Steve's Apartment

Steve gently rubbed circles on Natasha's back as she shared her story. "You saved Howard and Bucky. You've done good, Nat. I'm sorry I wasn't there."

Natasha raised her head slightly to look Steve in the eye. "You were always there. I knew if I could just hang on long enough, get things right enough, we would be together. Peggy helped me a lot, Steve. She stayed with me in her family home outside of London for six months. Eventually, when she decided I had rested enough, she sent me out on missions that would get Fury's attention, but together we made sure I didn't have to get my hands as dirty. You should know, she loved you just as much as you loved her, but she never treated me badly because I ended up with you. She's as much family as Clint or Sam or Wanda."

"Wanda," Steve said softly. "We still need to try and save her brother. We owe it to the kid."

"Agreed, but we have to let Bruce go. We need the Hulk against Ultron, and we should let Tony create him. I think it's one of those bad things we can't avoid. We can put Pietro in a bullet proof vest, but that needs to be where our interference ends."

"So, you basically want to relive this loop without making any more changes? You have done a lot already," Steve whispered into her hair.

"Maybe too much. It's impossible to know if the changes I made will prevent us from succeeding against Thanos. After Ultron, we will change things like we planned. We'll take the fight to him. Unless, I've already messed things up, I'm scared, Steve. I don't know if I could live through the last 70 years again."

"Then we have to make sure you don't. We'll do it right this time."

"The rest of the team and Fury are still in the dark. I shouldn't be here. They can't know we are together. We'll have to stay apart until D.C. then we can make everyone think we just casually fell in love while we worked together. It's our best chance, and we can at least be together publicly that way."

"New York is months from now," Steve grimaced. "I can't go that long without seeing you. We've been apart too long."

"We'll just have to be very sneaky. We have to tell Clint eventually and probably Fury. The others can't know until it's time to go after Thanos."

Natasha knew she needed to leave Steve's arms and make her escape before the sun came up, but the idea of separating so soon was almost impossible to bear. "I haven't been faithful. There were things I had to do-"

"To get back to me. I know who the Black Widow was and what it cost you. You did what you had to do, Nat. I know I never lost your heart. I don't care about any of it."

"Loving you kept me going. It was all I had for so long. I don't want to go, but I can't stay." Natasha stood and slowly dressed. She could feel Steve's eyes on her. "Meet me at the retirement home in four days. Peggy will want to see you. Fury knows I visit with Peggy. He thinks she took me under her wing when I started at Shield. It won't be suspicious. We can steal a few minutes after the visit. It's not much, but it's better than nothing."

"I'll be there," Steve said as he stood to kiss her goodbye.

Retirement Home

Steve got to Peggy's room before Natasha. He hoped it would be one of her good days. He needed to thank her for everything she did for Natasha. "Peggy, I'm here. I'm back."

"As handsome as ever," Peggy smiled. "I've looked forward to today for so long. Just knowing you would come meant so much to me. Tell me you've seen your wife."

Steve nodded. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "Natasha will be here soon. Thank you for helping her. You and Howard took care of Nat and Bucky when I couldn't. That's a debt I'll never be able to repay."

"How could we not? You sacrificed everything during the war. I'm just glad we could be there for Natasha and James. Natasha has been through so much. She wasn't in a good place when she came to us. We were afraid she would get herself killed before you woke up. Take care of her, Steve. She's strong, but this has taken a toll on her."

"I will. I promise. I wish I could have seen Howard again, but I'm glad it was natural causes that took him instead of Bucky. What the three of you did might just make all the difference. We might be able to break this cycle."

"I hope it was enough. You deserve to be happy. Daniel and I had a good life. It's time for you and Natasha to get yours."

Steve felt Natasha's presence before he saw her. She slipped into the room quietly, closing the door behind her. "There's our girl," Peggy said softly. "Come see me again soon, but I want you to spend time with your wife now. Natasha's made the arrangements."

Steve gave Natasha a puzzled look, but she just smiled at him and went to hug Peggy. "I'll see you soon," she whispered before looking back at Steve. "Follow me."

Steve followed Natasha down the hallway to an empty room. It was some kind of visiting area with couches and a few chairs. Natasha locked the door behind them. "This is a safe place for us to meet until New York. I know it isn't much but-"

"It's everything. We're together. It's perfect."

"I think if we meet at different times each week we can pull off an hour or so each visit. After New York, it'll be easier," she said softly.

"Just so you know, I'm planning on a whirlwind courtship. When we get to D.C., I plan on making such a fool of myself for you in front of everyone at Shield they won't be surprised when I ask you to move in with me as soon as we start dating."

Natasha laughed. "I'll hit on you when we meet on the helicarrier, make it obvious I'm interested."

Steve pulled her into his arms. "You do that. I might ask you if you want to have dinner sometime in front of Clint on the quinjet while we're on our way to fight Loki."

"He's going to be really surprised when I say yes."

"We'll have a big wedding this time, no sneaking off to Jamaica this time," he said, kissing her temple.

"Oh, but I liked Jamaica," she purred.

"Fine, we can honeymoon there, a really long honeymoon."

"You have yourself a deal, soldier."

They spent the rest of their time cuddled up on one of the couches talking and holding each other. When it was time to leave and she left his embrace, Steve ached from the lack of her presence. They had to play their parts. He just hoped it would be for the last time.

D.C.

1 Year, 4 Months Later

Without the Winter Soldier, Natasha was afraid Shield wouldn't fall. She should have realized another assassin would have been pulled in to take his place. When Fury arrived at the apartment she shared with Steve, Natasha immediately turned on the device to block the bugs. They didn't have much time. Fury needed to know everything.

Natasha filled him in as quickly as she could, but it was obvious he wasn't buying it. "How would I know about Carol Danvers or your plan with Maria to fake you death if I were making this up, Fury?"

"You could be a skrull," he said.

"Last mission, I got the data off the ship. Three months ago, you tried to convince me I needed to date Steve longer before marrying him. Do I even need to mention the fiasco last week over lunch or the taco sal-"

"Fine, not a skrull. I'm going to need a full debrief with both of you when we get to the bunker," he said. "In the meantime, I guess you should hold on to this. Do not page her until I say so." Fury handed the pager to Natasha just as the assailant took his shot.

Steve and Natasha took off after the would-be assassin and ordered him on the roof. Steve managed to get the mask off of his face. "Bucky?"

Natasha watched as James overpowered Steve and jumped from the roof top. She ran to see where he had landed, but he was gone. "This isn't possible."