Evelyn sat in a fluffy pile of snow underneath a large oak tree. Her large black jacket was wrapped around her for warmth, and her fingers were hidden beneath black leather gloves. Her jeans grew wet as the pile of snow beneath her began to melt, she was uncomfortable but she kept a smile on her face as she watched two of her favorite men run in front of her.

The Washington monument was a huge assuming  presence behind her, it cast a large shadow over the reflection pool even that early in the morning. She watched a few errant political types speed walk on their way to work, and a couple homeless men silently push their way somewhere warmer — outside of that it was only her, Steve, and Sam occupying the space.

She giggled as once again Steve had lapped Sam for the fifth time that morning. Steve barely broke a sweat and she was exhausted just watching him. Running was never a hobby she could get into, even with both men asking her to join, she was content with watching from the sidelines.

"Don't say it! Don't you say it!" Cried Sam.

"On your left." Steve mumbled as he ran by.

"Come on man!"

Evelyn smiled before pulling herself out of the snow and trying to dry her bottom against her gloves but to no avail as she was still sopping wet. She lightly jogged up to Sam as he was passing by.

"Sam!" She called out to him before creating a portal in front of him. "Wanna beat a super soldier at his own game?"

"Oh, hell yeah!" Sam exclaimed, pounding his glove covered fists together. He ran through the portal, and out the other end which exited right in front of Steve. She created a loop to where no matter how hard Steve ran, Sam kept popping up right in front of him.

"This is cheating!" Called a chuckling Steve as the pair ran by her. She could see the beaming smile on Sam's face as he was able to run circles around Captain America for the first time in months.

Sam and Steve hit things off instantly once they met upon moving to D.C. just like Evelyn anticipated. And they met every morning for a run around the National Mall before heading to work. This was the first day Evelyn had off in months and she begrudgingly crawled out of bed at 5:30 AM to join them at Steve's request.

"Cheating is trying to keep up with you!" Sam responded.

"Nobody said you had to keep up!" Steve argued with a shrug, his pace never wavering as they continued their last lap of the morning. Evelyn maneuvered her portal so Sam exited in front of the tree beside her, and she quickly closed it before any prying eyes could see.

"You really shouldn't do that out here in the open, Eva." Said Steve, barely out of breath as he joined them. He wrapped an arm around Evelyn's waist and gently pulled her into his side and kissing the side of her head.

"I was right there with all of you during the attack on New York, I don't think anyone would think anything of it." She said.

"So if a super soldier, and a whatever you are Eva have a baby, what kind of shit would that kid be able to do?" Sam jokingly asked, taking a swig from his water bottle.

"Whatever I am. Thanks Sam." Said Evelyn, squinting her eyes at her friend. Leave it to Sam to think of the oddest things.

"Well what do you call the girl who can blast stuff open like a cannon and make a portal to anywhere in the world?"

"Mine." Steve replied without missing a beat. Evelyn's cheeks turned as rosy as her nose that had already turned pink from the cold. He bent down and kissed her quickly before sending a cheeky grin in Sam's direction.

She smiled and tucked her shivering body into Steve's forever warm side. He was like a furnace and it came in handy during the freezing D.C. nights. A few days had passed since their feelings were revealed to one another, and they had been nothing but purely happy together.

"So what are your plans for Thanksgiving?" Asked Evelyn.

"I'm heading home to Jersey. Mom's got the entire family coming in and then I'm going to visit Rileys wife."

"I'm sure she'll love to see you." Evelyn mumbled, her teeth beginning to chatter.

"What about you two?" Sam asked.

"Tony and Pepper are traveling back to LA, and we all know my thoughts on doing that. So I think I'm just going to make a small dinner for the two of us."

"You're going to cook?" Sam asked confounded, a smirk on his face.

"I'm going to try, Jackass." She chuckled, kicking some snow in his direction.

"Turkey a-la food poisoning." He joked, a barking laugh pulling even Steve into hysterics.

"I'm sorry." Steve apologized, pulling Evelyn back into his side once she had pulled away. "That was pretty funny."

Sam pulled a large sweatshirt over his head before grabbing his car keys and water bottle off the ground. "If the foods terrible, my Mom would gladly have you. We're just a portal away." Sam said, sending a wink in their direction.

"I think we'll be okay. We'll see you after the holiday though." The men exchanged handshakes before Sam and Evelyn hugged and Sam took off to his car to go home.

"Hey," said Steve. He pulled Evelyn closer before gently cupping her cheek and pulling her into a kiss. "Let's go home."

~

Steve could hear Evelyn's frustrated grunts in the kitchen. The pots clanged and the pans banged and more than once the timer on the oven beeped incessantly refusing to be shut off. Evelyn had refused his attempts at helping and anytime he appeared anywhere near the kitchen, she quickly shoved him away. He barely got a glimpse of her flour covered face and gravy covered jeans before heading back into the living room.

He had settled to flipping through a tablet Fury had given him, and looking over notes Brock Rumlow had inputed on their most recent mission. There wasn't much of a difference between serving in the United States army, and serving under Fury at S.H.I.E.L.D. He got up early and put on his uniform, a darker one yet almost the same. He took orders and gave orders and at the end of the day made sure the good guy won.

