Gulls cried just outside of our slightly opened windows. Waves roared gently.

For a moment, I thought I was dreaming. Then I remembered we'd taken an early morning flight from New York to Hawaii. I wasn't aware of the fact that Hawaii was six hours behind us, so the time change was confusing and quite the adjustment. When we arrived, I was out of sorts, Steve too.

We spent the first portion of our trip sleeping off the time change.

I stretched under the cool sheets, feeling Steve's arm around me, pulling me to his chest. I pulled his arm under me. I opened my eyes to bright sunlight.

"I could get used to this," I said quietly. "Maybe I can convince Tony to get us a place down here for an anniversary present."

"We only just got married, and you're thinking that far ahead?" he asked in my back. "Besides, we could go back home and find beaches."

"But they aren't here, Steve."

"As if you've been to all the beaches in the world."

I gently kicked his legs. "Come on, you." My body slid out of bed, towards the two doors that opened out to a balcony. Just before I could get to them, I was swept off the floor and into Steve's arms. "Excuse you!"

Maneuvering with me in his arms, Steve got both doors open. The coolness swept over us, I closed my eyes. I was set on my feet, and I leaned on the balcony railing. The beaches were beautiful, the water more awe-inspiring. I'd never seen anything so clear. People were taking advantage of the empty grounds, setting up their own little section for the day.

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Steve asked out of the blue.

"What is?"

"We get to have a life outside of work, even if it's for a few days."

"And yet, you still brought your phone."

"It's just in case."

I thought about the one factor: his missing friend, Bucky Barnes. Ever since he had saved Steve's life during the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, he'd been in the wind. He was probably lost, confused.

The only other factor I could think of was a man who donned himself Crossbones. We'd had a few past encounters with him and his crew, but so far we were unable to bring him to justice. He, too, was in the wind, but he was a bigger threat. He was a former Hydra agent named Brock Rumlow, I hadn't put a name to his face when I was abducted and brainwashed just as Bucky had been. Sam was surprised the man was alive—he'd been in HQ when a helicopter took out the floor he was on.

"Well, hopefully the only call you get is good news and not a call to bring us back home during our honeymoon," I said. "We were given this to focus on us. So, you're gonna leave your phone in here, and we're gonna go down there." I pointed to the beaches. "And we're gonna enjoy each other's company as newlyweds. How does that sound?"

"Like the most relaxing thing in the world."

After breakfast, we took to the sandy floors, finding our own little sequestered plot for the day. We did the mortal things of setting up, applying sunscreen, and the like. We had bathing suits under our clothes in case we decided to take a dip in the waters.

For now, we sat on our towels, my arms around my knees. The gentle breeze twisted my hair around, I was sure it was tangling it at the same time.

I stole glances at Steve in our quiet space, observing him. He looked at peace, as though he had finally found his happy place.

"I know we brought this up before, but, do you ever wonder when you want to stop being a superhero?" I asked casually. "We could have more things like this."

"I know....I hope it'll happen someday," he told me softly. I just heard him over the soft roar of the water. "When I think it's safe to say the world is better in other hands, I'll give up the mantle then."

"Surely you'd want to pass it on to someone else."

Steve shrugged. "Maybe. Right now, though, it seems so far away. There's work to be done still."

Finding Rumlow. Finding Bucky. I understood. "And once it's all said and done?"

He turned his head slightly towards me. "You eager for me to retire early?"

"Not at all." I shook my head. "I just think...Well, what if we decided that we were ready to start a family? I couldn't raise one if we were still out there punching bad guys where it hurts."

"If one of us stayed home?"

I shook my head. "Could you focus on our family and not worry if I went out in the field? I could try if you were, but I don't think it'd work out very well. It'd take a lot for us to raise a family. I think...when we both decide enough is enough, then that tells us we're ready to be more than retired heroes."

There was a beat of silence before Steve asked: "How many?"

"Hmm?"

"How many kids?"

My cheeks flushed. "Two or three. We find our own little house, have enough space for them to roam. Maybe we get a dog, too. We could be...normal, as close to normal as we'd get."

"Well, for now, that's out of the cards."

I knew we had plenty of time to start our future together. Neither of us aged at a normal rate. We would maybe age slightly while the rest of the world aged at their pace, or even faster. We'd almost seem timeless...

Now I wondered if our age-defying traits would be passed on to our children.

Perhaps a worry for another time.

* * *

Something about being on the beach drained me. By the time we reached our house, my body gravitated towards the bed. I collapsed into it, with Steve chuckling behind me.

"You should eat before you sleep, we haven't had dinner yet," he told me.

"Right now sleep before food," I grumbled, crawling further into bed.

"I'm not making you dinner in bed, Kiara."

"Do you even know how to cook?"

"Do you?"

"...I'm no top chef."

"Well, it's not terribly late, so you take a nap, and we'll go out later for some food. How does that sound?"

"Awesome. Now, please, let me nap. You can join if you so choose, I definitely wouldn't mind."

Rather than leave me to sleep by myself, Steve climbed in. I migrated to him. I hummed in appreciation when his fingers went through my hair.

"Maybe we could live here when we give up the superhero gig," I murmured tiredly.

"Go to sleep, Kiara. You babble when you're tired."

"I babble in general." His fingers now went to scratching my back. "If you keep this up, I'm definitely sleeping in minutes."

"That's kind of the point."

I succumbed rather easily to the nap.