Archive of Our Own ^beta

2125  

“Reentry in 42 seconds.”  Tony leans over the control panel, checking the readings himself.  It’s not that he doesn’t trust everyone, but this is too important.  If Barnes did what he was supposed to do, they’ll have enough data for decades to come.  Barnes has been out there for just under two years, alone, but they fought for this mission.  Tony wouldn’t build the ship unless the brass accepted that Bucky would be the pilot/scientist that manned her. Tony can’t imagine what it must have been like to be alone for that long. JARVIS is a great companion for sure, but it’s not the same as having another human.  

Standing, Tony goes to the bay of windows to watch.  “Reentry in progress.”  Looking up, Tony waits, counting off the seconds.  Then he sees it.  It looks like a fireball until the reentry is complete.  The fire dissipates and Tony spins, staring at Coulson.   

They lock eyes, then they hear, “What?  No one is going to even offer a welcome home Captain?”  

A cheer goes up and Tony nods at Coulson, who taps the panel.  “Welcome home, Captain Barnes.  It’s really good to hear your voice.”  

“Barnes, I’m expecting some good stories.”  Bucky chuckles and Tony sighs. It’s all okay now, his best friend is home.  

“Tony, you’ll get to hear all about what I saw.”  There’s a pause, then Bucky adds the unexpected.  “I have data on everything, but...Tony...I found the Fury.”  

The control center goes silent, everyone staring at Stark, and Tony doesn’t think he can breathe.  “You...you what?”  

“I found her, Tony.  It’s inside the Leeds Nebula.”  Nothing else is said and Tony turns to watch Bucky land the craft, then heads outside. The ground and diagnostic crews are waiting, and off to the side are guards. Protocol states that military guards are stationed when a craft lands. Tony knows they won’t be necessary, so he shakes his head at the commander.  

He doesn’t believe Bucky is back until the door unseals and Bucky descends the ramp.  He’s not in his uniform anymore. When he left, he wore it with pride, but something about the man on the ramp is different, older, sadder. The old, faded jeans and t-shirt seem to fit the man coming off the ship. They stare at each other for a few seconds, then they’re hugging.  They’ve known each other, nearly, since birth.  “I missed you, buddy.”  

Tony sniffles, smiling at his oldest friend.  “I missed you too.”  

The crew scans the ship, then heads up the ramp, attaching the cable to start the ship’s diagnostic check and download the data.  “Hey, JARVIS?”  

‘Yes, Dr. Barnes.’ Comes from inside the ship.  

“Don’t let them hurt Pinky and Dunce.” He gets an affirmative and notices that Tony is looking at him strangely.  

The ground crew is dressed in protective suits, as is protocol, even though they’ve already scanned the ship for contamination and found none. An alarm starts to sound, as he and Tony are walking away, and the crew freezes, thinking the scan missed something.  Bucky and Tony spin back around, then run back to the ramp.  The technicians seem confused and are yelling over the alarm.  “What?  No, that’s not...are you kidding me?”  

JARVIS silences the alarm.  ‘Dr. Barnes, you have returned with an unexpected passenger.’  

Tony grabs Bucky’s arm, turning him.  Bucky is looking at the ship, hope and tears in his eyes.  They hear yelling from the ship, there’s a faint glow from inside, then the techs start running down the ramp.  Seconds later, something comes off the ship, dressed in an old-fashioned astronaut uniform, head covered by a helmet.  Security surrounds the area, guns drawn. Bucky starts back up the ramp, but Tony grabs his arm, holding him in place.  

The being stops, looks around, then reaches up to remove the helmet.  Bucky pulls his arm from Tony and takes a tentative step forward.  Tony tries to stop him again, but Bucky slips from his reach, taking another step.  The helmet comes off and Steve smiles over at Bucky.  “Hey, Buck.”  

Running, Bucky throws himself into Steve’s arms.  “You’re here.”  People are yelling again, giving orders, but Steve and Bucky don’t care. Bucky cups Steve’s face, staring in wonder at his husband. “How?”  

2023  

“Pete, you sure this will work, and I won’t just be a big ball of flames?”  Dr. Peter Parker looks over at his best friend, frowning.  He knows that Steve’s joking because he’s grinning.  

“Not like you’ll know because you’ll be a popsicle.”  Steve rolls his eyes, then starts to chuckle.  “We’ve tested it over and over.  This will work and it will take you further than anyone’s ever been.”  

The Fury is the first fully integrated ship with a warp system.  That’s Peter’s legacy.  Steve’s will be twofold: the cryo stasis unit and his next journey.  Steve never believed that he would be picked to pilot the ship, but his experience and argument swayed Washington.  He looks up at the Fury.  “I never thought we’d see this day, Pete.”  

Coming off the ship, Peter hugs his friend.  “You just gotta promise me that you’ll take care of yourself out there.”  Steve nods.  He knows that there’s always a possibility that he won’t come home, so they’ve equipped the ship with buoys. If it looks like Steve can’t get back or something goes wrong with the cryo unit, the buoys will eject and get close enough to Earth to send back data.  “Hey,” Pete can see that Steve’s lost in his head, “You don’t have to do this.”  

Taking a deep breath, Steve stares at the ship.  “Yeah, I do. You and MJ are expecting a baby and your place is here.  I got no one, Pete.  If anyone is going to go out there, it needs to be me.”  

“You have me and MJ.  You will come back.  If you don’t, MJ swears she’s naming this baby after you, boy or girl, so you have to come back.  Can’t saddle this kid with Steven or Stephanie.”  He’s making a joke, but Steve knows his friend is concerned too.  It’s a risky mission, no matter who goes, there’s always a risk.  

The ship is set to stop at the Leeds Nebula, then Steve can continue after that if he is able. Since they aren’t completely sure how the warp engines will do, Steve will be in cryo in case the journey takes longer than calculated. It also gives them the opportunity to see just how the unit works. Steve’s not a fan of being frozen, but he also needs to prove that space travel, with larger crews, is possible, if they use cryo. If they can send ships out further, exploration will be unstoppable.  

By the time Steve comes out of cryo, twenty-five months have passed.  He feels a bit like he has a hangover, fuzzy and nauseous, but the unit worked and that’s all the data he needs. He went into cryo stasis just after leaving Earth’s orbit, once the system’s check was done.  He set a course, took the ship into warp, and went to sleep.  The computer pulled them out of warp, just like it was supposed to, and then started the wake sequence.  Steve does another system’s check and finds that he’s right on schedule.  The computer has been gathering data for those months, so Steve starts going through some of the files.  

“Computer, time to contact with the Leeds Nebula.”  There’s a pause.  

‘Forty-nine days and thirteen hours, Captain.’  

Steve has plenty of time to go through data and categorize it for easier readability.  He sits back, thinking about everything he’s going to get to see, but also everything he’s missing back home.  Peter and MJ have had the baby by now and Steve wonders what name they chose.  

“Computer, can you play my work playlist?”  

There’s a beep, then the music starts to fill the space.  There’s not a big lab on the Fury, but it’s big enough.  After getting something to eat, Steve gets to work, grinning and singing along.  Maybe the next thing he and Pete can work on is better food for journeys like this. He’s got rations that aren’t any better than the MREs he had in the military.  

For nearly a week Steve’s been organizing the data collected by the computer and decides to finally create his first log.    

“Computer, record for log entry.  Insert the date and time.”  That gets a beep and Steve starts talking.  “I’ve been awake for about a week.  The computer did an excellent job gathering data while I was sleeping.  I’ve been working to organize everything and get it ready for the buoy.  I don’t think I’ll have to use them, but I need to be ready for anything.  Contact with the Leeds Nebula is in 43 days.”  Steve chuckles.  “I’ve been wondering what Dr. Parker and his wife named their baby.  I can see why some people were concerned that this was a single manned mission, but with the computer and work, I think I’ll be fine.  Pete, I know you’re listening to this.  Stop worrying.  I’m doing fine and I’ll be home before you know it.”  Steve sighs.  “Computer, end log.”  There’s another beep and Steve huffs.  

By keeping himself busy, the 43 days pass quickly and Steve stares out the observation windows at the nebula.  “Computer, start log.  Insert date and time.”  He’s never seen anything this beautiful.  Its majesty is overwhelming.  “I’ve reached the nebula and I can’t even describe it.  It’s a good thing that the computer is recording the necessary data.  I’m going to record everything for the next couple of days, then we’re going in. Listen to me, saying we.  I gotta admit, I’ve been talking to the computer more and more.  This is the job I signed up for, so I can’t complain.  I think the computer would like to file a formal complaint though.  I’m attaching some pictures that I’m taking personally because it’s just more than I thought it would be.”  

Steve takes out his camera, clicking pictures and inserting the memory card into the computer.  Then, because he’s a goofball at heart, Steve turns the camera on himself, making goofy faces and uploading those too.  “That’s for Pete and MJ.”  

Before entering the nebula, two days later, Steve makes sure the information on the buoys is up to date.  He includes the pictures and personal messages.  There’s no telling what will happen inside the nebula, since no one has ever done this before.  Setting the automated orders in case something happens to the ship, Steve manually takes the ship in. It’s rough going for a little while, but after a few hours, things start to settle down.  “Computer, you’ve been taking continuous readings?”  

‘Affirmative, Captain.’  

Steve works, without rest, for days.  The nebula started doing something weird the day before, so Steve didn’t want to miss anything. It’s pulsing, all of the sudden, with energy levels and new formations. It’s the most fascinating thing he’s ever seen. He creates a new log, trying to describe what he’s seeing, but only comes up with, ‘it looks like it’s breathing.’ Chuckling to himself, Steve keeps working and making sure they don’t miss any of it.  

He finally dozes off, body beyond exhaustion, and that’s when things get weird.  At first, when he dreams, it just feels like a presence, watching. There’s never anything physical, just something like an awareness. Steve’s pretty sure he’s going crazy because this is a nebula, not a living organism. Be that as it may, he feels something, just on the edge of the dream that doesn’t belong there. He asks the computer numerous times if there’s something on the ship and each time gets a negative. The dreams are so real though.  

Then, it’s not just an awareness, there’s a physical something in the dreams with Steve. Not like a person, but a definite presence. That’s when Steve decides to see if it is aware and starts talking to it.  

‘How long have you been here?’  Steve’s standing in the nebula, no protective gear. Like he belongs to everything around him.  

The presence moves closer. ‘I have been for as long as this place has been.’  

The nebula pulses, like it’s breathing.  ‘Can I see you? Can you let me hear you when I’m awake?’  

‘Your mind is too busy when you are awake.  I tried to contact you before, but you must be unconscious to make contact.’ Steve understands that the presence means sleeping.  

They talk for hours and when Steve wakes, he’s sure that there’s something in the nebula, something intelligent.  He creates a private file, one that only Peter’s passcode will open.  He doesn’t need anyone thinking he’s crazy.  Pete will, but his friend has always thought Steve a little off.   

“Computer start log. Insert date and time. Access code for Dr. Parker’s eyes only.” Steve gets the normal beep and hopes he doesn’t sound like a delusional maniac. “Pete, we have a situation. There’s something in the nebula, something alive. It’s not physical and according to what it’s telling me, it can only communicate with me while I’m asleep.” Steve sighs, knowing how this will sound. “Listen, we’ve been friends for a long time, and I know you think being out here alone is affecting me, but I’m telling you, there’s something here. I don’t know if it’s all nebulas or just this one, but I know it’s here and I know it’s good.”  

To test his theory, Steve decides to meditate and see if he can quiet his mind enough to hear the presence while he’s awake. He uses sound files of ambient noise and lets himself sink into a state of relaxation. It doesn’t seem to be working, but Steve stays in his meditative state.  

For the first time awake, Steve feels the presence, then he reaches up, pressing the heel of his hand to his temple. There’s pain, but not enough to incapacitate him. It feels like the presence is right next to him and that makes him laugh. Peter would still call him crazy. Maybe because he’s focused on one thing and not multitasking, maybe it’s because he’s so intent on understanding what’s happening, Steve’s not sure why, but it’s here. The thing from his dreams is here with him.  

‘What brings you this joy?’  

Closing his eyes, Steve takes a deep breath and concentrates.  ‘I was thinking about my best friend.’  

‘What is a best friend?’  

Smirking, Steve tries to explain.  ‘It"s like someone that’s family, but not blood related.’  

The presence seems to mull over this.  ‘Are you not the only one of your kind, Steven?’  

That makes him bark with laughter.  ‘Not hardly.  There are billions of us on a planet called Earth.’  

‘Then, if you are many, I would speak to you about an...offer.’  

Steve stops what he’s doing, reflecting on the last few weeks.  ‘You definitely aren’t a figment of my imagination.’ The sensation is like amusement and possibility. Steve’s not sure why he isn’t terrified; he should be considering every space/horror movie he’s seen, but that’s just not the feeling that he’s getting.  

The air around Steve shifts, and it feels like the presence is laughing, but there’s no noise.  ‘You are entertaining, and you have a good heart and quick mind.’  Steve waits, suddenly embracing that humans aren’t the only life forms, which Steve never believed anyway.  ‘It has been a long time since I’ve taken a physical form, so I would ask that you don’t...find yourself questioning your sanity.’  

‘Well, now I just might freak out.’  Steve stands, checking his surroundings in the lab and finding nothing.  ‘Are you real?’  

‘I am very real, Steven.  Much like you, I am an explorer, but I call this nebula my home, for now.’  

