You are Good
"How are you feeling this morning Steve?" the same doctor from before, Adia was her name, asked as she applied gel to Steve's growing stomach. He was five months pregnant now, and in complete awe of his stomach. Of course, sleeping was getting harder because there were only so many positions that were comfortable now, but every morning when he woke up and saw his stomach it made everything worth it. He couldn't remember how he once didn't want the baby, because now the baby wasn't even here yet and Steve was so in love.
Steve had started to take better care of himself to, which everyone was grateful for. He tried to get at least six hours of sleep a night, ate four meals a day, and made sure to have a full conversation with someone everyday. Of course, he still had his bad days where he wanted nothing to do with the world, but seeing his stomach gave him the strength to keep going even if he didn't want to. Because Steve Rogers was one thing above all else; selfless, and in order for this baby to survive, Steve had to survive.
"Feeling a bit tired today Miss. Adia" the doctor playfully rolled her eyes. No matter how many times you told Steve to drop the formalities he would never listen. He was the perfect gentlemen.
"Are you ready to find out the gender of the baby?" what a stupid question, Steve thought but would never voice. Of course he was thrilled to learn if there would be a baby girl or boy running around, how could he not be? He wasn't sure which one he would prefer; a boy or a girl although a boy might be easier. He hadn't grown up around girls, and the two girls he did know both had terrible childhoods so they probably wouldn't be of much help.
"Of course" Steve jumped a little at how cold the gel was, eyes flashing for a split second to the ice, before composing himself and relaxing. He had really been trying to get better at how he reacted to the cold, but living in an African country there wasn't much to practice with.
"Congratulations Steve; it's a boy!" Adia congratulated showing Steve the monitor which showed the baby and Steve never thought he could fall more in love with technology then he did right there. "So that's the head, two legs, two arms and-" Adia suddenly stopped speaking as she looked at the monitor eyes squinting as she looked, and Steve felt himself start to panic.
"What? What is it?" please don't let anything be wrong with the baby, please let him or her be ok. But then Adia broke out into an even bigger smile then before as she looked down at him.
"Congratulations Steve! There's a little girl hiding in there!" well that didn't make any sense. How could a baby have two genders, that wasn't- oh
"Twins?" Steve was breathless as he looked at the screen. He could faintly see another blob behind the main one that he never would have noticed before, and it really was like his baby girl was hiding.
"Twins. You'll have to start eating even more, and make sure to stick to healthy foods, remember the list of no no foods I gave you, but don't forget to eat a snack every once in a while. Having chips or pizza will not hurt the baby, and it will help your mood. Nobody could eat only vegetables for a week and be happy. No pushing yourself in the gym, and in a few weeks no gym all together. It is unfortunate that vitamins will not work on you, so we have to do everything as natural as we possibly can" Adia wiped off his stomach and helped him stand up while giving him a picture of his peanut babies and he thanked her for her time before making his way out of the medical ward. They weren't the size of peanuts anymore, but that was the nickname around the palace when everyone found out, so that's what they would be called until they were born.
Twins. He couldn't believe it. Soon there would be a little Maria, and whatever he named the boy waking up the palace at odd hours of the night. Steve stopped walking as he thought about it. Would he keep the name Maria for the girl? That was the name Tony had picked out, and calling out her name would only remind him of his ex. But that was what Tony wanted, and even though they weren't together anymore he would honor that. It was the least he could do after not telling him about any of this.
Maybe one day Tony would meet her, and hear that Steve had named her Maria, and it would show Tony he truly did love him still and they could work towards a better future.
Wishful thinking.
"How many times do I have to tell you Barnes that you are wrong before you get it through your thick skull?" he heard Sam snap from inside the kitchen and Steve fondly rolled his eyes. Despite the negative attitude the two portrayed towards each other he could see how much they cared about one another. If Bucky was up all night with nightmares, Sam would sit on the couch with him and watch tv. He claimed it was because his military hours had programmed him that way, but everyone knew the truth. And if Sam overworked himself in the gym trying to keep up with two super soldiers Bucky would help drag Sam out of the room and to the couch. He'd insult the man all the way there, but the playful look in his eyes told he wasn't serious. It was nice to see Bucky warming to someone who wasn't himself.
Every time they said 'I hate you" to one another, which was a lot, Steve knew they didn't mean it. There was a hidden message in those words.
Steve wondered if maybe their relationship was like his and Tony's. They didn't like each other when they first met, and they annoyed the hell out of one another but look at what happened. They ended up getting married. Steve laughed. The thought of Sam and Bucky getting married seemed impossible.
"Shut up Wilson. You dip your french fry in the ketchup, you don't cover them" Bucky argued back and Steve smiled fondly at the scene in front of him as he looked at everyone. Sam and Bucky were sitting at the table arguing about french fries, Natasha was reading a book in the adjoining living room, and Wanda was watching tv.
"How long has this argument been going on?" Steve announced his presence, although it was probably unnecessary. A super soldier with advanced hearing, a trained spy, a military air pilot, and a witch that could hear peoples thoughts were not people you could hide from. No one could ever sneak up on any of them, and the thought made Steve feel relived. If anyone ever tried to get near his babies, they wouldn't get very far.
"Four minutes and twenty three seconds" Natasha answered flipping to the next page of her book never lifting her eyes.
"Steve tell the man he's delusional" Sam ordered shoving more fries in his mouth as he spoke. Bucky glared at him and went to say something probably not nice when he noticed the picture in Steve's hand.
"How'd it go? You figure out the gender?" that got everyone's attention, all eager to hear what the peanut would be.
"Ya. Ya I did" Steve smiled as he looked down at the picture still in awe over his babies.
