A/N: Quick little note today because I don't have a lot of time - thank you guys so much for your reviews and feedback and follows, I LOVE YOU ALL and I hope you like this chapter! :D I can tell you all that soon my most anticipated phase of the story is coming, and I am super excited, so stick with me through these next couple chapters :D I'll see you all (hopefully) next week!
Though time seemed to stand still the moment that Adelaide was brought into the world at last, it all but kickstarted back into its usual fast-paced blur before Summer had a chance to blink. On the bright side, she was just too darn happy to notice.
After about two days spent recovering at the birthing center, Summer and Adelaide were sent home without fuss, both of them perfectly healthy following the blessedly uncomplicated labor and delivery. She dressed up Adelaide all in pink and leopard print, then rode in the backseat of the family car with her and David while Bucky drove them home at roughly the pace of someone his actual chronological age. She loved it, wearing a big smile nearly the entire way home, excited to go home and start their new life with the latest tiny, adorable, fat addition to the family.
And then, when they'd gotten home, Bucky had helped Summer get out of the car and held her free hand for well-needed support as she carried Adelaide to the door. Once they got inside, Summer nearly fainted at the very unexpected sight of everyone they knew, all waiting there to welcome them and, most importantly, Adelaide home. It was one of those moments that, due partially to the hormones still wreaking havoc on her brain, that instantly reduced her to big fat happy tears.
Though she imagined that many new parents would prefer going home to a quiet, empty house, the part of Summer that missed living in the tower with everyone couldn't have been happier to come home to a house filled with people and, even more helpfully, food and various goodies that they'd all brought. It was a blast, and Summer got to sit back in the comfiest chair in her living room while the baby got passed around from each eager person to the next. Steve and Natasha had a brief squabble over calling dibs before Natasha - reluctantly - conceded and let Steve hold her first, only because Steve had been waiting a very long time for the chance to hold his best friend's first baby.
Though Adelaide was a rather fat and good-sized baby, she looked like a tiny little doll in Steve's arms, and he held her like a very breakable one. Adelaide continued to doze contentedly despite then going next to Natasha, who smiled and oohed and ahhed and clearly did not want to hand her over to the next person in line, which was a very eager and impatient Darcy. Next came Sam, then Wanda, who was a bit nervous about taking the baby. She ended up sitting next to Summer and holding Adelaide, marveling over both her tininess and the tranquil, wholly innocent state of her brand-new mind.
After that, Adelaide had begun to stir and Summer took her back to feed her before she had a chance to fuss. David managed to rope Bucky into playing Mario Party with him just before Pepper and Tony arrived for a brief but spirited visit. Pepper utterly melted at the mere presence of Adelaide, and Tony even held her for a moment before she started squirming and appeared to decide that he was the one person she wasn't yet fond of. Everybody found it hilarious, and Summer enjoyed the unexpected afternoon with everyone so much that she forgot for a little while how sore and exhausted she was.
Once the get-together wound down and Summer's energy went with it, everyone prepared to leave and the last person - or being - who had yet to hold the baby had his turn. Summer watched with a smile when Bucky handed the baby over to Vision, who seemed so completely in awe of the child and intensely curious about her that it ranked quite high on the list of most adorable things Summer had ever seen. She couldn't help but sneak a peek at Wanda, who was looking on just as fondly, if not more so.
Once it was all over and everyone had gone, leaving with a flurry of hugs and promises to come back whenever Summer or Bucky so much as said the word, night had fallen and everyone was ready for bed, even little David. He'd held up like a trooper through it all, but Summer wasn't so blind with bliss that she didn't notice how unsure and reluctant he still was about having his new sister out and in the center of attention. But as focused as she was on Adelaide, David was not forgotten in the least and she and Bucky were both very mindful of keeping him close and keeping his routine as stable as possible.
And so, that first night back at home, Bucky put David to bed while Summer retreated to their bedroom with Adelaide, feeling like a truck had hit her and left her for dead now that she was back in her comfort zone and losing some of that initial post-birth energy. She managed to get Adelaide's diaper changed and fed her one more time before they both fell asleep, and that was how Bucky found them after David had also gone down for the night - cuddled up safely and soundly in his and Summer's bed, dead to the world and so adorable that he couldn't help but take pictures of the sweet, serene sight.
Of course, that all changed only two hours later, when Adelaide woke up crying and Summer woke up with breasts that were suddenly as hard as rocks, rather painful, and noticeably even bigger than they already were. All that was lacking from the briefly chaotic scene was a marching band cheerfully strolling through the room and announcing welcome to your lives as new parents!
