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10: Dating A Fossil

The first two weeks of their relationship had turned out much better than Steve and Natasha expected. To their surprise, both Clint and Tony managed to keep their secret safe. Tony might have on few occasions almost spilled about Steve dating his out-of-this-world-sexy 22 years-old student, but the billionaire did have better control of himself and he was able to hold his tongue in the end.

Their friends often stopped by Steve's apartment to check on the couple. Clint mostly wanted to make sure that Natasha was doing fine, and whether she was really happy with Steve. He often came to join them for dinner because he figured it could save him some money and at the same time, he got to keep an eye on Natasha. Steve never said anything and continued to be the generous host that he was.

As for Tony, he liked hanging out with the couple because, well, Natasha was hot. The reason had earned him a deadly glare from Steve, who later considered if he should just throw his friend out of the building and banned him from seeing Natasha ever again. To Steve's amazement, Natasha and Tony hit it off straightaway. The two bonded over weird little things, like right now, they were laughing silly over Tony's tale on Steve's most embarrassing moment.

"Can you two stop laughing? It was just that one time! Also, it was clearly Tony's fault since he was the one who pulled down my sweatpants in the middle of the gym!"

"What, Steve? It's funny!" Natasha giggled and Tony had a shit-eating grin on his face, clearly enjoying Steve's discomfort. "And I need to hear more of your epic childhood stories."

"Seriously though, he nearly made half of the girls in our gym class faint after they saw him in just his Calvin Klein underwear."

"Aww, half of the women in New York witnessed that?"

"You two make the worst nightmare…" Steve grumbled as Natasha and Tony burst into another round of laughter, "Tony, you should go home now."

"Aw, no! At least let me finish this beer first."

"You're not welcome for dinner with us again."

"You're welcome here for dinner anytime, Tony Stark." Natasha corrected, casting an amused smile in Steve's direction.

"I'm starting to like her more than you, Rogers."

Steve merely shook his head and went back to cooking their dinner. Although he refused to admit it out loud, Steve was happy to see his girlfriend and best friend got along really well. The only downside was that he didn't make as great of a progress with Barton. Steve supposed the guy would never really accept the fact that his teacher was now screwing his best friend. Barton had every reason to doubt Steve, because given his powerful status, he could do as he pleased and ended up hurting Natasha.

Of course that wasn't true. Steve deeply cared for Natasha, even if Barton wasn't totally convinced with his feelings for her. Still, their mutual affection for the girl they both cared about was the only thing that had Clint and Steve act civil around each other.

Problem was, Steve was having a difficult time trying to adjust with the level of physical contacts between his girlfriend and Barton. They always shared these little intimate gestures, which Steve found quite upsetting. Wasn't it at all strange that a man and a woman who weren't in a romantic relationship behaved that way?

One very recent example was when Clint and Tony came to Steve's apartment for dinner together with the couple that Thursday. Natasha and Clint volunteered to cook because Tony needed Steve to help him look over some business proposals. Steve however couldn't focus, always sneaking glances at his girlfriend only to find she was laughing happily at some joke Barton must have told her. Their cooking soon turned into a little food fight, which led to Clint holding Natasha in his arms to lock her in place.

"Okay, okay! I surrender!" Natasha squealed while trying wiggle out of his hold.

Clint chuckled, "You suck, Red."

Their faces were only inches away from each other and Steve instantly stiffened. A part of him wanted to march over there and drag Natasha as far away from Barton as possible. He wanted to keep her away from any man for that matter. Tony obviously noticed his silent anger because Steve almost crushed the wine glass in his hand.

Thankfully, Clint jumped away when Natasha put an egg on his head. Steve visibly relaxed after seeing a bit of a distance between them. Tony could tell that Steve was going to say something about this soon. His friend would try to keep it together, but he would reach his breaking point eventually. And knowing Steve, he wouldn't be able to hold it much longer.

For his part, Steve worked hard to get himself used to their closeness. He just had to learn to accept that he couldn't have Natasha all to himself. Except when they were finally alone again. When Natasha was back in his arms once again, and she was kissing him for all his worth. When he made sweet love to her and his name fell repeatedly from her lips in a breathless cry of pleasure. When it was just the two of them, it was easy for Steve to forget everything, and everyone else.

