I don't really know where I'm going with this story yet. It sort of depends on the response I get. I would like to thank my awesome beta CardiffDoll. She's basically the person who gotten me into Steve/Natasha with her two stories. I would definitely recommend that you check them out. I hope you enjoy reading my story.
Steve Rogers sat alone in his small apartment as he ate dinner. Normally he was used to the silence but tonight he was feeling especially lonely. His small apartment was neat yet barren because he still hadn't gotten used to the changes that had occurred in the last seventy years. This wasn't exactly how he pictured his future. For one he didn't belong in this decade. He had pictured a wife and kids at home in a cookie cutter house in the 1940's and 1950's, but he knew that what he pictured back then had to be left in the past. He doubted he would ever get married. How was he supposed to relate to any of the girls in this day and age? They weren't into the same things as him and he wouldn't be able to relate to them. The guys had taken him out one night and all the girls he met were awful. The girls were loud, obnoxious and their promiscuous behavior disgusted him. One girl, that had been giggling with her group of friends came up to him and asked him if she could take ride. Thinking she meant a riding his motorcycle he agreed, until Tony took him aside and explained to him what she really meant. Not only that even if he found someone he liked he would have to keep his past a secret. He hated the fact that he had to lie even to his future significant other. Besides he had left his soul mate in the past. His only love was now long gone. It hurt to think about Peggy and the very last conversation they had before his fighter plane crashed into the ocean and freezing him solid for seventy years. Steve stared down at his plate of congealed pasta and tomato sauce he had attempted to make for himself. Living without someone to take care of him had been especially tough. He had never learned to cook because back then that was the women's job. While he was glad that women were no longer expected to be in the kitchen, he wasn't used to cooking for himself.
Picking at the overcooked pasta with his fork he finally gave up and tossing his dinner in the garbage and placing his plate in the sink; he really didn't know why he even bothered cooking. Before he left to find something edible he took his jacket with him because he was expecting a cold evening. He walked to a burger joint that was across the street from his apartment. Steve lived near a wide variety of restaurants but he usually played it safe and only ate what he was used to. Tonight he wasn't feeling very adventurous and burgers would be perfect. Ordering his food, he waited quietly until it was ready, at which point he sat down to eat.
Natasha collapsed onto her couch in exhaustion. She had just had to fight an armful of security guards to arrest a former SHIELD employee who was distributing top secret information. She loved her job but sometimes the physical aspects of it were demanding and at the end of the day she was usually exhausted. Natasha closed her eyes and wanted to fall asleep right then and there. She was too tired to care whether or not she was fully clothed and wearing shoes. It was 9:00 and she was starving yet her exhausted body simply wanted to remain on the couch. Her hunger got her attention and she opened her eyes as she thought about her options. She knew at this point there was no way was going to cook anything, so next best option was to order pizza. When she called the pizzeria the woman on the other line informed Natasha that it would take at least half an hour to deliver her pizza to her. Natasha decided the wait was too long and she thought about her options. She could drive down to a local Chinese food restaurant, eat and be back in half an hour. Since she was already dressed she decided to just make the trek down to the Chinese restaurant.
When she arrived outside the restaurant the delicious smell of the food seduced her sense and she hurried inside. The bell on the door chimed to indicate that there was a new customer and a man quickly went up to her and lead her to her table. Since she was a regular she didn't even look at the menu as she ordered egg rolls and sweet and sour shrimp. She wanted her food to come out here as fast as possible and she certainly didn't have time to try new things. The last time she had eaten was at lunch and now it was almost 9:30 in the evening. Natasha was starving and when her egg rolls came out she felt like she was in heaven. Dipping her egg roll in some sauce that came with her dish she bit into its crispy exterior. By the time she was done with her egg rolls (which wasn't very long), she saw the waiter heading her way with her plate of steamed rice with sweet and sour shrimp. By the time Natasha had finished paying for dinner it was well past 10:00 and it was time for her to head home. She walked out of the restaurant on to the dimly lit street when she thought she saw someone familiar in the corner. A brawny man with neat hair in a leather jacket was leaving a burger joint with a bag of food.
She walked up to him as he was looking for his keys to his motorcycle in the inside of his leather jacket's pocket. "Hello Steve, what brings you here?
"Hello Natasha." Steve looked slightly puzzled. "I didn't know you lived around here." He didn't think anyone he knew lived around here. The only reason he was living here was because he had declined Tony Stark's offer of living in the Avengers Tower. He usually enjoyed being alone but tonight he was feeling lonesome and Natasha's presence was most welcome.
"Yeah I live five minutes away by car. I just came down here for dinner," she replied. "What, so you live here? I thought you were going to live at the Avengers Tower?"
"I was but Tony and I have our differences and I sort of don't really feel like I'm in sync with the rest of the team." Steve respected Tony as a teammate but sometimes his jeers about Steve's past were too much. He didn't think he could last one day living under Tony's roof, no matter how many floors they gave him.
"I'm sorry." Natasha could see that Steve felt out of place and she felt partially at fault. She hadn't exactly helped; she remembered seeing Steve by himself on a couple of occasions. She had always assumed he enjoyed being alone. They were both silent for a moment and Natasha tried to find something to say. "Why don't we find somewhere to talk?" Natasha rarely talked to Steve, unless it was something Avengers related. They worked well with each other but only spoke to each other when they had to. She had never really paid any attention to Steve because she had always felt they had little in common.
