Chapter 8
24 Weeks Pregnant
Bucky
It was Wednesday afternoon and Bucky was at work.
Currently he was he was squatting down and restocking some tomato soup cans on the bottom shelf, which was an unfortunate place to be at six months pregnant.
He thought about sitting down completely, but realized he probably wouldn't be able to get off the floor.
Bucky was trying to focus on work but was a little distracted, Luke's birthday was this Sunday and Bucky still had a lot to do.
Steve said he would help as much as he could, and that his mother agreed (volunteered) to bake the cake, so at least he didn't have to worry about that.
He still had to get decorations, and cups and plates.
They'd decided to have it at the park a few blocks from their house, there was almost always an open bench there. And a playground too, so at least the kids would be able to enjoy it.
It was April and the weather was being generous so they decided outdoors would be best.
Bucky struggled to stand up, grabbing the shelf with one hand for leverage and using the other to support his back.
He took in a few deep breathes when he was up, getting a little frustrated with how hard everything was becoming.
A cleared throat startled him, making him jump and turn to the noise.
His manager stood before him, Damien.
Damian was a douchebag.
He was an Alpha, with dark brown curly hair and spray tanned skin. He had these beady little brown eyes, and a nose that his head didn't quite grow into.
The Alpha was around twenty or something, Bucky couldn't remember, and honestly? He didn't really care.
Damian was the kind of guy to act like he was superior to every one else, he thought that because he was the manager he basically ruled the entire store.
Yeah, he was in charge but that didn't give him any right to be such a jerk.
Sometimes Bucky wants to slap him in his square face and tell him to get off his fucking high horse, because he's the manager of a grocery store not a goddamn king.
But Bucky refrained, because he couldn't afford to loose this job.
So he took in a breathe and faced the Alpha.
"Yes?"
"You've been kind of slow recently, might be the weight gain but that's no excuse. Just because you let yourself go doesn't mean you can slack off."
Bucky raised an eyebrow, letting out a small laugh.
"I'm pregnant you know, not fat. And I haven't been slacking off, I get as much done as always." Bucky said, trying his best to keep his anger in check.
"You're pregnant, aren't you like, seventeen?" Damien asked, the judgment was clear in his voice.
"Turned eighteen last month actually."
"But you got knocked up when you were seventeen. Who's your baby daddy?"
"That's none of your business. Can you please tell me what the problem is so I can get back to work?" Bucky asked, he was getting really fed up with this guy.
Recently his fuse has been pretty short, the pregnancy hormones hitting him full on. Last night the kids convinced him to watch Finding Nemo, big mistake. Especially when he got a call from Steve during the movie, only to panic the Alpha because he couldn't stop crying.
"Yeah, since you're apparently pregnant it seams to be slowing you down and I think I'm gonna have to let you go." Damian said, scanning the contents of the shelf.
"You can't fire someone because they're pregnant. It's illegal." Bucky stated.
Damien looked back at him then, his eyebrows raised in shock and confusion.
"It is?" The Alpha dumbly asked.
Bucky nodded. "Mhmm."
"Oh. well then, get back to work." Damien said. The Alpha slowly turned around, scratching his head as he walked away.
How this prick became manager Bucky will never know.
The Omega sighed, resuming his work. He still had work at the bookstore later.
It was gonna be a long day.
_-_-_-_
By the next day the bad luck seemed to continue, as his morning wasn't going all to well either.
First his alarm didn't go off.
He was awoken by Becca shaking him awake, stating they would be late for school.
So he rushed to get ready, he had to make the kids breakfast too, because his dad had already left for work.
Then his mom called him into her room, claiming that she had a fever.
So Bucky heated up a can of chicken noodle soup for her, and dug through the bathroom drawers and found some DayQuil.
Unfortunately all of this seemed to iterate the baby, because Bucky was getting jabbed in the ribs non stop. He tried to sooth the kid with a few rubs, but no dice.
He was helping Julia with her shoes when he heard a knock, and then the door opened and footsteps approached.
Steve stood at the entrance of the living room, smiling tiredly.
