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“Okay, we’ve got 4 waters, sunscreen, extra hair-thingies, first aid kit, everyone’s jackets, bathing suits, sunglasses, all the snacks, um… Am I missing something? I feel like I’m missing something.” Bucky says, fretting over his giant mom bag and checking his list.
“It’ll be fine, Buck. I think you’ve got it all.” Steve sighs, wrangling the kids into their shoes.
“Wallet! Keys! Metrocards! Steve, do you have your metrocard?” Bucky demands, flitting around the apartment. He picks up his prosthetic, waving it around wildly.
“Of course I do, Bucky. Why wouldn’t I have my metrocard?” Steve almost cheers with triumph after getting all of Natasha’s velcros velcroed. She smiles at Steve, and walks over to Bucky, gesturing for him to get down. He kneels to her level and she helps him put the stockinette on, and slip his right arm through the loop of chest strap. Natasha straps him in, then pats it confidently. She’s even better than Steve when it comes to helping Bucky get his arm on. Clint just likes to play with it.
“Thank you, sweetpea.” He says, raising his prosthetic. Natasha grins and high-fives him. He stands, starting to grab things from around the apartment.
“Okay, so we’re taking the F all the way to the end.” Bucky says, frantically throwing random things into his bag. Steve sees hand-sanitizer, a sewing kit, and Buckybear get stuffed into the bag. Steve does the final double-knot on Clint’s sneakers and stands.
“Alright, I think we’re good to go, right kids?” Steve asks and Clint and Nat cheer in adorable unison. Steve watches as Bucky does on last harried check and then turns to smile brightly at his children.
“Okay, troops! Let’s head out.”
They head out of the apartment like a chain, Bucky in front, holding onto Clint’s hand, Clint holding onto Natasha’s, and Natasha holding onto Steve’s. Steve had insisted on carrying Bucky’s giant mom bag, but now he was regretting it. Even though he had one more arm than Bucky, it was difficult to carry. It weighed almost as much as him, and he was trying not to stagger under its weight.
They finally get to their station, and Bucky has to take a few minutes, needing to hype himself up to willinging get inside the loud, enclosed space. Finally, the F arrives, and Bucky nods to Steve. Their little team climbs aboard.
An older man sees Bucky and offers him his seat, thanking him for his service. Bucky blushes and takes the seat, mumbling his thanks as Natasha climbs into his lap. Steve collapses next to him, setting the bag on the floor. Clint pulls himself into Steve’s lap, and Steve tries not to wince as Clint’s boney knees stab him in the gut.
Clint and Natasha start to play some kind of counting game, and Steve wraps his arm around Bucky’s shoulder, pressing into his side. Bucky turns to him and smile softly, leaning down to kiss him on the forehead.
Steve has been waiting for this day pretty much since he met Natasha and Bucky in that Target, so long ago. The butterflies in his stomach are doing a kamikaze, and the excitement and anxiety and terror and bliss are dive bombing his senses, like a whirling explosion in his brain.
So it's pretty miraculous that he’s able to fall asleep.
The subway has always been strangely comforting to Steve. The rocking of the train, the white noise of the passengers, the flashes of motion in the windows. It had to be something that was true of all native New Yorkers, because Clint and Natasha both fell asleep almost as soon as the train started moving. With the warmth of a sleeping kid in his lap, the nearness of Bucky and his family, the comforting motion of the subway, whatever it may be; it lulls Steve to sleep. He wakes when the subway comes to a stop and Bucky nudges him gently. Steve opens his eyes, coming face-to-face with Bucky. They’re so close that when Steve blinks, his eyelashes kiss the crest of Bucky’s cheekbone.
“Hi.” Steve says dumbly.
“Hi.” Bucky replies, bumping their noses together.
“Hi!” The kids say in unison, and Steve palms the back of Clint’s head, not breaking eye contact with Bucky.
“We’re here,” Bucky tells him, and Steve nods, leaning in and pressing his lips to Bucky’s. He just needed to in that moment.
“Steve-” Bucky chuckles as they break the kiss. “We have to get off the train.” Steve ignores him and kisses him again, quickly this time. He wants to remember every second of this day.
“Last stop!” The muffled voice over the PA calls, and Bucky raises his eyebrows at Steve. He’s got that expression on his face, the one that’s fond and confused and slightly curious. As if he were wondering, how did I find you?
