Fireworks shot through the Wakandan night sky as the celebrations led into night all around the world. Peace was finally attainable for those heroes who thought it wasn't ever a part of their future. They could still be heroes, but they could live lives outside of that now.

Mary watched the fireworks display with her family. Her husband and four children along with her brother and his family. She knew there would still be challenges that would come to face her family and all that they'd worked for.

But she wouldn't be alone, and neither would anyone else.

As Vision said years ago, challenge insights conflict, and conflict breeds catastrophe. There would always be those who would rise to challenge the Avengers, that would never change. But they would never be alone in facing those challenges again.

Mary held onto her daughters tightly, Becca and Winnie wrapping their arms around their mother and resting their heads on her shoulders. The three girls sighed in contemptment as the men of the family watched them. Bucky smiled at his girls, his precious girls that he found beautiful in this very moment. This moment of peace and tranquility. The fireworks exploded overhead, Jamie and Peter were mesmerized as the boy sat on his sister's boyfriend's shoulders.

Peter didn't have to hide his strength or his powers in this moment and he enjoyed it to his fullest. He easily held Jamie on his shoulders as they watched the fireworks display.

Jamie smiled wide then looked over at another balcony and saw his Utata with his sister and mother, enjoying the cheers of the nation as they celebrated throughout the Golden City and all of Wakanda the return of their lost loved ones.

The precious ray of sunshine looked over at his brother and his family, Pepper kissed Tony on the cheek as Morgan rested against her father's chest. Jamie then looked over to his Uncle Steve, Aunt Eve and Esme, they were happy. He smiled as he watched his uncle and aunt share a kiss under the moonlight and Esme squealing at the PDA her parents were showcasing. Jamie then looked over at his mother, father and siblings. His family was complete, his father and sisters were alive, his mother was healing rapidly and with new powers to boot.

Jamie knew that even if he didn't have his memory ability. He would never forget this day.

"You good up there?" Peter asks and Jamie nods with a smile.

"Best day ever." Jamie replies and Peter smiles back.

"It really is." Peter responds and then looks over at Becca as she snuggled deeper into her mother's embrace with Winnie. He had talked with the blonde in the family of brunettes during the height of the party and had grown closer to her as a brother.

Everyone was introduced to Winnie. Bruce hugged her tightly as well as Stephen, the two men had helped Winnie when no one else could in the moments of her birth and death. Winnie hugged them tightly back.

She had no ill will towards anyone, how could she? She had passed in the womb, never knowing her father's voice until her soul entered the void.

The same void her grandmother watched over her son and daughter.

Winnie had confirmed Mary's supposed hallucination when she had sacrificed herself for the Soul Stone and saw Sarah and Winnie. She had actually seen them, and Winnie had the gut feeling that that was what triggered the beginning of Mary's powers and her soul becoming the Soul Stone instead of it just being an Infinity Gem.

Tony also knew that Mary's soul was where he was when he had snapped his fingers. Because they had had their conversation that Mary didn't remember, it was before she had woken up on Vormir.

Mary's powers were far more powerful than anyone anticipated. The fact that she felt a soul in the void between heaven and hell and brought that soul back to life was something no one had seen done before that anyone knew about, not even those from outer space like Carol and the Guardians. They had their own dealings with certain stones but the Soul Stone had always been a mystery. Nebula shared her findings about the Soul Stone briefly when they were all talking about where to find it, but she gave more detail to Mary in private at the celebration.

The Soul Stone according to Nebula's findings was the most powerful stone out of the six. It could control living and dead beings, alter life itself at will. It could manipulate, steal, control living or dead souls. And where Tony had been was what Nebula called the Soul World, a pocket universe created by the Stone itself.

Mary then understood that it was the Soul Stone that had the true power to cause the Snap. The other five stones were powerful, but without the Soul Stone, they were useless. Thanos needed the Soul Stone to wipe out half of the universe's all living beings and creatures. Because the Soul Stone granted it's user power to all living things.

Those powers alone would make anyone fear Mary if she were ever to wield the stone's true power and purpose. But she held a firm stance already that she would never abuse the power she had been given.

