When you were the child of two parents that had either separated or divorced, holidays could be a complicated time. It was no different for Brianna no matter how hard her parents tried. Once she was eighteen she made the decision to flip flop which holidays she spent with each side of her family. This year she would be spending Thanksgiving with her mom's side. It also be the first major holiday she spent with Steve.
Thanksgiving on her mom's side was intense. No one did Thanksgiving like them. Her mom was the middle child of five kids and all of her siblings had kids with the exception of her youngest brother. It made for a very full, loud house. She had promised her mom that she would arrive slightly early to her grandparents house so she could help get things ready.
"You need to bring a change of clothes." Brianna told Steve as he packed. They had just moved into his room together a few weeks ago.
Steve looked down at his pants with his dress hurt tucked in. "I do?"
"Mhm." She said while she threw her own pair of tennis shoes, pants and a t shirt into the bag.
"May I ask why?"
She smirked at him. "You'll see."
"I don't like that look on your face."
"It's a family secret. Kind of like a rite of passage." She explained without giving too much away.
"Like a hazing?" He asked.
"Not that intense." She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You'll be okay. I promise. Everyone is going to love you."
Her words were true. Everyone was going to adore Steve. Her mom's side of the family had never met a person they didn't like. Her grandparents house wasn't too far away. Maybe a twenty minute drive into the country. They had invited Steve and her to spend the night, but she politely declined. A few hours spent with them was going to be more than enough.
She could tell Steve was nervous by the way he kept rubbing his hands along his pants. It was the first time he met any woman's family besides her parents and that made him a little uneasy. The driveway to her grandparents house was a long, winding one, but once they got past the trees it revealed a house. Well, more like a mansion. Steve had never seen a house that big before. It had to be at least three stories tall and seemed to span on forever.
"You didn't tell me they were...well off." Steve said surprised.
"You didn't ask." She said with a teasing tone while they got out of the car. "My grandfather's family was in the oil business, but don't ask about it unless you want a hundred years of family history. None of us will receive a dime when they pass away though, not that matters of course. They wanted their kids and grandchildren to work hard so all the money will be donated to various charities."
Just as she finished, the front door opened revealing her mother with a flour coated apron. "Brianna! Steve! I'm so happy you could come."
"Hey, mom." Brianna said with a smile while wrapping her mom in a hug.
Her mom then turned to hug Steve. "Well, come in. Everyone is so excited you're here, Steve."
"Well, I'm happy I was invited." Steve said and shot Brianna a worrisome look causing her to giggle.
Inside the house was just as chaotic as Brianna had described. People, children everywhere. It was loud and rambunctious. There were group of people in every single room, all who barely paid any attention to Steve. The large kitchen was towards the back of the house that also opened into the living room. An older woman, that he assumed was Brianna's grandmother, was first to notice the couple.
She immediately stopped chopping the vegetables on a cutting board and wrapped her in a hug. "There's our little hero."
"Grandma..." Brianna trailed off.
"Bri!" A boy around twelve years of age ran into the kitchen and slammed into Brianna almost causing her to stumble back.
"Liam. Have you gotten taller?" She asked with a teasing tone. Her eyes went back to Steve who looked very confused. "Alright. Let's give my boyfriend a chance to soak all us in."
An older man with gray hair walked up to Steve and extended his hand. "How you doing, sport? I'm Charlie, Brianna's grandfather."
Steve thought it was funny that the man called him 'sport' even though he was technically older than him, but he shook his hand anyways. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Steve. Thank you for having me."
Brianna had her arm draped around the boy, Liam, she called him, shoulders. He was only a few inches shorter than her. "This is my youngest brother, Liam. My other brother, Owen should be around here somewhere. And that was my grandmother."
"Owen's currently hot wiring your car." Liam said bluntly.
"That little sh-" Brianna tried to speak, but her mom gave her a death glare. She looked over at Steve who still seemed taken aback. "Owen, is the smartest out of us three. I'm talking Tony Stark smart."
"Ah." Steve said as a man about his height walked into the room. He had dark hair with streaks of gray in it and gave Brianna a hug.
"And this is my step dad, Michael. Michael, this is Steve." Brianna introduced the two of them.
"Nice to meet you Captain Rogers. My wife has told me nothing but good things." Michael said. "The deer in headlights look never goes away around this family."
Steve didn't even know he had such a look. He was busy still trying to process everyone's name.