‘But...how?  What about breathing and...’   Steve’s anxiety is spiking and his breathing difficult.  

The air in the lab starts to shimmer and a glowing point of light bounces around.  The computer detects an anomaly, and the alarm starts going off.  Steve covers his ears, and the light grows.  ‘I mean no harm to you or your ship, Steven.’  

A calmness washes over him and Steve watches the light.  “Computer, silence alarm.”  The noise stops and the light shifts and morphs into a human shaped, brilliant light.  ‘Who are you?’  

The shape indicates the chair and Steve sits again.  ‘I am, as I said, an explorer, but my kind never had a physical form.  We are more of a consciousness.  We are spread through the different galaxies, hoping to learn what we can.’ The pause feels like the being is considering its next words. ‘I’m offering you this ability.  I’m offering for you to explore the nebula with me and to leave behind the constraints of your body and ship.  I’m offering you the ability to understand in a different way.’  

Steve thinks about Pete and never seeing him again.  He thinks about his life back on Earth and never seeing that again.  ‘I don’t know. Why me?’  

‘You are the first of your kind that I have encountered. It would be an exchange, if you will, of ideas and learning about our differences. Sharing information in a way that is not confined by your ship and scanners.’ The being stops. ‘Perhaps you wish to think about my offer.  You will be here for many more weeks, yes?’  

‘Yeah, maybe months.’  Steve looks out at the nebula and wonders how this being sees it without a physical body. It’s an interesting question and one that makes Steve curious.  

‘I will be here to help you, whether you take my offer or not.  I admire you, Steven, and wish to help.’  

The presence is gone, and Steve just sits, thinking about the fact that he never felt threatened by the being that just presented itself.  He’s just met an alien and instead of it being like so many movies portray, it felt good.  

2122  

“No one’s been out there since Rogers and the Fury.” Tony is laying under a panel, working on integrating JARVIS into the ship. He slides out, looking up at Bucky.  

“I know you’ve got a crush on Captain Rogers, but he’s long dead.” Wincing, Bucky turns away.  

He’s always had a crush on Steve Rogers, for as long as he can remember. Growing up, he had a poster of the man standing next to the Fury. It was the first warp ship ever built. He even went to a book signing for Stephanie Parker, who wrote a book about her grandfather and Steve Rogers. “When the buoys started transmitting from the Fury, they were garbled and not much could be understood. Everyone thinks that he died trying to get back to Earth, but I just don’t...”  

Tony sits up, resting his arms on his knees. “Listen, Buck, I know you’d like to go out there and find out what happened, but that’s not what we’re doing this for.”  

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but if it happens while I’m doing the other job, then it’s a win-win for everyone. I’d just like to know what happened.” Tony pats his leg, then points at a tool on the seat next to him.  

Bucky hands it over and Tony goes back to work. Heading to the lab and sleeping quarters, Bucky checks everything over. Tony’s voice comes through the comm. “JARVIS is installed and ready to help.”  

Smiling Bucky looks up, never sure why he does that when dealing with an AI. “Welcome aboard, JARVIS.”  

‘Thank you for the welcome, Dr. Barnes.’  

“Are you integrated fully?” He gets an affirmative. “Run a diagnostic of the ship and its systems, please, JARVIS.”  

If there’s one thing that Bucky trusts, more than his own mind, it’s Tony’s. The man is a certified genius, like Bucky, but his mind works more quickly and sees solutions that most can’t even wrap their brains around. JARVIS is a program that Tony developed when he was 13 and now, that program, now an AI, is going to be going on this journey with Bucky. Along with two small robots that are programmed to repair the small things around the ship. Unlike JARVIS, they don’t seem to have much personality.  

The data from the Fury’s buoys was so garbled that they didn’t get good intel on the Leeds Nebula, so Bucky’s going to rectify that. But unlike Captain Rogers, Bucky will be awake the whole time. Because of the improvements in warp technology, he’ll make the trip in less than half the time as the Fury. The last clear message that they got from Captain Rogers, he was entering the nebula, so they know there’s a chance he’ll find the ship, or, at the very least, debris from the ship.  

Patting the bulkhead, Bucky smiles at everything around him. It’s Tony’s design, so he was able to name it. Shaking his head, Bucky chuckles to himself. “Leave it to Tony to name it the Avenger.” Something about the ship avenging Bucky’s death if he does something stupid and gets himself killed.  

‘Diagnostic complete. All systems are normal, Doctor.’  

“Thanks, JARVIS.” He’s got a week before the mission and in that time, Bucky’s going to go through what they could salvage from the buoys. It’s not much, and they’re a hundred years old, but he’s going to make sure he knows something before getting to the nebula. They aren’t going to have that issue because technology has come a long way since Captain Rogers and Dr. Parker. Plus, they didn’t have Tony.  

A week later, there’s silence in the command center. Tony looks over at Coulson, who’s standing next to the panel. “We’ve got 96 seconds to contact.”  

Tony’s staring up at the sky, counting down the seconds. This is always the hardest part. Any time a ship is breaking the atmosphere, there’s radio blackout. Too many ships have been lost, with their entire crew, during this silence. He has faith in Barnes and his ship, but that doesn’t change the building dread the longer it takes for communications to come back up.  

Four seconds early, Bucky comes through. “Avenger to ground control, do you read me?”  

The command center cheers, and Tony hangs his head in relief. Coulson presses the panel. “Avenger, we read you loud and clear.”  

“Maintain communications until you can’t anymore.” Bucky pilots the ship to the jump point, then makes one last message. If Tony could, he’d be on that ship too.  

“I’ll see all of you on the other side.”  

Before he jumps to warp, Tony adds, “You stay safe you son-of-a-bitch. And say hi to my parents.”  

There’s a wet laugh, then, “Don’t talk about my mama like that!” The command center laughs. “I’ll see you soon, Tony.”  

Before Tony can answer, communication dies. The one thing that Tony couldn’t figure out was how to maintain communications while in warp and by the time Bucky comes out of warp, he’ll be too far away. Going back to the window, he looks up, willing himself to see the ship. She’s gone and his best friend is gone with her.  

Coulson comes to stand with him. “He’s going to be okay. Unlike Rogers, this ship could pilot itself back.” The thought isn’t as comforting as Coulson thinks, but Tony lets him have that moment.  

“Yeah, but it’s not the same.” It will take just under two years before Bucky returns. In that time, things will change, people will change, but Tony Stark will not because they grew up in each other’s pockets and he’s not letting go of his best friend.  

It takes nearly eight months to reach the nebula. In the travel time, Bucky parses together information from Captain Rogers logs and data. There are logs he doesn’t have access to because they were coded for Dr. Parker. Bucky has spent the time trying to break the code, so he can find some information not meant for the brass at the time. It doesn’t work. Bucky’s not a code breaker and whatever Parker’s access code was it was complicated. There’s one log, in particular, right before Rogers went into the nebula that Bucky thinks has some of the answers, but it’s locked tight. And even if he could open it, there’s a chance that it’s as garbled as everything else.  

In recent years, since they are able to see the nebula through space-based telescopes, there has been speculation about the strange pulsing that the nebula does, intermittently. No one can give a definitive answer, hence, the mission to get a closer look. If it’s dangerous, Earth needs a close up look at what’s happening, so Bucky’s going to do his best to answer that.  

“JARVIS, send out the probe. I want to see inside this thing.” Bucky’s standing in the observation port, awed by what he’s seeing.  

‘The probe has been launched, sir.’  

Bucky sees it speed away from the ship, disappearing into the gas and dust of the nebula. He could go check the readings himself, but he can’t take his eyes off the swirling, billowing arms of this moving, almost breathing mass of gases and dust. “Let me know if we stop getting readings. I want to know everything I can before taking the ship in there.” One of the little robots skitters by, carrying a tool. One of the cabinets in the bedroom came loose and it"s off to fix it.  

‘Understood, Doctor.’  

Everything seems fine for almost a week, then JARVIS wakes him with an alarm. Jumping from his bunk, Bucky’s running for the lab. “What’s happening?”  

‘Sir, the nebula is...doing something...it is unclear what.’  

Heading to the observation port, Bucky sees what set off the alarm. “Are we still getting readings from the probe?” The nebula is pulsing. It’s beautiful, but disconcerting. Bucky hoped to see this up close, as a scientist, as a man that has no idea what it means, it’s frightening as so many things are that aren’t understood.  

‘We are, Doctor. The probe is still sending data, and, after comparison, there seems to be only slight changes.’  

“JARVIS, scan everything for anything the probe might be missing.” Back in the lab, Bucky’s flipping through previous days readings and not finding anything unusual in radiation. It doesn’t make sense because if the nebula is pulsing, like they’ve been seeing from the unmanned probe, there should be a major shift in the data. There isn’t. It’s like...  

‘Sir, I fear something unknown is interfering with my scans.’  

“What do you mean, JARVIS?” This is what the unmanned probe couldn’t tell them. This is why it’s so important for him to be here. Something inside that nebula is fooling the probe into thinking everything is normal. He knows that he’s made an intellectual leap, thinking that, but it’s a gut feeling that something more is going on here than just gas and dust.  

Suddenly, the hair on the back of his neck stands up and Bucky spins around. It feels like someone is here with him, but the lab is clear, except for him. Feeling, more than hearing, a high-pitched resonance, Bucky grabs his head, it sears with pain and Bucky hears a voice.  

‘Well, hello.’  

Through the pain in his head, Bucky can hear JARVIS. ‘Doctor Barnes, are you well? Do you need assistance?’  

The robots can’t help because they’re too small, so Bucky’s on his own. Pulling himself up, he searches the lab and then the rest of the ship for the voice. “JARVIS, did you hear anything?”  

Pressing the heel of his hand into his temple, he rubs and hopes it helps. ‘I am unclear on your meaning, Doctor.’  

Sitting, Bucky reaches for his water and the pain medication in the desk. “I heard someone say ‘hello’ in the lab. Do a sensor sweep?”  

Within seconds, JARVIS answers. ‘Sir, there is no one aboard the ship, except for you, me and the robots.’  

The pain swells again and Bucky goes to his knees. ‘I’m not sure what your computer is talking about, I am here.’  

Bucky’s vision whites out, he falls to the floor of the lab, and everything goes black. The last thing he hears is the alarm and someone, not JARVIS, saying, ‘ Shit!’  

Realizing he’s caused a serious issue, having forgotten what it was like when he first met the Companion, Steve needs to take a physical form. Time passes differently in the nebula, so he doesn’t know how long it’s been since he was corporeal. Focusing on what he used to be, a small light starts to glow and expand out. That’s when the alarm sounds and the computer shrieks, ‘Intruder alert!’  

When the glowing stops, Steve’s body settles as it used to be. “Computer, silence alarm!”  

Kneeling, Steve picks up the man and carries him into the sleeping quarters. Placing him, gently, on the bed, he just sits and watches him. The computer’s voice causes him to jerk. ‘I am programmed with protocols to protect Dr. Barnes. I must ask that you identify yourself.’  

“Dr. Barnes.” Steve looks at the man, smiling. “It’s nice to meet you, Doctor. Too bad you’re out cold.”  

‘Sir.’ Turning from the bed, Steve stands. ‘Identify yourself and your intensions.’  

Laughing now, Steve forgot how pleasant it is to be seen and heard. “I’m Steven Grant Rogers, Captain of the Fury. And you are?”  

‘I am JARVIS, the Avenger’s AI and companion to Dr. Barnes.’ There’s a pause, then, ‘Your identity is impossible, sir.’  

“And why is that, JARVIS?”  

‘Steven Grant Rogers, Captain of the Fury, died decades ago.’  

Reaching up, Steve rubs his forehead, trying to take in what’s being said. “How long ago?”  

The answer is alarming. ‘Ninety-seven years.’  

Looking back at the bed, Steve sighs. “Will Dr. Barnes be okay, JARVIS?”  

‘He will, sir.’  

Nodding, realizing that Steve doesn’t have a place here, he starts to glow again. “I didn’t mean to startle him. Maybe don’t let him know I was here. I’ll keep to the nebula.” With that, the glowing shrinks and passes through the hull of the ship.  

JARVIS has recorded everything. Once Dr. Barnes is awake, he will have to show him what happened. There can be no secrets from the man that’s running the expedition. It goes against the protocols that Mr. Stark put into his programming. He does wonder what all of this means. If the alien is, in fact, Captain Rogers, then this isn’t a fact-finding mission, it’s become a rescue mission.  

2025  

“Tell me how this would work.” Steve’s sitting on the ship, having uploaded everything from the scans, along with his logs.  

The being has been spending more time on the ship, showing Steve where to scan and how to recalibrate the systems to get more information. “I will help you change your physical form into energy, then we will explore this nebula together, in a way that you wouldn’t be able to before.” The being has also learned to talk and not just think the words.  

“Will it hurt? And what about all the data I’ve collected?” His glowing ‘friend’ feels amused, although there’s not a face to confirm that, Steve’s sure that’s the energy he’s sensing.  

“Let me ask you this, why are you considering doing this?” There’s silence for a few minutes, then Steve turns to look out the observation window.  

