A/N: Oh good golly! This chapter took so long to write...and it's pretty long too!
I would have divided it into two parts, but I owe you guys for being so patient with me.
Reviews:
TheJollyRoger: You know, I'm not really sure why Tony is so upset. I'm pegging it on the possibility that something troubling happened to him in Infinity war, but since I don't have that information, I'm really grasping at straws. Frankly, I think both Cap and Tony messed up in Civil War in that a lot of issues could have been resolved easier if they had just been honest with each other, and I hope that the two of them do get that closer.
Guest/TheJollyRoger/Bree/BloodyNib: Thank you so very much for your kind words about Chapter 7 pt 2. I struggled with that chapter because of how personal it was to me, and seeing such a positive response really encouraged me. I cannot thank you all enough and I truly hope that I can provide that quality for you in the rest of this story.
Enough of my blabbing!
On to the story!
Note: If Natalia's name is Natasha in a section, it's because it's not Clint, Laura, Steve or Nat's POV.
Note 2: This chapter was inspired by Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon. Check it out!
Note 3: I OWN NOTHING!
Warning: LANGUAGE, and Drinking Alcoholic beverages
Shut Up and Dance
December 1st
Natalia's journey through recovery was far from easy. After being evaluated for any brain injuries (of which none were found) the full treatment for her burns came into play. She spent so much time laying on her stomach that she was sure her neck would be stiff for a month. (1)
And that wasn't too far from the truth. Granted, the lack of movement she could get away with from her back did increase the stiffness of her neck and shoulder muscles.
Frankly, the whole process was too painful for her to dwell on and she was pretty sure she would never truly forget all of this.
Not that every moment was bad or anything…especially considering that Steve rarely left her side and held her hand through the pain.
So when she was finally discharged, she couldn't have been happier to accept the blessing of being free of the cold, too-clean smelling building, and finally go home.
Home… She thought as she walked up the steps of the Ranch House, bundled in a warm jacket and hat as tiny, white snowflakes danced in her vision. When did this house become home?
Since the moment Steve brought you here. A little voice whispered in the back of her head. A little voice she was sure she would never hear again.
Little Natalia…
The girl that the Red Room swore they had killed. The one she had sworn they had killed.
Stopping in her tracks, Natalia blinking several times, confused and shocked. Those monsters had killed that little girl…the one that they transformed into the Black Widow…right?
"Natalia?" A gentle, deep voice asked in her ear, quietly like he was whispering a secret. "Are you alright?"
She blinked up at Steve, their faces very close, noses red from the cold almost touching, breath visible from the dropping temperature filling the space between them. "Yes. I'm…" She wasn't sure what exactly she was, but she felt so warm…and not the bad kind of heat. The warmth of being…safe. Not the heat of the fire that seared her skin. "…Home." She finally finished.
He smiled, tilting his head and pressing a warm kiss to her forehead – an action that he did more frequently ever since she had awoken from her trauma induced sleep in the hospital. "Yes, you are." He pulled away, opening the door of the ranch house. "Welcome home, Natalia."
Ever the gentleman, he held the door open for her as she walked into the warm house. It was so different from the stark white and too-clean smelling hospital that had been her conscious and unconscious inpatient or outpatient residence for exactly 44 days, 12 hours, and 25 minutes. She took a deep breath of the new/old smell as Steve dropped the duffel bag he carried by the stairs to be fiddled with later.
Tony had brought said bag for them earlier that day, knowing that she was to be formally discharged from treatments, as most of her burns had cleared up, save for a few spots that were much slower to heal. The billionaire had said that everyone would be waiting for them, and for them to be ready for anything…so needless to say, both the soldier and spy were a bit on edge.
"Where is everyone?" Natalia asked, raising an eyebrow, searching the hall with her eyes, looking for anything out of the ordinary. "I thought that Stark said they would be here to greet us…"
Steve shrugged, assisting her in taking of her coat and hanging it on the coat hooks by the door. "Maybe they're in the back?" He suggested. Tony had been pretty cryptic and the others hadn't said a word about what was going on. So they were equally clueless.
And to Natalia, that was bad territory.
