Chapter 1
“Dad!” The high-pitched voice of a child rings around the house, as Steve Rogers stands over the kitchen counter making sure the sandwich is perfectly cut. Wouldn't want to mess up such a special day.
Sighing softly, Steve put the knife down to turn around as he heard small but fast footsteps approaching.
“Yes, Sarah?” He responded to his six year old daughter as she stopped in the middle of the kitchen.
“I need my hair done. I've packed my bag, brushed my teeth, got changed, but I can't do my hair. Daidí, I need your help.” A hair brush in one hand, and her favourite scrunchie in the other. Steve gave a small smile before gesturing for her to sit on the dining room chair.
Sarah Rogers, named after his Ma, was starting her first day of school and couldn't be more excited for it. Steve, on the other hand, couldn't believe his little girl was growing up so fast, it only felt like yesterday when he held her in his arms for the first time. He had never planned on being a father, it wasn't something he saw for himself, but when his college girlfriend, Peggy, told him she was pregnant something inside him switched. They had a long and lengthy discussion on how to proceed. Did they keep the baby? Do they get married? How would they support the baby? But they knew all the answers to these before they even asked. Peggy wanted to be a mother someday and Steve was happy looking after the baby full time. Marriage was never in the cards for them, they knew that from the start, it didn't mean they couldn't have fun. And the support? Sarah Rogers Sr, was able to help no matter what. Steve's best friend, Sam Wilson, was happy to babysit when needed, and Peggy was going into a high paying career and paid more than she needed in child support. All in all, they were happy. Peggy got to live her life and have a kid who loved her, Sarah Sr was a Nana, and Steve got to be the father he never had growing up. There was just one person he wished was by his side during all this.
“Alright sweetie, you are ready to go and look as pretty as ever.” Steve said, shaking himself from his thoughts, not wanting to think about it right now.
Standing up, he finished packing her lunch, placing it in her adorable My Little Pony bag as she jumped up and down with joy. Making it harder for Steve to conceal his tears until she was in the school gates.
Quickly grabbing his shoes and car keys, the two of them were out the door and making the drive to the elementary school Steve had spent the last few years researching, till he found the perfect one. It was close to home, highly recommended on the parent blogs he read (yes he was one of those parents), and was the school he attended as a child, which only added to the appeal. Though, he hoped that the few teachers that remained at the school from his time forgot him, even if his reputation is hard to forget.
Sarah sits in the backseat rambling off about the teachers she is excited to meet, making new friends, and finally being a big girl as Steve drives silently with the biggest grin on his face. He's happy she's excited for school, and hopes it continues past the first day, or even the step out of the car.
Finding a park nearby, the pair get out of the car and walk up to the front of the school. Pausing by the stairs, Steve kneels down to Sarah's height trying to hold his emotions back.
“You excited?” He asks in a small voice, chewing on the inside of his cheek.
“I'm so excited, can I go inside now?” Sarah replies back with the same amount of enthusiasm as she's had the whole morning. With the way she is now, she probably won't have the energy to last the day.
“In a second. I just wanted to tell you to have a great day, and have lots of fun. And I look forward to hearing about it after school, okay?” His voice cracking on the final few words as kids were rushing to greet one another and Sarah was more interested in her surroundings than her own Dad.
“Yeah, I will. Love you Daidí.” She responded, gripping him into a tight hug before letting go and running up the stairs, leaving Steve standing alone by the gate while his daughter grows up before his very eyes.
The drive home was quiet, there was no need for any noise, he was by himself and he wasn’t crazy enough to talk to himself, yet. He was in no rush to get home, the perks of being able to work from home, so he did the only logical thing. Went to see his Ma.
Even though he worked from home, there were still times when he had to leave sporadically to go meet with a client, most frequently Tony Stark, and he needed someone to watch Sarah for the time he was gone. Because of this, he had access to both Sam and his Mas’ calendars so he knew what one he could call. Sam was down at the VA so he couldn’t see him, but his Ma was taking a break from work and she knew how he would feel, so it made sense to see her.
Pulling up the familiar road, he parked outside the house he grew up in and gently knocked on the door. Within a second, he heard the soft sound of footsteps approaching and the smell of baking filled his nose.
“Stevie, what are you doing here?” She asked as she embraced him into a hug where she fell over a foot shorter than him.
“I dropped Sarah off at school, and I don’t know what to do.” His bottom lip pouted out as the tears finally broke in a soft speed as his Ma led him inside and into the living room.
“It’s hard to let them go on their first day of school, after having them around all the time. Especially when it’s just the two of you.” She said, referring to both herself and Steve, and while Sarah has both her Mum and Dad, it is mostly just Steve and Sarah, the perfect father-daughter duo. Just like Sarah and Steve had been the perfect mother-son duo.
