Don’t Touch the Chocolate in the Fridge
They arrived home minutes after Bruce and Tony came back. Both boys were anxiously sitting in the living room and Bruce bolted to Maria as soon as he saw her step foot in the house. He was shaking and his eyes were close to tears.
Maria held him against her legs since he was so short. She combed through his salt and pepper hair, smiling when the curls sprung back regardless.
“It’s okay Bruce. I’m back. It’ll be okay,” She whispered gently until the kid’s breathing slowed and evened out.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, eyes red from crying. “I just panicked when you weren’t home.”
“It’s okay, I’m really sorry for not leaving a message. We had an emergency and I had to go,” she explained before picking up Bruce and heading to the living room with him.
“Where were you?” Tony asked after Bruce shot out of the room and Bucky entered.
The older boy shrugged, sitting down on the chair. He looked pale and was unusually quiet.
“Well, go on. Where were you? And where’s Phil and the puppy?”
Bucky scoffed. “Give the kid a break, Tony, jesus.”
“Oh so now you’re defending him?” the middle schooler asked with his brows furrowed and amusement in his voice.
“We went to the ER, the kid had a seizure and could’ve died so yeah, I’m gonna defend him,” Bucky shot back as Tony looked shocked.
The genius made a face before nodding. “Of all the things I speculated that wasn’t quite up there,” he noted nonchalantly. “Kid gonna be alright?”
Bucky nodded and there was silence for a bit.
“We were fighting and it got out of hand,” he informed Tony, feeling like he should fess up the truth instead of letting lies or rumors float around the house. “I hit him in the head and he kicked me and then we were sent to our rooms. Phil’s on a call and when he got out he couldn't find the boy. Eventually he found him seizing on the bed. Clint passed out, we went to the ER, waited for hours, and got some food. When we came back he was out of surgery.”
“Christ! Surgery?!”
“Just something with his skull to manage the inflammation.”
“But he’s gonna be alright?”
Bucky made a tense nod before looking up at Tony. “Yeah, he’ll be okay. He comes home tomorrow and they wanna observe him to see if he has anymore. Something about epilepsy.”
“Shit that’s no fun. And on the first official day,” Tony remarked, folding his hands in his lap as he settled down, for once becoming more serious.
“Yeah, it almost reminds me of someone I know.”
Tony huffed, standing up and waving Bucky off. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Whatever. C’mon, I need your help on an essay,” he decided, leading the way out of the room and giving Bruce a pat on the back.
Dinner that night was quiet without Phil. Thor had been filled in on the news and Maria had once again cooked an interesting meal.
“Is this supposed to be like.. Pasta?” Tony asked confusedly, lifting up a suspicious noodle.
She sighed, “Yes, Tony. It’s spaghetti. It’s really not as bad as it looks,” She promised.
Tony made some off hand comment before eating it, making a face but he was hungry after all.
“So for tomorrow… I assume I’m still suspended?” Bucky guessed, biting into the tense silence at the table.
“Sorry, but yes. The meeting with the school got postponed today, we’ve rescheduled it on Monday to talk about your coming back.”
“It’s fine, alright,” Bucky said, standing up and rinsing his plate. “I need to clean my room before tomorrow, can I be excused?”
“You may,” she confirmed.
Burce looked up to watch as Bucky left before he went back to his food. “Phil will be home soon?”
“Tomorrow,” Tony confirmed, offering just a hint of condolence in his tone for the younger boy.
Bucky folded up his notes and put them in a folder, clearing his desk and then wadded up his dirty laundry. He’d closed his door but knew Tony could enter because they shared the room.
Staring up at the ceiling while laying flat on his bed Bucky replayed the conversation he had with Phil in the car. He had been pretty rough on the boy… maybe they’d just gotten off to a bad start. The teenager figured he could fix it, especially before his level or points dropped down. Bucky needed that higher level if he planned on visiting his friend.
There was a knock and the door swung wide as Tony made his dramatic entrance as always.
“Laying down in self pity?” he guessed, taking one look at Bucky before going on to pick up his trashed side of the room.
“You could say.”
“Still about the kid or something else now?”
Bucky let out a loud exhale, letting his good arm drop across his forehead as he closed his eyes. “I don’t know anymore. You know.. The kid’s never gonna find a home.” Bucky stated.
Tony gave a grin at the humor of it. “Well gee aren’t you really cheery today?”
“He’s not, Tony. We both know it. Nobody’s gonna take in and house a deaf kid with seizures. Just like nobody’s gonna house an annoying kid with heart problems. Or someone with three limbs. Nor a person with severe bulimia. Or.. Bruce.”
“This encouraging speech is really making me feel good right now, Buck.” he responded, sitting at the desk and spinning it around in circles, kicking off with his ankle.
“It’s just the truth. And Phil’s the only person who’d take in kids like us.”
Tony looked up at that. “The damaged broken ones?”
“Yeah. I’m just saying… I think we better give the kid a chance because he’s more than likely staying with us for the long haul.”
The inventor sighed, head back and arms draping over the chairs arm rests. “I know, I know. But Jesus if he touches my chocolate in the fridge--” he threatened, making Bucky chuckle light-heartedly.
“Yeah, we all know the drill.”