Adventures in Babysitting
Angie bustled past her younger sister, chattering all the while about all things baby Violet: feeding times, favorite songs, bedtime routine, where everything was located in the diaper bag, how to heat breast milk, how to set up the portable crib...and on and on. Really, the kid wasn’t even 4 months old yet, how could she possibly need this much stuff? Darcy just smiled and tried to remember as much of the influx of baby wisdom as she could.
Angie kept up her monologue until she popped around the corner into Darcy’s living room. “Oh,” she said in surprise. “Hello, I didn’t realize Darcy had company.” She shot Darcy a very familiar interrogative look, before adding under her breath, “incredibly chiseled company, at that.”
“Angie! Allow me to introduce you to my temporary roommate, James Barnes. James, this is my big sister, Angie, and the sleeping angel is her daughter, Violet.” Darcy swept her arm out between him and her sister, presenting them to each other with a nervous flourish.
Bucky rose smoothly from the recliner, a hesitant smile fixed in place, before extending a hand out to Angie. “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”
Angie arched a brow at Darcy over the “ma’am” thing, but took his hand in a firm shake. “Well, it’s nice to meet you too. I don’t suppose you happen to have any experience in infant care?”
“No ma’am, not that I remember, anyway,” he answered, regret slightly coloring his voice.
Angie tilted her head to the side at his admission. Darcy swallowed a groan. She knew that look. Her sister was about thirty seconds away from figuring out-
“You’re Bucky Barnes, aren’t you?” she exclaimed, snapping her fingers at the epiphany.
“I am,” Bucky said lowly, a blush rising up his neck.
Angie peered at him for a long moment, taking in every aspect of him and making a face of deep consideration that reminded Bucky a bit of the way his Ma would size up any new playmate that he’d bring home. Must be a mother thing.
Angie clicked her tongue, having finished whatever assessment she was making. “You’ll be careful with Violet?” she asked.
Bucky nodded, keeping his eyes locked to the concerned mother’s.
“You will not allow harm to come to her in any way.”
“I won’t hurt her. I’ll keep my distance, if need be."
Angie nodded at that, satisfied with the response. Darcy just watched the exchange with a mixture of horror and disbelief. The older woman’s eyes slid to Darcy for a moment before meeting Bucky’s, a hint of that mother’s steel gleaming through again. “And Darcy? Can you make the same reassurances for her?”
“Angie,” Darcy interjected sharply, a bit incensed at the turn the conversation between her sister and her friend had taken. The two of them didn’t even react to her outburst though, still caught in the intensity of their conversation.
Bucky swallowed hard, but refused to break eye contact. “I promise,” was his only reply, but even Darcy could hear the heavy sincerity and solemnity in the intonation. It sent a strange tingle up her spine and a chill in her gut. Winter Soldier, indeed.
Seemingly satisfied with his responses, Angie slipped back into her normal, sunny disposition, as if their solemn showdown had never happened. She prattled on about basic infant caretaking for a few more minutes before gently slipping Violet out of the carrier and restrapping her to Darcy's chest. Violet squirmed a bit before settling down into the softness of Darcy's bosom with a sweet, little sigh. Shit, that was cute. Darcy could practically hear her own ovaries screaming at her.
Angie smiled at the pair of them, stroking one hand over her daughter's hair and the other over Darcy's curls. “Thank you again for this Darce. It’ll be so nice to spend time with just Rob. Sleep through the whole night, sleep in the next morning, have sex that isn't sandwiched between nursing and naps.”
“Okay, ew. I don't need the sordid details of your sadmom sex life.”
Angie laughed lightly, pressing a kiss to her baby sister’s cheek. “Just you wait. One day you, too, could have all the joy of a sadmom sex life. And I will laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh-”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it. Go bone your husband and leave me alone,” Darcy replied, pushing her sister resolutely out the front door.
