Chapter Text
Steve still wasn’t used to waking up in this body. Sometimes he’d go to rub his crusty eyes in the morning and he’d become overjoyed when he saw the muscular arm reaching toward his face and the masculine chest it was attached to, usually assuming he was in a dream. He was really very lucky with his transition. Sure, he had grown up in a time where there was no such thing as being trans, but he’d gotten the serum. That magic elixir that had eliminated the need for surgery, and shots, and doubt from strangers. And then on top of it all he got to wake up in the most accepting decade yet. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, nowhere near it, but compared to the 40’s, it was a dream. When he woke up after being frozen and given access to the Internet for the first time, the first thing he did once deciphering Google was find out if there were other people like him. Boy were there! He was expecting a couple dozen guys in his situation, but he found a community of thousands, nay, millions! Fast forward a couple months and he spent all his free time donating to and volunteering at LGBT centers across America.
Today he was expecting his body, though. He was still delighted it was there, but he had gotten a little more used to it. He rolled over, sleep still hanging from his eyelids, and threw his arms over his partner, his beloved Bucky. It had taken some haggling with Tony to let Bucky stay with him, but he had triumphed over the cocky billionaire, convincing him that Bucky might have night terrors, and that he was the only one who could calm them down.
“Hey, Buck,” he gently shook his partner, their metal arm cool to the touch. “We gotta get up and save the world!”
Bucky groaned and opened their dark eyes. “You say that every day. We’re only going to the Center.” They were, of course, referring to the LGBT Community Center down in the city.
“Oh, come on, Bucky,” Steve objected, “We’re not only going to the Center. We’re gonna go help some kids! Some kids who really need it, just like you and I needed it.” Bucky grumbled something about not having anything to wear. “C’mon, I did some laundry yesterday, you have plenty to wear. Femme, masc, you name it. Just throw something on and I’ll make breakfast.”
Bucky would’ve protested and begged for another five minutes, but the mention of breakfast woke them right up. They sat up, stretched out, and began looking through their extensive wardrobe. Steve threw on some deodorant, jeans, and a t-shirt, and went down to the communal kitchen at the Avengers HQ to start on his famous Belgian waffle batter.
After some egg-breaking and cream-whipping, Steve plopped the thick, sticky batter into the waffle press just as Bucky came down the stairs. They were wearing ripped blue jeans, cuffed at the ankles to reveal floral socks tucked into white Adidas. Above the jeans was a sleeveless floral button-down shirt with the collar buttoned all the way up, and their hair was pulled into a messy ponytail with a scrunchie the same red as the star on their metallic left arm. Steve always felt like a slob next to Bucky, no matter how much they claimed it was a “casual day”.
Bucky sauntered over to their boyfriend and gave him a kiss on the cheek right as Tony walked in.
“Get a room, lovebirds,” he declared sarcastically. He was clad in nothing but a blue bathrobe and pink bunny slippers. His eyes lit up behind his yellow-tinted sunglasses when they caught sight of Steve’s messy apron. “Ooo, waffles! Make some more batter will you? I’m hungry and the Spiderling came over last night while you two were out on the town.”
“Oh?” Steve raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know Peter was here.”
“Yeah he needs some help figuring out his suit.” Tony waved his hand while he fixed himself a cup of coffee. “God forbid he finds some of those features before I teach him about them.”
Steve remembers the first time he met Peter after the fight at the airport. Tony had invited him over for dinner and a tour of the headquarters, and Peter had come with a full suitcase (“just in case!”). Steve had a mouthful of popcorn when Peter and Tony found him and Bucky watching a movie on the couch. Bucky turned an unfortunate shade of red when Peter started examining their arm, and Tony had to practically rip Peter away. Steve quickly had to swallow his mouthful of popcorn so he could introduce himself to Peter.
He extended a buttery hand for Peter to eagerly grab. “Hi I’m Steve,” the captain started, “I believe we’ve met before?” Peter turned nearly as red as Bucky and nervously laughed about the battle.
“Yeah,” Peter nervously rubbed the back of his neck and turned toward Bucky, “Sorry for throwing that sign at you,” Bucky sighed and waved as Peter looked back at Steve “and stealing your shield.”
“Hey, I’m sorry for making you hold that truck for so long,” Steve chuckled and extended his hand once more, “We even?”
Peter smiled and his eyes lit up, “Even.”
Needless to say, Peter ended up leaving half of the contents of his suitcase around the common areas, but Steve didn’t have time to think about that as the timer on his waffles went off. He lifted two golden brown waffles out of the press and dropped them onto plates. He slid them across the table just as Peter came down the stairs in pajamas with his own face plastered all over them.
Tony couldn’t help but laugh. “Fuck, Peter!”
“Hey! Watch your language around the kid!” Steve exclaimed.
“It’s okay, Captain Rogers,” Peter yawned, “I’ve heard much worse from Miss Romanov”
“See, ‘Captain’?” Tony mocked, “The kid’s heard worse.”
“Oh, just eat your waffle, Anthony, Buck and I have somewhere to be today.”