10: Alone in the Tower
26 December
Steve was really looking forward for the countdown with his friends. He knew Tony would throw huge party and invite everyone but at least Steve could bare with it, knowing that he was surrounded by five people he loves.
But after Christmas party, Steve woke up and went to the living room to see that there was anyone too drunk to find their way back to their room from the previous night but all he saw was Tony and Pepper with their suitcases, ready to leave.
"Where are you guys going?" Steve asked.
"We will head to Bali to spend our New Year time together. It's also our anniversary." Tony replied.
Steve's face faltered immediately and the couple didn't fail to notice how disappoint the captain was.
"Hey, you still have our little gang with you." Tony patted Steve's shoulder, "Even the life of the party as myself wasn't here with you."
"I think they will be just fine without you here, Tony."
"Aww, Pep!"
"See you next year, Steve." Pepper hugged the captain, "We gotta go now. Our plane will leave in one hour."
"It will leave when we say so, darling." Tony corrected, "See ya, capsicle!"
"Safe flight, guys!"
Steve had to admit that it was a little bit disappoint but like the billionaire said, he still had the rest of his family with him.
"Why are you brooding this early in the morning, grandpa?"
The voice made Steve smiled a little before he turned to see Natasha standing at the stairs, "Tony and Pepper just left for their vacation. I guess we have to spend the New Year without him."
"The tower would be quiet for a while without Stark here to cause any trouble." Natasha agreed.
The captain stepped closer to the spy before wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling the small body closer to his, "At least, I have you with me." He murres before pressed his lips to hers, "Morning, love."
"Morning, babe." She replied and kissed him some more.
27 December
Steve woke up because of Natasha. She was continuously poking his arms and pressing her lips at his neck, his jaw and his mouth until he couldn't continue with his sleep.
"Hey…" He greeted.
"Steve…I'm hungry." She said, "I'm craving cheese burger."
He became fully awake but when he saw the clock at the end table, "Nat, it's 2 AM."
"But I'm hungry!" She protested, "I'm sure Stark had stock everything in the fridge."
"Okay, I will make it for you, my love."
Steve got up from their bed but didn't notice the wide grin on her face. She let him carry her downstairs to the main kitchen only to find Bruce was pacing back and forth in the living room while talking on the phone with someone. He looked serious than he ever was. The doctor turned to see the couple in the living room and flashed them a small smile.
Steve took Natasha to the kitchen and began to prepare a cheese burger for her.
"I will be there." Bruce said before he hang up the phone and walked to the couple.
"Where are you going?" Nat asked.
"Betty just come back in town for a couple day and wants me to spend New Year with her."
"You should go, Dr. Banner." Steve said.
"Steve will be a little disappoint because he is really looking forward for the New Year party with everyone."
"Sorry, cap."
"Don't be. Everyone should spend the important holiday with the one they love."
"Thanks for the understanding."
The couple gave him a warm smile and hugged the doctor tight. Bruce headed back to bed before Steve resumed his cooking.
28 December
Steve woke up early and thought he will cook something for Natasha. Last night they had a seafood tower at the restaurant in Brooklyn. She was still asleep so he will surprise her with the breakfast in bed.
Steve was making a smoked salmon croissant with egg benedict for his girl but he heard a sleepy voice from the doorway.
"Morning, Steve.' She greeted, "What are you doing?"
"Your breakfast, darling." He replied, "And it supposed to be a breakfast in bed."
She smiled and walked up to him and hugged Steve from behind, pressing her lips on his neck. She took a whiff of a smell of the breakfast but then a strange feeling rolling in her stomach and it made her ran into the bathroom before vomiting whatever in her stomach off.
Steve immediately followed her into the bathroom, "Are you alright?"
"Food poisoning, maybe" She replied before another wave hit her.
The captain knelt down beside her and held her hair back, "Sweetie, you didn't look fine at all. Shall I take you to the hospital? I can postpone the shopping."
"Aww, you don't have to. I will have JARVIS check me up at the medical ward. You can go to the supermarket and buy things you want to prepare for New Year dinner."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I will be fine."
Steve still didn't convince but Natasha insisted he should go but he dropped her off at the medical ward anyway. He told JARVIS and Clint to inform him right away if her condition got worse.
The captain went to the supermarket and brought everything for the New Year dinner. Even the teams reducing into only four members of the gang, Steve still wanted to have the dinner. Since he joined the Avengers and they slowly became his family, he always made the team gathering the top of his priority.
