Chapter 1: Take Out Coffee
Chapter Text
Steve flipped the notecard between his fingers repeatedly. He stared at the white door in front of him. Above the peephole were a silver 2 and 8. He took a breath before finally knocking gently on the door. The knocks were steady and sure, unlike the soldiers current feelings. The longer he stood waiting for a response the more he wanted to run. What was he doing? Why did he think this was a good idea? Slowly he turned on his heel staring down the brightly lit hallway. Because the universe had the best sense of humor the door behind him opened with a squeak of the hinges.
“Damn,” he cursed under his breath.
Turning back around a woman was staring up at him. She was wearing a tight long-sleeve black workout top tucked into loose dark grey sweatpants that were hanging low on her hips.
“Hey,” the woman said.
“Romanoff,” his voice came out deceptively strong and sure.
There was silence, as if he had something more he wanted to say. She left the air open, waiting for him to finish his thought. Forty seconds passed, still nothing.
“At least come in. You spend way too much time hanging outside my door, people think it’s weird,” she swung her arm out and into the apartment.
He walked in and watched her close the door behind him. As she walked the waistband of her sweats shifted and he could a crescent shaped sliver of skin. She must have been wearing some kind of leotard not a shirt. That interested him. He remembered the dancers from the shows he did in the 40s wearing leotards. He never saw anyone who wasn’t a dancer wearing one.
“You come here for a reason, or you gonna stare at me silently?”
“Uhm, I…I wanted to give you something.”
She nodded, saying nothing but continued looking at him. He didn’t move.
“Did you forget it?” she finally asked.
“Oh, uh, no. I have it right here,” he lifted up the notecard so she could take it.
She stared at the light blue card. One one side there was solid black lettering, it was Steve’s handwriting.
One coffee, on me
She smiled at the card.
“You got a day or time?” she chuckled at him.
“Up to you. You don’t have to take it though.”
“Hey I got a coupon, I plan on using it,” she joked.
He smiled at her, feeling some of his tension fade.
“Alright Rogers, Tuesday at nine. Meet me at the bottom of the steps of the Smithsonian. The commute will be easy for you,” her grin was practically ear to ear.
He laughed.
“I’ll see you then,” he walked to the door and smiled back at her as he walked out.
Looking back, he could see her smiling at the floor as the door closed. That woman was trouble, but in the most beautiful way.
Chapter 2: Follow My Lead
Notes:
So the title (of the fic not this chapter specifically) is supposed to reference the fact that I just want to fast forward to fluffy moments that I haven't been able to get to/ work into the original story.
Hope you enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“You can’t run everywhere,” Steve says as he takes his seat in the shiny black corvette.
“No you can’t,” Sam muses as the blacked out window slowly rolls up.
“So glad to see your finally making friends,” she says keeping her eyes firmly on the road as smoothly weaves through traffic.
“Gotta find a good influence somewhere,” he smiled at her.
She turns to him, shaking her head as a smile half crosses her face. The both stared at the road, sitting in silence.
“What’s this mission you messaged me about?” he broke the silence.
“I’ll tell you when we get there,” she smirked.
“I still got my coupons for lead on a mission.”
“That’s a one time use. Really wanna use it on this, might not even be interesting,” she shrugged her shoulders.
“I’m calling it in, what’s the mission?” he said seriously, though she could hear the laugh he was keeping at bay.
Notes:
You might notice a theme developing here where I might have took a single idea and than ran to the sun with it and decided to explore it in every way I could cause I just love it so much and its too cute to pass up. Basically: no thoughts in brain, just fluff.
Chapter 3: That One's On Me
Notes:
May or may not have gotten the idea then written this right after. Happy valentines! <3 <3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“What about the nurse who lives across the hall from you? She seems nice,” she unclipped the harness and dropped the parachute.
“Secure the engine room then find me a date,” he rolled his eyes at her insistent comments.
“I’m multitasking!” her voice softened as she jumped the railing and landed on the lower level with grace.
He couldn’t help but peek over the railing catching a brief glimpse of her hair bounce as she landed effortlessly in her signature pose. Exhaling sharply, he forced his mind back to the mission, after all he had asked to lead this one yet here he was pining over a girl like that skinny kid in Brooklyn. He continued walking, pushing her out of his mind and trying to find the control room.
Steve ran Batroc against a panel, landing on top of him as the panels give way. With a final blow to the face Batroc is out and there is a brief second where the only things he hears is his own breath, heartbeat and the soft clacking of keys.
“Well this is awkward,” he hears Natasha.
Standing up he sees her bent in front of a computer typing.
“What are you doing?” last he knew she was supposed to be helping Rumlow.
“Backing up the hard drive. It’s a good habit to get into.”
“Rumlow needed your help. What the hell are you doing here?” he stops beside her and stares up at the screen in front of them.
A progress bar continues to fill and he sees the message indicating a data transfer.
“You’re saving SHIELD intel,” it almost sounded like a question, though both knew it wasn’t.
“Whatever I can get my hands on,” her tone playful but almost dismissive.
“Our mission was to rescue hostages.”
“No, that’s your mission,” she yanks the thumb drive from the port before facing him, “and you have done it beautifully.”
As she tries to walk past him, he grabs her arm keeping her securely in place.
“This was my lead. You jeopardized the whole operation,” he doesn’t loosen his grip.
“I think that’s overstating thing,” she nearly smiles at him, tilting her head, her eyes saying this isn’t a big deal.
Hearing scrapping they look back to Batroc who had gotten up and was running out of the room, throwing a grenade behind him. Steve grabs Natasha’s waist, jumping up onto the counsel and taking a few steps before lifting his shield as he lunged towards a window. As they smash through the glass he feels the pressure and heat behind them. They land in a pile of debris and cough as the smoke invades their lungs. Crawling back they both lean against the wall and take a moment to catch their breath. He sees Nat strain in the corner of his eye, he didn’t know if it was from the explosion or his less than graceful landing.
