You have sunscreen?"

"Yes, Mama." Natasha could hear that Wanda was doing her best to keep her impatience out of her tone, and in the girl's defense it was probably the third time she had asked the question.

"Alright, make sure you reapply. And make sure Steve does too." She advised, remembering the last time when he came back with half of his bicep practically neon pink and the other half his usual pale complexion where his t-shirt had covered his skin. Then holding her daughter's head in her hands Nat added with a soft smile, "And have fun."

"I will." Wanda pushed through her mother's hands and moved in to hug her, forgetting her exasperation from only seconds ago as she snuggled into her, clinging tightly in the moment before her departure. The teenager was only going to a baseball game with Steve in the city for the afternoon, but she always seemed to have a bit of hesitation at leaving her mother, which had decreased over time from the flat out dread she used to feel when spending any significant time or distance apart. Natasha felt the hesitation too as she swayed gently with her girl for a minute, that spasm to keep her near making her hold on as long as possible even though she would be back by dinnertime.

Steve popped out of the quinjet with a big grin on his stupidly charming face, "Ready to go, little bird? We don't want to miss the opening pitch."

"I'm ready." She let go of Natasha who allowed her to move back towards Steve. They were a cute pair in their matching Yankees baseball hats, Steve's looking more worn out than Wanda's. The teenager picked up her backpack she had dropped nearby probably filled at least with the aforementioned sunscreen, a book, and her baseball glove. Though Steve chose seats that were generally away from the crowds and therefore away from the zones where a ball may fly into the stands, sacrificing better seats for the little witch's comfort level. Natasha hoped Wanda had put a sweater in there too since she had a tendency to be cold even though summer crept up on them. Not wanting to be too overbearing, she let the thought go as Steve came forward to steal a kiss.

"We'll pick up dinner on the way home. Any requests?"

She shook her head, suspecting Wanda already had her sights set on her favorite Thai, "Whatever you two pick is fine."

"Alright. Don't work too hard." He kissed her one last time before heading back to the ramp where Wanda waited. Natasha was staying behind to get some work done and have any overdue sparring session with Maria.

"I won't. Have a good time." She waved to Wanda, "Love you, malyshka."

"Love you too." Her daughter said over her shoulder as she embarked onto the quinjet with Steve slinging an arm around her. The Black Widow watched as the hangar door hissed close then the engine roared to life and the aircraft slowly began to take off. Steve and Wanda would not be able to see Nat from where they sat for takeoff, but the redhead watched them go until they were nearly out of sight.

This was not the only time Steve had taken Wanda to a game on their own, but sometimes Natasha tagged along as well, like the first time they had gone. The woman turned and headed back towards the residence with a fond smile ghosting on her lips as she remembered that game. As he promised for the girl's Christmas present, the captain got tickets for a Yankees game when baseball season started. Steve insisted he wanted to 'do everything right' which really meant he wanted to do everything the old-fashioned way. So they selected a pickup truck from the garage and drove the scenic three hours into the city with the windows down letting in the spring breeze with an oldies station from the radio drifting through it. Wanda sat between them, excited and bright eyed as they talked and laughed about nothing in particular to pass the time.

Then at the game Steve switched between patiently explaining all the plays that were happening and reminiscing about the '27 Yankees. Wanda watched and listened and started to get into the game, mimicking Steve's applauding when their team got a hit and standing to cheer enthusiastically when they scored. Nat got into the game as well, however she did not enjoy it as much as observing her daughter with her partner. The man doted on her so sweetly and Wanda looked at him like he hung the moon and the stars. The Yankees ended up losing but that did not dampen their spirits as Steve drove them back home with dusk descending around them. As the darkness settled so did the trio in the cab of the truck. Nat sat in the middle then with Steve's arm around her shoulders and Wanda laying her head in her lap to inevitably fall asleep. When Steve carried her up to bed, she barely stirred. Not the way Natasha's heart stirred wildly in her chest when he gently dropped a kiss on the top of her head as Wanda grabbed her stuffed shark to cuddle in her sleep.

Suddenly her phone buzzed in her pocket taking her out of her reverie. Pulling it out she read the message on the screen from Maria.

Ready to have your ass kicked?

She scoffed and tapped out a quick reply.

In your dreams. By there in 5.

/

"Steve, what's a Yankee?" Wanda inquired right as the man nearly stuck half of his hotdog in his mouth. He exaggeratedly chewed and held up his finger in a gesture that said, just a moment. The Sokovian giggled at him. The captain was on his second hotdog out of three while Wanda had not finished her first when the question she never thought to ask occurred to her.

Finally swallowing he answered, "I suppose we haven't gotten to American History yet. In the Civil War, it was the Yankees versus the Confederates. Now though a Yankee is someone from the northeast United States, or what someone from another country might call any American."

