Summer Festival || Steve Rogers ||
The summer sun was just beginning to dip when you and Steve walked through the entrance of the county fair, your children’s excited squeals nearly drowning out the cheerful music coming from the rides.
The moment your youngest spotted the Ferris wheel, she gasped dramatically.
“It is pretty big,” Steve agreed, smiling down at her.
“Can we go on it right now? Please? Pleeeeease?”
Before either of you could answer, your son pointed toward the carousel.
“I wanna ride the horses first!”
“No! Ferris wheel!” your daughter argued.
Steve looked down at both of them and then up at you with the same expression he’d worn during alien invasions.
You bit your lip to keep from laughing. “How about,” you suggested, “we ride the carousel first and then the Ferris wheel?”
The children considered this.Finally, they nodded.
Both of them grabbed Steve’s hands and practically dragged him toward the carousel.
He laughed, allowing himself to be pulled along, his eyes soft. “Okay, okay. No need to deploy excessive force.”
A few minutes later, you stood by the fence as the carousel turned slowly. Your daughter sat proudly atop a white horse while your son rode beside her, waving every single time they passed.
Steve had somehow ended up on one of the benches in the middle.
The sight of Captain America riding a carousel with a tiny paper crown your daughter had insisted he wear was almost too much.
You quickly snapped a picture.
Steve caught you and grinned. “You better not be sending that to Sam.”
Afterward came the Ferris wheel.Then the bumper cars.Then the spinning teacups.The teacups had been a mistake.
The children discovered they could spin them.
Steve discovered he could, in fact, get dizzy.
When the ride finally stopped, he stepped out looking slightly pale.
You took one look at him and burst into laughter.
Steve held up a finger. “Don’t… compare this to Thanos.”
Your son tugged on his shirt. “Daddy, can we go again?”
Steve looked horrified. “No.”
Your daughter patted his arm sympathetically. “It’s okay. Sometimes grown-ups are weak.”
Steve looked personally offended. “Weak?”
She nodded solemnly. “You need a nap.”
You were laughing so hard tears had started to form.
Steve sighed. “I’ve been insulted by a five-year-old.”
He narrowed his eyes at you. “You aren’t helping.”
“Oh, I’m helping myself to this memory forever.”
The children soon spotted the game booths.
“Daddy! Win me a stuffed animal!”
Steve looked at the booth.
The game was simple.Throw three rings onto glass bottles.
The attendant looked bored. “You get three tries.”
Steve smiled. “Sounds easy enough.”
You immediately knew that look.
The super-soldier competitiveness had appeared.
The first ring landed perfectly.
The attendant blinked. “Uh… pick a prize.”
Your daughter pointed at a giant pink dog.The thing was nearly as big as she was.
Then your son spotted a dinosaur plush.
Then another child nearby looked devastated because he couldn’t win a stuffed tiger.
A few minutes later, he’d won the tiger too.
Then another little girl wanted the unicorn.
Then another child wanted a shark.
You folded your arms and watched your husband become an accidental carnival legend.
People had started gathering.
One booth owner actually looked nervous.
By the time you found him again, Steve was carrying six stuffed animals and two giant teddy bears while three children followed him around like ducklings.
Your daughter beamed. “Daddy is really good at games.”
“That’s one way to put it.”
The game attendant looked ready to cry. “You’ve won enough, sir.”
Steve blinked. “There isn’t a limit.”
Your husband looked genuinely confused. “But I paid for the tickets.”
The man looked at Steve’s broad shoulders, then at the mountain of stuffed animals. “Please leave.”
Even Steve started laughing.
As the sun finally began to set, colorful lights flickered on around the fairgrounds.
The children insisted on one final ride.
This time, all four of you squeezed into one carriage together.
Your son sat beside Steve while your daughter curled into your lap, clutching her giant pink bear.
Slowly, the wheel rose higher and higher.
The entire carnival spread out beneath you in a sea of lights.
Music drifted through the warm summer air.
The excitement of the day was finally catching up to them.
By the time the Ferris wheel reached the top, both children were half asleep.
Steve wrapped an arm around your shoulders.
For a while, neither of you said anything.
You simply watched the lights below.
The children breathing softly.
The peacefulness of it all.
Then Steve spoke quietly. “I used to look at places like this from outside the fence.”
“When I was a kid.” His voice was soft. “We didn’t have money for carnivals. Bucky and I would stand outside and listen to the music.”
Steve smiled as he looked at your children. “And now…” He exhaled softly. “Now I have this.”
You rested your head on his shoulder. “You deserve this.”
His hand found yours. “I still wake up some mornings and can’t believe it’s real.”
The colorful carnival lights reflected in his blue eyes.
He looked at you then, something warm and soft in his expression.
“Best mission I ever had.”
You laughed quietly. “Having kids?”
He shook his head. “Finding you.”
Your cheeks warmed. “Steve…”
“I mean it.” He kissed your forehead gently. “I had seventy years where I thought this kind of life wasn’t in the cards for me.”
Your daughter stirred sleepily. “Daddy?”
Steve’s entire face softened. “I’m glad.”
She reached over and grabbed his hand. “Can we come back next summer?”
She grinned and promptly fell back asleep.
As the Ferris wheel slowly descended, Steve looked at his family once more.
The giant stuffed animals waiting below.
For a man who had spent so much of his life fighting wars, saving the world, and losing people he loved…
This was his favorite kind of victory.
And the family he’d never thought he’d have.
