The next morning, you were woken up by a knocking on your door. Still half asleep you groaned, not being conscious enough to form an actual sentence. The door creaked open slowly, revealing a tall figure leaning against the frame.

Squinting you tried to make out who had woken you up, but couldn't distinguish the blur in front of you. Rubbing your eyes and grumbling slightly underneath your breath, you rolled over to grab your glasses. Shoving them on your face and peering at the door you saw Steve staring back at you, an amused smirk plastered across his face.

"So, not much of a morning person, huh?"

You were definitely not a morning person, but that wasn't the only reason you were exhausted this morning. After your conversation with Peter, it had taken hours for you to fall asleep. Despite the incredibly comfortable bed and the silky guest pajamas, you had been tossing and turning all night thinking about Steve's suggestion to move into the tower. Even though there was still plenty of time before the baby would be born, it was hard for you not knowing what the future held.

You needed a plan. Spontaneity had never really been your thing, as you always liked to know what you were doing and where you were going. With the pregnancy, all of your previous plans had been rendered obsolete, and you were in desperate need of a new course of action. As a result, you had stayed up until the later hours of the night until you had come to a decision of how to handle Steve's invitation.

Sitting up and adjusting your glasses, you watched as the blonde-haired man walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge closest to you. It was then that you noticed he was shirtless. All of a sudden feeling much more awake, you sat up straighter, back leaning against the headboard.

"Jesus dude, eat some ice cream, find a donut, or put on a shirt or something" you said, motioning towards the defined abs on Steve's stomach.

"I'll keep that in mind sweetheart," he chuckled.

There he goes with the sweetheart thing again. Who would have guessed Steve Rogers was a flirt? You couldn't help but notice how the navy sweatpants he wore brought out blue in his eyes as he smiled at you happily. Shaking your head slightly, you forced yourself to focus on the conversation and not the eye candy in front of you.

"Look, Steve, I was up all night thinking about our situation, trying to come up with a solution and I think I finally came to a decision, so just hear me out, okay?"

His eyes hardened slightly at the seriousness of the tone of your voice, but he nodded urging you to continue.

"I want to make this work. I want you to be a part of the baby's life, and I don't want you to miss out on the special moments just because I wouldn't move in with you. The baby's first smile, first steps, first words..."

You saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes as he listened and he opened his mouth to speak but you held your hand up in the air, signaling that you weren't done speaking yet and his mouth snapped shut.

"If this is going to work, I need you to not do all this," you sighed, waving your hand over his shirtless top-half before continuing.

"I need you to not call me sweetheart. I need you to not look at me that way. I need you to be fully clothed and quit all the flirting, otherwise this will never work."

"Does that mean you're moving in?" he raised an eyebrow quizzically, and you weren't positive but you could have sworn you saw him cross his fingers slightly.

"Really? That's what you got out of all that?" you laughed but he ignored your question and gave you a pointed look, awaiting your answer.

"Yes, I'll move in but only if you agree to some ground rules."

His eyes lit up and you couldn't help but return the smile he gave you as if Steve's joy was contagious.

"Alright, what kind of rules?" He asked.

"Well I know you know how this whole thing with us started, but if I move in I need you to promise me that we can just be friends," you said carefully.

"What?" Steve said taken aback, the smile being replaced by confusion.

"It's just that we got off to a rocky start, and it's only been a few weeks since James and I broke up. I'm not ready for any kind of relationship right now, to be honest I'm not sure if I will ever be. If we were to... you know..." you paused awkwardly and he nodded in understanding urging you to continue, "things between us could end badly and any kind of drama would just end up hurting the baby. I've seen first hand what fighting parents can do to a child and I can't risk that. I won't risk that. So if you want me to move in, I need you to promise to stay platonic. No flirting, no pet names, I need you to be just Steve."

Finishing your rant, you caught your breath as you waited for his response. He sat there quietly staring at you, and you could tell he was deep in thought.

"Do you really think we can live in the same apartment and be just friends?"

Sighing you broke your eye contact with Steve to stare out the window on the opposite wall. The streets were bustling, covered in people going about their day to day lives. They looked like tiny little ants from where you were, all running about and moving together. Everything was moving forward for them, nobody was standing still. Yet you sat here in the tower feeling as stuck as ever.

You weren't sure if you could be just friends with Steve, but you knew you had to try. It was the only way to protect yourself from further harm and still give your baby a chance at knowing its father. Conflicted emotions swirled and your heart rate increased as your mind wandered to all the ways that Steve staying in your life in any capacity could go wrong.

Steve had been waiting for your response but could tell you were lost in your own thoughts. He couldn't understand why you were so convinced that a relationship would inevitably lead to being hurt. Sure relationships sometimes ended painfully, he was no stranger to that. But heartbreak was what you had to go through to find the right person. The person that would never hurt you. The person you were meant to be with. Every relationship is a risk, but to Steve the possible reward outweighed any of the possible consequences.

He wasn't sure if you were the girl he had been waiting for. All he knew was he felt more at home in your company than he had ever felt since coming out of the ice. He couldn't let that go. If you needed time to heal he could give that to her. After all, you had just told him that you were willing to uproot your life and move in with him.

His heart swelled with compassion for the caring girl sitting across from him, the sleep still in your eyes and your hair frazzled adorably. You may have a tough exterior but underneath you were kind-hearted and generous. You were willing to give him a chance and see the good in him in spite of all the bad you had seen in people. If you were willing to do all that, it was only fair of him to respect your decision. Besides, he knew the more time they spent together, the more their connection would grow. You could deny it for now, but it would catch up to you in the end. It was time to play the long game.

"Alright. We can try just being friends."

(Y/N)'s head snapped from the window back to Steve.

"Really?"

"Of course. You're giving me the chance to really be a father. I didn't know if I would ever get that chance and you're giving that to me. I want you to be comfortable and happy here, and if we have to be just friends for now for that to happen, it's the least I can do."

You smiled softly as you sat there together. You didn't know if you were ready for this particular obstacle life had thrown your way. All the walls you had put up since the fiasco with Amanda and James were still there, and it was hard to imagine a point in the future where they wouldn't be. Between your conversations with Steve and the sweet albeit slightly annoying brown-haired spider boy, your resolve to go it alone was being tested to the limits. As much as you wished you could fully let down your guard with them, you refused to let that happen. Whether it be from a trusted friend or a boyfriend, you knew one more heart break was all it would take to fully break you. You couldn't afford to be broken because your baby needed a mother who was whole. A mother who was unbroken.

In the past few months, you had wanted nothing more than to be alone. But in that moment you took solace in the fact that at least for now, maybe you didn't have to face the unknown completely on your own.

You stuck out your hand for Steve to shake.

"Friends?"

He laughed but returned the motion, slipping his hand in yours. Doing the best you could to ignore the warmth from his fingers as they glazed over yours, you gave a firm handshake.

"Friends."