Just as they said they were going to, Steve and Bucky go and check out the shield facilities the next day. Not really knowing what to expect you kind of just thought that they were going to be a few hours, but nope, they're gone the whole day. In fact it's dark out and you're setting up dinner before there is any sign of him being back.
It's only day one and you can already tell that this shield agent thing is going to be hard on you guys.
"Mum when's dad getting home?" Luke asks as him and Isla wait patiently at the dinner table.
"Has he gone to get the baby?" Isla gasps hopefully.
"No sweetie." You laugh. "I already told you, the baby won't be here for nine months and it's growing in here," you say patting your belly.
"Aw." She pouts.
"Luke you remember when Isla was in my tummy right?" you continue.
"Yes, you got fat," he grins cheekily.
Isla bursts out laughing.
"But anyway, I'm not sure where daddy is, I think he will be home soon but he had to go into work today," you explain.
"Work? Where does he work?" Luke frowns.
"He's working to fight bad guys." You sigh, putting it in as simple terms as possible.
"So he's like a superhero?!" He exclaims.
"Daddy superhero!" Isla squeals excitedly.
"What's this about a superhero?" A husky voice asks suddenly.
You look up to see Bucky just walking in the door brushing a hand through his hair, you didn't even hear him open it.
"We were just talking about how awesome your new job is." You smile as you walk over to him and slide your arms around him to hug him.
If he's going to be doing this you might as well support him in it.
"Dad I didn't know you were a superhero!" Luke exclaims, jumping up in his seat. "That's so cool!"
Bless your kids for always saying the right thing at the right time.
"My dads a superhero! My dads a superhero!" Luke starts chanting and marching around the table.
"Superhero! Daddy's a superhero! Superhero! Superhero! Daddy!" Isla giggles as she gets up and clumsily runs around, chasing after Luke on her little toddler feet.
"Would you look at that?" You let out a small laugh. "I think they're pretty happy."
"Superhero," Bucky ponders as if tasting the word. "That's a good way to look at it, and it sounds cool too I suppose." He grins.
Thank you children. Maybe they can have some dessert tonight.
You smile and kiss Bucky's lips before realising that he's all sweaty and smelly and damp.
"Ugh what have you been doing?" You grimace as you pull away.
"Working my superhero butt off at the gym as a matter of fact." He smirks. "Steve isn't going easy on these workouts. Oh, and that reminds me. Howard likes to refer to us as 'super soldiers' rather than 'superheros', but I don't mind whichever one you want to use. They both sound as good as each other," he teases.
"Geez did they give you a shot of cockiness while you were there today?" you joke.
"I'm just kidding," he laughs and pulls you back in for a hug and kisses the top of your head.
"Ew get away from me and go wash up while I dish up dinner," you say and push him away, slapping him on the but as he passes you.
"Okay, but not before I do this!" He grunts playfully as he runs over to the kids and scoops them up into his arms.
"Ah! Dad no!" Luke squeals in amusement.
"Yay! Daddy I missed you!" Isla shouts as she wraps her arms around his neck and buries her head in his chest, unphased by his stink.
"Aw I missed you too bubba." Bucky sighs and pats her on the back, kissing her cheek and resting his head on hers.
It's amazing how close they've gotten in such a short space of time.
"James! Go! Or else tea will get cold! And I'm not letting you sit at the dinner table looking or smelling like that," you scold him playfully. "You can tell us all about your day while we eat."
"Yes boss," he says sternly and puts down the kids to salute you before strutting off to your guys bedroom.
You can't help but think about how happy he seems tonight for the first time in ages.
You huff contently as you usher the kids back to their seats and add the finishing touches to the stew you made before you start to pour it into bowls.
"Isla it's lamb, your favourite." You smile as you turn to her and place a bowl in front of her.
"Yay! Yay! Yay!" She cheers and bangs her fists on the table.
"Here you go Luke," you say as you hand him his bowl.
You put a bowl at Bucky's place and then take your own before sitting at the table to wait for him. Although the kids know to wait you can see them straining to keep there hands back.
"Mm, smells delicious." Bucky finally sighs as he walks back into the room and leans over your shoulders to kiss you on the cheek.
"You smell a lot better too," you remark now that he's dressed in his pyjamas and smells fresh and clean with nice, fluffy hair.
He pokes his tongue out at you as he takes his seat. "Thanks, I'm really feeling the love," he says sarcastically.
You all say grave before digging in.
"So," you start between mouthfuls. "How was it?"
