Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It's kind of, sort of, on time! Next chapter is the party, which is going to be set up a little differently because it's going to switch between POV's. It's also going to be the last chapter in Georgia, and afterwards we'll get back to the actual plot line. I've also already started working on the Avengers story, so it should be up pretty quickly.
Tony and Pepper are back, and I guess I should throw in the disclaimer that I don't own any recognizable characters.
As always you guys, please favorite/follow/review. I love hearing from you and am still open to suggestions if there's something that you want to see.
Adara.
Chapter Seventeen:
1945, Location: Aboard the Schnellzug EB912
"I had him on the ropes." Steve couldn't help but smirk at Bucky's growl, mind going back to a time not that long ago when he'd been saying the exact same thing in a dirty alley in Brooklyn.
"I know you did." He responded, laughing at the way his best friend sneered at him. If they were anywhere else, if the situation was any less dire, Steve had no doubt that Bucky would respond with a quick jab in the ribs. But this mission was different from the others, it was bigger; they were going to strike a crippling blow to HYDRA by kidnapping their lead scientist Armin Zola.
Still, they shared that smile for a second; there weren't enough reasons or moments to smile in this damn war. The distraction would cost them thought, because by the time they heard the weapon powering up there was no time to react.
"Get back!" Steve shouted, his super soldier body moving before his brain could properly catch up. He swept one arm out, catching Bucky by the jacket and practically throwing the dark haired man behind him as he lifted his shield in a last ditch effort to protect them both.
The force of the impact sent them both flying, and all Steve could hear was a ringing in his ears as the shield was ripped from his hands and he was thrown into a stack of crates. His vision blurred, and he couldn't quite get his bearings around him as icy wind whipped through the cart, courtesy of the hole blown wide into the side.
The HYDRA agent took a step forward, lifting the powerful weapon and aiming it again… not at him though.
Bucky! He wanted to shout, tried to climb to his feet, but there was nothing that he could do but watch as his friend lifted up his shield and squared his shoulder. Bucky lifted his gun in one hand, firing shot after shot at the hulking man. He may as well have been spitting paper wads with how effective it was.
The gun fired again in a hiss of blue light, and Steve was blinded temporarily. There was a loud clatter of metal hitting metal, but as soon as his vision cleared he was scrambling onto his feet. The HYDRA agent didn't twitch, the multiple bullet wounds and force of the recoil finally bringing him down but Steve didn't care because Bucky was hanging onto a flimsy railing that was barely staying attached to the train wall.
"Bucky!" The wind blew his hair as he flung himself to the edge, reaching out for his friend.
"Hang on!" He urged, carefully climbing out and trying to reach him. "Grab my hand!"
And then Bucky was reaching too, but the brunet must have realized that there was no point, because his grey eyes looked… resigned. Steve was too far away and he could see the railing shake loose with every heartbeat. The moment had a sense of surrealism that he had never felt before, and it didn't quite register when the wind shifted and his body broke free from the train.
"BUCKY!" Steve heard the scream, heard it over the shrieking wind, and watched as his best friend, his brother fell.
It would never be the same after this.
IOI
September 23, 2011, Location: Atlanta, GA
He still had nightmares, had them frequently in fact. It wasn't something that Steve suspected was ever likely to go away, but…
The symptoms were becoming manageable. Years devoted to trying not to show any weaknesses other than those apparent by his body had taught him how to assess and micromanage symptoms before they became noticeable by other people. So when he woke up sweating and feeling slightly nauseated from his dream, it was silent so that he didn't wake up the woman asleep on the bed above him.
Instead he silently crept into the bathroom, footsteps landing with a lightness that he hadn't been able to physically claim as his own since he allowed Dr. Erskine to inject him with that formula.
The bathroom lit up with cold brightness as he flipped the switch, the cool colors of the tiles reflecting the light and bouncing it into his eyes with enough force to make him flinch backwards. It was a change from the dark, warm colors of the bedroom, and his eyes started watering as he forced them back shut. He reached to turn the faucet on with one hand, digging the heel of the other into his eyes until stars exploded across his vision. And it still wasn't enough, because even those little fireworks against the back of his eyelids weren't enough to chase away the nightmare of Bucky falling from the train.
Bucky… Oh God, I'm sorry.
It was his biggest regret, the one thing that kept him up at night, kept haunting his memory, more than anything else. More than watching the ocean coming up to swallow him, more than the bite of ice and water until everything went black and cold, was the bite of wind as it swallowed that scream. It was watching his best friend plummet into a ravine and knowing–knowing–that Bucky wouldn't have been there if not for him. If he hadn't asked him to stay.
It was the smear of red blood in the snow, the glint of metal dog tags dangling from a branch.
It was the defeat of giving up the search because he just wasn't there and they still had a war to win.
Steve brushed his teeth, trying to wash away the coppery taste of blood from where he'd bitten the inside of his cheek during the night, and if he was honest the minty after taste was somewhat refreshing. Never having been one to take longer than absolutely necessary in the bathroom, he was in the process of drying his hands on the towel when he pushed the door open and turned the light off.
"Steeb?" Nicole was propped up on her elbows, hair a knotted mess on her head, blinking sleepily at him. "'S everything alright?"
The blonde couldn't help but smile at the half conscious expression on her face; Nicole was squinting at him, trying to focus, but it was obvious that she was only partially awake. "It's fine, Dugan. Go back to bed."
Her lips pinched into an adorable scowl, brows crinkling as she flopped back onto her pillows and pulled the blankets up to her chin. How she could stand to sleep in the heat cocooned in a comforter, fleece blanket, and thermal one at the same time was beyond him. He could barely handle his own blanket, and that was with the air conditioning in the house.
"'S okay, y'know." She muttered, rolling onto her side so that she could watch as he moved around to try and organize the mess that was his things.
He looked up to find her eyes surprisingly clear. "What is?"
"'S okay to not be okay." She rolled over onto her other side, and he was about to ask what she meant by that but before he could form the words there were small snores filling the room.
He… didn't even know what to do with her sometimes. There was a truth to what she had said, and it was a truth that he occasionally had a hard time accepting. He knew that he was entitled to his bad days, knew that just because someone, somewhere, had it worse it didn't invalidate his own problems, but he still didn't feel like he had the right to complain. Not when it could be much worse for him.
