Headcanons for being Bucky Barnes' child (Post-Blip AU)
Bucky Barnes x child!reader
warnings: winter soldier/hydra crimes
a/n: request based this reader off this fic i recently posted and since theres not so much crossover and its not technically a continuation and is more of an AU i actually luved this idea teehee hope i did this justice (and im SO evil about not deviating from canon and i did it just for u 😘). reader "canon" backstory on this fic up until the blip
prompt: @saranghoeee: "REQUESTS ARE OPEN!!! Got so happy when i saw the post lol your works are actually amazing and i was expecting them to be full asap but im surprised im early?? Anyways, could I request head canons (or wtv youd prefer its your art!!) of Bucky Barnes with his kid (from the hes you made before but instead of him blipping his kid did in infinity war? A little angst to comfort for the soul 😛 like i cant imagine having to readapt to living life as a teen after missing out on 5 years in a snap, poor buck tho hes been thru SO MUCH 💔 and dont get me started on the new avengers bro he deadass will never catch a break NOT EVEN AS A CONGRESSMAN LMAOOO TYYYY, take your time eat enough drink up and sleep well!!"
BACKSTORY FIC WITH FIC CANON HERE — ONCE YOU READ UP TO THE BATTLE OF WAKANDA THIS POST STARTS
just as you thought your life was about to be your own, something you’d have control of—you blinked
5 years gone just like that
your breathing was unsteady and your mind was only on one thing:
where was your dad?
you were in wakanda amongst many other confused soldiers, unsure of where to go or what to do
“y/n!” -sam, running toward you
“something happened, this isn’t right” -you
“you’re damn right something isn’t right, kid” -sam, looking around the battlefield “where’s the other half of our team?”
“it’s not the same. time has passed” -you “i know what it feels like…to wake up after a long time. you can tell it’s different. especially here”
“you’re paranoid like your dad, you know?” -sam
“i might be more paranoid than him” -you
as those who reappeared in wakanda gained their bearings, found each other—the portals opened
“sorry is this—is this a common occurrence that we just walk through mysterious portals that open for us?” -you
before you could receive a snarky remark from anyone, bucky walked through
“hey, kiddo” -bucky, open-armed
“dad!” -you, running into his arms, voice muffled by his shoulder “what the hell is going on?”
“i wish i could put it all into words right now, but we have one last battle to fight. you with me?” -bucky
“i guess the portal isn’t so mysterious now” -you
you found yourself in the ruins of the avengers compound among an army of other heroes, some you knew and some were…strange
and across the crater was thanos’s army and a massive spaceship floating overhead
“i can’t lose you again, y/n. we stick together” -bucky
the charge began and you felt so in over your head
your mind still raced with questions and you tried so hard to stay focused as aliens came rushing at you
“y/n! focus!” -bucky
he could tell you weren’t all there at the moment
“shit!” -you taking fire in the leg
that sure got you focused
your dad checked on you, along with steve who heard your “bad language word” on the comms
“can you still fight? we can get you somewhere safe if you need to tap out” -steve
“please, i can do this all day” -you, groaning as you got up
steve and bucky smiled at each other for the first time in a long time. you had never heard the phrase from either of them
“you sure this one isn’t mine?” -steve
“maybe they’ve got my memories” -bucky
“what? what are you talking about?” -you
“nothing, we’ll tell you later. on your feet, soldier” -bucky, helping you up the rest of the way “good thing us super soldiers heal fast”
“i feel better already” -you, dusting yourself off (and lying)
the battle persisted, you were exhausted, you were still weary of what you hadn’t been told yet, you were amongst a hundred other superheroes that made you feel small
and you knew at any moment you could lose your dad, or your “uncle” or anyone else here worth a damn
then you saw a gun pointed right at bucky and without thinking, you jumped in front of him to save him—taking the shot to the stomach
he immediately took out that enemy
“y/n! come on, kid, why’d you do that?” -bucky, cradling you on the ground “bucky to strange, i need an extraction. y/n’s been hit”
a portal opened up beside you and bucky took you into a medbay in wakanda where doctors were on standby, setting you on a table as they went to work
you got lucky, they were able to fix you up without major surgery, but you were weak
“we need to go back. dad, they need us” -you
“no, i need you” -bucky “we’re done, you can rest now”
bucky needed rest, too. he’d spent the last 5 years mourning you and pouring himself into work. now you were here with him again and he wouldn’t let you go
you waited to hear from the team, hoping to whatever higher power there was that they made it out and beat thanos
and the portal opened and out stepped sam and steve, filthy from battle with streaks of tears cutting through the dirt on their faces
“what? did we…we won, right?” -you
“thanos is gone” -steve nodded “we lost tony. he’s the reason we’re still standing”
the room went quiet, you and bucky guilt ridden. bucky more so. it was complicated
“we’re glad you made it out, kid” -sam, trying to break the tension as he sat at your bedside “just a scratch, right?”
