Summary: "It's okay, I won't let anyone hurt you ever again." Those innocent bluebell eyes looked at him, the glimmers of trust starting to form. Her small, delicate hand latched onto his metal one, and he knew instantly he'd do anything to keep her safe.

Pairing: N/A

Disclaimer: I do not own either series. Each belongs to their rightful owners.

Note:
Papa!Bucky&Child!Kagome.
Flashback/Past is written in bulk Italics.
Reuploaded!

Chapter One

The wind rustled the trees above his head, and he instinctively looked up when the faint noise came from above. Seeing nothing, he shook his head and turned back to the book he held, familiarizing himself with the contents in it like he often did. Bucky closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of the tree, his mind straying back to the incident a few months prior.

Her hand clung to his tight, her expression shifting into nervousness when the crowd around her got too close. He was intune to her discomfort, and a jolt rushed through him to soothe her. He tugged her closer, but when that still didn't help, he lifted her and sat her on his hip, cradling her close to his chest as she hid her face in his hair automatically.

After being kept in captivity and isolated for so long, being submerged with so many people mingling around her caused her to grow anxious. It wasn't fear that weighed her down, but the pressure of so many people around her made her undeniably uncomfortable. Whenever it started to get the better of her, it was always easy to tell. She'd grip him tighter, hide her face against his legs, tug his hand to her body- those were just a few of the habits she'd developed around him. He didn't mind, and he let her do what came naturally to her. He never had to keep an eye on her, despite always keeping tabs on just how close she was to him. He never had to worry about her wandering off or some strange figure trying to whisk her away. She always kept her hand on him in some way.

She was so small, so fragile, so delicate. He needed to look after her carefully, even if he was overdoing it at that point.

The museum was busy, and, so, to keep her most at ease, he kept her cradled safely against him. She hummed softly in his ear, the sound a wordless lullaby she repeated whenever the idea struck her. He came to a halt in front of what'd he come to observe, and she slowly picked her head up after a few minutes of him standing still.

She turned bluebell eyes to what he stared at, tilting her head to the side after a moment and glancing back at him with her wide-eyed innocent stare.

"He looks like you," she mumbled softly, and he glanced at her. He couldn't describe the feelings coursing through him, but he also couldn't deny her claim when he came to the same realization.

The memorial of one James "Bucky" Barnes was before him, and as he took in the information available to him, that man returned to the front of his mind.

"Bucky?"

"... who the hell is Bucky?"

That exchange of words, along with the stunned expression the blonde man had on his face caused a surge of pain to shoot through his head. It was stinging, and he let out a pained grimace.

He was Bucky. He wasn't sure what all he could trust, but he knew one thing. He could trust that to be the truth.

A soft, melodic giggle reached his ears, and he slowly opened his eyes to search for the source. At once, his gaze landed on the long-haired girl not far from him. She sat in a patch of wildflowers, birds chirping and singing around her.

He watched as she closed her eyes, a soft hum coming from her as she stood and sang along with the birds around her. She held a hand up, and one fluttered down to land on her outstretched appendage as her eyes opened again. They lit up, and she sang louder, letting her voice carry.

As if feeling the weight of his gaze on her, her singing slowly faded out, and she turned to face him. Her expression contorted in worry and she waved her hand gently so the bird resting on it would flutter off. Once it was gone, she came over to him, frowning as she looked at him.

"Bucky…?"

Her soft voice was a welcomed noise, despite the ache he felt pounding in his head. He tried to ignore it in favor of her, and he nodded. "Yes?"

She nervously prodded the tips of her fingers together, looking down. "Y-Your head's botherin' you again, isn't it?" she mumbled. He was startled at first by how she'd seemed to pick up on it without any effort. After a second, he shook his head, not wanting to fuel her worry.

"No, don't worry about it," he said, hoping it might calm her. When she picked her head up, eyes narrowed and lips pursed in a pout, he knew it hadn't worked.

