Thank you for your review from the previous chapter :)

And sorry for this stupid story I drag you guys into reading it. For those who hate this story, I suggest you stop reading it and never force you into reading what i wrote.


12 : The Make up

Everything turned out to rather well for Steve and Natasha after the Archive Break in incident. To everyone's surprise, the two came back downstairs together in one piece. Steve obviously didn't have any scratches on him, which they bet a lot of money on thinking he would have a broken arm from pissing Natasha off.

Natasha excused herself up to their floor while Steve hung around in the living area with the team after dinner. He had something to ask Stark about.

"Just spit it out, Cap." Tony spoke up.

"Uh...can I ask you something, Tony?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Do you have any seclude place that I can take Natasha for a week? I want to surprise her with this getaway."

"Are you going to murder her or something?" Tony asked. Eye widened.

"No! I just want to take her somewhere. Like a date."

"Hmm? What do you think, Pepper?" Tony turned to his life mate who sat next to him.

"Our island in the Caribbean would be nice. It's our private island. It should keep you away from nosy eyes of reporters." Pepper suggested "May I ask Captain? What made you change your mind about Natasha?"

Steve knew right then that everyone took Natasha's side but the way Pepper looked at him. Steve knew the CEO would hunt him down if he hurt Natasha or she would kill him right away if he didn't give her the right answer.

"Uh, I was kinda a jerk to her before but now I've realized that I had made the biggest mistake of my entire life. I want to make it up to her in every way I can and Natasha deserves a lot better than what I did to her in the past."

His answer warmed Pepper somehow and the CEO's lips twitched up a little.

"Private Jet will be waiting for you at the airport tomorrow."


Natasha was preparing to take a shower when she sensed someone's presence.

"Come out of the air duct, Barton!" She yelled and threw her knife at the air duct above her.

Clint yelped loudly before dropping from the air vent, "You don't need to do that, Nat."

"You shouldn't be sneaking around like this."

"Yeah, I'm a SHIELD agent. I never do anything normal!" Clint said before popped down on her bed.

"What are you doing here?" Natasha asked.

"Well, I came to discuss your situation with Captain Tight Ass." Clint replied casually, "I guess you and him have a very nice situation going on."

"You can say that. At least, we talk more. He's willing to listen to me and he didn't judge me when I told him about my past."

Clint only nodded and intently listened.

"I know he is trying very hard." Natasha continued, "I can say that I beginning to enjoy my time with him"

"Don't worry, you guys will have your happy ending."

"Why are you being so optimistic?"

"I still have my hopes of finding my soulmate, Nat."

Before Natasha could reply she heard the elevator dinged, that must be her soulmate. She heard footsteps coming to her room.

"Go now." Natasha commanded and Clint jumped up to his air vent.

"See ya sucker!" and with that followed by two knives thrown by Natasha.

Steve opened the door to her room.

"Hey, is everything okay? I heard you talk to someone. And what 's with the knives up there?" The Captain asked and pointed at the ceiling.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just talking to Clint." She replied and went up to him.

"Can we talk?" His voice turned serious.

Natasha knew something must be coming up and she was afraid that some drama might be coming up too.

"Yeah sure thing" But she accepted him anyway.

He closed the space between them and held her hands gently, "I need you to pack up your thing…."

"Are you kicking me out?" She interrupted, "ARE YOU KICKING YOUR OWN SOULMATE OUT?!"

"Natasha! It's supposed to be a surprise but tomorrow we will head out to Caribbean."

That shut Natasha up for a good one minute while she was trying to process what he just told her. She tried to say something but there was nothing leaving her mouth.

"This is the first time I've made you speechless." He noted and Nat threw a light punch at his arm.

"Don't be so smug." She fired back, "And are you sick or something?"

"No, I cannot get sick. The serum in my veins literally wipe all the sickness out of my life."

"Then why are we going to the Caribbean?"

"I want to make everything up to you, Natasha. For all the bad things I have done to you. I was a jerk and it was real stupid of me to do all those things to you without thinking. And for breaking into SHIELD's super-secret archive and read your file, that was very inconsiderate, inappropriate and I shouldn't have done it." He explained, "So are we going or not?"

