Hello all! Hope this story finds you well! So I found the most ridiculously adorable prompt in the LJ archives and I've been knocking this idea around in my head for the past couple weeks now and finally got around to writing it. It's mostly just my excuse to write some impossibly cute fluff and a little bit of humor after all the angsty drama I've been working on recently! Hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing =/

"Somebody better give me some Goddamn answers or I'm going to start using agents as target practice," James growls dangerously as he shoves his way into the office. The two agents flanking him take a half step back at the threat, giving the former assassin plenty of room lest he decide to follow through with it.

Fury looks up expectantly, completely unperturbed by the warning. "None of that will be necessary, Agent Barnes." He nods toward the open chair on the other side of the desk. "Have a seat."

"I'll stand," James snaps in return, his words coming out like a whip crack.

"Fair enough," Fury allows, straightening from his chair and smoothing his slacks briefly. "I trust you had a smooth flight?"

"Cut the crap, Fury," the assassin growls, resisting the urge to throttle the man across from him. "You know why I'm here."

Fury nods once in agreement. "I do. And I'll be glad to answer any questions you might have once you take your hand off your gun."

James glances down, not realizing that his metal hand had somehow wrapped itself around the handle of his pistol. He forces himself to let go and levels a glare at the director. "I want to know where Steve is."

"He's here," Fury tells him simply but there's the barest hint of something in his voice that makes the other man's stomach do a lazy flip.

"Is he dead?" he asks, speaking past the heaviness in his throat that feels like a musket ball.

"No," Fury says with a slight shake of his head. "Captain Rogers is alive and well. He's here on the helicarrier as we speak."

James blinks in surprise at the answer. He'd been bracing himself for the response for the past eight hours, preparing for the worst. It had been a long, long flight and he'd gotten more and more anxious as the hours passed by with no response. He and his team had been en route to intercept a weapons shipment from a warehouse in Frankfurt when he'd gotten the message. There had been a tiny chirp, a single text message, and his stomach had dropped to somewhere in the vicinity of his feet.

'Rogers has been compromised. Return ASAP.' One simple message and James felt like the world had fallen out from under him. He knew enough about S.H.I.E.L.D and their organization to know that 'compromised' was a word you never wanted to hear in regards to another agent. Compromised could mean any number of things and none of them were ever good. Compromised could mean missing or captured or held hostage. Compromised could mean injured or sick or in jeopardy. Compromised could mean dead.

He had nothing else to go on and the text message had been sent through a line that went dead and untraceable a split second after it had completed its task. S.H.I.E.L.D didn't respond to his calls and all attempts at finding out any additional information went completely unanswered. All he knew was that Steve was compromised (possibly hurt/missing/dead) and he was halfway across the world.

He was on a flight back to the U.S. in less than an hour, still trying to get information and becoming more and more desperate the longer he waited. Steve needed him, he could be hurt/missing/dead and no one was answering the phone to fill him in on the details. When he boarded the plane in Frankfurt, he had been worried; when he shoved his way into Fury's office, he was furious.

"So he's okay?" James asks suspiciously because Fury is hiding something, he just doesn't know what.

"Yes," the director answers with a nod.

"He's not hurt? He's not being held for ransom? Someone didn't smack him upside the head with that stupid shield of his?"

Fury just shakes his head patiently at the litany of questions tossed at him. "I assure you, Agent Barnes, Steve Rogers is alive and well."

James is about to lose his damn mind. "Then would you mind telling me why one of your S.H.I.E.L.D lackies felt it necessary to send me one of the vaguest and most cryptic text messages of all time?!"

Fury just steps away from his desk and walks toward the door leading out to the hallway. "Maybe it would be best if you just follow me." He slides past James out into the hallway and for all his irritation and impatience, the former assassin follows him obediently.

"So if Steve hasn't been kidnapped or tortured and is as "fine" as you say he is, would you care to enlighten me on your definition of 'compromised'?" James mutters heatedly as he follows Fury down the winding halls of the helicarrier. "Because obviously our definitions of that word are two entirely different things. 'Compromised' usually doesn't equate to 'fine' in my book."

"You're right, Agent Barnes," Fury tells him as he leads him further into the heart of the helicarrier, down toward the infirmary. It's not a promising direction. "My definition of 'compromised' is completely different from yours and with good reason. Being in this line of work, handling some of the situations S.H.I.E.L.D finds itself in, the word 'compromised' becomes less of a description and more of an umbrella term. Many of our agents can be considered both 'fine' and 'compromised' depending on what they are currently engaged in and how it affects them."

