"Alya?"

The child in question stopped what she was doing and looked up at her father with an innocent look on her face.

"Yes?"

"Whatever it is you plan on doing. Don't." Bucky advised, making Peter smirk from his place right next to her.

He looked at her for a couple of seconds, not fazed by the cute little smile on her face. She was either up to no good or she was hiding something.

Or both.

"I wasn't doing anything, Daddy."

The smile never left her face, but Bucky wasn't convinced.

"Good. Keep it that way."

"Okay."

Alya's tongue stuck out as she fell into a deep concentration. She had recently taken a liking to some slingshot that her uncle had given to her. She was running all over the house, shooting at random things and terrorizing everyone with whatever she could find.

She was a pretty good shot after all this practice, but her activities were grating on her father's nerves.

It was was probably because he was her ideal target.

So far, she managed to get him about three times. The other times she tried, he ended up catching whatever item she shot at him.

After a few glares, she decided to pick a new target.

The light switch near the counter.

It was simple enough and the switch was a big enough target not to miss.

Or so she thought.

Once Alya pulled back the strap of her slingshot and let it go, the little marble she was using, soared across the room.

She didn't account for her father moving in her way.

But she soon regretted her recklessness when he stepped over with a glass of water in his hand.

And the glass was right in front of the light switch.

Alya's eyes squeezed shut in an attempt to block out the sound of the shattering material.

She was in for it now.

Heavy footsteps travelled her way and she cringed when they got close enough to finally stop.

"Give me this." Bucky swooped in and snatched Alya's new toy away from her. "It's gone now."

He had enough of this thing causing trouble all day. The broken glass was the final straw. He had told Alya several times, to stop fooling around with it inside the house because she might break something, but she kept at it anyway.

Alya knew she should've shown a little remorse, but she wasn't happy with her new favorite thing being taken away.

Her mama never would've taken it away from her, not like this.

"No!" She couldn't help but whine, trying to reach for it to take it back.

But it was no use. He already made up his mind.

"Papa!"

"I'm gonna kill Steve." He shook his head. Steve definitely carved this thing out and gave it to Alya so that she could get on his last nerve, he was sure of it. Those two were always conspiring against him. They were thick as thieves. "Stop making all that noise."

Alya's face fell and crumbled to bits soon after. She looked an awful lot like Rebecca when she wasn't getting what she wanted.

She was almost a carbon copy.

Bucky had been through it back then, so he could certainly get through it now.

"Give it back!" She sniffled, reaching for it again.

"No, it's mine now. You don't know how to use it properly." The man walked away and set it high up on top of the refrigerator where he knew she wouldn't be able to reach it, before he made his way back over to her.

That only seemed to escalate Alya's frustration. Her bottom lip quivered and her knees buckled, sending her crashing down onto the floor beneath her, with an audible thud.

Bucky could tell the difference between her cries with ease. She wasn't in any pain, she wasn't confused about how she felt, and she wasn't sad.

She was furious and she wanted him to know it.

This wasn't a meltdown. It was a tantrum.

"Alyona, by the time I count to five, you'd better not be on the floor anymore.." He warned. "One."

Alya let out a loud sob and Bucky was glad there wasn't anyone else at home to hear her like this. He didn't need someone to give in to her right now.

It wouldn't do her any good.

"Two…..three."

Alya crawled over to him tapped his leg to show her frustration, being careful not to actually hit him as she did so.

All she wanted was her slingshot, but he wouldn't give it her! Why?

"Four."

Honestly, right now she didn't really care about him counting. Her chest heaved up and down at how strong his resolve was. It didn't look like he was going to crack.

Everybody else would have given her what she wanted by now.

"Five." He bent down and grasped her bicep, using just enough pressure to make her get up without actually hurting her. Alya gasped in surprise at the unfamiliar form of touch and she sprang to her feet to relieve the pressure, which was released just as soon as her feet were on the floor. "I am not Mama. You don't get to pull this with me. Move."

As he guided her over to the stairs, Alya began to feel a sort of sinking in the pit of her stomach. With every step she took, she was beginning to realize that she might have just pushed too far. She wasn't used to getting into trouble with her father. He usually let her mother take the lead on things like this because they had spent more time together.

But Alya was beginning to see that he knew exactly what he was doing.

She tried to pull back a little to delay the walk to her room, but Bucky was so much stronger than she was, it didn't really look like she was putting up much of a fight.

