chapter sixty-eight
second cousins-to-be

𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 sleep, lifting his head when his arm fell over the side of the bed. Where Grace normally was was an empty spot. Looking around their partially unpacked bedroom, he only saw shadows from the street lamps outside the house. He turned his head abruptly when he heard a sound in the living room.

Carefully, he crept out of the room only to find Grace sitting on the floor on the carpet sorting through a box that needed to be unpacked. Her legs were crossed, and she was wearing one of his large sweatshirts that covered her small baby bump. She lifted a lamp from the box, tilting her head at it while adjusting her grip on it.

Steve leaned in the doorway, silently watching her.

Her chocolate brown locks were pulled into a claw clip, a few strands falling onto her face that she blew away. Her face was illuminated by the soft light of the lamp in the living room. She looked up when he shifted his weight.

"You weren't in bed," he said, walking towards her.

She shrugged, continuing to dig through the box. "Well, I got hungry and while I was eating my snack, I felt an urge to unpack some of the boxes," she replied, craning her neck to turn to him as he sat down on the couch behind her. "It's nesting according to the baby books you bought."

"I thought you didn't want to read those," he teased, resting his hands on her shoulders.

"I needed something to read while I was eating my goldfish," she defended with a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "What are you doing up?"

"Well, my wife wasn't next to me, so I got curious," he said, making her press her lips together. "You haven't been sleeping well lately." She sighed. "Something on your mind?" She shrugged wordlessly. "Are you nervous about telling Tony about the baby?"

"I'm not nervous," she contradicted with a shake of her head. "Just... I never imagined telling him that his cousin is going to be almost fifty years younger than him. And he tends to freak out whenever I tell him anything related to us."

Steve chuckled quietly as she leaned into his touch, resting her head on his hands. "Well, if it's any consolation, Addy sent another box of stuff for the baby."

"I saw," she replied in amusement, tiredness tugging at her. "We won't need to buy anything. Addy..." She fought back a yawn. "Addy's got it all covered for us."

"I think that's a sign we should go back to bed," Steve said, looking down when he heard no response from the brunette. "Gracie?" She had fallen asleep against his legs, making him let out a small breath. "Alright, you." He carefully picked her up off the floor, carrying her into the bedroom. He lowered her onto the mattress, adjusting the covers over her shoulders. He lay down beside her, his arm draped over her. "Sleep well, sweetheart. And you, too, little baby."

Grace smiled to herself, shuffling closer to him.

Their baby was going to be the luckiest child, having Steve Rogers as a father.

⸻ ~~~ ⸻

𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 mostly-finished house, accepting the drink Pepper gave her with a small smile. "It looks good," she commented, turning to her nephew and his wife. "It's not as high-tech as I thought it was going to be."

Tony shrugged. "Felt like I needed a change," he replied, and she nodded, warming her hands against the ceramic mug. "And I don't think Pepper is complaining."

"Nope," Pepper confirmed, popping the 'p' loudly at the end of her sentence, making Grace chuckle quietly. "Though, I don't know how long it's going to last. I mean, it is Tony we're talking about. He loves technology."

He frowned. "Why are you ganging up on me?" he asked before letting out a breath. "Anyways... Aunt Gracie, you said you had news?"

"Oh—" Grace nodded, setting the mug down on the table in front of her. "Yeah... Um..." She fumbled with her purse, causing the couple across from her to exchange bewildered glances. She was acting much weirder than usual. And was she wearing a baggy sweatshirt? "So—" She cleared her throat and looked up at them, pulling out a paper from her bag. She slid it towards them. "Surprise?"

Tony's gaze settled on the ultrasound she held out to him, and he hesitantly took it, holding it up in front of his face. "You're pregnant?" he asked, raising his eyebrows and looking up at his aunt. She nodded slowly. "You're pregnant."

"Congratulations!" Pepper exclaimed, standing up to hug Grace while Tony continued to stare at her in disbelief. "That's amazing! When?"

"Uh—we think April," she replied before looking back at her nephew. "Tony? You—You're staring at me like I'm an alien. Can you—Can you say something?"

He smiled at her. "You're gonna be the best mom," he said, hugging her tightly. "And I know because you were like a second mom to me. And Addy would argue that she's your first-born child."

"You were practically my first child, Tony," she countered, kissing his cheek. "Thank you."

"Well, I guess that means my little cousin will be best friends with their second cousin," Tony said suddenly, sitting back down at the table. Pepper pressed her lips together, and Grace looked between them. "They're gonna be what, two months apart?"

"You're—?"

Pepper nodded. "June," she confirmed with a small smile.

Grace squealed and hugged her tightly. "Oh—congratulations!" she exclaimed, going to hug Tony. "I'm so happy for you guys. You deserve this."

"And so do you," Tony told her. "And even Capsicle." She frowned, and he shrugged. "I'm sorry, Aunt Gracie, it's who I am. I can't stop."

She shook her head, shoving his shoulder lightly. "I guess I can't be picky." She looked down at her phone, sighing at the text. "You know, I'll be sure to have Addy send you some boxes, too. We're out of room at our house. Also, I think she'd happily babysit. She'd also drag Pietro with her, so..."

"So a speedy man and an overly sarcastic, bubbly girl," Tony summarized with a nod. "It could be worse, I guess."

Grace hugged them once more. "I have to go. I promised Steve that I would teach him how to cook something, and I need a nap before that."

Pepper chuckled. "Good luck."

"I think I'll need it."