Then Nicole would go and say something like that, she would somehow–miraculously–pick out exactly what was bothering it and say exactly what he needed to here. Just before falling into a dead sleep, leaving him bewildered and confused.
She really was just like her grandfather.
"You're something else, Dugan." He muttered to himself, easing out of the bedroom and gently closing the door. Just because he wasn't getting any more sleep this morning, didn't mean that he needed to make her suffer.
The house was mostly quiet for six-thirty in the morning, and most of the lights were out as he made his way to the kitchen. If the rest of the house was asleep, the same could not be said about the kitchen. The overhead lights were on, silhouetting the back of the woman who was busying herself in buttering up a few slices of toast. Emily was humming softly to herself, rolling up the sleeves of her light blue blouse as she stuck the toast into her mouth. It was interesting to watch, and as she moved about the kitchen to clean up, while simultaneously eating and brushing crumbs off of her clothes, he couldn't help but draw the parallels to her daughter.
Nicole was almost the exact same in the mornings, except for the fact that the younger woman had a tendency to dance as well.
He cleared his throat subtly, lips twitching as Emily jumped about half a foot into the air and dropped the remains of her toast on the counter.
"Sorry," He apologized almost instantly, lifting his hands in surrender as the woman pressed her hand to her chest and whipped around to glare at him. "I didn't think anyone else was up."
"I…swear…" She gasped, trying to steady her breathing. "You are just as bad as my daughter."
"You expect me to believe that Nicole can be sneaky?" He chuckled, running his hand over his jaw. Nicole, who could barely manage to avoid tripping over her own two feet and form a cognitive sentence when she was tired?
"Used to scare the bejeesus out of me." Emily gulped, straightening up after a few moments. "When she was little, she used to have nightmares all the time… I'd be watching television in the living room, or be grading tests, and I'd just look up and she'd be there. Do you want a cup of coffee?"
"Yes please." He nodded emphatically, stretching as he reached up for a bowl. "Did she have nightmares a lot when she was a kid?"
Emily didn't answer for a moment, busying herself with pouring the coffee before she turned to face him. The woman had a slightly troubled look in her brown eyes, and she absently reached up to push a few strands of flyaway hair out of her face.
"They started when she was four." She said, cutting a cautious look towards the still closed door. "And they were bad, Steve. Really bad. But she could never quite remember what they were about… After the accident in DC, they got worse you know? And there was not a damn thing that I could do about it."
Her mouth pulled into a bitter smile, and Steve found himself listening intently. "I don't know when it started happening, maybe when she was about nine, or ten? She stopped popping out of her room randomly, and I thought that she was getting better. I mean she was, but the nightmares were still happening. Nicole was just, I don't know, trying to handle them by herself."
Just like him.
In the six days that he had spent with Nicole's family, he had learned a lot about his friend. It was more than just the embarrassing stories and pictures–of which there were many–and it was more than just getting a glimpse of a childhood that she had been remarkably close-lipped about. He learned about the situations she had been in that had shaped her into the agent he knew, learned about the family she came from.
Steve was still astounded at how easily they had come to accept him, drawing him into their family with open arms and warm smiles.
"Kid gives me premature grey hairs, but I don't regret a damn thing." Emily chuckled, her eyes soft and full of love.
Steve found the emotion almost contagious; not that he felt a particular swelling of affection for Nicole–though he did care a lot about her–but he could feel the warmth coming from the older woman. He looked down at the steaming mug of coffee in his hands, allowing the heat to radiate into his palms as he chewed on one corner of his lip. He found himself curious about her powers, where she'd gotten them from and how. As far as he could tell, Nicole's maternal family was remarkably normal. With the exception of the Infinity Serum that Dum Dum had taken, but the redhead had insisted that it had nothing to do with her abilities. Which led him to believe that the anomalies in her cells had something to do with her father. Except, Nicole never spoke about her father which wasn't exactly surprising considering the fact that she had a tendency to not talk about a lot of things, but she had never even mentioned the man in passing. Whenever she referred to anyone that had filled the paternal role, it was Jack.
And he couldn't help but be curious about the man.
"You look like you're chewing on something big." Emily drawled, watching him in amusement.
He swallowed a mouthful of the coffee, enjoying the rush of caffeine that entered his system. "I was just curious about her father. Nicole doesn't ever speak of him."
"I don't know that there's a whole lot to say about her biological father." Emily answered, watching as he poured his bowl of cereal. "She never met him."
There was something almost withdrawn about the woman's face, and Steve was about to apologize for prying when she smiled. It wasn't the exasperated smile she typically wore, or the tired one, not even the sweet one that she got whenever she was looking at her child or husband. The best way that he could describe that smile was bittersweet, with a hint of nostalgia.
"He was a handsome fella, he really was." She seemed to be talking to herself almost, brown eyes distant. "I didn't know him very long, to tell you the truth; only about a week or so. He was a drifter, came sweeping into a bar I was at with some girlfriends. It was the day that my friend Lisa finally got engaged and we were celebrating the good news."
"I was smitten, and I let him buy me a few drinks. Then I let him buy me more than a few drinks. We got to talking and I found out he was staying at this seedy motel down in the worse part of DC, so I offered him my couch to crash on." Emily snorted at that, refilling her own mug and checking her watch. "I knew he wasn't staying around, and I knew it was a little inappropriate, but hell Steve it was the eighties and I didn't care. I had one last night to remember, he was gone in the morning and nine months later I was pushing out a ten pound, screaming bundle of joy."
"You never heard back from him after that?" He couldn't help the question, and he couldn't help the surge of indignation.
It was a cheap man that left a girl who was gonna have his kid to it alone.
Emily laughed at that, and it was almost the exact same as her daughters if not for the fact that it was a little higher. "Well, we didn't have as many cellphones back then so I couldn't exactly call him and tell him I was pregnant. It takes two to make a baby, Steve and I did my part willingly and knowing the consequences. I mean, Nicole was one hell of a surprise, but it was as much my fault that I got pregnant as his."
She leaned back against the counter and nursed her cup in careful hands. "I remember hiding it for as long as I can, and then once I couldn't anymore… well, that month's PTA meeting wasn't exactly stellar. A lot of women wanted me fired, claiming that I set a bad precedent for their kids, blah blah blah. They didn't get what they wanted of course, I got to keep my jobs but it wasn't without repercussions."
