Natasha woke up, thinking she had to throw up but realising that she actually didn't have to. Her mind had always liked playing games with her or maybe it was the baby this time. She didn't know and she didn't care. She was too tired to care about anything but the warmth from the bed. So she simply sneaked down beneath the covers and laid down beside Steve again. He was so comfortable and warm, like a big teddy bear. She stared at his peaceful face for a few minutes, wondering what dreams hid behind those closed eyes. His blond hair was a mess but he somehow pulled it off, making it look really nice anyway. "Good morning." He suddenly said with a husky voice that would make any woman drop to their knees, including Natasha herself. His eyes fluttered opened and she stared into his sea blue eyes. It's funny how some people actually get lost at sea but for her, it only took one pair of blue eyes to forget about everything and everyone. Steve smiled as he looked at her. His almost pink lips opened up a bit and reviled those perfect white teeth of his. At least they'd  have a baby with a nice smile, she thought and couldn't help but chuckle softly. Steve smiled even brighter. "What's on your mind?" He asked, bringing her a little closer. "Nothing, It's just, this baby is going to be so perfect. He's not going to have any friends. They'll all hate him. Everyone hates everything perfect." She said, still chuckling. "I don't remember hating you." Steve said and Natasha hit his arm softly at the cheesy comment but smiled. "And he?" Steve asked. "I have a feeling." Natasha smiled. She suddenly felt Steve's hand on her stomach and he smiled. "I bet it's a girl." He said and Natasha smirked. "The one who looses will have to change the diapers for a week, and the winner gets to choose which week." Natasha said and Steve bit his lip a little. "Deal." He said. Natasha smirked, raising out her hand. Instead of shaking it, Steve grabbed her waist, pressing her to him as he kissed her lips. "Deal." She mumbled on his lips.

• • •

Natasha's phone suddenly started buzzing and she picked it up from the nightstand. Steve looked at her, his eyes still a bit tired. He waited for her to finish the conversation so he could go back to holding her tightly. "We'll be right there." She said, hanging up. Steve moaned at that, grabbing her waist as she tried to get out of bed. "No no no.." Steve begged, dragging her down beside him. "Don't go somewhere." He mumbled into her neck. Natasha smiled, but succeeded to break herself free from his grip. "WE are going to SHIELD." Natasha said. Steve moaned, putting his pillow over his head. Natasha got into a pair of jeans that fit, because every pair didn't anymore and it actually bothered her more than the morning sickness. Getting fat and not fitting in her cat suit isn't something she looked forward to. When she was dressed and ready, Steve still laid in bed. She sighed, walking into the bedroom before sitting down next to him. "We need to go." She said but only received a mumble from Steve. "We'll go in five minutes or I won't sleep with you tonight." Natasha then said and Steve laughed. He lifted up the pillow from his face, cocking one eyebrow as he smirked at her. "That doesn't work when we both know you want it more." He said, putting the pillow over his face again. Natasha cursed, knowing it was the truth. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. "I'll go alone then. But it's work and anything could happen. But I'm sure our baby will be fine when I bring down guys with my thighs." She said and at that, Steve stood in front of her, dressed and ready. "Let's go." He said and Natasha smirked.

"It's just a meeting?" Steve complained as they reached SHIELD headquarters. Natasha nodded, buttoning her jacket a bit so no one would notice the not so yet visible baby bump. It was hard to notice but she didn't want to risk it. "A very important one apparently." Natasha said, smiling brightly as she saw Clint a few meters in front of them. "What are you doing here?" She asked him in a teasing voice. "Isn't it time for you to retire soon? Put that arrow and bow on a shelf maybe?" Natasha said but Clint only smiled. "You've been away from work longer than I will be retired." He said as he embraced her in a hug. Steve chuckled a bit at that. Natasha walked into the room and sat down in one of the chairs as Steve looked after her. "How is she doing? After the accident and all of that?" Clint asked. "She barley calls me every day anymore." Clint said and Steve chuckled. "Wait, you talk on the phone every day?" Steve asked and Clint nodded like it was an obvious thing. "She's doing good. Mostly good actually. We're really good." Steve said, not keeping his eyes off Natasha. Clint looked at Steve. "Wow. You're actually doing really good." He said, smiling. Steve nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, we are." Steve said. "Well, I'll tell you one thing.." Clint said, putting a hand on Steve's shoulder. "No guy is worthy of Natasha but you are pretty close man." He continued and Steve smiled. "Thanks, I think." Clint walked into the room, taking a seat next to Natasha. Steve smiled as Natasha and Clint immediately picked up a conversation while waiting for the meeting to start. Seeing her smile and laugh at Clint's old jokes made him so happy. She loved working so much and it actually pained him that she's been away from it for so long. It must have been really hard for her since this place has always been like a sort of home for her. At least when she didn't have anything else. Natasha and Clint kept talking but Steve couldn't help but to feel joy in his entire body as Natasha held both of her hands on her belly the entire time.

