More I Cannot Wish You [b.b.]
Summary: On your wedding day, your father is having trouble coming to terms with who you chose as your groom.
Word Count: 3417
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Stark Daughter!Reader
Warnings: Mostly just fluff. Some h*ckin words and mentions of past child neglect
A/N: Inspired by “More I Cannot Wish You” specifically from the musical episode of The Flash. A little fluff for your Valentine’s day. I hope you guys enjoy it. Thank you to @icedcoffeemorn for beta reading! If you’d like to be added to any of my open taglists click here!
The clacking of Pepper’s heels echoed through the bridal suite as she paced back and forth, checking items off her list.
“Let’s see…,” she mumbled to herself. “Flowers are set. Photographer is with the boys. Cake is at the reception venue and refrigerated. I think that’s everything.”
“Sure you can’t find a last-minute way to spend another $10,000?” Tony scoffed as he poured himself another scotch. He didn’t actually care about the money. Lord knew he had more than enough. He just wanted this day to be over. The last few months had been nothing but non-stop appointments and fittings and checks to be written to different vendors. All he wanted was to be able to go back to the cabin and relax. Pepper sighed softly and walked over to him, placing her hands on his shoulders as he tossed back his drink.
“Can you please try and be happy today?” she pleaded with him. “Your daughter deserves that much on her wedding day.” A pang of shame spiked through Tony’s heart and a sigh fell from his lips as he nodded slowly. Pepper was right. She always was. Today was supposed to be happy, and there was no way he would ruin that. Especially not for his little girl.
He still remembered the day you were thrown into his life. He’d opened the door to his Malibu mansion to find you standing on his front porch, rain-drenched and terrified with a note pinned to your sweater.
This is your daughter. She’s too much for me to handle anymore. Good luck.
You were eight then, and not the first child someone had claimed belonged to him. His first instinct had been to drop you off at the local police station, but Pepper had talked him out of it. She’d convinced him to let you stay the night and figure things out in the morning. When he went to collect you at 8 AM sharp, he found you cross-legged on the bed, the radio from the nightstand rewired into a remote and cartoons on the TV. From that day on, Tony never doubted you were his again.
For the first few weeks, nothing much changed for Tony. The room that was supposed to be yours for the night became yours permanently, and he put Pepper in charge of finding you clothes and toys and anything else an 8-year-old girl might need. Truth be told, he put her in charge of everything when it came to you. Tony continued to jet around the world to various parties and events, calling home from time to time to check in on you. He didn’t know how to be a dad back then. Hell, he barely knew how to be one now. At least now, he was around though.
It was late at night when he got the call. The clock showed nearly 2 AM when the hotel phone startled him awake. Pepper had to repeat herself three times before the words sunk in and he bolted upright in his bed.
“Her fever is 104, Tony. I can’t get it down. Happy and I are taking her to the hospital, but you need to get back here. Now. Your daughter needs you.”
That was the first time in his life Tony ever felt real fear. The entire flight home he cursed himself for leaving you. By the time he got to the hospital, you were in hysterics. Pepper was trying to calm you down, but nothing was helping. Tony ran to you, desperate to soothe you and wipe your tears, only for you to leap away from his touch and into Pepper’s arms. It was in that moment, when he saw you terrified and clinging to Pepper, crying out for a mother that had abandoned you without a second thought, that Tony realized exactly what he was to you. He wasn’t your father. He was a stranger. In your most desperate hour when your life had been completely uprooted, he hadn’t done what a father should and helped you through it. He had just left you alone all over again. The same way his father had done to him.
Tony made a vow that night as he watched you sleep in your hospital bed. He swore that things would change. No more partying. No more bringing home random women just to have Pepper toss them out the next morning. No more jetting around the globe, unless he had you with him. He promised you he’d be the kind of father to you that he had never had. That he had always wanted.
“I promise, babygirl,” he whispered as you slept. “You will have everything you could ever wish for.”
Here he stood now, some twenty-something years later, watching you walk into the room in your wedding dress. Tears welled in his eyes as he watched you turn in your spot, nervousness blooming across your face.
