Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.
Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. There is also references to canon abuse/torture and minor harm to a child. Feel free to back out if need be.
Author's Note: Because it comes up in reviews a lot whenever I use it, Teddy uses a gender-neutral term for Harry instead of "mother/father". That is what "zither" is.
Submitting Info:
Stacked with: Hogwarts (Term 14); MC4A (Year 4)
Individual Challenges: Only the Fluffy Survive; Best Stories (Y); La Vie Boheme; Not the Mama; Fix-It Felix (Y); My Favorite Things; Gryffindor MC; Magical MC (x2); Metahuman MC (x2); Marvelous HP; Neurodivergent; Rowl in Her Grave; Rian-Russo Inversion; Ethnic & Present; Disabled; Small Fry; Booger Breath; Claimed; Setting Sail; Hold the Mayo; Go Fluff Yourself; Colors Galore; Zed Era; Old Shoes (Y); Old Shoes; Marvelous Cinema; Alpha & Omega; Short Jog; Bucket Listing; Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y)
House: Slytherin
Assignment No.: Term 14 – Assignment 12
Subject (Task No.): Zoology (Task#2: Write about someone family oriented.)
Other Hogwarts Challenges: Fantastic Beasts [94](a big family); 365 Prompts [79](Knitting Needles); Scavenger Hunt [20](Family); Pinata [Easy](Knitting);
Other MC4A Challenges: SuB [5E](Sunscreen); AU [1A](Single Parent); Ship (Winter Lightning)[SpBig] (Jewelry)/[SpBig](Tea)/[SpMed1](Meet the Fam)/[SuBig](Anklet/Bracelet) /[SuMed1](Shipper on Deck)/[Bingo](3A - Flirting with Food/Drink); Chim [Xylit](Omegaverse AU; Protection; Royal Purple); Hunt [Su Set](Sunny)/[Su Set](Zoo/Aquarium)/[Su Con](Tea)/[Su Con](Lemonade)/[Su Items](Jewelry); Garden [Chores](Knitting/Crocheting)/[Bed Types](Aquarium/Zoo) /[Tools](Yarn); Fire [Hard](Hands on Deck)/[Med](Gimme Love)/[Hard](Loving AU)
Representation(s): Desi Harry Potter/Bucky Barnes; Harry Raises Teddy; Team as Actual Family
Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: Car in a Tutu; Eternal Boredom; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Second Verse (Found Family; Nontraditional; Zucchini Bread; Middle Name; Nightingale; Unwanted Advice); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Pocky Pockets; Wabi Sabi; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade)
Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: T3 (Terrarium); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); FR (Evolution; Satisfaction)
Word Count: 1599 words
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Wild Animal Attack
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Steve was actually thankful for the sunscreen that Tony had developed for him, even the scent of it always covered everything else up. Yes, his accelerated healing meant that his sunburns were completely healed within a matter of hours. That did not mean that he enjoyed the time before it had healed. But between Tony's knowledge of chemistry and Bruce's knowledge of biology, the pair had developed a sunscreen that worked even on super soldiers. Something for which Steve was always grateful for whenever he had to be out in the intense sun for long periods of time.
He might have been born and raised in Brooklyn, but his mother had been born and raised in Ireland. Of all the things that the serum had cured him of, it had done nothing for his pale Irish complexion that showed even the faintest of blushes and burned easier than kerosene. During his life before Project Rebirth, it hadn't mattered much. His health had kept him inside more often than not, and even during basic training (what little he had completed), the brass had been careful to keep the recruits from spending too long in the sun in a given period of time.
The Avengers had no such considerations. Bucky hadn't asked for much since they had managed to rescue him from Hydra. For the first six months, the only person he had anything resembling trust for had been Tony (a fact never failed to make Steve grateful to have been so wrong about a person, even if his initial impression of Tony had been a manipulation), and that had been due to seeing him as a competent handler for the asset that Bucky had still believed himself to be. So when Bucky had brought up wanting to visit the Kansas City zoo, all of the Avengers had ASSEMBLED for the trip.
Unfortunately, while fun, it had already been several hours out in the relentless summer sun.
Not that Steve was going to be the one to tell Bucky (or Thor, who was completely smitten with the whole concept of a zoo) that it was time to leave. He had Tony's sunblock. Nat and Clint had also made sure that all of the team had a knapsack with a selection of snacks, water, and first aid kits. Apparently the first aid kits were a bit specialized to the individual carrying it, too, which had led to Tony making a lot of inappropriate jokes with Bucky over the larger size of Bruce's.
Sometimes Steve regretted becoming friends with either of the jerks.
Steve breathed a sigh of relief when their group decided to take a break in the main thoroughfare after covering two large sections since arriving. The area had several climate-controlled buildings for housing smaller creatures or ones with more specific needs. There was also a carousel and playground in the same area. Near the playground was a koi pond that narrowed at the center with a picturesque bridge crossing it at that point. A small collective of benches filled the fenced area on the other side of the bridge as well as the outside of the playground.
