DISCLAIMER: ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE.

The rating of this story has CHANGED from T to M now, due to sexual content. Please bare this warning in mind if you decide to continue reading.

This chapter takes place a few months after the events of Age of Ultron.

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"You need to be faster." Natasha bit out, facing her opponent and lowering her body, slowly, never once breaking eye contact wth the woman facing her. "You need to already know the next move of your enemy before they strike, so you can apprehend them."

Wanda groaned miserably. "Why do I have to learn all this? I've never had to use physical force. My power has always been enough."

Natasha's tongue clicked in annoyance. That had been the third time within the hour that Wanda had used that excuse. "You need to strengthen your body until you are just as physically strong as your power. You might not always be able to rely on it to get you out of a tricky situation." Natasha pointed out, resisting the urge to grit her teeth. They'd been at it for hours, and Wanda was still not getting her head around it.

The girl regarded her with those watchful eyes, which flickered brightly, just as the red mist that she could create from her hands, powerful enough to lift buildings and crush cars as if they were purely toys. But, just because her power was formidable, didn't mean that she was. Wanda was sensitive, and responded better to Steve's approach to training, but Steve wasn't here right now, so Natasha had taken over.

The tension between the two women had eased considerably since Sokovia, since the cargo ship where Wanda had used her power against Natasha. But, Natasha couldn't help being prickled every time Wanda would look at Steve as if he was the best thing that had ever happened. Perhaps, it really was just because she respected him so much, and was thankful for him for giving her a second chance. But, either way, Natasha didn't like sharing.

Also, whenever those red fibres appeared from thin air, Natasha felt ready to throw up.

"Every member of this team needs to be qualified in physical combat." Natasha went on, fully aware that she was perhaps being a little too pushy, but she didn't make amends. "We can't risk having a weak link."

Wanda bristled. "I am not weak."

"Prove it," Natasha taunted her, knowing exactly what she was playing at. Wanda needed to be angry, needed to feel as if she had to prove herself, otherwise they would never get anywhere. Steve was far too patient for his own good, not wanting to push the girl too far past her comfort zones. Natasha was the opposite; they didn't have all the time in the world, and being pushed was the only way to improve.

They spared again, this time with Wanda trying a bit harder. Although Natasha still pinned her to the floor at the end and technically defeated her, at least she'd had a better attitude.

"Go get yourself cleaned up." Natasha told her, stepping off her. "We'll try again in the morning."

Wanda rose to her feet and let without a word. Natasha watched her leave, feeling slightly disappointed that the girl hadn't bitten back. How much would she have to push Wanda, before the girl could protect herself fully?

"Do you not think you're being a little too hard on her?" Steve's voice echoed into the training room, and when Natasha checked over her shoulder, she found her boyfriend in the doorway. Casually, he leaned against one shoulder, his arms crossed and an amused light to his eyes. His light grey shirt didn't leave much to the imagination when it came to the sculptured beauty of his chest and arms.

Natasha made a face at him. "One of us has to be." She pointed out, referring to his own training sessions.

"Wanda has been through a lot." Steve reminded her calmly. He didn't have to explain further; they had both been there when Wanda's twin brother, Pietro, had died on the battlefield shielding Clint Barton, Natasha's best friend and their former team mate. They'd seen the devastation on her face, felt it through her power as she raged over the floating city. After, they'd seen her crumble in Vision's arms and cry until her eyes were red raw.

"We've all been through a lot, Steve." She got to her feet, brushing the dust off her black leggings. "We'll continue to go through a lot worse, as well. They have to be ready. Sam and Vision are both coming along with their combat well enough, and even Rhodey's finally stopped acting like he has nothing to learn. Wanda needs to keep up."

"She'll get there." Steve said, an amused grin on his face as his girlfriend approached him. His eyes tracked the slow, predatory way that she stalked across the mats towards him, and his entire body was attuned to even her smallest movement, especially the sway of her hips.

"Not if you keep coddling her." Natasha said pointedly, with a slight tightness to her voice.

"I do not coddle her, it's just that - "

"You favour her over the others." She said bluntly, coming to a stop in front of him. "She isn't trying, Steve, and there's not much I can do with someone who isn't putting even half of what they've got onto the training mat." Her arms folded across her own chest, mirroring his own body language, only hers was edged with annoyance rather than amusement.

