"Hulk smash!" Angies squeal woke me up, as she bounced onto my bed. I grunted as I felt her weight roll quickly across my stomach. Her curly hair covered my face, and just as I was brushing them away from my eyes, my blaring alarm began to beep.
"You're up early." I pulled myself up the bed, and tackled her into my side. Her giggles rang loudly into my ear, and I felt a plastic toy of the Hulk hit my arm. "Ow!"
"Sorry Mummy," Angie knelt by my side and wrapped her arms tightly around my neck. I exaggerated a groan, pulling a face at her as she erupted into another round of giggles.
"Come on, let's get breakfast."
I kicked the covers away, and followed Angies dancing towards the kitchen. She clambered onto the sofa, the television turning on seconds later as she found the remote. I made us a round of toast, smothering them in butter before joining her on the sofa. "What are we watching?" I picked the remote up as Angie mumbled something through a mouthful of food. "You're watching the news?" I stared at my daughter, who just stared right back at me before shrugging.
I left it on anyway, the clock in the corner of the screen helping me to get Angie ready. "Clothes Angie, come on, we won't have a lot of time if you don't move."
She grumbled and groaned, "I want to play with Hulk," she pouted.
I raised an eyebrow, "you are meeting the real Hulk in three hours, now come on."
Her eyes sparkled as she realised today was the schools Hero Day, where a group of the Avengers would travel down to the school to participate in activities with the children. It was Angies first Hero Day, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't as excited as her.
I shoved our used plates and knives in the dishwasher, before searching through my wardrobe for a clean shirt that would be respectable to be worn at Angies school. I let my mind wander to the heroes I would meet as I flicked through my admittedly small selection of semi-formal wear. Since Kristen had taken Angie to the park and inadvertently met Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson, I was growing more excited at the thought that I would get to meet them in person too.
The school had invited the parents as a way of helping interaction between both the parents and children, and the parents and the school. I'd accepted immediately, as I always did when Angies school gave parents the chance to join in.
"Mummy look!" I turned, half dressed, to see Angie sprinting through my door in a bright green outfit. "I'm the Hulk!" She roared at me, then spun around.
I held onto her shoulders so she'd stop spinning, and assessed her outfit. She was wearing her old Tinkerbell costume, but had managed to get it both inside out and the wrong way round. "This is what the Hulk wears?" I asked, pulling my top over my head.
"Yep!" She nodded.
"I thought the Hulk wore trousers." I mused, walking Angie back to her room. I took her green pinafore from her wardrobe and a light green top from the drawers, and offered it to her instead. Her face lit up and she tugged the flimsy tinkerbell costume back over her head.
"Sometimes he does, but sometimes he wears a dress!" She exclaimed, grabbing the clothes and tugging the top back over her head.
"What type of dress does he wear?" I asked, unbuttoning her pinafore for her as I knelt beside her.
"Flowery one." Angie replied instantly, as if she had anticipated my question. "Or a purple one. Ooh! Or a yellow one."
"I think I like the sound of a purple dress." I agreed, as I fiddled with the straps that fastened into a bow on the tops of her shoulders.
I managed to tangle a brush through her hair, before working it into a ponytail at her insistence. I willingly obliged, noting we had twenty minutes before we had to leave the house to start the walk to school.
"I get to see Mister America again." Angie grinned at me, shoving the toothbrush in my hand away as I tried to direct it to her mouth. "And the other Mister America."
"You do," I smiled, "now brush your teeth."
She opened her mouth, then bit down on the toothbrush as she tried to talk with it wedged between her lips. "Mister America looks a bit like Daddy," I managed to make out her mumble.
I heard the slightly hesitance in her voice, and gently pulled the toothbrush away. She spat neatly into the sink, then looked up at me. Her dark eyes were unblinking as she waited for a reply. "Do you miss him?"
She went through phases of being totally unaffected by his death. Her age when it happened meant she had very few memories of their time spent together, but if she'd spent a day at her friends house where she'd see them interacting with a father role figure, she would come home quiet. Her uncles usually paid her a visit if she was still upset about it, and they were quick to bring a smile to her face, but it pained me that I couldn't magic a father for her.
