This Is Stella's Reality

My fingers gripped the thin flute glass that held my bubbling mimosa. Bucky's arm was protectively around my waist, holding me close to his side as we floated around the Stark Industries Spring Brunch.

The air outside was crisp and whipping through my loose curls. My sundress flapped in the breeze and hit my ankles. Steve lingered around us, awkwardly unsure if he should or not. The three of us felt insanely out of place.

Tony was the life of the part as always. His loud voice carried across the compound's lawn that was decorated with white linen and massive bouquets. Pepper hung off his arm, talking politely with reporters and other business insiders.

I sighed and looked around some more. Anxiety rippled through me as I saw a blonde woman with a notepad looking at my fiance and boyfriend, mumbling behind her hand to her colleague.

Don't look, I said to their thoughts. There's a reporter on the patio that looks like she's going to come over to us.

Uncomfortability seeped through the boys' minds. The thought of being interviewed right now made both of them sick.

Bucky turned towards Steve and I with a fake smile. Can we run away? He laughed.

I shook my head at him and smiled. Maybe she won't. But I spoke too soon. Just as I had started to make myself believe we would get lucky, she looked our way and started approaching us.

Steve groaned and looked down at us. I hate this, he said. I tried to be as encouraging as I could, but I still saw the discomfort in his face.

The woman was polite when she reached us, extending her hand for a firm shake with a bright smile and kind eyes. "Hi," she said a bit too bubbly. "My name is Cindy with Vanity Fair; could I ask you three some questions?" Her face was pinched in what I guessed was meant to imitate relatability, but she just looked strained.

"Yes," Steve replied, ever the professional. "Of course you may, Cindy."

Her questions were not so bad at the beginning, but I quickly learned that was just the warm up. She turned to me and smiled. "Ms. Stella, the whole world wants to know, where did you come from?" Her voice was sickly sweet.

I stuttered a bit, but Steve put a gentle hand up. "We don't know," he said firmly. "Do you have any more questions?" He asked. His polite tone was his best weapon during interviews. He always managed to make everyone around him feel terrible.

Bucky's hand on my waist tightened when Cindy turned to him next. I remembered our last interview with the press and how horribly it had gone. "Mr. Barnes, you and Ms. Stella were not together very long before you made this big decision. Do you fear you've rushed into anything?"

He laughed loudly, shocked by her question. I stared at her blankly. I am right here. Bucky shook his head and glanced down at me. "Meeting Stella has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me, so, no. I have never and will never regret asking to marry her." He leaned down and kissed me.

I smiled up at him. I love you, husband.

I love you, wife.

Cindy cleared her throat, "Speaking of, when is the big day?" If she was hoping for an invite, she had better think again.

"No date yet," I said simply.

She nodded as she flipped through her notebook. "Now, Captain Rogers," I felt him tense beside me. "How do you feel about these rumors that have been circulating online?" She smiled up at him.

We were all silent. "What rumors?" He asked. I felt as if I would pass out.

Her eyebrow popped, surprised. "You haven't heard?" She asked in amusement. "There's conversations online discussing a possible lover. Many people think you have a secret girlfriend that you're hiding from us much like Ms. Stella and Mr. Barnes hid." She narrowed her eyes at him as if she were looking for the smallest change in his careful features.

Steve, charming as ever, only gave her a bright smile. "No," he said. "No, girlfriend." If I didn't know him so well, I may not have heard the edge of bitterness that cut through his words.

But Cindy smiled and nodded, closing her notebook and extending her hand once more. "Well, thank you all very much. It's been a pleasure." She turned and went back to the party.

My boys and I let go of the breaths we had been holding, relief flooding over us.

A pang of sadness shot through my heart, and I turned to Steve. "Hey," I said gently. My hand reached to loop around his. "Let's go for a walk. Fuck the party."

The boys huffed a laugh but followed me as I led them through the hedges of the garden and towards the docks.

We walked quietly, not sure what to say to each other. I knew Steve was a bit hurt. Needing to keep up the constant lie that he's not in love with Bucky and I. My fingers around his arm squeezed a bit tighter.

I slipped my sandals off and walked barefoot over the creaking wooden planks of the dock. The boys in their tan suits followed, kicking off their loafers and socks and rolling up the legs of their pants.

My toes dipped into the water, splashing in the cool waves. Steve and Bucky sat on either side of me, letting their feet dangle too. We looked out at the horizon, admiring the way the oncoming summer sun glittered off the rolling waves.

"Weather will be nice enough to go swimming soon," Steve said absently.

I nodded in response. It was quiet again after that. The world spun in slow motion with only the gentle lapping of waves filling my ears.

"Boys," I said. I felt their eyes turn to me. "After we get the scepter, what then?"

Another bout of silence befell us.

"What do you want to happen?" Bucky asked.

I smiled somewhat bitterly. "I want to move far away. Somewhere near the water with beaches and flower fields. Somewhere nobody expects anything from us." A child's dream. It would never happen.

They both smiled. I heard their soft laughter rumble from their chests.

"Where?" Steve asked.

They were humoring me.

I hummed, playing along. "A French hillside. Lots of quaint villages in the South," I mused.

"Let's look when we elope," Bucky said as he turned to me with a smile.

Our eyes met, and for a moment, I really believed we could leave all of this behind. Change our names, adopt new personas, move to the middle of nowhere in France, and have our happily ever after.

And then our names were being screamed from the garden. It was Tony, asking why we hated him and were skipping the party. Pepper was trying to pull him back, raising her hand in apology at us.

Steve waved back to her, and I laughed with a shake of my head. "Guess we should head back." But none of us moved.

"Stel," Bucky said gently. He wasn't looking at me. His eyes were still looking behind us at the spot Tony had been. "After we get the scepter, let's retire. Let's move to France."

His voice sounded far away in my ears. I didn't answer him, but I touched Steve's thoughts. He didn't want that. He couldn't want that. His life was here with the Avengers. His entire purpose was protecting the world.

I turned my eyes back to Bucky. He met me, and I was very aware of the strange tension growing around us. "Yeah," I said softly. My eyes watered a bit, but I blinked away the tears and stood, offering my hands to both boys.

They stood, and we silently put our shoes back on, trekking back up to the brunch party together.