Brooklyn was concerned.

Nothing she had been doing lately seemed to be working.

She had been putting holes in Steve's socks, hiding his shaving kit daily, putting salt in his food when he wasn't looking, slipping sugar into his coffee, tying his shoes in knots... small things that annoyed him. Things that made him take a deep breath and frown.

Things that, usually, if he caught her doing them she was sure would earn her a smack or two on her bottom. But he seemed to be letting it all slide.

In fact, this was starting to look like she would need to resort to drastic measures. She had been eyeing the leather case he kept his shield in, by the door of the apartment. She wasn't going to do anything to it. She wasn't even sure she would be able to. But hiding it? Maybe 'misplacing' it? That was sure to earn her a paddling?

Brooklyn wasn't sure why he had suddenly stopped. Things had been fine! The last session they had done, with the belt, had gone so well, she had thought. She had taken the hits beautifully, if she did say so herself. He had responded so wonderfully! Even tying her hands with the belt, once he was done, pushing her through orgasm after orgasm, afterwards.

But then, he stopped.

Stopped the spanking. Stopped the pinching. Stopped ripping clothes. Stopped the biting, and the grabbing, and the holding her throat. He had stopped fucking her so hard her teeth rattled, stopped breathing harsh words in her ear while she fell apart around him. Stopped calling her degrading names while he took her body so harshly that she burned even as she came.

Simply put, Steve Rogers stopped being controlling in regards to their sex life.

He was kind, he was warm, he still held her at night so tight that she felt like their skin was going to graft together by the time they woke up. He spent time between her legs, worshiping her with his tongue and lips. He stroked her as sweetly as if she was a treasure. He kissed her, touched her, rocked her, made love to her, as gently and sweetly as he could, encouraging her to cum again and again, while she let him hear how much she loved him.

And it was nice.

It was better than nice.

It almost seemed like a plot line out of one of the books she read on her kindle.

But it wasn't who they were. Not really.

They were rough and tumble. They were bites, and claws, and fucking so hard her hips ached afterwards. They were bruises that were there so briefly that they had to have another go at each other, just to see them come back. Blood under the nails, and the tang of it on the tongue. They were harsh rude words, cusses while being choked, the sound of flesh being smacked. They were raw, passionate, untamed.

In short, they were animals.

And yet, for some reason Steve had decided to flip the switch and play nicey-nice. And again, while it was nice, it wasn't why she was with him.

She was with him because she loved him. And she loved him, all of him. The dark, as well as the light.

The fact that, despite everything they had been through, especially recently, she still craved the dark more than the light had nothing to do with her recent behavior. Nope. Nothing.

She just wanted to see how far she could push him before he snapped. That was always good fun.

She would be the first to admit that making him snap on purpose, as opposed to when she has just been an absolute brat because of what was going on in her life, was a new experience. And kind of fun. It was fun, to find pranks and things to do, to try to push him to the edge.

But the fucking idiot just smiled at her, kissed her on the cheek, told her he loved her, and moved on to the next thing. Sometimes with a soft pat to her backside, but nothing harder than that.

It was like he was teasing her. Like he knew what her game was, and was determined to beat her at it.

It was fucking infuriating.

And she was done with it. She was going to have to find something, anything, to bring them back to the previous status quo.

"Queenie?"

She opened her eyes, straightening off the side of her car. She turned her head to look at Marcus, who stood with a questioning look on his face.

"Yeah, Marcus?" She asked, taking a deep breath and reaching up to push the stray strands of hair out of her face.

"You okay?" He asked, stepping closer.

"Of course." She smiled. "I'm perfectly fine. The guys ready?"

He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the door to the warehouse. "Ready and waiting on you, Boss."

She nodded, taking a slow breath. "Well, best to get on with it, then. Seeing as how Juliana is gonna be out of school soon. And I'm not sure if Steve is going to be able to pick her up today."

Marcus grinned. "Good to know we are on a time limit. Otherwise some of these guys could get... chatty."

"And they know who they will be working for?" Brooklyn confirmed, starting towards the door, Marcus falling into step beside her. "No nasty surprises for them? No one objecting to working for a woman?"

"Nope." The red head shook his head. "Between Francis and me, we weeded out all the undesirables. No nasty surprises, from that end, at least."

