Okay. I know I'm suppose to be updating Complications. Actually, I think I was supposed to be updating it last weekend. It's being...well, complicated at the moment. I started it, then erased it all and started again. I'm still not entirely sure I'm happy with it. It may be awhile before I get it where I like it. My apologies to fans of that. Since the ideas are clearer on this and on my HIMYM story, I've been working on those this weekend. I think I've got a pretty good idea for the next parts of Risks, too, so that should be on schedule as well.

sunshinesforever: Your welcome. Thank you for reading.

Loki'sArmy0602: Yes. Big steps forward. I thought it was time

captainhillshipper: Thank you. Your reviews are always a delight. Almost as good as your stories. I'm thinking Maria's still going to be having some insecurities about this relationship

Tranquil Winds: You are always so kind and I really love reading your thoughts as you read. I like Clint and Nat, too, and really enjoy this team as they form their odd little family.

Sandy-wmd: You definately rate the cherry cola comparison. Those lovely, detailed reviews you post practically have me salivating. I just love knowing readers are enjoying the little details that I get so much pleasure writing. You are a writer's dream.

turn up the noise: Thanks. I appreciate you taking the time to review. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

Princess PrettyPants: *Brushing confetti from my hair* Indeed, they did. Glad you approve.

Qweb: About time, huh?

xSuperNovax: Thank you so much. Here's your update.

kali rogers: Aw. Thanks. I'm glad you enjoy.

Lonnie1988: Glad you liked the bit with the condoms. It was quite amusing in my head and I hope it played out that way in writing.

TheHawksRock25: 17.5 is posted. Hope you enjoy it and this both.

nightmoon1024: Thank you. I'm enjoying writing this and love hearing from those who are enjoying reading it. New chapter ready. Hope you like it.

My thanks to all who favorite and follow and especially to those who review. You have no idea how much your feedback means to me.

For those who are curious notice a bit of a gap between the end of 17 and the beginning of this, you might want to check out 17.5, if you are of age to read 'M' stories. I usually write in the k-t category, but occasionally have these smutty little ideas that I post separately as 'and a half' chapters, sort of a 'what happened during the commercial' chapter. If you don't choose to read mature stories, that's fine. These little interludes are generally fluff that don't really advance the plot.

Anyway, enough with the notes. It's story time!

Stroll 18

"Marry me," Steve repeated, watching her reaction.

Without responding, she gently pushed him, this time allowing him to roll off of her. She pushed the sheet back and sat up, reaching down to remove his condom.

"Need to take care of this," she said quietly, disappearing into the bathroom. She returned a few minutes later with a towel and cleaned up before sliding back into the bed with him. She rested on her side, looking at him.

"So?" he asked.

"It's the twenty-first century, Steve. You don't have to marry a woman anymore just because you had sex with her."

"No more shotgun weddings?" he asked with a smile.

"Thing of the past, for the most part," she informed him. "Though it's not like you'd have to worry about my father."

"Maybe not," he agreed, "But you've got Fury. And Coulson. And Romanoff. All of whom have let me know at various times that I'd better treat you right. Besides," he told her, "You've got it backwards. I'm not asking you to marry me because we made love, I made love with you because I want to marry you."

She sat up, pulling the sheet up around herself as she leaned against the headboard of the bed. "I figured you were one who wanted to wait until you were married."

He sat up as well, sitting cross-legged on the bed as he turned to face her. "You're still not understanding, Maria. It's not so much that I planned to wait until I was married, I just wanted to wait for the woman I planned to marry. And that's you." He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration at his inability to explain to her.

"I love you, Maria. This would probably make more sense if I had said all this before we made love." He took her hand. "I had already decided that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Otherwise, this never would have happened."

She pulled her hand away, shaking her head in confusion.

"Where did you think this was going?" he asked. "You know me so well. You had to know that this would ultimately be my plan."

"I don't know," she answered with a shrug. "Maybe I just never figured it would get this far. I guess I thought that you would come to your senses and realize how much better you could do. How much better you deserve."

He sighed heavily, giving her a sad look. "When will you realize that you are exactly what I want, Maria." He took her hand again, pressing a tender kiss into the palm of her hand.

"But I'm so screwed up, Steve. Have you forgotten all the things I told you about my childhood? I'm damaged goods."

He shook his head, but she continued. "I'm not the kind of woman a man wants to marry or take home to meet the parents."

"But you are. You're the woman I want to marry. The woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I would be proud to take you home to meet my mom and the Barnes."

"They'd hate me," she told him.

"No, they wouldn't. They'd love you because I love you. They'd see what I see. That you're strong and brave and fiercely protective of what's important to you. I wish you could see that in yourself."