“Ok. That one’s on me,” she pants out.
“You’re damn right,” he stands quickly leaving her sitting on the floor.
He probably should have stayed. Made sure she was okay and at the very least gave her a hand up.
The ride back to the Triskelion was silent. The awkward kind of silence. He was mad at her, even though she was just doing her job. Nick had been the one to assign the hostage rescue, he had to have something to do with Natasha’s side project. Natasha wasn’t just gonna be reckless for the hell of it. She had her reasons, he knew that.
“SHIELD takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be. It's getting damn near past time for you to get with that program, Cap,” Fury says.
“Don't hold your breath,” Steve replies simply before turning and walking off.
Fury had no idea what he was talking about. Steve had seen what it was like when someone wanted to control everyone and everything. It never ended well.
He storms past a deserted corridor, nearly passing it completely before something grabs the straps on his back nearly toppling him over from the sudden yank back. Upon getting his balance he sees Natasha’s arm drop back to her side. She is still in her suit, just as he is. She has cleaned the soot off her face, and he doesn’t see any apparent injuries. This was the first time he had looked her in the eye since he found her retrieving that SHIELD data.
“Natasha?” he asks stepping back.
“Look, about what happened on the boat…I’m sorry.”
He chuckled slightly. Most people would die before hearing Natasha Romanoff apologize, and here she was saying the words point blank. He was ready to take her saying it was on her as an apology, thinking that was the best he would get.
“You were just following orders. I guess I can’t fault you for that.”
She shrugged. He nodded before walking away. He believed what he said, he can’t quite fault her.
Going to the lockers he grabbed his duffle before stepping into a room the size of the broom closet so he could change out. The locker rooms were for all agents use; he still hadn’t gotten used to that. If he had been caught in the women’s areas back in the 40s he would have been labeled a peeping tom and his ma would roll over in her grave. His ma had drilled those manners into him, wouldn’t dare disobey her no matter the decade. Maybe these agents didn’t care, but he didn’t want to risk it. Didn’t help that people liked to stare regardless of what state of dress he was in. He was used to having to change out in a room full of men, but this was different. He strips out of his tack suit, quickly changing into civvies before beginning to pack his gear away in the duffle bag. As he folds the suit, he notices something white peeking out from under the straps across the back. He pulls it out in one smooth motion, and he quickly realizes it’s a piece of folded paper. She must have slipped it there when she grabbed him in the corridor. Unfolding the paper he smooths the creases before focusing on the words.
Sorry for not letting you in. I know it doesn’t help with the whole trust thing.
A line is drawn across the page, and he continues reading what’s under it.
Mission lead – with all the details
One more line
Free date, if you want.
That threw him a curveball. Out of all the things he thought she might write, that wasn’t even in the top 300. Dating advice, probably, but not a date. Folding the paper back into quarters he shoved it into his wallet before stuffing that back in his pocket. He was gonna have to deal with this later. Right now he had something else to take care of.
Notes:
Sorry for the cliffhanger. Figuring out how to get part two to fit with the winter soldier storyline. I'm trying to mostly keep with the OG storyline, but zhuzhed up for the fluff and Romanogers.
Chapter 4: That One's On Me Pt.2
Notes:
Continuation of the previous chapter. Still set during Captain America: The Winter Soldier. There is gonna have to be a part three cause this just keeps getting longer and longer the more I try and work on it.
I know I said these would be short little glimpses into their lives, but what can I say: sometimes I just get too excited when I write.
Chapter Text
He doesn’t even think about bringing it up at the hospital. Now isn’t the time. He watches her say goodbye to the man who had been not just a mentor but family to her for who knows how long. He thinks about just never bringing it up to her, no matter how curious he is. There is so much more to focus on. More pressing matters than what feelings he may or may not have for her and the possibility of her wanting to go on a date with him. When she rushes out of the hospital, not stopping to talk to him he knows he shouldn’t push. He had learned a lot about her since waking up from the ice. He knew that she preferred tea over coffee. He knew how excited she got at the prospect of getting to stay in and read one of the books Pepper had gifted him in hopes that he would like something familiar. He knew that her favorite was The Secret Garden. That she loved to watch old spy movies. That she could quote more than one Bond completely from memory. He knew that she had become his lifeline. That there was a world of secrets she wouldn’t dare share. That he would likely never fully know her. That she had been slowly patching the crack left by losing Bucky. That she may never trust him. She cared about him in her own way though, though that part he didn’t truly know or at least not consciously.
Steve walks up to the vending machine, cash in his pocket that he had counted twice to ensure he could get the drive in one trip. Starring at the empty slot between pack so gum, he notices a reflection behind him. Hearing the pop of gum behind him he focuses in on Natasha’s reflection chewing gum behind him. He nearly curses as he whips around and pushes her back into an empty room near the vending machine.
“Where is it?” his tone is hushed yet filled with anger.
“Safe,” her reply comes easy and he can hear the smoothness of her voice.
“Do better” he snaps.
“Where did you even get it?”
He stays silent. Emotion swirling in his eyes.
“Fury gave it to you,” she takes a moment and breaths, “why?”
“What’s on it, why did you want it?”
“I don’t know,” she shrugs slightly.
“Stop lying,” he pushes her into the wall again.
“I only act like I know everything, Rogers.”
At that he pulled back slightly.
“You knew Fury hired the pirates.”
It was now her turn for her eyes to swirl with emotion and thought. She scanned every inch of his face, trying to buy herself time to think of something to say.
“It would make sense. The ship was dirty, and he needed a way in, so do you.”
“I’m not gonna ask again.”
“I know who killed Fury. Most of the intelligence community doesn’t believe he exists,” he noted the pain in her eyes as she painstakingly spoke the next words, “the ones who do call him the Winter Soldier. He’s credited with over two dozen assassinations in the past fifty years.”
“So he’s a ghost story,” clearly unimpressed.
“Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot at my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but the Winter Solider was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him through me.”
