"I want to paint this room."
Steve looked up from changing James's diaper and gave Kayla an exasperated glare, "Why?"
"It's too yellow." She explained, gesturing to the dull yellow walls of the boy's nursery. "It's like sunshine, but sad sunshine. Let's paint it blue, or green."
"What if our son doesn't want his room painted masculine colors?" Steve argued, wiping the poo off the baby's bottom as Kayla bounced Sarah in her arms. The infant rested happily having found her home against her mother's chest.
Kayla turned to her husband with a piqued eyebrow, "You're wiping his ass, he doesn't know the difference."
"Touche."
"Plus, when he gets older, he can design his room however he wants. I just don't like the yellow." Kayla shrugged, walking through the connecting door that linked the boy's nursery to the bathroom connecting James's room to his sister's, "Besides, he's still sleeping in our room."
"It's only been three days." Steve reminded Kayla as he buttoned up James's Hulk onesie before scooping the child up and pressing him against his shoulder. His boy grabbed at Steve's unruly long hair and tried to tug, but much like Kayla, Steve didn't feel much pain as the child pulled a small fistful of blonde locks out of Steve's scalp. When he rounded the doorframe, he saw Kayla sitting in the wooden rocking chair he'd built by the window, cradling Sarah as she began to fall into sleep. He smiled weakly at the sight, it was everything he'd hoped for. "I'm sorry the house is still pretty empty. I ran up here several times after Pepper helped me close on it. I just wanted to make sure the two kids had cribs and we had a bed. Once that was done, I really wanted us to have a chair that we could rock the kids in."
"It's perfect Steve," Kayla whispered as Sarah's lids began to close. She coughed a little as she began to drift off, but Kayla was growing less and less alarmed with the child's coughing fits. She was her father's daughter.
Steve looked around as James babbled against his collarbone happily, pounding little fists against his father's chest playfully. "This room's yellow too. Maybe we can paint it blue, like- a pretty sky blue. And we could paint little clouds on the ceiling so it always looks cheerful for her."
Kayla noticed the way Steve wistfully dreamed, and she wondered if he was imagining his own childhood bedroom. It probably wasn't cheerful and she knew he spent much of his time stuck in bed sick. Neither Steve nor Kayla brought up how tiny Sarah was, and how she coughed a lot and wheezed often. Kayla could see guilt written on her husband's face. She'd inherited these problems from him, and had no super soldier serum to correct them. Whenever Steve looked at Sarah, he saw the sickly boy he once was. Kayla imagined that why he wanted to name her after his mother.
"I think blue is very nice for her room." Kayla lifted her chin to see Steve touching the crib with his free hand as James continued his drumming against his father, "Someone's lively this afternoon." Kayla added as she nodded her head toward the child. Her son was loud and strong for a baby, and Kayla could already tell they'd be raising a super soldier son. At least he didn't appear to be growing rapidly.
"Wanna trade?" Steve breathed after one particularly strong swat to the throat. Kayla shook her head a little but rose from her seat just the same, depositing Sarah in her crib before taking James from his father.
"Hey, honey." She cooed as the boy giggled in her arms, clapping his hands together happily as she held him up easily with one arm while the other pushed aside the blonde hairs that grew atop his head. She sniffed quickly, then turned to Steve suspiciously, "Either someone didn't change your diaper very well or you made another mess, little man."
"He made another mess. I swear." Steve replied as he crossed his arms, his biceps bulging against the fabric of the grey hoodie he wore.
Kayla snorted as she shrugged, "Whatever you say, blaming the baby." She sneered playfully before spinning around, earning more giggle's from her son, "How about I give this one a bath and you run out and get some dinner. Pizza or Chinese?"
"Chinese, and what about Sarah? We can't leave her alone-" Steve gestured toward the baby and Kayla lowered her brows to show Steve she wasn't stupid.
"Zaddi will keep an eye on her. Besides, I'm literally right in here." Kayla gestured to the bathroom the two kids would someday share. It wasn't much. The bathtub didn't even have a shower curtain yet, but it had running water, and a few towels that Steve had purchased while Kayla was doing time in prison. Kayla moved into the bathroom and turned the water on, testing it to make sure it wasn't too hot for her son, "Zaddi!" She called, and the Rhodesian trotted into the bathroom and sat obediently next to his owner. "Go watch Sarah. Go watch baby." She pointed back into the nursery and the dog scampered toward the crib before settling just below it, guarding his little owner with his life.