"Hey, we'll be ready soon. Got a late start this morning." Bucky said, reaching over and making sure Jack's backpack was zipped up.
He slowly stood from his crouched position, putting his hands on his belly and sighing.
Steve walked over to him with a frown, the Alpha rubbed his back lightly. "You okay babe?"
Bucky nodded, chewing on his lip with his eyes closed. "Mhmm, little one won't stop kicking me in the ribs." He sighed before turning to Steve with a tired smile.
The Alpha leaned into his side, arms circling his waist. Steve planted a kiss on his jaw, rubbing his nose against Bucky's neck.
Scent marking.
They were interrupted by Jack running into Steve's legs, making the Alpha chuckle.
"What's up big man?"
Jack started to climb up the Alpha, Steve opted for picking him up instead.
Jack just rested his head against Steve's shoulder, arms thrown around the Alpha's neck.
That was odd, usually Jack was a little ball of excitement and energy.
"You okay buddy?" Steve asked, looking at Bucky in confusion.
Jack just let out a noise somewhere between a grunt and a sigh.
Bucky reached his hand out to feel his forehead, only to find it burning and sweaty.
"Oh Jack, I think you're sick." Bucky said.
It would make sense. If his mom was sick it had to come from someone else in the house, seeing as she never left the property.
"Okay, Steve can you take him up to my moms room? She's sick too, so just lay him in her bed. Um, I'm gonna check on the other kids, see if they're sick too."
Steve nodded and made his way out of the room and up the stairs.
Bucky called the others into the room. Becca walked in first, followed by Julia, and then Luke who stumbled after his siblings.
"Are you guys feeling okay?" Bucky asked, leaning down to feel their foreheads.
No fever, phew.
They all nodded.
"Yeah, why?" Becca asked.
"Mom and Jack are sick, just wanted to make sure you guys weren't too." Bucky said.
Julia's eyes widened, and she gasped in panic.
Bucky was quick to pick her up and comfort her.
"It's okay Julesy, you don't have a fever and you said you felt fine. I don't think you're sick, so don't worry about it alright?" Bucky asked softly.
She nodded, sniffled, and then smiled. The toddler leaned up for a kiss, and Bucky happily complied.
Luke got jealous, running (toddling) to Bucky.
At this point Bucky was sitting on the ground, it was to much work to stay squatting that long. He let both Julia and Luke sit on his legs.
Steve came back downstairs and chuckled when he saw them.
"Your mom let Jack climb in bed with her, and he fell right asleep." The Alpha said.
"Good. We should really get going, we're gonna be late." Bucky said, picking Luke up and setting him beside him. Luckily Julia stood up by herself.
Bucky tried to get up, suddenly regretting his choice to sit on the floor.
After his second attempt he sighed, and looked at Steve with sad eyes.
The Alpha was just smiling, not smug but not, not smug.
"Need some help?" Steve asked, biting his lip amusedly.
Bucky huffed, but reached his hands up.
Slowly Steve helped him to his feet, the Omega's belly pointed towards the sky until he was level.
_-_-_-_
Bucky was getting ready to head to lunch, stopping at his locker first to put away some books. He told Steve he'd meet him there, the Alpha reluctantly agreed.
Bucky closed his locker and sighed, resting his forehead against the cool metal.
The baby still wouldn't let up on the kicking, and it was starting to drive Bucky crazy.
He'd had to make more bathroom trips then usual today, because of the constant attack against his bladder.
He looked down at his protruding stomach, setting his hands against it.
Doctor cho said the baby was bigger than average (it's not a bad thing, she assured), most likely the child was gonna be an Alpha.
But Cho also said it could just be a big baby, either way it didn't really matter to Bucky.
And besides, his mom said that when she was pregnant with him she was bigger then he is now.
And he's an Omega.
He was brought out of his thoughts by a loud banging against the lockers, he could feel it vibrate.
Bucky looked up slowly, finding someone he very much didn't want to see standing in front of him.
Brock freakin Rumlow.
Bucky had never had any problems with Brock in the past, the Alpha usually left him alone, finding some freshmen to bully instead.
But Bucky knew that it couldn't be good if the Alpha had approached him personally, seeking him out.
