It wouldn't take long for the team to reassemble at the compound, coming in from all directions around the globe, and they had all come to the same exact conclusion on their own; the war had begun, and they were to be its epicenter. There had been no word from Loki about Thor's whereabouts, and the worst was assumed; he had been lost as a casualty, just as Vision had. That was the only way that any of you could move forward, to mourn the loss and go on, because there was no time for that now. There had been no communication from the Guardians either, and you treated it exactly the same. They were lost, so the team moved on from it. It felt cold, heartless, and wrong, but it was self-preservation at its worst.

As Peter and Bucky arrived home first, they met an eerie reception at complete calm and silence rather than the feared battle that they expected after receiving Steve's warning; they hurriedly searched every corner of the compound only to find that there was no one home, but no appearance of foul play either.

"Cap," Bucky called out to him over the comms, "there's nobody here. Even Wanda's gone."

"Any idea where they went?"

"No, there's really nothing at all to go on. It looks totally normal."

"Okay," Steve sighed, trying to keep his optimism, but Bucky knew his best friend better than that, "keep on it, and let me know if even one rock is overturned in a way you don't like. We're about an hour out."

"Roger that," Bucky nodded towards Pete, who had been listening in. "Alright, you heard the man. I'll go back towards the main complex, you take the hangar and maintenance building. Call out anything."

"On it," he agreed readily, turning to leave but stopping abruptly when his senses alerted him. "Hey, Buck? Is that anything?"

Bucky spun around to meet his teammate's voice and to follow the line of where he was pointing, just past a large grove of trees at the edge of the grounds. A strange flash of orange brightened the sky above the tree line, disappeared and reappeared again several times as the two men began their sprint towards it. Bucky's anxiety began to build with each step closer, knowing that the two of them alone were ill equipped to handle this kind of fight on their own, and it would be at least an hour before anyone appeared to help them.

"How are we doing this?" Parker called out as they ran. "I'd like you to go in first, do some of that super soldier stuff, take the first few hits to wear 'em down."

"If we live through this, I'm gonna remember that."

"You cheated!"

The two men stopped their sprint at the sound of a familiar voice, now completely confused at what they were hearing. There was one voice in particular that was added to the sound, one that was unexpected but immensely welcomed, filling the air around them with a wash of happiness that they thought had been suffocated away forever.

"I did not!" Anthony laughed, holding his side as he bent over to try to catch his breath between gasps. "You said we could portal anywhere! It's not my fault that you've never been to Germany!"

"I've been to Germany, you little brat," Wanda laughed with him, "it was just a shock and I got disoriented!"

"Hey guys?" Bucky interrupted, an uncertain hand up to wave them to his direction. "I mean this in the best way that I can, and sorry kids, but...what the fuck?"

"Hey, watch the fucking language around the children," Wade scolded.

"It's okay, Uncle Wade, we've grown up around the Avengers, remember? It happens." Brooklyn added.

Bucky's cheeks flushed a gentle red of embarrassment, and his gaze nervously moved from each of your children to the other, and finally resting on your chosen babysitter. "So, you're Uncle Wade now? That was a fast shift."

"I've always been Uncle Wade."

"Yeah, okay," he scoffed disbelievingly under his breath, only to turn back to the original question. "So, like I said, what the fuck?"

"We were playing tag," Grant joined in now, stepping forward. "We were getting frustrated with training, and getting nowhere, so Johnny and Wade thought making a game of it would make it more interesting. It sure did! We have no idea where Johnny is and we even got Aunt Wanda to play along!"

Wanda's smile began to fade just a little, but she did her best to hold it for as long as she could. Even if the smile weren't a full truth, wearing it gave her the illusion of hope that she could be happy again someday, so she would take this first step even if it meant lying to herself just to get by. "Yes, I thought that a round of tag would lift my spirits, and Wade actually made a very valid point that I couldn't argue. He's a strangely effective motivator and reminds me very much of Clint."

"Oh yeah," Pete answered, taking the bait, "what point was that?"

"That it was time to get off my ass."

~~~

As the remaining members of your team arrived at the compound, it was awkward at best, and no one wanted to be the first to say what they knew everyone around them was feeling. With the group sitting around the conference table, it felt too formal, too stiff, and the tension was obvious as it hung in the air around you. Nothing was being said, eyes fixed on the pictures of destruction and death on every screen that surrounded the room. Your eyes moved from screen to screen, and you could feel your blood pressure rise with every passing minute. It was all too much; an attack on your senses that left your brain overloaded and screaming for it all to stop.

"Okay, that's it, I'm calling it," you finally gave in, slapping your hands on the table top as you stood, "we're taking this down to the lounge. If this could be our last night together as a team...as friends and as a family, then I refuse to spend it in this damn room one minute more." Pushing your chair back, you turned and made your way to the exit, with Steve standing and quickly catching your pace and your hand to follow. One by one, the rest of the team followed along, moving in silence towards a conversation that no one wanted to have.

