It’s late and Avengers Tower has shut down for the night. Most of the lights were off, except for the faint blue glow from the arc reactor in Tony’s chest.
Tony quietly works on his StarkPad, tweaking the newest schematics he’s uploaded. He knows damn well he should be asleep, and maybe he would be if he knew how to shut off his brain. It was constantly going, running through various scientific and mathematical equations.
He’s not the only one awake at this hour. Much to his surprise, Steve is also awake, though for an entirely different reason. At first Tony believed his husband was suffering from another round of nightmares, and when he tried to comfort him, Steve had shoved him away and leaped out of bed, beelining it for the bathroom just a few feet away.
Tony’s concerned, but he also knows when to give Steve space. He had already attempted to enter the bathroom and offer assistance, only for Steve to snap at him.
That had been ten minutes ago and Steve has yet to return to bed.
“Honey?” Tony calls out and he sets his tablet down on his lap. “Do I need to call the ambulance? Have you fallen and can’t get up?” He chuckles to himself at his lame joke.
Nothing.
Tony frowns. “Come on that was hilarious.”
Finally, the door opens and Steve appears in the doorway. Tony winces at the sight of him. He’s never seen Steve so clammy and ill before.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” Tony asks.
“I don’t feel good.” Steve groans softly and rubs at his belly. “I don’t know what came over me.”
“Was it dinner? No, wait, we had the same thing and I feel fine.”
Steve groans again and sluggishly makes his way toward the bed, crawling onto it the moment he’s close enough and plopping down beside Tony. He mumbles something Tony doesn't quite catch.
“What’s that?”
Steve turns his head away from the pillow. “I said I don’t feel good.”
Tony softly pats Steve’s back. “I can get you some water. There might be a bottle of Tums in the bathroom.”
“There’s not. You used it last week after dinner. I told you you can’t handle spice.”
Tony huffs. “Oh right. Guess we have no choice. You up for a late-night drug store run?”
Steve frowns. “Not really…”
“Come on. We’ll go in disguise and mingle with the commoners. It’ll be fun.” Tony has already abandoned his work and is getting out of bed.
Steve emits another groan. “I hate to say it but can’t we send Happy?”
“And disturb his beauty sleep?” Tony asks, slipping on a pair of sweatpants. He grabs a pair for Steve and tosses it at him. “It’ll only take ten minutes.”
Steve makes a noise of protest, but because he knows how stubborn Tony can be, he gives in without much persuasion. “Fine. In and out. Got it?”
Tony mocks salutes. “Aye aye, Captain.”
By the time they reach CVS, Steve is already over their side mission. At least that’s what Tony referred to their little outing as. Steve had been fine leaving the tower, but the moment Tony dragged him on the subway, that’s when it started to go south. There was nothing like riding public transportation while nauseous.
The store is practically empty when they arrive, which was a given considering the store was closing in fifteen minutes. In and out. That’s what Tony had said and Steve hopes and prays his husband stays on track.
“We just need something for the nausea and then we leave. Understood?” Steve reminds, adjusting his baseball cap as they pass by a younger man browsing in one of the aisles.
“Yeah, yeah.” Tony dimisses Steve with a wave of his hand. “This mission isn’t that serious, honey.”
“I just don’t want to be spotted. I love our fans but right now…” Steve grimaces and rubs at his belly. God he prays he doesn’t accidentally spew all over someone.
Tony takes Steve’s hand and leads him toward the back of the store where the pharmacy is located. “We can be quick. But don’t get mad if I want a snack.”
“How can you think of food right now?”
Tony shrugs and picks up a bag of peanut M&Ms from a display rack. “I could go for these.”
Steve rolls his eyes. “Tony. Meds first, snacks later.”
“Fine.” Tony huffs and tosses the candy into the red handbasket he snagged at the entrance.
They reach the aisle they’re searching for and scan the shelves.
“Hmm. Dramamine, Pepto, ginger chews. What’s your poison, Cap?”
Steve eyes the options warily. “Preferably something that works fast.”
Tony grabs a bottle of liquid nausea relief and a pack of the ginger chews, adding the items into the basket. “Anything else? Ginger ale? Crackers?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. You search for that stuff and I’ll locate the snacks.”
“You know that means this mission has gone rogue, right? You said in and out.”
“Yeah, but what kind of husband would I be if I didn’t grab jelly beans? You love those.”
“Fine. Let’s make it fast.”
A few minutes later, Steve finds himself in the wrong aisle. He knows exactly where the ginger ale and crackers are located, but for some odd reason (and maybe it was his own curiosity) he ends up going down the family planning aisle.
He stares at the rows of pregnancy tests, his stomach doing uneasy flips. And this time it’s not because of the random nausea that’s been plaguing him.
Random is the key word.
Steve starts to wonder if maybe his stomach bug isn’t from stress or a virus he’s been unfortunate to catch. He thinks back to the many times he and Tony have been intimate. They’ve always made sure to be careful despite physicians telling them that Steve’s chances of conceiving are slim.
Steve chews on his bottom lip as he struggles with the internal battle currently going on. He reaches out and grabs a pregnancy test from off the shelf and scans over it.
“No.” He shakes his head. “No way. I’m not—”
“Honey, what number is our account under? I wanted to see if we had any of those coupon thingys.”
Tony appears from around the corner, his presence startling Steve so bad he nearly drops the box of pregnancy tests. Steve luckily catches it on time and quickly hides it behind his back.
