I Thought You Were Different: Part 2

Protection

"What the hell is wrong with you? How could you say that to Steve? Are you gonna kick us both out, Tony?" you hissed, poking your finger into his chest as he took the abuse willingly and avoided your eyes. "If we don't fall into line, is that what's going to happen?"

"If you're not a part of the team, then you can't..." he stopped, shaking his head in disgust with even himself, "you can't be here anymore, I'm sorry."

"After all of the bullshit that we've been through, even just you and me, Tony, everything that we've overcome to be this," you stopped, waving your hand between you, "you're really about to let me walk away? You swore that you'd never let that happen again."

"Then don't walk away. Sign."

"This isn't you..." you whispered, backing away, but the stress of the moment began to build and you could feel the tremor starting in your center and working its way out to your arms and legs. You felt weak and nauseated all at the same time, and you tried your best to distract your mind from it, beginning to breathe slowly as you took a seat.

"Hey, (Y/N), you okay?" he asked, suddenly concerned at the paleness washing over you, hurrying to take a seat next to you. When you pointed for a nearby garbage, he stood quickly and pulled it over just in time for you to make it. "What's going on? Oh...yeah, I'm gonna get Steve-"

"No," you panted between heaves, "I'm fine."

"Yeah, you look fantastic."

You held up a shaking hand to stop him, setting it cautiously on his leg as you began to gather your composure again. Leaning back into the chair with a slow and purposeful deep breath, you waited for the sensation to fully pass before addressing him again. "It's just a stomach bug. It's been a few days so I should be about over it."

"That's a nasty bug."

When you looked at the softness in his eyes that had been missing since he returned home, the words almost tumbled out. You thought for just a moment that he would be happy when you told him, but you saw the massive print of the Accords in the corner of your vision and stopped, wondering if there would ever be a good time now.

"Oh, Tony, if you only knew."

~~~

All it took was a four-word group text to incite a panic amongst the team, and now they were flooding your phone with replies of shock, questioning, and some with support of your decision to not tell Tony about the baby right away. This wasn't the time with so much conflict happening, and deep down you believed that it wouldn't change anything anyway. He would find out in good time, but this just wasn't going to be it. Steve supported you, of course, but when you went to talk to him about what your next steps would be, he was in his full uniform and preparing to leave for a mission.

"Wait, you're still going?"

"We have three days left to be Avengers, and I committed to this mission," he replied with a subtle nod. "But when it's done, I'm done. I can't sign it, (Y/N). But you're free to make your own decision, and I would never want to force you to follow me just because we're married. If you want to sign, then sign, and we'll figure it out. All I can say is that I hope you don't."

"Of course I'm not going to, don't be ridiculous."

You could see the expansion of his chest with his deep breath of relief and the relaxation in his shoulders at your words. Steve continued to pack his gear as you watched, sitting on your bed quietly and waiting for either of you to bring up the inevitable topic; you finally decided that it would have to be you.

"If I tell him, he'll try to make me stay here."

"I know."

"I can't keep this from him, and I don't want to."