Moral of the Story

Chapter Eleven

"Whatcha guys looking at?" Bucky asked as he stepped behind the three on the steps.

Y/N's dad's backyard was definitely one you would never picture for someone living in New York. So when you saw the perfect white picket fence that surrounded the decent-sized lot they had, you would think you're in a small town suburb and not Brooklyn.

Sherri loved to garden when she wasn't at the hospital, and Thomas loved to build. So he built her a little plot where she grew different fruits and vegetables and another plot of different flowers and herbs. Each section was blocked off by its own short fence to keep out any animals they needed to worry about. And it was spring, too, so everything was in bloom.

Towards the back was a giant tree that held a homemade swing that was just barely younger than Y/N. On the fence line, behind and all around it, held rose bushes and different arrays of carnations that Y/N had planted way back when. They were her favorite flowers.

And on the porch, they sat on, there was a hanging porch swing off to the left and a set up of patio furniture to the right. The porch was large and railed, with string lights wrapped around it to accommodate late-night talks or early-morning coffee breaks.

That backyard held more memories than either could possibly remember.

"There's a family of pill bugs on the steps," Lily answered as Y/N looked up and sent a simple smile before looking down at Bennett, not expecting Bucky to come out there.

"Really?" Bucky gasped in an over-exaggerated way before he sat next to the little girl. She was the only thing separating him and Y/N.

"Yeah, look!" she said excitedly, picking one up and offering it to Bucky. "This one's big."

"This one is really big," Bucky agreed. "Maybe he should lay off the donuts and stick with the grass he's supposed to be eating," he teased.

Lily giggled and shook her head. "You're silly!"

"Am I?"

"Very."

Y/N laughed from the sidelines, and Bucky turned at the sound. He wasn't expecting her to be looking straight at him, and when they made eye contact. Surprisingly, she held it instead of instantly looking away.

She smirked some before turning back to Bennett, who began bouncing in her lap.

"You want a little bug, too?" she laughed as he reached for the one in Lily's palm. "Here." She gently reached down and picked up the pill bug that immediately rolled into a ball in her hand. After a few seconds, it opened up and began crawling around. "Look at that speedy little thing. Nowhere close to as lazy as the one that Lily has," she laughed as Bennett followed it with his own finger but didn't touch it.

Bucky watched the interaction, grinning in a boyish manner at the simplicity and sweetness of the act. Something about it just made him look at Y/N in a different manner. He knew she was always good with kids. She used to babysit and nanny all the time in high school for extra money.

But watching it now at an age where she herself could be a mom, it... It was different.

"Manny! Don't play with that! That's Gram's roses, and they could hurt you!" Lily was quick to jump up and run over to her little brother. She was definitely the big sister when it came to watching over the young boy.

"God, can't take your eyes off of him for two seconds, can you?" Y/N chuckled, her hand still holding the insect, but her eyes watched the little black-haired girl reprimand her brother.

"Not just Denise and John who have their hands full. Looks like Lily is part of the group, too," Bucky laughed with her. When he looked back at her, he saw she had gone back to Bennett, who was lazily leaning back into her, and his eyes were starting to look heavy.