“oh, yeah. gonna be one hell of a scar, though” -you
steve and bucky stepped aside
“it’s time to let y/n be a kid now. you ready?” -steve
“i have no idea. i really don’t. can they even be a kid after all of this?” -bucky
“we’ll have to tell them what happened after things settle down. what they missed.” -steve
“it really wasn’t much” -bucky
“still. and buck…i think it’s my time” -steve
“really? after all this you really want to go back and change how it happened?” -bucky
“i need to try again” -steve
you and sam exchanged stories to distract from the horrors you’d just faced. you didn’t mind the pain from the laughter, and bucky didn’t mind seeing you smile again.
after a few days of recovery you were back on your feet, leg and torso both healed well—though you were still walking with a little limp. you insisted you were fine
it was saying goodbye to steve that hurt the most, and even if bucky said he was fine you knew your dad was just as shaken by the goodbye as you were
it was hard to figure out those next steps
bucky had already been pardoned during those 5 years you missed, wrapping up his court appointed therapy in the best way possible—he got you back and he could finally be the father he’d wanted to be since before the war.
“do you feel confident navigating that?” -therapist
“no. but does anyone?” -bucky
you moved into bucky’s apartment—pretty barren after all this time
and honestly, you didn’t really know what you liked either
you got your own room and a comfy bed and any resource to decorate and it just…didn’t feel right
“well, we can go shopping? i don’t know where or for what but something’s gotta stand out right?” -bucky
he felt awful once he realized you hadn’t really found who you were just yet. anyone you age should have interests and hobbies and a favorite color
that’s how movie night started. steve gave him recommendations before he left. trying to expose you to some sense of normalcy. maybe you’d see someone’s outfit in a movie and go “i like that!” or a room decorated in a fun way and try to replicate it. maybe that was what you were missing, inspiration
the adjustment from being a child super soldier confined to cryosleep to being a teenager was not one anyone could prepare either of you for
sam tried to help when he could, bringing over board games and music and recommending old tv shows like full house and fresh prince and anything else that could kind of teach you about the teenage experience
you felt a void inside of you that you really needed to fill
“innnn west philadelphia born and raised, on the playground is where i spent most of my days—” -sam singing the fresh prince theme song during your existential crisis
you were itching to get back to what you knew, something that would make you feel a little more normal. you wanted missions again. nothing like “murder in cold blood,” just something that would validate your usefulness and make you feel like you belong
“i don’t want you doing that anymore, y/n. i want you to give you a normal life. no more missions, no more experiments” -bucky
now he was starting to feel like he was raising a teen bc you were pushing back
“then i’ll just join the military! i’m sure they’d love another super soldier!” -you
“come on, y/n. that’s just signing you life away to the government. do you want to be owned again?” -bucky “you can’t even join until you’re 18”
“i’m 64” -you
“yeah, well to the US government you were born in 2003 and you blipped. i tried to get your legal documents to make you look normal, so no, you’re not 64. you are 16” -bucky
“ugh! i didn’t ask for my life to be fixed! i am what i am and you can’t change that no matter what legal documents you lie on!” -you
“come on, y/n. you don’t have to fight anymore. you can make friends, go to school, get a job. you’re allowed to have fun now, no more taking orders” -bucky
“feels like i’m taking orders from you” -you
“oh, yeah, i’m just sooo terrible for giving you your freedom from HYDRA. sorry to wake you from your thirty year cryosleep and give you bodily autonomy again i’m just so terrible” -bucky
“shut up” -you
“what?! shut up?? you shut up!” -bucky
“was that an order?” -you, slamming your door
bucky had to call sam, who laughed at him and then told him about his nephews who were chronologically and physically younger than you but still kids that can be a pain sometimes
“am i doing something wrong?” -bucky
“listen to yourself man, does it sound like you’re doing anything wrong?” -sam “i know you grew up in a different time and all this is new territory, but being there is what matters right now. navigate it with y/n. and decorate that damn room, it looks like a prison cell”
that’s where bucky really stopped questioning every move he made and just tried to be present with you
sam recommended him the terminator movies and bucky threw together a super special movie night with pizza and popcorn and candy and fuzzy blankets and new pajamas and anything else he could find that you might’ve liked
and you kind of fell in love with the terminator movies.
