Chapter 10
A/N: Helloooo!
Thank you to all my beloved readers!
Special thanks to the following people: CarVie16, TheJollyRoger, FireflyUpintheSky, trebleclefstories, riml and Baibe :)
ENJOY! :)
"I wasn't even thinking straight when I said YES to him, Peps!" Natasha said while pacing back and forth in her room.
Pepper smiled brightly.
"Natasha Romanoff. The Black Widow. Is anxious for just a date."
Natasha grabbed and threw a pillow at her.
"It's just that I..." she trailed off "I don't deserve him. I'm a killer for goodness' sake!"
"You were. You didn't have a choice then, Nat."
"You don't understand. I'm a walking disaster, Pepper."
"Would you please stop pacing back and forth? It's really bothering me. Sit down."
Natasha did.
"You're not a disaster, Nat." Pepper looked at her and smiled, making her see that someone else believes in the goodness of her heart. "You love him, don't you?"
Natasha didn't see that coming. She thought she was so efficient in hiding what she feels for Steve. But there's no point in hiding it now.
"Yes." She bit her lip and looked at Pepper. "Very much."
Pepper's smile grew wider and wider. (If that's even possible.)
"Then let's look for a dress online."
The dress arrived later that evening. It was a simple knee-length black dress.
"Do I really need to wear that?" Natasha asked lazily.
"Of course! Now get up and try this on." Pepper said, handing her the dress.
Natasha took it. Her phone rang.
"Agent Romanoff." The caller greeted.
"Director Fury." Natasha addressed the caller.
Pepper's head snapped when she heard who the caller is. She gave Natasha a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me look and collapsed on the bed.
"I need you to take this mission, Natasha." She heard Fury say.
"You know I'm never the one to back down."
Pepper rolled her eyes at Natasha.
Fury proceeded in giving Natasha the instructions.
"When do I start?" she asked.
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?!" she almost yelled at Fury.
It took her by surprise, she never thought the mission was going to happen immediately. The first thing she thought of was Steve. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I am very much aware that you've got plans with Cap, Nat. I'm sorry, but I can't risk sending another agent without proper training and experience in this kind of mission. This is your area of expertise."
Natasha knew that this mission is dangerous and it is necessary for her to take it, otherwise why would Fury ask her to do it?
She made up her mind.
"I'll take it." She said and hung up.
"What about the date?!" Pepper exclaimed.
"I'll explain to Steve. I'm sure he'll understand."
Pepper clicked her tongue and shook her head.
Natasha creased her brows as she realized something.
"Hold on. How did Fury know?"
"Know what?"
"That I have a date with Steve."
"Oh that! It's Tony and Clint, Nat." Pepper said, biting her lower lip.
"What did they do? They reported it to Fury?"
"Worse."
Pepper told Natasha everything about the whole hacking-into-SHIELD event that Tony told her earlier before she came to Natasha's room.
"THEY DID WHAT?! I'll deal with them later. I'll go talk to Steve first." She got up and reached for her leather jacket.
She tossed Tony's watch to Pepper.
"Give that to him. Seems like he left it at the gym."
As Pepper realized that it was the watch she gave to Tony, she gritted her teeth.
"Tony Stark is so dead."
"I'll let you kill him, Peps." Natasha said, chuckling.
Pepper stormed out of the room.
Natasha stood in front of Steve's door. She attempted to knock a few times but her emotions got the best of her.
"Why the fuck am I feeling like a teenager around him?"
When she was about to finally knock, her fist hit the air as the door swung open, revealing Steve with a messy hair.
They were both too shocked to react. They stared at each other for a while, an awkward silence filling the air.
Steve was the first one to get out of the trance. He cleared his throat.
"Nat, come in... do you need something?"
Natasha entered the room which smelled like fresh mint. She has never gone in here before, everything was so tidy, so Steve.
"I...uh... came here to talk to you."
Steve looked at her, confused.
"About what?"
"About tomorrow."
Steve's heart sank and his face fell.
