"Fanny, roll over."

Alya pointed down to the spot where she wanted the dog to do the action, directly in front of her.

In her eyes, Fanny was the smartest dog in the world. She could no wrong.

Not even when she chewed on Bucky's bedroom slippers. Though, Bucky didn't feel the same way.

He's already been through three pairs.

Fanny barked and wagged her tail, looking up at Alya happily.

"Roll over." Alya repeated patiently.

And when Fanny didn't move, the child sighed and dropped down on her knees before laying down on the rug and rolling over.

She thought that showing her how to do it would make it easier for her. But Fanny just barked at the action and tried to play, prompting Alya to gently push her away.

"No." She shook her head. "We're not playing now. Not until you roll over."

Still, Fanny didn't move. So Alya huffed and made her way over to the kitchen, grabbing a dog treat before walking back over to Fanny and showing it to her.

"You can have this if you roll over." She bribed. "Deal?"

At her words, Fanny barked and rolled over perfectly, flopping back up onto her feet.

"You did that on purpose."

If Fanny was going to be told to do all those silly little tricks, she might as well get something out of them.

When would these humans learn?

"Uncle Steve, I'm bored."

Steve looked up from the book he was reading and smiled at his niece. She was always bored and found it quite difficult to keep herself entertained.

"I'm reading, Buddy."

He was almost positive that she hadn't even bothered to start on whatever she had for homework, yet opted to try to find something else to do.

And that something else included making sure that he couldn't get anything done.

"Hmph."

"Have you finished you homework?"

"No, but it's boring." She pouted.

"Papa's not gonna like that, Alya." The blonde looked back down at his book and nonchalantly flipped the page. "Go do your homework."

"It's boring. I don't want to." She plopped down next to him.

"Alyona."

Alya turned to look at her uncle and frowned. He wasn't smiling anymore. That meant she was pushing too far.

She didn't want to make him upset.

"Uncle Steve?"

"Yes?"

In response, all she did was raise her arms.

Steve visibly softened and lifted her to sit on his lap, making sure she was comfortable before he put his feet up on the coffee table.

He would always have time and make time to snuggle with Alya. She was fast approaching the age where this wouldn't be such a common occurrence. So, he was going to soak up every minute of it while he could.

Alya rested her head on his shoulder and played with the sleeve of his shirt, messing with a loose thread she found.

Besides her parents, Steve was her favorite person in the whole world. She had no idea that on that day, all those years ago, when he asked her for some pop culture recommendations, they would be as close as they are now.

She had no idea that he would love her so much and she never thought she would feel the same.

"What're you thinking about?"

"I just love you." She blew out a relaxing breath.

This kid really did have a way of making him cry. She knew just what to say to bring tears to his eyes without even trying.

He didn't have any kids of his own, but Alya came pretty close.

Both Natasha and Bucky had expressed as such. They told him that there was no way he was just the 'fun uncle'. He was so much more.

And that was enough for him.

"I love you, too, Buddy." He kissed her forehead. "You have no idea."

"We need to talk."

Alya shuddered a bit at those four words that came out of her mother's mouth. Usually, whenever Natasha said something like that, it meant that she was in some kind of trouble.

Truth was, Alya didn't remember getting into any kind of trouble as of late. She had actually been on her best behavior and was pretty pleasant for the most part.

"I didn't do it!" She blurted as her parents approached her, closing the door to her room for some privacy before they both sat down on her bed.

"You're not in trouble." Bucky stifled a laugh. "We just want to tell you something."

"Oh." Alya sat back. Why didn't they just start with that? "About what?"

She watched as her parents shared a look with each other and her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

What was going on with them?

"We thought that you should be the first to know." Natasha told her.

"Are you leaving?" Alya immediately thought the worst and looked at her father.

It was really nice having him around. He said he would stay, but sometimes things didn't work out. She didn't think she'd be upset at him if he did want to leave, raising a kid was hard work and she didn't make it easier.

She would miss him, though.

"What?" Bucky's features darkened.

"It's okay if you want to." Alya shrugged, picking at the pink bedspread that sat beneath her.

"Come here." Bucky pulled her over to his side of the bed and made sure to look her directly in her eyes. He needed to get his point across. "I want you to listen to me very, very carefully."

"Okay."

"I'm not leaving." He spoke firmly. "Get that through that thick little head of yours." He pretended to knock on the top of her head. "I have no desire to leave. You're stuck with me, you little scamp."

"Forever?"

"Forever." He nodded.