Natasha gave him a bright smile, "I would love to."


"You don't have to bring your shield with you, Steven." Natasha said as she was looking at their pile of luggage.

"You don't have to bring your guns either, Natasha." Steve retorted, "We are going to have a nice vacation and nothing will happen."

"Are you saying that there will be no wild animal attacking us?"

"Yes, there will be no wild animal attacking us." Steve insisted.

"Are you guys done?" Happy asked as he was waiting for them to finish with their arguing.

The couple entered a staring contest before Steve spoke up first.

"Fine, you can bring your guns but I get to bring my shield as well."

Happy helped them with the luggage and took the elevator down to the garage while Natasha and Steve said goodbye to their friends.

"Don't kill each other, okay?" Pepper asked

"Just don't blow our house up." Tony agreed.

"Guys, don't worry. We're good now." Natasha reassured them again "We will be back in a week."

Everyone wished them a good luck before they met up with Happy down at the garage and went straight to the airport. The Stark industries private jet was already waiting for them. Natasha shoved sunglasses and baseball cap into Steve's hands.

"Wear it!" Steve complied, "It will help conceal your identity."

"What identity?"

Natasha didn't answer but got out of the car and went straight to the private jet. The attendant greeted her cheerfully,

"Good morning, Miss Rushman."

"Good morning, Irene." Natasha replied

Steve only gave the flight attendant a nod and followed Natasha inside the plane. They sat next to each other. The captain announced that the plane will take off in ten minutes. Steve planted his hands tightly on the armrest.

Natasha noticed it and grabbed his hand, He looked at her and saw how understanding she was. She knew he might be frighten by this.

"You should let go of the armrest before you break it, Steve. You don't want to hear Stark bitching about it when we get back." She said and tried to pull his hand off, "Come on, you can hold my hand."

"I don't want to unintentionally hurt you." He said through gritted teeth and gripped tighter to his armrest "Natasha, I can break your hands."

"No, you won't." Natasha insisted before Steve slowly let go of armrest.

Natasha brought his arm to wrap around her shoulder before Natasha leaned her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Her other hand slipped into his hand.

"Ummm, this is perfect." She murmured "God, why are you always so warm?"

"Doctor Erskine told me it is because the serum increases my metabolic rate."

"I like it."

Steve began to relax as Natasha slowly falling asleep. Steve couldn't do anything but hold Natasha in his arms and made sure she was sleeping comfortably.

Steve spent a good amount of time watching her peaceful form and couldn't help but slowly fall asleep as well.


"Mr. Rogers, Miss Rushman, we arrived at the airport." The flight attendant woke the couple up.

Natasha mumbled something but didn't let go of Steve and snuggled further in his embrace.

"Can you give us a moment?"

"Of course." She told "The car will wait for you outside and the driver will take you to the pier to your speed boat."

"Thank you, ma'am."

The attendant left them alone. Steve sat still and finally, Natasha began to stir and hug him tighter. When she realized Steve was still holding her, she decided to push his limit further.

"Carry me to the car." She commanded and felt Steve tensed up a little and didn't say anything in reply.

Then he got up and left her there on the seat. It left Nat with a worse feeling than she'd ever had. Nat thought that they were moving forward but now they were back to square one again.

But then a sudden warmth envelop her as she felt him draping a blanket on her before scooping her up bridal style. Nat smiled and closed her eyes again.

"Where to, Mr. Rogers?" The driver asked

"The pier where Tony has his speedboat, please"

"Yes, sir."

When they arrived at the pier, Natasha insisted that she would drive the speedboat and Steve should trust her with it.

"I'm not gonna crash it." She told and got behind the wheel.

"I trust you."

They made it to the island safely and Steve carried everything into the house for them to find that Tony did install JARVIS in this beach house too.

"Evening, Captain Rogers and Agent Romanoff." JARVIS greeted them, "I will be at your service in case you need anything."

"Thanks, J." Nat said "Can you show us to our room?"

"Of course, ma'am."

The lights lite up and led them to the ocean view bed room.

"I can order everything you want from the main island and it will be delivered to the island."

"What do you have in the fridge now?" Steve asked

"Almost everything that human uses to cook food, sir."