"Were the Yankees the good guys?" Wanda nodded along as he spoke, her eyes following along with a pitch that sailed into the catcher's glove striking out their batter.

"Oh definitely." Steve said then complained about the umpire's call, "That was outside of the strike zone."

Wanda had not been able to tell and was entirely unconcerned as she used her free hand to reach for a nacho from the tray they were sharing, "Why are they called the Yankees? A Tiger could beat a person."

The opposing team was the Detroit Tigers. She remembered from a documentary that tigers were the world's largest cat and could easily kill a human with one well-aimed strike of their paw. In her opinion that was a much better, more intimidating mascot than a Yankee. She stopped short of saying this to Steve in case he might take offense on behalf of his beloved team. He chuckled easily though, "I don't know why they're called that. It's more about tradition now I guess."

One of the things Wanda had learned about Steve was that he liked tradition, not that he was traditional. Well, maybe he was a little traditional, but mostly he liked to share the things in his life that made him happy, like blueberry pancakes on Saturday mornings, and adding a quarter to her piggy bank when she got an A on a test, and of course watching baseball. Wanda enjoyed these things now as well and not because she needed quarters or even really cared about baseball very much. She liked them because Steve's mother would give him a nickel when he did well on a test and watching the game reminded Steve of his best friend Bucky. These things meant something to the man and the fact he wanted to pass them down to her made Wanda feel special, like they were family, and he was her-

The bat made a cracking sound as it connected with the ball, the crowd started to cheer but it quickly petered out and Wanda tilted her head confused, "Why didn't he run to first base?"

"It was a foul ball. The hit has to stay within the white lines on the edge of the field. You see there?" He pointed out the obvious lines that defined the area, "Otherwise it doesn't count, remember?"

She did recall him explaining this rule before and she gave him a sheepish expression, "Oh yes, sorry."

"That's alright, little bird." He grinned a bit conspiringly at her, "You just have to remember the most important rule of baseball."

Wanda's mind blanked for a moment before she caught on and recited the rule with a similar smile, "The Red Socks stink."

"The Red Socks stink. That's my girl." He nudged her playfully. She beamed, leaning against his arm then, the man sturdy and warm against her. Too warm.

"Steve, did you put on sunscreen?"

He laughed, "Okay Natasha Jr. Pass it over."

By the 8th inning the Yankees were up by five points and Wanda had too much Coca-Cola and had to go to the bathroom. Gathering up their trash from all the snacks Mama would outwardly disapprove of but secretly enjoy partaking in, Steve walked down the stairs with her into the corridor where the restrooms and concession stands were. The teenager shivered a little in the draftier, shadier part of the stadium. Steve noticed as he tossed the garbage away in a can they passed, "You cold kiddo?"

"A little." Wanda had forgotten to grab a sweater and put it in her backpack. The sun would be setting, and a breeze had picked up, so she would probably be cold for the rest of the game.

"There is a souvenir shop just over there." He indicated across the way. "You go ahead to the bathroom, and I'll pick you up a hoodie."

"Thanks, Steve." Wanda nodded and went into the bathroom while he headed in the opposite direction to the small shop. She finished her business quickly, there was no one else in the bathroom since the game was still going on and most of the people in attendance were men anyways. So when Wanda stepped back out into the passageway Steve had not returned and she faltered for a moment, trying to decide if she should go look for him or stay there to wait for him.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a gruff voice, "Hey there little lady."

A man with a plastic cup half-full of sloshing beer staggered up to her and Wanda winced as he continued with a slight slur to his speech, "You looking for somebody?"

"No, I-"

"I can be that body for you, doll." He lurched closer and Wanda moved away from him. She could feel his lecherous, ill-intent rolling off of him in terrible waves. It made her feel sick to her stomach the way his eyes traveled around her figure and her magic jumped to her skin sensing danger.

The little witch said tersely, "Leave me alone."

"Leave? I just got here. Why would I want to leave?" He continued to press into her personal space, and she continued to back away from the drunkard. That was when the man reached out and grabbed her wrist with a grubby hand to prevent her from getting farther away, "Hey, where you going, doll face?"

It took every ounce of her self-control to not send out a blast of magic to send this guy flying on his ass. She desperately wanted to, was a little afraid that she would, but exposing herself like that out in public was out of the question, and before she could think of how to dispense of the man in a different way an angry voice joined them, "Hey! Get away from her!"

Wanda's eye shot over to see Steve with a navy hoodie in his hand and a furious expression on his face. The intoxicated prick swiveled around too and looked Captain America up and down. He must have truly been inebriated because despite Steve being much bigger him he scoffed as he turned back to Wanda unconcerned, "Mind your business pal. I'm just-"

"I said, get away from her." He grabbed the stranger by his elbow and yanked him away from Wanda, so he lost his grip on her. He also lost his grip on his beer, and it dropped to the ground with a plastic crunch sound, the beer splattering and foaming against the concrete.