"I'm glad all of you could make it." Fury said, giving Steve and Natasha an extra stare. Steve just stared back at him innocently and Natasha couldn't help but grin a bit at her boss.
"As some of you know, we've had progress in the searching of the group The XX. Much thanks to Agent Romanoff over here but also thanks to Stark's technology and equipment." Fury began and Tony smirked a bit and looked over to Natasha who paid no attention to him whatsoever.
"We've been able to locate several of their possible hiding spots, marked here, here, here, here and here." He said, pointing out the red spots on the screen in front of them. "We'll take down the places one by one. Starting with this one right here." Fury said, pointing at one of the red spots. "Oh." Natasha suddenly said and everyone turned their eyes her way, including Steve. "What is it, Romanoff?" Fury asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Nothing, never mind." She said and Fury looked at her for a few seconds before frowning and continuing to speak. Steve kept his eyes on Natasha, realising her hands were pressed tightly to her stomach. She furrowed her eyebrows a bit but kept a straight face as she noticed Steve's worried expression. "It's okay." She mouthed to him when no one was looking. The baby had been moving around in her womb very often and she had suddenly felt it move a bit quicker. It felt like a really hard kick and she had burst out in an "oh" just because of the pain. Steve looked at her, hesitating but as Natasha continued listening on what Fury had to say, Steve eventually turned his face forward but his mind was still on Natasha and their baby. "As I said, we'll search the hiding spots one by one. No risks." Fury said. "We'll take down the first one tomorrow night. You're all assigned for every search. We can't take any risks when it comes to The XX." He added. "Any further questions?" Fury asked and heard a confident silence as an answer. Steve had lots of questions though. Would Natasha be fine during this mission? Could the baby get hurt? Would Fury even let her be a part of this if he knew she was pregnant?

As the meeting was over, Steve grabbed Natasha's arm when they were in the hallway. "What's up with the baby?" He asked and she frowned. "He just kicked. He's fine." She said but Steve could tense some doubt in her voice. He dragged her with him through a small corridor that was less crowded. "Can I look?" He asked softly. "At my belly? The baby isn't shown on the outside you know." Natasha chuckled. Steve dragged up her shirt a bit, almost gasping. Natasha's eyes grew wide at his reaction. "What is it?" She asked nervously, looking down at her own stomach only to find a dark blue bruise on her belly. "Nat, what is this?" Steve asked, looking up at her nervously. "I don't know.." She said biting her lip. "Was it the baby? You said it kicked you.." Steve said, gently touching the bruise. "Yes, five minutes ago. Not enough time for a bruise to appear." She said. Natasha dragged down her shirt and let her eyes meet Steve's. "I'm sure it's fine." She said, cupping his cheeks. "When was that check up at the hospital again?" Natasha asked. "Tomorrow before lunch." He said and Natasha nodded. "We'll ask them then. It'll be fine." She said, giving him a kiss. Steve frowned a bit at first but feeling the expression vanish from his face as she pressed her lips on his. "Oh sorry." A voice soon said and they both opened their eyes to seen Clint walk past them. Natasha smirked, Steve blushed. Tony came one second later, enough time for Steve to back away from Natasha a bit. "Isn't it the golden couple?" Tony said, smirking. "The rumours about Americas golden boy and the worlds deadliest assassin has spread to Jupiter by now." Tony said and Natasha rolled her eyes, walking over to Clint who seemed to want to talk about something. Steve looked at Tony a bit and Tony's smirk had become a sudden smile. "But you do suit well together." Tony suddenly said, nodding a bit. "Thanks Tony." Steve said. "But really though, not many guys can make Natasha Romanoff fall in love with you. Is there a secret? Some old man trick? Because I could use that on Pepper. She's not enjoying this 'me working late hours' thing." He said, chuckling a bit. Steve shook his head, giving him a small smile. "The secret is love, Stark." He said, enjoying the look on Tony's face before glancing over at Natasha.

