#suz123

“Oh, hell naw girl. It would only make it awkward because then we'd all have to listen to him screw your brains out constantly.” If possible, Evie blushed even redder.

“Steve would never. He has a girlfriend, remember? I'm just his doctor,” she trailed off lamely.

“Yeah, and I quote ‘the most beautiful doctor he's ever seen’.” At this, Evie snorted.

“Yeah, whatever. He's seen plenty of them in his life, so..” she left it at that, making Sam laugh.

“Damn. Do you ever leave the state of denial? You both have it bad, but are way too chickenshit to do anything about it.” Evie shook her head and sighed.

Apparently, the other night when she admitted to Alice that she was in love with Steve, Sam had been nearby and heard it all. She begged him not to tell, and he agreed, but that opened her up to relentless teasing. Add to that the constant ribbing from Alice and Bucky and she was surprised Steve didn't know.

“Sam, I get that you, Alice and Bucky think that Steve has a thing for me, but he doesn't. Wouldn't you think he'd break up with her if he wanted me?” she asked pointedly. Sam shrugged.

“You would think so, but he doesn't know how you feel. If you let us tell him, you'd have your lips wrapped around his-”

“Samuel Thomas Wilson! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?!” Evie cut him off, smacking his arm. He laughed.

“No, but I kissed yo mama with it last night,” he joked, wiggling his eyebrows. Evie joined in with his laughter, heading down the sidewalk towards more stores.

They stopped at a crosswalk, waiting to cross. When the signal changed, Sam offered his arm and Evie took it as they went through, reaching the other side and continuing on, looking at the different shops.

As they were coming up on a shop, there was a grotesque looking snowman out front. Evie heard the person inside hiccup but by the time she went to stop Sam, it was too late. The dude inside had jumped, scaring the Avenger and making him scream like a little girl confronted with a spider.

If Evie wasn't too busy trying to breathe from the laughter, she would've felt bad for him. But she didn't.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Evie burst out laughing as Sam tried to act like he hadn't just gotten the scare of his life. “Oh my God, that was great! Are you in need of new underwear, Sam?!” She dissolved into another fit of giggles at the look he gave her as they continued to walk down the sidewalk.

“Har had, very funny,” he snapped as he tried his best to mimic Steve’s Sad Face.  “You’re a sick bastard, ya know?” She grinned at him.

“Oh, come on. It wasn’t that bad,” she teased. He shook his head at her.

“You do realize that you owe me one now, don’t you?” Evie’s face went white as she contemplated his words.

“How do you reckon that? I had nothing to do with it!” she argued. He chuckled at her.

“Yeah, you did. You let that asswipe scare me!” Her jaw dropped in shock.

“Sam, I heard him like a split second before he jumped! I had no chance to warn you!” she exclaimed, but her pleas fell upon deaf ears.

“A likely story. I already know how to make it up to me, so no worries.” At this, Evie stopped in fear.

“How so?” she squeaked. Sam turned to her and grinned evilly.

“You have to scare someone for me. And not just anyone, a certain someone. A certain someone who is all big and bad...and carries a red, white and blue shield.” She gasped at who Sam was talking about.

“No. No, Sam, I can’t. I can’t do that to him!” she pleaded.

“You can, and you will. Or I will march my happy ass right back to the Tower, find him, and tell him everything I heard you tell Alice the other night. Hell, I’m sure FRIDAY caught it on video/audio, so I could just show it to him. Your choice.” Evie was torn. There’s no way she could let Sam tell Steve, but she just couldn’t scare Steve like that.

“Sam, he’ll hate me if I do this,” she whined, causing him to smirk.

“Well, would you rather him hate you for a short while over a small prank, or possibly have him hate you indefinitely for wanting to be Mrs. Steve Rogers?” he mused out loud. After a few minutes of thinking, she hung her head and sighed.

“Fine. I’ll do it.” He punched the air in victory as they went on walking, discussing how to lure Steve out here.

***************

“Hey, Steve?” Evie called softly, knocking on his open bedroom door. She looked in and didn’t see him, and was about to walk away when he stepped out of the bathroom, pulling a shirt over his head. Evie internally groaned at the sight of his oh so yummy abs, wishing she could lick along the lines of his Adonis.

“You need something, Evie?” he asked. She huffed out a breath at being caught in a daydream and shook her head to clear it.

“Uh, yeah, actually.” She cleared her throat, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I’ve gotten everyone something for Christmas except for Bucky and Alice. I don’t really know them well enough, so I was wondering if you would be able to go out with me and help me find them a gift?” Steve gave her a look.

“You want me to go out with you?” he clarified, smirking. Evie thought over her words and giggled at how she had phrased her question.

“Not like that,” she lied with a giggle. “Let me rephrase; will you help me find a gift for Bucky and Alice?” Steve smiled at her.

“Oh, well in that case, sure. I was actually gonna go grab something for lunch, wanna make a date of it?” It was his turn to be embarrassed at the choice of words. “Let me rephrase; wanna grab some lunch and do it after?” Evie struggled to keep her laughter at bay as he facepalmed.

“Yes, Steve. I’m actually getting hungry too so lunch and some shopping would be great.” She headed back to her room to grab her coat when she ran into Clint, literally. “Oof!” she went as they collided, the ginormous bowl of spaghetti in his hands spilling all over her.

“Shit!” Clint cried. She stopped in her tracks and looked down at her clothes, covered with red sauce. “Sorry, Evie!” Steve chose to walk out just then to see what the ruckus was about.

“Evie, you okay?” he asked, seeing the distraught look on her face. “Oh god. What happened?” He looked so upset for her.

“It was my fault, Cap. I wasn't paying attention and I ran into her. My spaghetti got all over her,” Clint confessed.

“Yeah, I'm gonna have to go change now, and shower,” Evie said in defeat. Steve frowned.

“Well, it doesn't seem to have gotten anywhere other than here,” he pointed out as he gestured to her lower stomach and hips. “Just change your clothes and take a shower when we get back.” He didn't want to miss out on spending as much time with her as possible, so he wanted to go now.

“Okay. Luckily it hasn't soaked through yet, so that'll work for right now. Give me a second to change and we'll get outta here,” she answered as she walked very carefully to her room.

“Here Barton, I'll help you clean this up while I wait for her,” Steve offered, stooping down to help the other man. Clint started to chuckle.

“You're welcome, by the way,” he said, still laughing. Steve quirked an eyebrow at him in response. “I gave her a reason to get out of her clothes. You just gotta go in her room and you can ‘help’ her take them off.” Steve blushed bright red as Clint winked.

“Shut up, Barton,” he growled, ducking his head to hide his blush.

“Just tell Evie how you feel. The worst she can do is tell you she thinks of you as just a friend.” Steve's heart took off as he wondered about if Evie felt the same. Just then, she came out of her room, wearing clean clothes.

“Okay, I’m ready to go,” she said, looking down at the two men. Steve stood then, taking in a deep whiff of her perfume. He loved it on her and he could honestly get high off of it because it always made him think of her.

“Awesome. Barton, I think you can clean this up by yourself. Be careful next time,” he instructed as he offered Evie his arm, and the two walked away, leaving Clint to clean up the spaghetti.

“Yeah, those two have it so bad for each other,” he muttered under his breath.

***********

“So, what do you think Bucky and Alice would like best? Should I get them each something or just a single gift for them both?” Evie asked as they walked down the sidewalk. Steve thought for a bit before answering.

“Well, coupley gifts are what everyone got them, so a single gift will work.” Steve led them further down the street, and as Evie looked around, she saw the snowman from earlier, and her heart sank.

God, this was going to suck.

“Maybe something they could take up as a hobby together, so they aren't….fonduing all the time,” he said with a shudder. Evie giggled half-heartedly.

“You know, it's not a crime to engage in copious amounts of physical love. It's actually a great stress relief, and as a doctor, I actually recommend it from time to time,’ she replied. He sighed.

“I know, Evie. I guess it's part jealousy on my part as to why I have an issue with it.” She looked up at him in wonder.

“Why? Do you have a thing for Alice or something?” she asked quietly. He sputtered for a while before he could answer.

“God no! She's my best friend's girl!” he exclaimed in shock. “No, it's just that they're so happy and in love, and….I'm not,” he finished lamely.

“Hmm. Well, I would say ‘I told you so’, but I won't and just settle for smug instead,” Evie said with a smirk. He turned and gave her his best ‘oh really?’ look before reaching down and scooping a handful of snow up and throwing it at her. “Oh, you did not just do that!” Steve smirked at her in response.

“Oh, I just did.” There was a split second before she dove at him, trying to knock him over. That didn't go far before he threw her over his shoulder and walked away, reaching up to swat her behind when she started to kick.

“Steven Grant Rogers, you maybe be old enough to be my great-grandfather, but that does not mean you are allowed to spank me!” she wailed. He laughed out loud at that, not realizing that he was walking right to the snowman. He was just next to it when he finally put her down in front of him.

“Well, someone needs to show you who's boss around here,” he teased, wrapping his hands around her lower back and bringing her closer to him.

“Sorry Steve, but you'll never be the boss of me, no matter how old you are,” she countered, smiling at him from under her lashes. He glanced down at her lips for a second before he started to lean in.

That's when everything went wrong.

The snowman decided to jump at that point, but instead of scaring Steve, it made the super soldier go into protector mode, and his priority was keeping Evie safe. He swept her behind him, out of harm's way. Unfortunately, when he did that, she slid on some ice and went down, cracking her head against the ground. Steve was in a defensive stance still, but once he heard her skull connect with the pavement, he turned back to see if she was okay.

“Oh my god, Evie! Are you okay?!” he exclaimed, worry dripping from every word. She looked up at him before bursting out laughing.

“Apart from hitting my head, your reaction was worth it,” she wheezed betweens guffaw. He looked down at her, a frown spreading over his face.

“You….you knew it was gonna do that?” he asked, incredulous. She nodded vigorously.

“Yeah. It got Sam earlier when we were shopping. I didn't get to warn him beforehand, so he said that I did it on purpose and to make up for it, I had to scare you,” she explained, still giggling. He stood abruptly then, looking thunderous.

“How could you do that to me, Evie? I thought we were friends.” She stopped laughing and looked up at him, a frightened look on her face.

“Steve, we are friends. It was just a joke, really,” she answered timidly. She was gonna kill Wilson the next time she saw him.

“No, it's not just a joke, Evie. I thought that thing was gonna attack you. Why would you deliberately do something like that to me?” Steve didn't wait for a response before turning around and walking away, leaving Evie still sat on the ground.

“Steve?” she called after him. He kept walking and knowing that she had made him do it broke her heart. She slowly stood, tears beginning to fall as she watched him walk further away.

From her.

Evie was frozen as tears ran down her face. She could no longer see him, as her eyes were obscured and there were too many people in the way. After her sobs subsided, she started to follow him, but since he was nowhere to be found and had a head start, she figured he was halfway back to the Tower by now. Defeated, she turned and went into the first store she saw, which happened to be a bookstore that young Peter had told them all about.

*************

Steve felt like an asshole.

He has never gotten mad at Evie, in any way, shape or form. Ever. And now, because he couldn't take a fucking joke, he went off and made her cry.

He was a sore loser, and she paid the price.

Steve sighed, glancing around to see where he was. He had walked pretty far in his anger, but even with his enhancements, he didn't want to walk all the way home, so, he had to go find Evie and pray that she hadn't left him there, even though he deserved it.

After a while, he finally found that fucking snowman, so he walked up to it.

“Hey, you remember scaring me and my girl earlier?” he asked the person inside. She wasn’t his girl, and probably never would be after this, so he took the chance to call her ‘his’.

“Yeah, and you threw her to the ground?” the guy replied in a scratchy voice. Steve was ticked in an instant.

“I didn't throw her. She fell, and it's my fault.” Steve just needed to find her, and this guy was making him feel bad again.

“Yeah, well, you're a massive dick for yelling at her like that. She started crying as you walked away.” Steve felt even worse now. He thought he had heard her crying, but hoped he had imagined it. “If that's your girl, I feel sorry for her. She deserves better from her man.” Steve hung his head and sighed.

“She's my best friend, and I'm in love with her,” he replied, making the snowman scoff.

“That's how you treat the woman you love? Nice.” This dude, a complete stranger, was right. He had treated Evie like shit, so he needed to make it up to her.

“Can you tell me where she is so I can apologize to her? I'm an asshole and I need to make things right,” Steve said solemnly. The snowman chuckled.

“She went down that way, might've gone into the bookstore? Not sure, but I know she went the way. Mighta been following you,” the snowman answered. Steve clapped him on the shoulder and set off, trying to find her. He made it down to where the snowman had said and went in the shop, the scent of Evie’s perfume letting him know that he was in the right place. He went through all of the sections, finally finding her in the self-help section. He watched her for a bit, walking up as she reached for a book way up high. He grabbed it and held it out to her, watching the grateful smile on her face vanish when she realized he had been her helper.

“A book on stress relief would be great for those two,” Steve murmured, giving her a small smile. He noticed that her eyes were all red and her face was blotchy, and it felt like a punch to the gut from Bucky’s left arm. He reached out to rub her arm and she flinched away.

“Don’t fucking touch me, Rogers,” she snarled, making his stomach drop to the floor. Evie has never called him by his last name like that. Steve knew he had fucked up.

