"So, here's a funny thing I realized." Natasha said, pacing across the large room, dressed down to a white tank top and some yoga pants that was sturdy and comfortable at the same time. She's been in Wakanda less than a day and she was beginning to really love it here. Steve was on one of the single beds, and looked smaller somehow, now that she could see the black and blue bruises on his torso, wincing at every slight movement. He'll get over it soon enough of course, with his super recovery thing. In the morning he'll be good as new, the bad guys will have a lot of ass-kicking to take.
He looked up, struggling to get into a clean top and she walked over to lend a hand. "What's the funny thing you realized?"
Natasha helped his arms slip into the shirt holes, "That Bruce called you?"—she looked up, straight into his blue eyes and watched his features change. She could be wrong, but there was definitely a blush on his cheeks. "You must have known he was back." Her mouth curved into a teasing smile, testing him. "—aaaaaand, you didn't tell me."
Steve ducked his head and sighed, taking a few steps back. "Yeah, I did…" he trailed off, "But with everything that's happened, with Wanda and Vision…I realized I forgot to tell you about it until he was right there. Bruce."
Nat shrugged, "Oh okay. Because if I knew better I'd say you were jealous."
"Oh, pfft." Steve chuckled, shaking his head. "Why would I…no, I'm not…well, you were a bit sad when he left. He seemed like…well you did like him. I-I saw the way you looked at him all those years ago and…but it's…of course I'm not jealous."
"You're talking too much, Rogers." She stifled a laugh as he inched closer, putting one hand on his cheek gently. "You said it yourself. It was years ago. And we were…compromised by Wanda, I think that had something to do with it. Point is, whether my feelings for Bruce were real or not, that's all in the past now. He's a good friend."
"Like I'm your friend?" He smirked, putting both hands on her hips.
She rolled her eyes and kissed him on the mouth. Man, it felt like forever since she last kissed him like that—passionate, with the hair tugging and back scratching and all the stuff those chick flicks are made of—stolen pecks on the cheek on the very rare moments they're alone just don't cut it.
"I don't kiss my friends like that."