When Steve pulled the truck up to the curb at 177A Bleecker Street, he reluctantly shifted it into park and let out his held breath at the sight of the large, ornate building that would be his children's home for the next year or more. When the trio were born, he had gone through the thoughts of sending them off to school for the first time, high school dances, moving into college dorms, and so many other things that he actually was looking forward to sharing with them; in none of those thoughts were the idea that they would be apart from him so long at such a young age, and certainly not to learn mastery of powers that he had yet to understand. All he understood right now was that his children were getting stronger, and this was the best way to keep them and everyone around them safe.

"Alright," he sighed, reaching over to give your hand a squeeze, "we're here."

"Wow," Brooklyn gasped from her window, "I didn't think it would be so dark. I always think of magic as so bright and colorful."

"You're thinking of cartoons and comics," Grant scoffed, "and this is the real deal, sis. Not all magic is good."

"Magic doesn't have to be good and bad, or light and dark," Anthony added, grabbing his bag to jump out of the truck, "it's about how you use it, not the magic itself. Besides, I'm not interested in the magic so much as how to use the powers that I already have."

"Well I want to learn magic," Brooklyn argued, joining him on the sidewalk. "Aunt Wanda gave me a good start, but I'm ready for more."

The three children now stood together, bags in hand, staring up at the building with eyes wide and ready to begin their adventure. The door in front of them opened slowly, and rather than a greeting from the Doctor as they had expected, they were met by an older Asian man with a stern expression, his hands folded in front of him and saying nothing.

"Hello," Anthony offered, taking a step forward with an extended hand, "I'm Anthony. This is my brother Grant and my sister Brooklyn."

You and Steve had joined the kids and stood behind them, doing as you had promised to keep quiet and let them take the lead; they insisted that if this was their journey to take, they wanted to guide it as much as they were allowed to.

"Welcome, Rogers children. I'm Wong."

"Wong? Just Wong?" Grant asked politely, though with a slight smirk. "Like Madonna? Prince? Zendaya?"

"Just Wong," he replied flatly, glancing to you and Steve as you barely stifled your laughter to maintain your composure. "Come in, your rooms await you." He took a step aside and held his hand out to allow the kids to pass through the door, but when you and Steve reached the steps, his other hand came out to bring you to a halt. "I'm sorry, but only the children are allowed inside."

"Oh, okay," you answered quietly, feeling a sudden pain wash over you in the realization that you were actually being separated now; the moment had come, and the idea that you thought you were ready for it became a joke that you didn't find funny at all. "Could we say goodbye before they forget we exist?" You peered past Wong and into the building, only to find that your three were completely enamored in their new home and hadn't even realized that you were no longer behind them.

"My sincere apologies, Ma'am, I thought you had already done that. Children," Wong called out to them harshly, "it's disrespectful to walk away from your parents so easily, when you will not be seeing them again for several months. Come and say your goodbye's properly."

"Yes, Master Wong," Anthony hurried out in front to agree, rushing to the door again and down the steps to smash into you with a hug that knocked the wind from your chest. "Thank you, Mom," he whispered against you, "thank you for letting us do this. I'm going to miss you so much."

"I'm going to miss you too, honey, but we won't be far away if you need us, okay?"

"Okay," he sniffled quietly, pulling back to allow you to wipe the tears from his cheeks. "We can do this, right?"

"Of course you can. I've never doubted that once. Now go on," you urged quietly, before your voice could fail you, "don't keep the Doctor waiting." You glanced up to the window at the highest point of the building, seeing Strange looking down at your group with an expression that you couldn't read, only for him to walk away as soon as he noticed you spying him there.

Anthony turned and shuffled back towards the building, but he stopped suddenly and rushed back to you before his foot could touch the first step. "I can stay connected to you, can't I?" he asked, almost panicked that you might deny him the one thing that he had to keep you close.

"If the Doctor says that it's okay, then yes, I would love that."