“Well?” you asked shyly. “How do I look?” Tony couldn’t speak. All the air had been knocked from his lungs the second he saw you.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Pepper cooed. “You look stunning. Absolutely beautiful.” She was crying in earnest now, holding your hands in hers as a watery smile stretched across your face. Pepper may not have been your blood, but she dedicated an incredible amount of her life to raising you, and she loved you as only a mother could. A happiness unlike he’d ever known flooded Tony’s heart as he watched you both gush over every detail of your dress. Eventually, you turned to face him again.
“Do you think James will like it?” you asked quietly. That knocked the wind out of him for an entirely different reason. The smile almost fell from his face, but he managed to catch it just in time.
“If he doesn’t, he’s an even bigger idiot than I thought,” Tony said, walking over and kissing your head. He could feel you roll your eyes at him without even seeing your face.
“Dad, you promised,” you reminded him.
“I know, baby,” he said, smiling at you. “I’ll be nice. I promise. I’m gonna go get some air real quick.” He rubbed your arm gently and kissed Pepper before ducking out the door. His breath came out heavy once he was on the other side, and he leaned over to put his hands on his knees.
Why did it have to be him? Of all the super people Tony had known over the years, why did his daughter have to fall in love with the one who killed her grandparents? He had tried to talk you into dating anyone else. Steve. Sam. Even Natasha. He didn’t care. But from the second you met Barnes, everyone around you knew that was it. You were ridiculously in love with each other, sometimes bordering on disgustingly so, and it had only been a matter of time until it ended up with a wedding.
Tony took several deep breaths, shaking the nerves out of his head as best he could, until he heard a familiar voice from around the corner.
“Steve, I can’t do this.”
Bucky’s breath came in pants as he sat on the floor, his head between his knees. Steve kneeled beside him, rubbing his back gently and trying to calm him down.
“Steve, I can’t do this,” Bucky panted softly.
“What are you talking about?” Steve asked. “You’re the one that asked her to marry you in the first place.”
“I know but I just…I don’t…” His breathing picked up more and more until his chest was so tight he couldn’t speak. Steve squeezed his shoulder gently and sat beside him, trying to bring his best friend back from the brink.
“Buck, hey,” he said soothingly. “It’s ok. Just breathe, ok?” He took a deep breath and waited for Bucky to mirror him, taking the next few together. After a few minutes, Bucky’s breathing returned to normal, and he sat up. His ocean blue eyes swam with tears as he looked up at Steve.
“She deserves so much better, Steve,” he said finally.
“What are you talking about?” Steve asked, his brow furrowed. “You guys are crazy about each other.”
“Half the world still hates me,” Bucky breathed, not meeting Steve’s eye. “I can barely walk down the street without getting harassed every ten steps. People don’t forget and I can handle all that but…she deserves better. She shouldn’t have to put up with all this shit because of me.”
“Buck, the two of you have been together for five years,” Steve argued. “If she wanted to run she would have by now.” Bucky sighed heavily and put his head in his hands.
“Her own father hates me, Steve,” Bucky said, shaking his head when his best friend started to counter him “Don’t try to tell me he doesn’t. We all know he does. Why wouldn’t we? If I were him, I’d hate me too.”
“What happened to Howard and Maria wasn’t your fault,” Steve reasoned. “On some level, Tony knows that. I know he does.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Bucky replied. “He saw the video. Tony saw this face murder his parents. That isn’t something you just forgive. I don’t want to subject my wife to a lifetime of having to play peacekeeper between her husband and her father.” Both men were silent for a long time. Bucky’s occasional sniffles and Steve’s nervous shifting were the only sounds that broke the air. Eventually, the question Steve had been dreading asking fell from his lips.
“Do you want to call off the wedding?”
“No!” Bucky yelled immediately, his head snapping up. “God, no! I love her so much. I never thought I’d ever love something like this, and I definitely never thought someone would love me like she does. I just…I wanna give her the world, Steve. I want her to have everything she could ever wish for. But I don’t know if I’m good enough to do it.”
