Baby!reader

Steve and Bucky stood at the entrance to the hospital, waiting for the social worker to come back and give them any kind of news. When you were just a baby, you were given an unfair start at life with abandonment, but your fortune quickly turned when you were found by these two. A life that was giving you nothing but hardship and an unlikelihood to survive had changed to a life of hope that they would be allowed to raise you as their own.

"Being on the team could help us or hurt us, Buck. They're either gonna think that we're the safest place for her to be, or the riskiest given our line of work." Steve started to pace in front of the door, looking in with each pass. "Maybe this isn't the best idea."

"You really need to find a way to calm down, Rogers. Do you get this worked up about everything?"

"It's not like we found a puppy in that alley. This is a baby. A person. A person who we know nothing about. Do we know anything about raising a kid? She'll need food, diapers, a crib, clothes, blankets, bottles, and other things that I'm probably forgetting. She's gonna cry and we're not gonna know what she needs. She's gonna keep us awake all night, and I doubt the team will be happy about that. What if she's sick, or if she gets sick? And that's just for starters, Buck."

"That's the spirit! Sounds like you've got it all figured out." Bucky spun around at the whooshing sound of the doors opening, smiling at a tired-looking woman dressed in a dark suit, carrying a kicking and screaming bundle wrapped tightly in a pink blanket.

At the sound of your tiny, squealing voice, Steve pushed past his friend and took you in his arms, holding you tightly against his chest as if he were scared that he might drop you. "Hey, baby," he whispered. "it's okay, we're here. Shhhh." He began to slowly rock back and forth, keeping his face close to you and whispering things that Bucky couldn't hear.

"I guess the discussion's over," Bucky laughed, shaking hands with the woman and watching until she was back in the building, her disappearance sealing the idea in his mind that she wouldn't be returning to take you away, and that you were now theirs. "Alright, daddy. Let's go home."

~~~

It didn't take long for all of the necessary supplies to be gathered and a crib to be made in the robotics lab; Tony was more than happy to design one. When the men carried you into the tower, volunteers to hold you, feed you, and run out to get anything you needed came from all around. Within minutes of your arrival, you had every one of Earth's mightiest heroes wrapped around your tiny little finger, and you instantly had the greatest group of aunts and uncles ever assembled.

"How could anyone leave such a tiny little baby behind?" Nat cooed as she held your bottle, watching you eat ravenously, "she's so cute, you guys. I could stare at her all day."

"You know, some of us would like a turn too, Romanoff."

"Yeah, you're hogging the baby."

"I should get her next, I've been gone building her crib. I should get extra time for that."

All Steve and Bucky could do was stand by and laugh, watching the team fight over you. "I give it a week," Steve whispered, "one week of crying all night and we'll never see these idiots again."

"Guys?" Bruce called out, holding you at arms length, his nose crinkled up at your unpleasant activity. "I think I'm done."

"Not it!"

"Not- dammit," Steve grumbled, reluctantly taking you from the doctor and heading towards your new nursery. "Alright, kiddo. I'm new at this, so go easy on me, huh?"

He grabbed the supplies and laid a blanket out on the floor, gently placing you on it in the absence of a changing table. He was just able to get the pajamas off when you began to kick your legs and refuse to lie still. "What did I say? Go easy." His hands darted around, trying to grasp your feet, but he was scared that he would misjudge his strength and grab too tightly.

Once he finally got the diaper off and everything cleaned up, he remembered that he was supposed to use baby powder before he put the new one on. He kept his eye on you as he twisted the top of the bottle open, but not well enough; it only took one kick to knock it from his hand. To this day, whenever the story of your first diaper change was told, Steve would insist that he heard you laugh as he was covered in powder, and that you did it on purpose. Being a baby was no excuse; he knew what happened.

Steve wiped the powder from his face and reached for the new diaper. Before he could get it into position, he stopped and looked around with exasperation; the entire area around you was wet and now you would need a full bath. "Really? I thought we had a deal, kid?" He sighed and lifted you from the floor, his expression softening as he watched you blow bubbles with your lips and chew on your fingers.

"Man, I'm in trouble. How am I ever going to say 'no' to you?"

~~~

"He's been up there a really long time, guys. Do you think we should go check on him?"

"Nah," Bucky snickered, "if he were in trouble he would've called for backup by...now..." His mouth hung open when he saw Steve finally appear with you, still covered in baby powder from head to toe, and you dressed in Iron Man pajamas, complete with tiny gloves decorated just like Tony's suit.

"Can someone take her? I need a shower."

Everyone jumped up to get to you first, but Tony prevailed and all but yanked you from Steve's grip. "I think the outfit says it all, people. My turn." He sat on the couch and held you up in front of him, admiring your new look.

"You bought those on purpose, just to get the upper hand, Stark," Clint scolded.

Tony grabbed your hands and aimed them at the archer, "pew-pew", he said, mimicking his own repulsors. "She's a natural, Barnes. Before you know it, she'll be flying next to her Uncle Tony." His eyes widened as a revelation struck him, "hey guys, it's Halloween next week. Think about the haul we could make with this kid in this outfit."

"You do realize that's my daughter you're talking about, right?" Bucky stood and took you from Tony's lap and spun you around, laughing as he made you fly like Iron Man above his head. "If anyone's gonna make a haul, it's gonna be me."