"Good." She sighed, relaxing a little. "I really don't want a repeat of what happened in Virginia."

"Nor would Steve, I think." Marcus chuckled. "He's really okay with all of this?"

She nodded. "Once we set up the guys to do the heavy lifting, I step back and reap the rewards. I'll only occasionally have to come out and deal with things. That's all Steve wants, I think. Form the way he made it sound. He can't stop it. He knows that. This is the happy middle ground for us. I mean, I would rather be a bit more hands on."
"But Francis already wants you as far away as you can, as well." Marcus pointed out, stopping by the door, reaching for the handle. "That's one of the reasons I jumped at joining the crew. I mean, the money does help. But it's also a good way to make sure you don't get to involved."

"Still handling me, Marcus?" She raised an eyebrow, before grinning.

"Only a little." He grinned back. "Ready to meet your crew?"

"Let's do this." She nodded.

He opened the door, holding it for her. She nodded again, and entered the warehouse, walking along the hall past the abandoned offices. Why was it always abandoned warehouses, she wondered, as she avoided a bad spot on the floor. She understood the need to do some of the things they did, away from the public eye. But it always seemed to be warehouses. Really, if she was looking to find someone in the organization, she would just start looking at the abandoned warehouses in the area.

She was going to have to look at that. Try to find a better meeting place. Less obvious.

Not the apartment, for the most logical reasons.

She was pretty sure that Steve would loose his ever loving shit if she had mobsters and made Mafia men tromping in and out of their living room on a regular basis.

....and that was an idea...

If she had that happen, a couple times, and then did the thing where she pretended to not know why something upset him, it was sure to push him over the tipping point. She was sure to get a spanking, then.

Then again, the idea of exposing her sister any more to that sort of thing, than she already had, was a bit upsetting. Juliana didn't know the half of what was going on around her, sometimes. A blessing caused by her age. And when Papa came home, if Juliana was chummy with some of her crew, to the point where she knew their names and such, he might be a little bit more than upset with Brooklyn.

So, best to not use the apartment.

Maybe she should talk to Marcus about setting up an office location, somewhere. So that the crew could meet with her, face to face, if needed. Between the two of them, they would be able to find something out.

Saying goodbye to the surefire way to make Steve lose his damn mind and temper, she entered the cavernous area of the warehouse.

Inside, standing, sitting, wandering around, were ten men. Each dressed in smart suits, their hair combed, their shoes shined. Each had been handpicked by Marcus and Brooklyn from a list made available to them from Mr. Marino. Pops, Brooklyn reminded herself. He wanted to be called Pops now.

Each had proven themselves to be loyal to the organization. To the family. Each had been from previous crews, and had been looking to move up in the organization. Each had families of their own, and were looking to provide better for them. Which would hopefully negate the pheromone issue she was now having to deal with on a daily basis. If they were already settled down, and mated, perhaps her pheromones wouldn't affect them as much.

Also each were supposed to have no issue taking orders from a woman.

"Hello." She waved, before folding her arms. "I assume you all now why you are here?"

One of the men stepped forward. He was attractive, although compared to Steve... he was rather ordinary. His brown blonde hair was slicked back, his suit a flattering cut, and he had a few creases near the corner of his mouth that indicated he smiled a lot. Although, at the moment he was affecting a very serious expression.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say, as long as we move up, and make money, we are fine under the conditions we do it." He nodded, before glancing at the other men. "How's this gonna work, anyhow?"

Brooklyn pursed her lips, walking over and moving a chair over, sitting down. "Well, first, I think we should go over a few rules. Just to make sure everyone is on the same page."

"Rules?" A dark, swarthy older man barked. "We are mafia. We don't have rules."

"You do now." She glanced at the man briefly. "There will be rules, in regards to how we do business. First and foremost, we work FOR the community. Yes, there is going to be times when... well, it's unavoidable, to make a point, when things will have to be done. But for the most part, we are here to ensure the safety of those who are under our care. If there is something to be done, to help those in the community, we need to do it." She paused, looking over the men, gauging how they took this news. There were a few frowns, but for the most part, they seemed to be accepting. "Also. And this is one that is very important. I want our borough to be a safe place for women. Violence against women, in any form, is not to be allowed. If you hear about it, if you see it? You stop it. Imagine your wives, your sisters, your daughters, your mothers. How safe do you want them? And make sure all the women in Brooklyn feel that safe."
The handsome one nodded his head. "What do we do with the men?"

