Being the parent of a special needs child wasn't easy. Most of the small things about life, such as getting dressed, usually became big things. Steve Rogers knew this all too well. His son, Tyler, was severely autistic and required constant supervision.
Despite this fact, Steve was very patient with his son. He knew Tyler couldn't help it, so there was no need to get angry with him; it wouldn't solve anything.
However, Steve's ex-husband, Tony, didn't get that. He would constantly yell at Tyler if he wasn't listening or if he was having an episode. Even though Steve loved Tony deeply, he knew that he had to get rid of him. He was toxic to Tyler and being toxic wouldn't help Tyler's thrive.
Today was the first time since the divorce was finalized that Steve was going to take Tyler out in public without the help of his grandmother.
After spending twenty-one minutes dressing Tyler in his coat and shoes, the two embarked on their journey to Tyler's favourite restaurant.
As soon as they were seated at a table, Tyler started fidgeting. Steve reached across the table, grabbing Tyler's hand and rubbing small circles into it, since it usually calmed Tyler down. However, it didn't work. Tyler began making noise.
People started staring. Steve was apologizing profusely. Despite this fact, a couple people were giving his disgusting looks. One guy even got up and approached Steve.
"Why don't you control your fucking child?" The guy snapped, viciously. "He disturbing me."
Before Steve could answer, another man with a metal arm approached the table. Steve prepared himself for more insults, but the guy spoke at the guy that insulted Steve.
"Look, buddy." The guy with the metal arm sounded a little pissed off. "His child can't help it. He is severely autistic."
"Oh, so he's a fucking retard. That explains it." The other guy snickered.
Metal arm guy clenched his metal fist. "Look, he's not retarded. Nobody is retarded. Just because he's different than you, doesn't give you the right to treat him as less than a person."
"This coming from a guy that has a metal arm. I wouldn't be surprised if you had such poor hygiene that you got an infection that caused your real arm to fall off."
"If you must know, I fought for your fucking freedom. I lost it when a Taliban blew it off with a grenade." Metal arm guy seethed with anger. "Now, if you don't leave this poor guy and his son alone, I will call the cops on you for harassment."
The other guy raised his hands in surrender and walked away from the table. A chorus of applause echoed through the small dining room. Metal arm guy raised his hand in appreciation.
Steve slid over in the booth, allowing the other man to sit down beside him. Metal arm guy pulled is phone out, handing it to Tyler, who clapped in excitement.
"My name is Bucky, by the way." He extended his hand out.
"My name is Steve." Steve graciously shook his hand. "Thank you so much for doing that. This is the first time since my divorce that I've taken Tyler out by myself."
"Mind if I asked why you got divorced?"
"My ex was toxic to Tyler. Tony was a lot like the guy you just shooed off. He would always yell at Tyler for not listening. He couldn't understand that Tyler couldn't help it."
Bucky grabbed a napkin from the dispenser and a pen from his pocket. He scribbled him phone number down on it. He handed it to Steve. "Whenever you're ready to date again, give me a call. I'm available any time."
Steve blushed deeply. Bucky smiled as he grabbed his phone back from Tyler and slipped out of the booth. As soon as Bucky was gone, Steve grabbed his phone and punched in Bucky's number.
"Hello?" Bucky answered.
"It's Steve. I'm ready for that date."