The guy glared up at Steve and in a poorly-advised move squared up to him, "Hey man, you owe me a new beer!"

"Just walk away buddy." The larger man had shifted so he stood in between him and Wanda, his hands clenched into fists at his side.

"Or what?" The pissed man stumbled up to him, so they were nearly nose-to-nose with Steve not surrendering an inch of space. Wanda was relieved that Steve had shown up when he did, glad that he had swooped in to take care of the situation, but she was also afraid the captain would hit the man, which could be equally bad if he broke the guy's jaw. The little witch just wanted them to get out of there.

She called to him in a quiet, worried voice, "Papa?"

He turned around quickly at that, and Wanda felt a swift rush of his emotions- surprise, but also something warmly content and full of happy pride. She was a bit surprised herself that it had come out, not sure if it had been okay to call him that even though it had felt right. She knew that Mama and Steve were together, that they were dating she supposed, but they were not married like most parents were, so her relationship with the man had always felt like a bit of a gray area. Steve went to her then, putting his arm around her shoulders as she wrapped her arms around his waist, "You okay, sweetheart?"

"Yeah." He voice was muffled against his t-shirt while she breathed in his cedar scent and familiarity and forgetting about the name slip.

For whatever reason this made the horrible stranger change his tune as he receded from the pair, "Whoa, she's your kid?"

"It shouldn't matter if she's my kid or not." Steve said sharply to him. "She's a 15 year old girl."

"Whatever, man. I'm out of here." He staggered away before the captain could reprimand him further, accidentally kicking his empty cup and sending it skittering as he made his hasty exit. Wanda released a shaky breath. She had not realized her adrenaline had spiked so much and she hated the sickly, quivering feeling of the come down, but otherwise was simply glad the altercation had ended with little repercussion.

Steve slipped his other arm around her in a hug and asked softly, "You're really okay?"

"I'm okay." She asserted with the same quiet tone, "That guy was just a jerk."

"Do you want to call your Mama?"

"No." Wanda withdrew to look up at him. "Can.. can we go home though?"

There was another inning and a half, however she was no longer in the mood to be amongst the boisterous sports fans. Steve immediately acquiesced, "Of course. We'll get out of here."

He took Wanda's backpack as she slipped it off so she could put on her new sweater. Instead of giving it back to her, he slung the bag over his shoulder to carry it for her. The girl reached to hold his hand while they walked out of the stadium to catch a cab back to the Tower, her magic hidden and swirling between their palms.

/

Steve must have texted Natasha about what had happened because her mother was striding across the lawn with a worried furrow to her brow as they walked down the ramp of the quinjet. Wanda did not think that her concern was warranted, she really did not want to make the incident into a bigger deal than it was, however she still found herself rushing forward to be swept up into her mother's arms all the same. After holding her for a moment, Natasha then eased her away with her eyes scanning over her with some urgency, "Are you okay, baby?"

"I'm fine, Mama." The teenager insisted. "Nothing really happened. A guy was just a jerk and he grabbed by arm. I could have taken care of him, but Steve was there for me."

"I'm so sorry, Nat." Steve came up behind them. "Wanda had to go to the bathroom, and I left her to go buy her a sweater. I should have stayed and waited."

"Steve, really, it isn't your fault." Natasha told him soothingly while she continued to inspect Wanda, now reaching to look over her wrists where the stranger had touched her, but they remained unscathed. The little witch pulled her hands away only to move back into her mother's embrace. She felt the woman start stroking her hair.

With the comfort of being pressed against her Natasha, Wanda realized she truly was fine. She had been startled sure, however she was more afraid her powers would have sprung out to expose them, but she managed to keep them under control. And of course, Captain America had been there to defend her honor. Finally withdrawing from Nat, she turned to offer the man an only slightly wane smile, "I'm all right, Steve. Really."

After she once again declared herself unharmed, he seemed to let go of whatever negativity he had been holding onto and his posture slackened as he returned her smile, "Good."

He added regretfully, "We did forget to pick up dinner though."

Damn, Wanda thought as she remembered they had planned on getting Thai on their way home. Natasha wrapped an arm around her waist, "That's alright. There's plenty of food here. I think Sam and Sharon were going out anyways, and you know Vision doesn't eat.. How does leftover spaghetti and meatballs sound?"

It was not green curry with spring rolls, but Sharon's spaghetti and meatballs were also very delicious. Wanda nodded, "Yeah, sounds good."

"Are you hungry now or should be wait a little, maybe turn on a movie?" Nat kissed her temple.

"Can we wait?" The teenager was not very hungry yet.