When she wandered back into the living room, Bucky was nowhere to be found. He wasn’t in any of the other common areas, but she noticed the door to his bedroom was shut, a sliver of light shining out from beneath it into the hall. She briefly considered going to talk to him and maybe trying to draw him out, but decided against it. Maybe he needed privacy after the unexpected intrusion. Or maybe babies grossed him out? Either way, she wasn't going to judge him or invade his space if he needed it. Darcy made her way to the recliner Bucky had recently vacated. Might as well take an afternoon nap with Violet because who knew how much sleep she'd be getting that night.
She kicked the legs of the recliner up and leaned back, relishing the way Violet squirmed and resettled herself against her chest, huffing and smacking her tiny lips. The warmth of the little bundle nestled against her soothed Darcy into a heavy slumber as well.
***
Darcy was having a pleasant dream about dancing with a handsome, dark haired man when she was pulled out of it by the unhappy squalling of her niece.
“Oh hey, princess,” Darcy said groggily. “Did you have a good nap?” Darcy rose from the chair, bouncing on the balls of her feet and making soft shushing noises at the unhappy infant.
She waltzed over to the kitchen and starting prepping a bottle. “Oh sweetheart, I bet you're starving, huh? Let's get you a little schnack-ums.”
Violet’s crying kicked up a notch for a moment while Darcy got her out of the carrier and positioned her in the crook of her arm. As soon as Darcy presented the bottle, Violet quieted and began eating in earnest.
“Oh good job, sweetheart. We're nice and happy now. Well, you are. Auntie Darcy is pretty hungry, too,” she cooed at the infant.
“I could make you something if you're hungry?” Darcy startled and turned to see Bucky in the kitchen entryway.
“Oh! Hey, there stranger. Yeah that'd be great, if you don't mind?” Darcy smiled encouragingly at him.
Bucky maneuvered around her and began pulling pots and pans out and various ingredients for a simple vodka sauce and began boiling water for the penne to go with it. Darcy watched him work, unsure how to pull him out of the emotional funk he was obviously in. Well, blunt force had rarely failed her in the past, why stop using it now?
“So, what was with the disappearing act? I kinda thought you’d be my brother-in-arms with this whole child-rearing business.” Darcy leaned a hip against the counter, trying to catch his eyes.
He avoided her attempt, keeping his focus on the cloves of garlic he was peeling, but he did give her a shrug and a curt response. “I was trying to avoid any...accidents.”
Oh boy. He was in full scale, self-loathing, mopey mode. Darcy was having none of that bullshit today.
“Oh, you should have said something,” Darcy replied in faux innocence. “Diapers these days are soooo much better than the cloth ones people had to deal with back in your day. Diaper accidents are now few and far between, thank Thor. Put that down as a win for the future, eh?” She moved to knock her shoulder against his, but he sidestepped her and gave her a look of frustration.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it, Darcy. It’s not a good idea for me to be around Violet,” he bit out sharply at her. Then, with his face twisted in a heartbreaking mix of shame and despair, “What if I hurt her? What if I lost control, forgot where I was and accidentally killed her?” His eyes darted between his open palms and the tiny, pink face peeking out from Darcy’s arm. “I’ve got so much innocent blood on my hands already...I-”
Darcy cut him off, her gut souring with anger. “That’s bullshit, Barnes. I have yet to see you lose control in the last few weeks that you’ve been here. You’re not some dangerous, mindless beast that has to be kept locked away!”
“You think I’m not dangerous,” Bucky gasped out in disbelief. Then a thunderous look crossed his face and took two steps towards her, invading her space and towering over her with menace flitting through his eyes. “How can you be so stupid to think that I’m not dangerous?” he hissed at her. “I could literally kill you with my bare hands, you and Violet both, and no one would ever find the bodies.”
Darcy fought the urge to step back. She recognized a game of chicken when she saw it, and there was no way in hell she was going to back down and help prove whatever stupid point Barnes was trying to make. She tilted her chin up, putting steel in her spine and her gaze before gritting out, “Bull. Shit.”