He doesn’t turn back to his companion, just keeps looking at the vastness around him. When Steve starts talking, it’s more musings than explanation. “When I was a kid, I was really sick. I don’t know if you understand what sickness is, but my body was trying to shut down. I never gave up because my mom wouldn’t let me. She told me that I had to fight, I had to survive because someday, I would be needed for something important.” Steve gives a shrug. “I always thought that she was just giving me something to hang onto. But here I am, being offered something incredible.” He turns back, looking at his glowing friend. “As I got older, I finally grew out of the things trying to kill my body. Then I lost my mom to an illness that she tried to fight, but couldn’t. I have friends, back on Earth, but besides my work, I don’t have much else. You’re giving me a chance to understand the universe in a way that I couldn’t before. A way to experience life in a way that I can’t right now.”  

“You are special, Steven. I watched you, without your knowledge, for weeks before making contact. I’m offering this to you because I believe you will grow and learn from it. If the time comes that you wish to leave the nebula, I can’t guarantee that it’s possible, but think of the things you will be able to experience.”  

Steve makes a final series of scans, uploading everything to the buoys. He prepares everything for days, to launch the buoys into space, setting them to project the information through the relays, once they’re close enough to Earth. Before he launches, he makes one final log.  

“Hey Pete.” Taking a heaving breath, he tells his friend the truth. “I’ve met an alien lifeform. You can stop laughing because it’s true. I’ve been calling him the Companion for a few days now, but he doesn’t have a real name. He’s offered me something...something incredible and I’ve decided to take the offer. I’m as sane and lucid as I’ve ever been, so please don’t think I’ve lost my mind. I know what I’m doing.” Giving another sigh, Steve hopes his friend understands. “Listen Pete, I’m not coming back. I’m leaving the Fury inside the nebula and maybe someday, someone will find it, but I have to do this. We talk about science being the last real frontier, but I think I have it beat. I’m going to set the system to record what happens, then upload automatically before launching the buoys. You’ll see what I mean when you get the data. Take care of yourself, Pete. Tell MJ I said goodbye and kiss that baby for me. Rogers out.”  

The change is not painful, in fact, it just feels like warmth moving through Steve’s body. Once he’s left the ship, the computer launches the buoys and shuts down all the systems on the Fury. It’s dead in space, inside the nebula. Unknown to Steve, at the time, the buoys traverse the nebula, seeking the path back to Earth, but pass through turbulent gases and dust. Dust seeps into the buoys, corrupting the information, so when they get close enough to Earth to transmit, much of the information has been lost.  

All concepts of time lose meaning and Steve explores the nebula in a way that no human has ever experienced. He explores further out, but always returns to the nebula, when he loses time. If he were still in a body, he’d think that he was passing out, but he’s always able to pull himself back to the nebula. His companion stays with him, sharing vast knowledge of things Steve never knew existed. It’s everything Steve ever wanted, but didn’t know he wanted.  

Steve’s exuberant about this new existence, then his companion has to leave him, but he knows he’s not alone. The Companion’s people have a timeline for exploration before moving on to the next. He offers a chance for Steve to come with him, assuring Steve that he’ll be safe, but leaving for good doesn’t feel right. Steve stays and continues to explore in and around the nebula. He doesn’t think that he’ll ever understand everything in this little corner of space.  

Then...  

2123  

There’s a ship outside the nebula. It’s different from anything Steve’s ever seen. The lines are sleek, and its warp capability is far greater than what the Fury could achieve. He wonders if this is a new alien race that he’ll get to learn about. Excitement fills him as he moves around the ship, peering in and amazed by the advanced technology. It’s close enough that Steve doesn’t feel like he’s going to lose time. Then, he sees a man. It’s a human. Or, at the very least, it’s a race that evolved like a human.  

For weeks, Steve stays around the ship, learning what he can. Until he finally moves onto the ship. No alarms sound, so he knows that the sensors can’t detect him. Unless he shows himself, he’ll be able to stay hidden. The human talks to the computer more than Steve did. The computer talks back and sometimes even makes snarky jokes for the human to laugh at. There are two small robots that buzz around the floor, picking up tools or bringing water to the human. Steve finds them cute.  

The ship itself is a marvel. It has a full lab, sleeping quarters, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Getting close enough to check, Steve sees that it uses a unique water and air circulation system, with screens unlike anything Steve’s ever seen. They don’t seem to be attached to anything, just hover in the air, showing readings. This ship is incredible. Something that Steve and Pete couldn’t have dreamed of when they built the Fury. Something about this makes Steve long for home. It’s surprising because he’s been so content since he transitioned.  

“What’s on the menu this morning?” The human is moving through the lab and brushes through where Steve is hovering to watch. The human pauses, turning back, like he felt something of Steve.  

‘Sir, each morning I suggest something for breakfast and each morning you tell me you do not wish to have that, so perhaps you can tell me what you would like, and I will put it in to warm.’  

“You’re making me sound picky.” The computers next words have the man laughing and Steve flaring with amusement.  

‘I would never call you picky, sir, but if the shoe fits.’  

The man continues to chuckle. “I’m going to tell Tony he made you a little too human.”  

‘I see no reason to be insulting, Doctor.’  

Steve wants to see more of this relationship and if he’s being honest, he wants to see more of this man. He spends the day watching and learning. He wants to make contact, but he’ll wait a few days before trying.  

Bucky wakes slowly, feeling like he has a hangover. Everything is fuzzy from yesterday and he feels a little nauseous. “JARVIS, what happened?”  

‘Sir, when you are feeling well enough to return to the lab, I have something I want to show you.’  

That piques his interest and Bucky stumbles into the lab, sitting at the desk. “Fix me a cup of coffee and show me what you have.”  

The coffee brews and within minutes, Bucky reaches over, retrieving it from the slot. The screen comes to life, and he sees himself. It’s a little fuzzy, but he remembers this. Feeling something, then hearing something, asking JARVIS if he heard anything, then passing out. It’s what happens after that causes Bucky to freeze mid-drink. On screen a man appears from a light, picks him up and carries him to the bedroom. He talks with JARVIS for a few minutes, then, with sadness on his face, disappears.  

‘Sir, as you see, the gentleman in question, identifies himself as Steven Grant Rogers.’  

Rewinding the video, Bucky enlarges the man’s face. “JARVIS, that is Steven Grant Rogers.” He doesn’t look a day older than when he left on his mission. Standing and pacing away, Bucky returns to the desk, sitting again and replays the video. “Holy shit! That’s Steve Rogers!” Going back in the video again, Bucky watches the light and how it grows into a human shaped form, then solidifies into a body. Pausing the video, Bucky looks around the lab. “JARVIS, prep the ship. We’re going into the nebula early.” If that’s where Steve went, then Bucky’s going after him.  

‘Preparation will take two hours and seventeen minutes. Might I suggest you eat something and clean up before this expedition.’  

There was speculation that the shower might not work if the entry or exit from the nebula is too turbulent. Bucky doubts that because Tony wouldn’t hear of something so dumb on his ship. Just in case, though, Bucky’s going to shower. If anything does happen, he still has access to the bathtub, but filling it will take longer than Bucky usually has. After eating and showering, Bucky’s in the command chair, staring at the nebula. “JARVIS, what are your thoughts on this?”  

‘Dr. Barnes, if it truly is Captain Rogers, we should find out what happened, how he is able to transform himself, and if he wishes a ride home.’  

Laughing, Bucky starts flipping switches. “You realize that we just made an unprecedented discovery.”  

‘I believe so too, sir. But I hope you will consider not leaving the ship as Captain Rogers has left his.’  

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t abandon you, JARVIS. You’re the only thing keeping me sane. Plus, you’re my friend now.” They set the course and Bucky manually fires the engines. “I’m taking us in, Jay.”  

The flight gets a little rough, but nothing that they and the ship can’t handle. By the time Bucky cuts the engines, they’re surrounded by colors and shapes unlike anything Bucky’s ever seen. ‘Sir, I’ve completed a preliminary scan. Our sensors are being deflected in some areas, but I believe I have found something.’ JARVIS sets the helm and fires the engines. It’s brief and then he shuts the engines down. ‘Off the starboard bow, sir.’  

Bucky gets up, he goes to the window and looks out. “Holy shit, is that what I think it is?”  

‘It meets the configuration of the Fury, sir. It appears to be dead in space.’  

“I want to find a way to board that ship, JARVIS.”  

For two days they work around the clock and in the end, there’s only one solution. After studying the schematics of the ship, JARVIS utters what they’ve both been thinking. ‘Sir, it would seem that we must get inside the ship to revive the systems.’  

“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking too. I guess it’s time to break out the space suit.” Bucky goes to check the suit and make sure everything is in working order. Not that it wouldn’t be because Tony designed this too. “Bring up the schematics of the Fury again, JARVIS, because you’re going to walk me through what to do once I get aboard.”  

Bucky sleeps finally, with a plan that he’ll make the journey to the Fury the following day. Lying in bed that night, lights off, but knowing that JARVIS is still working, Bucky thinks about the video. He doesn’t know how to handle his childhood hero being alive, or some approximation of alive. Then he wonders if the being that was on his ship took Steve’s form after killing him. That doesn’t feel right because the way the man sat next to his bed, after carrying him there, doesn’t feel like something or someone that’s dangerous. Finding Steve Rogers alive is more than Bucky even fantasized about. Mostly, he wanted to find the Fury and get the logs. He wanted to be able to bring back the information that Steve gathered, find the Fury and finally get an answer to the question of what happened to the man all those decades ago.  

“Easy does it, JARVIS.” The Avenger settles alongside the Fury, keeping enough distance that they don’t collide, but close enough that Bucky can make the distance without the danger of being knocked off course once he was outside his ship.  

‘Thrusters have us in position, Dr. Barnes. Releasing the airlock.’  

He can hear the hiss of the airlock, meaning Bucky is really doing this. After nearly a century, someone, specifically Bucky, is finally going to see the inside of the Fury and what happened to her in those missing years. The door lifts. Bucky grasps the edge of the door and pushes himself into the vastness of space. He stays focused on the door across from him, using the suit’s thrusters to move through the vacuum.  

When he reaches the door, Bucky unhooks the tool that he brought with him. In his utility belt he has everything he needs to access the computer on board the Fury and, hopefully, download all the data and logs from so long ago. The door opens, with a little resistance, but not enough to be a problem. Once inside, he just has to stop and appreciate what he is getting to do. If that really was Steve Rogers on the Avenger, then maybe he will show up again.  

At first, Bucky thinks the place is covered in dust, but then realizes that he’s seeing frost. Sitting in the command chair, he starts flipping switches, hoping for a little life left in the engines and on-board systems. Taking a deep breath, he finishes with the panel. The few seconds feel like forever, but eventually the activity light starts blinking.  

“We have power, JARVIS. She’s covered in frost, but she’s waking up.” Before JARVIS can answer, everything around Bucky lights up. “She’s alive.”  

‘Do the environmental controls work, Dr. Barnes?’  

Checking the readings, he starts laughing. “They do indeed, my friend.” Getting those up and running, Bucky is able to stabilize the temperature and take off the helmet of his suit. “It’s still a little cold, but I’m not gonna freeze. I’m headed to the lab area to start the download.”  

‘Be careful, Doctor.’  

Because of the age of the ship, downloading takes hours. In that time, Bucky starts poking around to see what else is there. It’s nothing like the Avenger. This ship feels military, like all the old ones did. Now that people like Tony are building them, there’s a more personal feel. He finds pictures in a locker. Steve Rogers looks exactly the same, but Bucky also finds pictures of him with a woman that must be his mother, ones of a younger man and a pregnant woman. He chuckles. “I found pictures of Dr. Peter Parker and his wife. And I think some of Steve’s mother. I’m bringing them back. There’s probably someone that would like to have these.” He doesn’t say this, but Bucky’s probably going to keep one for himself.  

A sadness washes over Bucky when he realizes that Steve Rogers has no living relatives. When he returns to Earth, he’ll try to find Dr. Parker’s granddaughter. Someone should remember this man. As he heads back to the lab area, that feeling of an awareness creeps over him again. Looking around, he sees nothing. Not wanting to alert JARVIS, Bucky reaches up, muting the communications link.  

“Hello?” If it is Steve Rogers, then Bucky should explain himself. “I’m taking these back to Earth. I was thinking that Dr. Parker’s family might want them. He never gave up on you, you know. He believed until the day he died that you were out here somewhere, still alive.”  

There’s only silence.  

When the download is done, Bucky uses his helmet camera to take pictures of everything. Leaving this place fills him with sadness, but he needs to get back to his own ship. As he traverses the space between the ships, he doesn’t use the thrusters because it feels like he’s being pushed. Something wants him safely back on his ship and Bucky’s convinced that it’s Steve.  

The airlock seals behind him and he takes one last look before the chamber pressurizes and he strips off the suit. ‘Welcome back, sir.’  

When he tries to speak, the words get caught in his throat and he sinks to the floor, tears streaming down his face. His hero either died out here or left everything behind because he had no one that mattered. Bucky’s overwhelmed by his own emotions, and it isn’t until he’s being pulled into strong arms that he realizes he didn’t come back alone. Pulling away, he looks up into Steve’s smiling face. Clutching the man, he drags him back into a hug. “I’m so sorry.”  

“Why are you sorry, Dr. Barnes?” Steve seems genuinely confused by the outburst.  

“You were all alone. You’ve been out here for a really long time, all alone.” Steve’s shaking his head and wiping away the tears on Bucky’s cheeks.  

“I wasn’t alone until recently. I had someone here with me, but they had to go. Something about orders.” Steve rubs the back of his neck, seemingly embarrassed. “It is nice to get to talk to someone again.”  

“What do you mean? You had a companion?” Pointing down at Bucky’s utility belt, Steve chuckles.  

