So the Avengers take the kids with them aboard the Quinjet, and although the little girl, whose name is Homa, is still timid, she just trusts the White Wolf when he assures her that they'll be safe with them. The boy, that she introduces as her little brother Kaivan, luckily just sleeps through the short flight to Kabul, where the group splits into Tony and the supersoldiers, moving into the embassy to get instructions on how to start the adoption process, and the rest of the group, staying in the jet, wishing them good luck.
When the billionaire and the newly found family finally get to the right officials, Stark does in fact end up trading in his Rolex, along with his Gucci sunglasses, and, after extracting the data from the chip, even his iPhone, just so the rather reluctant secretairies pick out the right files to legalize the adoption of the two unregistered orphans. Rogers is glad that Stark does most of the negotiation, using his A.I. for translation, so he can follow the conversation, rather than having to ask his spouse for explanation every five seconds.
Cap gets a bit emotional, when Bucks and him finally sign their names under the certificate, although the administrator gives them a queer look, before handing them an ink pad, so the children can sign with their finger prints. “Why did he eye me with such a frown, Bucks? Did I use the wrong line for my signature?”, Steve asks. But his friend smiles and replies: “No, it's just that gay rights aren't exactly a thing in Afghanistan, so now you are signed in as their new mother!” Steve first looks at him surprised, but then just chuckles, hugging the drowsy boy in his arms tighter. And then Bucks has to laugh too, when Kaivan brushes against Cap's cheek by chance, smudging it with blue ink like some amateur war paint. Homa on the other hand carefully makes sure to wipe her finger with the paper towel the White Wolf gives her, before taking his hand again, following his lead without question.
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They return to the Quinjet, where they sit back down in their seats, the adults buckled up, kids on their lap, held tight by their new parents. But when they take off for New York this time, making more speed and at higher altitudes, the children get nervous at the noise and change of pressure in their ears. And then, when some slight turbulance makes the jet jump, the engine giving off a roar, Kaivan gets so scared he pees himself screaming, while sitting on Steve's lap. Which Cap only notices after getting the boy to calm down again. His sister tries to get up of Bucky's lap, eyeing Steve with a mixture of shame and dread, and once more pleading for something with haste, until Bucks uses a low tone voice to silence her, although she still looks skeptical.
Seeing Steve raise a brow, his husband explains: “She asked us to not get mad, and promised to clean it up, but I told her, she doesn't have to, and that we're not angry.” Meanwhile the boy looks at him, ashamed and frightened, but Steve, after smiling back embarrassed, coes: “It's alright little buddy, don't worry! Accidents happen.” “Do you want me to take care of it, Steve?”, Barnes offers, but Rogers opens his buckle and says: “No, I think we'll manage... although perhaps tell him, that I'm going to take him to the bathroom to clean up, and that he doesn't need to be afraid.” Bucks tells the kid, and Steve gets up with him, still carefully holding him, and assuring: “Okay, don't worry, we'll get you cleaned up.”, as he walks to the small lavatory the jet has. They enter, and Cap locks the door.
It takes some time, while the others are making conversation, as Bucky keeps whispering with the girl. Sam asks: “Hey Buchanan, what are you telling her?” “She's trying to follow the chat, and keeps asking me what you guys are saying, so I translate.”, he informs them with a smile, “She has some interesting names for you.” “Oh really? Like what?”, Clint asks curious, so he answers: “She calls you 'the archer'...” “Unsurprisingly.”, the billionaire interrupts, tinkering with his suit. “And you're the 'robot man'!”, Barnes adresses him, but Stark smirks: “Yeah, seems fair.” Then Bucks turns to Sam and explains with a smile: “And you she calls 'the black parrot' for some reason.” The others snort and Sam has to chuckle too, replying: “Probably cuz I'm not as fluent as you, but I keep trying to speak to her, like a parrot would.”, and he throws in a few more phrases in Dari, making the girl snicker.
