It was closer to Christmas and Steve had virtually resigned himself to craving Natasha's touch for the rest of his life. The house had progressed, and in Stark fashion, it ended up being bigger than initially planned. The argument was that they had two super babies, and they needed the room. There was plenty of land surrounding them to give them privacy, and again, as Tony pointed out room for the kids to play without curious eyes. They knew that Steve could run very fast and that he was insanely strong. The kids were progressing and had shown incredible skill in working on the lack of sleep, even if the adults in their lives begged for it. They were stronger than average toddlers, but nothing would be certain.
Steve ended up conceding in every discussion with Tony when he had an objection about size. He grew up in Brooklyn. His apartment barely fit him and his mom, but he was always so sickly, and then after he thawed his lodgings were better but still small. He wasn't sure what to do with all the room that was built or the land that was offered. Certainly, the idea of building a training area was appealing but they had kids. Should kids be around training? Sure with the basement, there was plenty of room to have an area carved out for punching bags, specifically for the ones that Tony built for him. Sturdier ones. He climbed out of bed while it was still dark, tucking the twins back in, and making sure Natasha was covered before he went to the main room to look out the window. The snow was starting to really come down. There was a fine layer on the ground, and he shuddered. While they chased after Hydra and they were usually in cold climates, he still had a strong distaste for it. He recalls the cold enveloping him as he crashed the plane into the water. Cold was always a reminder of those memories.
The twins had been found in cold, and he wondered if they would also have an aversion to it. Though he was sure they had never seen snow in their active memory. The grass had been a new experience for them. Tony had created snowsuits just for the two of them, it was essentially a wearable heater, and the gloves were cleverly attached so they weren't so easily lost. He turned on his heels hearing a near-silent creak, seeing Alina standing at the edge of the area. Steve felt his lips tilt a bit in a smile as he walked over to his daughter, his smile growing when she lifted her arms expectantly. "The sun isn't awake yet Princess, what woke you up?" Steve knew he was talking just to talk, they hadn't necessarily reciprocated anything but they listened. They understood. "Couldn't sleep either?" Except he didn't think it was memories affecting her. Alina's eyes were riveted to the window, memorized by the swirling snow.
"Do you like that?" Steve asked quietly, so afraid to break her concentration. The world was terrifying, and anything that brought them the slightest bit of joy made the team hesitant to ruin it. Only Clint was used to children in any real capacity. Bruce had begun to fear that he may turn into the Hulk and scare them, or worse, hurt them. While he didn't think Hulk would because, according to Banner, even the green guy had some fondness for the beginning of their curiosity. He moved back over to the window, letting her turn her little body to look out the window. Steve looked at the face that was so much like her mothers, the mother who hadn't known of her existence until all those months ago. It was beginning to blend together. For a while, it was just taking day by day to survive suddenly being parents. There were moments of joy, but there wasn't anything but moments it felt like.
Alina reached out with a soft coo towards the window. Touching the cold window before pulling back looking shocked. Looking up at her father in shock leaving him to chuckle as he reached up and encompassed her small hand with his own. "It's cold, I know," he spoke softly, kissing her little hand as if to soak up the cold. Alina whipped her head back to the window in wonder, as she waited for Steve to let go so she could touch it again. This time it elicited a giggle from her. Green eyes were alight with joy as she pulled her hand away and retouched it. Alina then turned and reached up putting her hand on Steve's cheek.
"That's cold!" He softly exclaimed, watching her dissolve into another fit of giggles. The sun was slowly starting to rise over the buildings, and the moment took his breath away. His daughter was giggling with no worries, and actively seeking to play. It was a new day. Turning his head he kissed the palm of her hand and then turned to watch the sun rise up. He heard her gasp before glancing down and realizing the young girl was catching the sun start to rise. Steve wished there was a way to immortalize the moment. Alina relaxed against Steve's shoulder, allowing her head to rest as she watched the sun hit off buildings. The sun dazzled her eyes as it glistened off the snow. It was time to take them out and try out Tony's snowsuit.
"Hey Captain," a voice called from behind him, he turned to see Tony standing back. Despite his blustering about the kids being in the tower, he had been seen taking the little ones into the laboratory to tinker with his projects. Bruce would sometimes join him and they would do silly things with the kids. Of course, Tony would never admit to it, but JARVIS showed them the security video.
"Good morning Tony," Steve greeted, grinning a bit as Alina let out a little gasp of delight. Twisting her body to look over Steve's shoulder and seeing Tony.
"Good morning to you little miss," Tony grinned at her, chuckling as she turned back around to look outside. "It looks like the snow is coming down pretty good." He looked out the broad window.
"I think it's time we test out your snowsuit for them," this time it was Tony's turn to look excited. Tony always did enjoy showing off his toys, and this time, it was to the benefit of the children. Steve didn't want them to miss out on any more experiences. "Later, of course, when it's warmer. James hasn't even woken up yet."
"It's weird to see little Miss without her partner in crime," Tony spoke a bit dismissively but Steve suspected that he was slightly concerned about the missing boy.
