"'Pops,' Rhodey regained the family's attention. Handing the fifty-seven year old a present, 'This is from me and Ollie.'
Brows furrowing, a smile tugged at Steve's lips as he accepted the gift. Wondering what it could possibly be, he tore the met...
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"They look like an alien," Cori commented, looking at the 3D ultrasound picture.
"I'm definitely never having kids," Bitsy claimed, face scrunched up in displeasure at the odd photo of her unborn nephew.
"What are you talking about?" Kit asked, taking the picture from their sisters. Crossing the room to where Ollie was sitting, they held the picture up to the pregnant omega, "He looks just like his pops."
"Ha," Ollie deadpanned, snatching the picture from his younger sibling. "So funny. And just for that, you're not godparent."
"Way to go, loser," Leigh-Anne good-humoredly teased, affectionately shoving Kit.
The alpha simply rolled their eyes before wrapping Leigh-Anne into a headlock, rubbing their knuckles along her freshly shaven head. Steve simply rolled his eyes at the display. Increasingly, it was a common sight to behold.
Not even Tony was surprised by the scene as the short omega punched Rhodey's arm, whining, "I thought that I was going to be godfather."
Rubbing at his sore arm, Rhodey loudly scoffed, "What made you think that?"
"I was told that I was," Tony pointed accusingly at his pregnant childhood friend, "Directly from your husband."
"Hey," Ollie was taken aback. Denying that he did such a thing and corrected, "I said that Pepper was godmother."
"And she's my wife, so I would clearly be de facto godfather," Tony argued.
Handing the riled up omega some of Natasha's infamous Grinch mocktail, Pepper assuaged, "We just won't make them godparents to our future children."
"That's not fair," Oliver pouted, marking over his protruding bump.
"Definitely not fair," Rhodey agreed, attempting to appease his mate and his unborn son who started kicking harshly from inside his womb.
Clearly uncomfortable, Ollie huffed and pushed himself from his seat. After Rhodey helped him, Oliver turned so he could give his spouse an appreciative kiss. Then, he pivoted his current core strength and headed for the kitchen where the older adults at the baby shower were hanging out.
"Ya hangin' in there, papa?" Tibby asked, strategically playing her UNO card.
"If I could –" Oliver started, ladling some of the popular Grinch punch into a festive winter themed disposable cup "– I would remove him right here and now."
"Been there," Mandy said, playing a reverse card.
Ivy's wife, Paige, continued the saying, "Done that."
"Three times," Auggie's wife, Tula, added, rearranging her hand of cards, trying to plan her next move.
Steve assured the younger omega, "By the time he's here, you'll miss it."
"Yeah?" The pregnant man asked, taking a drink of the non-alcoholic punch.
Nostalgically, the older guests glanced at their kids. Sure, Auggie and Tula's youngest daughter, Twiggy, was only four. But Steve knew all too well how fast time really flew. After all, it had seemed like just yesterday, Oliver was sleeping on his bladder and causing him pain as he outgrew his petite womb.
Clearing the emotion from his throat, Steve nodded, "Yeah."
"Kinda makes me wish I didn't get my tubes tied," Tula half-joked before calling out, "UNO!"
"Damn it!" Tibby complained, just like every other time they played a game that she wasn't winning at.
A soft grin on his face, Oliver gazed down at his bump, admitting, "I guess it's not so bad."
Steve nodded, agreeing. As the kicking continued, Oliver stretched, shifting his weight, in hopes of getting more comfortable. Meanwhile, Steve extended his hand, but didn't dare touch the omega without permission. Son or not, Steve understood a person's boundaries. Especially from his children.
Huffing out another breath, Ollie conceded. Letting his omega father feel the baby kicking and wiggling about. Steve just couldn't believe that any of this was real. The life that he had planned for himself before he met Bucky never paid close attention to a family. He had been a lonely man who distracted himself enough to never realize just how lonely he was.
The only thing that he'd change about his life was to have it include little Roo's great grandma, Sarah, and his namesake, Aunt Flora. They deserved to be there in person. And it was the only thing that truly broke Steve's heart when he looked at his life.
Beneath his palm, Rory gave him a particularly hard kick, and Steve hoped that that was confirmation. Almost as though Rory was assuring him that Sarah and Flora were with him. Guiding him. Loving him. Making sure that he made it safely to them.
"Thanks, bub," Steve softly told him while gently caressing that spot where Roo's tiny foot remained pressed against Oliver's womb. Seeing how uncomfortable Ollie still was, Steve lifted his other hand so he could cup the younger omega's face and assured, "Just a little bit longer. It'll fly right by."
