"Okay, that's it for today, guys." Steve said, announcing the end of the group session. "Remember we'll meet next week an hour later."

People said goodbye to him and he nodded at them. He felt like he was now better at his job with his own depression getting better. His thoughts were with Natasha and he constantly worried about her and her condition, but he wasn't drowning in his grief anymore. He still missed Natasha, he had her back, but not really, but he was okay. He was almost happy. Natasha was alive and safe and that was more than he could ask for.

He tidied everything up and then left the center. He stopped on his way home by the grocery store to buy food for him and Liho and then drove home. The little furball greeted him happily and couldn't wait for him to fill her bowl with food. He heated up his dinner in the microwave and contemplated if he should call Natasha. She'd given him her number before he'd had to go back to Brooklyn and told him to call her. He hadn't yet. He was going to call her after his dinner.

Steve finished his food in record time and went to his bedroom to call her. He'd closed the door so Liho couldn't sneak in. He didn't want her to hear Nat's voice yet. He didn't want to confuse the cat.

Natasha picked up after the fourth ring.

"Grant?"

"Hi, Lena."

"Hi!" She sounded really happy. "I'm really glad you called! How are you?"

He told her about what he'd done in the last days since his visit. About his work and his art classes. She asked him questions and then talked about herself. She almost seemed ashamed that she didn't have that much going on, but he didn't understand why. She liked what she was doing and that was the only thing that mattered. She was currently trying to make macarons and not happy with her results.

"When can you come?"

"The day after tomorrow. I have to do paperwork tomorrow, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize! It's not fair that you have to drive all those miles...If I only wouldn't get these headaches, then I could take the train to see you."

"It's okay, doll. I don't mind." He would drive to the end of the world to just see her for one second.

"Doll?" Natasha chuckled. "What are you? 80?!"

Add 25 years, he thought to himself. "Sorry."

"No, don't be! I didn't mean to make fun of you. It's just Stan calls every woman doll and he's 83."

"It just slipped."

"You can call me doll if you want."

"Another man is already calling you that. Makes me almost jealous."

"I'm not interested in him."

Now Steve was blushing. He wasn't totally clueless, he knew that she was implying. "Good."

"We could watch a movie when you come? I only have an old TV and a video recorder 'cause I can't handle blue light at the moment and you probably have already seen everything I have but-"

"I'd love to watch a movie with you!" He blurted out. That sounded like a date, right?

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, sweetheart." Damn, another endearment slipped.

"I like that one better." She said softly. "I can't wait to see you."

He swallowed. "Me, too."

"I have to get up early tomorrow morning for work." She sounded unhappy about that. Like she didn't want to stop talking to him. He didn't want to stop talking to her either. "Goodnight, Grant."

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

Bucky had asked him if he wanted to meet for beers and Steve'd told him that he had to do something for his art class. He couldn't tell Buck that he was going out of town again. Steve couldn't tell him the reason for it. He felt bad for lying to his best friend and for leaving Liho alone again, but he didn't feel too bad to not see Nat. Her pull was too strong.

He played with Liho to power her out and she was sleeping by the time he left. He'd refilled her cat feeder and left his bedroom door open so she could sleep in his bed if she decided that she didn't want the couch anymore.

It was late afternoon when he reached his destination. It was raining and Steve was glad that he would be inside very soon. Natasha had told him that she lived above the bakery and that she would meet him inside the shop. He walked through the door and Betty did not seem that happy to see him, but he was sure that she had known that he was coming.

"Hello!" He said politely and Betty nodded at him.

"Grant!"

Natasha ran down the stairs that he now only noticed for the first time. She looked very happy to see him and he grinned at her. God, he couldn't even remember the last time he'd grinned. She stopped in front of him, her cheeks flushed from her run.

"Hi."

"Hi."

He could feel Betty watching them. Natasha took his hand and led him up the stairs to her place. It was tiny, a one bed apartment with a kitchenette, but it looked cozy and warm.

"I know it's not much."

"I love it." He told her truthfully. His gaze landed on the huge amount of books that seemed to be on every surface.

"The town donated them to me." She said with a smile. "I need to get another shelf for them, but well, there's no IKEA around here. And I don't have a car."

Steve spotted a DVD collection of FRIENDS. A show that he'd binge-watched with Nat during their time at the compound. "I thought you only have a video recorder?"

"For now. Stan's son said I can have his old DVD player when he gets his new entertainment center. He only wants me to bake him a pie in return."

Was money tight for Natasha? It had to be. She couldn't make much at the bakery and she basically had to re-buy everything. She was starting from scratch. Steve didn't think that Fury could have come up with a lie that would have let Natasha have excess to her funds. Natasha's funds were still untouched and Steve figured that there were probably even more accounts that they didn't know about. But Natasha didn't seem to mind that she currently wasn't exactly rich.

