When the doorbell to their apartment rang, Natasha jumped up from her two hundred sit-ups to answer it. She jogged to the door and looked through the peephole before standing face to face with the mailman. He stuttered when he saw the redhead, her hair pulled tight into a ponytail on top of her head and sweat sticking to her collarbones. She wore a tight, low cut sports bra and yoga pants, and he let his eyes drop for just a second before forcing himself back to her face. "He-Here." He handed the woman an envelope and turned quickly as she stood in the doorway silently.
Natasha eyed the envelope warily, carefully slipping her finger under the flap to pull it apart. She shuffled the cardstock out of its casing, holding the envelope between her fingers in her other hand as her green eyes scanned the invitation. "Kayla! Mail for you!" She called after carefully reading the contents. She sat the invitation on top of the kitchen table, then sat back down to continue her work out.
Kayla walked into the living room in her white bathrobe with her hair wrapped up in a towel on top of her head. She walked around Natasha to the table and picked it up, flipping it over before reading, "I see you've opened my mail. It's very clearly addressed to me."
"Can't be too careful," Nat answered as she grunted, putting her hands behind her head and pushing herself back to her feet. "You gonna go?"
"Probably not. I'm no socialite. Not anymore." Kayla sat the invitation on the table, pulling out a juice box out of the fridge and stabbing it with the tiny straw. Natasha raised her brow at the blonde and Kayla just shrugged, "Pregnancy cravings. Plus juice boxes are great."
"If you do go, you'll need a custom dress, you're showing quite a bit. It's obvious there's a little bun in there." Natasha jested as she grabbed a juice box for herself. She looked at Kayla as the girl stared out the picture window to the Brooklyn Bridge. Natasha didn't need to be a super spy to know what her friend was thinking- it was written on her face. "You miss him."
"More than anything. I gave up all this for him. I faked my own death for him, I put myself in danger for him day in and day out and the one time I do it for somebody else, he leaves." Kayla clenched her teeth, taking a deep breath, "What's it going to take for him to forgive me?"
"Show him that you don't need him," Natasha answered easily, and Kayla turned to her friend. Kayla didn't understand where Nat was going with this plan, "You are Kayla Ellis, you recreated the super-soldier serum that created Captain America. You are brilliant and powerful and now you have the platform to make change. I sacrificed myself to bring everyone back, and now that they are the world is crumbling just as much as it was after the snap. The Avengers have fallen and are rebuilding. You're already here."
Kayla twisted her lips, looking back to the invitation on the table, "It's a huge gala to kick off the international summit we're hosting here in New York. Government officials from around the world flying in to discuss problems all while trying to prove everything is okay by throwing a party. Meanwhile, people are fighting over homes, food supplies are too small, some kids haven't been in school for half a decade. It's hypocritical."
Natasha grabbed onto her foot and pulled it back behind her, stretching her legs in a ballerina pose, "Sounds like somebody needs to go into the family business."
Kayla stared at Natasha, then laughed, "Me? Politics? Oh no. No no no. That's ridiculous. I'm better suited to being a spy than a Senator. That's... ridiculous." Kayla crossed her arms and chuckled again, shaking her head.
Natasha shrugged and threw away her juice box before switching her stretches to the opposite leg, "I'm just saying, you have a good perspective. You understand things beyond the average person. You know why the Decimation happened and you lived through its reversal. Perhaps you can help people as you did with Warner. There's a lot more where he came from."
Kayla stormed over to the table and grabbed the invitation, taking it into her room. She sat on the bed and chewed the side of her finger as she read it over again. Kayla didn't necessarily want to attend the gala, especially alone. Her parents would be there, and Tiffany would accompany her, but she missed Steve. The thought of facing the world, pregnant and alone, was terrifying.
But she could make a difference.
"Ugghh," Kayla groaned as she pulled her phone out of the pocket of her elastic jeans. "Hey, Tiff. I'm sure you already heard about the Summit Gala."
"Yes I have, I was actually texted by Anderson's son's assistant about it, I assumed you wouldn't want to go. Am I wrong?" Tiffany taunted as she snuggled into Sam's chest in his bed, running her fingers along his bare chest.
"Hi, Kay!" Sam called through the phone as he went back to kissing Tiffany's neck.
Kayla nodded, able to imagine what was happening on the other end of the phone. "Hi, Sam! How's it going?" She pretended to be cordial, but there was annoyance in her voice.
"It's going good. Bucky's good. James is good. Steve dropped him this morning... just kidding that didn't happen, but we're good." Sam joked, but Kayla didn't respond to his attempt at getting a rise out of her.
"So, the gala," Kayla said, getting Tiffany back on the phone. "I'm gonna need a dress. Make a few calls, see if anyone's interested. I'm a risk, but you never know. Let them know I'm six months pregnant. People love baby bumps."