His eyes snapped to the movement of her arm as she gently pulled up the bottom of her shirt to reveal a scar, the skin raised and slightly pinker than the stomach around it.
“Soviet slug, no rifling. Bye-bye bikinis.”
“Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now,” he huffs.
She can’t help but let a bit of a smile pull at her mouth.
“Going after him is a dead end. I know, I’ve tried,” she places the drive in his hand, “Like you said, he’s a ghost story.”
“Then let’s find out what the ghost wants.”
Natasha drove them to some abandoned warehouse where she pulled the cover off an unmarked car.
“Is this a SHIELD thing?” he asks.
“SHIELD doesn’t know about this,” she opens the trunk and he notes a couple of duffle bags.
Grabbing one of duffle bags she pulls it open before shoving a few of the contents into Steve’s arms.
“What is this?”
“Change. They should be about your size,” she pulls another pile of clothes out that he can only assume are for her.
Steve just stares at her confused.
“Just change and we can talk on the way. Do you wanna see what’s on the drive or not?”
He nods and walks to the other side of the car before changing as quickly as he can. The two throw their initial outfits in her car before getting into the unmarked car and she starts driving.
“Why do you have these?” he asks looking down at the outfit she had shoved at him.
“It was Clint’s. Figured you two are close enough to the same size, plus that stuff was big on him anyways.”
He nods, supposed that he shouldn’t have expected anything different. He knew how important Clint was to Nat, how close the two were. She parks at a busy mall and the two walk inside.
“First rule of going on the run is don’t run, walk,” she slows her pace to force him to follow her lead.
“If I run in these shoes, they’re gonna fall off.”
Rolling her eyes at that she walked them into a store and B-lines straight for a computer.
“The drive has a level six homing program, so as soon as we boot up SHIELD will know exactly where we are.”
“How much time do we have?”
“About nine minutes form,” pausing she inserts the flash drive, “now.”
Steve looks around the store nervously.
“Fury was right about that ship, somebody’s trying to hide something. This drive is protected by some sort of AI, it keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands.”
“Can you override it?”
“The person who developed this is slightly smarter than me. Slightly ,” she emphasizes the word.
She continued explaining some computer nonsense that he doesn’t quite understand so he just nods along until an employee approaches the two.
“Can I help you guys with anything?”
“Oh, no. My fiancé was just helping me with some honeymoon destinations,” she peaks over Steve’s shoulder and puts on an overly excited voice.
“Right! We’re getting married,” he feels a knot in his stomach, suddenly all the confusion about her note flooding back like a tidal wave.
He hardly pays attention to anything else that is said until Natasha says she got it. She pulls the flash drive from the computer and the two begin trying to make their way out of the mall.
“Standard tac-team. Two behind, two across, two coming straight at us. If they make us, I’ll engage, you hit the south escalator to the metro,” he goes through the game plan quietly.
“Shut up, put your arm around me and laugh at something I said.”
“What?” the thought of such close contact making him blush internally.
“Do it!”
Steve does as she instructed and the two make their way to the escalator. As Natasha is scanning those around them she notices Rumlow in tac-gear, whipping around to face Steve.
“Kiss me.”
“What?” he can’t even decide how to feel about this.
“Public displays of affection make people very uncomfortable.”
“Yes, they do.”
She pulls his head down and kisses him. It something between soft and passionate. Maybe it would have leaned more one way had he not been so confused about everything he was feeling.
“You still uncomfortable?” she turns away from him ready to walk down the escalator.
“Not exactly the word I would use,” he says softly, not seeing the slight smirk in her face.
They switch cars, Steve surprisingly doing most of the work while she was the lookout.
“Where did Captain American learn to steal a car?” she asked after they had been driving in silence.
“Nazi Germany,” he looks over at her, “an we’re borrowing. Take your feed off the dash.”
She rolls her eyes as she removed her feet.
“Alright, I have a question for you, of which you do not have to answer. Though if you don’t answer, you’re kind of answering it, you know?”
“What?” he cuts her off.
“Was that your first kiss since 1945?”
“That bad, huh?”
"I didn’t say that,” she defends.
“Well, it kind of sounds like that’s what you’re saying.”
“No, I didn’t. I just wondered how much practice you’ve had.”
“You don’t need practice.”
“Everyone needs practice.”
“It was not my first kiss since 1945. I’m ninety-five, not dead”
“Nobody special though?”
He laughs nervously.
“Believe it or not it’s kind of hard to find someone with shared life experience.
“Well, that’s alright, you just make something up.”
“What, like you?”
She pauses and takes breath. She knows he didn’t mean it in that way. He wasn’t trying to hurt her, but it didn’t take away the sting.
“The truth is a matter of circumstances, it’s not all things to all people all the time. And neither am I."
“That’s a tough way to live.”
"It’s a good way not to die, though.”
“You know, it’s kind of hard to trust someone when you don’t know who that someone really is.”
“Yeah. Who do you want me to be?”
He takes a moment, not knowing how to respond. What does he want her to be. She is already his lifeline in this new world. The one person who he knows he can go to. Maybe he wants her to be more, but he is far to scared to admit such a thing. Maybe she wants to be more.
“How about a friend?” he finally forces an answer out, one that he hopes will keep her from pulling away.
She laughs softly.
“Well, there’s a chance you might be in the wrong business, Rogers.”
She gave him that sly smile that always followed a quip. Maybe she was just joking with him when she gave him that slip of paper. Now really wasn’t the time to ask her about any of that though. He pulled the car up outside an abandoned military base. His mood flipping like a coin once he took in the site in front of him.
Chapter 5: That One's On Me pt. 3
Summary:
Steve tries to clear up Natasha's intentions with the paper she had secretly slipped him, his mind won't stop reeling.