Bucky took in a nervous breathe, not daring to say anything.
Bucky wasn't one to cower, but he also knew that in his state (and the fact that Brock was almost twice his size in muscle) he stood no chance against the Alpha.
Goddamnit, he should have just let Steve walk him to his stupid locker.
But no his bad luck just had to continue.
Fuck his life.
The Alpha standing in front of him cleared his throat, a small smile spreading on his lips.
It wasn't quite a smirk, which reassured Bucky somewhat. Although he still felt incredibly uncomfortable and unsafe.
"Hi little Omega, how are you doing?" Brock asked, his voice teasingly cute.
Bucky didn't say anything.
The Alpha chuckled quietly, resting his left hand against the locker and leaning over Bucky some more.
Bucky now had his back pressed against the locker, trying to stay as far away from Brock as possible.
The Alpha began to talk again, his eyes going back and fourth between Bucky's lips and eyes.
"Don't be scared of me, I wouldn't hurt you. I happen to like you, think you're kinda cute."
Brock brought his free hand up to cup Bucky's face, thumb rubbing against his cheek.
Bucky's eyes watered involuntary.
"Your name's Bucky right? That can't be your real name though, could it?"
Bucky shook his head no.
The Alpha nodded slightly, his smile growing wider.
"That's what I thought, so what is your name?"
Bucky looked down, only to have the hand on his cheek guide his face back up.
Brock raised an eyebrow, his face may show innocence, but his scent was aggressive. He smelt like cigarettes, and burnt plastic.
Nothing like Steve. Brock's scent was just wrong.
"J-James." Bucky stuttered out, biting the inside of his cheek out of nerves.
"James, what a nice name. So James, how's about you and me get out of here and go have some fun." Brock asked, biting his lip suggestively.
Was Brock trying to pick him up? The Alpha knew he had a boyfriend right? Huh, like that would stop him. But he was also pregnant (very obviously pregnant, if his protruding stomach had anything to say about it), oh god, was Brock into that. He was probably a kinky bastard, fucking hell, why couldn't he just have one normal day? Is that to much to ask?
"I'd rather not." Bucky said, trying to choose his words wisely. He wasn't sure if Brock Rumlow was the type to hit a pregnant person, and he sure as hell didn't wanna find out.
"Mmmm, that's not what I wanted to hear. Are you sure I can't change your mind, it'll be real fun, I promise. I'll make you feel good, better than that blonde oaf ever could." Brock said, his face was now inches from Bucky's.
The Omega took in a sharp breathe, trying to find the courage to get this the fuck over with.
"I don't want to. Please just, leave me alone." Bucky whispered, hoping the Alpha would back off.
"Can't do that sweetheart. Because you see, when I want something, I take it. And I want you, I want you bad."
Brock's hands had slid down to Bucky's hips, his thumbs rubbing circles into Bucky's belly.
Bucky shuddered in fear when Brock's forehead touched his own.
"So, let's try this again. Will you, get out of here, with me?" Brock whispered, making sure to enunciate each word.
"No." Bucky whispered, voice barely audible.
"Wrong. Answer." Brock said, voice just as quite as Bucky's, but the growl in it scent a fear down Bucky's spine that he'd never felt before.
The Alpha's snarl was vicious, but his punch was fucking feral.
_-_-_-_
Steve
Steve wasn't happy when Bucky told him he'd meet him at lunch.
He felt he needed to protect his boyfriend, to keep him company, to just be around him.
But Bucky said he'd be fine (he also said Steve was being "to fucking clingy, so just go to lunch and I'll meet you there." The Omega could also be heard muttering as he walked away, "Jesus Christ, I'm already getting attacked in the ribs by the big blondes giant mini me. I can walk to my damn locker by my fucking self..." and so on and so fourth and what have you).
But that didn't stop the Alpha from worrying.
So much could go wrong.
What if he tripped or slipped on a wet floor or something, him and the baby could get hurt. Or what if someone ran into him to hard? What if someone tried to bully him? (they wouldn't dare make fun of Bucky in front of Steve, to intimidated by the Alpha to say a thing about his pregnant boyfriend)
Steve had already gotten them food, and was now sitting at their usual table. His right leg couldn't stop bouncing, and he refused to eat until Bucky got here.
