AN; I finally got around to writing the sequel to Falling In Love With You. You don't need to read it for this fic to make sense, though I did introduce a character of my own in the last one.
There is obviously a lot of Russian in this, but I simplified it, so the bold italics are Russian. Normal italics are thoughts.
Disclaimer; I don't own Marvel.
Enjoy!
Five Times Steve Pretended He Didn't Speak Russian and One Time He Shocked Everyone
One
"The dog brown at tree barks."
"No Captain," Jarvis sighed. "it's 'the brown dog barks at the tree.'"
"That's what I said." Steve grumbled.
"I am afraid not sir. Perhaps you should consider practicing-"
"Jarvis, I told you. I'm not going to practice with Nat, Bucky or even Yvonne. If they know I know Russian, they'll just talk about me in a different language."
"If you insist sir. You seem to understand Russian vocabulary, but sentence structures are giving you some trouble. I suggest that you review pages 65-84."
Steve huffed as he flipped through the thick Russian book. The things he did for love.
X-X-X
After spending another two hours trying and failing to understand Russian sentence structures, Steve called it a day. Jarvis had helpfully recommended that he start reading Russian novels and poetry so he could better understand the language and Steve wholeheartedly agreed.
Steve had grown tired of hearing Nat and Bucky, and sometimes Yvonne (who had become like a mother to him), talk about him behind his back in Russian. It had gotten to the point where they weren't even pretending not to. So, three days ago, Steve had gone to Jarvis for help.
Overall, Steve thought the lessons were paying off. He just had trouble when trying to actually speak the language.
Hoping to get in some practice through eavesdropping, Steve grabbed his sketchbook and headed to the common floor.
The common floor was huge; it had a kitchen, a dining room, and a living room all in one. Once Pepper found out that Steve drew, she had a mini studio set up for him by the window, allowing for him to be in his own world while still in the same room as the others.
Steve had just started sketching the New York skyline for the millionth time when, whaddya know, his girlfriend and best friend entered the room. Perfect.
"You're missing the point James," Nat said in Russian. If Steve were a dog, his ears would have perked up. "Steve didn't have a favorite color before the war because he couldn't see color."
"I understand that just fine Natalia, and I'm telling you that he either still doesn't have a favorite color or it's brown."
'Out of all the colors, why on earth would my favorite be brown?' Steve thought to himself.
"There's no way it's brown Barnes."
'Thank you, Natasha.'
"It's obviously blue."
'And I take it back.'
Bucky's face scrunched up. "Nat, the poor guy is forced to wear blue for every public event. When he chooses his own clothes, they're khakis. Therefore, Steve's favorite color is brown."
'What's wrong with my khakis Barnes? Why are you always picking on my poor khakis?'
"If his favorite color is brown, then why is his room painted blue?" Natasha reasoned.
'Because Tony's an idiot.'
"Because Stark's an idiot." Bucky replied.
'Well we can at least agree on that.'
"Fair point." Nat shrugged. "But I can promise you his favorite color isn't brown."
"Then what else could it possibly be?" Bucky asked, throwing his hands in the air.
'Buck, how are we even best friends when you don't know my favorite color is red?'
"He's sitting right there, why don't you ask him?" Nat said pointing her chin in Steve's direction.
"Because then he'll know that we're talking about him." Bucky countered.
'I already know that you're talking about me.'
"Ok, fine." Natasha said, exasperated. "Jarvis, what's Steve's favorite color?"
"I'm afraid the captain has not informed me of his color preferences, Agent Romanoff."
Finally deciding to speak up, Steve asked, "What are you guys talking about?"
Nat and Bucky both looked over at him with wide eyes.
"Oh, just strategy and which fight styles are better in different situations." Natasha said as she crossed the room to sit in Steve's lap. Steve set aside his sketch book as Natasha looped her arms around his neck.
Pecking Steve on the cheek, Nat whispered, "Good morning sweetheart."
Steve wrapped his own arms around her waist. "I know you're trying to distract me. It's working."
Bucky gagged. "Alright lovebirds, I'm outta here."
The couple laughed at Bucky's hurried retreat.
Two
A week and a half later, Steve and Natasha were having brunch at Babushka's. It had become a part of their weekly routine to have brunch there every Friday. Even though Yvonne was the owner of the restaurant and had hired plenty of waiters, she insisted on serving Nat and Steve personally. Steve figured that this was so Yvonne and Nat could gossip. Case in point;
"Natalia, how many times must I tell you to eat more food? You're too thin my dear!" Yvonne chastised.
"I've had enough, Yvonne, thank yo-"
"You should learn from Stiepan." Yvonne interrupted, patting Steve on the head. "He's such a good boy. Eats everything I put in front of him."
Steve tried hard not to preen too much.
"Yvonne, Stiepan's body is built to need more-"
"He eats everything I put in front of him so he can stay strong and healthy. Don't you want to be strong and healthy Natalia?" Yvonne demanded more than asked, placing a hand on her hip.
Steve took a drink of water to keep from laughing. Natasha sighed and took another bite of food to appease Yvonne.
