Chapter Text
"Shhh... it's okay.. don't cry..." Steve is trying his best to calm down the little one. He's been a little cranky after not having his usual pancakes this morning.
It's been hard lately, juggling work and this little puncher. Steve has been thinking of finding a partner, but in this day and age, it seems impossible for someone to want an omega with a little kid at hand.
It's 10PM and Steve is entering an entry for his daily journal. It used to be filled with drawings and his mother’s cooking recipes, but nowadays, it is filled with pictures of Arlo and little updates about the guy.
"How has he grown up so fast already..?" as Steve flips through old pages, Arlo's first time calling him "Papa", his first steps, pictures of him spilling milk all over himself. Arlo is three years old now. He can walk and maybe talk a little, but it is all filled with silly jabbers Steve loves to laugh at.
"Arlo, it is time to sleep, please sleep." Steve continues to kiss Arlo's forehead and gives pats on the head to convince him to sleep.
"Papa.. Arlo want papa."
"Papa is here honey.. " Steve sighs slowly, as he pushes back strands of brown hair from Arlo's face.
"Nooo... Tomorrow..." Arlo whines and tugs Steve's shirt harshly.
Ah yes, tomorrow Steve has to work. Arlo hates it when he has to go to work. Sometimes he brings Arlo to work, everyone loves the little guy, but most of the time, he gives the little guy to Natasha. She deals with him pretty well.
"You can meet Aunt Tasha tomorrow, doesn't that sound good?"
"Nooo Arlo want papa!!" he whines again. Seems like it's inevitable by now.
It's not like Steve hates bringing the little guy to work, it's just that Arlo often spills drinks and that comes out of Steve's paycheck. Life's hard as it is. But if it is an undeniable demand, then Steve has no other choice.
"Okay then, but no spilling drinks and making a ruckus there, okay?"
"Yes papa!"
❃.✮:▹ ◃:✮.❃
It's a bright morning day, hopefully it doesn't rain today. Steve thought.
Steve has made Arlo's favorite pancakes with a blueberry on top, Arlo won't be satisfied without it.
Steve starts to pack up his bag, filling it up with milk, diapers for good measure (even though arlo is nicely potty trained), and some tissues to fix up any mess he'll make later on. Definitely trying his best to be optimistic.
He decided to send a message to Nat.
—
/Steve/ : Hey nat, im bringing arlo with me today. you are free.
/Natasha/ : no way! freedom?!
/Steve/ : yup.
/Natasha/ : ookay, ill visit u and the little dude later, need my morning coffee. don't forget to give me a discount for all that caretaking!
/Steve/ : yes, no problem.
—
Steve giggles a little and turns off his phone. I guess it won't be too bad of a day.
Steve turns to call the little puncher, apparently he is searching for his train toy. A singular train that he calls 'Buddy' for some reason.
"Arloo! we have to go now!" Steve shouts as he looks toward their bedroom.
"Papa! Train! Here!" Arlo shows his little train, surrounded by all the mess he made of the room. Steve tells himself to clean that up later.
"Great Arlo, let's go and put on your shoes, papa don't have much time."
"Okay!"
❃.✮:▹ ◃:✮.❃
Bucky really is not having it. His co-workers are stupid as fuck. Like who the hell uses F4 paper when he asks for A4? It's ridiculous.
Bucky is a manager in a boring company with the most boring name. Stark Industries. A well-known company that produces the most upcoming and innovative technologies.
People would say Bucky is lucky to get into Stark Industries, knowing it's the most competitive industry out there to get in. It is a place dominated by big and powerful alphas. Considerably, Bucky is one of them. Bucky can't really find what's so special and mighty about this place.
Whatever beef he has going on with his own company, he just needs to find a good small local cafe to sit and ponder.
After searching for a while, he found this one cafe with a pretty good rating and an interesting menu. He loves the exterior though. The blue and red really compliments eachother and really pops up the place well. The person who designed it must have a really good imagination. Not like Bucky knows anything about exteriors and interiors.
The place isn't far from his workplace, which was nice. If the place gives him a good impression, he might as well be a loyal customer with this beautiful scenery.
"Welcome to Blue Cafe! How may I help you?" A young blonde man greets him.
Classic cafe name, Bucky thinks.
"First time here, anything you recommend... " Bucky looks at the name tag, "Steve?"
"Ah! Yes, uhm I would probably recommend our new Biscoff series release, there are coffee and non-coffee options. Personally, I'm not a coffee type guy, so I'd go for the Biscoff Classic!" Steve says proudly. The guy seems really passionate about this Biscoff drink.
"Sure then, Biscoff Classic it is." Bucky says.
The blonde continues to ask about specifics of the desired drink and the total, until..
"Papa! Man beard!"