Bucks translates: “Jup, parrot. But she says, you're really making an effort. And Natasha she calls 'the red queen'.” “Oho, queen?”, Tony teases, and Nat smiles: “Well, tell her I feel flattered!” “But why queen? Why not lady?”, Clint wants to know. After speaking with Homa, Barnes explains a little impressed: “She heard Sam call her Romanov, and she knows that was the tzar! So she thinks you're royalty. But she also saw that you are a fighter, like the queen in chess. So, you're the red queen.” The others all smile at the girl, who gives them a shy smile back, but then turns away quickly. “And Rogers is 'the star man'. What name does she have for you?”, Tony wants to know. Bucks shrugs, saying: “She only called me 'the man with long hair', and didn't speak to her brother about me since. But I can ask her...”
At that moment Steve comes back from the bathroom with the boy, who's happily skipping away before him, while Cap seems a bit beaten. The others look a little surprised, seeing the kid wearing Steve's shirt like a robe, and himself holding a trash bag in one hand. “What happened?”, Bucks demands, but Steve replies a little flushed: “You don't wanna know!”, but sitting back down, the bag at his feet, and taking the boy in his arms again, he explains: “Let's just say, him and his clothes could both use a good washing.” Once they are strapped in, Iron Man teases: “So, he peed on you, and you give him the shirt of your back?” The Captain just smiles, and Hawkeye remarks: “Welcome to parenthood.” The siblings talk to each other, and Bucky sometimes smirks, but then speaks to Homa, and afterwards announces: “Well, guess it's my turn. Better go before we have another accident.” This time it's Widow who asks: “You want me to come with?” But Bucks shakes his head, saying: “I think we'll manage.”
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Taking the girl by the hand, he walks her to the lavatory and enters with her, also locking the door. Then he bends down and asks her: “Alright, do you know how to use the toilette?” She shakes her head, a little shy, so he explains: “Okay, I'll show you. See here, you lift up the lid, and this is the seat, where you need to sit on. You just need to pull down your pants first, and make sure no clothes block the way, or fall into the bowl, because they'll get dirty and wet.” She eyes the bowl and wonders: “But where does it go then? Do we have to empty it out?” “No, you can flush, and it gets taken away. Watch, I'll show you! But brace yourself, it's rather quick.”, Bucky tells her, then takes a piece of toilette paper, throws it in, and presses the button to flush.
The girl watches, as the sprays activate and drown the paper in a little puddle, then shrieks and stumbles backwards, as the sucktion makes everything disappear in a flash, before the sprays refill the little water reservoir. “But what if I get sucked in?”, she asks in a panic, and Bucks has to hold back a laugh, to instead assure her: “Don't worry, you cannot get sucked in, the pressure isn't strong enough. And anyways, you can wait with the flush until you're finished and have closed the lid again, okay?” Homa still looks worried, but nods in agreement.
Then however, she demands: “Okay, but you need to go outside.” Bucks frowns a little and explains: “I would rather stay with you and make sure everything goes well. You don't have to worry, I can turn around, if you are embarrassed.” She argues: “But you are not a woman. Or are you?” She looks a bit unsure, so he grins and asks: “No, I am a man. Why do you ask?” She gives him another long look and lists: “Well, you have long hair, but also stubble, and...”, she suddenly stops. “And?”, he pries, so she closes: “You have eyes like a woman.” “How so?”, he asks intrigued, and she explains: “They shimmer, and you always look worried, but when you talk to us they look kind. Like our mother's.”
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Bucks smiles touched and replies: “Well, I feel flattered at the comparison. Is that what you would like to see me as?” Homa shakes her head, and repeats instead: “No. But that's why you have to go. What if I fall and you see my legs or higher, if I have to take down my pants?” He also repeats: “But we are your parents now. It is okay if we see you naked, we just want to make sure you are alright.” Something still seems to trouble her, and as if stalling for time, she argues: “But you don't understand! You're a man, you pee different from me!” He agrees: “Well, a little. But when I sit on the toilette it is the same as for you. Actually you are covered a bit more with your skirt, I would hardly see your legs, while you would see mine the other way around.” She's skeptical: “You sit down? Even when you pee?” He shrugs: “Sure, normally. Why not?” She eyes him again, and then wondering proposes: “If I have to be naked, can you be naked too? But not the pants, only above! Can you do that, please?”