Notes:
Another update!? (insert shocked face here)
Anyways this concludes this multipart story. Not sure what I'm gonna write next or when it will be posted. Hope you enjoyed this little story. Should probably add angst to the tags at this point. Don't know if I can write a story without at least a tiny sprinkle of angst.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
After arriving at the military base the events play out just as they did in the movie, we pick up after the two have realized that there is a missile heading straight for them.
Steve rips the metal grate from the ground and pulls Natasha flush to his side. As the missile hits, he throws them both into the hole and holds his shield above them to protect them from the debris. Natasha fits his coat in a white-knuckle grasp, the sound of the explosion and falling debris causing her ears to ring. She can feel something rolling down her cheeks, lying to herself she says its sweat. Her heart clenches and so much of her wants to run as far and fast as she can. She wants to scream as if she were a child and throw herself to the ground and just break. She couldn’t let herself break…she never was allowed to let herself break. When Bruce has hulked out and rampaged through the hellacarrier she nearly broke down right there, had anyone asked she would have lied and said she wasn’t scared for a moment. People would have believed her. Clint probably would have even believed her. At some point the dizziness, fuzziness of her hearing and the sudden heat running through her body overtakes all her senses and she passes out on the spot. Steve feels the sudden slump of her body against his as the last of the debris settled. He could have sworn before her body had slumped against him, she heard her whimper. He wouldn’t tell anyone, wouldn’t even tell her but he swears he heard it. He heard it and his heart broke for a moment. Once the dust was beginning to settle he pushes his shield up to displace the rubble above the two of them. Once he has gotten the concrete off of them he can stand up and better assess his surroundings. The bunker is now just slabs of concreate and dust. Looking down Natasha is laying amongst the rubble, the only solace being he can see the slight movement of her chest as she breaths. Take a deep breath of his own he bends down and gently picks her up. She doesn’t stir as he begins running from the collapsed structure trying to get them to a car as fast as possible. He needed to get far away and fast.
After a couple of miles he finds a couple cars parked outside a dinner. Laying Natasha in some bushes he makes his was over and puts those skills from Nazi Germany to use for the second time today. Once the car is started he carefully lays Natasha across the back seat before he begins driving. Remembering his conversation with Sam he takes a risk and begins heading in the direction of the his usual morning run route. Looking in the rearview mirror he can just see Natasha’s red hair splayed out over her face, a few stray strands that had fallen across her face were moving in time with her breathing. Once he gets a few blocks from Sam’s house, thank goodness that man had given him a standing invitation to his house if he ever needed to talk, he parked the car. Opening the back door he slid in just enough that he was barely sitting on the backseat and he could rub Natasha’s arm, staring down at her face waiting to see signs of her waking up.
“Natasha,” he shakes her a bit more rough and she begins to rouse.
At first her eyes just slowly open before she jolts up and raises her fist, her pupils blown with adrenaline.
“Nat, it’s just me. It’s Steve. You’re okay, for the most part,” he speaks calmly.
She surveys their surroundings, quickly marking three different escape plans before her eyes land on him.
“I know somewhere that we can go, but I thought it would be best to leave the car. It’s only a block or two away."
She nods, not even trying to speak. He stands up and reaches his hand out for her. Slowly she steps out of the car. She can feel the bruises forming, as much as Steve had been able to shield her she still took a bit of a beating during that explosion.
“Come on,” he puts her arm around his shoulder to help support her weight and they begin walking.
Steve knocks on the back door of a simple looking house. The door quickly opens and the man is shocked to see Steve and Nat standing in front of him, never mind that they looked like they just got out of some kind of accident. Sam frowns slightly at the sight.
“Hey, man,” Sam is hesitant.
“Sorry about this. We need a place to lay low.”
“Everyone we know is trying to kill us,” Natasha adds bitterly.
Taking a breath Sam thinks for a brief moment before replying.
“Not everyone,” he ushers them inside and closes the door behind them, locking it.
Sam then goes around making sure the curtains are all drawn so that no prying eyes can catch a glimpse at the spy and super soldier.
“There is a guest room down that hall last door to the right. It has a bathroom so feel free to clean up, take some time to rest, whatever you need."
Natasha nods, leaning against the wall as she makes her way down the hall.
“I can’t thank you enough,” Steve speaks earnestly.
“Yeah, let me grab you guys some towels. There’s a washer and dryer here if you want. I collect donations that I bring to group, maybe something in them might fit you guys. Already washed them, promise.”
Steve nods gratefully and Sam goes off to grab linens and clothes.
Sam walks down the hall and sees Steve standing in the guest room, the bathroom door is closed, and he assumed that the red headed woman is in there. When he had seen her pick up Steve, he didn’t initially realize who he was talking to. Despite being an Avenger Natasha still tried to keep her identity as private as she could.
“Here are those towels and the clothes I was talking about. I don’t know if anything will fit but figured its worth a try. Like I said I can wash what you guys have too. This way you can at least have something to wear while you wait.”
“Thanks,” Steve takes the towels and Sam drops the two garbage bags next to the bed.
Sam leaves the two, not wanting to impose on whatever kind of relationship the two had.
“Nat?” Steve knocks on the bathroom door.
There is no answer.
“Sam brought towels and there’s some clothes we can look through, see if anything fits. He also said he can wash what we came in.”
He hears the lock click and she slowly appears from behind the door. Her face is red, likely from the soot she was trying to scrub off. They both quickly take stock of the clothes in the bag and each find something that will do for the time being. Ever the gentleman Steve tells Nat she can clean up first. Thanking him with a polite nod she grabs a towel and black sweats from one of the bags that looked about her size. She disappears into the bathroom and Steve soon hears the shower turn on.
In the bathroom Natasha locks the door and quickly tuns on the shower before she even begins pulling off the dusty clothes. Her muscles ache as she strips off the fabric. She chooses to keep the black tank and her undergarments that she was previously wearing, the rest could use at the very least a rinse. Before stepping in the shower, she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror, turning away almost as fast as her brain caught onto the fact she could see herself. It was long enough for her to note some purple blooming on her right ribs and down her right leg. Deciding not to dwell on it she steps into the shower and revels in the warm spray as it washes away the dust and grime of her most recent failure. During the five minuets Steve can hear the water running he pulls out his wallet and looks at that slip of paper that was occupying more of his mind than he would like to admit.
