Notes:

So, we've had torrential rain all afternoon, and it took me like two hours to get home, so we're running a little late, but *shrug* that's life.

Thank you as always to my beta, Kacie. I love the comments you leave me when you edit, they kinda make my day.

Enjoy!

Begin Again

Chapter 7: G is for Goddamn it Not Again

It was well past Darcy's bedtime when they finally made their way back to the Tower. The little girl swayed silently on her feet as she clutched Bucky's hand in both of hers, her tiny footsteps knocking her into his legs every couple of feet. "Do you want me to pick you up, princess?" he asked after she nearly sent herself to the floor after colliding with his backside for the fifth time and losing her grip on his hand.

"That's okay, Uncle Bucky," Darcy dusted her hands off and shook her head a little to try and get rid of the sleepies that were trying to take over. "I can do it on my own."

Bucky took Darcy's hand back, nodding in assent, holding a little more firmly onto the girl, trying to help guide her steps. He held her shoulder with one hand as they waited for the elevator in the lobby of the Tower, watching as her eyelids closed slowly before flying back open, and then doing it again. She swayed on her feet, this time not putting out her hand to catch herself, and Bucky gave up and sank down to his knees in front of her, holding tightly to both shoulders. "I'm okay," her eyes closed again, before slowly opening. "I can do it by myself.

"But you don't have to," Bucky held her chin gently in one hand and tipped her face up to look him in the eye. "Something I learned pretty recently is that it's okay to accept help when you need it," he gave her a small smile. "I know you've had a long day. I kept you out just a little too late, and maybe filled you up with more ice cream than I strictly should have. So maybe I can help out?"

"Okay," Darcy smiled sleepily at him and let her weight fall towards him where he was holding her up. "I think I'd like it if you would carry me, please?"

"Of course, princess," Bucky gently picked her up into his arms and smiled as her little head fell heavily onto his shoulder.

"How come you call me princess?" a yawn cracked her jaw as she snuggled into his neck.

"Cause all little girls are princesses," he pushed the button for his and Clint's floor and leaned back against the rail of the elevator.

"Was Becca a princess too?" her hot breath ghosted out over his throat as he nodded, swallowing thickly at the emotion sticking there. "She was real pretty."

"Yeah, she was," Bucky told her as the elevator rose towards home. "Just like you." His words were met by silence, Darcy's even breathing letting him know she had succumb to sleep. He smiled down at the little girl in his arms feeling a little more at peace with himself.

Morning presented a new problem. Darcy had warned Bucky that if he let her have a cone, she would get messy, and boy was she right. He shouldn't have insisted that they share a chocolate cone before they went home the night before, but her little face was so sad and they both had tears running down their faces that he couldn't just let them walk home still feeling bad. Bucky looked over at the little girl as she sat at the kitchen counter, a tight brown curl stuck to her cheek adorably, and then over at his partner who was giving him the stink eye.

"We gotta give them baths," was all Clint said before pouring himself a cup of coffee and leaning back against the counter. "Like sooner rather than later."

"Agreed," in all honestly, Loki looked impeccable for a five year old that had gone three days without a bath, but if one was getting washed, so was the other. "How old are kids when you can let them bathe themselves?"

Clint just raised a brow at his boyfriend and shrugged. "Dude, you had younger siblings," the archer told him. "I was the youngest. How the hell should I know?"

"Please put a dollar in the swear jar, Mr. Clint," Darcy said around a mouthful of Lucky Charms. "You said a no-no word."

"Right," Clint fished a dollar out of his wallet and dropped it into the jar that Loki had made the day before. He could only guess that the runes on the side said 'Swear Jar' since he didn't read Ancient Norse. "Sorry, sweetheart."

"That's okay, Mr. Clint," she shoveled another big bite into her mouth. "We all make mistakes sometimes. You just have to admit them," she gave Bucky a stinky eye. He sighed heavily and dug out his own wallet and dropped a ten into the jar.

"That cover me?" he looked at the little girl who didn't seem to mind at all that her hair was sticking to her face, or that she had the remains of a gummy-bear behind her ear. He really should have given her a bath the night before.

"For now," Darcy smiled cheekily at him.

"So? Baths?" Clint prompted.

"Fuck if I know, Clint," Bucky pulled another dollar out of his pocket and shoved it into the jar before Darcy could say anything. "Becca was only like five years younger then me, I don't remember when Ma stopped watching her in the bath. It was seventy years ago, I'm sure things have changed since then."

"Probably right," the archer mumbled into his mug of coffee. "Your mom let you teeth on sticks and rocks and shit," he pushed another dollar into the jar. "Old man."

"So, best not chance it then?" he shrugged. "What do you say, Darce, think it's time for a bath?"

"No," she took a big spoonful of Lucky Charms and chewed slowly.

"No to the bath, cause you've got chocolate down your neck," Clint tipped his head to the side, seeing the gummy-bear for the first time. "Yeah, I don't think it's gonna be a discussion, you gotta wash."

"Don't want Uncle Bucky giving me a bath," Darcy clarified around her cereal. She chewed the sugar in her mouth and swallowed, washing it down with a big gulp of orange juice. "I want you."

"Bucky's much more experienced with this kind of think, kid," the archer argued.

"Nope," she stirred the remaining marshmallows still melting into the milk in her bowl. "You have already seen my girl bits, it's okay for you to see them again, but Uncle Bucky can't."

"Okay," Clint looked over at his partner, who just shrugged. "How do you know about that?"

"I remember," she shrugged.

"You remember?" Clint's voice hit an octave that only dogs could hear. "What do you mean you remember?"

"I remember that big Darcy played with you nicely one night, and that she thought you were very nice to me, and if you didn't love Uncle Bucky so much and Big Darcy didn't love Loki so much, that it wouldn't be so bad to play like that with you again," she shrugged again and lifted her bowl to drink the sugary milk. "You've seen my girly bits already."