"Repercussions?" Steve parroted, thinking back to something that Nicole had said to him the night of the fire in the apartment.
"Kids can be cruel, Steve. Very cruel. I didn't have a dad when I was that age, and you'd think that it wouldn't be that big of a deal but… when you're different, it wasn't good."
"Yeah. Nasty looks, even nastier words. The worst of it though was on Nicky; the kids were right bastards. I still never felt guilty about it, I never once regretted the events that brought my daughter in the world. And eventually she made friends with someone who wasn't afraid of her, who genuinely cared for her."
"Was that the friend that died?" The question was out of his mouth before he could stop it, and Steve couldn't help but grimace at the distasteful look that flitted across Emily's face. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that."
"No, it's okay sweetie. You're practically one of the close family now, so it's no problem." She answered, smiling at him. "It was that friend. I just… I was grateful for him, but I didn't like him that much. He seemed too… smooth, kind of oily. Granted I am a little biased because he was also her first boyfriend and broke her heart."
That was news to him. Nicole had told him about the first time she'd ever felt anything… more than friendship for someone, but she'd never gone into more detail than that. In fact, when she referred to that friend—which wasn't even that often—it was with nothing but the utmost fondness in her voice.
"You didn't know that they dated?" Emily arched an eyebrow, as though reading his thoughts. "Not a bit surprising, not a little bit. Well he was her first real love, and it didn't end well, but they had a long friendship before that. You never really forget your first love, even when it ends badly, and you're never the same afterwards. She was a lot more emotionally closed off after that happened, didn't smile quite as much."
To the point where it had caused problems with another boyfriend that she'd had.
"Yeah, I think I get what you mean." He murmured, looking up when Emily placed a gentle hand on his arm. Steve hadn't even realized that she'd left the kitchen.
"I guess that's what your first love is though. You go into it wide eyed and hopeful, and if it ends you come out changed forever."
Steve thought of Peggy, his beautiful, strong and self-assured Peggy, and his heart twisted painfully. He didn't know that he could call her his first love—that title still belonged to Judy Sanders from fifth grade—but what he had felt for her had been strong. She had been the first woman to look at him, look at his weak and frail body, and see beyond it; she had seen the character inside, the person that was just as frustrated with his own shortcomings and did his best to keep them from holding him back. There had never been a woman like Peggy before, and that was what hurt the most when he'd woken up to find that so much time had passed; there would never be a woman —or man—like her afterwards either.
It was part of the reason he didn't want to try his hand at the dating game; not only was it too soon, but Steve knew that he wouldn't be able to keep himself from comparing whoever it was to Peggy. And he knew that it would be unfair to do that to someone, to hold them up to impossible standards. He needed closure, he knew that he needed closure, but the only way to get that would be to go see Peggy and… that would hurt. It was one of those problems that wouldn't go away if he just ignored it, but Steve couldn't bring himself to face it either.
"Tony told me that you haven't been to see Aunt Peggy yet." Steve had to wonder if Nicole had gotten her skills from her mother, because Emily seemed to pick up on what he was thinking as easily as her daughter.
He didn't answer at first, thinking on how to respond. It would be easy to change the subject, remarkably easy, he could segue right into any other discussion but… the way she was watching him, it reminded Steve of his own mother and he knew that she would see right through him.
"I've got time to talk, if you want?" There was no pressure in that voice, no judgment in those brown eyes, and he found himself focused on where her hand was clasped around his.
The words were tumbling out of his mouth before he had a chance to stop them. "It hurts. She moved on, and I can't blame her for it because to her it's been seventy years, but for me it's only been three months."
"Peggy was something special to me," His fingers tightened around the mug. "But it feels like, if I go see her, if I show her I'm alive… it'll hurt me, yeah, but what will it do to her? She's already gotten past me, she's moved on and had her own family."
Emily squeezed his fingers gently, a sympathetic expression on her face as she listened to him. It was therapeutic to get everything off of his chest, and he found himself surprised at how easy it was to open up to her as compared to Dr. Cross, who basically had to pull the information out of him like teeth. But this was… he couldn't stop talking if he'd wanted to, unloading all of his worries on the elder woman who just smiled and hummed her response as she absorbed every word.
"I need the closure, I know, but I just don't think I'm ready for it yet." He finished, grimacing slightly. "Sorry, you probably didn't want to waste your morning listening to me complain."
"Nonsense Steve," Emily snorted, reaching up to brush her fingers through his hair in an attempt to smooth it down just like his ma had before she'd passed. "You needed to get that off of your chest and I'm glad I could help."
Her expression turned serious then, and her brown eyes lifted to lock onto his. "Aunt Peg did love Uncle Danny, but she never stopped talking about you. As she got older, she started asking about you, insisting that they'd find you and bring you back. I don't think that she ever truly stopped thinking about you Steve and in my honest opinion? I think that it would be a good idea if you went to see her."
"I also think it would be good if you took some moral support. You're right in that it's going to be hard on the both of you, but in the end? You probably don't want the regret of not seeing her when you had the chance." She sighed, patting his hand comfortingly.
"You're probably right." She was right. "I just have to work my way up to it."
"I usually am." Emily chuckled, lifting out of her chair and collecting their dishes. "You do it in your own time, when you feel ready."
"Thanks, Em." He scrubbed a hand down his face, feeling strangely refreshed.
The woman just grinned again, reaching down to grab her purse and keys in passing. She paused on her way past the table, reaching out to grab his head gently in both hands and plant a matronly kiss in his hair on her way to the door.
"No problem sweetheart." She gave him a quick hug as well. "Now I'm off before I'm late, have fun."
Steve sat stunned for a few seconds, before waving at her. "Y—you too."
The door shut with a soft click, leaving him seated at the table in a state of shock as silence settled over the house again. To say that he hadn't been expecting that would be an understatement; Nicole's family had accepted him into the fold easily, sure, but… God he felt like he was one of them. Even before the war, Steve had felt a little adrift; when his ma had died, all he'd had left was Bucky. Now he was starting to feel tethered again with the knowledge that he had people who genuinely cared about him.