Bucky jerked his head back in surprise at the fire in her response, but Darcy pushed into the space he’d made. Two could play at the intimidation game, Bucko. “I’m calling bullshit, Barnes. And, believe it or not, I’m actually genius-level intelligent so you can suck it with your ‘stupid’ comment. I never said that you weren’t dangerous. I know full well how dangerous you are.” She pushed further into his space, backing him slowly towards the far wall of her kitchen. “You forget that I’ve seen your entire file from Hydra. Unfiltered. Unredacted. I know every kill you made and the exact way you did it. Hell, I’ve even seen the pictures! You think I don’t know you’re dangerous?” She snorted in derision before continuing. “What I said, was that you weren’t a dangerous, mindless beast. You’re hella dangerous, but you aren’t mindless. Not anymore. You’re no longer the weapon to be armed and pointed at someone else’s target. YOU make the decisions now. You pick the target.”
Bucky’s back hit the wall, and still she pressed forward, raising her free hand to press firmly to the center of his chest. She softened the anger from her gaze, but retained the steely resolve, bolstering it with sincerity. When she spoke next, her voice was tender but strong. “I know you, James Barnes. I know what kind of man you truly are. And I know that you would never willingly pick me or an innocent child as the target of the violence that was burned into you.”
She paused for a moment, letting her words sink in and watching the emotions flitting across his face. Pain, fear, disbelief, despair, and finally, hope. The fight drained out of her at that soft glint of hope in his eyes. Gods, what a mess. She released his gaze and let her forehead slowly thump forward to the center of his chest, replacing her hand which had drifted to his side and was rubbing soothing swipes up and down his ribs. She could feel him shaking beneath her.
“Breathe, Barnes. Just breathe. It’s alright."
He did as she suggested, his chest rising and falling under the weight of her head. She turned her face to check on Violet who was still tucked in her arm, and rested her ear and cheek to his sternum, listening to thump of his heart slow. After another long moment, she stepped back to look at him. His blue eyes seemed a bit watery around the edges and she was decent enough to pretend she didn’t see it. She took a steadying breath before giving him a small, easy smile. “Well. I think that’s enough manpain for one day, don’t you?”
He nodded and lifted one corner of his mouth in what could probably be considered a smile if you squinted really hard. Darcy weighed her options for a second and then made a decision that she hoped would end up being the right one.
“Bucky, you go sit on the couch and I’ll finish making dinner.”
He nodded again and turned to make his way out of the kitchen but Darcy reached a hand out and caught his elbow, “Oh and take Violet with you.” She swiftly, but gently, transferred the baby into his arms, ignoring the alarmed look on his face, and was pleased to see that his instinctive reaction to being surprise handed a baby was not to drop said baby. She helped him position Violet comfortably into the elbow of his flesh arm, and handed the half full bottle to his left hand.
“Better shove that bottle in her mouth before she starts screaming again.” Bucky looked up in distress but was quick to follow her instruction. Violet took the bottle greedily, making hungry little slurpy noises that would have been horrifying coming from an adult, but was just so damn adorable when coming from a baby. Kinda like cellulite. Not so cute on her adult thighs, but really damn cute on Vi’s chunky baby thighs. Unfair.
Bucky stood in the kitchen feeding Vi for a minute, swaying gently from side to side and watching the infant like she’d explode at any moment. When no babysplosion occurred, he looked up at Darcy with a dazed but brilliant smile.
Oh, holy crap. Abort, abort, abort. Her ovaries were waaaaay too into the look that Barnes was giving her. Shut up, you pervy bastards, Darcy shouted internally.
She gave a strained smile and gently shoved Barnes out to the living room. “Go. Sit. Snuggle. I’ll call you when dinner's ready.” She turned towards her stovetop and got to work, picking up where Bucky had left off.
The sauce was simmering and she was transferring the drained pasta back to the now empty pot when she heard the low timbre of Bucky’s voice followed by a peal of giggles from Violet. Darcy peeked around the corner to see that Bucky was in the recliner, one leg crossed over the other, with Violet tucked into the bend of his knee, sitting up and facing him. He was murmuring something rhythmic to her and simultaneously tiptoeing the fingers of his flesh hand up her tummy before booping her softly on the tip of her button nose. After each boop, Violet would let loose another set of giggles, and Bucky would beam at her.