"I guess we could start there." She replied, smoothing down the sleeves of her turtle necked sweater. It hid the bandages on her back and shoulders very well, but normal shirts still felt odd on her. She had not been able to wear one for weeks after waking up as the burns were too extensive for constrictive clothing. Fortunately, the care team had allowed her to wear pants as a compromise for her wearing the airy hospital gown.
Unfortunately, it would be a good week or so before she could wear bras again… and she was grateful that the bandages that wrapped around her acted as support. (Not that Steve was looking or anything. Just, after two years of no missions that required she to take off a bra…it was weird to suddenly not be able to wear one.)
Pushing those thoughts aside, Natalia followed Steve as he walked towards the back of the house. The fleshy part of his palm was visible to her, smooth and scar-free, not marred by flames or anything of the sort, a fact that she had learned from Clint shortly after waking up.
"He held up the barn as I ran in. Pretty sure the beam was on fire, but neither of us really cared at the moment since all that mattered was getting you out. Later, I found him on the porch with scorched red hands, and by the time we reached the hospital, the nurse declared them to be the same degree as sunburn."
Only once before had Natalia been more thankful for the Super Soldier Serum that flowed in Steve's veins, and that had been during their ordeal with the Winter Soldier. The fact that he had not suffered for very long with the burns was an immense comfort.
She, on the other hand, deserved to burn. Deserved every minute of agony.
She never vocalized it to Steve, Clint, or anyone who saw her. But…in her mind, she found this to be a fitting punishment, especially for all the blood she had spilt in direct and crossfire. She deserved to burn, so much so that she refused the Cradle when the treatment was offered to her.
"I would like my body to heal on its own, Dr. Cho. I appreciate the offer, but the creams and grafts will be just fine. If I hadn't been an Avenger, that treatment wouldn't be open to me, and there are at least three other patients on this floor alone that, due to their burns, are in more need of that Cradle than I."
She gladly accepted every painful hour, and would continue to do so until she was fully healed or when this God that Steve believed in deemed she had made up enough.
She was interrupted in her musings by running into Steve's towering back. The man had stopped suddenly before the door to the back of the house. Unsure of what had stopped him, she rested a hand on his shoulder. "Steve?"
The man's shoulders shuddered under her fingers. "Stark," He finally said, his vocal cords strained. "You son of a bitch."
"Why Captain," Stark's voice cut in, surprising Natalia, who moved to Cap's side to see just what…and froze.
Tony stood just beyond the steps to the backyard…in between the Ranch House and the barn.
A bright red barn. The barn that had burned…
"I believe that is a bad language word!" Tony continued, a large smile smirk on his face.
Steve pressed a fist to his mouth, fighting back the flood of emotions that roiled off of his stiff form. And Natalia could understand.
Seeing the barn – whole, bright, and not a crumbled pile of ash to rebuild – was overwhelming.
"Be nice to the poor man, Tony." A woman's voice piped up, and Natalia turned to see Pepper Potts appear out of (seemingly) nowhere. "He and Natasha have gone through quite a lot over the past month and a half."
Tony wrapped an arm around the strawberry blonde. "I guess I'll let it slide," He smiled. "So, what do you think, Capsicle?"
Steve opened his mouth several times, but no words would come out. His hands fluttered in front of him, making incoherent, small gestures, before he turned to look at Natasha and placed a hand on her arm, tapping out something in Morse code.
"It's wonderful," Natalia translated for Tony and Pepper. "Thank you, so much, Tony."
"My my, Cap," Tony smirked. "When did you start sounding like Natashalie?"
Before Steve could respond, the red haired woman in question stuck out her tongue in the billionaire's direction. The soldier frowned a bit, clearing his throat, hoping he would be able to say something the next time he needed to speak.
Natalia slipped her hand into his, smiling up at him and nodding towards Tony. The soldier blinked, his fingers naturally intertwining with hers and his shoulders straightening before he nodded.
She smiled as Tony explained that this wasn't just a gift from him, but rather that the whole team had pitched in to help rebuild the barn. The billionaire went on to explain who had done what as they walked around the outside of the barn of their tour.
The general layout of the outside was very similar to Steve's original design. Though, there were three key differences: firstly, that there were multiple ways to enter the barn – each stall having its own door to the outside and two doors to the main hallway in the center of the barn, secondly, that there was a machine outside the barn that would allow Steve to wrap the hay bales, preventing loss of feed in the case of a fire or flood. And lastly, there were more ground rods attached to the lightning rod.