Whatever Steve planned to say was cut off by the sound of a throat clearing down the hall. Bucky’s head snapped up and his blood ran cold at the sight of Tony walking up to them, his face stone-still.
“Rogers,” he said, his voice uncharacteristically flat. “Could you give me and Barnes a minute?”
“Tony,” Steve cautioned as he and Bucky rose to their feet, but Tony simply waved him off.
“Relax, Grandpa,” he said, a hint of his trademark sarcasm creeping in. “I’m just imparting some future father-in-law pearls of wisdom.” Steve glanced over at Bucky, who nodded once in spite of his overwhelming nervousness, and turned to leave the two of them in awkward silence.
Bucky thought the tension in the air might almost be thick enough to crush him to death. He hated just standing there, staring at the man who hated him most in the world, waiting for him to threaten his life if he broke his little girl’s heart. Tony made a couple attempts to speak, but the thoughts seemed to die right before he could voice them. About the time Bucky thought he couldn’t stand it anymore, Tony found his voice.
“I was never supposed to be a dad,” Tony said finally, causing Bucky to furrow his brow. “At least, I never wanted to be. My old man and I had an…interesting relationship and after he died, I remember thinking I never wanted to put a kid through that. I’m too much like him. I knew if I had a kid I would be just as bad of a father as he’d been. And as usual, I was right.
“I didn’t even know I had a daughter until she was eight. Eight years. Her mom knew me and knew I wouldn’t be able to handle it, so she kept her away. Until one day this terrified soaking wet little girl showed up on my doorstep and threw a giant wrench in my plans.”
“Tony…,” Bucky tried, but Tony didn’t even flinch.
“I was so convinced I’d be a shit father that I just decided I would be,” he continued. “Every time I left, I could see my dad’s face as clear as day, walking out the door and leaving me with another new nanny. Then she got sick and…I gotta tell ya that’s the most scared I’ve ever been in my life. Watching my daughter terrified and looking through me like she’d never seen me before. Because she’d hadn’t. Not really. That was the first day I ever saw myself as a dad, and I promised both of us I’d do better. Be better. Because she deserved it. Couple years and violent super confrontations later Morgan came along and now…I can’t imagine not being their dad.”
“What are you trying to say, Tony?” Bucky asked, his voice trembling slightly. For the first time since Steve walked away, Tony looked Bucky in the eyes. Bucky was almost certain it was the first time Tony had ever actually looked him in the eyes, and he had to fight to suppress the shiver that tried to claw its way down his spine.
“I’m never gonna be able to look at you and not see the man who killed my parents,” Tony said flatly, causing Bucky to flinch. “You were right about that. But what I can see...is the way you look at my daughter. And the way she looks at you. I can see the love between the two of you and I know…I know she thinks you’re good enough. You’re enough for her Barnes, and that’s good enough for me.”
Bucky was too scared to speak. His heart pounded in his chest so hard he thought his ribs might crack. This couldn’t be happening. Even though Tony hadn’t exactly said the words this felt almost like…forgiveness. Tears welled in his eyes as he regarded his future father-in-law, trying to will his brain into producing words. But it wouldn’t. Or couldn’t. All he could feel was an all-encompassing sense of relief. The worry and uncertainty that had fueled his anxiety only minutes ago had been beaten back by the words of Tony Stark. He had, in his own Tony way, given Bucky his blessing. Bucky was still trying to form words when Tony clapped him gently on the shoulder.
“Take care of my little girl, Barnes,” he said with a slight smile. “That’s all I ask.” With that, he turned and walked back toward the bridal suite. He was already around the corner and out of sight when Bucky managed to speak.
“I will.”
