AN: Jessica's outfit is up top.

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Jessica Rogers voice was soft as she read to her husband, the pair sitting on the couch beside the window, the sun shining through, warming their skin.

Steve's head was on her lap, her fingers lightly pulling onto his hair as his eyes were closed, taking in the book they were reading. The pair had been doing this for hours, book after book, day after day.

They probably had gone through fifteen books within a week, taking turns reading while staying in the Avengers tower despite Jessica being pardoned. The only time they would leave would be for food, to visit Lydia, or to go to the park nearby, given that she hadn't started therapy yet.

Steve's eyes opened as Jessica paused, watching as she sipped on her lemonade through a straw, red lipstick staining the stainless steel; given that, of course, Jessica would be the one to already be against plastic and anything harmful for the environment.

"What does that mean?" Steve questioned, tilting his head in her lap toward her stomach when she looked down to him.

Jessica furrowed a brow, remembering what she just read, "What? 'Notlite Te Bastardes Carborundorum'?"

"Yeah, it seems Latin," Steve recognized, "You know two types of Latin, right?"

Jessica chuckled, nodding as she set her drink down, "Yes, I do. Classical and Archaic. To answer you, it's a bastardized version of a phrase, but it roughly translates to 'don't let the bastards grind you down'."

Jessica smiled a bit at the phrase, nodding a bit to herself. Steve noticed this and played with the ends of her hair that was draped over her shoulders.

"What is it?"

The redhead simply shook her head, meeting his blue eyes, "I just really like that. It resonates."

"Can I ask why?" Steve's fingers ran through her hair, Jessica humming at the feeling.

"I just... the times we lived through? It was harder than I think you realize. Working day after day for men who objectified us, didn't realize we had minds and hearts of our own. In the Army, it was almost the same. You didn't hear what Hodge or any of those other guys would say about Peggy when she turned around, or even in front of her face. Her title didn't matter to them, women seemed to only be good for one thing."

She scoffed as she continued, "And if a woman slept with a man because she loved him? She would be called a vulgar name. If she didn't, wanted to save herself or for whatever reason? She was a prude. If she wore a two piece suit to the beach, she was asking for attention, but if she wasn't, she was no fun. You couldn't ever win, Steve."

Steve softened and reached up to grab her hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing it softly. Jessica gave him a warm smile.

"Though you? You never made me feel bad about myself. Well, except the time you walked away after I kissed you," Jessica teased, a smirk dancing on her lips.

The blond man sighed, frowning, "I'm sorry. You know that, right? I was so in my head and my self-worth was so low, not that it's high now. I didn't know what to do. I thought you were making fun of me... I should have known that you would never do that."

"I kissed you because I loved you," Jessica whispered, settling her palm on his jaw that he held under her hand, "I wouldn't have teased you like that, I'm not Bucky."

"Are you saying that Bucky would have kissed me?"

Jessica snorted, "Who knows, he always did want you to himself."

The couple laughed and Steve let out a long sigh, saying, "I'm really sorry you had to go through that, Jess. I knew about a few instances, but not all of that."

"I had to have Bucky sign on my apartment because my father wasn't around to vouge for me," Jessica shook her head, scoffing, "Because I was a woman. I wasn't allowed to have my own apartment because I was a woman, Steve. Women couldn't have their own bank accounts. My boss paid us in cash. I was the highest paid nurse and I only made one hundred and forty-two dollars a month. My rent was more than yours, did you know that? And you were messier than I was."

They both let out a defeated chuckle at that and Jessica sighed, "It was even worse for my friends who worked beside me. They looked different, so they didn't make as much. How fucking disgusting is that? She was told to give people her middle name because her first name was too hard to pronounce for them. She went to college and didn't even get the respect of going by her first name. As hard as it was for me, she had it harder because of the way she looked. It's appalling. She deserved more respect than that."

Steve shook his head, saying, "She did. I'm so sorry, Brooklyn baby."