"Great." The captain said. "What do you think about tonights dinner?'

"Don't know. Why don't we stroll the beach and relaxing for now?"

"Okay."

Steve unpacked their luggage but once he turned to talk to Natasha, he found a bare smooth expand of her back and he quickly turned back.

"What are you doing, Natasha?"

"Changing into my bikini so we can stroll on the beach or maybe enjoy the sun or the sea."

"Let's finish unpacking first."

"It can wait. Come on, Rogers!"

Steve did things too slow and Nat had to step in and did everything by herself. She found surfing shorts and pushed it in his hand. Steve tried to protest when Natasha began to unbutton his shirt quickly.

"Better get used to me stripping you off, Rogers. You don't know when Fury will decide it is the right time for us to go undercover as a married couple."

"You must miss it like crazy, being on the field and going undercover."

"You have no idea."

When his upper body was bare for her eyes to see. She took a moment to appreciate the magnificent sight in front of her. Thank you to Dr. Erskine for his serum and she was sure that Steve was way more gorgeous than Thor.

She couldn't help but touch his sculpted chest and traced her hand down his chiseled abs.

"If you don't mind, I will change into these shorts now." He spoke up

Natasha immediately withdrew her hand and turned away to give him a little privacy that she was sure she would violate again because she liked watching his muscle move. Steve turned around to see Natasha staring at him again, to be more specific, she was staring at his butt.

"Hurry up, grandpa, suns almost set. Judging by the amount of time for you to change your clothes."

Steve let Natasha drag him out of the house.


It ended up with them sitting on the beach and enjoying the peaceful sunset together. It became quite normal for them now to have an easy and long conversation without it ending in an argument. Steve opened up about himself more but she knew he was still hiding something.

There was some part in his life he was trying to keep to himself because he wasn't sure if that when the truth came to light, she might change the way she saw him. Because everyone will always see him as Captain America, not the real him, not Steve Rogers, the kid from Brooklyn. Natasha made a secret vow to herself that she will destroy every wall Steve was trying to build.

Even when the sun had already disappeared and only the stars occupied the blackest sky, the couple were still talking and exchanging their list of personal preferences.

Then Natasha began to name the constellations in the sky. Steve was surprised at how much she knew about stars and space. Her eyes were on the starry sky but Steve's were on her beautiful face and were marveling at how beautiful she was and how her green eyes sparkled with happiness.

"When I was trained by the Red Room, they taught us to remember stars because it could help us know our current location when we were lost."

"That's pretty amazing."

"Thanks" She turned on her side and smiled at him, "What about Captain America? Did they teach you anything back in the day?"

"Well, it was pretty much what was written in the file." He replied, "I can draw but I acquired this skill long before I became Captain America. I am an Arts student and I also worked as an illustrator."

"You must be very good at it."

"You can say that. It was the only thing I was good at before I turned into this." He gestured his buff body, "But the side effect of the serum mean I have a photographic memory. I can remember every little tiny detail and draw them accurately."

"Anything that you want to capture in particular?"

"Since I woke up, everythings shaken me to my very foundation but they all also amazed me. The only downside is that I don't want to do it anymore." He looked sad so Natasha had to wrap her arms around his big frame, "The same thing goes for my shield."

"You will fully get back on your feet soon, Steve. I've been with you every day and I can see that you've made a lot of progress."

He placed a kiss on her forehead. That was the most intimate thing he had ever done to her. They laid down together quietly and savored the peaceful moment until they felt the cold wind blow and Natasha shivered in his arms.

"Maybe we should get back inside before you catch a cold." He suggested.

"Yeah, we should."

Steve gently picked Natasha up in his arms and carried her back inside the house. Natasha loved how gentle he was with her lately. She could see that he was a changed man now compared to when they first met.

It was getting better every day they were together. He finally let her in and accepted her as his soulmate.

They took a shower separately before they met up at the master bed room. Natasha leaned back on the bed, indulgently watching her soulmate who wore only sweatpants and white tank top. Steve sat down next to her and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

It wasn't her sleepwear or anything that took him off guard but it was when she put her gun under the pillow and one hand clenching at the gun.

It must be her training, Steve thought to himself. Or maybe her spy instinct.