"What about after these missions then?" Clint asked Natasha who nodded. "Yeah, sure." She said, smiling a bit. "Thank God." Clint said, chuckling. "Lila doesn't stop asking about you. Even Cooper questioned your next arrival a couple of times." Clint said and Natasha smirked. "I bet you've missed me the most though." Natasha said, chuckling. "Just because you can read expressions very well doesn't mean that you're always allowed to." He said, grinning. Natasha gave him a smirk as she felt Steve's hand on her back. "Gotta go now though. He hates it when I talk to other guys." Natasha said, teasing Steve. "I do not." Steve claimed while Clint just chuckled. "She'll call you tonight." Clint said, and Natasha nodded before he walked away. "Who'll call?" Steve asked curiously. "Lila." Natasha said, smiling. "Right." Steve said, enjoying Natasha's smile as she thought of the little girl. "We'll visit them after these missions." Natasha added as they walked towards the exit. "About these missions, are you sure you can do this?" He asked and Natasha frowned. "Sure that I can get back to work after I don't know how many weeks off work? I'm pretty sure." She said and Steve bit his lip a bit. "No I know. It's just, it's not just your life anymore." He said and Natasha sighed. "I'm not planning to get both of us killed." She said, putting a hand over her stomach. "You weren't planning on getting hit by a car either." He said and Natasha sighed again. "Steve, we'll be fine. You'll be there the whole time too. Stop worrying. But while we're still on the subject.." She said, as they got into the car. They closed the doors and Natasha looked into his eyes. "If, somehow, an accident would occur. If it somehow was between me and the baby, you must choose the baby." Natasha said seriously. Steve's eyes grew wide. "What? I'm not.." Steve began but she shushed him. "Steve." Natasha said so seriously he frowned. "You have to choose the baby." She said, her voice so demanding and convincing that Steve had a hard time looking her into the eyes. "You have to put the baby before me."
Steve stared at Natasha. Her words broke his heart into pieces. "I'm never going to have to make that choice." Steve said. "So it doesn't matter." He added and Natasha sighed. "Promise me, Steve." She said and he bit his lip. "Nat, I don't.." He began.
"Promise me." She said again. Natasha's eyes were begging him. It was as if he saw her entire life through her eyes. A life she didn't want to be put before their child. He knew that if he had been in her situation, he would have wanted the same thing. It still hurt in his whole body when he said: "I promise". Natasha took a deep breath and seemed much calmer after hearing that, she leaned back in her seat a bit as Steve started the car. Later that night, Steve had made some dinner for them both and took out a movie. They usually ate in front of the TV. It had become a bit of a habit that they both loved. Besides, Steve had a lot of movies to catch up on and Natasha was glad to show him all of her favourites, starting with the horror ones. "Nat, I don't want to see another one of those scary movies.." Steve said, realising she wasn't in the room. "Well, that's awkward." Steve mumbled to himself. "Nat?" He shouted a bit louder. "Bedroom!" She shouted back. As he entered the bedroom, he couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Natasha.. What are you doing?" He asked, smiling. Natasha looked at him frustrated. "Stop laughing and help me with the zipper." She complained. Natasha, who was very eager to go on a mission the next night, had been terrified of the idea that she would fit in her cat suit. As the thought hit her head, she had hurried into the bedroom and tried it on. It fit perfectly. That was until she had to zip it up. "Damn it, Steve. This is your fault." She said and Steve chuckled. "This baby seems to grow faster than Stark's ego." Natasha mumbled, making Steve laugh harder. She couldn't help but smile a bit herself. After a while of struggling, they managed to get it on properly. "Does it squeeze your stomach?" Steve asked and Natasha shook her head. "No, no. It's fine." She insured him.
"Okay, good." Steve answered. "I thought about the movie.." Steve began and Natasha nodded. "It's okay, I've already picked out Conjuring. You're going to love it." She smirked at him, before taking off the suit again. "That's not another horror movie right?" He asked and Natasha shook her head. "It's a family movie. Don't worry." She said, smiling. She changed to a pair of grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt before wrapping her arms around his neck. "Good. Because you know how much I hate those movies." He said and she nodded. "I'm well aware." She said, smiling a bit before giving him a kiss.
