Chapter Text
Tony had aged up and remained big for an entire week and a half. It wasn't abnormal for either Tony or Bucky to be big, but it only lasted up to a week at most. They were also little for months in between aging up— whether on their own, just because that's what their bodies did, or because they were needed for a mission, which wasn't uncommon. However, Tony had been big two weeks before.
Steve hadn't a clue what was happening with his baby boy, but he knew he would have to pay for it once he returned to his little state. Knowing Tony, he probably barley slept a wink all week and that was going to wreck havoc on baby Tony. He was going to be incredibly exhausted, but would more than likely refuse to sleep, and he was going to be beyond his typical amounts of clinginess towards his daddy.
Steve hadn't been left without a little though. Which was great for him(and the rest of the team.) It wasn't rare for both his boys to be big at the same time and Steve never dealt with it well. He ended up driving the rest of the team crazy at some point or another with his incessant mother-henning. Luckily for everyone, Bucky had stayed in his headspace throughout Tony's times being big in the last few weeks.
He was only mildly disappointed at the fact that he wasn't going to have his baby brother to play with or introduce new things to. Which he had done on multiple occasions and may or may not have gotten himself in trouble for some of the things he introduced– i.e., sneaking an extra cookie or sweets when Daddy wasn't looking, seeing how far they could throw rocks into the air, trying to keep bugs they found outside as "secret" pets, and generally anything else Daddy would disapprove of. They weren't always his little angels.
Nevertheless, Bucky realized without baby Tony there, he had all of Daddy's attention and that was a very big deal when you were little— let alone had a sibling that needed copious attention. But all of that came to a crashing halt when the elevator doors opened to their floor and Phil walked out with an incredibly cranky Tony who was obviously back in his little headspace, although seemingly fighting it.
Steve sighed, rubbed his face with his hands, and stood from his spot on the couch. He missed Bucky's scowl as he met Phil in the middle of the room and took his baby.
"Don't want Uncle Phil here, Daddy!" Tony shouted once he was in his daddy's arms and shot a glare towards Phil. "Was in my workshop and he maked me leave."
"You know you can't be down there when you're little, buddy," Steve replied. He got face shoved into his neck and frustrated tears in return. He gave a nod to Phil as a 'thank you' and a 'goodbye'. Phil just gave him a good luck type smirk and left. He knew it wasn't exactly safe to stick around.
"Daddy? Are we still gonna play?" Bucky spoke up with a sad smile.
Steve bent down a bit to ruffle Bucky's hair. "Yeah, of course, bud! Let me put your brother down and we can play some more."
Bucky physically relaxed and nodded happily before his daddy walked down the hall to their nursery. Tony's resentment had actually made Steve's life a lot easier because Tony just wanted his bear, pacifier, crib, and nothing else— at least for now. To Steve's surprise, he was asleep before he even left the room.
Back in the living room, he played airplanes with his older boy. He held Bucky up in the air and ran around with him while Bucky was also holding one of his airplanes. Daddy was the best at playing airplanes, he let Bucky pretend to be an airplane, too! It was his favorite!
It was only twenty minutes later before his fun was ruined. Tony's needy cries tore through Bucky's happy giggles and Daddy put him down with a quick, "Be right back."
Daddy looked worried about his baby brother, but Bucky was more worried about the fact that he kept getting left alone. He wanted more time with Daddy just by himself, no baby Tony to ruin everything. He sighed sadly and decided to build with Legos instead of playing with his airplanes.
•••••
"Baby boy, what's wrong? I thought you were having a nap," Tony reached out for his daddy as he stood next his crib and his sobs grew louder. Steve picked him up with a kiss to the forehead, covertly making sure his forehead wasn't overheated just in case, and Tony gripped onto him for dear life. He held him close and rubbed his back, doing his best to soothe his boy. "Did you use your diaper already, hmm?"
Tony shook his head, but Steve attempted to lie him on the changing table anyhow. "No, Dada!" Tony shrieked and his hands gripped onto his daddy's shirt even firmer and his legs became tighter around his waist.
"I think you're wet, baby, it'll just take a second."
"No! Want you!"
Steve figured there was nothing he would be able to at that moment without upsetting Tony further, so he decided to just forego a change for the time being and take the boy out of the nursery. He popped a pacifier in his mouth and made his way to the kitchen. "Hey, Buck! Do you want a snack?"
Bucky came running in and looked a bit sadly at his baby brother. As much as he wanted all of Daddy's attention, he didn't like seeing his brother cry. It broke his little heart.
"Yes, please, Daddy," Bucky smiled. He climbed onto his chair at the kitchen table and waited patiently for his snack.
"Hey, baby, do you want a bottle or some graham crackers like Bucky?" Steve thumbed under Tony's right eye to wipe his tears away when he lifted his head. He shrugged his shoulders and his bottom lip began to tremble. He couldn't make decisions right now, all he was focused on was his need to be close to Daddy. "Shh, it's okay, sweetheart. Let's try a bottle."
