Sleepily, Katya wandered down the stairs, following the soft voice of her wife who hadn't been next to her in bed when she woke up. That wasn't a surprise; Natasha was awake at first light. Didn't matter if they had stuff to do or not. Usually, she worked out before the rest of the world woke up, but that had been a real struggle nowadays because of the other voice in the kitchen.

''Let me guess; peanut butter.''

''Yes please,'' Maya's soft voice answered.

She was almost ten now, which was crazy. When Katya called Lisa with the question if Maya's family had come to pick her up, her answer was a sad no. The girl's parents were on an airplane when the Snap happened, which wouldn't be a problem, if only the pilot hadn't turned to dust. It plummeted in the ocean and wasn't the only plane affected.

Maya's grandparents died years ago and her parents weren't in touch with the rest of their family, so despite her having uncles and aunts somewhere, they didn't want to take care of her. After a debate that didn't last a minute, Natasha and Katya decided to take her in. Because they felt they were finally ready for their own family.

They hadn't forced Maya into anything. They simply went to the orphanage and asked her if she wanted to live with them. Her big eyes had wandered to Lisa, unsure if they were really asking her that. She couldn't believe she would live with two superheroes. But Lisa nodded and Maya nodded so enthusiastically that her red hair swept into her face.

Katya had a hard time believing all of it was real when Maya climbed on the backseat of their new Audi - since the old one got blown up by Thanos - and they drove away from the orphanage with only a small suitcase of Maya's stuff. 

Every morning, Katya somehow expected her to be gone, but every morning she sat at the counter, eating her sandwich before she or Natasha would drive her to school.

Today wasn't any different. 

Natasha heard Katya's footsteps before she came into the kitchen, smiling at her messy hair and sleepy eyes. ''Look who decided to wake up,'' she teased. Liho came to greet her with a meow and a stroke against her legs. Maya twisted on her barstool, chewing on her peanut butter sandwich.

''Good morning, Kat.''

Katya smiled widely at the scene in front of her. She couldn't believe this was her life now. The only thing missing was the picket white fence in front of their small home. ''Morning.'' She kissed the top of Maya's head before moving around the counter and pulling Natasha against her, kissing her lips. ''Hi baby.''

Natasha's eyes sparkled, but Maya groaned and pointed to her plate. ''I'm eating!''

''Too bad,'' Katya joked. She totally meant to get that reaction. Luckily, Maya had a good sense of humor and could laugh about it, the sound warming both Russians' hearts. 

Katya filled a cup with steaming hot coffee and leaned over the counter, Natasha preparing Maya's lunch. Her eyes trailed to the girl's fingernails, which were painted in a bright purple color. ''So that's what you did last night when you should have been asleep,'' Katya teased her, pretty sure the color wasn't there yesterday. ''I like it.''

Maya's cheeks warmed a bit when she realized she'd been exposed, but didn't try and deny it. ''I found it in the bathroom. The color is pretty.''

Natasha glanced over, stuffing Maya's lunch into the small backpack. ''Not sure how it got there. Haven't painted my nails in years.''

The girl perked up, almost spilling her milk everywhere. ''I can do yours? After school?''

She smiled, nodding at Maya's enthusiasm. ''Absolutely. Now if Kat gets dressed, she can take you.''

Katya narrowed her eyes at the smug smile on her face, Maya laughing at the whole thing. ''Because you asked so nicely.''

Maya sat in the front seat. She'd either look at the city or talk the whole way, or both, during these trips to school. But today, she had been silent the whole ride, making Katya believe something was on her mind. But she didn't ask. Maya would come forward with it when she wanted to. Which was about half a mile from the school, in Forest Hills, New York. 

They hadn't chosen it randomly. Peter Parker's high school wasn't far from here, so if anything was wrong, he could be with her quickly. After all, Maya was the daughter of two ex-Avengers and was vulnerable. But Natasha and Katya decided - together with Maya - she needed a life as normal as possible, and that included going to a school to meet new friends and be a kid. She had been locked inside an orphanage long enough.

''You and Nat are going to the ceremony today, right?''

Katya hummed. ''That's right. Sam is officially giving the shield to the museum.'' It was his decision, which Katya understood completely. The world would always compare Sam to Steve if he accepted the title of Captain America. Besides, Sam told her it didn't feel right. The shield belonged to Steve, was his legacy. 

''Why doesn't he become Captain America?'' Maya questioned. She had a lot of questions, which Katya tried to answer as honest and clear as possible. ''Steve gave him the shield.''

''I don't know for sure,'' Katya admitted. ''But I think Sam isn't ready to carry the burdens that come with the Captain America name. The shield is so much more than just a painted disk. It stands for freedom, righteousness and all America believes it stands for.''

Maya considered that answer. ''But now the world doesn't have a Captain America anymore.''

''Do you believe it needs one?'' Katya asked curiously. She stopped the car in front of the school, along the curb, where other parents dropped their kids off too. 

Maya shrugged, unbuckling her seatbelt. ''Maybe not. There are other superheroes.''

