Five minutes turned to an hour and a half of dreamless sleep, and while Steve knew that Tony was breaking Harlem with everyone else, he couldn't bring himself to pull Natasha from her slumber. Her arms were tightly wound around his waist, her cheek pressed across his chest. He didn't know what to do - that much was certain. Natasha had always amazed him; he wasn't afraid of her, as he knew many were, but there was still something about the woman wrapped around him that made him...feel this way...different. He tried to avoid it after Ultron, now he couldn't - not after how terribly he had missed her company.
She was beautiful. She was intelligent. She was smart. All that was painfully evident, but Steve had the distinct pleasure of seeing a vulnerable Natasha not too long ago. It made him want to never lose the friendship and understanding and trust they had come to build. And while he definitely did not want to read anything into it, having her sleep here with him, use him as a human sized pillow was daunting. He witnessed her get over - what he imagined - was the closest she would ever get to a romantic disappointment. But, he helped her through it, spending as much time together as possible and learning from each other the homes they could build through their trust and friendship.
"Nat…" he called slowly. She simply held on tighter. Sighing, Steve lifted her fingers, one by one, slowly off of his chest and moved slightly. Seeing that Natasha hadn't responded, Steve tried again, sliding off his bed and cradling her head so that it would rest comfortably on his actual pillow. Happy that he didn't disturb her, he walked over to his forgotten bags from last night and began arranging his clothing where they belonged, ever so careful not to make a sound. Once he finished with his closet, he walked over to his bathroom. Placing all the toiletries in their rightful place, he brushed his teeth, inspected his now-healed wound, took a shower, combed his hair - all in perfect order until he was, as usual, crisp and clean. Wrapped in a towel that hung on his hips, he peeked out from his bathroom doorway and found Natasha as he had left her. Slowly he opened the door and walked over to his closet as quietly as possible to get dressed. He enjoyed a few minutes of silence as he pulled on his jeans and a freshly laundered gray t-shirt, routine things to stop the thoughts that didn't necessarily need to be there - thoughts revolving around her. Steve opened the door of his closet and was faced with a very awake Natasha leaning casually against the door frame.
"Are you always this considerate with the women that sleep in your bed?" she asked, starting him. She had meant to do so, having been awake since he got up. She watched him as he arranged his room, stealing glances over to her as she pretended to be asleep. She heard the water running and saw him peek through the doorway. Her heart stopped a little when he emerged with only a towel around his hips, hair slightly damp from his shower. She smiled when he walked into his closet and shut the door, forever the gentleman.
However, the question seemed to startle even her, as she waited patiently for an answer her wide smile became ever more forced. The thought of women in his bed wasn't something she really wanted to think about so early...or ever.
"I'm sorry that I woke you," he said, blushing as his eyes trailed down to admire her in full - she was still only wearing the t-shirt he had loaned her the night before. He had to focus and say something. "I tried to be as quiet as possible. Apparently I didn't have to be."
"It that a yes?"
"You will not start setting me up on dates again."
"You never went on any of them? Did you call the nurse?"
"She wasn't a nurse."
"Yeah, and you're avoiding."
"No" Steve said, grabbing his shoes and sitting by the bed to put them on. Natasha stood before him, as casual as ever, making it hard not to look at the toned curve of her legs.
"No, you aren't considerate with every woman in your bed…" she smiled, her eyes twinkling with unadulterated amusement, "Or no you never called the nurse?"
"No, I didn't call the nurse. I was busy looking for a long lost friend I thought had died. Before that, I was trying to avoid a crazed A.I. try to destroy the planet by throwing a city sized meteor at it. Before that, oh yeah, looking for the lost friend. And as for the other question…" he said, "You don't have access to that sort of information."
Two can play this game.
Steve stood and started fixing the covers of his bed, making sure that his pillows were nicely pressed and propped at the head of his bed. Natasha sighed exaggeratedly and walked over to the other side of the bed. Without her devilishly gorgeous smirk from fading, she started helping with the covers.
"Are you going to turn around when I get dressed?"
"Yes"
"Okay," she said, her smile getting bigger, "Turn around. In the meantime, let me in on our plan of attack. How are we going to shut Stark up?"
"I was kind of relying on your death glare for that...playing it cool might be a little out of my reach."
"Death glares worked this morning, why not again...right?"
"Right"
The right they had agreed on before heading to the lobby blew up in their faces as soon as the elevator doors opened.
Of course Of course Of course
Of course they were greeted by the wide, playful sets of eyes from Tony, Clint, and Maria - all huddled around the island counter, coffee cups in hand, gossiping at a careful whisper. Steve sighed and shrugged.
"Okay, maybe I will have to play it cool."
"Yeah...it'll be fun."
"Captain...Little Red" Tony said. His too-sassy smirk hit them both straight in the face as Steve and Natasha walked over to the group.
"Good morning," Steve said, walking over to grab a cup of coffee knowing he'd need it. He felt Natasha close to him. Mirroring his actions, she grabbed a cup.