They did get there eventually, with him shutting the door behind himself.

He pulled out the single chair from her desk and placed it down in a corner before lifting her to sit down in it. Alya had no choice but to be a willing participant in it all.

Placing his hands on either side of her, Bucky bent down and looked her right in the eyes, their identical blues connecting.

"I'm giving you fifteen minutes to calm yourself down." Is what he told her, watching her rub her eyes. "Do not let me come back up here to find you're still throwing a tantrum. Do you understand?"

He didn't yell and he didn't pull a mean face. His entire demeanor was very calm and very relaxed. This was a very new step in their growing relationship and he wanted to make sure that she wasn't going to start associating him with negativity.

When Alya nodded, Bucky pulled her hands away from her face.

"I can't hear you." Still, he made it a point to be firm.

Hiccuping a sob, Alya nodded once again and answered. "Yes, D-Daddy."

It was enough to satisfy her father, because as soon as she said it, he straightened up and turned the chair around so that it faced the wall.

She was supposed to be calming down, but at the sound of her father's footsteps getting further and further in distance, she only got more upset.

"What's got you so stressed?" Natasha chuckled as she walked through the door, retying the messy bun she had in her hair.

She had just come back from helping Yelena assemble some new furniture upstairs, and she was surprised to find Bucky sitting alone in the living room.

She knew that Peter and Wanda were with Steve, but she thought that Alya would be down here with her father.

"Your daughter." He took a sip of his freshly steeped tea. After cleaning up the little mess that had been made, he decided that he needed a little cup of herbal tea to keep himself calm.

"What did she do?"

"Broke a glass cup with that slingshot I specifically told her to put away."

"Oh boy." Natasha breathed out a low whistle. She knew something like this was going to happen eventually. It looked like Alya was pushing her boundaries again, whether she knew it or not. "What'd you do?"

"I took it away. For how long? I don't know." He shrugged, nonchalantly. "She's sitting up in her room. She wanted to kick up a big fuss down here, but that wasn't happening on my watch."

Natasha could admit that she was guilty of letting things like this play out without stopping Alya before she started. She had more patience for this kind of thing than Bucky did.

And that was fine. They were two different people.

She was going to parent her way and he would parent his way.

There were bound to be several disagreements in the near future, but that's what comes with co-parenting.

"D-Daddy?" Alya sheepishly poked her head out from behind the wall.

"Did I tell you that you could get up?" Bucky knew exactly what was up.

This was her attempt at getting her mother to let her off the hook. He could admit that she was cute for trying it, but it wasn't going to work.

"N-No….." Alya didn't know what was going on with her. She literally looked at the clock and waited for it to pass fourteen minutes before she stood up and hiked down the stairs.

"I was just about to come and get you, but your time just restarted. Go back upstairs."

"M-Mama?"

"And you just got yourself five more minutes for doing that. Would you like more?" He raised a brow, hoping that she would just give up and go back upstairs.

Alya shook her head as more tears streamed down her face.

She was not getting the results she wanted today.

"Then do as you're told."

Alya let out a heartbreaking cry that was more subconsciously manipulative than heartfelt before she turned around and went back up to her room, stomping all the way.

"And don't slam that door!"

Alya's small hand reached up to scrub at her cheeks. She finished crying and she hated to admit it, but she felt a whole lot better now that everything was out.

But that didn't mean she wasn't still angry with Bucky.

"Meanie." She mumbled, lightly kicking the wall in front of her.

"Now, what did that wall ever do to you?" Bucky asked as he entered the room.

The twelve year old turned around to look at him, but she didn't say anything. She wanted to make sure he knew she wasn't happy with him.

"I guess, I'm not your favorite person right now." He sighed, sitting down at the foot of her bed, beckoning her over. "Come here."

But, Alya, being the stubborn kid she was, turned around and crossed her arms with an irritated grunt.

"You can stay there, too." Bucky chuckled. "But we still have to talk about what just happened."

"Why?" Alya mumbled, leaning back in her chair.

"Alya, I warned you about that slingshot several times today and you ignored me." He got right to the point. "You have to stop testing me."

"I'm not! It was an accident!" Alya whirled around. "I didn't mean to break anything!"

"It was an accident that could've been avoided if you had listened. Come here, please."