"It's not your fault, Steve. If anything, you helped. You went to rallies with me, you never doubted me or what I could do because I was a woman," She gave him a light smile, "It was one of the reasons why I liked you. You respected me, didn't take me for granted. You fought for everyone while others didn't. You didn't see any of the bullshit people have put on to separate us because one group thinks they're better. That's one of the reasons why I loved you. Well, still do."

"You love me, huh?" Steve smirked, making Jessica deadpan and say, "Really? Out of that whole speech, that's what you hear?"

Steve chuckled and reached up, wrapping his arm around Jessica's neck to bring her to his lips. He kissed her softly for a moment before pulling back, nudging his nose with hers.

"You want to know one reason why I loved you back then?"

Jessica's answer was a hum and he kissed her jaw lightly before letting her sit back straight as he said, "Because you fought for everyone, too. You always wanted things equal, as they should be. You saw the soul, not the person. And that meant something to me."

"Steve, just because you were small, doesn't mean that you weren't a man," Jessica placed her hand on his jaw softly, "Your ability to identify as a man does not come the outside, it's the inside. Do you think that Abraham and I would have chosen you if you weren't a man, hero?"

Steve smiled at that and said, "I suppose you're right."

"I know I am," Jessica smirked, "I tend to be on most occasions."

"Oh, so you can be cocky but not me?"

Jessica shook her head, a small chuckle escaping her lips, "No. It sounds like you have been around Tony too much when you do it."

"Oh, god."

The pair laughed and Jessica winked down at him, gesturing him to her with a curl of her finger. Steve sat up and Jessica pushed her lips on his, eyes closing lightly at the feeling of his mouth on hers.

Steve's hands curled into Jessica's hair and the woman laughed as she kissed him back harder, pecking his lips lightly when she pulled back. The man whined and she rolled her eyes.

"You're such a big baby."

Steve let out a noise of defeat and said, "Can you really blame me for missing that? I like your lips."

"Dirty," Jessica winked sarcastically, making Steve deadpan and let out a loud groan as he turned his face to bury in her stomach.

Jessica laughed and finally settled the book down on the arm of the couch, noting the page number after taking it out of her lap from behind Steve's head.

"Why don't we stop reading for today?"

Steve furrowed his brow, saying, "But you said you were looking forward to reading this. Chess recommended it and said you would love it."

"Yes, well, handmaids and supremacists can wait," Jessica wrinkled her nose, "We've been doing what I want for weeks. What about you? What do you want to do?"

Steve hummed and Jessica continued, hands in his hair as his head settled back on her thigh, "What do you do for fun?"

"Oh, you know me, I don't have fun. Barbershop quartet is dead, remember?"

Jessica rolled her green eyes once more, "Well, I do know that. You're a fuddy-duddy."

"Yes, the old man is no fun."

"I know, I have known you for half my life."

Steve paused for a moment as his jaw slacked, eyes flickering back and forth in thought.

He had known her only half his life. To him, it felt like forever that Jessica Lynne had been in his life.

"It has been half, hasn't it?"

Jessica hummed, fingers running through his hair as she looked out the window to the glowing oranges and purples of the sunset.

"Well, we met when we were thirteen in 1932. It was a few weeks before my birthday when you went under and everything happened. That would have been half. Physically I look twenty-seven or twenty-eight, given that I was awake less than two years out of sixty-nine years I was taken."

"Oh, god, almost thirty there," Steve winced, "What are you going to do?"

Jessica pushed him slightly with a scoff, making him laugh, "Hey, you're physically thirty now, so you look older than me despite the fact that I'm older."

"Technically, Bucky is the oldest."

Jessica gave him a light grin, "Poor bastard."

Steve chuckled and she met his eyes, softening after a moment when he sighed.

"Where do you think he is, Jess? Why didn't he stay?"

Jessica's jaw clenched at the question, brows furrowing in thought.

"I don't know, honestly," She paused, "Can I tell you something without you getting mad? I didn't tell you before... I didn't know how."

"Brooklyn baby, you can tell me anything. You know that," Steve nodded, a light smile on his face.

Jessica's face fell slightly, contemplation and apprehensiveness across her face as she thought of the right way to tell Steve she had let Bucky go.

