#also home to baby Bruce at the dinosaur theme park

[not-another-robin]

How to support your autistic ass son on his vigilante adventures, step one: buy him a dinosaur,

[bre-meister]

absolutely adore the way you write the greens! so buttercup and butch and just domestic bliss? just any fluff is fine!

first, I’d like to apologize for long this took, and then I’d like to apologize for how long this is...she got a little out of hand but I hope you like it!

                                                   Family Trips

Butch was happy. Quite frankly, he couldn’t recall a time in the last few years that he hadn’t been happy, but today he was especially happy. 

Buttercup had offhandedly mentioned needing some basic things for around the house when they had been cleaning up after dinner one night and he knew their four year old could use a new pair of shoes - God knows that kid went through sneakers like a maniac but Butch supposed between his superpowers and being his son that it wasn’t that surprising. So, he had suggested that they take advantage of the upcoming weekend and spend a day downtown. Both adults agreed that now would probably be the best time to get some much-needed shopping done considering the recent drop in monster attacks that usually came with the changing of seasons. 

So, when Saturday rolled around Butch woke in a good mood knowing that this would be a day specifically for spending time with his family. His mood got even better when Bruce was well mannered at breakfast. Despite being very obviously excited for a day out, the boy was showing none of his usual signs of misbehavior even going as far as to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ when Buttercup asked him what he wanted for breakfast. 

The car ride to the mall was also uneventful in the best of ways. Bruce sat in his car seat with no objections and talked candidly about all the fun things he would do when he stayed the night at his cousin’s later that day. Butch made a mental note as he drove that a stop at the candy store would probably be in order before they dropped Bruce off at Brick and Blossom’s.

“Mamma?” Bruce ended his excited rant to ask his mother a question,

“What’s up, green bean?” Butch smiled at the nickname his wife had for their son.

“Can I get a dinosaur so I can take it with me and I can play with Bryce?”

“I know for a fact that Bryce had tons of dinosaurs you guys could play with tonight. I’m sure Bryce wouldn’t mind sharing.”

Butch could see Bryce’s face form a small scowl from a quick look in the rearview mirror. 

“Ya but, I don’t have any to play with at home either.”

“Well buddy,” Butch interjected, “you would if hadn’t broken yours.”

Bruce deflated at the memory of why he no longer had any dinosaur toys.

“Here’s the deal.” Buttercup turned in her seat slightly until she could look Bruce in the face, “If you behave, maybe Daddy and I will let you pick out a new dinosaur.”

Bruce immediately perked up at the possibility of a new toy,

“Really?”

“Only if you behave the whole time.”  At that, Buttercup reached to tug playfully on one of Bruce’s legs.

The little boy pulled back and roared, throwing his arms up. Butch could only assume that he was pretending to be a dinosaur. He let out a chuckle as Buttercup continued their little game until Butch found a parking spot.

“Ok mister dinosaur,” Butch opened the passenger side door and helped Bruce out of his seat, “remember the deal.”

Bruce smiled up at his father, “Behave!”

Butch chuckled before holding his hand out for Bruce to hold onto as they crossed the parking lot and entered the typically crowded mall.

For his credit, Bruce sat patiently as a store clerk fitted him for new sneakers - green of course. He politely gave his input on what dress his Mamma looked prettiest in for her interview with his aunties the next week. He even ate his lunch in the food court without making any more of a mess one would expect from a four-year-old.

After lunch, the small family had just two more things from their list to pick up. Thankfully, the sheets and towels that Buttercup preferred were found in the same store.

“Mamma,” Bruce tugged on Buttercup’s hand as they made their way inside the homeware shop, “can I ride in the cart?”

Buttercup looked at the lines of grey shopping carts that Bruce was currently pointing at.

“Are you going to stay in the cart the whole time?”

The little boy nodded his affirmation so Butch made his way over to snag one, ruffling Bruce’s hair as he went.

Butch knew when he suggested this family day at the mall that Bruce would most probably be tired by the end and he could tell his original instinct when, instead of floating up into the seat himself, Bruce lifted his arms up to Butch. He made a show of lifting the boy into the little plastic seat upfront - even without his powers, it would take minimal effort considering that Bruce was a little small for his age - causing the four-year-old to giggle.

“You’re silly Daddy.”

“Am I? Or are you just really heavy?”

“Am not! Mamma, am I heavy?”

Buttercup chuckled at her two boy’s antics,

“No baby, but Daddy is.”

Butch scoffed, placing a hand over his heart in mock indignation and hurt. Buttercup turned her head slightly but didn’t stop pushing the cart towards where she knew the sheets would be. Bruce laughed at his parents' familiar back and forth.

“That’s pure muscle you're talking about, woman! Heavy my ass.” Butch said once he caught back up.

Buttercup gave him a look. Bruce tended to repeat words he learned from his Dad and, more often than not, it would lead to a scolding for her from her older sister. He mouthed a sorry towards her but they both knew he wasn’t. Personally Butch thought those lectures were kind of funny considering that, before they got together, Brick cursed like a sailor. His older brother would still let something slip every now and again - it never quite ended well for the redhead when that happened.

