I was sitting on one of the beds in the medical wing of the facility. Bruce sat on a small stool three feet away from me, hastily typing on his computer. His back was turned to me so I couldn't see his face, but I could practically hear his brain crunching from the amount of concentration the man possessed. 

It'd been almost a month since I found out I was pregnant and it hadn't been particularly easy so far. The nausea subsided nearly a week ago now and that's a good thing, because I honestly had no clue how much longer Thor would believe my 'flu' excuse. I was still running to the bathroom every hour or two, but the vomiting had been replaced by the constant urge to pee. 

It hadn't been easy hiding the secret I was carrying with me. I felt like a balloon even though I wasn't showing yet and I found myself snapping at people constantly, only to furiously apologize ten minutes after. I was hoping they'd just assume I was PMSing, because I couldn't keep doing it for much longer and get away with it. 

I wanted to tell Thor, but I just couldn't. Not yet at least, because every time it even crossed my mind I freaked out. Things were looking really bad, with Tony still missing and half the team evaporated into thin air, I just couldn't get the words to pass my lips. 

I scratched my thigh through the hospital gown I was wearing, anxious to hear what Banner had to say. He didn't reply however, causing me to tap my right foot in an attempt to distract myself. I'd been poked and prodded with needles all day and couldn't wait to get the hell out of the wing. Thor thought I was at the Sanctum, tidying the place and picking up some books I'd been wanting to read. 

"How long ago did you say it was conceived?" He asked suddenly, turning around to meet my gaze.

"It couldn't have been more than two months ago."

"The baby should be around the size of a cherry right now. I could do an ultrasound, but I think we should wait. People might start suspecting something's up, considering we've been here for nearly five hours."

I let out a deep breath, my hands relaxing when he told me everything looked good, even though I couldn't shake the bad feeling in the pit of my stomach when he left me to get dressed. I sat back down on the bed for a while staring at the black ultrasound monitor, biting my lip as I was lost in thought. 

What if he didn't want it? With everything going on, we'd never talked about things like kids and marriage before. We hadn't even been together long enough to think about any of that stuff and yet neither of us had taken the necessary precautions to prevent any of this from happening.

With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I walked out of the medical wing, making sure to wait until Bruce had left to make my exit. I had my eyes on the floor when I walked, still lost in thought when I turned several corners and walked through the halls. 

"Something's off about you." 

I stopped dead in my tracks, my head spinning towards the sound of the voice. Natasha, looking as still as a painting in the corner of the hallway, had her arms crossed over her stomach. She was resting on her right leg, I could tell by the way her hip bone protruded and when I looked closer, I noticed small streaks of white on her face. Flour. Or baking powder. 

The expression on her face showed suspicion, fueled by the words that had come out of her mouth. I stammered while she stared at me from a distance, raising her eyebrow now. Her natural mistrust towards other people suddenly spiked. Our friendship level had dropped significantly in the last two minutes. Behind those suspicious eyes I saw sadness, but I didn't wait for her to say anything else. I pulled her into the nearest room, an empty conference room that hadn't been used in months. 

"What were you doing in the wing?" She continued, ripping her arm away from my grasp.

"Shh, Nat," I hissed, "I-"

"Are you sick?" She asked. 

Natasha's eyes immediately shifted. The distrust had been replaced by worry, worry that I too would leave them, like all the others had done before me. She didn't want anyone else to die, I could tell from the crease in her forehead and the droop of her once pouty lips. 

"No," I replied, "Well, I guess it depends on the context." 

"What the fuck is going on?" Natasha asked, grabbing onto my shoulders. 

She couldn't take the anticipation, the not knowing of the situation. She was a spy, and a hell of a good one. Nothing passed by Natasha, not even the smallest of details and yet here she was, trying to figure out a secret she didn't think of because it wasn't relevant to her own life. She couldn't have kids and although she'd accepted it long ago, it was still a topic she didn't much like discussing. Especially not when she'd fallen in love with Bruce all those years ago. 

"Oh my god," it suddenly dawned on her when she watched my hand across my stomach, "Are you...?" 

She didn't want to say the P word, didn't like how it rolled off her tongue because it sounded so alien to her. She didn't have to finish the sentence, because I knew she knew when she saw my hand and I didn't even have to reply, because silence always means more than words. I confirmed it by staying quiet so I could bite my lower lip, sucking on the flesh until it became red and swollen like I'd been making out with an imaginary person. 

