10. I love you, Dad

          The weekend after I had officially moved in with Steve, we painted my room and put together my bed, bedside table and dresser. My walls were a light blue colour, except for a pink accent wall, and the furniture was white, except for a few details Steve and I had painted on for fun. The room felt like home, and so did the apartment. I loved living with Steve. I knew that I was where I was supposed to be.

Six months later brings us to today. Steve and I have gotten even closer than before, and I feel as though I have known him my entire life. We get along very well and even if he doesn't think so, he is a great parent. Mr Stark had recently had his electromagnet, arc reactor, and shrapnel removed. To celebrate, he invited the Avengers, and a whole bunch of random people, to the new and improved Avengers tower. The party was going to start at 8:00 pm, so Steve thought it would be a good idea for me to bring pyjamas, just in case it got too late. For the party, I wore a dress that had a white top and a light pink skirt, and my hair was down. Steve and I were picked up by Aunt Natasha to get to the tower. Aunt Nat had told me how cute I looked during the drive, and I thanked her with a smile. The car ride was a bit silent, but I enjoyed looking out the window at the brightly lit city. When we arrived at the tower, we were greeted by none other than Pepper Potts.

"Welcome! We are so glad you could make it," Miss Potts said while shaking Steve's hand and giving Aunt Nat a hug.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Miss Potts," I said with a smile.

"Oh, Sweetheart. Please, call me Pepper." She gave me a handshake and guided us all inside. The tower was full of people, and feeling a little overwhelmed, I squeezed the strap of my backpack that held my PJs a little tighter. Thankfully, Steve took hold of my hand as we walked through the giant group of people to find the other Avengers. We found Mr Stark and greeted him.

"Cap! Munchkin! Good to see you guys!" Mr Stark slightly shouted.

"Good to see you too, Tony," Steve replied, shaking his hand.

"I'm glad you two could make it. Feel free to explore the floor and mingle with everybody."

"Thank you, Mr Stark," I smiled.

"You're very welcome, Munchkin," he gave me a wink and turned to speak with whoever had been calling him. For the majority of the party, I stayed with Steve. We talked to Uncle Clint, Aunt Nat, Bruce, and Pepper, and I also got to meet the infamous Rhodey, who was very nice. By the time everyone had gone home except for me and Steve, it was around 12:30 am. Steve and I were sitting on the couch, my head in his lap, while Mr Stark and Pepper were sitting across from us. The four of us talked about random things for a while until I got thirsty.

"Excuse me, could I get a drink, please?"

"Of course, Sweetheart," Pepper said, "Tony, why don't you take her to get a drink?"

"Sure, Munchkin. Uncle Tony is going to show you where the juice boxes are," Mr Stark said as he stood up.

"Uncle Tony?" Steve said questioningly but with a small smile on his face.

"Why not? Stark Industries funds S.H.I.E.L.D, which means that I funded Katie's education and, I'm pretty sure, her overall existence. Not to sound full of myself, just stating facts."

I giggled as Uncle Tony explained himself.

"Let's go then, Uncle Tony," I spoke while pulling on the hand that wasn't holding his drink. I could hear Pepper and Steve laughing behind us but focused on following Uncle Tony toward the bar. I was concerned that he was going to give me some form of alcohol but waited to see. Uncle Tony held my hand as we walked behind the bar and crouched down in front of a mini-fridge. It had the word 'Munchkin' engraved into it in cursive, and I looked to my right at Uncle Tony quizzically.

"I had this put in just for you," Uncle Tony told me as he opened the fridge. I looked inside and saw that he hadn't been joking about the juice boxes. There, in my own personal mini-fridge, were both apple and orange-flavoured juice boxes. All of them just for me. I looked at him with a hopeful smile on my face, silently asking if I could truly have one.

"Go on," Uncle Tony urged me, "They're yours."

I reached into the fridge to grab an orange-flavoured juice box. Once the door had been closed, I gave Uncle Tony a hug and said thank you. It took him a minute to hug me back, but he did. Once I opened the straw and threw the wrapper in the garbage, we walked back toward the couch where Steve and Pepper were waiting for us.

STEVE'S POV

Katie and Uncle Tony walked off to get her something to drink. Pepper and I laughed at Katie's eagerness and then sat for a few minutes in silence. I started thinking to myself how it had been six months since Katie moved in with me, yet she still referred to me as 'Steve.' Was I doing something wrong? Or was it just not the right time yet?

"Are you alright, Steve?" Pepper asked me. Her tone was laced with concern. I looked up at her,

"Yes, it's nothing," I told her, hoping to change the subject.

"Steve," she said sternly, "You can tell me. I'm way better at keeping secrets than Tony if that's what you're worried about."

I chuckled at Pepper's joke, then became serious once more and took a deep breath.

"Well, Katie and I have been together, as father and daughter, for a little more than six months now, but she hasn't called me 'Dad' yet." I felt a little embarrassed and refused to make eye contact with her.

"Steve, you don't have to be embarrassed. I can understand where you are coming from. I'm sure this situation that you and Katie are in can be stressful, but I do not think that you need to worry about Katie calling you 'Dad.' I see the way she looks at you with such admiration and joy. Maybe she is just scared that you don't feel as connected to her as she does to you."

I considered everything Pepper said. Maybe Katie was just worried that I wouldn't want to be referred to as 'Dad.'

"Thank you, Pepper," I finally said.

"You are very welcome, Steve," she smiled.

Uncle Tony and I returned to the couch. I sat back down with Steve and finished my juice box in ten minutes. After another five minutes, I began to feel exhausted. It was now very close to 1:00 am, which was way past my bedtime. I yawned, and Steve noticed.

"Alrighty, sleepy pumpkin, time for you to get some shut-eye," Steve said as he picked me up. I was in his arms with my hands around his neck and my head on his shoulder, too tired to keep my eyes open. Pepper and Tony showed me the way to my room, and Steve helped me get ready for bed. He made sure I brushed my teeth and washed my face, then left the bathroom so that I could put on my PJs. Once I sat on the bed, Steve brushed my hair for me gently. He picked me up bridal-style and laid me under the covers. I was on the left side of the bed, lying on my left side. Steve brushed a strand of hair that had fallen in front of my face.

"Goodnight, Katie," he whispered.

"Night, Daddy," I tiredly said. After a moment of silence, I realized what I had called him and decided to add the other thing that I had been scared to say for a while, "I love you." I waited for a response, slowly becoming too scared to sleep until Steve smiled at me.

"I love you, Katie." Steve lightly kissed my forehead and left to go to bed in his room, right next to mine. I smiled to myself as I drifted off to sleep.