“Let’s go, Daddy! Come on!” Natasha yells, tugging at Bucky’s pant leg. Clint is already trying to lug the mom bag off the train. Bucky stands and pulls Steve to his feet. Natasha starts to climb Bucky’s side, and he scoops her up, swinging her. She giggles hysterically and climbs deftly onto his shoulder. Steve takes Clint’s hand and grunts as he hefts up the mom bag.
They make their way out of the station and onto the street. The kids are both excitedly yelling for them to move faster, to hurry up. Bucky laughs, then whinnies like a horse, galloping along the sidewalk. Natasha begins shrieking with laughter, gripping his shirt and kicking Bucky in the sides.
Clint looks up at Steve, who is already huffing with effort, carrying the mom bag with some strain. “I’m not gonna carry you.” Steve wheezes. Clint shrugs, grabbing one of the sides of the bag, trying to help.
As they reach Luna Park, the kids forget any semblance of self-restraint. Natasha jumps off of Bucky’s shoulders, rolling easily and bolting for the bright lights and colors. Clint follows her, because he always follows her. Steve feels nearly panicked as the kids started toward the crowd, but Bucky just brings his fingers to his lips, whistling loudly. Both kids freeze in their tracks, looking back at him guiltily.
“Company, fall in!” He calls, and the kids scurry back to him, each grabbing his good arm, looking up at him expectantly. “Forward march.” Bucky says, and they all start forward in an ordered line. Steve smiles, bringing up the rear as they march past the roller coasters and the carnival games, heading straight for the beach.
Step one of this day was a picnic. Natasha and Clint pick out a spot, and Steve sets down the bag with a grunt, unzipping it and rolling out a towel for them to sit on as Bucky unpacks the food. They had strawberries, PB&Js, carrot sticks, some of those organic baked chips, and carafe of juice.
It's still early in the summer, and while Manhattan was stifling, the Atlantic breeze raises goose flesh on Steve’s arms. Bucky’s already rolling up the cuffs of Clint’s pants and taking off the kids’ shoes so they can run around, but he warns both of them not to get wet. The last thing they need is for either of the kids to come down with a cold.
They chase each other around the beach, every once in a while stopping by the towel to grab something to eat. Steve and Bucky both keep half an eye on them, making sure they don’t get kidnapped or eaten by sharks.
“This is nice,” Steve comments, bare toes digging into the sand.
Bucky, from where he’s laying sprawled out on the towel, real arm thrown over his eyes, grunts in agreement.
Steve just snorts, resting his chin on Bucky’s knee. Bucky doesn’t look up or even twitch, but a smile plays on his lips. “I had no idea you were a beach bum.” Steve comments, thumb rubbing small circles on the ball of Bucky’s ankle.
“I’m one fourth Mermaid on my mother’s side.” Bucky answers easily. Steve smiles, thinking to himself that it doesn’t seem that improbable, not with the way Bucky’s long hair curls prettily in the ocean air and how his eyes reflect the rolling waves. “Carrot me.”
Steve scoffs, but grabs a carrot stick, dangling it over Bucky’s lips. Bucky leans up, biting off about half the stick. Unimpressed with Bucky’s show of teeth, Steve pops the rest of the carrot in his mouth, then glances up. “Heads up. You’re about to get jumped on.”
Bucky opens his mouth to speak, but is cut off with an “oof” as Natasha catapults onto his stomach. He manages to cushion the blow a little by catching her around the waist, but he still manages to get two boney knees in his vital organs and a mouthful of sandy red hair.
Steve laughs at Bucky’s spluttering, and as pride goes before the fall (quite literally), he’s abruptly tackled by Clint.
The kids tussle with them in the sand until Bucky forces them to eat some sandwiches. They’re sticky with jam and peanut butter, and Steve has to fish out the wet wipes. Finally, they roll up the towel, put away the empty tupperware, and let the kids drag them to the rides.
“The best thing about Coney Island,” Bucky says seriously, buying tokens from the vendor and wincing at the price. “Is not the overpriced food or the museum or even Luna Park. Can anyone guess what it is?”
“Shooting games?” Clint asks excitedly, gripping the hem of Bucky’s shirt.
Natasha considers the question. “The freak show?”
“What? No,” Bucky makes a face, shaking his head. “Where did you learn that word? Just- just call it a sideshow, or, or something.”
“Baseball?” Steve tries, then laughs when all the Barneses react with disgust.
“No,” Bucky says with a grin. He claps his hands together, one flesh and one carbon fiber. “The best thing about Coney Island is the rides!”
He takes off running towards the small section of the park that held kiddie-sized roller coasters and rides. Natasha and Clint giggle wildly and follow him. Steve sighs, picking up the bag and following them. It's a little lighter now without the food, but he still has to lug it.