But Summer had survived this before, and she knew she would again. Bucky, meanwhile, tried not to panic the first time he had to change a diaper, then moments later heard Adelaide cough and choke multiple times thanks to Summer's fresh new overly abundant supply of milk, and then ended up wearing said milk when it all came back up ten minutes later when he'd taken Adelaide so Summer could go to the bathroom. And that was still just the first night home.
Over the next two weeks, it was a mostly fun, slightly nerve-wracking, and entirely rewarding exercise in finding a new routine and getting comfortable again. Summer had plenty of time off of work and Bucky didn't get any assignments either, so they got to spend more time together than almost ever before as they got to know their little girl. She was an overall very easy and happy baby, but with an impatient streak that would result in a sharp and pointed cry whenever she didn't get what she wanted fast enough, though that was a fairly rare occurrence thanks to Summer's prompt attention. Her eyes were bright blue and she was covered in little fat rolls everywhere, her cheeks so fat one might suspect that she was a chipmunk smuggling an entire winter's supply of acorns at any given moment.
Sleep wasn't as hard to come by as the books Bucky had glanced at had claimed it would be. Adelaide liked her sleep and, though she'd wake up about three times a night to be fed and changed, it was relatively quick affairs that would take about half an hour before she was back asleep and settled in her bassinet next to their bed. Bucky would wake up each time even though he really didn't need to, since Summer was on the ball and the only one with the goods to feed her with, but he'd still get up and keep Summer company anyway. Then they'd cuddle up and fall back asleep, usually with Summer's hand on the side of the bassinet, just a touch away from their baby.
It was far from the nightmare movies made it out to be, though they both knew at the same time how lucky they were to have a healthy baby who was also pretty darn easy and happy.
David was the only one who still seemed unsure and, at times, unimpressed. Sometimes he'd act fine and stare at Adelaide like she was super cool, and other times he'd look at her as if he wondered if she couldn't just go away for a few hours so he could have everybody to himself. Summer had faith that he'd adjust and warm up to his sister once she got a bit bigger and was less of a newborn and more of a giggly, smiley baby. But those days hadn't arrived yet, and David appeared to view her mostly as a cute but suspicious poop and spit-up machine.
And for then, that was fine. Summer was happy, Bucky was happy and constantly in a state of awe, and David was happy to have his parents not working every single day for once.
Everything was great. Mostly, anyway.
Early one morning exactly two weeks after Adelaide had been born, Summer and Bucky woke up the same way they had been ever since things had settled down into a nice little routine - laying in bed, Adelaide awake and laying on her back in between them, eyes wide open and making little tiny ah sounds as they both kissed her little cheeks and caressed her head, generally in baby heaven and loving every moment of it.
"Can you believe it's been two weeks already?" Summer asked, watching Bucky as he smiled widely down at Adelaide. She was holding on to his right index finger and staring up at him, not quite old enough to smile yet but very alert and fascinated by the face that matched the voice she'd been listening to for far longer than just two weeks. In fact, Bucky's voice had been the first one she'd turned her head to try to find.
"It feels like it was yesterday," Bucky replied, not taking his eyes off of his baby. "She already looks so different."
"I know," Summer sighed. "She's gained a pound and a half already, too."
Bucky glanced up at her and remarked with a grin, "Guess you definitely aren't making skim milk, then."
She smiled but still rolled her eyes. "Ha ha. Funny."
He grinned back and then dropped down to kiss Adelaide's fat little cheek, and Summer's smile grew. She loved these quiet mornings together, before the day began and when it was just the three of them awake. It was the most peaceful part of the day, and it made her love waking up just a little earlier than necessary in order to have it.
"How do you feel?" Bucky asked after he'd taken a break from showering his little girl with kisses. His head was propped up on his metal hand, and he looked as effortlessly perfect as ever, long hair a mess from sleep and shirtless as usual. Summer was a different story.
"I'm okay," she replied, trying to ignore the rat's nest called her hair, which was in a messy ponytail behind her head. She was wearing one of Bucky's t shirts and sweatpants that were older than she'd ever admit, and, well... she looked like a new mom. "Just starving as usual. And I feel gross. Actually... do you think you could stay here with her so I can go take a shower?"
He nodded immediately. "Yeah, sure. Or you could wait until she falls back asleep and we could take one together."
Being only two weeks post-birth, Summer knew that he wasn't suggesting anything physical with the offer - that was a no-no for another month - but she couldn't help but immediately turn him down. "Oh, no, that's okay. I can just jump in and out."