He knew he was being paranoid and over protective, but he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong.
"Dude, relax." Sam said, shaking Steve's shoulder slightly.
"What time is it?" Steve asked.
Bruce looked at his watch, "2:11."
"Why is he taking so long, something must have happened." Steve said, standing from the chair, or, trying to. Sam's hand firmly held him down.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but he is pregnant." Sam said, eyebrows raised teasingly, although you could see the worry in his face. "He's probably just moving slow, I'm sure he's fine man, just calm down." Sam said.
So Steve did.
Kind of.
He was completely relaxed.
If it was opposite day and relax meant freaking the fuck out, then yes, he was the most relaxed person in this freakin cafeteria.
It had now been fifteen minutes since Steve had arrived for lunch, and Bucky's locker wasn't far from the cafeteria.
"I don't care if I'm being paranoid, I'm gonna go check on him." Steve said, standing from the table.
"Yeah I'll go with you, I'm getting kind of worried too." Sam said.
Together they walked out to the hall, making turns until they made it to Bucky's locker.
Said locker was placed at the other end of the hall, where Steve saw the worst thing he'd ever seen happen.
And right in this moment the Alpha wished he'd have listened to his gut sooner, wished he'd have just walked Bucky to his locker even if it meant the Omega would complain.
Wished he could have stopped this horrific event.
Because it made his heart shatter.
And shear panic pulsed through his entire being.
He'd just witnessed Brock Rumlow's fist connecting with his boyfriends jaw, sending the Omega crumbling to the floor.
Steve was sprinting the second he saw the other Alpha.
In that moment everything tuned out, he couldn't hear Sam's footsteps behind him, didn't even register the blood rushing in his ears.
Instinct took over, and instinct said to kill.
When he'd reached the other end of the hall, his feet left the ground and his body tackled Brock's middle, sending them both crashing down.
Steve landed on top, his legs locking Brock under him as his fist pounded into the others face.
He was pretty sure he heard a crack that he assumed was Brock's nose.
The only reason he stopped was because arms encircled his waist, pulling him from the beaten body.
"-eve! Stop Steve! You're gonna fucking kill him!" Sam's voice came back muffled, the rushing in his ears waning so he could properly hear.
When Steve's eyes finally left Brock's bloody face, he turned his head to the right to see a teacher from the closest class room staring at him in shock. Well she could stare all she fucking wants, she'd be in even more shock had Steve had it his way (his way being; the death of Brock Rumlow).
As his head started to clear, he realized he'd yet to look at the thing most important in this situation.
He snapped his head to the left, seeing Sam holding Bucky's head to the side, inspecting his jaw.
Steve felt like crying when he saw the Omega's face.
His jaw had already started to turn purple, and some blood leaked from a cut there. There were tears streaming down his face, big fat ones. And he was holding his stomach with shaking hands.
All sound, all smell, every sense came back to Steve when he looked at Bucky.
And he snapped into action.
Launching himself over to the Omega, brushing his hair back gently, so, so gently.
He placed his other hand next to Bucky's, feeling his child move from inside.
"Babe? Are you okay? Is the baby okay? I- I don't know what I'm supposed to do." Steve said shakily, as he wiped away his boyfriends tears only for them to be replaced with more.
Bucky's lip just wobbled and he let out the most excruciatingly heartbreaking sob Steve had ever heard.
His hands had gripped Steve's, still shaking in fear and pain.
Steve turned when he felt Sam's hand on his shoulder, the Beta leaning close so he could whisper in Steve ear.
"You need to take him to the hospital, I know he got punched in the face but pregnancies are tricky like that. The baby could have gotten hurt, or Bucky's probably in a lot of shock. So just take him, I'll cover for you guys in class." Sam said, his voice urgent and quite as not to alarm Bucky more.
Steve just nodded, reaching out to help Bucky up.
The Omega was having trouble getting his feet under him because he was shaking so bad, so Steve just picked him up bridal style, making sure to be gentle.