But Nebula also warned Mary that there were rumors that the Soul Stone was sentient and could corrupt it's user to devour souls and gain more power. It was greedy in its quest for power.

Mary understood the risks but no other soul that Nebula found findings of had ever become the Soul Stone itself. The souls of the sacrificed would always just go to the Soul World and be laid to rest. But Mary was alive, and her soul was the stone.

Training was essential for Mary to understand her new powers and the power that was held within the stone. But training and other work matters could wait until the next day. Because tonight was about celebrating, reconnecting and family.

A voice cleared his throat and gained the attention of those around, inside the ballroom and on the balcony. "I'm not one for speeches but i thought someone needed to say something about what we've accomplished today." Bucky said, surprising his wife as she stands beside him. "Today could've turned out much differently than it did. I could've never had the chance to say goodbye to my Luna before she sacrificed herself to get all of us back. Stark would not be here either quite possibly, my baby girl, my Piglet would still be dead as well." The White Wolf says, he clears his throat once more to try and avoid getting choked up but Mary can see the struggle in him. "I've done my fair share of bad in world, under mind control or not. But the good i've tried to do has only been so much compared to the bad. But the one person who's never lost faith in me no matter if i had or not is the woman i'm proud to call my wife. We married during the Second World War as most of you have come to know, we thought the War would end and we would start our lives. We were even expecting our Rebecca shortly after the wedding and then the train accident happened and our lives took a very different route.

"I was taken by Hydra and Mary went on to believe for more than seventy years that i was dead. She raised our daughter with everything she had until Hydra once again ruined what she had built. Becca was taken and only later on did i realize that i helped train her in the Red Room." Bucky tells the crowd but he only looks at his wife, he wants them all to know how grateful he is to have her in his life, and how dark it would be without her. "I like to think we wouldn't all be here if it weren't for her. She's a founding member of Shield, she brought Fury in and he eventually became the Director, he put together the Avengers with her help. She's directly tied to each one of us. We all have known her separately and together."

Mary bows her head as her face heats up from the attention Bucky is drawing to her from everyone in the room, "James..."

"Doll, you deserve the credit you're due." He tells her, "You've always taken a backseat and let everyone else take the spotlight. For once, let it be on you." Bucky says softly and Mary leans into his side.

Tony nods in agreement despite his residual pain and anger from finding out Bucky killed his parents, he was coming to terms with it and knew his mother would be proud of him for it. "She raised me when my parents were too busy to do it." He states, "She was my mom before i admitted it, and she will always continue to be." He says.

Steve smiles, "I was her first patient." He chuckles out, "She's always been selfless in everything she does, no matter the pain she goes through, which has been a lot, she always will be there to help you. No matter what."

Thor smiles from where he stands with Winnie in front of him as he plaits the girl's wild locks of hair and Becca watching intently with her own hair plaited, "She helped me understand Earth and the good of valuing life. Why sitting idle is never an option when you can stand. Because though she felt weak and unworthy, she is the strongest person i have come to know in my long life."

"She's my best friend and the person who will put me in my place if i am wrong." T'Challa speaks up, "She treats everyone with the respect they deserve or have earned from her, she will fight til her last breath no matter the opponent." He says and then looks over at Mary, "I wouldn't want anyone else standing by my side as my Advisor."

Mary looks over and smiles, "I wouldn't want anyone else as my King." She tells T'Challa.

Others soon follow in adding to Bucky's speech, telling their individual stories and experiences with Mary. The only people she didn't ever meet until the celebration were the Guardians of the Galaxy, but she had made it a point to thank them for helping her daughter and sons fight against Thanos on Titan. Both Nebula and Rocket spoke highly of her to the other Guardians, Peter Quill was eager to meet Mary if she managed to get those two to speak highly about her.

The rest of the night was a blur to Mary as it turned into a celebration of not only saving the universe and defeating Thanos, but also as a testament to her accomplishments.

Mary felt Bucky pepper kisses on her bare shoulder as she slowly left her dream state in their bed. She was pretty sure they had all slept in rather late after their partying the night before. And that she and Bucky had a private celebration after they had tucked their children into their beds.

