With the chaos of Christmas and New Year over, and school begun again, life had calmed down immensely on Maple Grove. As much as Lucy Rogers loved her family, it was a relief to only have to handle the twins during the day, especially with Steve splitting his time between illustrating and security consulting for the volunteer crews in the city. Snow lay thick over the Grove, providing a fantastic playground for Sarah and Natalia, overseen by their parents from the porch in a rare free lunchtime together.
"It's weird, Luce," Steve mused aloud, a mug of hot coffee between his hands. "For the first time in my life, I have more time than I know what to do with." It wasn't a bad thing, necessarily - just different, especially for a man who had selflessly pledged his life to fight evil.
"Maybe you can do something for yourself, for once," his wife suggested with a fond smile. She was wrapped up in a thick sweater and a scarf, her own hands staying warm around a tea cup. "Something you enjoy, that's just for you. Or, you know, just more incredible sex with your pixie-like wife."
Steve chuckled, mostly at his wife's remark about sex, but at least, he didn't blush. He'd grown accustomed to her outspoken way of telling him what she wanted, especially in regard to their sex life. "Are you saying I don't satisfy your needs?" he teased back, blue eyes bright with amusement.
She snorted with laughter, leaning against his side. "If I could get away with it, we wouldn't get out of bed until at least midday every day," she reminded him affectionately. "Sadly, we made mini-mes who need looking after."
"Well, we could give them away, but I have a feeling we'd miss them," he teased further, turning his head to touch a kiss to her temple. He didn't have to ask if she was happy; the answer was right there to see in the way her eyes sparkled when she was near him.
With the twins now fast approaching two and able to communicate a little, life was far less stressful than it had been even six months ago. It showed in the more relaxed line of Lucy's shoulders as she smiled up at her husband. "Oh, by the way ....it looks like someone's moving into Birchwood - you know, the cottage on the other side of the hedge there?"
Steve arched a brow at that news and glanced in the direction of the cottage next door. "More Grangers, I assume. You'd think they were all accounted for by now," he said. He wasn't complaining exactly. The Grangers had been more than generous to him and his family; it just amazed him how many of them there were.
"Somehow I don't think there's an end to this family," Lucy agreed with a grin. She wasn't wrong about the house across the way getting new people in, though - there was definitely movement inside.
As Sarah suddenly let out a happy shriek and tackled Natalia into a snow drift, a familiar bark made itself known from the other side of the hedge, and a very familiar Cocker Spaniel bounced into view for a split second. And again. And again.
Steve's brow arched a little higher at the commotion next door. Though he was no fool, you could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he deduced just who was moving in next door. "Wait ....What's Nat doing here" Are they ..." He furrowed his brows in thought. He knew they'd been considering moving to Rhy'Din, but he'd no idea they'd end up next door. "Are Nat and Colin moving in next door?" he asked, incredulously.
For once, it seemed as though Lucy wasn't in on a secret kept from Steve for his own happiness. She looked just as perplexed as he was, rising to her feet to get a good look over the hedge to the other house. The hedge itself shook a little, and the voice of a former poisonous spider made itself known in a frustrated mutter.
"How the hell am I being defeated by a damned gate?"
Steve laughed at the sound of that all-too-familiar voice. "Maybe you should just walk around it?" he suggested from the porch. After all, the twins hadn't seemed to have had any trouble finding their Aunt Nat, though they were smaller and a little sneakier.
"What's the point of having a gate in the hedge between our houses if I have to walk all the way out my front door and around to yours to say hi?" the hedge complained back at him, much to Lucy's amusement. Then the complaining edge changed to a far more familiar warmth as the twins waded out of sight through the snow. "Well, look at you two, pretty as princesses! Aren't you cold?"
Steve chuckled again at the so-called hedge's question. "That's why they're wearing coats. Aren't you?" he asked, as he took Lucy's hand and started down the porch stairs to investigate further. If she was in any real trouble, he'd have been right there to help her, but it amused him to no end that the famous Black Widow had tangled herself up in the hedge, of all things.
