A/N: Happy Valentine's Day loves
Valentines Day: Steve expected to wake up in gloomy spirits that day, as he had no one. He thought of Peggy watching down on him and of course, missed her, but after a few years of her being gone, he'd started to move on and try to see things from her point of view. She would want him to find someone, to be happy. Last night he started thinking maybe he didn't have to be alone - maybe he could have someone - her.
(FLASHBACK to night before)
Natasha and Steve had just returned from a mission and were heading back to the Tower when her curiosity got the better of her. They were both lost in their own thoughts so she nudged him and he looked down at her with one eyebrow raised in amusement and questioning as they kept walking.
"Got any plans for tomorrow Rogers?"
He was confused, why would he have plans. What was tomorrow?
Natasha noticed this and laughed "you DO know what tomorrow is, right Steve?"
He blushed and scratched the back of his neck "umm. Should I?"
"Oh my god! It's VALENTINES day Steve!"
His eyes widened in memory of the year prior when the same thing happened - he didn't know it was that day so he was caught unawares when seemingly all the female (and some male) agents approached him and flirted heavily. Somehow it had gotten out that the Captain did not have a date, and they were all too happy to offer themselves. Of course, Natasha had saved him in the cafeteria by grabbing his arm and pulling him with her, away from the crowd and into the safety of her table.
"So I'm guessing you don't have a date, then." Natasha's voice brought him out of his thoughts.
Steve cleared his throat. "Ahem, um, no." He seemed almost ashamed, like he was sorry to disappoint her.
"Not to worry Steve-o," she waved her hand in dismissal, "I don't have one either. Treating it as Singles Awareness Day this year," she said with a wink.
That surprised him. A beautiful girl like her shouldn't be alone on a holiday of love. But she seemed happy with her situation, so he thought he'd just leave it alone.
They had almost reached the transport to take them back to the Tower when he proposed "well, on that note I propose a movie night tonight. I can cook a nice dinner, get your food fill at least. What do you think?"
Natasha looked up at him in amusement with a small genuine smiling playing on her lips. "I think... you got yourself a deal, Rogers." He smiled that boyish grin back at her and off they went.
That night, both Steve and Natasha felt completely at home and had so much fun together. While Steve was making dinner Natasha showered and came down in leggings and a sweatshirt - his sweatshirt to be exact. He lifted an eyebrow at the sight of her.
"What? It's comfortable" she defended.
Dinner was practically ready but Steve felt like making dessert too, so he pulled the flour and sugar and other ingredients out to make a cookie pie. While he was measuring things out she snuck up on him from behind and while he leaned to the right to mix the bowl, she leaned to the left, grabbed a handful of flour, and launched it towards the side of his neck. As it hit he slowly turned towards her, shock evident on his face. She laughed lightly and went to grab another handful but before she could reach the bag his hand grabbed out and caught hers in a tight grip, preventing her from attacking him again. His mind seemed to still be turning slowly, so she waited for him to catch up, eyebrow raised in a challenge. She stared straight at his face and so could see when he finally caught on to what was happening as his eyes glinted and lips turned into a playful smirk. Without releasing her wrist he reached behind him, grabbed an egg, and cracked it right on top of her head. Now it was her turn to be shocked.
"Oh. Two can play that game, Rogers." And with that, she slipped out of his grasp, grabbed the bag of flour and ducked behind the countertop.
He clicked his tongue. "Nat you know I know where you are."
Little did he know but he was playing right into her trap.
"Then come and get me, Rogers," she responded in a playfully flirty voice.
As he stepped around the edge of the counter to pelt her with another egg, she was too fast, and before he knew it he was covered in flour - again. He coughed before sighing. "You asked for it..." and then he ran full speed ahead but she dodged out of his grasp just as he was lunging at her.
He caught his balance. "Oh, so that's how it's gonna be?"
She just shrugged and raised her eyebrows in response as if to say yeah, and what are you gonna do about it?
