in the shadows ? steve rogers

039 ? birthdays

"What makes you say that?"

"Because whenever he does something stupid or suicidal, I usually end up getting a bouquet of flowers bigger than my head," she replied, setting the card down on the table. "And they're daisies, which are his 'apology flowers'. And the card usually says something along the lines of—"

"'Have I ever mentioned how much I love you?'" Grace and Steve said in unison, the latter reading off of the card. She gave him a pointed look and he nodded.

"Alright, you know your nephew."

She smiled and started for the bedroom. "I'm telling you, Steve, our kids are gonna have a hell of a time sneaking things past me."

Steve paused and looked in her direction just as she closed the door. "Our kids?" he repeated to himself.

⸻ ~~~ ⸻

𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 couch with a distracted look on his face. All through breakfast, he stayed quiet and wordlessly agreed with the story Grace had been telling him. Grace had been thinking about their kids?

"Cat got your tongue?" she asked, breaking him out of his mental fog. He looked over at Grace who was standing at the kitchen island with her eyebrows raised. "You haven't said a single word since breakfast. Was it the food?"

He shook his head. "No, the food was good," he assured her. "I just... you've thought about our kids?"

"Oh." She nodded and went back to her tea kettle which was now boiling. "I mean, a little," she said with a shrug.

"Even before I went in the ice?"

Grace looked back and let out a breath. "I guess we're talking about this now..." she muttered to herself before nodding. "Yeah. Even before the ice." She pressed her lips together. "You look freaked. Do you not want kids?"

"No, I do," he said with a nod. "I just... I didn't think you'd still want a family with me after, well, everything."

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked, walking over to the couch. "As far as I'm concerned, you're still the same man I fell in love with during the war."

Steve looked over at her. "You love me?"

"You never gave me a chance to say it before," she said sheepishly. "Of course I love you, you idiot. Why do you think I wore those dog tags every day? You..." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You were the light at the end of a really dark tunnel when I first met you. Unresolved trauma from my father, and a strained relationship with my brother. And you were this... this man who just really wanted to serve his country. Even if it meant doing an experiment that could've gone horribly wrong. And then you were gone. And that light was gone."

Before she could say another word, Steve caught her lips with his. Her hand found the side of his face as she deepened the kiss. When he pulled away, he looked at her. "I love you, too."

⸻ ~~~ ⸻

𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐀𝐖𝐎𝐊𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐀 start and let out a shaky breath. She glanced at Steve beside her who was fast asleep and she quietly slipped out of bed. She walked out of the bedroom without a sound and made her way to the kitchen.

Stupid nightmares... she thought to herself as she opened the fridge in search of water. She moved over to the cupboard and as she reached for a glass, she stopped. Her eyes shifted to the clear bottle hidden in the very back. As she took hold of the bottle, a glass shattered on the ground but she paid no notice.

It did, however, wake up Steve.

"Everything okay out here?" he asked, walking out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. He looked around when he didn't hear anything. "Gracie?" He turned when he heard the sound of glass breaking and found Grace throwing the bottle into the sink with tears falling down her cheeks. "Gracie..."

She turned sharply when she heard his voice. "Don't tell him," she whispered, shaking her head. "He'll know it was me."

"Don't tell who?" he asked before looking down at the bottle label. "Vodka?"

"I tried to take it from him once," Grace said and he glanced back at her. "He didn't like that. He brought out his belt."

Steve sighed as he realized who she was talking about. "Gracie..." he said softly. "It was just a nightmare. He can't hurt you anymore."

Grace shook her head. "No, he's in his bedroom," she replied in a hushed tone. "And be quieter, Howard, he'll hear you."

"Grace," Steve said, taking her hand and she looked back at him. "You're not with your father. Your brother isn't here either. He can't hurt you."

She blinked at him before looking around the room. "I—" She stepped back and let out a breath, running her hand through her hair in confusion. "I knew that." She glanced at the broken bottle. "I don't even buy vodka for that reason." She looked at Steve and shrugged, her eyes filling with tears. "It was his favorite. It's what... it's what made him mean."

"Listen to me," Steve said, walking toward her. "You're safe. He's long gone. He can't hurt you anymore. But anytime you have a problem, come to me, okay?"

She nodded and wrapped her arms around him. She looked at the broken glass over his shoulder.

Then why can he still manage to hurt me?

⸻ ~~~ ⸻

an: I just can't give
this girl a break...

anyway, I think I'm
gonna do a bit of a
time jump next

we'll meet kennedy
(if you forgot, my oc
for a 2nd spinoff and
bucky's love interest)

and then we can finally
start winter soldier and
meet sam :)