Tony had gotten sick and tired of watching Steve and Natasha walk on eggshells around each other. They were both his fellow Avengers and also, his friends, so it pained him to see the two of them dance around their feelings.
Lucky for them, he had very little time on his hands and decided to come up with a plan to get them together.
Natasha was a bit too scary for Tony to mess with, so he chose to keep an eye on Steve. As he recalled, Steve had requested a small addition to his room, an art studio for him to do his drawings and paintings.
It was good that Steve had something that he loved to do, a way to release whenever he'd had a stressful day, and Tony applauded him for it. Steve, of course, just waved it off and said it was no big deal. Then, he turned towards Natasha and Tony swore that his face got all soft and he damn near shyly asked her if she'd like to see his studio.
Natasha was one of the few people on their team, besides Bucky and Tony, who knew about Steve's talent, and she was far more enthusiastic about it. She had even encouraged Steve to send one of his paintings to a nearby art gallery - the gallery owner had fainted when he presented her with his submission - and it sold for a lot of money.
Tony had been proud of Steve for taking such an assertive step forward, but he also acknowledged that it was Natasha who had been able to convince him to do it. Clearly, the redhead had a lot of influence in Steve's life. But did she know how much he cared?
This thought plagued Tony for the better part of the past few weeks as he observed Natasha and Steve being disgustingly cute towards each other and all coupley too. Just about every time he saw one of them, the other wasn't far behind. They were like Siamese Twins or something.
One day, when Natasha was out having lunch with Pepper, Wanda and Maria, Steve told Tony how Natasha had become a muse for him and that he had begun to do a painting of her in his studio. It was a random burst of excitement that made Steve tell Tony because he usually never said such private things to the other man.
Of course, Steve made Tony promise not to tell anyone - especially Natasha - about how she'd become his secret muse. Tony had lied out of his ass, though because there was no way he could let Steve tell him something like that and not try to come up with a plan to set his friend up.
As luck would have it, the perfect idea popped into Tony's head just as he was on the verge of falling asleep. He would put a hidden camera in Steve's art studio and record the super soldier drawing or painting a picture of Natasha. Then, he'd show the redhead his footage and she could decide what to do about it.
Sure enough, two days later, Tony had his laptop in hand and headed to the kitchen where he knew Natasha was sitting at the kitchen island in a stool, drinking her morning smoothie.
"Natty! What's up?"
Natasha scowled at him and punched his arm hard. "I told you never to call me that."
"Aw, it's just my way of being affectionate." Tony rubbed the spot she hit. Damn, that really hurt.
"Well, find another way, then." She rolled her eyes and began eating her breakfast.
"I'll take that under advisement, but I think you should know that someone else has a...shall we say, very specific way of showing affection towards you."
She wrinkled her brow. "Are you alluding to something perverted because if you are, I will hit you again."
Tony just grinned and seated himself in the stool next to her, setting his laptop on the countertop. "Oh, no. In fact, I'd call it disgustingly romantic, but words can't describe it to you, so I'll show you the hard evidence."
Natasha stared at Tony as he turned on his computer. He was acting really bizarre, but not like his normal jokester self. Maybe what he wanted to show her was something important. She drank a long sip of her smoothie and watched him carefully. He pulled up what looked like recorded footage of a room...and her eyes widened once she realized just whose room it was.
Steve yawned as he walked into the kitchen, body more awake and alert, now that he'd finished his morning run. His hair was still a bit damp from the shower he took once he got back to the tower.
Tony and Natasha sat in a couple of stools at the kitchen island, haunched over a laptop. Maybe they were watching a movie or something. Whatever it was, it had their rapt attention. Steve chuckled to himself. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Nat so engrossed in something.
For a moment, he allowed himself to look at her, eyes taking in her red hair. The red wasn't as fiery as it had been years ago and was more of a deep auburn. She still looked as lovely as ever with the wisps of hair falling out of the bun at the top of her head and in her face.
Her lips were slightly parted as she watched the computer screen and Steve's fingers itched to reach out and run his thumb along that plump bottom lip. Natasha had such a raw sensuality about her that she didn't need make up or anything to enhance it. She was beautiful, like poetry in motion and Steve would have loved to have a pencil in his hand right at this very moment so he could sketch her.
The green robe she wore was loosely tied around her waist and half off her shoulders, revealing an oversized white t shirt that Steve immediately recognized as one of his own. Natasha always had a few of his shirts in her room somewhere and over the years, he found that he didn't mind her wearing them.
Normally, Steve would come up behind Natasha and embrace her warmly, but since Tony was in the room he chose not to greet her that way. "Morning. What are you guys looking at?"
Natasha's head snapped up and she gave Steve a strange look, like she was truly seeing him for the first time. For a few seconds, she just stared at him, then she turned the laptop around so he could see what she and Tony had been looking at.
Steve's stomach dropped when he realised the video that played before him. It was a clear picture of his art studio with him standing before an easel, painting a beautiful picture of Natasha. The footage was from two days ago because that was the latest painting of her that Steve had finished.
Mortification set in and Steve's eyes darted at Tony. He was upset at the billionaire, but the emotion that he felt the most was fear.
"I knew you were doing sketches, but...I had no idea you were painting me."
"Nat, I'm so sorry. If you're angry at me for making a portrait of you without your consent, I apologise. I can get rid of it if you want me to."
"Are you kidding? Why would I want you to get rid of it?" She paused the recording and pointed to the screen. "This is a beautiful painting and I'd never ask you to throw it away."
"Really?"
"Yes. This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me, Steve. Thank you." Natasha came forward until there were mere inches left between the two of them. She touched his cheek tenderly and smiled at him, then, leaned forward to press her lips to his.
It was so unexpected that everything went out of Steve's head. The only thing he could do was kiss her back. So, they stood there for a few moments, each enjoying the feel of the other's soft lips on their own.
Natasha hummed and ran her hand up to grip Steve's shirt. He in return, let his fingers glide along her body to rest on her hips, squeezing them ever so slightly. Eventually, they had to pull away to catch their breaths, but both stayed connected, keeping their bodies close.
"I never expected you to do that," Steve whispered with his eyes closed before opening them.
"Well, I occasionally like to take you by surprise. You certainly did when I saw that video."
"I guess I did, huh?"
"Mmhm. In fact, I think I'd like to see that painting in the flesh. Now that I know I've been your muse for who knows how long, I think you should show me just what I've inspired you to create." Natasha entwined her fingers with Steve's and sidled up to him, a resolute look on her face.
"You really want to see my paintings?" He never thought he'd hear her say that to him. Only in his dreams.
"Oh, yes. And maybe after you show them to me, I could let you see the real thing up close and personal." She pressed her lips to his again, sensuality and fire stroking every part of him, making him feel more alive than he had in years.
Steve's pupils were blown wide and once their mouths were separated, he huskily replied, "If you say so," and without any further delay, Steve and Natasha walked out of the kitchen and down the hall to Steve's art studio.
Tony sat in the stool, watching them go with a hand on his arc reactor and after a few seconds, he jumped up and threw his fist in the air to rejoice. Today was indeed, a good day.