The doors to the infirmary slide open with a pneumonic whoosh and Fury steps inside, James following him wordlessly. "'Fine' is something of a relative term here on this ship. When I say that Steve Rogers is fine, I mean that in every possible way: he's healthy, he's unharmed, and he is onboard the helicarrier as we speak. But in spite of all that reassurance, he is most definitely compromised."

"And that means…?"

"That means follow me," Fury says, continuing to lead him through the infirmary toward the more private rooms in the back.

"I swear to God, Fury-"

"Swear to whoever you'd like," Fury tells him casually over one shoulder and James has to resist the urge to throw a punch. "But you might want to be a little more specific about which god you choose to swear to. Turns out there are more of them out there than we originally thought."

He comes to a stop in front of one of the rooms, the door closed but the blinds in the windows slatted just enough to see inside. There are a few nurses crowded around the bed, shielding the occupant from view. James is nearly to the point of bursting through the door when he stops, catching sight of the patient inside.

He scowls at Fury and glares at him from the corner of his eye. "You said you were taking me to Steve, not S.H.I.E.L.D's onsite day care center."

Fury appears quietly amused by the assessment and nods back toward the window. "Take a closer look."

James sighs in irritation but does as he's told, peering through the window at the patient inside. He's sitting upright on the bed, blue eyes wide and curious as they watch the nurses move around him. His blond hair is longer than James remembers, falling across his forehead in a shaggy mop of cornsilk strands. He's quiet and pensive, hands folded in his lap and bare feet swinging off the edge of the bed as the nurses continue to swarm around him. It's definitely Steve Rogers and he looks just as healthy and safe as Fury had said he was. He also looks like he's about two years old.

James gawks wordlessly for another few seconds before turning to face Fury. "What the hell is this?!" he demands, gesturing toward the window wildly. "You said he was fine, you never said anything about him being turned into a toddler!"

The smile Fury gives him is patient and understanding, like someone who's used to all the weird shit that takes place in the world and is witnessing someone else experience it for the first time. "Like I said, 'fine' is something of a relative term." He nods toward the window and the little boy inside. "And this, Agent Barnes, is your new assignment."

Realization dawns quickly and James shakes his head so hard he feels his neck pop. "No. Hell no. Absolutely not."

"I'm afraid you misunderstand," Fury counters, a granite hardness in his voice. "You don't exactly have a choice in this matter. This assignment falls well above the classification of nearly every agent on this ship and you are the only one who meets the criteria. This is well beyond classified and as such, we need only our best agents on the job. And that would be you." Fury looks back at window and shrugs slightly. "Besides, he asked for you personally."

"I don't care who he asked for!" James retorts incredulously, still floundering to understand the insanity of the situation he'd found himself in. "This is the worst idea you guys have ever had! Are you forgetting that the last time Steve and I were left alone together I nearly ripped his throat out with a broken lamp?! And that was when he was when he was at full capacity Captain America mode! What do you think would happen now, huh? Look at him, Fury! His feet don't even touch the ground!"

"I understand your concern, Agent Barnes," Fury continues smoothly and obviously he doesn't understand his concern because James is quite literally about to freak the hell out. "But Agent Coulson has told me that you haven't experienced a violent episode in well over three weeks and that you've proven to be an exemplary field agent."

"Me being a reliable field agent is not a good enough reason, Fury," James growls because Fury just isn't getting this and he really, really needs him to understand what a horrible idea this is. "I'm not exactly babysitter material; I literally have a hand grenade in my back pocket right now that proves that point. I'm unstable on my best of days, absolutely deadly on my worst, and you think that leaving a tiny, fragile, pint-sized Captain America in my care is actually a good idea? If that's the case then you guys are stupider than I thought."

"Stupidity has nothing to do with it," Fury retaliates sharply, fixing the other man with a heated glare. "We need someone with unquestionable loyalty to Steve Rogers that will protect him and keep him safe until all of this is sorted out. And, unless all of my information is wrong, which it never is, the last time I checked, you fit that profile."

"Yeah and you know who else fits that profile? Coulson. And I can guarantee he has a nicer, happier, less death-filled resume than I do."

Fury just shakes his head slowly. "That may be true but Coulson is currently in Guatemala on other S.H.I.E.L.D-related business. As he is currently away and will continue to be away for the next several days, you were our next top choice."