"Pretty overwhelming," he admits. "But cool at the same time. Everything was so big, everything is the highest, most up to date technology. I'll hand it to Peggy and Howard. They've got the best of the best in everything there. If I was a bad guy I would be scared, good thing they don't know about it though."
"I can't believe they've got it all together so quickly," you point out.
"Well, Peggy's a very smart, driven lady and Howard who is also smart, has good connections. Together, I don't think anyone can stop them." He shrugs.
"It's so funny that you're now working with Howard Stark, he used to be your idol," you laugh lightly. "Now you're probably his idol with that arm of yours."
"Don't ever tell him that or he will never let me live it down," he mumbles as he chews a hunk of meat and points his fork at you.
"I won't, don't worry." You chuckle. "And... I've heard what Howard is like. There's nothing going on between him and Peggy right?" You add more seriously.
"Oh no, God no way. He might like to think there is but Peggy would never go there, and Steve wouldn't even let him get close to trying. Not that he would try now that Steve is going to be around them so often." Bucky shakes his head.
"Lucky Peggy, at least she gets to spend the day with Steve still." You pout.
"Most of it," he corrects you.
"Still." You sigh.
"I'll have to take all of you there one day and show you around," he says more happily.
"Yes!" Luke gasps excitedly.
"Oh that would be fun!" You agree. "Especially if I get to see you work out and train," you add with a smirk.
"Trust me doll, it's just a whole lot of sweat and grunting and testosterone." He laughs.
"All the better." You quirk an eyebrow.
"It's pretty brutal if it's going to carry on how it did today. You'd probably freak out and want me to stop if you watched." Bucky goes on to tease. "The trainers don't exactly pull their punches and they make us run the miles and lift the weights enough to put even our enhanced abilities to the test. Right now I'm okay but I'm not sure if I'll be able to walk in the morning," he jokes.
"So what are you actually doing there all day? You can't tell me you train for nine hours straight." You ask.
"Well today we had a tour which took about an hour and then got into the normal routine so from now on I shouldn't be this late," he starts.
"Good because I missed you," you interrupt.
He gives you a smile before continuing. "So we pretty much train with trainers for weapons in the morning, go over and talk about possible tactics and different scenarios after that, then just before lunch me and Steve go for our own workout just before lunch doing whatever we want like cardio and weights, then look into weapons and mechanics and technology and all that after lunch before one last combat training session at the end of the day. And apparently whenever we are going to be going on mission we will spend the time leading up to it learning about the area, talking official tactics and practicing with weapons and all that kind of stuff."
"Wow that sounds intense," you say taken aback.
"It is, I'm exhausted." He nods.
"But you seem to be in a very good mood. Did you enjoy it?" you ask hopefully.
"Oh yeah, it was actually really interesting and just a completely different atmosphere to the army," he explains.
"That's good!" You smile happily.
After dinner it isn't long before you can tell that the day is catching up to Bucky and unsurprisingly he soon heads to bed, at pretty much the same time as the kids. Now that you're pregnant you get tired very early on too so it works out not too bad as you just follow him and snuggle together.
"Sorry, I forgot to ask, how was your day?" Bucky mumbles amongst the darkness.
"Good, Luke went to school like usual so Isla and I had the house to ourselves. Actually I don't really think I felt sick at all today either so that's always a bonus." You shrug.
"That's great, hopefully maybe the morning sickness is going then." He sighs.
"I don't know, it's still very early on," you point out.
"I know, I'm just really excited and want this next nine months to hurry up," he whispers and presses a kiss to your temple and places his flesh hand on your belly.
He seems to be making a habit out of this and you love it.
"Well you're already over a month down so there you go." You smile and cuddle in closer to him.
~~~~
The next couple of months consist of Bucky training intensely while you stay home and look after the kids. It isn't actually that bad, the hours are like he is working a normal job.
Although he does always come home absolutely exhausted and sometimes even a little beat up. More than once he has fallen asleep on the couch before dinner so you have just tucked him up in a blanket and left him there. He always makes his way to bed eventually however and even though he won't admit it you're pretty sure it's from his nightmares. You can tell from the way beads of sweat trickle down his forehead and temples, his eyes are dilated and his breathing is a little heavy.
His nightmares seem to have died down a bit, they don't come every night now and some are worse than others. You can't help but start to think and wonder if maybe this is actually good for him, a way to channel his insecurities.
Plus, he's gaining more weight and looking more like his old self. Except now he's even more muscly and toned and fit looking. Just one of the bonuses of the super soldier serum is that all of that kind of stuff happens quickly. Him and Steve seem to be of a very similar build now.