Natalia's fingers tightened around Steve's just a bit. This was good. This was very good.
"Alright," Tony announced, coming to a stop in front of the main entrance of the barn, a devious smile growing across his features. "Before we show you the inside, we'll need to blindfold you both."
The cautious looks that flooded both Steve and Natasha's faces were so similar that the billionaire almost burst out laughing and fought the temptation to pull out his phone and take a picture. Now they are mimicking each other's expressions! This is just great!
"There are no fireworks," Pepper cut in, hoping to ease the pair's worries. "Or explosives, or robots, or wormholes, or shenanigans."
"Well…maybe some shenanigans." Tony corrected, ignoring the glare from the strawberry blonde beside him.
Steve and Natasha blinked in unison and Tony almost lost it. The red head bit her lip and looked up at the blonde, meeting the soldier's gaze who seemed uneasy. Their silent communication was something that Tony had seen long before they came out here. He concluded that it had everything to do with them being partners while S.H.I.E.L.D. had still been around.
Though to see it in action again…it was an interesting thing to watch.
"Alright." Steve finally said with a sigh, turning to look at their friends.
"Great!" The billionaire reach out quickly and yanked the super soldier away from the super spy as Pepper did the reverse, pulling the pair from their mutual grip on each other.
"Nat!" Steve called out, panic drenching his voice, his eyes wild.
"Chill, Stevie. She'll be right back. We just have to take a detour." Tony noticed that his words didn't ease the tension out of his friend, but the super soldier didn't fight back, so Tony took that as a win.
Steve didn't get a chance to see where Pepper was taking Natasha before the billionaire covered his eyes with a thick, blue cloth. The soldier bit his lip hard and allowed the other man to lead him.
"Chill out, Capsicle." Tony groaned in frustration, leading Steve's stiff self towards the barn. "It'll just be a few minutes."
"If I'm a Capsicle," Steve deadpanned. "Then I think that I'd be the definition of chilled out."
The billionaire stopped and stared at the soldier for a long minute, before covering his face with his hands. "Dammit. Natashalie taught you how to be funny…The world is Ending!"
Steve couldn't help but laugh at that, the tension finally easing from his shoulders.
The brunette took this as a good sign and brought Steve into a side room inside the barn. "Alright, Mr. Funny Bone, take off the old man shirt."
The tension was almost immediately back. "Why?"
"It's a surprise, Captain."
Steve groaned. "How do I know you aren't making me the fool and that there are more than just you and I in this room?"
"Seriously?" Tony asked, hurt. "Can't you hear a heartbeat and breathing down the hall if you wanted to? You're getting rusty in your old age, Capsicle."
The rancher didn't reply to that, but instead turned his head from side to side, listening carefully.
Tony knew there was no one besides himself here, and he wasn't going to take a picture of Steve taking off his shirt because he'd already done that years ago. So it didn't matter worth a damn if he did it again because it wasn't blackmail worthy.
After a moment, the rancher raised his hands to the buttons of his shirt and deftly took it off, revealing the wife beater he wore beneath it. Tony snatched the shirt out of the other man's hands and tossed another shirt his way. A soft, fine thread count, slim fit dress shirt. "Put that on. Chop. Chop."
Steve caught the shirt with ease and slipped it on. "Tuck in or no?"
"Hmmm…" The slightly shorter man pondered for a moment. "Tuck in. And roll your sleeves up to just before the elbows."
The blonde shrugged and did as he was told.
As soon as he finished, Tony grabbed the man's arm and pulled him off again into another area of the barn, the main part. It was silent in there for a long moment, before a soft knicker came from their left.
Steve immediately turned to face the horse's voice. "Hey there, Boots," He called out. "You doing alright, buddy?"
The colt huffed and the rancher laughed.
Tony blinked, bringing the two of them to a halt. "When did you learn to speak horse?" He asked, letting go of Steve's arm.
"I didn't," The blonde replied, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I just know Lieutenant, Tatiana, and Boots' voices."
At the sound of their names, each horse perked their ears in the direction of the Captain and whinnied a greeting.
The man smiled. "I've missed you guys, too."
A chuckle joined the whinnies. "I hope they missed me, also." Natasha's voice echoed through the barn.
