If there was one thing Seren loved, it was the whole decorating process of Christmas. If there was one thing Steve didn't like, it was organizing little details, especially those that were in danger of being crushed between his super-serum hands.
Seren laughed at him when he couldn't, for the life of him, put up some lights around the living room. "The Captain America can fight robots and aliens, but he can't put up a single Christmas light? You know I'm not gonna let this go anytime soon, right?"
With a sour face, Steve abandoned the lines of lights and turned to his wife. "You wouldn't be you if you did."
Seren's grin was from ear to ear before she burst into laughter again. Steve mocked her laugh until they heard a familiar babble nearing the doorway. They both turned just as Bucky walked in with some very busy arms. There was a box tucked between his left arm and side, along with a small white kitten in his hand. He had a baby boy tucked in his right arm like he was another box. He was facing down babbling to himself, one hand continuously banging the metal of Bucky's arm underneath.
Seren laughed at the sight. "Well, you sure seem loaded!"
"Amazon delivery," Bucky announced as he made a nod down at the box in his arm. "Oh, and this is yours too." He motioned to his right arm just as Noel lifted his head. He squealed and clapped his hands together at the sight of his parents.
"I didn't know Amazon delivered babies too." Steve remarked and glanced at Seren. "Maybe we can try that next time."
Seren snorted. "You know what, if Amazon can do what I had to do to pop that kid out, by all means go ahead."
"Can someone just take him already?" Bucky asked, "Or the box? Or both?"
"Why are you holding him anyways?" Seren asked. "He was supposed to be with aunt Natasha downstairs."
"Yes, but aunt Natasha thinks it's hilarious when he goes after Alpine."
The kitten in question meowed, drawing Noel's attention. He reached one of his hands towards the kitten and when that didn't work, he tried with both hands, small fingers wiggling at the cat.
"See?" Bucky raised an eyebrow. "I'm all for games but I don't want the kid to get scratched or something."
"More like the kitten getting hurt," Seren remarked. Noel had incredible strength even at his early age. "Which is fair."
"Noel, are you going after Alpine?" Steve took the baby into his arms. "Noel?"
Noel seemed to understand the question very well because as soon as Steve asked, he covered his eyes and giggled.
"Gives himself up just like his dad," smirked Bucky. "With no clue."
Seren laughed and Steve scowled.
"Now don't go insulting Noel like that," Seren walked over to Steve and took the baby out of his arms and into hers. "My baby has my social skills too so he has a chance."
Now it was Bucky laughing, and Steve was still scowling. And with all the laughing going on, Noel decided he would start laughing too, making it all the more funny to the adults.
"I think I'm gonna go now." Steve decided that it would be better to leave before Bucky really started chiming in on his faults.
"You'll survive, lovey, it'll be okay," Seren said. "Plus, we still have a lot of work left."
Bucky started looking around the living room. He set down the Amazon box on the table then let Alpine down. "I'm surprised Chloe hasn't come in yet to give it her special touch."
"Oh, she was coming in a bit. I think she and Thor went out shopping." Seren shifted Noel on her side. He was eyeing the kitten near the table.
"Christmas shopping," Bucky said. "I wasn't allowed to come."
Steve chuckled. "I think she made a good call."
Bucky flashed him a sour smile.
"Don't fight boys," warned Seren. "Bucky, do you think you could help with the lights? Apparently, Captain America loses against them."
Bucky would never miss the chance to rub something in Steve's face. "Of course."
Steve rolled his eyes.
"Steve, maybe you can help by holding onto the bottom of the lights for Bucky?"
"Yeah, Steve, help me out," Bucky said with an even wider smirk.
Steve had some good words he wanted to use but for the sake of Noel and his busy ears, he left them for another time.
"Now you mister," Seren planted a kiss on Noel's forehead, "can help me finish the tree. Let's get all the shiny baubles!"
She moved to the tree nestled in the corner of the living room. She and Steve had already finished most of it but a few places. She put Noel down and brought a few baubles around him to entertain him.
Noel was entertained by the baubles for a few minutes. He stuck one in his mouth, threw the other one near Steve's foot and even managed to throw one at Bucky's leg.
"Kid's going to be a baseball player," Bucky remarked while Noel laughed. "He must get that from Seren too."
Steve couldn't help it that time and shoved Bucky face first into the wall. Noel thought it was hilarious; his laughs echoed around the room.
Bucky pulled himself off the wall and turned to Steve, his expression flat. "For the sake of your dignity in front of your son and wife, I won't respond to that. But I make no promises for later."
