The Mimic

128

"I used to visit Steve every day. Usually with some sort of stolen candy or a newspaper, but he didn't need to know that." Bucky grinned, staring up at the starry sky.

The pair had made it up the mountain and to their favourite spot. Both laying side-by-side in the grass, the cool breeze creating a sort of chill every now and again, but it wasn't too cold to handle. They had definitely experienced far worse during their time in Hydra. Everywhere in Wakanda seemed to be peaceful, but this was still their favourite place to be. Plus, being away from all of the lights made the stars far brighter. The pair could stare into nothingness and still talk for hours on end, but it was nice to have something to look at every now and again.

Bucky was currently telling y/n stories from his childhood. It was an amazing time to reminisce on, a time of genuine happiness. "He used to get sick quite a lot, so most of the time I was at school on my own. I had other friends! But nobody like Steve." Bucky hummed fondly, running a hand through his hair. Y/n had taken out the braids for him, and he was so, so grateful. He didn't know how everybody else could handle them, he felt as if his scalp had been ripped out. "But, whenever he could actually get to school, I'd make sure to make the most of it. Oh god, I have such a good story for you!" Bucky exclaimed, his eyes seeming to light up at the memory.

Y/n watched Bucky with a loving look in her eyes. He was so excited and happy, it was sweet. She was the only one that saw this side of Bucky. To everyone else, he was a grumpy old man. And whilst he still acted like that from time to time, it wasn't as common. There was nothing to be grumpy about when y/n was around. "Oh yeah?" She hummed with a laugh, unable to take her eyes off of him.

Bucky quickly nodded, his eyes fixed up at the stars as he reminisced on the fun memory. "We used to have this really mean teacher, super strict, super grumpy. Nobody was even allowed to speak, but of course I did. She hated me." He begun, a mischievous smile appearing on his face. "She used to always wear the loudest heels she could possibly find, and walk around the classroom whilst we worked. It was really annoying. So, Steve and I decided to put a stop to it. She used to always take her heels off at lunchtime and leave them in the classroom, so one day Steve and I climbed in through the window and put superglue on the bottoms of her heels." Bucky paused, already begging to laugh at his own story. It was such a scary but fun day. "I'll never forget when she put them on and fell flat to the floor after trying to take a step! Of course she immediately knew it was mine and Steve's doing. We've been chased by a teacher before, but she was the fastest! We had to hide under the gym equipment for the rest of the day. God, Steve was so scared, he was acting like she was going to murder us! Well, I wouldn't of been surprised if she actually did, she was crazy." Bucky chuckled, almost feeling like a child again. He could still remember the horrible smell of the gym equipment.

Y/n laughed, shaking her head fondly at the thought of it all. "I can't believe that Steve 'I'm so perfect' Rogers was a troublemaker! That's something to add to my list of things to use against him." She hummed proudly. God, Bucky's mother must've been having a heart attack almost every day with the situations that he got into.

A few hours had passed, and Bucky had run out of stories to tell. They had been sat in a comfortable silence for a long while, only breaking the quiet to point out different shapes in the stars. However, a question had been playing at the tip of Bucky's tongue for a long while.

"Have you ever thought about having kids?" He asked curiously, turning his head to face y/n so he could see her reaction.

Bucky wasn't sure why he wanted to ask, but seeing her with the kids in the village just seemed to light something up inside of him. She looked so happy. He'd never really thought about having children before, but he was so head-over-heels with y/n. And their time in Wakanda made him realise how much he enjoyed domestic life. No missions, no fighting, just him and y/n settled down somewhere.

Y/n took in a sharp breath as she thought about the question. "I'm not sure." She murmured, furrowing her eyebrows slightly. She completely understood why Bucky was asking, she seemed to leave a great impression on every child that they met. But there was a difference between being a parent and being an auntie or a friend. "There's so much to think about, especially when it comes to you and I starting a family. We don't know how pregnancies work for mimics, we don't know if the kid with inherit my powers or your super soldier strength, or both." She sighed, sitting up so she could think a little clearer. There were so many worries when it came to having a child.

Bucky nodded slowly, copying y/n by sitting up. He did understand her hesitation. It was a heavy thing to talk about. But he knew that their relationship was strong enough to talk about things like settling down. "Well, we can figure that out together! Plus I think it'd be pretty sweet to have a bunch of little super soldiers and mimics running around." He grinned, a hopeful look in his eyes.

But, y/n didn't make eye contact or smile in response. She sat with her knees to her chest, resting her chin on one knee. "As much as it would, we can't view this through rose-coloured glasses, Buck." Y/n said seriously. Something obviously bothering her. "The treatment of super-powered children has never been a positive one, and I'm a prime example of that. Because of my powers and because of my heritage, Hydra abducted me and used me as a weapon. I was six, Buck. Six." Y/n's voice begun to wobble a little as she spoke. Having a child wasn't a simple 'yes or no' question. "I just-" She took a deep breath, staring out at the view. "I don't want our child - or any child - to go through what we've been through. I know you weren't a child, but we still experienced the same things. I want them to have a normal, happy childhood. And I'm not sure if we give that to them, Buck." She breathed out. It was a rough thing to think about, but it was true.

Bucky frowned deeply, staring down at the grass in front of him. Everything that she was saying was true. It just hurt to hear. The idea of their child experiencing the same thing as them was terrifying.

"Think about it, these few weeks in Wakanda have been the only time where you and I have been able to relax and settle. Before that, we were travelling to different countries for missions, we didn't even own our own place, and people were getting injured every few seconds. Hell, we can't even sleep properly, Buck!" Y/n said with a frustrated laugh. She pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes as tears begin to fall. "I don't want to raise a child unless we can give them the childhood they deserve. No moving around, no more missions, and definitely no Hydra. And I know that we're not ready for that yet, Buck. We're not in a stable enough position yet. Yes, we're in Wakanda now, but we don't know how long this'll last. We're war criminals, remember?" Y/n said sadly. It was a hard subject, but she had never let herself think about it until now. Of course she wanted to start a family with Bucky, she was desperate to. But the pair weren't ready.

Bucky let out a heavy sigh, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close. He pressed a few kisses to the top of her head, rubbing her side in a comforting way. If he knew that it would've worked y/n up this much, he would've never asked in the first place. But it was good that they'd had that conversation. Now that everything had been laid out in front of him, it helped him realise that they really weren't ready for that type of commitment yet. It wouldn't be fair on the child.

They sat in silence for a little while, both just thinking everything through. Bucky kept y/n held close, pressing kisses to her forehead from time to time. "I have an idea." He hummed, staring out at the view before them. "How about we travel to all of the places on your map, and then we think about it again after that? Maybe we can try to find a house somewhere..." He suggested, glancing down at y/n with hopeful eyes.

Y/n stared up at Bucky in confusion. Whilst that sounded great, he seemed to be forgetting something. "Did you not hear me when I said that we're war criminals?" She asked. However, a small smile begun to play at her lips as a mischievous smile appeared on Bucky's face. He was already ten steps ahead of her.

"Fred and Darlene aren't war criminals."