"I do, too, Steve, and I'm starting to. When all you hear for the first 15 or so years of your life is how stupid and useless you are and how everyone would have been better off if you'd never been born, it's hard to change those thought patterns," she confessed.

He kissed her hand again. "I'll keep reminding you," he told her. "Someday, we'll get you past all the damage that your dad did."

Her eyes went wide again. "And kids."

"Okay."

"I don't want kids," she told him.

"Yeah, I got that. Thus, the door to door condom search," he said with a smile.

Shaking her head, she continued. "I don't just mean now, I mean ever. I don't ever want to have kids."

"So, we won't have kids."

She shook her head again. "I've seen you around kids, Steve. You'd be such an amazing father. You're so kind and patient and gentle. When the Avengers had that press conference and you saw that little girl in the crowd who was crying, you ignored all the press and the people wanting to talk to you and you sat down on the curb to talk to her."

"She was scared of all the noise and crowd," he said with a shrug. "I just helped her to find something else to focus on than what she was frightened of."

"Exactly. And it was obvious that you preferred the few minutes you spent with her to the time that you were in front of the cameras."

"Do you blame me?" he asked.

"I suppose not, but that's what I mean. I know you love kids and you're so good with them."

"Yes, I do, but I'd pretty much decided that I wouldn't have any anyway."

"Why not?" she asked, leaning forward and resting her other hand on his.

"In my pre-serum days, I didn't think that any woman would every want to be with me, much less ever want to have kids with me. I worried about passing on my health issues. Between my weak bones, muscles, and lungs, I had so many limitations. I know all the medications I needed and all the time I had to be in the hospital were so stressful on my mother. I have very little doubt that stress was a big contributor to her early death. Besides, with the economy and the war...it just didn't seem like it would be fair."

"But that's all different now. With your back pay for all the years you were in the ice, you have the money to provide well for a family and the serum took care of your health issues," she replied.

Steve nodded. "The money may no longer be a big issue, but the health matter is still a big question. While the serum affected my DNA, no one really knows if it would affect what I would pass on. My child could very well still inherit those health problems from me. Still have to undergo painful therapy and treatment. Still spend days or weeks in a hospital bed, struggling for breath."

Maria saw tears filling his eyes, but he wiped them away.

"Then, there's the possibility of inheriting the enhanced genes. Can you imagine trying to deal with a temper tantrum from a toddler with super strength? I'm an adult and can't always control the effects of my temper. I'm sure you've seen how many punching bags they've had to replace in the gym since I've been there. How do you teach a small child or an infant to control that?"

She nodded, seeing that he had clearly given this a lot of thought.

"And that's not even taking into consideration the risk of the pregnancy itself."

"There's always some risk," she told him, thinking of her own mother.

"I know, but think about it, Maria. From what I've heard, the baby does a lot of moving around when it's inside of you. Stretching and kicking?"

She nodded.

"Sometimes, it can be almost painful, right?"

"No almost about it," she replied, remembering the jabs from tiny feet, knees, elbows, and fists. "Particularly towards the end when they don't have much room to move. Every movement seems to hit something. Ribs, bladder, diaphragm."

"That's right," he remembered. "You've been through it. Imagine if that baby had super strength. There's a real possibility that it could do some serious damage to mom."

While she considered that, he continued.

"Of course, that's all assuming we were even able to have children. Even if we both desperately wanted children, there aren't any guarantees that we would be able to have them. I know you've had a child before, but that's been a while and a lot has happened to you since then. Illnesses, injuries, chemical exposures. And, again, there's no telling what the serum did to my reproductive abilities. It might have rendered me completely sterile."

"But the equipment still works extremely well," she interjected with a sly grin.

"Thank you," he mumbled, a blush staining his cheeks.

"That's all true," she admitted, returning to the main conversation topic, "but if someone really wants kids, there are other options. There are so many fertility treatments available these days. You can go with a surrogate, use frozen eggs or sperm." Steve looked confused, but she continued. "Or there's the adoption option. I doubt you would have much trouble meeting the qualifications. There would probably be a wait for a baby, if that's what you wanted, but you know from personal experience about the older kids waiting for homes."

"Yeah."

"But I don't want that, Steve. I don't want to have a child. I don't want to adopt a child."

"I got that," he answered.

"Ever. I've even spoken to the doctor about having my tubes tied. If you tie yourself to me, you're committing yourself to never having a child of your own, Steve."

"And I'm fine with that, Maria," he assured her.

She looked at him skeptically.

"You're basically telling me that I have to choose between being with a woman I'm already very much in love with or hypothetical children that I might someday have with some unknown woman at some possible point in the future?"

She nodded.

"I choose you, Maria. You've all I want or need."

"You feel that way now," she commented, "but what if you change your mind in the future."

"And what if you change yours?" he asked. "What if you decide you don't want to be with an old man who's completely out of step with modern times? Who doesn't understand half the things people are talking about?"

