Ten Years Later
Wanda set her dish of homemade chicken paprikash on a warming tray in the kitchen of Steve and Natasha's big house, receiving a smile and a nod from Laura Barton, who waved an oven-mitt clad hand toward the back door. "Everyone is outside. Go, sit."
She made a further attempt to offer help before allowing herself to be gently pushed onto the back porch after a long hug and a glass of cold lemonade from the unofficial Avengers' Mom. Natasha waved briefly from her seat under an umbrella set up on the wide patio before turning back to her conversation with Maria and Lila. Wanda walked over and took a chair with the group in the shade, raising her glass in a casual toast. "Hello."
Natasha immediately fixed her with a glare. "Don't even start, Gummi Bear. Someone has to be as sober and miserable at this thing as I am." She took a sip of lemonade before patting her eight-month pregnant belly. She looked anything but miserable, smiling even as she chided, "Just because you're not showing yet…"
"Give her a break," Maria interrupted, taking a dramatically long drink from her mojito as she bounced her eighteen-month old daughter, Sophie, on her knee. "Poor Wanda's going to be without any sweet fermented comfort options for the next year, at least, if she's planning on nursing."
"Spoken like a first-timer," Natasha replied, chucking little Sophie under the chin, to the toddler's great amusement. "There are days when I want to curse every other woman in the world with a husband who doesn't have super-semen, though."
"Yeah, I've been meaning to tell you that you really seem like you're suffering being married to Steve."
Natasha grinned at Maria's jibe. On cue, a nine-year-old Steve (James) sprinted around the corner of the house, followed by a six-year-old Steve (Peter), followed by twin four-and-a-half-year-old Steves (Alex and Nicky). Original Steve, Freckles and Samson were chasing behind the boys. The two dogs leaped around the pile of writhing limbs as the four boys turned and tackled their father.
Natasha shook her head as she watched, still smiling. "Another hour of that and they'll all sleep soundly. If I weren't so terrified of a what a little Natasha might entail, I'd be praying for a girl."
"I thought you already found out it was a little Ivan," Maria said, taking another sip of her drink. "If your next isn't a girl you're going to run out of tsars."
"There is no next after this one. And Ivan is just temporary. They were all named Crazy Ivan before they were born." James, Peter, Nicky and Alex dispersed as Steve gamely fought his way out from the bottom of the pile, though the dogs were still attacking him with kisses. Recent adoptee Samson had really taken after Freckles in that respect. Natasha tapped her fingers against her swollen belly. "We're leaning toward Samuel for this guy."
Maria's expression immediately softened, her gaze seeking out her husband. Sam was standing by the grill, laughing along with the rest of the male group over the Rogers' family antics. "Does he know?"
"Not yet."
"Please make sure I'm there to see the expression on his face when you tell him. And again when your kid is old enough to judge what a chucklehead his uncle is."
"Nate still doesn't know he was supposed to be Natasha," Lila volunteered, giving her aunt a conspiratorial wink, like she knew she'd interrupted Natasha's no doubt epic takedown of Maria describing Sam as a 'chucklehead.' "I mean, it's not like we have baby pictures of him in a Black Widow suit or anything."
"I'm not holding it against him," Natasha replied after a moment. "I haven't even mentioned he's drinking while seriously underage." Nathaniel Barton was, in fact, discreetly sipping from a beer bottle in the group by the grill with his father. Natasha merely shook her head and asked, "Is Cooper bringing Jenny?"
"They should be here by two," Lila confirmed after checking her StarkPhone. "Hopefully she'll still want to marry him after meeting everyone."
"What? Why wouldn't she? We're amazing!"
"I know, Auntie Nat," Lila replied, nodding and patting Natasha's arm. "None of you are at all terrifying."
"I never claimed we weren't. I'm just advocating the amazing part. If Coop has any sense, his fiancée will be totally prepared to meet us."
"I think Dad went easy on her because she has a pretty cool Merida tat, but…"
Wanda smiled and sipped from her glass of lemonade as the happy chatter continued around her. As much as she loved socializing with her fellow Avengers, she worried about her husband's periodic reluctance to join in any gatherings that included more than a few people. He had disappeared on arrival with the excuse that he needed to use the bathroom and had yet to come out of the house.
No one addressed his absence as Rhodey made his appearance. Natasha and the rest of the women rose to kiss his cheek. "Hey! Where's Jasmine?"
"Taking over your kitchen. She made a lasagna that has to go in the oven and some appetizers that have to be heated in specific ways and…honestly, you know how she is."
They all nodded with understanding smiles; Jasmine was an award-winning chef who never did anything halfway. Even Laura had ceded authority, appearing on the porch. Natasha asked, "And how is Lil' Rhodey number one?"
"She fell asleep during the car ride." Rhodey set the baby seat on the table, the tiny bundle inside unaware of how many adoring gazes she was currently attracting. "How's Rogers number five?"
"He's feisty. Practicing Krav Maga on my bladder at the moment. Go grab a beer with the guys. We'll keep an eye on Ella."
He hesitated for a moment, but nodded. "Thanks." He pulled a beer bottle from the cooler and uncapped it as he joined the boys around the grill.