“I’m not sure why you don’t know this from the buoys I launched, but everything from the memory core explains what happened and why I did it.” Steve stands, helping Bucky to his feet.  

“Everything from the buoys was garbled. Most of it was unusable, so no one ever knew what happened to you.” As the second door opens, Bucky stops. “Are you really here?”  

“I’m here.”  

“So, you’re telling me that this Companion gave you the ability to transition between physical and just consciousness?” For hours they’ve been talking while JARVIS uploads the data and logs.  

“Yeah, they didn’t have a physical form, so when they came to me, it was just light in the shape of a human.” Bucky flops into a chair, shaking his head at all he’s learning.  

“And you’ve been exploring this whole time.” The statement makes Steve chuckle. “What?”  

“It’s just really nice to talk to someone again. I mean, using a mouth instead of thoughts.” Barking with laughter, Bucky just stares at the man sitting across from him. Looking around, Steve gets up to look at things. “This is quite a ship, Dr. Barnes.”  

“Please stop calling me that. Just call me Bucky.” Steve nods, intrigued by the view screens. “Tony Stark designed and built this ship. He’s more than a little well off and he and I have been friends since we were born.” Bucky pats the desk. “This is his baby.”  

“Why didn’t he come on this journey with you?” When Bucky doesn’t answer, Steve looks over and he seems to be lost in thought. “Bucky?”  

As if pulled back to the here and now, Bucky jerks and looks up. “He built it for me.” Blushing, Bucky looks away and Steve reads that as something else. “He knew how much I wanted to make this journey and built the ship for me to do it.”  

Nodding, Steve thinks he gets it. “So, he’s more than a friend.” Turning back to the panel, Steve doesn’t seem put off by that, but Bucky needs to clarify.  

“Oh no! It’s not that at all.” Steve turns back. “Tony’s parents were killed when he was 15. He came to live with my family until he turned 18. We’re as close as brothers.”  

Steve smiles, genuinely, at Bucky because he knew people like this, but never had the experience of this kind of closeness with someone until he met Peter. “Your family sounds amazing.” Going over to something in the wall, Steve tries to figure out what it is. “I didn’t have anyone after my mom died. I was 17 and had to go to court to be an emancipated minor.” He looks over at Bucky, frown marring his brow. “What is this?”  

Bucky starts to giggle. “It’s a coffee maker.” Steve’s eyes light up. “Would you like a cup?”  

Getting up, Bucky goes over, showing Steve how it works. “I haven’t had coffee in...”  

“Yeah, like a hundred years.” They’re close, and Bucky looks up into Steve’s face. “Did you agree to the offer from your friend because you didn’t have anyone back home?”  

The coffee maker dings, and the panel slides up. Steve doesn’t look at Bucky, just pulls the cup out. Taking a sip, he hums. “Yeah, it was part of the reason.”  

“What was the other part?” Closing his eyes, Steve just enjoys the taste of the coffee.  

When he looks back at Bucky, there’s delighted, childlike glee. “Come on, Bucky, if you were given the chance to explore like I’ve been doing, wouldn’t you consider taking the offer?”  

In truth, Bucky isn’t sure. “Are you staying here?” He’s not sure why he asks, but, more than anything, he wants to take Steve home.  

“I don’t think I have a choice. I’ve been out here so long, I’m not sure if going back is something I can do.” He remembers what the Companion told him, but he also didn’t expect to stay non-corporeal for as long as he did.  

“Can you hang out with me and JARVIS for a little while?” Grinning, Steve holds out his cup.  

“I will if you fix me another cup.”  

Bucky gets up a few mornings later and finds Steve sitting in the command chair, and he seems to be playing fetch with one of the robots. The other one is sitting under the chair, watching. Standing in the corridor, Bucky starts laughing. Steve looks up, seeing Bucky’s amusement, and starts laughing too.  

“Is this what you do all night?” Picking up the balled-up paper that the robot just brought back, Steve shrugs.  

“Sometimes I sleep some too, but these guys are so much fun.” Throwing the ball again, it hits the toe of Bucky’s shoe. The robot skitters over, snagging the ball, and returns to Steve. “How did you sleep?”  

“Good, but I’m gonna need more than one cup of coffee this morning.” Getting up, Steve pats the little robot and heads to the kitchen. “Where are you going?”  

“I’m fixing you some coffee and breakfast.” Grinning, Bucky lets his new friend do what he wants.  

When they sit to eat, Bucky watches how Steve relishes the food. “Hey, thanks for this.”  

“Anytime.”  

“How close are we to being able to start the scans?” Steve finishes chewing and, using his fork, points at Bucky’s plate. He starts eating again.  

“JARVIS has been multitasking.” Looking up, Steve starts talking to their silent companion. “JARVIS, how’s it going?”  

‘I started the nebula scans during the night, Captain. The Avenger’s abilities will give us more detail. I have been working on adding our information to what you collected.’  

“Thank you, JARVIS.”  

‘You are most welcome, Captain.’  

“JARVIS needs to be paid way more than he’s getting.” Bucky snorts and Steve seems pleased at the reaction.  

“I’ll have Tony build him an AI girlfriend when we get back.” He realizes that the ‘we’ he referenced to includes Steve. That’s a melancholy thought, since Steve isn’t planning on returning. Clearing his throat, Bucky covers the sadness that brings. “I’d like to go through the logs if you don’t mind.”  

“I don’t have a problem with that. Maybe we can weed out some of them.” Steve doesn’t look up from his plate and Bucky knows there’s something else going on.  

“What is it?” Putting his fork down, Steve looks over at his friend.  

“Some of them were private, to Peter. I don’t think I want anyone listening to those.” Nodding, Bucky puts his cup down.  

“JARVIS, any logs that are marked for Dr. Peter Parker should be removed from the data-dump.” He smiles at Steve, who returns it brightly.  

‘Of course, sir.’  

Bucky is sleeping and Steve’s sitting on the floor of the command center, with the two robots hovering around him. He’s noticed that he doesn’t need to sleep like he used to, and, in a way, it reminds him of being in the military. They went without sleep for days or weeks sometimes.  

“JARVIS, what would you think about me naming these two?” He holds out his hand, pointing one of his fingers. The little robot with legs, stands straighter, grabbing at it with his little clawed arm.  

‘Captain, they seem to have taken a liking to you and to name them seems acceptable.’  

“I’ll think about it.” He rolls a tool across the floor and both robots go to investigate. “What can you tell me about Dr. Barnes that he wouldn’t be offended by?”  

‘Sir, Dr. Barnes does not have secrets. He is a man that is, what is the saying? What you see is what you get.’  

Chuckling, Steve takes the tool from the robot that has wheels instead of legs, sitting it aside and grabbing the ball of paper. That seems to excite them both. “Does Dr. Barnes have a wife or anyone back on Earth?”  

‘Dr. Barnes, according to his file, has never had a romantic relationship beyond a few dates.’  

“How is that even possible? He’s smart, funny, kind, and...” Steve stops his words there because he’s not going to admit what drew him to the Avenger over and over.  

‘Are you implying that Dr. Barnes is aesthetically pleasing to look at, Captain Rogers?’  

Blushing, Steve leans back on the command chair, knowing that he’s been caught. “Yeah, that’s what I’m implying. Do me a favor and don’t tell him I said that.”  

‘I cannot image a conversation where I would need to share that information.’  

“You’re a good man, JARVIS.” He throws the ball again, chuckling as the two robots go after it trying to beat the other. “What about Mr. Stark? What can you tell me about him?”  

‘Mr. Stark is the sole member of his family, with the exception of his wife. His father left him the company, the Compound, and many billions of dollars. He and Dr. Barnes have been friends most of their lives. They designed this ship, even though Dr. Barnes says that Mr. Stark did, it was a joint effort. The lab was solely Dr. Barnes.’  

“He’s an amazing man.” Even though JARVIS doesn’t answer, Steve feels that he’s being judged in the friendliest way possible. “What is the Compound?”  

‘It is the epicenter of Mr. Stark’s business. When space travel became privatized, Mr. Stark created the Compound as a place where scientists could explore and build on many of the ideas born from Dr. Parker’s work. Most of the leading scientists in space travel and exploration work for Mr. Stark. The Avenger was built and launched from the Compound.’  

“Interesting that space travel is up to the rich now and not the government.” Steve leans his head on the chair, looking upside down out of the front window.  

‘Unfortunately, Mr. Stark does have to deal with the military because some of the work being done is for the government. He is not pleased by the weapons at the Compound.’  

“I don’t think I would be either. It’s two different worlds. One for science and one for war.”  

‘Exactly.’  

“Oh my god! You asshole!” Bucky’s been working through the scans, analyzing the data they’ve been collecting for the last few weeks.  

Steve, although he does help, seems to take great pleasure in being a goof. “What? I’m innocent.”  

At first, Bucky didn’t register what was happening because he was so focused on the data, then a piece of popcorn beaned him in the forehead. “You have not been innocent a day in your life, Steve Rogers.”  

That gets a wink and Steve tosses another piece of popcorn, catching it in his mouth. “Says you.”  

Bucky never counted on meeting Steve, and he never thought he could feel closer to someone that wasn’t Tony, but Steve seems to be that person. They’ve talked about Steve’s childhood and meeting Peter at university. They talk about Steve’s stint in the military and how he came to be in the space program. Steve shares his friendship with Peter and MJ and learns from Bucky that they had a son and did, in fact, name him Steven.  

Then, Bucky shares meeting Peter’s granddaughter at the book signing. “She talked about you like she knew you, so I’m betting Dr. Parker shared everything with his family.”  

“That’s the only thing I regretted about staying out here. I wish I’d been able to meet the baby.” There’s a cloud that hangs over Steve when he talks about Peter. Leaving behind that one person. “He was the only thing that made me second-guess staying. But he wasn’t alone. He had MJ and the baby on the way or, I guess, by that point, the baby had been born.”  

“Give me some of that popcorn.” Steve holds the bowl close, like he’s cradling a baby. “Jesus.” 

Going over, Bucky tries to grab a handful. Steve swings away from him on the stool, giggling. When Bucky makes another attempt, Steve runs for the sleeping quarters. “NO! It’s mine, all mine.”  

By the time Bucky tackles Steve, they’re both laughing. Popcorn goes flying when Steve trips, landing on the bed. Screaming, “I’ve got you now,” Bucky lands on the bed, half on top of Steve.  

Their laughter fades and they just lay on the bed, amongst the popcorn. Bucky can’t get over how different Steve is, as opposed to the hero that he built up in his mind. He also can’t get over how beautiful the man is. The way his beard frames his face adds to the allure, but those happy, sparkling blue eyes could be Bucky’s undoing if he lets it. Picking up a piece of popcorn, Bucky beans Steve in the forehead. “That’s payback.”  

Steve chuckles, reaching over to pull a few pieces out of Bucky’s hair. “You can eat all you want now.”  

Rolling onto his back, Bucky starts laughing again. “Oh yeah, sure, now that it’s all over the bed and the floor, it’s fair game. Nice Steve.”  

Steve Rogers showed himself because he was curious. He did not mean to become friends with Dr. James Barnes, and certainly didn’t intend to spend so much time on the ship. Now that he’s here, he doesn’t really want to be anywhere else. Bucky’s staring up at the ceiling of the sleeping quarters and Steve is staring at Bucky.  

Turning onto his back as well, Steve knows that he considers Bucky his best friend. Peter’s been gone for such a long time and the Companion never really filled that role, so here he is, lying on Bucky’s bunk and considering the fact that he has a best friend again. Getting to know the ins and outs of the new space program and knowing that there are people that truly care about exploration. “What made you want to go into space?”  

Silence fills the room and just before Steve turns to see if Bucky’s fallen asleep, the man finally answers. “When Tony came to stay with us, he put on this front for my parents. I knew. You know how you can just know if your best friend is off?” Steve nods, even though Bucky isn’t looking at him. “I knew it was for show, so they wouldn’t worry about him.” Bucky shrugs. “They worried anyway.” He turns, meeting Steve’s eyes. “At night, we would go up to the roof, lay out and look at the stars. One night, he looked at me and asked if I thought his parents were up there.”  

The smile that fills Steve’s face is soft. “What did you say?”  

“I told him that I was going to go to space someday and I’d find out for him.” Bucky’s eyes get a little misty. “He built the ship with the express understanding with the brass that I would be the pilot. He wouldn’t invest the money in it if they wouldn’t agree to that.”  

“You have a good friend in Tony.” Bucky nods, then turns his face back to the ceiling.  

“He created JARVIS specifically for this mission. Someone to keep me company. He’d been playing with a version of JARVIS for years and years, but decided that it was perfect for this mission. Then, just before I left Earth, he told me to say hi to his parents for him.”  

Rolling onto his side, Steve reaches over, taking Bucky’s hand because he’s got tears on his cheeks. “You know, you’re probably what kept him going all those years. Losing a parent, it’s never easy, no matter how old we are, but having someone that sees you and accepts you means everything.”  

Bucky rolls over, staring at his new friend. “How did she die?”  

Bucky watches Steve swallow. “Cancer.” Taking a deep breath, he continues. “She was incredible. When my dad died, in the army, she kept us going. When I was sick, she would sit next to my bed and sing to me. Sometimes I would lose days because of fevers, but I could still remember her singing to me.”  