Tony turned to look, while Steve could only turn in the direction of her voice, and the brunette found himself smirking deviously at what he saw.
Pepper had done a great job.
"Stop fidgeting, Natasha! I'm almost done."
"You said that two minutes ago. And you're still prodding at me." The blindfolded woman huffed, but held as still as she could.
Pepper had somehow managed to get her out of her turtle neck/jean combo and into a soft, knee length dress with stiffer cap sleeves and a collar that covered the back of her neck. It fell to her knees and flared at the hips and had a just pushing modest neck line, but besides that, Natalia lacked details.
A dangerous situation for the former spy.
"What's going on?" She asked for the fifth time, getting frustrated with not knowing.
"Come on, Natasha. It's a surprise! Go with it for once." Pepper replied, placing a cool metal necklace around Natalia's neck and earrings in her ears.
When did it become so hard to get information from people?
"And…there!" The strawberry blonde said triumphantly. "All done!"
Natalia stood, the dress swishing around her, and placed her hands on her hips. "Can we go now?"
"So impatient to get back to Rogers, hm?" Pepper sighed, but grabbed the smaller woman's wrist and gently led her into another room…one where Natalia could hear her horses whinny.
"I missed you guys, too." She heard her Captain say, and couldn't help but chuckle in relief at knowing they were once again in the same room.
"I hope they missed me, also." She called out.
There was a shifting sound, as if several feet all around her had moved…and she was sure Steve's hearing had picked up on the fact that it wasn't just the four of them in this room.
"Okay," Stark began. "Now that we are all together again…"
Suddenly, the blindfold was pulled from Natalia's eyes, soft light flooding into them as she blinked and took in the sight around her.
The barn building itself didn't look much different on the inside than before…save for the wood decorations lacking Steve's touch (a detail she was sure the rancher would remedy as soon as he was able). But what truly caught her eye was the group of people standing in the space. She spotted Sam, Wanda, Vision, Thor, Clint and Laura, but there were others too. Ant-Man and The Wasp, Rhodes, Bruce, two women she didn't recognize…
Old Avengers. New Avengers.
Her friends.
"Welcome home!" They chorused, and music began to play from somewhere.
A party. Stark had planned a party.
A Christmas party from the looks of how everyone was dressed and the decorations that hung from the walls and stalls. All three horses were accounted for and-
"Aunty Nat! Aunty Nat!" A young female voice called out, and Natalia had just enough time to turn and open her arms before Lila crashed into her. "You're home!"
Natalia could not help but smile as she wrapped her arms around the girl. "I'm glad to see you too, Lila." She ran a hand through the girl's hair and looked around. "Where are your brothers? Don't they want to hug their aunt?"
"They're with Uncle Steve." Lila replied, giggling.
And when Natalia finally spotted her partner, she understood her niece's laughter.
Cooper had pounced onto Steve's back in a tackle while Nathaniel had both of his arms wrapped around the Super Soldier's legs. Both were attempting to drive Steve to the ground, and the blonde was certainly giving them a run for their money.
"Cooper!" She called out, looking displeased for a moment before the edges of her mouth turned up in a devious smile. "Left side rib, under the armpit."
"Nat!" Steve whined in jest. "Not helping!"
"There will be no wrestling at this party." Laura's voice cut through the barn, the stern mom tone coming out before her son could do what his aunt instructed him to do.
"Aw…" Nathaniel pouted.
"But mom!" The older Barton boy whined.
"No 'but mom'. Off, Cooper."
Sighing, the brunette child slid off his uncle's back while the younger boy let go of his legs. The younger brother held up his arms, a silent plea to be picked up.
Steve smiled down at the boy and complied, resting him on his hip while fixing the boy's hair with his other hand. His mouth moved, and Natalia couldn't pick up what he was saying…however she recognized the look he was giving both Nathaniel and Cooper.
A dad teaching his kids how to ride a bike.
And it struck her, again, just how good Steve would be as a dad.
"Aunty Nat?" Lila's voice cut through her thoughts before they could continue any further. "Are you feeling better?"
Natalia looked down at the girl, her brown eyes boring into her face, and she smiled at those warm eyes. "Much better."
"Glad to hear it," A gruff voice said from behind her. "You never did like being down for very long."
