#kid!peter

“Please watch Peter for the night. I have a business meeting in Manhatten for Tower maintenance, but I’ll be back in the morning.” Tony was pleading, his hands clasped in a begging gesture. 

Steve gave him a soft smile. “Sure thing, Tony. We’ve got it under control.”

Bucky let out a strangled noise, turning with wide eyes to Steve. “Excuse me?”

Steve shrugged, glancing around the room to avoid Bucky’s eyes. “It’ll be fine. He’s just a kid.” 

“Exactly.”

Tony wrapped Steve in a hug. “Thanks, pal. I owe you one.” 

“Anything for Peter.” Steve turned behind him,  his eyes inspecting. “Where is the little guy anyways?” 

“Papa!” A squeaky voice shouted from behind them, the pattering of feet sounding throughout the kitchen. Tony beamed, scooping the little boy into his arms. 

Peter’s chestnut colored hair was always a mess, much like his father’s life. His eyes were always wide and bright; always expressive. He looked like Tony, but some of the pieces to the genetic puzzle were missing. Tony never bothered to find Peter’s biological mother, but he had a few guesses. None of them caring, but then again, Tony hadn’t been very caring in the beginning. 

Now, you wouldn’t be able to tell. Tony did everything for that little boy, along with the other team mates. He was Tony’s whole world, and that was a real achievement in Steve’s book, compared to the drinking that seemed so long ago now. 

Steve smiled, reaching out his hand to ruffle up Peter’s hair. “Hey, kiddo. Buck and I are gonna watch you for the night! How does that sound?” 

“Yay!” Peter’s voice was so sweet and childish that it never failed to make Steve smiled. Unless he was screaming; then that was another story. 

Tony grinned, handing the child over to Steve. Peter weighed barely anything in his grip. Steve had the sudden urge to hug him close to his chest. 

Bucky’s eyes were still wide, staring at the child. Bucky had never been too great with children, and frankly, Steve found it highly amusing. All the times the little kids would run up to him on the streets, looking in awe at his metal arm and begging to touch it. Bucky never knew how to react. He would get flustered, leaning down gingerly, letting the kids run their fingers across the cool metal. 

Bucky always looked so uncomfortable, his awkwardness playing a key role in the affairs. His mouth would twist up in disdain, but his movements were always gentle. Bucky just needed some more experiences with kids, that’s all. 

Peter’s ambient eyes looked up Bucky. The soldier’s demenor changed; becoming stiff and unresponsive. Steve chuckled, nuzzling Peter into his neck. Peter giggled, his focus returning on his uncle. 

“Take care, Tony. We’ve got this under control.” Steve gave him a reassuring nod, and Tony returned it with vigor. 

“See you in the morning, squirt.” Tony pressed a kiss to his child’s forehead, lingering for a moment. Steve knew he didn’t want to leave, but being a billionare was a full time job. So was being a parent. 

The door clicked behind Tony, and Steve glanced down at his nephew. “Alright, kid, you ready to have some real fun?” 

“Yeah!”

-

Steve was knocked out on the couch after five minutes of being with Peter. Bucky groaned, watching the kid smash cars into one another. 

Of course Steve’s old man habits would kick in about now. Leaving him with the...thing on the floor. 

Bucky didn’t hate kids. He was a kid once. He just didn’t know how to act around them. He had a hard time hearing them or understanding their babbling. At least Peter was old enough to speak pretty clearly. Five wasn’t a terrible age to be, he guessed. 

He noticed Peter’s wide eyes staring up at him, holding out a car. “Play?” 

Bucky cleared his throat uncomfortably, already picturing the death glare from Tony if he didn’t accept. The damn man wasn’t even here, and he could already hear him whining and complaining. 

“Uh,” Bucky rubbed the back of his neck, silently cursing Steve. “Sure, kid.”

Peter smiled, pushing the little car into his palm. “I gave you the one with the star, because it’s on your arm.” 

Bucky felt a twinge of sadness, but knew Peter only had good intentions. He forced a little smile, twisting the metal between his fingers. He could snap the little toy under his fingers if he so wished. 

“Thanks, Peter.” 

Peter nodded, patting the floor in front of him. “Sit with me, Uncle Bucky!”

That word never failed to tug at Bucky’s heartstrings, though. Yeah, he didn’t know anything about kids, but Peter was sweet. He had to give him that. 

Peter started ramming the cars around, giving encouraging looks to Bucky as if to say, ‘go ahead, you can play too.’ Bucky mindlessly started pushing the car around, feeling stupid. Peter was making car noises under his breath, screeching to mimic the squeal of tires on pavement. 

“I think you’re car is dead, Uncle Bucky.” Peter pouted, looking sadly at the toy in his hand. 

“Huh? Why do you say that?”

“’Cause it’s not making any noises. All of papas cars make noises.” 

Bucky was kind of glad Steve wasn’t awake for this one. The noises stared off quiet, barely a whisper as he moved the car through the carpet. After Peter started up again, Bucky gained a bit more confidence, deciding that it was now or never. 

After a while of making unrealistic car noises and talking about how Clint probably wouldn’t survive this car accident, Peter decided it was time for lunch. 

“I’m hungry.” Peter whined, rubbing his stomach. 

“Hmm,” Bucky stood up, lightly reaching for Peter. “I’m sure I can cook something.” 

