"...she's pissed beyond anything and comes running! She's almost got him but I cut in and freeze blast her and I say: girl, take a chill pill!"

Steve and Sharon laughed as Kyra told them stories of her time on Asgard. They took a sip of their wines and the mood sombered a bit.

"So..." Kyra clicked her tongue, "we're working with S.H.I.E.L.D now?" She asked, taking a drink again.

Steve sighed and leaned forward, resting his folded hands on the table.

"Not we, just me. And it's still on my terms." He nodded to Sharon with a confirming look.

"Right. Anyway, what's your plan? How long are you staying for? Etc etc?" Sharon changed the subject.

"Mm. I don't know. I was thinking of dropping by the gym this week. Catch up with Lindsay."

"That's great and all, but I think she meant long term."

"Oh, huh." Kyra thought, fiddling with her food. "I've been thinking. I mean, we don't have to do it right away..."

"Cat..." Steve pried.

"I've been thinking of college," Kyra revealed with an exhaust.

"College! Wow, that's great!" Sharon opinionated. "Good for you. Anything you're interested in? A major in maybe, I don't know, history?"

"Hahaha. No, me want braaainns."

Steve and Sharon shared a stare. "Excuse me?"

"Brains!" Kyra corrected them. "I'm interested in neuroscience. It's a concept close to my... heart. Heh. What with you, and dad."

"That sounds very cool. I can see it," Sharon fixed an imaginary collar, swinging a stethoscope around her neck. "Doctor Kyra Rogers."

"We should go see Tony. He'll know where to go. Or who to see."

"And how is our neighborhood Ironman? Don't get much feed up in Asgard."

The three stayed till dessert and Steve paid in cash before they left the restaurant. The car ride was Steve and Sharon's turn to fill her in what she'd missed on Earth. They told her about the interesting cases they'd been on, and what the other Avengers had been doing.

When the car parked on their driveway, Kyra was the first one out, running down to check on her nephew. She squatted next to the crib, holding onto the bars as she watched little James sleeping on his back, head turned to the side.

Upstairs, Steve and Sharon had finally come in, paying the neighbor's daughter her babysitting fair before she went on home and the couple joined Kyra downstairs. Steve leaned against the doorframe, sighing in content of his life as his girlfriend wrapped her arms around him, leaning against his chest.

The moment was broken by James's cry. Kyra quickly jumped back, feel guilty for disturbing him.

"It's not your fault," Sharon said with a hand on Kyra's shoulder before she went to pick up her son. "He just needs a midnight snack." She kissed James's head while he still cried and said goodnight to the siblings as she took the baby to her room.

Kyra and Steve slowly made their way up to her room. She pulled back the blinds on here window, disappointed by the light pollution blocking her view of the stars. Steve watched her put a hand on the window, and a minute later all the lights outside dimmed, making the stars shine bright.

"You're getting a hang of your powers." Steve stated as he sat on the bed.

"I would hope so! They've been schooling me since I went up." Kyra joked and having her fill of the view, joined him.

"Well I suppose you had a lot to catch up on."

"Yeah," Kyra simply said. That's not the half of it. "I'm gonna go change then we can watch that movie you were talking about."

"Mission Impossible?"

"Yeah. Number 377 was it?"

"Haha. Just the fifth one."

"Great. I'll meet you out." Kyra left him to go change into her night clothes and Steve went to his room as well, meeting his little sister in the family room all set for movie night.

The next morning, Steve gave her pocket money to go see Lindsay and the gym, and promised to talk to Tony about her college. The morning followed the same routine, they all had breakfast together and Kyra played with James before his ride came to pick him up.

Not many people beyond the avengers knew of James; Steve hadn't even registered the house with SHIELD. Steve and Sharon were more than capable of taking care of themselves, and they took all the steps possible to keep their son safe. James's morning backyard transport protected him from unwanted eyes.

Steve and Sharon took the car to work and dropped Kyra at the train station on their way. It took her two hours to get down to Wilmington. At the other end, she rented herself a bike and magically pulled out her old purple helmet and rode up to the gym.

Damn it was busy, even in the middle of the week. The space had grown and updated, making her wonder how much money her big brother actually had. Couldn't be all his, as she noticed gadgets from Stark.

"Hi there, I'm Pace."

Kyra turned to see her best friend's older brother, showing off his muscles in a sleeveless black top with the gym's logo on the breast.

"I'm the lead trainer today." He shook her hand, oblivious to who was underneath the helmet.

"What're you in for? We have services..." Pacey rattled on, listing all the new classes and services the gym now provided.

"Oh my," Kyra said as she began taking off her helmet. "That's certainly a lot more than we had when I was here." She put her helmet on her hip and turned to her friend.

"Well hello there, stranger!" Pacey exclaimed and took her in for a hug. "So how've you been? You've been gone for five years! Linds missed you!"

"I.." Kyra began, wondering what to tell the boy, "was visiting family."

"Right. Steve said you met your birth father."

"Yeah, that's where I've been. So what's new down here?" She walked up to the bar and took her favorite stool.

"Well, I officially work here now. Went to school for athletic training. I am not a studier!"

"I can see that!" Kyra teased and punched his muscled bicep.

"Joey went into the Air Force. Sam Wilson helped him and all."

"I see my brother really impressed you two didn't he? What does Lindsay do, run with the avengers?"

