Chapter Text
You giggled to yourself as Bucky woke up and quickly closed your eyes, pretending that you were still asleep. He kissed your forehead, something he did every morning and went straight to the kitchen. You opened your eyes and pouted, he obviously didn’t see the photo of the ultrasound that you pinned to his metal arm with a magnet.
You groaned in frustration and followed him to the kitchen where Wanda and Natasha were already eating breakfast. Bucky was pouring coffee into a mug and took another when he saw you. Wanda turned to ask him something and saw the photo as well as all the notes that the Avengers loved to pin to his metal arm. They had a contest and so far Clint held the record.
“Oh my God!” She screamed and Bucky turned his head, wordlessly asking if everything was alright. She looked at you and you promptly shook your head. “T-There’s a spider.” She replied quickly.
“You’re the most powerful woman in the world and you’re afraid of a little spider?” Bucky joked and handed you a cup of coffee.
“Romanoff, Barnes you’re with me today.” Sam entered the kitchen. “Last minute mission in Madagascar. We have to hurry, take your things we’ll leave in five.”
Sam was the new Captain America and he took his role very seriously, even when everyone started to call him Bald Eagle. He loved the suit so much that he wore it everywhere he went. Bucky put his cup down and leaned to give you a kiss before he followed Natasha down the corridor.
“Um, Bucky.” You tried to catch his attention but he was already gone. You sighed and looked at your cup pensively.
Wanda ran after them and only stopped when they turned around. She was breathless, bent at the waist as she tried to catch her breath. She pointed at his metal arm and Bucky saw all the little notes.
“I told you to stop d- HOLY SHIT!” He cursed, mouth wide open, seeing his bean shaped child on the ultrasound.
“I take your shift, if that okay with Baldie.” She smirked at Sam who narrowed his eyes.
Bucky didn’t even wait for Sam’s answer, as soon as he remembered he had legs, Bucky ran back to the kitchen. You were in the middle of the room, ready to go back to your bedroom but he stopped right in front of you and fell to his knees. He wrapped his arms around your waist and kissed your belly.
“Finally.” You carded your fingers through his hair and saw his tears darken your light grey shirt.
He stood up and carried your to the bedroom, your legs wrapped around his waist as he placed soft kisses on your lips and neck.
A Year and a Half Later
The baby was crying. Eyes still closed, you tried to smack Bucky’s back with your hand but your hand landed on the mattress. You propped yourself up and rubbed your eyes, the baby was still crying. You left your comfortable bed and groggily made your way to the baby’s room. Bucky was standing in front of the crib, looking at his son but he did nothing to stop the crying. He gasped when you spoke.
“Sorry.” You grimaced and held the crib. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” Your eyes darted between the two before you leaned over the crib.
“Is he hungry? Does he need his diaper changed?” Bucky asked while you rocked the child but little George continued to cry.
“No, I think it was just a bad dream.” You replied, trying to calm the child. Bucky looked at George and raised his flesh hand to gently stroke his cheek but made no move to take him. “Bucky... I know it’s hard but you have to hold you child. George needs you.”
Bucky sighed and sat in the chair next to the crib. He buried his face in his hands, his elbows propped up on his knees. He rose his left arm and looked at you with tearful eyes.
“You want that thing to hold our child?” He waved his metal hand.
“Buck, your arm is a blessing. How many times did it save my life? I can recall three times and that’s just off the top of my head.” You kissed the top of your baby’s head but he wanted Bucky and you were trying your best to give your son what he wanted.
“I’m scared.” Bucky’s voice betrayed his emotion. “I don’t want to hurt him.”
“I know.” You took a step closer and squatted in front of him.
George tried to grab his father’s hand and kept hitting the metal with his tiny fist. The baby babbled softly, leaning closer to the cold metal. Bucky sniffed noisily and chuckled as he let his son take his flesh finger in his tiny fist.
“He wants his father.” You said softly and Bucky timidly took the child in his arms.
His flesh arm supported the baby’s head while he tickled him with his metal index. They both laughed softly, the baby wriggled his feet until he managed to hold a foot and put it to his mouth. It made Bucky laugh, he raised his head to look at you but panicked when he saw you leaving.
“Can you stay?” He stood up from the chair and quickly crossed the room. “Just in case.” He pleaded. You looked at your boys and smiled, Bucky was scared and nervous but the baby was completely fine.
“Yeah.” Bucky gave you a kiss, his metal hand cupped the back of your head. You wrapped your fingers around his metal forearm. “This arm never hurt anyone, Buck.”
He pressed his forehead against yours and kissed you playfully before he returned to his chair. He played with George for a while and you watched them in silence, a satisfied smile curled your lips.