He had… a family.
Steve couldn't help the smile that lifted his face at that, it was huge and stretched from ear to ear and it felt so real and so good that he couldn't call to mind anything better at the moment. He started to feel something else as well, a sort of itching in his fingers that he got whenever he really wanted to draw something. He'd tried roughing out a few sketches here and there since he'd woken up, but nothing really well formed and Steve had ended up abandoning them after a little while. Now was not the case however; right now he really wanted to draw.
Nicole was still asleep when he crept into the bedroom, her snoring muffled by the pillow and blankets that she was hidden under. The redhead didn't so much as stir when he rooted around through his bag for his sketchbook and pencils. He shook his head in amusement, knowing how difficult it could be to rise the woman out of a dead sleep.
Steve was glad that she was getting some rest though; after everything he had learned in the past month about the redhead… she masked her emotions very well.
He went out to the patio, enjoying the slightly cooler air as the sun started burning off the morning mist. The quiet was interrupted by bird chatter, but other than that the environment held a serenity that hadn't been easy to come by in New York. Flipping to a blank page, Steve smiled to himself as the smooth lines of Jack's Cadillac came to mind. He'd certainly seen the car enough times to conjure it up by memory, especially considering the fact that his memory was exceptional. Steve settled into an easy rhythm after that, pencil scraping along the clean page of his sketchbook as he waited for everyone else to wake up.
IOI
"Thanks Tabby, I'll mark you down as a definite yes." Steve came into the kitchen to find Nicole flipping through the papers that made up the guest list, yellow highlighter in hand as she marked off another name. Instead of bothering the woman hunched over the counter, he went straight for the fridge looking for some more bottles of water.
The redhead spun around so that she could see him, making a grabby gesture for the bottle in his hand. He couldn't help the urge to tease his friend, jerking the bottle over his shoulder and quirking an eyebrow in challenge. Almost immediately he saw the spark flare up in Nicole's eyes; she knew exactly what he was doing and was less than thrilled with it. Unfortunately—or fortunately depending on the perspective—the person on the other end of the phone started talking excitedly. Nicole let out a silent sigh, rolling her eyes as she mouthed angrily at him.
"No, I can't say that I am Tabby." She answered, voice cheerful. "I've been really busy with work lately."
The voice on the other end continued talking, the words shooting out rapid-fire in a low drone that he couldn't exactly make out.
Give me the bottle, Rogers. Nicole mouthed to him, taking a lunge for it. Steve just pulled back farther, keeping the plastic bottle just out of reach as she kept trying.
"Get your own, Dugan." He hissed, keeping his voice low. "Some of us have been working hard today."
He hadn't. Neither he, nor Dum Dum or Mark had so much as broken a sweat as they went about setting up the net in the yard, or the corn hole boards, or even the horseshoe pit. Not that Nicole needed to know that… though he suspected she was well aware of his bullshit as she elbowed him in the ribs. Steve couldn't help but laugh at that, ducking out of her reach as he circled around to the other side of the kitchen.
At this point he suspected that it would be easier to just get her own bottle, but Nicole had that look about her. The determined set of her mouth whenever someone challenged her told him that she wasn't going to rest until she got some water. Specifically his water, out of his bottle.
You're going down, blondie. She hummed an answer to the woman on the phone, circling around him like a predator.
So scared. He mouthed back, taking a large gulp of the water for added effect.
Nicole gaped at him, jaw dropping in surprise as her eyebrows pulled up to make her look utterly betrayed. Steve started laughing harder, doing his best to silence them as his shoulders started shaking.
"No, she's very excited about the party." Nicole's voice when she spoke again was nothing if not polite, completely at odds with the murderous look he was giving her. "She's just been dealing with a lot lately from school and everything."
Nicole moved so that he was cornered by the counter and the stove, jumping up as she tried to grab the bottle from him. She reached for the drink again, though for the most part her attention was divided and she didn't seem to be trying too hard.
"C'mon, Dugan. It's like you want me to drink it all." He snorted, making the redhead squawk in outrage.
"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow Tabby. It's been great chatting with you." Her lips pulled back into an evil smirk as she finally hung up the phone, setting it on the counter and placing her hands on her hips.
Steve felt a slight tremor of apprehension go through him that; he knew when he was in trouble.
"You were saying something, Steve?" She practically purred, taking a step forward.
Still, Steve Rogers was not one to back away from a fight.
"I said." He spoke slowly, enunciating each word. "It's like you want me to drink it all."
And that's when the fight started in earnest. Nicole flung herself at him with a loud shout and they quickly dissolved into a pile of scrabbling limbs that reminded him of when he and Bucky used to fight over things. They scuffled like kids for the drink, resulting in him getting kicked in the shin and her getting her hair tugged on before the inevitable occurred. Nicole was wearing a pair of bright blue socks on her feet, and slipped on the wooden floor of the kitchen. As she went down, her arms still tangled on his from where she'd tried jumping on his back, Steve went down with her.
"It's mine!" She yelped, climbing over him and trying to reach the half empty water bottle that was rolling away. "I win!"
"Like hell you do!" He heaved himself up, grabbing a hold of her ankle and tugging it backwards as he tried to shove himself ahead of her.
Steve wound up practically laying on top of his friend, causing her to squeak as they both reached for the plastic bottle that was just out of their reach. "Good God, Rogers, you're fat."
"I am not fat!" He protested, dropping his weight just a little to squish her farther into the ground. "This is all muscle."
Nicole looked a little red as she tried to pull herself out from under him, gasping. "Fat!"
"What—do I even want to know?" They both froze as a pair of brown shoes entered their vision, and Steve looked up to see Dum Dum watching them both in exasperation before he bent down to pick up the water bottle. "Really?"
"Steve was being a jerk and wouldn't share. Now he's trying to crush my spine with his fat butt." Nicole explained, trying once more to wriggle out from under him.
He couldn't help but scoff at that, flicking her in the back of the head as he got up. "Told you, I'm not fat. It's not my fault you're skinny and weak."
"Now," He looked at his old friend expectantly, "can I have my water back?"
Dum Dum watched as Nicole jumped up, a scowl on her face as she held out her own hand. "Please Papou? You know you like me better."
