“Come here you little rat!” Steve bolts through the living room with a big smile on his face. He probably would be sweating by now if it weren’t for his serum. Y/N keeps running away from him with giggles, screeches and loud laughing. Each time Steve nearly catches her she dodges his hands and the brush and escapes into another corner of the room. Steve doesn’t mind. They don’t have a time limit to get her ready and it’s really just the hair that needs to be taken care of now. Tony can wait that long. “Y/N. Come on. Daddy is tired.” Steve runs a bit slower, acting as if he needs to catch his breath and leans on the couch. Y/N stops and looks from behind the coffee table at him. She’s still smiling. She takes a few steps to him but falls over her puzzle, stumbles and manages to only fall on her butt. Steve eyes her for a second and then uses the chance to bolt forward. Y/N screeches and quickly crawls away. Steve manages to catch her foot and lift her up on it. “Got you!” She laughs and struggles. Steve tickles her with his free hand before he sits back down on the couch, situating her on his lap. “There. Can we brush your hair now?”
“No!”
“Y/N, stop.” Steve tries to look stern but starts laughing as Y/N slowly climbs from his lap. She doesn’t hurry but seems to think that she’s incredibly fast. Steve sighs and gives her a little head start before he jumps up and rushes past her. “Y/N! You little devil.” Just as he’s about to grab her again she turns right and hides behind a pair of two legs. Steve looks up and sees Bucky with a cup of coffee in his hand. The brunette stares with confusion at him, but he has a hint of a smile on his face. “Papa!” Y/N screeches and giggles while Bucky smiles and pets her head. “I thought you would be ready by now, sweetie.” He looks from Y/N back to Steve. “But daddy seems to distract you.”
“Not fair, Buck. She’s running away from me.”
“Don’t blame the innocent, Rogers.” Bucky causes Steve to snort. The blonde shoots a last look at Y/N before he slings his arms around Bucky’s waist and pulls him to his own chest. He pouts at the brunette. “Help me, Buck.”
“Nope. I warned you about that.” Bucky smirks and Steve sighs again. Then he quickly tries to catch Y/N’s hand, but she lets herself fall on her butt and giggles. Steve just shrugs. “Then you go with bed hair.” He softly pulls Bucky closer and kisses him. Bucky hums into the kiss and smiles, wrapping his own arms around Steve. “Too, daddy!” Y/N pulls on Steve’s leg and then on Bucky’s. “Papa!” Steve feels Bucky smile into the kiss before he breaks it and leans down to pick the little whirlwind up. “So, you want kisses, too?” Y/N nods eagerly with and determined expression on her face. “We can do that. But only if papa can finally brush your hair so your all pretty, okay?”
“Yes.” The girl nods again and gives Bucky a big kiss on his cheek. Steve pouts and crosses his arms. “That’s unfair. Papa gets all the good kisses.” Y/N giggle as Bucky rolls his eyes, but she makes grabby hands for Steve, too and gives him a big, when even wet kiss in the nose.
The run Steve started with Y/N continues in the common room. Y/N runs around and laughs at Steve’s ridicules fails to catch her. Bucky sits on the couch, together with Nat, and they both laugh their asses off when Steve trips and hits his head on the couch. “Are they always like this?”
“No. But sometimes. And I’m glad that Steve has the struggle to get her to bed when he keeps her up like this.”
“I imagine it’s difficult.”
“Let’s just say you can say good bye to nap time today and deal with a tired and cranky baby girl.” Nat winces at the thought but makes the pleased face that Bucky sees more often on the faces of the others. The face that says ‘How good that I’m just the aunt/uncle and can go when it’s too much’.
“Y/N, careful.” Steve calls and jumps up from his spot behind the couch. He runs after Y/N who’s now behind the couch on the smooth floor to the kitchen. He just reaches the door as they hear a loud squeal. Bucky quickly turns and sees Y/N fall forward, hitting her head against a sideboard with a dull thump. She looks up at Steve before she starts to scream and to cry. “Shit!” Steve is at her side instantly and tries to pry Y/N’s little hands from her forehead to get a close look. Blood is already oozing out between her fingers and makes its path down her arms. She wriggles and tries to get away from Steve but at the same time she seeks his comfort in leaning back in when his hands disappear. “Baby girl. Let me see. Let me get a look on your head.”
“No…” She whines and cries but Steve still manages to get her hands away. He gets a closer look and winces. There is a hole in Y/N forehead, not really big enough but probably the size of a 2-cent coin. “Daddy…” Y/N whines, still crying but grabbing at his shirt. “I know sweetheart, come here.” He pulls Y/N onto his lap and looks up as Bucky appears with a towel to press onto her forehead. Y/N starts screaming again as she sees Bucky and tries to get away from him, the towel and Steve but Steve’s grip is tight on her, and she’s not able to get very far. “I’ll get Bruce.” Nat takes just a quick look and doesn’t wait for either of them to answer her. She just runs out and vanishes in the elevator. Bucky carefully presses the dishtowel onto Y/N’s forehead and strokes through her hair. “It’s okay, baby. Shh.” He leans in and kisses her forehead before his eyes wander to Steve who’s really silent know. He clutches Y/N tightly to his chest, his face a white mask of guilt. Bucky sighs and runs his hand though his hair as well. “Stevie. It’s not your fault.”