"No comment," the hedge replied, to the tune of a pair of happy giggles.
Lucy rolled her eyes as she thumped down from the porch with Steve. "Only you could make a best friend who loses a fight with a shrubbery," she murmured teasingly.
To be fair, it appeared as though Nat genuinely had been trying to use the gate set into the hedge, but it was very old and had wedged her and her six months of baby bump deep into the greenery rather than let her through.
"Shall we go to the rescue?" Steve asked of his wife, as if they had any choice in the matter.
The sound of a door creaking open and slamming closed was heard from the other side of the hedge, followed by yet another disembodied voice:
"What's going on here" Nat, are you being eaten by a man-eating hedge?" he asked, a hint of amusement in the man's tone of voice.
"No, honey, I'm leaving you for a Blue Spruce with serious personal space issues," was drawled back in tone of dripping sarcasm.
That was too much for Lucy, who outright cackled with laughter at this comment, moving to pull her youngest daughters out of the snow before they froze solid.
"Alright, everyone, in the house now for some hot cocoa!" Steve commanded, as if he was in charge, not taking no for an answer. He let go of Lucy, handed her his mug, and stepped forward to untangle Nat from the hedge, making it look as easy as pie. "There, now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Easy for him, anyway.
"Cocoa, yay!" Feigning enthusiasm for the sake of getting the children excited about abandoning the snow, Lucy let hersef be dragged back toward the house, leaving Nat and Colin in Steve's capable hands.
The Black Widow raised a brow as she was freed from the hedge, dusting the snow from her bump.
"We should do something about that," she said, glancing over her shoulder to flash Colin a grin. "Can't have it catapulting children into the scenery."
The Prescotts' dog, interpreting that cheer as being for her, wagged her perfectly-groomed tail and barked a friendly greeting before following after Lucy and the twins. Steve grinned to find his best friend in good spirits, despite her struggle with the hedge. "We'll ask if it's okay to tear it down. We don't need any fences between us," he said. "Good to see you, Nat. I wasn't expecting us to become neighbors." He offered a nod to Colin, not bothering to apologize for pulling Nat free of the hedge. Neither man had any reason to feel threatened by the other. "Colin. Good to see you, too," he said, offering the other man a hand.
"It's weird, Luce," Steve mused aloud, a mug of hot coffee between his hands. "For the first time in my life, I have more time than I know what to do with." It wasn't a bad thing, necessarily - just different, especially for a man who had selflessly pledged his life to fight evil.
"Maybe you can do something for yourself, for once," his wife suggested with a fond smile. She was wrapped up in a thick sweater and a scarf, her own hands staying warm around a tea cup. "Something you enjoy, that's just for you. Or, you know, just more incredible sex with your pixie-like wife."
Steve chuckled, mostly at his wife's remark about sex, but at least, he didn't blush. He'd grown accustomed to her outspoken way of telling him what she wanted, especially in regard to their sex life. "Are you saying I don't satisfy your needs?" he teased back, blue eyes bright with amusement.
She snorted with laughter, leaning against his side. "If I could get away with it, we wouldn't get out of bed until at least midday every day," she reminded him affectionately. "Sadly, we made mini-mes who need looking after."
"Well, we could give them away, but I have a feeling we'd miss them," he teased further, turning his head to touch a kiss to her temple. He didn't have to ask if she was happy; the answer was right there to see in the way her eyes sparkled when she was near him.
With the twins now fast approaching two and able to communicate a little, life was far less stressful than it had been even six months ago. It showed in the more relaxed line of Lucy's shoulders as she smiled up at her husband. "Oh, by the way ....it looks like someone's moving into Birchwood - you know, the cottage on the other side of the hedge there?"
Steve arched a brow at that news and glanced in the direction of the cottage next door. "More Grangers, I assume. You'd think they were all accounted for by now," he said. He wasn't complaining exactly. The Grangers had been more than generous to him and his family; it just amazed him how many of them there were.
"Somehow I don't think there's an end to this family," Lucy agreed with a grin. She wasn't wrong about the house across the way getting new people in, though - there was definitely movement inside.
