Chapter Text
The toy store was enormous, spanning three levels, and so full of people that it made the hair on the back of Bucky’s neck prickle with discomfort. He kept his breathing calm with effort, sweeping his eyes over the crowds. It was 10am on a Tuesday morning, so the store really shouldn’t have been this full. Apparently Laura hadn’t been kidding when she’d said that this was the most popular toy store in New York.
Someone touched his arm; Bucky stiffened, but only until he realized that it was Tony. Then his instincts kicked into gear and he pulled Tony into a tight hug, burying his face in Tony’s hair for a moment and taking slow, deep breaths. Tony’s scent was always comforting, whether it was that sweet, babyish smell or the cologne Tony favored when he was big. Right now, notes of vanilla and sandalwood filled his nose and helped to calm him.
“Are you okay?” Tony asked quietly, the words meant for Bucky’s ears alone. He hugged Bucky back, obligingly tucking his head beneath Bucky’s chin. They fit together so well that it never failed to send a little thrill down Bucky’s spine. He breathed out and breathed in more of Tony’s scent, feeling the last of his unease momentarily dissipating. He’d never been so grateful for that press conference where Tony had announced to the world that they were dating, because it meant that things like this hug could happen in public and it wouldn’t draw undue attention.
It made the weeks of intense scrutiny they’d suffered through worth it, especially now that, as Tony had promised, more interesting things had happened that had drawn the media’s and public’s attention away from them. Pictures of Iron Man and the Winter Soldier hugging or holding hands were still going for high money, but they were no longer plastered across the front page. Bucky would take what he could get.
“I’m better,” he replied finally, not releasing Tony from the hug just yet. He couldn’t say he was fine – that wouldn’t happen until they were back in the tower, comfortably enclosed in the finest security there was – but he was getting better. Knowing that Tony was close, and that Bucky could protect him if something went wrong, helped.
“Did you want to cancel the trip?” Tony asked, voice slightly muffled. “We can. I don’t mind.”
“No,” Bucky said immediately.
“But –”
“Tony, no.” He released Tony from the hug, only to cup Tony’s face in his hands so he could look into those adorable brown eyes. “I appreciate the thought, but this is for you. I would do anything for you.”
Some of the lines in Tony’s handsome face smoothed out. Bucky hadn’t even realized they were there until they were gone. He gently stroked the sides of Tony’s face, realizing that this trip was stressing Tony out more than he’d let on. Tony might have agreed to it because Laura and Natasha and Bruce had urged him to, but that didn’t mean Tony’s nerves weren’t out in full force.
It had been Natasha’s idea. She thought it was a crime – her exact word – that Tony had never been to a toy store so that he could pick out some toys. Apparently shopping on the internet wasn’t good enough. Bucky couldn’t blame her for that. He got where she was coming from. It really wasn’t fair that all of Tony’s things needed to be purchased in complete secrecy. Tony deserved, like any other Little, to be able to walk into a store and pick out a teddy bear or a toy.
But when you were Tony Stark, life wasn’t always fair. Tony believed that keeping his classification secret would be best for Stark Industries, and Bucky wasn’t really in a position to tell him otherwise. All of the Avengers had sworn to keep Tony’s secret, but Natasha was still determined to make a toy store trip happen for Tony. After much consulting with Laura, this was the plan they’d cooked up: Tony would go shopping with Laura, Natasha and Nathaniel, and Laura would buy the toys under the premise that they were for her children or Natasha when in reality the toys would be for Tony.
Tony was reluctant, but from the moment the plan was suggested Bucky could see how much he wanted it and he’d encouraged Tony to go along with it. What they hadn’t anticipated was that Clint, Lila, Steve and Wanda would join them. Tony was visibly uncomfortable with Steve and Wanda being there, but hadn’t said anything about it. Probably because he didn’t feel that he could.
Now, Tony sighed. “I know you would. Thank you.” He leaned into Bucky’s hands for a few moments before, looking regretful, he pulled away. “I’m going to slip if you don’t stop that.”
“Maybe we can spend some time together when we get home.” Bucky stayed close, sliding an arm around Tony’s shoulders after checking to make sure it was okay. He thought that Tony probably needed Bucky’s support right now as much as Bucky needed Tony’s.
“I’d like that,” Tony said shyly. He looked up, as though sensing attention. So did Bucky. He was just in time to catch the sad look on Steve’s face and, beyond him, the way Wanda was glaring at them. Bucky frowned back at her and started moving, pulling Tony over to where Natasha and Laura were standing.
Things were still very tense with Wanda and Steve. It had been about two months since Tony’s secret came out. Wanda rarely spoke to either of them, and Steve was trying hard to pretend that nothing had changed. It was uncomfortable for everyone, but Bucky refused to bend. He wasn’t going to go back to pretending that he didn’t care about Tony. Not even for Steve.
“Okay,” Natasha said, clapping her hands together. Her eyes gleamed with excitement. “Are you ready? Come on, Tony!” She seized his hand without waiting for a response and dragged him over to a several shelves that were full of stuffed toys.
Laughing, Laura followed them over. She was carrying Nate, who was looking around with wide eyes. “Calm down, Natasha,” she said gently. “We can’t buy everything.”
“Tony has lots of money,” Natasha said. Tony snorted.
