-*-*- S E N A ' S . M U S E . B O X -*-*-

Bucky plastered on the most charming smile he could muster, tilting his head a little at Mrs. Rogers. “Of course, ma'am. I can’t wait to be at school tomorrow,” And the strange part? He was. Bucky genuinely wanted to be at school because at least there, his biggest worry was completing an essay on time. No worrying about babies, money, family, nothing. Truth be told, he’d be okay with going to school without his things.

Steve stammers out an explanation for them skipping school, and the omega couldn’t help but chuckle to himself at Steve’s awkwardness. “Yeah, I just need to pick up a few things is all, Mrs, Rogers. Don’t wanna be a bad influence on Stevie!”

Luckily even though he was a bit of a mess in explaining why they were skipping school that day, Bucky was his charming self and just smiled and agreed with Sarah that they would be back at school the next day, telling her that they just needed to pick up a couple of things before that. Relief flooded into Steve’s admittedly tense posture when his Ma just gave a little nod and brought the frying pan over to the table to dish up the omelettes she had been working on.

Of course, Sarah understood; from what she could tell Bucky had come away from his house with nothing but the clothes on his back, so it made sense that he would need to go and retrieve some things. Assuming his parents would even let him in the door, of course. That thought made the older woman frown a little because she thought she’d known Winnie and George to be better than that, but now she wasn’t so sure. Privately, she resolved that she would provide Bucky with anything he needed even if his parents refused to let him pick up his things when he went home.

“Come on, boys, lets’ sit down and eat.” She returned the pan to the stove, bringing the plates of bacon and toast to the table with her when she took her seat, “you didn’t even finish your dinner last night, did you?”

Bucky winced. For someone who took him in out of the goodness of her heart, the omega often made them both late to dining with Mrs. Rogers. He rubbed his neck, taking the hand that was offered to him. “Yeah, she’s been doin’ that a lot,” he muttered, “We gotta get better at being on time,”

The closer to the kitchen they got, the more heavenly the smell of a home-cooked breakfast became. The kitchen table was already covered with the lovely Irish table cloth that Mrs. Rogers once mentioned was passed down from her grandmother, the intricate pattern that was woven with love. However, the table wasn’t set yet, which made Bucky smile as he kissed Steve’s cheek and moved to start setting the table. He passed Mrs. Rogers on the way to the dishes, leaning down to kiss her cheek as well. “Good morning, Mrs. Rogers,”

When they got downstairs, his Ma was in the kitchen, just finishing up with cooking breakfast. The tablecloth was already out but the dishes hadn’t been set yet, so it meant they weren’t too late, which was good because they were kind of starting to make a habit of it. Bucky beat Steve to helping to set the table, heading into the kitchen to gather the dishes and pausing to give Sarah a quick kiss on the cheek on the way past.

“Good morning, Bucky.” She responded to his greeting with a smile, “how are you feeling this morning?”

Steve almost winced. Instead he coughed lightly and moved to help Bucky set the table. “When are you heading to work, Ma?” She was normally gone by now. (Then again, he was normally off to school by now, too.)

“I’m working swing shift today,” Sarah explained as she flipped the omelette she was working on, “so I start at ten. I have to leave in half an hour.” Then she added, “boys, I understand things are overwhelming right now, so today is fine, but I expect you to be back at school tomorrow.”

“If it’s a boy, we’ll name him after you,” Bucky leaned up to catch Steve’s nose with a peck as he pulled away. He pushed his boyfriend back just a smudge - a playful exchange of smiles as he nodded towards the bed. Moving to the other side of the bed, he started getting to work on making the bed. “Little Stevie. I can see ‘em now. Wrapped up in delicate and dainty blue,”

He finished up putting the bed together with the alpha’s help. By the time they fluffed the pillows, Bucky’s stomach was growling like a motherfucker.

“Oh we will, will we?” Steve chuckled at the little kiss to his nose. He, personally, wasn’t so sure about naming the baby after himself, but they had lots of time to ponder names and come up with alternatives, so he didn’t bother to say anything, instead following Bucky’s lead and heading back over to finish making the bed.

“I hope so.” Bucky smiled and nuzzled into Steve’s hair. “Get some sleep now, Stevie. It’s a long trip home.”

“Thank you.” Bucky sighed and relaxed into Steve’s side.He leaned forward enough to grab one of the containers from the table and a pair of forks, tucking his knees closer to his chest. “What’d you get?”