"You sure?" he asked, not hurt or put off by the rejection but curious, if his expression was any clue.
She nodded. "Yeah. I just really need to wash my hair and get it detangled, which isn't gonna be easy, and I still just... feel gross."
"Gross like sick, or..."
She shook her head. "No. Just gross."
His eyes narrowed slightly, and she knew that he finally understood why she was saying no. "You don't want me to see you."
She smiled uneasily and shrugged a bit. "I mean... yeah, kinda? Look, I just... it was different before, when I was pregnant and had this huge cute belly, but now I'm just... fat. And gross."
He shook his head, fighting hard not to roll his eyes. "You're neither of those things."
She widened her eyes. "I gained 83 pounds, Bucky, and I've only lost like 20 so far," she pointed out. "I'm a disaster right now."
"Then you're a beautiful disaster," he replied with a smile, and Summer rolled her eyes again.
"No, I'm gross, and my stomach is all weird and empty and big and... flappy," she muttered, cringing a little. "So yeah. Just for my own peace of mind, let's save the shower thing for later."
"That's fine," he said, holding his hand up. "It was just an idea. Go on before she decides she's hungry again."
"Okay," she nodded quickly, leaning down and pressing a kiss to Adelaide's cheek first, then Bucky's lips in a brief but sweet little kiss before she dragged herself out of bed and to the bathroom. She was starting to feel a bit more like herself again after the birth, but at the same time, not really. Her back still hurt often and she would still get way too tired just from walking around the house or fixing a meal, but she was happy to not be as sore or beat to hell as she initially had been when she'd first come home. Progress was progress, after all, however small.
Once she got to the bathroom and had the door shut behind her, Summer took a breath and pointedly avoided looking in the mirror before resolving to get the shower over with as quickly as possible. She flipped the shower on and let the water get hot as she started raking her hairbrush through her hair, grimacing every time she pulled on a particularly difficult knot. Once her hair was successfully disentangled, she then went to set the brush down back on the counter only to pause and stare at the thing with suddenly wide eyes. After seeing the huge amount of hair she'd just lost by merely brushing her hair, she panicked for a good five seconds before she remembered that some hair loss after pregnancy was normal and she was not, in fact, going bald.
About fifteen minutes later - and another handful of hair lost in the process of washing it - Summer had stepped out of the shower and thrown on a roomy white bathrobe when the sound of Adelaide's distinct "hungry" cry reached her ears. She was out of there and back in the bedroom in a flash, hair dripping and leaving a wet trail on the floor as she hurried to the bed and climbed in on her side, holding out her arms to take the baby from Bucky as soon as she was settled.
"Wow, that was fast," he remarked with a smile, carefully handing Adelaide over. "Feel better?"
"Little bit," she replied, grabbing a pillow and getting it set up under her arm for support as she got Adelaide into the standard nursing position. She was fussing impatiently, and she latched on the very moment Summer had gotten one side of her robe far enough out of the way. Once Adelaide was latched and instantly happy again, Summer sighed with relief and glanced at Bucky to find him staring in a completely innocent, quietly awed and fascinated kind of way.
She couldn't help but smile like an idiot. "One of these days you're gonna get used to this."
He smiled back, looking up at her and then back down at their baby as he shook his head a little bit. "It's still just... really cool."
"What, that I'm like a Z-cup now, or that I am able to singlehandedly feed and nourish a baby?" she asked cheekily.
"Well... both," he replied teasingly. "But no, I mean it. It really is amazing."
She smiled, happy that he felt that way and wasn't put off or grossed out, or saw it as a burden or something. Not that she ever thought he'd be any of those things. "I've missed this," she admitted, looking down and smiling brightly as Adelaide peeked up at her. "I nursed David until he was three."
"Three?" Bucky repeated. "That's a long time."
"Yeah, but it calmed him down a lot," she said, still staring down at Adelaide. "His autism symptoms started right before he turned two, and nursing was such a comfort for him. It would calm him down when nothing else would. I would have gone even longer, but he just woke up one day and decided he was done."
"Does it still hurt?" he asked, scooting closer and putting an arm around her shoulders.
"Nope," she smiled at him. "And they're not hard as rocks anymore, thank God. That part went away pretty fast. I'm still spraying and leaking a lot, though. That probably won't stop for a couple more months."
"I can't imagine what that feels like," he said, rubbing Adelaide's head with his right hand.
"The leaking or breastfeeding in general?" she smiled. "Because the leaking's annoying as frick, but everything else is just the sweetest thing in the world."