“Evie, I’m sorry for earlier. I-” he started before she cut him off.

“Suck my dick, asshole.” With that parting shot, she turned on her heel and walked to the registers. He made to follow her, but was stopped by a group of teenagers.

“Hey, you’re Captain America!” one of them cried. As more and more patrons approached him, he could see the smug look on Evie’s face as she walked out the door.

************

Evie felt so good about walking away from Steve and getting the last word. She headed down the street, her Jeep her destination. About a block away, she had pulled her keys out, only to be grabbed and thrown over someone’s shoulder.

“What the fuck!” she yelled, struggling with whoever it was.

“Evie, knock it off! I’m gonna drop you again if you keep it up,” came the stranger’s voice. One she would recognize anywhere.

“Steve? Put me down, you asshole!” she shouted, drawing attention to themselves.

“Don’t mind her folks. Just a couple who got into an argument, and now I’m trying to fix it,” he replied. A few people cheered and clapped, but most kept silent and went on their way. Evie was stunned. Did he just call them a couple? He has a girlfriend, that isn’t her. Well, to be honest, looking at this from an outsider’s view, ‘couple’ was easier to swallow than ‘just friends’. Steve had finally gotten them to the Jeep and reached up to grab the keys, which she held out of his reach. “Hey, either unlock it or I’ll break the window,” he warned.

“Oh, like you haven’t done that before!” she snapped at him, molten heat pooling in their bellies at the reason why he had broke her window.

“Admittedly, this reason would be a lot dumber than the last time, so just unlock it.” She rolled her eyes and hit the button. Once the doors were unlocked, he opened the back door and laid on her on the seat before climbing in and shutting the door behind him.

“Screw you, Steve,” she spat, using her foot to keep him away. He chuckled as he grabbed it and held it to one side before doing the same with the other.

“You know, if you wanted me between your legs again, all you had to do was ask,” he taunted, pressing his hips against hers. Evie was getting too turned on to care about his language, so she tried to slap him to get her point across.

“Fuck off, asshole!” she snapped as she slapped his arms or whatever she could reach. Her hand came up to slap his cheek, but he leaned back just in time.

“Evie, now stop. I'm trying to apologize to you,” Steve grunted as he grabbed her wrists, keeping her from pushing him away.

“Oh, so if you want to apologize, I have to listen, but if I want to apologize, you're allowed to storm off and leave me all alone,” she snapped up at him, fighting back even though she'd never be able to fend him off.

The two wrestled in the back of her Jeep, each working out their frustration. After a while, they stopped, panting. Steve still had ahold of Evie's wrists, pinning them to the seat on either side of her head. His hips were keeping hers down, which meant that there were mere inches between their faces. They stared at each other, slowly calming down as they did. Once they had settled, Evie looked around and realized that she was once again underneath Steve in the backseat, but as she opened her mouth to tell him to let her up, he pressed his lips to hers.

Steve knew he was crossing a line. But he didn't really care. He was alone with Evie, her soft and warm body under him. Her perfume was all around him, making his head swim with thoughts of her. His memory of their first time together, in this very car, came to the forefront of his mind, and suddenly, a thirst sprang forth inside him.

And the only way to quench it was Evie.

He released her wrists, running his hands all over her body, cupping and squeezing every bit of her he could. He ground his hips into her, glad she was wearing leggings so she could feel everything that she did to him.

Evie was incapable of rational thought, a base instinct taking over as she kissed Steve back. She could feel his erection rub against her clit, sending shocks of pleasure through her body. She wound her fingers into his hair, tugging firmly. He growled into her mouth, his actions becoming frenzied as he reacted to her. Suddenly, he pulled back and looked at her, eyes wide, lips swollen from kissing.  

Steve searched her face for any signs of hesitation or dislike, and upon finding none, relief flooded his body, quickly replaced by desire. Making sure not to break eye contact, he reached down and began to undo his belt. Before he could undo it completely, Evie grabbed his shirt and brought their lips back together. He stopped messing with his clothes, his hands coming up to tangle into her hair.

Evie knew where this was headed, and although she knew he had a girlfriend, she gave zero fucks that she was helping Steve cheat. She had him all to herself, and she'd be damned if she didn't take advantage. She reached down and resumed undoing his belt, then his button and zipper. Once that was done, she pushed his pants down over his ass before grabbing his length, pumping him a few times as she reveled at how warm he felt in her hand. His hands were gone from her hair, yanking her leggings and panties down before running a finger through her folds. She moaned against his lips, nipping his bottom one and running her tongue over it to take the sting away.

Steve wasted no time in lining his tip up at her entrance and pushing inside her. They both hissed at the feeling of being completely bare to each other again. He slowly sank into her tight heat, knowing above all else that this was where he truly belonged. Once he was in to the hilt, he started to thrust gently, opening her up for him.

Evie was in heaven. Feeling Steve, all of him, stretch her so much, but at the same time, not nearly enough, was a dream come true. She dug her nails into his ass, pulling him in deeper, his cock reaching places inside her that no other man ever could.

Or would.

Steve broke the kiss and pulled back slightly to look down at Evie, his exhales becoming her inhales. He never stopped thrusting, only slowing slightly, and as she ran her hands through his hair with the gentlest touch, something in him snapped. His brain tapped into a dark place and he sped up, thoughts of claiming her ever present in his mind. He pulled the collar of her shirt down, exposing the skin of her chest. He bit down, sucking a dark mark over her heart.

“Fuck, Steve...” she moaned, head thrown back. Once he was satisfied with his work, he added a bit of strength to his thrusts, almost weeping with joy as Evie accepted it, never crying out in pain.

He could never let go like this with any of the women he had been with. Not even Peggy.

Steve slid his hands up Evie's back, hooking them over her shoulders and used that as leverage to speed up and intensify even more, his eyes never leaving hers. Evie's hands cupped his face in the most tender fashion, her thumbs brushing over his lips. Their orgasms were fast approaching, and as hers began to wash over her, she closed her eyes and threw her head back again.

“No, don't hide it. I wanna see and hear everything,” Steve whispered. Evie opened her eyes and stared into his, transfixed. He got to watch as she became undone, her velvet walls clenching down triggering his own release. She was captivated by the look of pure bliss that came over him as he came, spilling his seed deep inside her. As they both came down from their highs, they peppered each other with kisses, hands wandering and caressing what they could reach. Once they had calmed down completely, Evie and Steve stared at each other, and they knew something had changed between them. He withdrew from her, both wincing in their sensitive state before he fixed their clothes. As they got back in the front, they shared another look before taking off.

“Evie….” Steve started before she cut him off.

“Steve, it's alright. This is a safe space. What happens in my Jeep, stays in my Jeep. Promise.” Evie wished above anything that she could shout from the rooftops about what they had just done, but outing Captain America as a cheater seemed like a bad idea, a complete PR nightmare for sure.

“Okay, only if you're sure.” He looked out the window, thinking about what had just happened. He just cheated on his girlfriend, and he was pretty sure he forced himself on Evie, which would explain why she was so quiet. “I'm so sorry, Evie,” he apologized. She looked over at him in surprise.

“For what? Breaking my dry spell?” she retorted. When she saw that he was serious, she grew worried. “Steve, what are you sorry for?” He sighed in irritation.

“You know what. Are you okay?” Evie honestly had no idea what he was talking about.

“Apart from my crotch being wet from your jizz oozing out, I'm great,” she replied. He sighed.

“Cut the crap, Evie. What just happened, you know what that's considered, right?” He didn't want to say the word out loud, but it seemed to settle in the air between them, unspoken.

“Yeah, you technically cheated on your girlfriend. Well, there's no ‘technically’ about it. You did cheat. That makes me the other woman.” Evie couldn't help but laugh at that, but it was true.

“No, I mean what I did to you,” Steve snapped. Evie had just pulled into her parking spot in the Tower garage, so she was able to turn and face him head on.

“What you did to me? Steve, you fucked me.” Evie was so puzzled as to what he thought they did. He sighed, getting out of the car and shutting the door with a little too much force. Evie got out and gave him a look.

“Sorry. Evie, I rrrrr…..” he trailed off, acting like he would be struck down by God if he spoke it out loud. “I...forced myself on you. You should be hating me right now.” Evie was floored. That was the absolute last thing she expected him to say.

“Steve, you didn't.” Evie crossed her arms over her chest in defiance. How could he possibly think that?

“Yes I did, Evie. I didn't ask if it was okay with you, nor did I give you a chance to say ‘no’. I just yanked your clothes out of the way and then went to town.” He looked so upset with himself, but there was no reason to be.

“Are you serious right now? Do you honestly think that if I didn't want to have sex with you, I wouldn't have said something?” she shot back. “Even if I couldn't talk, I would've hit or kicked or punched, hell I would have bit you to get my point across. But did I do any of that? No. I kissed you back. Hell, if I recall, I was the one who undid your pants and had my hand wrapped around your dick. How is that you forcing yourself on me?” Evie was beyond pissed now. He was ruining their moment.

“Evelyn, enough.” Steve's Captain voice was in full effect, and dammit if that didn't turn her on again. “This will not happen again. I can't seem to control myself around you, and that puts you in danger. End of discussion,” he added when she went to argue.

Evie bowed her head and walked passed him to the elevator, waiting for him to get in before hitting the button for the residential floors. They rode up in silence, Evie trying to keep her tears at bay until she was in her room. It broke her heart to hear him say that he would never have sex with her again, which obviously meant that Steve didn't think of her that way, that she was just a friend to him.

Steve felt like shit. He knew he was full on lying when he told her it wouldn't happen again. He would gladly sleep with Evie all day, every day, if she wanted, even if he was in a committed relationship. Which she would never want now, after all he said and done to her.

The elevator opened and Evie shot out, running straight to her room and slamming the door behind her. Steve, feeling like a complete asshole, hung his head and sighed as he walked out.

“Hey Steve, what's wrong? Why did Evie look so upset?” Wanda asked from where she was sitting next to Vision. The whole Team was in the common room, and they all looked to Steve expectantly.

“We had a disagreement, and I was an ass about it,” he replied as he walked over and sat next to Sam. “Can I ask everyone's opinion on something….for a friend?” For Steve to ask the whole Team something was pretty huge, and they all agreed.

“Sure Cap. What's eating your friend?” Tony asked from beside Bruce. Steve swallowed, knowing he had to tweak his question a bit.

“Okay, so….my friend has been in love with a….co worker of his for years. He's never been able to make a move because one of them always had a partner, and then he went….abroad for a while, so he definitely wasn't able to be with her then. Well, now that he's back, he has a girlfriend.” Steve stopped to take a breath when Bucky piped up, grinning.

“Hey Steve, what's this friend's name? Didn't think you had any outside of me and Bird-brain over there,” he asked, smirking at Sam who flipped him off. Steve blushed, knowing he couldn't exactly say his name.

“Uh….Roger,” he said at last. Everyone shared a look.

“Does his surname happen to be ‘Stevens’?” Alice joked. She got her answer when Steve blushed even redder. “Who is this coworker of his? Is she a doctor of some sort?” Alice knew exactly who Steve was talking about, and she wanted to tease him as much as possible.

“That has nothing to do with the issue, Alice,” he snapped. She grinned, but remained silent so he could continue. “As I was saying, Roger has a girlfriend, but he's still in love with his coworker. Well, ea-”

“Wait! What's his coworker's name? This could get confusing,” Alice cut in again. Steve sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“For fuck's sake, Alice. Her name is Ev...a,” he finished lamely. She grinned wider than ever and laughed.

“Eva, huh? I like the name ‘Evie’ better, not that you're talking about our beloved doctor though, right?” she teased, staring him down. The entire Team was looking at him, waiting for his response.

“Okay, I think it's time for me to leave, especially if Evie is being name-dropped,” Bruce said as he stood and left for the lab. Steve coughed, realizing that it was probably a good idea for Bruce to not hear this next part.

“Quit interrupting, Alice,” he snapped. “Like I was saying, earlier Roger and Eva went shopping and after they had a tiny disagreement, they had gotten into the back of her car and-” Steve stopped, as he was unsure how to go on.

“And what, Steve?” Sam asked, looking stony faced. Steve swallowed thickly.

“Uh, well, they uh, kinda, sorta, uh, had sex,” he stammered, blushing bright red. The reactions of the Team ranged from proud (Bucky) to impressed (Tony) to appalled (Sam).

“So, Roger, cheated on his girlfriend with the woman he's actually in love with, Eva? I'd say ‘well done’ and buy him a drink,” Tony said, clapping. Steve bowed his head, hiding his smile.

“Is Eva still standing?” Alice asked slyly. He looked up at her, all traces of humor gone from his face.

“Well, yes, but I, I mean Roger, screwed things up with her.” They all shared a look before he went on. “Roger is certain that he, well, forced himself on her.” The air in the room was gone. Steve felt like the world's biggest asshole, and judging by the look on everyone's face, he was.

“Steve, and cut the shit, alright? What happened?” Nat asked, her tone stern. He sighed before answering.

“I didn't exactly ask if she was okay with me kissing her, and I didn't ask if she was okay with me touching her there, and I definitely didn't ask if she was okay with me….sticking my dick in her,” Steve said, resigned to his fate. Suddenly, he was yanked up from his seat by Alice, who had murder in her eyes.

