Steve stared at the myriad of products in front of him, each one claiming to have more accuracy over the other, all able to do the same thing.
He stared some more, before he ran a hand through his hair, took his phone of his pocket and called Charlotte.
"Any particular brand? There's at least a hundred." He said as a way of greeting, his voice tense.
"I don't know. I've never done this before," she responded, her voice a bit shaky, and he took a breath, reminding himself that Charlotte was as tense as he was over all of this.
"I'll grab a couple, I guess."
"Thanks," she said, before she told him that she'd meet him in their suite at Avenger's Tower, their home for the time being.
Steve took another steading breath, and grabbed five different boxes off the shelf, walking quickly to the check-out register.
(1 hour before)
"Asshole!" Sam yelled after him, Steve laughing as he bypassed the man for the fifth time in the last hour.
It was a typical day at Avengers Tower. Steve and Sam, due to the snow outside, had taken to running on the inside track in the basement of the tower. When Tony Stark had designated the tower as Avengers central, he had equipped it for just about anything the team may need.
Steve chuckled as Sam kept cursing at him from afar, only stopping when he felt his phone vibrating in the pocket of his track pants. He smiled when he saw Charlotte's picture pop up and answered with a pleasant hello.
"When did I get my last period?" Charlotte asked, not even greeting him back, and Steve could tell that she sounded distraught.
"Uh...I don't…what?" He was trying to follow, and was a bit caught off by her question.
"I just realized I haven't gotten my period in like two months. If I can remember correctly." There was some silence, Steve putting the pieces together, feeling the blood drain from his face.
"Ok." He said after some time, and he heard Charlotte's breathless, nervous laugh on the other side.
"I'm in the lab with Tony until lunch time. I can't really get out of this…can you maybe buy a test and I can take it during my lunch?"
He nodded, and realized, after some silence, that Charlotte couldn't see him, so he agreed.
"You need to stop nodding, old man. I can't see you." Charlotte said, and Steve could picture her smile.
"Charlotte?" He asked, stepping into their suite, dropping his keys onto their coffee tale.
"In the kitchen!" She called.
He found her sitting on a countertop, three empty water bottles by her side, and a fourth one half empty in her shaking hands.
"There's gonna be lots of pee involved," she said, her smile as shaky as her hands.
Steve nodded, sitting on one of their dinner table chairs, laying the paper bag full of boxes (because he could not call them by what they were just yet) on the table, and looking up at Charlotte, who had taken to drinking the rest of the bottle.
"I thought you were on the pill," he began after some silence, making sure to level his tone. He would not blame her. After all, there was nothing to blame anyone for.
"Yeah," she answered, finally meeting his eyes. "I just realized I was taking antibiotics for that bad cold I got about three months ago. They might have countered the contraceptive."
Steve took another breath (he had been doing that a lot in the past hour and half) and nodded.
"I should-" Charlotte began, hopping off the counter, and Steve stood with her abruptly, grabbing the tests from the table.
"I can help." He quickly said, following her to their bedroom, only stopping when Charlotte stopped him before she went into their en-suite bathroom.
"Not much you can do if all I have to do is pee, Steve," she said, taking the bag from him, and giving him a wane smile.
"Right. Right, yeah. Um…I'll wait here, then." He said, nodding towards their bed.
"Ok." She said, giving him another smile before she closed the bathroom door.
And Steve suddenly felt like he was deflating and took a seat at the foot of their bed, putting his head between his hands.
He felt a buzz from his pant pocket and took out his phone to see a text.
EVERYTHING OK? -Sam
Was it? He felt a bit numb, and his mind, usually racing with tactical information, with the next ten steps he would take, was blank for once.
He opened the text, but did not answer it, figuring that he didn't quite know the answer to that. He supposed he would know in the next couple of minutes.
"I peed on three of them," Charlotte said, coming out of the bathroom empty handed, her eyes searching his.
"And?"
"I have to wait at least five minutes. Thought I'd wait with you here."
Steve nodded, and padded the spot next to him.
She sat down, and he took one of her hands in both of his, pulling her closer to his side. She seemed to deflate like he had just a few minutes before, her head coming to rest against his arm.
"I keep wanting to say I'm sorry, except I don't know what for," she finally said after a few seconds of silence.
"It's not your fault. Nothing to be sorry for."
"I know."
A pause.