Steve was so focused on making sure his baby's cries wouldn't start up again, that he momentarily forgot to give Bucky his graham crackers. He had finished heating up the bottle and was about to disappear into the living room when he heard Bucky speak up. "Daddy! What about me?!"
Steve's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the anger and dejection in his voice. He usually just laughed it off when his daddy was being silly and forgot something so simple. Bucky was glowering at him when Steve turned around.
"I'm so sorry, Bucky. Daddy was just distracted," Steve quickly grabbed a couple graham crackers and placed them in front of Bucky. "Here you go. I'll be in the living room, okay?"
Bucky nodded and mumbled out a "thank you" before munching on his snack. He was upset, but he always did his best to use his manners.
Steve relaxed in the rocking chair and turned the TV on to whatever age appropriate cartoons were currently playing. It was mostly for background noise considering Tony was entertained enough just staring up at his daddy while he nursed on his bottle. He downed the bottle rather quickly and crushed Steve's hopes of him falling back to sleep. He was still very much awake and wide-eyed. His eyes welled up with tears and let out a pitiful whine when Steve removed the empty bottle from his mouth. Daddy was quick to replace it with the pacifier he already had in hand.
Content, the boy sat up with minimal struggle and laid chest to chest with his daddy and rested his head on his shoulder. Steve rose to his feet and carried his baby to the kitchen to check on Bucky and put the bottle in the sink.
"I'm all done, Daddy. Can I go play?" Bucky wiped crumbs off his lips with the back of his hand.
"Yeah, go ahead," Steve nodded.
"You come play, too?" Tony whined at that and hugged Daddy tighter. Bucky glared at him and Tony unfortunately caught it and began bawling.
"Hey, hey, ou're okay, baby. What's all this about?" Tony pointed at Bucky but he had his innocent face on and gave a simple shrug. Steve knew better than that, but sent the boy off the play regardless. He bounced around the kitchen with the crying boy. "Stop crying, lovey, Daddy's right here. You're okay."
Steve brought Tony back to the nursery in a round two attempt to change him after he had settled a bit. He was able to lay him down this time around but he kept trying to sit up and wasn't happy when Steve gently pushed his chest back down. Although he was quiet then, he still had a few tears every now and again roll down his cheeks.
"Dada, up," Tony whined and tried to sit up again.
"Almost done, sweetheart," He promptly stuck the diaper straps against the front and pulled his pants back up and lifted the boy. "Should we go play with your big brother now?"
Tony shook his head. Which. Well. Steve couldn't exactly say he was surprised by it.
Against his own words, he easily sat on the floor next to Bucky with a few of his baby toys in front of him. Steve took that as a good sign and tried to go over to the couch to sit and relax, but Tony had other plans.
"Dada, no! Stay!" He grabbed the leg of Daddy's pants and pulled slightly. Steve looked down and ruffled his hair.
"You're okay, Tones. Play with Bucky. I'm just going to be on the sofa," Steve explained and attempted to walk away again.
"Nooo!" Tony cried out and chased his daddy on his hands on knees. He climbed into his lap after he settled on the couch. At that point, Bucky had had enough of his baby brother and his neediness. He got off the floor and marched over to the two of them.
"Me too, Daddy," He whined and followed in his brother's steps and crawled onto his lap. Tony wasn't exactly on board with that plan and he let out a whine and pushed a foot at Bucky's chest. Bucky got even more angry and shouted, "Stop it, Tony!"
"No, Bucky," Tony grumbled and refused to move his foot.
"Hey, both of you stop. There's enough room for you both to have a cuddle."
"No! My daddy! Want Tony to leave again!" Bucky shouted. His face was red with anger as he shot daggers between his two family members. Steve could see him clenching and unclenching his jaw. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen him so angry.
"Bucky, I need you to go sit in the corner and–"
"No!" Bucky screamed. He shocked both Steve and Tony into silence.
He picked up a block that was next to his foot and threw it across the room, hitting a wall. He glanced back to his daddy and brother, glare still in full force, to see Steve completely appalled by his actions. He was able to throw a few more various toys around before Daddy grabbed a toy out of his hand when his hand went back, ready to throw it, and he ceased what he was doing.
"Bucky! That is enough!"
His anger escalated then and he turned back towards the two and hit Tony very hard on the thigh. Tony waited a full three seconds in shock before he wailed. Bucky was quick with another lighter slap to his back.
"James! That is not okay!" Steve shouted and stood up in a haste. Bucky knew he was in big trouble when he heard Daddy say his real name, but it didn't deter him at all. He tried to slap whatever he could again blindly, except Steve was quicker and grabbed his wrist before his hand could fall onto Tony's back. He pulled the older boy into the timeout corner. Bucky didn't put up much of a fight physically, besides kicking Daddy in the sin, but got no response. He wasn't above screaming like banshee to express his anger though.
"You need to stand and think about what you just did. You know that is never okay," Steve looked down intimidatingly and Bucky shrunk back a bit. Steve turned and was about to wander off to separate himself and Tony from angry little.