"A little bit." She frowned, her lips pouting as she thought for a moment. "Can I get a new Daddy?"
I stared at her, mind reeling from her question. I knew it was to be expected, but I didn't think I would have this little time to prepare for the 'you need to get back out there and date some guys' conversation. No, I'd been thinking that would happen years down the line when a high school aged Angie might suggest it.
"It's not as easy as that darling." I explained, squeezing her hand gently and guiding her back to the living room. I found her shoes, and knelt back to the floor as she pushed her feet into the pink ones she wore for school.
"Maybe you can have flowers from a new Daddy?" She suggested, leaning down to fasten the velcro straps. It took me a moment to realise she meant the flowered soul sign that was visible down my arm from the rolled sleeves of the floaty white blouse I had chosen to wear, rather than flowers as a romantic gesture.
"Maybe one day. How about now we go to school and meet the Hulk, and you can introduce me to the Mister America's?"
Her grin split her face as she nodded her head, her ponytail swinging with such speed I thought it would knock her out when it hit the side of her head. She grabbed onto my hand and tried to pull me out the front door, grumbling when I pulled her back inside to collect our coats and bags.
***
~Steve's POV~
"I am so excited!" Scott grinned. "I love little kids, man! I miss Cassie being this age."
"I am just preparing myself for the children trying to force the Hulk out of me," Bruce groaned, as he helped me carry a table onto the field where the Hero Day was taking place.
We each had a spot for us to talk and interact with the children. Tony's took up far too much space, as three Iron Man suits stood posted around the table he was sat on top of. Bruce's section, it turned out, was just the one table. "You might have a child interested in science?" I offered.
Bruce shook his head, "they're just not that interested in it." He mumbled. He'd been anticipating the Hulk questions for days, and even though he didn't mind talking about him anymore, we could all see it had an emotional toll on him.
Peter was swinging lazily through the trees that lined the field, his mask already carefully pulled down over his face. "I've never done one of these before. What am I meant to do?"
"Set an example." Amelie, Peters cousin and Bucky's soulmate, rolled her eyes. "The kids will try and swing too and end up hurting themselves. Come down before one of them spots you!"
"We have another hour before the children get to school doll," Bucky leant down and pressed his lips to the side of her head, "calm down."
She melted into his side, twisting her body so her arms could easily wrap around his waist. I watched with a smile as Bucky trailed his hand through her hair, whispering something that made her head rock back with laughter. I felt a small pang of jealousy at seeing their easy relationship, and that even though I knew they'd been through difficult times they would always be there for each other. My chest tugged painfully as I knew I may never experience that again.
"When's Thor coming?" Sam nudged my shoulder, eyes furrowed as he scanned his surroundings.
"Wanda's picking him and Nat up from the Tower, he had some stuff on Asgard to deal with." I explained.
As if on cue, the three remaining Avengers who had agreed to the school's activity day, appeared from the doors at the end of the field. Nat's hair was pulled back into a plait, and swung as she chatted animatedly with Wanda. Thor boomed a laugh as he jogged over to us, slapping his hand hard on my shoulder. "You look well."
"Thanks Thor, you too." He gave my shoulder a second pat, and looked over to Peter who was rolling along the edge of the group.
"Why, Spider-Man is here!" He exclaimed, grinning as Peter jumped up. They exchanged a high five, filled with Peter mumbling something about not being sure how to interact with young children. Thor seemed more interested by the forward rolls he'd been doing, and successfully managed to distract him by attempting one himself.
The others laughed as they caught sight of Thor's squashed face lying against the grass, but I caught his knowing smile. Peter jumped at the chance to demonstrate how he'd actually done it, and began a rambling tale of how his Spider abilities added to him being flexible in gymnastics. Thor had fumbled his roll by mistake, thus giving Peter an opportunity to explain what he was doing without becoming flustered.
Peter would be just fine.
