The trail to the bedroom was cold and dark. The only glimpse of light came from the blue circle gleaming from the chest of the male taking the long trek. Each night the walk seemed to become longer and further away. As his destination became closer, the male's heartbeat quickening with each step. He couldn't believe how it had come to this.
Pulling out his hand, the male pushed the white oak door slowly, hoping no noise would wake the slumber of the person inside. The hinges of the door emitted a slight squeak. The male's heart quickened, stopping his actions momentarily. He waited. Nothing.
Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding, the male squeezed through the small gap between the door and the frame, sucking in his chest and stomach to achieve the tight squeeze.
Finally through, the male smiled to himself in joy. Success.
Yanking his socks off, as well as his grease-stained shirt, the male snuck over to the bed. He pulled the covers up before quickly sliding in, facing away from his spouse under the sheets.
A few peaceful moments passed before gentle muscled arms snaked their way around the male's waist.
"You were up late again, Stark." A soft voice spoke from behind him. "You know it's bad for your health."
Tony laughed softly under his breath. Nearly every night he did this same act of attempting to stay up later with his projects and not wake his lover. It never worked.
"Aye, aye, Captain," Tony answered in a mocking tone, turning around to face the other male.
Steve's eyes glimmered a soft blue in the light of Tony's arc reactor, a small smile developing on his face.
"Don't be like that, Tony. I'm only trying to look after you."
A few seconds past in silence. Steve's facial expression was soft and loving as if he was out of some cheap chick flick, searching for something in Tony's face.
"Okay, cut the act. What do you want?" Tony said, breaking the silence, raising his eyebrow at the other male.
Steve blinked as if coming out of a trance. "Wh…n-nothing… I was just thinking." The blonde male answered, pushing his upper body up against the bed head, looking directly towards the door.
"Oh, crap." Tony murmured, propping himself up on one elbow.
"I heard that," Steve said without breaking his gaze.
Tony let out a nervous laugh. "I don't like the way you're looking at that door. I know it probably offended you in some way and that you want to have a nice stern talking to it, but giving it the death stare isn't going to solve your obvious hatred towards-"
"I want a child, Tony." Steve interrupted.
Tony was taken aback by his lover's comment. A child? Did Steve realise who he had married 6 months ago? No parent, that's for sure.
Steve and Tony had a couple conversations like this before. The first time, Steve told Tony that his sexuality wasn't exactly as straight as he leads others to believe (and that's a quote. Exactly how Steve had told him). The second time, Steve told Tony that he was scared. Tony never thought he would ever hear that phrase come out of Steve's mouth.
Recently, the couple had been found out about their 'circumstance', as the media put it. Tony was caught by a cameraman walking with this arm around Steve's waist, which could have been passed as gesture of close friendship, although the media took it differently. Tony wasn't exactly impressed by the amount of media coverage, however, a quick tweet, 'Allegations of my relationship with theCap are apparently TRUE #bae', settle the issue.
Now, Tony knew that Steve was from a time where things were different, although Tony never quite understood the depth to which it would have affected his lover.
After some pushing, Steve finally bugged and spilled his feelings. The 40's weren't actually the best time to be a homosexual. Tony remembered something Natasha had told him a little while back.
Nat was usually Steve's second-in-command in their missions so she knew certain things about Steve that Tony didn't. Nat believed Steve had internalised homophobia. True, Tony wasn't quite sure what the damn thing was, but after some late night googling and discussions with his AI JARVIS, Tony started to believe Nat. It was sad to admit; however Tony wanted to help Steve, no matter how long it took. They were still working at it, and positive results didn't take as long to appear as Tony previously estimated.
On that note, the situation of children was a contributor to Steve's beliefs about his sexuality. Steve wanted to someday have a family, like many people do. He wanted to give something his complete love and affection (apparently Tony wasn't a candidate for the position). This was something that he believed was unachievable. Tony had proved him wrong, of course, confronting him with the knowledge that one day they could have a family and that there were numerous ways of which they could do so, however Steve didn't believe it was the right to bring children into their world. This back and forth between wanting and not wanting children hurt Tony's brain.
Now, Steve's tone was different. It wasn't a shaky tone of uncertainty, it was clear determination, as if his statement had no room for disagreement. Tony hated when his husband used that tone.
He knew that he wouldn't be able to charm himself out of this one.
Clearing his throat, Tony pulled himself up further, placing a delicate hand on his husband's shoulder.
"Are you sure?" Tony started. "Because having a kid is big work. Like, we are going to have to completely childproof the Tower; make sure the others don't somehow kill the poor kid accidently; put a control on the elevators so they can't sneak into the lab or Clint's firing range; have a whole room decked out for them; find some cute little clothes and toys for them; have picnics at the park and teach them not to chase the ducks not matter how fun it is, and definitely…."
Tony was interrupted by the warm feeling of his lover's lips on his own. Tony slowly closed his eyes as the kiss deepened. Tony's thoughts drained out of him. He wanted to stay in this one moment for ever. Perhaps he could raise a kid, a happy one, unlike his father. Pulling away slowly, Steve looked into his husband's eyes, a look of complete and utter happiness filling them.
