𝗀 𝗁 𝗈 𝗌 𝗍 | | 𝗌 𝗍 𝖾 𝗏 𝖾 𝗋 𝗈 𝗀 𝖾 𝗋 𝗌

𝗌 𝖾 𝗏 𝖾 𝗇 𝗍 𝗒 － 𝖾 𝗂 𝗀 𝗁 𝗍

✧ 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟤, 𝗎𝗉𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝗇𝖾𝗐 𝗒𝗈𝗋𝗄 ✧

𝖿𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗒𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝖿𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝗅𝗂𝗉

WHEN MARTA CAME HOME FROM seeing her patients one evening with groceries for the compound, the first thing that greeted her was her waddling son. Steven was a year and a half old, and he was thriving. He was just about the only thing that made Marta happy during the dark days after the blip. She thought it would get easier but it didn't, and it probably never would. Marta placed the grocery bags on the counter, kissing Steve when he came to help her put the food away. "Come here, little solider." Marta said to her baby, lifting him into her arms.

        Steven giggled, wrapping his arms around his mother's neck. "Hi." Steven said bashfully. He had a relatively large vocabulary, but his favorite thing to say was greeting to people he saw. Steven was a very social baby.

         "Hi. Did you have fun with Daddy?" Marta asked her son, brushing his blonde bangs away with a grin. He was looking more and more like Steve every day, and Marta didn't mind one bit.

        Nodding, Steven hugged his mother again. He missed her when she was working. "He conned me into getting him a new plane." Steve pointed at the new toy Steven had on his high chair.

Marta smiled, holding out her hand for Steven to give her a high five, which he did with a giggle. "You got him on the ropes, buddy. Don't stop now." Marta walked back over to her husband, putting some of the groceries away.

"I think we have a future pilot on our hands." Steve pressed a kiss to the top of his son's head as he passed, putting a bag of fruit in the fridge.

Placing Steven on the kitchen island, Marta handed him his new toy, giving some meat to Steve to put away. Steven started playing with his toy, eager to show his mother what he could do with the plane. "I think he agrees." Marta said, keeping an eye on her baby as she and Steve finished in the kitchen.

        They cooked dinner and ate with Natasha, who had quickly become the best aunt in the world. Steve and Natasha cleaned up while Marta gave Steven a bath, putting him in a pair of dinosaur pajamas, brushing his hair as he played with the stuffed dinosaur Marta had bought around three months into her pregnancy, when she started to get used to the idea of having a baby.

        Marta picked Steven up, placing him in her arms. "Steven, what does a dinosaur say?" Marta asked, her son holding his stuffed animal.

        Steven drew out the sound with a giggle, and Marta smiled. She asked him all kinds of other questions, and due to the serum running through him, he answered with ease. He had a photographic memory that was insanely impressive, and he was extremely empathetic, which was surprising considering how young he was. Her son was special, and Marta and Steve absolutely adored him.

        Natasha retired for the night after saying good night to the baby, and Steve and Marta settled in the living room, watching their son play on the area rug before he went to bed. Steve put some random movie on the television, and Marta put her head in her husband's lap, his fingers working through her long hair. Even after Steven was born, they put their relationship first. If they crumbled, so did their son, and they weren't willing to let that happen.

        Eventually, Steven got bored playing by himself and pulled himself onto the couch, grunting and panting when he made it up with the help of his father. "I'm tired." Steven said, plopping down beside his mother's head.