"I can tell," he said, kissing her temple while looking on. Adelaide's eyes were closed and she was now dozing, but still latched and suckling as a comfort. As both of them stared at her, Bucky murmured, "She's so perfect."
"I know," Summer smiled widely. "Think we'll ever get sick of staring at her?"
"I don't think so," he said. "But... I should probably get up and get going. You ready for coffee?"
Summer made a low whining noise in reply, turning towards him and smiling brightly. "Yes. Can you make me a giant cup?"
"Of course," he grinned. "I've been making you giant cups since the day we came home."
"And it's so good," she sighed heavily, briefly closing her eyes. "I swear, finally getting to have coffee again after nine months of nothing is just... it's almost better than sex." When Bucky paused and stared at her pointedly, she merely shrugged and said, "What? I said almost."
He rolled his eyes faintly before leaning closer and kissing her, just before he pulled away and said quietly, "I love you."
"Love you too," she replied sweetly, watching him get up and throw a shirt on before he headed out of their room. Still wearing a silly smile, she looked down and pulled her robe fully closed again now that Adelaide was knocked out again and happily sleeping the morning away. Summer ended up getting so comfy with her warm little bundle of joy that she dozed off again herself, only waking up once the aroma of freshly brewed coffee tickled her nose and pulled her from the alluring arms of sleep.
She loved starting her days like this. Coffee was just the admittedly delicious and very essential icing on the happy, incredibly blessed cake that was her life. If only she didn't look and feel like she'd eaten the whole cake, and about fifty more, all by herself.
Later, after afternoon had arrived, Summer found herself in Adelaide's room, sitting next to her crib as they both stared quite intently at the otherworldly mobile dangling over Adelaide's head. Thor's gift really was something to behold, so much so that even Summer was entranced by its floating and revolving golden figures. It was so intriguing, in fact, that David ended up wandering into the room and sitting next to Summer, all three of them staring at the mobile like it was the most interesting thing they'd ever seen.
And that was how Bucky found them, Steve trailing behind him after having showed up for a visit. They both stopped in the doorway, glanced at each other in amusement, and then grinned at the three people apparently under the Asgardian mobile's spell. Summer only snapped out of it when Bucky remarked, "If you like that so much, we could always ask Thor for another one."
She jumped, startled and immediately began laughing as she shook her head and said, "Well, have you seen this thing? It's so cool!" Then she waved and added cheerfully, "Hi Steve!"
"Hi," he smiled back, laughing softly when David jumped up and ran to him for a hug when he realized he was there. Bucky walked to the crib and peered into it, smiling at his tiny daughter as she sucked happily on a pink pacifier and continued staring up at the mobile.
"I thought she was ready for a nap," Bucky said, reaching down to caress her fat cheek with the backs of his right hand fingers as Summer looked on.
"Yeah... guess not," Summer replied. "She's been up a whole two hours, though. After this, she's gonna be out for the whole rest of the day. Well, with like a million nursing breaks, but you know what I mean."
"Yeah," Bucky nodded. It took him a moment, but after awhile he looked up from Adelaide to the mobile and said, "This thing is pretty cool."
"Right? Thor's presents are the best," Summer sighed. Then she paused and her eyes popped wide open as she exclaimed, "Oh my God! It's been two weeks and I haven't thanked Thor for the potion!"
Bucky and Steve both looked at her in confusion as she bounded up and all but ran to the window. Steve muttered, "But how are you supposed to thank him when he's..."
Steve got his answer when she pushed the window up, stuck her head outside, and yelled happily up to the sky, "Hey, Thor! Thanks for that potion, it was literally a life saver and pretty much the best thing anyone's ever given me! And I had my baby and she's perfect and cute and... I'd totally grab her and hold her up to show you like Simba from the Lion King, but that would be dangling her out the window Michael Jackson style... so anyway, thank you again, and if you ever want to come down for awhile and meet my baby, I would love that!"
She then brought her head back inside the house, closed up the window, and turned around to find all three male occupants of the room staring at her in various forms of amusement. David was staring at her like she was definitely officially bonkers, Steve looked highly entertained, and Bucky was smiling as he said, "So that's how you do the whole yelling at the sky thing."
"Yeah," she smiled with a shrug. "How else would I do it?"
"I'll have to keep that in mind next time we could use his help," Steve said. "Just yell up at a cloud."
"Yeah, it's like a Bat-signal, only... cheaper and faster," Summer said, flashing them all another smile before reaching into the crib to pick Adelaide up. "So, living room?"