The kids want to go on the teacup ride, but Bucky looks at it warily, knowing that right after lunch, it was essentially a puke factory. He shakes his head, redirecting them to a small roller coaster with a cowboy theme. Steve sits with Clint, who shrieks giddily with laughter as Steve holds on to the bars for dear life.
They cycle through a few rides, and while Steve isn’t paying attention, Bucky takes the bag off his hands. They go on the bumper cars, which almost ends in complete catastrophe when Natasha and Steve’s competitive instincts combine and they nearly kill Bucky and Clint. They go on the carousel, which Clint loves, but Natasha declares to be boring. They go on several other mini-roller coasters, until the even the kids look a little unsteady on their feet.
The adrenaline finally wears off, and Bucky drags them over the the carnival shooting games, and between him and Clint conquering all of the park’s shooting games, they win too many stuffed animals to carry. Natasha insists on doing the strongman challenge, waving the comically large hammer around dangerously. They lose at ring toss, scream in the haunted house, play arcade games, and chase each other around the park.
It's not all perfect. Steve wants to go to the Zoltar Machine, but Clint is absolutely terrified of it after watching Big. The House of Mirrors nearly gives Bucky a panic attack and they have to figure their way out of it as a team before it gets too bad. Natasha nearly rips out the throat of a woman who blatantly gawks at Bucky’s fake arm. The kids start to crash exhaustively as the sun grows low in the sky.
But all in all, it's a great day, and Steve knows it going to get even better.
It's Clint who sees him first. His head jerks up from where it's been drooping on Bucky’s shoulder and he gasps excitedly. “Uncle Sam!”
“What?” Natasha demands, looking around. “Where?”
Bucky frowns in utter confusion, then looks at Steve. Steve just gives him a secretive smirk and grabs the mom bag from Bucky as both kids go running off.
There, standing on the pier and holding two giant cotton candies, is Sam. He has a huge grin on his face and he bends down to take both Barnes kids in a hug. “Hey, buddies.”
“Sam!” They both cheer, and Clint pulls back, eyeing the bright blue cloud of sugar in Sam’s hand. “Is… that for us?”
“You bet your hiney, it is.” Sam says, then gives each kid a cotton candy when they greedily reach for it. He stands and grins at Steve, who gives him the bag, which now has about 12 stuffed animals in it along with its original haul. Sam, bless him, takes it, along with the now sugar-hyper and sticky kids in stride. He gives Steve a small wink and a conspiratorial smile, then leads the kids down the boardwalk.
Bucky waves as Sam leads Natasha and Clint away, then turns to level a look at Steve. “What are you planning, Steven Grant Rogers?”
Steve just grins, then stands on his tiptoes to plant a kiss on Bucky’s mouth. “C’mon.” He says, then takes Bucky’s hand, pulling him along.
“Where is Wilson taking my kids?” Bucky demands, but there’s no heat behind the words and he easily lets Steve to drag him in the opposite direction.
Steve shrugs one shoulder, giving Bucky’s hand a little squeeze. “They wanted to go to the aquarium, I think.”
“Uh-huh.” Bucky says, looking unconvinced. “And where are you taking me?”
Steve checks his watch surreptitiously and picks up his pace. “You’ll see, Buck.”
When they reach the line of the Wonder Wheel, Bucky gives him another look, but this time, it's full of love and gratitude. They kind of look Bucky usually gives him when he thinks Steve isn’t looking.
“It’s what you said, right?” Steve asks, the anxiety finally settling back in. “On our first date. You said the Wonder Wheel at sunset was the most romantic place in the world.”
Bucky’s lips twitch a little, and the attendant ushers them forward. Steve helps Bucky climb inside, never taking his eyes off of him. “That was our second date.” Bucky finally corrects, once the door to their car closes.
“Are you sure?” Steve frowns. He doesn’t want to outright correct Bucky, because he knows the other man has problems with memory. The wheel lurches and they both start a little as the car sways and they’re lifted into the air. “Our first date was at that diner by your old place.”
“Nah.” Bucky says, smile growing on his face. “Our first date was when Natasha dragged you out of Target that first day and forced you to have dinner with us.”
“Oh, I-“ Steve can’t help but mirror his expression, joy and anticipation and love stretching his face into a huge smile. “I guess you’re right.”
“Guess so.” Bucky says, and the wheel stops turning.
They’re at the very top, and the sun is slowly disappearing behind New York City’s skyline, painting the sky in shades of red and orange and purple. “Wow.” Bucky breathes, standing and looking out the side. “Wow. This is amazing, Stevie.”