“So, you just had your way with her? Did she fight back?! WHAT DID YOU DO STEVE?!” she bellowed, raising her hand to deck him.

“No! Evie didn't fight back at all! She let me do it to her!” Steve cried. Alice released him, a puzzled look on her face. Bucky, who had jumped up with Alice, stood in front of him, grabbing his shoulders and looking him in the eye.

“Steve, if she didn't fight back or anything, then what makes you think that you forced yourself on her?” he asked.

“Yeah, we're with Barnes on this, Steve. If Evie didn't explicitly say ‘no’ or try to fight you off, then chances are she was completely okay with everything,” Nat added. Sam stood, placing a hand on Steve's shoulder as well.

“Face it, dude. Evie wanted the D,” he said, shoving the blonde slightly. “I told her to scare your ass, not tap it.” Everyone laughed at that, causing Steve to blush, as he figured the worst was over.

“Yeah, you're probably just feeling guilty about cheating on Amy, and now you have a reason to break up with her so you can have all the sex you want with Evie,” Bucky reasoned. Steve sighed.

“No, I doubt Evie will ever want to talk to me again, let alone have sex with me, after what I said to her earlier,” he lamented. When all that met him was silence, he explained. “I tried to apologize to her, but she kept saying I had nothing to be sorry about, so I snapped and said that I'm a danger to her ‘cause I can't seem to control myself when I'm alone with her.” Bucky snorted.

“Yeah, I don't think that'll be the case, Steve. Evie knew you had a girlfriend, and yet she still jumped on your dick and rode you like a horse. Trust me, she'll be back for more.” He, Alice, Sam and Steve began to walk towards the hallway, the tension from earlier gone. “Ya know, with all the different times you tried to join the Army with a new identity, you would think you'd be able to come up with better code names than ‘Roger’ and ‘Eva’.” The other three laughed at Steve, who went all Sad Faced.

“You guys suck, and for the record, she didn't jump on my dick. How do the kids say it nowadays, I ‘dicked her down good’?” he said with a chuckle before sighing. “I guess I need to go apologize to Evie, properly this time.”

“Oh hell naw. I do not want to see this,” Sam exclaimed, walking off. Steve squared his shoulders and headed down to Evie's door, Bucky and Alice following.

“Uh, I'd like to talk to her alone, if you don't mind,” he called behind him.

“Fine. You get five minutes before we knock. Have fun,” Bucky said, throwing a wink his way. Steve rolled his eyes as he knocked on the door, waiting for Evie to let him in. After a few minutes, it opened, revealing a freshly showered Evie.

“What do you want, Steve?” she asked, her voice wavering on his name. It broke his heart to know he was the reason she was upset.

“May I come in?” he asked after clearing his throat. She stepped back so he could enter, shutting the door behind him. “I'm here to apologize, and to admit I was wrong.” She had sat down on her bed, pulling the stress relief book to her and continuing to wrap it. He sat down across from her, waiting for her to speak.

“What were you wrong about?” She didn't bother to look up at him, as she was concentrating on getting the lines of the design right on the wrapping paper.

“I didn't….force myself on you,” he answered. She looked up then, sensing his hesitation in his wording.

“No, I wanna hear you say it. I want you to tell me what you didn't do.” She leveled him with a look that had him quailing at first before squaring his shoulders.

“Fine,” he huffed before taking a few deep breaths. “I did not rape you. We were both consenting adults that had sex in the back of your car. Happy now?” Evie smiled and nodded.

“Yes, thank you.” She resumed wrapping the book and he sighed.

“Wait, is my gift in here? I don't wanna see it if it is,” he said suddenly, looking around in alarm. Evie giggled.

“No, it's already wrapped. I've got a question for you now. Are you going to tell Amy?” It was a very loaded question, and there was a lot resting on his answer.

“Well, yeah. I did cheat on her, so she deserves to know. I just hope she doesn't cry.” Evie scoffed at him.

“It's a terrible way to do it, but just do it over the phone if it bothers you that much,” she offered with a shrug. He chuckled.

“No, doing it in person is the honorable thing to do.” Evie snorted at him, making him chuckle. “What?” She smiled at him.

“Well, I'm pretty sure the honorable thing to do in this situation is remain faithful to your partner.” Steve glared at her, but she was unphased. “Tell me I'm wrong,” she challenged, smiling even wider when he didn't. “I am curious though, why did we?” Evie knew why she had slept with Steve, but she wanted to know why he kissed her first and kicked the whole thing off.

“Well, honestly, having you under me made me remember our first time and I just couldn't help myself,” he replied sheepishly. She smirked at him.

“So, if I ever wanna have sex with you again, I just need to get you in my backseat and make sure I'm under you?” she teased. He returned her smile, before leaning in slightly.

“You just need to be underneath me, that's all.” Suddenly Evie was on her back as Steve pinned her backward on the bed.

“Whoa. That eager for round two, huh?” she asked. He grinned devilishly down at her.

“Well, why go elsewhere for subpar sex when I can have amazing sex with you?” Evie's panties were soaked, and she suddenly realized that she should have put shorts on before answering the door. Steve must have come to the same conclusion as he began to grind his hips into hers again, her panties doing nothing to dull the friction he was causing. Just as he was about to kiss her again, there was a knock at the door.

“You two better not be fucking again! Steve still has a girlfriend that he needs to dump before you two can you can fuck in peace!” Bucky bellowed through the door.

“Yeah, and I need to be able to tell you ‘I bloody told you so!’ before you're official!” Alice added. Evie used Steve's distraction to push him onto the floor, as that was the only place he could go. He laid there, stunned as she jumped over him and ran to her dresser and pulled on some shorts. He grinned when he saw the wet spot on her panties, knowing he was the reason behind it.

“We are not fucking again!” Evie exclaimed as she yanked her door open. Once her words caught up to her, she rounded on Steve. “Wait, you told them?!” He looked up at her from his place on the floor and knew he was in trouble.

“Well, not exactly. I didn't use our names,” he said as he climbed to his feet.

“What?” she asked, incredulous.

“He made up names to protect your identities,” Bucky explained, making Alice snort. “Yeah, completely unoriginal. ‘Roger' and 'Eva'.” She shook her head at Steve. “Aren't you supposed to basically be a spy? Those code names were diabolical and you should be ashamed.” He shrugged sheepishly.

“It was the best I could come up with,” he mumbled lamely. Bucky laughed out loud at that. “Yeah, I'm sure that the best you could 'come' up with,” he replied, winking at Evie, making her giggle. “God I hope you're better in bed than your imagination is suggesting,” Alice whined, making Steve blush. “He's not bad,” Evie replied with a shrug. “Much better than any other guy I've been with that's for sure.” Steve beamed with pride at this. “Oh yeah? What's his signature move?” Alice inquired, wagging her eyebrows.

“Eewww Alice! Boundaries!” Bucky cut in, gagging.

“What?!” she said with a wink.

“Well, it's not so much a signature move, but-” Evie started to say before being cut off by Steve and Bucky's shout of her name. She winked back at Alice, but said nothing more. Bucky shuddered before changing the subject. “So, does ‘Eva’ think that ‘Roger’ forced himself on her?” he directed at Evie, who didn't disappoint with her reaction.

“Hell no,” she replied with a snort. “That's good because I would have to kill Roger if he did try that shit,” the Slayer growled, glaring at Steve. “Trust me, Roger did no such thing. Eva totally wanted it. No doubt about it,” Evie assured them all. Bucky and Alice broke into matching smirks, causing Evie to blush under their gaze.

“Oh, did she now?” Bucky mused out loud.

“Well….yeah. She's been single for a while, so of course she isn't gonna pass up free sex,” she defended. She knew that Bucky and Alice both knew how she felt about Steve, but she wasn't about to admit it in front of him.

“Yay! So, Roger, when are you dumping the blonde tart and making Evie your girlfriend?” she asked matter-of-factly. Steve immediately began to stutter and blush at her question. “Who said anything about Evie?” he finally got out. Alice's eyebrows rose so high they were in danger of disappearing into her hair. “Excuse me?” she all but screeched. “You're excused,” Evie cut in before she could go on. “I'm gonna back Steve up on this. Who said anything about us becoming a couple?”

“Wouldn't you rather back up ON Steve?” Bucky interjected, wagging his eyebrows at her. “Bucky? Bite me,” she replied, rolling her eyes.

“Beat him to it,” Steve said quietly, knowing full well they could still hear him. “Seriously?” Evie cried, glaring at him.

“Wowwwww,” Alice drew out the word. “Steve's got a kinky side.” Bucky grinned his biggest grin yet at his best friend.

“Freak.” He looked Evie over, clearly looking for said love bite. “Let's see it then, although now I'm kinda worried that it's in a not so innocent spot,” he said when he couldn't find it.

Evie glared up at Steve, as this was his fault they even knew it existed. Shaking her head, she pulled the collar of her shirt down, exposing the deep purple, almost black, hickey just over her left breast. Bucky and Alice both gasped, before Bucky high-fived Steve.

“Goddamn Steve! Way to go bro!” he exclaimed, so proud of Steve’s work. Alice stared in shock a bit longer before recovering.

“Didn't that hurt?” she asked before smirking like mad at the Doctor. “I mean... sorry. Of course it didn't.” Evie blushed, fixing her shirt to hide the evidence of Steve's love.

“No, actually, it didn't. Wasn't really concerned about it at that point though. I had other things on my mind,” she admitted, blushing a bit more.

“Oh I bet,” Alice replied with a smirk. “But you two aren't going to make this official? You know, get to have all the sex all the time and in a BED?!” Evie sighed at her.

“He has a girlfriend. Kinda hard to make anything official,” she reasoned. Steve stopped and looked at her, realization dawning on his face. Evie paid him no mind, unaware that she had just inadvertently admitted to wanting to make it official.

Steve was in shock. There's no way that Evie wanted there to be anything between them, is there? He looked at Bucky, who, having just seen the myriad of emotions flutter across his best friend's face, nodded in confirmation.

“Yeah, a girlfriend he cheated on,” Bucky cut in then, with a smile. “His momma raised no fool. He’ll break up with her.” He sounded so sure of this, but Evie wasn't convinced.

“She won't let him go, he's a catch. No woman in their right mind would let him get away,” she argued. “And what makes you so sure we'd even get together? We're just colleagues.” “Yeah, colleagues who have fucked twice now,” Steve said with a confident smile. Before Evie could say anything, Alice cut her off.

“What do you mean ‘colleagues who have fucked twice’?” Evie turned to glare at Steve as he had let loose another secret.

“We hooked up once before. It was after the events of D.C. You know, when you two were busy playing house,” Evie snapped. “It was a one time thing, no big deal.”

Alice Winters, resident ex-Slayer, was beyond ticked.

“That's it? You're just gonna spring that on us like it's nothing, like it's no big deal?” she said slowly, trying to keep her cool.

“Well, it's not. So what if we've had sex a couple times? The only issue is that this time, he cheated,” Evie replied with a shrug. Steve looked mildly concerned for Evie's safety, as he swore Alice had fire in her eyes and smoke billowing from her ears.

“The only issue?! The only issue?!” the Slayer shrieked before lunging for the Doctor, her hands outstretched. Bucky and Steve acted defensively, Bucky grabbing hold of his girlfriend while Steve jumped in front of Evie, becoming her shield. He was a lot more durable than she was, so better that Alice got to him first.

“Whoa, doll! Easy! No need to murder the poor woman!” Bucky groaned as he held her back. Steve stood his ground, not really wanting to physically fight Alice off, but would to protect Evie.

After a few moments of struggling, Alice calmed, sagging against Bucky's chest. “Fine! You two are just so stupid it hurts sometimes! Anyway, come on Bucky, let's go and enjoy the benefits of being in a relationship together. Sexually,” she spat at them. Steve rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, we got that, Alice,” he replied. She smirked at him.

“Lots of sex whenever we want. You're the idiots who are being so damn blind and can't see what's right in front of you.” Evie chuckled at her. “Yeah, well apparently all I have to do is get him in my Jeep so….” she trailed off. “We’ve christened it quite nicely if I do say so myself,” she said proudly, holding her hand up to Steve. He high-fived her back and grinned.

“Yeah we did. That's the one place I've come the most in, and I wouldn't change it for anything.” Steve felt smug saying that, as it was true. Evie felt smug and she decided right there and then that she would never get rid of her Jeep, because it’s the only place she got to have Steve.

“Imagine what you could do in a big, soft bed though. Whenever you want,” Alice pressed. Evie sighed.

“Secret rendezvous are apparently our thing, so why fix it if it ain’t broke?” she shot back. While the girls were arguing, Bucky and Steve were grinning at each other. Steve was over the moon at the thought of Evie possibly returning his feelings, and Bucky’s grin was getting his hopes up even more.

“Dude, come on,” the metal-armed man groaned.

“Sorry, I have a girlfriend that I need to go confess to. Bye you two, see ya later, Evie,” Steve said as he began to walk away.

“Yeah, and if Amy does break up with you, I’m sure Evie won’t mind sharing her bed one bit,” Bucky called after him, getting Steve to stop and look back.

“Yeah, stop acting like such a Tom Cat and treat Evie better, you wanker,” Alice taunted. Making the blonde go all Sad Face again.

“Hey, he treats me just fine, thank you very much,” Evie jumped to his defense. Bucky grinned at her.

