The Choice (Steve Rodgers x Reader)

Thirty Three

You stumbled back, thinking maybe if you backed away it would become more clear.
He was dead. You saw him die. You were there. You grieved him and gave a speech at his funeral.
"I-I don't-" you suddenly felt the intense emotions swirling within you wanting to be free and let out a half scream, half sob as you almost bent over the basket, free hand coming to your mouth.
You were going mad. You were sure of it. The basket you were previously clinging to fell to the floor as crashed sending the washing everywhere as you began to hyperventilate.
Bucky looked as though he didn't know what to do. He tried to ignore the baby bump and placed his hands on your arms, trying to soothe you with calming words.
Your mind finally realised he was actually there and you immediately flung your hands around him, squeezing him against you as best you could. He reacted quickly by placing his arms around you, closing his eyes in relief.
You pulled back quickly when you heard footsteps.
This would be messy.
"Doll, is everything-" he stopped as he saw Bucky spin around and face him. Nothing was said for a few moments.
Steve looked as shocked as you did. Bucky didn't say anything, silently piecing together what was happening. "Bucky?" He almost whispered. "You're alive?" You could tell Steve was trying not to choke up. They were best friends after all.
"Yeah." He answered quickly. "But it seems it was better for you when I was dead, right Steve?" He almost growled.
You looked up at him, almost shocked at how quickly his attitude changed. Then you realised that you were clearly pregnant.
Steve stared at him in confusion. "What? No. Why would it be better if you were dead?"
"Because it's clear that the minute I left you decided to jump right in and take care of my girl." Bucky didn't raise his voice, but you could tell he meant harm by his words.
"Bucky. It's not like that-"
"What else have you done while I was gone? Huh?" You preyed Steve wouldn't make this worst.
He looked at Bucky who stared at your stomach in a slight disgust. Steve slowly extended his hand, a nervous look on his face before patting your stomach.
Preying was useless. Of course Steve would make this worse.
"Mommy why are you crying?" Dorothy asked a few feet away from you, holding her lip as she stared shyly at Bucky.
You wiped your eyes and waddled over to her. You took her hand, trying to smile. "Come on, sweetie. Mommy and Daddy have to talk to this man here. You want to go to Tony's or Nat's?" You asked quietly.
She thought for a second. "Tony's." She beamed.
You looked at the men before silently walking past them, grabbing Dorothy's coat on the way. Both Tony, Nat and Wanda had clothes for Dorothy, not because you made them have some. They all insisted on it "just in case." Wanda would've been an option, but she was on a partnered mission with Vision.
"No suits!" Steve called after you. You chuckled and Dot smiled cheekily.
Tony hid his rage towards Bucky very well, especially in front of Dot. But looking after her was no problem to him. In fact he was getting withdrawal symptoms from her, as he put it.
Pepper quickly hugged you on your way out. And God you've never needed a hug so much.
When you had arrived back, Steve was busying himself in the kitchen making drinks and snacks, probably to avoid talking to his best friend.
"Hey." You breathed as you entered, walking over to him to grab a mug. Herbal tea wasn't as good as coffee, but it was a good nerve calmer.
"Hey, sweet." He mumbled, almost sadly. "I think we better go talk to him." You mid nervously before turning back to him.
"Yeah. It'll be okay." You whispered, reassuring yourself more than him.
You sat awkwardly, half because of your bump, but also because you didn't know how to act in front of Bucky anymore.
"Cute kid." Bucky pointed out blankly. You tried to stop your lip from quivering. "How Old is she?"
You were silent for a moment, hesitating because if you told him, he'd know straight away. "Five." You croaked.
His eyes widened. "F...five?" His voice rose as he spoke. "So you guys didn't even fucking wait? You just got straight to it?" Steve shook his head quickly.
"Buck. No. You've got it wrong." He tried to explain.
"I'm not the one who's got it wrong!" He countered, pointing at him.
"She's yours." You blurt, watching your tea bag float in your mug.
His head snaps towards you. "What?" He almost whispers.
You look up at him. Your face is straight, either with anger or sadness, neither men could tell. "She's yours. Dorothy is your daughter."
He looks like he might cry. "Dorothy." He chokes. You knew the name would effect him. "Oh my god." He whispers again, hand sweeping his hair back. "I thought...you said Steve was her daddy."
"He is." You snapped. "You might be her father but he's raised her. He's been there when you were playing dead. He's been nurse whenever she's sick. He's played with her when she had no friends in kindergarten. He even went in on daddy day because he didn't want her to feel left out!" He looked shocked. So did Steve actually.
"I'm sorry." He managed to get out.
"Why. Why did you do this?" You sobbed, desperation leaking through into your tone.
He breathed slowly. "Hydra. They were tracking me. I needed them off my scent so I could keep you safe. I didn't know that would drive you into Steve's arms." He said the last part almost bitterly.
It didn't make sense. The hydra part. There were no signs on hydra for years and Bucky had better chances with the team that he did alone against them.
"We didn't mean for it to happen." Steve said quietly.
Bucky had eyes of fire as he stared at him. "So you accidentally got her pregnant and accidentally slipped a ring on her finger?"
"We thought you were dead!" You yelled, trying to get it through to him. "For god sake! I grieved you. I was so broken up and Steve was there for me." You wiped your eyes angrily.
"Somewhere a long the way, we just...fell in love. At first we felt too guilty to act on it." Steve explained calmly.
"Seems as though that didn't work." You could tell that Bucky was set on trying to make you feel guilty. And you get it. Seeing your best friend and ex girlfriend engaged and pregnant all of a sudden must be hard. But you were pretty sure faking your death with a bullshit excuse was way worse.
"If you're going to keep on, the doors right there. When you're willing to talk about this like adults. When you're willing to listen and see what you've done, then you can come back. But right now I have a six month foetus moving around inside me and I need to sleep." You said roughly, standing up on wobbly legs before trying to make a fast exit, but only stumbling across the lounge.
Steve sighed and looked at Bucky. He watched as he stood up, follow your trail with his eyes and then leave swiftly.
Then and only then, did Steve lock the door, take a deep breath, and joined you in bed.