Steve let out an offended noise, placing his hand to his chest as he gave Dum Dum his best puppy dog eyes. They used to work like a charm on Bucky, whenever his mom would send him to school with one of her delicious cupcakes. That was until Winnie realized that both of the boys would fight over it and had started packing two. Dum Dum looked unimpressed however, his blue eyes cutting between him and Nicole before dropping down to the water bottle impassively.
"Can't pick favorites now," He shrugged, unscrewing the cap. "Guess there's only one way to settle this."
They both watched in astonishment as he drained the bottle, crushing it in his hand before tossing it in the trashcan. Nicole looked absolutely heartbroken, as if her entire world had come crumbling down, and Steve couldn't help but toss a wounded glance of his own.
"Not nice." He huffed, earning a less than impressed roll of the eyes that was an almost exact mirror of Nicole's earlier.
"Never said I was nice, Cap." Dum Dum snorted, reaching out to punch him on the shoulder. It was surprisingly hard, and Steve let out a quiet grunt as Nicole went to the fridge and tossed him a new one.
Not before she made a show of taking the first drink.
"God you two are children." Dum Dum shook his head in amusement, catching the way Steve snatched the bottle out of the air and glared at his friend.
Nicole just shrugged her shoulders with a cocky grin, winking at him. "Guilty as charged!"
With the two of them standing together, it was remarkably easy to see all of the similarities between Nicole and her grandfather. It looked like most of his features just skipped right over Emily to her daughter. Their nose was exactly the same—how had he missed the connection at first?—and Nicole possessed the same jawline and the same shape of her eyes. Her cheekbones were a little higher, he suspected that she had gotten those from her father, and her lips were larger as well, but with a few minor exceptions she was practically a mirror image of Dum Dum.
It transferred over in the way she carried herself as well; Nicole was assured in her movements and her body was relaxed and completely comfortable with the strength she carried. Even doing something as innocuous as looking over the guest list, the redhead had the bearing of someone who could hold their own in a fight.
"I think that's everyone. Katie's on the phone with Darla and if we're really lucky, she'll fall out of a window and won't be coming." Steve felt his eyebrows lift at the blatant dislike in her voice, and he knew immediately that there was a story behind it.
"Sounds a little harsh." He noted, glancing over to the strangled laugh Dum Dum hid behind his hand.
The older man shook his head, adjusting his hat slightly. "Don't get her started."
Nicole looked more than grumpy, her nose wrinkled and her arms over her chest as her foot tapped against the floor.
From that reaction… Steve had to know. "What's wrong with Darla?"
"You got her started." His friend sighed, chuckling at the way Nicole stuck her tongue out at him.
"Other than the fact that she's the harpy-spawn of Satan?" Nicole asked lightly, though there was a furious undertone. "She's one of those very traditional people, and made no attempt to hide her disdain of Jack marrying a single mother with a half grown child. She's completely two-faced, insults my mom behind her back and makes snide comments."
Steve watched as her eyes narrowed on the spot on the list, a wave of annoyance going through him. Emily was a wonderful person, and didn't need to be treated poorly by someone who was supposedly family.
"Why invite her at all then?" He asked, wondering at the dismissive wave of Nicole's hand.
"Because she's family, and my mom is nothing if not polite to our family." The redhead answered, tossing the list back onto the counter. "But I mean, other than that we're all done, right?"
"I'm sure your mom's gonna want the house cleaned, but other than that, yeah." Dum Dum answered, reaching out to pull his granddaughter under his arm and into a hug. "Why, you got somewhere you've gotta be?"
"Nyet." She grunted, shaking her head. "I'm allowed to just wonder. Actually, I think I'm gonna start organizing the stuff I brought with me. Mom and Jack got a hotel for the night on Saturday, so we'll have the house to ourselves. Our flight leaves late on Sunday."
Steve nodded, catching the look in his friend's eye as she pulled away from her grandfather. It was pointed and directed solely at him in a silent indication that there was something else she wanted to say in private.
"I'll help. I'm sure my stuff needs cleaned up as well." Not exactly true; for the most part Steve's corner of the room was incredibly neat and well organized. The exception was his dirty laundry, which would need gathered up and washed before they left.
"Grandpa!" They were distracted by Simon rushing into the kitchen, latching onto Dum Dum's leg and bouncing excitedly. "Come see what we found!"
"What did you find?" The older man asked curiously, reaching down to ruffle the child's hair and lift curious eyes to Mark, who was walking in.
"It's a bird nest!" Simon answered, words shooting out a mile a minute. "Come see, come see!"
"Alright, I'm coming, I'm coming." As soon as Dum Dum vocalized his assent, Simon flung himself backwards, reaching out to grab this hand and tug.
"Nicky, Steve! You come too?" Nicole smiled at her cousin, an apologetic look on her face.
"Maybe in a little bit, bud?" Steve answered, "We've still got some stuff to take care of and then we'll be right out."
Simon had a put out look on his face, and the blonde knelt down so that he was looking right into the four year old's blue eyes. "Give us just a few minutes, and then you can show us your bird's nest. Afterwards, maybe we can play some more catch?"
And just like that the child's eyes widened in excitement. Simon had been beside himself when Steve had pulled out a dusty baseball and a couple of gloves from the garage, insisting that they play. Mark had shown him a little bit, and the kid could throw pretty well, but according to the four year old, Steve was the best.
"Okay." Simon nodded, pinning him with a very serious look. "But you'd better not take too long."
"Come on, Si." Mark laughed, "The sooner we let them get back to what they were doing, the sooner you two can play catch."
Steve straightened as the three Dugan men left, turning back to face his friend. Nicole had a strange smile on her face, eyes soft as she watched the spot that was now vacated, arms crossed under her chest as she appeared deep in thought.
"Earth to Nicole?" Steve called, making his friend jerk slightly as her gaze focused. "Everything alright in there?"
She glanced back at him, pushing off of the counter and smirking at him. "Yeah, everything's fine. I mean, ugh I don't want to deal with family."
"By family do you mean Darla?" He asked, following her to the room. "I get the feeling you were holding something back, back there?"
"She's a bitch, and I really don't want her to come." Nicole bent over to grab her suitcase, tossing it onto her bed. "I guess there's someone like that in most families, but I swear… one snide comment about my mom or me and I'm going to slap a bitch."