Time ticked by quickly, and soon enough crowds of children flooded onto the field. We'd been told by the staff that they were being split into year groups, and each group would spend an hour out on the field with us. The first classes that appeared were escorted by a second group made up of parents, who were being clung onto by the more nervous of the children. The preschool classes were split into morning and afternoon, but today both had come in for the first hour to be spent with us.
I felt several pairs of eyes on me, and I turned to the side, hoping my mask would hide me for a little longer. I hadn't decided what my opener would be if the children approached me first, and I was floundering a little. But then I felt my head being lifted, drawn by an invisible force to look at the crowd.
Before I could figure out why my body acted so instinctively against my thoughts, a squeal broke above the nervous chattering. The group was stood in one big cluster, listening to the principal of the school give a short talk about the time they had to talk to us, but a small girl with a huge grin on her face had just spotted Bruce hovering nervously by his table.
A woman looked down at her, shaking her head softly before looking back up to the principal. The child began tugging on her arm, and just as she spun around to point at Bruce, I realised who it was. I felt a smile itching onto my face as Angie carefully snuck out of the woman's hold.
I watched her make steady tracks towards Bruce, though the rest of the group seemed oblivious to her mission. The Avengers watched, and I caught Sams grin as Angie finally reached Bruce, and stared up at him in awe.
He looked down, and jumped back, having not noticed the young girl. With his hand held against his chest, Bruce knelt down so he was closer to her level with her. I watched as she held onto his arm, and her face lit up as she spoke to him.
The woman who had previously been stood with her suddenly spun around, her eyes widening behind the lens of her glasses. I could see her mouth twitch from a smile to a serious line as she tried to catch Angies attention, but to no avail. My eyes followed her as she slipped away from the crowd, doing a half-jog across the field.
Before she reached Angie though, the rest of the crowd split up and the collection of adults and and children divided and split up across the field. I lost sight of Angie and the lady accompanying her as a group of children bounced over to Sam and I.
***
~Noelle's POV~
"I am so sorry sir," I apologised to Dr Banner who pushed himself back onto his feet, "I didn't realise she'd wandered off. Angie, what do you say to Dr Banner?"
Angie grinned happily, and stared wide eyed at the man in front of us. "Do you like Shrek?"
I choked and stared at her as Dr Banner rocked his head back and barked a laugh. "It's one of my favourite films," He humoured her.
"Do you..." she trailed off, playing with her fingers, "Do you like him because he's green?"
Dr Banner thought for a moment, a small smile on his face. "I like him because he's a good person. He's a loyal friend and helps those who he loves." I tilted my head to the side, catching the cheeky smile he sent my way as he tried to create a life lesson for Angie from one of the films she watched on a loop.
We stayed with him for a while, and he convinced Angie to partake in a small science experiment which resulted in a test tube overflowing with colourful bubbles. Angie became hooked, and questioned every small thing he did, seemingly wanting to know everything about the simple experiment.
Glancing at my watch, I encourage Angie to move onto the next hero, after seeing the queue that had formed behind us following the eruption of bubbles from the test tube.
We walked past the Antman and Spider-Man who were in the middle of a debate about which animal was better. The children were watching as a small swarm of ants flew around their heads in a pattern before flying away, whilst the Spider-Man was helping children do jumps and rolls, and wave their arms as if they were shooting webs.
Angie snuck behind my side as we walked past Tony Stark, and it was all I could do not to go over and at least say hello. My cousin had crushed on the young Tony Stark when we were children, and giving up the opportunity to meet him to later rub it in his face was almost too much to bear. But Angie had a fear of large robots after I trusted my dad to babysit her and he showed her an episode of Doctor Who that featured not only the Daleks but the Cybermen too, which had triggered a series of nightmares.
My gaze lingered on the short man, who was sashaying around his area as if he owned the place, which I wouldn't be surprised if he did, but my attention was pulled away when Angie squealed loudly. "Mr America!"
I turned just in time to see her throw herself at the legs of Steve Rogers. The man leant down to catch her, and swung her in a circle before carefully lowering her to the ground. I reached her side just in time to hear him talking softly to her. "Hey there Angie, how have you been?"
