Being a single parent was never easy. Being a single parent of a young girl who liked to get into mischief with her best friend was downright impossible. It didn't help that his daughter's friend's mother was extremely attractive. Bucky had been single for a while now. By choice. He didn't want a parade of women in and out of his daughter's life and confusing her. Then, his daughter had met yours.

Bucky wasn't sure what was going through his daughter's mind, but something was definitely up. For months now, his daughter and yours were trying everything to get you two alone together. Somehow, you kept managing to find yourselves in awkward situations involving your daughters. And because of how Bucky felt about you, it made it all the more awkward for him. Awkward and embarrassing. Talking to the girls didn't seem to do a lick of good, either. Like now.

You were sitting in Bucky's kitchen, staring at the cup nestled in your hands. Your daughter had called you out of the blue saying that she wasn't feeling well. She asked if you could come pick her up from Bucky's. When you got there, however, she'd managed to make a miraculous recovery and decided to stay. That left you standing on Bucky's front porch, shivering.

"I'm really sorry to interrupt your night," you apologized. Bucky waved you off. "It's no big deal, doll. With Y/D/N staying with Rebecca tonight, I wasn't getting much done anyway." You sighed. "I don't know what's gotten into those girls. Y/D/N has never acted like this before." Bucky shrugged. "Neither has Rebecca. I'll try and talk to her again after we're alone tomorrow." You gave a nodded and finished your drink. "I'll get out of your hair. I'll be by around 11 to pick up Y/D/N?" At Bucky's confirmation, you left.

The next day, after Y/D/N was gone, Bucky wandered up to Rebecca's room. "Becca? We need to talk, sweetheart." When he'd named her after his sister, he didn't think she'd inherit some her impish traits. Including the puppy dog eyes. She looked up at him with the big blue eyes she'd inherited from him and he almost relented. But he knew he couldn't. It was getting out of hand.

"Rebecca, I have to know what's going on with you? Why are you pushing so hard when it comes to me and Y/N?" Rebecca shrugged a little and looked away. She mumbled something. "Maybe I've done something to warrant all these mischievous pranks, but I don't think Y/N has. Maybe I should ground you. Make you spend a little time away from Y/D/N for a bit. I don't want to, but I don't know what else to do. I'm at my wits end with you."

"NO!" Rebecca exploded. Bucky nearly jumped, but time in the Army taught him not to be too surprised about anything. "Please don't ground me, Daddy. We were just trying to help." Bucky sat down next to her. "Help what?" Rebecca licked her lips. "You and Y/N...and maybe ourselves a little." She looked up at Bucky again with tears in her eyes.

"I need a mom, Dad. And I really like Y/N and Y/D/N really likes you. And we thought it'd be really cool to be step-sisters. So, we thought we could help you and Y/N get together. I know you like her a lot, Daddy. Y/D/N says she likes you too. We just wanted to help."

It was Bucky's turn to cry. His little girl was simply missing her mother. He felt terrible. It wasn't exactly his fault that her mother was no longer in the picture, but still...what was he to do? "Look, sweetheart, I'm glad you told me. But trying to force a relationship to happen is the best way to make sure it never does. I do like Y/N, but we have to take things at our own pace. If you and Y/D/N keep interfering, it's not going to make things better."

"I'm sorry, Daddy." Bucky hugged her to his side and kissed her temple. "It's okay, Becca. I love you. You know that, right?" She sniffled and nodded. "I love you too, Daddy." After another kiss, Bucky left Rebecca in her room and went down to call you. He hoped you'd made it home already because you were in for a shock.

Two days later, you were back at Bucky's house, this time with a glass of wine. "They did what?" you asked in disbelief. Bucky told you everything his daughter had told him. "I don't know what to say," you whispered. Bucky sighed as he sat down next to you. "Neither do I. I told Becca that she couldn't force anything. That, if anything were to happen, it had to be our choice."

"That's pretty good advice there, Sergeant." Bucky laughed sheepishly. It flustered him when you called him that. He had been out of the service for a while now. Not since he'd lost his arm. "Come on, doll. I've told you. Just call me Bucky." You gave him a wicked grin and set down your glass. "Oh? And what if I don't want to? What if I'd rather call you Sergeant? Or maybe even James?"

There was a glint in your eye that made Bucky smile. He could see where your daughter got her mischievous streak from. Two could play at that game. "Well then, I guess you'll have to pay the price." Without another word, Bucky lunged forward and began tickling you. You let out a giggle as you tried to push him away.

"B-Bucky! Stop!" you cried between giggles, but Bucky was relentless. It wasn't until you'd managed to roll onto the floor with him hovering over you that the tickling stopped. The air took on a whole different atmosphere. You and Bucky were both panting as he gazed down at you. Your faces were only millimeters apart. One deep breath and your lips would touch. And the worst, or maybe best part, was that neither of you could seem to move an inch. It was as if you were frozen on the spot.

"You're beautiful, Y/N," Bucky whispered. He didn't mean to and the second he said it, he almost took it back. You smiled though as you pressed a finger to his lips to quiet him. "You're beautiful too, Bucky." He chuckled softly. Bucky tried to hold back, but it was out there now and with the atmosphere in the room being what it was, Bucky took a chance.

He leaned down and kissed you. It was soft at first, but then he grew more confident. Before the kiss could deepen, a voice cried out, "YES!" That was followed promptly by a "BECCA!" You looked up to see your daughters standing in the doorway. You both broke down in a fit of laughter as you got up from the floor. Your eyes met Bucky's and he thought, "Maybe there's hope for us after all."