"So?" Wanda pressed leaning forward over the back of the couch, and Steve was worried she would fall. He had always felt a protective urge towards Wanda, and being pregnant only intensified that.
"It's a boy" cheers from Sam and Bucky and pouts from Wanda and Nat. "And a girl" they all stopped and starred at Steve processing what he said.
"You're having twins?" Nat asked smiling as she spoke. If you ever wanted to see the deadly Black Widow smile, just mention kids. Not the snot nosed brats who cried at everything, but the angelic ones who would worship the ground Nat walked on. Those were the kids she liked.
"Ya, I am" Wanda suddenly sprung up from the couch, and Steve worriedly looked at her, noticing the way her eyes were starting to well up with tears.
"I-I'm sorry, I just need, I just need a minute" she stuttered before speeding out of the room. A few moments later they heard her bedroom door slam. She had never truly healed from the loss of her own twin Pietro, and this wasn't bringing up good feelings. Steve wanted to comfort her, his protective side of the girl coming out again but Nat stopped him with a look.
"Give her a few minutes" he wanted to argue but he knew Nat was right. She usually was.
"So twins" Sam broke the silence and Steve's mood lifted when he was brought back to thoughts of his babies.
"Twins. Apparently the girl was hiding, which is why it took so long to find her" he handed the photo over to Sam who smiled as he looked at it.
"I just want you to know, one of these is my god child" he told him and Steve chuckled. As much as Steve wanted to make Bucky the godfather he knew the safest option would be to make it Sam. Bucky would always have a target on his back. At least Sam was less known, he could disappear easier. He just wasn't sure how to bring that up without making Bucky believe it was because of his Winter Soldier side. He could always make Sam godfather of one, and Bucky of the other but he couldn't. Tony was supposed to name Rhodey godfather of the other. That's how it would have been. Steve picks two, and Tony would pick two. It was obvious who Tony would pick. The two people who were always by his side; Rhodey and Pepper. And in a perfect world Steve would name Bucky and Nat as his. But there he goes again with his wishful thinking.
"The child is already doomed if that's the case" Bucky said and Sam kicked him under the table, which resulted in Bucky throwing a fry at his face. While they were having their mini fight and while Nat was looking over the picture, Steve snuck out.
"Wanda?" he called gently from outside her door. "It's Steve" of course it was, who else would it be? He rolled his eyes at himself. The door opened a crack, and Steve took that as an invitation to talk in. Wanda was sitting on her bed looking out the window, and it was the pose you would see in movies after a girl or boy had their heartbroken. It was all fictional, it was never a look that was supposed to be on Wanda. The kid had suffered enough.
Steve sat down beside her giving her space but still in a comforting zone. He didn't speak, waiting for Wanda to start.
"I can still hear him sometimes" he voice was so broken, and Steve wanted nothing more then to wrap his arms around her and shield her from everything. "When he first died I was always scared that I would lose his voice. That one day I would try and remember him and it would all be blank. But with my telepathy I used to go into his heads sometimes to talk. When we would be in separate rooms. And because of that my mind will never forget what he sounded like. And I don't know if it would have been better to have forgotten what his voice was like" she looked at Steve with a look that pleaded with him to help her.
"Wanda" he started but she kept talking.
"Your kids will be lucky Steve. A twin bond is a special bond" Steve took a chance and rested a hand on her shoulder and that's all it took for her to slump into his side and sob. He stroked her hair hoping he was being comforting. Tony liked to be held after he woke from a nightmare and had calmed down a bit. He didn't like to be touched right away, needing the space to work out his thoughts, but when he was ready he was a teddy bear.
"These kids will be the luckiest kids to ever be born. They are surrounded by so many people who already love them, and that love is only going to grow after they are here" she seemed to like having her hair stroked so he continued to do it until she had calmed down a bit.
"Bucky and I were talking" Wanda wiped her eyes as she sat up to face him. "We were thinking that after the babies are born, we would keep our distance" Steve furrowed his eyebrows at her. Keep their distance? Why would they do that? His confusion must have shown on his face, because Wanda answered his unasked question. "Steve, Bucky and I have done a lot of bad things. We've killed people. We shouldn't risk the babies well being with us here"
"Wanda you listen to me" he was using his Captain voice that demanded the person listen. "You and Bucky are two of the greatest people I know. These kids will be lucky to have you guys in their lives. Never, ever doubt yourself again" Wanda looked at him in disbelief, eyes still watery but no longer crying.
"I don't want to hurt them"
"Wanda Maximoff when I look at you I do not see a threat. I see a young girl who had her whole life turned around. Manipulated into siding with the bad guys because you thought they were good and having tests done on you which couldn't have been painless. Ya, you got into our heads and messed with our minds. And were we mad about it? At first, yes. But you saw the man who you believed was responsible for your parents deaths, and you acted out of anger. You acted how most humans would have acted. But then, you joined the right side. You didn't know us, but you knew it was the right thing to do. To help those civilians. And the accords? Those were not your fault. Everyone will always look at the negative instead of the positive. And you just happened to be the one to get the blame" Wanda was back to crying, and Steve wasn't sure if that was good or not. But she wasn't yelling at him which was good. Steve would need to get better at comforting women if he wanted to be there for his daughter.
"If anyone of us actually viewed you as a threat do you think we would keep you around? Hell, Clint introduced you to his kids after a month of knowing you because he trusts you that much. We met his kids when we met you for the first time, aside from Nat. You're a good kid, and I hope that my daughter will grow up to be like you" Wanda let out a sob as he spoke, but he wasn't finished just yet. Looking Wanda in the eyes he delivered his final line.
"Wanda Maximoff you are good"