Steve was a bit worried about the girl, mentally comparing how she had been before (happy and cuddly) to how she was now which was cold and distant. He heard Bucky get up and waited for the other man to make his way to the kitchen. "You sleep well?" His eyes were focused on the part of Bucky's hair that stood up from sleeping.
"You okay? Where's the baby?" Bucky's voice was hoarse from sleep and he rubbed his face to wake up more.
"I'm fine. She came out of headspace earlier than expected but she's making a few calls to her friends to pack up her apartment." Steve finger combed Bucky's hair to fix the mess.
"You're acting odd. Tell me what's the matter." Bucky commanded, holding Steve's hands in a tight grip.
"She just... She was very distant and she wouldn't take her eyes off me but then couldn't get away from me fast enough." Steve's head lowered, eyes sad.
"She was probably embarrassed by being Little. You know that the books say it's hard for Littles to adjust if they haven't been prepared their whole lives. It's difficult to give up control of their lives." Bucky ran a soothing hand through Steve's hair. "Just give her time is all."
"You think so?" The blonde hugged his friend, feeling relieved. "Her friends will be bring the things over."
"Oh good. We get to meet them." Bucky was pleased about that.
~Timeskip to after the visit~
Kayla's withdrawl however increased even more after the visit and it had been a week since she was Little. She'd hide away from them and often times they'd wake up to her doing laundry at 3 am while smelling suspiciously like urine. They hadn't want to press the issue until they found her whimpering in her sleep while curled in a ball on the bed in the guest room.
Steve gently tugged the blanket down and lifted her up, carrying her to the nursery to put her in a diaper and some warm footie pajamas. "Buck, can you strip the bed again?"
"Yeah. We'll need to replace the mattress though." Bucky had followed Steve into the nursery. "I'll do it after we change her though."
The light haired man gently removed the girl's underwear and flinched at the rash that coated her skin. "Dammit. Why wouldn't she tell us she's got this?" He fished out the cream and wipes, before changing his mind and simply removing her shirt and took her to the bathroom. The wipes would irritate her poor skin even more and he knew it was going to be rough anyways.
"She's stubborn like you. Doesn't want to seem weak." Bucky had returned and was filling the tub for Steve who set her in which startled the Little awake and she squirmed while screeching.
"Shh, shh. I know, Baby. Mama and I are so terrible for wanting you clean." Steve knelt next to the tub, holding her up with one arm and cleaning her skin very carefully but she still screamed as he cleaned the rash covered areas. "Dada has you. Don't cry, sweetheart." He finished up and emptied the tub after taking her out, wrapping her in an owl themed towel that had a little hood which he tugged over her head.
Her screams were slightly lessening in volume as he carried her into the nursery where Bucky had a diaper waiting. "Hey, Doll. You all clean?"
His only response was little cries, pitifully wet hazel eyes looking at him in an upset manner. "She did not like the bath. But the wipes wouldn't have felt good and I would have been hurrying to clean her and wouldn't have done a good job." Steve was talking softly, laying her on the changing table which brought about more sobs especially as he applied the specialized diaper rash cream that Bruce had created which took about three hours to work. He taped the diaper on her and tried to put the warm pajamas on her but she squirmed too much. "You need clothes, Baby." He could tell she was close to tipping completely into headspace.
"Here." Bucky had left silently and returned holding one of his own long sleeve shirts. "Try this."
The shirt was put on and her sniffles ceased slowly after Bucky put the socks on her. "You're a genius." Steve would kiss him if that wouldn't have complicated their friendship.
"I remember seeing it in one of the books. Littles need to be surrounded by their caretakers scent. Helps relax them." Bucky had lifted the Little up, bouncing her in his arms.
"Sir has arrived on your floor with Sir Coulson." JARVIS announced which led to two frustrated looks as they went to see what the other men wanted.
"Tony? Phil?" Steve spoke, standing in front of Bucky and their Baby. "What can I do for you?"
"We came to check on you and the new addition and to ask why no one informed me of Mr. Barnes also being the caretaker for her." Phil looked tired.
"It was a newer development and the past week we have been busy." Steve was defensive, eyes hardening.
"It was just a question is all. We'll put him in for time off also." Phil raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture. "Now. How is the little one?"
"Stubborn." Bucky answered, moving to where they could see him and Kayla. "She's been refusing to go into headspace until today when it happened accidentally."
"She's got a bad diaper rash too from not changing herself and having accidents at night but now we've got her back in diapers and she's in her headspace." Steve added, wrapping his arms around Bucky and Kayla. "For now at least. She's stubborn."
"Sounds like it. Was she okay after I scared her the other day?" Tony was looking at the Little.
"Yeah. She mentioned seeing a bearded giant when she came out of headspace. I suppose to her you were giant." Steve looked highly amused. "But yeah. She was okay."
"Good. I didn't mean to frighten her. Peter's been itching to come and play with her but I've been holding him off to get you more time to settle which clearly you need." Tony snorted.
"Clint is curious too but he understands that babies are different from toddlers and need more adjustment time. Big Clint is also excited as hell and was talking about it nonstop." Phil chuckled.
"Give it another week or so. Hopefully she settles." Bucky was swaying, watching how their Little's eyes were looking at Tony and Phil curiously.
"Dadada." Kayla's hand reached for Steve's shirt, grabbing a handful.
"Let's get you a bottle, huh?" Steve took the girl into the kitchen and Bucky took their friends to the living room. They all settled in for a chat while Steve was feeding the baby in the other room.
