Pushing Daisies [BUCKY BARNES]

26

"This is so cute it's disgusting."

Tony, Steve, and Wanda had made their ways back to the hospital room when they had heard that people were now allowed to visit. Instead of being greeted by an awake happy Lillian, they were met with the Winter Soldier curled tight around the tiny girl, her hand tangled in his hair.

"This is adorable," Wanda smiled, pulling out her phone and snapping some pictures, "seriously."

"You aren't supposed to sleep together before marriage!" Tony whispered loudly, his face starting to turn red with anger. "Frosty's in bed with her!"

"Since when has that ever been a thing with you?" Steve questioned, looking at the two people from his past. "You certainly sleep around with people, and it doesn't look like you're married."

"But-" Tony spluttered, throwing his hands out to gesture at the two, "this! No! Bad!" He huffed once, "not in my good christian household."

"This has never been a good christian household." Wanda replied, pocketing her phone. "You're not her father or anything, you shouldn't be all over her. She just woke up."

"Yeah, Tony." Steve stepped forwards, shaking his old war buddy on the shoulder. "Buck. Buck, wake up."

The super soldier swatted at Steve's hand, annoyed, then latched his arm around Lilly's waist and nuzzled his face in her stomach.

"Bucky." Steve tried again, placing a hand on his friends back. "Wake up, it's Steve."

"I know it's you." The brown haired man grumbled, "just let us sleep."

"Alright, that's it." Tony stormed over and rolled the assassin off the bed, watching grimly as he hit the floor. "No more sleeping together, last calls, kiss your loved ones. Not happening again."

The soldier just glared up at him as Lillian started to move, reaching out with her arm. "James?" She whispered, her eyes still closed as she reached for him.

He stood up, giving her his hand. "Right here, babydoll."

She pulled his hand to her face, settling her cheek into it, and going back to sleep.

Everyone just stood there, a bit shocked. This had been the first time anyone had seen her move besides Tony and Bucky, and after having waited almost three months it was a big step.

"She really is awake." Wanda whispered, her hands linked and held tightly to her chest. "I kind of thought it would never happen."

"Yeah," Steve joined in, stepping up next to his friend and reaching out to brush a strand of hair out of her face. "She's with us again."

"This is disgusting," Tony cut in after a few moments, jabbing a finger into Bucky's chest. "No sleeping with her, kapeesh? Especially if you're not dating, you're not married, you're not having kids, nada, zip, zilch. You break her heart I break you." He stared down the bridge of his nose, "and this time, I won't miss."

"Tony, don't you think that's a little irrational?"

The eccentric billionaire looked up at the super soldier. "I almost had my daughter sent in for execution, and then I repaid her forgiveness by blowing her arm off. I'm gonna spend the rest of my life making up for it, and if part of that is protecting her from Barnes then so be it." He sat down, putting his head in his hands.

Wanda drifted over to the opposite side of the bed, placed a gentle kiss on Lillian's forehead, then left without a word.

Bucky crawled back into bed with the tiny girl, holding her close and wanting to stay out of the way of the emotional pair behind him.

"Did you see the way she looked at me?" Tony's voice cracked, "in Siberia?"

"Yes."

"She was so scared." He almost looked like he was about to start crying. "She was shaking when I walked in. She was scared. She was scared of me." He fell silent. "She had every right to be."

"Now, Tony, don't be like tha-"

"It's true!" The engineer cut Steve off. "She has the right to be scared of me. I wanted her friends head on a silver platter, then I dragged her into a war she never should have been fighting in, tried to send her to her own execution, and then blew her to bits." He sighed, putting his head back in his hands. "All I ever wanted to be to her was a friend... no, more then that. I wanted to be a father to her. I wanted to be her family. And I blew it."

It fell silent again, the tension in the air thick enough to be cut with a knife.

"I forgive you." Her voice was tiny, almost unnoticed, but all heads in the room snapped to her. Her eyes were wide, the baby blue irises glimmering in the sun that shone through the window. "I forgive you, Tony Stark."