She shook her head. "I won't, Steve."

"So, you can be sure that you won't change your mind, but not sure that I won't?"

"Guess that's not exactly fair, is it?" she acceded.

"No, it's not," he agreed.

"Sorry."

"It's okay," he assured her.

"I guess this whole idea of marriage has always kind of had a negative connotation to me. I've never seen many examples of good marriages. My dad always talked about missing the stuff that my mom did for him more than he did about missing her. The women in the neighborhood talked so badly about their husbands, about being tied down. They'd better be home when he got there or they'd be in big trouble. The men at the airport weren't any better. 'The old woman better have dinner ready when I get home or I'll have to knock her around again.'"

"I can see why that would give you a bad view of marriage," he admitted. "But you've seen more now. Better marriages. Marriages that work. Nick and Charlotte. They've been together for quite a while, haven't they?"

"I think their twentieth wedding anniversary is coming up in a month or so," she said.

"Tony and Pepper haven't been married long, but they've been together for quite a while before that."

"True."

"And remember the Pierces? From the restaurant?"

"Hard to forget people who saved your life," she reminded him.

"I know we didn't get to know them very well, but they seemed very much in love, even after over 50 years. And these are independent, strong willed women we're talking about," he commented. "All willing to take that risk."

She caught her lower lip between her teeth, chewing it as she considered.

"And I've got to be easier to be with that Stark or Fury, right?" he asked.

"No argument there," she laughed. "Stark is starting to grow on me, but I still can only take him in small doses. I've done some long hours with Fury and usually end up about ready to kill him."

"And I'm sure you'll feel that way about me sometimes, too, but, just like you and he work through it, we can work through those times, too, right?" he asked with a hopeful look.

She continued studying him. "Can I take some time to think about it?"

"As long as you're not saying 'no,' you can take all the time you need," he assured her.

"I'm not saying 'no.' I'm just saying I need to think about it. I honestly haven't really thought about ever marrying anyone. I never thought I'd meet anyone who would accept my past and my career."

"I do. Your past is what made you who you are. I don't like it. Parts of it make me furious on your behalf. But I am amazed at what you've made from it. As for your career, I am so proud of what you've achieved in a difficult field and will continue to support you in whatever ways you want me to."

She leaned forward to kiss him soundly on the lips. "You are one very special man, Steve Rogers. I'm still not entirely sure what you see in me, but I sure am glad you do."

Pulling away, she resettled herself against the headboard. "I was wondering though...If I don't say 'yes,' does that mean no more of this sort of activity?" she asked, cocking her head. She dropped the sheet, allowing him a view of her naked breasts.

"Marriage is important to me," he told her, "but I can understand if it's not a step you're ready to take. As long as you're willing to commit to thinking about it and to being monogamous, I can wait. You waited for me to be ready for this step, I can wait for you to be ready for that step."

"You're sure?" she asked.

"It seems to work for Clint and Natasha. They may not have a formal commitment, but it's pretty clear to anyone that knows them very well that they are a couple. Besides," he continued, "after being with you like that, I'm not ready to give that up." He flipped the sheet away, revealing his renewed arousal.

"Well, hello," she purred, reaching out to stroke him.

"There are more condoms, right?"

"Jumbo pack of 36. Should get us through the day, I think," she told him, handing him a strip. "Actually, we shouldn't have to use them for very long. I got my shot, but I was a couple of weeks late getting it, so they told me I should use back up protection for this cycle. It should be alright by the end of the week."

"Sounds good," he murmured, pulling her onto his lap. His lips dropped to hers as his hands began once more to explore her body. Moaning, she pushed him back, stretching out on top of him. She reached out a hand, searching for the strip of condoms she had handed Steve earlier. Not finding it, she broke the kiss and raised her head to look around.

And laughed.

Confused, Steve looked up at her.

"We have and audience," she explained.

Turning his head, he encountered 5 bright, curious eyes. Cat had settled himself on the foot of the bed while Bucky and Katya stood at the end, heads resting on the bedspread.

"Do you mind?" Steve said, looking at Bucky. The dog looked at him curiously, cocking his curiously when the man waved him off. When none of the animals moved, he simply rolled Maria onto her back and allowed his lips to continue their explorations.

"That doesn't bother you?" she asked.

"What doesn't bother me?" he asked, his tongue tracing a circle around her nipple.

She gasped, resting her hand on his head. "Don't remember," she mumbled.

"Me either," he mumbled against her skin.

"Clearly not important."

"Clearly not."

And they both turned their focus to what was important.

And that's a wrap for now. Thank you for reading. I hope that you enjoyed it. Please take a moment or two to let me know what you thought. As always, love you all. You're the chocolate chunks in my brownies.

What next?