Natasha exits the bathroom, seeing Steve sitting on the bed staring into space, seemingly caught up in his own mind.
“It’s all yours,” she says.
Looking over Steve sees her standing by the open-door patting at the end of her hair with a towel. She is wearing the black sweats she got from the bag and a black tank top. Under one of her arms, she has a pile of clothes that she had been wearing.
“Alright,” Steve stands up.
“I’m gonna see if Sam doesn’t mind me putting these in the wash. Do you want me to bring anything else?” she asks.
“Uhh, yeah. Do you mind just waiting for a minute and I’ll hand you stuff.”
She nods.
Steve enters the bathroom and quickly removes the jeans, jacket, and shirt he was wearing. Opening the door slightly he holds the clothes out and Natasha takes them. Natasha walks out of the guest room and down the hallway until she sees Sam standing in the kitchen.
“Would you mind if we took you up on that offer to put these through the wash?” she asked.
“Of course, want to follow me or I can take them and start it for you.”
“You’ve already done enough, I can take care of this.”
Sam nods and shows her where the washer is. She starts the load before heading back to the guest room, slowly brushing her fingers through her wet hair. Staring at the wall her movements begin to slow as her mind races.
Natasha’s stare unfocused and her shoulders roll forward as she sits on the bed, one hand still grasping the towel in her lap. She didn’t notice Steve opening the bathroom door or him noticing her saddened demeanour.
>“You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah,” her shoulders snap back and she begins patting at the ends of her hair with her towel.
Rather than respond right away he walks over calmly and sits slowly.
“What’s going on?”
Inhaling sharply she begins to explain.
“When I first joined SHIELD, I thought I was going straight,” her gaze drifts away from him as if she is trying to gather her thoughts, though he could tell there was something more.
“But I guess I just traded in the KGB for HYDRA.”
Seeing the muscles of her jaw tense and hearing the meekness hidden in her voice as she spoke, he was able to pick out that she was trying to clamp down her emotions with those pauses. She didn’t speak of her time before SHIELD. The most he had gotten is that Clint recruited her when he was sent to kill an agent of some KGB organization. She swallowed thickly and her gaze had drifted to her lap, still refusing to meet him.
“I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but” her gaze finally meets his and she forces a bit of a fake smirk “…I guess I can’t tell the difference anymore.”
“There’s a chance you might be in the wrong business.”
She smiles faintly, and he can hear the soft exhale that almost sounds like a laugh. He smiles back at her, leaving her room to think.
“I owe you,” her eyes are still trained on his face.
Shaking his head he nearly laughs at that.
"You know,” he pauses and reaches for his wallet, which she had placed on the dresser when grabbing his clothes from him, sliding out the slip of paper, “you could just pay me back with an explanation.”
She takes the outstretched piece of paper, unfolding it. She laughs slightly reading over it.
“It’s lead on a mission, and I’ll stop trying to set you up on dates, you can just ask for whenever you’re ready. What did you think I could have meant?” she hands back the paper.
Once the short circuit in his mind fixes itself he manages a reply.
“I thought a free date meant I could pick a day where you weren’t allowed to bother me at all.”
She lets out an actual laugh at that.
“Guess it could be that if you really wanted, would mean I would still try and set you up on dates,” she smiles.
“I’ll make a decision when I cash this in, sound good?”
She nods.
“I do owe you though.”
“It’s okay,” his voice nearly solemn.
“If it was the other way around, and it was down to me to save your life,” she pauses “and you be honest with me, would you trust me to do it?” her eyes curiously searching his.
“I would now. And I’m always honest.”
He offers her a smile which she briefly returns.
“You seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out they died for nothing.”
“Well, I guess I just like to know who I’m fighting.”
Sam knocks on the open bedroom door causing both to look up at him.
“I made breakfast. If you guys…eat that sort of thing,” Sam says genuinely.
Natasha and Steve share one more smile before following Sam into the kitchen.
As the three sit in the kitchen quietly eating their breakfast Steve tries his best not to show his nerves. He can’t believe that his immediate thought was that Natasha wanted to go on a date with him. Why would she be trying so hard to set him up on dates if she wanted to out with him? If anyone had the confidence to ask someone out it was Nat, right? And would she even want to be with a. guy like him? Sure, they were good as friends, but just friends. He wasn’t gonna risk using that yet, not until he could get a better feel for where they were. If she was even interested in dating anyone. She probably was already dating, wouldn’t be hard for someone as beautiful as her to catch someone’s interest. He knew that most assumed she was dating Clint, though he wasn’t quite sure. They were good friends, but would Fury really let them be partners if they were dating? He could have spent hours going over possibilities in his mind but decided to cut them off once he finished his plate.
Notes:
Comments are always welcome :)
Chapter 6: For When You Need A Friend
Summary:
Following Steve's encounter with the Winter Solider, he sets his sights on looking for his long lost friend. How will he even start? Who will be at his side? (Sorry I don't even know what I would write as a summary for this)
Notes:
I'm overstressed and feel like I'm living in a chaotic limbo therefore I shall focus my attention on writing SteveNat fanfic and being mad that Marvel never saw what a good thing they had and how dirty they did Nat in Endgame.
This is short and not super creative. I dunno, I just wanted to write something. I need some kind of filler between this and another idea I have otherwise it felt weird not acknowledge what happened in the like four chapters. *insert screaming here*
Chapter Text
“Anybody asks for me, tell them they can find me right here,” Fury takes one last solemn look at his gravestone.
Steve watches as the man turns and walks away, leaving himself and Sam standing at the empty grave. From the corner of his eye he notices a woman walking up to them. His eyes catch the green eyes of the woman’s. Stepping away from Sam he meets the woman halfway.