“he’s like us” -you about arnold schwarenegger
“a little” -bucky stealing your snacks “but we’re cooler”
“i remember the 80s a little. they were kind of cool” -you “i had a mission in california in ‘85—now that was a weird place to be. very colorful”
you let your guard down a bit more and let yourself begin to enjoy things, got less pushy about wanting to fight again, got your room all set up
teased your dad because his room was literally barren.
you’d find him sleeping on the floor some days, but you didn’t think much of it. it made sense to you
he went on missions and left you alone in the house some days, it was nice to have some quiet and explore on your own. take walks, try new food, watch some movies you wouldn’t watch with your dad
and he texted you constantly to check in
he vented to sam and he gushed to sam—both about being your dad. it was hard some days but so rewarding others
“that’s what it’s all about” -sam
“you think clint will give me some advice?” -bucky
“couldn’t hurt to ask” -sam
clint and bucky had some unspoken similarities, talking amongst each other was comfortable
you visited the barton farm with bucky and met the barton clan
teenage daughter and son that you practically had nothing in common with, but they tried to make you feel included while clint, laura, and bucky talked
“we’re no super soldiers, but we know a thing or two about raising teenagers. we we’re both SHIELD agents but when i got pregnant, i retired” -laura
“yeah, she got the harder job, though. doing it alone while you’re still doing the job, that’s got to be a lot” -clint
“i mean, i’ve got people…sam, and…” -bucky
“us” -laura
“i don’t know how to take care of y/n. they went so long without parenting and they were a soldier themself. how do you break that mentality from them when it’s all they ever knew?” -bucky
“times like these i wish nat was still here” -clint “she wasn’t as young as y/n when i met her. she didn’t get to transition back into childhood, but it took some time to get her comfortable being a person. that part of her was always in there, the part that made her a soldier…but the humanity came back”
“y/n has humanity, what’s hard is getting them to relate to other people their age. getting into new hobbies that aren’t loading a gun fastest or shooting a moving target” -bucky
“well, y/n seems to be getting along with ours just fine” -laura, pointing at you, lila, cooper, and nathaniel playing soccer together in the yard “maybe y/n just needs space to grow, that’s usually how teenagers are”
“i mean, sure, y/n’s not gonna relate to many people their age. it’ll mostly be with other soldiers. but they can still have common interests or introduce them to new things that y/n might like and make them feel more normal. but honestly, no teenager feels ‘normal’” -clint
it was an eye opening conversation for bucky. gave him a lot to think about. made him feel less crazy. gave him the answers he was looking for
“thank you. so much. i’m so glad sam pointed me your way” -bucky
“you’re welcome back anytime” -laura
the kids also introduced you to video games, their favorite shows and movies from a teenager in this era, gave you some clothes they thought you’d like, and were sooo bummed when you and bucky went home. like you were a friend they’d known for years and didn’t want to part with
bucky and you both felt content in your own way
then the curveball came
“i’m running for congress” -bucky
“hahah, cool” -you
“i’m serious” -bucky
“…what?” -you
the campaign was honestly not bad
you decided to outwardly support your dad, show up to events, talk about your experiences and how you came back from hardship. you stole the hearts of the voters of new york
and he won
you guys moved to a nice penthouse apartment in brooklyn and despite the fact you were growing up, you still stuck with him for now. it made sense.