"Do you take yours with anything?" She asked, reaching for the sugar or cream. Steve shook his head.
"You?"
"Same" she said, holding her cup out to him to fill.
"Oh, so you guys are finally like a thing now, huh?" Clint said.
"Here come the death glares…" Tony whispered, earning a back-handed shoulder slap from Maria.
"Actually…" Steve said, taking a sip from his coffee, "We thought you guys already knew."
Watching Tony and Clint spit out their coffee in surprise was enough for Natasha to know it was going to be a great day.
"I told you - cough it up!" Tony said, hand out towards Barton. Maria shook her head laughing and turned to Steve and Natasha.
"They placed their bets seconds before you guys got here."
"Well then," Natasha said, reaching over to take the two hundred dollar bills that Clint was offering to Tony, "I suppose this belongs to us then."
"No, no, no…" they both whined as Natasha turned to Steve.
"Looks like now we have something to do, sweetheart, let's go have breakfast."
"So much for playing it cool," Steve said. There was a laughter in his voice that made Natasha's heart flutter slightly. "You pick."
"Hey...wait a sec...so what is going on with you guys?" Maria asked, Tony and Clint behind her, as Steve and Natasha made their way to the elevator.
"What, can't two hungry people go have breakfast?" Steve said, grabbing Natasha's hand with surprising ease, "See you guys later."
Natasha froze for a moment, feeling Steve's hand in her small one. It felt good. It felt like something she always wanted to feel. His hands. Shaking off her initial state of shock and giddiness, she followed him to the elevator, mentally picturing the looks of shock from Maria, Tony and Clint.
Once the elevator doors opened, Pepper appeared. She smiled, her face looking still slightly tired and pale from last night's drinking.
"Good morning, Nat...Steve" she said.
"Morning...we'll be back later, Pepper," Nat said, as they both stepped onto the elevator. She didn't miss the double take that Pepper did as she actually noticed what was going on around her.
"Wait, Steve, you're back! Why are they holding hands? Wait, what?"
But, sadly the doors closed before both Steve and Natasha could continue enjoying the looks of their friends. Steve let go of her hand as soon as the doors closed, and she wasn't ignoring the feelings of loss at not having the innocent contact with him.
"That was better than playing it cool. It actually shut them up enough for us to get away from that."
"And we got two hundred dollars out of it," Nat said, smiling. "Nice move, Captain. It may be restricted information for me, but I can piece the clues together. Let me guess, the too-smooth-for-your-own-good deal came with the serum, as well?"
"No teasing from you, too, Nat," he said, looking over to her, that playful look in his eye and laughter in his voice still very much alive - much to Natasha's pleasure, "You're my only escape from those guys."
And if the entire morning wasn't enough to melt Natasha, those words effectively did.
Breakfast was lighthearted, fun, and comfortable - something either Avenger was not used to but needed and enjoyed. Natasha found herself in a state of bliss as she fell deeper and deeper into her Steve conundrum. She didn't know what these feelings were - she didn't understand them, but she understood him. That was enough for her. The peace and comfort they had carefully built at the new Avengers facility was not forgotten. Easily, they slipped back into it.
Meanwhile, Steve found himself in a place he hadn't felt in 70 years - home. He knew that if anyone was going to make him feel that way, it would have been Natasha, what he didn't expect was for him to feel it so quickly, so naturally, as if he had known her all his long, long life. This is what it was like to have a life, to have friendships that were worth everything. To Steve, nothing could have felt better.
Breakfast turned into a quest for Natasha to find her Captain a bit of variety to his wardrobe. After assuring him, more than necessary, that what he had looked good, she did make a point that t-shirts, jeans, khakis, and plaid button downs were not going to be enough if you were living with Tony Stark. There would be balls, and parties, and charity events that would always require an Avengers appearance. Steve didn't mind. It was more time to spend with her - alone.
She noticed the blush in his chiseled face when they took the escalators down to the lower floor at the mall. He noticed when she blushed as he stepped out of the fitting rooms, dressed in a navy blue suit and tie.
She noticed him taking a bit more liberty, touching her shoulder as he pointed to something across the building. He noticed the eagerness she had wanting to extend their outing, preferring to visit another shop, a walk to another store, instead of heading back to the tower.
The bubble they had created burst when Steve received a text message from Tony urging him to meet him at the lab.
"You think it's just a ploy to get me to talk?"
"Well, I'm sure Captain America is immune to bribery and mind-numbing science talk. I think you'll be safe."
"Right. And if Stark actually does need me there, I can make sure he doesn't get the whole team into trouble with some questionable invention."
"Too bad we'll have to skip on the movie...it was going to start soon."
"We'll get to it," he said, smiling.
"Very well. This Saturday. And don't you dare be late."
Natasha didn't miss the slightly saddened smile that graced his features when she said that, and without giving it a second thought, she smiled back. It had been a great morning and she was going to make sure it happened again.
Once they were back, Natasha felt very unwilling to let her time with Steve end. She wanted an excuse to see him later; she wanted to further explore this feeling. But she didn't know how to actually go about it, so instead, she opted to do what she knew best.
