Those Who Fall: Falling Series 3 (Modern Domestic Stucky AU)

Nineteen

"You cannot tell me that Return to Halloweentown is better than Kalabar's Revenge!" Jonas's voice heatedly exclaimed from the back door.

Smiling, Steve stood from his seat on the couch. Wanda turned her head to look towards the kitchen just as Katie loudly confirmed, "I said what I said. Kalabar's Revenge has that weird ass filter and Halloweentown doesn't even look like Halloweentown! It looks like it could've been filmed in our driveway!"

"We're not talking about which one looks more like Halloweentown," Jonas argued, "We're talking about which movie is better acted and has a better story."

This wasn't exactly the impression Steve wanted Wanda to have of Jonas and Katie. Not that it wasn't how they normally were. Just... he hoped that they would've bonded more before the loud, opinionated movie discussions started.

Glancing over at Wanda, he found her staring into the kitchen with her mouth open and her brows arched high on her forehead. Sheepishly, Steve shrugged as he clarified, "Our family's really passionate about Halloween. Especially the movies."

"I can see that," Wanda weakly giggled.

Steve nodded and headed for the kitchen. At the table, Katie tightened the orangey-red messy bun on the top of her head, "I don't care. Sara Paxton is a goddess, my guy."

Jonas shook his head as he grabbed a cookie from the seasonal witch ceramic jar that Bucky made. It was lopsided and the cookies hardly stayed fresh for long, but Steve refused to put any other cookie jar out for Halloween. Steve had even joked that he'd want to use it as an urn when he went. Bucky never found that funny.

"Kimberly J. Brown gave us hit --" Jonas chopped the side of his hand into his palm to accentuate his point "-- after hit, and you're just going to disrespect her like that?!"

Stuffing an entire purple sugar cookie into his mouth, Jonas went to continue talking, but Steve immediately reprimanded him. "Jonas Howard, take smaller bites. You know better than that. You're going to choke."

"I don't know, pops," Katie deadpanned, "I heard he's into that sort of thing."

Coughing and hitting his chest, Jonas was very obviously choking on the cookie, which made Katie laugh. Steve grabbed the oldest teen a glass of water to help soothe his throat and tried not to think about his child's sex life because that was definitely too much for him, as their father, to know. Instead, he decided to change the subject. Setting his hands on his hips, he looked over his kids. Jonas standing beside him, next to the cookie jar and Katie sitting at the table on her phone.

Feigning offense, Steve accused, "So, you go away to school and suddenly you can't give me a hug?"

Katie rolled her eyes, but a smirk was fighting to tug her lips upward. She stood from her seat and walked around the kitchen table to Steve. Being taller than Steve, the 5'11" girl bent her knees to hug his 5'4" frame more comfortably. With his arms around her, Katie let out a breath of relief and her body started to ease. Knowing that she had been homesick and anxious being away at college for the first time, he rubbed her back and held her just a little longer.

"I missed you," Steve reminded her, just as he always did during the occasional phone calls and the group facetimes and, more often, text messages. Because he did. He missed her. He missed tripping over her shoes that she left abandoned in the foyer. He missed finding her awake at six in the morning on a Saturday with a half drunk mug of cookies and cream coffee and thick glasses on as she started a Lifetime movie marathon. Missed her baking with Bucky on a Sunday afternoon. Missed her and her friends being too loud on a Friday night and having to remind them that the little kids were sleeping.