Little Sister - Story one
“Uncle Sam. Are we home?” Steve whines and looks up at the man. He currently sits on his lap and plays with a stuffed toy that they keep on the jets for the case that Steve or Bucky drop before they reach the compound. The man sighs and shakes his head. “Five more minutes.”
“But it’s so long.” Steve whines again and leans back against Sam. “I know.” Sam rubs his face and looks to Nat. But she shrugs smiles at him and makes a quick escape to Clint who flies the quintet. “Uncle Sam?”
“Yes, Steve?” Sam rolls his eyes annoyed but smiles down at the boy nonetheless. Wanda giggles and watches the man. “Are mommy and daddy coming and get me?”
“Of course, they do. They always do, right?” Steve smiles and nods energetically. He swings his bare legs and lets the little bunny walk over his legs. Wanda had stripped him out of the big suit and into a shirt from his duffle bag. Steve even had a diaper in it, so she helped him with that. Sam swears he slaps Steve on the head the next time he doesn’t pack kids’ clothes as well. He distracts Steve for the next five minutes until the jet finally lands. Then he grabs his and Steve’s bag and slings them over his shoulder. “Come on, buddy. Let the bunny sit here, and we go to Bucky and Y/N.”
“Okay.” Steve’s voice is happy which is strange when Sam thinks about the stress he had while running from HYDRA goons and dodging the bullets that almost hit him. He takes the boy’s hand and leads him inside, all the way to the common room. They greet Bruce and Tony and wave at Vision before they reach the common room. Steve lets go of Sam’s hand and runs into the room but stops short as he sees Bucky. “Daddy?” Sam looks up and sees Bucky as well. He stands there, smiling at the boy (it falls a bit after he sees that Steve dropped but recovers quickly). He holds Y/N in his arms, the little girl sucks on her pacifier and eyes the boy with curious eyes. “Hey, Stevie. How was your flight with uncle Sam?”
“Daddy! Uncle Clint let me fly!” Steve beams but eyes the girl on Bucky’s arms with a weary look. “Really? How was it?” Bucky smiles and crouches down, balancing Y/N on his hip. She squeals around her pacifier and hides her head in Bucky’s shoulder before she points at Steve. “Yeah, that’s Stevie.”
“Daddy?” Steve looks at Bucky with a sad look and Bucky frowns instantly. “Hey, what is it?” He reaches out and runs his hand over Steve’s cheek. “Who is that? Where is mommy?” Bucky takes a sharp intake of air and shares a cautious look with Sam. “Would you?” Bucky holds the girl out for Sam to take, which he does, before he picks Steve up himself and kisses his cheek. “There’s something I have to tell you, Stevie. You actually know it already, but you’re small for the first time since, so you probably don’t remember.” Bucky sighs and carries Steve over to the bar in the common room before he sits down on a stool, balancing Steve on his lap, so that he can see Bucky’s face all the time. “Mommy is not here at the moment. Well, she is but not really.” Steve frowns at Bucky and tears gather in his eyes. “Mommy gone?”
“No! No, no. God. Stevie, I’m sorry. No. Mommy is not gone. I’m just bad at explaining. You saw that little girl?” Steve sniffs but still nods. “That is mommy. That is Y/N. She was really… sick. And when you were big you gave her some blood to help her. But you know the serum that makes us big and small right? Mommy has it, too, now and she dropped. Like we do. But she didn’t get big since she did.” Bucky draws his bottom lip between his teeth and stares at the small boy that has still tears in his eyes and looks at him in confusion. Then the tears expand and Steve starts sobbing again. “Hey, Stevie. It’s okay. Shh. Everything is okay.”
“Noo.” Steve whines and sobs. He shakes his head and hides in Bucky’s chest all while he grabs the fabric of his shirt. “Mommy is gone.” His words are almost not audible but Bucky understands them. He rubs Steve’s back and rocks a bit forth and back. “No, Stevie. Mommy is just small. She’s your little sister for a while.” Bucky slumps a bit. It’s that situation that he wishes it were switched. That he is small and Steve would need to explain. He’s always better at explaining things to kids. Steve’s crying increases a bit more and his breath gets a bit ragged. “Steve. Hey. It’s okay. We’re fine, okay? Breath.” He rubs Steve’s back and rocks him a bit until he stands up to hold him better in his arms. He peeks over to Sam who sits with Y/N on the floor and plays with some big Lego blocks. “Mommy.” Steve whines again, breathing at least a bit steadier than seconds before. “I know, sweetie. I miss her, too. But she’s only small. Everything is okay. We’re okay.” He kisses Steve’s temple and rocks him a bit but makes his way over to Sam and Y/N. The man looks up and frowns at Steve before he raises a questioning eyebrow at Bucky. He only shrugs and mouth his words. “He doesn’t understand. Thinks she’s gone.”