"Good girl." Yvonne laughed. "I'll be back with more coffee in a minute." She said as she walked off.
"Thank you." Steve smiled after her. "So, what are you in trouble for now?" He asked his girlfriend.
"Your enormous appetite is getting me yelled at. Again." Natasha mock-glared.
Steve laughed. "I'd say sorry, but this is really good food."
"Thank you Stiepan." Yvonne said, returning with a large coffee pot. "Honestly Natalia, I can't believe you haven't married him yet."
Steve almost chocked on his coffee. 'What?'
"He hasn't asked me yet Yvonne. But I would say yes in a heartbeat if he did."
'Natasha Romanoff wants to marry ME!'
"You make sure you do Natalia, before someone tries to steal him."
The faintest of blushes graced Nat's face. "Don't worry. He's mine for good."
Yvonne smiled. "That's my girl."
Three
Steve woke to the sound of muffled screaming. The clock on the night stand read 1:30 a.m. and Steve sighed. Even after two years, Bucky still suffered from horrible nightmares. The screaming soon turned into scared whimpers and pleas. Not able to take it anymore, Steve threw his blankets off and hurried across the hall to Bucky's room.
Bucky was mumbling in Russian in his sleep, meaning that this was one of the really bad nightmares.
"No! Don't take him! I'll be a good asset, don't take him. Steve!"
"Bucky, Bucky wake up!" Steve called softly. "Wake up Buck. It's ok. You're safe."
Despite Steve's best efforts, Bucky still thrashed and wriggled against the bedsheets. Steve desperately wanted to reach out to comfort him, but both Sam and Bucky himself had warned him to never touch Bucky when he was like this.
"Let him go! Steve!" Bucky continued to scream.
"Bucky!" Steve shouted.
Bucky sprang out of bed, chest heaving and drenched in sweat.
"Buck?" Steve asked tentatively.
Bucky whimpered. "Stevie?"
"I'm here pal."
Bucky surged forward and latched onto Steve like an octopus. Steve all too willingly returned the hug. For the first time since he learned Russian, Steve regretted it.
Four
The mission was supposed to be simple and straightforward. Sneak into the Hydra lab, gather intel, get out without being seen, and be home in time for dinner. It was Taco Tuesday after all. Of course, when Steve was involved, nothing was ever simple. Or straightforward.
About ten seconds after Captain America and Black Widow had entered the building, an alarm sounded and they were forced to split up. Steve went left to fight off the incoming security guards while Natasha went right to hack into the computers and steal whatever information she could get her hands on.
Natasha was finishing uploading vital data describing the last remaining Hydra bases and special weapons when a deafening blast rang out, followed by what felt like an earthquake.
Nat froze. The building was collapsing. "Widow to Cap, what is your status?"
"It was a trap." Came Steve's panicked voice. "We need to get out of here. Now."
"I'm on my way back." Natasha said as she grabbed the data stick and sprinted back the way she came. By the time Nat returned, the building was trembling at an alarming rate. Steve had just incapacitated the final Hydra agent when he caught sight of her.
"I have what we came for." Natasha shouted.
"Good, let's go." The pair hurried to the exit but were forced to come to a screeching halt when the floor between them and the door gave out.
"Steve I can't make that jump." Nat said, certain that while she couldn't make it, Steve could.
"I know, let me think-" before Steve could finish his sentence, the ceiling gave out and the world went black.
X-X-X
Consciousness came back to Steve in waves, the first thing that he was aware of was how cold he was. The second was that he couldn't open his eyes. Steve panicked, thinking that he was still trapped in the ice. His sense of hearing quickly returned and he was able to relax. There was the steady 'beep' of health monitors as well as the sound of Nat quietly sniffling next to him. Steve moaned and made to move, but found that he could neither sit up, nor open his eyes.
"Easy Steve." Came Natasha's voice. "The doctors have you on the good stuff."
Steve moaned again in an attempt to get her to keep talking.
Nat understood perfectly. "The building collapsed and you got hurt pretty bad. Tony found us and now we're in medical."
Steve wished he could open his eyes to be sure that Nat was ok.
"I'm alright." She said, once again understanding Steve without him actually saying anything. "I'm alright Steve, you made sure of that."
Even though he'd just woken up, Steve slowly began to drift off. Now that he was sure Nat was fine, he could allow himself to sleep.
As he drifted into sweet oblivion, Steve could swear he heard Natasha mumble, "Don't you ever do this to me again Rogers. I can't live without you, Stiepan." But he was too out of it to be sure.
Five
Less than a month later, Steve was up and at it again. You'd never know just by looking at him that he'd been crushed by a building. This of course, did not stop Natasha or Bucky from trying to mother hen him to death. Every time Steve tried to get up, Bucky would hold him down while Nat rushed to get him whatever he wanted. This got very old, very fast.
Which was what was happening now. Steve had just barely moved and Bucky was already holding him down. Nat's 'Steve Senses' must have been tingling too, because she appeared out of nowhere with a glass of water and a box of tissues.