“You should be honored, that’s about as close as he gets to saying thank you,” she smirks.
He scoffs with a smile before responding. He should have known she was listening in on the entire conversation without him noticing her.
“Not going with him?”
“No,” she shakes her head, nearly laughing.
“Not staying here?” he asks mournfully.
“I blew all my covers, I gotta go figure out a new one.”
His heart sinks at her words. Smiling off to the side he watches her hair drag over her shoulders as she turns to look back at him.
“Might take a while,” he speaks solemnly his face somber.
“I’m counting on it,” she smiles.
His smile almost always sent butterflies through his stomach, not a knife to the gut.
“That thing you asked for, I called in a few favors from Kiev,” she hands him a file.
On the front was writing he didn’t recognize. Unbeknownst to him as he is analyzing the file her façade drops momentarily and she stares at him with somber eyes just as he had done to her. As he looks back up her false smirk once again graces her face.
“You should call that nurse.”
“She’s not a nurse,” he nearly snaps back.
“And you’re not a SHIELD agent,” she placates.
He looks back down at the file, opening it slightly.
“You know I can’t read this right?” he asks.
“Be careful Steve,” she leaned closer and kissed his cheek offering one last smile before turning to walk away.
He fully opened the file and noticed a scrap of paper clipped to one of the papers. Looking closer at the paper he read the neat handwriting:
For when you need a friend.
Beneath was a phone number.
Looking up he watched her disappear behind a tree.
Chapter 7: No Shared Experience Needed Pt. 1
Summary:
Ultron is on his quest for virbanium. When the Avengers try to intervene their plans are met with something they couldn't plan for.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Set during Age of Ultron. Ultron has successfully lured in the Avengers with his kill of Strucker and is attempting to gather Vibranium from Klaue. Wanda is trying to take down the Avengers.
Clint leases an arrow that lets out a pulse taking down multiple mercenaries within the facility. A woman slowly walks up behind him, her hand out and glowing red. Whipping around he puts an arrow against her head that sticks to her forehead and seemingly electrocutes her.
“I’ve done the whole mind control thing. Not a fan,” he quips.
Reaching out to grab the arrow from her forehead he is pushed through a window landing on the level below amongst broken glass. A silver haired man removed the arrow from the woman’s forehead and picks her up. Before the man can speeds away Clint catches a glimpse before letting his head rest against the floor catching his breath.
“Yeah, you better run,” Clint says up towards where the two had just been.
Steve slowly stands from where he had been knocked down by the speedster. His helmet drops to the ground, and he shakes his head, stumbling somewhat as he walks.
“Whoever’s standing, we gotta move!” Clint calls out over the coms.
After a moment of silence Clint tries to get his teammates over the coms again
“Guys!” he yells.
Natasha stumbles downstairs, swaying as she tries to walk. Grabbing the railing trying to steady herself she finds herself walking down a grand staircase and heads into a large open room where she sees six dancers finishing their routine.
“Again!” the ballet instructor calls out.
“You’ll break them,” Nat says looking at the girls elegantly make their way through the moves.
As she watches she can feel her feet ache.
“Only the breakable ones. You are made of marble. We’ll celebrate after the graduation ceremony,” an older woman speaks to Natasha.
“What if I fail?”
“You never fail,” the woman’s words are sharp.
Natasha feels a metal table beneath her, a sharp stabbing pain pulse through her entire body, then the weight of pistols in her hands, smells the gunpowder as she discharges the weapons expertly, hears the muffled whimpers of a man.
As Steve continues to walk, he hears music surrounding him and sees crowds of people dancing and joyously chatting. Cameras flash around him. The crowds bump into him. To the side he can see two men in uniforms pushing each other.
“Are you ready for our dance?” a woman asks.
He knows the voice. Turning he sees Peggy Carter standing behind him to his side. He stares at her silently, searching the dance hall.
“The war’s over, Steve. We can go home. Imagine it!” she exclaims with joy.
The music cuts out and the dance hall is suddenly empty. He sees himself dancing with Peggy.
“What about her?” he asks, looking at Peggy.
“It’s just us Steve,” she smiles.
Natasha feels someone’s arm around her throat, holding her in a chokehold. She feels her lungs screaming for air. Panicking she slaps the arm of the person behind her.
“Sloppy. Pretending to fail. The ceremony is necessary for you to take your place in the world.”
Natasha sees steel instruments on a table. A dark wooden door with a window that appears to be frosted over. She can see handprints and smudges as if someone had been banging on the door.
“I have no place in the world,” Natasha says, seeing a man sitting across the dance room from her tied to a chair with a burlap bag over his head. She hears wheels squeak as the walls of a dark hallway rush past her and a door bangs open.
“You must go through the ceremony,” the older woman says again.
Natasha feels the cold glass against her hands as she bangs against the door and screams, then hands grabbing her and pulling her away. She feels her head smack against the metal table as she is pushed against it.
Clint sees Natasha sat on the bottom of stairs, staring ahead. Her eyes have a reddish gold tint to them. Clint kneels in front of her.
“Tasha?” he asks holding her face between his hands.
She doesn’t respond.
“Natasha, I could really use a lullaby,” he hears Stark.
“Well, that’s not gonna happen. Not for a while,” Clint grabs her arm, wrapping it over his shoulder and standing up with her.
She hangs limp at his side. He sees Steve laying on the ground and slowly trying to push himself up.
“The whole team is down, you got no back up there.”
Clint starts walking with Natasha, crossing the room and getting to Steve.
“Rogers, get up,” he orders.
Steve stares at him blankly for a moment. His eyes drift to Natasha and Clint sees recognition in Steve’s eyes. Steve stands.
“I’m taking her back to the quinjet. Can you find Thor and both of you make your way back?” Clint asks.
Steve steadies himself on his feet quickly and nods.
Once getting back to the quinjet Clint has Natasha sit down. She is still staring blankly ahead and has not spoken to him.
