Your body had never felt such exhaustion as it was now, the ache of your muscles taking a backseat to the hazy lethargy that your mind was suffering. You had been connected with Bucky for too long, you understood that now, but at the time it was the right thing to do, and the only way that you knew of that would keep his mind present. You hadn't thought much about your own safety, and you hadn't thought about what you would leave behind if something had gone wrong. You paid no mind to who you could hurt, and that wasn't like you. Ever since the first time that you had connected with Bucky on that day with Tony, several years ago now, your attentions were divided between the two men, and the fallout from it had left ripples and waves of destruction in its path that frequently crested on the precipice of the typhoon that would drown it all away once and for all.

You slept for fourteen hours after Tony had carried you to your room and away from Barnes. He stayed at your side for every one of them until your eyes opened; he wanted to be the first person you saw so that you would understand that he was still committed to you. He could only hope that you would see it when he looked back; yes, it wasn't his proudest moment when he had tried to keep you apart from your soulmate, but he was acting out of fear and his fierce protectiveness of you. It always got the best of him, his emotions, and you had known that all along. He had also known all along that each day that you gave him was a gift that he had taken for granted for far too long.

"Hey," he whispered gently, "you can sleep more if you need to. I'll be here as long as you want me to be."

"What time is it?" you answered in a dry voice, your eyes fighting every second of being open. "How long have I been out?"

"Going on fourteen hours. But it's okay, you've been to hell and back, you deserve the rest. I can go if you want-" he stopped, feeling your hand on his arm to hold him back. The deliberate contact was too much for his fragile mind; it was too much to finally feel like you wanted him there again, and to dare to believe that this might just be okay after everything that he had done. He had to hold back the swell of emotion in his throat just to utter a few words and make them sound like he wasn't on the verge of breaking. "What? What is it? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good...but what happened? Is Buck okay?" The darkness of evening that filled the room was keeping Tony in the safety of shadow, but it was making it too difficult to talk to him; if you were going to have this conversation, then it was vital that you could see each other so that there was no confusion. "FRIDAY, could you turn on low lights please?"

The room slowly began to come into view, as did your husband. He shied away at first, turning his head so that you wouldn't look at him. He didn't want you to see the damage that had been done when he fought the Soldier with Steve to bring him in. He didn't want your pity, and he didn't deserve your forgiveness in his choices.

"Oh, honey, let me see," you urged, but he wouldn't turn. "Tony, look at me."

"It's not a great sight."

"It's you. How could it not be?"

"I can think of plenty of ways, (Y/N)," he said, "I haven't exactly lived up to the husband that you signed on for."

"Of course you did," you smiled, "I got exactly what I signed on for. You've been a pain in my ass since day one. But...you've also been my best friend and you've done nothing but what you thought was right to keep me safe. True, your methods sucked, but the intent was there."

"You're more than capable of keeping yourself safe, sweetheart. I just forgot that somewhere along the line."

"So...can you look at me now that we've reached at least one agreement?"

Tony sighed heavily, his shoulders dropping under the weight of defeat. He did his best to steel his nerves in preparation for the berating you were sure to give, and the risk of you walking away that he had come to believe would always be there. It would be his own doing, he knew that, and with one final prayer that this wouldn't be that moment, he finally turned to face you. "See," he smirked, "not a great sight."

You sat up straighter and inched closer, ever so gently taking his face in your hands as you looked at every cut and bruise that his fight had left behind. His eye was still swollen, though not as close to swollen shut as it had been, and the split in his lip looked to be on the verge of popping open the stitches that you knew he wouldn't take the time to get fixed anyway. "Did Bucky do all of this?" you asked, full well knowing the answer.

"No, he didn't. The Winter Soldier did." When your eyes widened in response, and your mouth opened to reply, he quickly put up a hand to stop you. "I know they aren't the same person, (Y/N). I understand that. I didn't for a really long time, and I struggled every day knowing that you had that monster of a man for a soul mate. I couldn't figure out how that could be possible, someone like you and someone like him...but Steve and I had a long talk while we were out finding him, and things came to light that changed my mind."

"Steve convinced you? Steve Rogers? Sweetie, how hard did you hit your head?"

"Yes, Steve Rogers," he chuckled. "Believe it or not, we can get along."

"Yeah, but where Bucky's concerned?"

"Okay...I'm working on it. I owe you that much after what I did. But I'm also working on understanding that if I want to be with you, then I have to learn to accept him being around too. I understand that it's not a competition, and that you're not making a choice between him or me. Steve said the strangest thing about that..."

"What did he say?"

"That Barnes didn't want you, even if you chose him. At least, not in that way, and that you knew it already."

You held silent for a moment, constructing your words very carefully. It was true, Bucky didn't want you, and you had meant what you said all along; your choice had been made long ago. "I knew that, yes. Bucky would never want that with me, Tony. Besides, he's got a lot of work to do to figure out who he is again, and what kind of life he wants. He made that decision for himself, knowing that he'll always have me to support him and to help him, and that's the relationship that he and I will have, forever. We're a part of each other and we can't escape that, not that either of us actually want to. We've tried that, and it's the worst feeling that I've ever been through."

"He said it felt like you had died."

"Yeah, I know. That's how it felt when he blocked me. So, if you want me to trust you, Tony, and believe that you won't try to push him out of my life again, I need you to apologize to him for making him feel that. No matter how much you hated him at the time, it was cruel to do."

"I will, the next time I see him," he responded immediately. "I'll make it right."

"Okay, good." A pause in the conversation came, and Tony's smile and energy began to dwindle some; you could feel the shift in his mood as it filled the air around you. It had grown heavy and began to weigh on you, and you weren't sure why when you were finally having a discussion that was bringing the two of you back together. "Tony, are you sure you're okay with this? I know how hard this must be for you to know that he'll always be in my life. I know that you have Nat, but this is nowhere near the same kind of thing."

Tony looked down at his hands; he had been wringing them together for so long now that the color had blanched away and they began to sting under the pressure. It was a welcome pain, however, feeling as if he deserved more to balance the insult. "It's harder for me to know that you were suffering without him, and to know that what I did to you is what destroyed us."

"I understand why you did."

"Still wrong, though," he scoffed, "and I can't even start to tell you how sorry I am. I was an idiot." When no response came from you other than continued silence, he finally looked up from his hands with a shocked expression, gasping in disbelief at what he was...or wasn't hearing.

"Are you waiting for me to argue?" you finally said.

"Ha! No, I suppose not," he laughed openly, finally at ease. "But...if you'll let me, I'd like to be your idiot again. If and when you're ready, of course. I'll wait forever if you tell me to." Seeing his window of opportunity, he dug his hand around in his pocket nervously, seeking out the ring that you had taken off and thrown at him in a rage months before. He kept it with him everywhere he went, just in case this miraculous moment was to befall him as it was now. "Can I be your idiot again, (Y/N)?"

With a trembling hand, you held it out for him to take, allowing the ring to slide back over your finger with ease. You had felt it missing since you had taken it off, and it felt like you were beginning to feel complete again as it came to rest. "I won't make you wait that long, Tony. We'll be okay. Just don't do dumb shit like this ever again."

"I promise," he sighed in relief, "no dumb shit like this. I'll still do dumb shit, obviously, but not this exact dumb shit. But you need to promise me that you won't run off on your own again. None of us can save the world alone, (Y/N). We're a team."

"I promise."