Katya nodded and got the door for her, the girl climbing out and swinging her backpack on her back. ''Have fun today,'' Katya said to her before she could close the door. Hopefully, the ceremony wouldn't take too long and she was on time to pick her up. Otherwise Peter would have to swing by and get her.

''I will. Bye mom!'' Maya swung the door closed before Katya could react. But even if she wanted to, she couldn't have. She sat frozen in her seat, mouth open in shock. Maya hadn't called her or Natasha anything other than their names, which was completely understandable. But after six months, Maya threw the word out like it was the most natural thing in the world. She didn't see how much of an impact it had on Katya.

It took everything in her not to call Natasha immediately, but she wanted to see the reaction on her face. With tears in her eyes and a huge smile on her face, she drove home, down the driveway, and jumped out of the car, rushing in so quickly Natasha could think she was being hunted. ''Nat.''

Natasha stepped out of the bathroom, blow-dryer in her hand. ''What happened to you?'' she asked, half-joking, half-concerned. On the bed lay her outfit for today, a neat, formfitting dress for official occasions. 

''She called me mom,'' Katya breathed out, the tears returning to her eyes at the memory.

Natasha had a similar reaction to Katya in the car. She froze, her jaw almost dropping in shock. ''What? Really?'' Being a mom was the last thing any of them ever expected to be.

Katya nodded, laughing in disbelief. ''Yeah, she just threw it out like it was no big deal.''

Natasha didn't feel one bit of jealousy, only happiness. It was enough to know Maya considered them her parents. Katya had been in her life almost as long as her real parents had been, which was crazy. 

''You're amazing with her, Kat. I'm not surprised,'' Natasha mumbled. Somehow, she felt a sense of pride, staring at her blue-eyed wife with the chin-length brown hair. 

''So are you.'' Katya couldn't help but feel slightly guilty of having this honor first. She didn't want Natasha to feel left out or like she was a worse parent.

''My time will come,'' she reassured her with a smile. ''Now, if we want to be on time, we have to leave in twenty minutes. Still have to drive to D.C..'' She gently pushed Katya in the direction of the bedroom, or more specifically, to the closet. 

Katya laughed, running her hand over all the new clothes. It didn't take long to fill the closet after they lost it all. ''Any suggestions?'' she called out over the noise of the blow-dryer.

''The dark blue suit!'' Natasha replied without missing a beat, causing Katya to laugh and grab the hanger.