The one difference being now he got to come home to a beautiful woman. Evelyn might not be able to cook and wasn't exactly the domestic goddess that women were encouraged to be by mainstream standards. But she turned their house into a home and he had never felt more at home in his life.

He loved the overbearing scent of lavender she blasted throughout the home, as if she couldn't stand to smell anything else. He loved the random contraptions she made with the kitchen utensils she never used, and how full she kept the fridge of food they never ate. She always woke up and made him coffee before crawling back into bed and falling asleep for the short amount she got every night.

He knew he loved her. He knew for so long that he loved her. A love that flourished through friendship and tragedy and he wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of whatever days he had left by her side. Loving her was easy, it came to him as naturally as breathing. Telling her was a completely different story. 

He had no problems knowing she might still harbor love for Tommy. He knew how tragic it was that he died and how she never got the closure within that relationship that she should have. But outside of Bucky, she was the best friend he had ever had. Full of compassion and understanding, and a calming aura that conflicted with the chaotic environment he had been thrown into. He didn't want to ruin things by telling her too soon when they had only been together a short time. 

His thoughts were cut short by Evelyn's voice calling out to him from the doorway. She had changed out of her flour covered clothes and now sported a long sleeve pale blue dress. She was barefoot as she always was, something that confused Steve seeing as near freezing outside and they had hardwood floors. 

"Foods ready." She was leaning her head against the doorframe, smiling at him with tired eyes. Steve gently set his tablet onto the coffee table and walked over to her. "I hope the turkey isn't raw in the middle. I'm scared to check." 

Steve placed a featherlight kiss to her forehead before saying, "You go sit down, I'll carve the turkey and bring everything in." 

Evelyn gave Steve a tight lipped smile before heading into their dining room that adjoined into the living room. He wandered into the kitchen and sighed. He expected to walk in and see pure chaos, and yet Evelyn had cleaned every inch and left the food sitting in dishes on the counter. 

The turkey remained uncarved, there were several blackened spots but otherwise looked edible.  A pan of sweet potato's and a pan of green bean casserole sat beside it. And a mouth watering bowl of mashed potatoes with several pieces of melting butter sitting on top. 

Steve grabbed a large knife and sliced through the semi-tough skin to find it fully cooked in the middle. He smiled and plated the turkey, grabbed a tray and turned around right into one of Evelyn's portals. She had been sitting in the dining room but made the trip with the food way faster. 

"Thanks, Doll." Steve said, placing the last pan on the table and setting an empty plate in front of both of their chairs. 

"I really hope everything came out okay." Evelyn mumbled, serving some food onto both of their plates. 

Steve took her hand and said, "You're being too hard on yourself, it all looks delicious." 

"My parents died when I was six. I never had anyone to really teach me these kinds of things. Tony was absent a lot so I spent most of the holidays with whatever nanny had been hired and occasionally Phil if he was in town.

Once I went away to school, I just buried myself in work and forgot what day it was." 

Steve rubbed a thumb against her hand before gently replacing his fingers with his lips. "I'm sorry you didn't have the childhood you deserved. I lost my parents young too, but Bucky's family was like a second home to me." 

"Did you have any traditions with them? I don't think I even knew families got together on Thanksgiving like this until I was ten." 

"Bucky's mom and sister used to make this thing called Lord Woolten pie. It was basically mashed potatoes with vegetables and gravy. For Thanksgiving they would mix the small ration of turkey they had into it. For a little asthmatic kid like me that was the best damn thing I ever ate. I really looked forward to that each year up until the war happened." 

"Sounds like a KFC bowl." Evelyn chuckled. "I'll have to take you to get one of those." 

Steve smiled before scooping up a pile of potatoes and shoveling them into his mouth. He paused and closed his eyes. 

"Oh god, is it that bad?" Evelyn asked. 

Steve swallowed before scooping up another bite and placing it against her lips. She hesitated for a moment before taking the bite. Her eyes widened and she smiled. 

"It's not awful! I actually made something edible!" 

She was so excited and cheerful and proud of herself. And Steve couldn't keep the smile off his face as he watched her try every dish she had made on the table. He was in love with her. And it was written all over his face. 

"I need to show Tony, he won't believe me if he doesn't taste it himself." Evelyn said, grabbing her plate off the table. "I'll be right back."

Steve chuckled as she opened a portal and ran though with her plate of thanksgiving food, he caught a slight glimpse of Tony and Pepper kissing before jumping at the sight Evelyn standing there shoving a fork in their face. Her portal disappeared for a few minutes before it reappeared and she ran through. 

"Tony said it was adequate which means it was good." Evelyn laughed before sitting back at her seat at the table. 

"You did great, sweetheart." He pulled her hand back into his before picking up his fork and finishing his plate. He was proud of what she made, and it was surprisingly really good. Even if it tasted like dog crap he still would have eaten it though. He would have done anything for her. 

The pair finished eating and cleaned up the remained of their dishes before laying together on the couch for the rest of the evening. Evelyn had been catching him up on modern movies but was also watching older movies he remembered from his time. That night they watched Casablanca, one she had never seen but oddly he loved. Because just as he would do anything for her, she would do the same for him.