"Where do you want to go?" He had definitely noticed that Natasha spent more time with the other guys than him. The other guys could all talk to her with ease, but Steve wasn't so lucky. He had always trouble conjuring up the strength to talk to women and not make a fool out of himself. After his body's transformation women began noticing and he was faced with talking to them. Most of the time women were too mesmerized with his appearance to care or even notice that he was making a complete fool out of himself.
Natasha bit her lip as she thought about an appropriate place to go for them to talk. His or her apartments were definitely out. She didn't want to give Steve the wrong idea or anything. Besides they just wanted to talk any casual place would work. She spotted a park that was well lit by street lights. "How about we just talk a walk in that small park? Maybe we'll find a bench."
"That would be fine." He prayed that tonight he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of Natasha. Natasha would probably notice if he said something stupid because she wasn't the type to only pay attention to his appearance. She was a spy after all and nothing missed her attention.
This was Natasha's chance to really get to know Steve so that they could become better friends. She had always felt distant from Steve and their occasional conversations were always "work" related. She wanted them to become more than co-workers.
While they walked over to the park they were both silent. The air was cold and crisp; the sound of the wind rustling some leaves was the only sound they heard. They weren't so sure what to talk about or how to start off exactly. They were silent while they walked over to a small park bench. Both of them were trying to think of something to say to get the conversation started. They sat down on the park bench and their eyes met. For some reason Natasha couldn't make herself look away even though she knew it was making Steve a little uncomfortable. These types of awkward situations were what made Steve stumble over his words and make a fool out of himself. Natasha smiled a little when she saw Steve flush red as he looked away. During the short time they had spent together Natasha had never really paid any attention to Steve; he was the brawny man with a plan. She had always known he was attractive but it wasn't until now she really noticed him.
"Do I make you uncomfortable?" Natasha asked. She already knew the answer but she really didn't know what else to say to start the conversation. She had a couple of questions she really wanted to ask that would help them get more familiar.
"No, it's just that I'm not very good at talking to beautiful women." Steve looked more embarrassed than ever. He cursed the street light that was near their bench that made every shade of his face quite visible.
"You don't have to feel uncomfortable around me Steve. We're friends and I want to get to know you better." Natasha had been told by many different men that she was pretty but it felt much more sincere coming from Steve. Like Steve, she had been given a sort of serum to help keep her looking young. They both had been modified by some sort of serum in some way. Their beauty was superficial and neither of them was very flattered when people commented on their physical beauty. Suddenly she started noticing things about Steve that she'd never really paid any attention to maybe because she'd never been up close to him. She started noticing the color of his eyes and the bashful way he smiled when he was embarrassed.
"What do you want to know?" he asked. Natasha had been busy staring at him and she suddenly remembered she had wanted to ask him a couple things. She wasn't used to being this careless; it must be because of the rough day at SHIELD she thought.
"You don't mind if I'm direct or I ask about details from your past or anything?" She had to admit she was curious about Steve and his past.
He took a deep breath, "I don't mind just as long as we both have the same definition of direct."
Natasha frowned a little, "What do you mean by that?"
Steve looked embarrassed, "Well Tony said the same thing and then he asked me a question about..." Steve stopped talking. There was no way he could even tell Natasha what Tony had asked him.
"No need to tell me. I'm going to guess it's something only Tony would ask or even think up for that matter." Natasha felt sorry for poor Steve. Natasha wondered what Tony could have possibly come up with to make Steve look so embarrassed at the mere thought.
Steve laughed wearily, "Yeah Tony, he sure is some character."
"He can be a bit of an ass but you'll get used to him. He always likes to be the center of attention. When I was assigned to spy on him as "Natalie Rushmore" his new personal assistant, he kept trying to find ways to impress me. From my experience Tony singles out a person for his insults when he's jealous of them. He's probably jealous that his father liked you better than him." Steve was surprised about learning that she once worked for Tony as his assistant on a mission and right when he was about to ask her about it, Natasha yawned tiredly. It was now almost eleven and her exhaustion was becoming more and more apparent.
"You look tired. Do you want to start heading back?" Steve asked. "I can walk you back to your car," he said automatically. Even though he knew she would be fine walking in the dark to her car he felt like it was the right thing for him to offer.
"It is getting pretty late. I haven't forgotten about all my questions, and we really should meet up some time to talk and get to know each other better." Steve might have been able to avoid her questions tonight but she was determined to get to know him better. If this was a mission for SHIELD then Steve would be her new target and person of interest.
"How about tomorrow at 6? We could go to that coffee shop over there." He pointed to a coffee shop across the street. The coffee shop was run down yet very cozy. It had several comfortable chairs that would be perfect for drinking coffee and having a conversation.
"I'll see you then," she replied. Steve walked Natasha to her car and they said their goodnights. While she drove home and made a mental note to write down everything she wanted to ask Steve just in case she forgot. Much to her surprise and to her concern Steve was really growing on her. Who knew, she might just have a crush on Captain America.
Please review! I would really appreciate it if you reviewed and told what you think! Let me know if I made any errors. Thanks for reading.