Everyone murmured or nodded their agreement, and a few moments later the five of them were settled in the cozy living room at the front of the house. Bucky sat next to Summer on one couch and David was glued to Steve's side on another couch, and the very minute everyone was comfortable, Adelaide let out one of her rather sharp, impatient hungry cries. Summer didn't think twice about immediately rearranging her top and feeding her, which left Steve smiling just forced enough to make it obvious how instantly unsure he was as he stared resolutely at Bucky and not at her chest. Of course, being the last man on Earth who would ever ogle a woman disrespectfully - especially when she was the closest thing to a sister in law he'd ever have, and nursing a baby - it was completely unnecessary, and thus hilarious.
Summer was the first to notice, looking up after Adelaide had latched and then immediately cracking up. "Don't pull a muscle there, Steve."
Bucky looked next, and he also laughed quietly as Steve shrugged and sighed. "Yeah, you're gonna have to get used to it."
"I know," Steve said, squirming and slightly and still avoiding looking. "I just - I don't want to look and make you uncomfortable, Summer, and -"
She laughed again. "Oh, please! It's totally fine. Really. Besides, you can't see anything anyway," she shrugged, and it was true. There was only a tiny sliver of skin visible between Adelaide's face and Summer's shirt. She'd showed off far more skin in many dresses and tops plenty of times before.
"Yeah, well... still. I thought women usually used blankets when they... nurse."
"In public, yeah," she nodded. "But it's a hassle and annoying, and besides, I know I wouldn't want to eat with a blanket over my face."
"Fair enough," Steve nodded, chuckling.
"It'll never get old making you uncomfortable," Bucky noted, taking a drink of something vaguely green-colored in a bottle.
"Thanks," Steve said dryly, with a slight roll of his eyes. "I just like to make sure I'm not doing anything that's gonna offend someone or make them uncomfortable."
"And that's one of the things that's adorable about you," Summer smiled back. "But honestly, all things considered, when it comes to my body right now, my boobs are like the one thing I'm okay with being stared at, ironic as it is."
"But you look great," Steve replied, and his innate sincerity made Summer want to envelope him in a hug and crush him with all of her baby weight. And love.
"Thank you, but I'm a wreck," she shrugged. "Just call me Shamu."
Bucky paused, grew puzzled, and asked, "What's a Shamu?"
When Steve looked equally confused, Summer replied with a wave of her hand, "Shamu was this big giant female killer whale. So basically me, minus the killer part."
Bucky rolled his eyes, glancing at Steve as if to say what am I going to do with this lady, and Adelaide decided that she was done with the feeding and popped off. Summer quickly stuffed herself back into her bra, which resulted in Steve staring at the wall to avoid seeing anything. Once she was covered again, she smiled down at Adelaide - who was surprisingly still awake - and then asked Steve, "Want to take her for awhile?"
"Oh, sure," Steve nodded, finally making eye contact with her again. He hurried up to his feet and crossed the short distance to where Summer was, and after a careful transfer of the child, Adelaide was in her uncle's arms and staring up at him as he walked them back to the couch. David stayed by Steve's side, watching curiously and peering at his sister over Steve's shoulder, and Summer watched with a little smile as she leaned her head on Bucky's shoulder.
It wasn't the first time Steve had held her, but the look on his face every time that he did never got old. He stared at Adelaide with such wonder and love that had been both instant and incredibly real, and it made Summer unable to help but let her next words spill from her lips.
"You know, Steve, you look really good with a baby," she pointed out with a smile. After Steve looked up at her and smiled back, she asked, "Do you want kids, eventually?"
It was then that Steve's previously happy demeanor became a bit more conflicted. Summer hadn't expected that, nor his answer of, "Yeah. Or I did. I do. It's... complicated."
"Is everything okay with you and Nat?" Summer asked next. As far as she knew, they were doing perfectly fine, and they had been for a remarkably long time.
Steve nodded. "Yeah, yeah, we're fine. We just don't always have a lot of conversations about... things like this," he explained, gesturing to the baby in his arms. "And I don't like to bring it up, since I know it's a rough subject for her."
Summer nodded, having been told by Natasha about her infertility soon after she'd become pregnant with Adelaide. It had come about after Summer had made a teasing comment about whether Natasha was going to get knocked up next, and though Summer had felt awful about unwittingly bringing up a sore subject, Natasha had been surprisingly open about it. "Well... I mean, if you guys wanted, you could still have kids. There's adoption, surrogacy, stuff like that."
"I know," he nodded. "But then at the same time, I'm not sure that's what I really want. You guys are different," he explained, "because you're not both Avengers. You can make this work. I'm not sure we could." Then, after another quiet moment spent looking at Adelaide, he added, "And that's even if she wanted to try."
