#grumpy baba

~

Steve whistled to himself as he got the table ready for breakfast. Despite the rigid gender roles prominent in the times he grew up in, he always found joy in homemaking. Bucky had a strict deadline to finish a report before breakfast, while you decided to get ready by yourself this morning. With his free time, Steve was carefully setting the scene for some meaningful family time. He smiled to himself as he heard your hurried footsteps rushing down the hall. He’d never grow tired of having your bundle of love run towards him.

“Good morning, sweetheart.”

“Good morning! Dada, look!” You clambered onto your chair, the action made slightly more difficult with your latest costume. You adjusted your crown and cape(it was actually just your favorite star blanket tied around you, but you’d ask for a proper cape later).

“I’m a prince!”

“You’re the most handsome prince,” Steve cooed. 

He smothered your face with kisses, being careful not to tip your crown before he continued cutting up your pancakes. You giggled, face warming under the affection. 

“I’m gonna be the bestest prince ever! Everybodies gonna get presents and cookies and I'm gonna have a dragon!”

“Wow! You’re not gonna be too busy with your princely duties to take care of a dragon?” Dada teased.

“Das what the knight is for!”

Bucky walked in, having rushed to finish the last little bit of his work when he heard you getting ready. “What’s all this talk about a knight?” He grabbed himself a plate with an omelet and some toast, thanking Steve with a kiss. 

“I’m gonna get a knight, Baba!”

“What do you need a knight for? You’ve got me and Dada.” 

You shook your head. “You’s too old! Petie’s gonna be my knight!”

Your Baba stopped in his tracks, his forkful of food not quite getting to its destination. He shot a questioning, if not accusatory, glance at Steve who was holding in a laugh. 

Bucky set down his fork, folded his hands over the table, and looked at you as if an interrogation were about to take place. 

You met his intense stare with a toothy smile, oblivious to the ire in his eyes. 

“Peter is going to be your knight.” he stated.

“Uh huh! Me and Petie played castle and he was the knight and he saved me from the evil dragons!!”

It took all of Steve’s strength to not burst into laughter at Bucky’s frustration.

“You’re not allowed to see Peter any more.”

“But, Baba!”

“Honey-” Steve began.

“No kid of mine is gonna depend on a punk like Peter, especially not when you have me and Dada.”

“Peter’s a nice kid-”

“But Baba, he SAVED me.”

Bucky leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, creating the textbook image of an unmovable man. 

You sighed, frustrated by your caregiver’s stubbornness but knowing exactly what you needed to do.

Steve lovingly shook his head, endlessly entertained by your and Bucky’s antics. Your dramatic flair came from Baba, that was for sure. 

You set your crown on the table and slid off your chair, crawling under the table to reach Bucky. Despite still pretending to be mad, he moved the table cloth out of your way and helped you climb onto his lap. 

“Baba.”

“Your highness.”

“Petie is gonna be my knight, okay? I’m the prince, so I can choose.”

Bucky sighed and cuddled you closer, resting his cheek on the top of your head.

“I guess I’m out of my field on this one. Now that you have a fancy knight, you’re not gonna forget about your old daddies are you?”

You gasped. “Never, never! I love daddies.” You emphasized your statement by throwing your arms around his neck and planting a kiss on his cheek. To make sure Steve knew he was included, you reached out to hold his hand.

Despite how much you were giving, Bucky wasn’t done with basking in your attention. “Is your kingdom in need of two soldiers?”

You giggled. “You can’t be the soldiers if you’re my daddies! You’re the kings!”

“Really?” Bucky asked. His heart was melting at the idea that you had already thought about his and Steve’s position in your imaginary world. 

“Uh huh! But if you wanna keep being the kings, then you have to wear a cape and crown like me. It’s the rules.”

Your caregivers chuckled. 

“Well if those are the rules,” Steve said.

“I guess we have to follow them.”

After breakfast, Steve and Bucky let you order three custom capes and crowns for your royal family. When they arrived in the mail, you insisted on wearing your new accessories everywhere. Your daddies had to forgo the capes(unless they were playing castle with you), but you did manage to make them wear their crowns everywhere–even to work–for a whole week. The other avengers teased them mercilessly for it, but it was a small price to pay for your joy. Steve especially loved walking around with you in your get up and having his friends fuss over how adorable you were.