Steve, bless his sleepy ass, was still snoring on the couch. He hadn’t woken up once. Bucky wasn’t sure why Peter gave him the title of uncle when he should really be calling Steve his grandpa. 

Bucky sat Peter on the counter, digging through the cupboard. “Mac ‘n cheese?” 

Peter nodded vigorously, bouncing up and down. “Please!” 

Bucky gave a sigh of relief, glad that Peter wasn’t too picky. Mac ‘n cheese was easy, right? Bucky filled up a pot of water, letting it sit on the stove to boil. He decided to check his phone, and Bucky swears it was only for a minute. 

He glanced over at Peter, who seems to have disappeared. Bucky gasps, frantically turning around. “Peter?” He calls, walking into the living room. He finds Peter with a permanent marker, sitting on Steve’s chest and scribbling nonsense all over his face and forearms. 

Bucky can’t the fight the grin at the sight, knowing damn well Steve deserved this for leaving him stuck with babysitting Tony’s kid. 

“Nice work, kid.” Bucky patted Peter’s shoulder. The child beamed up at him, mischief reeling behind those brown eyes. “Mind if I draw something?” 

“Sure!” 

Bucky decided to take the childish route, drawing a classic penis on his forehead. Peter looked puzzled, tilting his head at the provocative drawing. 

“What’s that?” 

“I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

“It kind of looks like a butterfly.”

“Older, Peter.” 

Peter didn’t protest, though his look of curiosity never left his face. Bucky could hear the water boiling over, so he sprinted to the kitchen to remove it from the burner. After pouring in the noodles, he walked back into the living room to find that Peter had vanished again. 

“Kid? You really have to stop doing this.” Bucky muttered, glancing around frantically. 

He heard laughter from close by, but Peter was no where to be found. He felt someone tap on his shoulder, causing him to glance at the ceiling. 

“Peter?” Bucky’s voice was fleeting, watching the little boy hang upside down from the ceiling, a thin line of web keeping him in place. “Get down from there!” 

“Gotta catch me first!” Peter grinned, quickly crawling away on the ceiling. 

“Steve!” Bucky screamed, his throat raw. “Get your ass up!” 

Loud footsteps echoed in the room. Steve appeared in the doorway, looking flustered and utterly ridiculous with scribbles and a bold penis drawn all over him. “Huh-what is it? What did I miss?”

“Peter’s on the ceiling!”

Steve looked up, his eyes nearly rolling into the back of his head. “What?”

“Use your old man eyes, Steve!” Bucky shouted, running after the child. 

Peter seemed to think of this whole endeavor as a game of chase, as he giggled and crawled away faster than Bucky could blink. 

“That’s not good.” Steve muttered, his voice still heavy with sleep. 

“No shit, punk!” Bucky growled, grabbing at his arm. “Help me get him down!” 

The sight would have looked ridiculous to anyone else, and it was starting to feel that way to Bucky, too. He just wanted some Mac ‘n cheese, dammit. 

Peter’s shirt brushed underneath his fingers. He was almost there and-he was gone. He was snatched up in the vent, screeching and laughing loudly as Clint poked his head out from above. He smirked, raising an eyebrow at the two men. 

“I see babysitting is going well, fellas.” 

“Do you ever stay on the ground like a normal person?” Bucky chided, narrowing his eyes in a hateful glare. 

“Ah, I can already tell this is gonna be good.” Scott appeared from behind them, walking between the superheroes. Clint let Peter fall into Scott’s arms, where he kept him craddled. “You both really don’t know how to take care of a kid, huh?”

Bucky gritted his teeth, his fists clenched at his sides. “Everything was going fine.” 

“Is that why Peter was crawling on the ceiling while you two screamed bloody murder? Oh, by the way, nice tattoos, Steve.” Scott nodded in approval, causing Peter to giggle maniacally. 

“What are you-oh good lord.” Steve frowned down at his arms. Bucky couldn’t wait until he saw the masterpiece on his forehead later. 

“Why don’t we take over from here, boys?” Clint suggested, rolling out from the vent. “I smell something burning.”

“My Mac ‘n cheese!” 

-

After Clint made them a new pot, Scott helped make sure Peter ate his food. They cleaned him up, played with him a bit more, and soon he was ready for a nap. 

“Can you handle it if he sleeps in here with you?” Scott asked, setting Peter in Bucky’s lap before he could answer. “He’s insisting on being with you.” 

Bucky nodded, running a hand through his soft curls. “Thanks, guys. Even though we had it under control.” 

They both snorted, making sarcastic comments under their breath as they left the room. Peter was breathing heavily, his eyelids already closed as he leaned against Bucky’s chest. 

Steve smiled fondly at the two of them, his eyes glazed over. 

“What?”

“Maybe we should have kids.”

Bucky blinked. He wanted to say that he defintely wasn’t ready for that, but instead he snarked, “I don’t think you’d make a great dad with a penis on your forehead.”

“Buck, are you kidding me?” Steve stood up, rushing out of the room to wash off the piece of graffitti he had missed. The situation was even funnier because neither Scott or Clint had pointed it out to Steve during lunch. 

“Uncle Bucky?” Peter whispered, his voice hoarse and sleepy. 

“Yeah, kiddo?”

“You’re my favorite superhero.”