Ruined in the Shadows

“Mommy! Mommy!” A small, high-pitched voice calls.

“Daddy!” A similar voice follows.

I am awoken from a wonderful, deep sleep with the feeling of a small body smacking against my back. I feel another body hit Steve. I turn over to find my three-year-old son, Trent, lying on top of me. “Wh-what?” I mutter, delirious from my slumber,

“Daddy! Wake up!” Trent’s twin brother, Atticus shouts, banging his tiny fists on Steve’s shoulder.

“Wha-what’s going on?” Steve jolts up in bed. “Is something wrong? Is the mansion on fire?” He slurs. His hair is all out of sorts and he has a line of drool on his chin.

“No, Daddy!” Trent laughs. “It’s Christmas!”

I now see that my son’s bleach blonde hair looks just like his father’s. It makes me chuckle to myself. I then hear cooing over in the crib to my right. “Here, Trent, I have to go get your sister.” He moves and I climb out of bed. I briskly walk to the elegant crib and I pick my daughter up. “Hello, Rayne. How are you doing? Are you ready for Christmas?” I whisper to her as I wrap her up in a blanket.

“Come on, Mommy!” Trent whines at my feet, pulling on my pajama pants. “Presents!” He bounces up and down in his Batman pajamas.

“Alright, TJ, just go get dressed first.” I cup his cheek in my hand and kiss his forehead. “You too, Atticus!”

“Alright, Mommy,” he says and he follows his brother out of the room.

I walk to my bed and sit down. I pull out my breast so Rayne can nurse. I then look up at my husband. “Good morning,” I say, giggling.

He stops, putting his fists on his hips, smirking at me. “Good morning!” He then leans across the bed, giving me a kiss. He continues to get dressed.

I watch Steve as he strips off his clothes. He still looks as sexy as ever. He looks as if he has not aged a day since I first met him. Me, on the other hand, not so much. Luckily, the exposure to gamma radiation has slowed my aging but I don’t look as young as Steve. But I am also older than him to begin with.

“Here, can you take her so I can get dressed?” I ask Steve, handing our daughter over.
“I would love to take my baby girl!” He says, smiling brightly. He looks at his child in awe.
I quickly get dressed and then I hear commotion at the end of the hallway. I hear roaring noises and squeals. Just then, I find Tony standing in the doorway with Trent and Atticus over his shoulders.

“What’s taking so long? This ain’t no rest home!” Tony teases, laughing. “We want presents!” He yells in a false angry voice.

“PRESENTS!” The twin boys scream.

“Alright, alright, we’re ready!” I sigh, holding my hands up, innocently. I follow Tony and the boys down the hallway to the elevator with Steve and Rayne behind us. We all fit in the metal contraption and head down to the den.

We enter the large space to find Bruce, Thor, Clint, Natasha and their baby, Georgiana. In the corner is a ginormous Christmas tree that has been sitting there since the day after Black Friday. We all decorated it together. The boys had a blast with it. They made their own ornaments at day care. They tell me that all the boys and girls had to pick their favorite Avengers and then draw a picture of him or her on a paper plate and hang it on the tree with yarn. Atticus picked Thor and Trent picked Iron Man.

“Oldest goes first!” I shout, smiling joyfully.

“Awww!” The boys complain, looking up at me.

“That means Uncle Bruce would go first!” Atticus giggles, pointing at the middle-aged man.

“I’m just kidding!” I run my fingers through their blonde hair their heads. “Go ahead and attack your presents!” I pat them on the back, signaling them to go.

Trent and Atticus sprint at the presents and begin to tear them to shreds. Atticus’ eyes grow wide when he opens one up to find a mjolnir that fits perfectly in his hand. He has always looked up to his Uncle Thor. Trent is pleased to find a fake laptop in his pile. He immediately sits down and starts typing on it. He more looks up to Tony in the way he is obsessed with technology already.