"Her strength lies elsewhere, Nat." He reminded her, his voice gentle in comparison to her tempered tone. "That power of hers, it's her greatest asset, of course she's going to rely on that. It's all she'd ever had to rely on until now. She'll come around. I'll speak to her later, see if there's something going on that she wants to talk about. You and I both know that it's hard to focus when your mind is occupied elsewhere."

Natasha's jaw tensed. "We haven't got time to be distracted, Steve."

"It'll be fine." His hands were on her elbows, drawing her to him so he could kiss her forehead. Instantly, she felt a wave of calmness through her body. His chilled approach to most things always ruffled her feathers, but she could never resist how at ease he could put her. He never once tried to put out her flame, instead he just kept it steady whilst still encouraging her brightness. "You're the best teacher for her, Nat." Because you can relate to what she's gone through, the words hung between them, silently unspoken, but present all the same.

Natasha sighed. "How was your meeting?" Steve had been summoned to SHIELD headquarters to speak with Director Fury privately, and Natasha hadn't yet stopped being annoyed that she had had to stay behind. Instead, she had made it perfectly clear whilst Steve had prepared to leave that morning that she had been pissed off with Fury's decision.

"Rumlow is still off the grid." Steve told her. He'd promised her to tell her everything that Fury had said, and that had been the only way to stop her from forcing her way into the headquarters herself. "Agents everywhere are looking for him, but he's keeping low. We'll find him, eventually. He won't remain quiet for too much longer."

"Any word on the others?"

Steve shook his head, and she refused to let the feeling of disappointment sink into her chest. "No news on Banner or Thor. Last time anyone heard from Tony, he was too busy with Stark Industries to say much, other than he simply hoped that they weren't contacting him with any new world catastrophes."

She sighed. She shouldn't have gotten her hopes up, but a small part of her still wished things had turned out differently, after Ultron. "Clint says hi." She said, offering a small piece of good news into their conversation. Her best friend had called her that morning, as if he'd somehow knew that she needed a pick-me-up after being left out of the meeting. "Baby Nathaniel has started crawling everywhere."

Steve smiled. "He'll be causing trouble in no time, just like his namesake." His fingers brushed through her hair, which had grown down to her shoulders now. It curled lightly, a style in which she had chosen quite a lot recently. "I love your hair like this, but then again, you're always beautiful to me, Nat."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Rogers." She said sultrously, leaning closer to him, their bodies pressing together slightly, enough to tease him. She didn't want to discuss the team, or their friends, or Rumlow. All she wanted was him, and the sacred private time they rarely got together."You got any plans tonight?"

He pretended to think about it, and when he stroked his chin, she swatted his hand away with a roll of her eyes. Both of them, though, were now smiling. "Well, I distinctly remember I promised my girl a movie night. I think pizza was also mentioned." At Natasha's gleaming eyes, his smile broadened, revealing that dimple that she loved so much.

"Well, then, you better get going. Don't let me keep you." She said, making no attempt to move away from him. "You don't want to make her mad."

"Oh, I don't know about that." He lowered his head, his mouth tickling her ear as he whispered, "She's pretty sexy when she's all fired up."

~0~0~0~0~0~

Comfortably full from their pizza, Natasha settled down on the couch with her head in her boyfriend's lap. Steve contently stroked strands of her fiery hair through his fingers, while the show played in front of them. Having committed making Steve watch all the episodes from every single season, Natasha thought that they were making good process. Yet again, their previous record for making it through watching something on the television extended to TV shows as well, it seemed.

Tonight though, Natasha was physically tired from a day full of training, and Steve felt mentally tired from his long meeting that had gotten him nowhere. Both of them were happy enough to sit and watch the show in front of them, and they both found it funny. It was just nice to relax for once. They so rarely got a peaceful night together.

"If you could be anything in the entire world, instead of Captain America, what would you be?" Natasha asked, interrupting the pleasant silence that had settled between them.

Steve's fingers slowed their ministrations ever so slightly. "Why, you got a problem with the star spangled man with a plan? Seems a bit too late to be filing complaints now, doll."