“My baby boy.” Bucky watched as the boy clasped his finger with his perfect little hand.
Bucky’s face turned to an expression of pure love and you felt a bit too much. You quietly escaped the room to leave them alone, everything was going well.
Seven Years Later
George was eating his breakfast in the kitchen while you listened to his stories and prepared his lunch. He was super excited because his class was visiting a farm and he couldn’t stop talking about it. Bucky entered the kitchen, his four-year-old daughter sitting on his shoulders. He pretended to fall and she screamed with a laugh.
“Maggie, what are you going to present today?” You asked as Bucky sat her next to her brother.
“Something.” She replied mysteriously.
“Ouh, something?” You put the knife in the sink and sighed. “Why do I feel like I’m gonna have to call Uncle Tony tonight?” You gave Bucky an exasperated look. When your son had to present an object to his class, Tony gave him a real lightsabre. Needless to say that it didn’t end well.
“I’ll be there, don’t worry about it.” Bucky grabbed a plum from the bowl of fruit and bit into it.
“Of course you’ll be there, silly.” Maggie scoffed and her cheekiness made you chuckle.
You kissed your husband before you asked George to hurry. He ate his cereals at the speed of light before he took his bag and followed you outside.
Bucky and Maggie walked to her classroom. She explained that the coat racks were for the students so he had to keep his coat on. It made him smirk, she was too cute for her damn good. When he entered the classroom, the teacher frowned.
“I’m here to make sure...” Bucky grimaced and pretended to hold a lightsabre. She nodded with a dramatic sigh.
“I remember George, sit down.” She offered one of the chair in the room.
He looked at it for a minute wondering how the hell he would fit in such a tiny chair. He looked so out of place and cute, sitting in the tiny chair, his knees almost touching his broad chest. He smiled tightly at the other children who gave him curious glances.
“Okay class!” The teacher raised her voice to get the children’s attention. “We’ll start with Maggie because her daddy has to go soon. Maggie, what did you bring for us today?”
“My Dada!” She held out her arms and the kids turned to look at her, unimpressed. The teacher frowned and looked at Bucky who was as clueless as she was. Maggie stood up and made her way to the blackboard, she waved at her father who reluctantly approached.
“My dad has a metal arm.” She blurted out and the kids gasped. Bucky looked around him and unconsciously hid his left arm behind his back. “Come on show them.” She slapped his thigh, the only place she could reach and he looked at the teacher with an apologetic shake of his head. “He thinks it’s scary.” The little Maggie shrugged. “Sometimes he points to us with his metal finger when we don’t behave but we’re not afraid.”
Ever so slowly, Bucky took his glove off and waved at the class. More gasps filled the room and he relaxed a bit when he saw how awestruck the kids were. He rolled his left sleeve up to his elbow, exposing more metal and the room was no longer silent. The kids were screaming questions, raising their index fingers in the air.
“Can my dad have one too?” One boy asked and Bucky chuckled to himself.
“Does it rust when you take a shower?” Another kid asked.
“Can I put magnets on it?” Another asked.
“Yes you can,” Maggie answered. “But he doesn’t like that. Also we’re not allowed to write on it with markers.” She spoke from experience.
Bucky smiled looking at his little girl explaining the way his metal arm worked and how he cleaned it. She was so confident and natural, it made him proud. To his surprise not one kid asked how he got his metal arm, most of them wanted one for their parents.
“I am not afraid of it, it’s just an arm.” She replied after the teacher asked if it scared her. “He has a scar on his shoulder because he fell off a train in 1944.” She accentuated the year like it was a scary story she was telling her friends around a campfire.
“Nonsense!” One little boy shouted.
“Uhuh!” Maggie replied.
“Nahein.”
“Uhuh!”
“Nahein!”
“Kids, enough!” The teacher pinched the bridge of her nose. “Mr Barnes?”
“It’s true.” Bucky seemed a bit taken aback by the kids’ conversation.
“See,” Maggie stuck her tongue out at the boy. “My Uncle Tony says my daddy’s so old he could be my grandpa.”
“Oh really, he said that?” Bucky looked at his daughter who just shrugged.
“Anyway, when my dad married my mum he had a ring but now he has this!” She took his metal hand and showed it to the class. On his ring finger, Bucky had a pattern engraved instead of his wedding ring. The ring started to rust around his metal finger, so he found a solution.
“So cool, it’s like a tattoo.” One girl on the first row beamed.
“My dad is super strong, stronger than all your dads combined. When I have a fever he put his arm on my forehead and I feel better. Oh, and also I love him.” She concluded and the kids clapped.
“I love you too, kiddo.” Bucky squatted and kissed her round cheek.