"Uh-huh," The older woman raised a suspicious eyebrow, "Do I even want to know what you ate at the game?"

"Steve ate most of it." Wanda claimed and she went to tug on his hand, so he walked in line with them as they headed back to the residence.

Mama said dryly, "Why does that not surprise me?"

/

Later that night, Wanda sat up in her mother's bed with her book on her knees, though she was not reading the words on the page. Her thoughts were somewhere else very different than reading the next chapter of Grapes of Wrath for her literature lesson. When Natasha came out of the bathroom rubbing lotion into her hands, she looked over with a question bubbling up from her, probably seemingly from nowhere, "Mama, are you and Steve going to get married?"

The redhead froze for a brief second as she had been climbing into bed, "What? Where is this coming from, milaya?"

She did not sound upset by her inquiry; however she did sound perplexed and a touch uncertain. The little witch shrugged and chewed on her lip, "If you marry Steve, will that make him my dad?"

This seemed to make something click in Tasha's mind and she pulled Wanda to rest against her side, the girl letting her book fall onto the bed next to her as she let herself be cuddled. Natasha breathed in deeply in consideration for a moment then answered, "I don't know if we'll ever get married. I don't know if we're the marrying type, but that doesn't have anything to do with Steve being your dad or not."

"Why not?" Wanda's brow dipped in confusion.

"Whatever my relationship with Steve is doesn't have to define your relationship with him. What matters is how you feel about him." Her mother rested her head on top of Wanda's. "How do you feel about Steve?"

The little witch mulled over the question, and came up with the plain answer, "He is good."

She did not mean good as a banality, like he was good enough, or good not great. She meant Steve was full of goodness, that he was the ideal of good. Without having to explain herself, Natasha understood, and she agreed softly, "He is.. And if he sometimes feels like a father to you that is something for you to figure out with him. If Steve and I broke up tomorrow that wouldn't impact what you have with him. It wouldn't change how you feel about him. And I know it wouldn't change how he feels about you, okay?"

Wanda stayed quiet for a minute while she absorbed the words and she recalled how Steve had felt when she had called him Papa earlier that day. She sighed a relieved, "Okay."

The pair sat in silence for a stretch, letting their minds empty of thoughts and tiredness trickle in. Wanda realized she had drifted off when she woke a little to Natasha shifting them down on the pillows to a better sleeping position. The lights faded out and Wanda tangled her fingers in her mama's nightshirt before she slid back into her relaxed sleep that came with being held in her mother's arms.

/

Natasha stood at the stove making scrambled eggs with Steve sitting behind her at the counter alternating between reading the newspaper and checking out her ass in her shorts. She was scooping out the cooked eggs and thinking about calling him out on it to see him blush when Wanda shuffled in. She looked a little sleep blurred still with her blanket wrapped around her shoulders and her hair twisted from bedhead. Natasha smiled at the sight, but her daughter did not come over to greet her, instead sidling up to Steve. He let her underneath his arm as he greeted her, "Good morning, little bird."

"Morning." Wanda mumbled as she eyed the paper.

Without prompting Steve pulled out the Sunday comics and set them on the counter next to him for the girl. Wanda first went to say good morning to her mother at the stove, Natasha kissing her forehead before she went back to take the seat next to Steve. The little witch picked up her section of the newspaper and adopted a similar position as the captain as she started to read through the comics, and Steve resumed his perusing of the sports section. Natasha smiled amusedly at them as she plated up eggs and toast for the three of them. They set aside their reading when Nat placed plates in front of them and took the seat next to Wanda, enjoying a quiet breakfast together with light conversation.

When their meals were finished Wanda looked over to Steve, "Can we play superhero catch today?"

Their game of catch had evolved from the usual tossing a ball back and forth. Since Wanda's flying lessons had been going well Natasha had reluctantly loosened the reins a little, so Steve would throw the ball as high as he could, and Wanda would fly up to try and catch it. Alternatively she would use her magic to throw the ball forcing Steve to run after it to catch it, the game becoming equal parts training and fun for them. The man nodded with a grin, "As long as your mom says it's alright."

"That's fine. Just make sure Vision can be there to spot you."

"Okay, I'll go find him." Wanda hopped down from her chair but before she hurried off, the teenager quickly kissed her mother's cheek, "Thank you for breakfast."

"You're welcome, baby." Nat said as the girl was already moving away.

"I'll go grab the gloves." Steve called after her.

"Okay, thanks Papa." Wanda replied as she rounded the corner in the direction of the library were Vision most likely was. The Black Widow watched as a large smile grew on Steve's face, his absolute happiness radiating outward, her own smile spreading across her face to match his.

/

Oh Papa Steve, such a dear heart :)

I'm slowly but surely making my way through some prompts. Hope you've enjoyed this one!

Love to see your thoughts and comments! Thanks for reading!