Trying to ignore how her heart swelled at the nickname, she tilted her head so he could see the exaggerated roll of her eyes. He chuckled deeply. "Absolutely not, you know how much I enjoy that suit of yours." She said, and could see that faint blush appear on his cheeks. Even after all this time, she could still say things that had such an effect on him, and she loved it. Besides, some of the things that he came out with were equally cheeky. "I was just curious."

"I guess I never really thought about it, after the serum. I became everything I had wanted to be; strong, not riddled with every ailment under the sun." Steve admitted.

She frowned slightly. Of course, she had known what his life had been like before the serum had been injected into his body. She had read his file almost as soon as she had first been told about Fury's aim to form the Avengers. Background knowledge on who you were working with was any spy's first move. "Did you not want to be an artist?"

"I was colour blind." He replied. "Not completely, but I struggled identifying shades. Another reason why they refused to let me join the army, along with the rest of the shamelessly long list." She gave him a firm look for that, and he stroked her cheek lightly to show that he appreciated it. "I could draw, though. I'd always been able to sketch things, it just wasn't until the serum that I was able to add colour."

"What sort of things would you draw?" She knew the man who was with her now, but she was always eager to learn more about who he had been before. Steve couldn't understand her wanting to get to know the old him, but he never refused to answer any of her questions.

"Anything that caught my attention," His fingers eased their way through her soft hair. "I particularly enjoyed drawing birds. Flowers were also popular amongst my sketchbooks. People were a challenge at first, but I soon learnt. I never actually went to an art class though. My mother couldn't afford it."

She snuggled more into him. "So, you always wanted to be a soldier?"

"Desperately," He said, and she knew about all his failed attempts of enlisting, because of how sickly he had truly been. "That serum changed my life. However, how could I have known that by agreeing to become Captain America, I'd fall in love with the most wonderful woman? One who drives me crazy every time I look at her, and keeps me on my toes constantly. One whose beauty radiates inside and out."

As always, Natasha felt butterflies erupt in her stomach at his sweet words. "You're a shameless flirt." She accused, but she couldn't prevent that smile from spreading across her entire face, and she was well aware that he could see it.

Steve laughed. "With you? Always." His fingers grazed across her cheek lightly once again. "I know you would want to be a dancer. Have you ever thought about taking it up again?"

The thought had entered her head countless times over the years. "The Black Widow can't exactly just waltz into a dance class." She pointed out, but her sadness was evident in the soft sigh that followed her words.

Attentive as always, Steve heard. "Could you not go under a false name?"

"I've spent most of my life under a false name, pretending to be someone else." Natasha reminded him. "Besides, it's not as if I've ever got the time to do anything outside of this facility. It doesn't matter, anyway."

But, it did. Dancing had always been something she loved, something she cherished close to her heart. It had been a way for her to expose her emotions without feeling vulnerable. The way that music spoke to her body, communicating to her in a way that was impossible to explain to someone who wouldn't understand. It was as if, when she danced, it was the music that powered her body, allowed her to move and sway in perfect rhythm. It had made her happy.

How long had it been since she had last danced? That party at the tower hadn't really counted. That wasn't dancing; that had been her swaying her hips to drive Steve crazy, which she had been successful in. She hadn't properly danced in years.

"It does matter, if it is something you loved." Steve reminded her. "One day, I believe there's going to be a world where we can just be Steve and Natasha, without constantly having to look over our shoulders and carry fake IDs."

Despite feeling slightly doubtful, the idea of living a normal life warmed her. Being a spy was embedded into her soul, as was being an agent. But, to be able to live each day without the worry that one of them would be targeted was certainly appealing. And maybe, just maybe, she would be convinced into getting a dog. "One day," She echoed, and hoped she was convincing enough.

~0~0~0~0~0~

The next morning, Steve sought Wanda out.

She was dressed ready for training, with protective gear and her hair tied back. Unlike Natasha, who preferred delicate braids, Wanda always went for a simple ponytail. Usually, the young girl would greet Steve with a soft smile. But, today, there was a drained look to her face, as if her very soul had been sucked out of her body. In some ways, when he remembered Pietro's horrible death, he guessed that perhaps that was exactly what had happened to Wanda.

So, he sat down on the bench beside her, and decided that now wasn't the time to be a leader. It was the time to be a friend.

"You know, that you can talk to me, don't you?" He asked gently.