“Yeah,” Steve agrees shakily, reaching into his pocket for the small velvet box. There’s not really room for him to get down on one knee, so he doesn’t. Just waits for Bucky to turn around.
He does, and when Steve see his face, he just about loses his composure, wanting to kiss him senseless rather than bother with words. Still, he had taken a long time to prepare his speech. “Buck,” He starts, and oh god, his voice is already cracking.
Bucky’s shocked look turns into giddy laughter, and he covers his mouth with one hand. “Oh, you devious bastard.” He chokes out, looking at Steve with suspiciously damp eyes.
“Bucky Barnes, I’ve loved you from the moment we met.” Steve starts, taking a deep breath. “And I knew I wanted to spend my life with you from the first time I had breakfast with you and your daughter. You’re the love of my life, and there’s no one I’d rather- woah, fuck!”
Steve’s cut off when the wheel lurches forward again and they both stumble, thrown off balance by the sudden movement. Bucky falls back onto the bench and catches Steve around the middle with his good arm, quick reflexes managing to keep him from tumbling to his death. Luckily, Steve keeps his grip on the ring.
Steve and Bucky look at each other for a moment, then burst into gales of laughter. Steve’s practically on his lap, so it takes nothing at all to turn in his embrace and kiss him.
They neck like teenagers until the ride comes to a stop and the attendant clears his throat awkwardly. Steve blushes, and climbs off of Bucky, then helps him out of the car.
He takes Bucky’s hand and presses a kiss to the knuckles, then nearly facepalms. “Shit! I forgot to ask you.”
“Then just do it already, you doofus.” Bucky says, beaming at him.
Steve get the ring back out, nearly shoving it at Bucky. “Will you marry me, and stuff?”
“Hell fuckin yeah.” Bucky offers him his right hand, since the left one won’t work, and Steve slides the ring on easily. It fits perfectly. Steve would be more proud of the perfect sizing if he hadn’t stolen Bucky’s prosthetic and taken it to the jeweler's for sizing.
Bucky throws his arms around Steve’s shoulders and kisses him, and only stops when a chorus of questions befall their ears.
“Did you do it? Can I see the ring? Did he cry? Did you cry? Did you both cry? Why do people cry when they get married?”
Steve and Bucky turn to see Clint and Natasha staring up at them expectantly, with Sam behind them, already looking ragged.
Bucky just raises his eyebrow at Steve. Steve shrugs, completely unrepentant. “I had to ask their permission for you hand, of course.”
“Of course,” Bucky agrees with a knowing smile, the crouches down to flash the kids his ring. They ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ over it appropriately, then go back to asking prying questions.
Steve thanks Sam and take back the bag, which seems to have gotten suspiciously heavier. Steve wonders what the kids pestered Sam into buying for them.
Steve checks his watch again and starts ushering them back towards the station. He doesn’t want either Bucky or Sam there when the fireworks started.
They split up with Sam at the station, boarding the subway with Clint’s hand in Steve’s, Steve’s hand in Bucky’s, Bucky’s prosthetic in Nat’s. Steve can’t help but rub his thumb over the ring possessively, smiling to himself.
They climb out of their proper station, all of them exhausted from the day of fun, but unable to keep the stupid grins off their faces.
“Oh, hey,” Bucky says, pulling them to a stop outside of a large store. “I need to run in real quick, grab some food for tonight. You guys can run on ahead.”
“No, we’ll come in.” Steve said, knowing that Bucky would need a few extra hands to carry all the groceries.
They wander the aisles for a few minutes, keeping the kids from dumping too much sugar food into the cart. Steve is comparing the brand name cereal with the Target-brand cereal, when he turns around to see Bucky in one knee with a huge smile on his face.
“Oh my god, you-“ Steve cuts himself off, laughing. Bucky has a ring and everything.
“I swear I had this planned ahead of time and I’m not being weirdly competitive about it.” Bucky says, a slight flush on his cheeks. “You just had this perfect day at Coney Island planned, I thought it would be romantic. On the way home, I was gonna pop into a Target and propose, because, you know, it where we met, but then you-“
“Dad,” Natasha says, like she’s embarrassed. “You’re ruining it.”
He looks over at her and cracks a nervous grin. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Sorry kiddo.” Clint is just watching with rapt attention. Bucky looks back to Steve. “So, I guess um, will you marry me. And stuff?”
“Of course.” Steve says, pulling Bucky to his feet and planting a kiss on his mouth. “Of course I will.”