"James.." Mary sighed as she turned onto her back on their bed, her husband hovering over her with a smile playing on his lips as he dipped down and began to trail kisses from her jawline down to her neck. "We can't..." She muttered breathlessly.

She can feel Bucky chuckles as his lips kiss her stomach and he sits back up, "They can wait twenty minutes can't they?" He teases and Mary playfully narrows her eyes at her husband. He knew Mary would want to spend as much time as possible with their children before life would have to resume. But he still wanted time with her privately.

"I want to make breakfast for the family, James." Mary tells her husband, "It's been so long." She mutters and Bucky can feel her begin to break down as her mind goes back to the five years he had been gone. He sits against the headboard and pulls Mary into his lap, his arms wrap around her tightly as he tries his best to pull her from those thoughts. "It's been five years, James." She whimpers as tears stream down her face.

Bucky kisses her forehead and sighs, because to him, it had been minutes since he had last seen his wife and other family. But for her, it had been five long and dark years without any chance of getting them back. "We're here now, and we're not going anywhere." He tells her, "I know i broke my promises before, but i wont this time." He could tell this was hard for her and he looked at her with tears clouding his eyes, "You can count on me now."

Mary looks up at her husband in his blue eyes that she had missed desperately. Her amber eyes look back at him, her necklace the only thing on her body aside from the sheets. She places her hands on his cheeks and brings his lips to her own gently. When they break apart she rests her head on his forehead, "I've never felt more loved than by you." She whispers to him, "You're my everything, and without you, i was a shell of who i was. I wanted to be there for Jamie, i tried, but without you, watching you die, it broke me beyond repair."

Bucky looks at his wife intently, he needed to show her his love and what she was deprived of for the past five years. Mary knew he needed to show her how much he loved her and though she wanted to be with their kids. Bucky needed this for himself as well as Mary.

Down stairs in the kitchen, Jamie is showing Peter his book of heroes while Becca and Winnie attempt to make a form of breakfast for their parents. They all could hear the heavy breathing and panting from the upstairs master bedroom but only Peter and Becca paid any mind to it. Both Winnie and Jamie ignored it.

It made the new rekindled couple blush and exchange glances but could do nothing about it. Becca knew her parents needed this time together without interruptions. She and Winnnie wanted to do something for their parents when they finished, Jamie was content sitting on the couch of the home he grew up in, showing who he assumed would be his brother in law later on in life the book that had helped him know his family that had been snapped away.

It made Peter's heart clench when he saw the images of Becca and himself in their suits. The last time they had been together was by accident. The battle on Titan proved neither one of them could live without the other, he told her he loved her over and over again to make sure she knew it as she was turning to dust in his arms. His relentless apologizing to Tony as he himself turned to dust for letting Becca die was flooding back to him more than he realized.

"Peter?" Jamie asks softly and Becca looks up from the kitchen and rushes over to her boyfriend. Winnie walks over to Jamie and the two younger siblings move into the kitchen to give the young couple the space they needed to talk. "What happened to Peter?" Jamie asks his sister.

Winnie pushes her hair from her face and looks at her brother, "I think he was reliving something.. A trigger of some sort might have caused it."

"We were looking through my book, i had flipped the page to Spider Man and Crystal." Jamie tells Winnie and she nods.

"Maybe that triggered it then, but it was nothing you did." Winnie assures her brother with a smile and her hand caressing his head, "You got Momma's eyes." She whispers softly and he nods.

"Mom doesn't have hazel eyes anymore." Jamie says softly, a hint of sadness in his voice but he knew it was out of her control. "I'm the only one."

Winnie wraps her arms around her brother, "Momma was the only one until you, right?" She asks and Jamie nods, "Maybe the Barnes and Rogers family is only allowed one hazel eyed baby?"

Jamie chuckles softly, "I don't think that's it, but it's a neat theory." He says to his sister who playfully narrows her eyes at him.

"You're too smart for your age." She tells him and Jamie chuckles.

"And you're technically only a year and a half older than me." Jamie states and Winnie scoffs at her brother playfully. "I was born in 2016, you were born in 2015."

Winnie nods, shrugging as she looks herself over, "I don't know why i look older than i am."