"Maybe I've just been stressed or something? Maybe that's why I haven't had my period…"
"Maybe," Steve answered, "but if it's positive-"
"Do you want it? This?" She asked before he could finish, turning to face him, her empty hand coming to gently push his face to face hers.
"Do you?" He countered, with no heat behind his words, just curiosity.
"We didn't plan this. At all…" was all she said, a small pool of tears forming in her eyes.
"My ma…sometimes helped girls out. I would never-"
"Do you want me to have an abortion, if I am?" She interrupted him again, her eyes searching his.
"I want you to do what you want to do." He answered earnestly.
"But there's a reason why you said what you just said, so maybe you should just say it out loud, so we're both clear on what you think is our next step."
"I don't think it's our next step, if you are…" he couldn't bring himself to say the word, so he swallowed thickly and moved on. "I just want you to know that I will never take your choice in this matter away. At the end of the day, I may be the father, but you'll be the one whose life will turn upside down for the next couple of months at least. I will never pretend to feel entitled to an opinion when it's your body, doll. I love you. And I am here for you. Whatever you want to do."
"Ok." She said after some time, a tear finally escaping from the pool that had gathered in her eyes.
He wiped it with a weathered thumb and gave a chaste kiss. "I love you. Always." He said against her lips, kissing her deeply when she pushed their lips closer.
They were interrupted by the alarm sound from her phone.
"Let's check," he said after they separated, taking her hand in his.
They stood in front of the three tests for a couple of seconds, before Steve asked, "what do the two lines mean?"
"They're positive." Charlotte answered, staring intently at the tests, her hand squeezing his.
Steve did not quite know what to make of the information. Because although the blood felt like it had drained from his whole body, and a chill had set in, a small warmth was spreading at the idea of what three positive tests meant.
A snort woke him from his thoughts, and he turned to see Charlotte trying to not to laugh.
"I'm just-It's not funny, but it kind of is," Charlotte turned to him with an amused smiled. "Captain America is having a baby out of wedlock."
He raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"The media is going go nuts. And Tony is going to have the time of his life, and I can picture it all now. The end of a moral society is neigh, I think Fox News will declare."
They made eye contact, and Steve cracked a smile.
"They'll say you defiled me…" He added with a smile, snaking his arms around her waist.
"Because I'm a seductress …" She indulged.
"Hey, it takes two! And you are one."
Charlotte barked out a laugh. "I am the furthest thing from a seductress. Unless you're actively turned on my watching me floss before bed every night."
"Dental hygiene is sexy, doll," he said with a grin, pulling her closer as she laughed.
They stayed in the embrace for a couple of minutes, Charlotte laying her head against his chest, an arm wrapped around his waist loosely, her other tucked at her side, hand clutching at his t-shirt.
"Are you scared?" She asked after some time, her question coming out small.
"Shitless." He answered frankly. And it wasn't that he was scared of the thing growing inside Charlotte, although he kind of was, if he was true to himself. Mostly, he was scared of what could happen. Of a future where Charlotte was kidnapped again in an attempt to get to him, of a future where his growing family as torn apart because of who he is. Of a future where he screwed it all up, because while he could be told by everyone that he is a good man, he had never had a father, and how was he supposed to know how to be one?
So he was honest because he could and should be with Charlotte. He was scared. But he was also a little bit excited.
"Me too," Charlotte admitted, loosening herself from their embrace to look up at him. "But we'll be fine."
"Of course. We'll have no morals-"
"Oh, we definitely will have no morals-"
"But we'll be fine." He finished.
"So?" Sam asked as Steve joined him at a debrief in the conference room. "Everything ok?"
"Yeah," Steve answered, and he knew there was a bit of a goofy smile on his face.
"Ah, man. You did not run off to play hookie in the middle of the day." Sam exclaimed, getting a glare from the agent trying to convey information.
"I didn't," Steve answered, but he knew he was not helping his case. "I honestly did not, Sam."
"Hmhm," Sam answered, giving him a smirk. "Sure, when the Captain wants to play, he can, but God forbid I cancel practice for a date."
"You cancelled practice three times in a row for a booty call." Steve countered, pointedly trying to pay attention to the agent debriefing them.
"Wait, you know what a booty call is?" Clint Barton suddenly interjected, Natasha smirking beside him.
"I'm old, not dead." He countered, and Clint snickered.
