Steve calls like he promised and Darcy can't bring herself to answer the phone. It's fucking cowardly, she knows, but she can't help it. He leaves her an upbeat voicemail that breaks her heart because he sounds so happy and sincere when he says he can't wait to see her and invites her over to his place tomorrow night so he can cook dinner. She highly doubts he'll feel the same way after she blows his world apart with the news she's pregnant with his child.

Darcy texts back later that she was in a meeting when he called but accepts his dinner invitation. It seems cruel of her to agree to the date they'd both been looking forward to for so long when things have changed so drastically. But this isn't a conversation to have over the phone or in a public place.

She throws herself into work the rest of the day and tries to keep her mind from imagining the look on Steve's face when he finds out he knocked her up. Eventually she has to close the door to her office; she doesn't want anyone to see her crying when she's only just started the job.

"Why d'ya look so dopey today?" Bucky asks the second they're out of the debriefing room. "Fury usually annoys the piss outta you."

Steve shrugs his shoulders and continues walking down the hall, his lips twitching into a grin as they round the corner. "Can't a guy jus' be in a good mood, Buck?" he asks, flicking his eyes over towards his friend.

Bucky gives him a sideways look that Steve's been familiar with since the 30's, full of suspicion, assuming Steve must have something up his sleeve. Bucky was usually right on the money back then and he is right now. "A guy, sure. But not you. Not during and after a three-hour debriefing with Fury and Hill after bein' gone for two weeks on a mission. Thought they were gonna send you down to medical at one point to have your head examined you were so goddamn chipper. "What gives?"

Steve fishes the keys to his motorcycle from his pocket and spins them around once on his index finger. "Gotta date tonight."

Bucky cracks a smile. "Yeah, who with?"

He's so excited to see Darcy again that it's all Steve can do to keep his face splitting in two when he grins. "Texas."

"Oh, really?" Bucky draws out slowly, with far more syllables than necessary. "You gonna fall off the grid again or will you two be coming up for air this time?

Memories of their weekend flood his mind and warmth slides lazily up his spine making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. It's a first date and sex isn't on his agenda for the evening. That doesn't stop him from thinking about having more sex with her, not when he knows how great it is. "It's just a date, Bucky."

"Sure it is, punk," Bucky snorts, clapping Steve on the shoulder.

Steve rolls his eyes, but can't tamp down the smile on his lips. "Go bug someone else, ya jerk."

"Think I will. Nat was makin' eyes at me during the debriefing and I want to reap the benefits of that," Bucky says with a lecherous grin. "Have fun, play safe!" he says and hurries down the hallway.

Shaking his head, Steve walks quickly for the exit. He has just enough time to go home and shower before making dinner for Darcy.

Darcy takes a cab to his place in Brooklyn and spends the entirety of the ride practicing what she wants to say when she sees him. Everything sounds like garbage in her head and she doesn't know how the hell she's supposed to tell this man she spent one weekend tangled around that she's pregnant. She tried Google but that didn't yield anything helpful.

She's standing on the bottom step of his building trying to muster the courage to walk up the rest and press the button so he can buzz her in. After a few deep breaths she decides she's not getting any less pregnant and it's time to face the music.

She holds down the button for his apartment and his voice sounds on the intercom a minute later.

"Darce?"

"Yeah. It's me," she says, heart twisting again when the buzzer sounds knowing she's only going inside to destroy him.

Darcy climbs the stairs to the third floor. She doesn't get the opportunity to stall longer because his door opens as soon as she rounds the corner and he's leaning on the doorjamb with a brilliant smile on his handsome face. It's possible she forgot just how good looking he is since leaving Texas. The man in front of her is even better than she remembers. Gorgeous, really. He looks so genuinely happy to see her, and for just one quick second she allows herself to forget, wishing she was here for their first date as planned. She smiles back at him. "Hi," Darcy greets softly.

"Hi," Steve repeats and steps forward to wrap her up in a tight hug. Darcy hugs him back, breathing in the scent of laundry detergent and cologne. "I'm so happy to see you," he says against her hair, and her eyes sting with the threat of tears.

"You'll probably change your mind about that in a minute," she murmurs against his shoulder and drops her hands to her sides.

Steve steps back and his brow furrows when he looks down at her face. "Darcy, what's wrong?"

She shakes her head and walks around him into his apartment. This isn't a conversation for the hallway. He closes the door and lays a broad hand on her shoulder, and she tenses up beneath his touch. Swallowing hard, she turns around and instantly notices the concern on his face as worried blue eyes flicker over her.

"Are you hurt?" he asks.