Tony notices. “Whatcha got there?” He asks, one brow raising. Then he realizes what aisle they’re standing in. “Uh, honey, this isn’t where they keep the crackers.”
“I uh…got lost.” Steve flushes bright red and puts the box back on the shelf.
Tony isn’t convinced. “What’s going on, Cap?”
Steve sighs. “What if the reason I’ve been feeling sick is because…” he waves a hand at the tests lining the shelf.
Tony follows his gaze, his eyes going wide when it clicks. “You’re pregnant!”
“Shh!” Steve hisses and glances around, glad they’re the only ones in the store. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“But we always use protection!”
“But what if we messed up or it didn’t work?”
Tony mutters a curse and removes the cap from his head so that he can run his fingers through his air. “I’m getting woozy.”
“Tony,” Steve says, keeping his voice calm even though he’s panicking. He steps closer to his husband and lays a hand over Tony’s shoulder to steady him. “It might not be this. Maybe it is just some stomach bug.”
“Now you have me thinking it’s this! Okay, okay. Can you just take it so I can know for sure?”
Steve nods and grabs the box he previously had. “This one should work, right? There’s so many.”
“You just piss on a stick. How hard can it be?”
“So get two?”
“Yup.” Tony throws a few different kinds into the basket. Then he grabs a box of condoms. “Just in case. I don’t want to feel like this again.”
A few minutes later they find themselves in the checkout line. Tony had wanted to use the self checkout, but Steve felt it would be faster to have someone else ring up their items. They stand nervously on the other side of the counter while the young woman scans each item. Much to Steve’s relief, she doesn’t even bat an eye when she gets to the pregnancy tests.
Tony rocks back and forth as they wait for all of their items to be rung up. He coughs nervously and turns away when another pregnancy test and the box of condoms get scanned.
Tony immediately pays and grabs the bags, not even looking at the cashier as she wishes them a good night.
“Do you think she recognized us?” Steve asks as they speed walk out of the store.
“God, I hope not. I’d hate to wake up tomorrow and see that news story. Can we go please? I’m officially done with this mission.” Tony unlocks the car and gets it.
Steve emerges from the bathroom, fiddling with his fingers and trying not to throw up. Tony is pacing the bedroom floor, popping handfuls of M&Ms into his mouth. He stops and looks at Steve.
“What does it say? Do we need to get diapers?”
“I don’t know yet. The instructions say to wait three minutes. I took all of them just in case.”
“Okay.” Tony blows out a breath. “Maybe you’re not pregnant. It’s just a bug, right? Super soldiers can get bugs.”
“I can’t…”
“Not helping!”
“Can you sit down please?” Steve takes a seat first and pats the spot beside him. “I’m scared and you’re making me feel worse.”
Tony deflates and moves toward the bed, sitting down beside Steve and taking his hand. “I’m sorry, honey. I think I’m scared too. A baby. That’s wild to think about.”
“It is. But I don’t think it’s all bad. We’ve talked about it before.”
“True. Do you think we’re cut out for it?”
Steve gently squeezes Tony’s hand. “I like to think so. We might not get everything right but our child would be loved.” He smiles brightly. “What if they look like you?”
“Like me, huh? I am devilishly handsome.” Tony gently nudges Steve’s shoulder, then he wraps an arm around him and pulls him close. “I bet they’d be stubborn as hell like you. Maybe even super fast and strong.”
Steve winces. “That’s terrifying to think about.”
“Yeah. Let’s hope it’s just the stubbornness.”
Steve glances at his phone. “It’s time. Do you want to do it together?”
“Yeah. I just need something to help me.” He grabs another handful of candy and shoves it into his mouth.
They crowd into the bathroom to learn the results. Steve grabs the first test from off the counter and looks up at Tony. Tony nods and reaches into the bag of candy to help settle his nerves.
Steve takes a deep breath, then he turns the test over, his heart rate increasing. Staring back at him is a smiley face. He gasps and immediately reaches for another. Two pink lines.
“Tony, I’m pregnant. Look.” Steve shows off the two tests.
Tony’s eyes widen and he drops his snacks. “Holy shit,” he breathes out and reaches for one of the tests. “You’re…are you sure?” Tony grabs the last test and flips it over. “Pregnant! This one says pregnant! Oh my God!”
Steve stumbles back into the counter and grips the edge to hold him up. “We’re having a baby.”
Tony wraps his arms around him. “Honey, we’re…oh my God!”
Steve chuckles. “Are you okay?”
“I think I’m freaking out a little but in a good way. Wow. I can’t…a baby. Steve, we’re having a baby!”
Steve smiles and glances down at the test still in his hand. “Yeah,” he says, and he looks up at Tony. “Do you think we can do this?”
“I don’t know but I’m willing to find out. I want this, Steve. I want a family with you. I love you so damn much!” Tony pulls Steve closer and connects their lips in a soft kiss.
They break apart and both lean against the counter, staring at the results, their hearts overflowing with joy.
“We’re going to be parents,” Steve says. “I guess I’m glad this mission went rogue. We wouldn’t have known.”
“True. Guess what? We have a new mission now.” Tony smiles and places his hand over Steve’s belly.
Steve smiles in return and rests his head over Tony’s shoulder.
“You know,” Tony begins. “we might need to go back to the drug store. You and Junior are gonna need diapers.”