Headcanons about what Bucky would be like as a father (or at least a father figure)
There is honestly not enough content about platonic Bucky so I made my own <3 Could be read as you being his biological child or adoptive, readers gender is not mentioned, not sure when this is taking place, and as always this is not well written but whateva we ballin
Bucky as a father would be protective, playful, and very loving.
Bucky is so soft for you, he's very aware that he's dangerous and might scare you or hurt you, his time as the Winter Soldier plays heavy on his mind as we know, so he tries very hard to gentle and approachable.
His love languages with you would be physical touch, quality time and acts of service.
Bucky loves to cuddle with you, and because he can't sleep at night he's become fond of napping with you during the day. Just feeling you near him and hearing your breathing really calms him down, especially because he worries so much about you.
He would be hesitant about touching you, definitely having to build up to full on hugging and cuddling. At first he would refuse to touch you with his metal arm, hiding it behind his back because he was scared he was going to hurt you, or scare you with it.
But after you telling him countless times that you think his metal arm is cool, he eventually lets you have a look at it and starts touching you with it. Though he would more so just let you initiate it and touch it if you wanted to, not really going out of his way to show you affection with it. Though eventually Bucky becomes comfortable with putting his arm around you, especially if you needed comforting.
Bucky likes to spend time with you, too. He loves seeing you happy and hearing you laugh so he does everything in his power to make sure you have a good time. This is also where his playful aspect comes in. You've got him wrapped around your little finger and he will do anything you ask of him, including making a fool of himself. I feel like he would like to do quite active stuff with you, like playing tag or going exploring in a woods or something, but it's honestly up to you. Though he will be hesitant to do tickle fights or play wrestling, but you can definitely convince him.
Acts of service and his protective trait also go hand in hand, he feels like the one thing he's good at is hurting people and fighting, and if he can use that to do some good, he will. He remembers what he learned during his time with Hydra and uses that to protect you. Bucky gets a bit paranoid that Hydra will come for you so he takes your safety very seriously, always checking the locks on the windows and scanning the room when he's out in public with you. He also teaches you some self defense and how to use certain weapons so you can defend yourself if you have to.
It isn't only physically that he protects you, he also tries to keep you protected from all the dark and evil things of the world, especially surrounding Hydra and what they did to him. The most he'll tell you about his past is that he lost his arm in the war, but if you want anymore details you're gonna have to ask someone else. Chances are even if you do ask someone else they won't tell you either, probably because they don't want to make Bucky mad, or they don't want to scare you, or Bucky threatened told them not to tell you.
Bucky wants you to know that he will always take care of you, emotionally and physically. He tries to remember what it was like taking care of Steve back in the 40s, and how he comforted him after his mom died, so he can take care of you too. Of course comfort isn't really his strong suit but he tries, he promises that whenever you need him he will drop everything to make sure you're okay and that he'll never turn his back on you.
Going back to how he teaches you self defense, I feel like Bucky would really like to have someone that he could pass his knowledge onto. Like he would love to teach them different card games that he played back in the 40s or I always imagine him teaching his kid how to do his signature death glare. Just having someone that he can be a sort of mentor to, especially considering how old he is, I think he'd really like that. Or him having a kid that looks up to him and wants to be like him. At first he would be like, "trust me, you don't want to be like me, I'm terrible," but I think eventually, once the kid starts following him around and trying to be like him, he would warm up to the idea and take them under his wing.
I saw someone say that Bucky keeps 2 pairs of his dogs tags on him, one round his neck and one in his boot and I love the thought that Bucky gives you his extra pair of dog tags. He'd especially do this if you look up to him, or if you miss him a lot when he's on missions.
Talking about missions, what happens really depends on when in the timeline we're talking. Usually when he is going on missions he will get someone else to look after you, usually Steve or Sam if Steve's not available. But if this is happening during or after tfatws then I think Bucky might stop going on missions altogether and instead move somewhere out in the country and just live peacefully with you. I think that he would jump at the chance of getting some peace with you and dedicating his time to raising you instead of fighting.
I feel like Bucky and his kid are going to be very similar, so much so that even if he adopted you people with think that you're his biological child. Tony will definitely call you either 'Little Bucky' or 'Bucky Jr' just to tease the both of you.
The rest of the avengers have also become very protective of you as well, though Steve and Sam are definitely the ones that you're closest to and are around the most. It might even be that you see them as father figures, too, so now you have three dads.
Over all Bucky's very sweet and he will do anything for you, even if he is a bit hesitant at first.
