#agerefic

Loki had tucked you in tightly under your comforter. You had your paci, your stuffy, your nightlight, and your music box, but you still couldn’t sleep. No matter how hard you tried, your eyes couldn’t stay closed, your brain couldn’t stay still. Tossing and turning didn’t help; you’d missed a crucial part of your bedtime routine. 

You didn’t blame Loki for the mistake. He’d been so stressed lately, you knew he didn’t intend for it to slip his mind. That’s why he was putting you to bed in the first place, instead of cuddling up with you in his big bed. His work had lasted far later into the night than he’d intended and you just couldn’t stay up any longer, so when you were too tired to protest, he’d carried you into your special little bedroom. But he forgot the stars.

Every time Loki had to put you to bed alone, just before he left and closed the door, he would fill the room with stars. They’d twinkle on the ceiling and walls around you, helping you not feel so alone in what felt like a giant bed without Loki by your side. Sometimes you’d count them to help lull you off to sleep. Other times, you’d just let your eyes unfocus, the glinting spots around you hypnotizing you until you were dreaming. But tonight, Loki had forgotten to put them there, so you just stared at the empty ceiling. 

You thought about the way Loki made it happen. He’d rub his hands together as though he was forming a clump of play doh into a ball, then he’d whisper something into his hands and blow, and as he opened his hands, the hundreds of stars would float out into the room. That didn’t sound so hard, right? So you did what you’d watched him do so many nights before. After rubbing your hands together, you realized you didn’t know what words Loki whispered to make the stars appear. You thought for a moment, not wanting to give up so quickly, before remembering what Loki had taught you: the best way to get what you want is to ask for it politely. So you held your hands up to your mouth and whispered:

“Please make the stars please!!”

And you slowly opened your hands and blew into your palms.

But nothing happened.

You let out a heavy sigh, letting your hands drop onto the blanket in front of you. 

“How does he do it so easily??” You wondered aloud.

“Oh, just centuries of training, my love.” A quiet voice spoke from behind you.

You shot up in the bed, turning around to see Loki standing in the doorway, having heard you whispering to yourself. You felt your face run hot with embarrassment, butterflies fluttering into your stomach as you realized Loki had caught you trying – and failing – to replicate his magic. You hid your face into your stuffy in embarrassment, not wanting to look up at what you assumed would be a condescending smirk on Loki’s face. Instead, he walked over to you, gently placing a hand on your back.

“I forgot to put out your stars, didn’t I?” He asked.

You nodded, still not showing your face. 

“And so you tried to make them yourself, is that right?” You nodded again.

“What a clever little one I’ve got. That's the first step to becoming a great magician, you know.” “What is?” You asked, finally and slowly raising your head to meet eyes with Loki.

“Trying. And you tried so hard, I can tell. In fact, I bet with a bit more practice and training, you could be filling this room with a whole galaxy of stars in no time!”

This fully got your interest. The thought that you could learn magic just like your Loki, just like all the characters in your fairy tale stories. You looked up at Loki with wide, pleading eyes.

“Will you teach me?”

This is when his trademark mischievous smirk came to his face as he thought of his deal. “But if I teach you my magic, then you won’t need me anymore!” He said, pretending to be struck down by tragedy. You laughed, knowing he was just being his dramatic self. “I always need you!!” You said with a giggle.

“Promise?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Pinky promise!” You replied, holding out your finger.

Loki shook it with his, and then sat down on the end of your bed, positioning himself to face you. He took both your hands in his. 

“Alright, you know the first step, right? We have to make the stars.”

He guided your hands around an imaginary ball, just as you’d done yourself before.

“You have to imagine your hands are filling up with hundreds, no, thousands of stars. Feel them all rustling around inside your grasp. What do they feel like?” You scrunched your eyes, focusing as hard as you could on conjuring the stars in your palms. Then you noticed it, just barely at first, and then stronger as you focussed harder and harder.

“They tickle!” You cried out, the stars bouncing around your cupped hands like a bunch of little fish. 

Loki smiled.

“They do, don’t they! Now, close your eyes, relax all the muscles in your body, and make a wish.” “A wish?” “Yes my love, don’t you know that when you wish on a star, it comes true?” You thought for a moment before you leaned forward again, whispering your secret wish.