“Yeah, and he treats you even better when you’re riding his dick.” Evie’s jaw dropped at his boldness.

“Well, you’re supposed to treat the person you’re fucking better, unless there’s an agreement to be treated like shit. And for the record, I wasn’t riding his dick….this time,” she answered after a beat. Bucky smirked at her, but Alice cut across him before he could say anything.

“Evie, seriously, you’re okay with this? You don’t want more from Steve?” Evie could hear the sincerity in her voice, but was unable to answer truthfully as all three of them turned to her expectantly. She blushed deeply as Steve looked entirely too hopefully for her liking.

“Uh….well, no. We’re just friends, right Steve?” she squeaked. She insisted to herself that Steve did not look disappointed, just caught off guard.

“Oh, uh yeah. Of course,” he answered. Alice rolled her eyes.

“Oh my GOD.” She literally pulled some of her hair in frustration at Evie and Steve.

“Seriously?” Bucky apparently shared in Alice’s frustration.

“Why mess up our friendship? It’s perfect just the way it is,” she replied, shrugging.

“Yeah, hate to change it in anyway,” Steve agreed, sounding incredibly heartbroken. Evie tried not to think about how upset he sounded so as to not get her hopes up.

“You absolute fucking MORONS,” growled Alice as she stomped away. Bucky shook his head and followed her, muttering something about ‘so much for a super soldier, just a super dumbass’. Evie and Steve looked at each other and smiled.

“I’ll go ahead and let you go. Bruce and I have tons of tests that we’re doing tomorrow, so I gotta get plenty of rest. Night, Steve,” Evie said. He took that as his cue to leave and walked out, stopped in the hallway.

“Night, Evie. If things go the way I expect them to and Amy breaks up with me, maybe we can get dinner some time.” She nodded at him.

“It’s a date.” He walked down the hall, hoping beyond hope that he would be single by the next morning so he could finally take Evie out.

********

It was finally Christmas Eve. Christmas was probably Evie’s favorite holiday. She loved the decorations, music, everyone being together. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. Tonight, the team was having their annual dinner and she was excited to be able to go for the first time. Every other time either she was sick and couldn’t go, or had other plans that night. This year, Tony said that they all had to find naughty or nice Christmas shirts or sweaters to wear. It was time to join the party, so after making sure she was ready, she headed down the hall.

As Evie walked in, everyone was already there, mingling amongst themselves. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something glowing and flashing. She looked over and saw Alice, Bucky and Steve standing off to the side and that Bucky’s shirt was the thing that was flashing. Evie walked over and had to shield her eyes.

“Damn Barnes, didn’t know you wanted to be a tree for Christmas.” He flipped her off as the other two laughed.

Alice’s shirt was definitely tamer than everyone else’s, but it was still on the naughty side. “You know, Alice, I think Bucky will have to take that monstrosity off before there’s any plowing.”

We all laughed as she blushed just the tiniest bit.

“Oh shove it. I happen to like his jumper,” she pouted. “Besides, I’ve already told him to keep it on for later. It’ll help him see his present,” she added slyly, waggling her eyebrows. Evie looked away from her giving him bedroom eyes and caught sight of Steve’s shirt, reading it and grinning.

“Hahahaha I like it Steve.” He looked at her in surprise, as did the other two.

“You understand it?” He and Bucky asked at the same time. SHe nodded slowly.

“Well yeah.” Evie reached out and covered the MERI with a hand. “A,” then covered the A. “Meri,” then ran her hand across his chest with a flourish. “Christmas! A Merry Christmas! Get it?” Bucky and Alice nodded with understanding. She grinned up at Steve, feeling incredibly proud. “Nice job Captain.” He smiled and it took all she had to not go weak at the knees. She saw him glance down at her chest, not doubt reading her shirt.

“Wow,” he said with a smirk. “Is that an invitation?” He asked with a wink. Feeling very bold, Evie puffed her chest out a bit and smirked back at him.

“If it is, are you gonna accept it?” she asked coyly. They stood there, grinning at each other, for god knows how long.

“Hey Capiscle! Where’s your girlfriend?” Tony suddenly boomed, clapping Steve on the back. “Oh wait, I forgot. She’s banned from the Tower.” That one word was like having a bucket of ice cold water dumped on Evie. She ducked her head and turned away, catching Alice and Bucky’s gaze. They both smiled knowingly, Alice winking as Bucky threw a thumbs up. She walked away, hurrying to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face.

Evie forgot that Steve was still seeing that Amy chick that Sam had set him up with. Just as Evie had predicted, after Steve had gone over to Amy’s and confessed that he and Evie had slept together, Amy did NOT break up with him, claiming that everyone makes a mistake. Amy wasn’t stupid, and she wasn’t going to let Steve go without a fight. Evie jumped as someone knocked on the door.

“Evie, you alright?” Alice asked, concern evident in her British accent.

“Yeah, I’m alright. Be out in a sec,” the Doctor called back to her, drying her face before opening the door and flashing a quick smile. “I’m good. Let’s party, shall we?” Alice grabbed her arm and pulled her back to everyone. Steve regarded her with a sad look, almost like he regretted saying anything, and her heart sank.

They all took a seat around the fireplace, Tony sitting closest to the tree so he could begin giving out presents. Before long, everyone had a small stack of 12 presents and slowly began to open them, thanking the giver of each one. Finally, Evie had gotten to her last gift, which was from Steve. She took the wrapping paper off and found that it was a picture frame, flipping it over and seeing herself and Steve. They were both sound asleep on the very couch that Evie was sitting on, their arms wrapped around each other like it was the most natural and perfect thing in the world. She was speechless.

“That’s my favorite picture of us,” Steve explained softly, sitting down next to her. Evie raised an eyebrow at him, wanting more of an explanation. “The few times I’ve been in your room, I noticed that there weren’t any pictures of me. So, I found my favorite one and had it framed for you. I hope you like it,” he trailed off. She smiled at him, throwing her arms around him and squeezing.

“I love it. Thank you so much. I’m gonna put it up right next to my bed,” she gushed, releasing him, but he didn’t pull away completely. They sat there, in their own little bubble, just staring at each other. Evie agreed with Zemo, Steve does have a little green in his eyes. Suddenly, Steve’s phone began to ring and vibrate in his pocket, making them both jump. As he fished around trying to get it out, she shook her head and glanced up. Everyone was staring at them, and they all had the same knowing smirk on their faces. Evie felt her face burn as Steve finally wrestled his phone out of his pants and answered it.

“Oh hey babe,” he said, clearly talking to his girlfriend and ignoring everyone. He stood up and began pacing as they talked, going over their plans to spend Christmas Day together. Evie sighed, knowing that it’d never be her on the other end of the phone, making plans to spend the holidays with him. She suddenly couldn’t take being in the same room as him anymore, so she made a break for her room, leaving the presents behind.

************

Evie finally ventured out of her room a couple days after Christmas, feigning that she had been sick to her stomach and didn’t want anyone else to catch it. The rest of the team seemed to halfheartedly accept my explanation, but Alice and Nat eyed her warily afterwards. A few days later, Stark was getting everything together for his annual New Year’s Eve party when Steve announced that he wouldn’t be going, for he would be attending a party with his girlfriend. Evie could feel Alice and Bucky’s gaze on her, watching her reaction to the news. She kept her face as expressionless as possible, only looking up from her tablet for a split second before returning to her work.

#

It was New Year’s Eve, and Stark’s party was in full motion. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Well, at least Evie thought they were having fun. She hadn’t actually been down to the party except to grab a bottle of vodka, choosing instead to hang out on the roof of the Tower ever since, enjoying the peace and q-

BAM

What the hell? She looked over her shoulder in time to see Steve throw his coat to the ground. He didn’t seem very happy.

“Hey sorry. Didn’t know anyone was up here,” he stammered. “I’ll go ahead and leave you alone.” He made to turn when she called out to him.

“No it's okay. There’s plenty of room. Here, sounds like you need a drink,” Evie offered, holding out the half empty bottle to him. He sighed before walking over and grabbing it, holding it up in a salute before taking a big swig. “So...what happened?” she asked warily, not wanting to upset him more. “If you don’t want to tell me, I understand.” He passed back the bottle before sitting down, bowing his head. Evie sat down next to him, setting the bottle down between them after taking another drink.

“Remember how I was going to a party with Amy?” he started.

“Yeah.”

“Well, after we got there we ended up separated, and as it got closer to midnight I couldn’t find her.” His breathing was getting faster. She reached out and rubbed his arm in an attempt to calm him down. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before continuing. “When I finally did find her, she had another guy's tongue down her throat, but that wasn’t the worst part.” He took another deep breath and went on. “She had her dress hiked to her waist, while his pants were at his ankles.” Steve looked up at Evie, and she wanted to cry. He looked so broken in that moment. Her arms went around him, holding him tightly, willing the pain to be squeezed from him.

“Oh, Steve. I’m so sorry,” she choked out, tears welling in her eyes. He sat there, motionless for a while before she pulled away, realizing that her actions probably bothered him. “Sorry. That was uncalled for.” Damn alcohol. He shrugged.

“S’alright. Not your fault.” He grabbed the bottle and took another drink before putting it down and leaning in towards her. “Wanna know who the guy was?” he whispered, his breath fanning across her face.

“Who was it?” Evie breathed, not wanting to speak any louder that he was.

“Your ex Brian.” Her blood ran cold at the sound of his name. Brian had dumped her all of a sudden a while back. Things were going great between them, or so she had thought, until one day he accused her of flirting with Steve, of all people, and went out and started fucking any girl he could find.

“That bitch. He's not even in our lives anymore and he's still fucking things up!” Evie stood up and began to pace. She heard laughter and when she turned around, Steve was laying on his back, his mirth getting the better of him. “What's so funny Steve?” she snapped, hands on her hips.

“Did you really just call him a bitch?” he gasped, trying to catch his breath.

“Yes I did. Is that funny to you?” When all Evie got was more laughter, she walked back over to him, dropped to her knees and began tickling him. “If you want funny, I'll give you funny.” Steve froze for a moment as his brain processed what was happening, but wasn't long before he began tickling back.

They wrestling around on the roof for a bit, before Steve had maneuvered Evie to her back as he straddled her legs. “Say ‘uncle’ and I'll let you up,” he offered, his hands at the ready to resume his assault on her sides.

“Uncle,” she laughed. He stood before helping her up.

“Hey I can hear the crowd in Times Square counting down,” he said,  pointing over in the direction of the lights.  “15,14,13,12,11,” he counted out, nodding for her to join him.

“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.”

Steve and Evie hugged each other, and it felt amazing to start the new year off together. After standing there for a moment, she felt him start to pull away, but as shei made to unhook her arms from around his neck, his lips found hers. She sprang away from him almost instantly, shock evident in both of us.

“Evie, I'm so sorry,” he started to apologize.

“No, Steve, it's fine. Really.  You just broke up with your girlfriend, who you had intended on kissing at midnight.  It was an accident.  Don't worry about it.” Evie was so heartbroken, and it took all her willpower to not cry. “Look, I'm getting tired, so I'm going to go to bed. I'll leave you alone.  Happy New Year's Steve.”

***********

The next morning, everyone was in quite the hungover mood.  Evie walked out to the common room and headed straight to the fridge to grab a soda. It's the one thing that could clear up her fogginess. Once her head was clear, she started making pancakes, bacon and eggs for everyone.  It was the unspoken rule that whoever recovers first makes breakfast.  As soon as the smell of bacon began wafting around, the team descended on the kitchen like a horde of zombies. She handed out plates to everyone and they dug in like they hadn't eaten in days.

“Mmm. Well, it's not a Full English breakfast, but it'll do,” Alice mumbled from beside Bucky.  

“Oh, I'm sorry your Majesty, but seeing as how this is New York and not London, this is what you're gonna get,” Evie snapped at her. Bucky shot her a shocked look while Alice looked dumbfounded. Alice and Evie haven't gotten on very well since she, Bucky, Steve and the others came back from Wakanda. Evie tends to find Alice a bit abrasive and Alice tends to find Evie a bit thick. Evie closed her eyes and counted to ten while taking deep breaths. “I'm sorry. That came out harshly. I'm hungry and my head still kinda hurts.” Alice narrowed her eyes, scowling for a while before nodding curtly in understanding as Evie turned back to the stove.

“It's alright,” she replied. “Were you even at the party last night? How are you not as miserable as the rest of us?” Evie turned back to add the last of the pancakes and bacon to the platter before fixing her own plate.

“Well I didn't go to the party. I was up on the roof.” Alice quirked an eyebrow so she elaborated. “I'm not big on crowds or parties,  so I grabbed a bottle of vodka and hung out on the roof.” She finished the rest of her food before grabbing their plates and taking them to the sink with hers. She heard a chair scrape back and then Bucky’s amused voice.

“Damn Steve, what time did you get in last night?” Evie peeked over her shoulder at Steve, who had grabbed a plate and was loading it with food. “Did you and Amy ring in the new year?” Her face burned as she remembered who Steve was with at midnight.  

“No we didn't. I came back shortly before 12.” She turned back towards them, drinking her soda as they talked.

“Well then, where were you?” Bucky asked. Steve and Evie locked eyes again.

“I was up on the roof with Evie,” he answered proudly. Evie bowed her head to regain her composure before looking back up and seeing Alice watching her, a Cheshire cat grin across her face.