“i won’t be upset if you move out one of these days. i know it’s weird not having a parent until you’re almost an adult. being told to be a kid when you don’t feel like you ever were. if you need to be free i’ll support you” -bucky
“it’s okay, i could get comfortable here” -you in the new apartment
“well, okay then” -bucky (trying to hide his excitement that you dont want to leave the nest yet)
you’d hit your legal adulthood around this time and stopped being so restless about leaving and fighting and just got comfortable being a homebody
you supported “congressman barnes” and he’d listen to your point of view as a blipped person, a captive, a teen super soldier, human experimentation, and all that stuff
you actually got really into this whole political career thing
oh and you hated valentina de fontaine you could tell she was just like HYDRA
she just left a bad taste in your mouth
“oh hello, barnes junior! is it take your kid to work day?” -val
“i’m just a really big fan of impeachment” -you
“i’m sure you’ll be thoroughly disappointed after today’s hearing then!” -val
then it clicked for you. you needed to become a spy again. get the proof. get her impeached. get her thrown in prison.
bucky was thinking the same thing
and bucky was hoping you would want to, too
and that’s how you ended up riding a motorcycle through the desert and kidnapping detaining yelena belova, john walker, and ava starr
“hey bucky! this your kid? looks just like you!” -john “you know, i have a kid, too. gotta get home to the little one, you know?”
“john, i know your wife left and took your kid. now you’re working for valentina and you’re coming with us to get her impeached and thrown in prison where she belongs” -bucky
“jesus” -you
“fine, sorry, i know what it’s like to not have your kid. it’s hard. but we need val in prison as soon as possible” -bucky
it just so happened all your priorities aligned and you all went to take valentina down together
“been a while since we’ve been able to fight together” -you
“please don’t get shot again” -bucky
“i wasn’t planning on it, but maybe now i will” -you
“it is nice to see winter soldier with his equally skilled child. you remind me of me and my daughters. yelena and y/n may have something in common, as well. i hope they are getting along back there” -alexei
“child soldier?” -yelena
“child soldier. you?” -you
“yes. me too” -yelena
“nice” -you, fistbumping
shit got real fast after that. like real fast
like you got thrown against a wall by some dude with a bad dye job named “bob”
*cursing in russian*
*bucky scolding*
*yelena and alexei laughing*
*you cursing more*
“are you okay?” -bucky
“didn’t get shot” -you
“yeah but did you break your spine?” -bucky
“no i think it’s intact. i can walk it off” -you
oh cool the entirety of manhattan is in a void of darkness where you relive your mose shameful memories
sure hope they aren’t that bad!
*is a literal child supersoldier*
you saw some missions from when you were young, stuff you never wanted to see again
bucky saw the time he was so close to saving you, but he had to save himself. the way he lost himself when you blipped and had to be saved by steve.
you watched each other’s memories with understanding and guilt, knowing there was so much you didn’t know about each other still
you gave your dad a hug. you both needed it.
“let’s please get out of here so i never have to think about these things ever again, ‘kay?” -you
“i am with you there” -ava
so anyway i started blasting (a/n: danny devito reference because i can)
the team picked up yelena and bob in the void and wrapped this shitshow up with a lot of crying to follow tonight
breaking from the void and confronting val was almost successful—until you all walked into a live tv appearance
and when valentina said the you all were the new avengers, you actually smiled.
like, you knew it was going to be bad working for her, but the idea of being on a team and going on missions again—that’s what you wanted
yeah, the you and the people surrounding you were not as clean as the avengers were, but maybe this could be a good thing? maybe you could all show the world how far you’ve come.
you looked at your dad, who’s concerned face changed to something more like relief when he saw your face light up at the thought of you being an avenger, even if he couldn’t see him as an avenger himself
“i want to do good for a change” -you
“your past doesn’t define you, y/n. those things you did aren’t who you are. you don’t have to prove that you’re good” -bucky
“but i know how to use what i am for good” -you “maybe this is what i was meant to do. maybe i was always meant to be a soldier, and maybe we can make valentina work for us. this can be our way of keeping an eye on her”
“…how can i say no to you?” -bucky
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