While my twins continue with their rampage, I walk over to Natasha, who is cradling her baby in a loveseat next to her husband, Clint. Clint has his arm wrapped around his wife and is smiling in admiration at his daughter. “How’s my little niece Georgie doing?” I ask.

“A little fussy but great!” Natasha answers, looking up at me.

“She’s out perfect little angel,” Clint says, eyes still locked on the newborn, holding out his finger so Georgiana can grab it.

Something then catches my eye. I watch as Steve hands Rayne over to Thor’s arms. “Don’t crush her,” my husband jokes.

“I won’t,” Thor assures him, mesmerized by the little peanut in his arms.

I then walk over to my sons, who have already ripped through all their presents. “Who wants to go sledding?”

“I do!” Tony and the boys exclaim. “Uh, I mean, I’ll supervise…” Tony tries to play it off.

“Go get your stuff on, boys!”

The next thing I know, we’re out at the park. I check to make sure my sons’ coats are zipped, gloves are on tight and hats are out of their eyes. Tony and Thor decided to come along while the rest stayed home with the babies.

Thor climbs into a toboggan with Atticus on the highest hill. They count to three together and then take off. Due to Thor’s weight, they go a few feet and then stop, causing a giggling spree from the three-year-old. I turn to find Tony standing on a snowboard, showing Trent—on his miniature board—how to stand and turn. They then roll down the hill. Trent takes a tumbling fall off his but Tony is quickly there to his rescue.

“Here, bud, how about this?” Tony picks up the little one and puts him on his shoulders. Tony and Trent then slide down the hill with ease.

Just then, I feel a familiar figure behind me. Steve wraps his arms around my waist. “Hey, there,” he whispers in my ear.

“I thought you were staying back with the babies?” I ask, twisting to look up at my husband.

“Clint and Natasha can handle it. I thought I’d come out here and hang out with you guys. I feel like I never get to spend time with the boys.” He is looking out in the distance and his sons and fellow Avengers.

“I know what you mean,” I say, letting my gaze fall to my family members down at the end of the hill.

“I just want them to grow up knowing their parents. With all the evil in the world—they’re too young for that.” Steve shakes his head.

“You know, Steve, there is a possibility—“

“—Don’t, please, don’t say it. I mean, it would be impossible for them to inherit any of our abilities. We weren’t born with them; they’re not genetic.” He chews on his lip.

“Well, my DNA was changed, Steve, so there is a possibility.” I place my arms on top of his, squeezing them tight.

“We don’t know that…”

“I already talked to Bruce. It is a possibility.” I blink, holding my eyes shut as I feel Steve tense up.
“You didn’t have them tested, did you?” There is anger in his voice.

“No, I haven’t. Not yet. They’re too young now.” I turn to face him. “Listen, Steve,” I say, grabbing his face so his eyes are locked with mine. “We’re a family and nothing is going to tear that apart. I promise you. Nothing will happen. We just have to prepare them for this world. They’re the next generation.”

“I know,” he says. He then leans down and kisses me.

Everything become blurry and my eyes flicker open. I freeze a moment, trying to figure out where I am. It was just a dream… but it felt real. So real. I sigh and rub my eyes with the palms of my hands. I shake my head quickly and then I sit up, looking over at Steve. He is sound asleep.

After a few minutes, Steve rouses and I’m still staring at him. He looks at the clock. “What are you doing up this early?” His brows furrow together with concern. “Are you nightmares back?”

“No,” I answer, lying back down against my pillow. “Just a dream.”

“What kind of dream?” He asks.

“A good one,” I say, smiling to myself, thinking about that future family of mine. I wonder if that is really what it’s going to be like or if things will be different. Will I even get to have a family? How long with the Avengers last? Will we ever get to open presents up and go sledding with our kids? Will Steve and I even last?

Notes

Ha! I bet I tricked some of you! Sorry this took so long. I have a couple more chapters yet to post for this and then you all will be caught up and then I'm going to finally FINISH this story. Hehe.

Skylar's Outfit: http://www.polyvore.com/skylar_15/set?id=67209154