Steve laughed at that, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder. "You probably shouldn't do that."
"Probably not, but I might anyway." The redhead was going through her things, organizing everything that wasn't immediately necessary for the next couple of days and tucking them into the leather suitcase. "She's very… close minded, shall we say?"
"Ah." He would have to keep an eye out for the woman and, while Steve knew that he could be polite to the woman, he also knew that he wasn't the type to take shit from people that he disagreed with. And he had a tendency to disagree with close minded people.
Nicole must have caught the wary expression on his face, because she pressed her lips together bitterly before tossing a pair of socks at his head. "Did I ever tell you about the time I came home for Christmas and brought my girlfriend with me?"
He blinked at that, flipping absently through his sketch book. "No?"
"Ah, well, it's hilarious because I've had… three romantic partners in my life. I met Sandra in the Academy, she was going in for Communications which still requires several self-defense and basic weapons training. She was such a sweetheart, and I ended up sparring with her once; Sandy was terrified both of how much bigger I was and because she's really not a fighter so I offered to help her out one on one." The redhead explained, abandoning her suitcase to grab all of the laundry scattered on the floor. "Anyway, we were dating for about a year when I brought her home with me for Christmas. We went over to my Mama Josie's place –she has a really big house in Louisiana–to stay and Darla was a little rude, but mostly not that bad because she thought Sandy was just a friend."
Steve eased himself down onto the bed, listening to his friend attentively. "Why was she rude?"
"Because she thought I was still single, and because Sandy is part Japanese and takes after her father in terms of looks. Which is why she was so excited when she got transferred over to one of our offices in Tokyo, because she already knew the language like the back of her hand but she'd never actually gotten to visit the city." Nicole had a fond look on her face, and judging by how animated she got as she talked about her ex-girlfriend, Steve had to assume that it hadn't been a bad break up. "Anyway, I forget what we were doing, playing a game or something that we ended up winning and I kissed her because –you know–she's my girlfriend and I like kissing the people I date. Darla saw us and she threw this huge fit about it, insisting on getting a hotel because she couldn't stay in the same house where something so wrong was going on."
Nicole snorted slightly as she balanced the basket on her hip. "Told me that what I was doing was an eyesore and that I was spitting in the face of God. My mom went off on her and I thought it was going to come to blows, but my grandma just stood up and calmly told Darla to get the hell out of her house."
"Papou doesn't know about that though, we were spending Christmas with Jack's family and he was in Montana with Uncle Mark and Aunt Ellen." Steve couldn't help but grin at the mental image of Emily Dugan threatening to beat the shit out of someone for insulting her daughter. "And I'd rather not mention it. The main reason why she was invited is because she's married to Jack's oldest brother Kenny, who is an absolute sweetheart, and their two sons are pretty great as well. I love them, but Darla can bite my ass."
"She sounds like a piece of work." He offered neutrally, warming slightly when Nicole laughed loudly.
"That's what we're gonna call her, yeah." Nicole hovered in the doorway of her room, craning a look over her shoulder to where Steve was still sitting. "I'm gonna throw this into the wash. You'd better hurry your butt out there, Rogers. Someone promised Simon a game of catch."
"Yeah, after we go see his bird's nest." Steve shot back, brushing off his jeans. "So did Darla play a part in why things didn't work out with you and Sandy?"
Nicole shrugged her shoulders at that question, carrying the basket down the hall and leaving him to follow. "No, she was actually really cool about that. It was actually the long distance when she got sent to Tokyo that ended up killing the romance. We tried making the relationship work, but both of us sort of realized that it wasn't going to happen. We parted on really good terms though, and we still talk every now and again."
Nicole sorted their laundry with the same precision as her mother, putting in just as liberal a serving of soap before adding the fabric softener and closing the lid. As soon as she was done, which admittedly didn't take that much time, they were stepping out onto the patio and into the afternoon sunlight. It was just past two o'clock, and even being outside for a little while in the humidity made his skin feel sticky. How Nicole had lived in this for most of her life was beyond him.
"Steve! Nicky!" Simon came streaking across the yard at them both, skidding to a stop just in time to keep from plowing right into his legs and Steve couldn't help but grin. In his thankfully short lived publicity career, Steve had his fair share of exposure to children and he couldn't say that he minded them. It had been awkward at first, having complete strangers shoving their babies into his arms, but he'd gotten used to it quickly. His experience with kids had started before he'd become Captain America though; in the apartment he'd shared with Bucky before the war they had an elderly neighbor down the hall who looked after her two grandkids by herself. Steve helped out watching the twins whenever he had the spare time.
"Come see the bird's nest!" Simon snatched both of their hands, dragging them over to the neatly trimmed juniper shrubs. He carefully parted some of the branches, revealing an abandoned cup nest settled neatly in a forked limb. "Isn't it cool?"
"It is pretty cool." Nicole agreed, looking at it curiously. "Do you know what kind of bird used this nest?"
Simon looked stumped, blue eyes widening in surprise as though he hadn't been expecting that question. Steve peered at the nest, brain chasing at a memory of a walk his mom had taken him on through the park. The outside of the nest was made with a combination of twigs and long, dry grass, mud lining the inside and padded with what looked like shredded paper and more grass. He remembered his ma lifting him up in her arms, showing him one that looked almost identical with three blue eggs nestled inside it. The eggs had been the exact same shade as her eyes, and she'd been explaining to him the type of bird that lived in the nest.
"It's a robin's nest isn't it?" He asked, blinking in surprise at the memory.
"Is it?!" Simon whipped his head from Steve to his cousin, who was fighting back her own smile.
"It is indeed." Nicole nodded, patting the child on the head. "They make their nests between April and July to have their babies."
"That's so cool!" Simon beamed, bouncing up and down. "Can we play catch now? Please?"
"Yeah. I'll go get the gloves and ball." He promised, backing away and heading to the garage. He passed Katie, who was on her way to deliver the bad news that, yes, Darla will be coming to the party, and heard the subsequent groan and muffled insults from Nicole.
He hoped that the woman wouldn't be a problem, and that she would realize that the party was about Emily and Jack, and the love they shared but… he knew that they would need to prepare for the worst.
