I'm only one call away (wrong number)

What the hell?

Speedy

We have missed you all.

Captain

I have also returned

Egomaniac

Nobody cares capsicle.

Captain

Nice Ego, really nice.

Tigger

I'm glad you're back Cap :)

Captain

Thank you Tigger

Maxi goes to reply but she hears the faint sound of the front door opening. This could mean one of three things: one, Nat has gone out to either get groceries or tend to the garden (that woman loves her flowers), two, someone has entered the house without Nat's knowledge to kill them all, or three, Bucky's home. Bucky's home! She throws her phone haphazardly to the side of her and clumsily clambers out of the bed, racing down the stairs.

Mackenzi grips the bannister tightly as she tears down the stairs, basically jumping from step to step, the adrenaline and serotonin coursing through her veins. When she finally gets to the bottom, she can't contain her grin.

Bucky looks terrible. The bags under his eyes look designer and his skin is paler than before except the dark purple semi-circle marring his cheek, a telltale sign of struggle. His broad shoulders sag forward, almost buckling under the weight of his tact gear and the duffle bag resting on his right shoulder. Natasha is by his side in an instant, silently taking the bag from the exhausted assassin, placing it soundlessly on the bottom step effectively stopping Maxi from getting any closer. The teenager's head tilts to the side in confusion, looking like a puppy who is experiencing peek-a-boo for the first time.

The silence is deafening but neither adult seems willing to break it, as if the air was made of glass and a single whisper would shatter the fragile reality they live in. When the redhead's gentle hand comes into contact with Bucky's unmarked cheek, he physically relaxes, leaning further into her calming touch, eyes closing in an attempt to soak up all the comfort Nat is able to give. Natasha's head moves closer, whispering softly in his ear, quiet Russian murmurs filling the small space of the hallway.

Something Natasha says makes the man look up, clouded blue eyes dancing over to the teenager standing awkwardly on the stairs, fidgeting slightly in place. Once their eyes meet she offers the soldier a small smile and wave not making an attempt to move closer. Bucky smiles back and holds his right hand out to the small girl, keeping his left firmly in his pocket, not wanting to see the murder weapon for a few hours. Mackenzi's smile grows back into its grin and she jumps over the tac bag, throwing herself into Bucky's side gently. The brunette smiles as well, bringing his hand to rest on the teenager's head gently, ruffling her hair. Maxi's head rests on his chest, being mindful of Natasha's hand, and wraps her arms around his waist, hugging him as tightly as she dares.

"I've missed you..." His grip tightens around her, wishing he could offer her more comfort than he was currently able to.

"I missed you too Котенок." Maxi pulls away slightly, nose scrunching in disgust.

"Kitten? Really?" She asks, causing the adults to laugh lightly making the teenager pout even harder. "I'm not a kitten." The rumble of Bucky's chest as he chuckles is soothing as Mackenzie lays her head back down, his flesh hand starting to card itself through her short hair.

"Of course you're not сопляк." That got Natasha laughing, her spare hand came up to cover her mouth in order to contain the giggles trying to escape. The teenager in the ex-sergeants arms gasps, turning her head to glare up at him.

"How rude." The laughing didn't stop.

As the night goes on, and Bucky has showered and taken his mandatory after mission nap, the mismatched family of three settles onto the sofa, reruns of How I Met Your Mother playing on the tv in the background, breaking the blanket of silence as each member stares at their phone. Natasha is scrolling through pinterest, looking at new and eco-friendly ways to store cereal, Bucky is checking up on the emails he hadn't had a chance to look at whilst being away and Maxi is on tumblr. That's it. She's on tumblr. It is nice. It is peaceful. Natasha is on the far right, legs pulled up under her with her head resting on her husband's shoulder. Bucky sits in between the two women, feet planted firmly on the ground, slouching down slightly with his back resting on the back of the couch, one hand holding his phone, the other placed gently on top of Mackezni's crossed ankles. The teenager was leaning against the left arm rest of the couch, body spread across the seat with her feet in her foster fathers lap, not that he minds. If anything, he likes the fact he can touch them both, a constant reminder they are real and they are both still with him, they're okay.

The group chat has been silent for a few hours. That's not that uncommon, they are all very busy people as we know, but what was worrying Maxi was that she hasn't heard from Spider in a few days. Deep down, the teenager knows she should message her, call her or something, just to let her know she's okay, but a different part of her brain has decided that Spider is grateful for the break, and that she never cared about her- Maxi's just wasting her time. She opens her phone to send a message to the older woman, just on the off that she has missed her, though she highly doubts she has noticed nor cared about her lack of presence; as soon as she opens the message app, she gets a notification. Her phone goes off, a simple ding. Egomaniac had put something on. But then there's another ding, a different ding, then another completely different again. All three phones went off simultaneously the following time.

Slowly, every head goes from staring at their phone to staring at each other. Natasha pulls away from Bucky's shoulder, straightening up on her knees, making herself seem taller, more threatening even though she knows she couldn't hurt Maxi even if she wanted to. Bucky sits up straighter, staring down at Maxi's phone. Once was a coincidence, twice was too much for him.

"Max..." he starts slowly, gesturing to the teenager's phone with his left hand, the metal glinting menacingly in the late afternoon sun. "Who was that?" Maxi shifts uncomfortably, flipping over her phone to display the lock screen which was lighting up with a new message from Meme Boi. The other two phones in the room light up as well and Nat picks her up with cat-like reflexes, swiping it open and dialling at the number she's found herself staring at for many nights. The trained killer holds the phone in front of her, staring at the screen of her foster daughter's, who was biting on her lip, pulling the dead skin between her teeth.

The call rings out a few times, then it happens. The screen of the IPhone 5 lights up, someone is calling. Spider is calling. Nat chokes slightly and Mackenzi answers the phone, holding it up to her ear, eyes still on her foster mother.

"It-it's you..." She pulls the phone away and hangs up. "I-it was always you.. The calls and the texts- everything. It was you?" The brunette runs a hand down her face trying to process the information that has quite literally been dropped on her. Natasha sits back down, squeezing between Maxi and Bucky, her hand instantly reaching out to touch the teenager's face. Maxi flinches, expecting a harsh blow, disappointment that she's not some amazing prodigy child who's as beautiful as Scarlett Johansson. Instead, she met with the gentle caress of the dangerous Black Widow's calloused hands, cupping her cheeks as if she's checking her over like they've never met before. Bucky glances between the two, almost lost.

"Tig?" Natasha's question is barely audible, she's staring at the teenager's face, wiping away the silent tears falling down her youthful cheeks.

"Hi Spider..." Maxi responds, sniffling slightly. Now Bucky's clued in.

"Tigger? Oh my god..." He sits on her other side, flesh arm wrapping around her shoulders. "Nat, it's our baby." Bucky grins at his wife, squeezing the teenager against his chest. "Tony's going to freak." Max accepts the hug, burrowing her face into Bucky's chest.

"Who's Tony?" She asks innocently, tilting her head slightly to look up at the adults. The two former assassins lock eyes above the teenagers head, seeming to have a silent conversation, weighing up the pros and cons of telling the truth but the longer they take, the more inpatient the foster child gets so she begins thinking; piecing one and one together to get two.

"They're away on a business trip."... "I personally know the Avengers."... "Midgardian children"...

"I've been talking to the Avengers?!"