She walked over to the cupboard the TV was standing on and opened a drawer that revealed video cassettes. "This is my collection. Pick one. I'll make us popcorn, if you like?"

"That sounds great!"

He searched for a movie that they hadn't seen before together. He didn't want to trigger her in any way. He was too scared that it could cause a seizure.

"How about Clueless?"

"Good choice!" She was with her back to him, looking inside her fridge. "Shit, I'm out of butter." She turned around and gave him an excusing smile. "I'll be right back. I'll borrow some from Betty. We can't have popcorn without butter. Do you want a soda? Or a beer?"

"A beer, please."

She gave him one and got herself a can of coke. She told him to get comfortable and left to get butter. He was about to sit down on her couch (it only had two seats and Steve was way too excited about being so close to Nat) when he heard voices from downstairs. Thanks to his enhancements he could hear Natasha and Betty.

"Be careful."

"Betty, you worry too much. Grant is one of the good ones, I can feel it."

"You don't know him."

"Technically I don't know myself either."

"Just...I don't want him to take advantage of you."

"What you think he's going throw himself on me? He won't do that. I may not know a lot of things right now, but that I do know. I trust him."

"Just be careful, cookie. Please."

"Okay, I will. For you."

Steve's stomach was twisted in knots, he felt guilty. Was Betty right? Was he taking advantage of her? Should he stay away from her until she remembered on her own? What he was doing was only helping him, not her. Maybe he was even making things worse for her. But he couldn't leave her. He just couldn't.

Natasha walked through the open door and held up a butter dish. She smiled happily at him and he couldn't help but grin back. She was happy that he was here. And he was over the fucking moon.

"Now we got everything for popcorn!"

"Let me help you."

She nodded and together they went into her tiny kitchenette and made popcorn. They were standing so close to each other due to the limited space, that all he could smell was her. She smelled differently, she was using a different shampoo and perfume, but there was still something that was just Natasha.

"You still there?" Her tone was amused.

He must have been staring at her. "Yes, sorry."

"The popcorn is done. We can start the movie."

He followed Natasha to the couch and put the bowl with popcorn on her coffee table. Natasha started the movie and sat down next to him on her couch. He wasn't really paying attention to the movie, he was focusing on Nat. He couldn't believe he was watching a movie with her. It had been so long since they'd done something like this. They had watched countless movies together, Natasha had wanted to update his pop culture knowledge. She'd mentioned Clueless to him after she'd said As if to Tony once, but they had never gotten around to watch it.

"You don't like the movie?" Natasha paused the film.

"What?"

"You keep looking at me and not the TV."

"No, the movie's fine. I just...Thank you for having me. I like looking at you. I'm afraid you disappear if I look away." He answered her honestly. "That's creepy, right?"

"No." She said softly. "I like that you're so open with me. I like looking at you, too. Your eyes are so kind." She smiled sadly. "Everyone here is so nice and sweet to me, but there's also pity in their eyes. Poor thing can't remember who she is. But you...There's no pity in your eyes. There's...I don't know what it is. I just know that I like the way you look at me. It makes me...It makes me feel special."

"You are special. You are so strong and kind, sweetheart." He almost said her real name. It wasn't the first time it'd almost slipped. Sweetheart seemed like the safest option and she was his sweetheart.

She closed her eyes. "I feel so safe around you, Grant." It sounded wrong in his ears that she called him by his middle name. "And I can't offer you much right now, just know that I feel drawn to you in ways I can't explain." She opened her eyes and the way she looked at him almost knocked him off the couch. "And maybe I don't need to explain it. I trust my gut and my heart. And they both tell me that I can trust you. And... I don't feel so lost with you by my side."

"Sweetheart..." He closed his eyes, overwhelmed by his emotions.

"I like it when you call me that. It feels right. Please keep calling me that. It feels more right than you calling me a name that is not my real one."

He wanted so badly to tell her that his name was Steve. That her name was Natasha. And that he loved her more than anything. That he'd loved her for so long and that he would always love her. That she was his whole world and that he'd been so fucking lost without her. That he would do anything for her.

He didn't even notice that he was crying until Natasha brushed his tears away. "What's wrong, honey?" She whispered softly.

He opened his eyes and Natasha looked at him with worry. "I'm so happy that you're in my life."

She gave him the most beautiful smile and pulled him into her arms. "Me, too."

He had no idea how long they hugged. He never wanted to leave her embrace. He hadn't felt that safe in forever. Natasha ran her hands down his back and he just clutched her sweater, unwilling to let go of her. Natasha suddenly moved to climb into his lap. She'd never done this before. Not that she currently knew that. He hugged her closer to him. Their chests were touching, but it still didn't feel close enough.

