❝No, you move.❞

@iron-cursed​ ;; sent  Steve. ...

Peggy could still hardly believe it was real, that he was really there. But there he was, looking more at home in her bed than she’d ever seen him. Peggy smiled back at him, crossing the room to clamber under the covers with him. Steve instinctively opened his arms and Peggy curled into him, stretching up to press a soft kiss to his lips. “Comfortable?” she teased before making herself quite at home at his side.

With her head on his chest, Peggy let her eyes close. “You’re still happy, darling?” she checked quietly.

     Steve smiled as he watched her, propped up on his elbow, his head on his hand. Never did he think he’d get to see this-- watch her doing her nightly routine, putting her curls in, washing her face. His face pinked when she caught him watching, but he couldn’t help himself. “Very comfortable-- be more comfy with you.” He teased before watching her slide into bed. Steve hummed lightly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as he slipped his arms around her.

She took a deep breath as she swung open the door, waving him in. Her heart was fluttering and Peggy felt a swell of anticipation through her body. She was quick to tamp it down; what if she’d read the situation completely wrong.

Letting him into her space, she smiled back at him softly as he looked around. Thank God she’d tidied up before she’d left home. “Thank you. I can’t say I ever thought there would be a professional baseball player in here,” she said with a smile. Her apartment was small, but it was big enough for her, and she loved the warm wood throughout. “What can I get you to drink?” asked Peggy, “Beer? Wine?”

     He hoped he didn’t seem as anxious as he felt-- all he wanted was for things to go well enough that he’d be able to see her again. Steve liked her, she didn’t gawk over his profession or anything like that, she made him feel normal. It was... definitely not something he wanted to lose. A laugh escaped and he shook his head once; that was the first time she’d brought up his job all night. “Trust me, I wish my house was more... homey. Not that it isn’t, but it’s hard when I spend so much time at work. When I first moved in, it took months for me to unpack everything.” He was pretty sure he still had a couple boxes tucked into the back of his closet.

As Steve bent, she couldn’t help but reach out and rest her hand on his head, fingers threading through his hair. She had a stupid grin on her face, watching the way he took her request seriously ,even if the deep rumble of his voice had the baby shifting again. She chuckled quietly. “You know, I’m going to miss your conversations with my stomach,” teased Peggy.

Her eyes fluttered shut as Steve straightened to kiss her forehead and she confirmed, “Better.” God, she loved him and his stupidly sweet and romantic way of reminding her of it. “I don’t know how anybody has babies with anybody not you, you know.”

     He enjoyed the feeling of her fingers in his hair as he did what he could, even if it didn’t work all the way. Looking up at her, he grinned shamelessly and tossed a wink in for good measure as he spoke. “We could always repeat the process, y’know.” Steve teased, resting his hand still against her stomach. “Less weird than just talking to a baby-less stomach.” He said, brushing her hair back from her face gently.

     She wondered what he was thinking, what drove him to stay. Her brain told her it was simply his strong sense of duty, but instinct said it was deeper than that, far deeper than that. Peggy sat, freezing as his lips brushed against her skin. It was the sort of mindless action that he must have done thousands of times, that he must have been holding himself back from in the last week. Tenderness still felt odd, but… not unpleasant. Peggy took a deep breath and reached across the table to brush her fingers against his. “It’s alright,” she said quietly. “I don’t… It didn’t bother me.”

      “LANGUAGE, Steven.” To say that Natasha is amused would be an understatement. The only evidence of that is the slight quirk of her lips and the way his given name rolls off her tongue. “You did offer to help…” Not that she needed the help but it was always nice to work along side him. Besides, it gave her ample opportunity to tease him for her own entertainment. A small, sometimes insignificant perk of working with a partner. “Just go with it.”

     All she wanted was to jump back into his arms, letting him soothe her, but she couldn’t. She just couldn’t.

     Pulling her hands back, she shook her head again. “Of course I have things to be sorry for, Steve. I’ve a whole damn wedding to cancel because of my own selfishness!” Sighing, Peggy felt tears press at the back of her eyes. “I love you, Steve, I do. But I just… I think I should go for now. Get it all sorted first.” It hurt to think of; she didn’t want to leave him, but she couldn’t help but think it was the right move. “I’ll call you,” she promised. “I just need some time to get my head on straight. Deal with families and things…”

     Taking a deep breath, Steve took a moment to wrap his mind around the gravity of what was happening. So, when she pulled away and explained what she had to do, he understood. Steve took a deep breath and nodded once, his heart in his throat. “I know... I know.” He muttered quietly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I uh-- I suppose then I’ll head home. My plants are gonna die.” He managed, chuckling as he tried to lighten the conversation.

     “You’re a monster!” Peggy laughed as he snuck some popcorn from the bag. But now her cravings had a new desire. “Chocolate and vanilla?” she asked, knowing exactly how complicated her request was. “No strawberry. Please?”