"They're learning it's okay to be apart," Steve bounced Alina slightly to hear her laugh and turned towards Tony completely. Moving across the room silently that came with years of practice. "I think it's time for the Princess to eat, though. She's been up awhile watching the sunrise with me."
"I hope that she isn't turning out like you," Tony snorted, heading into the kitchen area and starting a pot of coffee. "The poor thing will never be able to sleep in! You should really try it sometime."
"Never was able to sleep in, even before joining the army," he was generally uncomfortable and restless before the serum. "I don't know what woke her up, she isn't talking quite yet." At all was more like it. They had ways to get what they wanted across but there were still no words and bringing in outside help was risky at best.
Tony turned to look at Steve, taking note of the concerned furrow on his brow. Steve's lips stayed relaxed, knowing that Alina was sensitive to mood changes. "You know I have this personal friend," he started, grabbing his bag filled with peanuts and throwing some into his mouth, and leaning against the counter. "She's really good at what she does. Turns out she's a speech therapist. Completely vetted, of course, her background is squeaky clean. Definitely cleaner than yours, Mr. Committed identity fraud to get into the army."
Steve's head went back as he began to laugh at the reminder. On one hand that was decades ago, but really, that didn't feel so long ago. "So... You think she could help?" He would talk to Natasha, of course, but the parenting books he bought were leaving him slightly concerned at their lack of even attempting. Had Hydra set them back that badly?
"I think she's a good chance to see where they're at," Tony spoke, looking at Alina who began to yawn and stretched. "Maybe there's hope for her yet. She's tired again."
Later after much wrestling with the twins to get them into their winter gear they were about to head outside. Steve took a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nose trying not to give in to his frustration. He was sure that the snowsuit was restrictive but it was cold outside and Tony had basically built-in heaters. They would be able to stay outside longer. Though with the serum flowing through their veins, it may not bug them as badly, to be safe, the snowsuit was required.
"On the bright side, I think this is the one problem all parents face," Nat's voice broke through his annoyance, grinning a bit at him. She was holding a squirming Alina, her parka hood framing her scowling face. "I mean... We're lucky that they prefer their clothes to stay on."
"You've been reading the parenting books," Steve was somewhat surprised by that fact. She was doing much better with the twins and was seeming to even enjoy being a mother. Reading the parenting books he bought was still a step further than he expected.
"Yeah, yeah, you two love each other and love being parents," Tony broke in, causing both of them to turn and look at him. "I want to see them out in the snow." Natasha looked over at Steve with a grin on her face, he had clearly slipped. Steve wasn't going to point it out, Tony would backpedal and say it was all for the use of his snowsuit. He would want to know if it worked.
"All right, you two ready?" Steve looked down at James who held up his gloved hands with a scowl of his own. Leaving Steve temporarily breathless, he could see Bucky so clearly that sometimes he was left grieving his best friend all over again. "I promise, it'll protect your hands." He took a step to the lift and rode it down with Natasha, Alina, and Tony. James still looked rather perturbed about the entire thing. The moment they stepped outside, however, James flinched back at first. His blue eyes were sensitive to the sun bouncing off the snow making it glitter brightly. Then a gasp escaped him, as he looked around at the white land around them. Steve wasn't sure if he should put the boy down and see if he could walk in it. The snow wasn't super high, but he wasn't that big, to begin with, and the snowsuit seemed to make him uneven. Steve looked over as Natasha put down a determined Alina.
Alina confidently allowed her mom to put her down into the snow, feeling herself sink into the snow. A delighted laugh bubbled out of the toddler even as she stepped forward and fell face-first into the snow. Looked up at Natasha when she set her right, and took another step forward.
"Do you like it, baby?" Natasha cooed, brushing the snow off the girl. Her lips trembled a bit as the little girl bent forward and scooped the snow up with her mittens, admiring the soft flakes that crumbled after being touched.
"You want to join your sister, James?" Steve sat his son down and watched the boy step a lot more carefully than his sister. He didn't appear to like moving through it as his sister did. In fact, James seemed to be on the brink of tears. "What's the matter, buddy?" He kneeled down by the boy, noting the look of distaste and chuckling when the boy held his hands up to avoid touching any more of the snow.
"It seems we have a snow Angel, and a summer child," Natasha said, grinning as Alina let herself fall backward into the snow. The girl was seemingly unbothered by the fact that by laying down she nearly buried herself in the snow. Natasha let herself fall beside the little girl. Far away enough to make a snow Angel, looking over as Alina sat up watching curiously. Before long the little girl was trying to make a snow angel. Her little arms push at the snow to try and move it out of the way, and only managing small movements.
Steve smiled at his daughter's copying before looking down at his clearly miserable son. "You know... I don't like the cold much either," he grabbed his son back up, putting him against his hip and looking down at him. "So much happened in the cold. So many bad things that sometimes the cold brings it back up." He reached up and tucked a piece of dark hair back into his hood, taking in James' reddened cheeks, and pouting lips. "You don't have to like the cold. Let's go in and get some hot chocolate. Hm? We'll put on some movies. Maybe make some popcorn." Tony stood off to the sideline observing and not saying anything. For once allowing anything sarcastic or offputting to die before saying it. It seemed he was also soaking in the moment of the twins discovering snow.