Hey, guys. This is the second prologue, the end of this is right where the story begins. I know it is very unrealistic, with the kids and all, but it is my story. I hope that this doesn't make me sound mean, but if you don't like the Avengers as kids or you don't like my idea with the kids all being siblings, then don't read my story. I like my story, just the way it is. Remember, if you are reading Avengers stuff, then you already are reading something unrealistic! :)
Prologue: Steve Rogers
A six-year-old Steve Rogers stood between his mom and dad, holding their hands. He was looking up at the house they would be living in for a very long time. He looked up at his parents and his dad picked him up, his mom brushing blonde hair out of his eyes. They both smiled at him and he smiled back.
"What do you think, Steve? Do you like the house?" His dad asked him.
Steve nodded happily, bright baby blue eyes shining. "It's really pretty."
"This is where we are gonna live from now on." His mom said, looking into her son's eyes.
"Cool! Can I go exploring in it?" Steve asked, eyes hopeful but respectful.
His parents laughed, "Sure, buddy." His dad set him on the ground and he ran inside, excitedly looking around his new home.
~~Steve~~
"Pregnant?" A thirteen-year-old Steve asked, looking at his parents.
"Yes," his mom nodded. "Your dad and I are going to have a baby. You're going to be a big brother."
Steve smiled at his mom, and then he hugged her. "Congratulations. I'm so happy for you."
And he was. Steve Rogers was the most respectful little boy in the whole small town he lived in. It was a poorer neighborhood; it had one school and one small family-run hotel. It was so tiny that the town wasn't on most maps. Everyone knew everyone and they called them by their first name, except respectful kids called the adults they weren't close enough to by their last name, always putting the 'Miss' or 'Mr.' or 'Mrs.' in front of it. Steve was almost the only kid in the whole town who knew the adults more than the other kids. He had no friends at school and was bullied for everything, from his scrawniness to his politeness. He'd learned at an early age to just ignore them. Because bullies never win.
"Are you really? Because I know it might not be cool for a boy your age to be getting a new baby brother or sister." His mom looked at him, slightly worried.
"It's okay mom, I really am happy. I know you've always wanted another baby. I'll love being a brother, it's gonna be easy."
~~Steve~~
He was fourteen when his little brother was born. And he had quickly learned that it was, unlike he originally thought, very hard to have a baby in the house. At first, he was not even good at holding the baby. He had almost dropped him when he first held him. But he was learning as he went on, that was all that mattered. He was trying.
His brother's name was Erik Selvig Rogers. His mom and dad named him after his mom's dad, Erik, and the older man who used to baby-sit Steve when he was little, Mr. Selvig. Two years after Erik was born, Maria Hill Rogers was born. Maria was Steve's dad's mom and Hill was their old neighbor's last name. Two more years passed before Steve's next little sister, Elizabeth Ross Rogers, was born. Steve moved away for college but stayed close enough where he could see his next sister, Jane Foster Rogers, be born the next year. And then the year after that came the twins, James Barnes Rogers and Clinton Barton Rogers.
Steve finished college early, with full honors and advanced placements and high recommendations. He had to graduate. Because he had to go take care of his family. His dad had died. He'd been in the war for as long as Steve could remember, and nothing like this was ever a real thought in Steve's mind. Before Steve had been born, his mom had wanted to be a nurse for the war but she gave that up to raise Steve. The war was all that was really keeping the family stable; his mom's nurse pay wasn't very good. Not good enough to raise seven, almost eight, kids. Not that Steve was getting paid for anymore, but he was still their son. His mom was barely pregnant when his dad died.
Steve was there for her when she was pregnant, working a night shift, and doing double shifts when she was put on bed rest. His baby sister, Margret Carter Rogers, was born eight months after their dad died.
~~Steve~~
Steve ran into the local town hospital, rushing to the front desk where they smiled sadly at him and pointed him in the right direction. He saw his little siblings sitting outside a door, a nurse watching them. The older kids were crying, but the twins and the baby were not aware of what was going on.
"Guys," Steve sighed in relief. He took his baby sister out of the nurse's arms. "Hey Peggy, I've got ya."
The doctor came out of the room and saw Steve was there. He led Steve away from the kids before talking to him. "How is she, Dr. Greenburg?"
"She's gotten worse, Steve. The kids said goodbye already…. We think it's her time. You should go say goodbye, Steve. If there was anything we could do for her, we would do it. But she just isn't responding."
Steve looked down, absently, at the baby in his arms. A one-year-old baby girl would never get to know her mom. And her mom was the best one Steve could ever ask for. It wasn't fair. Why did he get to spend his whole childhood with his parents, but now his siblings wouldn't get to?
"I'll watch the kids, give me Peggy. Say your goodbyes, Steve. You deserve them, she deserves them. I'm sorry." The doctor took the baby and led Steve back to where the other kids were standing. Steve went into his mom's hospital room, knowing this was the last time he'd hear her beautiful voice.
"Steve," she whispered, looking at him sadly as he crossed over to sit next to her. He took her hand in his and held it tight.
"Mom," he whispered back, his voice breaking with his tears.
"Do you remember when you were just a little skinny boy? You were just skin and bones back then. Then one day this happened." She laughed and gestured to Steve's tall, muscled body. He kissed her hand. "You turned into such a strong handsome man, just like your dad."
"I'm not like dad; he was much… stronger… in every way. I might look strong, but I'm really not, not at all."
"You are. On the inside, where it counts. Listen to me, one day you will meet someone, Steve. Someone who will make you realize just how strong you are. And you'll realize that people have been through much worse than you have. You've had such an easy life compared to some people, honey. You just can't see it yet. Sure, some people might have money, or fame, or big fancy houses. But you've got family. And family is so much better than anything else."
"How do you think I'll meet someone, mom? I'm about to be the guardian of seven kids, how would I meet someone who would accept that?"
"You will find someone who will more than accept that, Steve. They will embrace it! I know they will. Just keep your eyes and mind wide open. You never know where you will find love. But you will find it, never doubt that."
"Mom…. Please don't leave me."
"I have to, honey. I'm going to see your father again. And we will watch over you, every single moment of every single day until you are up with us. Then you'll have your own people to watch over."
"Mom… I love you."
"I love you too, Steve. Always remember that." He could see her slipping away.
"Tell Dad I love him, will ya?" He tried for a half-hearted joke.
"Of course. I love you all so much." She smiled.
"We love you too." And she was gone.
~~Steve~~
-Present day-
Steve sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Bills upon bills. He was working as hard as he could, while raising seven kids all under the age of ten. He worked from home, so schedule changes weren't a big problem. Steve was twenty-three and it had been a year since his mom's death. Steve still had no real clue as to what he was doing, but he put up a mask that said he knew exactly what he was doing. He had a routine, sure, and most of the kids were well behaved. But the twins were crazy little three-year-olds. And they all had their moments, both good ones and bad ones.
Steve had to go drop off something at the town's little hotel, just a few blocks away. He told nine-year-old Erik that he was in charge and that he'd be back soon. Peggy insisted on going with, she was always with him so it didn't really come as a surprise. He picked her up when they were close to the front entrance. He silently pulled the door open to see a dark-haired man standing at the front desk, surrounded by kids. He began to wonder who would be in their small town with so many kids.