On one of the benches beside the playground, a person was sitting calmly knitting something with royal purple yarn. The man would look towards the playground every so often, clearly checking on his child. There was something aesthetically pleasing about the man with his dark tan skin and long black hair that was contained in a braid that draped over his shoulder, even if Steve wasn't interested in men the same way Tony and Bucky were. No sooner had he thought about the dynamic pair than he heard Bucky suck in a breath like he had just been sucker punched.
"Stevie," Bucky said as he grabbed Steve's arm hard, "I think I've seen proof of angels."
Seventy years and Steve's response was just as instinctive as it was back when he was fighting bullies in Brooklyn. He rolled his eyes hard enough to see spots. Bucky had seen enough proof of angels back then to have satisfied even the most cynic of rabbis.
"That line isn't going to work," Steve warned. "It was already cheesy in the forties."
He was instantly distracted by one of the children flinching away from the bar he had just reached for as he swung across the monkey bars. The motion had the unfortunate side effect of making the little boy fall to the rubbery padding that covered the playground. Steve was charging over before he had even processed that the child had fallen. Bucky was right behind him as always.
"Teddy!" someone cried out on the other side of the playground at the same time that the two Avengers reached the fallen boy. Steve looked towards the sound to see the previously knitting man running towards them. He was not afraid to admit that the man looked enough like Natasha on a mission that Steve felt a fission of fear trickle down his spine.
"That your name, kiddo?" he asked in lieu of running away. The little boy nodded with exaggerated solemness. His golden eyes glittered with what was probably the start of tears. Steve felt his heart twist a bit. He never was any good with tears. "Can you tell me if anything hurts, Teddy?"
"My hand," the boy whispered. He held up his hand to reveal a slightly swollen bump on the palm. It looked like a bee sting. Then the man skidded to a stop near them and the boy launched himself into his arms. "Zither!"
Even out in the open air with a good breeze sweeping over the area, Steve caught the scent of anxious omega from the man now holding the little boy. He still had a pair of knitting needles clenched in the hand that was braced against Teddy's back. The purple yarn was starting to fall apart from the jostling that came from a mad dash across a crowded playground. His other hand was supporting the back of Teddy's head and neck. The chunky beads in his bracelet clinked together with every shift of weight.
"What happened?" the man asked frantically. "What happened, Teddy-bear?"
"I was attacked!" Teddy cried before giving into the tears with the dramatic nature of small children everywhere. "It was a wild animal!"
"What?" the man asked, less frantic this time and more confused. He was now blinking bright green eyes at the two super soldiers. "A wild animal?"
"Oh, holy fuck," Bucky breathed in response. Steve twisted to look at him in shock just as he realized what he had said and where. "Shit! I didn't mean to—aw, fuck. I did it again. And now I can't seem to fucking stop."
"Language," Steve scolded as the dark-skinned man in front of them looked torn between laughing and covering his son's ears. Steve gave him the same smile that used to get him out of trouble when he was boy. "Don't mind my friend. He just turns into an absolute idiot around pretty omegas."
"Those are still no-no words," Teddy announced, his tears instantly gone. He went to curl his hand into a fist to tuck his thumb into his mouth, but stopped immediately as tears began to gather in his eyes again. "Zither, my hand hurts."
"Let me see, cub," the man soothed. The little boy held out his hand to show the spot where he had been stung. Thankfully it didn't seem to have gotten any worse in the few minutes since he had shown Steve it. "Oh, that—that looks bad. Let's see if we can't ask a staff member for a first aid kit."
"We've got one," Steve said easily. He pulled out his kit and gestured towards the bench across the way that had been abandoned. The small group settled easily. Within moments, Steve had the stinger removed from Teddy's hand. A small bit of gauze covered the antihistamine cream that Steve dabbed onto the small wound, with a dark navy blue wrap kept the gaze in place.
Bucky pulled out a couple of different drinks from his own bag. Teddy accepted a lemonade easily while his father looked a bit confused at the bottle of tea that Bucky had handed him. As a final offering, Bucky pulled out a mylar bag filled with dried blueberries. Teddy gave him a big grin before reaching into it eagerly.
"So, we know that this one is Teddy," Steve said when it became obvious that Bucky was going to kept his mouth shut to avoid cussing in front of a toddler again. The boy in question seemed content to gorge himself on dried fruit as his father tried to sort out the tangled knitting around him. "And I'm Steve while Sir Swears-A-Lot is Bucky—"
"Please say that is a nickname," the man interrupted, looking surprised at the words coming out of his mouth.
"From that punk right there," Bucky assured him. He pulled out another bag of blueberries as Teddy polished off the first bag. "It's short for Buchanan, which is my middle name."
"And what is your first name?" the man asked as he absently worked his needles while watching Bucky through his eyelashes.
"It's James," Bucky answered a bit breathlessly.
"Hi, James," the man replied with a shy smile. "I'm Harry."
"Now kiss," Teddy ordered before shoving a handful of blueberries into his mouth. Steve laughed into his fist as both Harry and Bucky flushed in embarrassment.
It was a good trip to the zoo, wild animal attack or no.