"Does he know?" She then asked, the question burning on her lips finally out in the open. 

"No," I mumbled after shaking my head, "I'm too scared to tell him." 

As the words poured out of my mouth, my heart poured out with the tears that fell from my eyes. I didn't even know I was shaking until I felt Natasha steadying me, her hands firmly yet gently placed on my shoulders while she let me talk. 

"What if he doesn't want it? What if it's not gonna work? How can we raise a kid in a world like this, Nat? Everything's gone to shit and here I am, pregnant with the God of Thunder's baby."

"Shut up," she said finally, "You only need to know the answer to one question."

"What's that?" I asked, blinking through tears.

"Do you love each other?"

Love. Another word she'd been avoiding for quite some time, because it was a distant memory.

"Yes." I replied wholeheartedly.

I didn't even think before answering. Didn't have to, because he was the only man for me. I'd walk through hell and back for him, would give up anything to be with him.

Natasha's words resonated deep within me. I sat down on an empty desk chair, my hands folding on the table. Thinking. Always thinking.

"You think too much," Nat said, as if she'd read my damn mind.

It was the spy inside her, even in the most casual of situations she couldn't help it. She was the real Sherlock Holmes, deducing everyone she met to figure out what she was dealing with. Reading people to find out things about them they didn't even know about themselves. Always observing.

"You're right," I said, jumping out of the chair, "thanks Nat."

I pressed a kiss to her forehead. She grimaced at the sudden contact, but smiled through her teeth when she watched me run out of the room. Somewhere deep down, she was rooting for me.

"Where's Thor?" I panted while jogging passed James.

"Training, what's going on?" He asked, looking up from the couch on which he sat.

"I'm going to tell him something!" I shouted.

I ran down the facility, passed the common kitchen, lounge and the laboratory. My feet, although tiring more quickly than I was used to carried me all the way there.

Light shone in through the large glass windows on the left side of the gym. Where you came in, empty exercise machines collected dust. The boxing ring was empty as well, but the unmistakable sound of fists hitting a punching bag led me further inside.

He was alone, thankfully, because I didn't want to tell him with anyone listening in. He saw me immediately and dropped his arms to his side, veins popping and beads of sweat dripping down his biceps.

"What's wrong?" He asked, glistening eyes filled with concern.

"I need... to tell you something." I gasped.

"What is it?" Thor grabbed onto my forearm, allowing me to regulate my breathing before I would continue.

I wasn't afraid. Fuck, I was terrified, scared shitless to let the words on the tip of my tongue flow into the open air. His grip on me kept me grounded, allowing me to realize just how real the moment was and those eyes, boring holes into me.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too," he replied immediately. No doubt, no hesitation. He meant it, as did I.

"I love you and I'm terrified to tell you this next part because it'll make it real, but I'm going to anyways because you need to know." I said quickly.

"What is it, love?" He asked, electricity flowing from his fingertips onto my skin.

"I'm pregnant. With your baby. You're going to be a father." I blurted out.

I couldn't breathe, not with Thor so close to me, his breath fanning my face while he frantically searched my face for a sign, any sign to show I was kidding. The electric spikes grew larger while he examined my face, stinging my skin in a sensational way when he found nothing but the truth behind my words.

"Will you say something?" My stomach plummeted because he didn't say anything, heart racing so fast I could feel it beating in my throat.

Thor finally moved. He sank down on his knees in front of me, face stopping before my stomach when he hit the ground with a thud. His face, contorted into a deep frown, closed in on me while his hand lifted up my shirt. The other hand nearly covered my entire tummy when he pressed it gently up against it.

I looked down, seeing a shimmer running down his cheek. And then another.

"Freya," he mumbled against my skin.

He sat there for moments, touching my bare skin so gently I could barely feel his fingers graze me. My hand went to his hair, burrowing into his locks for support when my eyes snapped shut.

He got up slowly, pushing his hand against the side of my face. He leaned into me and kissed me lovingly, his lips tenderly moving against mine.

"I love you so much," he whispered, "are you really giving me a son?"

I chuckled through tears I didn't even know were there and nodded.

"Or a daughter." I said smartly.

"It's definitely a boy." He smiled.

"Wanna bet?" I asked, clasping my hands around his neck.

"Fuck yeah."

Merry Christmas babies! This is my gift to you. Love, Cavelnimicum