Clint had been teasing Natasha relentlessly ever since she and Steve announced their relationship. He would be annoying her to no end, telling her that she was dating a fossil even after Natasha defended that her boyfriend was only 7 years older than she.

"He's not that old, Clint!" She claimed for the hundredth time, "I'm pretty sure he looks younger than you."

He waved her off, "Oh please."

"Well, he's definitely in better shape than you. Wait until you see his abs."

"I do not wish to see your boyfriend's abs, ever. And you only say that because you're sleeping with him every night."

"Not every night! I do stay at my apartment sometimes."

Clint shrugged, "Whatever. He's still a fossil to me. You know, I never thought you were into older guys."

"I don't actually have a type." Natasha casually replied, "What happened between Steve and I... I don't know, it just happened. There's already this spark from the beginning... and it just feels right, being with him."

"The sex must be really spectacular if you keep coming back to him."

She grinned at him, "You can say that."

"God! No, I don't need to hear it..." He quickly covered his ears as Natasha went on to describe the details of her sex life, mostly to annoy Clint.

She was bored and there weren't many customers at the coffee shop that Friday afternoon. Clint and Natasha spent most of their shift just chatting among themselves and joking around.

"Hey, your boyfriend is here." Clint nodded to where Steve was just getting out of his limo and leaning against it.

She had about ten minutes until her shift was over so Steve texted her that he would be waiting right around the corner. As soon as she finished, Natasha bid Clint a quick goodbye and hurried off to meet Steve. She literally jumped inside the car and landed on her boyfriend. They began making out furiously once David closed the door.

"As much as I miss you, I need to stay at my place tonight."

Steve pouted at that, "But it's Friday."

"I know, but I've a lot of homework that I want to get done by tonight so I could spend my weekend with you without anything to worry." She explained with a smile.

"Okay." He then lowered the partition, "David, to Miss Romanov's apartment, please."

"Yes, sir."

Steve resumed his make-out session with Natasha. He was pinning her down on the seat and kissing her feverishly when they arrived at Natasha's apartment. David notified his boss once he parked the car in front of the building.

Natasha was trying to push Steve off of her, but he was too strong. "You'll have me all to yourself tomorrow, Steve." She laughed at his protest, "Patience, lover boy. Good things come to those who wait."

He groaned and reluctantly got off of her, "Fine. I'll pick you up tomorrow."

She told Steve he didn't need to walk her to her room, and then planted another kiss on his lips before waving goodbye and walking inside. Steve waited until Natasha was out of sight before he drove off.

They had a video chat during dinner. Natasha was having Chinese takeout while Steve was eating spaghetti. Their conversation flowed easily, it was almost as if they were in the same room instead of a phone call away. Steve didn't say it out loud, but he was about to go crazy the longer he was away from Natasha. Once dinner was finished, she blew him a kiss through the screen and said she needed to get back to her homework. Steve couldn't help but smile at his adorable girlfriend.

"I'll call you later when I go to bed."

"Okay." He said, "I miss you."

"Miss you too."

Steve tried to busy himself with work but to no avail. Even sketching was out of the question. He kept thinking of Natasha and how much he missed her. He considered calling her again, but he knew she must have still been busy with homework. Steve was pacing back and forth, hoping to kill time, but it also didn't help. It was only 8 PM and he was about to lose it, so he immediately called David to pick him up.

Ten minutes later, Steve was standing in front of her door.

Natasha's eyes widened in surprise when she saw him, "What the hell are you-"

He stopped her with a desperate kiss and pulled her close as he lifted her small body off of her feet, "I'm about to go crazy without you, Natasha." He murmured against her lips and carried her inside.

"Steve! I still have to finish my homework." She ordered, "Put me down!"

He chuckled as Natasha wriggled in his embrace, "Can we just make out before you go back to work?"

"No! But you can sit here quietly and wait until I'm done."

With a laugh, Steve set her down and let her go back to working on her sculpture, but his eyes never left her. He took note of Natasha in her apron, and her red curls that were now pulled back in a messy ponytail. She looked so cute that Steve couldn't resist snatching a blank paper and a pencil and began drawing the perfection in front of him.

They were both working silently for a while with only the sounds of Natasha's wooden chisel and Steve's pencil grazing the paper. Every now and then, their eyes met and they would exchange shy little smiles before continuing with their respective work. Finally two hours later, Natasha announced that her work was done.

