Chapter Text
Peter isn't allowed to see his papa, and he has no clue why. His papa had been there when his family came to save him from the bad men. Except he'd been asleep on the plane.
He'd slept the entire flight home, and even once they got there.
Peter had begged to see his papa, but his mama and daddy said that he's not feeling well and that Peter can't go see him until he's feeling better.
He does not like that. Not even a little bit. Whenever Peter isn't feeling good, it always makes him feels better when his Mama and Daddy and Papa give him lots and lots of snuggles and kisses. He doesn't like the idea of his Papa being all alone if he didn't feel good.
Peter had tried to sneak away to where he knew his papa was. He could smell him in one of the med-bay rooms. His papa's scent is thick and distressed and it makes Peter want to give him so many snuggles that he has no choice to feel better. He'd been so close too, when uncle Rhodey had scooped him up and carried him away. He'd started attempting to squirm out of his arms, whining sadly the whole time.
Uncle Rhodey had carried to Peter to his mama and papa who had explained to him that not only did papa not feel good, but it was also dangerous for Peter to be around him. The idea is so silly to Peter. His papa isn't dangerous. Peter can't even imagine a world where his papa could ever hurt him, but his parents had explained that while he would never hurt him on purpose, he could do so on accident.
It makes Peter so sad. He's been back home for four days, and he still hasn't been allowed to see his papa. His papa is sad too. Peter can smell it from where he's laying between his other two parents.
He tosses and turns in the nest, squirming to get comfortable. It feels impossible when he can sense his papa's distress. Eventually, Peter sits up. He sits on his knees, staring down the hallway where he knows his papa is. He thinks for a moment before he makes a decision.
Peter shuffles backwards, moving from between his parents. He moves carefully, doing his best not to wake them up. He gets free and moves crawl out of the nest, freezing when his daddy makes a small noise. Peter holds his breath, only relaxing and continuing out of the nest when his daddy only rolls over and pulls his mama closer to himself. Once Peter is out of the nest, pulls himself to his feet. He takes a deep breath, inhaling in more of his papa's distressed scent and having to bite back a sad whimper.
He braces himself before he begins tiptoeing towards the hallway. Peter follows the scent until he's standing out of the room where the scent is the strongest. Peter tries to open it, but the door doesn't budge. He huffs and stands on his tippy toes,carefully typing in the code that unlocks the door the way he's seen the adults in his life. do. For a moment, he worries that it won't work. That he didn't remember it right.
Thankfully, though, the door slides open in front of him. The scent of distress hits him like a brick wall. It's enough to make him stagger backwards. Peter steps in the room.
It's dark, much like the rest of the compound. However, it's just light enough that he can see where his papa is in the room. He's in his wolf form, trapped in what looks like a cage, barred in and enclosed. He's laying in a small, messy nest. It's much too small for him. His papa is big in his wolf form, the meager nest is no where big enough for him, much less any pack mates. He's trying to make the best of it, however, nuzzling desperately at the fabric in an attempt to get his pack mates scents from it.
The scene makes Peter let out a soft, sad whimper.
His papa's head snaps up at the noise, and Peter can't help but freeze when his blue eyes lock onto him. He stands, moving quickly to the bars of his cage. Peter takes note of his missing limb. His papa keeps his gaze locked on Peter. Peter thinks he should be scared.
His papa is so big. There's also just something… Off about him. His eyes are wild in a way Peter's never seen before. His normally clean white fur is unkempt. He looks scary.
But Peter isn't scared. His papa isn't feeling good, but Peter knows he would never hurt him. With that in mind, he walks further into the room, only stopping when he's inches from the bars.
His papa chuffs and tries to step closer to him, only to whimper when he can't get past the bars. Peter reaches out a little hand, placing it on his snout when he bends down and giggling when he receives a lick in return. He stands on his tippy toes and reaches through the bars, wrapping his little arms around his neck.
The two of the stay like that for several minutes until Peter gets an idea. He goes to pull away, only to be stopped when his papa whines and stops by gripping his shirt between his teeth.
"Papa," He giggles "I gots a idea! I'll be back!" He promises, trying to pull his sleeve free.