“There’s something about mothers.” Bucky chuckles. “I remember hearing that women shouldn’t be in charge because they’re too emotional. I learned really quick that it was a bullshit, throwaway line. I’ve had strong women around me all my life, Steve, and they aren’t the ones that are emotional. My dad would come home bitching about something at work. He’d go on for hours and hours, yelling and screaming about people being idiots. My mom would sit on the sofa and knit while he went off about whatever. Women keep everything running and they do it without too many people thinking to ask if they’re okay. Your mom, she’s one of the great ones.”  

These private, quiet conversations happen more often than either man will admit. Maybe it’s the fact that they’re both explorers. Maybe it’s the fact that they are both scientists. Maybe it’s the fact that they both have strong women that taught them well. Bucky thinks it might be a combination of these things and something else. Steve knows , it’s something else.  

“You can’t just stop the scans!” Bucky’s hands are flying over the lab console, ignoring Steve’s words.  

‘Captain Rogers, until we understand the nature of the warning light, we must conserve energy.’  

He’s about to go off when an idea comes to him. “I’ll be right back.”  

Bucky looks up, wondering what that means when Steve starts to glow and disappears into a pinprick of light. The light dances around for several seconds, then shoots out of the ship. “JARVIS, can you use the sensors to figure out where he’s going?”  

‘Dr. Barnes, once Captain Rogers is in...his other form, I am not able to get a reading from him.’  

“Son-of-a-bitch!” There’s not time to worry about Steve with this other problem hanging over him, so Bucky goes back to the readouts from the diagnostic. “JARVIS, I need you to pinpoint where the warning is coming from.”  

‘Of course,…’ JARVIS doesn’t finish and then, ‘Sir, the Fury is powering up.’  

“Powe....” Bucky runs to the observation port and watches as the Fury’s thrusters fire, turning the ship to the quadrant they were supposed to be scanning. “I’ll be damned. JARVIS, he’s going to do the scans for us.”  

‘That is my assumption as well, Dr. Barnes.’  

“Can you link to the Fury?” Going back to the lab, Bucky assumes that Steve will be returning.  

‘At this time, we are not able to establish a link.’  

Just as suspected, the pinprick of light dances back into the lab and grows until Steve can take his physical form. He’s grinning like a lunatic. “The scanners on the Fury aren’t as good as yours, but you won’t miss the pulses this way.”  

Bucky’s leaning on the table, eyes closed, just breathing. “I didn’t know where you went. I was afraid...”  

Coming over, Steve turns Bucky to face him, seeing the uncertainty, he hugs the man close to his chest. “I’m here. I’ll stay here until you go home.”  

With everything else going on, this isn’t the time, so when the words explode out of Bucky, they’re both surprised. “And then what, Steve! I’m just supposed to go back to Earth and leave you here! How can you even think that I’m okay with that?!”  

Before Steve can answer, JARVIS interrupts. ‘Sirs, I have found the issue.’  

He sounds a bit hesitant to interrupt, but it is the problem at hand. “What is it, JARVIS?”  

Bucky’s breathing hard and Steve’s unclear what’s happening. ‘Captain Rogers, it would appear that one of the relays has overloaded. I have Pinky working on it now.’  

Turning back to Bucky, “Thank you, JARVIS. How long to completion?”  

‘Seventeen minutes, Captain.’  

Taking Bucky’s hand, Steve pulls him into the sleeping quarters, sealing the door. “Would you like to explain that outburst, Buck?”  

It all crashes around him and Bucky realizes what he said. “No, I really wouldn’t.”  

“I think you better.” Sitting on the bunk, Bucky puts his face in his hands. Whatever it is, it’s been building for a while.  

Still leaning over, Bucky puts his forearms on his thighs, staring at the floor. “You’re just...you’re...you’re important to me, Steve.”  

Kneeling, Steve turns his head to the side, trying to get Bucky to look at him. When the man won’t, he cups Bucky’s chin, pulling his eyes up to meet Steve’s. “You’re important to me too, Buck. It’s why I have been living on your ship for the last months. I’m not just here for the coffee.”  

Steve sits down on the floor and Bucky slips off the bunk and into his lap. Wrapping his arms around Steve’s neck, he just holds the man. Steve’s arms are a little more tentative, but they finally wrap around Bucky, pulling him in. “I don’t want to leave you here.”  

“We’re both on missions here, Bucky. We’re here to explore and gain information. When I chose to transition, I didn’t know if the Companion was correct, and I could take a physical form again. You coming here has proven that I can, but it may just be because I’m in the nebula or around the nebula. I don’t know what will happen if I leave here.” Bucky raises his head from Steve’s neck, tears on his face and anguish in his eyes. “Right now, let’s just have today and every day we have together will be good.”  

“So, we’re just not going to think about my window of return.” Steve nods, then glances down at Bucky’s lips. Knowing that Steve feels something more than just friendship helps Bucky focus on something other than leaving the nebula. “If you don’t kiss me, I’m going to be disappointed.”  

One of Steve’s hands slips over Bucky’s shoulder, to grasp the long, brown waves. The kiss lingers, growing in intensity, until the two men have to part, panting. “I watch you sleep sometimes.”  

It’s such a strange thing to say, after that kiss, that Bucky can’t help laughing. “I could take that in a really creepy way, Steve.” He winks. “But sometimes, in the morning, when you’re communing with your coffee, I can’t help staring at you either.”  

“I guess we’ll just creep on each other then.” They laugh again, then lean back in for another kiss. It’s turning into an increasingly vigorous make out session, when JARVIS interrupts again.  

‘Sirs, I do apologize, but Pinky is finished with the repair.’ And because Tony made him snarky, he continues. ‘I do not require your attention at the present time, if you wish to continue with your present activity.’  

Both men bark with laughter into their kiss, breaking apart. “We’ll be right out, JARVIS.”  

They agree not to talk about it, but that doesn’t mean that Bucky doesn’t think about it. This mission was to have him here for six months and it’s not long enough. But because that’s how long the systems were designed for, he doesn’t have a choice. He’s in the lab, working through the previous day’s data and Steve’s humming away in the kitchen, fixing something for lunch.  

JARVIS turned on music, at Steve’s request, but Bucky only hears it vaguely through the bulkhead. What he isn’t expecting is for Steve to start singing. “I know he’s not perfect; he’s an overgrown dork, but why does it feel like there’s nothing wrong with this guy?”  

He’s not really talking to anyone, but he should have expected JARVIS to answer. ‘Sir, Dr. Barnes, it has become apparent that you have feelings for Captain Rogers. It would seem that where others would find fault, you are accepting of those faults.’  

Hanging his head, Bucky huffs. “Yeah, that’s the problem, JARVIS.”  

‘I do not understand, sir.’  

How does he explain this to an AI that has no frame of reference for what he’s saying. “Tony and I had this idea when we were kids. I knew that if given the chance, I would take this mission. It’s what I dreamed about. Because of that, I didn’t really think about relationships. That wasn’t my focus.”  

‘Are you saying that your focus has shifted?’  

Bucky nods into the empty room that doesn’t feel as empty anymore. “That’s what I’m saying. I want to complete this mission and take all of this information back, but now, I want to do all of that with him.”  

‘Dr. Barnes, is this what humans call love?’  

Looking over at the door that separates Steve, “Yeah, I’m afraid that’s what this might be.”  

While Steve is on the Fury, establishing a link between ships, Bucky sits in the command chair, watching the other ship. They need the information gathered during the relay problem because the pulses are one of the main reasons Bucky came here. There seems to be a rhythm to them and they’re trying to figure out what makes them happen. Bucky’s deep in thought, not really paying attention to the monitor.  

‘Sir, might I inquire if you need assistance?’  

Coming back to the present, Bucky leans back in the chair. “I think Steve knows what the pulses are.”  

‘If this is true, why would he not simply tell you?’  

“Because I’m out here exploring, like he did, and he wants me to have the satisfaction of figuring it out myself.” Swinging the chair around, he sees Pinky and Dunce, sitting in the doorway, like they’re waiting. Picking up the paper ball, he throws it and watches as they skitter away, chasing it down.  

‘I have noticed that humans do enjoy contemplating and completing a puzzle.’  

“Yeah, but he’ll always have an understanding of this nebula that we don’t.” The little robots come back, dropping the ball. Bucky picks it up and throws it again and off they go. The robots were never meant to become companions during this mission; they were designed for minor repairs, but they’ve taken on a life that Bucky wouldn’t have considered, if not for Steve.  

‘Sir, I do apologize for eavesdropping on you and Captain Rogers, but it seems you are also thinking about something else.’  

“We’re going to be here for another couple of months, JARVIS and that’s it. After that, we make our way home, on schedule.” Just saying it causes Bucky’s breath to catch. It’s not missed by JARVIS.  

‘And you do not wish to leave the Captain here.’  

“No, I don’t. He’s concerned that if he leaves the vicinity of the nebula that something might happen to him. It just feels wrong to leave when there’s a chance, he could come with us.” Leaning over, Bucky picks up the ball again, waving it in front of the robots, who seem to be trying to wag a non-existent tail.  

Chuckling, Bucky throws it again, watching them chase it down, trying to beat the other one. ‘Sir, am I correct in assuming that you are sure about your love for Captain Rogers?’  

Closing his eyes, Bucky looks down when he feels a tug on his pants. Pinky is using one of its clawed arms to pull at the cuff. It almost feels like the little robot is sad. “You would be correct.”  

They would continue the conversation, but the pinprick of light comes back into the ship. It grows until Steve’s standing in front of Bucky. Jumping from the chair, Bucky hugs him. “Well, if I’m going to get that kind of welcome, I’ll go over to my ship more.”  

“Shut up and kiss me, you dork.” With a grin, Steve leans in, giving Bucky what he wants.  

“JARVIS, is the uplink working?” Steve just holds Bucky against him, swaying back and forth.  

‘It is, sir.’  

“Then we’re going to bed.” Guiding Bucky out of the command center, they head into the bedroom. Sealing the door, Steve turns, giving Bucky the look that says, ‘talk to me.’  

“I was thinking about things we agreed not to talk about.” Nodding, Steve goes to him and pulls Bucky’s shirt over his head.  

Then he removes his own. “Tonight, we aren’t going to talk or think about that.”  

“Oh, and what are we going to do?” Steve’s hand runs down Bucky’s chest, to the button on his pants.  

“I hope you have lube because tonight, I’m going to take you to bed and rail you into the mattress.” Bucky blushes, having hoped they would get to this point. A couple of weeks of making out has done nothing to help the undercurrent of arousal that he’s been dealing with.  

“I think that sounds like the best idea I’ve heard in a long time.” He points over to the bedside compartment. Going over, Steve finds the lube.  

Staring into the cabinet, Steve turns, frowning. “You don’t have condoms.”  

Bucky snorts with laughter. “Well, Steve, I wasn’t going to be having sex out here, so, no, I don’t have condoms, but you know they do a full medical workup before the mission, and you haven’t had sex with anyone in...oh...a hundred years. I think we’re okay.”  

Walking Bucky backwards, Steve lowers him to the bed, removing the rest of his clothes. He just stares at Bucky. “You really are beautiful.”  

“I think you’re a little over dressed.” Steve strips off his clothes, leaning over the bed. Bucky reaches up, caressing his cheek. “My god, you take my breath away.”  

The following morning, Bucky doesn’t get up as usual and when he rolls over, he’s hit with a wall of muscle. The previous night comes back to him, and he can’t help the shy grin that crosses his face. Steve’s on his side, facing Bucky, sleeping peacefully. His broad left shoulder calls to Bucky. So, he leans in, kissing that shoulder. Steve smiles in his sleep, then starts to stir. When his eyes flutter open, Bucky feels it deep inside, in a place he didn’t let himself think about too much.  

Pushing any dark thoughts away, Bucky leans in, kissing lips that took him to places he’d never been, the night before. Wrapping his arms around Bucky, Steve pulls him in, trailing kisses down his neck. “Morning, Beautiful.”  

Not requiring a response, Steve rolls on top of Bucky, kissing back up his neck and finding his lips. They only stop when there’s a tiny pinging noise from the door. “What the hell is that?” Worry mars Bucky’s face and Steve gets up to check.  

When the door slides open, Pinky and Dunce are sitting outside the door, waiting impatiently. “Buck, it seems the kids want breakfast.”  

Looking over, Bucky sees the robots and starts laughing, falling back into the bed. “We’re created monsters.”  

Bucky’s joy does something to Steve and he has to go back to the bed and kiss the man again. Hovering over him, Steve leans in, laying kisses across Bucky’s face and then a searing one to his mouth. As he lifts away, the words slip out. “I love you.”  

When Bucky’s truly happy, and he smiles, wrinkles dig deep into the skin around his eyes. That’s the smile that Steve sees. “I love you too.”  

It would lead to more time in bed, but Pinky starts bumping into Steve’s foot, over and over. “As much as I would like to show you how happy that makes me, these two aren’t going to leave us alone.”  

Propping himself up on his elbow, Bucky looks down at them. “You two know how to ruin a good thing.”  

For two more weeks, the pulses happen every two days. It’s a series of light displays, causing the dust to swirl and create new patterns. They’ve been recording and scanning constantly. Bucky’s watching the most recent one, over and over. He’s not really talking to anyone with his next words, but Steve’s there, leaning on the table.  

“It’s like it’s alive. Each time, it’s like it’s growing.” He goes to the screen, putting up a comparison from the previous week. “See, this sector expanded after last week"s pulses and yesterday, this sector changed too.”  

