a/n: i highly suggest watching this quick video first. i happened to find it and realized it goes amazing with this chapter, so deff check it out. anyhoo, enjoy! and leave feedback pleaseee 🤪

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Friday nights were always movie nights for Steve Rogers. After moving into his apartment several years ago, that was the one thing he made sure to do every week, just to help catch up with what he'd missed after decades stuck in the ice. And with Natasha living with him, he pretty much used it as an excuse to have the perfect date night; The popcorn was always buttered and ready, the pizza hot and fresh, the lights always dim, and of course, the movie they planned to watch had to be picked out at the beginning of the week (His idea.) It was always a fun time, and that night was no different than any other.

The two of them were comfortably rested beside each other on the couch with the television in front of them, lighting up their faces every few seconds in the darkened living room. A bowl of half-filled popcorn sat on his lap and a box of pepperoni pizza was open on the table with one-half eaten slice left inside. His arm hung closely draped over the spy as she lay her head on his shoulder, her feet propped up on the table. Steve no doubt had a pet peeve about that, but he decided to let it go so that he wouldn't waste his breath.

The couple had been enjoying their movie time together, even if it was a movie that neither of them truly preferred. While Natasha was into more of the action and adventure genres, Steve was much more into drama and thrillers, and since earlier that week they couldn't come up with an agreement, they just decided on a random romance film. That being so, the two were still able to share some laughs and smiles. They realized that the most important thing was keeping each other company, and so far, the movie was doing the trick.

Though, it was what happened closer to the end of movie that neither Steve, nor Natasha, had expected. The previous scene had showed the main woman noticing how unwell she had been feeling recently, and telling her love interest that she was going to the doctor to be checked out. They watched as she now returned to her house and led her husband to the bedroom, revealing a pregnancy test that read positive. The characters jumped together in excitement, hugging and kissing as if they had never done such things before. It was quite the beautiful, endearing moment, almost enough to bring tears to anyone's eyes.

A small smile started to appear on the captain's face as he watched the screen intently. Although Natasha, on the other hand, only seemed to grow a bit uncomfortable. She shifted somewhat under her boyfriend, not at all committing to a smile and instead letting out a soft sigh that she hoped would be unnoticed.

But of course, nothing could go unnoticed with someone like Steve Rogers. It took him no time to bring attention to the awkward reaction, glancing down at her almost seconds later with a risen eyebrow. "You okay?"

His question seemed to stir her our of her lost gaze on the TV and whatever thoughts were circling throughout her mind. "Oh, uh.. wha-?" She looked over at him as if she was just as confused. "Yeah, of course... Are you?"

"Yeah...?" he answered, trying to read her facial expressions as best he could, only being able to use the random flashes of light as a source. The random return of the question made him much more concerned, figuring it was just her way out of going much further into the conversation.

"Good." Nat returned her attention to the movie without giving him another glance.

Steve's eyes lingered on her for a moment longer before he grabbed the remote that was beside him and paused the movie. He was going to solve this case, no matter what it took, and deep down, Natasha knew that with enough pressuring, he would achieve that goal. She immediately looked over at him afterwards, her confused expression more prominent than the previous time. The two didn't speak in that moment, but instead peered into each other's faces, communicating without words, in a way.

After a few more seconds, Steve finally spoke again, concern spreading throughout his voice. "Alright. What's the matter, Nat?"

"Why do you assume something is wrong?" she asked calmly. "I was perfectly fine until you stopped the movie."

Sure, something was indeed wrong, but it was always in her game plan to hold off on topics that she wasn't in the mood to discuss. And one way to avoid doing that was to ask her own questions, which usually seemed to help deter the start of anything. Steve was correct.. Maybe she had been using that tactic on him for too long. They had been dating for two years, after all.

He examined her eyes again. "Listen... if you're being honest with me, then I promise I'll let it go. But I have a feeling that you're not."

His words slowly settled in. No, she wasn't being honest, but if she didn't want to talk about it, then did she really have to? Her expression turned into a scowl and she began to stand up. "Well having a little trust in me would be nice," she retorted. The red-head turned around on her heels and went off to their bedroom, shutting the door behind her, leaving a much perturbed Steve on the couch.

Normally, the captain would have raced after Nat, overloading her with questions as to what any of that was about. But after all that time of dating, he knew it was better to allow her time to calm down and return when she was ready. No one was good to talk to when their emotions were high, and he was certain that hers were just that. Still, he wanted to figure out what exactly caused her to be so uncomfortable.

Was it something he had done?

Was she in some sort of pain from training earlier?

Was it something from the movie..?

After some more thought, Steve grabbed the remote, rewinding to the moment just before Natasha had become iffy. The scene replayed the love interests finding out about their pregnancy and how thrilled they were for the new experience. He watched it over as they hugged and kissed, smiles growing from ear-to-ear and tears falling down their faces. What would have been so off-putting about that? It was a very enjoyable scene to watch, in his opinion... But it was then that he remembered why it may not have been so enjoyable for Natasha.

He felt his heart drop. How could he have been so clueless? It was impossible for her to be able to have a baby, and it was now clear to him that it was something she thought about quite often. He never knew just how much it might have been affecting her. And watching a couple that loved each other so dearly be able to experience such a happy moment in life, but deep down knowing that she could never have that for herself? It must have been detrimental, probably more than she wanted to show that it was.