A muscle in her jaw tightened. "I do not need your pity-"

"It is not pity." He told her, cutting her off before she could attempt to push him away. He could deal with stubbornness; his girlfriend was the definition of stubborn. "You went through something very traumatic. You lost someone you loved. But, you are not alone, Wanda. Natasha and I understand exactly how it feels, when you convince yourself you have no one to turn to, to lean on."

"Natasha hates me."

"She does not hate you." He wasn't lying when he said that. He knew that Natasha still didn't trust Wanda's powers, after what had happened on that cargo ship, and she was allowed to feel that way. But, Steve had a feeling that the reason Natasha was being tough on Wanda was because she wanted to make sure all of their new team were prepared for what awaited them. "She wants to help you. I want to help you. But, we can't do that if you shut us out." He said, knowing better than to rest his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "What is holding you back from trying, Wanda?"

Her body trembled, and a moment, he wondered if she'd use her power to get away from him, to collapse the room in order to put a physical barrier between them. But, there was no red, kinetic mist. Just her. Shaking, upset. Vulnerable.

"I miss him." She admitted, so quietly that he barely heard her. "I miss him every day. He should be here. With me."

Sympathy washed through him, but he was careful not to show it too openly. Despite her young age and sensitive soul, Wanda Maximoff was strong. "Your brother would not have wanted you to torture yourself like this. He'd want you to fight, to better yourself. I know it's scary, and I know you're always going to miss him, and his death is always going to hurt. Unfortunately, we can't bring back the people we've lost. We can only learn how to move on, to carry them with us and to honour their memory in the actions we take."

As his words sank into the silence of the room, Wanda stopped trembling. She closed her eyes, and hugged her arms around her, as if she was in physical pain.

Then, her eyes opened, and she looked at him. "You've lost people you love." She realised.

He nodded. "Someone who was like a brother to me. Not by blood, but in all the ways that counts. He protected me before I could protect myself. He stood by me, and encouraged my dreams, even though he probably thought I was crazy. Even before I was Captain America, he believed in me."

"Is he…" She couldn't bring herself to say the word, and in all honesty, he didn't know if he could have bared to hear it.

"I thought he was." He told her. There was no point in lying, in dancing around the facts surrounding Bucky, even though he didn't quite understand it all himself. "For a very long time, I grieved. I carried the weight missing him everywhere I went. And...there was someone else. Someone very special to me. I loved her, but we never...I never got the chance to really fall in love with her, even though I would have, if things had been different. She's alive, but she's lived a life while I was in the ice, and the person she is now isn't the woman who I knew. But, in everything I do, I do it for her, and for my friend." And, for Natasha, but he had no idea whether Wanda's mental powers had told her exactly what Natasha was to him. "The people who I loved, who believed in me, are always with me. Just like Pietro is always with you."

Her next move surprised him. She leaned into his shoulder, her eyes closing again. This time, though, her face didn't contort in misery or pain. Instead, she looked peaceful. He didn't say anything, just remained with her and put his arm around her shoulder comfortingly, until she whispered a quiet 'thank you'.

Then, as Wanda joined Natasha in the training room, Steve hovered in the doorway, his eyes meeting the emerald ones of his girlfriend. Natasha looked back, an understanding glint flashing in those green orbs, and she dipped her head slowly. We'll be fine here.

~0~0~0~0~0~

"I want to tell Fury. About us."

Stunned away from basking in the last waves of a fantastic orgasm curtsey of her boyfriend and his sinful fingers, Natasha sat up, the sheets covering her body slipping slightly. She made no attempt to grab them, though, as she turned to look down at Steve, who was lying beside her.

"Don't look at me like that." Steve said, without even turning his head.

"Like what?" She demanded, but she knew that shock was written all over her face.

He simply raised an eyebrow at her tone, a glint of amusement in his blue eyes as he regarded her state of complete disbelief. "Like you're going to bolt out of this room."

"I'm not going to bolt out of -" She stopped herself, when she realised he was just winding her up. "You're not funny, Steve."

"I'm not joking around, either." Slowly, he sat up, as if deep down, he was worried that she really would run away. "Natasha, it's been over a year now. We've kept this from everyone. We've spent every night together without eyebrows being raised, and had so many close calls that I sometimes doubt just how observant our team mates really are." Despite how fast her heart was racing, she couldn't help but smile at that point.