Bucky is a little surprised, but thinks the girl might need fresh clothes too, and he could give her his shirt as well. So he agrees: “Okay, I can take off my shirt. See? You don't have to feel ashamed, I trust you, and you can trust me, alright?”, while opening the kevlar vest, to hang on the little hook at the door, before also stripping of his shirt. He sees Homa scanning over him, but not moving to undress herself. Bucks wonders if she might be intimidated by his muscles and chest hair, or triggered by his scars, so once he's topless, he goes down to stay on his knees, trying to look less threatening to the little girl.
Then he urges again: “Well, now you go ahead and take off your panties, and sit down. I'll face the other way, and you can tell me when you are done, okay?” But she squirms under his gaze and wringing her hands she begs: “But I can do this alone! Please, can you just wait outside?” Since him and Steve will have to undress and help clean up the kids anyways, and probably multiple times for a forseeable futur, Bucks decides he should not back down now, and also concerned, he asks straight away: “Say, Homa, are you trying to hide something from me? Is there something specific you don't want me to see?”, her eyes grow big, so he continues, “Because you really don't need to feel shame! Me and the star man, we are your parents now! We will take care of you, just like your mother and father would, so if there is something you are not comfortable with, you can tell me! I'm sure I'll find a way to make it better!”
Her eyes start to water and her face turns red, as she confesses: “But... please, you are no woman! I'm impure, you shouldn't see me like this!” Bucks furrows his brows, and she quickly explains: “Men are not supposed to look at women, or touch them, when they are impure! I don't want to smudge you, you are a good man!” “Well, that's very kind of you.”, he replies concerned, “But you really don't have to worry about that, you can't smudge me! And why do you think you are impure? Please, explain it to me, so I can understand!” She wraps herself in her arms and looks at him embarrassed, whispering: “But I am bleeding.”
Now Bucky gets shivers, and he looks at her with dread, but carefully pries further: “You are bleeding? Are you hurt?”, she nods, “Can you show me? Like, point to it?” She gestures at he lower abdomen, and the White Wolf gulps. He half wonders if maybe he should take Widow's offer to help, but this girl was now his daughter. His and Steve's. And she would need to trust them, especially if she was hurt and needed care. So instead he tries to think up something, and asks: “Say, Homa, do you like my shirt?” She is surprised and looks at the bright red t-shirt with the white wolf silhouette, a christmas gift Stark had given him. The girl nods and smiles a little. So Bucks tells her: “You know, wolves are very strong, and they protect their cubs. I'm like a wolf. And you are now my cub. If you are in danger, I will protect you. And if you are hurt, I will help you. You don't need to worry about being impure, you are still a child, and all children are pure! Always!”
She still looks back concerned, but a bit more open, so he proposes: “Tell you what: You show me, where you are hurt. And if you like, you can have my shirt, and wear it like your brother did with the star man's! Then this wolf will protect you too!” She seems to consider it, but wants to make sure: “You wont be angry? Maybe you think it is disgusting...” “No, don't worry!”, he quickly responds, “I wont be angry or disgusted, not at you! Only at the people who hurt you, okay?” Then she finally nods, and slowly takes off her garments. As she strips, Bucks becomes more worried, when he recognizes some of the spots that are definitely not pg, and don't belong on a little girls dress, but at least there are no more of those on any of her underwear. There are however a lot of smudges that look like dried blood. And sure enough, when she takes off the last bit of cloth, he gets a good look at all the bruises, scrapes and cuts she has, most on her legs and back, but also something that looks like an eczeme on her lower belly, that seems to ooze some pink fluid. When he leans forward to examine it closer, she shies away, begging: “Please don't touch me.”
