tcnetwork | Steve Rogers

Wait... A baby?

[And cue Steve really freaking out now. A pod baby? That sounds like something out of a dime store sci-fi novel to him.]

Oh. You. Huh.

Yeah. Jemma, she um, she said six months.

I met the guy, David Haller, he's the one that takes care of your tree buddy.

Oh, wow, that's... quick. I thought babies take nine months. Or... Something.

David, yes, he... He's a good guy. He's takes care of Groot.

So, a baby...

[Steve is without words, not really sure what to say.]

I'll come home.

And I thought they needed a woman but here we are. [A faint sound bordering on a laugh because he's still trying to process being a father with David.]

Thanks.

It wasn't long before Steve came home, making his way into their little cabin with a lost look on his face. To say he was confused would be an understatement. His partner was having a baby with someone else. It wasn't like he was jealous, he didn't have any reason to be jealous over anything with Bucky.

He was just confused.

"Buck," he called out as he made his way inside. "You here?"

"Kitchen." He's sitting at the table with a beer at his elbow, but it's clear he's been nursing it rather than drinking with any clear intent.

Six months. A baby. There was so so much to think about, things he never expected back in the day and sure as hell not now.

"Hey." Steve moved over to the fridge and opened it, pulling out a beer for himself. He's quiet a moment as he grabs it, before turning back to Bucky and pulling out a chair at the table across from him.

His eyes look solemn as he stares at the beer, sipping it before looking up at Bucky.

"I..." He sighed. "How? I didn't even know you knew David?"

"I didn't," he answers. "I mean, we were both kidnapped, but we never really talked after that."

He picks at the beer bottle label, "Jemma said it's a side effect of the solar flares but even she can't explain it beyond that."

"So. This changes a lot."

"Right. You were kidnapped together."

He sighed, taking another sip of his beer, watching Bucky. Jemma had said that the solar flares were causing pregnancy. He'd defended her to Oswald on one of the network posts. He knew it was all science, like something Howard Stark would have been ecstatic over.

"Yeah, it does," he murmured, looking up at his partner. "You're going to be a dad."

"I want to be a part of this baby's life," he says after a moment. "But this isn't just about me." Bucky reaches across the table. "It's about is."

Steve smiles and reached out as well, taking Bucky's hand in his and threading their fingers together. He was trying very hard to be okay with this, even if inside he was freaking out a little. "I want you happy, Bucky. And if that means this, then we deal with it."

He sighed, not letting go of Bucky's hand. "I never thought I'd have this. I never saw anything other than being a soldier. And then this, with you, well... I never saw kids as an option. I... I'm not sure I would ever be a good father, but I think you would. You're great with the animals. You care."

Bucky snorts, "I'm low-key freaking the fuck out right now." It isn't every day you're told you're going to be a father to a pod baby with another man who happens to be an incredibly powerful mutant. "But I want this kid to have a stable life, circumstances aren't this kid's fault."

"Shut up. You'd be a good Dad Stevie. You're already good with kids. David is guardian to your little tree buddy and he loves you."

The snort makes him laugh. "You shut up, punk, you're just as good as I am. At least we're both freaking out together." While he wasn't as ready to swear as Bucky was, he had the same scary vibe inside. "At least the kid will be like you, right? Life circumstances that they didn't get to choose." He had made his choice, but Bucky didn't. He will always feel that little pang of guilt for not being able to stop the fall.

"Groot. His name is Groot." Steve lowered his voice, making it sound gravelly. "We. Are. Grooooot." Which caused him to cough and take another sip of his beer. "Hey, it's not just us. There's a whole town of people that care and would want to help you, you know."

"Groot, right." A shake of his head because how in the hell is this his life now? "It kind of reminds me of home, back when we were kids." Back in buildings crammed with people and neighborhoods that all looked out for each other.

"It's not a bad place to raise a kid."

Safe from HYDRA, safe from SHIELD, safe from anything that might have been chasing David.

"It does, doesn't it." He laughed lightly. "All those tenements with everyone squished in together. We were the lucky ones, only two in an apartment," he teased. "Still was good though. I had you."

He sighed. "It's not bad here. A lot of extra babysitters..." His voice trailed off a little. "We can do this, Bucky. I'm not going anywhere."

Steve Rogers

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