Just Steve

T W E N T Y

"I swear if one more grandma hits me with a purse I'm going to lose my shit."

Shopping was going... well interesting for lack of a better word. The mall was packed and Nat was becoming more and more frustrated by the minute as people bumped into you left and right. Going shopping for some maternity clothes had seemed like a good idea initially, but now you were both wishing you had stayed home and done all of your shopping online.  Thankfully, you only had one more store left on your list.

"Alright, I'll take the one with the cane on the left, you take the one with the pearls on the right," you said, pointing to a pair of elderly woman walking in your direction.

"That's ridiculous, she could use the cane as a weapon, I'll take left and you take the right," Nat responded, and you couldn't help but laugh when you realized she was being serious. 

"But the other one could use the pearls to choke me," you teased and she either hadn't noticed the humor in your tone or just didn't care because she pursed her lips nodding in thought, as if she was still plotting her way towards taking down the elderly and innocent women.

"We can't fight them Nat they are like 80 years old,"  you chuckled, torn between wanting to clarify that you weren't in fact about to start a fight with the older ladies and finding the whole situation amusing. 

"Well we could, but I'll restrain myself," she muttered as you moved to the side so the grandmas could pass without hitting you. Nat glared at them but kept her promise, following you into the store.

"Good because I think Steve would kill me if I tried to start another fight after the whole shit show with Sharon," you admitted, strolling over to the nearest rack of clothes.  

It felt nice to just hang out with another girl. Time had flown by so quickly since the fiasco with James and Amanda that you hadn't realized how long it had been since you had done something so normal. Not that you were really complaining, you felt so incredibly grateful for having found the most amazing man in Steve, and the sweetest new best friend in Peter. But still, there were some things in life that only another woman would really understand and it wasn't until you spent time with Nat on your own that you realized how much you had missed that. 

"So, Sharon was that bad, huh? What did she actually say?" Nat asked, holding up a black sweater over your frame, frowning slightly and placing it back on the rack before continuing. "I tried to get it out of Sam because I know Steve told him but he wouldn't tell me."

You opened your mouth to answer honestly but stopped yourself, remembering what Sharon had said. Nat was great, she really was, but you weren't sure you were ready to share all your insecurities with her just yet. You really wanted Steve's friends to like you. Despite Nat having insisted earlier today that Tony didn't have a problem with you, it was hard not to feel otherwise based on the interactions you've had with him. He had never really been directly rude to you, but that didn't explain the weird looks he would give you or all the strange secret meetings with Steve. Regardless, if what Sharon had said about Steve's friends all thinking you were lying about the baby was true, talking about it would be incredibly awkward. If Sharon had just made it all up, bringing it up would just cause unnecessary drama. Besides, Steve had promised you that he trusted you and that he didn't need any proof and you believed him. There was no need to involve any more people in the situation and make it any more complicated than it already was.

"It doesn't really matter anymore, she just knew how to push all of my buttons. I'm not normally a violent person, but I swear if Steve hadn't stopped me..." you trailed off, recalling how close you had been to Sharon before you had quite literally been swept off your feet by the handsome man you now called your boyfriend.