"Well," Summer said lightly, "you won't know until you talk to her about it."
Steve nodded, then smiled a little sadly and said, "She's not the most open person."
Summer glanced at Bucky, then back to Steve before she squinted and asked, "Are you sure you guys are okay?"
"Yeah," Steve insisted again. "Honestly, it's been this way since the start. I don't know what the future has for us, so... it's hard to imagine it at all, you know?"
Summer nodded, understanding what he was saying completely. "Well... hopefully you guys can just figure it out on the way, then."
"I hope so," Steve agreed. "I really do."
Summer smiled warmly at him, then glanced at Bucky as if to nudge him to give some words of wisdom. He didn't seem to have anything, and before she could silently scold him for it, her phone dinged in her pants pocket. She dug it out and found a new comment alert on her blog to be the culprit, and she smiled as she unlocked the phone and said, "I keep getting all these new followers on my blog, and my last couple posts have been big hits since they're all about Adelaide. People are really eating it... up."
Both Steve and Bucky paused when they saw how Summer's expression went from confused to pissed off in about three seconds upon reading the new comment on her phone. Bucky was the one to ask, "What's wrong?"
She blinked a few times and said, "Well, my newest post - which is really popular, by the way - was all about breastfeeding and stuff, and I mentioned how I breastfed David until he was three." Across the room, David made a gagging sound, but Summer went on undeterred. "Anyway, so this person comments and says, 'Wow, I guess it's a good thing you're anonymous, since your poor son must be really embarrassed right now. You know there's no actual medical benefits of breastfeeding past one, right? And actually, why are you so anonymous anyway?'"
Steve furrowed his brows, and Bucky raised his own as he asked, "Who said that?"
"I don't know, just some jerk. But what the heck?" she asked, rereading the comment and getting angrier. "There are tons of benefits of breastfeeding past two, and why shouldn't I be anonymous? Plenty of bloggers are! It's not like I've got anything to hide." She paused, looked at Bucky, and then amended, "Well... aside from you, but still. I'd be anonymous either way, just because people are crazy these days and you can never be too safe."
She then began firing off a reply, her thumbs rapidly attacking the keys on her phone, and Steve said, "Are these 'mommy blogs' always this... intense?"
"No," Summer shook her head, still typing away and focused on the screen. "I mean, sometimes, but this is kind of a first for me. It's also really stupid because hello, all the top medical organizations recommend breastfeeding for at least two years and there's so many benefits, like..."
As Summer kept rattling on and on, Bucky glanced at Steve and smiled a little. Steve smiled back, raising his eyebrows a little, the two of them communicating without words and clearly both finding Summer's righteous zeal for her cause adorable.
"... And I'm not bashing moms who use formula. If you have to, you have to - I get it. But why should a kid be embarrassed because he nursed until he was three? It's not that old! In some countries kids don't wean until they're like seven!"
"Seven?" Steve repeated, brows furrowing again. "Seven?"
"I'm not saying I would do that," she shrugged, "but my point is, it's the parent's choice, so who cares?"
"There's your next post," Bucky grinned, nudging her ribs a bit with his elbow.
Her eyes lit up and she stopped typing. "You're right! Instead of replying to this guy I'll just write a whole new post! Are you okay with her still, Steve?"
"Yeah, she's starting to fall asleep," Steve said, glancing down at Adelaide and her little closed eyes.
"Awesome. I'm gonna go grab my computer," Summer announced, getting up and briefly leaving the room.
After she'd gone, silence fell upon the room for a few moments. David was leaning against Steve, playing with a few toys he'd grabbed awhile before, and Bucky was staring at his daughter's sweet face as she dozed in his best friend's arms.
Finally, Steve looked up at Bucky and said quietly, "She looks a lot like you, you know."
Bucky smiled and replied quietly, "All I see in her is Summer."
"I see her too," Steve said, "but I remember what you looked like when we were kids. And sometimes she makes this face, and I can't even hardly describe it, but it's just you."
Bucky smiled a little, nodding and then muttering after a moment, "Well, let's hope that's all she gets from me."
"I don't know," Steve said, turning his eyes back to the sleeping baby. "I think between the two of you, she's gonna turn out just fine. Besides, she's also got a big brother to look out for her, right?"
David looked up at Steve and smiled, nodding as Steve laughed quietly. Bucky smiled too, and then Summer came walking back into the room with her laptop in tow. She sat back down, smiled at Bucky when he put his arm around her, and then turned on the computer to begin typing her new post.