It was some of the fluffiest, schmoopy-est, most adorable crap that Darcy had ever seen in her life. She was afraid if she watched him for much longer she’d get pregnant from the sheer cuteness alone. Oh my Gods, what was wrong with her? She’d been spending way too much time with the God of Thunder and Fertility--emphasis on the fertility part--if she was jonesing this hard for a baby after a mere few hours of taking care of one.
Darcy ducked her head back into the kitchen to check on the sauce and definitely not because she was about three seconds away from dragging Barnes to her bedroom and demanding he knock her up. She gave her head a much needed shake and swirled her wooden spoon through the sauce a few times before taking a careful taste. Mmmm, perfection. She turned the burner off and was pulling plates down out of her cabinets when she heard a strangled shout from Bucky that was followed by an even louder bout of laughter from Violet.
“Help!” Bucky called out to her.
Darcy darted out of the kitchen in alarm, only to find that Bucky’s distress was caused by an obscene amount of spit up trailing down his shirt and dribbling off her still-laughing niece’s chin.
Bucky looked at her with wide, semi-terrified eyes. “Don’t just stand there! Get me a towel or something!”
Darcy would like to say that she immediately jumped to action and helped her friend who was admittedly in desperate need, but the truth of the matter was that she completely lost it, dissolving into hysterical giggles on the floor.
“Shit, are you kidding me with this, Lewis? Stop laughing, ya punk!”
Bucky’s outburst did nothing but send her into another fit of laughter. It was probably another five minutes before she could even attempt to respond to his needs. She chuckled all the way to the diaper bag, grabbing the box of wipes and returning to the messy pair. She made quick work of Violet and then began wiping as much of the mess off Bucky as she could.
“Welp, that's as good as I can manage. You might want to go change clothes before dinner though,” she said, nose wrinkling in mild disgust. “You smell like a frat house bathroom after a kegger.”
Bucky pinched his lips in dismay and handed her the mighty spitup maker. He stood and then sheepishly admitted, “I forgot you're supposed to burp them. After they eat, ya know? And then all the tickling...” He looked down at his ruined shirt, shaking his head in disgust.
Darcy’s laughter started back up, causing him to shoot her a dirty look and stalk off towards his bedroom. Darcy looked down at Violet who was letting off intermittent gurgling and giggling. “Oh yeah, me too, honey. I thought what you did was hilarious!” Darcy ducked down to smack a series of kisses over the baby’s fat cheeks and strolled back towards the kitchen to finishing plating their meals.
Dinner was delicious and went without a hitch, though Darcy did have to learn the ancient art of eating with one hand and cradling an infant with the other. She may have dribbled a bit of sauce across Violet’s feet, but it could have been worse so she counted it as pretty good for a first timer.
After they'd finished eating, Bucky offered to clean up the kitchen and wash dishes, so Darcy settled on the living room floor with Violet and played a few rounds of peekaboo, read a couple books, played a little pat-a-cake, and rounded off the evening’s entertainment with a thrilling retelling of the first time she went to summer camp using Violet’s stuffed animals as puppets. She warmed another bottle of milk to top Vi off for the night, and started the process of getting the little princess to sleep. When her little eyelids finally fluttered and stayed closed, Darcy gently set her into the crib she'd set up at the foot of her bed and turned on the recording of soothing ocean waves that Angie had included in the diaper bag. She tiptoed out of her bedroom and closed the door softly, listening for a moment to see if Violet would stir. When the silence persisted, Darcy breathed a sigh of relief and rejoined Bucky in the living room.
“We did it!” she cried quietly, pumping a triumphant fist in the air.
Bucky was stretched across the couch, back against the armrest, working on a book of crossword puzzles like the old man that he was. He looked up at her briefly with a distracted smile. “Mhm, we did.” He was quiet for a moment and then, “What's a four letter word for ‘a car service often summoned by...smartphone’,” he asked, face screwed up in confusion.
“Uber? U-B-E-R.”
