Archive of Our Own

“No better time than now to pop on some coffee,” he says to himself and reaches for the carafe, filling it as far as it allows. Setting the dials and turning the machine on, the grinder roars to life and the fragrant smell of his favourite beans, swirl around his nostrils. Reaching to pull open a cupboard by the sink, he pulls out the first mug and smiles when he glances at the design sprawled across the entire body. His girls had created this for him the year before for his birthday with the help of Y/N.  

Ya. Her.

He sighs loudly, glad that he was alone and no one could see his eyes glaze over at the mere thought of her. It was stupid of him to think about it, this was a friendship and only a friendship. Placing the mug down, he turns noticing a note on the counter.

Buck,  

The girls needed a few things from the store this morning and help setting up some kind of picnic. I helped cut up what they needed before I had to head out to the event this afternoon.  

I’ll add it to your tab,

Steve

Bucky had been called to check in with a client early that morning and Steve had agreed to watch the girls for a few hours before heading to a Mother’s Day Tea that their friend was hosting for single moms in the community. His girls had Steve wrapped around their fingers; anything they asked (safety permitting), he was in. Bucky was thankful for the help Steve had provided over the years. When he had to work odd hours, when he was sick, or even to take a quick break before his brain exploded, Steve was there for him. Parenting alone wasn’t always easy.  

He stopped to listen and thought he heard a giggle coming from outside, was that his youngest? Peeking out through the blinds, he saw the girls – Piper reaching up to one of the apple trees, handling what looked like a paper lantern and Riley kneeling on a large blanket nearby, arranging several bowls and plates.  

Bucky opens the sliding door, squinting to see what the girls were sitting on. “Is that the duvet from my bed?” Both girls turn towards him but it was Riley that couldn’t keep a straight face as she shook her head no, her eyes wide and lips folded in.

“Riley, I told you not to look at him if he asked!” He heard Piper loud whisper to her sister. Funny how they always forgot about his hearing.  

Bucky pulled the door back further and stepped out onto the back deck.

“Dammit, Piper, now he’s going to crap a brick about the blanket.”

Piper smacked her sister, a loud “shh” spitting from her mouth. “Keep your big mouth shut and let me deal with dad. I mean it!” Riley clamped her mouth shut instantly as Piper stood up, brushing pieces of grass and twigs from her dress. “Hey daddy, we didn’t expect you back so soon,” Piper said sweetly.  

Daddy. He knew something was up when she called him that. Pops, old man, or hey you, were more common than daddy. “You two, inside now,” Bucky said sternly, his thumb motioning back to the house. “You better start explaining what is going on and how you got Uncle Steve involved in this.”

Riley grumbled something he couldn’t make out while Piper was pulling her up from the blanket. “You better hope you don’t screw this up, Ri. You know how hard we worked on this with Uncle Steve.”

Once the girls had settled at the kitchen table, lemonade, fruit and sandwiches set on plates in front of them, he spoke. “So, what is all of this? You have your uncle taking you by the store, you’ve got a spread of food outside, on my new duvet might I mention, and these funky little lanterns hanging from all the fruit trees. What are you two trouble makers up to?”

He watches as Piper squirms, the wooden chair creaking with each movement of her body. “Pops, we invited y/n over for a picnic,” Piper answers, her cheeks flushing red.

Bucky pulled his sandwich away from his mouth, to stare at Piper, “You what?”

“We invited -”

“Ya, I got that... but why?”

Riley leans towards him, “Pops, it’s Mother’s Day and the thing is since, well, since you do 99% of the parenting, Piper and I thought it made sense to celebrate you today and we thought it would be nice to invite your friend too.”

Bucky raised his eyebrow, “Why do you say it like that, my friend? You two know there is a Father’s Day, right?” He lifts one eyebrow glancing to each of his daughters before taking a large bite of his sandwich.

“I didn’t wanna say girlfriend Pops but that’s what you want her to be, right? Pip and I see how you look at her and I don’t think we have ever seen you look at someone like that. You look at her like she’s a tasty burger.”

Piper snorts from across the table, her lemonade is now dribbling down her chin.

“Oh, come on Ri,” he said while running his hand through his hair, “it’s not like that at all. Besides-”

“Pops, you’re wrong. You BOTH stare at each other and I’ve seen you blush when she touches your arm. You’ve got it bad,” she tells him while nodding her head in the sassy manner he is accustomed to.  

“What would you know,” muttered Bucky.

“You know, you aren’t the only one who has great hearing,” Riley replied, throwing a strawberry towards her dad's head. Bucky caught it before it hit him and popped it into his mouth.  

**

Bucky turns when he hears the creak of the gate, a head popping in and a sweet sing-song “Hello, Barnes family.” Y/N is finally here and he is unusually anxious, he’s pretty sure it has to do with what Riley said earlier.

Piper and Riley stop what they are doing on the duvet and run towards Y/N, jumping into her arms and squealing. Bucky hears an “oof” escape her mouth from the force the girls use to squeeze her. He smiles when he overhears them telling her how much she has been missed.  

When the girls have grown restless, after the food has been devoured, I Spy games have been played; the girls started to toss clumps of grass into each other's hair. A clump of dirty knocks Piper’s forehead and before he knows it, they are wrestling beside what is left of the picnic. Bucky tells them to take it easy and to help with the cleanup and assures y/n that she can relax and he’ll be back momentarily.  

Sliding the patio door shut, he watches her, laying back on the blanket, staring up at the clouds slowly moving by above. One hand in her hair and the other up and waving her finger towards the sky. She doesn’t notice him until he takes a step closer and his shadow crosses her face.  