Steve turned off the movie, setting the bowl of popcorn down on the table and proceeding to go into the kitchen. He grabbed two cups and filled them up with milk, taking a container of Oreos from the cabinet afterwards and setting everything up on a tray. When he finished, he made his way to their bedroom, giving the door a knock and entering right after. There he found Natasha laying in bed, the covers up to her waist as she read a story from her Kindle.

"Hey. Brought you your favorites," He chimed with a light smile, shutting the door behind him. "I also got some for myself, too."

She glanced over by the door, arching an eyebrow at her boyfriend before looking down at the milk and cookies. A sliver of a grin came upon her lips at the welcoming sight. "Thanks," she said softly. Once he arrived on the bed beside her with the tray, she leaned towards him, planting a kiss on his cheek. "It should go well with To Kill a Mockingbird."

Steve reached over and took the Kindle from her hands, setting it on the bedside table. "Actually, I was hoping we could discuss something else."

"... Such as?"

"... The movie."

She furrowed her brows, pretending that she had no clue where he was possibly going with this. "What about the movie?"

"Our likes... dislikes." The captain shrugged, making it seem as nonchalant as he could. "You know, what stood out to us most."

"Ah.." Natasha nodded, picking up an Oreo and dunking it into her glass of milk. She waited a few seconds for it to soak before taking it out. "You go first, then." She popped the cookie in her mouth.

Steve had prepared for her to go first so that they could easily slide into the topic of interest, but now he had to think of a new way to incorporate it. He pondered on the matter, and after a minute, decided that the easiest way would be to just bring it up himself. He cleared his throat, nervously. Never did he think he would have to have this kind of talk.

"... B-Baby-" The blonde immediately paused, his face turning a faint shade of red. This was going to be much more of a daunting task then he originally planned.

Natasha, assuming he was just normally calling her by the endearing name, now rose her eyebrow instead, to much bewilderment. "Yes...?"

"Well no, not you. I mean baby.. as in, babies. Pregnant."

"O-Oh." She immediately looked away. Naturally, he figured her out like the back of his hand, and now she could not bring herself to meet those ocean blue eyes that this man owned. The agent knew he was going to figure it out eventually. She had practically prepared for it, but just the mention of the P word was enough to get her angsty sometimes.

It was in that moment Rogers knew he hit the nail on the head. But now he had to face getting over such an uncomfortable discussion for the both of them. He brought his hands together, awkwardly playing with his thumbs. "I thought it was a nice part in the movie... What um, what about you?"

Nat didn't face him, her emerald eyes glued to the covers in front of her. "It was alright. I've seen better."

Steve could practically feel her pain, imagining the hurt and awkward feelings that only her face and body language presented. How would he be able to help her through this without causing a bigger issue than it already was? He stayed quiet, allowing the silence to wash over their ears and clear some of the tension. But after a little while, he brought his hand to rest over the spy's, soothingly rubbing his thumb across the back of it.

"I know it bothers you a lot.." The captain began, the pace of his words steady and kindhearted; Her eyes locked on him instantly as he met them with his own. Yet the sudden attention she was giving caused him to freeze up, clearing his throat once more before resuming. "T-There are a lot of things that bother me too. And a lot of times, they'll hit me when I least expect it."

"Mhm..." Natasha observed her boyfriend, noticing the odd stuttering in his speech. Though she didn't make any mention of it, as she was curious as to just how well this would go.

"But— You know, at the end of the day, our worries only take away from the joy that we could be having. And, um.. w-we need all the joy we can get.."

She nodded slowly. "...Yes."

"And if you just take one worry at a time, like.. maybe about babies, per say, and talk your feelings over with a loved one— Like.. maybe me? Or.. Clint, or I don't know.. T-Then maybe you'll feel bett-"

"-Steve." The spy interrupted, wearing a warm smile and laying a kiss on her boyfriend's pink lips. She lightly pulled away and peered into his eyes, before quietly adding, "..I'm okay."

He narrowed his gaze, a bit perplexed as to why she had cut him off with the kiss; not that he was complaining, but still it was quite unexpected. "But you were upset from the movie scene and you came in here and I just didn't want you to feel bad, so I brought the cookies.. and I—"

"Hush, Soldier." Natasha placed a finger over his mouth, her smile now forming into a grin. "I'll be just fine. I promise you."

And she meant that. Though it was quite obvious that the scene had affected her, she was skilled at what she did best, and that involved keeping issues to herself. There were many times that she would open up to Steve and he was always accepting of that, but for that night, she didn't want to ruin what was supposed to be their perfect date night. And with Steve struggling to help her through things and make her feel better, it only showed her exactly how much she was in love with that man, and she would never trade him for the world.

As much as Steve wanted to assist in making her feel better, he was a bit relieved that he wouldn't have to struggle any longer with his words. It was such a serious topic, something he had not been prepared for that day. Any other time he could handle it, but that discussion called for much more and it completely caught him off guard. Nonetheless, he realized Nat had noticed his effort, and it seemed that she appreciated it.. At least he hoped.

The soldier gave a small nod. "But if you ever have any more worries, you know that I'm here for you."

"I know..." The agent replied, gently. "I love you."

"I love you, too.."

She let their tender moment sink in and not long afterwards began to smirk. "Now eat your half of Oreos before I steal them."

Steve snatched his cookies away from her reach and chuckled, "Not in your lifetime, Romanoff."

Natasha rolled her eyes playfully, smiling away. In the end, maybe they couldn't have a baby together, but as long as they had each other, they were entirely complete. And they were most definitely a family.