Bucky hummed and penned it down. Darcy settled into her recliner and cracked open the book she'd started recently, thumbing through the pages until she found the place where she'd left off. They both enjoyed the silence for a while, breaking it ever so often to give Bucky help with the pop culture questions. It was a peaceful hour and she soon found herself dozing off in her chair. After catching herself nodding off for the third time, Darcy sat up and stretched her arms up over her head, stifling a sudden yawn.
“I think I've had about as much excitement as I can handle,” she said to Bucky with a wink. “I'm headed to bed, see you in the morning Buck.”
He hummed and nodded absentmindedly at her as she passed, not taking his eyes away from the puzzle he was currently working on. Darcy was inordinately delighted to notice as she passed him that he poked his tongue out between his teeth when in deep concentration. What a cutie.
Darcy snuck into her bedroom, undressing and putting on her pjs in the dark, before slipping into her bathroom to finish readying herself for bed. Despite her nap earlier, as soon Darcy's head hit her pillow, she was out like she'd been hit by a semi. Unfortunately, she'd been out for what seemed like mere minutes when she was awoken by Violet’s insistent wailing. Darcy groggily reached for her glasses and checked her clock. She'd been asleep for about four hours instead of the brief minutes that it felt like.
She rolled out of her bed and reached for her decidedly unhappy niece. “It's ok baby, I know, let's go get you something to eat.”
She tucked the infant to her shoulder, shushing her and hoping they wouldn't disturb Bucky. Violet settled slightly, only giving a hiccuped cry every few minutes. Darcy made her way to the kitchen fixed a bottle and tucked it into Violet’s mouth. Baby Vi seemed pleased with the offering, half closing her brown eyes and suckling away at the bottle. Darcy carried her to the living room and plopped down on her couch, leaning her head against the back and dozing lightly while her niece finished eating. When she’d emptied the bottle, Violet popped off with an unhappy bleat, pulling Darcy sharply from her light sleep. She tossed a burp cloth over one shoulder and settled Violet onto it, patting firmly and rhythmically over her little back. After a few minutes she was rewarded with a belch worthy of a trucker.
“Good job, sweetheart. Let's get you back to bed now.” Darcy shifted the infant back down into the cradle of one arm and began to lightly bounce her, but to no avail. Violet started to emit low whimpers that quickly escalated to full on ear-piercing wails of unhappiness. Darcy changed her diaper, tried burping her again, undressed her, redressed her, wrapped her in a blanket like a baby burrito, she bounced her, rocked her, and still she could not get Violet to stop crying.
By the time Bucky wandered sleepily out into the living room, Darcy was desperately researching baby soothing methods online and about thirty seconds away from joining Violet in bawling her eyes out.
“Hey, everything alright out here,” he asked over the sound of Vi’s crying, his voice hoarse with sleep.
“No, I think Vi is broken! I've tried everything and I still can't get her to stop crying!” Darcy was not ashamed to say that a few tears might have started to leak from her eyes.
Bucky reached out to rub Darcy's back in soothing circles. “It’s alright, honey. Babies just get like that sometimes,” he told her. And then to Darcy's complete surprise, he plucked the screaming baby from her arms and curled her against his chest. Violet kept screaming, but it was somewhat muffled into the hollow at his throat. With her safely tucked against him, Bucky made his way to the kitchen and turned on her faucet, adjusting the temperature and then stoppering the drain when he'd got it to his preference.
Darcy followed him to the kitchen watching him with curiosity. “Hey, doll,” he said, looking up at her. “Would you mind getting me a couple bath towels? Big fluffy ones, preferably.”
Darcy nodded and went to fetch his requests from her linen closet in the hall. She returned to see he had stripped Violet down to her tiny diaper and was humming lowly to her. Darcy handed him the towels, one of which he tucked down into the basin of her sink, setting the other off to the side, and then shut off the water. Once he'd arranged the towel exactly how he wanted it in the water, he stripped off Vi’s diaper and gently lowered her into the warm water.
Almost instantly, Vi’s wails cut off and were replaced by soft, ragged breathing. Her little eyes went wide, eyebrows comically arched on her forehead for a long moment before she finally relaxed against the soft towel and Bucky's flesh hand that was tucked under her shoulders. Darcy let out the breath she'd been holding and watched in awe as the tiny, angry hellion of a few minutes ago turned into a happy, cooing bundle of naked joy once more.