“Heya Buck, why don’t you come down here and trace the shapes the clouds make with me. I’m curious to see what you see,” Y/N said as she reaches for his hand, pulling him towards her. He stumbles and has to catch himself from falling onto her and all she can do is laugh at him when he lands hard on his backside. “I wish I could show you the look on you face,” she laughed, “oh man, the girls would have loved to see an instant replay of that.”

Bucky’s face gradually turns red the more y/n keeps laughing, her feet stomping at the beginning of each breath. “All right, all right, so I was trying not to fall on you, it’s no big deal.” He brushes his hair back and looks over to her a big smile still across her beautiful face. She pushes at his shoulder until he’s lying beside her and looks up at the sky. Reaching for his hand and lifting it towards the white fluff, she moves it along the largest cloud above them.  

“This one right here, you know what I see, Buck? He looks over to her, a huge grin across her face before she says, “It’s a hippopotamus playing the accordion, do you see it?” She turns her head to look back over to him. It’s the same moment he chooses to look back at her, his blue eyes sparkling with the sunshine.  

“I have no idea how the hell you see that but I’m enjoying your imagination. Tell me some more about these clouds. What about that small one over there, by the peaks of that mountain?” He gives her another smile and reaches over to take her hand in his, squeezing it and waiting to hear what she came up with this time.  

“What do I see in that one,” she replies quietly to herself as her mind swirls with ideas of what that shape could be. Y/L feels Bucky’s thumb sliding softly over her hand. Swish, swish. Swish, swish. It was gentle and calming, encouraging her to tell him about the cloud he had chosen. “Buck, I see Pip, that first time we went for hot chocolate and she had that crazy chocolate mustache, do you see it? Notice how it swipes across her face, like it did that day?” She looks over to him and he’s not smiling anymore but there’s something in his eyes that she hasn’t had the chance to experience yet. A look that could be considered to be longing. Gosh, she hopes that’s what it is.

“Yeah, I remember that day better than most,” he tells her as he turns onto his side to face her and moves his hand to the side of her face. He stalls for a moment, telling himself he can do this and his fingers gently touch her cheek, moving across the soft skin a few times before she decides to turn and face him as well.  

“Don’t stop Buck, okay?” She can smell the hand cream she bought him for his birthday that year, the one for dry skin, the smell of beeswax and olive oil; she swore up and down that it was the only thing that helped her when she was working with her hands as much as she did. He had blushed when she gave him the gift, he had told her it was unexpected and he was flattered that she had thought of him. Y/L reaches over to touch his hair, softly at first but as she notices Bucky leaning in to her hand, she pushes deeper and runs her fingers through the strands. This is the moment. THIS is the moment. Just DO IT already. With her mind running wild, she goes for it, gently pulling his head towards hers and kisses him. She’s pretty sure Bucky is shaking or is it her? He isn’t arguing and he’s not pushing away, so she pulls him a bit closer and has another go at it. He’s kissing her back now and her heart is doing somersaults with each press and each slide of his tongue.  

Bucky Barnes is kissing her. On a blanket. In his backyard.

It doesn’t go on for much longer, he’s worried that they girls might be peeking out of the windows and watching their old man lock lips with his friend. When he pulls away, she looks disappointed but he smiles and runs his thumps across her bottom lip. “Don’t worry, okay? We’ll have other days. She smiles and nods back. “What do you think about going inside and eating some of the ice cream Steve picked up with the girls earlier today?” She didn’t expect Bucky to take her hand in his and she was happy that he didn’t seem to notice that she missed a breath when the warmth spread over her palm and fingers. He pulls her gently into the house and calls the girls down for dessert.

Two pints have been devoured when Riley jumps up from her chair and belts out “Last night I had the strangest dream-”  

Piper chimes in “I sailed away to China In a little row boat to find ya, And you said you had to get your laundry cleaned, Didn't want no one to hold you, what does that mean? And you said-

“What are you two going on about?” Bucky looks at Piper and Riley, confusion crossing his face.

Y/l slides across the tiled floor and belts out “ain’t nothing gonna break my stride.” The girls join in and bounce around each other, singing the chorus, while Bucky puts down the bowl he was washing and turns to watch what he thought was the women in his life going mad.  

Y/N’s eyes meet Bucky’s and she bursts out laughing mid song. In the few stride’s it took him to reach her side, she was already curled up on the floor laughing hysterically with his daughters. He crosses his arms and looks down at the three of them. “Anyone want to let me in on what is going on right now because I’m a little confused.”  

“Don’t you pay attention to what your kids are watching online?”  

“He’s old, don’t even bother asking him,” Riley added, rolling her eyes.

“Hey now, I know all about your Insta-spam thing or that Clip-Clopping stuff you guys do.”  

“Our what? UGH! You are SO EMBARRASSING!” Shouts his youngest.

Y/L is howling and Bucky swears he can see tears falling down her cheeks. He can’t help but laugh with her. It’s true, a lot of these devices and apps are beyond him but he’s glad that Y/N can relate to his girls. He’s happy that he met her all those years ago, he doesn’t think life would have been as easy without her smile and laughter.  

*

The bowls are sticky and sprinkled with coloured bits and left on the table for now. He looks up from his phone, smiling at a thank you message from her, for the great day and the kiss. He thinks he hears a gentle tapping and looks up to see Riley leaning against the door frame, her smile wide.

“Ain’t nothing gonna break your stride, Pops. I swear she’ll be your girlfriend soon enough,” and with that, Riley winks at him and sprints up the stairs to get ready for bed.

He smiles as he watches her and thinks that maybe, she is on to something.