“Tasha? It’s Clint. I need you to come back to me,” he says.
She still doesn’t speak. Steve returns with Thor and soon Tony drags an unconscious Banner back as well. Once they are all in Clint takes off, all team members still seemingly scrambling in their own minds. Clint puts on a headset and quickly makes a call as Tony is sitting by Bruce waiting for him to wake up, Thor standing right besides, in the hope he could do something. Steve sits across from Nat, his mind still reeling.
“Hello?” someone answers Clint’s call.
“Hi, sorry to bother you. Any way you could get some kind of safe house for me. I got five other people with me. We need to be completely off the grid, preferably off all radars,” he explains softly so that no one else can hear.
“I can think of something. If you’d be comfortable with it.”
“It should be remote enough to land,” he muses aloud.
“Yeah. How long will it take you to get there?”
“A while. Have you seen the news?”
“Yeah, yeah, I have. I’ll get over there, make sure all the lights are on. When you guys get there, we can run for extra supplies.”
“Alright, thank you.”
“I’ll see you. Fly safe.”
“You too.”
He removes the headset.
“The news is loving you guys. Nobody else is. There’s been no official call for Banner’s arrest, but it’s in the air,” Clint can hear Maria Hill talking with Tony.
“Stark Relief Foundation?”
“Already on scene. How’s the team?"
“Everyone…we took a hit. We’ll shake it off."
“Well for now I’d stay in stealth mode and stay away from here."
“So run and hide?”
“Until we can find Ultron, I don’t have a lot else to offer.”
“Neither do we,” Tony turns off the monitor and walks up to Clint.
“Hey wanna switch out?”
“No I’m good. If you wanna get some kip, now’s a good time. We’re still a few hours out.”
“A few hours from where?” Stark questions.
“A safe house.”
Notes:
I'm not a fan of BruceNat so my headcannon for why her lullabies work on Bruce but don't for the rest of the team is because of how good she is at reading and manipulating people.
While writing this I did notice that I don't think I totally love how they handled Nat's reaction to Wanda's attack. I couldn't help but notice that the only woman effected by her powers is left the most incapacitated. I have decided that I both for myself and for purposes of this story the reason Wanda's vision hit her harder is because her's was a memory (something that actually happened to her, may have been slightly altered from her real life but is close enough) and it basically forced her body to go through that trauma again. I like this theory and will forever now be sticking with it, hope you also like it and maybe even agree.
This story is not fully cannon compliant but is inspired by and follows some of the same main beats. It got long so there is a part two coming. I had fun with this chapter, hope you enjoy. Next part will be up soon.
Chapter 8: No Shared Experience Needed Pt. 2
Summary:
After their encounter with The Scarlet Witch the Avengers need a place to lay low. Everyone is still recovering from Wanda's attack.
Notes:
As promised part two! A ceartin relationship might make more sense if you have read The Invasion of New York (or even if you just know some of my stories).
More notes at the end cahse technically kinda, if you squint, they have spoilers for the chapter (barely).
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The qunjet lands in a field a bit away from what looks to be a generic blue farmhouse. Steve helps Natasha stand, her body still struggling to bear its own weight seemingly. Clint walks over and wraps an arm around Natasha to help steady her. They file out of the quinjet, all following Clint.
“What is this place?” Thor asks as they near the porch.
“A safe house?” Tony asks as they walk up the steps.
“Let’s hope,” Clint says before lightly knocking on the front door, tightening his grip on Nat hoping to keep her calm.
After a moment they hear the door unlock and it opens. Behind the door is a tall woman with long blonde wavey hair. She quickly offers a gentle smile.
“Hey birdie,” he smiles.
“Come in,” she directs.
Natasha stares at the woman for a moment, her mind still clearing itself, though Clint notices her shoulders relax indicating she was coming back to herself. Slowly they all walk in. Clint steps away from Nat smiling at the woman who had greeted them. She smiled back hugging him tightly. The joy on the woman’s face fell slightly when she got a good look at Nat upon letting go of Clint and facing the confused team.
“Gentlemen this is Bobbi.”
“Sorry for intruding,” Steve speaks stoically.
“Yeah. We were too busy not knowing you existed to give a heads up,” Tony said.
Bobbi stepped towards Nat.
“Hey Tash,” she gently placed her hand her friend’s arm.
“Hi.”
“I’m gonna go get Lucky, he’d love to see you.”
Nat nodded with a smile. The two women stepped away.
Thor walks out and Steve quickly follows.
“Thor,” he calls out.
“I saw something in that dream. I need answers, I won’t find them here.”
Without another word the Asgardian raises his hammer and flies off. Turing back to the house Steve hears his own voice asking, “What about her?”.
Back inside Bobbi has pulled Clint away and is examining his side from where the speedster has got him.
“See, you worried for nothing. Can’t even feel the difference,” he smiled at her.
She gave him a stern look.
“If they’re sleeping here some of them are gonna need to double up.”
Clint laughs, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“That’s not gonna sell.”
“Put Nat and Steve together,” she smirked.
“Yeah right. Already tried that one, not gonna happen.”
She raised her bow at him.
“What?”
“You are so cute,” she laughs.
“What do you know?”
“I’ll explain when you’re older, Hawkeye,” she smiles widely.
“Oh. Okay,” he takes in the moment of levity.
“It’s bad. She seems really shaken,” she says seriously.
“Ultron had these allies. They’re just kids. Carry a big damn stick and Nat took a serious hit. Someone’s gotta do som’in.”
“I know. And I know that you’re gonna do what you gotta, and you know how much I like that about you. It’s not too much at once is it?” she asks.
“That house is long gone. This place is different.”
She smiled lifting onto her tiptoes and kissing him, her hand sliding under his shirt.
“I can tell a difference.”
He rolled his eyes smiling before kissing her again.
Steve walks into one of the bedrooms and sees Nat sitting cross-legged on the bed petting a dog. The dog was curled up beside her and when he looked closer he noticed that one eye was scarred closed.
