This was just too precious! Being a fan of the MCU and it’s characters had got me hankerings for the comics in order to satisfy my fix while waiting in between movies.

This past year I’ve started collecting and reading Black Widow’s various comic series alongside Winter Soldier and Thunderbolts vol. 3 to name a few. Mainly because I had learned about their relationship from Pinterest (as well as Kobik’s existents) and wanted to try to get a feel of their relationships and see if it would appeal to me. I’m happy to say that it did—EXPONENTIALLY!

I didn’t think I would love this pairing this much to the point where my heart physically aches on Bucky’s behave whenever they have to go their separate ways, or when Natasha is genuinely confused as to why Bucky would go out of his way to help her post Winter Soldier vol. 1 (ED BRUBAKER YOU DID US WRONG!) but I digress.

I also just love seeing him in a fatherly role whenever Kobik is concerned. I’m fact I’ve noticed when reading the comics that Bucky’s pretty good with kids in general; he always goes out of his way to help them and they in turn seem really comfortable around him. I really hope the MCU writers pick up on this and uses it for future installments.

With all that in mind, I think you brought out all the best elements of romantic Bucky and father Bucky and seamlessly rolled it into one. I also loved Natasha’s insight and how she truly wants to remember her time with Bucky along with wanting to have some kind of family life with him just as much as he wants it with her, but just doesn’t know how it can all work. Well I say where there’s love there’s hope and where there’s a will there’s a way, but that’s just me.

And of course Kobik is always a win whenever you want those pesky feeling to come out to the ones you love without judgement. Her bring up their romantic rain kiss in Paris was just GOLD! I also love how you wrote her and Nat so naturally together; something I have yet to see in the comics but hopefully will someday. Provided the writers don’t screw it all up.

If you ever decide to do a sequel maybe you can have Natasha drop by unannounced on New Years Eve and have her and Bucky kiss at the stroke of midnight. All the while Kobik is trying but failing to stay up past her bedtime. The cuteness writes itself!

That Was the best family fic about Nat and bucky, and i love them with kobik, so cute. Just brilliant! Hope you write more stories about these 2.

Okay so! I love this. Review over. JUST KIDDING. LOL :D

Let me just preface this by saying that you really took on a real challenge by writing this as your first foray into Buckynat. Taking on a new pairing (and new characters) is ALWAYS daunting, and doing so for a secret Santa challenge is honestly terrifying LOL and I probably never would have had the guts to do it. So kudos to you JUST for that, first of all :D I'm obviously very happy that you did it because I love Buckynat (SO MUCH) and I love you so THIS IS JUST ALL AROUND AWESOME LOL WHAT A TREAT.

SO. You opened this fic literally the best way possible - Bucky waking up and running his fingers through his hair (and "short beard" good God) and recalling his previous night of passion. That crack in the headboard? ... Gah. GAH. Yeah... I'm perfectly fine without the full details being written here, because I can imagine them jussssssttttt fine :D

NATASHA MAKING PANCAKES WITH KOBIK. Now I love this so much because Kobik really is a great way to bring some interesting new angles to already-interesting characters. Obviously her and Bucky's bond has been canonically established and given us some of the most adorable moments I've ever seen in a comic (oh Bucky how you kill me in so many different ways) but bringing her here and showing such a domestic situation between such non-domestic characters - I love it. Natasha is clearly not the sort we expect to see up making pancakes on Christmas morning with a little girl, but she has that capacity for warmth nonetheless and this was a lovely way to get a glimpse of that. It's especially interesting since Kobik isn't exactly even a real little kid, and yet for all intents and purposes (and in Bucky's eyes), she is. Comic-book science at its finest if you ask me, because it allows us to have all the feels lol.

Bucky chocolate the REAL OTP, LOL

"He'd wanted to spend Christmas with her. Her and his Kobik." THIS LINE IS SO SWEET OMG

Natasha working through all the memories - and the lack thereof - and finding out about hers and Bucky's history... UGH I HATE that she lost those memories to begin with. I am FOREVER salty about that because just GRRRRRRKKDKKDKSKSKKD *shakes fists* STUPID UNNECESSARILY CRUEL COMIC ARCS. Ahem. Sorry. :p

Natasha thinking of her night with Bucky as eye-opening - I BET IT WAS *wink wink* LOL. And the fact that Bucky still knows her so well and knows exactly all the right ways to blow her mind... I mean, of course he'd still know, but like... ugh I just love this lol.

THEM EATING THE PANCAKES AND BUCKY CLEANING KOBIK'S FACE WHEN SHES DONE. LIKE ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME WITH THE DADDY BUCKY FEELS. It's hard to find fics where daddy!Bucky is a thing (WELL, unless we're talking Stucky and daddy KINKS but we are NOT AND IN FACT JUST FORGET I SAID ANYTHING LOL) and these tiny little details and how much Kobik adores Bucky just made me swoon and die and I NEED A DEFIBRILLATOR

"Thank you, Natasha! Now I can make pancakes for Bucky on my own!" *clutches chest* *dies*

Bucky sneakily signing Natasha up for making Christmas cookies with Kobik... oh Bucky :D and Kobik watching a movie upside down and waving toys around in the air. NO WONDER Bucky considers her as "real" of a little girl as any other and feels such a drive to protect her - it doesn't get much more real than that!

BUCKY WITH A BAG OF PRESENTS LIKE ACTUAL SANTA LOL OHMYGOD. BUT EVEN MOAR OHMYGOD is Natasha pulling out his hair tie and sticking the Santa hat on his head - look, at this point I've already melted and yet I'm melting MOAR lol

THE PRESENTSSSSS. THE LITTLE BALLERINA MUSIC BOX. The look in his eyes now making sense to her x_x AND KOBIK SPILLING DETAILS ABOUT PARIS AND DANCING AND KISSING IN THE RAIN LOL. She is every BIT a real little kid, cosmic cube or not :D

Ugh Bucky and Natasha both not wanting the night to end or him and Kobik to leave the next day but not knowing how they could really make it work given their very different worlds... AAAGHHHHHH. But I appreciate the dose of realism, which all fluff needs to keep it grounded and retain its impact.

When Natasha invites him to her bedroom and can't look away from him because she's so mesmerized by his new fatherly role and how naturally he'd adapted to it... YOU AND ME BOTH, LADY. GOOD GOD. AND YEAH, YOU'RE DONE FOR ALREADY. WE ALL ARE. THERE WAS NEVER ANY HOPE.

"... combing the red hair that consumed his dreams." IDK WHY BUT I ESPECIALLY LOVE THAT LINE.

And the ending... *happy sigh* GOSH. I just love how EASY it is. They're overcoming a lot and he's nervous and afraid that she's still upset with him but they still just come together so seamlessly and effortlessly, and THISSSSS is why I love them so much. Her admiration for him and her understanding of EVERYTHING he's been through, understanding him in ways hardly anyone else can, and his just full on AWE of her and his constant state of amazement over her - you captured all these things throughout the entire fic and then ended it on such a sweet and satisfying note... and Natasha being Bucky's present *heart eyes* ITS JUST SO PERFECT DANGIT. All of this just reminded me of why I love Buckynat and why they're my top Marvel canon OTP (Steggy might be my only other one, honestly lol. I'm too picky with these things :D). So thank you for writing this and giving me and the audience at large such a lovely treat :D it's just beautiful and you should be proud! *Thor-sized hugs and Christmas cookies and confetti and tons and TONS of love*

OMG! I absolutely adored this little one-shot. You had everything perfect. And Bucky's right. Second Chances don't normally happen. This seriously gave me the feels.

That was so cute, I loved it. I hope you will write more.