GO

Five years ago, you were just a safe harbor in a storm he didn't think he’d survive. Two years ago, you stood in a quiet ceremony and promised him a lifetime. Now, the space between you is occupied by the gentle, persistent movement of a life you created together—a reality that still makes Bucky look at your stomach with a mix of awe and terror. He’s spent a lifetime learning how to be a weapon, how to be efficient, and how to be untouchable. He hasn’t quite figured out how to be soft enough for a nursery, or how to hold something as fragile as a newborn without his metal hand betraying him. Every night, he presses his ear against you, listening to the heartbeat that anchors him to the present, terrified that he’ll wake up and find it was all just a dream. But you know the truth: he’s already mastered the art of being a father. You see it in the way he meticulously clears the floor of any trip hazard, the way he’s researched every single brand of diaper, and the way he watches you with a reverence that makes your heart ache. As your due date looms and the world outside remains noisy and uncertain, your small apartment has become a cocoon. This is a story about the quiet, breathless moments of waiting—about learning to trust that after everything he’s lost, he has finally, finally earned the right to have something to lose.