“That may be, but we only have so much room,” Laura said, rolling her eyes. She didn’t look at Bucky, who had never appreciated her more. They’d had a private conversation earlier that morning, which Laura had walked away from with Bucky’s credit card. He was sick of Tony paying for his own stuff. Bucky was more than capable of paying for anything his own Little could want – money was no object when it came to Tony – but Tony wouldn’t see it that way. He’d get overwhelmed and flustered just being told that Bucky wanted to pay. It was easier to slip his credit card to Laura and tell Tony after the fact, when it was all said and done.
“But we have some room,” Natasha countered. She turned back to the wall and studied it, then frowned. “I don’t know what to pick! Tony, help me choose!”
Tony blinked rapidly. “What?”
“Help me choose!” Natasha grabbed his arm and hung off of it, staring at the shelves with a dramatic pout. “What do you think is cute?”
Tony stared at her like she’d just spoken in Japanese. His caught-off-guard expression was perfect for maintaining their cover story, yet kind of heartbreaking at the same time. No Little should look that shocked or bewildered over being told to pick out their own toys. He glanced at Laura and saw the same look of sadness flash across her face before she schooled her expression into a smile.
“Um,” Tony said, looking over the wall. Bucky found himself genuinely curious to know what he’d pick. He watched closely as Tony glanced between two stuffed animals: a big white teddy bear with dark brown eyes and grey-and-white wolf with blue eyes. Finally, Tony picked up the teddy bear and held it out to Natasha for inspection.
“That will do,” Natasha said, making a show of examining the teddy. “But I want the wolf too. And that one.” She pointed to a stuffed black and white panda.
“Okay,” Tony said. He picked up the three toys and set them in the cart Laura had brought. “What else do you want?”
That turned out to be a dangerous question, especially once Lila caught up to them and got in on the act. The two girls dragged Tony through the store, loudly exclaiming about how this was the first shopping trip ‘Uncle Tony’ had been available for and how they needed his help picking out everything. Bucky caught several people watching them with amused and tolerant looks.
Even Nate got in on it, pointing to some toys and looking at Tony expectantly. Privately, Bucky thought that was a good thing – Tony was a little younger than Nate when he was in his headspace, so Nate was well-positioned to pick out some toys. Tony obligingly picked up every toy Nate pointed to and put it into the cart. Within two hours, the poor cart was literally overflowing. Bucky had to grab a set of action figures to save them from the floor.
He’d stopped paying attention to Steve and Wanda, more preoccupied with sneaking the occasional picture of Tony and the kids on his phone, and that turned out to be a mistake that Bucky would regret for the rest of his life. He caught a familiar glimpse of red in his peripheral vision and turned to look automatically, not really expecting anything, the fleeting thought of why Wanda would be using her magic here flashing through his head.
Wanda’s face was painted with hatred, but the glow from her hands was already dying. Steve wasn’t even watching her: he was talking to Clint, both of them standing partially turned away from Wanda. Bucky started to move towards them. Wanda knew she wasn’t supposed to using her powers in public unless it was a in battle, and he had a strong, sinking feeling that she was not using them for anything good.
Then Tony let out a whimper, and Laura said, in a very tense voice, “Bucky. We have a problem.”
The red glow around Tony was slower to fade. Tony himself was standing in front of a collection of children’s books with Lila beside him, holding several books that Lila had picked out. The books fell from Tony’s hands a moment later, making a loud crash that drew the attention of several people, including Steve and Clint. A confused look crossed Tony’s face, but it was swiftly replaced by fear. His eyes filled with tears and he took a step back, half-lifting his arms as though warding off a blow.
Wanda’s reason for using her magic hit Bucky in a flash of understand: she’d sent Tony into his headspace. In public. Where anyone could see him.
Rage wasn’t really a strong enough word to describe what Bucky felt in that moment, but he didn’t have the time to pay attention to Wanda right now. He recognized the look on Tony’s face and knew that Tony was seconds away from either a panic attack or a meltdown, and either one was going to result in tears. As it was, they were damn lucky Tony hadn’t wet himself already.
He hustled forward, jamming the box he held into Laura’s arms, and wrapped an arm around Tony’s shoulders. “We’re going back to the tower,” he hissed at Laura. She nodded, looking almost as angry as Bucky felt.
In his headspace, Tony wasn’t all that steady on his feet. Bucky hurried him through the store as fast as possible, practically carrying him, mentally swearing at Wanda but outwardly whispering reassurances under his breath. Tony, to his immense credit and a remarkable show of strength, tried as hard as he could to hold back the tears until they were outside, but fat tears were already rolling down his cheeks by the time they hit the store’s exit.
Bucky had always been grateful for Tony’s wealth, but never as much as he was when they emerged from the store and the Stark Industries car was still parked at the curb where it had dropped them off. The driver leapt out the moment he saw Tony, opening the door for them. Bucky nodded in thanks and shuffled Tony inside, hastily putting the privacy screen up; the driver barely had the door shut before Tony began to wail.
“Shh, baby. You’re okay,” Bucky said, pulling Tony into his arms. He grimaced at the feeling of wet warmth soaking Tony’s jeans, but a little pee didn’t concern him too much. He was way more worried about the possible ramifications of this. What if someone had gotten a shot of Tony crying or peeing himself? That could be devastating for both Stark Industries and Tony.
He hugged Tony close, pressing kissing to the baby’s head and silently stewing. Steve Rogers and Wanda Maximoff were both in for it.