She went to throw another handful of flour at him but he went into battle mode and slipped behind the couch. From his hiding spot, he prepped an egg and looked up quickly to try to spot her. He saw a flash of red hair ducking behind the island and smiled to himself. With as much silence as he could, he stood up, snuck forward, and launched the egg with precision towards where she was hidden. He heard it hit and her noise of surprise and quickly ran back to his hiding spot.
"That's it." And before he knew it flour was flying in the air towards him as she lifted herself up and over the island in one move. He dodged and threw eggs back at her but she wouldn't let up. Soon it turned into an all-out war that didn't end until they both ran out of ammo.
"Ugh. I'm out," she said mostly to herself.
She heard footsteps approaching from behind her and closed her eyes grimacing in expectation of another egg, but when she didn't feel anything come, she turned around to find him standing there, egg in hand, grinning like a maniac.
He opened his mouth to say "looks like I won" but she put her finger over his lips to silence him, then moved and quickly grabbed the egg out of his hand and smashed it over his head. His eyes widened comically and she threw her head back laughing.
"You were saying?"
He slumped his shoulders in defeat and pouted adorably.
"You win."
"That's right I do," she laughed lightly again before taking in the flour and egg now dropping down his face.
"How 'bout we clean you up and you can finish that food," she said with a pat on his cheek.
Of course, she wasn't done playing just head and went to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. He thought she was going to drink it until he felt the cold liquid pouring down his head and chest. He groaned and now it was Natasha's turn to grin maniacally. He turned around to face her and complain which is when she realized her plan kind of backfired. See, now Steve's white t-shirt was soaked, sticking to his chest and flour outlining his muscles even more. She gulped and looked away quickly, covering up with a quip
"Now you know never to mess with me Rogers"
He shook his head and looked around at the mess they'd made.
"Well. I'm going to clean this up, why don't you go get cleaned up and then we can actually eat the food."
"Aye aye Captain," she said in mock salute. "I'm gonna go take a shower, but you're still pretty filthy. You're welcome to join me, you know.." she finished suggestively.
She laughed loudly when his eyes widened and his face turned red.
"Just finish the food, Rogers. I'll be back soon. Try not to miss me too much," and with a wink, she sauntered off to her room.
Steve shook his head, what am I going to do with her, he thought.
When she came back the food was ready and he was miraculously somehow clean. They ate and of course the food was delicious and they were extra hungry from the delay their fight put on eating, so it was silent as they shoveled food into their mouths, save for a few moans from Natasha as she devoured the delicious meal. Each time, Steve blushed lightly and when she caught his eye (NO he had definitely not been staring) she winked and made him turn even redder and look down at the suddenly very interesting food on his plate.
After dinner, he cleaned up while she went to set up the movie, which he'd let her pick, and fluff up the pillows on the couch just the way they liked them. When he finished washing the dishes he walked into the movie room to find her sitting on the couch waiting. She looked up at him with an excited smile on her face and patted the spot next to her. He sat and she immediately crossed her legs over his as they got into their normal movie watching position.
"So what have you chosen for tonight, ma'am?"
"Okay I know it's cheesy but it's valentines eve... so. A rom-com. One of my favorites and you don't have to like it but you DO have to sit here. I honestly think it's funny and cute of course but pretty funny and -"
"Okay okay Nat, I'm sure I'll love it." He cut her off to reassure her.
"Okay," she smiled up at him sheepishly before pressing play.
The movie was very funny indeed but Steve had a hard time focusing on it when Natasha was acting much more ... friendly? tonight. He stretched his arm out and rested it on the couch behind her head not to make a move or anything but simply because he needed to stretch. She knew that, of course. Steve would never try any moves on her. But for some reason that night, with the movie and the adrenaline still rushing from the food fight and feeling full and satisfied from dinner, she was filled with a feeling of warmth.
