#baker!nat

He kept fiddling with your clothes and tried not to think about how nervous he was for today. You’d met his baker buddies before, but never all at once, in one day. And never in such a crowded place. 

He wasn’t worried because of you; he was worried about all the things beyond his control. What if the convention was too overwhelming? What if you two got separated? What if a stranger was mean to you? Breathe, Bucky. Breathe. 

“Daddy?”

“Y-yeah?”

“I can have all the sweets I want today, right?”

Bucky laughed, taken aback by your question.

“Our minds are in two different places, honeybun.” He stopped messing with your clothes and kissed your forehead. “Yes, you can have all the sweets you want if you remember your manners–and if you give me a big hug right now.”

You squealed and wrapped your arms around Bucky, squeezing him with all your might. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

Bucky was starting to feel a bit better. As usual, you were able to calm his nerves and remind him that he had nothing to worry about. He was a good caregiver. If you got overwhelmed, he would know the signs and how to help you. If you got lost, he had plenty of friends and colleagues who knew you, loved you, and would do anything to help. If a stranger tried ruining your day, he was more concerned with what you could do to them than what they could do to you. 

While you were hugging Bucky as hard as you could, you were also helping slow down his heart rate and the other physical signs of his stress. He was finally prepared to go in.

“Are you ready, baby?”

“Yes! Yes! I’m so ready!” 

You swung your interlocked hands back and forth as you and Bucky walked through the doors and down the long hallway that led to the convention center.

The sight of the many vendors and their stalls selling baked goods stopped you in your tracks. There were more than you could count. It seemed as if there were endless rows of cookies, cupcakes, pies, and happy people enjoying the art of baking. 

Bucky noticed a friend giving you a slight wave to get your attention. He gently tugged your hand. 

“Do you wanna go over there, honey? That booth looks good.”

You looked at the booth and gasped, then walked as fast as you could to get there, tugging Bucky along behind you. You were by no means as gentle with Bucky as he had been with you earlier. He laughed good-naturedly as you practically pulled his arm out of its socket. 

“Natty!”

“Hey there, firecracker.” 

Bucky greeted her with a nod. “Natalia.”

“Buchanan.” She turned to face you again. “I saw you pulling your Daddy back there. I could teach you this trick if you re-”

Bucky covered your ears with his hands and gave his friend a bewildered look. “You’re not teaching them that,” he whisper shouted. 

Natasha stifled a laugh while Bucky took his hands away from your ears and tried to redirect your attention. “Which of these treats do you wanna try first, bun?”

“Can I have one of the cakes, please?”

“Comin’ right up.” She handed you a small plate with a square piece of cake and two forks. Bucky motioned for you to take the first bite. Your eyes widened in delight. The cake was so delicate and soaked in a sweet milk. The cake itself was sightly sour, but the sweet milk and ganache topping balanced the whole dessert. 

“What is this?”

“It’s bird’s milk cake. Do you like it?”

“Mhm!” You went in for another bite. 

“I have something else for you to try too.” Natasha reached beside her and handed you and Bucky another plate with two small, potato-like objects. “This is called kartosha.”

You tried pronouncing this new word before taking a bite. Once again, you were struck by how beautifully simple and balanced the dessert was. Bittersweet cookie crumbles were combined with sweet, sticky condensed milk.

“It’s so good!”

“I’m glad you think so.” Natasha looked like she was going to say more, but then a special someone caught her eye. She leaned over to whisper in your ear. “I think someone’s been stealing looks and wondering when you’re going to visit their booth.”

You whipped your head around and saw Sam look quickly in the other direction, as if he was pretending that he hadn’t been looking at you earlier. He had a mischievous smile on his face though, and his eyes wandered to you for a second before darting back. He rocked back and forth on his heels and even began to whistle a little. You giggled at his attempts to look casual.

You turned to Bucky. “Daddy, can we go to Sammy’s booth?”

“Sure can, let’s say bye to Nat first.”

“Bye, Natty! Thank you for the cake and kartosha!”

“You’re welcome.” She walked around the booth to give you a goodbye hug. “You have to come visit the cafe soon, okay? The kitties miss you and I need some help from my little decorator.”

“I will!” You waved goodbye and then skipped to Sam’s booth. 

He was still putting on his oblivious act. 

“Sammy, hi!”

“Oh, hey! I didn’t even see you there!”

You laughed and shook your head. “Nuh uh, I saw you looking!”

“Alright, alright, ya caught me. But once you see the show I’ve got planned for you, you’ll understand.”

“A show?” you asked, bouncing excitedly.

“Yup. A whole show. Tell me something, do you like caramel?” He took a step to where his burner stove was.

“Yeah!” 