She sighed. "Ideally? Turn them over to the authorities. But I do know that is sometimes impossible...given what we are doing the rest of the time. I'll leave it up to your imagination. Do what you want."

The rest of the men chuckled.

"Other than that? Its business as usual." She shrugged. "I really don't see a need to change things. Just the two items, really. Be of service to the community we are entrusted with. Stop the violence on women."

"And make money in the meantime." The swarthy man inserted, causing the other men to laugh.

"Well, yes." She smiled. "Make money. That is the basis of our business model, isn't it?"

She stood up, straightening the cardigan she was wearing over a matching tank top. Paired with the jeans and the canvas sneakers, with her hair up in a pony tail, she was sure she didn't look like the boss of a mafia crew. She caught the way some of the men were looking her over and snorted.
"Do any of you have issues with taking orders from a woman?" She asked, folding her arms, cocking her head.
Silence met her, as they looked at each other, as if daring someone to say something.

Finally, one of them cleared their throat, and stepped forward. "I have a few questions about it."

Brooklyn raised an eyebrow, before pursing her lips and nodding. "I see."

She stepped towards him, still nodding.

"What questions do you have?" She asked, as she came to a stop in front of him, lowering her arms.

He worked his mouth, before a frown settled. "Why you?"

Sighing, she turned her back to him, looking at Marcus. Marcus smiled at her, and clasped his hands in front of him, before lowering his head. Brooklyn grinned before throwing her arm back, her elbow catching the man in the throat. As he started to choke, she spun around and brought her knee up, driving it into his solar plexus. The man bent forward as a reflex, and she brought the knee up again, into his face, as she brought her fists down on the back of his head. The resulting trauma caused him to fall to the rough floor of the warehouse, unconscious. She bent quickly to check to see if he was still breathing, exhaling with relief that he was, before she made a disgruntled sound when she noticed blood on her jeans.

"Dammit." She cursed, staring at it. "How the hell am I supposed to hide this?"

"He'll be fine." Marcus assured from where he stood out of the way of blood splatter, knowing why she was upset. "You are just getting your troops in line. Surely he'll understand that."

She harrumphed, but nodded. "Anyhow, any more questions?"

***********

She turned off the engine, and sighed, reaching up to rub at her face, before looking at her fingers. She had broken a nail.

Raising it to her lips, she let the sharp edge trace the curve of her bottom lip, digging it in, before pulling it away, enjoying the sharp sting left behind.

Closing her eyes, she inhaled slowly through her mouth, before exhaling just as slowly through her nose.

She pushed the desire for power down. She pushed it away. She had used it, to ensure that the men who had been chosen for her crew understood she was not to be trifled with. But beyond that, it no longer had a place in her life.

She was sure of it.

She had something better now, than the desire for power.

She had love.

She had Steve.

And that was more than enough.
Opening her eyes, she blinked several times, before pulling the keys out of the ignition, and turning towards the passenger seat, reaching for her messenger bag. Grabbing the strap, she pulled it towards her as she reached for the door, opening it and sliding out of the vehicle she had gotten from Junior as a birthday gift. He had made a joke about wanting to get her a 'girly' color, but had settled on the dark metallic blue. He had also refrained, he had mentioned, about wanting to get her something fast and sporty. He had ended up getting her an SUV of her own. Instead of the 'mom car' he had also been looking at, whatever that was.

The Volvo, which he had proudly handed her the keys to, had been bought with all the bells and whistles possible to throw into a vehicle. Right down to the built in booster seats, which actually showed, at least in her opinion, that he cared not just about her safety, but Juliana's as well.

Even Steve, once he sat down with the manual and the specs of the vehicle, couldn't find anything wrong with the purchase. And she had a sneaky suspicion that he had been looking for one. Not for any other reason than to object to the gift, on principle.

He had been vocal enough, the next day, about the SUV, once Junior had stopped by with it. Something about it being a bit of a larger gift than one would expect. Junior had played it off with an explanation that not only was it a gift for the most recent birthday, but for all the birthdays he had missed in his new 'sister's' life. Junior had simply slapped Steve on the shoulder, told him to lighten up, and handed her the keys and the title.