So when the movie got a bit more lovey-dovey and the excitement and humor slowed down, she got tired and rested her head on his shoulder. He was so warm and comfortable and really made the best pillow, she thought. He looked down at her briefly before moving his arm to wrap around her waist and pull her closer to give her more comfort. She hummed in contentment and snuggled closer into his side. The second half of the movie went on like this and when it was finished he looked down at her, and sure enough, she was asleep. Her hair had fallen in front of her face so he gently pushed it back behind her ear before placing a small kiss on her hairline. At this, she stirred, stretching and yawning - cutely he thought.
He smiled at her, "ready for bed?"
She just smiled sheepishly and nodded, and he stood up to offer her his hand to take her to her room before he went to his.
She took it gladly and used it to lift herself off the couch. He escorted her to her room and made sure she got in okay
"I'm good, Steve," she said when she noticed his hovering. "Goodnight." She placed a kiss on his cheek - still a bit sleepy - before walking into her room and closing the door behind her.
His smile was one of adoration and he turned to walk to his room, going to bed with the warmth of newfound love.
When Steve awoke the next morning he was half expecting to feel gloom and dread now that he knew it was Valentine's Day, but he really didn't. Instead, he felt - happy? Thanks to last night he didn't feel so hopeless about love anymore. In fact thanks to Natasha he rather felt hopeful about finding love - with her.
So as he got ready for the day he put on an old Nat King Cole record. As it played he sang and danced along to it, as the song reflected the same hope that Steve now felt about love and life. All in all, he thought it wasn't going to be that bad of a day.
When Natasha woke up to the sound of music, she was a bit surprised. She heard the crooning of Nat King Cole and knew it could be coming from the room of none other than Steve Rogers. After learning he didn't have a date yesterday, she expected him to be a bit mopey today, thinking of his lost chance with Peggy. So when she heard the upbeat lovey-dovey music she was intrigued and got out of bed to wander up to his floor and see what was going on.
The sight that greeted her when she arrived was another pleasant surprise. She chuckled lightly and stood in the doorway watching as Steve danced around while getting his room ready. When the song stopped he turned her way to go flip the record and that's when he saw her - in just a silk nightgown, leaning against his doorframe sexily, but he doubted she even knew what she was doing.
Still a bit breathless from the dancing and singing, Steve approached her with a little wave. "Hi Nat," he breathed out with a genuine smile on his face.
She smiled back at him just the same.
"Happy Singles Awareness Day." She hadn't expected him to remember that either but of course he did, he's Steve. She laughed loudly. "You too my single friend." With that, he chuckled and motioned for her to come in and sit.
He flipped the record to put the music back on. "Wanna dance?" He asked with that charming boyish grin that she just couldn't resist. She rolled her eyes and smiled as he held out a hand for her to take. She did and before she knew it she was being spun around the room, literally swept off her feet by Steve Rogers. By the time it was finished they both were a little bit breathless and his hands on her waist held her in place as they rested their foreheads together, catching their breath. She was the first to laugh lightly, in awe of the utter innocence of the moment that had just passed. He smiled softly back at her with a sparkle in his eye that spread a warmth throughout her chest.
"Hey, Nat,"
"Hmm?"
"Will you be my valentine?"
She almost laughed at how cheesy he was but settled for a small chuckle before looking into his eyes and responding, "Yeah Steve, I'll be your valentine or whatever."
His smile was so big she thought his muscles might start spasming, but in all honesty, hers was just as brilliant.
He leaned forward to place a kiss on her forehead and she leaned into him, looking expectantly up at him.
"So does that mean we can't celebrate Singles Awareness Day anymore?" He almost pouted.
"Well, that depends," she responded. "Are we still single?"
He saw his chance and took it. "Not if I can help it." He swooped down to capture her lips in a kiss that they had both been longing to share for a while now. When they broke apart they were both smiling and out of breath.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Nat." He whispered against her lips.
He could feel her smile before she responded, "Happy Valentine's Day, Steve."
A/N: Have a wonderful day filled with as much love as these two share 333