The teacher let Bucky leave. He waved at his little girl before he left the classroom, not sure what just happened. He went grocery shopping and walked around town but it was only when he had to pick Maggie from school at the end of the day that he realised he never put his sleeve down his arm. When you came back home with George, the boy went straight to his father.
“Hey dad, look!” The boy lifted his hand and showed him a bandage. “A goat bit me.” He looked so happy.
“Does it hurt?”
“Nah.” The kid ran away.
You closed the door behind you, removing your large hoodie and revealing your combat suit. Bucky smiled at you and crossed the room, seeing that you were exhausted.
“Long day?” He caught you in his arms and you welcomed the embrace, your head pressed against his shoulder.
“The longest.” You mumbled against his neck. “You? How did it go with Maggie?”
“She showed my arm to the class.” Bucky scoffed.
“She did what?” You pulled away and looked at him with a confused smile.
“Yeah,” He shrugged and smiled. “I- I don’t know.” He sighed contently. “What did I do to deserve you guys?”
“After everything, you deserve a million kids telling you your arm is the greatest thing ever.” You kissed his cheek.
“I got a solid twenty today.” He kept smiling. “That was great. I think I’m gonna go on tour.” He joked, his hands rested on your hips.
“Yeah, you do that.” You playfully rolled your eyes.
Eleven Years Later
“What do you mean there’s nothing you can do?” Bucky shouted into the phone.
You went down the stairs and frowned trying to understand what was going on. You heard a chuckle behind you and turned around to see your son sitting at the dinner table. Eighteen-year-old George was as stunning as his father was with his dark brown hair and light blue eyes.
“Dad’s going crazy because Maggie is still with her friends.” He stood up. “He’s on the phone with Uncle Tony.” You sighed tiredly and George put his arms around you. “Ah, Ma’! Don’t worry, you know how he is with Maggie.” He said before he climbed the stairs to go to his room.
“How late is she?” You asked as he walked past you.
“Ten minutes.” George tutted when he heard you curse out loud.
You stepped into the living room where Bucky was still shouting and snatched the phone out of his hand.
“It’s okay, Tony. Thanks for your help.” You said quickly before you ended the call. “Are you out of your mind?” You threw your arms in the air in a show of exasperation.
“She’s ten minutes late, Y/n. TEN!” He looked at his watch and pointed at the dial.
“I know how to read time, Bucky.” You pushed his wrist away from your face. “You have to calm down, she’s going to come back.”
“I told her the other day, if she comes home after curfew I’m locking her in her room.”
“Yes, that doesn’t sound irrational at all.” You rolled your eyes and took a step forward to put your hand on his arm. “She’s a teenager.”
“When I was a teenager I listened to my parents.”
“Yeah, right.” You scoffed.
“Okay, maybe I wasn’t exactly going where I said I would be going but when they said ten o’clock I was back at... guess what? TEN FUCKING O’CLOCK!” He paced the room furiously.
“STOP CURSING!” George screamed from his room.
“And he spends too much time with Steve.” Bucky pointed at the stairs and you rolled your eyes.
“Someone said my name?” Steve entered the living room, Maggie was walking in front of him.
“Margaret Natasha Barnes!” Bucky shouted when he saw his daughter. “Do you know what time it is?”
“Yes, sorry. I had to walk and Uncle S found me on his way here.” She threw her coat on the table. “Hey, is Georgie home? I’m going to say goodbye.” She ran upstairs and Bucky followed her, screaming delirious threats at her.
“Sorry.” You chuckled slightly embarrassed before you hugged Steve. “And thanks for driving Maggie back home.”
“No need.” He smiled at you. “I’d do anything for my Goddaughter.”
“What about me?” George stood at the top of the stairs, watching Steve.
“My Godson is attending New York’s finest art school for free, I think that’s a bit better than a ride home.” Steve crossed his arms and grinned.
“Hardly.” Your son teased before he came downstairs to greet his favourite uncle. “I’ll go get my stuff.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” You asked Steve for the nth time.
“Yes, Y/n. I’m the headmaster that is just one of the perks of the job.” He smiled softly at you. “You’re scared, aren’t you?”
“I know he has to leave but why today?” You whined and Steve pulled you into a hug. “Feels like yesterday he came home so excited because a goat bit his hand.” You mumbled with a pout.
“Yeah, and remember when my daughter loved me?” Bucky came downstairs and put his hands on his hips, he was hurt and miserable.
Steve beckoned him with a nod and extended an arm to pull Bucky into a three-way hug. Bucky gladly obliged, sighing softly. You were sandwiched between two strong men, and soon you felt the urge to breathe.
“Dying pressed against two super soldiers isn’t the worst death but I’d like to see my grandchildren first.” You managed to pull away from the hug but the two super soldiers hugged each other for a few more seconds.