~~~

"I'm not a big one for emotional stuff," Tony started first, clearing his throat nervously as he raised his glass towards the group, "but you guys really need to try as hard as you can to not die, okay? You're the only ones who can put up with my bullshit on a regular basis and I feel like I've got you all trained. You guys make sure that I eat every day, and that I go to bed when everyone else does. Bruce, you know exactly how hot my coffee is supposed to be when I get to the lab in the morning. Nat, you were one of the first to knock me on my ass before I saw you coming, and I have yet to meet another triple imposter, I'll have you know. Rhodes, between you and Pepper, you two have kept me alive this long out of sheer luck with some of the dumb shit I've done. And Steve," he stopped with a snort, trying to hide the urge to sniffle instead, "hell, I don't even know where to start with you. You piss me off."

"What did I do?" Steve startled, looking around the room. You were nestled into him, sitting on his lap with his arms tightly around you, giving him a sense of protection from Tony if he should need it.

"You made me like you, you bastard."

"Oh," he mumbled quietly, leaning forward to rest his chin on your shoulder. "I love you too, Tony."

"Hey, I said like, Spangles. Like." Tony paused and adjusted his gaze to you, seeing immediately that this was just another case of his bullshit being seen through, and he had no choice but to realize once again that Steve was right, as much as it continued to piss him off. "Fine, love you, too," he gave in with a dismissive wave and a tip back of his drink. "Barton, you're up."

"No."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not having this conversation," Clint shook his head emphatically, taking down the last of his beer, only to stand to retrieve another. "We're talking like we're all gonna be dead tomorrow and like we've already lost. I'm not doing it. It's not over until I shoot an arrow through his goddamn eye."

"Clint, come on, man," Scott stood to join him at the bar, "that's not what we're doing. Yeah, this could turn out really, really bad, and we might not all come back, so this is just a chance to say things that we might not be able to later. We're not saying that we're done, not by a long shot, but don't miss this opportunity. Not everyone gets it."

"Why aren't you with your family then?" Barton shot back. "Why aren't you home with Cassie?"

"I've already said what I needed to say to her," Scott said softly, with a heavy pain in his voice, "and this is my family too."

Just behind Clint, Natasha stood up next, holding her drink in a tremulous hand that threatened to drop it at any moment. When Scott turned his attention to look at her, Clint did the same, but when he saw the moisture building in her eyes and the color wash from her face, he quickly moved to her side to help her stay steady.

"I'm not going to say much," she began, "just that I would do it all again, with all of you. I don't like to live with regrets, and not a single minute of this trip was one."

You could feel Steve shift uncomfortably beneath you, though when you turned your head to look back, he was looking away and to your friends who had yet to join the group. Sam and Bucky had kept their distance, huddled together at the far end of the room, talking to each other rather than taking part in the conversation at hand. "Let them be, doll," he whispered, "they'll come over when they're ready."

Wade had been hanging back on the edge of the room, observing quietly, very uncharacteristically, but he didn't feel that it was his place to be a part of something that your group had shared together for so many years. As the conversations continued, and as the outpouring of respect and love filled the room around him, he grew only more uncomfortable and out of his element, deciding that he had to get out of there before he said something stupid and ruined it all. "Hey, (Y/N)," he whispered, taking a stand behind you, "can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah, of course. Be right back," you said to your husband softly, feeling a squeeze on your hand before you stood to leave. Wade had already made his way to the door, in a remarkable show of speed and of just how ready he was to be removed from the situation.

"I have to go," he said, taking your hands in his, "I don't feel right being here for this stuff, you know that."

"It's okay, I understand. Thank you for helping with the kids today, they really seemed to have fun despite everything."

"Turns out, you and Captain Underpants make pretty awesome kids. It would really piss me off if anything happened...to..." he said in a low tone, his expression changing as he thought about what that would look like to find. "Dammit, I kinda feel like I'm actually Uncle Wade, and that makes me really...angry."

"Why?"

"Because now I actually give a shit, (Y/N)! I was here for you. Just you. Now look at me! I'm gonna have to get my sweet, leather-clad, tight as a trampoline ass back here and fight the Purple Ballsack with the rest of you because I'll be goddamned if he lays one wrinkled finger on any of them. And what about you? I can't be distracting you with my fine ass. You'll get hurt."

You couldn't help it; you felt connected to him again, just like you had back in your days when life was fun and carefree, and your heart couldn't help but feel a warmth for him that you hadn't known in far too long. The man you were looking at wasn't Deadpool, it was truly Wade, a man who cared about you, and now your family just as much. You pulled him into you for a hug, wrapping your arms around his neck so tightly that he struggled a bit to take a breath, but he didn't complain; he simply accepted it and returned the contact as if he had been starved for it for years.

"Welcome to the family, Wade. It's about damn time."