He turns, seeing Steve’s face and knows. “So, what does that mean for the overall nebula?”  

Bucky works it through in his head. “It means that this nebula will keep expanding every time there’s a series of pulses.” Narrowing his eyes, he watches Steve try not to give anything away. “You know all this though. You knew that it’s not a nebula, it’s...what...one giant being?”  

Steve shakes his head. “No, Buck, it’s a group of colonies. Each sector is a different colony that’s banded together for protection.”  

“HOLY JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH!” Pacing the lab, Bucky tries to wrap his head around that. “This is the biggest discovery of any discovery! Like we’re sitting in the middle of a colony of new lifeforms, and you didn’t tell me.” Before Steve can answer, Bucky looks up, terrified. “We aren’t hurting them, are we?”  

Walking over, Steve wraps his arms around Bucky. “And that is why I love you. You just learned about a new lifeform and instead of thinking about the fame of being the one to discover it, you’re worried about them. And no, we aren’t hurting them.”  

Sinking into the security of Steve’s arms, Bucky nuzzles his head under Steve’s chin. “I didn’t discover them.” He looks up. “You did.”  

“For the purpose of returning the information to Earth, you discovered them.” Now that Bucky’s figured it out, Steve doesn’t have a problem talking about it. “Each time the pulses start, it means that one of the colonies is expanding. Some of the beings in the colonies have been alive for thousands of years. The pulse is...well, I guess the easiest way to describe it is, young ones are being born. They all share one consciousness once they"re born.”  

“Can you communicate with them when you’re not physical?” Nodding, Steve turns, looking at the screen again.  

“It’s hard to explain, but they aren’t like humans at all. Their existence is completely different. It’s why when I left the nebula to explore surrounding things, I always came back.” He smiles, but there’s something wistful about it. “I was never alone, not really. I just wasn’t part of them.”  

“I know you said we weren’t going to talk about it, but you aren’t returning with me, are you?” Steve pulls Bucky into the bedroom, sealing the door. They sit together on the bed.  

“I didn’t tell you everything.” Bucky reaches out, taking Steve’s hands, knowing that if he didn’t share it, then it’s probably why he won’t return to Earth.  

“Tell me.” If Bucky’s going to accept this, then he needs to know everything.  

“On the excursions outside the nebula, I would get tired.” Bucky shakes his head, not understanding. “I could rest, you know, just stop and rest, but never sleep. That’s not how being energy out there works. I didn’t sleep Bucky. Time didn’t matter and I couldn’t tell the passage of time, so it wasn’t a big deal, but I never slept.” For a few seconds, Steve just plays with Bucky’s fingers, distracting them both. When he looks up, that look of anguish is there again. “When I would leave the nebula and go out exploring, I would lose...time?” He says it like a question, meaning he doesn’t really have a word for what was happening. “The further out I went, the harder it would be to stay awake. As long as I stayed in the nebula, that never happened. If I leave here with you, I’m afraid that, if I’m in my physical form, I might...”  

Bucky finishes the thought for him. “Die.” Steve nods and Bucky sees the reality of their situation. “If I make you leave, out of my own selfishness, it could kill you.”  

“Yeah, and I don’t want that on your conscience. And I know you would carry that guilt and it wouldn’t be yours to carry, but you’d do it anyway.” Bucky gets up, pacing away, one hand on his hip and one rubbing his forehead. Steve just watches, but knows he’s right.  

“If I made you leave with me, I would be murdering you, so you’re damned right I’d carry guilt over that.” Jumping up, Steve hugs him close, hoping Bucky can feel the agony it causes for both of them. “I’d rather leave you here, alive, than take the chance you’d die, Steve.” Reaching up, he caresses Steve’s face. “It doesn’t change how I feel about you, though. I’m going to carry that with me for the rest of my life.”  

They don’t come out of the bedroom until morning. Steve needs Bucky to understand that no matter what, they have something special. He worships Bucky that night, determined that when they do part, he’ll have these memories to carry home with him.  

Bucky drags out of bed, eyes barely open, heading straight for the coffee machine. There had been some seriously athletic sex the night before and he’s elated about that. But he’s also exhausted. The panel slides up and he grabs the cup. Turning, he goes to the fridge, pulling out the creamer. He doesn’t use it often, but this morning he’s thinking that he needs, not just the caffeine, but the sugar too.  

Steve comes walking in, giving Bucky a once over and a smirk. He’s carrying Dunce under his arm. “Alright there, Buck?” His mischievous grin tells Bucky he knows exactly what Bucky’s feeling like.  

“Fuck you, Steve.” Steve snorts laughter, hanging his head, shaking it in pleased humor.  

Then he looks up and Bucky rolls his eyes. “No, that’s what I did to you.”  

Walking over, Bucky pats his cheek in a less than gentle way. “You are an asshole and you’re lucky I love you.” He looks down when Dunce beeps. “Why are you carrying the baby around?”  

Jumping into action, Steve heads into the lab, calling over his shoulder. “One of his wheels is misaligned. I’m gonna fix that.”  

“How did that even happen?” Bucky follows, sipping at the still hot coffee in his hand.  

‘Dr. Barnes, Captain Rogers should be more careful.’  

Bucky looks over, where Steve has Dunce on the table. Pinky skittered in, using his ocular probe to see what’s going on. There’s a little amusement and a little shame on Steve’s face. Sitting the cup down, Bucky bends to pick up Pinky, so he can see better. “Well, we were playing chase earlier, before you got up, and I might have accidently stepped on him.”  

Looking down at Pinky, whose probe is bobbing up and down, like he’s nodding, Bucky chuckles. “Can you fix him?”  

“Oh, yeah, I got this.” They just stand there as Steve works and Dunce starts making noises that seem to be to gain sympathy. “It’s okay, Steve will fix you right up.” And Bucky has a sudden thought. “JARVIS, have you been upgrading the robots?”  

They never acted like this during the journey here. In fact, they rarely came out of the cubby they ‘lived’ in. ‘Sir, it seemed the correct course of action.’ There’s a pause, then in a very accusing tone, he adds, ‘I would like to remind you, sir, that Captain Rogers is the one that started playing fetch with them.’  

Bucky has to swallow hard, so he doesn’t spit coffee across the lab table. Steve looks up, indignantly. “They were bored and needed something to do.”  

‘Sir, they are robots and do not get bored.’  

“Are you saying that you never get bored, JARVIS?” Bucky knows, because Tony created JARVIS, that it’s a battle of snark now.  

‘Captain Rogers, I am a sophisticated Artificial Intelligence and take great offense to you comparing me to the maintenance robots.’  

“So, you do get bored.” If JARVIS was programmed to huff, Bucky’s sure he would. When he looks over, Steve’s grinning and gives him a wink.  

‘I would not call it boredom. Frustration is closer.’  

The lab fills with laughter as Steve finishes up with his little friend. Sitting him back on the ground, Dunce rolls back and forth, testing out the repair. Bucky puts Pinky on the floor, who goes over to check on his friend. Once everything is deemed in working order, they skitter out of the lab and towards the command center.  

Steve saunters over to Bucky, slipping an arm around him and pulling into his chest. “Now, is there anything I can do to fix you this morning?”  

Kissing Steve’s neck, Bucky leans away, smirking up. “Well, you could fix me another cup of coffee and maybe some breakfast.”  

That’s not what Steve meant, so he rolls his eyes. “I guess I owe you that, since I made you grumpy this morning.”  

“Not grumpy, Stevie, sore.” He walks away and gets a light smack to his ass. “Really, Steve, that’s where I’m sore!”  

The cackling laugh follows Steve into the kitchen. “I’ll rub it later and make it better.”  

“Yeah, your rubbing will lead to me being even more sore.” As he gets to the kitchen, Steve hands him the second cup of coffee. “I could probably be convinced though.”  

All these new feelings and thoughts have Bucky planning. Months later, while Steve is in the lab, Bucky goes to the command center, typing in instructions for JARVIS. He’s detailed in everything, making sure that JARVIS understands to keep this from Steve. He’s going to do this for them both, so when he has to leave, they have this to cling to, something they shared together. As the months together have continued, Bucky falls more and more in love with Steve. Even the things that are frustrating can’t dampen the growing connection between them. Bucky knows, as sure as he accepts their circumstances, that he’s going to love Steve all the days of his life.  

As the weeks go by, Bucky finds himself just staring at Steve. The closer the departure day gets, the more Steve has to hold him, while Bucky cries or just needs to be close. They don’t talk about it, but it hangs in the air like another person sharing the space. The day before the departure window, Bucky has Steve go over to the Fury and shut down the systems.  

‘JARVIS, are you sure you understand your role in this?” The robots are skittering around Bucky’s feet, excitedly. He wonders sometimes if they aren’t an extension of JARVIS now and their excitement is really the AI.  

‘I have accessed the protocols for this, Dr. Barnes.’  

“Good, when Steve comes back, we’re doing this and then, if you could, can you keep these guys away from the bedroom door?” Bending down, Bucky opens the compartment on Pinky, taking out the two rings. JARVIS instructed the robots on how to make them, then had them keep them secure until today.  

On one of Steve’s trips to the Fury, Bucky asked him to bring back a piece of the ship. He explained that he wanted to take it home as proof of finding her, in case anyone didn’t believe him. In the privacy of the locked lab, at night, the robots worked, creating the rings with Bucky’s specific instructions. Now, he’ll have a piece of Steve and the Fury with him all the time.  

Holding them up, Bucky inspects JARVIS’s design. They’re incredible. ‘I will endeavor to keep them from causing any havoc.’  

“These are perfect, JARVIS. Thank you.” Taking a deep breath, Bucky finishes his part in this. “Insert time and date, JARVIS, and transferring command of the Avenger from me, Dr. James Barnes to JARVIS, the Artificial Intelligence. Authorization code AV0310.”  

There’s a beep, then, ‘Transfer of command complete.’  

The light comes into the ship, bouncing around above the robots, making them chirp and chase. Once in the lab, the light expands and Steve grins down at his little friends.  

He’s just about to say something when Bucky comes into the room, kneeling. “Buck?”  

“Don’t talk, just listen.” Steve nods, unsure what’s going on. “Tomorrow, I have to leave here. I don’t want to and I don’t think you want me to either.” Steve’s about to argue, thinking that Bucky’s going to try to stay, but he stops when Bucky shakes his head. “I know I have to go back to Earth, Steve, and believe me, I know why you have to stay here. But over our time together, I’ve learned something. You’re my home now. I want to marry you.” He holds up the two rings. “Now, when I look up at the sky, I’ll know that you’re out here, still loving me and I’ll be on Earth, but I’ll still be loving you too.”  

Steve tears up, hearing all the things that he wanted to offer on so many occasions since meeting Bucky. “Are you sure? When you get back, you might meet...”  

“Stop.” He stands, taking Steve’s hand. “I’m never going to meet someone that makes me feel like you do. Everything is so easy with you. I love you and I want to call you my husband and know that, even if we can’t be together here or there, you’re still here. You’re still alive. Please, Steve, marry me?”  

Steve looks down at the rings, sitting in Bucky’s strong, capable hands. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”  

“JARVIS.” Music starts playing.  

Looking around, Steve seems confused. “We’ve been planning this for a little while, so just go with it.” Laughing, Steve nods.  

‘Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join these two men in holy matrimony. Men of integrity and great love for the other. James Barnes, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, in presence or absence?’  

Even though it chokes him up to say it, Bucky pushes through. “I do.”  

‘Do you, Steven Rogers, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, in presence or absence?’  

Steve sniffles. “I do.”  

‘Dr. Barnes would like to say a few words.’  

Squeezing Steve’s hands, he feels bad that he’s the only one that has vows, but hopefully, Steve will understand. “Sometimes life throws us a curveball we didn’t see coming and I’ve learned that how we handle that, is a true test of the character we have. You, Steve, are my curveball. I’d like to think that we were meant to be in this moment together, sharing this. I meant what I said, I want to be able to know that you’re safe and if that means you being here, I’ll take it. But I can’t let you go without giving you what we both deserve. You are my home and for as long as I live, you will be my home. If the opportunity arises and I can come back out here, I will, just to see you. I came out here with a mission and I found the love of my life. I’ll remain yours until I take my last breath, but knowing you’re still here means I’ll take that last breath happily. I love you, Steve.”  

JARVIS starts to talk again, but Steve interrupts. “I have something I’d like to say.” Taking a deep breath, Steve smiles. “When I came close to the Avenger, I didn’t know that I was going to find my best friend. Your humor drew me in, Buck, then I saw how smart you are, how dedicated, and I couldn’t believe that all of that, including a kind heart, could be wrapped up in such a perfect package.” Bucky snorts, then blushes. “I don’t know when I fell in love with you, but I know that I did. I never let anyone in because everyone that got in left me. Staying here isn’t what I want, but it’s what we have. When you look up at the sky, thinking about me, know that there isn’t a second that goes by that I’m not thinking about you. I will hold you in my consciousness forever. And someday, when that consciousness goes out, you’ll be my last thought. You are my home too, Buck, and I love you so.”  

‘Please exchange rings.’ The two men slip the rings on, clasping hands and leaning in for a kiss. ‘I pronounce you husbands and as the captain of the Avenger, it is my right and pleasure.’  

Steve looks up confused. “Captain?”  

Bucky smirks. “I turned command over to JARVIS, so that this would be legal and binding.”  

Steve throws his head back, laughing. “You thought of everything.”  