He didn't say another word to Sam, just made his way towards the doors, stepping over Brock's body in the process.
The Alpha was breathing, laying limp on the floor, his faces already swollen from Steve's fists.
When he got to the car, he set Bucky on his feet, keeping a hand on the Omega's waist so he wouldn't fall. He unlocked the door as fast as he could, then helped Bucky climb in.
He picked up the omegas hand, giving it a kiss before he shut the door and rounded the car to the drivers side.
"The baby looks just fine. And mommy is looking good too, although that's gonna leave a nasty bruise and will probably last for awhile. You're lucky it didn't break your jaw. I can't give you anything for it, so all I can recommend is keeping ice on it." The doctor explained, she was nice and reassured them that Bucky and the baby were going to be fine.
Steve breathed a sigh of relief, leaning in to kiss Bucky's head.
The Omega hadn't let go of Steve hand since the car, squeezing almost painfully tight.
The poor guy was still trembling, and seemed to cling to Steve like a lifeline.
The Alpha tried to keep his scent calming, but it was hard when he'd been so worried.
He just had to remember that the doctor said everything would be fine, Bucky and the baby were okay, they were healthy, and they were never leaving Steve's sight again.
_-_-_-_
Once they'd gotten back to Bucky's house all the Omega wanted to do was lay down and cuddle.
Unfortunately his dad was home, the Alpha walked out of the kitchen, a pink apron thrown across his chest.
"Hey you're home, Jack and your ma are still upstairs. They're feelin' pretty lousy so I'm making them some sou-" George's voice cut off when he saw Bucky's face.
The purple had spread, and along with that came swelling. His right eye was slightly swollen and his lip was looking a little puffy too.
"Who. The hell. Did this. To my baby boy?" George asked, eyes directed at Steve.
Steve had always been somewhat intimidated by the older Alpha, but never like this. He wondered if this is what he looked like when he saw Bucky get punched.
"Brock Rumlow." Bucky said, voice so quite it was almost a whisper.
"I'll kill him." George said, eyes turning back to Bucky and a protective scent crowding the air.
"You can't kill him, you'll go to jail." Bucky replied.
He was tired and Steve could tell, the Alpha still had his arm wrapped around Bucky, making sure he wouldn't drop dead at any second.
"I'll beat him up then."
"He's a minor, you'll still get arrested."
"Then I'll threaten him so good it'll scare the ever living shit out of him." George tried to compromise, although Steve assumed he would do all of the above.
"Can you get me some ice? Or a bag of peas? Something cold." Bucky asked, changing the subject.
George was quick to comply.
Steve led Bucky to the living room, the two sitting down on the couch. Bucky just tucked into Steve's side, under his arm, resting the left side of his face (the non injured side) against Steve's shoulder.
George returned with a ziplock sandwich baggie filled with ice and a hand towel.
"I couldn't find any peas, but just wrap the towel around it and it should be fine." George explained.
Bucky did as instructed, gently pressing the homemade ice pack against his bruised jaw.
George leaned down, running his fingers through Bucky's hair.
"Aww, Buckaroo. This sucks."
Bucky nodded pitifully, as more tears gathered in his eyes.
Steve just brought his hand up to Bucky's stomach, he could feel the baby kicking.
Bucky had said earlier that they were being very active, but the events of the day probably weren't helping.
"Can you tell me what exactly happened Buck?" Steve asked, keeping his voice gentle.
"Wait, you don't know what happened?" George asked.
"All I saw was Bucky getting punched, and then I just kind of, pummeled Brock's face." Steve said, unsure how George would respond.
"Good." Was all the Alpha said, nodding at Steve in a sign of approval.
They both turned back to Bucky, making sure to keep their faces neutral as to not make him feel cornered.
"Well, I'd told you that I was gonna meet you for lunch, because I had to stop at my locker." Bucky started, and the two nodded along.
"And then Brock showed up..." as he explained what all the Alpha said, both Steve and George felt nothing but murderous rage towards that asshole.
Steve always knew he was a bully (used to be a victim of Rumlow's), he still beat up poor unsuspecting freshman. But what kind of low life would hit someone who was pregnant, that's just evil.
