Title: right where we're supposed to be
Rating: PG
Word Count: 800+
Characters: Steve/Natasha
Summary: Her eyes stare past her reflection in the glass at the black signatures at the corner of each card. Steve had cried when he signed them and she's the only one who'd been there.
Prompt: media. tumblr. moc/ tumblr _ m9rfxck3Ly1qhxhiz. jpg (switch "moc" to "com" and delete the spaces)
right where we're supposed to be
The formal funeral they have for Coulson is beautiful and silent and bittersweet, because they saved the world and he hadn't been there to see them finally come together as a team. Steve signed his vintage Captain America trading cards and Tony put them in a glass case in the Stark Tower, where they all live and can see it every day.
It's her favorite part of the Tower.
She takes a seat on the bench facing the display, folding one leg over the other. Her eyes stare past her reflection in the glass at the black signatures at the corner of each card. Steve had cried when he signed them and she's the only one who'd been there.
Why he had chosen to be with her for this moment, she has no idea, and it made her think absently about symbolism before she just dismissed it.
Sometimes things are better when you don't know the entire truth.
Just like the cards.
She knows that Coulson didn't really have them in his blazer when he'd gotten hurt. She'd worked with him for several years and just knew that he wouldn't have risked anything happening to them to carry them with him. Plus, he'd told her – well, she got him to admit it in so many words – that he was only going to take them out of his locker if and when Steve agreed to sign them. She knows that Fury made that up for them, and it a lot of ways, it's still the truth.
It's their truth.
"Is this seat taken, ma'am?"
Steve is standing there, still in his tux like she's still in her little black dress, and offers her a small smile.
"No, of course not," she says, and despite the entire length of the bench being empty, he takes the spot right beside her.
She doesn't mind it, though.
His eyes drift downward to where her hands are resting on her knee, one placed over the other, and she spreads her fingers a little to examine the silver nail polish. It matches her silver heels, and she doesn't really know why the color reminds her of Coulson, but it does and so she wanted to wear it for this occasion.
Then he looks ahead at the display and rubs his palms over the material of his pants, which she knows is in an attempt to try and release some of his nerves.
(Perhaps there are a few things about guys that even time can't change.)
"A lot's happened these past few weeks," he says kind of absently, eyes glancing at the cards for a bit before turning to look at her. "It's kind of crazy to be back."
"A lot's definitely happened to the world since you came out of the ice," she agrees.
He shakes his head a little.
"No. Well, yeah, that too," he corrects himself, "but I guess I meant that a lot's happened since I've decided to let myself live again." She meets his eyes and he shrugs. "I sort of just retreated into hiding when I was thawed from the ice. I didn't really become interested in this world again until Fury found me."
She allows a smile. "So do you like this world?"
"I actually haven't seen much of it," he admits with a chuckle. "Not in the way where you get to enjoy it."
"Well, you should," she tells him. "There are still plenty of beautiful things out there, regardless of all of the awful stuff."
He stares right at her when he says, "I know," and she wonders if he's willing to take a gamble on something that's so unlike what he'd grown to know. Then, as if he could tell what he was thinking about or maybe just knew, he adds, "If it wouldn't be too much, maybe you could show me around? You've probably seen more than anyone."
And well, yes, she has, but instead of telling him that certain parts of the world she's seen probably weren't meant to be looked at, she says, "I'd be honored."
He smiles at her as he stands up, and when he offers her a hand, she lets herself take it.
"You know, the city is beautiful at night."
Steve furrows his eyebrows a little. "Tony tells me that it's also pretty dangerous, even more so than when I lived in it."
She smiles. "What kind of a tour guide would I be if I didn't protect you?"
He chuckles a little, and as they're walking towards the elevator, she glances over her shoulder at the cards again and thinks that she has to take Steve to that little collectibles shop downtown that's practically a museum to Captain America. Coulson would've wanted her to.