Give Life Meaning...

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It was three days before Steve and Natasha were reunited with the twins. They had moved in the middle of the night, and everything they owned was packed away in SHIELD boxes. It looked like they were merely moving official items of the agency. No one asked what was going on, and Steve certainly didn't offer up a lie to cover himself. The next two days included making sure they had everything they needed. The twins had their shared room set up, even if they might not use it for a while longer. The sudden change in households would certainly make them fight any other change they wanted to impose. Not to say that Steve and Natasha wanted to avoid alone time. 

At the moment the twins were roaming around the downstairs foyer as furniture was being brought in by the group of Avengers. Steve wouldn't allow anyone he didn't personally know near the house, maybe it was overprotective but he wasn't taking risks. The assassin had been terrifying enough without the twins being at the house. Now that the twins were residing in the house he was on alert for anything that might be perceived as a threat. The furniture was sparse even with Tony's generous offer of using his card. The kids had the super soldier serum and it seemed more costly to have a lot of furniture to be broken. Not to mention that Steve had painstakingly tried to babyproof their fireplace. 

"Steve... Steve just relax, hm?" Natasha knew that was pointless the moment it left her lips. Steve had been the most high-strung she had ever seen him, even when they fought he'd been more relaxed. What should have been a happy moment in their life was something that was causing the super soldier to lose sleep. 

"I can't Nat, I have to make sure the kids are safe," Steve did sit on their new couch though, and leaned back and stared at the high ceiling before looking at the twins who were playing on the ground. The kids' rooms were finished first but with the assassin out in the world, they were still firmly in their bed. Between the parents that would take on the world for them. 

"They are... Tony is near, and so is Bruce. They're just a call away if we use Jarvis," she told him, brushing his cheek with the back of her fingers. Tony had gone over the software and Jarvis was constantly running. "The perimeter is being watched, something will alert us if someone unfamiliar enters the grounds again. It's getting late anyways. We have to get the twins ready for bed. Tomorrow you have to haul the backyard jungle gym for the kids. They'll be so excited to have children-approved climbing toys. At least James will, it's hard to know if Alina will enjoy it. She likes to draw more than anything else."

"I can't help it if she got my ability," Steve grinned, his eyes sparkling with gentle pride. Getting off the couch he approached the twins and scooped them up to hear their squeals of joy. "Come on you two. Bedtime." Both of the twins giggled and buried their faces in his shoulder, soaking in his attention. 

Natasha made a show of rolling her eyes as she followed but smiled as they both yawned and relaxed against him. "That must be some kind of new superpower you have. Getting them so relaxed so easily." 

"It never used to be this easy," Steve spoke softly, remembering all those months ago when they first found them. It was long sleepless nights, constant reassurance. Little Alina especially tested their intentions to see how long they'd keep comforting her. It wasn't her fault, the little girl was so sure it was a trick. There were still plenty of firsts that they were going to have to go through with them. Even proper outings had to be carefully considered with Hydra and the Red Room out in the world. Before the assassin life was getting into a comfortable rhythm and they were testing outings. Even if it meant that the media picked up on them. Eventually, they would have to out themselves about the situation, but he wanted to make sure that Hydra and the Red Room weren't going to be a huge issue. 

"No, it wasn't always this easy," Natasha agreed, moving around Steve and opening their bedroom door for him. going to the drawer and pulling out two sets of pajamas and placing them on the large bed they bought for themselves. Steve had insisted on a Queen instead of a full as they had in the tower. It certainly gave them more room but it also gave both adults more ability to slide out of bed if needed better. Natasha also may or may not have suggested that a bigger bed meant that later 'playtime' might be a bit more fun. The mattress would certainly be a lot easier on her back than the floor had been. Of course, before playtime could happen she would have to convince Steve that the twins could sleep in their own beds. Or, bed, at first. The twins had been sleeping together for so long that she didn't think separating them would go over well during the transition of sleeping without them.

"It was worth it, all of it," Steve spoke softly as he helped dress James for bed, looking over at Natasha who stood beside him dressing Alina. Leaning over and kissing her softly when she turned her head. "Finding these two got us to open up to each other." 

"That's true," Natasha said, looking down as Alina stretched with a yawn. Her hand came back up and brushed some of Alina's hair from her face. "I kept trying to set you up with every girl that worked in SHIELD. Especially that girl from accounting." 

"She is nice," Steve agreed before chuckling, scooping James back up into his arms and pulling back the blankets, and placing him down. "I didn't want any of them though. I'm pretty sure Clint was beginning to think I was gay." 