''Could have guessed that.''

~~~~~

Katya looped her arm through Natasha's when they walked into the Smithsonian. It had been a while since they'd been in D.C, but the city truly felt like coming home. Sam wasn't hard to find in the crowd. Everyone wanted to talk to him, since he was the one gifting the shield to the museum. 

A mixed group of people came to see how it would be placed in a glass case, the press also jumping on this opportunity to get some snaps. The hall was busy, but nothing Katya couldn't handle. After all, the UN crowd had been much bigger. 

''Sam,'' she grabbed his attention, interrupting his conversation with an older woman who smiled kindly at the two Russians. 

The amount of hate they'd gotten in the five-year blip had made a complete turnaround to a huge amount of praise. Katya had no respect for those people. Only the ones who stood by them the whole time were real ones.

Sam whipped his head in her direction, a wide smile growing on his face. ''Katya. So nice to see you again.'' He seemed to relax at her arrival, hugging her shortly before moving to Natasha. ''Nat.'' 

He asked them to come so it wouldn't just be him and Rhodey, who was here somewhere too. But even if he hadn't asked, Katya would have visited. Steve was her friend after all, and this felt like a way to say goodbye to him officially.

''Hey. Nice job in Tunisia,'' Natasha praised, surprising him. Sam worked as a private contractor. Governments and organizations could hire him if they needed him. The job in Tunisia had been with the army.

Sam raised an eyebrow, glancing between the two smiling women. He couldn't deny how happy they looked. ''You stalking me?''

''Nah, we just like to know what stupid shit you're up to,'' Natasha responded, causing Sam to roll his eyes. Like all the Avengers, he had a hard time with the breakup. Katya had Natasha and vice versa, but the others got lost around the globe or even into the galaxy. Sam missed his family, feeling lonely from time to time. 

''How's the kid?'' he asked. He hadn't had the opportunity to meet her yet, but of course knew about it all. 

Katya's eyes lit up at the mention of the girl and the memory from this morning flashed through her head. ''Maya's great, thanks. She's at school now so you better not give an hour-long speech or we won't make it back in time,'' she joked. It didn't feel good to leave her in New York while they drove back and forth to D.C. for the day.

Sam chuckled, stuffing his hands into his suit pockets. The color of it matched Katya's. ''No promises.''

Natasha spotted the circular leather bag resting against the glass pulpit. Steve's face printed onto the huge canvases behind the podium confronted everyone with why they were here. ''You still feeling confident about your decision?''

Sam followed her line of sight, nodding to himself. ''Yeah. The shield doesn't belong to me. It belongs here. Hopefully he'll understand.'' He had struggled with this decision a lot, regularly calling with Katya and Natasha for their opinion on this. But in the end, he had to decide for himself, and he did. But he would never know if it truly was the right decision.

''Knowing Steve, he wouldn't have wanted you to do something you're not comfortable with,'' Katya chimed in, placing a hand on his arm in comfort. ''I'm sure he'd understand.''

''I wish I could ask him for advice. He just gave this to me and wished me good luck,'' Sam joked, but a hint of truth could be found in his words. He missed his friend, the reason he got back into the job in the first place. Even though he was happy for Steve that he got his happy ending, he couldn't help but feel abandoned. And if Sam felt that way, what must Bucky feel?

Steve was his only family. Now, he had no one, and Katya knew for sure he only went out to go to his mandatory psychologist visits. She tried reaching out, but Bucky never answered his phone. He wanted to be left alone, which she respected. 

''Trust your intuition.'' Natasha laid a hand on his shoulder. ''This feels right, so it is right.''

''Thanks.'' Sam nodded gratefully, but he could never stay serious for too long. ''Wait, was that mom advice?''

Natasha threw him a look while Katya chuckled. ''No. It was friend advice.''

Rhodey walked up behind Sam, alerting him of his presence with a hand on his shoulder. But he wasn't looking at Sam, but at Katya and Natasha. ''Hey. It's so great to see you. How are you guys? Retirement boring you yet?'' He looked very fancy in his Colonel's uniform. He fit in with the crowd, multiple soldiers and higher-placed officers present today.

Natasha looked at Katya, who shook her head for the both of them. ''We have our hands full at home, so no, not yet.'' It was the truth, but at the same time not. Katya was happy to be retired and she wasn't planning on ever going back into the field. But she missed the adrenaline, the excitement, although Natasha could provide that too.

Rhodey smiled, nodding knowingly. ''Good, good. It's important to keep busy.'' He looked at his watch, the reason he had come over in the first place. ''I'd love to talk more, but I think we should start. Sam?''

''Yeah.'' He nodded a thanks to both women and followed Rhodey to the stage. Katya and Natasha took place in the front of the crowd, not sure if they could stand there but doing it anyway. They got a lot of respectful nods and smiles, which they returned kindly. Not that Katya knew any of these people. 

The director of the museum gave a short intro, not that anyone needed one, and then gave the stage to Sam. He smiled and nodded, but that disappeared quickly when the weight of the topic fell on his shoulders. Nobody in that room truly knew how difficult this was.

''Steve represented the best in all of us. Courageous, righteous, hopeful,'' he started confidently. Sam was good at giving speeches, talking to people. It always held the right tone. ''And he mastered posing stoically,'' he continued, turning to the floor-to-ceiling banners behind him.

The crowd laughed and despite Katya's sadness, she found herself chuckling along. Cameras clicked behind her, journalists writing the whole thing down. She wished they weren't here, that it was a secluded ceremony. But this is Captain America they were talking about.

''The world has been forever changed.'' Sam turned to the crowd again, gripping the pulpit with both hands, like he needed to ground himself. ''A few months ago, billions of people reappeared after five years away, sending the world into turmoil.''

That, it definitely had been. Turmoil Katya and Natasha had pulled their hands off. Because they finally could. They had done enough. It was up to the governments of the world now. And that process... that didn't go so well. 

''We need new heroes. Ones suited for the times we're in.'' Sam nodded along with the words, fully believing in them. As did Katya. Her time was over. ''Symbols are nothing without the women and men that give them meaning. And this thing...''

Sam trailed off, picking the shield up from the ground. The cameras behind Katya went wild, trying to snap a picture for their newspaper frontpages. Because that's all it was to them, the end of Captain America. But to her, and Natasha and Sam, it was a goodbye to Steve.

''I don't know if there's ever been a greater symbol,'' Sam continued, admiring the shield. ''But it's more about the man who propped it up, and he's gone.''

A tense silence fell, Rhodey - who stood next to Natasha - dropping his head. Losing Steve had been hard for everyone, the first death in the group, and from the person they least expected it from. 

''So, today we honor Steve's legacy. But also, we look to the future.'' Sam glanced at the banner again. ''So, thank you, Captain America. But this belongs to you.''

A soft applause came from the crowd, no cheers because this wasn't a celebration. Sam handed the shield to two employees from the museum, who placed it inside a glass case. He didn't smile, he didn't nod, he was still conflicted.

So Katya sent him a soft smile when he looked her way. He could appreciate that, although she struggled with saying goodbye too. Natasha took her hand and squeezed it lightly, but Katya did the same back, because even though Natasha didn't have tears in her eyes like Katya, she knew she felt sad too. 

They said goodbye to the Avengers months ago, but now their Captain was officially off-duty, gone. The team might not have started with Steve, but he was a big part of it, because what was a team without a Captain?

~~~~~~~~

A/N: Welcome to the sequel! I hope you enjoy this as much as the last book :) Updates are on Monday and Friday again.