It's Been A Long, Long Time // Steve Rogers

Bonus Chapter - Happy Honeymoon!

"Steve, are you sure we can leave him?" I asked, staring at our son who was sleeping in his crib. "He'll be fine here with Pepper and Bucky, Becca. I promise." Steve gave me a kiss on the head and held my hand.

"I promise to call you if anything goes wrong, Becca." Pepper said, placing a hand on my shoulder. I knew I could trust her. She did play a part in raising Morgan afterall. I knew Will would be fine, I've just never had a child before and this would be my first time leaving him for longer than a couple of hours. "Come on, sweetheart, we have to catch our flight." Steve whispered, pulling me out of the room.

"Maybe we can-" "Becca. You both deserve to have a vacation. He'll be fine. Go." Bucky said, cutting me off and pulling me down the stairs and out of the house. "It's just a week and a half long belated honeymoon. You'll be okay." I huffed and crossed my arms as Steve put our bags in the car that would take us to the airport. "Come on, sweetheart." Steve said, opening the car door for me. I looked back at our house one last time before sliding into the car. Steve got in after me and the taxi quickly took us to the airport.

Steve's hand rested on my thigh, keeping my leg from bouncing with nerves. I still wasn't so sure about leaving Will. He was only 4 months old. What if he needed me? "He'll be okay, Becca." Steve said, giving my hand a squeeze. "I know. I know. We've just never been away from him for too long." I leaned my head against Steve's broad shoulder and relaxed slightly. "Between Pepper, Bucky, Happy, and Morgan...he'll be just fine."

He was right. Of course he was. Steve wouldn't leave our newborn son in any kind of danger. For gosh sakes he has the Winter Soldier as his uncle. He would be fine. Bucky would quite literally kill anyone who even looked at him the wrong way. He was there for Will's entire birth letting me squeeze his metal hand as hard as I needed too... meanwhile, Steve... well Steve kind of god queasy and passed out. I didn't know that could happen to him but apparently the super soldier serum doesn't protect him from the horror that is watching your wife give birth. Maybe he would have been better off had he watched those birthing videos with me. But he's still a man so.

"What are you thinking about?" Steve asked me as the taxi dropped us off at the airport. "How you passed out when I gave birth." Steve dropped his head and laughed, "Are you ever going to let me live that down?"

"Not in this lifetime."

Steve shook his head and grabbed my hand, guiding us through the bush and bustling airport. We dropped off our bags and went through security. Steve had to tell me why airports are different now. Why they had so much security and restrictions. Gone are the days you can walk your family to the gate and watch them board.

We made it to our gate and sat down to wait. Steve had passed me the iPad from his backpack where I downloaded some movies with the help of Sam. I was excited to watch a few on this flight. It would be a long one. Steve and I were going to Paris. My first time ever on a plane and my first time ever leaving the country.

"Passport please." The woman at the counter asked the pair of us as we began boarding. She eyeballed Steve and my passports suspiciously. "1918...1924..." She looked at us over her glasses and straightened up as soon as she recognized Steve. He simply gave her a smile and she happily ushered us through. "Sorry, I knew that would happen." He said with a smile as we found our seats. Pepper had splurged and gotten us first class even though Steve insisted we didn't need it. I was glad she didn't listen. This seat looked much more spacious than the others. I didn't even know if Steve would fit in a regular seat. He was so tall.

I held onto Steve's hand tightly as the plane took off, watching in wonder out of the window. It wasn't until we were at the cruising altitude that I began watching my movie.

Hours later, Steve and I had landed in Paris and were on our way to a hotel with the most beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower. "Steve... it's beautiful..." I whispered, taking a step onto the balcony that overlooked the city of Paris. I felt Steve wrap his arms around me from behind and kiss my cheek. "You really are."

I felt my cheeks flush red and turned around in his arms. "I love you, Becca." He said softly, kissing my lips. "I love you too."

