Steve down and planted one, and he instantly thought of something better, "Oh, there's the cherry on top, I think I need to go find a snorkel for all this syrup."

"I can't help but to think that somehow someway this turned sexual without it meaning to." Draco commented as he stretched out his legs, wincing at the loud pops his knees made. "I know what syrup can be used for. It's a bad idea in all sorts of ways."

"Food play is all sticky," Sam made a face.

"How do /you/ know?" Buck turned to look at the Falcon.

"I'm not a fossil like some people. I've had girlfriends," Sam retorted just as Steve pulled away from the deep kiss he'd been engrossed in.

"It amazing that you can get all of the women." Steve teased Sam lightly. "They have to be very strong willed if they want to be around you."

"Sadly, none of them had enough willpower to withstand my awesomeness," Sam waved a hand dismissively, nose up in the air.

"Draco's got plenty of willpower, he hasn't left us yet," Kerica smirked.

"Oh the many times I wanted to walk out the door." Draco couldn't help but to tease. "You should thank Nyah. Otherwise, I'd be home right about now getting ragged on by a bunch of tiny little children and getting pushed to be a teacher."

"Your worst nightmare. Tiny children." Nyah coughed.

"What/ever/ are you going to do when Nyah has tiny children running around?" Sam inquired arching a brow.

"Child/ren/?" Buck looked up from his phone.

"Dude, you're an all or nothin' type of guy, you're bound to have more than one kid," Clint agreed.

"If it's Nyah's, I think I'll be alright." Draco said thoughtfully. "I mean, it's /Nyah/. Now if it was someone like...I dunno....Pietro and Jayden for an example. I think I'd fear for my life and sanity. They /do/ things! And with Pietro's speed, I do /not/ want to be stuck babysitting. That child will get itself into things. /Things/."

Wanda couldn't help but to burst into laughter, covering her mouth and just doubling over. Oh /god/. Draco wasn't wrong. Any child of Pietro's would be a nightmare. Add Jayden to the mix and well...that child was going to have some very interesting abilities that's for sure.

"We'd never be able to find Nat's kids, because she'd find that redheaded hellion to adopt and teach them all of the dirty tricks to get their way, too," Kerica shot towards Slate and Natasha, causing the black-haired cowboy to blush so hard it traveled down his neck.

"I can find them." Jayden rose her hand like it was a question to an answer. "Not hard. Hide up in vents and behind couches and under couches and closets and other places. Outside too, but not when small."

"That saying 'gingers have no soul' comes to mind," Clint fully expected the backhanded punch to his chest and took it like a champ.

"I don't know, Clint. I'd say something about you having kids, but those of us who met them already know what they're like." Natasha teased lightly.

"They are precious cherubs. One gave you a picture!" Clint defended.

"I have a question." Nyah looked at Draco seriously, "How many children can I have before you lose your sanity?"

"Right off the bat, asks the hard question." Steve whistles.

"You know you can have multiple Godparents, I think it's fair to see how many he can handle," Buck hummed, "'Cause you'd be one. So, answer the question Stevie, how many of /my kids/ could you handle?"

"Every one of them." Steve answered like the sap that the was. "Or at least every one of them that has more Nyah in them than you."

"I'm hurt!" Bucky looked highly offended, but then laughed heartily before looking at Draco.

"Well...I don't want you to die." Draco winced while he said that so he thought about it. "Having too many kids is bad for your heart. They'll give you daily heart attacks so...oh...maybe four." He did a sea-sawing motion. "I could be persuaded to handle five."

"Five is a good number," Bucky's grin was bight like the sun, "Three to start with, though, go from there. With a number that high there's gunna be twins somewhere."

"I'm surprised you didn't up that number to eight." Steve teased his friend lightly.

"Good thing you're going to be the super soldier uncle, Steve," Kerica paled a bit, "I can't imagine having more than two. I'm okay with spoiling the crap out of them, though."

"Two's a good number. I don't have Bucky's stamina for big families." Steve admitted as he rubbed his neck, feeling sheepish.

"God I just imagined Draco doing his shadow trick and 'noping' out of there when the going gets tough and leaving the rugrats to you, Steve," Sam cracked up.

Nyah laughed a little as Draco nodded his head vigorously. Five. It was a good size family. More than she could ask for. Her thoughts trailed away from the conversation as she looked away from the conversation. Ever since the miscarriage happened, Bucky's attentions on her practically upped themselves. He didn't distance himself from her, but instead tried to get closer. It wasn't...bad or anything, but she knew that sometimes when he looked at her, his expression changed. A sad, near longing look that she knew her soul mimicked. Only, she was a little more aware of why she felt that way. Bucky on the other hand, seemed to bottle it up, tamper it down, and push his way through it. She understood. It wasn't a good time. Yet, to see his face light up at the idea. To see that it was something that he /did/ want...she couldn't deny him and yet she knew that if she wanted to live...she would have to just like he denied her...and it hurt. Just at a bit.