It takes a while until Steve is calmer. He eyes Y/N every time Bucky has her on his arms and refuses vehemently to play with her. Bucky is a bit lost, but he tries his best to give both children the attention they want and thinks to himself that he manages pretty well. Steve keeps much to himself, draws and only comes to Bucky for food, to ask a question or for a new diaper. He escapes as quickly as he shows up and won’t even share a glance to Y/N when she’s close, except of wary glares.
Y/N on the other hand is always on a run. She tries to crawl or walk over to Steve but Bucky catches her each time and drags her away from the boy. He knows that Steve is not ready to spend time with her yet, but he hopes that he will in a bit. Y/N is at his side the whole time, babbling about things no one really understands except for a few words like ‘Stebe’ or ‘daddy’. Bucky has barely a free minute. He really needs to pee, but he doesn’t really want to let Y/N alone for the few minutes, and he doesn’t really want to bother Steve with her since he already doesn’t seem to like her very much. “Stevie?” Bucky knocks on the door frame and sets Y/N down in the playroom. Steve turns around with a smile but frowns as he sees the little girl crawling over to him. “Can you watch her for a second?”
“Why?” He whines and pushes Y/N’s hand from his pencils. “Please. I need to go to the toilet.” Bucky throws his puppy eyes at the blonde and only receives a grumble from him. “I’ll be quick.”
And he is. He doesn’t need more than three quick minutes and all but sprints back to Steve to rescue him form Y/N. The sight that greets him is… bad. Steve sits in another corner of the room with tears in his eyes, legs drawn to his chest and arms slung around it. Y/N sits next to his desk with a rumpled sheet of paper and a broken pencil in hand. Bucky look back and forth between the two before he makes his way over to Steve and sits down next to him. “Hey, pal. What’s wrong?” He pulls Steve on his lap as the boy leans onto him. “S-she b-broke it.” He sobs and squeeze closer to Bucky. “Your pencil?” Steve nods and points back at Y/N. “A-and m-my…” He breaks off and sobs again. Bucky rubs soothing circles in his back and kisses his temple. “Your picture, huh? I’m sorry Stevie. I know you worked hard on it.” Steve nods small but stays in Bucky’s embrace. And Bucky lets him. He sits in the corner with Steve in his arms and all over his lap while he watches Y/N who crawls over to the blocks to play with them. She shares some glances at Bucky and giggles now and then when he smiles at her, but he tries to focus on comforting Steve.
After the boy loosens his grip on Bucky he looks over to his picture. He quickly runs over, picks it up and runs back to Bucky. He flops back down on his lap and shows the rumpled sheet to Bucky. “Oh. This looks amazing, Stevie. Who is that?”
“Mommy…” Steve’s voice is silent as Bucky points at a woman. She stands next to some flowers and a small boy which probably is Steve. “And this? That’s not uncle Sam, is he?” Bucky says it with played insult which gets Steve to actually giggle. “Noo, daddy. It’s you. See.” He points at the arm that’s silver and then points at Bucky’s metal hand. He smiles up at Bucky and for a moment his breath is taken aback. Steve literally sparkles. He seems to be really proud and the love that he holds for Bucky shows in his eyes. So, Bucky does the only thing that he can think of and hugs Steve close to his chest, kissing his cheeks and whispers a ‘thank you’ and an ‘I love you’ in his ear. Steve giggles again and pushes Bucky away. “You tickle.”
“Oh. I tickle?” Bucky smirks at Steve and attacks him with his beard, rubbing it all over his cheeks. He squeals and screams and tries to shy away but Bucky has a firm grip on the small blonde. “Noo, daddy. Stop.” Steve laughs and Bucky just smiles. Suddenly he feels two small hands at his ankles, and he looks up. Y/N smiles at him and stretches her arms out. “Too.” Bucky smiles and shares a careful look to Steve. He doesn’t seem to be pleased with it but doesn’t say anything either, so Bucky pulls the little girl in. He plays with them both and tickles them until Y/N is half asleep on him. “Okay. Time for a nap.”
“No, daddy, please.” Bucky eyes the boy and already wants to argue but then thinks better of it. “Okay, listen Stevie. I get Y/N to bed, then we change your diaper and get you into your pj and after that I read two books to you. Okay?” Steve eyes him as if searching for a trap but nods and sprint into the kids’ room. He stops at the door and glares at the crib but says nothing to Bucky. The brunette can still see that he doesn’t like it one bit that Y/N apparently sleeps in his own room, too. Steve waits patiently on his bed while Bucky lies Y/N down. The little girl makes some unpleased sounds but Bucky strokes her cheeks, and she soon stills and is out like a light. He stands back up and makes a pleased sound before he turns to Steve. “Okay, ready?”
