haii idk if ur taking reqs but i was wondering if you can write paternal!bucky x reader where he took her under his wing since being on the run in cacw and now they’re both in the new avengers but shes struggling with being a public figure (cs lets be real, val is gna market ts out of them) and misses when it was just the two of them.
A/N: Hi anon! Tysm for your request. I have no clue why it took so long but ty for being patient. This was so fun to write and I hope you enjoy reading it 🫶
Bucky Barnes x platonic teen reader
2014 - 300 minutes since freedom.
Bucky hadn’t processed it yet. Bucky? Yes. Bucky, that was his name, that was what the blond man who he remembered looking a foot smaller and 100 pounds lighter had called him. Since the blond man left, he hadn’t moved from the riverbank, he was consumed in thought, he couldn’t go into hiding before he found the small, unkempt child he had taken so many beatings for, the child who’s eyes had seen too much. He’d make sure you got out of there, even if it was the last thing he did.
2014 - 3 months, 16 hours and 240 minutes since freedom.
Romania seemed safe enough. HYDRA did t have people there… not for now at least, and Bucky spoke the language well enough, so Romania seemed like a no brainer.
Bucky was currently speaking to the elderly landlady of an unassuming tenement, it was a small one bedroom apartment, it was the kind of place that attracted the kind of people you didn’t want to share a living space with. But it was cheap, cash in hand, no questions asked.
As Bucky was settling up the agreement with the landlady, you stayed close to him, not touching. Never touching, but close enough that you knew he couldn’t go anywhere.
“The child… is it your child?”
The landlady asks in Romanian as she goes to pinch your cheeks, you don’t step back. You hated touch, Bucky knew that, but he also knew you didn’t know that ‘No’ was an option too.
“She uh- she’s got a rash” Bucky lies awkwardly, the woman draws her hand back, patting your shoulder animatedly, before handing Bucky the keys, watching you as he scoops your small form up and takes you into your new, doll sized apartment. There wasn’t much, but it was enough. There was one small room, which Bucky would set up for you, he would sleep on the kitchen floor, he hated the feel of a bed. He didn’t really deserve one anyway.
It had been a long day, Bucky had tucked you into the pathetic excuse of a bed in your small room
“Hey” he says to you softly, “Things are gonna get better for you. You’re gonna have a good life, kid.
He kisses your temple tentatively, something he had only started doing recently, but you welcomed it anyway. He turns off the light and you whimper. You hated the dark.
“Stay” you whisper almost silently.
“I’m not leaving. Not now, not ever” He vows.
You stay sat up in your ‘bed’ watching Bucky and the subtle rise and fall of his chest before succumbing to an exhaustion induced slumber. Bucky fell asleep too, at some point. But he was far from relaxed. He remained stiffly uptight and tense, like a guard dog.
2016 - 1 year, 8 months and 12 days since freedom.
Eventually, you found a routine and you began to emerge from your shell. You were less nervous, you had started to behave more like the small child you were, and not the soldier HYDRA had moulded you to be.
You loved accompanying Bucky to the bustling Romanian street markets, you liked picking out fruits and vegetables and deciding which cheeses smelt the least inoffensive to your heighten senses. This time, your market trip was different, Bucky knew something wasn’t right almost as soon as he had left the safe house with you. Someone was watching. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he was attempting to pick out the ripest plums at the stall, you were holding his hand, the metal one - just whilst he felt the fruit. As soon as he purchased said fruit, he’d be back to holding your hand with his flesh one. But unbeknownst to Bucky, he wouldn’t be purchasing any fruit today.
Out of the corner of his eye, Bucky saw a movement. One that wasn’t part of the usual busy streetscape. He dropped the plums and scooped you up in one swift motion, you go to speak - your mouth opening subtly
“Not now sweetheart” Bucky says gently, but there was a note of stress and almost anger in his voice. Not at you though, never at you, he was angry your peace and safety had been compromised.
2016 - 1 year, 8 months and 13 days since freedom.