“So, you two spent the night together,” she mused.

“No. Not like that,” Evie began to explain before Alice cut her off.

“Not like what? Two people standing on the roof at the same time?” she asked innocently. “What did you think I meant?” Shit. Alice backed her into a corner, and they both knew it.

“That we were together, ‘cause we're not, er, weren't,” the Doctor stammered. The Slayer leaned forward on the breakfast bar, a satisfied smirk on her face.

“You were together though. Both of you were on the roof at the same time, which means you were together, right?” she reasoned, the smuggest she’s ever been. Bucky was giving Steve the same look that Alice was giving Evie, but he showed no signs of discomfort. Evie, on the other hand, was about to fold like a cheap suit. “Or does the word ‘together’ mean something different here than it does over in England?”

“No, no, that’s what I thought you meant.” Her face fell the tiniest bit as Evie found a way around the implied meaning. “Steve and I were together at midnight. We ended last year together, and we started  this year together.”

“Cute,” she huffed.

“Did Steve ever tell you what he caught his ex doing? Or who?” Everyone gasped as they all looked to Steve, while he shot her his best ‘really?’ look. Evie shrugged in response. “What? You’ve spilled a secret, so why can’t I?” He shook his head at her.

“Evie’s ex-boyfriend,” he said simply.

“Wait a damn minute here,” Sam cut in. “You mean to tell us that Amy, Steve’s now ex-girlfriend, cheated on him with Brian, Evie’s ex-boyfriend?” Everyone exchanged glances as they processed this information.

“Ask Steve. He’s the one who saw it,” Evie argued. Sam wasn’t letting it go though.

“So, out of the billions of men on this planet, the one that she chooses to hook up with, completely at random, was your ex?” Everyone was looking at her, waiting for an explanation.

“Yeah, I guess so. What? I’m not his damn keeper.” It had suddenly hit her as to why it seemed so suspicious. “Do you think I had something to do with it?” she asked, incredulous. “When on earth would I have the time to do that and, why would I do that?” No one seemed to believe her. “Brian broke up with me, okay? Someone lit his car on fire and told him to dump me or the next thing on fire was going to be him,” she confessed. Evie was so worried about trying to get everyone to believe her that she missed the look that Bucky gave Alice.

“Well, then if you didn’t hook them up, then how the hell did they end up at the same party?” Nat asked.

“They must have a mutual friend and that’s how they got invited to the same party, or else…” she trailed off before turning to Steve, who had this delighted yet disapproving look on his face. “Where was this party at?” He thought about it for a bit, before answering.

“The Aurora.” Well, son of a bitch.

“That’s Brian’s apartment building. I’m guessing it was a building wide party, so all the tenants were invited. That’s how they met,” she pointed out proudly.

“Amy’s best friend lives there too, so yeah that had to be how they found each other,” Steve added. Everyone seemed to accept the theory and went about their day. Nat however, didn’t appear to be entirely convinced.

“Well, has anyone come forward to ask you out?” she asked. Evie shook her head.

“No, but that’s the thing. Someone obviously wanted me single, and yet not one gentleman caller,” she lamented. Alice chose this point to add in her two cents.

“Maybe they were waiting for the perfect guy to become single himself.” Alice caught Evie’s eye and winked before gesturing between her and Steve. “You both are single now, perhaps for your next relationship, you should look closer to home.” Bucky chuckled to himself at Alice’s statement before Steve silenced him with a look.

“Well,” Nat piped up. “I know this really great girl, who can be a bit of a flake sometimes, that would be good for Steve. She’s out of state right now, so it’ll have to be after she gets back.”

“Great. Can’t wait to meet her,” Steve said, somewhat enthusiastically. Nat smiled at him before eyeing Evie out the corner of her eye.

“I’ll set it up then. In the meantime, should you find someone else that you want to be with instead, go for it.” She leaned forward and dropped her voice. “Because you know what they say, the best way to get over someone, is to get underneath someone else.” Steve’s eyes got big as the full meaning of her statement sank in.

“That’s called a sexorcism,” Evie blurted before blushing. The four of them turned to her, making her blush even more. “Where was all this advice when I got dumped? I could’ve used it and gotten one. Hell, I still could do with one.” She buried her face in her hands as Steve snorted.

“I could definitely use one too,” he added. The chance to be Steve’s rebound was right in front of Evie, but she wanted to be more than that to him, so she stayed silent.

“Well, I’m going to go. Hope you all enjoyed breakfast.” Evie walked around the bar and headed down the hall to her room, needing a cold shower to fight off these hormones.

TAG LIST:

While I was pregnant, I was exposed to the super soldier serum, which enhanced my hearing and strength. It’s been almost nine months since the kids were born though, and I’ve noticed that I’m not as strong and my hearing has gone back to normal.

That’s a problem.

If my exposure and the resulting effects wore off, then what would that mean for Sarah and Robby? Would it wear off on them too, making them more like me? Or would it stay in their system for life, like it is for Steve?

As an anatomical pathologist, I set myself the mission of finding out what would happen. Since Steve and Bucky are the only men to have the serum, there’s no precedent, which means that any research that I do will be the first of its kind. The thought of being the first to discover the long-term effects of super soldier serum in Steve and Bucky’s offspring was both exciting and terrifying.

I began by running tests on myself. I know my genetic makeup like the back of my hand, no pun intended, so it was easy to see if there were any real changes. The serum, apart from making my hearing and overall strength better, did nothing to me. I could still get sick, there were still hereditary illnesses I could develop in my life, and I was still ageing at the same rate as I was before I even met Steve.

That was the main thing that worried me about all of this, the ageing process.

The main function of the super soldier serum is to keep Steve and Bucky’s cells in peak condition. That’s why they’re as strong and fast as they are and can heal almost instantly. The serum finds an issue and cures it. When cells age, their functions break down and the cells die. The serum, however, keeps that from happening, meaning that Steve and Bucky’s cells don’t age. The average person’s cells change every seven years, which means that the cells you had at birth are completely replaced by age seven. In Steve and Bucky’s case, their cells are the same from when they received the serum. In the 70 years since they were injected, their cells should have changed ten times, but they haven’t. If the cells ain’t broke, the serum won’t fix them.

That’s when it gets interesting.

If Steve and Bucky don’t technically age, then what would happen to Becca, Sarah and Robby, since they are only half super soldier? Will they age like their mothers, like normal? Or, would they reach a certain point in their lives and begin to age slowly, looking like they’re in their 30’s when they’re actually in their 100’s, like their fathers?

Do Alice’s abilities have any kind of say-so on what happens to Becca? Alice has explained to me that magic is what made her into a Slayer, but what extent would magic affect Becca’s growth and development? Normally, I would have laughed at the notion of ‘magic’, but I work for SHIELD, I’m married to a literal super soldier, and I’ve met an actual God, so I’m willing to go on a little bit of faith.

I was hesitant to breach the subject of testing the kids with the others because, well, the three of them have been through enough labs and testing of their own, especially in Alice’s case, so why on earth would they want to put their children through that?

The seven of us were hanging out in the living room one day, watching as Becca was trying to teach Sarah and Robby how to crawl. She started to get ahead of herself when she fell over and got a little bit of rug burn on her chin. Bucky beat me to her (damn serum), but I still checked her out because I’m the actual doctor. I watched with utter fascination as the spot on her chin went from angry red to shiny pink to not even there in the span of a few seconds.

“That is amazing,” I muttered in wonder. Bucky grinned proudly.

“Well thanks. She is mine, after all,” he joked smugly to which I rolled my eyes.

“I meant her healing, you dum...my,” I corrected at the last second. With Becca being over one now, we’ve all had to watch our language, much to the amusement of Bucky because Uncle Steve still swore like he was in the Army. “It’s incredible how fast she healed, and she’s only half super soldier.”

“Well, she’s also half Slayer, so that helps too,” Alice tacked on. I nodded, still amazed.

“I know. I just wish I could figure out what that's gonna mean in the long run,” I muttered the last part under my breath, forgetting that they could still hear me.

“What do you mean ‘in the long run’?” she asked. I turned to her, shaking my head.

“It's nothing, really.” I was not wanting to bring this up now, so I hoped she would drop it. Her hand grabbing my shoulder and holding me still was proof that she wasn't.

“Evie, haven't you learned by now to not keep things from us?” she snapped. I sighed.

“Yes Alice, but this is something that I know you'd say no to, so why bother bringing it up?” I challenged. She smirked at me.

“Okay, but it wouldn't hurt to hear the windup and the pitch,” she teased. “Come on Evie, you know you'll end up telling me anyways.” I huffed in irritation, because dammit she's right.

“Fine. So, you know how the kids are all half super soldier, right?” I turned to glance to Steve and Bucky, including them in the conversation. They all nodded, curious as to where I was going with this. “Well, I’ve been wondering, ever since you told us about Becca really, about how that would affect her, and now Sarah and Robby’s growth.” They all gaped at me like I had grown another head.

“What would that have to do with the kids growing up?” Bucky asked.

“Think about it, the primary function of the serum is to keep your cells in peak condition. In a normal person, like me, when my cells start to deteriorate, they die and new ones replace them. My cells change every seven years, which is how long it takes for them to deteriorate and die. That’s how I age.” I stopped to catch my breath before going on. “In your case, when your cells break down, the serum fixes them, which in turn means that your cells don’t get replaced with new ones. Your cells are basically the same as they were the moment you were injected with the serum, which is why you still look like you’re in your 30’s when you’re way older than that.” Alice, I could tell, was intrigued. I guess she didn’t really know how the serum worked.

“Huh. That’s interesting. So, if the guys don’t age because of the serum, what would that mean for Becca, Sarah and Robby?” she asked quietly.

“That’s the thing, no one knows. Becca, Sarah and Robby are the first children to be born with the serum already in their veins, so we have absolutely no idea.” I looked around before adding on, saying the one thing that was sure to scare them. “There hasn’t been any testing done on them, so their future is literally unknown.” Alice’s face went white as the reality of my words registered with her.

“No. No. No. Absolutely not,” she refused, eyes wide with fear.

“I know, that’s why I didn’t bother bringing it up before. I knew your history with testing and labs, so there was no doubt in my mind as to what your reaction would be. Out of the question, I know,” I replied. “Becca is off limits, which is entirely understandable.” I turned to Steve next, walking over to grab his hands. “I have to ask, but will you let me test our children’s blood?”

“Wait, you’d be running the tests?” Alice interrupted, her voice cracking at the end. I looked at her over my shoulder and nodded.

“Of course. You really think I’d trust someone else to do it? Besides, it’s literally my job to do testing like this. It’s my field of study,” I answered her. “I’d draw the blood myself and run the tests too. These are my children’s lives, and the only other person I’d even remotely trust with any of this is Bruce, and he doesn’t even have any idea I’ve done testing on myself.” At that last statement, Steve grabbed my arm and turned me back to him.

“Wait, you’ve done your own tests?” he asked incredulously. I nodded slowly, not understanding why he sounded so tense.

“Uh, yeah. Who else would do it?” I looked at Bucky and Alice, who also looked like they couldn’t believe it. “You guys do realize that I am both a medical doctor and a scientist, right? I can do both sides of the doctoral profession, and if I may be so humble, I’m fucking phenomenal at both.” I smiled smugly at them, loving the look of awe that spread across my husband’s face.

“Why did you have be tested?” Bucky asked after a brief pause, which caused me to sigh.

“Because the effects of the serum have worn off on me, and I don’t know if that will happen to Robby and Sarah.” It was Steve’s turn to go pale as comprehension dawned on him.

“If the serum wears off on the kids, then it might wear off on us?” he asked, somewhat hopeful.

“I honestly don’t know. That’s why I want to run tests,” I replied. “So, do you give me permission to draw our kids’ blood and do the tests?”

“Evie, you’re their mother. Why do you need Steve’s permission?” Bucky asked before Steve could answer.

“Because it’s a conflict of interest if I just do it on them. As their legal guardian, he has to give permission for me, a doctor, to run the tests. If I publish the results, I have to show that I got consent from the patient’s parent. It’s unprofessional to just run tests on someone just because, even if you gave birth to them,” I explained.

“Even though most of this is science jargon and I don’t understand it, it’s dead sexy when you talk doctor to me,” Steve cooed, pulling me into his arms. I smirked up at him, as this was new to me.

“Is that so? Maybe I should go get my white coat and stethoscope then,” I teased. Bucky cleared his throat loudly, bringing us back to reality.

“So that’s why you liked going to the doctor so much back before the War. Seeing the doctor turns you on,” Bucky teased. Steve began to blush as Bucky and Alice chuckled.

“Yeah, it’s no wonder he never got over Evie! She’s the prettiest doctor he’s ever seen!” Alice joined in. “I bet he got a stiffy when they were introduced!” Steve’s face was now the color of Tony’s suit, and I felt bad for him.

Kinda.

“Alright, that’s enough,” I insisted. “And for the record, Steve was a perfect gentleman when we met.” He smiled, while Bucky burst out in hysterics.

“Yeah, okay,” he snickered. “How’s that saying go? ‘A gentleman in the streets, a freak in the sheets’?” He started laughing again, Alice joining in. I bit my lip to keep from laughing, as Bucky didn’t realize how right he was. Once I got my laughter under control, I swooped in to save my husband again.

“Getting back to business, Steve, what say you?” I asked one last time.