The vehicle was better than she had ever driven, really, with the exception of the few times Steve allowed her to drive one of the Stark vehicles he borrowed. Those were techy and sleek, and private. As the one time after their first date could testify to. But this one, this car that was hers... She liked it. Junior had shown her the storage compartments hidden through out the vehicle, indicating that if she needed to, she could hide things. But, he had stressed, the point of getting her the vehicle he had was to make sure that if anyone did come sniffing around, they would have no reason to suspect her of anything. Other than when she needed them, he advised she not keep weapons stored in the SUV. For the most part, the Volvo was meant for daily use, shopping, and child transport. A safe vehicle, for her to keep up with the demands of her life, now. School, shopping, and child transportation.

She paused, one foot out of the vehicle, and looked around herself. The parking lot of the school was teeming with parents making their way to the various pick up points, getting ready for the day to end and their children to be released to them. And here she was, one of them. Dressed like them. Driving a vehicle like them. She was one of them, and she wasn't sure how.

Brooklyn realized, not for the first time, but startlingly again, that her life was vastly removed from where it was a year ago. This time last year... she had been, where? Where had she been? Still asleep? Or had they already woken she and her father by now? In a few less than three months, or so, give or take a few days, it would mark a year since she had helped facilitate the escape of her and her family.

A full year. And in that year she had found love, made a life for herself and her sister, and basically been handed her own small kingdom. All the wild dreams she had as a child had come true, to a point. Papa wasn't there, and may not be for a while. But she had managed, somehow, to stumble into the life she had always secretly wanted.

Despite what Papa had told her in Poland, a version of normal had found her.

Lost in her head, the sound of her phone going off startled her, making her jerk, before she blinked and reached to pull her phone out of the pocket in the messenger bag. Accepting the call, the ring tone telling her who it was, she brought it up to her ear.

"Steve?" She asked, looking around to make sure she wasn't going to be lost in the throngs of parents. "I'm at the school, about to go join the pick up lines."

"Ah." He sighed. "I just wanted to check in. I've got a few stops to make, before I can head home. I'm just about to call it a day here. I can get just as much accomplished, if not more, at home."

"Stops?" She frowned. "What stops?"

"I'm gonna go get a new coffee machine, Babydoll." He informed her. "The other one broke this morning, remember? I told you I was going to get a new one."

"Oh." She shook her head. "Is that all?"

"Yeah." He was shuffling papers in the background. And she could imagine him, phone pressed between his ear and shoulder, so his hands were free to go through papers, standing at whatever desk he had set up for himself, something sleek and modern, if the rest of the decor of the Tower was any indication. Stark had a certain taste. She pushed down the memory of a small boy, focusing on Steve. "Did we have any plans for dinner tonight?"

"Not that I can remember." She sighed, letting go of the messenger bag, to lean back in the seat of the SUV, frowning down at the dark blood spots on her jeans. "We can handle that, later. It's just coming up on three right now."

"Alright." he agreed. "So, I should be home by dinner. If that's okay?"

"That's fine." She assured. Then she paused, before taking a deep breath. "I met them, today."

Steve was silent on the other end of the line, and she bit her lip, waiting. Finally he sighed. "What do you think of them?"

"I think...." She considered her words, then nodded. "I think this is gonna work."

"Any trouble?" He asked, his voice hardening for a second. "Because if they-"

"One or two." She allowed. "I handled it. They know, now, not to cross me. I think. I may have to remind them, occasionally. But Marcus assures me that he will make sure I'm getting my fair cut."

He huffed. "That's not what I'm concerned about."

"I have a few spots on my jeans." she smiled softly. "Mr. Mari- Pops, says I just have to prove to them that I'm strong enough and I care. Not just about them and their families, but about the community around us. Once I do that, they'll be loyal. That's how it works, he says. Be there for them, and our community, and the loyalty will come."
"As long as you focus on the community." he reminded. "We discussed that. The community comes first. Use what you have... Hold on, Babydoll."

She sat, tilting her head to watch the other parents, as he muffled the phone to talk to someone. She heard the faintly familiar voice. Soft...

