Title: Happy For Her
Summary: "It's instinct, a reflex. His first thought is Natasha Romanoff and his last thought is Natasha Romanoff and all the thoughts in between are Natasha Romanoff, too." When Steve returned the Stones and brought Natasha back, he'd hoped to find a second chance with her. She found someone else to love, but he's still happy for her. One-shot, drabble, set in MCU universe.
Disclaimer: I do not own the MCU. If I did, a lot of things would be different.
Word Count: 218
Happy For Her
August 23, 2027
Steve stares. He can't stop himself. He and Bucky stand in the kitchen, while Natasha, Pepper, and Maria Hill sit at the coffee table in the living room, playing some strange, drunken version of Uno.
He hears Natasha laugh. It's a beautiful sound.
"You still thinking about her?" Bucky asks, grinning at his friend.
"I'm always thinking about her."
It's instinct, a reflex. His first thought is Natasha Romanoff and his last thought is Natasha Romanoff and all the thoughts in between are Natasha Romanoff, too. And he's happy for her. He's happy that she's happy, that she's found someone to love. But sometimes, despite himself, he can't help but feel a little jealous, jealous that that "someone" isn't him.
When he returned the Stones and brought Nat back all those years ago, he had been hoping for a second chance with her. But Nat and Maria had found something with each other before Steve had gotten the chance to tell Natasha how he felt.
And he's happy for her.
He pushes himself away from the counter and enters the living room—he smiles to himself at the scene in front of him: discarded wine and beer bottles, the three laughing women seated around the coffee table—then lies down on the couch, closing his eyes and letting himself dream.