It only took a few moments to find the ball and gloves, they were exactly where Steve had left them and he considered bringing the bat but decided against it; it was a little big and would be awkward for the four year old to hold onto. By the time he returned to the back yard, Simon was hanging upside down in Nicole's arms and squealing in delight while she chatted with someone on the telephone.
"Oh no, that's fine. You guys can come over whenever you want. Mom should be back by four at the latest, but Jack's gotta work late to cover the football game. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see you." The redhead grunted when Simon accidentally knocked into her stomach, sandwiching her phone between her shoulder and ear as she reached down to shift her cousin, throwing him over one shoulder. "Simon will probably latch right on to him and start speaking a mile a minute. He's become obsessed after the news coverage."
Nicole spun in a circle, much to her cousin's delight, and kept talking. She didn't seem to mind the fact that Simon was trying to use her as a jungle gym, and as Steve watched the two of them he couldn't help but notice how good she was with the child. He would even go so far as to say that his friend was a damn natural, and ever since they'd stepped foot onto Georgia soil he'd noticed a slight change about her.
She was more relaxed than he'd seen her back at their apartment, and when she was surrounded by her family she seemed to lose that dangerous aura that shrouded her. He recognized exactly what it was that changed the most however; while they were here, Nicole didn't have to deal with her reputation as a SHIELD agent. He'd noticed several times when she was at the Bank that the agents would watch her in awe, and whisper to one another attempting to be subtle. He recognized it because they did the same thing to him, people had been treating him like some sort of legend and not like a normal person since the serum had been injected into his body.
Steve was curious about the missions she'd ran to give her such a reputation, he'd been curious about her reputation, but as of yet he hadn't asked her about them. He remembered how uncomfortable she'd been when that agent, Fisher, had brought up her mission in Glasgow. She'd emphatically requested that he not ask about her missions when they'd talked the morning afterwards. Steve would need to broach the subject at some point; if he was going back into the field, he had a strong suspicion that Fury would partner him with another agent at first. And it made sense that the agent would be Nicole, so he would have to get a feel of how she did things, her style and quirks so that they could work well together.
But now wasn't the time to worry about it, and Steve recognized that he was putting the carriage before the horse. He still needed to be evaluated by Dr. Cross, and his return to field work would depend entirely on her verdict. The way they'd handled the issue at the Department of Homeland Security was a point in his favor, but he knew that SHIELD's psychologist wouldn't clear him for duty unless she was completely certain that he would be able to handle it.
"Who was that?" He asked as soon as his friend hung up her cellphone, putting it back in her pocket as she used her other arm to toss Simon into the air.
The four year old let out a high pitched shriek as he came falling down, only to be caught by his cousin and set gently in the grass.
Nicole let out a huff of air, cheeks flushed with exertion as she beamed down at the boy. "That was Pepper. Their flight just arrived, and she wanted to check with us to see if it was okay to come over."
"Is she bringing Tony?" Simon demanded excitedly, hopping up and down. "Is she? Is she, is she, is she?"
The redhead appeared thoughtful for a few seconds, tapping her chin and furrowing her brow in concentration. "You know, she mentioned something about that but I can't quite remember…"
"Nicoooole!" Simon whined, practically melting against her legs as he flopped to the ground. Steve caught the twitching of her mouth, the glitter in her eye, and knew immediately that she was teasing him. "How could you forget something like that?!"
"You know, old age and all that." She explained, unable to keep the smile back any longer. "Yes she's bringing Tony, you goober."
"Yes!" Simon sprang up with energy that Steve wished he had possessed at that age, pumping his fist in the air. "Tony is so cool! He has a robotic suit that he fights bad guys in!"
"Is he cooler than me, though?" Steve couldn't resist asking, a small pout on his face.
Simon appeared to seriously consider the question, chewing on his lower lip. "I mean, you're both cool in different ways."
"Uh-huh." He slid the larger glove onto his hand, offering the smaller one to the child. "Well, I bet Tony can't show you how to throw a good curve ball. C'mon kiddo, let's get a bit of practice in before they get here."
IOI
"You should cut him a bit of slack, Steve." Nicole was leaning against his shoulders as they sat together in the grass. "He's actually a great guy once you get to know him."
They were watching as Stark entertained Simon who, true to their predictions, was shooting off questions like an inquisitive rocket. No doubt it was a relief for his parents, who had gone out to see the sights and check out the Hispanic Heritage Film Festival. Katie was down in the basement working on some course assignments, and Dum Dum was back in his seat, chatting with Pepper as they watched Tony showing Simon his arc reactor. For the most part the inventor wasn't even being that bad, he was answering the questions but he also started bickering back and forth with the child. Simon didn't seem to mind though and, judging by the way he trailed after the billionaire like a puppy, he was utterly thrilled with the turn of events.
"He's a jerk." Steve snorted. "He still never apologized for upsetting you in DC."
He didn't much care for Stark, and he made no attempt to hide it. Even if the billionaire did have his redeeming qualities, and according to the entire Dugan family, he did, Steve had yet to experience them first hand. And Tony seemed to feel the exact same way, if his behavior was any indication. The billionaire was rude and outright antagonistic, and for some reason Stark seemed to think that electronics frightened Steve because he kept explaining in a loud voice and simplistic detail how the toaster worked.
"He apologized in his own way." She answered with a shrug, brushing her fingers over the grass. "Besides, it's just you he's a jerk too. Everyone else, he's remarkably well behaved."
Because that made him feel so much better.
"Ah, thank you. Glad to know that it's only me that he can't stand." Steve snorted, watching as Stark sighed in exasperation at Simon.
Nicole bit her lip at that, shaking her head. "Yeah, well, you're a bit of a hard act to follow Steve."
He tilted his head to the side, looking at her expectantly for clarification.
The redhead bit her lip, reaching up to push a few chunks of hair out of her face. "I love Howard, I really do, but he wasn't exactly the most attentive father, okay? And Tony used to think the world of you, hell I think deep down a part of him still looks at you like an idol. But being constantly compared to you can be hard on a kid, especially as he grew older, and at some point I think his admiration turned into resentment."