Giving a little shrug, Bucky drags Steve to the kitchen, where there’s a cupcake on the counter. “I try.”  

Steve snags the cupcake and pulls Bucky towards the bedroom. “Captain, please put up the do not disturb sign for the night.”  

‘As you wish, Captain Rogers.’  

“No, no, it came too soon.” Bucky’s forehead is leaning against Steve’s cheek, hands moving over Steve’s face like he’s trying to memorize it through touch. Steve’s, emotionally, not any better, but he just holds his husband against his chest.  

He feels the cool metal of Bucky’s ring against his face and doesn’t try to stop his own tears. Bucky’s sobbing now, clinging onto Steve. “Sssshhhh, Baby, we knew this was coming.”  

JARVIS is on an automated countdown to thruster burn, getting them out of the nebula, so they can go to warp. ‘T-minus 27 minutes and counting.’  

The sobs grow louder and Steve’s join those of his husband. “I don’t think I can do it, Steve.”  

Taking Bucky’s face in his hands, Steve forces Bucky to look at him. “Yes, you can. And you will because this has always been the plan.”  

“Fuck the plan! I want to stay.” Shaking his head, Steve presses their foreheads together. For a few minutes, they just breathe.  

“Bucky, love, I’ll always be with you.” He takes Bucky’s hand, showing him the ring. “You have a part of me with you and you know you have to go back.”  

Bucky’s lips collide with Steve’s. There’s a hunger in the kiss. I desire to keep this feeling, even after he’s gone.  

This morning, Steve thought about leaving before Bucky woke. He was ready, but then couldn’t take this anguish away from them. It hurts, and will for many years to come, but it’s a hurt they need. So, he’d crawled back in bed with Bucky and held him until he woke. As soon as they left the bedroom, the countdown started. They spent the morning busying themselves with securing everything for the jump to warp, but the heaviness in the air was unmistakable. Now, they have to say goodbye.  

‘T-minus 14 minutes to thruster burn.’  

“Steve, I’ll get Tony to refit the ship. I’ll come back.” It’s a desperate plea, a bargaining.  

“If you can, I’ll be here waiting.” Then he caresses Bucky’s cheek. “And even if you can’t, know that I’m going to be here, loving you.”  

“I’m going to leave my heart here, with you, so I know it’s safe.” The sobbing swells again and they stand, holding each other, in silence.  

Bucky believes this is what dying feels like. He’s not being dramatic because he, literally, feels like all the air is leaving his body and his heart is seizing in his chest. Looking up, he knows that Steve is feeling the same, but they can’t take a chance that the journey home would kill him. At least, Bucky can’t take that chance.  

‘T-minus, 7 minutes to thruster burn.’  

Bucky’s never been an overly emotional person, but he can’t function right now. JARVIS has taken over navigation and thruster control at Steve’s insistence. “I won’t have something happening to you because you can’t focus on the job.”  

Steve guides him over to the command chair, strapping him in. “Steve?” It’s like Bucky’s brain has just stopped registering anything around him.  

“I’m here. I’m getting you ready for the trip.” He takes Bucky’s hands, squeezing to get him to focus. When his eyes find Steve’s, he comes back to the present. “Listen to me, everything we have, it’s going to live in your heart. It’s not going to go away. You have to keep going, Buck. You have to keep moving forward. I can’t survive out here if I think something happened to you on the way home.”  

“You’re leaving, aren’t you.” Steve knows Bucky means now. He needs to get off the ship and far enough away. Bucky made him promise that he’d get away from the ship, just I case.  

“It’s time, Love.” He leans in for one last kiss.  

“Don’t forget me.” The new sobs rack Bucky’s body.  

“You are why I’m living. No matter what comes after this, you’re why I will keep going. The love you given me is everything.” They share another kiss. “I love you.”  

With great care, Bucky puts his hand on Steve’s cheek. “I love you to the stars and back.”  

“JARVIS, I’m trusting you to get him home safely.” When the AI speaks, the sadness in his tone is overwhelming.  

‘I will give my own existence, if necessary, Captain Rogers to ensure his safe return to Earth.’  

Nodding, Steve knows that JARVIS can see him. Kneeling, he pats the two robots that have secured themselves to the command chair, instead of in their cubby. “Take care of him.”  

There are beeps and whirls, then Steve leans in, to kiss Bucky one last time. “You will fill my consciousness for as long as I live. I love you, Bucky.”  

Bucky’s puffy red eyes look at him with such love, that Steve’s breath catches. “I’ll love you until I take my last breath, Steve.”  

Before anything else can be shared, Steve starts to glow, compacts down into a pinprick and shoots out of the ship. The wailing scream that comes from Bucky, shakes the command chair. He turns the chair, trying to see the light, but it’s not there. If he did what he was supposed to do, he’s on the other side of the Fury, protected, just in case. When the thrusters fire, the Avenger makes her way out of the nebula.  

When the warp drive engages, Bucky gives up. He knows that all of his heart is back in that nebula and will live there now. JARVIS starts talking about mundane things, trying to gain Bucky’s attention and focus. It doesn’t work, but he keeps talking anyway.  

As the weeks pass, Bucky wakes in the night, screaming. The nightmares continue. JARVIS talks Bucky through them, but it doesn’t stop them from returning the next night. In the months it takes to get home, JARVIS finally reminds Bucky of his promise.  

He’s in the kitchen, drinking tea when the AI encourages him. ‘Dr. Barnes, you told Captain Rogers that you wouldn’t stop moving forward. I do not claim to understand how you are feeling, but there is work to do.’  

At first, it makes him angry, but once that passes, Bucky stands, without a word, and goes to the lab. He doesn’t talk to JARVIS, or the robots, but he does start working. There are times when he finds himself staring into nothing. The pain overshadowing the work. Then, a few weeks out from Earth, he finds himself again.  

It’s the pulses that help. He’s been mapping their rhythm. “JARVIS, overlay all the pulses and run the video all at once.”  

There’s almost excitement in the AI’s response. ‘Of course, Dr. Barnes.’  

The robots come into the lab, sitting next to the table. Bucky looks down. Without saying anything, he balls up a piece of paper and throws it towards the command center. They hesitate for a few seconds, then take off after it. For the first time in months, Bucky chuckles. He looks down at the ring on his finger, caresses it, and smiles. No matter where he goes or what he does, he’ll always love Steve, but his husband was right, he can’t stop living. That won’t stop the grieving, but he’s got to make his husband proud.  

They try to separate the men in quarantine, but it doesn’t happen. Not when Bucky turns on the commander and growls out the words, “You take him from me, and I’ll tear this compound to the ground and make sure you’re in it.” He’s usually not a violent person, but to keep Steve, he’d become one. Something in Bucky’s behavior and words must sway the man because they’re put through tests and more tests, but kept together. When possible, they’re touching in some way.  

“Where are JARVIS and the robots?” The tech doesn’t answer and even seems a little afraid of Steve. “Seriously, where are they and JARVIS?”  

Bucky looks over, starting to touch the tech"s arm, but she jumps away from him too. “You know we’re not aliens.”  

And because Steve can’t help himself and is at his very core a punk, he winks and says, “Speak for yourself.”  

She runs from the room and Bucky gives Steve a glare. “We aren’t going to get answers to our questions if you keep scaring the techs, Steve.”  

Sauntering over, Steve slips arms around Bucky, smirking. “Yeah, but they left and now I can kiss you.” Bucky huffs, but readily accepts the kiss. “We do need to find out what happened to JARVIS and the kids.”  

“I agree, but I have a feeling they’re not going to tell us and that we’re in for several more days of testing.” Bucky can feel Steve laying kisses on his head and just lets himself melt into the fact that Steve’s here.  

“While we have some alone time, why don’t we lay down? I’m exhausted.” Bucky nods against Steve’s neck and lets himself be drawn to the bed.  

Tony watches from outside the containment area, through the glass partition, stunned at what he’s seeing. His best friend, who is only tactile with people he knows really well, like family and Tony, is huddled on the bed with a man that claims to be Captain Steve Rogers. They’re talking quietly and Tony doesn’t even try to pretend he’s not eavesdropping. Coulson joins him and they listen to the two men.    

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were on board?” Steve pulls Bucky closer, kissing his head. Bucky snuggles down, pushing more into Steve’s space. He doesn’t want this to be a dream and thinks that if he can just get close enough, he can will it to be real. What if he’s dreaming? What if Steve isn’t really here and he’s going to wake up and find he’s alone?  

“I watched the Avenger leaving the nebula and I just couldn’t...I just couldn’t let you leave.” Steve’s voice breaks and Bucky kisses his chest. “I got on board and hid because if it didn’t work, I didn’t want you to know.” Pushing up a little, Bucky looks into Steve’s eyes and sees that there’s more to this.  

“What happened, Steve?” Steve closes his eyes before opening them again, staring at Bucky.  

“You are so beautiful.” Bucky gives him a quirked eyebrow, telling Steve to stop trying to evade the question. “Okay, okay.” Kissing Bucky again, Steve pulls him down to snuggle again. “I lost time, like I explained to you before. I really did think that I was fading out of existence, but then I came out of it a few weeks ago. It’s like my consciousness went into stasis for most of the journey.”  

“Could you have made yourself physical, so I could have helped?” All Bucky can think about is Steve losing himself and being alone, even on the ship.  

“I don’t think I could. In fact, when I tried a few weeks back, I couldn’t get my energy to cooperate. It took all this time to figure out how to shift. It was like being outside the nebula made my consciousness and body fight each other for dominance.” Sensing that Steve’s a little panicked over what might have happened, Bucky shifts up to straddle Steve’s waist.  

“Well, if that glass wasn’t there and I didn’t have my friend and Coulson watching, I’d show you how glad I am that you came home with me.” Steve chuckles, pulling Bucky back into his arms, so he’s cuddled on Steve’s chest. They are nearly the same size, but Steve will bear Bucky’s weight happily if it means they get to have this.  

“I told you before, Buck, you’re my home. This is the place we live, but you’re always going to be my home.” Tony rolls his eyes at the level of devotion.  

“I’m pretty sure Tony just rolled his eyes at that.” Bucky looks over, then back down at Steve. “And if that made him gag, then this is going to send it over the top.” Bucky leans in, kissing Steve, then pressing their foreheads together. “You are the love of my life, my husband, my universe. Having you here makes everything worth it.”  

They fall into an exhausted sleep, ignoring the people that come in and out, taking readings. Tony just watches them and Coulson leans against the glass, arms folded over his chest. “What do you think, Phil?”  

He glances back over his shoulder and shrugs. “We’ve been compiling logs and data that pertain to the guy that claims to be Rogers.”  

“And?” Tony takes his eyes from the two men sleeping.  

“It’s him, but the readings we’re getting from the medical staff shows minor adjustments to his system.” Tony turns, taking his glasses off.  

“What do you mean?” Coulson’s lips form a thin line, and he shakes his head. “Tell me what that is in there if it isn’t Rogers.”  

“No, you don’t understand, Tony. We watched the video of him changing from energy to physical, then at the medical scans, and it’s him, just with a little extra.” Tony seems frustrated, so Phil waves off his next questions. “He’s been slightly altered on a molecular level by whatever the Companion did to him. He’s about 97.8% human and a little something else.” Coulson looks into the containment room. “He spent a hundred years as a consciousness. We don’t have anything to compare that to, so maybe the change is normal.”  

“So, you’re telling me that Captain Steve Rogers, of the Fury, who was thought to have died a hundred years ago is in the room with my best friend, sleeping like nothings different?” Fear and uncertainty come out in his raised voice, so Phil puts a hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly.  

“Not only that, but your best friend turned over command of the ship to JARVIS to perform the marriage. We have months of logs and video that JARVIS made of them. Honestly, I think more happened on that ship than data gathered from the nebula.” Tony turns, confused. “I think they formed a family. JARVIS won’t stop asking after them and the two robots are giving the tech guys fits trying to get away. The level of protectiveness between all five of them isn’t something the rest of us can understand.” Phil explains that JARVIS has isolated himself in the Avenger’s core and refuses to help until he’s given information on Steve and Bucky and the robots have used their claws causing more than one injury to the techs in the lab. “Stark, Tony, they bonded and no matter what changes were made to Rogers, everyone that was on that ship, is protecting him.”  

Tony may not completely trust this, but he does trust his friend, so he heads to the hanger where the ship is being kept. Once there, he links the Compound’s AI to the ship and creates a pathway for JARVIS. It’s hours of work, but partway through, JARVIS seems to realize what he’s doing and proceeds to help speed things along.  Understanding this situation is less important when his creations are suffering. Before leaving the ship, he makes sure that JARVIS finds the pathway, then goes to find the robots. When they see Tony, they back up into a corner. He may have created them, but he’s not the one they’re bonded to. Kneeling, he shakes his head. “Do you want to see your dads and JARVIS or not?” There’s a whirling sound and Pinky and Dunce skitter out of the corner and follow Tony out of the lab.  

The door to the containment area opens and Tony walks in followed by Pinky and Dunce. “Rise and shine, aliens.”  

Bucky looks over, groggy, but sees Pinky and Dunce. Poking Steve, rousing him, he grins when he sees his little friends. “Tony, what’s going on?”  

“Well, what’s going on is the brass wants you two locked in here for god knows how long and I think that’s dumb. JARVIS has jumped ship and won’t let anyone into his system until he’s allowed to speak to you, and these two have been terrorizing the lab techs because they want their dads.” He pulls up a chair and sits down. “Now, would you like to tell me why the only thing that’s working the way I designed it is that ship?”  