“Have you done it?” Loki asked.

You nodded.

“Alright now, the last step. We have to put the stars out into the room. So make sure you're still imagining them in your hands, and slowly…”

Loki guided your hands apart, leaning forward to blow a gentle breath into the palms of your hands and prompting you to do the same. As you did so, bright yellow stars of all sizes filled the room, spreading out all over every corner of your bedroom. Your eyes widened as you looked all around in amazement, a smile stuck on your face.

“Look at that! You’ve done it, darling, I’m so proud of you!!” Loki cheered for you, and leaned forward to plant a kiss on the top of your head. 

“Are you ready to go to sleep now then, my love?” He asked.

“Will you stay with me? That’s what I wished for.”

“Of course, my little one.” Loki smiled, lifting the blanket to join you, maneuvering his way around the stuffies and blankets to find a comfy spot where he could still put his arms around you. Just as he was getting comfortable, his eyes heavy after a long day of stressful work, your little voice broke the silence of the starlit room.  

“What did you wish for, daddy?” You whispered. You felt Loki’s arms tighten around you. 

“You, my love. That you’ll always be happy and healthy and safe. Always you.”

“I know, peanut, I know. Just take deep breaths.” Bucky whispered into your hair while Steve held your arm in place. Getting the IV put in was one of the hardest parts for you. Your daddies used to try to distract you, joking and playing with your stuffies while the nurse tried to find just the right spot for the needle, but it hardly ever worked. Now their main way of keeping you calm during this time was just to comfort you and keep you feeling as safe as possible until the IV was safely inserted. You squirmed in the bed. 

“Don’t wanna do it… just wanna go home…” You whined, reaching out to Bucky’s metal arm as you knew it could withstand your frightened grip. The pinch in your hand let you know the IV was now in.

“What a brave little girl you two have!” The nurse said with a smile. You felt a rush of pride at their words but still refused to smile, too stubborn. “I’ll leave you three for a minute.”

You looked up at your dadas.

“They’re right, you know. You are brave, pumpkin.” Steve said before pressing a kiss to your temple. 

You weren’t allowed to wear your dog tags into surgery, so Steve and Bucky each wore their respective tags, promising to take care of them while you were in the operating room. Your favorite stuffy wore a matching gown to you and had its very own wristband, and you kept him snug and safe in the crook of your elbow. 

“You are, sweetpea, so brave and so strong.” Bucky said.

“As strong as you?” You asked both of them.

“Are you kidding?” Steve asked with a laugh. “You’re waaayy stronger than us! Why do you think there’s two of us and only one of you? We need two super soldiers just to keep up!” 

This made you laugh, momentarily forgetting your worry until the nurse returned.

“Alright, ready to go?”

You stared up at your daddies with pleading eyes, but you knew you couldn’t stall the inevitable. They each kissed your cheeks, repeating over and over how much they love you, how strong you were, and how they couldn’t wait to see you when you get out. 

When you woke up, the first thing you noticed was your chest. Everything felt weird, it was painful, tight, and itchy. Still affected by the meds you were on, you weren’t really aware of much besides the discomfort. You started to panic, your breathing strained by both the tightness in your chest and your confusion over where you were and what was happening. That is, until you felt a pair of strong hands on your cheeks.

“Hey baby… hey baby its okay, its okay. Daddy’s here.” “Daddy?” You whimpered.

“That's right, sweetie. I’m right here.” Steve brushed his thumb over your cheek as you slowly opened your eyes. The combination of the stress and the meds had you littler than you usually were. The words weren’t coming to you very easily. “Don’t like it!” You whined. 

“Oh baby I know. Shhh, you gotta breathe for me, okay?” Steve reassured you. “Can’t!” You cried out, your stress only frustrating you, making you stress even more in a quickly growing spiral.

“Yes you can baby, I know you can. Look, do it with daddy, alright?” He took deep breaths in and out, taking your hand in his as he encouraged you to do the same. 

Big breath in.

Hold it while daddy kisses your left cheek, your right cheek, your forehead, nose, and chin. 

Exhale.

Hold. 

Daddy kisses.

Repeat.

Your breathing finally starting to regulate, you looked blearily around the room, empty besides you and Steve.