His papa finally relents and lets go. The force of Peter's pulling causes him to fall backwards. He lands on his butt with a small 'oof', his papa's ears flattening to his head as his scent sours with guilt.
"I'm okay!" Peter exclaims, standing quickly and dusting himself off before turning on his heel and running out of the room.
When he's back in the hallway, he tiptoes his way to the closet where he knows they keep all of their extra nesting materials. He freezes when he hears shifting from the opposite end of the hallway. He turns his head to where he knows his other two parents are sleeping. He waits a moment to see if there's anyone coming. When he decides there isn't, he reaches up and gently tugs the door open.
Peter steps into the small closet, wishing for a moment he was tall enough to reach the light switch. It's too dark for him to see, so he holds his hands out in front of him until he is able to feel the lowest shelf. He realizes, with an annoyed huff, that even the bottom shelf is too tall for him to properly grab the blankets he needs.
Thankfully, he remembers that there's a basket full of his personal blankets in the corner on the floor. He drops to his knees and shuffles forward until he bumps into it. He grabs the edge of it and shuffles backwards with it in his grasp until both himself and the basket are out of the closet.
Once they're out, he pushes himself to his feet and dusts off his knees. He moves to pick up the basket. He takes a moment to figure out the easiest way to hold it. It's not too heavy for him, but it's size and shape make if difficult for him to carry it.
When he figures it out, he turns and makes his way back to his papa. He enters the room and sees that his papa has lied down in front of the the bars, curled up with his head resting on his front paws. He lifts his head when Peter enters the room, his ears perking up and head tilting when he sees what the pup is holding.
When Peter sees him, he picks up the pace. He's maybe five feet from his papa when he suddenly trips over his own feet, sending himself and the basket and blankets sprawling across the floor. His papa is on his feet in an instant, trying to get to Peter and growling when he is once again reminded of the cage he is trapped on.
Peter whimpers quietly. His knee stings and when he glances down at it he can see that he's got a scrape. It's not large, and he's not bleeding, but it still hurts. He carefully stands, trying not to put pressure on his hurt knee, and begins to gather up the blankets he brought in.
"'M okay!" He exclaims despite the sting.
He carries the blankets to the edge of the cage and pushes them in between the bars. His papa grabs them in between his teeth, turning and dropping them on the edge of his teeth before returning where Peter stands.
The pup takes a moment to inspect the bars. They're close enough together to keep his papa in it, but Peter thinks that he can fit in between them. With that in mind, he turns to the side and begins to carefully shuffle himself between them. It takes minimal maneuvering before he's through the bars and standing directly in front of his papa with nothing between them.
He grins up and chirps happily at the older man, feeling proud of himself. His papa chuffs fondly in response, leaning down and licking a wet stripe up Peter's face in an attempt at a kiss on the cheek.
"Papa! That tickles!" Peter snorts before throwing himself to hug him and bury his face against his fur.
With the alpha standing at his full height, Peter isn't able to reach his neck, so he settles for wrapping himself around his leg and burying his head against his chest. It's similar how he hugs him when he's not being carried, if not with much more fur involved. He papa lowers his head and uses it to press Peter's tiny form closer to himself.
The two of them stay like for several minutes until his papa nudges him away. Peter can't help but pout at the separation, before gasping as the wolf leans down and grasps the back of his shirt gently between his teeth. He lifts Peter carefully in the air and carries him back to his small, makeshift nest. The alpha sets Peter carefully down inside of it and begins arranging the blankets he brought around him. Peter sets to work on the nest as well, intertwining the new blankets with the old until he deems the nest big enough for the two of them.
When the nest is completed Peter beams up at his papa before yawning, loud and opened mouthed, his lack of sleep finally catching up to him. His papa takes that as a sign to step into the nest alongside him. He takes a moment to sniff at the scrape on Peter's knee, whining at his pup being hurt, before he nudges Peter to lie down and curls his body around his much smaller body.
Peter snuggles against his papa, nuzzling his soft fur and yawning again before drifting off the sleep in the safety of the nest with his papa's presence.
Bucky doesn't drift off to sleep when Peter does, choosing instead to stay away and vigilant. He does, however, feel the calmest he has since Peter was taken. His instincts finally relaxing now that he has his pup in his grasp.