“How in the hell did you know how to do that?” she asked in shock.
Bucky gave a soft chuckle before answering, “I used to do the same thing for Rebecca...my sister.” His eyes canted to the middle distance, memory and sorrow stirring in their depths. “She was a lot younger than me. I was 15? Maybe 16 when she was born, and Pop worked long hours so it was up to me to help Ma when Becca was born. She was so small...and angry. Grumpiest little baby, couldn't hardly get her to stop crying. The docs called it ‘colic’ back then, but that was just a fancy word for ‘she's fussing for no good reason’.” His mouth quirked up into a half smile. “Poor Ma, she used just walk and walk around with her at night, trying to calm her, until finally we figured out Becca was part fish. Happiest kid in the world once she got dunked in a bucket of water.”
Bucky gave a delighted laugh at a new memory that pushed forward. “Ma said it was because she was eager for her baptism, that she cried because she was ready for the sacrament. It seemed more likely to me that she was part seamonster.” Bucky focused his eyes back down to the happily cooing baby in his hand. “I bet you're part seamonster too, aren't ya sweetheart,” he crooned to her, niggling a fingertip into her ribs and eliciting a giggle.
Darcy was pleased to see that he hadn't even seemed to notice that he'd tickled Vi with his mechanical hand. She watched man and baby smile ridiculously at each other for awhile until Violet let loose a huge yawn.
“Ah there it is, babydoll. I knew those sleepies were in there somewhere. Just had to go swimming to find ‘em,” he cooed at her. Then, to Darcy, “Hey, doll, grab that other towel, please?”
Darcy gathered the towel in her arms, stretching it over her chest for Bucky to place Violet on. She gathered the ends of the towel around the baby, drying her quickly and fetching a fresh diaper to put her in. When she was dry and diapered, Bucky reclaimed her and began redressing her in the soft footie pajamas she’d been wearing. Violet let loose another wide yawn and her eyes began to give a telltale droop. Bucky tucked her against his chest with her little face nuzzled into the side of his neck and then began to sway gently from side to side, slow dancing with Violet across the tile kitchen floor.
“You got any music you can play in here? Something real soft and slow?”
Darcy nodded, pulling out her phone and opening up Pandora. Scrolling through her stations, she grinned and clicked on her 40s jazz station. The soft strains of Louis Armstrong’s trumpet started up, playing the opening notes of “La Vie En Rose.” Bucky’s head snapped up, recognition flashing on his face, as he altered his swaying to match the beat of the song.
“I...I know this song,” he said, head canting to the side as he listened as Armstrong began singing in his distinctive style. “The words though...the words are wrong.” Bucky’s brow furrowed in confusion for a moment before suddenly clearing.
And then--holy Thor--to Darcy’s absolute shock, Bucky began to quietly sing over the words, but in perfect French. Darcy could have been knocked over by a leaf in that moment, with her jaw popped open and eyes wide with disbelief. He noticed her reaction and gave her a wink and began to sing out with confidence. He’d obviously had no professional voice training, but Bucky sang in a warm, gravelly baritone that was pleasantly in tune and doing really funny things to her insides. He continued to sway in slow circles across her kitchen floor, singing sweetly into Violet’s ear and thumping her lightly on her diapered tush to the beat of the song. Within minutes, Vi was out cold, snoring lightly against the side of his neck. He sashayed gracefully out of Darcy’s kitchen and down the hall to her room, where he tenderly laid Violet down and, still humming softly, backed slowly out of the room and shut the door. He returned to the kitchen to find Darcy watching him with something that looked a bit like awe.
“Marry me,” Darcy breathed out.
Bucky snickered lightly. “Aw, I’ve seen that look before. You’ve got baby fever and you’ve got it bad. Likely to marry anybody just to get your hands on one of those little darlings.” He jerked a thumb behind him in the direction of Darcy’s room.
