Little Star // a Steve Rogers, Captain America, Avengers story

Well, Fuck

Ellie spent their first anniversary packing a go bag for Steve. She knew Tony might call at any moment and her husband would be gone five minutes later for what could easily be his last mission ever. Things were looking that bad.

She hadn't been considered on active duty since she could no longer zip up her tactical suit and they had to tell the team the news. Now her sweats didn't even fit and Tony had stopped calling her Tiny. Now she was BB, for bowling ball, and she was only six months pregnant. She couldn't imagine what she'd look like in another three months.

A raucous New Year's Eve party at the Starks' lake house had led to the next generation of Rogers. Of course Steve had been over the moon, terrified and joyful at once, but with time and a little help from her gifts, his terror lessened and the joy increased.

There was also, predictably, the sex hang-up. That had taken more than a soothing hand on his shoulder. Medical reports, Ted talks, diagrams that turned him beet red; it took hard work and frustrated nights for her to convince him that it was ok. Thankfully, as she had told Kate and Nat a year earlier, he was a quick learner.

Now she heard him coming up the stairs, down the hallway, across the family room, down the other hallway, and into their bedroom. Tony had given them Aprillia as a wedding gift. Along with a trust fund to pay the taxes. Pepper had suggested that one.

Technically they only had three acres surrounding the house that included the lawn and dock, the guesthouse, and a garage/workshop.  The rest of the estate remained the property of Stark Industries, with its secret base under the sunflower fields. Ellie had gotten to know some of the Stark employees and was no longer uncomfortable when she spotted a heavily armed security detail sweeping the perimeter.

Good lord, she thought to herself, listen to me with the jargon.

Steve stood behind her, kissed the top of her head, then reached a hand around her to rest it on her belly.

"Hello, young Rogers," he said. It was his usual greeting for their child. He loved touching her growing stomach, feeling the baby kick – and it was a thumper already! – and snuggling his head just under her breasts to have conversations with the child.

He told her that fathers in his youth were very detached from their unborn children, to the extent that they weren't even allowed in the delivery room. In an uncharacteristically 21st century move, he had stated right away that he would be by her side when the baby arrived. She had visions of Captain America, having fainted at the sight of the birth, propped in a corner, passed out cold as she did the work.

Over the past year, as she became more familiar with the Avengers, their purpose and priorities, each member's foibles and weaknesses, Ellie had come to terms with who Steve was, in his suit and out. She no longer hesitated to use his work name. She enjoyed her time at the compound, but it was becoming less and less frequent as the months wore on and her girth increased.

"You're distracted." Steve was looking at her with concern.

"I'm fine. Can you believe that a year ago we were all here, drinking champagne and groaning at Thor's speech? It's been a bit up and down since then, hasn't it? I'm still getting used to green Bruce, and I worry so much about Thor. I still haven't forgiven you for convincing Tony to ground me before I could get to New Asgard. He needs me, and I'd put up with any number of inappropriate comments about this" she pointed to her belly, "to know he's alright.

"And then there's Clint. Anna misses him. He still calls her once a week, though. That's something. Did I tell you that she agreed to be our nanny?"

"You did. I think we should move her in now. I've done some digging on her stepmother's new boyfriend and it's not good. We need to get her out, and Pepper's working on getting Luke out as well. Think we could handle  a newborn, a teenager, and a four-year-old? Morgan would love a playmate close to her age when she comes to visit."

"Yes. Yes to both of them. It's not as though we don't have the space. It'll be good for me to have company, especially if you're going to be... busy. Any news?"

"Yes, and you're not going to like it. Remember when I told you that we had technology that might allow for time travel?"

An hour later Ellie's head was spinning. Pym particles and Infinity stones and Thanos. That name she already knew, and it made her quake inside. Her gifts were tied to emotions, not to detailed plans to save the universe, so her mind slipped away as Steve explained it, to listen to his feelings.

He was hopeful that the Snap could be undone, he was unsure if they could put things right without some time-related catastrophe, and he was prepared to, eager to, kill Thanos if the opportunity somehow arose. She had never felt such rage and murderous aggression in him before. It frightened her.

She was drawn back to what he was saying. "Sweetheart, I want us to take few days and go to the compound. I want the medical team to take a good look at you and the baby, and to check your pow... your gifts." He knew how much she disliked the term powers. Gifts had a kinder ring. "I also want them to work up some sort of tactical suit that will expand with you. I'm sure Tony has something in one of those buildings that will work. And maybe a tactical stroller, too?"

'You're a dork. You're really worried about what's about to happen, aren't you? And don't bother telling me you're not. You're a terrible liar and I can feel it anyway. Seriously, Steve, are we talking possible extinction?"

"Maybe. It might come to that. But we're going to fight to the death, every last one of us, to stop it."

"Well, fuck."

"Yup," he said, "fuck."