Author's Note: I often wondered about the things that Steve, Natasha, Sam, and Wanda did and went through all those years between Civil War and Infinity War. Ithink there could be loads of things that could have happened within that gap period and the most beautiful thing that could was Steve and Natasha finally falling for each other :)The following story happened after Civil War, pretending for a moment that Infinity War never happened haha!
It's finally over. The days of them being fugitives were over and they were back home, in the Avengers Facility, enjoying the things they have missed in the past several years - comfortable beds, which they don't have to share anymore, good coffee, hot shower, and the company of people who didn't want their heads on a plate to serve to Ross.
As a trained spy, paranoia had been ingrained in her instincts since she was young. It was something she wasn't exactly proud of it but was something she was grateful to have, especially that it proved to be very handy when they were on the run. And for the first time in a long while, Natasha finally relaxed, she finally can close her eyes, lower her guard a little bit, and shut off her senses for a good night's sleep. When she plopped herself on her bed again on the first night they were back, she almost cried at the feel of the silky sheets, the fluffy pillow, and soft mattress. She wouldn't miss those sleepless nights they had on their makeshift cots on the quinjet's floor or on those squeaky and filthy mattresses of fleabag motels they hid in. She wouldn't miss any of those, except for one. Steve lying next to her.
During those times when Wanda was away for weeks to secretly spend time with Vision, she, Steve, and Sam would rent a motel room within at least a five-mile radius from where the super-bot and witch would meet. And since they were strapped for cash, they could only pay for one room. With her training from the Red Room, Natasha didn't have too much inhibitions, so sharing a room with two guys wasn't a big deal for her. But it was - for Steve. The first time they checked in a motel, the room had two twin-sized beds. Naturally, Natasha had one of the beds to herself while Steve and Sam shared the other.
"Are you sure?" Natasha asked, her eyebrow raised and her arms crossed on her chest. She looked at Steve and Sam standing by the foot of the bed, staring at its size.
"Yeah," Steve said, sounding optimistic. "As you know, I'm very nimble."
Natasha laughed.
"Just don't make it weird, man," Sam joked. Sam plopped down on the bed, making the springs squeak in anger underneath him.
"You know, he's seen Brokeback Mountain," Natasha revealed flatly. Sam's eyes widened in surprised. He looked at Steve with jaws dropped and saw him with a proud smirk on his face followed by a casual shrug of his shoulders.
"That wasn't weird, Nat, you know that. That was love," Steve teased Natasha then turned to Sam, "She made me watch it. I didn't get it at first, but I did, eventually. Yeah, I think I got it."
Sam laughed out loud and Natasha winked at Steve with pride. When Fury told her to babysit Steve and help him adjust to the modern world, she took the job seriously. She knew Steve's education had to go beyond catch up in current affairs and introductions to pop culture, and that it included orientations to changes in human norms, and she used every teaching tool she could get her hands on, including during downtime in between mission they binged-watch TV series, did movie-marathons, from classic ones, cult favorites, to dumb, loud, weird ones that confused the shit out of Steve.
That night, after putting up their regular nightly security measures and checks, they went to sleep. Well, Steve tried. Falling asleep wasn't a problem for Sam, but staying asleep was. So despite the muscle cramps, Steve spent most of the night trying to lie still so as not to wake up his friend. At one point he managed to turn to his other side, stopping for a second when Sam shifted a little too. When Sam became still again, Steve fully turned to his other side, facing Natasha's bed.
"You two look cute there… snug like two bugs in a rug," Natasha whispered with a teasing smirk on her lips. Steve mouthed 'shut up' at her and she stifled a laugh. She then sighed silently and quietly looked at him again. Steve gave her one of his dopey smiles that she always found comforting. It was her reminder that they were okay, that things could have been worse but weren't because she was with her friends.
Natasha pulled up her covers and gave Steve an inviting nod. Steve's eyebrows raised in question. Still holding her covers up, she slowly moved further in the bed to show Steve that there was more room for him there than where he currently was. Steve hesitated for a moment. But then Sam turned again that Steve could feel his friend's breath on the back of his neck. Steve shuddered and slowly got out of their bed then tiptoed towards Natasha's. He slipped under the covers and lay on his back. He looked at Sam and smiled to see him sprawled, face down now and all over the bed. He then turned his head to Natasha and found her green eyes staring at him.
Natasha smiled softly then whispered, "good night, old man." With one last smile she turned to her other side to face the wall, her back to Steve. In less than ten minutes, they were both asleep.
Over the succeeding months, Wanda and Vision's secret meetings became more and more frequent. Natasha didn't fully approve of it but she felt sad for Wanda. It seemed like it was Wanda's sole source of respite amidst the starkness of their situation. So despite the risks and dangers, against her better judgement, agreed to it and even convinced Steve to let Wanda go, with the condition that they would follow her and stay at arm's length. Sam was more than happy to agree too because it forced them to stay in motels in towns more often where it kind of became an unsaid arrangement already among the three of them that Natasha and Steve would share a common sleeping space and Sam would have one all for himself.
"Hey, it's a win-win for all of us," Sam teased them one time.
And so now, even though she's safely back in the Facility, in her own bed, in her favorite pajamas, Natasha still couldn't sleep. She kept tossing and turning, the empty spaces on her bed making her anxious, more anxious than those nights on foreign lands and dirty motels. Natasha knew why but she didn't know what to do. Actually, she did know what to do, she just wasn't sure if it was right. She took deep big breaths as she stared at the ceiling. The clock's ticking seconds hand echoed in her ears, making her even more restless. She squeezed her eyes shut and clutched her sheets.
"To hell with it!" Natasha exclaimed, her voice determined. She pushed her covers away, slipped on his fluffy, furry slippers and walked to her door. Surrendering to her heart's desire, she opened her door and stepped into the hallway.
The hallway was dark and still. She slowly walked towards the door at the end of the hallway and stood in front of it for a moment. She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath then raised her hand to knock on the door. But before her fist came in contact with the wood, the knob turned and the door swung open, revealing Steve on the other side. He was in a shirt and shorts, his hair tousled at the back of his head, and his eyes looked tired. He let out a short gasped to see her there but one look at her green eyes and he knew. If walls truly could talk, then the walls of their rooms would have the same story to tell.
Natasha held her breath, lowered her hands and stood there, trembling a bit. Her nerves were shaking, her knees wobbling a bit, and she could hear her heart pounding in her ears. She looked up at Steve and gave him a soft, embarrassed smile, hoping that she didn't need to utter any words to explain her presence there. She sighed a huge relief when Steve broke the silence.
"I know. Me neither," Steve said with a shy smile. He opened his door further and held out his hand to her. A huge, pleased smile crossed Natasha's face as she took his hand and followed him inside. The moment the door shut close, Natasha's doubt, whether it was wrong or right, disappeared. All she knew was that nothing else seemed to matter every time Steve's arms would drape around her and that all the worries of the world just vanish whenever she pressed her cheek on his chest because all that she could is his heart beating, lulling her away into bliss.