“But it is.”
“It’s not. She could have slipped when she runs up to get cookies, too. We keep telling her not to run. And you two played. It’s okay.” Steve says nothing. Bucky frowns at him and leans in to kiss his bearded cheek before he looks down at Y/N again. Her head is red, not only because of the blood, and she’s still crying. Bucky suspects that its more out of shocked than that her head actually hurts even when he knows that it must hurt a lot. “He takes a second peek at the wound, grimaces too but covers it again. “Come on. Let’s get you on the comfortable couch.” Bucky lifts the little girl out of Steve’s grasp and carries her over to one of the white couches, ignoring the bold on her hands that she smears over his own shirt now. He sits down, with her on his lap and starts humming a bit to calm her a bit more. Every few seconds his eyes leave the little girl to look back to Steve who still sits on the same spot as if in a daze. Now Bucky starts to worry about him too but his thoughts are ripped away as the door opens and a disheveled Bruce strides in with Helen Cho and Nat hot on his heels. The man and Helen walk over to him and Y/N and start fussing immediately. Nat stays back a bit but catches Bucky’s eyes. Without really moving he sighs her to go to Steve. He sees her eyes snap over to the blonde lump of super soldier. She frowns, too but walks over and crouches in front of him. Bucky watches for a second longer before he draws his eyes back to his little girl.
Y/N sits patiently on his lap, only clutching her hands against his chest but otherwise lets Bruce and Helen watch at her head. Bruce keeps smiling at her and even makes her giggle once while Helen manages to get the wound cleaned as good as she can before she gets two band aids for lacerations on the wound and places a beautiful big Band-Aid above it. It’s pink with little butterflies on it. “So. That would be it. All better now.” Helen smiles kindly at Y/N, waves and retreats without another word. Bruce stays for a bit longer. “What’s up with Steve?” The scientist looks over Bucky’s shoulder at the blonde. Steve sits still on the ground, Nat in front of him. She stalks to him in silent whispers, and he nods now and then. Bucky turns around too. “He blames himself. Again.” Bucky sighs and looks down at Y/N. She looks at him with her wide eyes and sucks on her thumb. “Y/N, no. There’s blood on your hand. Let’s wash up, okay?” He gently takes her hand from her mouth and ignores her whine. Instead, he places a kiss against her forehead and stands up to shuffle into the kitchen. “Daddy.” Y/N reaches for Steve as they pass but Steve is to focused on Nat to nice her. “Daddy?” The little girl leans back in Bucky’s arms and looks at him with watery eyes. “We wash up first, and then we go to daddy, okay beautiful?” Y/N nods but focuses her eyes on Steve in the doorway.
Bucky hurries through the wash, not at last because Y/N keeps on squirming to get to Steve. “Papa...” She whines the fifth time but Bucky is already at drying up her hands. “Yeah, yeah. Now, get your daddy.” He smiles, kisses her again, this time on the band air and sets her down. H3e watches as she rushes away with a screech. “Daddy. Pretty.” She runs up to Steve and point at her forehead. Steve’s head lift slowly but he smiles. “Hey, that are butterflies.” His smile doesn’t really reach his eyes. He still lifts his hand and runs it over Y/N’s arm. She giggles and falls into his arms. Steve hugs her and looks up. Bucky catches his eyes and raises an eyebrow. Natasha watches them but stands up to sit down beside Bruce. Steve lifts an arm from Y/N’s back and holds it up as invitation for Bucky. The brunette shuffles over, sits down besides Steve but instead if cuddling into him like Steve intends, Bucky grabs his hand and places a gentle kiss on it. “You’re a punk.”
“Jerk.” Bucky smiles and kisses Steve’s cheek. “She’s fine. She already ran again. Can’t be so serious, Stevie.”
“Still. It was my-”
“End this sentence and I end you, Rogers!” Bucky glares at him but it loses its strength by the gentle squeeze of Steve’s hand. “She’ll be fine and now stop brooding. We have things to do. Besides, Y/N has to show everyone her forehead.”
“Pretty, papa.” Y/N looks up at Steve and Bucky with a smile and points again to her forehead. “I know. More than usual.” Bucky smiles and tickles Y/N’s side, making her scream and giggle. “Okay. Fine.” Steve sighs and closes his eyes for a moment, then he leans in and kisses Y/N’s cheek and releases her so that she can run up to Nat. They watch her for a second before Steve turns to Bucky. He manhandles him into his lap, chest to chest and rests his head on his shoulder. He nuzzles into the crook of his neck and sigh as Bucky wraps his arms around him. “You’re ridicules Steve.” Bucky leans a bit away, still able to hug the taller man but enough so that Steve has to lift his head. “But you love me.”
“I do.” Bucky smiles and leans in to kiss Steve. The moment is ruined as Clint and Ton enter the common room and make gag noises.