"But princess," Bucky tried to intervene, seeing how uncomfortable his partner was.

"No butts," Darcy pointed at the Soldier, dropping her bowl on the counter. "Butts are bad, put another dollar in," she pointed towards the jar, and Bucky complied numbly.

"Uncle Bucky," Loki said very quietly from where he was finishing his own breakfast. "Possibly this is one of those things that you should let go," he raised a brow at the other man. "I do not think Darcy is rejecting you in order to cause offence, but out of long ago discomfort," Loki held Bucky's eye for a moment, letting his meaning sink in.

Bucky held the little trickster god's gaze for a few seconds longer before breaking away and staring down at his hands, pushing away his coffee cup, suddenly no longer interested in the drink as his stomach turned. He peaked up through his lashes at Darcy, who was slipping off her chair and pulling Clint down the hall into the bathroom. "Yeah, I'll just let this one be." Loki nodded and took a careful bite of his cereal.

Bucky heard the QuinJet land from the living room of his apartment, the kids bundled up in new clothes, both scrubbed clean, and happily sitting in front of the television, zoned out on another animated kids movie with talking animals. He really just didn't understand why kids liked that stuff so much, but even Loki was mesmerized by the stupid singing pig.

"They're back," Bucky looked over the back of the couch, little Darcy tucked in under his arm, over to where Clint was refletching his arrows. "Should we?"

"Nah," Clint ran his thumb nail under the loose feather at the back of one of his standard arrows, picking at the glue that held it to the shaft. "They'll come to us."

Bucky nodded and turned back to the dancing animals, a gorilla playing piano with a British accent, he just didn't get it. "Right," he ran his hand over Darcy's wet curls, she smiled up at him.

Tony burst threw the doors only minutes later, followed by an exhausted looking Natasha and Steve, who leaned against the kitchen counter as Tony's manic energy carried him into the living room. "This is incredible," he pulled Darcy up off the couch, much to her annoyance, before circling her, his fingers in his goatee as he took her in. "She's so tiny," he lifted her chin and turned her face from side to side.

"Get your hands off of her," Loki slunk off the couch and pulled Darcy, whose chin was trembling, into his arms. "She is a person and not one of your weird metal objects. She is not to be handled so roughly."

"Adorable," Tony chuckled and circled both children, a gleeful smile on his face.

"Children are," Natasha rolled her eyes from where she was leaning on the counter next to Steve.

"But like really tiny," he sat down heavily on the couch and continued to look at them. "Can we turn this noise off?" he looked over at Bucky who just threw his hands up in the air and stood to turn off the TV.

"Just make yourself at home," the soldier grumbled under his breath.

"Thanks, I will," Tony said absently as he pulled out a scanner from his pocket and started running it over both kids, where Loki still held Darcy tightly.

"You said they were in Tony's lab?" Steve turned to Bucky who was glaring at Tony.

"Yeah," the soldier agreed, giving up on the inventor and going into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. "Darcy said she saw a blue light before Loki dropped her."

"I did not drop her," Loki scowled. "We were both rendered unconscious and fell."

"My apologies," Bucky rolled his eyes.

"Okay," Natasha pushed off the counter and stalked into the living room where Tony was still taking scanner data. "Stop scaring the children, we need to go check out your lab."

"I'm gonna take a few samples and meet you all downstairs," he pulled out a small leather pouch that Clint was sure he'd seen Bruce carrying around.

"Umm," the archer raised his hand, pulling attention to him. "Shouldn't Bruce be doing the medically stuff."

"Nonsense, I am perfectly capable of taking a couple blood samples," Tony waved Clint away and pulled out a needle that looked way too large.

"Whatever," Natasha rolled her eyes again and pulled Steve out of the apartment with her. "James, I trust you not to let Tony actually use that needle on either of the children." Bucky just nodded, and swiped the needle and kit from the other man.

Bucky took careful blood samples from both children, pasting a pink princess band aid over the small puncture on Darcy's arm, and smiling at her as she wiped a couple of tears from the corners of her eyes. "See, not so bad princess," he tugged at the end of her curls and winked.

"Not too bad, Uncle Bucky," she gave him a little smile, and let Loki link their fingers together and pull her into a hug. "I like my princess bandage."

"Only the best for my little princess," he stood and dropped the kit into Tony's hands. "This better give us some answers."

"Won't know until I get down to the lab," the billionaire tucked the kit into his bag along with the scanner. "No time like the present."

"Sir," Jarvis' voice called through the quiet room. "I feel that it is prudent to inform you that there has been an accident in your lab."

"What the fuck!" Bucky banged his head back against the wall. "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

"I assure you Sergeant Barnes," Jarvis said evenly through the hidden speakers in the ceiling. "I am attempting no subterfuge."

"I think it's safe to say that whatever it is that changed Darcy and Loki, is still definitely in the lab and active," Clint frowned up at the ceiling.

"I believe you are correct, Agent Barton," the AI agreed. "The vital signs of both Agent Romanoff and Captain Rogers have changed in a similar fashion to those of Loki of Asgard and Ms. Lewis."

"I'm saying the lab is off limits until we can figure out what is doing this," Clint hefted himself up from his chair, abandoning his arrows for later. "And it can be contained properly."

"Agreed," Bucky set his fists against his hips and looked at Tony until the other man nodded in agreement. "Can you two stay here until we get back?" he asked the kids.

"Yes, Uncle Bucky," Darcy said quietly, looking up at him with worry written across her face.

"It's gonna be alright, princess," he told her. She only nodded and wrapped her arms around Loki's waist.

Notes:

The more love you leave, the faster I write.