"-and then he punched me." Bucky finished.
"Are you sure I can't kill him?" George asked.
"No, because if you went to jail I don't know what I'd do." And that seemed to work, because George melted instantly.
The older Alpha was about to say something when Rebecca and Julia came running in.
Julia climbed up in Steve's lap, leaning over to look at Bucky's face with a frown.
Becks came up on the Omega's other side, an identical frown on her face.
"What happened to your face?" Becca asked.
"A really mean person hurt me." Bucky explained.
Both girls looked equally as mad as Steve and George. "Do you want me to beat him up?" Rebecca asked.
"Yeah, I'll punch 'em." Julia agreed.
"Don't worry about it, I'm sure he won't be messing with me again." Bucky said, giving Steve a small smile.
"That's right, I'll be there to protect you if he even thinks of going near you again." Steve vowed.
And he wasn't lying, he would never let Brock near Bucky, ever.
_-_-_-_
Luke
Luke was confused as to why they were in the park, he didn't really like the outside.
But his big brother was holding him, so he supposed it was okay.
He didn't understand a lot of the words his bubby said, but it didn't matter because as long as Bucky was giving him attention he was content.
"Are you having a good birthday Lukey?" Bucky asked, Luke just smiled and grabbed His bubby's mouth.
Bucky laughed, and pretended to eat Luke's fingers. It make Luke laugh, happy that bubby was focused on him right now.
Except bubby's belly kept getting in the way of quality cuddle time.
The two were sitting in a foldout lawn chair, cuddled together.
"Oh!" His bubby gasped, hand settling on his tummy.
"The baby's kicking, do you want to feel?" Bucky asked, so Luke nodded. His bubby grabbed his smaller hand with his bigger one and placed it against his tummy.
He felt something like a flick, and his hand shot off. "Bad!" Luke yelled at Bucky's tummy, making his bubby laugh.
"No, it's not bad. That's just the baby moving, it's okay Luke, they're supposed to do that." Bucky explained, smiling down at him.
Luke didn't understand it, but his bubby was smiling so he smiled too.
He decided he wanted closer, for better cuddles. So he climbed up Bucky's lap, and sat on Bucky's belly. His bubby leaned back so he had more room, and Luke threw his arms around Bucky's neck, burying his face in Bucky's scent glands.
His bubby had started smelling better, sweeter.
Luke could fall asleep here, would have if his bubby didn't shake him awake, tempting him with a juice box.
Of course he agreed, who turns down a juice box.
_-_-_-_
Bucky
Bucky carried Luke over to the cooler, which sat next to the picnic table that was covered in a blue table cloth with little rockets and stars on it.
Steve was sitting at the table talking with his mom, Julia was in his lap drawing on his hand. In marker.
Once Bucky grabbed Luke a juice box (helping him with the straw), he sat on the bench next to Steve.
Sarah turned to him, a sympathetic smile on her face. "How's the bruise honey?"
"Getting better, still hurts though." Bucky said.
It's true, the bruise had gotten a little better, well, after it got a little worse of course.
It was still purple and his lip was still a little swollen, but parts of it have faded to more of a yellow and pink.
He'd been pretty good about keeping ice on it, and making sure to clean the small cut (which had thankfully sealed up, thank you Neosporin).
Him and Steve had to go and talk to the principal the day after the incident, to explain what really happened. Steve was left off with a warning, only because of what Brock had done. Apparently Brock had to go to the hospital for stitches in three places on us face (left eyebrow, right eyebrow, and chin. Steve really did a number on him), and a broken nose.
Neither Steve nor Bucky felt sorry for him, the bastard had it coming. And if Steve had it his way, it would have been a lot worse than a broken nose and some stitches.
All Bucky and Steve heard was that Brock had been expelled for abusing an Omega, who was pregnant.
Idiot.
He was brought back to the present when Luke laughed at a bug on the table, trying to smash it.
Bucky scooped it up and deposited it on the ground, and was fast to distract Luke.
"You ready to open presents little man?" He asked, Luke loved opening presents, didn't care much for the gifts, but loved tearing into paper.
