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Steve flicked the bottle caps off, frowning as he handed Bucky a beer. “Are you sure about this?”
The brunette shrugged, taking a swig. “She’s ready.”
“There’s no rush. Things have been working pretty well so far. You could wait another year.”
“What, you think I can’t handle it, Rogers?” he smirked.
“Maybe.”
He frowned, peeling one corner of the wet label off the bottle. “Hey, anything Stark can do, right?”
Steve regarded him cautiously. “Alright. Well, give me a call if you need any help.”
“Don’t worry about it, Stevie. We’ve got this.”
*****
Clint called on Sunday night. “Barnes! How’s my favourite tin man?”
“I’m gonna tell Tony you said that.”
“Good, he could use the reminder.”
Bucky snorted. “What can I do for you, Barton?”
“Just checking in.” he said, voice a little too casual.
“We’re fine, Clint.”
“I know.”
“Uh huh.” Bucky drawled.
“But if you did have questions...concerns…”
“Completely concernless over here, trust me. We got this.”
There was a huffed laugh on the other end of the phone. “Of course you do.”
“Want me to put Nat on?”
“Hell yeah.”
*****
Bucky Barnes laid in bed with the blankets pulled up to his chin, definitely freaking out.
He’d felt so calm when he’d told the others he could handle this. He’d certainly sounded calm, like a man who knew exactly what he was doing. Like his old self maybe, cocky and confident. The problem was, his old self was an idiot.
He had a plan though. If they just stuck to the plan, everything would be alright.
Bucky rolled out of bed and knocked on Natasha’s door, sticking his head in.
“Time for training.”
She nodded, yawning as she threw back the covers, and he went into the living room. He felt restless, pacing like a tiger as he waited for the girl to appear. They sank into the first stretches and he focused only on her form, making sure she wouldn’t hurt herself.
“How did you sleep, Natalia?”
“Well. What about you, Papa?”
“Fine.” he lied, the redhead’s nose twitching as she held back a disbelieving grin.
They worked through their morning routine, the strange mixture of styles and stretches Bucky had cobbled together to keep himself in shape while easing Natasha into things. As always the movements soothed him, clearing his head of anything but the next exercise. But the moment they finished, all his worries came rushing back.
“Go on,” he ruffled Nat’s hair, “Wash up.”
She kissed his cheek and headed for the bathroom, and he went to her closet. He took out the freshly-pressed uniform, laying the shirt and trousers on the bed with her child-sized tie and a pair of practical black shoes. The blazer was a little boxier than he liked – not much freedom of movement – but it was the rules. He trusted Nat could make it work if she had to.
He left her to change, throwing on his own non-threatening parent disguise of jeans and a button-down, leaving it open a little so he wouldn’t feel choked. He strapped on his back holster and made sure he could reach it in a hurry, sliding a knife into the top of his boot.
“Papa?”
“Yeah?” he jogged into the other room.
“Can you help me?” Natasha held out her hairbrush.
“Sure.”
He moved behind her, gently running it through her hair, being carefully not to tug it as he brushed out the tangles.
“Do you have everything, Natalia?”
“Yes, Papa.”
“Checklist?”
“Books are in my bag,” she said flatly, “Name is on my pencils. Lunch is packed.”
He pulled the red curls back into the low ponytail with quick, practiced movements. “Hair band?”
She handed it to him and he tied it off, giving it a final tweak until he was happy.
“Let’s move out.”
He checked the car twice before letting her get in, eyes scanning the road as they drove. He changed direction twice before finally pulling into the carpark, slowing right down to avoid the children walking across the asphalt. He turned into a spot as close as possible to the entrance, killing the engine.
“Bag?”
Natasha held it up.
“Let’s go.”
They got out and he took her hand, joining the stream of people. It was loud – louder than he liked, but not enough to bring on an episode. Still, he was twitchy as they reached the end of the corridor, Bucky checking the room numbers as they passed.
A friendly-looking older woman stood by the last door, a clipboard clutched to her chest. She beamed when she saw them.
“Hello again, Jessica. Mr Smith.”
“Good morning.” he said stiffly.
“Are you ready for your first day?”
Bucky looked down, exchanging a smile with the redhead. “She’s got this.”
“Alright, well say goodbye to your dad. You can see him after class.”
The ex-assassin knelt so she could hug him, holding Natasha tight. He wasn’t sure he could let go; she felt so small, so vulnerable. “Remember what I said about making friends.”
“I will be nice.”
“Not too nice though. Don’t let them think they can walk all over you.”
“Never.” she whispered fiercely.
He smiled, kissing her head. “You’ll be great, Talia.”
Natasha smiled. “Of course, Papa.”
They separated, the teacher waving her inside, and something in Bucky’s chest ached at the sight of her walking away. The older woman gave him a sympathetic look.
“The first day’s tough, but I promise you’ll get used to it.”
“Ah, sure,” he sniffed, “You’ll call me if there’s any trouble?”
“Don’t worry, Mr Smith. I’m sure Jessica will be fine.”
He grimaced. It wasn’t her he was worried about.
*****
Bucky was used to long stakeouts. Snipers could sometimes wait hours for their targets, even days. But nothing had ever been as long as the six hours he waited for the last bell. In fact, he didn’t even make it six hours – he was at the school half an hour early just to get a spot near the door, tapping his fingers against the car door as he watched the entrance.
Finally the bell rang and students started flowing out, running towards their waiting parents or walking to the bus stop. He got out of the car, scanning faces until he spotted Natasha. The redhead was at the centre of a group of girls listening intently as she told a story, all of them giggling at the end. She gave them a wave when she saw Bucky, hurrying over. He couldn’t resist giving her a hug, even if it was embarrassing.
“Come on, get in.”
She walked around the front of the car, the brunette watching the car park until she was safely inside and then sliding in behind the wheel. He was silent as he carefully negotiated the crowd, finally turning to her as they reached the street.
“How was your first day?”
“Good. I like Mrs Hutton.”
“Did you have fun?”
She made that face she always made when someone asked, but shrugged. “I learned new things.”
“Looks like you made some friends.”
“I think so.” Natasha frowned.
“No one gave you any trouble?”
She flashed him her teeth. “They seemed a bit shy, Papa.”
He snorted. “I wonder why. Do you have lots of homework?”
“Not yet.”
“Then how about we stop for some celebratory ice cream?”
“Chunky monkey!” Natasha grinned, clapping her hands.
Bucky rolled his eyes. “For your first day, I can live through chunky monkey. But just this once!”