"They're so easy at this age," Maria said with a sigh, finally allowing Sophie to escape from her lap and toddle toward where the dogs had finally settled down, though they remained alert with tails still actively wagging. She tapped her finger's against Ella's blankets, prompting a pleased gurgle. "Sam's bugging me about having another one because he has no idea how chafed nipples feel, shay butter be damned."
Natasha flinched, presumably with the memory, while Wanda flinched in anticipation. Intelligence from her friends indicated that the experience of nursing babies could range from cherished newborn connection to blessed relief of pressure to unexpected teeth clenched painfully on your nipple. Before she could ask a follow-up question about what to expect, Alex (only distinguishable from Nicky by a small birthmark on his right cheek), ran up to the table. "Mommy, what's a sex position?"
Although Wanda nearly gagged on her lemonade and Maria and Lila immediately covered their laughter, Natasha remained calm. "What are you talking about?"
"Uncle Rhodey told Uncle Sam that Uncle Tony and Auntie Pepper are running late because they're planning the new Stark sex position and I wanna know what it is."
Wanda had no idea how Natasha held it together as she explained, "Exposition, honey. It's the Stark Exposition. It's like a big carnival for nerds. The last time I went there were lots of explosions and I got to beat some people up. Bad guys who deserved it, obviously."
"Neat. Can we go?"
"We'll see."
As Alex ran back toward his brothers, Maria finally exploded with laughter, "Holy…are you kidding me? How did you not explain it as how they made Morgan or something?"
"You're gonna start calling it the Stark Sex Position from now on, aren't you?" Natasha asked with a long-suffering sigh.
"Only subtly when speaking to Tony. I think it'll really mess with his mind."
"Well, it's a good thing my dogs have decided to raise your daughter as one of their own, then. Real time saver while you screw with Stark."
Maria jumped out of her seat to stop Sophie from licking Samson's muzzle any more, removing the major obstacle to private conversation. Wanda slipped into the seat closest to Natasha, hoping her intention would be correctly interpreted. Natasha didn't disappoint. "Lila, would you mind getting me a refill on my lemonade?"
"No problem, Auntie Nat. Wanda, how about you?"
"Thank you," Wanda replied, handing over her glass. She could be sure, but she thought that Natasha and Lila had exchanged a significant glance. The crowded backyard seemed to recede in the distance for a moment. "The weather is nice for this."
Natasha didn't bother with any small talk. "Did you want me to send Steve into the house after him or did you just need some privacy to do a little psychic recon?"
"No!" Wanda couldn't remember the last time she'd used her psychic abilities outside emergencies in the field, having found far more practical use for her telekinesis. "I'm sure he is fine. I just…" She clutched her stomach, abruptly frightened. "What about when the baby comes? What if he can't handle it and just shuts himself off?"
"You know he isn't like this usually. It's just crowds…"
"But this is a gathering of our friends! He knows everyone here! I know it's not every time, but…" she caught a hiccoughing sob just as Natasha poked her thigh. Wanda looked up to see Bucky carefully making his way down the back stairs with a large tray in his arms. After he set it on the outdoor buffet table, he made his way over to plop into the chair beside her.
Natasha said hello before making an excuse to check on her little wild bunch, which currently seemed to be missing a member. Wanda leaned against her husband's shoulder. "I thought you were just going to the bathroom."
"I was, but then Laura asked me to help her take something out of the oven and Rhodey and Jasmine showed up with a carful of…well, mostly Jasmine, but I offered to help her bring everything in while he handled the baby, then I got to talkin' with Stark and Pepper…"
"When did they get here?"
"Uh, just a few minutes ago? I dunno. Peter saw them and immediately wanted to show Morgan his new Lego set or something and I think I still promised to bring out some of Jasmine's chafing dishes, but I just wanted to see if you needed anything before I went back in."
"Bucky…" Wanda was pleased to see her concern had all been for nothing. "I'm all set for now."
"'Kay. I'll be back in a few." He heaved himself out of his chair and walked back into the house, aiming a salute at the group of guys who had just noticed his presence. Steve jogged after him, clapping him on the shoulder as they went inside.
Wanda found herself alone (or alone with just baby Ella, anyway) and took a moment to look around at her friends. It didn't seem so long ago when she hadn't realized that Steve and Natasha were in a relationship, Sam hadn't even asked Maria for a date, and her only encounter with Bucky had involved a punch in the head. She could hardly believe how far they had all come.
Everyone congregating in the kitchen suddenly spilled into the backyard, just in time for her to clasp a hand to her stomach. Bucky nearly dropped the tray he was carrying when he looked over at her, but she managed to wave him off as she sat back down. She took a few deep breaths, but the feeling didn't disappear. Bucky was suddenly kneeling in front of her. "Is everything okay?"
"The baby…the baby is moving. I can feel it. I…" She pulled his hand to what she thought was the right spot, though she knew it wasn't pronounced enough for him to feel. "You probably can't…but it's there."
When she looked up, he was grinning at the spot where she was holding his hand. He whispered to her stomach, "I can't wait to meet you. I'll finally show your punk uncle how it's done." He pecked her lips as he rose. "In the meantime, wanna have some lunch?"
She could think of nothing better in this moment as life went on for the Avengers.
A/N: Thanks to all for reading and possibly following this story for actual years. I'm now officially done with FFN, so if you want to see the new and fresh works, head on over to AO3, where I'm still writing Romanogers as LiquidCaliban.