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The doorbell rang and Bucky half-rose from his seat. “I'll get it.”
Steve gently pushed him back down into the couch. “You're supposed to be taking it easy.”
Bucky heaved a sigh, but thankfully stayed put.
Steve handed out candy to the trio of children at the door and took a Tootsie Roll from the dish for Bucky.
Bucky popped it into his mouth but didn't look any happier about the situation. Not that Steve could really blame him. It had to be hard to be basically bedridden all week. But he had a couple cracked ribs and a fractured ankle and was under strict orders to move as little as possible until they were healed.
By all rights, he should have still been in the hospital. But after he had woken up thrashing and screaming about Hydra, everyone agreed that it was probably for the best that he stay home where Steve could keep an eye on him.
Steve stroked Bucky's hair. “Do you need more Vicodin?”
“Nope. I can't drink with the damn stuff and Tony mixed up a whole test tube rack full of drinks earlier.”
Steve wrinkled his nose. “Are you really taking shots out of test tubes? You don't know what Tony put in those.”
Bucky grinned. “That's the fun part.”
Right. Drinking weird concoctions out of test tubes that may or may not have once held dangerous chemicals was supposed to be the fun part. Funny, Steve had always thought taking the kids trick or treating was the fun part.
Maybe he and Loki should have taken the kids out and Tony could have stayed home drinking with Bucky. But Tony had made the kids' costumes and nothing, not even the promise of alcohol, would have kept him from going along with them to show off his handiwork.
Steve was pretty proud of him for that.
Bucky leaned his head against Steve's shoulder and Steve carded his fingers through his hair. Every so often it was nice to spend a moment just with Bucky or just with Tony. He loved them both and they obviously loved each other. But he could really only hold one of them in his arms at a time, so he treasured these rare, peaceful moments alone with one of his lovers.
“You look tired,” Steve said. “You don't have to stay up drinking with Tony, you know.”
“I know,” Bucky said. “But somebody's gotta keep an eye on him. You know how he gets.”
On cue, Tony appeared in the doorway, a red and black cape draped loosely over the shoulders of his favorite suit. He grinned widely, fake fangs gleaming. “I bid you velcome, fellow creatures of ze night.”
Bucky raised an eyebrow. “You need to work on that Russian accent a little.”
“Russian?” Tony said indignantly. “You meestake my beauteeful Transylvanian accent for Russian? Pah, ve spit on ze Russians.” He glanced around furtively. “Natasha's not around, is she? That would be really awkward.”
Bucky snorted. “What kind of vampire is scared of a human woman?”
“I am ze best kind of vampire.” Tony spread his cape out behind him.“I vant to suck your cocks.”
Steve rolled his eyes. Of course he did.
Bucky crossed his arms over his chest.“Are you really going to talk that way in front of the children?”
“Cheeldren,” Tony gasped, clutching at his chest. “Cheeldren are my greatest veakness.” He pulled the cape tightly around himself and dashed out of the room.
Bucky sighed. “Something tells me he's had more candy than the children.”
The both waited patiently for whatever wacky shenanigans Tony was preparing for next. The giggling from the other room only promised trouble.
Emma raced into the den, her flower crown dangling loosely in her dark curls. “Mommy, Mommy! I got stickers!”
“Awesome,” Bucky said. He patted the seat on the couch beside him. “C'mere and show me.”
Emma clambered into Bucky's lap and waved the sheet of princess stickers. “Look!”
Bucky grimaced and pushed the gauzy wings out of his face. “Real nice, Emma. Just sit still, would you?”
“Gently, Emma,” Steve warned. “Mommy's still pretty hurt.”
Emma leaned forward and stuck a sparkly crown in Bucky's hair. “All better,” she declared.
Bucky made a face but the sticker stayed put.
Tony wandered over to the couch, his hands stuck in his pockets. He took one look at Bucky and snicked. “Aw, now mama's a pretty, pretty princess, too.”
“Not a princess,” Emma said indignantly. She smacked Tony with her wand.
Tony yelped and pressed a hand over his eye.