“Where’s the kid” Bucky asks as soon as he regained consciousness.
“Which Bucky am I talking to?” Steve asks calmly
“Your mom’s name was Sarah” Bucky grumbles, “You used to stuff newspaper in your shoes” he laughs.
There’s a beat before the mood turns tense
“Where’s my kid?” He repeats a little more firmly this time, he could ignore the throbbing in his left arm. He could ignore the random man looking at him from behind Steve, but not the absence of his kid.
“Where is she Steve?”
“She’s safe” Steve emphasises
“Bucky!” You shout out as you run over to him, you hide behind him, grabbing his right arm
“Hey, hey, you’re okay?” He asks as he removes his right hand from your grasp and tucks a strand of hair behind your ear.
“Yeah” you whisper, clinging onto him.
He keeps you behind him.
2017 - 3 years, 2 weeks, 4 days since freedom
You really loved Wakanda. It was quiet. You hadn’t really experienced quiet yet. You liked school too. You were never alone, everyone was really nice and you had a great group of friends. You liked T’Challa too, he spoke to you about your powers and abilities when he didn’t have any particular duties to fulfil, it was different. You hadn’t never really spoken about that with Bucky, he didn’t speak about HYDRA. Not ever. But T’Challa wasn’t afraid to confront those topics with you. You liked talking about it in an odd way. You talked a lot, pre-tee hood had brought out a talkative side to you.
Bucky had been in cryo freeze for the last 18 months. It was a pretty big shock to him that you had gone from being waist high and quiet as a mouse to being up to his shoulder and talkative. Very very talkative. You could talk for Wakanda, you could talk to an orange about an apple. But you were still the sweetest kid in the world in Bucky’s mind - even if your new personality could overwhelm the man who had been in an induced yet peaceful slumber for the past 18 months.
You and Bucky got closer in Wakanda, like a real father and kid. Maybe it was because you were both older, both less fragile and more accepting of your scars - both the physical and mental ones. You had both gotten used to your abilities too. Bucky wasn’t so scared of his strength anymore and you had grown into your abilities, you were comfortable using them in an everyday setting. But that didn’t mean Bucky wasn’t going to let you fight in any space wars against big purple aliens any time soon….
2021 - 7 years, 2 hours since freedom
2021 - 2 years, 6 months and 2 weeks since the blip
You missed Bucky. Steve was fine, but he wasn’t Bucky. He wasn’t your dad. You stayed in your room all day, didn’t talk you had been forced back into your shell. You were failing in school and you missed Wakanda. New York was too much. Maybe you would like it more if Bucky was there, showing you the spots he grew up, where he took girls on dates, where he defended Steve, where his childhood home was. But he wasn’t there and you couldn’t be sure if he would be again. You certainly weren’t going to let yourself dream of a future with Bucky in it. Hope was a dangerous thing.
October 17th 2023 - 5 years, 5 months since the blip
You had thought about how you would react when you saw Bucky again. It had been weighing on your conscience since 2018. It had consumed your adolescent brain in a way you knew would affect you for years to come. And now Bucky was just stood there. Like he had never left, and he had the nerve to look at you like you were someone he had never seen before. Five years was a long time, especially for someone who hadn’t stopped growing yet.
You were frozen in place, your shoulders were shaking, but you weren’t crying. Not yet at least.
Bucky walks over to you and you collapse into him
“I Waited so long” you sob into him
“I’m here” he whispers as he strokes your hair, “I’m so sorry kid”
You sniffle, “I missed you”
A comforting yet somehow awkward silence came over you both. You didn’t talk for what felt like hours and after not enough time of basking in the company Bucky was providing you, you pulled away and just looked at Bucky.
A million thoughts were circling in your mind, he was finally home and you had never felt relief like it, it felt like you had been pulled out of the deep end of a pool just as you were going under. You weren’t going to let him leave again. You sure as shit wouldn’t leave him.