"Good!" She grinned, her small hands holding onto one of his arms. "This is my Mummy." She pointed back at me, her face split into a smile.
"Hi," I waved shyly, taking a step forwards. "This is Angie, but I've heard you guys already met. Thank you so much for looking out for her, my sister in law is wonderful but Angie can run rings around her."
"It's a pleasure, Angie's great." He outstretched his hand, "I'm Steve Rogers."
"Noelle Miller." His hand was large, the skin roughened slightly as he enveloped my own. What felt like an electric shock struck my arm, causing me to let go of his hand much sooner than I would've liked. I felt my cheeks darken considerably, and turned away to focus my attention on my daughter rather than the stunningly handsome man who towered over me.
"Mummy this is Mister America too." She grabbed my hand in her own and stumbled towards a second man stood behind Steve, his eyes already shining with a smile as he grinned at Angie approaching him.
"Sam Wilson, it's an honour to meet you, Miss Miller." He shook my hand, squeezing gently as he stepped away. "And Angie my girl, I am loving those shoes!"
Angie's smile almost split her face as she attempted to wave her foot in the air. "I did it all by myself! Look!"
She then proceeded to rip the Velcro strip and refasten it several times, getting more giddy by Sam's kind-hearted laughter.
"Angie," I knelt down, holding a hand over her shoe. "Mr Wilson has seen you fasten your shoe now, so you can stop."
The tell tale signs of a sulk began to pull her lips down, and just as I was preparing to have a word with her, Steve knelt down next to me. His eyes met mine quickly, lingering a little before he turned to Angie.
"My shoes need lots of fastenings to make sure they don't fall off during a battle."
Angie was hooked, yet again, "really?"
He nodded, and ran a hand over the small buckles that held his shoe together. "Yeah."
"Can I have shoes like that Mummy?"
I opened my mouth, unsure of the correct response as she already owned a Captain America costume bought by one of her uncles earlier in the year.
Before I could reply though, Miss Taylor's voice rang across the field to gather the children back together. Angie stood up, and wrapped her arms tightly around Sam's legs, squeezing hard as he rested a hand on her hair.
"Bye bye Mister America." Angie said, leaning back to smile up at him. She then repeated herself with Steve, but wouldn't let go, even when her teacher began calling for a second time.
"Angie, we need to get going."
"But-"
"It was nice seeing you again Angie," Steve knelt to the floor and let Angie wrap her small arms around his shoulders. He bowed his head, offering a gentle smile as she reluctantly stepped away and took my hand.
As we listened to the short speech Miss Taylor had prepared to say thank you to the heroes, I felt my eyes drift. Steve was stood straight to attention with his hands clasped behind his back, a small smile on his face. Summer had been right on the phone, his hair was darker than the pictures made out, and his beard that framed his jawline was enough to make me lose my train of thought.
His eyes flicked across the crowd before they met mine, and I caught sight of his cheeks turning a slight pink. I couldn't tear myself away, his sparkling gaze felt like he was looking right through me and at that moment in time I didn't mind.
"Mummy come on I'm hungry." Angie moaned from the ground, and I looked down to see her slumped at my feet.
"You've got school until lunchtime darling," I grabbed her hand and gently pulled her back to her feet. "But we'll eat as soon as we get home."
"What about now?"
I shook my head with a small smile on my face, "no Angie."
"But I'm hungry."
I gave her a look, silencing her grumbles about food, and instead she began rambling about finger painting. I glanced over my shoulder as we began our walk back to her classroom, searching out for the eyes that I could feel watching me.
Steve Rogers was stood with his shield in his hands, mid conversation with Sam Wilson as he turned to catch my gaze, his eyes steady as he nodded slowly with a small smile playing on his lips.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hey! I want to say thank you to all you lovely people who read, voted and commented already!
This book is set slightly after His Soulmate, so the first few chapters will be updated slowly as I'm trying to finish that book. There will be a sequel to His Soulmate that is set during Her Second Soulmate (this book), which will be published immediately after I've finished His Soulmate.
Thank you and love you all xxx ❤️❤️❤️