littlespace au - daddy! bucky and little! peter go on a trip to the aquarium! fluffy only, characters are 18+
my first oneshot ! please be kind
—————————————————————————
In hindsight, the aquarium was a terrible idea. Peter struggled with focus at the best of times, and surrounded by a bunch of exotic fish? This was truly a nightmare for any caregiver.
Bucky had been excited at the prospect of taking his baby to the aquarium. Sure, it involved dressing himself in concealing clothing and wearing the leather gloves that Peter hated the feel of, but he would get to see his darling amazed by all of the ‘super cool fishies’ that he had been looking forward to for months.
What he didn’t expect, however, was for Peter to get upset. Of all places, an aquarium seemed calming, but his little spider was always full of surprises. They entered the aquarium together, hand in hand of course so Peter didn’t run off or get lost. Peter was smiling, bouncing on the heels of his feet as Bucky purchased their tickets.
As soon as they stepped through the gates and out of earshot of any other civilians, Peter reached for their map. “Daddy, which animal should we see first?” He asked, the familiar childish lilt to his voice. Bucky knew he would slip as soon as they got to the aquarium, he just hoped Peter was able to be discrete.
Before he could even answer, Peter had chosen for them, “let’s go see the nemos!” He declared, pulling Bucky by the arm towards the tank full of bright clownfish. The other man smiled and followed with little resistance, glad to see his little boy enjoying himself.
They spent hours looking at different fish, little ones they kept at the beginning of the aquarium. Each time they stopped at a tank, Bucky had to urge him to move on, with a gentle “Peter, baby, there are more fish to see.” The boy obliged every time, taking hold of daddy’s hand once more so they could move onto see other creatures.
The day was going smoothly until they reached the eel tanks. What Bucky didn’t know, was that Peter was scared of eels. The little boy was hiding behind his daddy’s back instantly.
“Do we have to go see them, Da? I don’t want to get shocked...” he whispers, tugging at the sleeve of his jacket.
“Pete, baby, what’s wrong? The eels can’t hurt you..” Bucky reassured him, but the boy didn’t seem comforted in the slighted. In fact, his reaction was quite the opposite, and the boy began to tear up.
The older man didn’t hesitate to shuffle him out of the room, guiding him away from the eel tanks and towards a bench, where he could sit down with Peter next to him and gently stroke his hair.
“There, look? All gone, baby boy. You’re safe now, yeah?” He murmurs to him, and Peter takes a deep breath as he begins to settle.
“I don’t want to do the aquarium anymore, daddy...” he says unhappily, “I’m sorry I ruined our day. I want to go home.” Peter admits, folding his hands in his lap and staring at the blue carpet.
The older man doesn’t frown or get upset with him. He understands Peter can be overwhelmed easily, especially in this headspace. “Okay, doll, why don’t we head out to the gift shop before we go home, hm? I know you were excited about a new plushie, why don’t we go pick them out before we drive back?” He suggests, and the little boy perks up almost instantly.
“Yeah- can I have a shark?” He asks, taking Bucky’s hand once again as they stand from the bench.
The other man laughs lightly. “You can have whatever your little heart desires, alright?” He says and places his hand on Peter’s lower back, guiding him towards the exit. It takes a while, having to pass the rest of the tanks they didn’t get to see, but Peter is too distracted by thinking about his new toy to be scared again.
They step through the entry way to the gift shop and Peter makes a beeline to the barrel of stuffed animals, making Bucky huff a soft laugh as he follows him over.
“This one!” Peter declares, lifting a large shark plush off of the shelf and turning around to show it to Bucky, who just smiles. “Of course, darling. That all?” He asks, and the boy nods, dragging his daddy over to the counter to pay for his new toy.
Bucky does so without hesitation, before taking Peter back to their car so he can give him a cuddle in peace.
If the shark cost over fifty dollars, Peter doesn’t have to know. Bucky gladly would’ve spent more to see him smile.