"Boys," Seren called from the tree. She didn't bother paying them attention, not when she had to figure out the pattern of the baubles on the left side of the tree. There were a few that just didn't fit together.
"Start doing the lights already," Steve told Bucky in a mutter.
Noel threw another bauble near the coffee table and it landed near Alpine. Without a second thought, he started crawling towards the kitten. Seren saw him through a gap of the Christmas tree branches and chuckled to herself. He was a very fast baby.
The kitten saw Noel coming and just as it seemed like Noel would reach him, he hurried to the other side of the table. Noel stopped and sat down on his bottom with a little frown on his face. His green eyes narrowed slightly and then, like a streak of determination hitting him, he pushed himself forwards into another fast crawl.
Seren stopped decorating to watch her son race-crawl around the room in chase of Alpine. If Steve and Bucky stopped bickering for a second, they would have probably heard the scruff of Noel's legs as he crawled over the rug.
Noel briefly touched the kitten's tail but a loud noise startled him into freezing. Chloe and Thor had finally returned and were rushing into the room with their bags. They were an identical pair of excitement and loudness.
"Well, sounds like somebody had a good time shopping today," Seren said, stepping from around the tree. She eyed the bags that the two put down on the couch. "What, did you buy gifts for the entire city?"
Thor let out a hearty laugh. "No, no, the whole city?"
"We just picked up the cutest things for Noel, watch!" Chloe exclaimed as she dug into one of the bags.
"Noel, no!" Steve called just as Noel was about to pull Alpine by the tail. Luckily, Alpine had escaped his clutches and dashed under the couch.
Noel thought it was a game and went after the cat again.
"Noel, come out of there!" Seren sighed once she saw Noel sticking his head underneath the couch. "This kid…" She strode over to the couch but Thor got to Noel first.
"Come on out little warrior," he pulled Noel out by one of his legs, eliciting a happy squeal. "See what uncle Thor got you!"
"I thought you went Christmas shopping?" Bucky said to Chloe who was busy sifting through her bags.
"Calm down, I got you something too," Chloe said dismissively. "It's somewhere — aha!" She pulled out a bright red elf hat with golden bells dangling around the bottom.
Bucky was not impressed. "You got that for me?"
Chloe snorted. "No way! You wouldn't look half as cute as little Noel would!" She tossed the hat over to Thor who popped it over Noel's head. "Noel, the elf!"
Noel's hands dove for the bells dangling over his forehead now. Once he figured out they made a noise, he shook his head to hear the bells.
"That's gonna be fun at night…" Steve already felt the dread of what would happen if they even tried to take the hat away from Noel.
"That's okay, we'll just send him over to aunt Chloe's and uncle Bucky's room," Seren said, crossing her arms. She adored watching Noel have that much fun but, like Steve, knew that it would eventually get old quickly in the night.
"Now why do I have to suffer?" Bucky frowned. "Chloe bought it, not me."
Noel was giggling over and over with the ringing bells. He pulled two of the bells then started tilting his head from one side to the other.
"My turn, my turn!" Thor said and deposited Noel into Chloe's arms. "They are apparently very popular right now," he said with a smug smile. As soon as he pulled out a mini red cape and miniature version of mjolnir, everyone burst into laughter.
Thor didn't mind it and neither did Noel. The baby was more than curious about the bright red cape being wrapped around his neck. And when he saw the mini Mjolnir, he became even more delighted. He knew exactly what that looked like. He babbled with squeals in-between and desperately reached for the hammer.
"That is plastic, right?" Seren said with a slight nervous tinge in her voice. She could already see Noel using it with his full strength.
"Foam," Thor said, though he didn't seem to get why Seren asked. He handed the hammer to Noel who instantly gripped it with his fingers. He couldn't be more excited and started waving it around, knocking Chloe in the face twice.
"Now I'm seeing the appeal," Bucky smirked.
"Shut it!" Chloe exclaimed, shutting her eyes as the hammer hit her again.
Noel burst into a fit of giggles once he realized he was hitting his aunt's face.
"Ah, there we go! He loves it!" Thor exclaimed.
"Yes, yes, here you go." Chloe was happy to hand Noel over to Steve and watch him get whacked by the hammer.
"Thank you, everyone…for this…" Steve turned his head slightly as he now became the next victim. "Amazing, really." Seren laughed behind her hand. "C'mon Noel, let's get you down for the night."
There's no way in hell he's sleeping right now, thought Seren as Steve walked around the group with Noel clad in a cape, elf hat and hammer out of the room.