"Bri, why are you just standing there? Get to cooking." Her grandmother yelled at her causing Steve to smile.
Michael clasped his shoulder. "Come on, a bunch of us are watching football. You know what this is right?"
"Michael, Steve knows what football is." Brianna said and winked at him. She watched helplessly as her step father dragged him away. She knew it was bound to happen at some point.
"He's handsome." Her grandmother said once Steve was out of earshot. "Is the age thing ever any issue?"
"I wouldn't call it an issue. Sometimes things get lost in translation. He's learning though."
"Well, as long as he makes you happy and he is good to you, that's all that matters." Her grandma said.
Brianna smiled to herself as she mixed some sort of dessert in a bowl. "You don't have to worry about him. He's one of the good ones."
Steve felt like he was back on Coney Island watching some sort of side show as he stood in the back of the living room watching some football game. Bri's family was incredibly nice, just more eccentric than he was expecting. They asked him a million questions. What's it like being a superhero? When were Brianna and him going to get married? Were they going to get married? He found solace in her little brother, Liam. He was the only one who seemed normal and that was most likely because he was twelve.
"Steve!" Someone shouted from the kitchen.
He quickly walked into the kitchen as if his life depended on it. That's where he found Brianna standing with one hand wrapped around a wine glass, the other holding her abdomen. She had on a dirty apron over a white sweater she wore. Only some of her hair was pulled back. She had a carefree smile on her face. In the moment, he couldn't help but think about how beautiful she looked.
One of her aunts, who he hadn't met yet, placed a hand on his arm. "Would you mind getting the turkey out of the oven?"
"Of course." Steve said. Finally, something to do. He slipped two oven mitts on and carefully pulled the turkey out.
The aunt moved so she could carve it. He walked over to Brianna causally, hoping no one would notice him. He gently wrapped an arm around her waist and she smiled up at him.
"You doing okay?" She asked quietly.
"Let's just say basic training for the Army was easier than this." His Brooklyn accent slipped out. "Did I tell you that you looked beautiful?"
"Oh, really? I mean, I'm kind of covered in flour, but-" she stopped herself when she noticed the way Steve was looking at her. She knew that look. "Mom, I'm going to give Steve a tour of the house before lunch."
Brianna wrapped her hand in Steve's and led him away from the kitchen. They walked up two flight of stairs. Down a hallway. Then stopped at a closed door and she opened it. "No one uses this bathroom."
She pulled Steve down to her as they walked into the bathroom and locked the door. Their lips clashed together in a frenzy knowing they only had a few minutes before people started to question what was taking so long. He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up so she could sit on the counter. He spread her legs with one hand and slipped his hand between her thighs.
In the past months they had been together, Steve had grown more bold when it came to being intimate. He was barely timid anymore. He was lucky that she was wearing a skirt which made her more accessible. He pulled the skirt up more while his lips grazed the thin skin of her neck and pulled her underwear down to her ankles. Brianna reached down to undo his belt and unbutton his pants.
He pushed inside of her in one, easy movement. One hand held tightly around her waist, pulling her into him so he could bury himself inside her. His other hand read besides her on the mirror to steady himself. His movements were slow, but hard.
"Steve!" she cried out quietly into his chest. She gripped his shirt tightly, pulling his lips down to meet her's.
He pulled out suddenly and grabbed her hips. He flipped her over to where she was bent over the counter before pushing inside of her again. He moved faster within her but still moved hard inside her.
"You like that?" He whispered into her ear. "You like being bent over for me?"
"Y-Yes." She managed.
He continued to thrust into her until he felt her tighten around him. She gripped the counter tightly, biting her bottom lip so she wouldn't cry out. Her legs felt weak and the only thing holding her up was Steve.
"Oh, God..." he groaned as he came inside her. He held her hips in place while he shook within her.
Once they both finished, he allowed her to stand back up while he buttoned his pants back up. Brianna took a moment to fix her hair and skirt. She didn't want to give any hints away as to what they were doing upstairs. Just as she was about to the open door she felt Steve gently touch her arm. She glanced at him.
"Hey," he said softly. "I love you."
I love you. It was the first time he had ever uttered the words to her. She had said it numerous times, but he never returned the words to her. It had started to worry her. She smiled up at him and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him one last time before they went downstairs. "I love you too."
And she thought to herself, Steve Rogers might be my forever.