She’d sprung from bed, cheeks burning when Steve had joked about the state of her breath. But she halted in her tracks as a further joke--not a joke?--seemed to only confuse everything more.

Peggy turned, mouth gaping as she stared at him still in bed. How dare he look so good and lazy and relaxed when he’d just throw her world into a tizzy. “What did you say?” she asked. They’d never... said that before, though she’d been lying to herself for months about how she felt about him and she’d only just come to terms with that.

     He was still under a haze, still half asleep when the words had slipped from his mouth. But he supposed-- similar to the influence of alcohol-- that his half-asleep state was where the truth came out. It was something he hadn’t said before, not to her face anyway. When he registered her shock, he felt his ears go pink, the blush creeping to his face and then down his neck as he tried to figure out what to say next.

With Steve’s chuckle in her ear, a tremor ran down Peggy’s spine, causing her to hum. Warmth spread through her. How lucky she was, how blessed, to have found him, to share a bed. After months of sneaking around and certainty they’d never have this, she wouldn’t take it for granted. Her face turned towards him. “Oh, always, darling,” she teased back, pressing back against him. “You know how desperately I want you.” She grinned at him over her shoulder. “Not yet, but I’m sure it’ll come soon… It was good to hear of family,” admitted Peggy. But she shook off any melancholy, turning in his arms to face him. “I’m glad to hear that. I’m glad your talents aren’t going unnoticed.”

     The baby seemed to be doing calisthenics in her stomach, as if desperate to remind Peggy just how soon their due date was. They were running out of room, wedging themselves up under her ribcage every night as she lay in bed. Without saying anything, Peggy pulled Steve’s hand to cover the part of her belly currently being kicked by little feet. It was hardly the first time he’d ever felt it, but she knew he liked feeling looped in. “Tell her to knock it off,” Peggy joked.

     She knew that Steve was right; they were going to be just fine. No matter what, they would problem solve and parent. And having a partner willing to put himself in Amanda Carter’s firing line was incredibly lucky. Peggy squeezed his hand. “I love you, you know,” she whispered, lip trembling as she tried to keep a tear at bay. “How’d I get so lucky with you?”

     Steve chuckled at Peggy’s request, but he attempted to soothe the movements, futile as it might have been. Gently, his hand rubbed in circles against the bump, his other hand coming up to brush her hair back from her face. He was anxious as well, but he did his best to hide it, knowing that Peggy’s anxieties were probably worse than his own. Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to her belly. “Hey kid, your mom wants you to knock it off. You’re gonna be giving us both sleepless nights soon enough, let her rest while she still can.”  He murmured, a slight tease in his voice.

Burying herself into him, she sighed, hand coming up to cup touch his cheek. “You’re too good to me,” she teased, settling in against his side with a wildly contented hum, hand coming to rest on her bump. “You let me get away with far too much.”

She was so lucky to have him, her perfect partner in every case. Steve allowed her the freedom to be herself freely– loved her for exactly who she was. He never demeaned, never let her struggle alone. He took interest in every part of their life together, even the things she knew he got some guff from the other guys for, from decorating their home to preparing the nursery. She loved him for that and his way of making her smile without even trying. “Mm… pancakes sound good,,” murmured Peggy, thoughts drifting slightly as he ran his hand up and down her arm. “I’d like to get all the furniture into the nursery now that the paint’s dry…”

     “I let you get away with whatever it is you need to make you happy.” He muttered, half teasing as he let his hand rest over hers, where he could feel their child shifting just under their hands. “Also, there’s no such thing as being too good to my wife.”

She made a face as Steve pushed her hair behind her ear with a soft compliment. “You’re just saying that because it’s your entire human being.” Looking down at the popcorn, Peggy pouted as it didn’t seem to hit the spot anymore. She looked up at him. “Your entire human being wants ice cream too.”

“I need you,” she murmured, leaning heavily against him, her voice muffled in his sweater. Peggy could only hope if there was a Peggy out there who’d done this all without him by her side, that she’d found a partner so attuned to her needs. She hummed happily, pressed tightly to him.

As he teased back, Peggy felt herself heat, cheeks growing rosy as Steve painted a very enticing picture. “You’re awful,” she complained, pretending that she wasn’t already picturing it, that she wasn’t shifting against his touch already. “That well may be, but I never said your face wasn’t a large percentage of the appeal.”

     Steve closed his eyes as she pressed against him, both of his arms still stuck tight around her. “I know you do, sweetheart.” He said, letting his cheek rest against the top of her head. Swaying absently, he couldn’t help chuckling at her complaint. “Never said I wasn’t awful, but I can tell you’re trying not to think about how much you might like it.” He teased, shifting so his words came out soft against her ear.