"You changed your mind." It was more of a statement than a question. Sadness was evident in his voice.
"No, Steve...I didn't."
Upon hearing her response, his face lit up.
"It's just that I was called for a mission and it will start tomorrow. I'm sorry."
"Don't be, Nat. It's work, I understand." He smiled.
She smiled back.
"But we can still have this dinner when you get back, right?" he asked.
"Of course." Natasha looked at his eyes and then dropped her gaze on the floor. She can't bear to have longer eye contact with him which makes her think that her feelings for him is getting ridiculous- making her feel the way she never thought she'd experience again.
"Nat...how long will you be gone?"
His blue eyes were filled of longing for her. it was only then that she realized she'll be gone for too long. She'll miss him.
"A month."
"Where?"
"Egypt."
Steve nodded and took a deep breath. He closed the distance between them.
"Then I guess that dinner will have to wait for over a month." He chuckled.
Natasha smiled and nodded. "Apparently so."
"I'll miss you." He said as he pulled her for a hug, taking in the scent of her hair.
As they parted away, Natasha said, "If it would make you feel better, I'll miss you, too." Then she smiled.
"I should go."
She headed for the door.
Steve grabbed her arm, pulled her and kissed her.
The moment their lips touched, they knew that they belong with each other. The kiss was sweet and unlike any other kiss they've shared, this one was pure- not used as a cover to avoid bad guys- it was just them, forgetting the world for a moment.
When they pulled away, Natasha rested her forehead on Steve's pounding chest and smiled.
"You, Steven Grant Rogers, have a bad habit of kissing me." She teased. Steve hugged her.
"And you, Natasha Romanoff, have a bad habit of kissing me back."
They both laughed.
"Seriously though, I should go." She said as she looked at him for a while and smiled.
"What?"
"You're blushing."
"I'm not."
"Still a terrible liar."
Steve walked her out of the room.
"Nat, careful in there. That dinner will patiently wait for you."
"I will."
After that, she got ready for the mission.
The next days were hell for both of them. Steve worrying if Natasha's alright, and Natasha missing Steve terribly, doing the best she could to finish this mission less than a month.
They missed each other a lot. Steve having sleepless nights, wondering if Natasha's fine or injured. To help him calm down, he's always drawing her on his sketchbook, capturing her persona in each drawing- Natasha staring back at him while smirking, Natasha kicking the punching bag with all her might, Natasha eating breakfast, and his favourite- Natasha smiling.
Natasha constantly thought of Steve- how his brows crease when he's confused, the way he talks and especially the way his innocent blue eyes stared at her. She miss him so much, she's starting to hate this mission.
Then finally, after four long weeks, Natasha got back to the tower- can't wait to see the only person she's been thinking of.
She emerged in the living room, but only Clint and Pepper were there.
"Where's everybody?" She asked as she sat on the couch next to Clint.
"Thor is still in Asgard. Steve, Tony and Bruce were sent on a mission. I wasn't able to come because Nathaniel was so ill for over a week." Clint answered.
"Is he okay now?"
"Yeah, he is, thankfully. Scared the shit out of me."
"What kind of mission were they sent to engage in?" she asked.
"A mission involving HYDRA."
Natasha's heart pounded on her chest, she was worried and it must have shown on her face because Pepper said, "They'll be alright, Nat."
"When did they leave?"
"A week ago."
She's got a really bad feeling about this.
"I'll go get some rest." She said.
Natasha found a note on her doorstep.
"We've been sent on a mission. I miss you so much. –S"
She sighed. She can't shake this bad feeling, so she decided to go to the gym.
She punched and kicked with all her strength.
Minutes later, Clint came in, catching his breath.
"Wanna spar with me, Clint?" she asked, smirking.
"Nat..." the tone of his voice caught her attention.
"What's the matter, Clint?" she asked walking towards him.
"It's Steve...he..."
A/N: Have you heard the rumors about Scarlett being on the set of Spiderman: Homecoming? Ugh! I think Natasha and Steve should have a cameo. 3