"I will go take a shower." She told Steve, who briefly looked up from his sketch and nodded.

She sauntered pass her boyfriend before turning to face him again with a sly smile, "Care to join me?"

Natasha smirked at how fast Steve dropped everything and followed her inside the bathroom. They got into the bathtub together and she leaned back against his chest. Steve encased her in his arms and helped her cleaning up as his lips trailed kisses on her soft skin.

"Don't fall asleep yet, sweetheart." He whispered and lightly nibbled on her earlobe.

"I'm just relaxing." She replied and tilted her head back to kiss him.

After a good half hour, Steve carried her out of the tub so they both could dry off. By the time he picked Natasha up again and carried her to the bed, she was already half asleep. She must have been really exhausted.

Kissing her forehead gently, he whispered, "Good night, my love."

Natasha smiled sleepily and murmured back, "Night night, Steve."

Steve made sure that she was sleeping soundly before he went back to his apartment.

She woke up to the smell of pancakes and her favorite Chamomile tea. Blinking a few times, her sleep-induced mind wondered who was in her kitchen this early in the morning. It was probably Clint stealing her food again. Natasha groaned groggily as she got out of bed and made her way to the kitchen.

"Clint, there's no leftover pizza in my fridge!" She muttered in annoyance while trying to adjust her sleepwear, "And you know I don't drink coffee so there's no coffee in my cabinet either!"

"Morning, Natasha." The voice stopped Natasha in her tracks and she was fully awake all of a sudden. There, standing in her kitchen and making her breakfast, was none other than Steve Rogers.

He turned around and smiled at her, "Tea is ready. Pancakes will be ready in two minutes. I've also picked up some groceries for you since I noticed there wasn't much left in your fridge and cabinet."

Natasha blinked, trying to let everything sink in. Her boyfriend was in her kitchen. She blinked again to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

"How the hell did you get in here?" She finally croaked out, voice still raspy from sleep.

"Uh-you have a key under your doormat." Steve replied sheepishly, then his expression turned serious, "Which I highly recommend you not to do because it's too dangerous and you live here alone."

"How long have you been here?"

"About three hours. I couldn't sleep anyway."

He began telling her about his night but Natasha quickly silenced him with a kiss that made Steve forget about everything else except the feel of her lips against his.

"Good morning to you too, Mr. Rogers."

He made an approval sound and resumed kissing her.

"Steve, my breakfast…"

"Right." He released her from his embrace and went back to flipping the pancakes.

They enjoyed a quiet breakfast together before things started to get heated. After an hour of passionate make-out session, Steve carried Natasha back into the bedroom and the couple ended up staying in there for the rest of the day. It was the first time they did it at her apartment.

The last round they did it, Natasha almost blacked out and now she was too sore to move. Steve collapsed on top of her but his mouth continued to pepper kisses on her skin.

"Do you think my neighbors heard us?"

"I think the entire New York City heard us, darling." He smiled against her neck, "You weren't exactly quiet."

She slapped his arm playfully, "Stop it. You're the one who made me do all of that."

"Hmm? Now it's my fault?"

"Yeah, you wanted me to scream your name, remember?"

"I do love it when you did that."

They lied there quietly side-by-side, trying to catch their breath. When Natasha could finally move her body again, she found that her boyfriend was already asleep. That was when she noticed the dark circles under his eyes. Why couldn't he sleep last night? She looked at him lovingly and pressed a tender kiss on his cheek. Curling herself around his body, she laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

They slept for about three hours until the ringing from Natasha's phone interrupted their peaceful slumber. Steve mumbled incoherently as Natasha crawled over his body to grab her phone.

"Hey, Clint." She greeted the person on the other line.

"There's a party at Bucky's tonight. You wanna come?"

"No, I think I'm just gonna stay in with my boyfriend."

"Come on, Nat. Everyone's going!"

"I'm tired, Clint."

But Clint was being rather persistent so Steve took the phone from her, "Barton, this is Natasha's boyfriend. We just had sex in every possible way you could imagine so we kinda need some sleep right now."

"EWWW!"

"See you on Monday, Mr. Barton, and enjoy your party."

