AN: Hey everyone. I was a little hesitant on writing an Avengers story because I'm really scared of being out of character but I decided to do it anyways. Please let me know what you think. Should I continue or abandon ship? Enjoy.

Chapter 1:

To the world he was Captain America - the world's most selfless hero. To her, he was Steve Rogers - a royal pain in her ass. She should be on a mission or at least training for her next mission but instead here she was in the hospital staring at her partner who was passed out. It has been a few days since he has been unconscious and it was her fault. He was here because he had tried to save her. They were on a mission and things went south. She was ambushed by countless men and like the hero he was, he jumped in and intervened. Thus resulting in him being the one in the hospital bed instead of her.

She sat beside his bed with his hand in hers. His face was covered in cuts and bruises.

"You're such an idiot Rogers. Selfless asshole" she sighed.

This has been the routine since he's been in the hospital. She was there everyday, sitting for hours beside him, just hoping he would finally wake up so she could curse him out. She was beyond furious with him. Why would he put his life on the line for her? She was the black widow. She could take care of herself. She never needed a man to save her or anyone for that matter. Especially Captain America. Although she was upset, a larger part of her was worried and felt an extreme amount of guilt. After all the years they have worked together, they had become extremely close. Besides, Clint - Natasha considered Steve her best friend. A person she could trust with her life and more importantly a person she cared immensely for which was completely out of her character. She wasn't programmed to care. The red room made sure of that. Yet here she was.

She could feel tears start to form but she held them back. The black widow does not let her emotions get the best of her. At least not in was no way she was going to let herself be this vulnerable in the open. She got up and decided it was time to go home. This was becoming too much for her to handle.


The next few days Natasha indulged into some hardcore training. She refused to go back to the hospital because she needed the space to clear her head. The more busy she was, the less she felt like an emotional train wreck. Instead of her physically visiting, the other teammates would take turns going to the hospital and sending her updates on the golden boy. Whenever one of the guys would ask her why she didn't come see for herself, she would simply reply that she was busy and that was that. No one dared to press the issue.

When she finally learned that he was awake, she was ecstatic. It was as if the weight on her chest had finally lifted and she was more than happy to volunteer herself to be the one to pick him up from the hospital. She wasted no time getting into her car and racing to the hospital. On the way there, she contemplated what she was going to say to him. She was still very much upset that he was so reckless with his own life even though she was happy that he was okay. When she got to his room she saw him with a very displeased face. She stood by the door observing him.

"Doctor, I feel fine"

"Mr. Rogers, you are healing unusually fast but you are still hurt."

Before Steve could protest, a glimpse of red hair caught his eye. There she stood with a smirk on her face.

"Hey old man"

She walked toward him and gently sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed his hand.

"Hey Nat" he said with a big smile spread across his face.

Instead of the warm gesture he was expecting to get next, she ended up plunking him hard right on his forehead.

"Hey! What gives!" he yelled at her while rubbing the sore spot on his forehead.

"That was for you being such a dumbass." She pulled her hand away and gave him a glare.

"What are you talking about?" He was so confused. Sometimes she was like a sour patch kid. One minute she was holding his hand and the next she was being scolding him for whatever it was he did or didn't do.

She stood up making sure to show her dominance in the situation. He could see it in her eyes that she was not happy with him. What could he have done to make her this upset? He just woken up from a coma for god's sake.

"What's wrong Nat?"

He tried to grab her hand but she moved back - crossing her arms.

"Why did you do it?"

"Why did I do what?"

"Push me out of the way! Why in the hell did you do that for?" her eyes were glaring at him.

"Because you were in the way. There was no way you were going to be able to dodge in time. I don't understand why you're so -"

"Mad? You don't understand why I'm so mad? I don't need you to come to my rescue. I'm not one of those damsels in distress. If you haven't noticed I can take care of myself just fine!"

"I never said you were a damsel in distress. I know you can take care of yourself. I just saw you in harm's way and I reacted. Sorry for saving your life" his tone was a bit more harsh than he meant it but he couldn't understand why she was mad at him. He saved people. It was in his DNA. When there's danger, he does what he feels is necessary.

He tried to get out of bed to stand up to be on the same level as her but he winced in pain instead which caused her to glare at him even more.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing Rogers?"

"I'm trying to be on eye level with you so I can calm you down" he let the breath he was holding out when he settled back down and the pain eased. After a minute of her glaring, he sighed in defeat. None of this made sense and he knew there was nothing he could at that moment to defuse the situation.

"Why are you angry that I saved your life?" he asked in a genuinely confused tone.

She stared at him in disbelief. Without another word she turned and stormed right out the door. She could hear him calling out for her but she refused to go back. She was beyond upset. She was mad that he didn't understand why she was mad - mad that she couldn't get him to understand why she was mad but more importantly she was mad that she was even mad to begin with. He was fine now but the only thing in the back of her mind was what if. Knowing him, this wouldn't be the last time he risks his life for her. What if next they weren't so lucky and he ended up not being okay? That was not something she wanted on her conscious.