***A/N: This is creative filler for me while I still do research on fight scenes for "I Will Always Find You." Here I explore the idea of hooking up without any expectations, and how sometimes you just don't know how a relationship will unfold, if at all. One-shot for now while I figure out how to develop this story more.***

Tony Stark's lavish annual New Years' Eve bash was the first time that Natasha Romanoff and James Barnes admitted their attraction for each other. Was it out of an innate physical desire? Was there something more? Neither one of them could figure out the answer; indeed, neither one of them cared at the time to even search for it. All they really needed to know was that she found him irresistible, and that he enjoyed the way her tight clothes highlighted her curves. The abundance of alcohol that Tony always provided at his parties certainly helped to move things along, too.

So when James, champagne glass in hand, approached Natasha from behind her and wrapped his arm around her hips, to signal to her that he wanted "a little privacy" with her, she didn't protest, but giddily ran with him to a secluded room in Tony's mansion where they could be alone and enjoy each other's physical company undisturbed. She appreciated how he looked with his shirt off and the feelings of warmth and cold from his arms. He delighted in the view of her long shapely legs and the feel of them when they spread around him.

They weren't even embarrassed when Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's secretary, walked in on them cuddled next to each other, completely naked on the floor. They just laughed at being caught red-handed. The reality was that they were two consenting adults having a good time. They both agreed that commitment was not something that fit them well. They could hang out with each other and see other people, too, if they chose to, and when necessary, break things off. They would call each other at any time, if they felt the urge to, and they would meet.

However, after months of secret dalliances, their arrangement mysteriously changed. Natasha had been perfectly okay where she was, until she sensed that something was different for James, and that was the exact moment when he chose to disappear. The arrangement, the one that Natasha had been used to, was thrown into disarray. Out of panic, she even called James's phone almost every day, but he never picked up. Natasha wondered what had gone wrong. Why did James refuse to talk to her? She began to overanalyze everything: maybe he was just feeling sick? Was there someone else? Surely, he was just on vacation…but then why didn't he tell her about it?

"No commitment, right?" Natasha reminded herself. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

But what surprised Natasha most was that she actually liked having James around, much more than the other men she spent time with.

When James returned, he came back with a chilling message. "Natasha, I can't do this anymore."

He explained to Natasha that in the months they spent together, they had always been on the same page about everything until the day he vanished. She never changed; he did. Because of where they stood, James knew he shouldn't be jealous whenever she was with other men, but he felt it all the same. He did enjoy their hookups, but it wasn't the same anymore and he decided to take time alone to figure out why. That's why he didn't pick up her calls for weeks, because in that time, he had come to the realization that what he wanted from her, or anyone else, really, was a bona fide relationship. He assured her that he wasn't going to push her in a specific direction, because this is her decision as well, what she wants to do, and he knows how much she hates commitment. All she needed to tell him was "no," and he'd be on his way.

Instead of doing what James expects (for the rest of his life, James will learn the many ways in which Natasha will never do what he thinks she will do), Natasha makes a risky choice. To his surprise, she says a few simple words that will permanently alter the course of their relationship with each other.

"OK, then, James Barnes. I'll be your girlfriend."