Did that kid just point at... Bucky? Did he just call him.. Man Beard..?
"Arlo! No! Come here!" The blonde cashier hurries up to catch the little kid before he makes any further comments.
"Arlo, that isn't so kind! Do apologize." Steve says to the kid—no, Arlo's face. Arlo puts on a pout and holds Steve close. Tugging his shirt.
"Man Beard.. Sorry.." Arlo says while hugging Steve. The little dude looks so cute. But Bucky is a little sidetracked—this guy has a kid? He looks young, pretty buff too. Bucky is wondering whether the blonde is an omega or not. By the way he scolds and holds the kid, he is probably an omega. Not trying to jump into conclusions or anything. It's rare to find an omega this well built, I mean—look at those muscles! Bucky's eyes can't stop looking. This dude can also be an alpha with that build.
"It's okay lil dude, Arlo is it?" he asks the kid, although he is quite offended by being called a 'Man Beard' exactly the day he decided to not shave. Guess this is a slap in the face for Bucky.
"Mhm!" Arlo says cheerfully. The kid is really cute, he has the exact same eyes as Steve. The blue is really intoxicating.
Bucky shakes his head.
"Good to know you little guy, I'll be sitting near that window there." Bucky says calmly. Hoping Steve catches the message too.
"Ah yes! I am very sorry about Arlo!" Steve seems very anxious. Cute.
"It's nothing, the little dude gets a pass." As Bucky walks toward his desired seat. This seat has a great view. It's a sunny day, but not too hot. It's perfect.
Not long after, his drink came, but with little hands holding them.
"Man Beard! Sorry. Here drink." He holds the drink oh so carefully, like it is his first time holding something fragile. Steve is behind Arlo to guide him, avoiding disasters to happen.
"Aw thanks little dude." He pats Arlo in the head. He then looks at Steve, "Thank you too Steve." giving Steve a small smile to show gratitude.
"O-of course! Again, sorry for Arlo's behaviour. I'll try to teach him to not call people weird names." Steve ruffles Arlo's hair, making it all messy. "Papaaaaa" Arlo whines, he hates getting his hair all messed up.
"Oh no it's all good, besides, i like the nickname." Bucky says with content.
Well, it seems like he'll be turning into a loyal customer.
❃.✮:▹ ◃:✮.❃
"Oy Buck! Come and get these files headed to Bruce. I swear I fixed it before." Clint seems frustrated with his job. Stark Industries isn't doing too well right now. Many companies are making blatant copies of Stark's products and making them way cheaper. Still, it doesn't take a while till their name goes up in the ranks.
The new cafe he just visited made his mood all giddy. Everyone is looking at him weird. It's rare to find Bucky this happy.
As much as Bucky would love to stay in the cafe for much longer, he has paperwork to do. A new product launch is coming soon and everyone is turning their heads upside down about it.
Bucky's pain has been reduced ever since someone new joined his department. It's an Alpha female. She mostly works from home. Must be nice. Bucky doesn't remember what she looks like cause she barely comes to the office. If Bucky remembers this right... it must be.. Natasha Romanoff? Cool name, Bucky thinks.
She's good at her job, never misses a deadline and very efficient with her work. Bucky wonders why she prefers working from home. But that's not his business.
"Hello everyone!" Someone comes in from the front door, a girl with short red hair.
"Eyyy Nat! nice to see you in the office." Clint remarks.
"The kid's not with me today, so I got some time to visit the office. So, what did I miss? any new weird brainstorm invention Howard stirred up?" Natasha giggles and sits on her chair, right beside Clint.
"Oh you don't even wanna know!" Clint tells Nat the weird stuff that has been happening in the office. They're really close, apparently they went into the same college together. No wonder, Bucky thinks.
Though Bucky got a little sidetracked, "the kid"? She has a kid? I mean, now it makes sense why she takes work at home. Some companies don't accept people who work from home, even Stark Industries is sometimes picky about it. But because Natasha does her work too well, they let her be.
Bucky has questions, but he decides to keep it to himself.
"Hey Manager James, it's nice to see you." Natasha continues to greet Bucky.
"Oh no don't call me that, just call me Bucky. Everyone here calls me Bucky." Bucky quickly responded. He chuckles a little bit, well it can't be too bad. He and Natasha could get close.
"Ah right, sorry. You can call me Nat." Nat replied with a soft smile. Damn, those canines are sharp. Bucky wonders.
Some Alphas have sharp canines. Sometimes it is from genetics of a strong Alpha in the family, and sometimes it grows by their own, depending on their pheromones. Bucky gets them from genetics, though he can hide them pretty well.
"Okay, Nat. Have an enjoyable work day" Bucky tells Nat. Giving her a smile. Nat nods and heads towards her desk, already talking to Clint.
Maybe he could visit that coffee shop again after work.