“He said it would help. I don’t know how not having my arm for months is helpful.” Bucky frowned. He considered it for a few seconds longer as the elevator whisked them downstairs, before giving a nervous little shrug. “Maybe.”

Bucky immediately stole the first plate of waffles, grabbing the syrup and drowning the plate with it. While he was busy stuffing his face, Tony laughed and squeezed Steve’s hip. “We’ve got time. We’ll figure it out. If one of us hits a nerve, we can just talk about it, yeah?”

Bucky snatched the first batch of waffles before either Steve or Tony could lay claim to them, not that either Alpha was about to deny them to him anyway. He was already pouring on the syrup and starting to devour them while Steve ladled out the batter for the next batch and closed up the waffle maker again-- and Tony reached a hand over to give his hip a little squeeze, reassuring.

“It’s alright.” Bucky assured as he slumped back into his own seat. “Tony gets old school sometimes. Very caveman. I think he got it from his dad. Just smack him if he starts getting too growly.” “No hitting.” Tony snorted softly. “I want you both here. Not just because money is stressful. I just don’t want you away from me.”

“No hitting,” Steve agreed quietly. No matter how bad things might get, he would never resort to that-- memories of his own father getting drunk and beating on him and his Ma when he’d been little, before the man had out-and-out left them, would always keep him from resorting to violence.

Bucky frowned. “What if surgery would help?” He asked. “Just cause I’m scared..” He did his best not to fidget as he followed Steve into the elevator, looking out the windows to the outside.

“I should try to eat something.” Bucky mumbled. He wasn’t particularly hungry, but he knew he hadn’t eaten much today. His stomach wasn’t exactly his friend in these situations. He frowned a bit more, before nudging his elbow into Steve’s side. “Can we.. No sex tonight. Please?”

It was obvious Bucky was forcing the idea of food. It was also heartbreaking that he thought he had to ask Steve to abstain from sex, given what had happened. That he thought he had to add the word please, as if it was a special favor or that Steve would get upset or something.

Bucky chuckled and rubbed his hand over Steve’s stomach, crooning gently to the pups. “Hey, little ones. Calm down. I know you’re excited, but you’re beating up your mom. He needs some rest now.” He said softly.

“Mmm, my hero~” Bucky hummed, rolling his eyes as he slipped out of the jersey. He wrestled his henley and jeans back on as quick as possible. The sun started to shine through the blinds and bathed Steve in the golden light of an early morning. He looked like an…

“Angel,” he whispered. He leaned on the bedroom door with his hand against the flat surface of his stomach. “What do you think of the name Angel?”

Bucky smiled softly as Steve wrapped himself up, cradling him close once he was done. He kissed the top of his head and settled back into the seat as they took off. “Not even born and they’re already kicking ass. Sounds like our kids.” He chuckled.

“Do you think they still want to cut me open?” Bucky asked quietly, shoving his hand in his pocket as he followed after Steve.

Bucky hesitated for a few seconds before sighing and scooting over, leaning into Steve’s side and resting his head on his shoulder. “Just stay close?” He requested quietly, wrapping his arms around himself. “I’m not.. I think it’s worse when I’m alone.”

“Don’t mock my need for waffles, Steve.” Bucky deadpanned. Tony smirked. At Steve’s question, he raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. With me or in one of the other suites here. I want you close. That a problem?”

“You’re getting into Alpha bitch territory again, Tony.” Bucky warned absently, sliding off his stool to poke around in the fridge. He leaned over to kiss Tony’s temple once he’d grabbed a can of Pepsi, laughing at his mumbled apology. “It’s alright. Just stop getting grouchy, old man.”

“I’m barely older than you, Barnes.”

Steve was just about to assure Bucky that he wasn’t mocking him for the waffles, it was more a jab at Tony (after all, it was Tony who’d dumped in the entire box of waffle mix) when Tony spoke up, answering his question in a sharp tone of voice that made it clear he was displeased that Steve had even asked.

Wincing a little, Steve set the ladle down and closed the waffle maker to let the first batch of waffles cook, even as Bucky was giving Tony an absentminded warning about his tone. Blue eyes flitted around almost nervously, staying down, and Steve finally managed, “I didn’t mean it like that, I...” He was never this hesitant, but everything was still so... “Things are still really new, I was just... making sure, I guess...”