He was chuckling, when he came back on the line. "Sorry about that, Babydoll. Bruce just wants to have a word, when I'm free."

"Well, I won't keep you." She shook her head, even though he couldn't see her. Banner.. that had been the voice. She filed it away for later. "Besides, the sooner you stop playing hero with your little buddies in that Tower, the sooner you can come home and help a little girl with her homework."

"Both my girls." he corrected, a smile in his voice. "Yeah, let me get all that out of the way, and I'll be home as soon as I can."

"Sounds like a plan." She teased, returning to leaving the vehicle, tucking the phone briefly in her shoulder, as she reached for the messenger bag again. "I need to collect Juliana."

He sighed. "Okay. I love you. I'll be home soon."

"I love you, too." She laughed. "See you then."

They hung up, and she shook her head as she put her phone away, exiting the vehicle fully, while slipping the strap of the messenger bag over her neck to let it rest on her hip. She adjusted her jacket, doing up the buttons, while shutting the door with her knee, before making her way to towards the designated pick up point for Juliana's class. She reached over her shoulder, hitting the lock function on the key fob, slipping it into her pocket when she heard the chirp.

She was standing, arms crossed across her body, waiting when she heard a disgusted sound behind her. Sighing, she turned with a smile to face Ms. Crocker.

"Miss Bianchi." Ms. Crocker gave her a fake smile. "Lovely day."

"Very." She returned. Despite what Patricia and her husband had tried with the school board, it had been decided to let Ms. Crocker finish out the school term before terminating her employment. Basically, as Patricia had ranted over one of their girls nights out, while drinking, the board hadn't wanted to try to manage the daily running of the school, while looking for a replacement. They thought that the rush to find someone to take over on short notice might make it harder to find the right fit for the school. By waiting until school was out, when the daily pressures and demands were less, they might be able to find someone who would be a perfect replacement for an administrator who had made more than a few enemies, if not made herself vastly disliked over the course of her employment.

Granted, all of this was with the caveat that Ms. Crocker not garner any more complaints about her interactions with either students, teachers or parents.

Hence, she had been forced to be cordial, if not down right polite to Brooklyn. Granted, that hadn't stopped the woman from trying to be snide or insulting. She was just trying better at hiding it or couching it in terms that the meaning could be mistaken.

"Although," Brooklyn continued. "Steve was saying last just night in bed, that the weatherman was calling for more snow tonight, or tomorrow. I guess that we will have to see."

Nothing the school board had said, meant that Brooklyn had to be polite, or stop herself from trying to get a reaction out of the bitter school administrator.

She watched as Ms. Crocker's mouth tightened, before another fake smile appeared. "Well, snow is a possibility."

"I do worry, though. The radiator in our bedroom has been on the fritz." Brooklyn pretended to frown. "There are times we wake up and the room is so cold. Steve has to keep himself pressed as tight as possible to me, to keep me warm. He's so worried about that, you know."

"Best get a repair man in." Ms. Crocker's voice was tight, as were the lines around her eyes. She was practically oozing rage. "It would be horrid if it continued."

"Yes." nodding, Brooklyn winked. "If it continued, we might have to wear clothes to bed! And we do so hate having fabric between us."

The first children started leaving the building with their parents, keeping the pinched white face of the bitter older woman from cracking with the vile hatred she was barely keeping back.

Dammit.

Brooklyn had been so close to getting her to break. Maybe if she had succeeded, Brooklyn could have filed a formal complaint.

"Well, I see school has ended." Ms. Crocker smiled, showing her teeth. "Have a pleasant evening, Miss Bianchi."

"Oh, I will, Ms. Crocker." Brooklyn returned the smile. "Trust me. I will be having a very pleasant evening, later."

The older woman's tight face flushed red, and her eyes narrowed, but she nodded once, before turning and moving on.

Brooklyn watched her go with disappointment. When she and Steve had found out about what had happened at the school board meeting, both had been disappointed. He had been particularly upset, because he had not attended, like he had wanted, due to the Avengers finding another possible spot for where the scepter they were looking for might have been. He had been on a mission, the night of the meeting where Ms. Crocker's behavior and employment had been brought up and decided. He felt that if he had been able to attend, then maybe Ms. Crocker would have been let go. Brooklyn knew this to mean he might have used his public persona to get what he wanted, something she knew he didn't usually care to do. But for her and Juliana's happiness and continued enjoyment of the school as a place of learning for Juliana, he would have.

