Domestic Tranquility

Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers. They belong to Marvel/Disney.

Eileen Coulson heard someone coming down the stairs. Curious, she looked into the living room from where she was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the morning paper, drinking her coffee. The footsteps were replaced with a much louder noise and profanity, then she witnessed her son's boyfriend walking into her kitchen, half-asleep, shirtless, and his hair sticking up in varying directions. She watched, eyebrow arched, as the young man grabbed a mug, pouring himself some coffee. He sighed after emptying the mug, setting it down.

"Rough night?" she asked.

Rogers startled, figuring out he wasn't alone.

"You could say that, ma'am," he said.

"Phillip keeping you up?"

Rogers twitched ever so slightly at the question, hands gripping the counter behind him, blush creeping up his neck, turning his ears crimson.

Eileen stood, walking over to pour herself more coffee.

"Dear, there's no need to be so provincial about what happens between two people when they love each other," she said, reaching up, patting Rogers on the cheek. "And don't call me ma'am."

"Sorry," Rogers replied, watching as she refilled both their mugs. "Like I said, there's no need to be provincial. You were in the army," she said.

"Well I. . .uh, we haven't, yet," he said.

"But you live together," she said.

"We're taking it slow," he said. "Phil's been patient with me."

"Do I need to have a talk with my son?"

"About?"

"Is he pushing too hard? Do you want to wait until you get married? Are you getting married? I'm asking too many questions, aren't I?" Eileen said.

"No, I don't know, yes and you are entitled to ask questions," Rogers said.

Eileen was still stuck on the 'yes' to getting married. She threw her arms around Steve. "You are getting married? Have you set a date?"

"We've talked about getting married, and we're not even engaged yet," Steve said.

Eileen sighed, patting Roger's cheek. "Kids," she muttered. "Sit down. I'll fix breakfast."

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Rogers sat in a lawn char in the garage, sketching and watching Coulson work on the Mustang. The garage door was open, and the car's hood was up. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon, but his conversation with Eileen that morning kept replaying through his head. Yes, they had talked about getting married, but not seriously. They were in a committed, long-term, monogamous relationship. What else did they need?

But Rogers was born and raised in another era, and no matter how much time he spent in the 21st century, some things about himself he couldn't, and wouldn't change. So he decided to bring it up.

"Do you think we should get married?" Rogers asked.

Coulson's head snapped up and he hit his head on the raised hood.

"Are you asking?" he said.

"Well, maybe," Rogers said. "Have you given any thought to marrying me?"

"I think about it all the time," Coulson said. "I didn't think you were ready to consider it seriously. I mean, we've talked about it. . ."

Rogers stood, setting down his sketch pad.

"Fine. Will you marry me?" he said.

Coulson smiled, crossing his arms. "What, you're not getting down on one knee?"

Rogers rolled his eyes.

"My answer is yes," Coulson said, closing the distance, pulling Rogers' head down for a kiss.