It had to be perfect in every possible way.
When Steve came back, he found Natasha was in the living room with Thor and Clint. The god came to help the captain put everything in the fridge. Natasha was laying on the couch, watching 'The Holiday' with Clint. The archer looked at Steve as of he wanted to give Steve some head up. The soldier frowned because he already thought of the worst but when he saw her. He was completely shock.
She was crying. She never cried on anything so easily. She said herself she never a too emotional person. ("I'm not crying at everything like you, Steve" She said back when she made him watched Titanic for the first time and she cried.) Well, it was any normal to see the Black Widow cried.
"Are you alright, Tasha?" He asked as he sat down next to her. Natasha immediately put her legs on his laps.
"I'm fine." She insisted but never took her eyes from the TV.
Steve looked at Thor who just shrugged at the Captain so Steve looked at Clint who was still as confused as Steve was.
"Why are you crying, darling?"
"The movie is really good. It is hard not to cry."
"So...do you have food poisoning?"
"Oh, about that. JARVIS said it could be the cause of my nausea and vomiting but I'm feeling better now."
"I'm glad to hear that." Steve smiled gently at her and kissed the knuckle of her hand, "I would hate it if you missed tonight's dinner."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world."
They continued watching the movie and Steve went to prepare things for the dinner right after the movie was finished. Natasha helped him too until Thor got an unexpected phone call from Jane.
"She should be on the plane by now and why she called me?" The god mumbled before picking up his phone, "Lady Jane!"
Thor walked out the kitchen to talk to Jane and came back five minutes later with an guilty look on his face, "Airport in London is shutting down and ground all the plane due to a heavy snow storm." Thor reported, "Lady Jane and her friends will be stuck in London for the time being."
"And?" Steve prompted.
"Apology, friend Steven but I have to be in London with Lady Jane. I couldn't have a dinner with you tonight."
"It's fine, Thor. I understand. You should go to her."
"You have my thanks, captain."
Thor summoned his hammer before he flew out the window. The dinner was down to three people now. Natasha called Fury and Hill but they were to busy dealing with the new SHEILD. Clint invited Coulson's team but they were on the mission. His call went straight to Bobbi's voicemail.
"I guess it just the three of us now." Steve was trying not to sound disappointed but the two master assassins didn't miss it.
29 December
Steve, Natasha, and Clint were doing the exercise in the gym. Steve and Clint were sparring while Natasha was doing her yoga.
Their session was interrupted by JARVIS's announcement of someone's arrival.
"Clint!" A female voice called for the archer.
Clint turned and he was distracted. Luck for him, Steve pulled his punch and it missed Clint's jaw.
"Bobbi!" Clint called her name as the blonde woman walked into the gym.
"I just got your massage last night and Coulson agreed to drop me off in New York. He said I could have a week off." Bobbi hugged Clint tight, didn't mind all the sweat from the work out.
"I miss you, birdie."
"Miss you too, sport."
Natasha and Steve silently witnessed the reunion of the birds. Bobbi turned to greet Steve and Natasha so it turned into a catch up session between the four of them.
"Do you think we can head out of town for sometime alone?" Bobbi asked.
"Sure. What do you have in mind?"
"Your farm would be nice."
Clint turned to Steve and the captain nodded.
"Thanks, cap." Clint said and turned to his girlfriend, "I will go pack my stuff."
The couple walked to the elevator. Natasha turned to look at her Steve.
"Don't worry. We got the tower all to ourselves now." The spy said, " I think we could take a little advantage of this circumstance."
Steve couldn't think a better idea than this.
30 December
Sometime, Steve could forget how unpredictable their career was and in this case, it came in the form of phone call in 3AM. He guessed the terrorists didn't have a holiday like normal people.
They immediately woke up but it was Nat's phone so Steve trying to get back to sleep. Nat scrambled for her phone and found that it was from Fury.
"Nick, it's 3AM" She mumbled sleepily
"We need you to come in. I just got the latest intel."
"Can it wait?"
"No"
"Wait a sec."
Natasha untangled herself from Steve's embrace with earned her a protest from him so she pecked a kiss at his lips before getting to discuss this matter. Fury told her about the general information and how important this was. When she hung up, she found that Steve was already awake and starring at her.
"What is it?"
