This is the last chapter everyone! Whether you've been here from the beginning or just found me now, thank you so much for all the support—it means the world to me! :)

Listening to: "Food and Liquor" (Full Album) by Lupe Fiasco

June 29th, 2016 (Epilogue)

"Natasha, we're going to be late!" Steve calls. He's currently standing downstairs with his bags at his feet waiting for Natasha, who's still lingering upstairs in an attempt to find her good bra.

"Hang on!" Natasha yells back.

Steve sighs and shifts so he can lean against the banister while he waits. He looks around the area, taking in the relaxed atmosphere of the newly decorated foyer. After graduating from NYU in May of the previous year, they all packed up and moved into a house in D.C. because Sam got a job as a certified consular at the Veterans Affairs downtown. Originally, Steve was going to move into an apartment complex just down the road, but Sam and Natasha refused to let him live anywhere else, all but sabotaging any open houses he went to.

"A-ha! I found it!" Natasha yells, her voice snapping Steve from his thoughts and bringing him back to the present.

They're currently about to leave for another two week vacation to Chincoteague, heading out earlier in the day than originally planned after Steve received a phone call from Bucky a few hours go, saying that he was back on the Island and wanted to see Steve. Part of Steve is still surprised that he and Bucky stayed together, seeing as Steve hasn't had good experiences with long distance relationships, but he's glad that they managed to make it work. Bucky means the world to him and he would have been devastated if something were to have happened.

"Alright, let's go, Rogers," Natasha says as she rushes down the stairs while carrying a multitude of bags. "I got it," she adds before Steve could even open his mouth and offer to help.

Steve shrugs and walks over to the door, holding it open for Natasha before going back in to grab his own luggage. He does a quick sweep of the house before walking outside and locking the door behind him. He pockets his keys and makes his way where his friends are standing by Natasha's Nissan Rouge that is parked in the driveway.

Sam is packing up the car while Natasha is double-checking her list. Sitting next to Natasha's luggage is Elise Marie Wilson, wearing her favorite panda onesie and watching her parents curiously while she cuddles her Falcon (when Natasha had first brought Elise home from the hospital, Sam gave her the stuffed toy and she honestly hasn't let go of it since).

Steve sets his bags on the ground before picking up Elise, cradling her close to his chest. "Are you excited to go on vacation?"

"Yeah!" she says happily, as she makes herself comfortable in his arms.

"Do you know what's going to happen while we're on vacation?"

Elise furrows her brow in thought and shakes her head no after a few seconds.

"You're going to meet your Uncle Bucky and your Aunt Becca," he says with a grin.

"Finally," Elise says, stretching out the word. Her expression and tone mirror Natasha's infamous exasperation, which causes the adults to laugh.

"And on that note, we are all ready to go!" Sam says, closing the trunk for emphasis. "Let's do this thing!"

"Mommy, mommy, look at all the water," Elise calls as Sam drives across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

"I see it, sweetie— it's beautiful," Natasha says with a fond smile.

"Fun fact: seventy five percent of the Earth is covered with water," Sam says, informatively.

"Whoa," Elise says, sounding completely in awe. She sits up straighter in her car seat and presses her hands and face against the window so she can get a better view.

"We're passing through Pocomoke now, Buck."

"God, Steve, you're so close. I can't wait until you're here so I can fuck you stupid."

Steve freezes and slowly looks to his left, relieved when he discovers that Elise is sleeping (sometimes when Steve is on his phone, she'll watch him and point at his screen while babbling happily). He shakes his head and turns back to his phone before typing out, "Can't wait ;)"

"Can't wait? Come on, Steve; my dick is hard and leaking and that's all you have to say?"

" . . . Aren't you supposed to be working?"

"I am, but I'm taking a break right now."

Steve rolls his eyes. "I'm not helping you get off via text."

"Can I call you?"

"Uh, seeing as I'm still in Sam's car, no."

":("

"I know, Bucky. I'll be with you soon—twenty minutes tops."

"Alright, I'm holding you to that. I love you."

"I love you too."

Sam pulls into the parking lot of America's Best Value Inn just after ten in the morning. Since check in doesn't start until three in the afternoon, they unanimously decide to walk over to Dina's and grab a table before the lunch rush starts.

"Steve?" a hopeful voice asks almost as soon as they enter the diner.

Steve looks up to find Bucky standing on the other side of the diner, his hair in a messy bun and a wide smile on his face. "Bucky," he says and suddenly he's walking forward, meeting up with Bucky in the middle of the diner and pulling him into a hug, pressing their bodies together until there's no space between them.

They stand together in silence for a moment before Bucky moves away in favor of drawing Steve into an enthusiastic kiss, which Steve returns wholeheartedly. Bucky's arms loop around Steve's neck while Steve's hands rest on Bucky's lower back as he deepens their kiss, swallowing the pleased whine that Bucky emits.