A small warm bubble of happiness grew in her, as she thought about that.

Steve might not be willing to give her a spanking, right now, for whatever reason, but he would debase himself if needed, if it meant that she and Juliana were safe from the harsh, unreasonable judgement of a woman who didn't even know how dangerous Brooklyn truly was.

There had been times, after the news of the board meeting, that Brooklyn had been sorely tempted to break into the Headmistress's house, and put the fear of HYDRA in her. It would be so easy. A few slices, a few broken fingers.. maybe a few pokes with something sharp... then the Headmistress would stop thinking she could bully Brooklyn. The only reason she had been holding back now, at this point, was because Steve didn't like that sort of thing, and she didn't feel the need to be that person any more.

As Steve and Wilson liked to remind her, when she felt bad about it, temptation did not equal action. She could be tempted all she liked, as long as she didn't act on it.

It didn't take long, really, to get Juliana signed out, and into the SUV, making sure she was secure into the built in booster seat, before climbing into the driver's seat and starting the engine.

"Lyn?" Juliana asked, causing Brooklyn to look at her in the rear view mirror before returning her attention to the traffic around her, as she tried to get them out of the parking lot as quickly as possible. "Is Steve gonna be home when we get there?"

"I don't think so, Little One." She shook her head, tapping the breaks as a minivan darted in front of her. "He has a few things he has to do, before he comes home."

Her sister whined in disappointment, before she sat up in her booster seat. "Can we go to the inside park, before we go home?"
"Inside park?" Brooklyn frowned. "I don't know what that is."

"Steve and me went to it." Juliana explained. "While you were with Papa. Its a big park, inside. You go in, and play. And there was a climbing wall, and a slide, and a lot of stuff to do. Steve would go with me, and after we would have san'wiches in the other room. It was really fun!"

"Huh." Brooklyn blinked, as she steered the vehicle on to the street, heading towards home. "I didn't know they had places like that."
"Yeah!" Juliana seemed to get more excited. "Steve even went in and played, too. It was so much fun. He was right there, the one time I fell. He caught me, like he did the first day at the park."

"Ah." She still didn't know what to think. She was trying to pay attention to the traffic, which was choked with the buses and the vehicles of other parents rushing to wherever now that they had their children in the back. "Not today, Jules. Maybe in a while, we will look at going."

It was nice to know that Steve had been focusing on Juliana, while Brooklyn was gone. He had admitted that one of the reasons was to make sure she hadn't managed to somehow find a way to steal her sister away, but it still made her feel good to know that he had loved her, and her sister enough, to try to keep up the appearances of their relationship with Juliana, even not knowing the actual status of said relationship.

She managed to get them home with little to no issue. Finding a spot was not as easy, but she wasn't going to flaunt the parking laws like a certain aged avenger did, whenever he parked his vehicles. She ignored the area near the alley, right by the no parking sign, and found a car leaving a spot not far further down than that. She waited patiently, her turn signal on, as the car left the spot, before working her SUV in, sighing as she put the vehicle in park, and turned off the engine. Unhooking her seat belt, she turned in her seat, smiling at her sister.

"Ready to go upstairs? Get out of the uniform and into something more comfortable?" She asked, as she rested a hand on the passenger seat.

"Yeah." Juliana nodded, reaching for the releases on her booster seat. "I don't like these shoes anymore. They pinch."

Brooklyn frowned. "When did they start to pinch?"

Juliana shrugged, managing to free herself. "I donno. They just did."

She sighed, before nodding her head. "Okay. We will have to wait until tomorrow, after school, to go get you a new pair. Can you handle that?"

Juliana thought about it, before shaking her head. "They pinch bad."

"Okay." Brooklyn took a deep breath. "Steve is already stopping somewhere to get a new coffee machine. I'll call him and ask to see if he can pick up a new pair of shoes for school. Is that gonna be alright? Will you wear what he picks out?"

Biting her lip, Juliana nodded.

"I mean it, Jules." Brooklyn warned. "If he is nice enough to pick out a pair of shoes for you, that he thinks are pretty and right for school, are you going to wear them, and not cause a fuss, like this morning? Otherwise you have to wait until after school to get a new pair, when I can take you."