"Haha. No, she goes to school for architecture. Really good with that, she is."

"Like how she helped make the student corner down at the bakery."

"Yeah, guess she too was inspired by Steve."

"You guys are too funny. Steve's three stooges."

"Yeah yeah. What about you, just visiting?"

"No, I'm around for a while. I'm thinking about medical school."

"Ooh! That's tough! You good with your sciences?"

"I don't know, but I did graduate high school when I was sixteen. How hard can brain science be? Wanna be my test subject?" She joked, playfully pushing at his head.

"I think I'll pass. I'll let you know when these high schoolers fry my brain up!"

"Let me know! When does Lindsay get out of school?"

Pacey checked his watch. "In... three hours? You can wait out here, not like you need my permission, boss."

"Boss! I like that. So who else works for me?"

"I'll give you a tour. Come on."

Kyra followed Pacey around the gym, awing at the improvements and getting to know her employees. Most of them were older than her, veterans of the military or the police force, but they were sociable.

Pace ditched her for a client and Kyra went up to her old home. Nothing had changed much here, not counting the upgraded appliances. She went to her room and changed into a workout outfit, then headed back down.

She burned some miles on the treadmill then went for the bench press. Kyra imagined challenging her uncle to a weightlifting competition, already knowing she'd lose as his bicep muscles were twice the size of her thighs put together.

She wasted two hours at the gym, busying herself with non magical physical exertion, then took the last hour to shower and get dressed to meet her best friend for the first time in five years.

Kyra walked across the block to the residential area and easily located her best friend's house. She avoided the front door since she didn't have the keys and took to climbing up to Lindsay's window, her always favorite mode of entry.

As she sat perched on the windowsill, Kyra closed her eyes to reimagine all the times she'd been in her best friend's room, and was inside by the time her eyes opened.

The last time she was here Lindsay had been 16, so a lot had changed. The color scheme, though still the same, was definitely more subtle, and the boyband posters had been traded in for inspiring architectural shots.

Kyra sat on Lindsay's bed, bouncing on the thick comforter. Scanning her hand on the bed, she felt an irregular bump by the pillows and pulled back the cover to reveal a teddy bear.

"Aw, she still has it." Kyra thought to herself as she held the bear. The best friends had made each other matching build a bears to commemorate some anniversary of their friendship. Kyra again closed her eyes and imagined holding her own bear, and it was in her hands before she opened her eyes again.

Soon after, she heard the front door opening, and ran to hide in the closet before Lindsay could enter the room.

Lindsay dropped her bags on the floor and fell on the bed with a tired exhale.

"Oh hey, greenie!" Kyra heard her say. "How'd you get out from under there? You miss her too, huh? You're right, it's no fun without Kiera."

Kyra had to keep herself from bursting out right then, and waited for her best friend to open the closet.

"What am I going to wear tonight?" Lindsay wondered out loud and opened the closet. She rummaged through her clothes indecisively.

"Ooh, the red one's nice." Kyra whispered and Lindsay screamed to the heavens as she flew back to her bed.

Kyra laughed at her own antics as she crawled out of the closet, folding over in hysterics. Lindsay slid to the floor and smacked her best friend's arm before cradling her in a hug, her sobs turning into laughter.

"You're the worst!"

"I'm sorry!" Kyra managed to say as she hugged her back.

"When did you get back?" Lindsay asked as they peeled away.

"I tracked down Steve two days ago. You're the first person I'm meeting after my family."

"I'm honored." Lindsay cheekily said as she got up to sit properly on the bed. "Did you just meet the baby?"

"Yes! I am so mad Steve hid my own nephew from me! He's almost two!"

"Oh don't worry, we spoiled him on your behalf. So, what do you wanna do?"

"I don't know, wanna get some lunch and catch up?"

"Yes please! I'm starving! I'm gonna go change then we can go."

"Sure,"

Kyra waited for Lindsay as she changed into fresh clothes, and borrowed some of Lindsay's makeup for a quick touch up and then the two were ready to go.

"I didn't see a car up front."

"I walked over from the gym."

Lindsay pouted at her friend. "I don't wanna!"

Kyra wrapped her hands around Lindsay's arm and pouted back. "Lucky for you, I've got a trick up my sleeve."

Kyra winked and Lindsay held on as the two friends teleported to the alley behind the bakery. They hopped in to see Katie for a minute before heading out to the local pub and grill for a late lunch.

They walked in busy in conversation, brushing aside the snark remarks from the regulars at the bar. Lindsay and Kyra slid into a booth far from the crowd, and much time and many non alcoholic drinks went by before the girls noticed the time.

Lindsay insisted on paying and despite her genetic ability of manipulation, Kyra had to give in. She soon found the opportunity to pay her back. The girls tried to play off as uninvolved as they walked by the bar to the front door, but one patron made the mistake of clapping Lindsay's butt.

The man didn't even have the time to pull away his hand before Kyra grabbed his wrist, twisted it backwards, and slammed it into the edge of the bar, definitely breaking it. She pulled out some change from her wallet and tossed it at the man, making a fake pout as she made a snide remark.

Lindsay enjoyed watching her best friend beat up the man and thanked her for doing something about it.

"I'd consider him schooled, don't you think?" Kyra winked.

"Oh absolutely! It's good to have you back, Kyra."

"It's good to be back."