"You're a big liar!" she retorted, her voice rising in pitch at catching him in the lie. "You told me you wouldn't ever lie to me!"

His lips quirked in a wry smile as she stared him down. "It's bothering me a little," he admitted then. She sighed and shook her head, coming a bit closer.

Without saying a word, she rested her hands on the sides of his head, and a soothing warmth seemed to flow from her. A gentle smile appeared on her face, and he leaned into her touch a bit when that ache steadily faded away.

It'd be back before long, he knew, but this was always nice. When she pulled her hands away, she patted the top of his head like he often did to her, and he arched a brow. A tired glow had appeared in her eyes, and he opened his arms so she could nestle into them, and she wasted no time in diving into his open arms. She rested her head on his chest, a soft sigh coming from her.

He didn't understand how she could do half the things she could do, but, to be fair, neither did she. She just knew she could do them. They wore her out easily, but she seemed to be growing stronger and stronger each time.

That wasn't so odd. After all, there had to have been a reason for HYDRA to go after her in the first place.

000

One of the first things he did was try to find out something- anything- about her family, but most lines lead to a dead end. When he finally got the answers he was searching for, he wasn't surprised.

Kagome had been the asset they were after. The rest of the family had been killed while she was taken. He couldn't find much about them, but he did find the place she'd once lived. He took her there, and it surprised him when she dashed away from him for the first time.

The grounds were entirely empty, but that didn't stop her from rushing over to a giant tree that towered over everything else present there. She stopped before it, water forming in her eyes as she rested a hand on the rough bark. He came up behind her, and he realized she was speaking. The sound was soft and unfamiliar for a moment before he finally became aware.

It wasn't just water in her eyes- they'd also begun to shine an unbelievable shade of blue just like blue flames.

"I'm okay, Mama," her voice was gentle, soft, and he watched, thoroughly confused as she seemed to speak to the tree. "I… I made a new friend, and he's really nice- but he can be really grumpy sometimes. Like a kitty! His name is Bucky, and he's right here-!"

He jumped when she reached and grabbed his wrist, and for a moment- only a moment- he was able to see the silhouette of a woman. She was transparent, kneeling before the tree and looking directly at Kagome with a tearful smile on her face. As soon as she was there, she was gone, but Kagome still spoke.

"You don't have to wait here for me anymore, Mama," she said. "I'm okay!"

As she said those words, the glow faded from her eyes and she let them drift closed as she brought a hand up to her chest.

"Mama's been waiting here all this time," she said. She lifted her hand to grip the jewel around her neck, a soft smile on her face. She felt slightly better now, but she couldn't explain it. It was like the jewel had been telling her this all along. To come home, so she could let her mother's soul finally be at rest. "She was able to leave when she saw I was okay." Kagome paused for a second before turning that smile up at him. "She wanted to thank you!"

He was frozen, still jarred by everything that had just happened. When she let out a curious hum, tilting her head to the side a bit, he forced himself from his stupor. A small smile appeared on his face as he nodded.

"Yeah?" he said, crouching so he was on her level. "Well, good, she can be at peace because I'm here and I'm not goin' anywhere. I promise."

Kagome smiled and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. He returned it, scooping her up in his arms as he stood up.

000

Somewhere along the line, what she called him changed dramatically. He could always think back to the exact moment it happened, as if it was forever imprinted in his mind. After thinking about it a bit more, maybe it was.

They always moved around a lot. It was only natural, considering his life as the Winter Soldier left him as a wanted man. They'd been in their newest location all of three weeks at that point. It was late at night, and she was slowly falling asleep when a loud shout came from the halls. He was keen to notice the way she automatically shot up as if she'd just been electrocuted. Her eyes were wide, and her body trembled as she sat up on her knees- almost as if she was ready to flee and hide wherever she could hide herself away.

This was the first time of actually staying in a densely populated place, as she'd been adapting better and better to being around people. She still had her moments, but those were few and far between now.