“Ok yeah, you’re probably right, but I don’t see any other men hanging around my apartment, so it’s all on you, buddy.” Darcy looked around her kitchen, making her point about the lack of options.
Bucky laughed and gave her a bittersweet grin. “Sweetheart, you don’t wanna marry me or have any baby that was mine. That’s baggage that a sweet thing like you doesn’t need in her life.”
Darcy wasn’t sure how to respond, taken aback by the sudden change in tone that the conversation had taken. Before she could gather her thoughts, Bucky leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to her forehead, cupping his right hand to the back of her neck. Darcy closed her eyes at the pressure and the closeness and the perma-sadness radiating off him.
And then he was gone, heading to his room and shutting the door behind him. Darcy sighed, suddenly exhausted, and made her way to her own room, slipping softly between her sheets and falling into a restless sleep.
***
The Sunday morning sun rose relentlessly, beating light into her closed eyes and waking the infant sleeping at the foot of her bed. Violet woke up happy though, thank the lord. She lay in her crib gurgling and chattering at herself for a few blessed minutes while Darcy tried to get in just a tiny bit more shuteye.
Violet eventually let loose one sharp cry, but before Darcy could get up to grab her, there was a light knock on the door. She invited Bucky in, calling to him through the door. He peeked his head around the door, then moved in fully to place a steaming mug of coffee next to her on her bedside table. Darcy thought she might actually cry.
“Morning sunshine, thought you could use some coffee after last night.” He smiled at her briefly before turning and retrieving the cranky infant from her crib. “And good morning to you, little one. Bet you could use some breakfast libations as well.” He then pulled a bottle of milk from his back pocket and tucked the nipple into her mouth. Violet instantly quieted except for the soft gulping sounds coming from her throat.
He turned to Darcy after a moment. “I’ll go make us some breakfast. You can either sleep a bit more if you want or come on out. Either way, I’ll take over babysitting for a bit so you can get a break.”
The smile on her face was actually making her cheeks ache a bit. “James Buchanan Barnes, you are the biggest, sweetest, sap I’ve ever met.”
Bucky held a finger to his lips, “Shhh, that’s a secret. Don’t go telling anyone. I have a very terrifying reputation to uphold.” He grinned and winked at her, blue eyes twinkling brightly in the early morning sunlight.
After he turned to leave, she mumbled under her breath, “Winter Soldier, my ass. More like Summer Softy.”
Despite the fact that he was halfway to her kitchen already, he seemed able to hear her and let off a startled laugh. Damn, his hearing was super de duper good, then. She’d need to take this information into further consideration the next time she decided to engage in much needed “me time.” Yeesh, that had some astoundingly embarrassing possibilities.
Darcy propped herself up on her pillows and began to slowly sip her coffee. When her mug was finally empty, she felt mostly human again, so she stumbled over to her bathroom to change and pee and make herself look and smell at least halfway decent. When she’d finished, she joined Bucky and Violet in the kitchen.
He was seated at the table, Vi in his left arm, fork piled high with eggs in his right hand, reading what looked like an honest-to-god, Sunday paper.
“Good Morning, Grandpapa Barnes, where in the hell did you find that relic?”
Bucky returned her shiteating grin with a look of distinct unamusement. “Don’t be petty, sweetheart. They still sell them at the grocery store.” He went back to reading and eating while she grabbed a plate and filled it with assorted breakfast fare.
After a few minutes of munching, Darcy turned to Bucky. “I gotta ask, where did you learn the French version of La Vie En Rose?”
Bucky gave her a saucy grin. “Impressed you with that one, didn't I? It got real popular when me and the Commandos were running around Europe, hunting down Hydra. Dernier had a big thing for Edith Piaf, used to sing it all the damn time. After a while, the rest of us picked it up by association. I betcha Stevie could sing it word for word, too.” He shrugged his shoulders and went back to eating his breakfast.
“I was impressed, actually. You have a beautiful voice, Bucky. I wouldn't mind hearing it again sometime,” Darcy admitted to him. Bucky looked up at her, eyes wide, before ducking his head in embarrassment.