“Yes,” he answered. “I’m honestly curious about all this now too, so definitely yes.” I smiled, glad he was okay with the testing.

“Well, if it’s okay, I’ll go grab my stuff and I can draw their blood really quick, since we’re thinking about it.” I headed for the stairs.

“Evie,” Alice said shakily, catching my attention. I turned back to her, waiting for her to go on. “You said you’d draw the blood yourself? And run the tests yourself?” I felt my forehead crease as I tried to see where she was going with this.

“Uh, yeah? I mean, I did spend all those years in school learning how to do all that for a reason. Why?” I asked. She began wringing her hands together, looking around nervously.

“If you were to, I mean, if we were to say okay, you would be the only one to draw Becca’s blood and the only person testing it, right?” I walked over, stopping in front of her.

“Right. Don’t get me wrong, I love Bruce dearly and I trust Helen with a lot, but this is one thing that I would do on my own, off the record.” I looked over at Steve and Bucky before looking back at her. “This is our family business, no one else’s.” She nodded before glancing back at her daughter and then Bucky, who nodded as well.

“Good. Okay, you can test Becca’s blood.” She sounded sure of her decision, which blew me away.

“Alright. Just tell me when and I’ll do it,” I replied. I started to head for the stairs again when she grabbed my arm to stop me.

“You’re gonna draw the twins right now, right? Well, just go ahead and do Becca’s too.” I could tell my eyes were huge as the reality of her statement sank in.

“Sure. Do you want to come with me and watch me get my supplies? I find that having patients watch me get everything set up helps them relax,” I offered. She nodded as she followed me upstairs to my room. She was next to me as I pulled three sets of tubes out of the container and set them on my tray, followed by gloves, my sharps container, some suckers, bandaids, cotton balls, alcohol pads, a few vacutainers and butterfly needles. We went back downstairs and headed to the kitchen table, where Bucky and Steve were waiting. “Let’s do Becca first, but let me get my stuff set up before you grab her. The longer she sits, the crankier she’ll get when she can’t move.” I washed my hands in the sink before pulling my gloves on, sitting in the chair next to Bucky. I got the bandaid half opened and set it down so it would be easier to place it when I was done with her. “Alice,” I started as I continued getting things ready. “Would you rather stand and watch as I draw her blood or sit and hold her while Bucky stands?” She took a deep breath and thought it over while I finished getting ready.

“I’ll stand and watch,” she answered before walking over to pick Becca up and bringing her to Bucky, who set her down on his lap.

“Becca, sweetie, Aunt Evie has to poke your arm, okay?” I told her as she looked at me with interest. “You just sit still on Daddy’s lap so Aunt Evie can do her job.” I checked her left arm first, looking for a good vein before checking her right.

Bingo.

I grabbed a pad and swiped it over the vein, cleaning the area. I dried it off with a cotton ball, looking up at Alice to make sure she was still good with me doing this. She nodded, to which I smiled.

Here comes the fun part.

I grabbed the needle, making sure the tube was in place and the vacutainer was connected properly, before bringing it to my niece’s arm. “Little stick sweetheart,” I warned as I carefully pierced her skin, causing her to fidget and cry. I glanced at Alice, who was slowly squeezing Steve’s arm as Becca fussed. “Daddy, you need to hold her arm still, or the needle could hurt her,” I instructed Bucky. He secured her arms, which upset her even more. Her little heart was racing, which helped pump the blood quicker and fill the tubes faster. Finally, all the tubes for her were filled, so I placed a cotton ball over the injection site before slowly easing the needle out and putting it in the sharps container. I grabbed the bandaid and put it over the cotton, keeping it in place before opening a sucker and handing it to her, kissing her forehead. “Such a big girl you are, Becca. You’re all done.” She was all smiles as Alice picked her up, cuddling with her. “Mommy, are you okay? Do you need medical attention?” Alice’s face was white, so I steered her to the couch before she fainted. I looked over at Bucky, who had an amused look on his face.

“I half expected her to throw you across the room when Becca started crying,” he confessed. “She did good for her first time.” I quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Who, Alice or Becca?” I asked. He smiled softly, while I giggled and Steve flexed his arm. “Do you need medical attention, Captain?” I teased. He rolled his eyes at me.

“Not in front of them,” he replied, sweeping his arm out to include everyone, sending a wink my way.

“Behave, Captain. Doctor’s orders,” I stated. His eyes dilated and nostrils flared as he took a deep breath. Wow, I had no idea this would turn him on this much. Bucky watched us, fighting the urge to burst out laughing.

“Pretty sure Evie has all of the power now,” he chuckled. “All she has to do from here on out is wear her stethoscope and white jacket and Steve’ll do anything she says.” Alice chuckled weakly from her spot on the couch at this, causing Steve to blush even more.

“Alright, alright. Bucky, can you grab Sarah so we can get her done? She’ll sit still better on my lap than yours,” he snapped, shooing his brother out of the way so he could sit down.

I got my stuff ready again as Bucky handed her to Steve before finding a good vein in her left arm. Feeling so incredibly guilty, I cleaned the site before grabbing the needle and sticking my daughter, who immediately began to cry. Knowing that I was making her cry made my own tears begin to fall. After a few minutes, all of her tubes had been filled, so I gently removed the needle, covering the site with a cotton ball and placing a bandaid over it. I gave her a sucker and some mega hugs before Steve sat down to cuddle her. Alice was feeling better and Becca had gone over to comfort Sarah, so she sat down with Robby, who was a complete surprise, not flinching or crying at all. He also got a sucker after he was all done, prompting Sarah to grab his and give hers in exchange. They love to share everything.

“I’m going to head to the Tower and start the tests. Anyone wanna join me?” I asked, to which Steve, Bucky and Alice all agreed. Once we had the kids ready, we headed out in my Suburban, since it has plenty of room for all of us, including the dogs. After arriving, I headed straight to the lab and began working on the samples.

Robby and Sarah’s were interesting to look at. I could see the serum had penetrated every cell, just like it did with Steve. That was good news, because if the serum was present from the beginning, then there was a good chance that its effects wouldn’t wear off on them. Since it was introduced to me in such small quantities and wasn’t present at the time of my conception, it wasn’t remaining in my system, which was fine with me. I could tell their cells were aging properly, but I wasn’t sure if it was because they were only half-enhanced. I’ll just have to check it from time to time and see.

In the years I’ve known Steve, I’ve gotten to know his genetic background quite well. After all his time in the ice, on top of all the years that have gone by since he was first given the serum, Steve has been curious as to how it would affect him. Since Dr. Erskine never got to pass on his notes on the matter, I’ve kinda become the expert on Steve. Looking back on it though, now I realize why Steve didn’t really mind coming by the lab all the time.

When Bucky (and Alice) came to New York, Steve somehow got him to give a sample of his blood for, as Shuri calls it, ‘research purposes’. I’m not an expert on him, but I know his genetics pretty well. But, when it came time to check Becca’s sample, I hit a snag.

I don’t have any of Alice’s blood, so I have nothing to compare Becca’s to. This was going to be fun.

I went back upstairs to hang out with everyone. I didn’t say anything to the others, as we had all agreed to not say a word in front of anyone. We spent the whole day hanging out with the team, all of the kids completely worn out. After nursing ours to sleep, I told Steve what I had found out.

“Well, that’s good. What about Becca?” he asked. I froze, looking over at him with wide eyes.

“Yeah, about that…” I trailed off. He quirked an eyebrow so I went on. “I’ve only ever gotten Bucky’s blood. I don’t have any from Alice, so I can’t really do any testing on Becca’s.” His eyes got wide as the implication sank in.

“She won’t listen to me. Maybe you can talk to Bucky about getting it from her.” I shook my head at this.

“No, I need to be the one to do it. Ask her for the blood and take it if she says yes. If she doesn’t, I guess I won’t do any testing on Becca.” He nodded at this, realizing that I was right. We went to bed, or rather, he went to bed while I stayed up trying to figure out the best way to ask Alice if I could have some of her blood. Exhausted, I finally fell asleep.

The next few days went by before I could approach the subject. Luckily, Alice and Bucky didn’t ask about the blood tests, which was good for me because I wanted to talk to Alice about it alone.

Alice and I were watching Steve and Bucky play with the kids outside when I finally got the courage to talk to her. I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt this nervous, so nervous that I was shaking as I walked over and sat down next to her.

“Hey, Alice?” I asked, my nerves making my voice vanish. She looked over, a residual smile from watching our men play with our kids.

“Yeah?” I swallowed thickly before rushing out the words.

“InorderformetorunthetestsIneedyourblood.” She raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

“Come again?” she replied. I squared my shoulders and tried again.

“I need some of your blood so I have something to compare Becca’s to.” Her smile was gone in an instant as my words registered. “If you say no, then I drew her blood for nothing because I just have Bucky’s for comparison but she’s only half him. Having yours would help so much, but like I said, if you don’t say yes, then I can’t run any tests.” I sat and waited for her to make her decision, even though I already knew her answer. There’s no way in God’s green earth, Midgard, whatever, that she would let me-

“Okay.” I felt my jaw hit the floor and end up halfway to China. “You’re right, and it’s not like I’ll be held down like I was in the Lab. And it’ll be you doing everything, so I have nothing to fear. Let’s do it.” I stared at her, waiting for her to laugh and say it was a joke. When she stood up and began to walk toward the house, she looked over her shoulder at me. “Let’s do it now so we can get it over and done with.” Realizing she was serious, I jumped up and followed her.

“Since all of my supplies are up there, wanna do it in my room?” I asked, to which she nodded. We climbed the stairs in silence, steeling ourselves for what was to come. Once inside, I had her sit on the edge of my bed while I grabbed the chair from my vanity and brought it over. She watched with wide eyes as I got everything I needed, holding every item up and showing her that it wasn’t messed with in anyway. When she was satisfied, I brought my supplies over. “I’m going to go wash my hands. You can watch me through the door, okay?” I walked in and stood in a way that she was able to see everything I did. Finished, I came back and sat in the chair, slowly pulling on a pair of gloves. “Alice, I’m going to check your arms now to find a good vein. Is that okay?” She took a few deep breaths, no doubt trying to keep calm.

“Yes, thank you for asking.” I shot her a quick smile before holding my hand out for her arm. I waited for her to give it to me instead of just grabbing it as I figured grabbing it would be a bad move. She gave me her left arm first, letting me check but I was unable to find a good vein. Then she offered her right arm for me to check, and I was finally able to find one.

“Okay Alice. I’m going to clean the site with an alcohol swab now.” I wanted to already be done with this, but I knew that I had to tell her everything I was doing so she wouldn’t freak out. “Alice, now it’s time for me to insert the needle into your arm. Are you still okay with this?” This was it, the big moment.

“Yes, go ahead,” she answered after taking a few more deep breaths. I nodded before reaching over and grabbing the needle and bringing it to her arm. She began to tense up, so I stopped, knowing I had to give her time to adjust. “Just do it Evie.” She was still tense, her face all screwed up as she waited. Seizing my chance, I brought the needle back and carefully pierced her skin with it. Her breath caught in her chest at the feeling before slowly releasing it. I let go of the breath I had been holding as well, now that the hard part was over. One by one the tubes filled up until the last one was done. I put a cotton ball over the site before pulling the needle out, grabbing a bandaid to put over top to keep it in place. I disposed of the needle before I took a good look at Alice. Her face was still pale but the color slowly returning and her breathing was still heavy. I grabbed her wrist to check her pulse, glad it was returning to normal.

“If you want, you can lay back on the bed until you get your bearings back,” I offered. She slumped back at once as her body continued to calm down, and after a few minutes, she sat back up, looking like her old self. “So, how do you feel?” I asked, checking her pulse again. She smiled softly, taking one last deep breath before answering.

“Ya know, out of all the times I was tested, that was the least...objectionable experience.” She reached out and grabbed my hand, squeezing it. “While I’m not keen on doing that again any time soon, as long as you were the one doing it, it wouldn’t bother me.” I felt so happy knowing that I was able to do this for her. I gave her a huge hug before helping her up, in case she was still woozy. When she was able to walk down the stairs without fainting, I knew she was alright. As soon as we got outside, she all but ran to Bucky and Becca, whispering in my brother’s ear and the three of them went to their apartment. I walked over to Steve, who looked puzzled.

“Why’d they leave?” he asked. I kissed him before smiling.

“I just drew Alice’s blood. She’s just wanting some snuggles I’m sure,” I answered. He grinned back at me.

“I’m impressed, and all without any bloodshed. Well, from you,” he added, as he realized what he had said. I chuckled at him.

“Wanna go to the Tower with me so I can run the tests? Figured they’d want some alone time and I’m sure Bruce won’t mind seeing the twins again so soon.” He nodded so we took the kids inside to get them ready before we headed out, leaving a note on the counter in case Bucky or Alice happened to come over looking for us. Once we got to the Tower, Steve took the twins upstairs and I went straight to the lab.

Looking at Alice’s blood under the microscope was amazing.

Her cells were normal, but there was this faint bluish glow to the entire sample, which was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my years of study. 

I came to realize that this must be the Magic that made her a Slayer. Getting deeper and deeper into things, there wasn’t much else that made her so different from me. I could see that she had similar traits that Steve, Bucky, and the kids had like the accelerated healing and increased strength, but apart from that and the Magic, we were the same.