The former spy had heard something from behind her before the voice spoke, but had let it be, seeing as there were Avengers here and they wouldn't let in anyone who would hurt another one on their team she assumed it was a friendly. She was right. She turned slowly. "Hi, Nick," She replied, letting her niece go and looking fully at the former director. "You look well."
"As do you," Nick Fury countered, giving her a slight smile. "So, how are you and Rogers doing out here?"
Natalia shooed Lila, sending her to go hang out with her brothers before lifting an eyebrow at the older spy. "Am I right in assuming that you already know?"
The eyepatch wearing spy shrugged. "I don't keep tabs on everyone all the time. Once a month check-ins and yearly evals are enough. After everything the two of you have done, you deserve some privacy."
"Then you'd know we are doing just fine out here."
Nick smiled. "But are you happy with the life he's provided for you?"
Natalia kept her features schooled as she pondered an answer to that question.
Am I happy?
Many people had provided lifestyles for Natalia over the years. The Red Room, the KGB, S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers…they all had provided for her and built a particular lifestyle for her to fit into each time.
But this…this was different, right?
No more ledger, no more missions full of death and panic…but I'm not bored. Each day is something new and different…almost normal. For once, it doesn't matter who I was, all that matters here is who I am now.
And that does make me happy.
"Yes," She replied after a moment. "I am happy."
Nick gave her a familiar smile, one that the younger spy had only seen once before…back right after Banner had left.
And the same question she had voiced then crawled out of her mouth. "Did you know this would happen? Is this why you partnered us all those years ago?"
The eyepatch-wearing man chuckled, shaking his head. "I can't predict the future, Romanoff."
"But you pushed us together for a reason," she pressed, crossing her arms, eyes narrowed. "Why?"
Nick Fury's good eye sparkled a bit. "He needed a reason to keep living and you needed a mission to wipe the red from your ledger."
The former Black Widow barely stopped her eyes from widening, but there must have been some kind of expression on her face, because the older man stepped forward and wrapped her in a fatherly hug. "Take good care of our Soldier," He said, patting her shoulder as he pulled away. "I know he'll take good care of you."
Eventually Cooper, Lila, and Nathaniel were sent to bed, and Nick decided he would keep his eye on them so the adults could enjoy the rest of the party. Sam, who moved to man the music with F.R.I.D.A.Y. feeding him an enormous selection, picked out some upbeat, club songs.
Slowly, but surely, the middle space of the barn was filled with Avengers—both new and old, spies and former spies.
Steve opted to let Lieutenant, Tatiana and Boots out of the barn, leaving the doors to their stalls open so they could come and go as they pleased. It was then that the rancher noticed that Tony must have had some sort of insulation installed that would keep the heat in the barn even if the doors were open to the cold air, and he wondered if it would do the opposite in the summer. He pushed that thought back to ask the billionaire later.
Once the soldier-turned-rancher was done, he brushed off his hands and leaned against Lieutenant's stall door, smiling towards the impromptu dance floor.
Namely at Natalia.
Her red hair was short now (due to the fire) and curled around her ears, leaving her neck exposed, save for the red, decorative scarf she wore to hide the burn bandages he knew were there. He glanced at his watch to make sure it wasn't time to change said bandages or for her antibiotics—nope. Two more hours—before looking back at her, drinking in the happiness that beamed from her face as she danced with their friends.
"Looks like they are having a lot of fun out there, huh, Captain?" A voice said suddenly.
A bit startled, Steve stood ramrod straight, muscles bunching under the blue colored shirt he wore, to face Maria Hill. He blinked and relaxed. "Yes, they certainly are."
She smiled brightly at him, taking a sip of her drink. "Why don't you join them?"
"I could ask you the same question," Steve countered.
The young brunette laughed. "I just left that mob. My feet could use a break." She gave him a look. "You deflected."
Sighing, the rancher uncrossed his arms, shoving his hands once more into his pockets. "I…don't dance. Not like people these days do. It's all…weird to me."
Maria nodded, understandingly. "I'm sure she could give you some pointers," she added, gesturing towards the red head who was now dancing with Pepper to the hip hop beat.
Steve shrugged. "Maybe later."
The spy patted his shoulder, lightly. "Just enjoy yourself, Cap. This is a party for you and Natasha, after all."