"Daddy," Bucky said just above a whisper. Steve was taken aback by the crack in his voice. He faced the boy, who seemed a lot smaller than he was just seconds before, and his face softened. Bucky started flat out sobbing and fell to his knees, hands covering his face as if he were disappointed in himself. "I sorry, Daddy! And Tony! Didn't mean to hit! I so sorry!"
Steve felt a bit trapped at the fact that he now had two terribly devastated boys to deal with. He knew he had to comfort the older before any punishment could take place. He knelt down with Tony on one hip and drew Bucky in close. "Come here, Bucky Bear."
He hiked him up onto his other hip and he soon had two boys bawling into his neck. He knew calling for back up at this point would be completely useless since they both just needed their daddy. He smiled a bit at that despite current happenings. Even through the anguish of his littles, being a daddy was rewarding.
He took a seat once more in the rocking chair, somewhat uncomfortably with what having two littles laying on him crying their eyes out, and began humming and rocking in hope to appease the tears. It worked wonders and soon both boys were only sniffling every few minutes. And very possibly rubbing their snotty noses on his shirt.
"You've both had a pretty tough day, huh? Daddy didn't do a very good job paying attention."
"Always do a good job, Daddy," Bucky kissed his cheek. "Sometimes we just have bad days and that's okay."
"Thank you, sweetheart," Daddy smiled and kissed his forehead. "What's on your mind?"
Bucky shrugged a shoulder and fiddled with the collar of Daddy's shirt. "Dunno," he mumbled.
"I think you do know, but you're just scared to tell me. Is that right?" Bucky nodded reluctantly and stared at his fingers as they continued to play with the shirt. "Well, I want you to know that how ever you feel is perfectly okay and we'll figure it out. I want you to be able to talk to me, buddy."
"Wasn't trying to be a bad boy, Daddy. I'm sorry," Bucky mumbled and a couple more tears slipped out. "I was mad and upset and I didn't know what to do. So I hit and I hurted Tony and I'm sorry."
"You aren't a bad boy, Bucky Bear. What do we say?" Steve encouraged.
"Um... We say we just made a bad choice. Or maybe just a mistake," he rubbed his face into his daddy's shirt because his face was a bit itchy from his tears. "And then we get timeout and we say sorry."
"That's right, buddy, good job. Do you think you are okay to sit in the corner for a few minutes?"
Bucky hesitated before nodding slowly. He didn't want to leave Daddy just yet, but he knew he had to serve his time in the corner. He reminded himself he would get cuddles after he was all done. He shuffled his way to the corner and Daddy started his time.
Steve hadn't realized Tony had completely passed out in the short time frame from when he stopped crying until then. He supposed he finally got what he hoped for. He informed Bucky before he went to lay the baby down. He laid him gently in the middle of Steve's own bed, made sure his bear was with him and his pacifier was still in his mouth, before exiting.
"Okay, Bucky, you can come out of timeout now."
The boy sped over to Steve and wrapped his arms around him. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I will tell that to Tony too, when he wakes back up. I love you, Daddy," he leaned his head back and puckered his lips for a kiss. Steve, of course, pecked his lips without hesitation.
"I love you very much, Bucky. How about we go lay in Daddy's bed with Tony and have a rest?"
Bucky nodded and was picked up off the floor and onto Daddy's hip. "Daddy, did I hurt Tony bad? Will he be okay?"
Steve stopped in his path towards the bedroom and took a seat on the couch. It was serious conversation time.
"He probably has a mark on his leg, but I think he will be okay. I don't want you doing that again, you hear?" Steve couldn't say he was completely over the whole ordeal. He was going to keep an eye on the older little for the next few days to make sure he kept his anger in check.
Bucky nodded quickly, feeling loads of guilt already. "Never, ever again."
"You have to speak up next time you have icky feelings like you did today, okay? Daddy will do his best to make everything better."
Bucky nodded. "I liked when Tony was big and it was just me and you and you played lots and lots with me. But can't do that when Tony is little because he needs lots of attention and it makes me sad, Daddy. And maybe mad, too."
"Bucky," Steve kissed his forehead and gave him a tight squeeze. He put a finger under Bucky's chin and gently lifted his head so their eyes would meet. "I love you more than anything. I love you both. Tony needs more looking out for because he is younger, but that doesn't mean I want to spend any less time with you. How about we make a plan?"
"What kinda plan, Daddy?" Bucky was super curious now. What did Daddy have up his sleeve?
"One day a week we just have Daddy and Bucky time. Tony can go with Uncle Phil or Uncle Bruce and we can do whatever your little heart desires. Does that sound good?"
Bucky grinned and nodded excitedly. That sounded like the best idea ever! "Yes, please, Daddy!"
With one last kiss and a nod, Steve rose and continued towards the bedroom quietly.
Steve laid Bucky on one side of Tony and situated himself on the other. He knew Bucky wouldn't fall off the bed and Bucky was more than aware that they both had to protect Tony from falling off.
Bucky kissed his baby brother on the cheek, smiled at his daddy, and laid his head down on the cool pillow to rest. He would make the rest of his day(and tomorrow, too!) a lot better than it had already gone. He promised himself that.