Little Secrets, Little Bucky

Tweedle Dee And Tweedle Dum

Within a few minutes Bucky had tucked himself into Sam's side, leaning his back against him so that he could see both Steve and the television at the same time. Sam wrapped an arm around him, pointing at Steve. "Bucky, who is that? Can you say Uncle Steve?"

"Stevie!" Bucky said excitedly, giggling at the look on Steve's face.

"No, it's Uncle Steve! Say Uncle Steve, Buck," Steve prompted.

"Stevie!"

"Okay, say Uncle," Steve started, ignoring Sam's laughter.

"Uncle," Bucky repeated, false innocence all over his face.

"Now say Steve," Steve continued as Sam tried his best to keep a straight face.

"Steve," Bucky obediently echoed.

"Uncle."

"Uncle."

"Steve."

"Steve."

"Perfect!" Steve said enthusiastically, "Uncle Steve!"

"Stevie!" Bucky collapsed into a fit of giggles against Sam who was also laughing hysterically.

"Oh you think that's funny, huh?" Steve fought to keep a straight face but ultimately failed, smiling widely as he started tickling Bucky. "How funny is this?" Bucky could barely breathe from how hard he was laughing and eventually Steve let him go, leaving him gasping for air with a big smile on his face.

"You better watch out," Steve teased, pointing a threatening finger towards Bucky, "I'm gonna get you!" Bucky squealed again, hiding his face with his blankie. Steve jabbed at the fabric, "I can take this as my hunting trophy."

Bucky didn't think that was funny at all. He clutched the blanket tightly to his chest and stared up at Steve with huge tear filled eyes. "No," he whimpered, "don' take my blankie. Please don' take it away." He knew in the back of his mind that Steve wouldn't really do it, but all he could think of was his time in Hydra when any object he managed to find comfort in was cruelly ripped away, never to return.

Sam pulled Bucky into his lap, trying to comfort the frightened little boy, and Bucky clung to him doing his very best not to start crying. Y/n walked into the room with her food, getting a concerned look on her face when she saw the guilty look on Steve's face and her little boy clinging to Sam.

"What happened?" She asked, walking the short distance to the couch and setting her plate down on the coffee table. Bucky's head shot up at the sound of her voice and he reached for her, desperate for his mama. She didn't hesitate for a second to gather him into her arms, holding him close as he began sobbing quietly into her shoulder. He'd tried his best not to cry but once his mama was holding him he just couldn't keep it in anymore.

"I was just teasing him," Steve sounded lost, feeling horribly guilty that he had caused so much pain, "he was laughing about it until I made a joke about his blanket."

"He said he was going to take it," Sam said softly, "I don't think Bucky understood it was a joke,"

"I should've warned you guys," Y/n said apologetically, "you can't make jokes about things like that, it's a little too familiar to him." She sat down on the couch with Bucky who was still clinging to his blanket for fear it would be ripped away. "It's alright, baby," she said gently, rubbing his back, "no one's gonna take your blankie away. It's yours, I promise I'll make sure it stays that way."

Bucky still couldn't stop crying and Y/n stood up, walking him around the room as she soothed him and Steve felt like he was going to be sick. He had managed to frighten his best friend to the point that he was sobbing into his mama's shoulder, unable to release his blankie for fear that it would be ripped away from him. He should've known not to joke about something like that while Bucky was little, he'd had nothing of his own in Hydra and something like a security blanket that finally belonged to him must've been so important now that he was free.

Steve stood up and walked over to where Y/n had managed to calm Bucky, although he was still sniffling and shaking in his mama's arms. "I'm so sorry, Buck," he said quietly, trying not to frighten the little boy any more than he already had, "that was an awful thing to joke about and I should've known better. I would never take your blankie away from you, you deserve to have things of your own."

Bucky looked at him with big mournful eyes, seemingly confused that Steve was bothering to apologize to him. "Didn't mean to cry," he mumbled, "ruining everything." He felt absolutely terrible, Steve had to be so upset with him. He was such a crybaby that he'd ruined the whole night and now Steve and Sam would never want to see him while he was little ever again.

"You didn't ruin a thing," Steve assured him, "it's not your fault that I scared you."

"Still wanna see me?" Bucky asked tentatively, barely fighting the urge to hide his face in his mama's shoulder.

Steve gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile and extended his arms in an offer to hold him, hoping it would prove everything was alright. "Of course I do, you're my little buddy, aren't you?"

Bucky nodded his head and let Steve pick him up, sighing in relief when Steve hugged him close and whispered another apology. "I'm so sorry, Bucky. I won't make any more jokes like that."

"I 'cept your 'pology," he whispered. Steve carried him back to the couch and settled Bucky into his lap. "Watch Cars?" He asked Sam, still clutching his blanket to his chest. Y/n came and sat beside Steve, getting comfortable near her baby with her food in her lap, and as the movie began to play she realized that maybe this really could work. She watched with a smile on her face as Sam made silly jokes about the movie, pulling little giggles from Bucky as Steve held him securely in his lap. Bucky was clearly enjoying all of the positive attention and Y/n thanked her lucky stars that she and Bucky had not only had found each other but had a support system like this.

Once she had finished her food she put her empty plate on the table and realized that Bucky could probably use another bottle soon. "Bucks, I'm going to make you another bottle," she said, getting his attention from where he was playing with Sam's dog tags that were hanging from Steve's neck. "Do you wanna stay here or come with me?"

"Gonna come back?" He asked anxiously. She nodded her head, giving him a smile that made his fears melt away. Of course Mama would come back, she always did. And he didn't want to move from where he was, he was having fun playing with the dog tags that dangled on Steve's chest and he was pretty sure if he asked nicely Sam would let him play with the pair he was wearing too. "Wanna stay here, Mama."

"Okay, baby, be good for Sam and Steve, yeah?"She smiled again and walked to her suite and Bucky went back to playing with the necklace, completely missing the wide smiles on both Steve and Sam's faces. Steve looked over at Sam, knowing he was just as happy at Bucky's display of trust, and was pleased to see him completely occupied with the distracted little boy that was sitting in between them. Sam took the dog tags he was wearing off of his chest, handing them to the little boy that had asked so nicely for them and he watched as Bucky compared them to Sam's that Steve was still wearing.

Bucky's stomach started growling after a couple minutes and Steve was relieved to see Y/n walk back into the room with a bottle. Bucky immediately reached for her, eager to finally eat and she cuddled him close while she got settled on the couch. It should've been a tight fit with all four of them on the couch, but with Bucky in Y/n's lap and Sam tucked into Steve's side it was actually incredibly comfortable.

As Y/n sat there, whispering soft words of affirmation to her baby, with her brother sitting right beside her with his arm around his partner she realized that maybe this could work. It wasn't going to be easy, there were still boundaries to be figured out and rules to be set, but it could work. This could be something good, something beautiful. They could be a family.