Her plans were thwarted, however, when Adelaide decided that it would be a great time to thoroughly christen her uncle and spit up quite profusely all over him. She didn't even wake up all the way to do it, merely stirring, ejecting the lovely contents of her tiny belly, and then settling back down happily in his arms while Steve first gasped a little and then sat frozen, covered in Summer's barely-digested breastmilk.
Bucky was the first to start roaring with laughter. David got away from Steve as fast as he could, and Summer put her computer aside and exclaimed, "Oh God! That was a lot! Okay, hold on, let me get you a towel..."
"It's okay," Steve said, though his face told another story, but that was okay. Summer came back fast, bearing a towel and taking Adelaide from Steve so he could clean up as best as he could.
"Sure you don't want one of these?" She asked teasingly, grinning at him as he wiped spit-up off of his shirt and arm.
"You know," Steve smiled, briefly glancing at Bucky and then Adelaide, "maybe I'll just be happy being an uncle for awhile."
Later on that night, after Steve had gone and a giant pizza had been consumed for dinner, Summer left Adelaide in the dozing contentedly in a very softly moving baby swing in the living room to go do the dishes. Bucky followed her in there to help, and David was left sitting next to his sister as he played a game on the TV. Both still in Summer's line of sight as she started filling up the dishwasher, and she glanced at them often enough to warrant a comment from Bucky as he put a cup in the dishwasher.
"They're not gonna disappear, you know," he said, and she looked at him and smiled a bit sheepishly.
"Yeah... well, you know how I am," she shrugged. "Besides, you're the same way."
"I'm not overprotective at all," he teased, and she laughed at such a hilarious notion.
"Not at all," she agreed, glancing at the kids one more time. Then a thought came to mind, and she looked at Bucky again as he leaned against the counter next to her. "Hey, I was wondering something."
"Yeah?"
"When Steve was talking about him and Nat and how he's not sure about the future and stuff, why didn't you say anything?" When Bucky didn't answer the question yet, she added, "I've never heard him talk like that, and I think he was looking for you to say something, not me."
Bucky paused for a moment, glancing out at the kids before he turned back to her and said, "The thing is, I didn't really know what to say."
"How?" Summer asked, pausing as she turned off the faucet. "You know him better than anyone."
"Yeah, but what he was saying, how he's unsure about their future... I don't know what to say to that because I've never felt that way with you."
"Really?" she asked, with a small smile on her face.
"Yeah. I mean, there were times when I was scared, and I didn't know how we would end up, what would happen," he explained. "But that wasn't what he was talking about."
"Yeah," Summer sighed. Then she smiled a little and said, "So you never worried about whether I was a good match for you? Or if maybe there wasn't someone better suited to you out there? Not that Steve was saying that, but still."
"Not once," he admitted. "I worried about putting you in danger and what kind of life you'd have with me. But I never thought I'd find anyone better."
"You never walked down the street and saw some hot blonde in high heels and thought 'oooh'?" she teased.
He smiled and shook his head. "I've never really been a big fan of blondes."
"Okay, so you never saw some hot brunette and thought 'oooh'?"
This time he laughed. "Why would I think that when I've already got the hottest brunette I've ever seen?"
She blushed and closed the dishwasher. "Yeah, yeah, sure."
"I mean it," he said, moving behind her and wrapping his arms around her middle as she turned on the dishwasher. He kissed her neck and she smiled, the touch tickling a little.
"Yeah, well, now you've got the fattest brunette," she joked, earning a scoff from him against her ear as he kissed her just underneath it.
"Nah, now I've just got more of you to grope," he said, lips still at her ear, and he punctuated his statement with his hands curling around her considerably bigger hips and kissing her neck again. She giggled quietly, and he glanced at the kids again to make sure David wasn't watching before he reached up with his right hand and very gently grabbed one of her breasts through her shirt. He immediately let his jaw drop and marveled quietly, "Holy cow - I need both hands to grab one of these things now!"
She giggled harder, batting his hand away and saying, "Your inner old man just came out a little bit when you said 'holy cow'." Then his hands shot back up, both of them this time, and she squeaked a bit as she pushed them away and whisper-yelled, "Stop!"
"I can't," he whispered back, and they both laughed quietly and ended up kissing softly as Summer smacked his hands away one last time.