"I'll take that as a yes, then?" Steve asked, now seated in between Tony's thighs.
"Aye, Aye Captain."
"FUCKING GODDAMMIT! Stop beeping at me you idiot! I fucking know you failed, you lame excuse for a machine! Rot in hell you good for nothing piece of fucking-"
"TONY!" Steve yelled over the commotion.
Tony stopped mid-yell, tightly holding a wrench over his head, ready to give physical harm to a machine of some description.
Saying the Lab was a mess would be an understatement. Multiple desks had been set up across the room, piles upon piles of sheets and blueprints laid out on them, in what seemed to be no particular order. Glasses and test tubes lined carts, with glass smashed on the ground in the previous commotion. Liquids stained the floors. Empty coffee cups could be seen on every surface.
Tony had been in this same circle for weeks, refusing to leave his Lab. He seemed to be working on something important, although Steve wasn't quite sure what it was. Tony simply refused to tell him.
After two weeks, Steve had had enough. He needed to know what his husband was doing and why it was so important. It usually took something extremely urgent for Tony to refuse Steve when he come down in nothing but his shield covering his privates. Tony had refused him twice this week.
"You're going to tell me right now what you have been up to or I'm calling Thor down here to have a little talk to you about the right way to respect your dear husband."
Tony lowered his arms and tried to look straight at his husband. Steve had his 'soldier' posture in effect, his arms crossed over his broad chest, his shoulders pulled back and his eye shooting darts into Tony's head. Tony approached his husband with careful steps, as if he knew he was walking on thin ice.
"Now Steve, it's really nothing," Tony spoke with a light tone, but avoided Steve's eyes. "Just a project for SHIELD. You know how demanding they ca-"
"I've already talked to both Coulson and Fury," Steve cut him off with raised hands. "And even had a little nice chat to Maria. They haven't given you any assignments for months."
"That doesn't mean they don't need anything! I've been working on a new… thingy."
"The last time you made a 'new thingy'," Steve made air quotes with his fingers, rolling his eyes. "Without consulting SHIELD, a robot made a whole town rise into the clouds."
"THAT WASN'T MY FAULT!" Tony shouted, throwing his arms out in protest. "I don't have to tell you or SHIELD everything I do!"
Steve was taken aback by Tony's comment. Did Tony not trust him enough? Steve told Tony everything; his feelings, his fears, his plans. Clenching his fists, Steve tried stand as still as possible, not wanting to make any irrational actions.
"I'm your husband, Tony. You don't need to keep secrets from me anymore."
"Well, sometimes I do." Tony said, turning around, trying to end the conversation.
"Tony." Steve began, positioning himself directly behind Tony, placing a hand on his husband's shoulder.
The touch caused Tony to snap. "It's none of your concern!" Tony smacked Steve's hand away, rounding on him. "Just leave it be, Steve."
"None of my concern ?! My husband has been ignoring me for weeks because he is too busy playing with his toys!"
"THEY'RE NOT TOYS! I'm working on a big breakthrough here!"
"THEN TELL ME WHAT IT IS!" Steve raised his voice to match Tony's, forgetting his composure entirely.
Then, suddenly, a new voice spoke from outside in the hallway. The two men quickly turned towards the sound. "I have Pepper's blood sample that you wanted. It took some time to convince her to let us use her but she really want to help as much as she can."
The figure appeared at the doorway, letting themselves inside the Lab. Bruce Banner obliviously walked passed the couple, his attention fully on the tablet in his hands. He kept talking: "I don't think we can do this without her, Tony. Gosh, she's such a great friend to you, even after you two broke up. But really Tony, have you told Steve yet…"
Bruce paused, glancing around, as if just noticing the way they were gawking at him. He always had a tendency to walk into awkward situations.
Tony's eyes widened at the sight of his friend, trying the give him a mental vibe to run. Bruce didn't seem to get the memo.
Steve moved faster than Tony could react. Tony tried to catch his arm, but Steve was already standing in front of Bruce Banner.
Bruce didn't seem to be afraid of Steve, raising a curious eyebrow at him. Steve didn't speak. Bruce didn't move. Tony tried to calm his breathing. Silence filled the room.
"I'm guessing you haven't got around to telling Steve yet, huh?" Bruce asked Tony, peering around Steve to look at him.
"He failed to mention it." Steve answered in a threatening tone before Tony could speak.
Laughing softly, Bruce side-stepped and walked past Steve, seeming to be amused by the situation.
"Oh Tony, you're screwed." Bruce laughed, clapping his hand on his friend's shoulder before pulling some graphs up on the holographic screen on the far wall.
Tony wanted to strangle Bruce right then and there (which would be unwise considering the Big Green Guy simmering just underneath). Steve looked like he wanted to do the same to Tony.
Taking a deep breath, Tony walked towards Steve, taking him by his arm. Steve was shocked by Tony's sudden gesture, to the point he didn't even know what to do but to follow him dumbly towards the elevator. What was Tony doing?