Bruce seemed to have not noticed Butch’s own slip up though, 

“I’m gonna have mus-cels just like you Daddy!” Butch could tell that, sometimes, Bruce was bothered by his small size. He always tried his best to encourage him when that happened,

“Of course buddy! You’ll get there in time, just like me.”

Buttercup made a beeline straight to the collection of black sheets, stopping in front of the vast choices to decide which ones to purchase. Butch never put in his two sense on these kinds of things. If it were up to him they'd probably be sleeping on the scratchiest sheets in existence - just something to cover the mattress. He’d learned in the years they’d been together though that his wife had skin more sensitive to these kinds of things than him so he usually just let her get whatever she wanted and when he had to pick, he’d just go with whatever was softest.

They'd been standing in silence for a few moments until Bruce spoke up,

“How much longer Mamma?”

“Not much longer green bean. I just need to figure out which one of these is least likely to tear.” Buttercup pushed and pulled the cart in front of her slightly in an attempt to calm Bruce.

“I feel like we just bought sheets.” She said exasperatedly.

“Probably because we did. Ya know, we wouldn’t have to keep buying them if someone would just stop ripping them.” Butch lowered his voice to a level he knew only BC would be able to hear, Bruce not having learned how to train his superhearing to that extent yet.

Buttercup blushed at the implications of the sentence. She looked away from all the sheets for a moment to sneak a glance at Bruce who looked to be on the verge of a twitching episode brought on by his annoyance at all the sheets - a quirk he inherited from his dad. One look at the kid told both his parents that he would need a nap before heading over to the red’s place.

“Hey, the towels are just around the corner. Would you mind - ?”

“Don’t worry, I got you.” Butch didn’t need her to explain to know what her goal here was, they knew each other better than anyone. If they split up they could get out of here faster which meant Bruce could get his nap faster. 

He also knew that no matter how tired he was Bruce would insist on getting his Dinosaur. Butch supposed he earned it - his behavior today had been wonderful aside from currently but who could really blame him?

By the time he found what he considered to be the fluffiest towels available - green, gotta stick with the theme - Buttercup had apparently decided which sheets would put up the most fight against her superstrength. He met back up with her and Bruce in the line for the register upfront, the latter of which was almost jumping out of his seat at this point.

Deciding to avoid disaster before it struck, Butch placed the new set of towels in the cart and gathered the squirming child into his arms. Bruce seemed to settle down once he was no longer confined to the shopping cart.

Looking ahead of him at the long line for checkout Butch made an executive decision.

“Hey,” he turned towards his wife, “I’m gonna take the little man to the toy store and get him his reward.”

“Dinosaur?” Bruce perked up immediately.

Buttercup shot Butch a thankful look before turning to address their little boy,

“Well you held up your end of the deal, it’s only fair we hold up ours. But you still have to behave for the rest of the trip, got it?”

Bruce shook his head eagerly, giggling as his Momma tickled his stomach. 

Butch made to set the boy down so he could walk but was stopped by Bruce’s protest,

“No Daddy.” He tugged on Butch’s sleeve slightly to let him know that he wanted to be carried. 

Usually, he would insist that Bruce walk, he was a big boy after all but Butch knew he would probably be pushing his luck. Butch was a brave man but even brave men did not want to handle superpowered tantrums in a crowded place. 

Placing the boy back on his hip, Butch was reminded of when Bruce was smaller and he’d carry him around more often. His kid was already four now - time really flew by. 

Bruce layed his head down on Butch’s shoulder and, for a minute, Butch thought the boy had fallen asleep due to how quiet he was. He was proven wrong though as soon as the toy store came into view. Bruce immediately began to squirm in his father’s hold - a sign he wanted to be put down. Butch complied but kept a firm grip on the child to avoid a superpowered accident. 

Butch noticed that Bruce seemed to take careful consideration as to which toy he wanted. Eventually, he had narrowed his choices down to either a green and blue-winged dinosaur and a purple t-rex. Bruce looked up to his dad with the biggest puppy dog eyes he could muster and, although Butch had a weakness in anything involving his kid, he had prepared himself for this. He schooled his features into what he hoped conveyed sternness.

“One.” He held up a finger to emphasize.

Bruce sighed deeply and Butch tried to hide his chuckle at the blatant show of disappointment. The child stared at the two plastic toys in his hand before ultimately deciding.

“I want the pterodactyl!” Bruce held up his prize to his dad’s face.

“Are you sure?”

“Mhmm, I’m sure Daddy.”

Butch’s superhearing picked up on a few older women swooning over the apparent cuteness of their current scene. 

“Look at how cute they are.”

“Men with babies are just adorable.”

Bruce must have picked up on them because he turned to the end of the aisle and assured the two women that he was most definitely not a baby.

Butch made to apologize on behalf of this kid but the women waved him off,

“Of course, how silly of us. You’ve got quite a brilliant young man on your hands there.”

“Oh,” Butch answered back, “you have no idea.”

The two women laughed. They made a few more comments before leaving, mostly about how handsome Bruce was and how he looked the spitting image of his father - Butch had to agree with both. 

Father and son made their way to the front of the store to pay for the toy.”