The wedding was absolutely perfect. It was everything you ever could have wished for and so much more. Morgan drew awe from the crowd as the picture-perfect flower girl, and your dad didn’t have a single snide or snarky comment as he walked you down the aisle to a teary-eyed Bucky. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, you found yourself seated beside your brand new husband at the reception. Friends and family gathered in the ornate ballroom, laughing and sending their well-wishes to the newlyweds. Then, it was time for the speeches. Steve went first, his best man toast filled with stories of a couple of hell-raising kids in Brooklyn that made Bucky blush. Next came the maid of honor, Wanda. Despite the two of you not having nearly as much history as Bucky and Steve, she still managed to have you in tears as she described how much you welcoming her into your family meant to her. Finally, it was Tony’s turn. A small feeling of nervousness twisted in your stomach as he took the microphone. Bucky must have sensed it because he reached over and took your hand in his.
“Contrary to popular belief and…historical record, I’m not really one for grandiose speeches,” Tony began, pulling laughter from the crowd. “And I’m even worse as sticking to the cards, so I’ll try and keep this short and sweet.” You spared a quick glance at Pepper who gave you a smile and a small nod. It did little to quell your nerves, so you just returned the smile before looking back at your father.
“My daughter came into my life halfway grown and already smarter than me,” Tony continued, earning another chuckle from the crowd. “I spent the first couple years with her trying to catch up on everything I’d missed, and the next few trying to make up for lost time. I promised her that she was going to have everything she could ever wish for. But as time went on, I realized that wasn’t enough. I wanted her to have more. I wanted her to have everything I wished for. I wanted to be able to take every single dream either of us had and just…poof. Make it come true. When she was around twelve years old, I asked her what her biggest wish was, expecting her to want me to buy her Disney World or something. But she just said ‘Daddy, I wish you and me could be best friends for always.’ And I did my damndest to make that wish come true.” Tears were rolling down your cheeks at this point and you clung to Bucky’s hand so tight it might have broken if he were a normal man. You heard a small sniffle come from him, but you didn’t dare look away from your father.
“Somewhere on the road between twelve and today,” Tony said, his voice growing slightly thick. “That sweet little girl grew up the rest of the way into the incredible woman before us, that we have all come to love. Baby, the privilege of being your father has been the greatest blessing I’ve ever known. It took me a bit to work out the kinks of being a dad, but I wouldn’t change one single second of it. You made it all worthwhile. I did my best to teach you right from wrong, despite not always knowing the difference myself, and I am so incredibly proud of the woman you’ve grown into.” You took a second to glance over at Bucky and seeing the tears in his eyes only made yours fall harder. He wrapped an arm around you and pulled you closer without even looking, leaning down to kiss the top of your head.
“I wished so many things for you,” Tony said, his eyes locked on you. “And even though I wished for you to know real, true love, what I’ve seen grow between you and Bucky over the last few years surpasses anything even I imagined, and I am so happy you’ve found yourself more than I could have ever wished for you. To the bride and groom.” Applause erupted as Tony raised his glass and the rest of the room followed suit, toasting to you and Bucky. Your glass remained untouched on the table as you jumped up, making your way over to your dad. He smiled as you approached and hugged you close as you threw your arms around him.
“I knew you could be nice,” you chuckled in his ear.
“I’m always nice,” he retorted with a smile. “Just not always in public.” You rolled your eyes and pulled back, resting your hands on his shoulders.
“I love you, Dad,” you said with a smile.
“I love you too, babygirl,” Tony responded, kissing the top of your head. Bucky stepped up behind you, placing his hand on the small of your back.
“Thank you, Tony,” he said quietly, extending his flesh hand. Much to your surprise, Tony reached out after a beat and shook it once.
“Welcome to the family, Barnes,” he said, offering Bucky a half-smile before dropping his hand and going back to his seat beside Pepper. Bucky stood stunned for a moment, only breaking from his trance when you stretched up to press a soft kiss to his lips.
“I told you he’d come around eventually,” you chuckled.
“Yeah,” Bucky mumbled, absently wrapping his arms around your waist. “I just wasn’t expecting him to welcome me into the family like that.”
“Imagine what he’ll do when we tell him he’s gonna be a grandpa,” you said, hugging him close.
“One step at a time, doll,” Bucky smiled, leaning down to kiss you again. “Right now, I think it’s time for me to dance with my wife.” Your smile matched his as you kissed him again, taking his hands in yours.
“Lead the way, Sarge.”
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