Dreamboy

Domestic life

"Hey Steve. Wake up.", Rogers hears, as someone gently shakes him by the shoulder. He opens his eyes and sees Bucks kneeling by the bed, only illuminated by the hall light shining through the half open door. Steve is still a little confused, that he is waking up inside a dream, half remembering the chaotic things he saw. Like Francis being part of the Howling Commandos, or Bucky and himself getting married in a cemetery, both wearing white dresses, while Black Widow was watching them in her uniform, talking in a strange language into a walkie-talkie. He's a bit embarrassed, and has to twist his tongue a few times, to get the bad taste out of his mouth, that you only get from going to sleep without brushing your teeth.

Again amazed at the precis details of this world, he asks himself frightened: 'What if it is another universe? What if going under just teleports you to another dimension, and all of this is real?' "Seeing you're not feeling well, I figured we just order pizza tonight, hope it's fine with you.", his friend informs him. Steve rubs over his eyes and responds: "Uh, sure. No problem." "Is there anything special you want?", Bucks asks, "I already ordered, but there's enough time to add something." "No thanks, just the usual will do.", Steve quickly says, sitting up. He's trying to find a way to speak to his friend, tell him about the truth, as much as it hurts himself to say it.

But then his gaze falls back on the nightstand, where the untouched glass is sitting, next to a colorful drawing and another sheet of paper. "What's this?", he asks curious. Bucky turns on the little lamp on the nightstand, and informs him: "The kids wanted to show you their achievements, and I told them to just put them next to you, so you'll see them when you wake up. Kheial drew a picture of you in kindergarten, and wants to know, if you like it." Steve picks up the crayon scribbled page, and looks over it. Two very stick-men like shapes are depicted, one little and held in orange, with a green torso and blue legs, the other tall and pink, with a blue uniform, and a dark blue apron, holding up an egg shaped disk, colored red and white with a blue star in the middle. The figures are holding each others knobbly hands, standing on fizzy neon green grass, a huge pink and purple butterfly flying over them, and a yellow sun shooting its rays from a corner. And everyone is smiling, even the butterfly.

Steve has to smile too, asking: "What's that on the apron: 'Kill the cook'?" Bucky smirks and replies: "Well, he got two out of three! Can't blame him for better knowing how to spell kill than kiss, after all." It sounds a bit strange to Steve, but he doesn't know how to respond, so he just turns over the paper, seeing that it had been folded previously. And then reads what an adult must have written on the front of the card the artwork is supposed to be: 'Happy Mother's Day to Steve Rogers. Drawing by Kheial Barnes-Rogers, May 10, Butterfly Group, Saint Patrick's Nursery'.

Steve has to chuckle at the absurdity of seeing their names joined like that, but also gets a little bitter about it, and looking at Bucky he asks: "How come he only drew me?" His friend sits down next to him, slightly amused, telling him: "Well, they did say, draw your mother for Mother's Day, and apparently they also had a discussion about what a mother does for her children, so he put an apron on you. According to Sharon, the kindergartners had quiet a laugh at Captain America in a cooking uniform." Steve is a little uneasy and remarks: "Well, just because I'm a bit more homely perhaps, I mean... he does call me Daddy, didn't he think that's strange?" Bucks furrows his brows a little, and tries to remind him: "Well, sure, but technically he's right. After all, you are their mother."

"But I didn't give birth to them.", Steve replies, a bit taken aback by the statement. Only to feel a horrifying sensation crawl over his back, when he sees Bucks concerned look, thinking: 'Oh dear God, don't say I did! That's just messed up, don't say you did that to me, please!' But when his friend assures him: "Yeah, but you're signed in as the mother, remember?", he feels stupid, recalling how foreign the names and faces are, and that of course they must have adopted the children. Or better, Bucky made up they had adopted two kids somewhere along the way.