“Emma,” Steve said sternly. “We do not hit.” He pulled Tony down into his lap and tilted his head back so he could get a good look at his eye. Tony's cheek was red and there was a little cut right along the cheekbone, but thankfully his eye didn't seem damaged.
Bucky grabbed Emma's shoulders. “You are never doing that again. Do you hear me?”
Emma puffed out her cheeks and glared at Tony. “He called me a princess,” she said sullenly. “I'm a fairy.”
“That is the worst excuse I've ever heard.”
Steve squeezed Tony's shoulder. “Let's get that fixed up,” he said.
Bucky was probably going to be lecturing Emma for awhile. In the meantime, he needed to wash the glitter out of Tony's cut. He scooped him up into his arms to carry him into the bathroom
“I can walk,” Tony protested. “It's only a flesh wound.”
Steve ignored him and set him down on the edge of the bathroom counter.
It was the same old song and dance. Tony always protested any medical attention. But he was a surprisingly cooperative patient once Steve got to gently tending his wounds.
Steve held up a box of bandages.“Hello Kitty or Mickey Mouse?”
“Aw, no race cars?”
Steve snorted. “You're worse than the children.” He dabbed at the cut with a washcloth and carefully pressed the Mickey Mouse bandage over it.
Tony fluttered his eyelashes. “It's a miracle, doctor. I'm cured.”
Steve just rolled his eyes and helped Tony down from the sink.
As he opened the bathroom door, he heard wailing. “No! It's mine. Give it back.”
“You can earn it back when you've told Tony how sorry you are for hitting him and how thankful you are that he made your costume and took you out for candy.”
“But it's my candy!”
Steve grimaced. It sounded like Emma was just too tired to be rational anymore.
When they made it back to the den, Emma was gone and Bucky was limping in from the kitchen. “Her basket's on top of the fridge,” Bucky said as he collapsed wearily back onto the couch.
“Good,” Steve said. “She doesn't need any tonight. She's already up way past her bedtime.”
Tony snuggled into Steve's side. “I should have brought her back sooner. Or I should have had Loki bring her back and stayed with the other kids. She likes Loki better, you know. Because Loki is cooler, nicer, and prettier than me.”
“Did she really say that?'
Tony nodded. “I'm sure Loki is prettier than I am, but I object to all the rest.”
Bucky rubbed a hand over his temple. “My child is a little hellbeast.”
“She's no worse than Alexander was at this age.”
“Right. Both my children are hellbeasts. Thanks for rubbing it in, Tony.”
Tony rolled his eyes.“Look at it this way. Your kids are getting the rebellious shit out of their systems early. You're not going to envy me anymore when I have horrible teenagers.”
Bucky snorted. “Daniel is never going to be a horrible teenager.”
“Fair enough. But Matthew? Just wait until that boy gets his driver's license.” Tony suppressed a shudder.
Bucky grinned. “Speeding ticket within his first hour?”
“Within the first five minutes, probably. What can I say? He's a little speed demon.”
“Just like his mother,” Steve said fondly.
“Yeah, well, I never put on a cape and tried to jump out the window when I was a kid.”
Steve snickered. It was funny now, but it had been gut-wrenchingly terrifying at the moment, seeing his four-year-old son push open the window on the fifty-sixth floor. Thank god Tony had been able to swoop in and catch him.
“Maybe you just need to build him his own suit,” Bucky said.
“He already asked me for one for Christmas,” Tony moaned. “But if I start him on jet propulsion when he's six, it's only going to get worse. Forget a driver's license, he's going to want to go to fighter pilot school.”
Steve grinned. Now Tony knew how they felt when he went off and did dangerous stunts.
Bucky leaned into Steve's other side.“Where'd Loki take the other three? Haven't they exhausted the entire neighborhood's supply of candy by now?”
“Oh, they wanted to go check out this haunted house down the block.”
Bucky frowned. “Aren't they a little young for that?”
“Babe, Daniel and Alexander are going to be 12 next month. They're not little kids anymore.”
“Sure, but Matthew's only...oh, what am I saying? It's Matthew.”
They all laughed.
