Fifty Percent of the Population
Natasha knocked on the bathroom door. "Steve? You've been in there a long time. Open the door." She heard no verbal response but the door edged open just enough for her to pull it the rest of the way and walk inside. Steve was sitting on the side of the tub staring at his rarely used razor. "Thinking about shaving?"
"Seems like the respectful thing to do," he replied. "But, once the beard is gone, there won't be anything left of the last two years. Who'd have thought I'd prefer being a fugitive to a soldier?"
"You did pull of the renegade on the run look pretty well for an old man," she paused and put her hand out. "May I?" Steve handed her the razor and Natasha went to work. "We just have to get through today then we can figure out our next step."
"I know. The world needs to see us looking confident. I'll do my part," Steve sighed. "Are you okay?"
"Not even a little bit," Natasha replied. "Still no news from Clint or Fury so I guess you're all the family I have left, soldier."
"If I'd lost you-" Steve began.
"Me too."
They reverted back to silence as Natasha finished shaving Steve, and Natasha's mind drifted back to two years prior when things had last seemed so bleak.
Two Years Prior
Tony informed her that Ross would be coming for her, so Natasha slipped into her rarely used office and hacked into the D.O.D. database. As soon as she had the information she needed, she slipped out of the building and called the one person she figured would be able to reach Steve.
"Agent Carter, this is Natasha Ro-"
"I know who you are," Sharon replied. "For both are sakes, don't say it out loud. They're watching me."
"I'm sorry," Natasha replied, and she genuinely was sorry. She had convinced Sharon to get Steve and Sam their gear. Sharon's problems were her fault.
"I don't regret it," Sharon replied, "what do you need?"
"I'm going to assume you know where Steve is, but don't confirm it. You'll be receiving an encrypted file in approximately 7 minutes. Get it to Steve. It's about the others."
"Got it. If they find out you sent it-"
"I'm already gone. Ross is coming for me. Tell Steve I'll be in touch. Tell him I'm looking after the barnyard. He'll understand."
After Natasha made it out of the city, she quickly made contact with Laura and the two women put their well-thought-out emergency plan into place. Once she had the Barton family secure, she put up a cryptic message in a chat room and waited for Steve to rescue Clint so he could find her message.
Natasha fully expected Clint to come to the safe house alone, so she was slightly unnerved when she found herself once again face to face with Steve Rogers.
"Where are the others?" she asked once they were alone. She tried hard to keep her tone as businesslike as possible.
"Safe. Wanda is a mess. Sam's trying to help her deal. Scott is with him, but he's trying to find a way back to his daughter. Bucky decided to go back to sleep. I just needed to make sure Clint got to his family," Steve paused, "and, I needed to see if you were really okay."
"I'm okay."
"Thank you for what you did back there," Steve replied. "I know what it cost you."
"It was the only way. Things were getting out of control. I had to do something."
"I'm sorry for putting you in this position. What are you going to do next?" Steve asked.
"I'll need to keep moving. If Clint can cut his deal, I'll have to put some distance between myself and the family, but I know how to lay low. I'll be fine." She paused. "What about you?"
"I guess I'll be doing the same thing. Maybe we should keep moving together?" Steve asked.
"I don't know, Steve. I'm good at laying low. You stand out like a sore thumb," Natasha teased as Steve moved in closer.
"A sore thumb?"
"Hard to hide a those muscles and the most recognizable face on the planet," she nodded.
"I could grow a beard."
"It's a start."
They were so close Natasha could feel the heat radiating off Steve's body. "Full disclosure, I kissed Sharon."
Natasha took a step backward. That was a little unexpected, but she quickly regained her equilibrium. "Way to get back in the game, Rogers."
"It meant nothing. It was a mistake."
"Seriously, it's none of my business," she replied a little more defensively than she intended.
"It's always been your business," Steve replied, taking a step forward so they were almost touching. "I'm going to kiss you now. In the morning, you're going to think I seduced you just so you'd run away with me. And," he paused, "to be clear, you'll be exactly right. I don't want you out of my sight, Romanoff. And, I don't want to be just your friend."
Natasha didn't give Steve time to kiss her. Instead, she leapt into his arms and kissed him first. "I don't want to be your friend either, Steve."
Present Day
As soon as Natasha finished Steve's face, she forced herself to focus on the present. "Fugitive or hero, you clean up really good, soldier. Let's get through today then we'll figure out something. If we can't save the world-"
"We can avenge it," Steve finished.
They finally left their quarters and joined Rhodey, Bruce, Thor, and Pepper in the common room. Rocket was noticeably absent, but Thor quickly explained that the raccoon felt his presence at the service would be an unnecessary distraction.
Pepper handed Steve and Natasha copies of their presidential pardons, and went over the details of the service. Rhodey stayed close to Pepper as she talked, and Natasha found herself aching to see Tony Stark standing there instead. They'd lost so many. Bruce and Thor looked like lost little boys in search of their mothers, but Steve looked a little less lost now that it was no longer just the two of them. She was grateful he at least let down his guard in front of her. Her own mask was wearing pretty thin at the moment, but she didn't even care. Half of the population was gone. She could afford to grieve a little.
Once they were finished talking, Bruce walked up and handed her a drink. "I figured you could use this. I think I mixed it the way you like it."
"Thanks, Bruce," she replied with a halfhearted smile.
"So, you and Steve? How long?"
"Awhile," Natasha replied, "I didn't move on right away. We searched for you."
"I get it. I'm disappointed, but I'm not mad. Even if I were, the other guy and I aren't on the best terms right now. For what it's worth, I didn't mean to leave you."
"I know. It wouldn't have worked, Bruce."
"I get that now, too. It's always been him, hasn't it?"
Natasha didn't answer immediately. She just looked across the room at Steve for a moment. He was comforting Thor. "I think so. I did feel something for you. I wasn't pretending, but I can't deny that I felt something for Steve, too. It just took us awhile to figure out what to do about it. He's a good man, Bruce."
"I agree, and he has a good woman. Take care of each other. If you ever need a friend who might or might not turn green, I'll always be around. I don't have any interest in running away again."
Natasha smiled. "I'm glad to hear that."
The service was long and excruciating, and Natasha was extremely grateful to be back in their quarters when it was over. Her freshly shaven super soldier was sitting beside her on their bed. "I saw you talking to Bruce."
"We cleared the air," she replied.
"Are we still good?"
"You aren't getting rid of me that easy, soldier. I'm glad Bruce is alive, and I'm even glad he didn't leave me on purpose but you are the one I want," she paused briefly. "I love you."
"I love you, too. All I could think about when people started disappearing was you."
"I know. Me too. We're okay. We will get through this together."
Steve planted a kiss on her forehead. "Just like we always do," he agreed.