Juliana nodded again. "I understand. Steve can pick out a pair."

"Okay, I'll ask him." Brooklyn sighed. "Alrighty, out of the car. Let's get this upstairs, so we can maybe get something done, before Steve comes home."

"Are we gonna make him dinner?" Juliana asked, as she grabbed her backpack, not sounding exactly thrilled with the idea. "Because you're a lot better... but..."
"I was thinking something simple." Brooklyn told her. "I can look up a few things, and see if we can do it on our own. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"I guess." Juliana sighed.

Brooklyn rolled her eyes, getting out of the SUV, before going around to the side, opening the back door for Juliana to jump down, reaching out with a hand to steady her sister. She shut the door and hit the lock function, leading her sister towards the entrance of their apartment building.

"Why cant we just wait for Steve to come home and cook?" Juliana asked, shifting her backpack onto her shoulders. "He's better at it."

"Because Steve works." Brooklyn explained. "And it's not far of us to expect him to come home from work, and cook for us. Not when we can figure out how to do it ourselves. And thank you SO much for the confidence boost, Jules."

"You are getting better." Juliana allowed, her mouth twisting. "But Steve is better."

"Only because he has years of experience on me." Brooklyn bit out, sliding her key into the lock of the glass door, opening and holding it for her sister to go ahead of her. "Gotta remember, up until we left the other place, my experience with cooking was basically, oh, look there's a fire and here's a rabbit."

"A rabbit?" Juliana continued to frown. "Why did you eat a rabbit?"

"Because Papa and I were hunting." She sighed. She hadn't meant to be snarky to her sister. And now it was leading to questions she wasn't really excited to answer. "And we were far away from our handlers. So we had to make do. Papa caught a rabbit, and we... made do."

She remembered the look on her father's face when he brought her the small, skinny rabbit. How he showed her how to remove the skin, and dress it. The smell of the meat roasting over the small pile of coals they had allowed themselves. The flavor of smoke and meat on the back of her tongue.

"Will I have to eat a rabbit?" Her sister sounded scandalized. "They are cute!"

"You will never have to, if I have my way." Brooklyn assured, as they walked up the stairs. "Besides, sometimes as you get older, your tastes change. You might find you like it. I hear there's several restaurants that serve it, in the city."

Her sister paused, as they reached their floor. "That sounds wrong."

"Maybe." Brooklyn nodded, continuing past her sister to their door. "But people like it. And if people like it they will serve it. That's supply and demand. If the demand is there, someone will supply it. And in certain parts of the world, rabbits are considered vermin."

"But they are too cute!" Juliana protested. "Why are they vermin if they are cute?"

"Some people thing rats are cute." Brooklyn shrugged, unlocking the door. "But you've seen the rats in the subway. Are they cute?"

"No." Juliana shook her head, as she followed her sister into the apartment, going over to take her shoes off with a sigh, setting them with the rest of her shoes, before sliding her backpack off her shoulders. "Those rats are ugly and mean."

"Well, it's the same way with rabbits, in other places." Brooklyn shut the door, locking it, hanging the keys on the hook, before taking off her coat and putting it on the coat rack. She toed off her shoes, using the wall to brace herself. "in some places, rabbits do more bad then good. They eat people's crops, and bring sickness. So, people try to remove them. And one way they remove them, is by eating them."

"But people keep them as pets!" Juliana took off her coat as well, reaching up on her toes to hang it on the hook of the coat rack. "A kid in our class brought his in for show and tell. It was big and fluffy. And it pooped. A lot."

"Ah." Brooklyn didn't know what to say to that. Lately Juliana had become slightly obsessed with things pooping. So far, Brooklyn and Steve had been leaving it alone, figuring it was a harmless stage. As long as she didn't try to watch them, while they were in the bathroom, they figured it was not an issue. "Some people do keep them as pets. But, like I said, in a lot of places in the world, and in this country, people consider them vermin, and also eat them."

Juliana paused. "Are you sure I don't have to eat a rabbit?"

"Like I said," Brooklyn reiterated. "Not if I have my way. Go change out of your school clothes, while I call Steve, please."

"Okay." Juliana sighed, going to the hall. "Make sure he tries to find the right size."

