Chapter Text
“What the hell?!”
Shouting scared you out of your dream, and you rolled off the couch.
“Ooow,” you groaned when you landed.
“Who are you?! How did you get in here?!”
You turned toward the shouting to find an extremely pale looking Bucky. “Why you yell?!” you demanded, your glare wavering when you didn’t recognize your own voice. Your legs felt warm, but bare, and you noticed you were only wearing your hoodie. For some reason, you were swimming in it. You could barely see your feet sticking out through the bottom and your throat tightened in a panic. “What happen?!”
You and Bucky both exchanged terrified expressions. You clambered to your feet and took a step toward him, only for him to take a step back. Not wanting him to bolt from the room, you sat back on the floor and began to whimper.
“Y/N?” Bucky asked after getting a good look at you. You nodded, starting to cry. “Please don’t cry,” he begged, not knowing how he would even begin to handle the situation.
“Already reduced her to tears?” Loki’s smooth voice sounded from behind him. “That’s a new record.”
“What did you do to her?!” he shrieked, ignoring Loki’s comment.
“I’m not sure,” he walked past Bucky toward you. “Something must have gone wrong during my demonstration last night.”
“No kidding!”
Loki bent and took you into his arms. “No more tears, little one. You’re going to be just fine.”
“How can you be sure?” Bucky’s voice tightened and Loki approached. “Is she gonna stay like that forever?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, you idiot,” he replied humorlessly, rolling his eyes. “The spell will break in time. I can try to find a quicker solution, but-”
“Great! Find it and change her back.”
“But,” he stressed, annoyed at being interrupted. “I’d have to go to Asgard to find it.”
“Ok,” Bucky sighed in relief.
Loki closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming his annoyance. “I can’t take her with me.”
“What? You can’t- you’re not gonna leave her here, are you?” Bucky was starting to panic. “I don’t know how to take care of a kid!”
Loki sent you an unimpressed look identical to the one he gave you when he first learned of your feelings for the soldier. “You’re going to have to learn then.” He held you out for him to take, making Bucky stumble back to get some distance. “I can’t trust anyone outside of her team to care for her. If her enemies find out he’s in such a vulnerable state, they may come for her. I will not risk it by putting her in the hands of another.”
Bucky braved a glance at you, and his heartbeat quickened at seeing your tear streaked cheeks and wobbly lip. “What if I hurt her.”
“You will die a slow and painful death,” he warned. Bucky didn’t flinch at his words, he only watched you as he was letting his fear consume him. “You won’t,” he assured in a much kinder tone. “They’re quite resilient at this age, and I’m certain she’ll be able to inform you of her needs.”
Bucky extended shaky arms and Loki handed you off. “What am I supposed to do with her?”
“Make sure she eats and keep her entertained. She likes the fair and the beach.”
“What am I supposed to feed her?” he asked, but Loki had already gone. Panic started to set in again, and he warily looked at the girl he still kept at arm’s length. “Uh, are you hungry?”
“Yeah,” you sniffled.
He turned into the kitchen and placed you right in the middle of the counter. “Don’t move,” he pleaded, pulling his hands away slowly, as if convinced you were about to roll off.
He made you scrambled eggs, as they were less of a choking hazard than anything else he could think of. He looked back at you every ten seconds or so, to make sure you were still sat in the middle. Eating his own food slowly, he watched you like a hawk in case you had any trouble.
“Thank you,” you said when you finished, giving him a smile that filled him with warmth.
After breakfast, he was glued to his phone for a good few hours, desperately trying to get ahold of Steve.