He really hoped that one day, she wouldn't feel the need to ask him that.

"Good." Alya relaxed, beginning to play with his metal arm. "Then what do you want to tell me?"

"Well, your father and I…." Natasha trying to find the right way to say this. "We've always been good friends and recently, we decided to...expand on our relationship."

"That's a lot of words just say you guys are dating." Alya gave her a weird look.

Expand on their relationship? Who talked like that?

"What? How did you know?" Her mother bristled.

"I saw you guys kissing. Ick." She shuddered. "I wanted a glass of water and when I got to the stairs, you guys were eating each other's lips off."

Once she saw them kissing, her thirst vanished and she went right back to bed, pretending as if she hadn't seen anything at all.

Easier said than done.

"Don't say things like that. It's vulgar." Bucky scolded. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I thought you wanted to keep it a secret. It's none of my business if you kiss or not…and I wasn't supposed to be out of bed."

"We wanted to wait to tell you, because we wanted to be sure our relationship was going to go further than that one kiss before we got your hopes up about anything. This affects you, sweet girl. It is your business."

"And now that we're sure." Bucky locked eyes with Natasha for a moment. "We wanted you to be the first we told."

"Oh." Alya continued playing with his metal appendage.

She was totally going to put some more magnets on it.

"Do you have anything you want to ask us?" Natasha questioned, a look of worry crossing her face when Alya remained silent for a while.

"Are you gonna get married?"

"I don't know." Bucky took the lead. "I hope so."

"…Are you gonna go out on dates?"

"Sometimes." Natasha answered with a wink.

Alya was very good at hiding her elation. This was what she had always wanted. Bucky and Natasha were finally going to start a relationship and get married.

She didn't believe for one second that they weren't going to tie the knot with the way they kept looking at each other.

And she was happy for the both of them. She remembered how sad her mother was when Bruce left. She wasn't upset at him or anything, but she didn't want to see Natasha like that again. Her mother deserved to be happy.

And so did Bucky. He had been through a lot and she remembered Steve telling her that back when they were younger, Bucky said he had a desire to settle down when the time was right. He wanted a nice house and a beautiful wife, and kids.

Looks like he was getting what he wanted.

They all were.

"I got your note. You said you wanted to see me?" Bucky knocked on Alya's bedroom door before he peeked his head in.

"Come in." Alya waved him over and pointed at the foot of her bed. "Sit."

She spoke with such conviction that Bucky gave her a look before he actually made a move to sit down.

What was this about?

As he looked around the room, he saw that her stuffed animals were placed in positions where it looked like they were all staring at him. George had the best seat in the house, of course. He was sitting in the rocking chair, keeping an eye on him.

"You're probably wondering why I sent you a subpoena." Alya picked up the wooden ruler that was sitting on her desk and paced a few times. "You have a right to know why you've been summoned here, in my court of law."

Bucky covered his mouth with his hand so she wouldn't catch him trying not to laugh at her. She was such a funny little person and he couldn't help himself.

Where did she even learn that word?

And how had she learned to use it in the right context?

"But be careful what you say. My jury is listening closely and my secretary is writing up a transcript of today's meeting. Anything that comes out of your mouth, can and will be used against you."

Bucky ran a hand over his face to distract himself from how hard he wanted to laugh. Alys's class was doing a unit on the law and judicial system, and it looked like she was applying it at home.

"What is this about, Alya?"

"Did you get that?" She turned to George, who had a pad and pencil in front of him. "Write that down as disrespect to a high ranking government official."

"Whoa!" Bucky actually did laugh that time. "What did I do?"

"I don't like your tone." She pointed the ruler at him, fixing him with a look that he often gave her whenever she was out of line.

"I'm sorry, your honor." He held his hands up in surrender, playing along. "I would just like to know why I'm being put on trial when I haven't done anything wrong."

"Write down that down." Alya turned to George once again. "The defendant apologized and is no longer being held in contempt of the court."

Bucky was definitely bringing all this up when he spoke to Natasha after this. Alya was only twelve years old and she already had a grasp of the law and some of its terms.

They might have to nourish that if she kept it up. She looked like she was enjoying herself.

"George is my ameekiss….cure-e-i." The child stumbled over the correct pronunciation.

"Amicus curiae." He gently corrected. He had enough courtroom experience to know that one.

"Yeah."

"What's my crime?"

"You kissed my mama." She crossed her arms. "De facto, witnesses say you were caught in the action a few days ago."