"For all that I question Steve's intelligence on a daily basis, I have confidence that he is smart enough to figure out that you need a bigger size then the one you have been wearing." Brooklyn, amused, informed her sister. "Go on. The sooner you change, the sooner we can get to work on our homework. And the sooner we can figure out what to cook Steve for dinner."

She watched her sister as she grumbled down the hall, before taking her messenger bag over to the table, setting it down. Reaching into the pocket where she had put it back she pulled out the phone, sighing as she unlocked it, and pulled up Steve's number. It had been less than an hour since they had spoken, and she felt like a fool, calling him so soon. But she hit the number, and brought up the phone to her ear, as she waited for him to answer.

"Hey, Babydoll." his voice, warm and loving answered. There was a slight echo in the background.

"Hey." She grinned. "Sorry about this, but I guess Juliana's shoes are too small. She was complaining about them pinching. I was wondering if you would be willing to pick up a new pair, when you are getting the coffee machine?"

"No problem. Same style? Since they are for school?" He asked, and she heard what sounded like him getting into a car. "And what size?"

"Same style." she agreed. "And she was a size nine. Maybe we should go up to a ten. She said pinching, not painful."
"Could be the same thing with her." Steve sighed. "I'll get the next two sizes up, and we can try them. If the smaller one works, great. We'll have the next size up on hand if she grows out of it before the end of the school year. Are you making dinner, or should I pick stuff up for that, too?"

"I've got dinner." She kept herself from snapping in irritation. "Just get yourself home, Rogers. It's gonna get cold tonight."

"The snow is coming." Steve informed her, as he started the vehicle. "Tony has some fancy tracking system, for the Quinjet. It should hit our area by seven."

"Great." She sighed. "That radiator is still being a dick."

"Language." he reminded. "I'll take another look at it, when I get home. It doesn't look like we have anything on the horizon, over here. So, if I need to call in a guy, I can."

"I don't want strangers in the apartment." She told him. "Please. If we can help it."

"I know, Babydoll." Steve sighed. "But we might have to. I can't let that thing keep doing what it's doing. I promised you I wouldn't let you be cold. If I have to get someone to come in and fix it, I will. I'll even call Marino for help, if that makes it easier. One of his guys is acceptable, right?"

She considered this. Anyone Mr. Marino sent over would be one of his guys, yes. And those guys knew to keep their mouths shut about the jobs they were sent out on. "A bit more, yes."

"Shit!" He shouted, followed by a muttering of, "Red lights mean stop, Rogers."

"You okay?" She frowned. "Maybe I should let you go. I don't want to have to pick up the pieces of you off the ground if you get into an accident."

"Oh, now you are concerned about distracting me while I drive." He laughed. "I seem to remember a time when you wanted to see how good my multitasking was."
Heat sparked in her as she remembered that night. The joy of sucking on him, the feel and taste of him in her mouth and throat. The spanking she had gotten afterwards...

"Well, I'm not there to do it, personally." She grinned, running her tongue over her bottom lip at the remembered flavor left behind. "Besides, I need to get Jules started on homework. As well as look at what's gonna be for dinner. Maybe we can explore your ability to multitask, after dinner."

He chuckled. "Maybe, Babydoll."

She laughed. "Fine. I'll see you when you get home. Drive safe."

"Always." he sound so damn confident, that she narrowed her eyes. But she bit back the urge to call him an idiot.

He had to be aware of it, by now. God knew, she had been telling him enough.

She hung up, sighing, before looking around the apartment.

"Dinner." she nodded, going into the kitchen. A brief check of what they had in stock let her know that they had the fixings for a salad. A deeper check, and and a little searching on the internet, helped her settle on making an Alfredo sauce. She figured she could serve it with the left over chicken from the night before, ensuring that the meat didn't spoil. There was also a some Italian bread left over from the last time they had been down to Carmine's. And a bonus in the idea of that was that it wouldn't take long to make, and seemed pretty fool proof.

A plan set, she went back over to the table, setting her phone down, and reaching for her messenger bag.

"Jules!" She called out. "Let's get started on our homework, before we start dinner!"

A/N: So, a quickl little filler, before we start heading into Steve's plans... and then into AoU.... so, as always, comment and vote! See you in a few days!