Pull, scrub, rise, counter. Pull, scrub, rinse, counter. Steve has washing dishes down to a science. He has to be careful though, not to grip them too tightly as he washes away the last vestiges of his lunch. This is the second set of china that they've purchased in the last year and half – the first set ended up in the garbage can, broken under the Super Soldier's strong hands as he helped his wife out with the daily chores.

He sets the last saucer on the counter and lets the now cold dishwater race down the drain. He starts to wipe off the counter when he hears the front door open.

"Steven?" Peggy calls from the doorway. "Darling?"

Steve leaves his towel on the counter as he goes to greet his wife. "How was your shopping trip, Peg?" He asks, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Oh, it was wonderful," she tells him, gesturing to the blue box on the cough. "I got you a present."

"Aw, babe," he says, sitting beside the box. It's topped with a red ribbon and a tag that says, "Happy Early Birthday! Xo – Peggy"

The box wiggled. "Peg, what's in here?" Steve asks his bride, confused.

She smiles her sly smile – the one that first caught his attention all those years ago – and settles herself into his lap. "Open it, you'll see."

He tugs the ribbon off and then pulls off the lid, sticking his hand into the box. He looks at Peggy when a cold, wet something nudges his hand. She just smiles at him again, gesturing for him to continue. Reaching into the box, Steve pulls out a small, fuzzy Golden Retriever puppy with a pudgy tummy. The puppy looks at Steve sleepily before beginning to lick his face. There was a ribbon around the puppy's neck, with a tag that read, "So that you can practice."

Holding the puppy close to his chest, Steve looks at Peggy, "Practice for what?"

She evades his question, "Isn't she a sweetheart?"

The puppy starts licking him again. Steve laughs, "Of course she is. I love her already."

"What should we name her?" Peggy asks, looping her arms around Steve's neck.

"Well, look at the color of her fur. We could call her Brandy?" Steve jokes, smiling up at her.

Peggy laughs, resting her head on his. "Sure, Steven, we'll call her Brandy. However, I reserve the right to name the baby."

It takes him a second to process what she just said – naming the what?!

"Whoa, whoa, hold on a second. Name the what?" Steve asks as Brandy slips to floor on her clumsy paws.

"That's what you get to practice for," Peggy says, smiling at him. "Taking care of another life."

He picks her up and swirls her around and kisses her, really kisses her. They're both smiling like idiots, laughing, and saying, "I love you" over and over again – until Brandy barks at them, catching them both so off-guard that Steve nearly drops Peggy on the floor.

They both dissolve into laughter, a pile of limbs on the living room floor, and gleeful yips and yelps and puppy dog kisses join the mix, and for that moment, they were the happiest family in the world.

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(A/N: A wonderful prompt of "Steggy gets a puppy" from my very good friend beautyofsorrow. Hope you liked it! Summer is here and so I'm back!)