"You sound so sure of yourself." I noted with an eye roll.
"That's because I am, baby. I know you love me, as much as I love you." He replied, I could practically see him smiling, as he spoke.
"Hm. Always so sure of everything, eh?" I teased, with a smile.
"Only when I am sure. On a different note, how are you doing with the whole nausea thing?" He asked me, concerned.
My stomach swirled as if to remind me of said nausea, causing me to swallow thickly. "Ugh. Not well, the pills are only doing so much..." I groaned.
"Did the pills stop working already?" He asked, surprised.
"A little. I think. I mean I was fine on the way here but now that I'm here. It's like my nose can smell everything at once. It's giving me a headache. Plus I think it bunched up again... " I groaned, feeling a bump right under my ribs.
"Oh no... Have you told them about our kid yet?" He asked.
"No, they don't know about the kid yet." I grumbled as I swallowed thickly around the wave of unease that hit me.
"Kid? What kid?" I heard Clint ask as he and Nat walked in.
I sighed, "Well they know now. Thanks, Buck." I commented dryly, wincing as I noticed the vein on my brother's forehead protrude.
"Oh fuck. I'm sorry. Do you need me to go over there?" Bucky asked me, as I heard something slam and screech.
"I fucking knew it!" Nat gasped excitedly.
"Arianna, I asked you a question." Clint said firmly.
"I'm talking about my kid. I'm pregnant. Almost three months. Happy now?" I asked, lifting up the sweater to reveal the small bump under my ribs.
"Who is the father?" He asked.
"I've only ever slept with one man. So, take a wild guess, Clinton." I muttered with an eyeroll.
"Bucky is the father?" Nat gasped, amused.
I sighed, turning my attention back to the phone. "Hey, Bubs? I'll call ya tomorrow. It seems Clint and I need to have a long talk." I said with a sigh.
He sighed, "Tell him that I'm an hour away. I'll be there soon." He replied before hanging up.
I groaned as I dropped the phone into my lap, before turning to look at both of them. "He says he's about an hour out. I guess he wants to be here when we talk." I replied, with a frown.
I watched Clint nod, before dropping onto the couch with a sigh, rubbing his hand over his face tiredly.
"When did you find out, Arianna?" Clint asked, quietly.
I glanced between him and Nat, before closing my eyes, taking a deep breath before replying.
"I found out the day I got back from Monaco." I softly replied.
"How?" Nat asked, intrigued and excited. , as she leaned forward.
"Bucky went to the airport to pick me up, surprising the hell out of me. Anyway, on the way home, I began to feel sick, and ended up having to pull over on the side of the road, before throwing up. Bucky freaked out when I almost passed out, and he insisted on driving me to urgent care, that's by his house, that's where they told me that I am pregnant…" I told them.
"Did you tell Bucky right away?" Clint asked me.
"No, I started crying after the nurse left to get my prescription. Then when I got out, I walked down the street to the pharmacy to get a few things." I said.
"How did you tell him?" Nat asked, smiling at me.
"Oh, I didn't. Steve was the one who told him, and Bucky didn't believe him. Then when I confirmed to him that I really am, in fact, pregnant. He— he passed out." I replied with a snort.
Nat snorted too as Clint shook his head and tried to hide his amusement.
"How'd he react when he woke up?" He asked me as he got up.
"Well, I slapped him twice to wake him up— he was pretty pissed off about that. Then, he was pretty casual about it." I replied with a shrug.
"Ever think that you two were meant to be together since the beginning, and all the shit that's happened to either of you was to bring you two together?" Nat asked as Clint brought us something to drink.
I frowned, thinking about it for a moment, she had a point though. "Heh. I never saw it that way but you may be right, Nattie. Why didn't we ever think about that before?" I commented, amused.
"Probably because you two always have your heads up so far up your asses to pay attention to what's in front of you." Nat quipped before drinking her wine.
"That also explains a lot about you two too." He commented as he sat down next to Nat on the couch.
"What do you mean, bro?" I asked, frowning.
"Well, you two. You're both too alike sometimes for your own good. You two tend to get lost in your jobs sometimes." He replied, with a small smile and shrug.
