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It was nowhere near a normal day for Steve or Bucky. Bucky woke up in a mood and refused to corporate with diaper changes and hair brushing. Steve lost his patience when Bucky decided he wanted to eat breakfast on the couch with his Paw Patrol blankie. He knew he wasn't allowed to eat heavy foods on couch, but he was pushing it today. Just when Steve thought he caught a break, Bucky spilled his fruit smoothie on his blanket.
Steve had to fight with Bucky to get the blanket away, when he finally did; Bucky's temper skyrocketed. He screamed and bit at Steve. Time out corners weren't helping so he just let Bucky exhaust himself. Then there was a knock on the door.
It was his landlord.
"Mr. Rogers, is everything alright?"
"Just frustrated, I know the neighbors called because of him but he's in a mood today."
"Clearly, but the amount of complaints coming from them is enough to kick you guys out. Control your boy, Mr. Rogers, before the police is called. Or you will be out of this building at the end of the month." Steve closed the door now he had to worry about eviction. First Bucky was in a mood, now he had to worry about eviction, what could possibly be next?
When he faced Bucky, his sweatpants were off and he was sucking on his fingers.
"Bucky...." Before Steve could say or do anything, his phone rang. It was Sam. He had to help his family so he wasn't going to be able to visit Bucky like he promised.
Now breaking that news to Bucky was going to be hard. Steve spent an hour on the couch trying to relax but he couldn't. Especially not with the Paw Patrol siren going off every 5 minutes and Bucky feeling the need to mimic it.
"Okay, Bucky it's nap time. Get your sweatpants on."
"No, Chase."
"Bucky, nap time now." Steve turned off the TV and got his sweatpants on. Bucky was resisting him again.
"Blankie."
"I forgot, it's in the wash still, it'll be nice and dry when you wake up."
"Want now and uncle Sam."
"Sam's not coming. Bucky, do not start this now, get in bed for your nap now."
"Nononono!" Bucky yelled. He screamed and Steve had enough.
"BUCKY SHUT UP!" Yelled Steve. Bucky froze and cowered in his corner. Steve pinched the bridge of his nose and went in his room. Bucky cried silently and laid his head on his knees.
Two hours later, Steve didn't come out of his room. Bucky looked out the back door, the sun was going down and he has yet to eat. Steve was mad at him and probably didn't want him anymore. He opened the back door and looked down the fire escape. Steve had the door locked down, not the sides. Bucky made the decision and jumped off the railing. He landed wrong and hurt his ankle. "Owie." His natural reaction was to cry for daddy but something told him to stay quiet.
Bucky didn't know where was he going. Nothing looked familiar towards nighttime. He followed a sweet smell for a while, it was ice cream. The man, unfortunately, was mean to him and told him to scram if he wasn't going to pay for anything. He ran away and followed another sweet smell, his nose lead him to a park where flowers were blooming. The parks weren't fun without daddy or mommy. He continued to walk until he got to an unfamiliar part of town.
This part of town scared him, it smelled awful and there were hardly any street lights. Occasionally he heard people talking and dogs barking, he was terrified.
"Hey, give me yo money." Said a young adult holding a gun to Bucky's chest. Bucky tensed and couldn't decide whether to fight or flight.
"Did ya hear me old man? Give me yo money."
"Don't have."
"Don't lie and I'm not going to ask again. Give me yo money or you die." Bucky started to shake more and instinct took over. The soldier took over and disarmed the mugger along with breaking his arm and shooting him in his knee.
"What the hell?" Bucky dropped the gun and stared at the blood.
"Sowwy." He said while tears ran from his eyes. Then there was a thunder clap, Bucky screamed and covered his ears.
"Who are you?" Bucky ran away from the man, he made it about a mile until he got to an overpass. He crawled in a box that looked to carry a refrigerator. Bucky cried and wished that his daddy would come find him. If he still cared.
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Steve was having a meltdown. He had a frustrating day but none of that mattered now because Bucky was missing. He searched under everything in the apartment, Bucky was gone. He most likely left due to Steve yelling at him, but he couldn't have gotten far. Bucky didn't like going out towards nighttime. Then Natasha barged in.