"So, what should we do today? Do you need to rest or anything? I know it was a long flight." Steve said, stepping back and taking my hand in his. "I slept okay on the plane." I said with a smile, "can we take a walk? Get some lunch?" I asked him. "Whatever you want, sweetheart."

And that's exactly what we did. Steve and I walked hand in hand along the stoned roads, taking in the gorgeous city. We stopped in a few shops here and there where I immediately bought some souvenirs for Bucky, Sam, Morgan, Pepper, Will, Carol, and even Happy.

We finally came across a small cafe and sat down for lunch. My nose scrunched up as I read over the menu, earning a little laugh from Steve. "You don't have to eat any of that, Bex. Why don't you get some pasta that you know you'll like." "Why would I want a snail?" I said. The thought was repulsive. "It's escargot... and it's kind of a delicacy here in France. Here. How about we get an appetizer and you can taste it if you want?" Steve suggested. "I don't know..." I mumbled. "If you don't want to, you don't have to try it. But it is good. You never know if you'll like it." Steve said. And just like that, I no longer trusted my husband's judgment on things.

Steve ordered the snails and got a sandwich for himself while I got some pasta. The snails came out first and I glared at the plate. They were still in their shells and sitting in what looked like butter. I watched as Steve picked one up and held the shell and stuck a small fork in it to pull out the meat. He popped it in his mouth and smiled. "Oh come on." He laughed at the expression on my face. "Here." He picked up another and did the same thing, but this time held it out to me. "It won't kill you." He said. "Easy for you to say, you can't get food poisoning." I mumbled. "It tastes like just ordinary meat, Bex."

I knew he wouldn't force me to eat it, but I relented and took the smallest bite off of his fork. I don't know what I was expecting, but I immediately didn't like it. The chewed up piece of food fell from my mouth quickly and into my napkin. "That was one of the grossest things I've ever had in my mouth. And I've tasted semen." Steve laughed loudly at my comment and set his fork down. "Well at least you can say you tried it."

"I'm telling Bucky that you tried to poison me." I said, gulping down some of the white wine I ordered in an attempt to wash the taste of garlicky snail out of my mouth. "Bucky likes escargot too." Steve said, taking another bite. They were weird. Both of them. No wonder they were friends.

After the rest of our meal, we made our way into a shop that made macarons. I'd never had one before but this was something Steve promised that I'd like. And if I didn't... well let's just hope I liked it. Steve ordered a few and passed me the box that we were going to take back to the hotel.

"Before we go, try one." He sat us down at a little table and opened the box, offering me the tasty treat. With one bite, I was in love. So maybe Steve wasn't totally nuts. "This is so good!" I said, taking another bite. "I knew you would like these." He gave me a kiss on the cheek and we resumed our walk. It was nice being here with Steve. Experiencing things I never would have experienced before.

We finally got back to the hotel and I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Thank you for today." I said. "You're welcome ma'am. Plenty more where that came from." He gave me a passionate kiss and we fell back onto the bed, ridding ourselves of our clothes and spending the rest of the evening, and plenty of other evenings, in each other's arms.

And of course, we did so much more. We properly visited the Eiffel Tower. The Arc de Triomphe. We visited countless museums, not without the joke that we belong in one. Saw amazing art and sculptures. Tasted amazing food. Took a cooking class. Did everything we could imagine in the week and a half we were here. It was amazing and much needed. I fell in love with Steve over and over again watching him interact with people and even speaking fluent French at local boutiques and restaurants. I almost didn't want to leave. Almost. There was one main thing drawing me back to Brooklyn...our son.

But one thing I was certain of, is that we were undoubtedly coming back to Paris.

A/N: Fun fact - that was almost my exact reaction to eating escargot for the first time in Paris. But hey! At least I tried it! Unfortunately, it's not for everyone. I myself am kind of a picky eater...however I will at the very least TRY things at least once 😂