"Steve redirected his attention to his oldest son's beau. Joking, 'You really wanna marry into
this family?'
Rhodey's eyes went wide, as though he really had been that obtuse to his own transparency.
'We're not that bad,' Bucky argued.
'Right,' Stev...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
There was only one thought that crossed Steve's mind: Today's the day.
Today was the day that his little guy stopped being his little guy. Sure, Ollie hadn't been that toddler in two decades. But today it was official. Today, he would stop being Oliver Barnes and would become Oliver Rhodes.
Steve's gaze started to blur. He knew that this wasn't saying goodbye. He wasn't losing his son. But it was an ending. An ending to the first novel of Ollie's life. Sniffling, Steve tried to wipe the tears away so he could continue getting ready.
He wasn't sad though. He was so unbelievably happy. This was what he had wanted for his children. Ollie was marrying someone kind and understanding. Marrying an omegist alpha who wasn't going to push him around. Marrying a strong man who only made Ollie stronger. Ollie was marrying his best friend.
A low whistle gained Steve's attention. Causing him to look away from his reflection to find his husband. The alpha's eyes traveled down the length of Steve's body and then back up again. So slow that Steve couldn't help but blush. Almost fifty-five years old and he still acted like some teenager with a schoolboy crush.
"It's not fair," Bucky started, mirth and adoration in his aged eyes.
Brows furrowing, "What's not?"
"You look too good," Bucky approached him, wrapping him up in his arms. Kissing the mating scar, "It's not fair to the bridegroom."
The blush remained on his face as he shooed his husband away. "Don't get started on that."
"It's the truth," Bucky claimed, gently swaying them. Then, he blew a raspberry against the supple skin of Steve's neck.
"DAD! POPS!"
Both men looked towards the open door of the master bathroom. It didn't take long for Kit to bound into the ensuite and rush out, "Have you seen Rhodey's ring?"
"Yeah, its gorgeous!" Bucky joked.
Meanwhile, Steve nearly had a heart attack because, "Please, tell me you didn't lose the ring."
"I didn't," Kit quickly assured. Only to amend, "I just can't remember where I put it."
"Oh my god," Steve's heart started racing. This day was supposed to go perfectly! How could it be perfect now when the groom's ring was missing?! Steve clapped his hand over his mouth and repeated, "Oh my god!"
"I know!" Kit agreed. Their scent blocker only barely revealing how sour their scent was in that moment. "This is bad. Like, bad, bad!"
"It's not that bad," Bucky tried to sooth the two. Reminding Steve again of how lucky he was to have such a strong, steady rock of a partner. "We'll find it. It's gotta be around here somewhere. I mean, it's not going to get up and walk out on its own."
Sitting on the edge of the jacuzzi bathtub, Steve pleaded, "You didn't tell Ollie, did you?"
"No," Kit scoffed, "I'm forgetful, not stupid."
"Good," Steve sighed in relief. As he stood, he checked his watch. "Oh my god, we have to be at the brewery in twenty minutes."
"Okay," Bucky clapped his hands together. "Kit, you search upstairs, I'll get the girls to check downstairs, and we'll take the rest."
"Go team," Kit readily agreed, turning so they could exit the bathroom.
Inhaling deeply, Steve tried to steady himself as much as he could. Even though Ollie and his side of the wedding party was already at Howling Commandos Brewery, Steve still didn't want to be a wreck.
Well, at least not yet.
So, he got to work looking for his soon-to-be son-in-law's wedding ring. First, Steve checked the crevices of the large sectional sofa while Bucky checked the garage. Next, Steve rummaged through his former nursery while Bucky dug through the kitchen one drawer at a time.
"How's it comin' along, doll?" Bucky called out, ruffling through their many odds and ins.
"Nothin'," Steve sighed, starting to sweat. "Anyone else having any luck?"
"I found Bitsy's earrings!" Cori informed, heading upstairs.
Bitsy, following her sister, asked, "What earrings?"
"Uh," Cori paused, clearly caught.
Taking the pair in Cori's hand, Bitsy accused, "You stole my bat mitzvah earrings?! The ones that Aunt Tibby made me?!"
"I borrowed them," Cori defended herself.
"It's not borrowing them if I didn't know about it!" Bitsy argued.
"Okay! Enough!" Steve reprimanded. "We don't need that today and we especially don't need that right now! We have very little time to find something extremely important!"
"Sorry, pops," Bitsy apologized and so did Cori, "Sorry."
"It's okay," Steve assured. Bucky added, "Just ask to borrow things before you take them, alright?"
"Okay," Cori nodded and then started reaching in between the cushions of the sofa to check if the ring had slipped between them, just like Steve had.
When Kit raced back downstairs, Steve asked, "Anything?"
"Nope."
"I found it!" Ian called, heading down from the second story of the house. His dusty-blue maxi skirt billowing around him while his matching suit jacket rose up with his arm lifted above his head.
"Where was it?" Kit asked, racing towards him.
"In your jacket pocket!" Ian chuckled, "We got them mixed up!"
"Oh, thank god!" Kit exclaimed, shrugging out of the dusty-blue suit jacket, revealing more of their white lace blouse.
Checking his watch again, Steve said, "Alright, is everyone ready?"
"Ready," Nevie confirmed, smoothing her hands over her tulle light sky-blue dress.
Steve smiled, looking from the youngest Barnes to the oldest. Everyone dressed to the nines. He could only imagine how dapper Ollie was going to look.
"Okay, let's get going before my tears start," Steve decided, herding the kids towards the garage. As he passed Bucky, the alpha gave his bum one more affectionate slap.
Sure, it might've been a new beginning for their son, but that didn't mean that it wasn't the same ol' same for them. And Steve was comforted that no matter how many years together, his husband was still going to be the same loveable goofball that he fell in love with. Even – no, especially – today.