"After Bucky got the water out of my lungs, I woke up before he left," Jessica started lightly, causing Steve to sit up and turn before looking at her once more, "I... I brought back his memory, Steve. And then I told him to run."

"Why?" Steve's eyes widened, "He could be here with us."

Jessica was washed with guilt.

"I know, but Steve... you don't realize everything he has done. He has done so much more than I have. My plea deal was only that I was pardoned because I didn't kill anyone, right?"

Jessica's question was answered with a nod and she continued, "Steve, Bucky has killed people. He did it for me most of the time, despite not even knowing me. He went on so many more missions than I did because I would fight back every time. They won't deal with him."

"You really think that?" Steve spoke after a moment, folding his hands in front of him and pressing his fingers to his lips.

The redhead let out a long breath before nodding, "I don't think that he wants to be here right now either, Steve. I told him that if he wanted to find me, I would be here. He knows where I am, I'm sure. There's enough media coverage."

The pair was silent for minutes after, anxiety pitting itself in the bottom of Jessica's stomach from her husband's reticence.

After a moment Jessica licked her lips, hands wringing together while her eyes stayed on her shoes, "Are you mad at me?"

Steve turned to his wife and immediately softened, placing his palm on her knee making her look down at it.

"Jess, baby, no," Steve pulled her closer, realizing that she was tensing up in retaliation of being afraid she would be yelled at.

It was something she did ever since her father.

He cupped the side of her head and pressed her into his chest as she nodded into him, knowing he would never hurt her, "I'm not mad at all. I'm just worried about him."

"Me, too. He's a smart guy, Steve. He'll be okay. And when he isn't? We will be there for him, no doubt in my mind."

Steve smiled at that and chuckled down at his wife while saying, "Because you are psychic."

"I'm not psychic," Jessica rolled her eyes, looking up to meet his softly, "I'm just very spiritually in tune."

"Jess, you have voices of land spirits in your head to tell you when something bad is going to happen. I think that's more than "spiritually in tune"."

Jessica sighed, "If I was psychic, then someone would be walking into the room right now."

A sudden ding of the elevator made their eyes widen and Jessica's heart sank as Steve chuckled, hand on his chest as he fell to the couch in a fit of laughter.

"I swear to everything that is, I didn't know that was going to happen."

"Sure you didn't."

Jessica shook her head and pushed herself away from Steve, turning to look at the elevator as it opened to reveal Chess. The redhead's eyes widened at the sight of a large snake plant in a white pot in her arms, causing her to jump off the couch and toward her.

"My wife and a plant!" Jessica screeched, hopping over the cushion of the couch to Chess, who laughed in retaliation with a slight blush.

Chess' arms wrapped around Jessica, the redhead doing the same and leaving her hands on her waist when she pulled back.

"Hello, beautiful," Jessica wrinkled her nose with a smirk, "How are you?"

The woman's chest and face turned as bright as Jessica's hair, heat flaming at her skin as she said, "I'm okay."

Chess brushed a hair behind her ear while looking down at her feet, biting her lip before putting the plant she had gotten for Jessica toward her. Jessica took it with a smile, a squeal lightly leaving her as she jumped lightly on her toes.

"A sansevieria trifasciata, well snake plant," She hummed proudly, raising her brows humorously, "The plant is used to treat ringworm and fungal diseases. The leaf sap is applied directly on infected sores, cuts and grazes, and it is also used to treat scabies infections."

Chess chuckled, saying, "You really do know everything about plants and herbs, don't you?"

"Don't forget crystals and anything to do with the elements," Steve added, standing from his seat to take the plant from Jessica.

The woman smiled at him when he asked, "Where do you want it?"

"In the corner of the room," Jessica affirmed, brows furrowed in thought, "They like medium light sources since they will burn with direct light."

Steve nodded and kissed the side of her head, whispering, "Yes, captain."

Jessica smirked as he turned and looked back to Chess, pulling her arm to the couch beside her. Chess immediately got comfortable, placing her legs on Jessica's lap, making the woman laugh.

"Everyone loves my lap, don't they?"