Luke's hands shot up in the air, his lips forming an excited O.
"Peasants!" He shouted, making Steve and Sarah laugh at his mispronunciation.
He got up with Luke, bringing the baby to the blanket they had laid in the grass. His dad and mom brought the gifts over, Luke was spoiled this year.
Sarah and Joseph had gotten him at least four, his father had gotten him two pairs of shoes and a monkey stuffed animal. (Bucky invited all of Steve's friends, he didn't expect all of them to show up) Tony pepper and Rhodey all got one big one. Jane and Darcy got him a little bags worth while Thor's was cleverly (*cough*) wrapped in the shape of a toy truck. Peggy and Sharon had gotten him matching wrapped boxes, decorated beautifully. Sam got him a long skinny box (Bucky had no clue what the heck that was), and Bruce brought a small gift bag with a green dinosaur on the side. Nat and Clint didn't even bother to wrap theirs, just slapping a shiny bow on a nerf gun and a plastic bow and arrow (I wonder who picked out which).
Steve got him a thin box of art supplies (mostly crayons and coloring books), Bucky knows this because Steve showed him before wrapping it asking if Luke would like it. It was adorable really, the Alpha's need for approval (Bucky told him, "he's only gonna be two, I think he'll love it either way.").
Bucky smiled as Luke tore into his gifts, he sat in Bucky's lap and held up each gift to show Bucky.
Bucky looked up to find his father recording the whole thing on their old video camera.
When he was finished he tilted his head up, and asked. "All gone?"
Bucky shook his head, pulling out the present from behind him. The one he'd gotten for his little brother.
When Luke tore open the wrapping paper (from Christmas because he had nothing else) he let out a gasp, then clapped his hands in that adorable baby way.
Inside the little box was a small leather cuff, baby size.
He'd found it two months ago at the little clothing shop across from the bookstore. Bucky knew he had to get it, because Bucky had a cuff just like it and Luke always tried to steal it, wearing it around the house.
He was glad his brother was so happy with this gift, because that little boy deserved all the happiness in the world.
Luke tried to put it on, but struggled, handing it to Bucky for help. Luckily it had three buttons so you could change the size, so it would fit him for awhile.
When it was clasped around his wrist Luke proudly thrust it at everyone, stating, "look!"
They all smiled and laughed (but were secretly jealous because Luke didn't give two flying hoots about their gifts), and Luke just grinned back.
His mom came and sat down on the blanket with them, giving Luke a kiss on the forehead and a small smile (a genuine smile).
"Happy birthday baby boy." She said. Luke said a quite thank you, to distracted with his cuff to really pay attention.
Winifred looked up at him with a smile, mouthing 'thank you'.
Bucky just nodded, smiling back.
He knew what she meant, it wasn't just a thank you for planning the party, it was a thank you for everything.
After awhile they all sat down at the big picnic table for cake, Luke still didn't leave his lap.
Bucky wasn't sure how he was gonna eat his cake, seeing as last year he just smushed his whole face in.
This year he was older, much more dignified as he stuck his hands in the cake, taking out handfuls and shoveling them in his mouth (and one in Bucky's, saying, "here bubby.").
All together, it was a pretty great day.
Definitely made up for his awful week.
_-_-_-_
When they got home he gave Luke a bath, because the boy was pretty gross.
He had dirt and frosting in his hair, and behind his knees which Bucky didn't understand because he was wearing pants.
...kids.
After bath time he let him stay in his bed tonight, because it was still his birthday.
Steve stayed the night too, so they were all squeezed in together.
Luke fell asleep on Steve's chest, still holding one of Bucky's fingers.
Steve turned his head tiredly to look and Bucky, giving a small smile. "You have a good day?" The Alpha asked.
Bucky nodded, scooting over to plant a kiss on Steve's cheek.
"Great day."
"Good. Me too." Steve whispered.
Bucky rested his cheek on Steve's shoulder, his belly pressed against the Alpha's side where their baby lay, finally asleep.
It was a shitty week with a happy ending.
But the events of the day left Bucky with a smile on his face, sleep coming easily and contentedly.
So, bring it on life, bring it the fuck on.