"Get a room," Sam shouts teasingly from somewhere behind them.

Steve pulls away from Bucky. "We have one," he says, which causes Bucky to smirk. He leans in to kiss Bucky again when he feels someone tugging on his shorts. He pulls ways and looks down, finding Elise staring up at Bucky with a curious expression on her face.

"Well, hello there," Bucky says, crouching down so he's eye level with Elise. "You must be Elise. I've heard so much about you."

Elise blinks at Bucky before turning to Steve, who has also crouched down. She points to Bucky and says, "Uncle Bucky?"

Steve nods. "Yeah, that's your Uncle Bucky."

Elise looks away from Steve and walks forward, wrapping her tiny arms around Bucky's neck. Bucky hugs her back, holding her close and looking as though he might cry from sheer happiness.

"Ah! Oh my god!" a new voice exclaims.

"Rebecca! Hi!"

Steve turns away from Bucky and Elise and finds Rebecca hugging both Sam and Natasha at the same time, congratulating them on becoming parents in between the three of them shrieking enthusiastically about nothing in particular. He rises to his feet only to be pulled into his own hug, holding Rebecca for a moment before she pulls away and turns her attention to Elise, who is now standing in front of Bucky and babbling animatedly about something she saw on the way here.

"Aw, she is literally the cutest thing," Rebecca says. "How old is she now?"

"A year and two months," Natasha says with a proud smile.

"Aww. She's so big now," Rebecca gushes. "Are you still staying at home with her?"

Natasha shakes her head. "Not anymore. I was stay-at-home for about . . . six or seven months, but once I was confident that our Nanny could take care of Elise on their own, I got a job at a law firm and work as an assistant to a defense lawyer."

"Nice," Rebecca says before furrowing her brow. "You have a Nanny?"

"Yeah, Steve," Natasha says, casually.

Steve rolls his eyes. "I work from home as an artist. At first, I helped Natasha when Sam went back to work but now, I watch Elise for them during the day and work at night."

"You're an artist?" Rebecca asks curiously.

Steve nods. "I work for an independent company and had my first book published back in January."

"That's exciting! What's it about?"

"Oh, it's a tale that I am far too familiar with," Sam chimes in as he takes a seat at an empty table nearby. "His book is Elise's favorite and she has me read it to her every night. Did you hear that? I'll say it again. Every night."

Steve rolls his eyes. "I can't help it that your daughter has fantastic taste," he says while Sam snorts doubtfully.

"Where's Carter?" Bucky asks, joining in to the conversation, Elise nestled comfortably in his arms.

"He has business in California. I actually just got back from dropping him off at the airport," Rebecca informs. "He was so upset that he isn't able to come and gives everyone his best."

Natasha raises an eyebrow. "Carter?"

"Huh? Oh, my fiancée."

Natasha gaps. "You never mentioned a fiancée, you sly dog," she says, shifting so she can lightly hit Rebecca in the arm.

Rebecca laughs before settling down in the seat across from Sam. "He's the mystery guy I've been telling you about for the past year. I didn't want to jinx it by saying too much, but we ended up getting engaged last week so I figured I'd wait and surprise everyone," she says with a small smile.

"And what a surprise indeed. Congratulations," Natasha says with a grin as she settles in next to Sam.

"Thank you," Rebecca responds, smiling wider.

Steve moves then, sitting down in the open chair next to Rebecca's while Bucky settles in on Steve's right, cradling Elise close to his chest while she sleeps soundly, her face pressed against his shoulder.

A camera flash goes off nearby and Steve turns his head, finding Nat holding her phone in one hand while she wipes at her eyes with the other.

"Nat . . .?" Steve asks, trailing off.

"I'm fine. It's just—I was so worried that she wasn't going to like anyone new, you know. But, look at her—she loves him so much and I'm just so happy." She pauses to sniffle. "I'm so happy that you guys love our baby as much as we do."

"She's an angel, Nat, how could we not?" Steve says honestly.

Natasha emits a high-pitched noise. "Stop it, Steve, you're making it worse," she says, which causes Steve to smile. After about a minute, she manages to regain control of herself, wiping her face off with her hands before placing them in her lap. "I'm okay. Really I am."

As Natasha changes the subject, Steve looks over at Bucky, finding that the latter only has eyes for Elise, his expression soft as he gently rocks her in his arms while humming a tune under his breath that Steve doesn't think he's ever heard before.

Bucky looks up at Steve after a moment with a warm smile on his face, and Steve can't help lean over and kiss him, lips gently moving against Bucky's with no intention of going any further. It's in this moment, in a nineteen sixties-esque diner on a small Island in Virginia, Steve is certain that no matter what the future may have in store for him, it's going to be perfect as long as he has Sam, Natasha, Rebecca, Elise, and Bucky by his side.