Darcy shakes her head again. "I'm so sorry," she whispers, pressing her lips together tightly as fresh tears well up in her eyes. She folds her arms around her stomach and looks away, blinking rapidly trying to keep the tears from falling.

"You're sorry for what?" His voice is gentler now. He's trying to make eye contact with her, but she keeps avoiding it. "Darcy, what—"

"I'm pregnant," she says quietly. Steve sucks in a breath and it feels like he takes all the oxygen with him when he does. The tears fall then and she forces herself to meet his eyes. He's holding it together far better than she is, but he looks shell-shocked. Not that she blames him. "Steve, I'm so sorry."

Darcy's words hit him with the metaphorical weight of Thor's hammer and they turn over and over again in his head as his brain tries to wrap around and make sense of them. Pregnant. His chest feels the way it used to before the serum when his asthma would wreak havoc on his body, making it nearly impossible to breathe. Steve scrubs his hands over his face and he just stands there, stupidly blinking at her while she's completely vulnerable in front of him, tears spilling down her cheeks and her arms wrapped around her middle like they're the only thing holding her together. She sniffles and worries the corner of her top lip between her teeth. He blows out a ragged breath and runs a hand over the back of his head. "Are you okay?" he asks, his voice raspy. He clears his throat and swallows hard, trying to find the right words to say.

She lifts one shoulder and lets it drop carelessly. "Can we sit?"

Steve nods and leads her over to the couch, his heart knocking hard against his ribs. "Do you need anything? Water?" he asks when she sits down.

"No," she mumbles.

He sits beside her on the couch, angling his body so he can look at her. "When—" he clears his throat again. "When did you find out?"

She whimpers and swipes at the tears on her face. "Last week. Turns out it wasn't food poisoning after all. And before you ask if I'm sure, I took five tests and they were all positive. It's also your baby, if you want to question that, too."

Steve narrows his eyes and feels his jaw tighten. "I'm not doubting you, Darcy. I just—need a minute here."

Darcy covers her face with her hands and rests her elbows on her knees. "I'm sorry. I've had a week to process already. I know this is shocking news." She turns watery eyes on him and her face crumples; it breaks his heart. "I'm so sorry," her voice breaks.

"Quit apologizing," he orders quietly. "You didn't get pregnant by yourself." He doesn't know what to say. His head is a riot of thoughts and words and noise, and he can't make sense of any of them. He mimics her pose and rests his elbows on his knees, raking his fingers through his hair.

She sniffles beside him again. "I've thought about it constantly and—"she trails off. Steve ticks up a questioning eyebrow. "I've decided to keep the baby and raise it."

Steve's stomach lurches at the thought that she wouldn't and his eyes narrow. "You thought about not keeping it?" His voice sounds foreign and creaky to his ears.

"Yes," she answers flatly, looking down and picking at the hem of her shirt. "No." She huffs out a breath. "Not seriously. Every time I even thought the word abortion I felt sick about it. I'm sorry if that's what you'd rather I do, but I can't do it. Just—you—you're not obligated, okay?" She shifts on the couch and angles her head, meets his eyes once more. "That's really all I came here to tell you. You are certainly welcome to be a part of the baby's life, but if you don't want to I—"

"Stop it!" he barks and Darcy flinches. "Don't sit there and tell me I'm not obligated to care for my child, Darcy. I know we don't know each other all that well, but do you really think that little of me?" He's angry now—not about the pregnancy, but that she's trying to let him off the hook and for thinking he'd want to be.

"You're right, we don't know each other. That's why I'm trying to make this easier for you," Darcy cries.

"So you can make it harder on yourself?" he snaps. "Jesus Christ." He scrubs at his face again, as if that will somehow put the right words into his mouth, but all he tastes is anger and confusion. "I didn't know my father at all, Darcy. He died when I was a baby and my mother died when I was still a kid. My child is going to have both parents." He feels sick and angry, utterly lost over finding out about the baby in one breath and possibly being cut out in the next. His head is spinning so fast he can hardly see straight. Steve closes his eyes, takes deep, measured breaths and clenches and unclenches his fingers.

Darcy bursts into sobs. "I didn't—Steve, I'm sorry."

He feels like a real fucking asshole now. Yelling at the woman carrying his child is a new low. Steve opens his eyes and feels completely helpless seeing the tears falling furiously down over Darcy's red cheeks. He scoots closer and wraps his arms around her because she looks like she needs it and he knows he does. "Shh," he murmurs against her hair. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Darcy turns towards him and buries her face against his chest, tears soaking through his shirt. "We'll figure it out, okay?" She lets out a hiccupping sob and nods almost imperceptibly. He smoothes a hand down her hair and holds her a little tighter. "We'll figure it out."