More writing! There'll be more chapters soon, probably within a couple of days. Thanks again to everybody who reads this and thank you to: crity2re, for your reviews!
The peace lasted exactly three hours.
Clint had gone to go check on his best friend (as one does), and somehow got saddled with food duty. And when he had protested Nat had played the sick card, while Steve argued that he wasn't going to leave his pregnant girlfriend for five minutes just to go get food two floors down. Finally after listening to the two of them snipe at him he gave up.
"I'll go get your goddamn salad." He yelled as he stormed out.
"Bring two!" Natasha yelled after him and he slammed the door shut. Figures, he thought, once that kid is born I'll be damned if they don't starve to death because none of them wants to do anything. He grumpily stomped down the two flights of stairs and into the cafeteria.
The line wasn't too bad and he quickly picked out the two plainest looking salads before scanning the rack of candy and magazines. He'd just thrown a chocolate bar onto the counter when a glossy magazine cover caught his eye and he paused. Looking closer at the cover he felt like his heart might stop. "What the hell?" He murmured.
Black Widow and Captain America expecting?! The headline blared and he quickly flipped it open to the featured story inside. The first page was covered with pictures of Nat at the gala. "Now for our most exciting news story ever! We have exclusive stories from insiders reporting on our favorite superhero couple that have just told us that the two are expecting their first child! The infamous Black Widow has been reportedly seen with a baby bump already, what will this mean for the other Avengers and when will Cap propose-"
Clint's heart was beating so fast he felt like it would beat right out of his chest. Quickly he paid for the salads and taking the magazine, ran for the stairs.
"We have a problem!" He announced as soon as the door was open.
Natasha who had been dozing immediately scrambled out of the hospital bed and reached for her leather jacket, "what's going on?" She demanded. Steve glared at him, "are you kidding me? Natasha needs to be resting right now." Natasha gave him a look but paused in her preparations to leave. "Is something wrong?" She asked and Clint hesitated.
"If you mean is there evil thugs trying to break into the hospital right now, then the answer is no. But if you mean does the general public know that you're pregnant, then I'd say yes."
Natasha paled, "what?" He sighed and threw the copy of the magazine onto the bed. Steve picked it up and his jaw clenched when he caught sight of the pictures plastered all over the front page. "How did they even find out? Tony wiped all the records showing that she was ever here." He asked as he studied the pictures. Clint rubbed his eyes, "my guess is that he wiped the records but one of the nurses must have blabbed."
Natasha sat at the end of the bed, "I don't want them to know about the baby." She said firmly, "once the public figures it out then some crackpot will know and then they'll have something to use against Steve and I." Her voice wavered slightly and she put her head into her hands. "Is this how this it's going to be? With me constantly trying to hide any evidence of my child so that there won't be anything that anyone could use against me or Steve?" Her voice broke slightly and she felt the tears coming.
Clint crossed to her side and knelt in front of her, "Nat, it won't be like that. You and Steve are two of the most powerful superheroes on Earth, if you want something than it'll most likely happen. So if you want to hide your kid then we'll help and support you. But if you want to live your life as normally as you can then we'll support you on that too." Natasha exhaled shakily but smiled, "thanks Clint, I needed that."
He shrugged, "part of being your best friend, I have to give the occasional pep talk." She raised an eyebrow but kept silent. "I'll figure it out Nat, don't worry." He looked at Steve, "don't worry we'll protect her, and Baby Widow." Before either of them could say anything, he slipped out the door in search of Tony.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
His plan? Leave as soon as possible. How? Ditch Steve and wear disguises. And that's exactly what they did.
Natasha had her signature red hair covered by a scarf and hat and she was wearing a long black wool coat with jeans. Clint had opted for blue sweater, jeans, and baseball cap. After some last minute fussing they left the room and proceeded to head for the doors.