“How’s Maria?”
“Great, thanks for asking.” Steve smiled. “She asked me to give you this.” Steve handed you a pair of black earrings that you removed for some obscure reason during your last girls’ night after you had too many drinks.
“Oh, fuck!” You cursed at loud, taking the jewels. “Thanks! I thought I lost them.”
“Language!” Steve and George said at the same time. George had his bags at his feet, his black hair combed back and his blue eyes behind black frame glasses.
“That’s my girl!” Bucky wrapped his arms around your waist from behind and kissed the side of your neck. “You have a bad influence on my kid, Stevie.”
“It’s all relative.” Steve grinned and helped George with his bags.
You watched George and Steve put the bags in Steve’s car, Bucky’s foot tapped nervously on the floor as he looked at them. George came back for a goodbye kiss and you threw yourself into his arms.
“Ma’, don’t freak out.” George pleaded as he wrapped his arms around your shoulders. “Dad?” He looked at Bucky for support but Bucky hugged the two of you tight. George looked at Steve with wide eyes, he mouthed help me but Steve smirked, shaking his head.
Later that night, Bucky was sitting in the dark kitchen when Maggie turned on the lights.
“Fuck, dad, you scared the crap outta me!” Maggie gasped when she saw her father sitting at the kitchen table, seemingly waiting for her.
He frowned slightly, thinking that he should have cursed less in front of his children but damn it, he was a soldier, swearing was like breathing. He extended a hand, showing her the chair in front of him and she rolled her eyes at his theatrical gesture.
“I found this in your room.” He slid a piece of paper and her eyes opened wide. “You want to be an Avenger?” He narrowed his eyes, gauging her reaction.
“Yes.” She nodded, sure of her decision. “Does mum know?”
“If she knew, the entire neighborhood would be plunged into the dark without electricity.” She swallowed thickly when she looked into his eyes and saw no emotion whatsoever.
“Dad, I know what I’m doing. Nat said I have a lot of potential. I can’t apply until I’m eighteen but I’ll work hard, I swear.”
She continued to ramble, she had a whole list of reason why he should let her join the Avengers and he listened without saying a word. She was taken aback, she expected him to shout but he was completely silent. And usually silence was not a good thing.
“So?” She asked with a hopeful voice.
“I love you, kiddo.” He cast his head down.
“Dad...” She was a bit afraid, this was not the reaction she planned.
“You don’t really look like me. You look a lot like your mother, but you have my hair.” He tucked a strand of her long brown hair behind her ear. “You have her eyes.” He smiled softly and she couldn’t help but smile back. “But that boldness? Yep, that’s me. That’s how I know you’re my kid.”
He avoided her eyes, thinking of a way to make her change her mind and yet he knew that it was pointless. She was a lot like him. He swore to protect her but maybe it was time to let her fight her own battles, literally.
“You won’t change your mind, will you?” He asked, chewing nervously on his bottom lip. She shook her head and he sighed. “You’ll finish high school first and you will train your butt off.” He warned her and Maggie beamed, thinking that she won. “One last thing, you will tell your mother.” He smirked smugly.
“Oh that’s not fair!” She complained. “You know she’ll freak out. I thought the Avengers were a team, that they helped each other out.” She tried to bargain but Bucky only scoffed.
“Usually, but once in a while we have to take sides and I’m choosing your mother’s. Good luck kiddo, you’ll need it.”
“But dad-” She whined, looking over her shoulder but Bucky was already gone. “Ah fuck it, she’ll never let me join the Avengers, urgh!” He heard her grumble and went back to his room with a satisfied smile.
“You were gone a long time.” You rubbed your eyes when he entered the bedroom. “Is everything okay?”
“Better than ever.” He jumped onto the bed and kissed you. “I think I just fixed a major problem.” He spooned you, one arm circling your waist.
“Great.” You mumbled half asleep. “Oh, I forgot to tell you something today. Nat told me that Maggie wanted to be an Avenger.”
“What?! You already know?” He turned your body so that you could face him.
“I’m a mum, I know everything.” You smirked. “Wait, what do you mean already?”
“I just found a paper in her room and talked to her about it. Wait a second!” He stopped and hit his forehead. “That massive blackout today in New York... that was you?”
“I never said I was happy about it but if it’s her life’s calling...” You nestled against his chest when he slumped back onto the mattress. “You know she still has three years to change her mind. Last year she wanted to be a teacher.”
“You will all be the death of me. I’m too old for this.” He exhaled, staring at the ceiling.
“Shh, you know you love us.” You teased, placing soft kisses along his jawline.
“More than anything in this goddamn world, doll.” He took hold of your hips and guided you across his lap until you straddled him. You leaned forward and kissed him passionately.