"Need to be close to you." She murmured and buried her face in his neck. She sighed happily. "Felt so alone until I met you."

"I was alone, too." He whispered back and hide his face in her soft hair.

"I don't want you to be alone." Her hold on him tightened.

I didn't want you to be alone. She was always looking out for him.

"I don't deserve you." Not after he had failed her so often.

Natasha shook her head and then looked at him. "Don't say something like that." She rested her forehead against his. "I...I want to kiss you, but I'm not ready yet." Her voice was barely a whisper. He wanted to kiss her, too, but he knew that he couldn't kiss her as long as she didn't remember.

"We have all the time in the world. I'll wait for you." He promised her fiercely. He'd wait years for her to remember.

She nodded and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Thank you."

There was suddenly a loud bang on the door and Steve's instinct was to fight, to protect Natasha. But Natasha didn't seem startled.

"I'm leaving. If you need me, call me, Lena!" Betty yelled from the other side of the door.

"I see you tomorrow." Natasha's gaze met his. "I'm good, Betty. No need to worry." Betty's footsteps could be heard and then she was gone. "I'm sorry. She's very protective."

"I get it." He smiled at her. "I'm very protective of you, too."

"Are you hungry? We could make grilled cheese?"

"I could eat."

Natasha told him over dinner more about Betty and the town. How the FBI agent responsible for her case (Steve had the very strong suspicion that the FBI agent was Fury) had brought her here because he knew Betty and that she needed help in her bakery. Betty had hired her on the spot and offered her the tiny apartment above the store. Natasha liked it here. was grateful for the help, but she also felt out of place. She kept wondering who she was and if people were looking for her. She enjoyed baking, so she wondered if she'd worked at a cafe or bakery before.

It wasn't easy to hear her wonder about her life, he had the answers, but he wasn't allowed to tell her. He started to think that it had nothing to do with the fall and everything to do with the Soul Stone. Natasha only seemed to have forgotten things about herself, she knew about historic events, but not about the ones she had been involved in. Steve was dying to talk to Strange about it.

"Do you have to drive back now?" Natasha asked after they cleaned up. She sounded like she didn't want him to. "You probably should, right? I mean before it's getting dark and driving a motorcycle can be dangerous."

He couldn't tell her that he could almost see perfectly in the dark. He wanted to stay here. He had been without her for over seven months, hating every second of it, and now he was soaking up every second with her.

"I can stay for a little longer if that's okay with you?"

Natasha's face lit up. "Of course it is!"

They ended up on her couch with her resting her head on his shoulder and he found the courage to wrap his arm around her. Natasha snuggled closer against him and laid her hand on his chest right over his heart. He was so happy, he could cry. He never dared to dream about this, about having her in his arms again. He was the luckiest guy in the world.

They were watching an old episode of Murder, she wrote and soon Natasha's breathing evened out and Steve knew she'd fallen asleep. He carefully moved around a bit so Natasha was more comfortable. He was grateful that he didn't need as much sleep as the rest of the population and that he could stay awake and enjoy this. Natasha was alive and in his arms, trusting him enough to sleep. He didn't sleep and yet it was the most relaxing night. Steve turned off the TV and hold tight onto Natasha.

Steve was slowly starting to drift off when Natasha started to wake up. She blinked her eyes open and blushed when she looked at him.

"Uh, hi. What time is it?"

He had to check his watch. "Almost 4 am."

She shot up. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Shit-"

"It's okay. I can still make it in time back to Brooklyn. I don't have appointments until this afternoon."

Natasha seemed to calm down. "I would hate it if you missed work because of me." She rubbed her eyes. "I have to get up in half an hour anyway. Betty's gonna be here soon..."

"She won't be happy to see me here." He chuckled. "I should get going anyway. My cat is probably wondering where I am."

Natasha made them coffee and they enjoyed it in a comfortable silence before she walked him downstairs to his bike. Steve had the suspicion that Betty would know soon enough that he'd spent the night. Nothing would stay a secret in a small place like this. She kissed him on the cheek and he pulled her into a hug, burying his face in her hair one last time.

"I'll call you tonight?"

"I'd love that." He answered her. "Have a great day."

"You, too."

He got onto his bike and Natasha stayed outside until he left the village. As soon as he was out of the village, another bike came out of nowhere and started to follow him. This was not good. Steve's thoughts were immediately with Natasha and that he had to protect her. No one was going to hurt her. He drove past the freeway entrance ramp and the other bike was still following him. A man was following him. Steve slowed down and so did the other biker. And then he recognized the man. Steve stopped his bike and waited. Natasha wasn't in danger, but he was definitely screwed.

Fuck!

Bucky got off his bike and walked towards him. "I think we need to talk."