Another loud shout came from the hall outside their door as what sounded like a fight broke out between two- presumably drunk- men. Before he could get up, she'd run directly at him, hiding her face against his legs as she started to sob.

"Daddy!"

He froze, almost thinking he'd misheard her, but he knew, deep down, that wasn't the case. She was shaking like a leaf in a storm. He knew instantly what was wrong, and why she'd become this way so quickly. He knelt and pulled her into him so he could scoop her up. He shushed her cries softly, combing his hand made of flesh through her hair with a gentle caress.

"You're safe," he whispered in between his soothing coos. "It's just two idiots, no one's gonna hurt you." She kept sobbing into his shoulder as he kept repeating those words. Once she'd gotten quiet, he pulled away from her and his lips twitched into a half smile.

"Anyone who tries to hurt you is gonna have to get through me first," he promised.

A hand squeezing his own pulled him from his thoughts, and he glanced down at the seven-year old girl skipping alongside him. He smiled down at her, and she beamed back up at him. He'd been taking care of her for two years now, and she'd grown only a little bit it seemed.

As he looked around, his eyes landed on a fruit vendor. Bucky glanced back down at her, reaching and patting her head with his free hand. "You want some plums?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Yeah!"

He bit back his chuckle when a few people walking on the street stuttered in their steps at her cheerful tone- several of them muttering about how cute she was. Bucky brushed her bangs out of her face. "Alright, let's get some then."

He walked and she followed along automatically, humming softly as she skipped along with him. As he spoke to the vendor, Kagome felt the weight of a gaze on her turned back, and a small frown appeared on her face. Before she could stop herself, she glanced over her shoulder. As soon as she did, she was able to see the strange man glancing at the two of them from across the busy street. Instinctively, she took a step closer to Bucky and tightened her grip on his hand when the man across the way kept watching them.

As soon as he was done speaking to the vendor, Bucky looked down at her, equal parts curious and concerned when she clung a bit tighter to him. He saw her occasionally flicking her gaze to the man, but when he looked at him, the first thing he did was back away and rush off in a hurry. His frown deepened and he glanced back at Kagome, handing her the bag of plums to hold.

"Wait here," he said, and she hesitantly agreed. She knew he wouldn't go off too far, and she knew he'd keep to where she could still see him.

Kagome watched, staying still where she stood, as he crossed the street to where the man had been. He picked up the paper he'd been reading, and she could feel the worry that built in his aura as he glanced over it. He set it down and came back over to her, taking her hand in his own as he pulled her along.

"We need to go," he said.

She didn't question him, knowing he must've had good reason to act the way he was. She gripped his hand with a reassuring squeeze and stumbled after him as she struggled to match his fast pace.

They made it back to the apartment that had been their home for a few months already. She knew this would probably be the last time they were there, but she couldn't help but be aware of the strange new aura lurking around. She couldn't tell exactly where it was, but she wasn't able to bring it up before they'd entered the apartment. Bucky came to a halt, and she realized it had been from within their temporary home.

As they stood there, a man dressed in a strange-looking blue suit had his back turned to them. He had a round shield strapped to his arm. She found herself recognizing the look of it from the day they'd gone to that museum so long ago.

Bucky set a hand on her shoulder and urged her back some so she could hide behind him. She gripped his leg tight when the man finally turned. It was then she could see that he had been skimming through Bucky's journal.

He looked at them, and she could see the surprise in his eyes as he caught sight of her.

Auroua-chan: Reuploaded! This chapter covered the 2 year gap between TWS and CW, and it's leading into CW. Kagome is now about 7 or so for reference. There will be flashbacks to more moments that happened in the 2 year period.

There might be a certain silver-haired demon making his appearance in the next chapter (just because Kagome's life was reset doesn't mean her non-human friends don't remember her…)

Anyway, that's it for now! Thank you all for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed. Hopefully I caught all the errors before posting, but if not sorry.

Please remember to Review&Favorite&Follow, thank you!

Bye for now~