“What’s this again, a triceratops?” Butch knew that he was wrong. He lifted the toy towards his face and made a show of examining it just to get a laugh out of his kid. The question was also used to distract the once again noticeably tired child as they waited in line.

“No Daddy,” Bruce sounded exasperated and Butch couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face, “It’s a pterodactyl.” 

“Hmm. You should make sure to show Uncle brick when you see him today ok? I don’t think he knows his dinosaurs very well.” 

Bruce perked up at the idea of teaching his super-smart uncle something new. Butch knew he was being a little shit but he couldn’t help it. Brick wouldn’t correct the little boy but he knew he would be practically dying to give the boy a lecture as to why ‘pterodactyls’ aren’t a real dinosaur and how the proper name was pteranodon (look, Butch was a smart cookie too he just didn’t flaunt it the same way as his brother).

After paying and handing the toy back off to Bruce, Butch checked his phone to see a message from his wife to meet her back at the car.

Bruce once again motioned that he didn’t want to walk. This time Butch placed the kid on his shoulders and Bruce sat contentedly, one hand gripping onto his hair to keep himself steady. One the walk to the car Bruce used his free hand to make his new dinosaur fly, squawking noises Butcha assumed were supposed to be dinosaur sounds occasionally escaped from his mouth.

When they finally made it to where they had parked, Butch saw Buttercup leaning against the car with the various bags they had accumulated over the day sitting on the ground around her feet. He raised an eyebrow at her.

“You have the keys, genius.”  

Despite her rude comment, Buttercup placed a kiss on Butch’s cheek as she haled Bruce off of his shoulders. Bruce happily settled into his mother’s arms, eyes drooping, and head resting on her shoulder. Butch unlocked the doors as Buttercup made her was around the car.

“Are you tired, green bean?”

Butch heard Bruce mumble his dissent and he imagined that the boy was shaking his head although he couldn’t actually see from where he was placing the bags in the back of the car.

Walking back around to the driver's side door Butch could see his wife place a kiss on their son’s head. Bruce responded with another squawk and Butch couldn’t help but smile at the sight of his wife laughing so candidly with their son, happiness exuding from both of them.

The car ride home was just long enough to lull Bruce off to sleep. Buttercup made sure to be gentle as she brought the sleeping child inside the house and up to his room. When he woke he’d be upset that he had indeed succumbed to the nap that he so obviously needed - preferring to have rather gotten to his cousin's house early so he could show off his new dinosaur.

Pulling the covers back Buttercup layed Bruce down in the small bed and carefully tucked the covers around his little body. Bruce shifted, turning from his back to his side and hugging his new toy closer. Buttercup moved his bangs out of his face.

“He’s gonna need a haircut soon,” Buttercup said in a form of acknowledgment of her husband having entered the room. Her voice was low so as to not wake the sleeping child.

Butch hummed, moving away from the door frame where he had been standing and closer to the bed. 

“You need one too.” Butch ran a hand through his hair. She was right. He tended to keep the sides short but the hair on the top of his head was beginning to curl in front of his eyes. 

“I brought all the bags in.” He mimicked her volume level.

“And I suppose that's all you did?” Buttercup said, referring to his habit of bringing in groceries but leaving them on the counter instead of putting them in their right place.

Butch just shrugged,

“ I wanted to come check in on you two. I’ll put everything away later.”

Buttercup turned her head away from him but not fast enough to hide the small smile that tugged at her lips. Looking back down at their son she placed a kiss on his chubby cheeks before standing up from the bed. Butch opens his arms and Buttercup gladly accepts the affection.

“He’s getting so big.” she sighed.

“I know. Thank you for giving him to me. I never thought I’d ever have...anything like this, I -”

“Stop it.” Buttercup sternly interrupted him. “It doesn't matter what you may or may not have done in the past, it’s exactly that - the past. I love you, ok? So much. So does Bruce. That little boy adores you, Butch; you say he’s a Mamma’s boy, but all I see is that he wants to be just like his Daddy. Don’t ever say anything like that again.” By the end of her scolding Buttercup was holding Butch’s face in her hands. Butch leaned in and kissed her.

When they broke apart, Butch looked back over to Bruce who was still sleeping peacefully, hair having fallen back into his face.

“We should have another one.” the words slipped from his mouth before he could stop them,

It was something they'd been considering lately - having another kid. Butch wanted to. Secretly, he was hoping they’d have a little girl. He could see it now; she’d look just like her Mamma and he’d spoil her senseless. Bruce would be a great big brother.

“I want that.”

“What?” he was confused.

“Whatever world you’re thinking up in your head where we’re all happy and loved and Bruce gets a sibling, I want it.” Buttercup was smiling so wide Butch couldn’t help but mirror her. 

“How did you…?”

“You say it all the time, we know each other better than anyone; sometimes better than we know ourselves.”

Butch didn’t think his smile could get any larger but as he stood there with his loving, beautiful wife in his arms and his son sleeping peacefully and contently just a few steps away, he couldn’t help it. His smile was so wide and so bright and yet, Butch knew that it still couldn’t convey just how happy he was, how lucky he was, how...loved he was in this life that he never thought he’d be able to live.