He will fix it, he vowed to himself, his soulmate will feel safe and secure around him, enough to make her forget about her gun. It wasn't the good way to live, to be alarmed all the time, afraid that someone might kill you while you were asleep.

Steve wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her shoulder blade, "Goodnight, Natasha."

"Good night, Steve."


They spent most of the next couple of days outside the house. Natasha rented them snorkeling gear, scuba diving gears, and a metal detector for a scavenging hunt. Steve couldn't say no to her because the childish smile that Natasha gave him was making him say yes every time.

If she was happy then he was happy too.

They did have a very good time and a lot of fun. Natasha was like a little child when they walked along the beach with a metal detector and screamed every time they found something even it turned out to be a garbage.

Steve had more luck in finding the treasure though. When Natasha finally gave up and sat down, soaking up the sun, he got a chance to use the detector and found a silver ring and a small gold medallion.

"Why are you luckier than me?" She asked when Steve came back to her.

She swore that the captain looked very proud that he found something when he showed it to her.

"Which one do you choose?" He asked back

"I will go with the gold medallion."

"On a second thought…I think I will keep it."

"You suck, Rogers!"

He laughed at her and Natasha initiating a brawl on the sand. She was able to hold Steve in a choke hold before he surrendered. Well, he didn't want to hurt her so he let her win. It was overall a pretty fun day and left them both exhausted when they got home.

The next day, Natasha just wanted to sleep and woke up again at noon. She was fully recharged and Steve had to follow her outside the house because she wanted a sun bath. This time it was completely taken to the next level. When Steve done with applying the sunscreen to her, Natasha took her top off and Steve covered his eyes.

"Natasha! What the hell are you doing?"

"I don't want to have a bikini line. I want my skin tanned equally everywhere."

"Put it back on!"

"NOOO"

It ended up with Steve had to use her magazine to cover his face the whole time and Natasha had a very good time teasing him about it. Steve blushed deep red on his ears. He muttered something that Natasha didn't catch. When they were done with sun bathing, Natasha got her a beautiful tan whereas Steve got a sunburn and that made Natasha laughed and quickly snapped their picture together.

"Come on, soldier. Let's get back inside the house."


Steve woke up the next day and found that Natasha was still asleep. He gently untangled himself from her, being extremely careful not to wake her up and get shot in the face. He wrote her a small note before silently padding downstairs to prepare their breakfast.

Ten minutes later, Natasha walked into the kitchen and greeted him cheerfully. It was just as he had suspected. She had woken up precisely ten minutes after he woke up because he wasn't near her.

He made her pancakes, eggs and bacon. Natasha suggested that they should go try fishing today so they could get something for their last dinner of this holiday session because tomorrow they will be heading back to New York.

But they ended up at the fish market on the main island because Natasha could easily change her mind. Steve picked up sea brass for them before they picked up other ingredients for tonight.

This marked the first time Steve cooked something sophisticated and complicated for her. To be honest, he was really good at cooking and Natasha loved it. Steve looked proud when she told him that. After that, they were sharing a nice quiet time together, sipping the white wine.

Steve looked into her beautiful green eyes and gently grabbed her hands, "I want to thank you for everything, Natasha. For being extremely patient with me even when I'm being a total asshole." He said sincerely "I bet you've tried to shoot me for a couple times, haven't you?"

"You have no idea, soldier." She smiled at him teasingly.

"I'm sorry about that." He looked down at her hands but Natasha cupped her hands between his face, "But it is because of you that I am not completely losing my mind."

"You're welcome, soldier." She replied, "But there will be no more apologizing because you already say it."

"But I will not stop making up for it." He insisted, "Because I still have a lot to make up."

"Fine…I will let you spoil me as much as you can because I kinda like it."

"Yes, ma'am." Steve smiled and kissed the palm of her hand.

"Do you think you can tell me more about you?" Natasha said

"Like what?"

"Everything."

"I will." He nodded, "When we get back, I have something to show you. It's the first thing you should know about me."


AN:

- Please check out my new story, "Bad Romance" It's a Teacher/student AU

-Thanks to my proofreader, eilishslittleuniverse

-Please kindly leave a review.