Their Itsy Bitsy Spider

A Conference Gone Wrong

When Bucky and Y/n arrived at the school they were directed to the office of Ms. Bradley, Peter's teacher. She seemed like a nice enough woman but both of them were well aware of her true nature. Appearances could be deceiving and Bucky and Y/n had chosen to believe their child's testimony as opposed to whatever the teacher had to say. Peter was instructed to go and play with the other kids until school started but he stayed right outside the office, small and quiet enough that he went unnoticed.

"You must be Mr. and Mrs. Barnes," the woman said, gesturing at the chairs in front of her desk. "Please take a seat, I assume you'd like to begin with what happened yesterday?"

Y/n gave the teacher a friendly smile. "Yes, I'd really like to talk about Peter being able to eat in class so that we can avoid any more little incidents with this bully."

The teacher smiled back, sickly sweet in a way that made Bucky's stomach turn. "I see he's trying to tell that high metabolism story to you as well. I hate to tell you this but eating snacks in class won't stop him from causing trouble. And Eugene isn't a bully, he's a very good child. Peter is the one that likes to instigate these little fights."

"I'm sorry, what?" Bucky asked, irritation clear in his voice.

"Don't feel bad," Ms. Bradley said, clearly assuming that Bucky's irritation was directed towards Peter. "I know he's a very good little manipulator, he's been in my class since the first grade."

"He's not manipulating us," Y/n said as calmly as she could. "I'm a medical professional, and I can get you proof that he needs to eat more than you're allowing him to. And I assure you, Peter isn't instigating anything."

"Trust me, Peter is incredibly irritable in class, and I can guarantee you that he isn't going to change that just because he gets to eat a snack!" The teacher said, apparently not noticing the anger that crossed both Bucky and Y/n's faces.

"He's only irritable because you don't let him eat," Bucky gritted out, concealing his anger much better than Y/n, who was nearly scowling at Peter's teacher. "If you bothered to listen to him you'd know that."

"Listen Mr. Barnes-"

"Sergeant." Y/n interrupted sharply, elaborating when the teacher gave her a confused look. "It's Sergeant Barnes. Show some respect to my husband."

That made Ms. Bradley finally lose her composure. "My point," she said shrilly, "is that Peter is a very difficult child. I'm sure that you've seen that already."

"I'm sorry, I must've heard you wrong," Y/n said coldly, barely restraining the anger that was flooding through her veins. "My child is not 'difficult'. Peter is the most lovable, sweet, eager to learn child I've ever met," Y/n said, squeezing her husband's hand. "If you just let him have enough food, he'll thrive. I know he will."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Barnes, but I've known him longer than you have," Ms. Bradley said condescendingly. "A problem child is a problem child, no matter how much they eat. Peter is just not a good kid."

Bucky saw red as he finally lost his grip on his temper. Peter had spent his entire life being told that he wasn't good enough to be chosen, and Bucky wasn't about to let anyone else make him feel that way again. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" He said angrily, standing up from his chair. "Don't you ever speak about my kid that way. Maybe you've known him longer than we have, but obviously you don't know shit about him."

Y/n rose from her seat with her husband, rage finally boiling over. "I've known that boy for three weeks, and I already know that he's not a 'problem child'. He's not your scapegoat anymore, I won't let that happen."

The teacher didn't flinch. "No one said anything about a scapegoat."

"We all know that's what's really going on here. He had no one to protect him and no one to stand up for him. He was an easy target for that little asshole to pick on and instead of helping him you let it happen! And you let everyone blame him for it too!" Bucky shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Ms. Bradley. "That shit isn't going to stand anymore though, I'll do whatever it takes to protect my kid and I don't care who else gets hurt!"