"You guys are horrible," Seren said once Steve was gone. "Now we're going to have to deal with that stuff until he either breaks it, or loses it."
"Hey, you're the one who decided to have a kid," Chloe said with her hands in front of her.
"Wasn't exactly a decision last time I heard," Bucky smirked.
"Shut it!" Seren pointed at him. She then looked at Chloe and Thor with a much kinder smile. "Thanks for the presents, guys. Really."
"No problem, we thought they were really cute," Chloe said. "And there's more! Wanna see?"
"Was there a sale?" Seren chuckled.
"We're just very good at shopping!" Thor said proudly. "Although not so much at wrapping. Could I get help to wrap a present for Jane, please?"
"Of course," Seren said with another laugh.
~0~
When Seren caught up with Steve, she was not surprised that Noel was nowhere near sleeping and, more importantly, that it was Steve who looked ready to nap instead. He was lying sideways on the bed, his legs over the side, with his arm over his face. Noel sat next to him on the bed, hammering his gingerbread stuffy while one of his other hands gripped the edge of his red cape still attached to his back.
"So, sleeping is definitely not in the itinerary?" Seren laughed as Steve groaned and shook his head.
"I tried touching the hammer and he started screaming bloody murder. Then I tried the cape and he bit me."
Seren laughed even louder. Hearing her, Noel let out his own laugh and looked at his father like he knew exactly what they were laughing about.
Steve pulled his arm off his face and saw Noel with a flattened expression. "Alright, you little comedian…" He turned himself in Noel's direction, pinning the baby to the bed and tickling his stomach. "That enough funny, for you?" Steve watched as Noel burst into another fit of laughter and giggles.
Noel eventually let go of his toy hammer and while he was so distracted, Steve shoved it off the bed. He then pepper-kissed Noel's face and tickled him, playing with him.
Seren loved hearing her son laugh so much; the sound was too much for her heart not to swell. She went into the door of Noel's conjoined nursery room to gather some of his things for sleep. Five minutes later, Steve joined her with Noel in his arms.
"The cape was non-negotiable," he said when Seren turned and saw that although the hammer was gone, the red cape was still on Noel's back. "I'm gonna get Thor for this."
"Just get him changed already before he goes back on his word about the hamm—" Seren motioned him to the clothes she left on the changing table.
"Don't say it," Steve said quickly, eyes widening in alarm.
"I'm gonna go take a shower. Will you be okay? You know, since you're having such a rough night tonight?"
"My night was going just fine until you all decided to make fun of me," retorted Steve.
"Someone's a bit bitter today," chuckled Seren. She reached a hand up to his cheek and gave him a gentle pat. "M'sure we can fix that later tonight."
Interest piqued, a smirk tugged at Steve's lips. "Sure could."
"But Noel has to be fully asleep by the time I get back."
Steve loved the deal and side-stepped Seren with Noel. "Off to sleep. Now."
Seren chuckled to herself as she left the room. She may or may not have taken her time showering to give Steve ample time to put Noel down, that and maybe she wanted a nice break too. When she returned, their bedroom was a lot more quiet than earlier. It was dark with only the city lights illuminating it once in a while.
She peeked inside the nursery and saw the night light was on instead. Noel was much more quiet but still note quite asleep. Steve was standing closer to the window (Noel's favorite place to be at) and was holding Noel in his arms with his favorite blanket draped over him. It was baby blue with golden stars decorating it. Noel's head was resting on Steve's chest, sucking his pacifier like his life depended on it. His fingers lazily played with t he edge of his — Seren chuckled — red cape.
It was truly non-negotiable.
Steve was gently rocking Noel, patting his back. When Steve saw Seren, and her expression, he knew exactly what she wanted to say.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," he whispered with a roll of his eyes. He has failed to put Noel to sleep like they agreed. "Worst dad, I know."
Seren playfully rolled her eyes in return. "Not even close." She walked over to them and reached on her toes to kiss his cheek, then Noel's head. "Think you're the best dad and if Noel could talk right now, he'd agree."
Steve appreciated the gesture. It was something they both often struggle to accept, and speaking of…
"Then you have to agree that you're a good mother too, even last week," he told her.
"Mmm," Seren only hummed at that. She took to tracing figures on Noel's back, soothing him more towards sleep.
"Seren."
Seren's eyes flickered up at Steve. "It was scary," she admitted.
"I know," Steve agreed. Who wouldn't be scared the first time their baby had an allergic reaction to something?