"It's urgent and Fury needs me on this mission."
"When do you leave?"
"In two hours. He will send the quinjet for me."
"How long is the mission going to take?"
"A day or two."
"It means that you can miss celebrating New Year with me." He gaped.
"Steve..."
"It's okay. I understand, darling."
"Hey, there is no place I wanna be rather than to be with you."
She kissed him deeply before he could say anything. When they broke off, the only thing he said was, "Good luck and be safe, sweetheart."
31 December
Steve woke up to an empty bed and he hate it a lot. He used to wake up with Natasha in his arms and she rarely had been away from him for almost a year now. They took less mission and decided to focus on the Avengers more than rebuilding SHIELD.
And there he was, alone in the empty tower. There was only JARVIS to celebrate this New Year with him. He wished all of his family were here but he couldn't force them to stay with him when they wanted some time alone with their partner.
So the captain spent his day alone in the tower on the New Year eve. He made breakfast for himself and ate it alone in the living room while watching his guilty pleasure movie (AKA the movie you must not let Tony knew you love it). It was a wide range of romantic comedy movies which some of them the captain could recite the whole scene.
Then, Steve moved on to working out in the gym, punching bag and practicing his gymnastic move on the bar. After taking the shower, he sat nearby the window and did his sketch of the view on the Manhattan.
JARVIS had suggest that he should go out to celebrate the day with the rest of New Yorkers, either going to the Rockefeller center or Time Square. Steve replied that he didn't want to be in the crowd. He might just go to bed early and sleep through the year.
"It is a magnificent view of the firework display from your window, sir." The AI still suggested it to him when Steve was prepared to go to sleep at 9 PM.
"I don't think so, J, and could you completely dim the window because I don't want the firework to wake me up."
"Of course, sir."
So the captain went to sleep. It was around 11 PM when someone popped onto his stomach. He startled awake but recognized the scent of that person immediately.
"You're back early." He said to the red head on top of him.
"I couldn't miss celebrate the new year with you, Steve." Natasha replied and leaned down to kiss him, "I miss you."
"I miss you too."
"You don't really mean it when you say you want to sleep through the year, do you?"
"Now that you are here with me, I don't really mean it."
The spy smiled, "Get up, soldier. We will watch the firework together."
They moved to the sofa nearby the window and cuddled up. Natasha rested her head on his chest and inhaled his scent deeply. She was home.
"How was the mission?" He asked, "I take it that it was really easy that you can come home to me early."
Nat nuzzled her head to his neck, "Not that hard. I had more motivation to finish this job early so I could spend tonight with you."
"And it also the first time you came back without a scratch."
"I can fend for myself."
"I know it, darling." He smiled and kissed the top of her head, "I know better than anybody else."
"20 seconds to the New Year." JARVIS announced, interrupted the conversation.
They looked out the window and counted the second out loud. The firework erupted in the sky everywhere and from the top of the Avengers Tower, it was the most beautiful view.
"Happy New Year, baby." Natasha whispered.
"Happy New Year to you too, darling" Steve kissed her passionately.
She pulled away from him, "I also have a little gift for you, Steve." The spy reached out for a box in her jacket and handed to Steve.
He was a little confuse and slowly opened it to find a plastic stick—a pregnancy test stick with a plus sign. He looked up at her, eyes widened. Natasha smiled at his reaction.
"You mean…we….we're having a baby?"
"Yes"
He bursted into laughter of pure happiness before lunging forward to kiss her and pulled Natasha onto his laps.
"Are you sure?" He asked, "I mean, the test can make a mistake. Like the last time Pepper did."
"Let's have JARVIS make a quick scan."
"Yes, ma'am"
JARVIS scanned her body and calculated everything. He stated that his diagnose was only 80% accurate.
"Don't worry, J. I will have Dr. Banner check again when he came back."
"Yes, ma'am" The AI said, "It is highly likely that Agent Romanoff is pregnant."
They both smiled and kissed each other again, knowing that this was the most wonderful time of their life and they finally got a chance to have what they both always want.
Their first child
"Thank you, darling." He whispered, "You're the best thing that ever happen to me and now you have the little miracle of our inside you. I don't think I could love you more than I already was but I did love you more and more everyday that we are together. I love you so much, Natasha Romanoff."
"I love you so freaking much too, Steve Rogers."
"Now that you have my child. Will you marry me for real this time?"
"Yes"