Hello there and welcome to the next chapter. I don't have too much to say here so I'll see you at the end.
After the whole HYDRA and Bucky thing, Steve became even more overprotective of Tony and his team. Ending up in medical had done something to Steve. In the past, he hadn't thought much about getting injured in the line of duty. It was a no brainer for him to make the sacrifice play so that the people he cared about could be safe. But now, with Tony being pregnant, Steve knew he had to think about the long term repercussions of his action.
Steve's own father had died in the First World War just a month before he was born. Steve's mother had talked about him often but that didn't help the fact that Steve only ever got to know about his father from stories. It had been hard on him and his mom growing up without Joseph there. Steve didn't want to do that to Tony and their baby. He wanted to be more than a bedtime story.
Steve was determined to be there for his family. And to achieve that goal, some sacrifices needed to be made. Steve knew he still had to go out on missions if they happened. He was the leader of the damn team he had no choice. But, Steve would be delegating more on the field. He trusted his team to get the job done. The Avengers were good people with good heads on their shoulders. Steve trusted them to make the right decisions in a fight. This way Steve could continue his work while also making sure that at the end of the day he would be able to go home to his family. He wasn't going to be an absent father.
One thing that had Steve stressed to high heaven was the fact that Tony's morning sickness was really bad. It was so bad that the slightest thing would set Tony off. He couldn't even be in the same room as everyone else during Thanks-Giving because the smell of meat set him off. Steve felt powerless not being able to do much for Tony. He couldn't magically make everything better. Steve could offer comfort when Tony was throwing up first thing in the morning. He could make sure Tony ate and drank even when he didn't want to. Steve just couldn't make it stop.
Tony's morning sickness also had an effect on his work for SI. Tony was just often too sick to go down to the lab to get work done. It didn't help that Steve would hover around worry. So, because of this, the amount of inventing that Tony got done diminished.
And the board noticed.
Tony wasn't too keen on telling the board that Loki had magicked him a womb and now he was pregnant with Captain America's baby. It was just a crazy situation that he was sure that they would exploit. He didn't want to be used and manipulated the same way that Stane had done. Never again. So, Pepper decided that Steve should also attend the meeting to act as a buffer. Nobody wanted to mess with an overprotective Captain America.
"Stark, this is the second time you've brought your boyfriend to a Stark Industries meeting. This is not acceptable!" shouted the same board member who was causing problems the last time Steve was there.
"Steve's here because he's part of the reason my progress has been lower lately." Said Tony meekly. Well, it wasn't really meekly, Tony was just trying not to throw up.
"What? You too busy being a fag to get work done?"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" shouted Steve as his eyes lit up in anger. "First of all, your language is aberrant. Second of all, I will not let you talk about my boyfriend like that."
Just as Steve finished talking Tony leaned over and threw up into the trashcan he'd pulled over with him. Steve rubbed his back and offered reassurances while the board members looked on in confusion and concern.
"The reason Tony is behind on his work is because Loki hit him with a spell that gave him a womb and now he's pregnant with our baby. His morning sickness had been so bad that He can't always be down in the lab without getting sick." Explained Steve and some of the confused looks turned to understanding. Particularly from one of the older board members, Susan Donahue. She had 3 kids herself as well as 5 grandkids. She understood.
"Freeze some electrolyte solutions so you can suck on them when everything else seems unappealing." Suggested Susan.
Steve nodded his thanks and carefully helped Tony back to their bedroom to lay down. Pepper could deal with the nasty board members. Actually, she took great joy in tearing them a new one when it came to their treatment of Tony.
Three days after the board meeting, Tony was sitting in the middle of the bed crying his eyes out at one of those animal treatment PSAs. He was curled up in fluffy blankets with Acorn cuddled on his lap just watching some cheesy soap opera when the commercial came on. His hormones were going haywire so the only result of all the emotions was tears.
Seeing all those sad animal quickly turned into Tony thinking about his own sad childhood. And when Tony thought about his own childhood it very quickly turned into a downward spiral of self-deprecation and loathing. That never ended well.
And that was how Steve found Tony after JARVIS had called him saying that Tony was in distress. Crying in the middle of the bed with his arms wrapped around his stomach.
"Hey, darlin'. What's wrong? Is everything alright?" asked Steve as he sat on the bed next to Tony and pulled him into a hug.
"I'm going to be a baby parent. I'm going to mess up our baby and you're going to hate me and leave me and I'll be all alone and nobody will ever love me!" cried out Tony.
"Anthony no! That's not true at all. We're in this together. I'm not leaving you. Now what brought this on?" asked Steve as he leant his head on Tony's fluffy hair.
"Howard was a horrible parent. Mom got more distant as I got older and she had to deal with Howard longer. My godfather tried to kill me. I'm the Merchant of Death. All I ever do is royally fuck shit up. I should never be a parent. I should be dead." Tony cried harder and Steve's heart broke. Tony deserved so much better than the hand he had been dealt.
"Anthony darlin', you're not the Merchant of Death, you're the Forger of Life. You create life. Your bots, JARVIS, this baby, all life. You are not a fuck up. You are so much more than your past. You should not be dead. You belong right here with me. You and our baby are my world, Tony. Your my home and I'm never letting you go." Soothed Steve. Tony just nodded and continued to cry.
Steve spent the rest of the afternoon cuddling with Tony and trying to keep him calm and loved. Tony felt a little bit better by dinner but didn't really want to see anybody so Steve brought dinner back to their bedroom. They spent the time going on Google and looking at cute little baby clothes. Tony lost his shit at the amount of one that had horrible puns. Their baby was definitely inheriting Tony's sense of fashion that was for sure.
Tony ended up falling asleep early that night. He was just exhausted from all the emotions happening, plus with the holidays fast approaching he needed the sleep. Steve stayed by his side the whole time, taking the time to catch up with a book he had been reading. Although about an hour in Steve had gotten enamoured with Tony's sleeping form.
Let's just say that Tony wasn't too pleased about the pastel stains on the sheets the next morning.
Sorry for the sorter chapter. I've been really stressed lately because I've been trying to find work and nobody wants to hire me. Most places don't like the fact that I'm trans and other places want someone who they can exploit into long hours with minimal pay. Other places really don't like the fact that I wear hearing aids. I can hear fine with them in but people don't care. I know work is work but I have chronic illnesses that I need to think about. I'm not going to do anything that makes me sicker. Either way, I'll have the next chapter up shortly. I promise it'll be more substantial than this one. See you soon. -Shadows