A little sniffle came from Alya, but she stood up and walked over to her father, stopping once she was directly in front of him.

She tried not to meet his eyes, but he tilted her chin.

"I've noticed that you seem to have a problem with listening, Buddy." He started. "I only tell you to do things, or not to do things, because it's in your best interest, not because I want to keep you from having fun."

He had tried to address this when he was stitching up Alya's wound, soon after the final fight with Thanos and the Chitauri. He told Alya to stay away from that fight and she did the complete opposite, which, as a result, got her injured, but that hadn't been the right time.

Now, was the right time.

He needed to clear the air before she did something that would really injure her or someone else.

"You're twelve years old, you know right from wrong." He continued, glad that she was being receptive, even if it was a little reluctant. "You know how to follow instructions, right?"

"….Yes." A pout formed on Alya's lip.

"Then show me." He challenged, tapping her bottom lip. "I don't want any tantrums or tears next time around. You know how to use your words."

Alya rolled her ankle against the carpeted floor as she thought about the things her father had just told her.

She was still upset and she only wanted one thing.

"I want Mama."

Bucky sighed and lowered his head before returning his gaze to her. This was one of those, 'pick your battles' moments. Alya wasn't going to take being forced to stay here and talk, very well. He said everything that was necessary for her to hear, so if she wanted to leave, that was her right.

"Go ahead."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Alya was gone, leaving him alone in a room full of books and stuffed animals.

"It looks like it's just you and me, Pal." He spoke to his daughter's favorite stuffed monkey, picking George up from his place on the bed.

Being a father was tough.

He did not like the feeling of his baby being at odds with him.

"Daddy doesn't like me anymore." Alya sniffled as she laid cuddled up, right next to her mother.

"I'm sure that's not true." Natasha tried not to laugh as she stroked the child's hair. Alya could be so dramatic when she wanted to be. "You're the one that came running over here to get away from him."

"Cause he doesn't like me anymore." She played with the redhead's arrow necklace. "He made me stay in my room for forever."

"Now, hold on a minute." Natasha's tone of voice never changed and her light touches never stopped. "I heard that you did something to end up there. Is that true?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe?" The woman mock-pouted. "And do you think that maybe you took it too far this time?"

"It's possible." Alya mumbled, her stubborn streak was wearing thin.

Natasha knew just how to talk her down.

"I'll bet it is." She patted her back. "He's doing his best, sweet girl. You can't keep shoving him away when he gets too close. It's not healthy and it's not fair, alright?"

"Alright….Mama?"

"Yes, babygirl?"

"I know what happens after five now." Alya rested her chin on her mother's shoulder so she could look at her.

Natasha threw her head back and laughed, not being able to stop herself. Alya was no worse for wear, it seemed. Her cheeky sense of humor had returned and was in full force.

"You're not seriously sulking over this."

"What?"

"James, get a grip." Natasha scoffed, watching as the man as he held Alya's stuffed animal. "I see where she gets it from. You two are so dramatic, it's ridiculous."

"That's easy for you to say, she didn't run away from you."

"She didn't run away from you, James." She rolled her eyes. "Who knew you were so soft." She teased, making him crack a smile. "I thought you ruled with an iron fist. One little tantrum and you're falling apart. You're worse than Steve."

"I'm not that bad." He immediately put the monkey down to prove his point.

"Debatable." She smirked. "Anyway, that's not why I'm here. I came to deliver a package to you."

Alya took that as her cue to reveal herself and waved. "Hi."

"I'll leave you two alone." Natasha sent the child further in with a love tap.

Once she was completely out of earshot, Alya sighed and shuffled her feet a little. "Sorry, Daddy." She finally said before sticking her finger in her mouth to chew on her nail.

She was a little nervous about how she was going to be received. If Bucky was mad at her, he might turn her away or something. That wouldn't feel good.

To her shock, he pulled her over to sit on his lap and cradled her.

"You're not mad at me?" She questioned in disbelief.

"No, I'm not mad at you." He smiled. "Sometimes, you're gonna do some knuckle-headed things, I've learned to accept that, but that doesn't mean I'll love you any less."

Alya just smiled and curled into him, listening to his steady heartbeat. That slingshot was now the furthest thing from her mind.

And it wasn't like Bucky wasn't all smiles, too.

He was right, being a father was tough.

But it was worth it and he wouldn't have it any other way.