"So, what I'm hearing is that my employee and the Captain of the team that I'm funding, with my own hard-earned money, might I add, sneaked off for a booty call." And Tony had suddenly joined the conversation, Bruce shaking his head, and making a show of pretending to not be listening to their conversation.
"Nobody sneaked off for a booty call." Steve said a little too loudly, making Tony chortle to himself when the agent speaking over them stopped talking and the rest of those involved turned to look at him.
"Except, presumably, Steve," Natasha sliced the silence, and Steve turned to give her a look.
"Carry on, Agent," was all Steve said, prompting the agent to glare one more time before he resumed.
"You make it really easy to tease you, Steve," was all Charlotte said as they made their way to the kitchen to see what they could cook for dinner. He had been telling her about the incident during debrief, and Charlotte had merely given him a deadpan look.
"And don't even argue, because the fact you're about to argue with me is why it's so easy to get you. You're just ready to fight anyone and anything if they even look at you the wrong way," she added, and laughed when he looked affronted.
"And there it is," she announced, stopping him in the hallway to place a kiss on his pursed lips. "I'm just teasing you."
"You don't love me," he declared, rather dramatically.
"Shit, who told you? Was it Bruce? I thought he would keep my secret."
"You're not funny." He said after some silence.
"I am hilarious," she countered, leading him towards the kitchen once more.
"I'm making curry, if you guys want any?" Bruce asked from the stove as the couple entered the kitchen.
"Yes! You are my favorite, Bruce." Charlotte answered for them, making her way to the stove to see what she could help with.
"I thought I was the favorite?" Steve asked, taking some greens out for a salad.
"Sure. But I mean it more when I say it about Bruce," she answered easily, sending him a teasing smile.
"Burn," Natasha deadpanned as she entered the kitchen, Clint right behind her.
"I bring gifts!" Tony exclaimed, a tray with drinks in hand. "Vodka for Natashalie," he began, the red-head glaring at him but taking the drink nonetheless. "Beer for the ingrates," he handed Steve and Clint a bottle of imported beer, "whiskey for myself, water for Brucey because he's precious, and tequila for Ms. America because she's still a college girl, evidently."
"Thanks," Bruce and Charlotte intoned, Charlotte making quick eye contact with Steve.
"Cheers," Tony said, and they all took a drink (a ritual by now), and Steve watched as Charlotte pretended to take a sip.
"Hey, Steve?" Charlotte called from the bathroom later on that night.
Steve put his book down and called back. "Yeah?"
"I'm flossing. Wanna come watch me?" She said, followed by laughter, and Steve laughed himself.
"I don't think we'd sleep if I did," was all he replied with, but he got up nonetheless to join her.
She was ready for bed, in a pair of lacy panties, and one of his shirts. Her hair was up in a bun, and he could smell the sage of the night crème she put on her face. And she was flossing.
He came up behind her, embracing her easily, and swaying them back and forth as she finished flossing.
Within a minute, she was setting everything away, and leaning against him, making eye contact with him on the mirror in front of them, smiling when he did.
"You're pregnant," he said, for the first time that day.
"It's weird hearing it said out loud," she commented, jolting a bit when one of his hands strayed to press against her lower stomach. "And knowing there's something in there."
Steve hummed, but he was not sure of it was in agreement, or disagreement or in contentment. His head still seemed to be mush, a cacophony of emotions swirling around his being, making him feel scared, and not prepared, and panicky.
And yet, all of it seemed to pale in comparison to the small warmth that began spreading when he'd seen the tests come back positive.
"Do you feel it?" He asked after some time of swaying.
"No," Charlotte answered. "But I Googled it earlier, since I had a moment of panic when I realized I probably should. But the internet said it would be too early still."
"Your birthday?" He suddenly asked, and Charlotte smirked.
"I think it might have been the night you came back from Nicaragua."
Steve wiggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed at his reflection. "Or the morning after…"
"Or the night right after…" she indulged him with a smile.
"The first or the second time?"
"Maybe the third," she amended, and squealed when he blew a raspberry against her neck, jerking away from him, and finding it impossible with his arms holding her tight against him.
"I love you so much, Charlotte," he said, not for the first time that day.
"I know you do," she answered, turning around in his arms to kiss him deeply. "I love you just as much."
"And we'll be fine," Steve added, only truly feeling it to be true when Charlotte echoed his words.