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Steve didn't like bullies, that was a well known fact. That was pretty much the whole reason he became Captain America. Being a kid who was barely a hundred soaking wet and with a list of medical issues, Steve knew what it was like being picked on. But he always had Bucky to come save him. He didn't know how, but Bucky always seemed to be in the right place when he was getting beat up.
But now that they were in a time where things were so different, Steve couldn't help but notice that bullying was getting worse. Now people could go online and say awful things about a person, who does that? Steve didn't know how to use the Internet but he still hated it.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, buddy?"
"Bored."
"What do you want to do?" Bucky looked outside. It had been raining for a few days and Bucky had been tired of the sky crying so much. Today, it seemed like a nice day for a picnic. Bucky had a lot of energy and Steve was sore from being Bucky's wrestling buddy. Bucky was surprisingly stronger than he thought.
"How about a picnic in the park?" Bucky nodded, he didn't remember what a picnic was but he did like going to the park.
"Okay, I'll fix some soup."
"Doggy?"
"I'll bring some of Harley's food and a few of her toys. Can you go sit on the couch?" Steve got up and fixed chicken soup. Bucky sat on the couch till then. It had been a rough start to day, Paw Patrol wasn't on TV and his tablet wasn't working. Which sent him into a tantrum. Steve had to call Tony so he could talk to him through the issue. It was apparently a virus and an update which would take a few hours to clear up. So until then, there was no tablet. There was no Paw Patrol. Bucky hated not having his tablet.
Steve could see that Bucky was upset from the lost of the tablet, so he had entertain Bucky until the food was ready. And being a wrestling partner was not an option until his back wasn't sore.
"Do you want to help cook, Buck?" Said Steve. Bucky got up and went to the kitchen.
"Here, you can stir the pot." Steve handed him a wooden spoon. Bucky tried to stir the pot, he really did but it was boring.
"No."
"No more? You are a tough person to please today. Try a piece of chicken." Steve handed a piece of chicken, Bucky sucked on it. It was good, he sat on the floor with his legs crossed and finished gnawing on the chicken. Harley sat in front of him and sniffed the chicken that was in his hand. Bucky offered her the chicken.
"No, no. That's your piece. Harley gets her own. There you go, sweet girl." Steve gave Harley a piece of chicken. Bucky frowned a little then coughed up a little. Steve gave him his milk and finished cooking the soup. Steve also cooked some rice in case Bucky wanted something else to absorb the broth.
"Alright food is done, can you go get a big towel from the closet?"
"No."
"Why no? Are you being stubborn?"
"No."
"That sound like stubbornness to me. Please, go get that towel." Bucky got up, dragging his feet.
"Two years olds." Steve mumbled. Bucky came back with a large towel.
"That wasn't so bad now was it?" Bucky sat back on the floor and moaned. Harley sat on his legs and licked his hand.
"Oh, Buck." Steve sat by Bucky and rubbed his leg while he was going through the seizure. Bucky continued to stare up at the ceiling, his eyes were twitching and his metal arm was moving.
"You're doing good, buddy." Bucky took a deep breathe then looked to Steve.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, how are you feeling?"
"Tired."
"Let's go lay down a few minutes."
"Picnic?"
"It can wait a few minutes. A small nap should help." Steve picked up Bucky and laid on the couch. Bucky quickly fell asleep, he was always tired after a seizure. Steve could still feel Bucky's shoulder blade twitching, but it was slowly stopping.
The picnic could wait a few minutes or hours.
Bucky woke up a few hours later. It was little past Bucky's nap time. But he was feeling better, so that was good. Downside being, his energy level doubled.
"Picnic time." Steve packed Bucky's bag with snacks and milk, a few diapers and a pacifier in case things got a little difficult. He put on Bucky's harness and Harley's harness. The lead would arrive in three more days until then it was Steve holding Bucky's hand. To which Bucky was not liking, so he was finding every opportunity to bite him.
Steve fixed a few bowls of soups and put them in his bag.
"Are you ready to go?" Bucky nodded. Steve put on his shoes and brought them outside. The park wasn't that far anyway so they walked.
The park wasn't usually busy beside the usual screaming kids, but there was a small family reunion happening and they were loud. Steve didn't mind, Bucky didn't know what was going on. Steve spread out the towel, Bucky sat down and chewed on his arm.
"Stop, here." Steve gave him his chewy, Bucky chewed on it and watched the family reunion. They looked like they were having fun. Bucky wanted to have fun like them.
"Daddy?"
"Yes?"
"What they doing?"
"They are having a family reunion, I assume. All the family members get together and have fun."