With that, Steve hung up and handed Natasha her phone back, "Let's go back to sleep, darling." Natasha let out a low chuckle and did as he said.

Sunday was spent leisurely at Steve's penthouse. The couple mostly just lazed around and watched a few movies. At some point, Steve challenged Natasha to a game of Mario Kart and his girlfriend surprised him with her exceptional skill in it.

"Clint made me do it." Natasha said by way of explanation as she continued to defeat him in the game.

They ended the night with the same routine, which was with another round of vigorous lovemaking session that left them both breathless yet completely sated.

Monday

Steve woke her up by going down on her, and then proceeded to make love to her so sweetly that Natasha felt boneless afterwards. She was now lying limply in bed, panting and utterly sore while Steve was kissing all over body. She could feel that he was about to go for another round because his cock was already hard again.

"Stop it, Steve." Natasha shoved him playfully, "I'm still sore from all the sex we had."

"But…"

"No 'but', lover boy." She tugged lightly at his hair, "I have class and you make it really hard for me to get up."

But Steve ignored her and brought his lips down to suck on her nipple, eliciting a throaty moan from Natasha.

"I have to go to work too."

"At the coffee shop?"

"Hmm..."

"You don't have to." He said, looking into her beautiful green eyes, "How much do they pay you?"

"$9 per hour. Why?"

"I will cover that so you don't need to work there again."

She rolled her eyes, "Now I'm accepting cash from you."

"I don't mean it that way, Natasha." Steve explained, "I just want to be with you and you don't have to work there when I can afford everything that you need."

"Can you buy me a country?"

"Does a private island count?"

"It can be."

Natasha kissed him and stared into his loving blue eyes, "I still need to go to work."

"But you don't have to."

"I know. I want to."

"Fine, I'll pick you up after work."

She smiled and kissed him again, "You're the best."

"I know." He gave her a mischievous smile, "Does that mean we can have sex one more time before we leave?"

Steve pinned her back down on the bed without waiting for an answer. Natasha's giggles echoed through the bedroom, which soon muffled by Steve's mouth sealing their lips together in a demanding kiss. Yeah, like she could ever resist him.

They spent most of their day separately. Steve was busy with classes and staff meeting in the afternoon. Similarly, Natasha had classes all day and a scheduled appointment with her Applied Fine Arts professor to discuss her project outline.

She couldn't be happier once she was done with her last subject of the day. Natasha met up with Clint, who was already waiting for her outside the classroom. They were about to leave the university for their shift at the coffee shop when a familiar voice called out.

"Hey, guys!" A tall brunette stood in front of them and grinned at their stunned expression.

"Maria!" Clint and Natasha chorused at the same time and went to hug their friend.

Clint was first to speak, "Long time no see, girl. Did you just get back?"

"How have you been?" Natasha chimed in.

Maria Hill went to high school with Clint and Natasha. She was also attending the same university as the two, but studying a different major. Maria was a Business student who had spent the past year doing internship overseas.

"I'm doing great. Just came back from Europe. I've to submit my first half of the thesis before I return to London in a couple of weeks." She looked at her friends, "You guys still stick tight together, huh?"

"Yeah, no one wants to be our friend." Natasha joked, earning a chuckle from Maria.

"Are you guys doing anything tonight?" Maria asked, "Do you wanna hang out? Catch up a little?"

"Yeah, sure." Clint replied, "Our friend Sam is bartending at this new bar in Brooklyn. We can go there and check it out after Nat and I finish our shift."

"Sounds good."

While Clint and Maria continued to exchange stories, Natasha silently slipped away to call her boyfriend.

Steve answered after the second ring, "Hey, darling. Is your shift over? I'll come and pick you up right away."

"No, I just want to tell you that I'll be hanging out with Clint tonight. Our friend just got back in town so we're all going to this new bar in Brooklyn to catch up."

"Oh…"

"You don't have to pick me up."

"Barton will be your ride, right? Or do you need me to pick you up at the bar?"

"No, that's okay. Clint will drop me off at my apartment later."

"Okay, have a good time, sweetheart. Call me if you need anything."

"I will."

"I miss you."

"I miss you too, Steve."

AN:

- Thanks to my dear friend and my proofreader and my cowriter, sleeplessinbudapest.

- sleeplessinbudapest is also putting this story on Ao3

- Please kindly leave a review.