As Sarah suddenly let out a happy shriek and tackled Natalia into a snow drift, a familiar bark made itself known from the other side of the hedge, and a very familiar Cocker Spaniel bounced into view for a split second. And again. And again.
Steve's brow arched a little higher at the commotion next door. Though he was no fool, you could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he deduced just who was moving in next door. "Wait ....What's Nat doing here" Are they ..." He furrowed his brows in thought. He knew they'd been considering moving to Rhy'Din, but he'd no idea they'd end up next door. "Are Nat and Colin moving in next door?" he asked, incredulously.
For once, it seemed as though Lucy wasn't in on a secret kept from Steve for his own happiness. She looked just as perplexed as he was, rising to her feet to get a good look over the hedge to the other house. The hedge itself shook a little, and the voice of a former poisonous spider made itself known in a frustrated mutter.
"How the hell am I being defeated by a damned gate?"
Steve laughed at the sound of that all-too-familiar voice. "Maybe you should just walk around it?" he suggested from the porch. After all, the twins hadn't seemed to have had any trouble finding their Aunt Nat, though they were smaller and a little sneakier.
"What's the point of having a gate in the hedge between our houses if I have to walk all the way out my front door and around to yours to say hi?" the hedge complained back at him, much to Lucy's amusement. Then the complaining edge changed to a far more familiar warmth as the twins waded out of sight through the snow. "Well, look at you two, pretty as princesses! Aren't you cold?"
Steve chuckled again at the so-called hedge's question. "That's why they're wearing coats. Aren't you?" he asked, as he took Lucy's hand and started down the porch stairs to investigate further. If she was in any real trouble, he'd have been right there to help her, but it amused him to no end that the famous Black Widow had tangled herself up in the hedge, of all things.
"No comment," the hedge replied, to the tune of a pair of happy giggles.
Lucy rolled her eyes as she thumped down from the porch with Steve. "Only you could make a best friend who loses a fight with a shrubbery," she murmured teasingly.
To be fair, it appeared as though Nat genuinely had been trying to use the gate set into the hedge, but it was very old and had wedged her and her six months of baby bump deep into the greenery rather than let her through.
"Shall we go to the rescue?" Steve asked of his wife, as if they had any choice in the matter.
The sound of a door creaking open and slamming closed was heard from the other side of the hedge, followed by yet another disembodied voice:
"What's going on here" Nat, are you being eaten by a man-eating hedge?" he asked, a hint of amusement in the man's tone of voice.
"No, honey, I'm leaving you for a Blue Spruce with serious personal space issues," was drawled back in tone of dripping sarcasm.
That was too much for Lucy, who outright cackled with laughter at this comment, moving to pull her youngest daughters out of the snow before they froze solid.
"Alright, everyone, in the house now for some hot cocoa!" Steve commanded, as if he was in charge, not taking no for an answer. He let go of Lucy, handed her his mug, and stepped forward to untangle Nat from the hedge, making it look as easy as pie. "There, now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Easy for him, anyway.
"Cocoa, yay!" Feigning enthusiasm for the sake of getting the children excited about abandoning the snow, Lucy let hersef be dragged back toward the house, leaving Nat and Colin in Steve's capable hands.
The Black Widow raised a brow as she was freed from the hedge, dusting the snow from her bump.
"We should do something about that," she said, glancing over her shoulder to flash Colin a grin. "Can't have it catapulting children into the scenery."
The Prescotts' dog, interpreting that cheer as being for her, wagged her perfectly-groomed tail and barked a friendly greeting before following after Lucy and the twins. Steve grinned to find his best friend in good spirits, despite her struggle with the hedge. "We'll ask if it's okay to tear it down. We don't need any fences between us," he said. "Good to see you, Nat. I wasn't expecting us to become neighbors." He offered a nod to Colin, not bothering to apologize for pulling Nat free of the hedge. Neither man had any reason to feel threatened by the other. "Colin. Good to see you, too," he said, offering the other man a hand.