Weeks passed. Winter began to gradually thaw. Danielle and Steve had settled on an antique house in the Victorian Flatbush, in west Brooklyn. One of the few Victorians in all of NYC, Danielle had fallen in love with every inch of it. From the front porch, to the teal grey color, down to the sconces and detailed masonry in the backyard. Yes, even a backyard. The whole neighborhood was made up of extravagant immense old houses, but this one was a simple 3 bedroom 2 bath in the middle of all that, that would suit the growing family just well.
They moved in on a cloudy day in March, armed with only the highest trained SHIELD operatives. Danielle's stomach had been growing quickly, and since she was petite, it poked out obviously. She wore a t-shirt and hoodie, and it looked like she had a concealed soccerball underneath them. They'd found out the gender the week before, a boy that was due July 7th that year. They'd been debating names for the past month, and had it narrowed down to a few choices.
"Honey, could you do your best to look as normal as possible, so you don't scare away the neighbors before we've even met them?" Danielle asked as Steve carried a couch inside the house by himself.
"What do you mean?" he asked, lightly placing the couch inside the spacious living room.
"Stop lifting heavy things on your own, specifically couches. Fridges, dining tables, cars, and other such things should also be team lifted."
"I can't lift a car." he frowned. "Well, probably not a big one."
"Normal people." she kissed him on the cheek as he walked by.
As she said that, she heard a rocket sound from up above, and looked up in horror as Iron Man landed on her roof. She heard Natasha's laughter from the moving truck.
"I am here to help!" Tony said, lowering down to land on their front lawn.
"Help?" Steve questioned.
"Here to install the security system." he said, opening his helmet. "Don't want baby Capsicle getting in harms way. Danielle, you're glowing."
She glared at him. "Way to keep us under the radar."
"Did I say glowing? I meant glowering." he said. "Really, though, this thing has everything save for heat seeking missiles."
She sighed, but was genuinely grateful. "Alright, go on." she said. He clunked into the house, opening up his robotic arm to remove some hardware.
"Where do you want this?" Natasha asked, carrying a box filled with office supplies. "I don't know which room is baby's and which is the office."
"Come on, I'll show you."
Danielle ran her hands along the smooth walls of her new house as they walked upstairs. She came around the corner, pointing to the room closer to the master that would be the baby's room. She tapped her stomach as she looked around the empty nursery. As if the baby was reacting to her touch, she felt a solid kick. She'd felt a fluttering of movement for the past month, but this one was stronger. She gasped.
"What's wrong?" Natasha asked, poking her head in the room. Danielle grabbed her hand, pulling her towards her, setting it on her tummy.
"Can you feel that?" she asked, and Natasha nodded, grinning.
"Yeah, wow." she whispered. "Wow, wow. That's a thing in there. A baby." Her eyes widened as it kicked again, responding to her. "Can it hear me?"
Danielle nodded. "He moves whenever he hears familiar voices, the most when Steve or I talk though."
"That's crazy." Natasha said, tucking a loose strand of hair that had fallen from her ponytail, and bending down to look at the stomach. "Hey baby America!"
"Steve!" Danielle called. He appeared in the doorway a second later. She lifted up her shirt. "He's kicking harder now, see if you can feel."
He put his hand on her stomach, it nearly enveloped her whole belly. They waited.
"Say something."
"What should I say?" he asked, and the baby tumbled. His mouth fell open, and Danielle laughed again.
"He's getting stronger." she said, pleased.
The baby kicked again, and she heard Steve's breath catch in his throat.
"Yeah, well, maybe he can help us with some of this shit." she heard Clint say dryly as he walked past the door. "Come on Brady bunch, we've got a lot of work to do."
After everything was out of the truck, the team dissipated, leaving Steve and Danielle to unpack their boxes at their own pace. She happily set to work on her new kitchen, which was probably her favorite room. It had huge windows that looked out into the backyard; the windows went all the way down to the floor and had their own built in bench that served as a breakfast nook. All the cabinets were white, and maybe it was her obsession with kitchens in general, but she imagined herself spending a lot of time there.
She heard a great screech from the living room, where Steve was rearranging furniture.
"You better not be scratching my antique hardwood floors." she called.
"Right." Steve replied.
She sighed, setting another stack of plates in one of the cupboards. She opened another box and found her kitchen radio, which she plugged in, popping in her phone. She scrolled through her music, and clicked a Frank Sinatra song from 1942. The music filled the room, and Steve walked in the next minute, grinning.
"I know this song." he said.
"I know you do." she replied. She crossed the room, taking his hand. He twirled her around the room, taking her waist and leading her surprisingly gracefully. He hummed along, and Danielle leaned her head against his chest. The song ended and faded into the next one, and he lifted her, setting her on the edge of the center island. He put his arms on either side of her, grinning.
"I did scratch your floor." he said, and she kissed him on the nose.
"I don't care. It's your house." she said.
"No, it's ours."
"In that case you can sleep on the couch."
He nudged her and she giggled.
"Names for baby." she said, changing the subject.
"I'm terrible at this game."
"What about Steve Junior?"
"No, way too old fashioned for a baby." he shook his head.
"I still think Hunter is my favorite." she said after a moment. "Hunter James Rogers. Rolls off the tongue."
"James?"
"Yeah, that's what's Bucky's real name is, right?"
He nodded.
"We don't have to, I've just been thinking about it and I mean since he means so-" she began, but he interrupted her with a kiss.
"It's almost as perfect as you." he said, and she rolled her eyes. He grabbed her chin. "Really, Danielle. I have no doubts, about you and me."
"Neither do I." she said. "Not even for a second."
A/N: Wow guys. What could possibly go wrong? After so long of writing nonstop excitement, I'm enjoying this slow pace and lots of fluff. I hope you guys are too. Of course, there's much more planned, so stay tuned!