Meanwhile, in the living room, David glanced towards the kitchen after having lost a life on the game he was playing. He instantly made a face and looked away, noting that his parents were being gross again, and he glanced at his little sister sitting in her baby swing before focusing back on his game. The problem was, he was stuck at a particularly hard level and planned on recruiting Bucky to help him beat it whenever he and Summer stopped being disgusting. After he died again, he sighed and looked again at Adelaide.
She was asleep still and thus making no noise - thank God - and he looked her over for about the twentieth time that day. She was cute, yes, and there was no denying it. He was just a bit sick of the incessant fuss over her, and plus, she sure seemed to spit up a whole lot, which did make her pretty gross.
All in all, though, not much had changed. He liked that both parents were home all the time lately, and they made lots of time for him as they had before. They just constantly reminded him to be careful around the new baby, and now whenever anyone came over, they spent most of their time there holding her rather than playing with him.
She was just kinda... boring. She didn't do much. She slept. She ate. Well, she drank. She pooped. She peed. Then she'd spit up and do it all over again. Seemed like a lot of hassle for not a lot of payoff, in David's estimation.
He looked back towards the kitchen, and while they weren't being disgusting anymore, his parents were talking in hushed tones and smiling a lot, which meant they wouldn't be paying attention to anything else for awhile. But that was okay. He still remembered the days when Bucky never smiled at anything and Summer carried a gun on her just in case he freaked out. She'd thought that she'd hidden the gun well, but she hadn't and David had known the whole time. Now they were all happy and even when they'd bicker, they'd be all curled up and being gross again five minutes later.
But now there was this baby, and David still wasn't sure where she fit into things. He looked at her again, and while her eyes were closed, she opened her mouth in a big yawn. David couldn't help but smile a little, even if he tried to hide it. She looked really cute yawning.
Then her eyes opened up, and rather than start crying immediately, she looked around as she woke up and just laid there in her swing, all curious and not at all unhappy. He set his controller down and got in front of her swing, looking at her as curiously as she was suddenly looking at him.
She was so fat. She reminded him of a sumo wrestler, only a lot cuter and covered in pink. She had a big pink bow on her head, on top of her crazy brown hair, and she was so girly looking that it was slightly revolting. One day, he'd dress her up like a ninja turtle and give her a break from all the sickening pink. Oh yeah.
As she continued to stare at him, he reached out and let her grab his finger in her tiny fist. He still couldn't believe how strong her grip was. She held on to him with what felt like all her might, and he smiled at her as he started to think of all the things he could teach her in the future. Playing games, puzzles, how to get dressed and not look like a fairy puked all over you. Very important lessons. She'd probably insist on being Peach when they played Mario, but that was okay. Just as long as she stayed away from Jigglypuff when he broke out Smash Bros. Jigglypuff was just out of the question. He'd teach her better than that.
The pacifier that had been in her mouth and keeping her happy suddenly fell out, and her face started to crunch up in what would surely be another one of her ear-piercing cries. David quickly grabbed the pacifier, checked to make sure it was still clean, and then carefully stuck it back in her mouth. She calmed down and started sucking on the thing again, and David let out a relieved breath. All the while, she still held on to his finger.
Yeah, she was okay after all. He just had to wait until she was a little bigger and less... newborn. Then she'd be fun. He was already coming up with lots of plans for her.
Then, as he started to smile at her again, she made a strange face, shifted her whole body just a bit, and made the loudest pooping noise he'd ever heard in his life. His eyes became huge, and then they became even bigger when she did it again.
Oh God. He carefully let go of her finger and got up to go get his mama so she could deal with all of that.
Meanwhile, Summer and Bucky - who had been covertly watching David warm up to his sister almost the entire time - smiled at each other and shared a wordless moment of glee over it. They had known that it would happen sooner or later, and now that it had, they knew that the new bond between brother and sister would only deepen over time.
"You want to change her this time?" Summer asked Bucky, giving him a quick kiss to sweeten the deal.
He pretended to think it over, and then said, "... I think this one requires experience. You're up."
She rolled her eyes. "Fine. But you get the next extra-gross one."
"Deal," he agreed, kissing her one last time as David strolled into the kitchen holding his nose.
Summer smiled at David and bent down to give him an impromptu big, squeezing hug. As she squeezed the life out of him, she kissed his cheek and said, "I'm really proud of you, kiddo. You're doing really well with all of these changes, and with your sister." She pulled back a little and smiled at him, cupping his face. "I love you so much."
He smiled, signed an I love you too back to her, and she smiled again before hugging him one more time. Then she was up, back on her feet, and headed towards what was sure to be a truly epic dirty diaper.
It might not have been the most glamorous life that they had, but it was a damn happy one. All it had to do was stay that way.