"Thick thighs save lives," Chess winked through her bangs, making Jessica laugh as she rested her head in her palm, elbow leaning on the top of the couch.

Jessica was faced toward her as she asked, "And to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you?"

"Well, I got off work, Nat wasn't at home, as per usual, and I figured I would visit you."

Jessica softened, putting her hand on Chess' knee, "She's not home?"

"No, she's here actually," Chess' lips pursed while nodding to herself.

Jessica gave her a confused look, "I haven't seen her? I went to the training room and Steve and I boxed for a bit, we must have just missed her?"

"I guess so," Chess shook her head, "But whatever. I don't want to talk about her."

Jessica hummed and said, "Well, what would you like to talk about?"

"Actually, I may have something," A new voice said, causing Chess to groan and throw her head back on the couch.

"Why?" She dragged out her question, "Why are you here?"

Tony placed a hand over his arc reactor in place of his heart, saying, "I'm hurt Marchessa. I thought we were closer than that. I did father you, you know?"

"Oh, trust me," Chess turned to him with a sarcastic grin, "You never let me forget it."

Tony faked a laugh before sobering up, turning to Jessica with a pleased grin.

"Hello, Poison Ivy," He folded his hands in front of himself, "I have a gift for you. If you would like to follow me, please."

Jessica raised a brow, "This isn't some weird trick to try and flirt with me, correct? Steve will have your ass."

"I'm more scared of you than capsicle," Tony shrugged before wiggling his brows, "You have magic hands."

Chess groaned in disgust, covering her face with her hands, "You're a fucking pig."

"Marchessa."

Chess copied his voice, "Anthony."

Tony winced and Jessica laughed at father and daughter before Steve walked back into the room, smiling at his friend.

"Tony."

"Spandex," Tony greeted, a sarcastic smile on his lips making everyone chuckle a bit.

He turned back to Jessica, "Come on, I worked hard on this. A little welcome gift, if you will."

Jessica sighed before patting Chess' thigh and said, "Okay, but if I look bad, I'm blaming you."

"My fashion sense is elite, I wouldn't put you in anything bad."

Chess scoffed as she stood, straightening out her suit coat when Jessica followed, "You have Go-go boots in your closet. I wouldn't boast, if I were you."

"That cuts deep, Marchie."

"Whatever."

Jessica and Steve laced hands as they walked down to the laboratory, Chess beside her friend as they did so. When they entered the room, Jessica's eyes widened at the sight of a green and black suit hung on a prototype mannequin.

"This is for me?" Jessica's breath was caught in her throat, eyes flickering between Tony and the suit in front of her as they stopped.

Tony nodded, a proud smirk on his face, "Well, a few modifications and boom. A highly reactive suit with electro currents flowing through one side, water in the other. I figured earth and air are always at your disposal."

Jessica's hand unlaced with Steve's, her fingers running along the mixture of spandex and other materials. She hummed as she reached the metal vambraces, feeling the cool metal against her skin.

"If a bullet just so happens to get passed you," Tony explained, "It's the same metal as my suit. Couldn't get my hands on any of that pretty little vibranium since Steve's shield was the last of it."

"It's perfect," Jessica smiled lightly, turning to him with a smile, "Tony, thank you. I love it."

Tony grinned insolently, "Oh, it's nothing. I just figured since you're part of the Avengers now, you needed a little something."

Jessica was quiet as she gave him a thankful grin, moving to wrap her arms around him lightly. She could feel Tony's smirk against the side of her head and ignored it, stepping back beside Steve, who wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Speaking of," Steve voiced, making Chess, Tony and his wife turn to him, "News on a HYDRA facility just came over. Natasha found of one near by. Any chance of getting the band back together and taking them down?"

Tony hummed, "Small chance, yes. I guess we will have to make some calls."

Chess and Jessica smirked, the redhead crossing her arms over her chest.

"Let's take the bastards down. One base at a time, brick by brick. They took everything from me... I say it's high time we take everything back."

Chess chuckled and turned to Steve, "Star spangled man with a plan? Got any ideas?"

Steve smiled.

"Just a few."

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