Seren nearly lost it even though, according to Helen Cho — the only doctor Seren trusted — it was only a mild reaction. Noel was indeed a one of a kind baby with his special DNA and inheritance but at the end of the day, he was also still human and as any other human he was susceptible to allergies. In this case, it was a peppermint cookie Seren had allowed him to suck on. A few minutes after sucking on it, he started growing red bumps on his skin.
Needless to say, Seren panicked and truthfully so did Steve. Noel had never reacted to anything but he was also being introduced to new foods everyday. Luckily, Dr. Helen Cho was in the Tower that day for a session with Chloe and she quickly treated the baby. It was a mild case of an allergy he developed for peppermint. After a dose of benadryl, the reaction lessened until it disappeared altogether. Noel was fine, but Seren was not. She blamed herself even though Steve, and Helen herself, told her that it had nothing to do with her and her choices. It was life. All they could do from now on was keep anything with peppermint away from Noel, just like anyone else with a food allergy.
"He's fine now," Steve said, smiling down at Noel whose eyes were beginning to flutter close. "Very fine, if you ask me. He's not letting go of the cape anytime soon."
Seren smiled at that as well. "Christmas with a cape. Sounds about right in this building. He's following in the team's footsteps."
Finally, Noel's eyes fell shut and he went to sleep. A few more minutes passed and then Steve felt confident enough that he would stay asleep in his crib. Seren untied the cape from Noel and stepped back so Steve could put him down in his crib. Then, just as carefully as before, stepped out of the nursery with Seren. Only then was he able to breathe normally again.
"Was it me or did he seem to have way more energy today?" He asked, flopping down on the side of the bed.
"He did have more," Seren admitted, coming over to sit on his lap.
Steve brought one arm around her waist and dug his face into the crook of her neck. She smelled so nice…
"You tired, Captain?" Seren asked, holding her chuckle just for his sake. He groaned in her neck.
"Give me a robot, give me a crook, but don't give me an 8 month old on the eve of Christmas," he muttered.
"And tomorrow we have to finish putting lights in the kitchen…"
Steve groaned again.
Seren laughed and kissed his hair. "Maybe we can leave it for Bucky and Chloe and see how long they'll actually work together before they try to kill each other?"
Steve finally raised his head to meet her eyes. "You're godsent, Seren. That would be a good show to watch."
Seren chuckled. "It'll be our little plan. Twenty bucks Chloe breaks first."
Steve grinned. "You're so on! Bucky won't be that patient. He'll crack first."
"I don't think so and when I win, I'll be happy to take you out on a cinnamon roll date!"
Steve's smile very quickly turned into a smirk. "You're sweet, but when I win I'll be more than happy to take you out on that date. And some coffee, of course."
Seren closed her eyes as Steve wrapped his arm tighter around her and kissed her cheek. "Mm, in this cold weather, I'll be happy with a cup of hot chocolate…" He pressed another kiss on the side of her neck. "And maybe even some gingerbread cookies? We can give one to Noel. I'm sure he'd have the time of his life sucking on it.
Steve smiled against her skin. Somehow, almost everything they planned included Noel in the end. He loved it. He loved her, and their son, so much.
"What if we go out tomorrow instead?" Seren asked suddenly. She opened her eyes, turning her head at him. She cupped the side of his face. "I'm sure Natasha will tell us who cracked first. We can take Noel with us, unless you want to have a solo date…?"
Both ideas sounded great to Steve when he thought about them. Noel was even more excited about the streets now that they were decorated and snow was falling. He was sure to have fun with them. But…the idea of spending some time alone with Seren was also tempting.
"Your silence is worrisome…" Seren hummed, making Steve chuckle.
"No, no, I was just thinking…"
"About?"
"Why don't we take Noel out in the day and at night, you and I go out for dinner?"
"Ooh, some alone time?" Seren raised a brow at Steve. "Tempting offer, Mr. Rogers."
"Well that's because you, Mrs. Rogers, are very tempting yourself." Steve pressed a kiss under her jaw. "So, how about it, then? Can I take you out on a date tomorrow night?"
"After hours with you?" Seren looped her arms around his neck and gave him a short kiss on the lips. "Anywhere, any time," she murmured and went in for another kiss.
A/N:
This entire thing was centered around the fact I saw Bucky with a kitten and a baby in his arms ? Crazy the things we'll do to see it happen lmao. But I've also grown very fond of baby Noel :)))). Also, I can just see Chloe and Thor going on dumb shopping sprees okay xD.
P.S. As always, I have an AO3/Wattpad account under "noblecrescent" and a tumblr account under "saiilorstars" if you'd like to follow :)