Distressed // Steve Rogers

29 - Family

Talia lay with her head on his lap as she picked at the petals of a sunflower Bucky had brought her earlier that morning. He'd been so chipper and excitable as he'd shoved Steve out of the building and Talia along with him hours ago, pressing a bouquet of sunflowers into her hands and telling her to 'just go with it and enjoy a day off'.

Talia sighed as Steve's fingers twisted her hair, braiding small sections as he smiled to himself. The last six weeks had flown by in a blur of taffeta and roses and string quartets. It had been both exhilarating and draining, romantic and pedantic, and Talia was tired.

"So Buck's in charge of reigning Tony in," Steve mumbled as he pushed daisies into the braids hidden in red waves.

"Which means a small wedding is completely out of the window, right?" Talia grinned as she glanced up at him, bringing the flower up above her eyes to shield from the glare of the sun.

Steve grinned as he leant down and pressed a tender kiss against her lips.

"Oh yeah," he laughed, "we can rip that dream right up and just throw it out."

Talia sighed again. Nausea rolled over her in a slow wave as she thought of standing in front of the hundreds of people Tony would invite and her heart quickened with the fear. She felt the soft brush of Steve's fingers smoothing out the worry lines on her forehead as he scrunched his face up before smiling down at her.

"What's on your mind?" His fingers traced down to her lips, brushing over them and tugging them up into a small smile as she giggled.

"Just thinking of all the things I do because I love you." She pushed herself up quickly, twisting round so that she could face him fully and pressing a quick kiss to the corner of his lips. He moved his face quickly, trapping her lips with his own as she grinned, and pulled her closer, draping her over his lap. He smothered her in kisses as she squealed, his lips moving from her mouth to her neck and her collarbone. His fingers squeezed at her side, tickling as he chuckled against her skin.

"I love you too my Runaway, so much." He kissed her gently one last time before pulling back and running his hand across the length of the soft summer dress she wore. The pale yellow was speckled with flecks of lavender, the thick straps tied in soft bows on her shoulders and the fabric pooling down to her feet. His fingers trailed along the cup of her breasts and down to her stomach. He moved slowly over her before trailing down the side of her thigh and resting his hand just above her knee, his thumb moving in soothing circles as she put her head on his shoulder and breathed deep.

"So," she mused aloud, "Nat is working with Wanda on the details, whatever that means, Vision is sorting the ceremony, Tony is being Tony and I think Bucky is just trying not to spontaneously combust. Really, there's nothing else for us to do other than show up and look pretty."

"Sounds easy enough," Steve shrugged as he gazed out over the park filled with people enjoying picnics in the sun and the children running through the crowds. "But, we still have one thing to decide."

"Oh?" Talia furrowed her brow. She thought it was all sorted.

"Who's walking you down the aisle?" Steve pressed a kiss into her hair. "I know Bruce would in a heartbeat, and you did walk Nat so she's a great option. Vision would probably short circuit but it would mean the world to him. The choice is yours."

"Mhmm." She closed her eyes as a soft breeze ruffled the air around them and brushed over her skin. "I was kind of thinking maybe I could do something different."

Steve waited patiently for Talia to elaborate.

"I was alone for so much of my life Steve." Her voice was calm and soft but Steve's heart ached with the sadness wrought within it. "And, well, I don't think it makes sense to have someone give me away when I didn't have anyone keeping me for so long. I love Natasha with my whole heart, I really do, but she is my maid of honour and I want her to focus on that, because I'm going to need her help a lot. And Bruce is wonderful, but I would feel weird with him giving me away."