2024 - Healing
When you said you weren’t gonna leave Bucky, you meant that.
Bucky had never willingly left you. Ten years ago, he could’ve left you at that HYDRA facility. His life probably would’ve been easier if he hadn’t looked back. But that was Bucky. He was selfless. So there was no way you were going to listen to when he was telling you go back to bed and let him “figure his own bullshit out”. You didn’t like seeing Bucky scared. But it happened. He got nightmares. Bad ones.
Bucky said you used to get nightmares too. He’d be up all night with you, trying to soothe you, trying to make sure you felt safe enough to let your guard down to finally get a sustainable amount of shut-eye for a kid. You felt incredibly lucky that you had blocked out your time at HYDRA enough to not get nightmares, even more so as you looked at your father figure who was sat on the floor, drenched in sweat and remorse with a painful, far off look in his eyes.
“Kid, please” he mutters, distracting you from your thoughts.
“Do you want to talk about it?” You ask softly as you pick yourself up off the floor and fill up the kettle, placing it gently on the stove and turning the gas on with a ‘click’ that cut through the tense atmosphere of your apartment. You set out two mugs, putting a tea bag in each
“Do I look like I want to talk about it?” Bucky scoffs, but there wasn’t any malice in his tone. He was just tired.
Really tired.
He hadn’t stopped fighting since he started in the early 1940’s. It was a weight that bore on his soul.
You poured the tea and handed him a steaming mug, sitting back down next to him and cradling your own mug of tea, taking a slow sip of the liquid.
“Tell me something” you say gently
“Like what?”
“I dunno, tell me what your sister’s were like, or how much of a ladies man you were a million years ago”
Bucky let out a chuckle at that teasing remark and you smiled at the break in the tension
“Did you ever want kids?” You ask him earnestly. Bucky stills for a moment.
“That stuff was kind of expected back then doll.” He rubs his forehead, “you’ve watched enough movies, guys like me - all kinds of guys really, but we were expected to get a pretty wife, one who was seen and not heard and who you cheated on with your secretary, a couple of kids, preferably a few boys you could play ball with and a daughter you could ignore, a nice house in a nice neighbourhood with a picket fence - I wanted most of that as much as any other guy back then, so uh sure. I guess I wanted kids. How come you’re asking?”
“Would you have wanted a kid like me?” You whisper, almost dreading the answer.
Bucky hesitates, “You wouldn’t have fit in the forties, or whenever I settled down. Things weren’t as great as history books make that time out to be. There was lots of prejudice and discrimination and - people wouldn’t have liked you in those times. You’re far too headstrong and kind and selfless.”
You smile, “So people were assholes back then?”
“Lots of ‘em were.” Bucky says tapping the handle of his mug
“Do you think you’re my dad in every universe?” You ask suddenly
“I hope so.” He replies, but he was lost in thought, “The worst time of my life led to the best thing in it and If someone walked through that door right now and told me that I could forget everything that happened to me in HYDRA, but I wouldn’t know you, I’d tell them to leave and never some back.” He says firmly. You don’t doubt him, not even for a second. You set your tea down and hug him tightly, your grip only loosening after a peaceful slumber consumes you.
2027 - family?
Bucky could tell something wasn’t right with you as soon as you walked back into the tower from a press conference led by Valentina. You hated Val. She was vicious. You could just tell that she was a bad person. You tried to see the good in everyone but you doubted there was any in Valentina.
You liked the Thunderbolts though. You had become fond of them. But that didn’t stop you from wishing - yearning for your old life with and Bucky back though.
Since moving into the tower with the Thunderbolts, you had gotten quiet again, you were shy. You had never been like that around Sam. You were stuck in a perpetual cycle of avoiding Bucky and staying in your room. Bucky was sick of it, this melancholic, self pitying kid wasn’t the one he knew and loved. If something was wrong, if you felt something was wrong, he needed to know so he could make it better. He would make it better. That was the most important job he had.