Bucky has to swallow a knot building in his throat, and putting on a kind smile he explains: “I wont poke at it, if that is your fear. But I need to touch you in order to help you! I'll be gentle, okay? But I have to do this!” He puts one hand on her shoulder, to coax her into coming closer, so he can observe better. Then he notices how she is clenching her legs, and asks: “Do you need to pee first?” She nods without looking at him, so he says: “Alright, then you should go first. I can turn around, and you tell me, when you are finished.” Now she looks up, wondering: “But you already see me. Why would you turn around now?” He smiles, telling her: “Well, most people don't want others to see them, when they have to relieve themselves, even if they have seen them naked before. It's still something private.” She just shrugs and answers: “Okay. But it doesn't matter to me anymore.”
He helps her sit down, makes sure she knows how to wipe afterwards, and turns to face the wall. Then he hears her hiss, while something trickles into the bowl, so he asks: “Are you alright? Does something hurt?” “Hmhm.”, she murmurs, “It burns a little.” “It burns when you pee?”, he asks compassionate, and she confirms: “Hmhm. It always does at first. They say it's because I'm dirty.” “Who says that?”, he wants to know, and hears her struggle to wipe, when she answers: “The caretaker woman and the freedom soldiers. They say Allah hurts those that are impure of heart or body, and said I was dirty.” He hears her struggle some more and asks: “Do you need help getting down?”, but then there is a thud as she leaps to the floor and she answers: “No, I got it. I just need to clean up.” “Okay, I'll help you.”, Bucks offers as he turns back and insists: “And you are not dirty, Homa! Not like that! Allah doesn't hurt you for anything, you are just ill and need treatment. We are going to get you to a doctor, to make the pain go away. And when we get home, you can have a nice long shower. Okay?”
He's able to calm her concerns and relax her enough to let him touch her. With her permission, he takes a few photographs of the wounds, to document them for the doctor. And as evidence. Then he helps clean her up, using what Steve left of the paper towels to carefully dab at her wounds and clean them out as much as possible. Luckily they aren't too severe, but it still hurts him to think what kind of shit the kid had to go through, to end up looking like this. When he gives her the shirt to wear, he promises: “You and your brother are safe with us! We'll make sure, nobody ever hurts you like that again!” She smiles back at him, and then gets close to hug him, a gesture he only too willingly returns.
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When they finally exit the lavatory, Bucky also carrying a trashbag with the clothes she was willing to give up, she even skips a little, and proudly shows off the wolf shirt like a new dress. He sits back down, holding her safe on his lap once more, while she starts chatting with her brother again. Steve smiles at him: “Well, so she got dirty too?” Bucks answers gloomy: “No, she is pure. But whoever treated her dirty before better pray we never find him!” His friends stare at him with questioning eyes, so he explains: “She's got open wounds, from being tied up too long, and probably also from being beaten.”, then adds quieter, “And there is some semen on her skirt.”
“What?”, Sam gasps shocked, but Bucks just nods. “Oh my God...”, Clint hums overwhelmed. Steve gulps: “Did she tell you...” “I didn't ask.”, his partner quickly responds, “I don't want to risk opening that kind of wound, while she has enough of those on her body already. But she has an infected bladder and some eczeme on her lower tummy, and she did say that the people they were with called her dirty and said Allah is punishing her for it. So it's anybodys guess what might have happened.” “Those bastards!”, Tony growls, too appaled to think of anything quippy.
Steve looks down at the boy, who seems happy to just snuggle up on him, laughing with his sister at their new attire, and he reports: “Well, now that you mention it, he seems to be a bit beat up too. But not severely, I was hoping they are just little injuries unattended kids get in such an environment. And he definitely doesn't have open cuts, or markings of a rope on him.” Nat gives them a compassionate look, sighing: “Well, who knows, what they had to go through.” Bucks simply states: “When we get back, we'll have the Shield doc check up on them. And we're gonna need to get our kids some therapy, asap.” Steve nods, then smiles a little, beaming at his friend: “Our kids. Yes. We'll get our kids the best treatment!” And him and his partner start holding hands, making the children raise their brows a little, until they ignore it again.