"You got it, boss. I'll do it first thing tomorrow. Love you byeeee" Tiffany hung up the phone. Kayla flipped through her photos on her cell phone, looking at the past five years. She'd spent five years moping and crying and wishing and working, but that didn't mean there weren't any good times. She smiled at a photo of her holding a huge bouquet of roses that Steve surprised her with one day after one of his therapy sessions. She flipped again to a selfie she'd taken of the two of them, him beaming and her pressing her lips to his cheek lovingly, a small smile on her face. Even if half the universe was dead, even if they'd lost their friends and their family, they had each other. And Kayla threw all of it away to hold an Infinity Stone in her hand.
Steve pretended he couldn't hear Sam and Tiffany through the wall, but they were paper thin. He nursed his beer as he leaned against the counter, watching James as he laid on a blanket on his tummy, lifting his head and flailing his arms and legs. Normally Steve would find this adorable, but his mind was somewhere else, far away from his child and the banging on the wall behind him.
Bucky Barnes smacked his vibranium fist once against Sam's door before shouting, "Keep it down in there, Little Bucky is trying to crawl!"
"Fuck you, Barnes!" Came in unison from behind the door, and Bucky smiled smugly as he walked out into the kitchen to join Steve. Steve handed his friend a beer and Bucky smiled down at James.
"You know, he's not quite to crawling yet. He's just getting the hang of holding his head up." Steve gestured with his bottle to the infant who cooed and babbled on the thick blue Avengers blanket. He let out a squeal when his Uncle Bucky came into view, and Barnes quickly situated himself on the floor with the baby, laying on his stomach to get closer. James reached out and grabbed at Bucky's long hair, giving it a good tug before Barnes tickled the child, causing him to erupt into giggles.
"You ready to talk to your girl yet?" Bucky asked as he made faces to get James to laugh.
Steve grunted, taking another long swig of his beer before tossing the empty bottle away. His beard had grown out a little more, but he trimmed it, trying to look a little presentable. His hair was long but brushed back, a nice change from how unruly it had been for the past several months. Steve was trying to find himself in this new life, but without the shield and the uniform, he was lost. "I don't know what to say."
"Say you miss her. That you still love her, and that you forgive her." Bucky provided, letting his piercing eyes break away from the baby to look at the father. "Tell her you've had enough time, and you're ready to move on."
"And how do I know she'll take me back after abandoning her?"
"You don't Steve, but you have so many regrets. Are you willing to let your anger create another one?" Bucky warned, pressing his lips to the side of James's head where whispy blonde hairs had begun to grow.
Steve lowered his head shamefully, running his hand over his face in frustration. He should have never left his wife, he should have never split up his family, no matter how angry he was. He should have walked out of that hospital and walked back in the next day. Kayla rose from the ashes of his betrayal, and he descended into darkness. He needed Kayla to be his light.
"I have to win her back," Steve told Bucky, looking up to see Barnes was now laying on his back, staring at the ceiling as James did the same. Steve chuckled at the sight and pulled out another beer from the fridge, popping the top and taking another long swig.
I have to win her back.
"Thank you so much, Jennifer, it's been a long time," Kayla hugged the tall, dark-skinned designer with five-inch heels and hair to her waist.
"The pleasure is all mine Kayla. It's been too long. And, now you offer me a new challenge! How am I going to deal with that bump of yours?" Jennifer gestured to Kayla's plump belly, which was shown off by her tight t-shirt over her sweats. Jennifer Richardson looked up at Kayla coyly, "You gonna tell me who the father is? Or make me guess? You've been so quiet since you reemerged."
"Let's just say that the father was a good man. And I miss him a lot." Kayla said truthfully, sparking all sorts of theories in the designer's mind. She gestured for Kayla to stand on the small platform she'd brought along to the women's apartment. As Kayla took the step up, she turned and looked at Jennifer, her long hair dropping in loose waves down her back as she gave the woman a bittersweet smile, "Just like old times."
Jennifer pulled out her tape measure and wrapped it around her stomach, "That was a lifetime ago Kayla. I spent half of that time nonexistent. And I can see in your eyes that something has happened to you in that time too."
Kayla sighed as Jennifer continued taking her measurements, not ready to admit the woman was right. She didn't know how to explain where she'd been. The truth? The truth was simple: she'd run off with the man of her dreams, and followed him everywhere he went for nine years. She could tell the world that- that she faked her own death to be with Captain America. But the threat still remained, somewhere out there in the universe Johann Schmidt wanted revenge on the man she loved. If the world knew her story, it would be all too easy for the Red Skull to succeed in killing them all.
"So what colors are you thinking? You were always dashing in red. And blue, you always wanted blue." Jennifer gushed, remembering all the times she'd worked with Kayla Ellis, the President's Daughter. Kayla's mind always flashed back to that blue dress, the one she wore when she met Steve... or the white one she wore when she married him.
"Gold. That girl you knew is dead." Kayla stepped down, leaning closer to Jennifer with sparkling green eyes, "I am Kayla Ellis reborn."
Author's Notes:
Siobhan- The men and the baby is kind of the funniest. Bucky has such an adorable relationship with James. Steve's being a pill though, his determination is getting in the way of his happiness. It was necessary though, for both of them. I think it's just so hard for Kayla to figure out who she is without Steve. He's her everything. Also bracing yourself is probably a good idea, because it gets way worse before it gets better... As always thanks for leaving a review!