“Mmm where's Baba?” You asked, groggily.

Before Steve could answer, Bucky came into the room, his arms piled high with bears, chocolates, flowers, and balloons. 

“Is that my sleeping beauty awake already?” He set the goodies on the table in your room before joining Steve at the side of your bed, leaning over to kiss your cheek.

“You did such a good job, sweetheart. Daddy and I are so proud of you.” Bucky said. “Our strong little girl.”

“Still sleepy….” You half whined, half whispered. 

“Of course you are, baby, you did so much today.” Steve said, petting your hair. “Get some rest darling. We’ll be right here, always.” Bucky added. “And look what I got!” He reached into his pocket and pulled out your favorite paci. He took it over to the little sink and rinsed it off with warm water before popping it into your mouth.

“Sleep with daddies?” You asked, voice slightly muffled by the paci, but they knew what you meant.

“Oh, babydoll, I don’t think we’ll both fit in the bed. Tell you what, how about Stevie naps with you now, and the next time you get sleepy it’ll be my turn, okay?” “Yeah, okay.” You reached out your grabby hands to Steve as he maneuvered into the bed, wrapping you first in your blankie, then in his arms, the warmth pulling you into a safe and comfortable slumber as your breathing finally evened out.

It was almost like he was teasing you. Every time Bucky dropped his pen to run a hand through his hair ripped your focus away as you colored alongside him at his desk. The silky brown strands kept slipping out from behind his ear as he finished up some paperwork Stark had dropped off earlier. You’d been feeling quite little that day, so you opted to color next to him instead of in your own room or in front of the tv. Eventually Bucky caught you staring, your hand absentmindedly dragging your crayon across the paper in messy scribbles that were no longer contained within the lines. He laughed a bit at your distraction.

“What’s on your mind, bub?” He asked, turning his head towards you.

“I wanna play wif your hair.” You answered, your eyes staring wide at him like a little puppy dog.

Bucky glanced down at his papers, contemplating whether he’d gotten enough work done for the night before pushing his chair back from the table.

“Alright, baby. It’s your salon, you lead the way.” He said with a smile, motioning towards the door.

You jumped up from your seat and grabbed his outstretched hand, pulling him into the bathroom. You ran back out to your room to get your big bean bag and dragged it into the bathroom against the side of the tub, tugging Bucky down to sit in it. You gently guided his head back to rest over the side of the bathtub.

“Are you comfy like that, Baba?”

He was not. But he smiled and nodded anyway. You skipped around and turned on the faucet, waving your hand under the water until it was perfectly warm without being too hot, and brought the detachable faucet head over to Bucky’s waiting hair. He closed his eyes as the water flowed over his scalp, letting out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding and relaxing his shoulders for the first time all day. You massaged his shampoo into his scalp and rinsed it, careful not to get water on Bucky’s shirt. Next, you lathered his hair with conditioner, leaving it in for a bit before rinsing that out as well. Finally, you turned the water off and grabbed a towel from the cabinet to wrap around Bucky’s head.

“That was so nice, thank you sweetiepie.” Bucky said with a tired voice, still relaxed from the wash.

“Now we get to style it!” You jumped up and down excitedly before running off to your room to get your hair supplies. Bucky followed soon after and took a seat at your vanity as you finished gathering all your supplies. Elastic hair ties, plastic barrettes, scrunchies, butterfly clips, and bows, a brush, a comb, and – well, you couldn’t find your pretend scissors, so you grabbed your craft scissors instead. You spread everything out across the table and got to work.

Bucky relaxed once again, closing his eyes and releasing a breath as you combed through his freshly cleaned hair. Once you got all the tangles out, you parted it down the middle and started making different sections for styling. You picked up the scissors and did a few practice snips near Bucky’s head, causing him to lurch forward.

“Woah now, babydoll, you’re not actually gonna cut my hair, are you?” He asked with a concerned laugh.

“Noooo, just pretend!” You reassured him, and got back to work.

You snipped around at the sections of his hair, making sure none of it was between the blades when you closed the scissors. You were so careful not to cut a single strand of your daddy’s perfect hair.

Until you weren’t.