"I do nuh—" I began before Nat shook her head. "Yes, you do, Arianna. It's so frustrating to see this, I swear. If you two would only stop working so much. You probably would have been married by now." Nat commented, amused.
"We only ever saw each other as friends until like two years ago, Nat. How would we be married?" I replied with an eye roll.
"No, you only ever saw him as a friend until two years ago, Ari. He's— he's been head over heel for you since you two met in Romania. But he had gone through a lot of shit with Leah, and didn't want the same thing to happen between you two too. So, he's settled for being only your friend. Trust me, Arianna, I saw it the moment he got back. I knew that the idiot loved you." My brother said, smiling at me.
"W—why didn't you tell me any of this?" I asked, as my eyes became watery.
"Would it have made a difference? You don't like it when anyone tries to advise you. Ironically." He replied smiling.
"I don't—I don't understand…" I replied frowning, as the tears fell.
He sighed, before walking over to where I was sitting and taking the seat next to mine.
"Well, as you know I don't like to intervene in your life unless something big is happening. Not since mom and dad… You've always been outspoken about that. About being independent." He stated, giving me a look.
I moved my head up and down, keeping my eyes on my lap. "I always felt that I was a burden to everyone after our parents… died. I thought by being independent, your burden would lessen." I whispered, looking away.
"You're not. You've never been, small fry. I'm sure Charlie would say the same if he were here too. The fact that you think that makes me think that it's us that need you not the other way around, Ari. I mean look around, shrimp . Nat and I work in Barnes' and Stark's companies as IT techs. You get to travel with Stark because you're the fucking head legal advisor on his legal team. You make twice as much money as we do. And get to travel for free. Yeah, sis, that is one of the many reasons why I haven't spoken to you about the subject but I can see that I dropped the ball on this one." Clint muttered, shaking his head.
"On what?" I asked, sniffling.
"Look, when our parents died, we were both in a lot of pain. I know that. I got lost in the pain, without realizing that you were in pain too. I had Nat to lean on. You? You didn't have anyone, and for that, I am so sorry. You were made to think you were alone, which you aren't. You have me, you have Nat, and her family, and you also now have Bucky. But there are so many people that love you and care about you, and you don't even realize it… Like Bucky for instance. How long did it take you to realize that he was being honest, and not like all the other assholes you've dated before? Has he ever lied to you about anything?" He asked me.
I opened my mouth to answer, only to close it again upon realizing what he meant.
It took a few weeks before I accepted his friendly gestures. Even longer so we could exchange numbers.
Then when we ran into Leah at that sushi restaurant, I stopped talking to him because I thought he had lied to me about why we were there in the first place.
He's always let me set the pace in our friendships, and now in our relationship. Everything. It's always been my choice.
"No, he has always been honest with me. Even when I didn't want to hear it..." I whispered, as I wiped my face.
"So, why do you push him away? And don't tell me you didn't realize that he liked you, because you must have realized it a while ago. I know you. This is beyond him hurting you. So, what is it?" He asked me.
I looked away, as Nat silently got up when we heard a wail come from the baby monitor on the coffee table.
"I just— I just don't like feeling like a burden, okay? The last thing mom told me before she died was that I had been nothing but a burden to her, then she proceeded to compare me to you and Charlie. Yelling me I'll be never amount to anything. I—I couldn't bear it if Bucky decided one day that he didn't want me because I am too dependent on him. I can't lose any of you… You're the only ones I have left... I can't lose Bucky... I love— I love him." I said, trailing off as more tears began to fall.
"Wait. What? Mom said that to you?" He asked, completely shocked as he pulled me into a fierce hug.
I nodded, as I buried my face into his chest.
"Ari, there is no way that you have ever been or could have been a burden to anyone. You helped around the house, you cooked, and you always stayed on top of your classes. Mom— she was well— let's just say she was out of her wits when she made that comment. Don't ever feel like you can't count on us. We're your family, shrimp. We'll always have your back." He whispered, before kissing the top of my head.
I let out a small sob as more tears began to fall down my face. Unsure of what I was feeling as I cried.