“Sorry, did I get the wrong room?” he asked.
“No, there aren’t enough rooms, so we have to share. Clint figured since we were partnered it would be less weird. I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“Not necessary. Do you mind if I come sit?” he asked.
She shook her head. He walked over and cautiously sat at the edge of the bed.
“He won’t bite,” she said as she continued petting the dog.
Steve cautiously let the dog smell his hand which the golden retriever quickly licked.
“Hi bud,” he said before petting the dog.
“This is Lucky. He’s text-book golden retriever. Kinda like you,” she smiled slightly at the bed while she spoke.
He smiled with her.
“Do you want to talk at all about what happened?” he asked carefully.
She stared blankly at Lucky.
“You don’t have to. I don’t want to push,” he carefully placed his hand on top of hers, “you don’t need to make up anything, or even share.”
She nodded.
Steve looked over and saw that Natasha had fallen asleep. He grabbed his notebook and a pen from his go bag.
No false stories or shared life experience needed
Never expires and unlimited uses
As quietly as he could he ripped the paper out and placed it on the pillow next to Nat.
Notes:
While writing this I'll admit I gained further respect for Laura Barton. I still prefer Bobbi, but I'll admit she has some stuff going for her. Firstly she noticed that something was going on with Nat and Bruce before Clint did (not that I like that ship) and she is supportive of Clint.
Chapter 9: Cashing It In
Summary:
The nightmares from Wanda's powers don't dissipate as quickly as the visions. Steve once again tries to offer her some comfort by giving her room for conversations of any topic.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
She felt her shoulder blades pressing hard against the metal surface beneath her.
“The ceremony is necessary,” the distant voice of Madame B spoke.
The smell of gunpowder wafting around her.
“Please,” a man begs faintly.
Her muscles ache and she gasps feeling herself slip.
“Sloppy!” Madame B yells.
Her skulls slams against concreate sending a pulsing of pain through her head.
“Never fail,” Madam B’s voice continues to echo.
She hears her own whimpers. Feeling the floor seemingly fall out from under her she gasps.
Natasha shoots up, her skin clammy.
Attempting to catch her breath she leans forward still gasping. Surveying her surrounding she quickly takes note of all her possible escapes. Slowing her breathing she begins to gather herself. Noticing a note left beside her she grabs it, reading over it.
No false stories or shared life experience needed.
Never expires and unlimited uses.
Steve was not currently there despite moonlight flowing into the room. Grabbing the note she read it once more, enjoying the fluidity of his letters. Walking to the bedroom door she opened it as silently as she could, though Clint and Bobbi were sleeping only one room down and even if Clint didn’t notice Bobbi would. At the very least she would try and slip out without waking Stark of Banner, not needing to hear any more jokes from Tony.
Stepping onto the back porch she saw Lucky peacefully sleeping. Looking up she saw Steve sitting in one of the chairs. Calmly she walked over to sit in the chair beside him.
“Natasha.” he spoke calmly.
She couldn’t tell if it was a statement or a question.
“Did you follow him or the other way around?” she asked indicating to the sleeping canine with her pointed foot.
“I wanted to see the stars, he followed.”
She nodded satisfied with the answer. Staring up at the sky she watched stars sparkling in the sky.
“This can go both ways you know,” without looking she extends her arm slightly. Between her fingers she holds the paper he had left her.
“I appreciate the offer. Though I would love it if you were to use it.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say. That girl…she got to everyone.”
He said nothing, simply gave her space to be and to speak if she wished.
Staring up the sky she stayed silent.
“What’s going on with Clint?” he asked breaking the silence.
“He’s happy,” Natasha smiled.
“And the woman? Tony’s convinced this is all a plant by Fury you know.”
Natasha scoffed and smiled.
“She’s happy too. Give her a chance, you’ll like her. Good agent too, but thats neither here nor there.”
Steve laughed slightly.
Natasha pulled her knees up to hug them against her chest.
“What did you see?” her voice merely a whisper.
“Peggy. She asked me to dance. Said the war was over.”
“Sounds nice.”
“Maybe a few years ago. But now…I don’t think that what I want anymore.”
“What do you want now?”
“Well according to you I need more practice in kissing,” he laughed, reminiscing on their drive while running from Hydra.
“You want me to find you a date? Finally decided it’s time to cash it in?” she laughed, releasing the grip on her legs, allowing her knees to part from her chest.
“I don’t know how to even go about trying to have a relationship in this time.”
She stared at him.
“Where do I start?”
“Are you really asking me for dating advice?”
“I thought that by setting me up you were offering it.”
Smiling at her lap she bit her tongue, not knowing what to say.
“Do they make the equivalent for sparing, but for dating?” he said in a light tone, trying to keep the conversation generic enough to not make her uncomfortable.
“You want to go on practice dates?” she raised her brow.
“I don’t even know where to start!” feigning a defensive tone.
She smiled and laughed.
“Ok, I will help you. Only ‘cause you are just so helpless.”
Feeling butterflies in her stomach she stared back up at the stars, knowing she couldn’t risk making eye contact with him now. The thought of going on a date with Steve Rogers, even a fake one made her giddy.
Notes:
You know when Nat asked how much practice he had she never said he was a bad kisser.....maybe she just figured that he had to have had more practice than she thought for how good of a kisser her was. Just saying.
This chapter made me smile. If for no reason other than I like how comfortable the two are around one another. Also would anyone want a little side chapter about Clint and Bobbi? I know I write about them a lot but of course while writing this story I came up with a mini back story for why Clint called Bobbi and where there was even a "safe house" he could bring the Avengers to.
ShinyMetalAssKnight on Chapter 1 Fri 09 Feb 2024 07:40PM UTC
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link-or-sherlock (Guest) on Chapter 3 Tue 20 Feb 2024 05:39AM UTC
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marvel_mockingbird on Chapter 3 Wed 21 Feb 2024 05:07AM UTC
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