"Not Clint, Clint knew before I did," Nat remembered the many heated whispered conversations about Steve's feelings. Natasha wanted to help him move on from Peggy, and Clint was frustrated that she couldn't even fathom Steve liking her. They both carried heavy burdens while working for the Avengers, and the trauma that came with it. For Clint, it was a no-brainer for the two of them to be together. Except that Natasha had viewed Steve as untouchable. Pure was such an overused description but she viewed him as pure. "Tony on the other hand may or may not have been taking bets on whether or not you fancied men." Natasha grinned as she remembered that particular conversation, even Maria Hill had been there. She was properly disgusted by the notion of taking such a bet, except, Fury put in his own. Fury didn't think Steve was gay, but, he wasn't sure anyone could thaw the Captain's heart. 

Steve rolled his eyes as he moved to his drawer and grabbed one of his bed shirts, and changed into pajama bottoms. He looked over as Natasha changed into her own bedclothes, chuckling as she slipped one of his shirts over her head. It thrilled him that she stole his clothes, it brought her comfort that she rarely spoke of needing. "He bought us a house and land... I suppose I could forgive him for the bet," Steve told her before grabbing one of the kids' favorite bedtime stories and climbing onto his side of the bed. Pulling the blankets up to tuck the twins in as they squirmed to get comfortable. Opening the book he smiled. "Once upon a time..." Natasha snuggled up on the other side of the twins, officially sandwiching them in for bed. 

By the time the twins woke the next morning, they were greeted with super serum toddler-proofed backyard playsets. Steve had been working on it since before dawn, having not been able to sleep all that well. He got his usual three hours and stayed in bed another two before rolling out of bed. He hated staying idle. Natasha knew he had gotten up during the night but hadn't said anything, considering there wasn't much she could do. It was going to take time for Steve to relax in their new home. The soldier had done a number on his confidence to keep the kids safe, and he wasn't acting completely like himself. 

"Alina, James, do you want to look outside?" Natasha asked as they stood at the back window watching Steve put the finishing touches to the swing set. James still wasn't all that fond of the cold but he was curious about the contraptions outside. She knew that in their large enclosed areas, they could put something for them. So on the coldest days, they would still have something they could play on and burn energy off. James shook his head, and though Alina was certainly curious she shook her head too. It was new, Natasha realized, and maybe it resembled some kind of training they were being introduced to. It was cold, anyways, she was relieved they weren't going out. Steve looked tense and Natasha wasn't sure the presence of the twins would help. 

Natasha gave a small wave when Steve seemed to sense he was being watched and turned. He put on an easy smile and waved back before going back to his task. She corralled the kids back into the house and set them into the highchair, giving Alina her drawing tablet and James' favorite car. She turned to prepare them some food, and while still not a great cook Natasha cooked well enough to be edible. The twins rarely complained about what they were fed, and when they did it was a time of celebration. They were wondering how long it would take for the feeling of food insecurity to fade. Apparently, it hadn't been long enough.

"Cooking?" Steve asked as he walked in, he walked to the sink and began to wash his hands as she cracked eggs into the frying pan. Drying his hands and turning around making his way to the twins and touching both kids' heads. 

"When did you get up this time? We went to bed around ten, you know," Natasha kept her tone light to prevent him from feeling the need to defend himself. 

"Early," Steve admitted, staring at the wall behind the twins in the kitchen. Before turning to watch Natasha put bread in the toaster. "Nat.. The eggs are going to burn." He moved to the stove and turned the heat down, a chuckle escaping him. 

"It was not! I was watching it!" Natasha protested but was moved out of the way, turning around to face him with her hands on her hips. "How are you any better?" 

"I can do eggs," Steve chuckled, giving her a grin. "Eggs is something that was common enough we learned to cook it, and it was in the army often enough." 

"Of course, that happens to be the one thing you can cook," Natasha made a show of rolling her eyes before looking over the kids. Smiling as Alina squealed and clapped her hands at something she drew. "She's almost like you. Except she takes pride in something she has done." 

"Do you want me to clap over the twins?" Steve asked, turning as he moved the pan off of the proverbial fire. "They're certainly something to take pride in." His eyes roamed over the two with a big smile before walking over and kissing their heads. 

"Daddy!" Alina cried, reaching for him and placing an open-mouthed kiss on his cheek once he was close enough. Steve, caught off guard, had to blink back tears. 

"I'm so incredibly lucky to have the three of you, you know that?" Steve asked Natasha as he looked over at her as she divided the eggs up.