"So, Nyah, are you familiar with this?" Bucky handed her his phone finally, "Kerica could play the flute for us."

Nyah blinked in surprise as she was torn out of her thoughts and she took the phone from him to see what kind of song it was. With a sad smile, she read through the lyrics for a moment. "No, not quite. I didn't watch Aladdin all that much when I was younger, but I could pick up the song pretty easily."

"Easily done," Buck nodded and quickly found a youtube video for her to watch.

Kerica tilted her head as her ears caught the tune since they weren't sitting that far away and grinned brightly. When Nyah was done watching it she giggled, "That's a really popular duet."

"I can see why." Nyah smiled a little as she handed the phone back to Bucky. "I like it. I'll be your duet partner for this."

"That's what I was hoping for," Buck hopped to his feet, guitar abandoned in favor of Nyah's warm body and he held her close as they took the stage. Kerica got her flute ready and warmed up, before starting their song, "I can show you the world~ Shining~, shimmering~, splendid~! Tell me, princess, now when did You last let your heart decide~?" He pressed his hand to her chest as he slow-danced them in a circle, "I can open your eyes~ Take you wonder by wonder~...Over sideways and under On a magic carpet ride! A whole new world~~~ A new fantastic point of view~! No one to tell us "No" Or where to go~ Or say we're only dreaming~..."

"A whole new world~ A dazzling place I never knew..." Nyah sang, her voice prettily going in harmony with Bucky's voice. She pressed close against him when she came back, they flowed together like a river. "But when I'm way up here~ It's crystal clear~. That now I'm in a whole new wold with you~." He echoed the line with her and she beamed brightly. "Unbelievable sights~. Indescribable feeling~. Soaring, tumbling free wheeling through an endlessly diamond sky~! A whole new world~"

"Don't you dare close your eyes~..." Bucky warned through song, caressing her face and rubbing his thumbs close to her eyes to make her look at him, his own tender and adoring.

"A hundred thousand things to see." To feel. To experience with. But the lines didn't call for that and she had to just smile at him as she pulled in a little closer so that she could kiss his cheek. He kept peppering kisses on her all throughout the musical break out, but she wasn't able to give them back. Now she could.

"Hold your breath, it gets better~..." Bucky cooed to her. It would. It was. Loving her had been an interesting ride, and he wouldn't change any of it for the world. He kept his mouth from her lips, trailing on her neck instead as he wrapped an arm around her waist, sweeping her this way and that.

"I'm like a shooting star~ I've come so far~, I can't go back to where I used to be." And it was true. Nyah couldn't go back to where she was from, how she was. His culture, his love, it shaped her in ways that she couldn't imagine. He made her want to live, give things she couldn't imagine giving or wanting to give.

"A whole new world~" Bucky gripped her body, nipping at her neck. She was still recovering so they couldn't do much, but /damn/, just her very presence, her scent, the feel of her under his hands was easily able to drive him wild. He couldn't lose her again. He'd be even worse of a shell than he had been as the Soldier and not even Steve would be able to save him.

"Every turn a surprise." She sang, pressing her nose against his neck to take in his scent. If she drove him wild, he drove her into a puddle. The thought of her leaving him, the near death and to know that if she took this leap of faith to do it again, she held him close, her nails gently gripping at his clothes. She wanted to be with him longer. She knew, now that her decision was made. She would just need to find the courage to tell him.

"With new horizons to pursue~ (Every moment red-letter)..." her words echoed beneath his and he toyed with her honey-blond locks, "I'll chase them anywhere~ There's time to spare~ Let me share this whole new world with you~... A whole new world~ That's where we'll be~...A thrilling chase...(A wondrous place) For you and me~~~..." their voices trailed off together and he finally allowed himself to kiss her hotly, intently, pouring his feelings into her; hopes, dreams, and fears all balled into one.

"Awwwww!" Draco squealed from the sidelines, looking like he was about to melt from all the cuteness, he looked so happy for his soulmate and his brother. He could see the love that was pouring out and around them like a protective shroud. It made him so happy, to know that Nyah was able to give that to Bucky and that Bucky was able to return it ten-fold

"Has everyone who knows what Disney is had a chance?" Sam looked around the room, "No more duets? No more singles? Requests, that shit?" At the 'nope' and shrugs he received, he jumped to his feet, "MY TURN! Who here knows the Goofy Movie?! Specifically 'Stand Out'?"