* * *
Y/N hears a whimper and rolls onto her side. Something fluffy hit her face, and she giggles a bit before she slings her arms around her elephant. She’s almost back to dreamland as the whimper starts again. She peels her eyes open and looks around. For a second she is confused to where the sound comes from, but then she sees this boy her papa played with in a bed. He seems sad and frightened. She shuffles a bit around to get a better look and waits. Papa comes. He always does. But she waits and the boy whimpers and Bucky doesn’t come. “Papa?” Y/N calls. She knows papa can hear her. But still, the door is closed and doesn’t move. “Papa!” She calls again, this time a bit angry. Normally he would be here. Why does he let the boy cry? She looks over to the blonde and decides to help him herself. Like she did the last time she throws her elephant over the crib and onto the floor before she climbs up on the grid and over it, only to land on her side on the floor. She whimpers shortly but doesn’t cry. Her eyes snap over to the boy who whimpers louder this time and trashes around a bit. She sees a sheep lying on the ground, so she picks her elephant up and walks with it over to the sheep. It’s fluffy, and she smiles before she throws both stuffed animals on the mattress next to the boy. She grunts as the sheep falls back down and pushes it back up on the bed. Then she struggles a bit but manages to climb up on it as well. She looks at the boy for a moment. He seems small but nice. He’s a bit wet and tears fall down his cheeks. She stretches her hand out to carefully pat his cheek like daddy does when he’s around. He’s not at the moment. Papa says he has to work but Y/N does how daddy does it. The boy whimpers again and Y/N frowns. Usually petting helps. But papa cuddles her sometimes. So, she lies down and shuffles around until she can slip under the blanket. She pushes the toys between them, so that they won’t fall off from the bed and wraps her little, chubby arms around the boy. She presses her lips against his face, kissing him right on the chin. Then she closes her eyes. She’s still tired and comforting someone is exhausting. Two arms come around her and suddenly the boy presses really close to her. She giggles for a moment but drifts off soon after.
* * *
Bucky wakes with a start. He just dreamed about little Y/N and Stevie playing together as it hits him. How can they play when they’re asleep? He sits up straight and rubs his eyes before he scrambles up with a bit of a panic. “Shit!” He stumbles over the newspaper he had read earlier but catches himself before he storms to the kids’ room. He carefully opens the door and peeks inside. His gaze wanders first to the crib and his heart almost stops as he sees no Y/N lying there. “Fu-” He stops short with his swearing as his eyes wander to Steve. He’s still in bed, almost covered from head to toe with his blanket. But Bucky can clearly see that he’s not alone. A little head with bad bed hair sticks out from under the blanket. A smile creeps on his lips. He slips inside with his silent assassin skills and sits on the bed. Before he can do anything, he hears Steve whimper but Y/N seems to cuddle closer, so Steve gets silent again. The smile on Bucky’s lips gets wider, and he pulls the blanket down a bit. Steve has his arms wrapped around the little girl and even his legs are trapping her between them. He almost clings like a monkey to her. Y/N has her arms thrown around his tummy and squishes the stuffed toys between their bodies. It’s a really peaceful picture to look at and Bucky considers going out and pick up his phone to snap a picture. He decides against it, having the pride of being the only one to ever see something like that and settles on stroking through Y/N’s hair. “Daddy?”
“Hey, buddy.” Bucky smiles at Steve and strokes through his hair, too, but he frowns when he notices Steve’s red and puffy eyes. “You okay there?” Steve nods shakily before he looks at Y/N a bit closer. “Mommy?”
“Stevie.” Bucky sighs and places his hand on Steve’s back. “We had it already. Y/N is your mommy. She’s just… small, like you.”
“Mommy comes back? Does she get big again?” Bucky sees Steve’s blue eyes focused on him. For a moment he thinks about lying and telling him that she will and everything will be okay, but he knows damn well that he will feel guilty and that Steve will scold him when he’s big again. “I don’t know, buddy. Mommy is like this for a while now. I’m sure she will get big eventually, but we have to wait.” Steve looks a bit sad and scrambles out of the girls embrace and into Bucky’s arms. “Am I a big brother? Like you?”
“Of course, you are.” Bucky smiles at him and kisses his cheek. Steve smiles and hugs Bucky’s neck. “I love you.” Bucky smiles even wider and by now he feels his face starting to hurt. “I love you, too. I’m so proud of you.” He kisses Steve again just as a big burp sounds through the room. They both part and look over to the little girl that giggles and stretches her arms out for Bucky, all while looking innocent. Bucky shakes his head and picks her up. “I think she’s worse than you, Stevie.”
“Daddy! You burp, not me.” Steve crosses his arms and glares at Bucky which only makes him laugh harder. “Okay, okay. How about we go to the playroom? You two can play and I try to save your picture, hm?” Steve looks a bit reluctant but jumps from his bed. He’s quick to change back to his normal pants and shirt and runs into the playroom. Bucky follows the boy and sets Y/N down on the carpet next to him. They both watch as Y/N takes some big Legos in her hands. She chews on one but holds out the other for Bucky to take. “Thank you.” He smiles at her, takes it and puts it onto another block. Y/N reaches for a blue one and holds it out for Steve to take. And he does. He puts it onto Bucky’s and it quickly forms into a routine. Y/N would hold out a block for Steve to take, and he would put it on the tower he builds. It doesn’t even disturb them when Bucky retreats and start to google how to get a rumpled sheet fixed back.
Now and then he looks back in the room but it stays quiet. The two children almost look like they were always together.