"I'm no one's top choice unless they want someone dead!" James hisses in frustration, hands flailing irritably as he speaks. "What about Stark, huh? He seems stable and at least marginally sane. Why don't you hide Steve away with him?"

"Because Stark Tower is damn near a beacon for every scumbag and low life in the city. Every would-be super villain who wants to make a name for himself goes to that tower in hopes of taking down one of the big guys and earning some respect. Seriously, the tower gets attacked nearly once a week."

James opens his mouth to say something else but Fury cuts him off and continues. "And before you ask, the helicarrier is out of the question for the same reason. We're not exactly incognito here and there are thousands of people out there who would like nothing more than to see this ship sink to the bottom of the bay. So no, he can't stay here either."

Fury turns to look at him then, his expression serious. "He needs to be take somewhere quiet and safe, somewhere that won't raise suspicion while we work to get this fixed."
James lets out a frustrated groan and turns away from Fury, his attention focusing in on the tiny boy sitting on the edge of the bed inside the room. He's small and skinny and frail but it's most definitely Steve Rogers. Even from where he's standing, James can still see sharp curiosity and determination reflecting in the child's bright blue eyes. He remembers those eyes and that expression, he'd seen it nearly every day of his life before the Fall. This was still Steve, small and childlike as he was, and James feels something in him give just a bit.

"Is this permanent?" he asks quietly, his gaze still locked on Steve.

Fury shakes his head slowly. "To the best of our knowledge, no. It was a powerful spell directed at our resident Norse thunder god; Steve just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Past history indicates that this can be reversed, it's just a matter of finding the person responsible. We've sent Thor and Stark ahead to track him down; if they're successful we should be able to reverse this in a few days."

"Until that time, however," Fury continues, looking back at him. "We need someone to keep an eye on Steve and keep him safe. Believe me, Barnes, you're the best person for this job."

He couldn't really deny that fact; no one was better at protecting Steve than him. He had done it all his life and he knew now, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he would give his life to keep Steve safe. But what happened when the person Steve needed to be protected from was him? Could he honestly trust himself enough to keep a toddler version of Steve safe when he wasn't even sure an adult version of Steve was safe around him? He was a killer, that much was certain, but he was also Steve's best friend and it was his job to keep him safe, right?

He sighs heavily and lets his head fall back in defeat. "I still think this is the worst idea you guys have ever come up with."

"I'll keep that in mind," Fury tells him with a nod of acknowledgement.

"Just remember that I'm not responsible for any mental or emotional scarring that occurs during this little arrangement of yours," James mutters as he steps toward the door. "If I accidently break him, it's all on you, Fury."

The director doesn't say anything in response as James pushes the door open and slips into the room. He walks slowly and carefully, shoving his hands deep into his pockets in an attempt to look as non-threatening as possible. He's been on missions that would leave lesser men crying in a corner, he's seen and done things so horrible he doesn't have name for them, and he's brushed off death so many times he doesn't remember what it feels like to be afraid anymore. But right now, in this moment, standing in the same room as the tiny, fragile, toddler version of his best friend, he's absolutely terrified.

Steve catches sight of him from across the room, peering around the nurses surrounding him with big blue eyes. "Bucky!" he cries excitedly, leaping off the table and running across the room. He's barefoot and a little unsteady as he runs but he can move a lot faster than James gives him credit for. He all but throws himself into the assassin's arms once he gets close enough, clinging to him like he's made out of suction cups and velcro.

James catches him, just barely, and lets out a surprised little "oomph" from the force of the collision. It's awkward for a moment and he staggers a bit before he regains his footing, Steve holding on tightly the whole time.

"Hey Stevie," he greets the child now clutched in his arms. "You just can't seem to stay out of trouble while I'm gone, can you, kid?" The toddler just grins at him and holds on.

James sighs heavily, adamantly ignoring the smothered smiles of the nurses in the room, and walks back toward the door. Fury is still in the hallway when he steps out, his expression carefully neutral. "I'll arrange for some agents to escort you both back to the mainland," he says as James walks past him.

"You're a sadist," the agent retorts, arranging Steve more carefully in his arms. Steve, for his part, doesn't seem at all disturbed by the turn of events. He seems to think James is the absolute greatest thing in the world and he clings to him with as much strength as he can.

James sighs again as he makes his way down the hall. "You really are going to be the death of me, Rogers," he mutters, keeping Steve's tiny body pressed close to his own. "Let's go home."

Thanks for reading! More to come soon guys! :D