GROW (BUCKY BARNES x OC)

23

It was Parent's Day and Aurora was nervous. She had gently packaged up all her cookies into Tupperware containers and made Happy drive extra slowly to the school. Maple Elementary didn't ask the parents to bring in anything other than themselves, but Aurora wanted to go the extra mile.

As she waited outside the classroom for their math class to finish up, she shifted nervously on her feet. Tara and Mike came up to greet her and stand by her side.

"Hey! Oh my gosh, are those cookies?! We're we supposed to bring something?!" Tara panicked.

"No, no, I just wanted to bring in an extra treat." Aurora shook her head with a smile.

"Are those homemade?" Mike asked, peering at one container.

"Yep!"

"Are they just for the kids, or can parents have some too? Asking for a friend, of course." Mike joked.

"Well, you can tell that friend I baked enough for everyone. And maybe some leftovers too." Aurora said.

"Leftovers? Say Aurora, if you need to get rid of a few cookies, and don't want to bring all that back to your Tower, we could help you out." He offered with a gleam in his eye.

"You haven't even tried one yet, Mike!" Tara said, rolling her eyes playfully.

"Have you seen those things? They even look like heaven in a bite!" Mike defended.

They laughed. Regina, a man that must be her husband, and her group of moms with their spouses entered the hallway and glanced at Aurora and her cookies distastefully.

"Are those cookies? We aren't supposed to bring in food, you know." Regina scoffed.

"They are, in fact, cookies, and I got permission from the school. Peanut and tree nut free, too!" Aurora just smiled, not letting the sour woman get to her.

"Hm. Are they gluten free too? Keto? How about vegan?" Regina said.

"Uh, no-"

"Didn't think so. You should just toss them before you get the children's hopes up." Regina snapped.

"And you should stop acting like a stupid bitch." Tara fired back.

"Hey! That's my wife you're talking to!" Her husband snarled.

Aurora had her hands full holding her cookies, otherwise she would've put a hand on Tara's arm to calm her down.

"It's okay, Tara. Not everyone gets the joy in eating food that doesn't taste like rubbish." She said evenly.

One of the dads there snorted and tried to cover it up with a cough. Regina's eyes flared. She took a step forward, trying to seem menacing, but Aurora didn't so much as flinch. With all her lessons from the Avengers, she bet she could take Regina down in a fight in a matter of seconds. She'd just have to get Tara to hold her cookies for a moment.

Before Regina could say more offensive things however, the door to the classroom opened and Mrs. Lopez began welcoming the parents inside. Regina, still furious looked like she wanted to continue the conversation, but Mike stepped in.

"Excuse us, Regina, some of us came here to see our children, not to try and provoke other parents." He said, and he led Tara and Aurora past her.

Inside the classroom, Aurora gave him a grateful look. Tara shot her husband a smile.

"That's why I married you." She said fondly and pecked a kiss on his cheek.

Mrs. Lopez walked over and beamed at them.