"Okay, good," he sighed, his shoulders dropping from the weight that had dropped in his relief. "I love you, Mom," he said with one last hug, turning and running into the building without looking back, knowing that if he did, he might not want to stay. It was harder to walk away from you and Steve than any of them had anticipated, but Anthony wondered why he couldn't shake the sense that leaving you was the wrong thing to do and his heart began to hurt.

~~~

After the goodbyes were done and you and Steve found the will to drive away from the Sanctum, you made your way to your new home in Brooklyn, ready to get to work on setting up a place that would finally be only yours. Being married with a family amongst the team for so long had taken its toll, and missions that put you in danger so often had become too stressful to continue if you had hopes of keeping your family together. Both you and Steve knew that if you hadn't have stepped away when you did, your time together may not have lasted much longer under the strain; relationships are hard enough without the risk of dying on any given day clouding your thoughts.

The dim light of early evening was settling over the city as Steve finally brought the truck to a stop in front of your new home, and as you paused to look at it with new eyes as it finally being yours, you silently thanked Tony for convincing you to let him help you get it.

"You ready?"

"Yeah," you smiled, "I'm ready. You?"

"Doll, I don't think that I've ever been more ready for anything in my life. We've earned this, and then some."

"I can't wait for the kids to be here with us."

"We need to get a dog."

"Well that shifted quickly," you laughed. "This is the first time I'm hearing about you wanting a dog."

"Isn't that how normal families do it? Have kids, buy a house, get a dog?"

"Oh, sweetie," you sighed, finally opening the door to leave, "this family is so far from normal, we can't even see normal anymore. But good try, Steve. I applaud the effort."

His door opened and he hurried around the truck to reach you, rushing up to your side and taking your hand in his as the two of you approached your front door. He fumbled his keys in his free hand until the correct one appeared, pushing it into the lock and stopping to turn to you before opening it. "So, where do we stand on the dog then?"

"Open the door, Steve."

"Yes, Ma'am," he relented, turning the tumblers until they clicked, allowing the door to drift open and letting you to enter your home for the first time as your own. Steve's hand drifted over the wall to his side until it landed on the panel of light switches, quickly flipping a few of them to brighten the room enough so that you could see a sight in front of you that stopped you in your tracks in shock.

"Did Tony do all of this?" you gasped, looking at the completely furnished and decorated living room in front of you. "It's every single thing that we said we wanted."

"Nope," Steve smiled, dropping his bag at his feet and kicking the door closed gently with his foot. He wrapped an arm around your waist, slipping it across your lower back to turn you towards him, his other arm moving to clasp his fingers together behind you to hold you in place. "Does it matter who it was?"

"Kind of, yeah," you nodded, turning away from him as much as his hold would allow, still taking in the sight of everything in front of you. "This is going to take one hell of a thank you note."

"He didn't want any thanks. He said something about knowing how much having a home to come to meant to you, and he wanted to help."

Your mind ran through so many conversations with so many different people, trying to pinpoint who would have given you such a wonderful and unexpected gift; there weren't many who could pull this off, both in the secrecy and in finances, and when you realized the answer, you couldn't believe you didn't come to it faster. "T'Challa."

Steve laughed and pulled away, lifting his hands up in front of him in defeat, "I didn't say it! You figured it out on your own! I didn't do it!"

"That...jerk!" you laughed, accepting that arguing with the King wouldn't do you any good, but it didn't mean that you couldn't give him a hard time about it. "He's so going to hear about this." You grabbed Steve's hand and led him from room to room, seeing each filled with everything you had planned to buy and then some, finding a few personal touches that your friend had placed within the décor; as each room passed, it became clear that you should have been able to know who had done this from the second you walked into the house. You had saved your bedroom for the final stop, both of you dropping heavily onto the bed with a loud exhalation of relief and fatigue now that the day was nearly over.

"So, what do you think?" Steve asked wearily, his words stretching out into a yawn.

"It's perfect."

"You're perfect."

"And you're clearly delirious."

"Mmm hmm," he murmured, closing his eyes in a definite error, "about...you..."

"Smooth, Cap," you yawned in reply, closing your eyes too and allowing your body to just give in to the sleep that it had been fighting since you got home. You felt his arm drape heavily over you and the bed shift when he rolled to face you, not resisting when he pulled you next to him so that he could have you in his arms as he fell asleep on the first night of this new life.

"No Cap anymore, doll. I'm just Steve now."

~~~

It only took a matter of weeks before Wong decided that maybe the two men had gotten in over their heads with brining your trio to the Sanctum for training; he was finding it more and more difficult to finish lessons when they would learn them faster than he could teach, and they would proceed to use their new abilities to taunt him at every turn. Strange would merely sit back and watch, amused at having the youthful energy there, but also amazed at the aptitude that the children had, just as he had anticipated.

"These children will be the death of me," Wong groaned, dropping his dinner plate down with a loud bang against the kitchen table after an exhausting day of teaching. "Do you know what they're doing now?"

"No, but do share," Stephen smiled, sitting with his own meal across from the man, eager to hear today's story of frustration.

"Brooklyn has already mastered Astral Projection, and finds it hilarious to sneak up on me during my morning reflection period. I screamed like a little girl, and she thought it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard!"

"I'm sure it was."

"Helping or hurting, Strange?"

"What is it that you would have me do?" Stephen asked, nodding to his friend in anticipation as he waited for a reply. When none came, all he could do was to give a shrug and offer nothing to help, "I think it's refreshing to have a little fun here, don't you? Maybe try interacting and playing along." He reached for his fork and licked his lips eagerly as his stomach growled, ready to eat after his own long day of work, "so far they've done nothing of harm, so try to be a good sport-"

"Thanks, Doc," Grant giggled, cutting him off through a small portal just in front of him. The boy reached through and grabbed the plate full of food away before it closed again, leaving Strange's hand to swipe through the air at nothing, and leaving a look of frustration on his face that Wong couldn't help but laugh at.

"What's the matter, Strange? Where's the good sport? Have a little fun," Wong chuckled, reaching down to begin his own meal only to have Anthony appear and take it from him in the same manner. "That little..." he snapped, throwing his fork down angrily, "I now have a new appreciation for their parents, but one thing has been made definitely clearer to me."

"What's that?"

"We've just become very expensive babysitters for their year-long vacation."