A Little Calm...

Thatched Suburb

Budapest - George Ezra

You spend the next few days showing Bucky the things you didn't get a chance to on the first day. He hasn't woken you in the night again. He does have a couple of nightmares, but none of them are violent enough to wake either of you.

It's the 5th day of the trip and you promised to go and visit your sister before you all get together at your parents. She's the eldest of the three children, married with kids etc. The kids are only young however, a 2 year old and a 10 month old.

You knock on the door with Bucky close behind you. When it opens, you're greeted by your grinning sister, baby on hip. Instantly, she pulls you into a one armed hug.

Jaq (pronounced Jack)
"Bug! Oh my god how are you?"

She squeezes you tightly and rubs your back.

Y/n
"I'll be a lot better once I can breathe!"

She lets you go but keeps one hand on your shoulder, before looking over it to see Bucky.

Jaq
"Sorry! You must be Bucky!"

He offers his hand forward to shake, but she slaps it away and pulls him into a hug too.

Jaq
"Oh please, that's far too formal!"

Bucky laughs as she squeezes him too. He's not the most comfortable with physical contact but the more exposure he has to it, the more he doesn't mind.
She breaks away almost instantly however, realising you're all still on the front step.

Jaq
"Oh Lord, what am I doing? Come in, come in!"

She moves inside the house, ushering you in behind. You close the door behind you as a screaming toddler charges straight for you and grips on to your legs. He utters out some sounds that resemble your name before you scoop him up into a cuddle. He was born during the blip but during your visit after, he grew very attached. Constant FaceTimes mean that he's still very familiar.

Y/n
"Hey buddy!"

Still in your arms, he pushes away from your chest and grins in your face. Beaming back, you turn round to Bucky, who's already smiling at your interaction.

Y/n
"Elliot, this is Bucky. Can you say hello?"

Bucky bends down slightly and smiles at him.

Bucky
"Hey Elliot."

Cheekily, Elliot smiles back, but tries to hide it behind his hands before burying his head in your shoulder and giggling.
You laugh and stroke his hair down, slowly melting.
You and Bucky exchange a sincere smile as Ben comes round the corner. You place Elliot back down on the floor and bring him in for a hug.

Ben
"There she is! How's it going loompa?"

You give him the typical guy hug with a few pats on the back as you speak.

Y/n
"Not too bad green, you?"

Ben
"Ah, not too shabby."

As he leaves the hug, Ben turns to Bucky and offers a handshake, which he takes.

Ben
"Hi, you must be Bucky! I'm Ben, Jaq's husband."

Bucky
"Hi, nice to meet you."

Bucky looks slightly astonished at Ben's height. Usually Bucky is or is almost the tallest person in the room. In this case, Ben towers over everyone.

Ben
"You too mate. Right everyone shuffle in, we're not standing in the hallway all day!"

You laugh a little as everyone starts to move through, you and Bucky hanging at the back.
Watching your sister and brother in law herding their kids, Bucky leans over and whispers in your ear.

Bucky
"Do I want to know origins of the nicknames?"

Without quieting down, you explain, expecting him to have full comprehension.

Put Your Records On - Corinne Bailey Rae

Y/n
"Jaq calls me bug because I used to have a weird obsession with them as a kid. As for the others, it's loompa as in oompa and green as in giant."

You turn to look at him, expecting a smile at least. Instead he just looks confused. It's then that you realise he probably doesn't know what either of those things are, hence why he whispered. Feeling slightly bad, you lean in and whisper back.

Y/n
"I'll explain the green giant one later but you're watching Willy Wonka ASAP."

Still slightly confused, he shakes his head and laughs. Partly because you're constantly adding stuff to list of things for him to catch up on, and to make it seem as though he understood. When you're all through to the kitchen, Jaq places the baby in your arms and starts to pull through a bounce chair.

Jaq
"Can you hold her for a sec."

You welcome her gladly and begin to make smiley faces and noises at her.

Bucky
"Who's this munchkin?"

You glance at him, slightly annoyed at his back and forth of pop culture knowledge.
He's standing close behind you, but slightly to the side so that his head is next to yours.

Y/n
"This is Charlie, short for Charlotte."

You lean slightly so that they can look at each other properly. After a second of scanning his face, she reaches out with a finger and pokes him in the cheek, making you both laugh.

Bucky
"Charlotte, isn't that your middle name?"

Ben
"We picked the name before y/n came back, seemed appropriate."

Jaq looks up to see the picture of you and Bucky gushing over Charlie, and gently packs the bouncer away again.

Jaq
"Max said he might pop over with Grayson after dinner."

You give a quick nod, then return to playing with your niece.

Ben
"Speaking of dinner, it's set for 7."

You and Bucky are barely paying attention but manage minor acknowledgement.
Ben and Jaq look at each other with an unimpressed smile, realising that you won't be easily peeled away from baby fever.