Safe.
Bucky came home to peels of laughter coming from upstairs.
He smiled, putting his keys in the bowl and putting his gym clothes In the wash before heading upstairs.
Steve was in the pups bathroom, all three sat in their little baby bath basket seats so they didn't accidentally slip under the water. Steve was covered in bubbles, Mia and jack were clumsily splashing the water with wild abandon, laughing.
Oscar sat in his, playing with his rubber duckie, making it swim gracefully across the waters surface.
“Shhh! Mommy will be home soon and I have to get you clean” Steve said rinsing suds from their little pups hair, soaked to the skin.
“Mommy's already home” Bucky chuckled, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms over his chest. “Need a hand?”
“Mamamama!” Oscar mumbled reaching for him.
“Mama 'ome” jack laughed happily. Mia just used the opportunity to throw more bubbles at her father, making him splutter.
“Mia! We don't throw things.” Bucky scolded kneeling by the bath and finishing washing the pups in quick, well rehearsed motions. Making sure to scrub behind their ears softly.
“My mucky pups! What have you guys been up to” Bucky chuckled kissing Oscars head and passing him to his father, the alpha enveloped him in a little blue towel, tickling his tummy as he dried him.
“Go put him to bed, I'll get the alphas sorted then maybe” Bucky said, a smirk on his face. “Maybe I can hop in the shower, I'm real sweaty from the gym, I really wanna get clean y'know I might need some help?”
Steve growled lowly and threw bucky a heated look. “you know I'll always take care of you” he grinned kissing behind Bucky's ear. “At your service whenever you need baby.”
Steve left to settle Oscar, and bucky finnished drying and dressing his little alphas in dinosaur onesies. (Bucky was a big fan of making his babies look like animals. What could he say?)
He walked to the nursery to help settle them, to see Steve playing with oscar, a gentle imitation of the roughhousing he often did with the alpha pups, carefully pushing Oscar over and watching the baby fall happily, giggling, standing on his toddly little feet and running at his daddy again, his little squeaky growl rumbling through his throat until he was, yet again pushed, and the giggles returned.
Bucky's heart swelled and he tucked the pups away gently. Bending to pick up his littlest. “That's enough for now, we can play with daddy tomorrow”
Oscar whined, but settled with a kiss to the head.
“Night baby's” Bucky said standing in the doorway and smiling at his family.
“Night jack, my brave boy, night MiMi darling, night night oski” Steve said kissing them all.
When they exited the nurcery, Steve pulled him close and kissed him deeply.
Bucky pulled away. “Let me out a wash on, you go start the shower” he said “i’ll join you in a minute Alpha”
Steve groaned and let go of Bucky reluctantly. “Hurry”
“I will” Bucky reassured Steve over his shoulder, grinning as he headed to the utility.
He was loading the washing into the washing machine hurriedly when he felt it.
The cold press of a knife at his back.
“Hello again omega”
Brock.
Bucky gasped, panic filling his system as the alpha spoke. His thoughts immediately flikced to his pups, sleeping snugly.
He couldn't let Brock get any closer to them.
“I'm sorry we didn't get to talk much last time sugar, i should be making more of an effort to get to know my future mate” brock said, his voice teasing and cruel.
“Mate?” Bucky whispered softly.
“You didn't think I'd do Sharon's bidding for nothing did you?” He chuckled darkly. “It's a little arrangement we have, she gets blondie, I get you” he said burying his nose in buckys neck, a cruel parody of Steve's loving nuzzles, and scented him deeply. “I've been watching you for a long time Jamie. I used to work at the academy, did you know that? A security guard. The second I saw you I just knew… you were mine.”
“I'm Steve's” Bucky said sharply, whining at the warning prod from the knife.
“So I thought i'd snatch you away while alphas away” he said bringing the knife up to Bucky's throat. “Only one car in the drive cutie, and I know it's yours”
Steve's car was at Tony's, getting “improved” as Tony put it and “more complicated” as Steve did.
Bucky had an advantage. Brock didn't know Steve was here.
.
“Why are you doing this?” Bucky whimpered “you can find another omega.”
“I don't want another omega. You would look so pretty tied up and terrified” he whispered into Bucky's ear “and Sharon gets to play supportive friend to Stevie boy. We both get what we want”
“I need…” Bucky whispered “I need my inhaler” he breathed deeply, hyperventilating.
Brock just growled “no wa-”
“I'm no use to you dead” he gasped “it's on the shelf beside you” Bucky sank to the floor to make his lie believable, clutching his chest.
Brock turned for a split second before Bucky was running, sprinting through the house and upstairs.
“ALPHA! STEVE!” He screamed, frantic for his alpha.
“Baby?” Steve stepped out of the bedroom in sweats and nothing else.
“Brock-” It was all Bucky could say before his feet were snapped from under him and he was falling down the stairs.
Brock had grabbed his ankle and tugged him.
Bucky only had a minute to feel the pain, before the weight of brock was yanked off him.
Bucky turned to watch Steve, holding Brock as though it was nothing, before slamming him into the ground.
Bucky screamed as the alphas fought, Steve caught a few punches but brock was no match for the massive alpha.
The look in Steve's eyes was almost feral the anger held there made Bucky for the first time in his life truly understand the true power of his alpha. The strength held in those muscles that Bucky had only appreciated as a way for Steve to pick him up, now used to protect him.
“I'll fucking kill you” he growled, low and threatening.
“Please” brock begged, his face was a bloody mess at this point, nose clearly broken and pinned below the massive alpha, chest painted with his blood.
“Stevie” Bucky whispered, voice cracking. “Don't. Please.”
Steve looked up at Bucky, and the smoke in his eyes cleared. His Stevie was back, looking at him gently.
“Hold him” Bucky said, “I'm calling Sam”
Bucky was loathe to turn his back on brock but he knew what he had to do.
He ran back upstairs, ignoring the way his body ached, grabbing his phone from the bedside table to making his way to the pups bedroom.
They were crying, obviously, fat tears rolling down their cheeks. Bucky took them each out and put them on the plush carpet, holding them as he called Sam.
“Sam? He's back he broke in, he threatened me, Steve's got him downstairs” bucky babbled hurriedly down the phone.
“Okay Bucky calm down its okay, I'm sending people out, we should be here soon, Steve's got him? Are the pups okay?” He said soothingly.
“Yes, pups are safe and I'm okay, Stevie was there to help” Bucky said softly. “Hurry please”
“We're coming Bucky, just hold on”
----
Yet again Bucky found himself curled up on the sofa, holding a large mug of tea.
His pups were curled around his alpha, cuddling close to his strong protective scent, Sam had been asking him questions for what felt like hours.
Sharon had been arrested, taking in for questioning. It would be a clean case, it would be easy Sam said, not stressful.
All Bucky cared about was curling up in bed with his family, feeling safe after feeling so vulnerable. He felt safer, knowing Brock was in custody. But he needed his alpha to hold him. Without all these people here.
When Sam finally left Bucky sank into his alphas embrace. The robots had cleaned up the blood thank god, so he simply relaxed into his alpha as he was carried upstairs, tucked in bed, left only for Steve to put the pups to bed.
They fell asleep curled around eachother, holding eachother tightly.