Once A Warrior Princess

Chapter 18~ Family

Melody's POV

"Are you still sleeping?" Bucky asked, and I groaned, curling farther into my blanket burrito.

"I told you she hates waking up," Steve chuckled.

"Steve, it's her birthday. What 17-year-old girl sleeps during her birthday?"

"Don't remind me how old I am," I groaned, turning over.

"Melody, you're 17. Relax," Bucky said, sitting on my bed.

"I'm an adult in Transmonia. Any day now, my mom can have me coronated and I'm not ready for it," I explained, still lying down. Just because they have stopped me from falling back asleep did not mean I was going to disrupt the comfort of my blanket burrito.

"Really?" Steve asked.

"Not every county's age of adulthood is the same as America's, Steve," I told him and even though he couldn't see it, I rolled my eyes.

"But as soon as you turned 17, your mom can make you take the throne?" He asked.

"Yup. It's not customary until I turn 22, but technically, she can have me coronated."

"We still have to celebrate your birthday," Bucky said, stealing my blankets from me.

"You know, I can have you beheaded for that, right?" I asked, still not moving from my spot.

"Can you really?" He asked and I nodded.

"I can," I confirmed. "But I won't. If I used every reason I could to kill people, my entire palace would be empty."

"There are a lot of reasons you can have people killed, huh?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. One of my ancestors clearly had some issues and I can have people killed for breathing in my direction for more than four seconds. I plan on fixing some of the especially ridiculous ones after I'm coronated."

"What do you want to do for your birthday?" Steve asked, coming around the other side of the bed, and sitting next to me.

"Take a nap," I answered.

"Well, that's not an option," Bucky said.

"It's my birthday," I said.

"It's still not an option," He said and I sighed.

"Tonight's going to be really busy when I go home for my birthday party, so can we just watch movies all day?" I asked.

"Sure," Steve smiled and my heart skipped a beat. Damn body betraying me.

"You two go figure out what to watch and I'll put some clothes on," I said and Steve had to drag Bucky out of the room.

"She's just going to fall back asleep!" Bucky said.

"Give her some privacy," Steve shook his head, dragging his best friend out of the room. I sighed and stayed in bed, trying to figure out what I wanted to wear, before getting ready.

Steve's POV

"So Melody's an adult in her homeland, huh?" Bucky said as we looked at Tony's huge array of movies.

"What are you getting at, Buck?"

"I'm just stating facts. You know, the age of consent in New York, where we live, is also 17. So..."

"I'm not going to do anything with Melody until she is 18," I said.

"But why not? You obviously like each other, and she's an adult where she's from and the age of consent in New York. Why not indulge yourself?"

"I don't want to take advantage of her like that," I explained. "It will be weird enough considering how old I am, but to add the fact that she is still a minor in this country? That's a line I'm not going to cross."

"Ok, so you don't sleep with her. You could still hold her hand in public and kiss her. I know you want to."

"This is conflicting as it is, Buck. Don't make it worse," I said, selecting a movie and sitting on the couch.

"But why not make it official? You can, it's perfectly legal."

"What's legal?" Melody asked from behind the couch.

"Nothing," I said.

"You and Steve dating. The age of consent is 17 in New York and you're an adult where you're from," Buck said and Melody nodded once.

"You're right, but Steve's moral compass is too strong. Besides, I'm content with just cuddles," She replied, sitting on my lap and curling into me.

"Mmmhmm," Bucky said, eyeing us.

"I can respect his decision to wait. But I am also going to take advantage that he's super warm. I'm a simple girl, ok?" Melody said.

"I know for a fact you are not content with just cuddles," Bucky said.

"Buck, just let it go," I groaned.

"I just don't understand why you don't make it official. You can! It's perfectly legal."

"The age gap weirds him out. At least for now. A year from now you know he's going to be all over me," Melody told him.

"The age gap is still going to be there next year," Bucky said.

"Yeah, but at least then I'll be legal in this country. Actually legal, not just age of consent," Melody countered and Bucky sighed.

"You two are hopeless."

"Just play the movie, old man," Melody laughed, and Bucky obliged. We watched the movie for a while until Melody's head snapped up from its place on my chest.

"Are you ok?" I asked, worried.

"I'm fine," She grinned at me.

"Oh cool, what are you guys watching?" Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, asked entering the room. And then it made sense. Melody and Peter spent a lot of time together since, as she put it, he was her 'Spider-Son'. And because they spent so much time together, she could pick up his scent from two rooms away; she had smelt him before he came into the living room.

"A movie for my birthday," Melody answered.

"Today's your birthday? Why didn't I know that?" Peter asked.

"I don't like making a huge deal about it," Melody shrugged.

"Is it because Valentine's Day is tomorrow?" Bucky asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. I've never liked making a big deal about my birthday. It's just another day to me," Melody replied.

"Just another day? February 13 is your birthday, and that is beyond special. We gotta do something!" Peter said and I had to agree.

"I am doing something for my birthday. I'm chillin' with my boys. And besides, I have to go home tonight for my birthday ball. Something I am not looking forward too," She admitted.

"You are so weird, Melody," Peter shook his head.

"Why? I just wanna have a relaxing day with my favorite Humans. Why is that weird?" She asked and she had a point.

"Because you're a teenage girl. How old are you anyway?"

"Never ask a lady how old she is," Bucky glared at Peter and Melody laughed. Maybe this was what it was really about. Family.