Meanwhile, Adelaide was sitting in Grace's old apartment that she and Pietro had decided to rent, trying to decide where to hang the TV, when she heard a knock on the door. She furrowed her brows in confusion before seeing Steve on the other side.

"Um—hello." She gestured inside and closed the door behind him. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Steve?"

"I need advice," he said, making her raise her eyebrows. "Okay, so I was reading one of the baby books that I bought, and we got to the section where... the baby is born."

She nodded slowly. "Okay...?"   

"I knew that pregnancy was hard for women," he continued while she continued to stare at him in confusion. "I knew about the hormones and their—their bodies changing. But... the actual bringing the child into the world is... something."

"It hurts like hell," she reiterated with a nod. "I've never had a child, but I imagine it hurts like hell. Not to mention the hormones after birth, the feeling that you're not yourself anymore. What do you need advice for?"

"How to be there for her." She paused for a moment. "There's only so much I can read from books. And even then, they're not that helpful. And I thought..."

She hummed, sitting on the couch. "I've never experienced what you two are about to experience," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "But if I were Gracie... I'd want my partner to be there for me, even if I didn't know I needed them. If it were me and Pietro... I'd hope he'd always just be around to give me peace of mind.

"But I'd also want him to know that it's okay to be scared about what's gonna happen. I get it, you're excited, but there's a small amount of the unknown. I'd want to be supported and loved, no matter what." Steve sat down beside her while Pietro poked his head out of the bedroom, pausing in the doorway. "Be there for her as much as you can. She's gonna be emotional and—and sleep-deprived, and maybe a little stressed. Surprise her with flowers for no reason, let her take a nap while you be the dad.

"But, mostly, I think you just need to talk to her." Adelaide looked at him. "You two are meant to be parents, Steve. You guys are gonna be fine."

He smiled lightly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. "When did you become so wise?"

"You're rubbing off on me," she teased, hugging him around the waist. "All those speeches you've made. Go. Be with your wife."

He kissed her on the forehead. "All that just perfectly explains why you're the godmother."

Adelaide tilted her head. "I'm the godmother?" she repeated, and Steve opened his mouth. "Me?!"

"Don't tell Grace I told you," he said, looking back at her. "We were supposed to do that together, and I think she might cry if she finds out. I'm gonna go before I say something else I'm not supposed to. Bye, Addy, thank you!"

"Wh—" Pietro walked out of the bedroom, and Adelaide turned to him. "I'm the godmother!" He jumped at her sudden exclamation. "Me! Godmother Addy!"

⸻ ~~~ ⸻

𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐍 the couch staring at an envelope when Steve walked through the front door. "Hey, how'd it go with Tony?"

"Good," she replied with a nod before looking up at him. She held up the envelope. "I got a call from the OB today. She gave me an envelope with the gender inside." He raised his eyebrows, and she shrugged. "I've been staring at it for an hour. And it's like it's haunting me. I mean... do we find out?"

"Do you want to?" he asked, sitting beside her. She shrugged wordlessly. "We can always lock it in the shed in the backyard and wait until we're ready."

"Are we ever gonna be ready?" she countered, turning to look at him. "I don't know—there's something about the gender being inside this that makes it all seem so... real. I see the little bump, and I know there's a baby inside there. But..." She let out a breath, letting her head fall into her hands. "Thanos dusted half the universe. Half of our friends are gone. And we... we're entering a chapter that's supposed to be one of our happiest. And all I feel is guilt."

Steve's face fell. "I know what you mean," he said softly.

"I mean... people lost their children to the snap. People lost children, parents, siblings, friends, and enemies. And..." She pressed her lips together, blinking away her tears. "Sam always teased me, saying that he'd want to be the fun uncle to our kid. He's his nephews' favorite uncle, he said he wanted to be that for our kid. And he's not here to be the fun uncle."

He nodded. "You know, I remember during the war when Bucky and I were on a mission with the Commandos." She looked at him. "We were talking about stuff; it was after I got him out of there... He was asking me about you. Silly stuff, he just wanted to tease me. But then he got really serious, which is a scary thing to see from Buck.

"He asked me if I saw a future with you. And when I said yes, he had this smile on his face and told me that he would protect any kid we had with his life. And I believed him. Of course, I believed him, it's Bucky. He fell off that train five hours later. I thought he forgot about it, but when we were in Wakanda, he told me, if we made it out of that fight, he was gonna protect our kid with his life. And now..."

Grace squeezed his hand. "I keep saying to myself that they wouldn't want us to dwell on this forever. They'd want us to live our lives with our baby. But—" She shook her head. "They're supposed to be here. We were all supposed to be this dysfunctional family that made no sense, but made perfect sense to us."

Steve pulled her towards him. "Let's find out," he said, and she looked up at him. "Let's find out. I think we both need a little bit of happiness, and like you said... a baby is happy news. Let's find out if we're having a little girl or boy."

She sniffled and rubbed at her nose, nodding. "Okay." She looked back down at the envelope. "But first, make a guess." She turned to him, holding the results between them. "Boy or girl?"

He tilted his head. "Girl," he whispered. "A mini you."

"With your eyes," she added quietly. "A little girl with your shiny blue eyes. And your kind smile." She puffed out her cheeks. "Okay. Are you ready?" He nodded, and she ripped open the envelope, pulling out the paper. "Girl." She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "It's a girl."

Steve chuckled in disbelief. "Oh, I love you."

"I love you more."

"Impossible."

⸻ ~~~ ⸻

━ author's note:

i realized how close in age baby rogers & morgan were and it made me laugh lol