"ME!" Kerica all but screamed but the rest were quiet, "Oh come on! Buck, I can't play guitar like a pro but I can make a tune all the same," she reached for Buck's guitar before the man could get back to his spot.

Draco looked over at Sam with his eyebrows raised up in question. This should be a good song, especially if he was singing it.

Turns out once everyone was settled, the only thing Kerica didn't really understand about playing guitar was how to hold down the top strings to make them do different sounds, but she plucked them with a vigor that made up for lack of talent, using the free hand to drum the wood at the same time, the stem of the guitar resting on Steve's lap. Sam grinned as the lyrics flowed in his head. Goofy had been his favorite and he had /adored/ the movies about Goofy and his son Max. "Open~ up your eyes, take a look at me~" he began, doing a sort of club/rave dance as he stood in the middle of the room, the 'stage', "Keep~ the picture fixed in your memory~ I've been drivin' by the rhythm like the beat of a heart, and I won't stop until I start~ to stand out! Mmm...to stand out! Mmm..."

Draco's mouth dropped open and he stared at Sam for a bit. He was good at this. He was sooo good at this. His eyes wandered over towards Jayden and Pietro, Jayden on the ground doing a seated dance, eyes bright and happy. His mouth closed and he smiled as he looked back at Sam.

"Some people settle~ for the typical thing~ Livin'~ all their lives waitin' in the wings! It ain't a question of 'if', just a matter of 'time'~ Before I move to the front of the line~ and once you're watchin' ev'ry move that I make! Ya gotta believe~ that I got what it takes~~~!" Sam launched into the chorus like this was an every-day thing and he was a professional, "To stand out "TO STAND OUT! Above the crowd! Even if I gotta shout out loud! 'Til mine is the only~ face you see~! Gonna stand~~~ out..." his voice dropped mid-shift and he winked at Draco, doing a more of a speak-sing for the next line, voice rumbling, "...'til you notice me...mmm..."

Nyah beamed as she looked over at Draco who grinned at Sam's wink, shaking his head from side to side as he enjoyed the song, immensely pleased with the way Sam was taking the stage and how he was singing.

"If the squeaky wheels always gettin' the grease! I'm totally devoted to disturbin' the peace, and I'll do it all again~, when I get it done~ Until I become your number one~! No method to the madness and means of escape! Gonna break every~ rule I'll bend them all out of shape! It ain't a question of 'how' just a matter of when! You get the message that I'm tryin to send~ I'm under a spell~, I'm in over my head~ and you know I'm going all of the way, till the end~~~!"  He blasted the chorus all over again, not dropping this time, "...yeah...uuuhhh..."

Kerica was certainly enjoying herself, bobbing and almost shaking the guitar out of her lap with the force of her beating and plucking and Steve held it firmly for her. She grinned widely at him before watching Sam do a little more show-offing types of dance moves. The way he was flirting with Draco through the song was fabulous and she really couldn't see Sam getting his message across any clearer. The next verse was slower and she changed her rhythm to accompany it and Sam shuffled his way closer to Nyah's friend.

"If I could make you stop and take a look at me instead of just..." he /moon walked/ passed Draco, "Walkin'~~ by~~..." he cooed breathlessly, and then he faced him firmly, "There's nothin' that I wouldn't do If it was gettin' you to notice..." he did a simple flourish of his hands from the top of his head down over his torso in a display, bending his body in a sexy way, "I'm~~ alive~~..." he breathed again, then upped his tempo of dance along with Kerica's beat-drop, "All I need is half a chance, a second thought, a second glance'll prove I got whatever it takes~!" he down-shifted again and snapped his fingers while he swirled his body away, head tossed over his shoulder as he gave a lecherous smirk, "It's a piece of cake."

Steve had to admit, this was one of the few surprises that was both pleasant and unexpected. The kiss that Draco had given him must have sparked something that even Steve wasn't aware that was in Sam. He had to admit, he kind of wanted to see what type of couple he and Draco would make.

Sam did an extra flare this time as he chorused a third time, more heart and passion in it, "Stand out! Yeah, yeah, yeah! Stand out! Hmph! 'Til mine's the only~ face you see~! Gonna stand~~~ out!" A last shift in his voice, deep and reverberating, "'Til you notice me..." he grabbed Draco and hauled him up, planted a kiss firmly on his lips, and then pulled away with a smack while the boy was still dazed and pointed at the lot of them, "And THAT'S how you FINALE!"

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