"I think I'll be wasting my time at the gym," she said, looking over to him, "But, please let me know ahead of time if Tony did, in fact, build something that could possibly explode."
"You'll be the first to know."
They parted ways quietly and without any contact, much to Natasha's dismay. Her imagination was getting the best of her when she opened the door to her room and changed into workout gear. Hopefully, Barton would be there to spar with her. She was itching to give him some good hits for having teased her this morning.
Last night's questions about her feelings towards Steve fell into the backburner when he was around. Hell, with him next to her she didn't have any questions. It was frightening, but it was also exciting - a new mission where she could show off skills she didn't know she innately had.
But, she was also exploring things within her she didn't know she would or could feel.
These thoughts occupied her mind as she walked over to the sparring mat where Clint was standing, holding a glove close.
"Hey there, gambler, need a sparring partner?"
"If it isn't the woman of the hour? Honeymoon over? Actually, it took you long enough and a couple of terrible attempts to ignore those feelings - really, Banner - to accept you were drooling for the Captain, don't you think?"
"Oh you're asking for it, Barton?"
"Yeah, well you took my money this morning without hesitation. You and Steve owe me two hundred bucks."
"Two out of three and we'll give it - each."
"You're on."
Meanwhile, Tony showed Steve several upgrades to not only his suit, but arrows for Clint, guns for Natasha, and several add-ons to his very own shield.
"You can't really do better than vibranium but, see this here…" he pointed, "Let's you track your team, and vice versa - for when you know, earpieces don't work out for us. Added a couple more things, of course, this isn't your actual shield, but very close to it. You still don't let me near the real one when you're not around."
"With good reason, Stark. This is great but, is it durable. I mean, my shield can get pretty banged up. I don't want you blaming me for not taking care of your toys."
"Aw, you do care. Well, let's try it out, Capsicle. Besides, isn't your girlfriend waiting by the sparring ring?"
"You're gonna start with that again?" Steve said, walking over to the elevators next to Tony.
"When did I stop?" he said, "You and Red gave me quite the shock this morning. It was like finding your two friends in bed together...oh wait, that's what happened."
"Nothing happened. She helped me with a stab wound a had gotten earlier that morning before I decided I needed to come back. It was late. We were both tired."
"Yeah, because the trip all the way down to her floor would have taken hours."
"Well, this trip is taking about that long…"
"Counting down the seconds to be reunited with-"
"Stark, I will definitely shut you up if you don't," Steve said, as the doors to the elevator opened and let them step into the hallway before the gym doors, Clint and Natasha could be seen sparring vigorously. Staring at Natasha, reddened and glistening, was probably why Steve didn't notice the blonde that suddenly stood before them.
"Agent Carter," Tony said, snapping Steve back to reality, "Fancy meeting you here, did Fury send his handful of agents out for field work."
"Actually, it was Agent Hill that called me. We're still trying to establish some sort of ground...ground Captain Rogers, Agent Romanoff, and Falcon decided to shake."
"For the better, trust me," Steve said, hands tucked into his pant pockets as he remembered the disaster Hydra had turned S.H.I.E.L.D. into.
"I do. Gathering the agents that were willing to pay the price for freedom is difficult but we're getting there.
"I'm glad. And, I never got to thank you for alerting me. And keeping an eye out when it was all starting."
"My pleasure, Captain Rogers," Agent Carter said, stretching out her hand. Steve shook it firmly and was taken by surprise when she leaned forward to kiss his cheek. He knew it didn't mean much, practically anything from his part, but the awkwardness in his mind knowing Natasha had recommended he ask this woman out, made him stiff and slightly uncomfortable.
"Well, Agent Carter, Hill will probably be here shortly. Cap, let's get that shield prototype checked out."
"Nice to see you, Agent Carter," Steve said, following Tony as they entered the large gym room.
"Don't look now, Captain Lover-boy, but it seems like Red was checking out the competition. Hey what happened after we left?" Tony said, making Steve turn to see Natasha on the floor, refusing Clint's help in getting up. Her face looked flushed and dangerous.
"Hey, partner in crime, little red…" Tony greeted, handing the shield over to Steve as he got his own Iron Man glove onto his arm, "Having trouble sparring, Romanoff?"
"Shut it, Stark. Or you're next…" She said, panting in quick, little breaths as she tried to regain her breath, "What are you guys doing here, I mean, aside from playing kiss the captain with Agent Blonde?"
"Um…not playing that, for sure..." Steve muttered.
"Um, just...checking this shield prototype...making sure it's durable for battles and missions."
"Hmm…" Natasha said, and before anyone else reacted, she whipped out a gun and shot at the shield three times, "Durable enough."
With that, Natasha sauntered over to her water bottle, took a drink and walked away leaving Tony, Clint and a very troubled Steve looking at her every move.
"What was that?" Tony asked, hardly moving
Clint stood between them, mouth slightly agape.
"Was that what I think that was? Cap? What happened?"
"Something far too familiar…" Steve answered before hurrying off to catch up with her.