That night, Darcy tossed and turned. She knew, somewhere in the colossus that was Avengers Tower, Bucky was there. Her baby's father. And he wanted to help. Frankly, the idea that he was down for this had blown her away. Sure, old-world views might have had a hand in it, but Darcy thought that Soviet brainwashing might have done away with any ideas on family values. But Bucky was here, and for now, he wanted to be a part of this. As Darcy turned to her other side, some part of her whispered that it wouldn't last. After sleepless nights of a screaming baby, changing diapers, and everything else that went along with procreation, she wouldn't be at all surprised if Bucky decided to bow out. He had brainwashing to deal with, for Christ's sake. Darcy wouldn't think less of him.

And yet, she would. She knew she would. After all, she was hardly equipped to handle a child. She'd gotten pregnant from a one-hour-stand in a bar bathroom while she was drunk. No part of that said 'responsible adult'. Darcy knew that. She huffed and punched her pillow into shape. When she'd first gotten pregnant, she'd thought about adoption. She could even keep it in-house; she knew that Tony and Pepper were trying for a kid without much success. Jane and Thor had just had the baby-talk and decided that they were going to give it a shot. And then there was her, the only one not in a relationship and magically knocked up with zero effort. Fate had a funny way of being a bitch.

Apparently all the movement had woken up the progeny and it was currently punching any way it damn well felt. Darcy heaved a sigh and laboriously got out of bed, throwing a robe around herself and padding out into the kitchen. There was always a light on, a concession made to spies and scientists and soldiers who had spent too much time sneaking around. Darcy appreciated it now, when it meant that she didn't have to deal with blinding light at—she looked at the clock—2:18 in the morning. She opened the cupboard and was glad to see that her tea had been moved back to its original position. She set the box on the counter and turned around to grab the kettle. She gasped when she saw a dark figure standing just outside the range of the lone light. Without thinking, she lobbed the empty kettle at it and ducked behind the counter. The clang of the kettle made her stick her head up. A metal hand had grabbed it. She sighed and pulled herself up with a grunt,

"Dammit Bucky. We need to get you a damn bell." she said, stepping around the island to grab the kettle from his hand. Bucky followed her back into the light,

"Sorry." he said. Darcy shrugged and filled the kettle, putting it on the stove,

"'S fine. Probably don't want to make too much noise at night around here anyway. Found out that Steve's a really light sleeper and an absolute grouch if he doesn't get his beauty sleep." she said. The corners of Bucky's mouth quirked up,

"I remember." It caught Darcy off-guard. She nodded to herself as she pulled down a mug,

"Of course you do." Her feet already hurt. She made a face and balanced on one foot, moving her other ankle in circles. Bucky watched her movement and before Darcy could say a thing, he swooped her up bridal-style. She barely suppressed a shriek and hissed,

"James Barnes you put me down right now or so help me I'll—" He lowered her to the couch, gently setting her down before putting her feet in his lap. He moved his hands, one to the top of her foot and one around the bottom,

"May I?" he asked. Darcy stared for a moment, then nodded. His hands started moving and she couldn't suppress a groan as her head fell back. If Steve's foot rubs were good, Bucky's were heavenly. They stayed like that for a moment before Bucky said,

"Steve. Said this was good."

"Yeah. I always commandeer him to rub my feet. He whined about it, but when I told him it was the responsibility of the godfather, he shut up pretty fast." she said with a grin, remembering his face when she told him her decision. Bucky nodded, then his brow furrowed,

"You and Steve…courting?"

"Hm?" said a sleepy Darcy. Then his words hit her and she shook her head, "Oh. Nah, just close friends. That'd be weird, if I was pregnant with your baby and accidentally dating your best friend. God, sounds like a soap opera." said Darcy, throwing an arm across her face. Bucky moved his ministrations to her other foot and Darcy practically purred,

"Fucking hell, you're so much better at this than Steve." She opened an eye to see him staring at her and smirking just a bit. She grabbed a pillow and hit his arm,

"Oh, shut up." Bucky stood and went to the kitchen, returning shortly with a mug of tea. Darcy accepted it and held it on top of her breasts. The warmth spread through her core and she closed her eyes in bliss. The warmth, combined with Bucky's work, made her want to melt into the couch. When she lazily cracked an eye again, she saw Bucky staring intently at her belly. She smiled and put a hand atop the mound of her abdomen,

"I'm due in three weeks," she said quietly, "I don't know if it's a boy or a girl. I didn't ask. Wanted a surprise." she said. Bucky nodded at her words. Darcy bit her lip, "Um, when I deliver, you probably shouldn't be there." Bucky looked at her, hurt in his eyes. She set the mug on the coffee table behind her and did her best to sit up, her hands flying to his shoulder, "No, it's not that I don't want you to be. It's just, you know, I'm going to be screaming. A lot. And cursing. And you have some pretty hyped-up protective instincts that could cause absolute mayhem in the delivery room. I don't want to stress you out more and it would stress me out more, worrying about stressing you out. It's a great big ball of stress that I don't want to deal with while trying to push a miniature human through a hole that it is not supposed to fit through." said Darcy, trying to make Bucky understand. She didn't want to start out this relationship—or whatever it was—with a miscommunication. Bucky's hurt expression cleared, but it hardened into frustration. He nodded all the same. Darcy sighed and swung her feet out of his lap. Now sitting upright on the couch, she leaned her head against his shoulder and pulled his arm until it was around her,

"I want you to know that, even if this is gonna be really hard and probably going to suck sometimes, I'm glad it's you I picked up in that bar." She felt Bucky sigh deeply beneath her. She felt his voice rumble beneath her hand,

"Thought I picked you up." She laughed and smacked his chest,

"Jackass. There's no way in hell you could have got a piece of this unless I picked you first." Bucky chuckled just a little as well, but that little bit was more progress than Darcy had expected. He inclined his head until his cheek was barely brushing her hair,

"Glad you picked me up too."