"We look like dorks." Natasha muttered as soon as they were outside. He nudged her arm, "shut up, we look like successful dorks." She rolled her eyes, "uh huh." He let out a small sigh and quickly scanned the parking lot for their vehicle.
"It was a good thing you saw that magazine." Natasha said as she spotted the small crowd clustered hopefully by the doors. "If I walked out normally than I'm pretty sure there would have been some sort of scene." Clint snorted and finally spotted their ride, an ordinary looking red car that was slightly dirty. Natasha followed his gaze, "Stark must've had a heart attack when he saw that." She remarked as Clint unlocked the doors.
"His exact words were, 'this kid better be worth it.'"
She frowned, "nice to know he thinks so highly of my unborn kid." Clint glanced over at her and grinned. "That was cute." She glared at him, "excuse me?" He laughed and they got in. "It's just that, here you are, the famous Black Widow. And yet, you're pregnant. It's interesting to see you all pregnant and talking about the baby." Natasha scowled and defensively put a hand over her minuscule bump. Clint's grin widened and he was still smirking when they pulled out of the parking lot.
When they reached the Avengers facility Natasha blew out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad we're back home." She announced as they parked and got out. Clint had to agree, "Don't get me wrong, spending time with the kids's amazing. But sometimes I miss this," he held out his arms, "catching up and seeing our friends."
"What are you wearing?!"
His hands dropped, "although maybe not all of them." He said under his breath as he turned to face Tony. The genius was leaning against the doors watching them. "You too look, interesting. Maybe Nat less so." Clint scowled and stalked past him into the building, "not all of us walk around in three piece suits Stark." Natasha laughed and Tony looked affronted. "I was in a meeting for Stark Industries if you must know." He said and turned to Natasha who was taking off her coat.
"How's Baby Widow?" The glare she sent him was priceless. "Don't say that nickname." He raised his hands and grinned, "no need to get so prickly. Just asking."
Clint cleared his throat, interrupting the conversation before she could murder him. "Anyways, Steve just texted that he left the hospital. Which brings us to the next question, how will we check on the little one if we know some of the nurses can't be trusted?" Tony's face grew serious and he led them into the living area. "We could bring highly skilled nurses sworn into secrecy into the facility. That way no records would be left behind. At the same time this place is no hospital, Nat, you're gonna need to go to a hospital eventually to give birth."
She groaned, "don't remind me." Shifting so that she was in a more comfortable position on the couch, she looked back at Tony, "couldn't we find a hospital and just lay the entire staff to keep quiet?" He looked thoughtful, "I guess that could work. I'll look into it." She nodded and leaned back closing her eyes. Although she would never admit it, she was exhausted and in desperate need of sleep.
Clint wasn't fooled. He saw right through her and knew she was exhausted. "You should go to bed Nat, being pregnant isn't easy and you need to rest. After all technically you weren't supposed to leave the hospital." Tony nodded too although he had no idea what pregnancy looked like.
"Alright, wake me if something happens." She said wearily as she got up. "Not a chance." They said cheerfully and disgusted she left the room.
Entering her room she didn't even bother to turn on the light. Fumbling around in the dark she put on the first pair of shorts and tank top she could find before falling onto the bed. The sheets were cool and soft against her skin and she was nodding off when the door opened.
"Nat?" Steve asked and she sleepily looked up. "Hmm?"
"Were you trying to sleep? I can come back later." He was already almost out of the door by the time Natasha had figured out what he said.
"Wait! Steve!"
He poked his head back in, "yeah?" She scooted over in the bed, "will you stay here?" She asked in a small voice. He nodded and walked in closing the door softly behind him.
Natasha laid back down and a second later felt the mattress dip as he settled his body into the bed. Rolling over she curled up next to him and closed her eyes.
Steve drew her closer and inhaled her scent, something resembling a mix of pine and lemon. Pressing a kiss to her forehead he smiled softly as he listened to her deep breaths. Wrapping his arm around her he closed his own eyes and drifted off.