"That isn't a crime, is it?" He quirked a brow.

"Depending on your reasons, it's a felony. It's for the jury to decide if you're guilty. For now, I have questions."

"Ask away." Bucky motioned for her to go ahead.

He was really going to have a good laugh about this on her wedding day.

"What are your intentions with my mama?"

"My intentions?"

They really needed to start monitoring what Alya was watching on television. She was too much of a sponge, taking in everything she encountered.

"Why do you like my mama?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Why do I like your mama?" Bucky parroted. "She's a nice woman, she loves you very much, her heart is very big…..there are a lot of reasons why I like her."

Alya had to agree with everything he said, but it was fun playing court and she wanted to continue.

"Why did you kiss her?"

"She kissed me." Bucky smirked, throwing a little loophole at her.

One that she didn't easily recover from. He had to hand it to her, though. She was a smart kid, this was a lot of stuff to memorize and it was even harder to put it all into practice.

"Huh?"

"Your mama kissed me." He repeated.

"Why?"

"Because she likes me, too. When two people like each other, those are the kinds of things they do. As long as the feeling is mutual, it's okay. Did you get that, George?" He joked.

The man took Alya's arm and pulled her to sit on his lap before he took the ruler from her and set it down on her bed so that he could speak to her.

"I really like your mama. I want to give this a try." He told her. "You don't have to worry about me hurting her or you. I'm gonna do my best to do right by the both of you, if you'll have me."

"You're guilty." Alya grinned mischievously. She trusted him and he really didn't have to prove himself to her. "I'm sentencing you to— ahhhh!"

A shriek left her lips when her father blew a raspberry on her neck.

He had enough.

"I call for a mistrial." He spoke before blowing again. "This was illegal in every way. I wasn't given any time to prepare." He wiggled his fingers over Alya's belly. "I wasn't granted a lawyer, which, I have a right to and where were the so-called 'witnesses' that accused me, huh?"

"Papa!" Alya laughed heartily as she tried to get away.

"No, no." He tickled her underarms, watching as she tried to wiggle out of his reach. "You're being held in contempt of the court. I'm sure the jury would agree that you're guilty of being cheeky and throwing around false accusations at innocent people."

"Nooooo!" She squealed when his hand squeezed her knee.

"I sentence you to be tickled until I think you've learned something." He grinned and waggled his eyebrows at her. "Ready?"

"No!" Alya was smiling so widely, her face was beginning to hurt.

"Too bad!"

And for the next few minutes, all that could be heard, was Alya's infectious little giggles.

But that was okay, it was all music to Bucky's ears.

"All settled?" Natasha asked as Alya climbed under her covers.

"Yup." Alya nodded, getting comfortable before she patted the space next to her. "Come in."

Natasha smiled and climbed in next to her, opening her arms so they'd be able to cuddle.

This was one of the best parts of her entire day. It didn't matter how badly she was feeling, or how hectic her day could've been. Once it was time for Alya to go to bed, everything began to fall right back into place.

That was the time to just sit and hold her in her arms.

She had five years to catch up on and she wasn't wasting any time. She would even just randomly grab Alya and plant a sloppy kiss on her cheek for no apparent reason.

Alya always wiped the kisses away, hating the feeling of saliva on her cheek, but she'd always make up for it with a hug.

"How do you really feel about your dad and I being together?" Natasha took this opportunity to ask, now that they were alone.

She wanted to make sure that Alya hadn't been trying to pacify them both earlier by telling them what they wanted to hear.

"Good." Alya rolled over onto her stomach so that she could lay her head on her mother's chest.

"Are you sure? It's okay if you're not sure."

"I'm sure, Mama." Alya played with her necklace. "Papa loves me and you love me. Now you can love each other."

She had come a very long way.

Natasha could remember when anyone who came anywhere near her would be accompanied by Alya's watchful eye. She was good at sharing everything but her mother.

But the redhead was patient. She kept assuring her that she loved her and nothing would change that.

And it paid off.

She was sure that there would be a few hiccups in the future, but for right now, Alya had made wonderful progress.

That was a win in itself.

"That's right, sweet girl." Natasha stroked her cheek, watching her eyelids flutter the way they always did around this time of night. "We do love you. We're always going to love you."

Alya smiled lazily and cuddled in closer, never wanting to let go.

She didn't have to worry about letting go, because Natasha stayed right where she was the entire time, satisfied to just hold her.

Alya didn't suffer from a single nightmare that night.

How could she, when she was surrounded by so much love?