Steve had made some tomato soup with some bread for a late dinner. Neither of them were that hungry around this time so it suited well. But it didn't suit so well to the movie Natasha had chosen and it didn't take long until Steve was drenched in hot tomato soup. "You said it wasn't a scary one!" Steve claimed as he dragged of his shirt that had tomato soup all over it. "It's not my fault you find this scary. Even children watch this." Natasha said, pleased that he took of his shirt. "Yeah, right." Steve said, scoffing. "I'll be right back." He said as he walked to the bedroom to put on another pair of pants. Natasha smiled after him as a jump scare startled her a bit. She was surprised since she knew all the scary moments in this movie. When she turned her eyes to the TV again, she realised it wasn't any scene with a jump scare. She suddenly felt a stinging pain in her belly and she dragged up her shirt. Another dark blue bruise was showed at the right side of her belly. She frowned. The mark was even bigger than the last time. The same size and shape as a kiwi. She touched it gently with her fingertips, feeling their child move around a bit. "Can you please stop with the kicking?" She whispered to the baby. "She's kicking again?" Steve asked smiling as he came towards the couch. Natasha didn't have time to drag down her shirt before Steve noticed the dark blue bruise. He frowned and immediately sat down beside her, looking at her stomach. "Does that hurt?" He asked but Natasha didn't answer his question.
"He's fine. Let's just watch the movie." Natasha said, trying to get his attention away from her belly. "I know the baby is fine, it's you I'm worrying about." He said seriously.
Natasha grabbed his hand. "He's just practicing some self defence. It's good to start at an early age." She said, smiling. Steve kept a straight face and she sighed. "I'm okay. Don't worry. He's just stronger than every other child." She said. Steve smiled a bit. "She." Steve corrected her and Natasha gave him a small smile. They finished watching the movie even though Steve made protests during a good five minutes. Not many things convinced Natasha to change her mind so Steve spent the last twenty minutes hiding his face in Natasha's shoulder while she constantly tried to get him to watch what was left of the movie. "Is it over?" Steve asked as the TV had been quiet for a while. "Yes, for about ten minutes but you aren't listening to me." She said, pushing his head away from her shoulder as he laughed. "I choose the movie next time." He said and Natasha smirked. "Yeah, then you might actually watch it." She said and he smirked, picking together their bowls and glasses from the dinner. Natasha turned of the TV, going to help Steve with the dishes as she slightly gasped. Another kick hit her stomach and she tried to ignore the stinging pain. Steve saw her expression and immediately hurried up to her. "Another kick?" He asked seriously, dragging up her shirt. Yet another dark blue bruise had formed on the lower left side of her belly. "How do they appear so quickly?" Natasha mumbled, looking down at her belly. Steve's heart was beating fast. "She's hurting you." Steve mumbled and Natasha's eyes grew a little wide. "Steve, the baby isn't doing it on propose." Natasha said seriously. "I'm calling the hospital." He said standing up. "Steve, don't. We're going there tomorrow morning. We'll check it then." She said. "Something feels wrong." Steve said and Natasha couldn't deny it herself. She had this feeling in her stomach that she wanted to go away. "This is not possible. The bruises and the kicks. It doesn't make sense." Steve said and Natasha bit her teeth together. "Neither does the fact that I'm actually pregnant." She said and Steve bit his lip. "I don't like this." Steve said seriously. "Let's just get some sleep. It'll be fine." Natasha said, trying to sound as convincing as possible. "Come on.." She said, hugging him and pushing him towards the bedroom at the same time. Steve had a hard time forgetting about the bruises but gave her a small smile as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
Steve woke up first the next morning with his arms around Natasha. She used his left arm as a pillow, laying close to his body. Steve looked down at her sleeping face before placing some small kisses on her temple. He admired her beauty a while longer before slowly moving her head over to the pillow and went out of bed. He thought he'd have time for a warm nice shower before the appointment at the hospital. "Where are you going?" Natasha mumbled and Steve stopped walking. He smiled before turning around to look at her. She had one eye open, looking at him. "I'm taking a shower." He said and she furrowed her eyebrows. "And you didn't ask me to join?" She said, pouting at him a bit. Steve softly chuckled. "You always get mad when I wake you up early." He said and she nodded. "Yes." She said. "But not if I'd get to join you in a warm shower." She said as he could hint a small smile on her lips. "Then what are you waiting for?" Steve asked, smiling brightly at her. Natasha doubted what she had said for a minute, taking one extra look at the bed before crawling out of it. Steve embraced her in a tight hug before she pressed her lips on his. She smiled a bit bigger as he carried her to the bathroom. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around her neck, kissing him lovingly.