There was the sound of a door slamming and then Alexander wandered into the living room, his bomber jacket and fedora tucked under one arm and his duct tape whip wrapped loosely around his neck.
“Hey, Mom,” he said cheerfully. “Uncle Bruce got me a book on airplanes. Wanna see it?”
Bucky glared. “You're grounded if you even think of sitting on my lap.”
Alexander rolled his eyes. “I'm not a baby anymore.” He flopped down on the couch and pulled the book out of his satchel. “See? It tells you the specs for every plane in the book.”
“Oh yes, Dr. Jones. Tell us again about that thrilling plane fight with the Nazis.”
Alexander shut the book with a snap. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. It's not funny anymore.”
Bucky poked his side with a grin. “Yes, it is.”
Alexander poked him back. “Is not.”
“Is, too.”
Steve frowned. “Are you two really roughhousing when he's got broken ribs?”
“Sorry,” Alexander said. He dropped his hands back into his lap.
Bucky shrugged. “I'll survive.” His eyes twinkled. “But someone else might not.” His hand darted out to tickle Alexander's side.
“Mom!” Alexander laughed. “That's cheating.”
Steve shook his head. And Bucky was surprised when his children got into trouble.
Daniel slipped in, stepping gingerly to avoid walking over the hem of the lab coat. Steve had warned Tony that his old lab coat was going to be way big on the kid, but Daniel had really wanted to wear it. And who was he to argue when it was clearly a bonding moment between scientists?
“Hey, buddy,” he said. “How was the haunted house?”
Daniel shrugged. “Okay, I guess. I wasn't really scared. Matthew was a little scared, though.”
“Was not,” Matthew said. He barreled in and jumped into Tony's lap. “Mommy, you missed all the cool zombies and the...” He trailed off and touched a finger to Tony's band-aid. “What happened to your face?”
“No big deal. Just a little brawl with a couple werewolves.”
Bucky snorted. “He wishes.”
Tony cleared his throat. “Just a minor scuffle.” He poked Matthew's side. "You went off to fight zombies with your ninja stars and left your poor, defenseless mother without any protection."
“Aw,” Matthew said. “You can have a piece of my candy if it'll make you feel better.”
Tony pulled Matthew into a tight embrace. “Oh, my sweet, selfless child. You're going to grow up to be just like your daddy.”
Matthew giggled and squirmed out of Tony's arms. “I love you, Mommy, but your breath smells like cheese.”
“Cheese?” Tony said indignantly. “I brushed my teeth, you know. Bucky, back me up here.” He leaned over Steve and pulled Bucky into a searing kiss.
“Eww,” Alexander said. He scooted away from Bucky.
Bucky pulled back and licked his lips, a slightly glazed look in his eyes. “Mmm,” he said. “I think we need a second opinion.”
Steve was all too happy to taste for himself. “I think you've had too many Snickers,” he decided finally.
“And Almond Joys,” Tony added helpfully.
“And Kit-Kats,” Loki added.
Tony gasped and clutched at his chest. “Where did you come from? You can't sneak up on me like that. Heart condition, remember?”
“I've been here the whole time,” Loki said dismissively, flicking a long braid of hair behind his shoulder. He didn't really look like Legolas with his dark hair, but the kids had been desperate to see Loki as an elf and he had indulged them.
“No, you haven't,” Tony argued. “We were just-”
“Trying your hardest to disgust your children? Mission accomplished, I'd say.” He leaned over and stroked a finger over Tony's band-aid. “I'll heal your wound this time, but for future reference,you were attacked by a fairy, not a werewolf. Don't forget it or you might get walloped again.”
Tony opened and closed his mouth a few times. “Never mind,” he said finally.
Loki grinned. “Happy Halloween, children. And parents.”
“Bye, Loki,” the children chorused as he disappeared in a plume of orange smoke.
“How did he do that?” Tony demanded. “He was with the kids so he couldn't have been here the whole time. But then, he somehow saw the thing with Emma? It doesn't make any sense.”
“Just let it go,” Steve advised. “It's one of the things you're really better off not knowing.”