Bucky snorts, laughing at his friend. Steve gets up from the bed, finding a notepad and tearing off a couple of sheets. He sits on the floor, balling them up, waving them in front of the robots, throwing the paper in two different directions. The little guys nearly run into each other, chasing after them. “Who’s the fastest?”  

Tony watches, dumbfounded. “That is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Since when can they fetch?”  

Bucky chuckles. “Since they met Steve.” As he’s about to continue, JARVIS interrupts.  

‘Sirs, I must say, it is very good to see you both.’  

Steve jumps, looking around at the cameras in the ceiling. Bucky sighs. “JARVIS, thank god you’re okay.”  

‘I could say the same to you, Dr. Barnes.’ He pauses. ‘Captain Rogers, are you quite well?’  

“JARVIS, I’m fan-fucking-tastic.” Tony snorts now, not knowing what to do with the legend being alive, well, and married to his best friend.  

“Okay, you two want to tell me how you ended up married and how JARVIS ended up captain of the Avenger?” Bucky’s mouth opens and closes, so Steve answers.  

“Well, technically, he’s not the captain of the Avenger anymore. He turned that back over to Bucky right before the return window opened.” Tony takes a deep breath because no one is really giving him answers.  

‘I, however, would have gladly remained in command if it had been in Dr. Barnes’s best interest. And considering his mental state, during the journey home, it may have been.’  

Steve checks on Bucky and sees that he’s uncomfortable. Shaking his head, Bucky looks at the camera. “Let’s be honest, JARVIS, you were in command most of the way home. I wasn’t in any shape to make decisions.”  

Kneeling in front of his husband, Steve takes Bucky’s hand, caressing the ring. “Bucky, what happened?”  

Swallowing with difficulty, Bucky doesn’t know how to put it, so he looks at the camera, eyes pleading for JARVIS to help. ‘Captain Rogers, your departure caused Dr. Barnes to...shall we say...spiral into a depression. It was many months before he was able to function without reminders.’  

Steve knew none of this because he was fighting back fading from existence. “Oh, Honey, I’m so sorry.” Steve looks over at the camera. “Thank you, JARVIS. Thank you for taking care of him.”  

The robots come to Steve, beeping. ‘Ah, yes, I should also give credit to Pinky and Dunce. They did not leave Dr. Barnes alone, bringing him water and forcing him to move about the ship.’  

Bucky grins down at the two robots. “Yeah, thanks for trying to take care of me.” He gets a little whirl from them, then they head off to chase the paper balls again.  

Bucky sits down next to Steve, on the floor. He tells Tony about meeting Steve the first time and how their relationship grew. How much Steve helped him understand the nebula and update the data once he figured it out.  

Tony jumps to his feet, hand on his head. “WHAT?” He paces away and Bucky grins over at Steve. Turning, Tony glares at them. “You mean to tell me that everyone in this place is all focused on you two when they should be focused on the fact that the Leeds Nebula is alive!”  

Steve sniggers. “He’s funny. I like him.”  

Bucky elbows him, shaking his head. “Steve, focus!” Steve clears his throat and tries to look serious. Bucky isn’t buying it. Looking back to his friend, Bucky nods. “That’s what we’re trying to tell you.” He gets up, going to the screen that’s meant for readings on the containment unit, but Bucky’s got an idea. “JARVIS, can you hack this?”  

‘Of course, sir.’ The screen flashes with the message, ‘Go ahead, Dr. Barnes.’  

“Bring up the overlay of the pulses. The one I saved in the system.” Within seconds, the saved data is on the screen. Tony doesn’t even seem concerned that JARVIS has used the pathway to hack the Compound’s computers. “Now, run the sequence, like we did that day.” JARVIS does as asked. Tony watches how the pulses change the sectors, like they’re growing. “You see, the pulses do follow a pattern. It’s like a cycle.” Bucky points where the next pulses will happen because he memorized it. “See, here...when they expand, in effect, give birth, the sector grows.” He points to the next one to expand. “And here, it happens again. Once I figured out what was happening, Steve explained it in more detail.”  

Turning, Tony narrows his eyes. “Why couldn’t you save time and just tell him?”  

Shaking his head, Steve walks over, taking Bucky’s hand. “Because sometimes, figuring it out yourself is more satisfying. I knew he’d figure it out and once he did, we could talk about what it meant.”  

As they go to sit again, Tony stops, looking at Steve. “Were you able to communicate with the nebula?”  

Blushing, Steve looks over at Bucky, who nods, trusting his oldest friend. “Uh...yeah, I could. It’s why I could explain it to Bucky.”  

They talk through more of what happened, with JARVIS filling in certain things, like the robots" upgrade. After hearing some of the conversation from before, Tony needs clarity on why Steve didn’t leave the nebula to begin with. “Just explain to me why it was necessary to hide. I don’t understand why you put my friend through this.”  

“Tony.” Bucky’s staring at his friend, seeing and hearing the accusation.  

“No, Buck, it’s okay. I’m sure it seems confusing.” Steve explains what would happen if he’d ventured too far from the nebula to explore, how he would lose time and awareness. “I think because I was connected to the nebula in some way that the Companion didn’t understand. Hell, I don’t understand it and that’s why I wasn’t sure I could leave.”  

“I understood once he explained to me. I couldn’t take the chance that...” Steve takes Bucky’s hand, kissing it and smiling warmly.  

“After I told Bucky, he knew that he couldn’t let me leave the nebula because I could die.” Tony’s finding all of this fascinating and Bucky knows his friend well enough to see the thoughts going a million miles an hour in Tony’s brain.  

“So, even after making the decision to stay behind, for safety, you still put yourself in danger by stowing away.” Steve blushes and gives a nod to Tony’s question. “Why?”  

“I don’t know how to answer that without you rolling your eyes again.” To make a point, Tony does roll his eyes and waves a hand for Steve to continue. “Tell me, Tony, have you ever met someone that makes your life whole?” Tony bites the inside of his cheek, holding up his left hand, showing his wedding ring. “Then you understand why. I stayed in energy form all the way back here and clung to one thing.” He looks over at Bucky. “I could feel myself fading, but holding onto the feeling, the one that Bucky gives me, I think it saved me.”  

Bucky holds up his hand, showing the ring, but doesn’t miss that Tony seems a little misty-eyed. “Pinky and Dunce made these for us, with JARVIS’s help from metal off the Fury. It seems fitting.”  

“You named my maintenance robots Pinky and Dunce, then taught them how to fetch.” Dunce rolls between Bucky’s legs, seeming to snuggle against his thigh, and Pinky crawls into Steve’s lap, settling in. Bucky laughs along with Steve, who then gets a very serious look.  

“Uh, is there any way we can keep them? I mean, we’d like to keep JARVIS as well, but I don’t know how that would work.” Tony just rolls his eyes again because these two have taken his perfectly good technology and ruined it for anyone else.  

“How long are they going to keep us like this?” Bucky wants to take Steve and go home. They know that more questions need to be answered, but it all seems pointless since the information is on the ship’s records.  

“I can’t really say, Bucky. Nothing like this has ever happened before.” Bucky nods, leaning into Steve. “At the very least, I’m going to ask them to put you into a more private setting considering you’ll probably end up doing something that will scar most of the people walking past those windows.”  

He’s up and gone, leaving Bucky and Steve to laugh. “I wish I knew what the holdup is. No one is telling us anything.”  

‘Sirs, it would seem that Captain Rogers has minute changes to his DNA at the molecular level.’ They question JARVIS about that, and he tries to explain what he was able to find while being rerouted to them. ‘I can only guess that it has something to do with spending time in a non-corporeal form.’  

Bucky looks shocked, then mischievous. “I married an alien.”  

Steve shoves at his shoulder. “And I married a smartass.”  

“Bucky, I’m home.” Steve steps in the door, locking it behind him and kicking his shoes off. It has been two years since they returned to Earth and even though they both work at the Compound, they never work the same hours. Tony told Bucky it’s because they will seek each other out and find a private place and never get any work done. Bucky thinks he’s probably right.  

Steve works with the crew of the next mission to the nebula. Since he has a unique connection and understanding of the nebula, it’s his job to make sure that the new crew doesn’t mess anything up. Bucky, on the other hand, has joined Tony’s team, full time, and the design for the new ship is a joint effort. Tony’s focus is the engines and Bucky’s is, pretty much, everything else.  

They didn’t stay in Bucky’s old house very long because Tony built them a new one, complete with JARVIS. Captain Steven Rogers became the most popular topic and most sought-after interview and Bucky, being married to him, needed extra security, which is how Tony justified giving the AI to the couple. More than one reporter or photographer had been arrested trying to get onto the property.  

The only thing that’s still a question is whether or not Steve can shift into energy. Many people have asked, and each time Steve doesn’t comment. Bucky’s comment, the only time he was asked, was, “Why the fuck do you think it’s your business?” It seems using profanity makes a person less desirable for the media. Bucky thinks it’s hysterical and Steve thinks he did it on purpose.  

Pinky and Dunce have settled into life at home with the couple. They had a little uncertainty when Bucky brought a kitten home. They were standoffish until the kitten started playing with the paper ball. Now, Steve and Bucky can’t determine if the kitten thinks the robots are weird looking cats, or the robots think the cat is a furry robot. Either way, they get along great now and wreak havoc on the house.  

Bucky comes out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel and being followed by Pinky, Dunce, and Alpine. “How was your day?”  

Slipping into Bucky’s space, Steve wraps him in a hug. “It was what you’d expect. The scientists are like little kids and the military guys are asshats.”  

“You remember that you were a military guy.” Steve leans in, biting playfully at Bucky’s chin. “Not ringing a bell?”  

“Nope, don’t remember that.” Kissing his husband, Steve’s still smiling. “How have the kids been today?”  

Bucky looks down, where the robots and cat are staring up at them. “You remember how I wanted flowers by the fence?” Steve, reluctantly, nods his head, feeling that he knows something happened. “Well, I learned today, not to try to plant pretty things when these three get into a fight about order.”  

“Order?” Steve’s shaking his head, not getting what Bucky means.  

“JARVIS, could you show Steve what happened in the garden today?” Bucky pulls Steve to the sofa, pushing him down and climbing into his lab.  

‘I hesitate to be the bearer of this, but as you wish Dr. Barnes.’  

Steve snorts as the screen lights up. Bucky pats his chest. “Hold off on that snort, mister, you’re going to need it in a few minutes.”  

On the screen, Bucky is on his knees, placing the flowerpots where he wants them. When he turns his back, to grab the next one, Pinky tries to move it. To which, Dunce tries to put it back and they begin a ‘game’ of tug-of-war. Bucky turns back, telling them to put the pot down, and suddenly Alpine is digging the flowers out of the pots, just because she feels like digging. By the end of the video, Bucky is sitting in the grass, shaking his head, laughing, pots and plants are all over the place, and Alpine seems to be pooping in the flower garden with Pinky and Dunce watching attentively.  

Steve tries to hold it in, but he loses spectacularly when laughter bubbles out of him and tears are streaming down his face. “H...how...did...”  

“Yeah, so we don’t have flowers planted.” Bucky gets up and heads to the kitchen to find the wine they’re taking with them, but is stopped.  

‘Sir, I believe Captain Rogers needs your assistance.’  

Bucky turns, expecting Steve to be playful, but finds his husband crying, and not because of humor. Running back, he kneels between Steve’s legs, reaching up to caress his cheeks. “Steve, baby, what’s going on? Come one, talk to me.”  

Steve looks down, still sobbing and pulls Bucky against him, holding him tightly. “I could have missed...never been part of this.”  

They just hold each other for a time, not moving, just a desire to be close. When they do move, Steve looks embarrassed by his outburst. “Sorry about that.”  

Bucky stops him, turning him, so they’re facing. “Don’t you ever apologize for being overwhelmed that we’re this lucky. I feel it every morning and I’m thankful for it every night. You and I shouldn’t have happened, but we did and if you don’t think it hits me full force sometimes, you’re wrong. When I have nightmares, and won’t talk about them, it’s about that. I wake up thinking it’s not real. It’s why I’m so clingy some nights.”  

Steve reels him in. “You be as clingy as you want because, you’re right, this shouldn’t have happened, but we have each other and it’s everything important.” Looking over, Steve sees the time and knows they have to get moving. There’s a dinner tonight at Tony’s for the new crew. Bucky follows his eyeline and sees the time too.  

“I’m going to go shower and I’ll be out soon.” As he tries to walk away, Steve grabs his hand.  

“You need any help scrubbing your back?” Looking over at the clock, Bucky frowns.  

“We don’t have time for that.” Steve pouts, then grins wickedly.  

“Then tonight, after we get home, we can...” He waggles his eyebrows and Bucky laughs.  

“Yeah, we can definitely do that.” As he’s halfway up the stairs, he turns, watching Steve, who’s just staring. “Steve, you...I love you.” Steve comes up, stopping on the step below Bucky. “When I think about leaving you, even now, my heart breaks for what we might not have had. I just love you.”  

Reaching up, Steve gently cups Bucky’s cheek. “I know what you mean. It’s why I had to try and came back to the ship. It means everything to me that I can love you this way and you want it too.”  

Bucky leans in, kissing his husband. It doesn’t matter what came before this, now they live like Steve said those years ago. It doesn’t matter what tomorrow brings; it only matters what they have today.