"Yeah, he really does," Mavin agreed fondly. "He was unexpected, but everyone took to him so well."

"Happens with kids," Steve agreed. "Or, so I've heard. Haven't been around many myself, especially not after coming back out of the ice."

"I've seen you with him," Mavin said, "you're great with him. And I really appreciate that you're willing to put up with him, I know you don't have to."

"He's a good kid," Steve said honestly. "I'm not gonna say I'm great with kids, 'cause I'm not, but he's a good one." He shot her a bit of a grin. "Buck was always the child wrangler, growin' up."

“Really?” Mavin asked, blinking. “I didn’t know that.” She gave a bit of a sheepish grin. “They don’t cover a whole lot of before the war in the history textbooks.”

Steve smiled. "He had a little sister," Steve told her. "He could earn a bit of money babysitting sometimes."

“I see,” Mavin said. She smiled a bit. “And I’m guessing you’re an only child?”

Steve nodded. "Maybe wanted another, but I was so sick it never really worked out," he said with a little shrug.

“I see,” Mavin said, nodding. “Well, still, thanks for putting up with him.” She was quiet for a moment, not sure where else to take the conversation. She knew she tended to dominate it with talk of her son, and she didn’t want to completely take over.

Steve smiled. "So what do you do when you're not babysitting a hundred year old former assassin?" he asked teasingly. "Besides Connor."

"Not a whole lot, actually," Mavin admitted. "Between work and Connor I pretty much have two full-time jobs. Doesn't leave a whole lot of time for hobbies. Before Connor came along, though, I was teaching myself a few craft skills."

"Like what?" Steve asked, curious. He wasn't much of one for crafting, but it always seemed kind of fun and soothing.

"Crochet, mostly," Mavin replied. "Dabbled a bit in knitting. Wanted to try my hand at spinning, but then Connor came along and I just didn't have the time or money to do it."

Steve grinned a bit. "Spinning is still a thing?" he asked, rather amused now.

"It is," Mavin replied, grinning a bit. "You'd be surprised. Carding, spinning, dyeing by hand, they're all still things people do. I even know of a few places I can get my hands on everything I'd need to spin and dye my own yarn, if I ever get to it. Though realistically I'll probably just by yarn already dyed and save myself the effort."

Steve snorted. "That sounds much less time consuming," he agreed. "Man. Bucky's ma used to knit, I think, but I had no idea people still did all the rest of it. Sounds like a lot of work."

"It is," Mavin said, nodding. She grinned a bit. "I do still try to at least make a few scarves for the winter every year. They run up pretty quick, and it lets me practice new stitches. My last big project was actually Connor's first blanket, before he was born."

Steve smiled. "That sounds like quite an undertaking," he agreed. He remembered sitting and watching Bucky's ma knit things for them when she had the time. Which hadn't been often.

"I didn't start it right away," Mavin admitted. "Drama to sort out with Connor's father and things like that. I barely finished the blanket before Connor came." She grinned a bit. "That was the last big project I actually finished. I have a couple of bigger things still stashed away that I'm in the middle of."

"Like what?" Steve asked, curious now. "More blankets?"

"Yeah, actually," Mavin said, nodding. "I started one that would fit my bed, it's probably about half done. And I had started a throw for the couch that I never got around to finishing."

Steve grinned. "Well, if you wanted some time to work on those again, Buck and I would be happy to keep Connor busy," he told her. "You can even make it work-related and say you're keeping an eye on Bucky."

"I couldn't ask you to do that," Mavin protested. "You've had to look after him so much already." She couldn't deny that having the crafting time sounded appealing, but she knew she had other responsibilities that took priority.

Steve shook his head. "I don't mind," he told her. "Bucky won't either. It'll be good for him to be around kids again, help him learn to trust himself a bit more."

"I can still hear you," Bucky drawled from the stove, giving Steve a Look.

Steve just smirked at him.

"Neither of you are obligated to look after him," Mavin stressed. "I need you both to know that."