Seriously? What a cutie.
The day passed quickly, with Bucky and Darcy taking turns keeping Violet healthy, happy, clean, and fed. Bucky seemed to have finally gotten over his self-consciousness with Violet after the influx of memories the night before had reminded him just how good he was with babies. Which was good, because there were a few moments throughout the day when Darcy was definitely out of her depth. They made a good team, her and Buck, and she was a little sad when their time as surrogate parents ended that evening with the return of Angie and Rob.
Angie bustled into the apartment with her usual cheerfulness, rushing Bucky and scooping her sleeping daughter from his arms. “Oh my sweet baby, I missed you so much. I swear to god, you got bigger while we were gone. Don’t you think she looks bigger, Rob?” Angie looked up to her husband who had ambled in behind her.
“Oh, yes definitely,” he said, rolling his eyes good naturedly. He stepped up beside his wife to kiss his daughter on the crown of her curly, brunette head. Rob McKenzie shared Violet’s brown eyes, but the brunette curls were all Angie. Rob had sandy-blond hair that often stuck out in odd directions from his habit of running his hands through it, usually in response to his wife’s antics. He was a gentle soul though, warm and steadying where Angie was bright and energetic. The two were a good match, balancing and bettering each other in equal measure.
Rob turned to Bucky, sticking his hand out and shaking the other man’s firmly. “Sergeant Barnes, it’s an honor to meet you, sir. Thank you for taking such good care of my girl.”
Bucky met the other man’s obvious admiration with unease, a flush burning over his ears. He ran a hand through his hair and mumbled a reply. “Of course. She was an angel.”
Darcy snorted. “Don't let Bucky lie to you. She's a little hellion that looks like an angel. She has some kind of demonic agenda against sleeping at night, apparently.”
“Did she do the thing where she won't stop crying in the middle of the night? I would have told you about that except, you know, I didn't want you to refuse to take her.” Angie shot her sister a guilty grin.
Darcy met it with a glare and a groan. “Of course you didn’t. Thankfully Bucky is the baby whisperer to end all baby whisperers. He got her back to sleep in like ten minutes.”
Angie and Rob looked at Bucky with matching faces of amazement. “How the crap did you do that, man?” Rob choked out.
Bucky shrugged self consciously. “I just gave her a bath in the sink. Warm water calmed her down enough to get sleepy again and then I danced with her a bit until she was out.” He tucked his hands in his pockets and gave another shrug.
Angie turned sharply to her younger sister. “Marry him. I don't care who he is, you need to marry that man.”
Darcy busted up with laughter as Bucky's flush from before spread over his cheeks and down his throat. “I know, right,” she giggled out.
“Alright, cut it out. I'm old enough to be your grandfather, for godssake,” he griped.
“Yeah, but you don't look it,” Rob interjected, giving Bucky the once over.
Angie cackled and pulled her husband in for a heated kiss. “Alright, lover boy, back to the car. No more flirting with the elderly.” She threw a wink at Bucky over Rob’s shoulder before leading her husband to Darcy’s front door where Violet’s assortment of baby accoutrements was stacked. The two sisters hugged their goodbyes and then Darcy leaned down to smack a kiss to one of Vi’s fat baby cheeks. Rob pulled her into a bear hug, and thanked her again for giving them some much needed time off, before turning and waving goodbye to Bucky.
With their goodbyes finished, the McKenzie clan filed out, making Darcy promise to come home for Christmas and bring her new elderly friend, much to Bucky’s surprise. Darcy pressed the door shut behind her, leaning heavily against it and looking up at Bucky. “I don't know about you, but I'm gonna go take a nap for the next three years.”
Bucky grinned at her, following her towards the bedrooms. “I've done that before actually. Waking up is hell after sleeping that long. I wouldn't recommend it.”
“Har har, smartass. I'll see you at dinner time then. You're buying me a shit ton of soul food when I wake up.”
Bucky gave her a saucy salute and, “yes ma’am,” then ambled down the hall to his own room to pass the everloving fuck out. They say war is hell, but war ain't got nothing on a four month old baby.