Bucky looked over at Steve; the little guy was sitting on the counter while Bucky cooked, playing with a mini stark-pad and stylus that Tony had made. The genius had given it to him with a raised eyebrow and said, “You don’t expect him to twiddle his tiny thumbs and watch you brood *all* the time, do you?” and had then handed him a mini instruction booklet, much to Bucky’s bemusement. Bucky didn’t want to know how Tony had made any of the tiny things (lies, He was beyond curious, but hell if was going to admit it), but had said thank you. Tony had used one finger to shake Steve’s tiny hand with a smile then left.
Bucky noticed Steeb had his little pink tongue poking out of his little mouth, and he was sure if Steve wasn’t wearing the little helmet, he would see his little eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Peeking over, he saw that Steve was using the Stark-Tab drawing app, and was drawing, a frankly impressive, sketch of Bucky from the shoulders up.
The little guy looked up suddenly, his eyes looking straight at Bucky, and he pouted.
I will not melt into a Winter Puddle, I will not melt into a Winter Puddle, I will not-
“Steeb, eeb eeb!” Steve whined, rubbing his little tummy.
Aw, hell, Bucky groaned internally, feeling himself melt.
“You hungry, Stevie?” Bucky asked, and Steve nodded.
“Steeb!” Steve chirped, looking at Bucky hopefully.
Bucky suddenly realized he had no clue what to feed Steve; he didn’t even know what Steve even was, let alone what he ate!
“Uh, what can you eat?”
The little guy shrugged.
“Steeb.” Steve replied.
“Right,” Bucky muttered under his breath, “so helpful, thanks.”
“Steeb!” was the indignant reply, and Bucky raised his eyebrows, impressed.
Ok, add super-hearing to the list of things to know about Steve.
“Sorry, Stevie.”
Looking in the cupboard, Bucky grabbed the first box he could find, which turned out to be some oatmeal-raisin cookies.
He held the box up for inspection and immediately Steve raised his little arms, making grabby hands.
“‘EEB! STEEB, EEB!”
“I guess that’s a yes, then,” Bucky smiled fondly, taking a cookie out of the box and handing the treat to Steve. The cookie was almost the size of the little guy himself.
Steve nibbled on the cookie, and Bucky once again looked curiously at the little helmet.
Reaching forward with two fingers, Bucky murmured to Steve;
“It’s ok Stevie, I ain’t gonna hurt ya’, just gonna’ take this off,”
Grasping the little helmet, Bucky gently pulled it off Steve’s head.
“Steeb!” Steve chirped, his little head of golden blond hair flopping adorably over his forehead, cheeks rosy and nibbling still on the cookie.
That’s it, Bucky groaned internally, I’m dead. My headstone will read : Died from too much cute.
“So…What is it?” Tony asked what they were all thinking.
“Um,” Bucky replied eloquently, looking at the little creature in his hands.
“‘Eeb!” it- he?- Chirped.
“Is that all it says?” Bucky glared at the sudden closeness of Clint, swiftly bringing the tiny creature close to his chest. The startled “eeb!” it squeaked out made Bucky wince and run his thumb gently over it’s back, and it sighed; “eeeb…” and curled into his palms.
Bucky almost melted on the spot.
“So far, yeah,” Bucky frowned at Clint, who raised his hands and backed away.
“Is it dangerous?” Natasha threw out, and they all froze, then looked at the tiny creature in Bucky’s hand.
“Eeb, eeb…” the little guy mumbled, hands under his cheeks. He was wearing a tiny red white and blue helmet and suit, with the letter ‘A’ on the headgear.
“Ok,” Tony chuckled, “Nothing that cute and tiny can ever be dangerous,”
“You sure?” Natasha countered, and Bucky growled, making Tasha look at him with a bland face and a quirked eyebrow.
“Yes, James?”
“He ain’t gonna hurt nobody,” Bucky growled at her, and she narrowed her eyes at the Winter Soldier for a few moments before nodding.
“Ok, James, I trust your judgment,” She told him, then smirked, “But if this goes sideways I’m blaming it on your soft heart.”
“The Winter Soldier is not soft,” Bucky absolutely did not pout.
“Eeb?” the little creature reached up and patted his cheek.
Bucky softened.
“He needs a name,” Clint pointed out, tapping a defunct arrow on the conference table. Luckily Stark made all the tables in the Tower scratch-proof.
“Eeb!” it chirped, smiling at him, and Bucky grinned, using his index finger to stroke the little helmet. The creature hummed “eeb” again and Bucky had an idea.
Sometimes Bucky wondered why he didn’t tell Fury to ‘stick it’, when he dragged him out of HYDRA’s hands and into the newly-reborn SHIELD’S service. The Winter Soldier had been active for twenty years by the time Nick Fury had become director in 1972 and had almost immediately cottoned on to his agency’s poisonous parasite. SHIELD had subdued all HYDRA operatives within their walls and had acquired all HYDRA’s stolen data; The Winter Soldier being a bonus.
Now, forty years later, Bucky is on a mission with the Avengers, raiding what their Intel said was the last remaining HYDRA base on earth. Just one more, and Bucky would leave that part of his past behind him.
“Winter, I’ve cleared level 5, Widow has cleared two, and Hawkeye pretty much decimated four and three with his new arrows. How’s it going on your end?”
“Almost done, Shellhead,” Bucky grunted, throwing his knife at the throat of the last goon. “Just gonna check in the lab, make sure there’s nothin’ dangerous.”
“Copy that, we’ll be waiting in the quin jet, Iron Man, out.”
Bucky walking into the lab, his gun at the ready, just in case of surprises. Scouting the room, there was nobody in there but him. The room looked like it had been through a windstorm, papers everywhere and scattered equipment and tools littered the ground. The silence was almost eery, and Bucky found his grip on his gun tighten, his knuckles white.
“…” Bucky would have jumped at the small sound, if he wasn’t a highly-trained ex assassin. He absolutely did not squeak either, no siree.
“The hell…?” Bucky muttered, his eyes darting around, trying to find where the sound came from.
“-eb,” Bucky swung his gun around, looking with wide eyes, trying to find the owner of the high-pitched sound.
“Whose there? Come out where I can see you,” Bucky growled. He heard a little ‘ting’ sound over in the left-hand corner of the room and slowly crept over.
“-eb,” the sound had come from a sheet that looked like it was draped over a small box, and Bucky carefully reached a hand out and grasped the sheet, whipping it off.
Bucky stared in disbelief at the sight that met him.
“‘Eeeb!” the little chibi-like creature chirped at him, little tiny hands grasping at the bars of the small boxed cage. “‘Eeb, eeb!”
Bucky just about died of cute, but first;
“What the hell is this?” He muttered.
“‘Eeb!” the tiny thing chirped, smiling at him with tiny rosy cheeks.
Toad's Cave 