Blue eyes widened in surprise at that, and Steve felt more than a little guilty at those words. He might not care too much for Howard's son, but… no child should have to compete with an absent figure, or an ideal, for their parent's love. Tony Stark might rub him the wrong way, but Steve had to admit that the guy was a genius and from what he'd been told, he'd been an exceptional kid. A kid who deserved his parent's praise and recognition, not constant comparisons to his idol.
"I… didn't know." He murmured, dropping his eyes to the ground.
Nicole offered a comforting smile, plucking a blade of grass to start shredding. "Of course you didn't, Steve. And it's not your fault or anything, I didn't tell you that to make you feel guilty. I'm just saying, give Tony a break."
"I think I owe him an apology." His attention was drawn to her fingers, the way she kept tearing them into smaller and smaller pieces.
Nicole shook her head slightly, looking up at him. "I'd hold off on the heartfelt apology Steve, it's not exactly Tony's thing."
But it was his, and when Steve did something wrong he owned up to it.
"Hey guys, I'm home!" A voice called from the back porch. "I saw the rental car, who's here?"
Emily came out, her button down shirt opened to reveal a dark tank top underneath and her hair down around her shoulders. She looked around curiously, spotting Pepper first and then Tony, who was in the process of lowering his shirt and pushing out of his chair.
"Hey baby girl," Dum Dum drawled lazily. "Look what the cat dragged in."
"I see." Her lips pulled back into a huge smile as she kicked off her nice flats and took a few steps forward. It only required a few long strides until her arms were around the billionaire and she was squeezing him into a tight hug. "Hi Tony! I heard about what happened in DC, are you okay sweetie?"
Stark blustered at that, going stiff and trying to squirm out of her hold. Steve looked on, amused to find that it wasn't working as the older woman just held tighter and the man was starting to fluster.
"I mean, no. It's fine. I'm fine, nothing we couldn't handle between the three of us. I did most of the work though, fighting the robots and all but, it's whatever." He answered, ducking out from under the concerned woman's arms. "Congratulations on the anniversary though, ten years. That's great."
"Thank you sweetheart." Emily reached up to smooth out his hair, which was quite a sight to see considering how much shorter she was. Emily was, in fact, the shortest person in her family, and he wondered how lucky Nicole must have been to get her height from her father. "It's so good to see you, you know. I imagine you and Pepper must be very busy running the company."
"It's definitely got its challenges." Pepper answered, allowing herself to be pulled into an equally enthusiastic hug. "Some days are easier than others."
"I bet. You two look great though! I was so happy to hear Tony finally pulled his head out of his backside and told you how he felt. I've been waiting for him to realize what he had right in front of him for years." Emily laughed in delight, winking at the way Tony's face flushed with color.
"Come on, I wasn't that oblivious!" The billionaire protested, crossing his arms. Both of the lighter haired redheads just looked at him, their expressions blank, before turning back to return to their conversation.
"You were that oblivious." Nicole snorted, stepping onto the patio as she hugged her mother in greeting. "How was work?"
Emily waved her hand in dismissal, the other reaching down to grab one of the half-full beer bottles on the table. "I am glad it's the weekend, let me tell you what. Where is everyone?"
"Katie's doing homework," Steve offered, "And Mark and Ellen went out."
"Jack's still at work, but you know how it is on Friday nights." Nicole finished, shrugging her shoulders.
Emily reached out to hug Steve as well, and he found himself returning it easily. "Thanks for getting everything else handled. I guess everything else can be handled by the caterers."
"And I should be able to go get my hair and make-up done for the party." She looked relieved, flopping down into one of the patio chairs. "Absolutely fantastic. What did I do to get such a great family?"
"Well, you got lucky to get lucky with me–ow!" Nicole winced when her mom reached out to whack her on the thigh, grimacing.
"I was doing a little bit of research of the places around here, and I was thinking that for your anniversary I could treat all of us ladies to a quick trip to a spa. Mind and Body is really nice, and they have some good day packages." Pepper offered, resuming her seat. "And then afterwards we can go to a salon and get our hair done."
"Oh honey!" Emily blinked her eyes open with a grateful smile. "You don't have to do that."
"No, but I want to! It's your big day tomorrow, you deserve a little pampering!" Not for the first time Steve wondered how Stark had managed to land a girl as great as Pepper. But then he caught the way that Tony was watching the woman, and it was obvious that he loved her. The way he looked at her, it was like Pepper was the sun in his sky and he couldn't be happier.
"I think it sounds like a great idea." Steve offered quietly, "You've been really stressed all week and deserve some time to relax."
"Honestly, Em, let us treat you." Tony agreed, flashing her a cocky grin. "It's the least we can do."
"I'm down for whatever, mom. It's up to you." Nicole shrugged her shoulders when Emily turned a questioning look to her daughter.
Emily pursed her lips indecisively, her expression conflicted. "I… okay, why the he–ck not."
"Great!" Pepper clapped happily, "Don't you worry about a thing, and I'll make the appointments!"
"If you two want to stay, we're gonna order pizza for dinner while Jack's at work." Emily kicked her feet up on the table.
Tony agreed emphatically, pushing his sunglasses up onto the top of his head as he reclined in his own chair. Steve couldn't help but smile at all of them together, looking for all the world like one hell of a happy family. They were laughing and chatting amongst one another, and he wasn't even bothered by Stark's sarcastic quips. And Steve was surprised–though he really shouldn't be by this point–and delighted to find that he didn't feel like an outsider looking in.
"–and Steve, freaking dork that he is," Nicole was practically in tears as she told a story that he really didn't think was that funny. "Just politely smiles after looking through the exhibit and tells both Connie and Pisani that their exhibit is wrong, so very wrong."
She sucked in a breath of air, dissolving into wheezing giggles. "Their faces were hilarious."
Dum Dum and Emily started laughing as well, loud and filling the entire back yard. Steve shook his head in embarrassment, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck.
"They deserved it." He explained, though why he was defending his actions was beyond him. "They were being very smug and generally unpleasant. Granted, I don't think that necessarily called for you to snicker at them and flip Dr. Pisani the bird."
"Nicole Meredith Dugan!" Emily gasped in surprise, sliding a glare to her daughter, "You did not!"
Nicole paled a few shades, glaring over at Steve. He couldn't help but smirk as her mother started scolding her, and he knew that at some point he was going to pay for that comment.
It was definitely going to be interesting tomorrow.