“Okay well this isn’t exactly caramel, but if you like caramel, you’ll like this.” He put a small pan on the stove and turned on the heat. “We’ll start off with a little butter, some cinnamon, and brown sugar.” Sam effortlessly dropped and sprinkled the ingredients into the pan as he listed them off. He gave the mixture a stir, shaking the pan at the same time like a pro.

“Now I don’t know if you like bananas. But if you don’t, you’ll like them after this.” He put a small handful of slices into the pan and coated them in the sauce. He turned off the stove. 

“Alright, here’s the real show. I need y’all to take one step back so you’re behind that red tape on the floor.”

You and Bucky did as he said. 

“Perfect, thank you. Now these bananas just need a little more juice.” He poured a small amount of clear amber liquid into the pan. “And they could also use a little more heat.” He flicked a lighter just to the side of the pan, setting all of the amber liquid aflame. He shook the pan back and forth, flipping the bananas in the flaming sauce. You watched the fire, absolutely mesmerized by how it shifted and how Sam had so much control over the volatile force. He kept the whole thing moving, like it was a choreographed dance between him and the flaming pan where he was the leader. Slowly, the flames died down and the bananas were left in a glistening sauce.

“THAT WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER!” you screamed, clapping your hands and jumping up and down. “How did you do that?!”

“A lot of practice, okay? Don’t ever try this at home.”

You nodded. “I’ll just watch you do it every day.”

Sam laughed. “If you boost my ego like this every time, I’ll do this whenever you want. You ready to try the bananas now?”

“Yes please!”

“Alright, and one more very important question.” He halted and looked at you seriously. “Do you want ice cream?”

𓏲 ࣪₊♡

Sam gave you and Bucky two beautiful bowls of bananas foster, he called it. He grinned from ear to ear as you asked him endless questions. You wanted to talk more(and ask for another serving), but a crowd full of people wanting to see Sam’s show had formed. You thanked him profusely and waved goodbye nearly your entire walk to the next booth, until you had to turn the corner and could no longer see your friend. Luckily, Bucky was holding your other hand and leading the way to make sure you didn’t bump into anyone or get lost.

You were about to mourn the end of the best time of your life, when you saw another friend waving to you excitedly.

“Stevie!”

You skipped to his booth and he met you in the middle, picking you up for a bone-crushing hug. 

“I missed you, bug!”

“Easy, Rogers. Bubba’s full of sweets and ice cream.”

Steve set you down gently and fixed your clothes that he had messed up. “Sorry, bubba, sorry. Wait–you had ice cream already?”

“Uh huh! We went to Sam’s booth!”

“Aw, you went to Sam’s booth before mine? That’s not fair!” he whined. He put a hand over his chest. “You’re breakin’ my heart, bubba.”

“And he gave me a fire show.”

“And he gave you a fire show?” Steve pretended to cry, putting his head in his hands and allowing sobs to run through his body. 

“Stevieee, c’mon!” You wrapped your arms around him and patted his back. “Do you know what Sammy didn’t give to me?”

“What?” Steve asked, still pouting. 

“Two hugs!”

Steve stopped his crocodile tears and returned your embrace, swinging you side to side to hear your giggles. 

“I guess the hugs make up for me not having any fire. And I’m the best hugger you know, right?”

“I-”

“Let’s go see the sweets I have for you!” he said, cutting you off. He carried you on his hip for the short walk to his booth and set you down at the front of it, because only vendors were allowed in the behind area.

Steve stepped behind the display and fixed his apron. Before he spoke, he puffed out his chest and held out his hands in a theatrical manner.

“Welcome to a slice of paradise! We have every pie you can think of! Apple, pumpkin, pecan, key lime, cherry, strawberry–every American classic! And for the non-pie lovers, I have cheesecakes, tarts, and the best rice krispie treats made with my Ma’s secret recipe.” He ended his speech with a wink.

“Wow! There’s so many! I don’t know which one to choose.” You looked at Bucky for assistance. 

“Lucky for you, my little bug, I have a sampler platter!” Steve presented you with a plate of many small squares of everything he was selling, all with different colored toothpicks. “You can try these out and when you decide the one you want, let me know and I’ll serve you a whole slice.”

You giddily took the sampler plate and tried all the samples with Bucky, giving Steve feedback after each bite. When you finished trying all of the sweets, you couldn’t pick just one to have a full slice of.

“Stevie?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I have another sample plate, please?”

“Sure, but don’t you want a whole slice of your favorite one?”

“I can’t choose a favorite! They’re all so good.”

Steve smiled proudly. “Alright, one more sampler platter for the charmer with the grouchy daddy.”

Bucky grunted while you giggled. “I have one more question.”

Steve nodded while he arranged your next plate. “What’s up?”