Now that I had something to go off of, I was able to run tests on Becca’s blood. There was no glow to hers, but unzipping her genes was amazing. Whereas Steve’s genes mostly overrode mine in Sarah and Robby, Alice and Bucky’s genes had combined so well for Becca it was honestly like looking at a complementary set. Not that Steve and I weren’t compatible, but Alice and Bucky were truly made for each other. I also noticed that Becca’s cells did age normally, but I couldn’t be sure if they would suddenly stop or slow down like Alice’s did when she was Called. Hopefully, Alice won’t mind me checking every few years, like I would do with the twins.

Finished with the tests, I returned to my family so I could hang out with Bruce. He took ‘Papaw Boo’ detail very seriously. He doted on all three kids, which surprised some people (cough Alice cough). I could see where she was concerned though. Becca wasn’t related to Bruce in anyway, so why would he treat her like another granddaughter?

It was because she was.

We were all family, from Thor, our hipster cousin down to Peter, the little brother we were fiercely protective of. Over the years, our ‘family’ has grown, starting with Tony, Nat, Clint, Bruce, Thor and Steve, and expanding to include myself, Pepper, Rhodey, Laura and the kids, Coulson, Maria, Nick, and Jane. Then, Wanda (and briefly Pietro), Sam, Vision, Scott and Cassie, Peter and May, Bucky and Alice joined. With the addition of Bucky and Alice came T’Challa, Gail, Kerry, Shuri, Simon and Maggie, and just when we couldn’t think our amazing family couldn’t get any bigger or better, Becca, Robby, Sarah and T'Zari came into the world, proving that life finds a way to give you everything you ever wanted.

#

One day, some time after I had run all the tests, Simon and Maggie arrived in Wakanda to check on the status of Kerry and a retired Slayer. Simon called to see if they could stay with us for a few days, as their visit had been spur of the moment.

“Hey Si. Of course you guys can stay here,” I answered. “That room has unofficially been dubbed yours, especially since neither of the kids will ever move into that room after you two defiled it.” His subsequent snort made me giggle, but what he said after had me rolling.

“You defiled it first. We’re just adding a bit of flavour to it.” I cringed as I started laughing.

“Alright, but it better not look like a Jackson Pollock painting the next time I take a black light in there,” I warned with a final chuckle. “SO, how are things over there? The remaining Slayers doing alright?” I wish I could visit over there, but Steve doesn’t want to chance it in case any vampires happen to attack.

“Eh, they’re doing okay. Ever since this ‘ole thing with Gail and Alice ‘aving kids, Slayers’ve been cropping up pregnant more and more. There’s these two girls, Tina and Amy, that’ve been friends since they were able to walk. Tina is a Slayer and just gave birth to a baby boy about a month ago, and now Amy is pregnant. It was the weirdest thing, ‘cause Tina ‘ad no inkling of wanting a family until one day Amy pushed her out of the way of a oncoming car. Not too long after that, Tina turned up pregnant. That ticked Amy off, ‘cause she and her boyfriend wanted kids but she wasn’t getting pregnant.” Simon stopped to take a breath and I was able to interrupt him.

“Wow. That sounds like how it was for me and Alice. Steve and I were trying like hell to have a baby, but we just couldn’t. Nothing wrong with either of us, but it was like as soon as Becca was born, a few weeks later BOOM.” I sighed. “Hell, even to this day we still don’t know why it took so long for me to get pregnant.” He was so quiet on the other end, I thought the call had dropped. “Simon?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m ‘ere. I was just thinking about Maggie.” I rolled my eyes.

“God you’re such a sap. And people used to be afraid of you? Gimme a break,” I teased.

“No, not like that. Maggie and I don’t exactly use much in the way of protection, but she ‘asn’t ended up pregnant yet. Not that we’re trying, but it still ‘asn’t ‘appened,” he explained solemnly. “I was just wondering as to why.” Well, now that he’s brought it up, I’m wondering too.

“Really? Like, there’s no protection at all, but it’s still not taking?” I was curious now.

“Yeah. I mean, kids might be in the cards for us someday, but ‘onestly, with as much as we go at it and the minimal precautions we take, you’d think we’d would‘ve ‘ad one by now.” It was my turn to be silent.

That’s exactly how it was with me and Steve. Once I came off the birth control, we went at it like bunnies, but it wasn’t until Becca was born that I finally got pregnant.

“Evie? You still there?” Simon called through the phone. I brought it back to my ear, not realizing I had dropped my hand.

“Yeah Si, I am. This Tina and Amy, they’re best friends, borderline sisters? Are both of them Slayers, or just Tina?” The wheels in my head were turning with a theory, but I had to gather more data before I wanted to say anything.

“Uh, yeah. Been best friends since forever. Grew up together and do everything together, until Tina was Called. Amy is a regular, like you and Maggie. Why?” My heart was starting to race with the direction my thoughts were going.

“And Tina didn’t get pregnant until Amy pushed her out of the way of that oncoming car, right?”

“Right. Evie, what’s going on?” Simon sounded impatient, but my brain could only go so fast.

“Simon, the Magic only affects women, right? There’s no way it could latch onto men?” He paused for a moment, clearly not expecting me to ask that.

“No. Never in the history of Slayers ‘as a man been Called. It’s only ever been women.” That kinda explains it…

“Did Gail happen to mention anything...out of the ordinary happening before she got pregnant with T'Zari? Like something that maybe Queen Ramonda or Princess Shuri might have done for her?” He sputtered on the other end, trying to figure out where I was going with this.

“Well, fuck I don’t know Evie!” he snapped. “I do remember Gail saying how Shuri took some kind of oath to protect her like the Dora Milaje, now that I think about it,” he added after a brief moment.

“Shuri, an ordinary woman, like me and Maggie,” I murmured. “Speaking of, has Maggie gotten close to anyone in particular over there?” I could almost see his face contorted in thought.

“Yeah. She and Kerry are like sisters. Can’t ‘ave one without the other,” he said fondly.

Just like me and Alice.

Just like Gail and Shuri.

Just like Tina and Amy.

“Si, when will you and Maggie be here?” I choked out, my theory finally having substance in my head.

“Uh, we’ll be there tomorrow morning. Why?” I could hear the uncertainty in his voice.

“Because I got something that I wanna run by you and Alice. See you tomorrow.”

“Uh, okay. Bye.” He hung up, worry evident in his tone. I took a few deep breaths to calm down as the implications of what I was thinking sank in.

The rest of the day I spent in my head. I did everything on autopilot and it wasn’t until dinner that Steve and Bucky ganged up on me to pull me from my thoughts.

“Evie, what the hell is wrong with you?” Steve called from my left. I blinked as I turned to him.

“Nothing. Why?” He and Bucky rolled their eyes at me.

“Yeah, I don’t believe that for a second. What’s eating you, sis?” Bucky retorted. I smiled, shaking my head.

“I talked to Simon earlier. He and Maggie will be here in the morning. They decided to make a spur of the moment trip over to check on the retired Slayer they sent to Wakanda,” I stated. The three of them looked at me in surprise.

“And, you’re just now telling us?” Steve cut in, eyebrows raised. I rolled my eyes at my loving husband.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I had to get permission for friends to come over, Dad,” I sassed. “Daddy, can a couple of my friends come over and stay for a few days? It’s not like we don’t have the room,” I asked in a too sweet baby voice, batting my eyes for effect. He clenched his jaw as Bucky and Alice began to laugh.

“I don’t care, just don’t call me daddy ever again.” He shuddered, causing Bucky to laugh even more.

After dinner, I was on my computer when I got a wild thought, and pulled up what I needed.

Holy. Fuck. I have to show this to them tomorrow.

The next morning, Simon barged in like he owned the place, Maggie trailing behind him.

“Alright Evie. What was with the Spanish Inquisition yesterday?” he snapped as they walked into the living room. Steve looked at him in surprise, ready to throw down as Simon normally didn’t have such an attitude with me.

“‘Cause no one expects it,” I replied, smirking. Simon huffed and crossed his arms as Maggie and Alice cracked up, leaving Bucky and Steve looking confused. “Relax, Si. I was waiting on you two to get here before explaining everything.” The other four turned to me, Steve, Bucky, and Alice finally understanding my preoccupation since yesterday. “Come on. Let’s go in the kitchen and talk while the kids play in the living room.” We all walked in, the five sitting at the table while I stood at the counter, opening my laptop.

“Evie, are you keeping shit from us again?” Alice snapped and I pulled up the blood results I had looked at last night.

“No. I literally thought all of this up yesterday,” I answered. “Okay, so when Simon called yesterday, we got to talking about this and that and he told me about how now that you and Gail have had kids, Slayers are coming up pregnant more and more. He told me about this one, Tina and her best friend Amy. The two of them have known each other since infancy, growing up and doing everything together, until Tina got Called and Amy didn’t. Simon then went on to tell me that one day Amy pushed Tina out of the path of an oncoming car, saving her. Shortly after that, Tina ended up pregnant.” I stopped to catch my breath before going on.

“That wouldn’t be an issue, but Amy and her boyfriend were desperately trying to have their own baby. They tried and tried for months, but it never took. Within a month, however, of Tina having her baby, Amy wound up pregnant. Sound familiar?” Alice, Bucky and Steve all looked at each other, because we had all lived that same scenario. “Some time before Gail got pregnant with T’Zari, Shuri took some kind of oath like the Dora Milaje to protect Gail. After the oath was made, BOOM, Gail is pregnant. Simon, what did you tell me about you and Maggie yesterday?” I directed at the gruff looking man. Understanding washed over his face as our conversation came back to him.

“That Maggie and I barely use any kind of protection, but she ‘asn’t gotten pregnant in the three years we’ve been together.” I nodded as the other three gasped, looking to Maggie for confirmation.

“And are you close to anyone in particular, Maggie? Someone that you would, oh I don’t know, protect with your dying breath?” I asked the brunette. She nodded.

“Kerry. She’s the sister I never had. I have her back, and I know without a doubt she has mine.” I smiled, because that’s how it is with me and Alice.

“The Slayer to a Regular. Like Tina and Amy, Gail and Shuri. Like me and you,” I spoke directly to Alice now. “The Magic is jumping. It’s jumping from a Slayer to a regular woman, one that has proven that she would do anything to protect the Slayer, such as pushing them out from in front of a moving car, taking a warrior’s oath, always having their back, or...putting a tracker on the Slayer so they’re always accounted for and therefore always safe.” Alice’s eyes grew big as the weight of what I was saying sank in.

“That’s…..” she trailed off, not sure what to say.

“Impossible? Unheard of? Crazy? I’m gonna go with option D: all of the above. If you want more proof, here. Take a look,” I said, turning the laptop towards them. When I was met with silence, I explained what they were seeing. “The sample on the right is the one I took from Alice a few weeks ago. The blue glow that you see? That’s the Magic. Under the proper magnification and filter, you can actually see it.” Alice and Simon jumped up and crowded the screen.

“Bloody hell that’s amazing” she wondered out loud. Simon nodded in agreement before pointing to the other sample.

“Who’s is that, then?” I smiled sweetly, knowing I was about to drop a bomb on them.

“That’s mine. Taken after we returned from our honeymoon and before Becca was born. Proof that I’m right.” I heard the table crack before Steve stood with a chunk in his hand.

“You mean to tell me, that all of the heartache and pain you went through, all the tears that you shed over not being able to get pregnant, were because Alice’s Magic had latched onto you and kept me from knocking you up?” he reasoned slowly. When I nodded, his jaw clenched, and I knew that he wasn’t happy with my discovery.

“Steve, come on,” Bucky said calmly, noting how angry his brother was getting. “It’s not like we knew this would happen.” Steve glared at him, nostrils flaring.

“But Evie didn’t ask for this! You have no idea how many nights she spent crying herself to sleep over not being able to give me a child or how much she beat herself up over not getting pregnant month after month. It killed her watching Alice parade around with the baby that you guys never even wanted! You don’t realize how hard it was to watch her go through all of this, and to find out that it was because of Alice, who didn’t protect Evie at all while she was pregnant!” Bucky stood now, looking equally angry with Steve. Alice and I jumped between them, hoping to keep it from coming to blows.

“Take it easy,” I warned Steve, placing my hands on his chest. He looked down at me, those baby blues peering into my soul.

“Baby, don’t you remember all the pain and suffering you went though because of this?” he asked, placing his hands on my shoulders. I nodded.

“Well yeah, of course I do, but Alice went through her own pain and suffering. It’s only fair that I share the load.” He glared down at me, clearly upset that I wasn’t on his side. “Besides, we were rewarded generously. We have two kids instead of just one!” I was trying to help him see the bright side of things, but then Bucky had to open his mouth.

“You think Alice wouldn’t have helped if she could, Steve? The woman who put her life on the line for strangers?” he snapped, stepping closer.

“Evie, I didn’t know! I would never have stopped you from having kids if I had known!” she pleaded with me over her shoulder, as we didn’t want to take our eyes off our men.

“Allie, you came to terms that I could protect you when I put that tracker on you, huh?” I asked over my shoulder. When I heard her murmur ‘yes’, I laughed humorlessly. “I fucked myself over with that stupid thing. When you fully understood that I would risk life and limb to protect you, the Magic sensed that and jumped to me, taking my ability to get pregnant and gave it to you. Once you had Becca, I was able to get pregnant, but the universe apparently took pity on me and doubled my chances, which is how we ended up with twins.” It was startling to come to terms that I had done all this, albeit unknowingly. Alice scoffed.