Kayla began stripping off James's clothes to give him a bath, and Steve continued to hover over them protectively. After a couple of moments, Kayla looked up and sighed loudly, "You don't have to worry. We'll be okay. I promise."
"I've only had you back a few days, I'm still nervous. I'd never forgive myself if anything really happened to you or them. My family is my whole life now. It's everything I am." Steve dropped his head to look at his tennis shoes, and Kayla smiled grimly at his confession. Without Captain America, Steve didn't know who he was. The only thing he knew with most certainty was he was a husband and a father, and he'd be as dedicated to that cause as he was to the shield and the Avengers.
"I'll take an order of Kung Pow chicken, fried rice, and potstickers. And extra fortune cookies." Kayla ordered as she gently lifted James into an inflatable seat that he could sit in as she washed him. She continued to ignore Steve until he understood that she didn't need him protecting her. That was the whole point of letting her go through prison and execution: nobody would think to look for her.
Steve shoved his hands in the front pocket of his hoodie and trudged out through James's room. Kayla was right, the dull yellow was gross. He closed the door gently behind him and trotted down the stairs to the kitchen. It had old appliances, and the wallpaper was peeling, but Kayla hadn't minded. She saw the little white house with the red door and the picket fence and swooned at the prospects it held for her. The various projects she began dreaming up made Steve beam with pride, because he'd given her something that would both keep her busy and make her happy.
Steve was nervous about going out into the world and finding a place for himself in it. He hadn't held a non-government job since before he joined the army, and he didn't exactly count his grief counseling a full-time job. More of a public service that he enjoyed. He almost wanted to stay at home full time with Kayla, but he knew she'd earned that after what he put her through the past few months. He'd get a job, and he'd provide for his family.
He'd create the life he thought he'd never get a chance to live.
Steve locked the front door and walked out to his grey pickup, opening the driver's door and climbing in. He turned up the radio, having found a sort of comfort in country music. He hummed along as he drove through the city streets of the suburb they now lived in. It was a safe neighborhood in a small town. It fit all the criteria he wanted. And it had a pizza place and Chinese takeout so that was a plus for Kayla.
He entered the small shop and looked around nervously, waiting for someone to recognize him or threaten him or overall something terrible to happen. So many years of living on his toes taught him never to trust anybody, and even the poor teenager at the register could sense his apprehension.
"Good afternoon! What can I get for you today?" She chirped happily, forcing out the cheery demeanor in an effort to ease the large customer. Steve cleared his throat and pulled his hands out of his pocket.
"I'd like an order of the Kung Pow chicken with fried rice... and extra fortune cookies." He recited, making sure he remembered all the details of what his wife wanted. He looked at the menu and twisted his mouth thoughtfully, "Actually, just make it two orders of that."
The young girl smiled and took the cash Steve handed her. He looked around the restaurant and his body eased as he realized that nobody was out to get him, nobody was going to take away his family. They were safe. They were okay.
After a few minutes, Steve's order was up, and he went to the counter, taking the white plastic bag and thanking the girl. "Thank you, come again!" She chirped loudly as he pushed open the door with his upper arm. Once inside the pickup, Steve grabbed his new cell phone and dialed the number to the cell he'd gotten Kayla.
It rang for several moments, and he began to panic, threw the truck into reverse to get home quickly. As he pulled back onto the road, already starting to speed, Kayla answered the phone, "Hey darling."
"What took you so long?" Steve barked, feeling his chest deflate knowing she was okay, "I was worried about you."
"You've been gone for twenty minutes, Steve. I just got James out of the tub. He soaked everything, including me." She grumbled from the other end, and Steve could hear his son laughing loudly in the background, "Everything is going to be fine honey. Please don't worry so much."
"Kayla, I barely saved your life. You had our daughter in prison, my greatest enemy wants you dead. I'm terrified." Steve rushed the words out, settling his foot on the break as he realized how fast he was going. "I'm sorry. I'm just being overprotective."
He heard Kayla laugh a little on the other end, a thankful chuckle that made his heart feel a little lighter, "I love that you are overprotective, but I'm a big girl, and I can take care of us too you know. Get home, I'm hungry. I'm gonna put James down for a nap while we eat."