"I will," He replied, smiling and praying that it didn't look fake.
She must have been convinced or decided to leave it be, because she returned the smile and joined Sam at the music table. Steve looked around once more and decided he would join Thor, who was currently at the fully stocked bar with Rhodes and Carol Danvers.
Steve's hearing picked up that Rhodey was trying to explain how to make a specific drink to Thor, who looked baffled by mixing different alcohols when one could just have Asgardian Meed. The War Machine was getting progressively more annoyed, so the rancher stepped in.
Moving from his place by the horse stall, Steve made his way over to the small bar and set his hands down on the counter behind it, smiling. "What can I getcha?"
And thus, the Super Soldier who couldn't get drunk became the bartender for the night.
A while later, Steve was drying off his hands and took a look at the dance floor. It had been a while since he had turned his eyes to that point of the room, since people noticed that Thor was no longer on bartender duty, and people could (finally) order the drinks that they wanted. Like iron to a magnate, Steve's blue eyes sought out a head of red hair…and found none on the dance floor.
With a shrug, Steve turned back to the sink to put the towel down, thinking that Natalia must have just left the dance floor and wanted to rest for a bit.
But when he turned back around, he found the former spy sitting before him on one of the bar stools, smiling widely. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled similarly to how they would after a good sparring session.
He returned the smile. "Did ya have fun out there?"
"Yeah. Sam picked some good music." She lifted an eyebrow. "Having fun getting everyone else drunk?"
"Well, I haven't had anyone complain about my bartending skills or messing up their orders…so, yeah. It's been fun."
"Hm…" She tapped her chin with a delicate finger. "I guess you haven't been put to the test."
He lifted an eyebrow at her. "Alright, ma'am. What can I get you?"
Her grin turned devious. "Two of the finest festive vodka drinks you can think up off the top of your head without looking up how to make it."
"You got it." He replied with a smile before setting his mind to the task.
Steve had his back to Natalia as he prepared her drink, though she noticed a few of the ingredients he grabbed.
Chocolate syrup, Cherry Noir Vodka…is that Schnapps?
Natalia almost rolled her eyes. Maybe she should have said a straight vodka drink…but where was the fun in that? And since he was on a roll…
Resting her chin on her hand, she leaned on the bar and watched him work. It wasn't hard to notice how the muscles of his back moved under the finely made dark blue fabric of his shirt. But before she could truly "appreciate the view," Steve turned around and placed two cocktail napkins before her before setting down two double old fashion glasses filled with a chocolate colored liquid within. She smiled at the touch of the peppermint cane, peaking out of the liquid almost like a straw.
"Two North Poles on the house." (2)
"Like you were charging to begin with." Natalia laughed.
"Probably should have," Steve mused with a shrug. "Considering how many times Rhodey and Tony have come over here."
"Hmm…" She replied, before wrapping her fingers around the closest glass. "Shall we?"
He picked up the other. "Твоё здоровье." (3) Steve toasted before taking a drink.
She followed his lead, smiling a bit. Of course his concern would be her health…
The drink was good, sweet, but definitely boozey. She was not disappointed. He had treated every ingredient with the respect it deserved.
"Well?" He asked after she put her glass down.
"It's good."
"But?"
"The Red Russian (4) will always be my favorite. You will never get me to like Schnapps as much as Vodka."
Steve threw back his head and laughed. "That wasn't the point!" He exclaimed just loud enough for her to hear.
She smiled, enjoying seeing him genuinely happy for once.
His laughter quieted down to chuckles just as the music took on a slower quality and the lights dimmed a bit. The two former Avengers looked at Sam before the blonde peered at his watch. "I guess it's time for last call."
Natalia lifted an eyebrow at him. "That late already?"
"It's almost one."
She nodded slowly as Steve announced last call.
No one seemed to mind his announcement as the guests paired off to slowly dance around the impromptu dance floor, leaving Natalia to watch and Steve to clean up the bar. He was quick and efficient, and after a few moments was sitting beside her on his own barstool.
"How are you feeling?" He asked after a bit, his blue eyes focused on the dance floor, fingers weaved together in his lap.
"Well, I'm not feeling like I got hit by a train," She started, that smile returning once more to her face. "And I'm glad none of my medications are 'do not mix with alcohol.'"