Once inside, Tony pressed a button to take them to their floor, the penthouse. Obviously, Tony wanted to resolve their argument away from Bruce. If they were working together, why would Tony suddenly be so secretive?
As the elevator started to move, Tony resumed their conversation.
"Do you want a daughter or a son?" Tony asked, breaking the silence, squeezing Steve's hands slightly as he spoke.
"W...What? Tony, what are you talking about? Don't change the subject." Steve answered with slight shock in his voice as he turned to face Tony. Why was he bringing this up now? Yes, they had been talking about children more than they previous had after the other night, but what did that have to do with Tony's disappearances to Lab for the past couple of weeks?
"Just answer my question, Steve." Tony said, still facing away from him.
"Well… I-I don't believe it's very fair to make such a discussion. I would love and care for my children no matter what gender they were. But, if you really want to know… I'd want a boy. Considering that we'd probably have to adopt, I guess we do get a choice of our child's gender."
Tony stayed silent for a few seconds before talking. "I want a girl… And adoption isn't our only option…"
"I know, we could go through with surrogacy, but we would never be able to decide which one of us provides the DNA. Anyway, where would we find a surrogate, Tony? It's not like we have any family to help us." Steve added with sadness in his voice.
"Having biological children isn't impossible. That's what I was working on."
In a quick movement, Steve slammed his fist on the stop button before turning to his lover with a look of complete shock on his face. "W-What?"
"Also," Tony continued, ignoring Steve's sudden reaction. "Never say you don't have any family. I think the team could have a very lengthy argument with you about that."
"Tony…"
Tony smiled to himself at his husband's shock. "Over the past weeks, Bruce and I have been combining technology and breakthroughs from scientists and doctors around the world on the possibility of same-sex reproduction. We were trying to combine our DNA to create a biological child. Unfortunately, we can't complete the experiment without a female egg donor and surrogate. Bruce has been trying to find someone to be that person. It seems it wasn't as hard as you might think. Pepper's agreed, Steve. Isn't that great? The child will only have 10% of her DNA, which in the end isn't that much, but Pepper's in perfect health. Good immune system. No known inheritable disorders. Also, the red hair could be a pretty interesting look. Are you going to say anything or just stare at me?"
Steve blinked a few times. A biological child? They could actually have a child ? How could this happen? It's too good to be true.
"Steve…" Tony said cautiously as he turned towards his stunned husband. Steve looked down at his feet as he attempted to understand the situation.
"Steve, if you don't want this I can shut down the program or give the research to another scientist. We can just adopt."
Laughter was all Tony received as an answer. Steve doubled over, hands on his knees and gasping for air.
"And everyone said I was the crazy one." Tony muttered under his breath as he leaned down towards his husband, placing his hands on the man's shoulders to help him stand straight.
As Steve stood, Tony noticed the drips of water running down his face. Steve's eyes were filled with tears. His smile was the biggest Tony had ever seen. Seeing his husband in such a happy state made Tony's heart miss a beat.
This man is going to be the end of me. Tony thought before embracing Steve in a loving hug. The laughing died down, leaving the two lovers standing in the warm embrace of each other's arms, Tony's head on Steve's chest, Steve's chin on top of Tony's head.
"We're really going to be parents?" Steve spoke, pulling Tony's face away from his chest to look directly down at his gleaming smile.
"Short answer: yes. Long answer: not for a while. We have to get Pepper prepared first and implant the embryo. Woah, that sounds so weird. Also, you know, we have to wait like normal parents." Tony explained.
Steve frowned at Tony's comment. "Is Pepper really okay with this? She's going to actually have our baby for us? Couldn't that ruin her career?"
"WHAT!? NO WAY! Businesses aren't allowed to discriminate like that anymore. I'm thinking she'll probably just have the last couple of weeks off when it's due. But Steve… It might not work the first try. It might take some altering and testing before we succeed. This has never been done before."
"If it is… are you going to let others do this as well or… keep it to just us?" Steve asked, hoping that his lover wouldn't keep such a breakthrough to himself.
"I wouldn't even dream about keeping this scientific discovery to myself. I've arranged for Bruce to take the credit. He's quite excited about it actually. He's also wants to be the godfather."
Steve laughed at Tony's remark. "I think he might have a few other people battling him for that position."
"So… You're okay with this? Are we going to do this? Actually be parents?" Tony asked with a hint of worry filling his tone.
"I think we're ready, don't you?" Steve answered with a smile, giving his husband a peck on the lips.
Tony smiled in agreeance as he reached up to return the kiss to his husband.
Before Tony could reach, the moment was interrupted by a soft English voice filling the elevator, which Tony would admit, he forgot he was in.
" I'm sorry to interrupt this grand moment, sirs, and may I say I am delighted that there will be a new little master or miss for me to care for, but Mister Barton is becoming very enraged by the fact that the elevator doesn't seem to be reaching his floor. He is at this moment resulting to banging the metal doors with his bow ."
Steve let out a small chuckle as Tony rolled his eyes. "I swear, JARVIS, if Clint destroys any more of my property I will throw him off my roof and watch him attempt to fly like the pathetic little bird he is."