Their Itsy Bitsy Spider

A Well Earned Title

Peter stared up at the clock. Time was slowly ticking by and all he wanted was for school to be over. It wasn't that he didn't like it, in fact now that he was in Mr. Woodlock's class, he loved it! But today was the day that he was supposed to meet Steve and Sam, his parents best friends. Both Y/n and Bucky had made sure he knew exactly who they were and what they were like, that way he wouldn't have to stress about it too much. He trusted their knowledge to be true, after all Bucky had known Steve since they were his age and Y/n had known Sam even longer! But no matter how much they reassured him, he was still so worried that they wouldn't like him, that they wouldn't accept him as Y/n and Bucky's child.

The bell finally rang and Peter went out to the front of the school. Bucky was waiting beside the other parents, leather jacket and combat boots making him stick out in a sea of cardigans and khakis. Peter ran to him like he did every day, although sometimes it was Y/n he was running to, and crashed into Bucky. The man didn't budge when Peter made contact, spider powers no match for a super soldier. But he knelt down to hug Peter tight, greeting him with the same words as always.

"Hey bear!" He exclaimed. "How was school?"

"It was good!" Peter happily responded, holding Bucky's hand on the way to the car. "We read about lizards and I learned about fractions!"

"Fantastic! I bet you did a great job," Bucky said.

"I got all the examples right," Peter said proudly, beaming at the look of pride on Bucky's face.

"Of course you did," Bucky said fondly. "My little genius! I'm so proud of you."

Peter flushed red at the praise, still adjusting to his achievements being celebrated rather than ignored. "Are Steve and Sam back yet?" He asked curiously.

"Yup! Their plane landed about 20 minutes ago, they're being debriefed right now and then Y/n is gonna look them over."

"And then movie night?" Peter asked excitedly.

"Then movie night," Bucky affirmed with a smile. "Now how about we get home so you can get comfy?"

He helped Peter get situated in the car, buckling his seatbelt even though he knew that the little boy was more than capable of doing it himself. In the last few weeks, ever since Peter had begun truly settling in, he and Y/n had come to realize that their child had been deprived of just about every form of parental care. He'd been looking out for himself up to his limit since he was a toddler, and that meant that small acts of care, like being carried to bed and having his food cut up for him, often meant the most to him. At first it had seemed strange, babying a child that was old enough to tie his own shoes, but neither of them could deny how much calmer and more secure Peter was. They had discussed it with his doctor and he'd said there was nothing wrong with giving their son the treatment he was clearly craving, so long as they went at Peter's pace and respected his independence. And so they kept up the soft care, making sure that Peter knew he could ask for what he so clearly needed, and they watched as he became more and more comfortable asking for the love that he'd been deprived of for so long.

It had become normal for him to walk up to one of them and ask to be held, whether by words or by silent request, raising his arms and just about melting when he was picked up and kissed on the head with no hesitation. Bucky in particular felt relief flood through him whenever it happened, taking Peter's trust as a sign that they were doing something right. He'd never truly understood the way that parents talked about their children, that was until he had Peter. He was convinced that he and Y/n had been blessed with the smartest, cutest, kindest, most wonderful child on the planet. It wasn't until he had said those words to Steve over the phone that he realized he might be just a little bit biased. But it didn't matter, he had a son and that's all that he truly cared about.