"We have?"
"Maybe one day, let's go play with Harley." A family reunion was possible. But everyone's schedules was so different, Thor was in space. Natasha was in a million other places and Rumlow was still getting things together for his apartment. Almost none of them had time anymore.
Steve threw the ball with Bucky for a while. Then he played tug of war with Harley. Nothing too bad, then a blue ball rolled over to him. He's been through this before, if he touched the ball, someone would hit him.
"Excuse me, mister." It was a little boy.
"Can I have the ball, please?" Bucky picked up the ball and handed it to him. The boy thanked him and went back to his family. He went back to Steve, who was smiling.
"That was so nice of you to give the ball back. I was afraid you would get shaken up from last time." Bucky smiled and sat on the towel and signed hungry. Steve fed him the soup and ate a little for himself. Then there was more yelling. A game, apparently. Someone kicks a ball and another person runs around. Bucky didn't understand how they were having fun with that.
"It's called kickball, it's like baseball but with your feet."
"Baseball?"
"Yeah."
"Dodgers?" A memory.
"You remember that? Yeah we were at that game, we didn't have the money to get in so we sat outside of the stadium and listened." Bucky stared at the game for a little while then smiled at Steve.
"I'm glad you remember something." They played for a while, Bucky got tired and Harley was worn out. Steve had done his job, now he just had to get an exhausted Bucky home.
On the way back, Bucky heard someone yelling down an alley. Bucky couldn't ignore it for some reason. Something was telling him to go down there.
"Daddy?"
"Yes?" He pointed down an alleyway where there was more screaming. Steve frowned and walked back towards the alley.
A big man was punching a little boy, no older than ten but also no bigger than what Steve had been at that age. Steve could instantly remember that fight with the jerk. But this kid didn't look he did anything wrong.
"Hey!" Steve yelled, just in time to stop the man from landing another punch.
"Why are you beating that kid up?"
"Mind your business." The man was getting another to throw another punch, Steve stepped in and blocked his punch.
"Dude, let go."
"Why are you picking on that boy?"
"Because I can, now let go." Steve didn't expect the man to keep struggling, but he really didn't expect to be punched in the jaw. It didn't hurt, just stung a bit.
"Hey, pick on someone your own size." Said Bucky grabbing the man. The man swung at Bucky, the soldier took over and Steve could see it. The soldier hit him once with his flesh arm, the man fell into a pile of trash. The soldier hovered over him and got ready to punch him with his left arm.
"Bucky, don't." The soldier stopped and looked at Steve.
"It's alright. He won't bother anyone anymore, right?" The man nodded his head vigorously.
"Now go, before I call the police." The man got up and ran away. Bucky sat on the ground and started crying. He remembered something and Steve would have to address it.
"What his problem with you?"
"I took his sandwich, I was just hungry."
"There was better ways of handling that. Some people would have done worse things to you for taking stuff. Next time, ask. Are you homeless?" The boy nodded.
"Okay, I'll call an officer. Here, you can have some goldfish." Bucky's head popped up at goldfish.
"Mine."
"Bucky, sharing is caring. You have a whole carton at home." Steve gave the kid the rest of Bucky's goldfish, much to Bucky whining. They sat with the little boy until the officer came. Once they got the little boy situated, they went back home. Steve couldn't help but remember that Bucky had saved him again from a bully and said the same thing.
Once they arrived home, Bucky ate a little more and didn't complain about bath time. He was still upset about his tablet not working. So Steve gave him his phone to watch a few shows while he changed him.
"All done." Bucky looked up from the phone and saw Steve's bruised cheek then he frowned.
"What's wrong?"
"You punk, ma said no more fights." There was his Bucky.
"Yeah, she did. But she also said to stand up for people who can't."
"You just like getting punched." Bucky laughed and just like that his old Bucky was gone. Steve chuckled to hold back his tears. The bruise would heal and fade over night, but that memory that Bucky had to step in and stop the bully from hitting him or the little boy would never fade.
They got comfortable in bed and watched the rest of the Paw Patrol. Ironically, there was an episode on about bullying and standing up for others.
"Daddy?"
"Yes Buck?"
"Daddy save people?"
"Yeah, that's what I do."
"Save me?"
"I'll always save you, Bucky, I'm never letting you go again." Steve kissed his head. Bucky handed Steve the phone and fell asleep against his chest. Steve turned off his phone and cuddled him. He always had that deep regret of not saving Bucky from the train. But now was a good time to make happier memories for him and show him the new life they can live now.
That task wasn't going to start tonight though, tonight was a night for snuggles. Tomorrow would be a good day for another adventure.