"Do you need more water, Steve?" She asked holding out the water.
"Thanks Nat," Steve tried to smile politely but it was slightly strained. "but I just need to go to the bathroom."
"I gottcha Stevie." Bucky said as he gently pulled Steve off the couch. Once he was up, Bucky looped Steve's arm over his shoulders and walked him all of the ten treacherous feet to the bathroom.
"I can take it from here Buck."
"Ok, I'll be right out here if you need anything."
Steve sighed as he shut the door. Alone at last, for the next six seconds. It's not that he didn't appreciate their help, he did, but Steve hated to be a bother when he could handle himself. He couldn't wait for his physical tomorrow and for Bruce to declare him an abled-bodied man again.
Steve figured had had about two minutes before Bucky panicked and he intended to use them. He was washing his hands and mentally counting his Mississippi's when he heard voices on the other side of the door.
"I think he's feeling better James."
"No, he's always grumpy when he's sick."
'I'm not sick ya jerk.'
"He's not sick, he just got himself smushed." Nat reminded Bucky.
'Thanks Romanoff, way to kick a guy while he's down.'
"Yeah, he got himself smushed and now he's sick because he's a self-sacrificing idiot." Steve could almost hear the eyeroll.
'you know what, I don't have to listen to this.' And with that thought, Steve opened the door.
Immediately, Bucky moved to help Steve back to the couch. Steve groaned. He couldn't wait for tomorrow.
+ One
Steve nervously palmed at the small velvet box in his pocket. He'd bought the ring a while ago, but had no idea how to ask Nat. She was the most important person in his life, and she deserved to have a proposal that she could look back on and smile. Steve had no idea how to do that, so he'd taken to carrying the ring around with him until an opportunity presented itself.
"You ready to go Rogers?" Natasha asked, dragging Steve out of his thoughts.
Steve looked up and grinned. While his girlfriend was always stunning, she really went all out for their date nights. Tonight was no different. Nat was wearing a knee-length burgundy dress with a V-neck line, her curly red hair falling to her shoulders.
"You look beautiful Nat." Steve said, grinning like a fool.
"You're not too shabby yourself Rogers." She replied, cheeks slightly pink. Normally she didn't react to compliments, but when they came from Steve, she couldn't help but feel like a school girl with a crush.
Steve smiled and patted down his slacks to be sure he had everything; wallet, keys, phone, ring, check. Steve offered his arm and Nat hooked hers through it. Gorgeous dame, check.
X-X-X
After a delicious Italian dinner, and a trip to Baskin Robbins, Steve and Natasha were strolling arm in arm through Central Park. The sun had set and the New York skyline was beginning to glow and come to life. As the sky grew darker, the park grew emptier, until it seemed that they were the only two people in the world, and honestly that was fine with them.
Steve's hand brushed against his pocket where he kept the ring and his heartbeat escalated. This was the perfect opportunity. He was gonna do it. Before Nat had the chance to notice the state of his heart, Steve let go of her arm and crouched, as if to tie his shoe.
Natasha raised an eyebrow but paused to wait for him. Steve pulled the velvet box out of his pocket and rose his eyes to meet hers. Nat froze and covered her mouth with both hands.
"Natalia Romanova," Steve began in flawless Russian, "When I woke up five years ago, I had nothing and no one. You became my first friend in this century. You were my best friend and my partner. You became my rock and I couldn't help but fall head over heels for you."
Nat tried to blink back tears, but she couldn't stop them all, warmth spread rapidly through her chest and she found she didn't care.
Steve had tears in his eyes too. "I love you Nat. Would do me the honor of marrying me?"
"Yes!" Natasha shouted a little too eagerly.
Steve had just barely slipped the ruby princess cut ring onto Nat's finger before she threw her arms around him and claimed his mouth. Steve wrapped his arms around her waist and twirled her around.
X-X-X
The next morning Bucky was groggily nursing a steaming mug of coffee when Steve came bouncing into the kitchen.
"It is way too early for you to be that happy, punk." He groaned.
Steve ignored him in favor of getting his own mug of coffee, not that he needed it. Steve was pretty sure that he was smiling like a loon when he plopped down in the seat across from Bucky, and the glare he received confirmed it.
"Bucky, I need a best man."
Bucky stared at Steve, brain struggling to process that Steve was speaking Russian in addition to the fact that his best friend might be engaged.
"If you aren't up to it, I can always ask Sam." Steve continued, feeling only slightly guilty for springing this on Bucky so early in the morning.
"Absolutely not." Bucky said as soon as his brain caught up to him. Then beaming like a proud big brother, he said, "Congratulations Stevie."
Steve's face was pretty much frozen in a grin. Bucky reached across the table to slap him on the shoulder.
"Wait, how long have you been able to speak Russian?!"
Steve tipped his head back and cackled.
I'm definitely going to have to write out a wedding, but I'm not sure when. I'm excited for it though! As always, thanks to my dedicated beta, You'remyFriend for catching my mistakes.
Thank you for reading!