He smiled softly in return. "It's good that you are doing better."
The easy silence between them resumed, just sitting there between them like an old friend. Lounging comfortably, neither infringing upon the others internal thoughts nor causing discomfort.
This was one of the many things she enjoyed about being around Steve. His presences was soothing to her need to be active, calming her and allowing her to live in the moment. Something that she had lacked for years, she mused as she watched the couples sway and turn on the dance floor.
I wonder if he wants to be out there… Her mind wondered as her green eyes flicked over to look at her partner.
He was staring at the couples, his face neutral, but his eyes full of…something. Sadness?
Frowning a bit, she looked a bit longer, trying to figure out what was going on behind those blue eyes. She had seen that look before…but where?
Who's the girl?
The memory hit her hard and she dropped her head. That's where she had seen this look. Back in the bunker before they had found Zola. Back when she didn't know of Steve's relationship with Margaret Carter, a fact that she knew now.
But would he still want to dance, even if it wasn't with the girl he promised one to?
Looking down at her hands, she decided to say something to fill the silence. "So, about—"
At the exact same moment, Steve started. "Would you—" He paused, turning to look at her, his blue eyes dropping the distant look to focus on her. "I'm sorry. You first."
Ever the gentleman. She smiled. "I wasn't going to say anything important. Just about the weather. What were you going to say?"
He bit his lip, his fingers fidgeting as he took a deep breath. "Would you like to dance?"
She blinked at him. Part of her had not expected this, even though she had been wondering if he did wish to be out there. And Steve did surprise her from time to time. As she was looking for the right words to say, she took in his appearance.
His shoulders, usually so strong and confident, were slightly hunched. His hands, usually calm and steady, were nervously fiddling in his lap. His blue eyes were looking at her, but his countenance suggested that he was afraid…Afraid she would reject him outright.
She knew of his insecurities with women, it was one of the reasons why she had tried to set him up so many times. But this was something else.
A new glimpse into these insecurities.
"Yes," She said, finally, noting just how much his anxiety had increased in the thirty seconds it took her to respond. "I'd like that."
Relief ebbed off of him as he stood, his shoulders straightening, his hands steadying as he held one out to her. An old fashioned gentleman as always, and she found she didn't mind that, because it was Steve.
Natalia took the outstretched hand and let him guide her to the dance floor. A new song started over the speakers—a soft, smooth jazz tune—as Steve brought them to a stop and turned to face her. His cheeks turning a bit pink as he stood there for a moment.
Being his partner for as long as she had allowed her the ability to learn his tells. And all of Steve's were saying that he had no idea what he was doing, but that he wanted desperately to try.
Smiling gently, she took a step closer to him, pulling his right hand around her, placing it securely on the middle of her back—as he wouldn't be able to do a proper hold on her because of the burns—while she slipped her right into his left. Looking up at him, she placed her left hand on his right shoulder. "Don't think too much, Steve. Just listen to the rhythm and sway."
As she spoke, she started him off and, after a few moments, he took the lead. He relaxed into the hold, pulling her closer when other couples would move past them, but his hand never moved from the waist line, as if afraid to touch her more than necessary.
As the song neared its end, Natalia found herself wondering if he would do anything marking the end of the dance, or would he simply lead her back to a seat.
And as if Steve read her mind, he stepped out of their embrace, releasing her waist but not her hand, and twirled her under his arm before bowing over their joined hands as the last note rang out through the barn. His fringe covered his eyes for a moment before he stood straight once more.
"Thank you, Natalia." He said, a smile gracing his lips and his eyes filled with something she couldn't quite place. It looked like a combination of relief and acceptance.
"You're welcome, Steve."
A/N:
(1) In the case of an accident that involves a head injury and any other injury, the head injury takes primacy, even if it is over a burn.
(2) North Pole: it can be made two different ways, one with gin, the other with Vodka. I went with the vodka recipe that one can find. (if you are old enough to drink!)
(3) "To your health" informal
(4) Red Russian: Vodka with some red juice (usually cranberry, but can be cherry). I'm pretty sure this is the drink that Nat makes in AoU for Bruce and herself.
I hope you enjoyed this longer chapter. The next chapter will feature...
I'll try to have this next chapter up sooner!
Thanks again! Please leave a review if you like!
~Rachel