"What the hell did you do to the boy?"
"I yelled at him. I told him to shut up then left to my room. I came back two hours later and he was gone."
"Two hours! Steve."
"I know I let my frustration of today get the best of me and I feel awful. But it's raining and he hasn't ate yet. I'm afraid of him switching and hurting himself and someone." Nat sighed and helped him search the neighborhood. Once they confirmed Bucky wasn't in the area, they needed more help to find him.
"Sam's busy. So we're on our own." Said Steve. His voice waived with panic and fear.
"Bucky is a smart boy, Steve. If anyone wanted to hurt him, he can defend himself."
"I don't want him to kill anyone, though. I just hope he's okay." They continued to search. The rain was getting worse along with Steve's anxiety.
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As the rain raged on, Bucky's tummy started to growl and he was becoming cold. He wanted his blankie, paci, his drinks, and more importantly his daddy. He was about to sleep when he heard gun shots and thunder at the same time. Bucky covered his ears and shook in fear. His diaper was soaked with pee or rain, he couldn't tell or care; he just wanted to go home. Right now, home was a safe place in his head.
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Thirty painful minutes later, Steve and Natasha arrived at the bad end of town. Many people stared at them, Nat kept a hand on her gun just in case. Then they noticed a guy with a gunshot wound to the knee.
"What happened to you?" Asked Steve.
"Wouldn't you like to know. Some weird guy just shot me when I asked him a question."
"Sure you weren't trying to rob him or something?"
"Okay, yeah I was. But he moved so fast when he took the gun from me, then after he shot me he said sorry in like a child's voice."
"Child's voice? What did he look like?"
"Man, I ain't got time for this. Woah." Steve lifted him off of the ground by the collar of his shirt.
"Alright, alright he was a tall guy like your height. Brown, shaggy hair came to his shoulders. Had some stubble and he had blue eyes." That was him. His Bucky.
"Where did he go?" Asked Steve.
"Man, I don't know." Steve threw him on the ground and hovered.
"Alright, geez. I think he ran down there, but there's nothing there expect the overpass and the dump." A perfect place for him to hide. Steve and Nat left the struggling mugger. They went to the overpass and searched. Steve looked in a few boxes and dumpsters, nothing.
"Bucky, where are you?" Said Steve. Then Nat said.
"In here, Steve." Steve doesn't remember running to the large box. When he got there, he saw Nat stroking the wet strands of hair out of Bucky's pale face. Bucky was soaked from the rain and probably freezing.
"Bucky, baby wake up please." Steve held him, Bucky slightly opened his eyes and looked up at Steve.
"D-D-dadd-y-y." He shivered.
"Hey pal, let's go home." Steve covered Bucky in his coat and made his journey home. He was terrified to feel how bad Bucky was shaking and hear how loud his stomach was growling. All because he had a frustrating day, he neglected Bucky's needs and he was paying the price.
"I'm not letting you go anymore, bud. I'm so sorry."
Once they arrived home, Steve got Bucky in more comfortable, warm clothes while Nat warmed milk and fed him a few strawberries. Steve also made sure to put Bucky's blankie in the dryer so he could have it when he went to sleep.
"Bucky, honey why did you leave?" Asked Nat.
"Daddy mad at me."
"Bucky, I was never mad at you. It was a hard day and I should have never yelled at you. You mean a lot to me and it scared me to death when I found out you left."
"Sowwy, didn't mean to go."
"It's okay, next time daddy is upset just give me a little time to cool off. How did you get out?" Bucky pointed to the balcony. There was no way Bucky could have gotten through the gate he installed and there was no way Bucky would have jumped from a third story apartment. Would he?
"Did you jump?" He nodded and pointed to his ankle. Nat looked at it, it was a little bruised but healing. A sure sign he took the jump the wrong way.
"Let's not do that again, okay?" Bucky nodded. They decided to put on a movie while they waited out the storm. Steve kissed Bucky's head and held him. It was a frustrating day, indeed, but Steve wouldn't trade anything for this moment.