"Your soul is older." Jamie says his theory allowed. "You watched over a lot of us, right?" Winnie nods softly, "That might be why, but it's just a theory."

Winnie smiles softly, "I think we should go see if Uncle Steve and Tony want to do something, let Momma and Daddy have some time for themselves."

"But Mom wants us all together." Jamie states, remembering how their mother clung to her babies the previous night.

"We'll leave them a note." She tells her brother and he reluctantly nods in agreement as the two walk back into the living room to tell Peter and Becca of their idea for the day.

The throne room was filled with laughter as Mary and Bucky made their way into the room. Ramonda smiled widely at her children and then T'Challa turned to Mary and beamed, "Our White Wolf and Gray Wolf have finally joined us." He teased his best friend and Mary rolled her eyes at her king.

"I'm sure you and Nakia have been busy as well, privately, my King." Mary teased back and T'Challa coughed awkwardly as Shuri laughed loudly at her brother's embarrassment.

"You walked into that one, brother!" She rubbed in his face his embarrassment before he composed himself once again.

"Ayee." He muttered under his breath and lightly smacked his sister's arm in reprimand.

"Momma, Daddy." Winnie's voice called to her parents and their heads turned to see her talking with her uncle and older brother with Esme and Morgan playing with Jamie in a corner of the throne room. Becca and Peter were chatting with Shuri, the young Spider Man was eager to learn what Shuri had to offer and she was thrilled to share her knowledge with someone her age, who could keep up.

Mary walked over to her youngest daughter, wrapping her arms around her from behind and smiled, "You two behaving?" She asked her brother and son.

"I keep 'em in wine, Auntie Ree!" Esme said from Winnie's lap and Steve and Tony both stared down the tiny blonde girl in her cousin's lap.

"We've been nothing but good." Tony states and smiles at his mother, "We were just getting to know Winnie."

Steve nods and smiles softly, "She takes after me more than i thought." He tells his sister and brother in law. Both smile but look at each other in confusion. "She likes art."

Winnie nods with a wide smile, "It makes me happy, and books too." She tells her parents, "I wanna try sketching like Uncle Steve does."

Mary beams and wraps her arms around her daughter again, "I think you and Uncle Steve will enjoy that." She says

Tony smiles at his mom and then looks down at Steve, "We should get back to the compound, or what's left of it anyways. Those Stones need to get back to their times and places." He says and Steve nods in agreement.

Mary hesitates and looks at her brother and son, "Don't leave me out of that." She tells them and they both chuckle.

"Like we could stop you?" Steve teases his sister.

"Yeah, Mom, even with your new soul-y powers, you're still part of the team. The glue i would think." Tony says and Mary raises an eyebrow as Bucky chuckles.

"Soul-y powers?" Mary questions.

"There's no name for it technically, you control the stone. Your soul is the stone. You freaking raised me and Pooh Bear from the dead." He states, using his new nickname for his sister and it makes Winnie smile. "Soul-y powers is what i'm calling it."

"But you're a billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist, surely you could come up with a better name than that." Mary teases her son, quoting him from 2012.

He holds out his pointer finger, "Scratched playboy off that list quite some years ago, Mom, you know that." He teases and Mary laughs.

Winnie looks over at her sister and little brother and then back at her parents as Tony, Steve and Esme walk off to mingle with some other people in the throne room. "What Wolf am i, Momma?" She asks softly, "Becca's the Red Wolf, Jamie is the Golden Wolf, you and Daddy are White and Gray, but what am i?"

Mary and Bucky look at each other and smile. Bucky sits down across from his wife and daughter, "You're our Green Wolf." He tells her, "T'Challa had given you a color when I asked for the bracelets your Mother wears to be made. He put in rubies on either end of your sister's name and emeralds on the other bracelet for you to represent your wolf." He explains, Mary extending her wrist with Winnie's color and name to show their daughter.

"You're our Ingcuka eluhlaza, our Green Wolf." Mary says, "Your color means healing and renewal. Which i think rings more true now than it ever has." She tells her daughter and Bucky smiles at his wife and daughter. He could only hope that everyday from now on would be as good as this.