A sparkly hair clip caught your eye. You thought of the ways you could incorporate it into your planned hairstyle. Bucky turned his head slightly. You closed the scissors. It was like slow motion as you watched the hair fall to the ground. You froze.

It felt like all the air had left your body. He’d already warned you not to cut his hair, but you did it anyway. Even if it was just an accident, you knew how upset you would feel if some of your hair had gotten cut, and Bucky already had a bad habit of being insecure about his appearance. You knew in your heart that he was the most beautiful daddy in the entire world, no matter what he looked like, but you weren’t sure if he’d be able to see that the way you could.

“Everything alright back there?” Bucky asked, noticing your pause in movement.

“Umm yes Baba, everythings good…” Your voice shook in response, not fooling Bucky for a second. He opened his eyes and craned his neck to look back at you, just as the tears started falling from your eyes. Bucky immediately looked concerned and stood up, moving away from the chair, rushing to crouch in front of you. “What’s wrong, baby, did you hurt yourself?”

You shook your head & sobbed. “It was an accident! I’m so sorry!!”

“What happened angel?” You motioned to the small pile of brown hair at your feet. Bucky sighed and wiped your tears away.

“Oh baby, it's okay. I’m not mad, honey.” He wrapped you up in his arms, but you still weren’t calmed down. “Your pretty hair is ruined!” You cried. “That’s okay, sweetie, it’ll grow back! And until then, you can practice some short hairstyles on me!”

The next day, Bucky went to the actual salon to get his hair cut evenly, so he wasn’t just walking around with a big patch missing. When he came home, he bent down and took off his hat so you could survey the professional hairdresser’s work.

“What do you think, doll?” Bucky asked. “Hmm… missing something.” You thought, and ran off to your room, returning a moment later. “GOT IT!!!”

You reached up to Bucky’s neck and gently pulled him down to your eye level so you could fix that sparkly clip perfectly into his freshly cut hair.

You didn’t usually wake before him; he liked to get up early, go for a run, and have breakfast ready by the time you left dreamland. But today you woke up and Steve was fast asleep. It was so early, the sun still hadn’t even made its first appearance by the time you opened your eyes. 

You tried to fall back asleep, you really did. You tried everything, shifting into every position you could, kicking off the covers, pulling them back up, switching out your stuffies and blankies, but it was no use. You were wide awake with nothing to do. And Steve stayed asleep through it all. You didn’t want to wake up your daddy yet but you were so. freaking. bored. You rolled over to face him, his large chest rising and falling as the breath passed through his parted lips. In this moment, before he was awake, before he could let himself stress over all the weight of the world, you were taken aback by his gentle beauty.

His dark blond hair, not yet styled for the day, fell softly around his face. When he exhaled, little strands waved in the breeze. His soft lips were barely touching. You wanted to reach out and run your fingers across them, so full and pink. He’d been letting his beard grow out a bit, so his kisses were scratchy, but his lips were always as soft as ever. You leaned over to press the lightest kiss to the mole on his cheek, making his eyes flutter slightly in his disturbed sleep. His soft eyelashes fanned out across his cheek and you couldn’t help it, you reached up to brush them with your fingers.

“Soooo pretty daddy… you’re so pretty…”

The soft breath of your whisper made Steve stir, he blinked for a moment before becoming aware of your finger near his eye.

“Hey sweetpea, wh-what are you doing?” He asked in a deep sleepy voice.

“Just lovin’ you.” You continued ghosting your hands over his face, tracing his features, the tip of his nose, the curve of his eyebrows. He scrunched up his face with a smile, tickling your fingers.

“Isn’t it a little early?”

“No way daddy. Love ya always!” You pressed a kiss to his fuzzy cheek. Steve turned to face you now, still half committed to sleeping just a little longer. He wrapped his strong arms around you, almost crushing you into his chest.

“Mmm… you really think I’m pretty, babydoll?”

“Yeah, daddy. I love your face so much I wanna eat it.” This made Steve laugh, fully bringing him out of slumber. He peered over to the clock on the bedside table, showing it was still a while before he usually got himself up. 

“Still too early to get up.” He thought aloud. Still in his embrace, you nuzzled your face into his chest, finally comfortable in Steve’s arms after your restless sleep. “I guess that means I get to stay here and cuddle my angel all morning!”