“Evie, c’mon. Neither of us could’ve known and-” she was cut off by, guess who? Bucky.

“Well, y’shoulda never put a damn tracker on her, should ya?!” he chastised, and I could tell he had his hands on his hips.

“DON’T TALK TO EVIE LIKE THAT!” Steve bellowed suddenly, causing Alice and I to jump.

“FUCK YOU!” came Bucky’s reply. I put my hand over Steve’s mouth, as I could tell he was about to go off on his best friend.

“Buck, last I checked, you were okay with it, so hush,” I called over my shoulder before glaring up at my husband. “Steve, he’s family. He’s got more right to talk to me like that then anyone, even you.” Alice giggled before I spoke to her. “I’m not blaming you Alice. I’m just reaching an understanding that I did it to myself.” She and I let our hands drop but stayed between Bucky and Steve. I heard her mumble something about ‘your husband’ which made Steve take a few more steps forward, pushing me up against Alice.

“Alice, I’m warning you-” he began before I cut him off.

“And what are you gonna do, ‘cause you’ll have to go through me to do it!” I snapped, pushing his chest with both hands.

“He won’t have to go through you, Evie. I’ll knock Steve on his ass if he comes for Alice,” Bucky growled from behind me. I bowed my head. Can’t Bucky just stop goading Steve for a bit?

“Firstly, Steve? Bite me. Secondly-” Alice started.

“Bite you? Like Ivar did?” Steve spat at her. I felt Alice freeze at my back, and I knew that Bucky was frozen too. My right hand came up and connected with his left cheek, leaving a red handprint there. I was shaking I was so mad.

“Steven Grant Rogers, how dare you!” I snarled at him as he held his face. He blinked rapidly for a few moments before his vision cleared. “Apologize to her now!”

“I’m gonna go,” Alice murmured before leaving, no doubt heading for their apartment. I was suddenly aware that I was the only thing keeping two super soldiers from beating the hell out of each other. Steve was still reeling from my slap so I turned to Bucky, who clearly had murder in his eyes.

“Bucky, please don’t. He didn’t mean it. He said it out of anger,” I stammered, trying to keep them apart. Bucky was slowly striding forward, so I put my hands on his chest, which was about as effective as trying to stop a train with my bare hands. I kept pace with him until my back was up against Steve’s chest, sandwiching me between a rock and a hard place. When neither of them said anything, I tried a new tactic. “Uncle James, please don’t.” Bucky blinked before looking down at me in surprise. I’ve never called him that, but apparently it worked as he started to back up.

“Fine. I’ll go. Evie, you’ve got Becca right?” he asked quietly, still glaring at Steve.

“Yes,” I answered, nodding. “Absolutely. I’m sure Simon and Maggie won’t mind watching her either,” I added after seeing the two aforementioned were no longer in the kitchen. Probably good that Simon didn’t hear what Steve said, ‘cause I don’t think I could fight off Simon and Bucky at the same time. Bucky stomped out of the kitchen after Alice as I turned to Steve. “Give them both a chance to calm down before you go fix this. You will not be sleeping in our room until you do, so you best figure out how you’re gonna do it or find the comfiest couch we have.” I stormed out, leaving him there as I entered the living room, seeing the kids playing together. Simon and Maggie both shot me a quizzical look before I shook my head. “Later, when the kids are asleep.” They nodded before we all joined the kids in their little games.

Steve’s POV

I have fucked up royally.

My wife has kicked me out of our room.

My best friend/brother wants to kick my ass.

My sister hates my guts.

All because I let my anger get the better of me.

I stood in the kitchen, still reeling over the fact that I had actually said that to Alice. It was a truly despicable thing to say, and even though I was madder than hell, that was still no reason to say that to her. To top it all off, Evie slapped me! I know I’ve really messed up when she feels the need to get physical on someone else’s behalf. I walked to the doorway of the living room and peeked around the wall. Simon, Maggie, and Evie were playing with all three kids, not paying attention to anything else.

Hanging my head, I turned and walked through the house before going down the walkway that connected the main house to the garage. I looked up at Bucky and Alice’s place, guilt flooding my whole body. I sighed before getting in my truck and driving away. I sent Evie a text that I was going for a drive to clear my head and to figure out how to apologize. I didn’t get an answer, but I knew she had seen it so she knew where I was.

I headed to the city, but decided against going to see the Team. Tony said that he was going to be moving them to the Compound, but since it was out in our direction, I didn’t feel like doubling back. I drove around for what felt like days, but it was only a few hours. I remembered that Alice was out of tea, so I stopped and bought her more along with her favorite chocolate. I grabbed flowers for her as well, before heading back home. Once I parked in the garage, I sat there, hoping that I was able to fix this.

I walked up the stairs to their apartment door, taking a deep breath before knocking. A few minutes passed before Bucky opened the door, his patented Winter Soldier glare in place.

“What the FUCK are you doing here?” he snarled. I held up the stuff I had bought to which he shrugged. “What the hell is that?”

“I got Alice more tea, some chocolate and flowers. I’m here to apologize because I need to fix this,” I explained. “Also, Evie has kicked me out of our room until I do, and I don’t want to sleep on any couches.” He smirked but still wouldn’t let me pass.

“She’s a Barnes alright. Our temper is legendary.” His smile fell as he went back to glaring. “That was a fucked up thing to say to her, Rogers.” Last name? Ouch.

“I know, and I’m sorry. I was just angry and it came o-” I tried to apologize before he cut me off.

“No. I don’t wanna hear your sob story. The mother of my child is distraught because of something you said, and you honestly think bringing her food and flowers is gonna magically fix everything? No. I don’t think so.” And with that, he shoved me.

I set the tea, chocolate and flowers down before pushing him back slightly. He shoved me back harder, to which I responded in kind by openly shoving him through the door into their living room. We started pushing and shoving each other more and more, each time getting meaner and meaner. I couldn’t see an end to our fight until Alice stormed in, looking angrier than I’ve ever seen her and yanked us apart, sending us falling back on our asses.

“Bucky, you’re better than this, getting into a shoving match, and stupid Captains of America shouldn’t be fighting like a little bitch,” she snapped. We both stood, heads bowed.

“Sorry, Alice,” we both apologized before I grabbed the stuff I had bought and held it out to her.

“I come bearing tea, chocolate and flowers. All I ask is that you give me a chance to explain myself and let me apologize. Hell, I’ll even let you hit me as much and as hard as you want,” I explained quickly. She snorted indignantly.

“Why?! So Evie can bitch slap me too because you came back with a broken jaw?!” She had me there.

“True, but the offer still stands.” She looked around for a moment before sighing.

“Bucky, could you give me and Steve some space to talk?” she asked. Bucky took a deep breath in before walking to their bedroom, passing by to press a kiss to her lips.

“Buck, if you’re still pissed after we’re done talking, we can go out back and I’ll let you kick my ass,” I offered as an olive branch. He raised an eyebrow at me.

“You’ll let me? Motherfucker I will, whether you like it or not,” he shot back, taking a step toward me. Alice jumped between us again to keep us apart.

“Bucky, come on. Give us a minute to talk.” He huffed before storming to the room.

“I’ll come back if you need me,” he promised before slamming the door. Alice rounded on me then, and suddenly I was wishing I was still fighting with Bucky. “You are such an asshole!” She screeched, poking my chest with her finger. “Why would you even say something like that?” Her face was all blotchy and her eyes were red, obviously from crying for most of the day.

God I’m such a jackass.

“Alice, I am so sorry. I know nothing I do will ever take that back, but I will send the rest of eternity trying to earn your trust back.” She raised both eyebrows at me, surprised.

“Eternity, huh? You’re awfully optimistic that it’ll only take that long.” I am in such deep shit.

“Whatever it takes, I’ll do it,” I swore. She scoffed, clearly not believing me. “You don’t think I’m serious? Alice, I pined after Evie for years! Waiting for the right time to strike so I could finally be with her. Then you came into the picture and fixed it so I could, so I owe you.” Her face was turned up in such a sneer, it was truly remarkable how scary she could be when she wanted.

”Is that so? Then what the fuck is your problem?!” I hung my head in shame. “What possessed you to say something so vile and cruel to me? It’s not like I don’t still dream about him.” Fuck. I didn’t think she still had nightmares.  

“Alice, I’m sorry. You know I would never mean it.” She shot me a look that would have killed me before I was born.

“Then why did you say it?!” she yelled, throwing her hands in the air.

“I was just so angry about all the suffering that Evie went through, I wasn’t thinking straight.” She shook her head in disbelief. “I know it doesn’t excuse what I said, but can you find it in your heart to forgive me?” She looked so upset, and I knew I was to blame.

“Possibly with time I could come to think about forgiving you, but as of right now, I can’t. That was the lowest blow anyone could’ve dealt me, and it came from my own brother no less.” I nodded, knowing that this was better than nothing. “Do you honestly think that Bucky and I didn’t want Becca at all?” she hissed at me.

“No, Alice. Of course not. I didn’t mean that you guys didn’t want her at all. I meant that you two had come to terms that you couldn’t have kids, or so you thought, so it wasn’t as devastating when you ‘couldn’t’ get pregnant.” I started to tear up as I remembered the anguish that Evie went through all those months. “Evie was in so much pain, negative test after negative test. She got it in her head that I deserved a better wife, someone who could actually give me children. She was sneaking out of our bed and sleeping in what’s now Simon and Maggie’s room. Night after night she did this, because she didn’t feel that she was worthy enough to share a bed with me anymore.” I was full on crying now, but all she did was glare at me. “Then there you were, going on and on about how happy you were and what a miracle it was, and Evie kept it to herself how bad it hurt. You know how much it hurts you to see Bucky in pain?” When she nodded I went on. “That’s how it was watching Evie cry herself to sleep every night over something we didn’t even ask for.” I stopped to catch my breath and to try and stop crying.

“Steve, I am truly sorry about that, but Evie and I already went over this. It’s not fair for you to keep bringing it up and using it against me. Evie has forgiven me and I her.” She walked over and shoved my shoulder hard, and I tensed, waiting for more, but it never came. Instead, she gave me a tentative hug, which I gladly returned. I saw the bedroom door open as Bucky stuck his head through, gauging the situation. He walked out, approaching slowly and stopping once he reached us.

“Everything okay?” he asked quietly.

“I’d say possibly, but I’m not the one who got their feelings hurt by me,” I answered as I looked down at my sister, unsure of where we stood. She smiled softly before nodding.

“I’m not forgiving him right now, but I could eventually see myself thinking about it,” she replied. She grabbed the tea, chocolate and flowers from where I had dropped them and carried them to the kitchen. “You got me the proper kind of tea and my favorite chocolates. Not a bad way to start on the road to forgiveness, Steve.” I smiled, happy to know that I was on the right track. My reply was lost however as the door swung open to reveal Simon, who stalked in and decked me. I stumbled back as his punch registered, and I noticed Maggie and Evie standing at the doorway, both looking worried. Simon then dove at me, tackling me to the ground as he began to punch every bit of me he could reach.

Evie must have told him what I said to Alice. Shit.

I knew that I deserved having the crap beat outta me, so I let him get all his anger out. He finally stopped, his chest heaving. I stood slowly, noting the soreness all over. Luckily he’s not as strong as Alice or Bucky, so the injuries I had would heal within a day or two.

“Where the fuck do you get off saying anything like that to her?!” he bellowed.

“Si, relax,” Alice replied, placing her hand on his arm. “He’s been over here apologizing to me for it, and he’s going to be apologizing for the rest of his life.” I nodded in agreement as Evie walked over to inspect me.

“Apart from the broken nose, you’re okay,” she assessed. “Travers, is that really the best you could do? Even Bucky was able to put him in the hospital.” He snorted before going off.

“Yeah, well I don’t have a fucking metal arm and I’m not super like them! So yes, that is the best I can do!” Evie smirked at him before turning to Alice.

“Honestly, I don’t think apologizing for the rest of his life...is enough. Whoop his ass, girl. He totally deserves it,” she taunted. Alice laughed before shaking her head.

“Nah, it’s okay. It’s not like he hit me at all. Besides, you, Simon and Bucky got him for me.” Evie smiled as Alice looked around. “Where are the kids?”

“Oh, they’re asleep. We put on a movie and the three of them were cuddled up together and just zonked out all at once. Figured it’d be better than bringing them over here and possibly witnessing their dad/uncle getting the hell beat out of him by their other uncle.” We all nodded in agreement, as we all had agreed to not fight or yell in front of the kids. “Come on. Dinner should be done here soon.”

We all trickled out of the apartment, Simon and Maggie holding hands in front, Evie and Alice linked arms behind them, followed by me and then Bucky. He grabbed my shoulder and turned me to face him.

“I’m still mad at you, but I’m glad you apologized. That was a pretty shitty thing to say to her, and it’s gonna leave a mark on her,” he scolded.

“I know Buck. Like I said, I’m gonna spend eternity trying to make it right between me and her.” We paused for a moment before I thought of something else to say. “Maybe tomorrow morning you can kick my ass when we go on our run.” He smirked widely before nodding as we walked back to the kitchen for dinner.

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