"I love you Kay." Steve told his wife, smiling to himself as she answered the same before hanging up the phone.
Kayla and Steve sat on the floor on the cushy tan carpet of their living room as they ate. They had no furniture, no couch, no table, no chairs. Kayla moaned happily as she put her plastic fork into the container and laid down on her back, staring up at the ceiling fan. Steve broke another fortune cookie in half and discarded the paper, tossing both halves of the snack into his mouth.
"Wait, what's your fortune?" Kayla yelped as she reached for the paper. "Happiness is found within."
"What's it mean?" Steve asked nonchalantly as he laid down, resting his head on Kayla's stomach. "What's the point of fortune cookies anyway?"
"They are fun." Kayla answered, rolling the small strip of paper between her fingers. She flicked it away, then went to work running her fingers through Steve's hair. "I think it means you don't have to keep looking for happiness, you already have it in your heart. Maaaayyybe it's me. And your son. And your daughter." Kayla booped Steve on the nose as he grinned, closing his eyes happily as he felt Kayla's belly move beneath him.
Steve reached up and grabbed Kayla's hand, pulling her palm to his lips. He planted soft kisses against her fingers as she sighed deeply, causing him to move up and down on her stomach. "So we'll paint the kid's rooms. What else do you want?"
"You." Kayla growled, sitting up and letting Steve's face fall into her lap. "I want you, Steve Rogers."
"I'm not Steve Rogers anymore." He grumbled, turning his head to bury his face into the thin fabric of her shirt so she couldn't see how sad he looked.
She knew though, she could hear it in his voice, "You'll always be Steve Rogers to me. You might have a new name, a new identity. Our kids may not bear your last name, but when we turn the lights go out at night, you'll always be my Captain America, Steven Grant Rogers. The love of my life, my husband."
Steve quickly rose and crawled over Kayla, backing her onto the carpet as he chased her with his mouth. He pressed his whole body against hers, digging her into the floor as he bit at her lip. Kayla growled playfully into him as she shoved her tongue into his mouth, trying to eat him alive. Steve moved his lips from her mouth to work his way down to the bottom of her shirt, grabbing it with his perfect teeth and yanking it up her body as she giggled. When it got hooked on her chest she pushed herself up and pulled the shirt off as Steve worked to unhook her bra. Once she was topless Steve went to work on her jeans, unbuttoning them and pulling them slowly down her toned thighs. As he leaned back, Kayla pounced on him, pushing him into the carpet as she straddled him, pulling off his grey hoodie.
Suddenly a loud cry came from up the stairs, and the two stopped and looked up in unison. Steve groaned and let his head fall back in frustration. "I'll get him." Kayla settled back onto her haunches in nothing but her lace thong, pursing her lips together as a weaker, higher pitched cry echoed in unison with the first. Steve pushed himself to his feet and started trudging up the stairs, pouting as Kayla pulled Steve's massive sweater over her breasts. Steve wouldn't be getting lucky this afternoon after all.
Author's Note: Thank you all for continuing to support this story! I know I threw a lot of you for a loop with the last couple of chapters, but things are going to simmer down now. We're going to have a lot of fluff, eventually coming to some drama. I can't wait for you all to get to know the kids!
glagla60800- Unfortunately the circle is going to stay small. I won't say that no one will ever find out they are alive, but I can guarantee that several characters will die never knowing Kayla and Steve are alive.
PeriAce- We are going to be seeing A LOT of Tony Stark! As they say, fix it with fan fiction! As I said above, unfortunately, most people will not find out Steve and Kayla are alive, but sometimes things happen and others need to be looped in. But the Rogers family is alive and well and adjusting to being regular people and parents. Two things neither of them is prepared for haha.
CurlyOne- I thought it was really important for someone to be there when she delivers Sarah, and even she caught that Natasha called her Kay. Natasha and Kayla owe each other their lives, and this back and forth will go on for a long time.
amberhardy- First off, please be safe in Dorian! I'm also chillin here in Central Florida waiting to see what's going to happen, but I'll try and update every day that I am able to (read- have power). I'm glad that I could surprise you with a happier chapter! Things will be happy for a while now! :)
Siobhan- Breathe easy my friend! It's smooth sailing for a while! (Not forever, but for a long while!)