It was a life his Ma had lived before, but with more struggles than Steve knew he would have to face. Sarah was born healthy, never suffered as much as Steve at her age. They have money, a home they own, and a family. Everything that he had struggled to get in his childhood came easy to his daughter, just like he wished it would.
“How did you do it, Ma?” Steve asked. He needed not to elaborate as she knew he was asking how she raised him. She tried to hide how much they struggled and were different from other families he saw, but once he met his best friend it opened his eyes to how much his Ma struggled and still had a smile on her face at the end of the day.
“Well, it wasn’t easy but it was something I had to do. I was lucky enough to still have a job and a roof over our heads, even if back then it could have been better.”
The home in which Steve had grown up in wasn’t the best during his childhood. Leaks in the roof, cracks in the walls, and heating that didn’t always work, which didn’t help Steves’ health. It was in his second year of college he met Tony Stark, and from then Tony, his father, and Stark Industries had bought multiple paintings of Steves’ giving him the money in no time to buy his Mas’ home and help her fix it up. Now the place was cleaner, healthier, and all round much better than it had been even four years ago.
“But more importantly, I had a son who would be able to put a smile on my face with all the knowledge he had learnt that day, the adventures he had gone on, or the drawings he did. Parenting isn’t easy Stevie, it will test your patience, your strength, and how you handle situations. But, I can safely say, you are doing a fantastic job with that little girl.”
Steve left his Mas’ after a few hours of talking, looking through photos, and taste testing all the baking she was trying during her time off. Arriving back home, Steve put a few containers of baking in the kitchen before walking into his little art studio and made a start on his newest commission. He had just previously finished a painting for the New York Stark Industries building, which was apparently a big success as told by Tony. His name was never said or even put on the canvas at the co-operations, as that wasn’t what he was after, he was just happy he was able to make a career out of the thing he loves, like Peggy did.
With the thought of Peggy on his mind, he quickly grabbed his phone and sent a picture of Sarah smiling all ready for her first day of school before putting it away as he knew she would be at work and unable to respond quickly.
He did miss Peggy when she was over in England. Her work was classified to Steves’ knowledge, all he knew was that she worked with the government between both America and England, allowing her to be home for a few months at a time. During that time she was home, Peggy stayed with her girlfriend Angie, and Sarah would spend her time split between the two homes, which thankfully, aren’t too far in distance. Sarah loved spending time with her mum, and Steve loved spending time with one of his best friends that he wished she could just live here permanently but he knew that it was better to have her here for a few months sporadically throughout the year than her not to be there at all.
Looking up at the time, he cleaned up his supplies and got ready to go pick up Sarah. The time he was waiting for the entire day for. So maybe he struggled with the separation anxiety instead of his daughter. At least he knew that she would be having fun at school and, hopefully, not causing any trouble.
Jumping in the car, a huge smile spread on his face as he hummed alone to the song on the radio before parking and waiting by the school gate. The bell rang and swarms of children soon rushed down the stairs into the arms of parents or onto the bus. Steve stood looking into the crowd before he felt the weight of a child crushing him into a hug.
“Daidí!” She exclaimed with excitement, as Steve bent down to pick her up causing her to giggle.
The two moved back into the car as Sarah began explaining every little detail of her day. From who her teacher was, where her desk was, and how cool the playground is. Steve was just driving with a huge smile on his face as he added in a few reactions and further questions to her everlasting monologue. He was happy, it was hard not to be with Sarah. She was the light of his life and he was so glad he had a child.
“I almost forgot to tell you the most important part” Sarah said as they pulled up into their driveway, jumping out of the car.
“And what would that be?” Steve asked, returning the same amount of energy she had.
“I made a friend today, and she is my bestest friend. Her name is Charlotte but her nickname is Lottie and she is so cool and fun and do you think she could come over and play?” Sarah rushed out her sentence, asking for a playdate with her big blue eyes, the same way Steve used to convince his Ma and best friend to do everything.
“Well, I’d have to meet her parents and ask, but I’m sure it would be okay.” He answered as he unlocked the front door watching as she ran inside to get the snack Steve had left out waiting for her.
One thing Steve had been worried about when sending Sarah to school was if she was going to make any friends. She hadn’t gone to pre-school, or anything until today and mainly was around adults. Whether she was with Sam and Riley, playing with the kittens they were fostering, Peggy and Angie when she was home, Nana Sarah, and then Steve. The only two people who were closer in her age were Wanda and Pietro, the high school twins next door who would come over and babysit sometimes, or get art lessons from Steve. He didn’t know how she would react to kids her age, but when she came home talking all about her new ‘bestest’ friend, Steve knew she would be just fine. Afterall, he knew how important a great friend was at that age.