As Bucky approached your door, the one he had painted your favourite colour against Val’s wishes, he could hear music playing. It was a song he didn’t particularly enjoy but every time you squabbled about what made music ‘good’ you hit him with the fact he almost exclusively listened to Vera Lynn, and the Beatles. He thought that was a fair point. So who was he to talk?
You were sat on your bed, sulking. You had your phone in your hand, playing music on shuffle. You were sat almost completely still with a vacant look on your face - daydreaming probably.
Bucky knocks on your door, “kid, I’m coming in” it wasn’t a question.
He walks in and looks at you before pulling out your desk chair and sitting on it, staying quiet and just observing.
“You okay kid?”
“Peachy” you mumble
“‘Cause y’know, me and you, we’re open with each other-“
You cut him off, “if you’ve come here to lecture me, now isn’t really a great time.”
“This isn’t a lecture. I’m asking you to tell me what’s wrong”
“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong Jamie. Just please drop it.”
“No. No way, you think I like seeing you mope around the tower and shut everyone out? This isn’t you, this isn’t the Y/N I know.” His voice was strained. He wanted to shout, but he wouldn’t. Shouting wouldn’t solve anything.
“You’ll think it’s stupid” you say with an air of resignation.
“And if I do, I’ll still be glad you told me.” He offers a shy smile, you couldn’t help but mimic it.
“It’s just- it’s everything. And it makes me feel like a clingy toddler.” You admit embarrassedly. “Ever since we moved into the tower I’ve missed how things were before. Before I had to do bullshit press conferences and I - I miss when it was just us.”
Bucky stays still, listening attentively.
“I guess It’s never been just us though. Not in a normal context anyway. Every time it’s been just us we’ve been in hiding, we were someone’s enemy, and when things finally started to settle when you became like a congressman and we had our own apartment and I could paint my room whatever colour I wanted without checking with the wicked witch of the West-“
“Be nice” Bucky warns sounding exasperated.
“You don’t like Val either” You retort, “although I guess in the 1920’s manners were like life or death” You tease. Bucky gives you a stern look, one that meant “shut up” but you had always found it marginally funny, you poke your tongue out at him before continuing with your soliloquy, “But now we’re here and the others are fine, I guess but I wanted you to be just a congressman. I hate it when you go away on missions, I hate it when you have to do your avengerly duties and I feel horrible for saying that but I really wanted a semi normal life, after everything.” You were crying now, but you weren’t acknowledging the tears running down your face, but that didn’t change that they were there. Bucky didn’t acknowledge them either. He was cool in that way.
“Kid-“ he frowns before moving over to you and scooping you into a hug that swallowed you whole.
You stayed like that for a while, the occasional sniffle escaping you.
“I know we’ve never been a… well we’ve never been a normal family, but I’m always gonna be there for you, Y/N.” He says unwaveringly. “The day I went back into that HYDRA facility I made a promise. I promised that you would never leave you and that you’d always be safe with me and I’ll be damned if I don’t make good on that promise”
Your face was sporting a rather wet smile now, “okay” your smile becomes evident in your voice.
“Okay?” Bucky responds
“Yeah, okay.”
“I’ll talk to Val, about those press conferences and meetings - you don’t have to deal with that shit if you don’t want to. And uh - if you want we can hang out sometimes. Just us two.” He offers shyly.
“I’d like that”
“As long as it doesn’t cost me too much money” Bucky grumbles in response
“Oh please, Steve once told me that you spent $5 trying to impress a girl, that’s like a million dollars today, so you can afford two ice-creams in Central Park once a week, thank you.”
A noise of amusement escapes Bucky’s lips as he recalled the fuzzy memory fondly “yeah, maybe”
He kisses your head gently, the warmth lingering, “You got any homework?”
“Always” you respond with a deep sigh.
“Get on with it then” he says before exiting your room and shutting the door
Things were gonna be okay.
Whether you lived with 20 people, or by yourself. You’d always know where to find Bucky, and he’d always be in your corner.
