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It’d been several months since Sam and Bucky adopted Karli. The redhead was settling in well to her new home. It was starting to get a little crowded in the Wilson family household, but they learned to make do with the space they had. Her dads, she still wasn’t used to calling them that, were saving up for a small house of their own for the three of them, but until then, Aunt Sarah’s house would have to do. Karli didn’t mind though, she was used to sharing spaces with others. It brought her comfort to be surrounded by people that cared about her again.
One of her favorite activities was playing football or soccer as everyone else dared to call it, with AJ and Cass. Admittedly, AJ and Cass were slightly better than her, but that’s what made playing against them fun. Each time they had a match, Karli got better. One day Sam caught the three of them playing and shouted “Hey, Karls, you’re pretty good at that soccer thing!” Surprised, she spared a glance to look at him, and she promptly fell flat on her ass as Cass stole the ball away from her. Sam grimaced and quickly strode over to his daughter, holding out one of his hands to help her up. Karli took it and dusted herself off. “You good?” He said concern plastered across his face. “Yeah, I’m alright,” She took a second to check herself for any injuries, finding none she proceeded to ask her dad a question.
“Did you mean it?”
“Mean what?”
“That I was good at ‘that soccer thing’” She replied, including air quotes around the part he said earlier.
“Of course I meant it, why would I say it if I didn’t?” Karli shrugged. “Guess I’m not used to people saying I’m good at something.” She hung her head and mumbled that last sentence. Sam’s brows furrowed and he lifted his hand to her face, bringing her head back up so he could look her in the eyes. “Honey, I will say that you’re good at something every day if it makes you feel better.” Karli didn’t know how to respond to that. So instead of saying something back, she simply embraced him. Sam was somewhat taken aback by this, but he wrapped his arms around her anyway. Unbeknownst to the pair, Bucky and Sarah were watching from the porch. When they let go of each other, their gazes immediately turned towards the porch. “How much of that did you see?” Sam asked. “All of it. I always knew my husband was a big softie,” Bucky replied. “Are you sure about that?” Sarah scoffed back. “He only acts like that when he knows someone’s watching,” She finished, shaking her head faintly. “Alright, you two, go inside and wash up. Dinner’s ready,” Sarah spoke, heading back into the house.
Dinner that night was red beans and rice with andouille sausage and a side of cornbread. Karli liked Cajun food, even if she couldn’t handle the spice all too well. “So, word on the street is that soccer tryouts are being held at school soon,” Sam said, cutting through the comfortable silence. “Yeah, so?” Karli responded, shoveling a fork full of beans and rice into her mouth. “So, I think what your father is trying to say is that you should try out,” Bucky answered, butting into the conversation. “Yeah, you should totally try out Karli!! You’re great at soccer!” AJ said energetically. “Uh, no, no, I won’t be doing that,” She retorted, placing her fork on her now empty plate. “Why not? The worst thing that could happen is you don’t make it on the team,” Sam spoke. “Exactly, which is why I don’t want to,” “Oh, come on, just try. For us, please?” Bucky responded, a slight whine making its way into his voice. “Ugh, ok, fine, but only because you asked nicely,” Karli said. “Yes!” Her dads replied, both of them fist-pumping the air. Why did she decide to be adopted by these two fools again?
Soccer tryouts came and went. Surprisingly, or not surprisingly to her family, Karli made it onto the team. Her first game was tomorrow and she couldn’t stop practicing. She was outside dribbling the ball working on her technique. Red curls bouncing around her face because she couldn’t be bothered to tie it up. Bucky wandered out onto the porch, leaning his body against one of the colonnades. “Shouldn’t you be saving your energy for the game tomorrow?” He asked. Karli paused, holding the ball still under her foot. “I suppose, but what does it matter if I’m not perfect at ball control?” She replied, exasperation leaking into her tone. Her dad moved off of the colonnade and walked over to her. “Darlin’ it’s the first game of the season. Everyone is going to be nervous and won’t be playing at their best. You’ll have plenty of time to work on your ball control throughout the season, so stop worrying ok?” He placed his hand, the flesh one, on her shoulder reassuringly. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Karli said conceding. “Of course I’m right, I’m your dad.” He added with a chuckle. “Now, let’s go inside, it’s getting late,”
Karli sat at the kitchen table, her leg bouncing up and down. She had no idea why she was so nervous. “First game jitters got ya down, kid?” Sam said. He noticed she’d barely touched her breakfast. “You need to finish that,” He spoke, pointing at her untouched plate. “Gotta keep your energy up for the game, don’t need you passing out on us,” Sam huffed. Karli grumbled but did what she was told anyway. He did have a point, passing out because of low blood sugar didn’t sound like a good time. After she finished her breakfast she headed to her room to pack up the rest of her things. She stuffed her cleats, shinguards, jersey, and a water bottle into her duffle and tossed it over her shoulder.
It was game time. Her eyes were trained on the ball that the ref held in his hand. “I want a good, clean game today. Alright, girls? Ready? Play ball!” The ref blew his whistle and tossed the football into the air. Immediately she went for it. The defending Mid-fielder followed suit, trying her best to get the ball away from Karli. But Karli wouldn’t let her take it and passed the ball towards another teammate. “WOOO THAT’S MY KARLS!” She heard Sam shout. He was by far the loudest parent there, besides Bucky of course. Karli shook her head, doing her best to drown out the noise and focus on the game. Eventually, she got subbed out to take a water break. “You two are so embarrassing, I hope you know that,” She said, taking a sip of her water. “Yeah, we know. It’s what dads are for!” Bucky answered back.
Karli was kept out of the game until the final few minutes. She high-fived her teammate that she was subbing back in for and jogged onto the field. Quickly she got her eyes back on the checkered ball. She rushed over and intercepted it from the defender. The defender chased after her and managed to get it back, but Karli was good with her feet. Reclaiming the ball for herself she dashed down the field. When she was close enough she kicked it as hard as she could towards the goal. The ball scuffed past the tips of the goalie’s fingers and hit the netting with a satisfying sound. The final buzzer sounded and suddenly she was surrounded by her teammates. Karli had made the winning goal! Once the excitement had simmered down and her teammates stopped crowding her, she saw her dads coming over to congratulate her. Bucky reached her first and hoisted her up onto his vibranium shoulder. “I’m so proud of you, kid!” Sam said, giving her leg an affectionate squeeze. At that moment, Karli decided that these two goofballs were the best dads anyone could have and her heart felt full again for the first time in a long while.