His voice was so steady, so confident, but yet soft and understanding at the same time as he said, "I love you, and I will always love you, with every fibre of my being. But, I don't want to keep this, what we have, a secret anymore."

"Steve," She said, keeping her voice gentle, because she didn't want to give him the wrong impression. "I didn't want to keep our relationship from everyone because it was something that I was ashamed of. If it wasn't for the fact that we both face supervillains on a regular basis, I'd have no problem with marching through every SHIELD conference room and declaring that you're mine to every woman within a hundred mile radius." Honestly, they were all shameless when it came to flirting with her boyfriend. "But, by telling Fury, we could put everything at risk."

He sighed, but the reality of her words dawned on him, sinking in.

She cupped her face in her hands, thumbs proving his stubble cheeks. "I love you, Steve. More than I've ever loved anyone else. More than I thought it was even possible to love someone." She told him firmly, with no doubt or fear in her voice. She'd long given up trying to push away her feelings, and after everything they had gone through lately, she'd silently vowed to herself that there would never be a day where she didn't tell him that she loved him. "Once we find Rumlow, and that bastard gets what's coming for him, we will tell Fury."

They would probably never be able to eliminate all the threats that would face them. That was what came with their jobs, with protecting the world. However, Rumlow was personal for both of them. He'd worked with them, he knew their dynamic. They couldn't risk him discovering just what they meant for each other, because he'd certainly try to find a way to use that against them, to hurt one of them to get the other other…

Steve's expression changed, as he took in what she was telling him. Sometimes, when she declared her feelings so openly, he had to pinch himself mentally to remember that this was real. She'd let her walls down for him, and he had so much respect for her, so much so that he would never push her on something like this.

So, he simply wrapped his arm around her waist. "Come here," He said quietly. "You're too far away."

Settling into his side, with her head resting on his chest, she listened to the comforting sound of his heartbeat. His hand stroked her bare back, and their bodies pressed together, with no barriers, just her skin against his warmth, just how she liked it.

After a few moments, she asked, "Steve, do you ever think about...about what our future could have been like? If...if I could…" She couldn't even get the words out. Long ago, she had told him about the sterilisation, and ever since, a small part of her dreaded the day that he might realise that he wanted something she could not give him. Their conversation the other day had stayed with her, finding her in moments of quiet, as she practically tortured herself over the fact she would not be able to give him a child of their own.

But, Steve kissed her hair and breathed in deeply, inhaling her scent. "All I need is you, Natasha." He said, and she knew he meant it, fully.

Exhaling a breath she hadn't even known she had been holding, Natasha reached up to kiss him. "I have no intention of leaving your side, Steve. Ever. My heart belongs to you."

Breaking away from her quickly, his eyes went to the dogtags that she wore around her neck, his dog tags, which lay between her breasts. The sight alone made him groan in desire. The alpha male inside him relished in the physical reminder that she was his. They were a part of her now, and she knew that without them against her chest, she would feel as if she was missing something that was so much more than two tiny plates of metal.

As he leaned down and returned her kiss, he manoeuvred them so he was above her, his arms supporting his weight off her, but still keeping close enough that their bodies pressed together in all the right places. She could feel him against her, pulsing and ready, as her hands weaved through his hair.

Steve kissed her like his life depended on it, devouring her mouth, and Natasha gladly gave in to him. She let him consume her, let his love wash over her and sink into every past of her body.

"So beautiful," He whispered against her skin, as his lips tasted her neck, sucking just enough to make it pleasurable. He only ever left broader marks on areas of her body which no one would ever see, only him.

No other man had ever called her beautiful, not even outside of the bedroom. Steve was so different from every other male in her life, in so many ways, and she had no doubt in her mind that he was now the only one for her, in the entire world. Her heart beat for him. Everything she did, she did for him, to make him proud and to keep him safe.

"I love you, Steve." She told him, and no matter how many times she would say those words to him, they would never lose their meaning.

His lips returned to hers, slightly softer but with just as much emotion. "I love you, sweetheart." His mouth then slowly started it's path down her neck once again, going further than before. It paid close attention to her breasts, to her aching nipples that yearned for his tongue. When his mouth reluctantly moved on, his hand came up to twiddle the peaked buds, twisting them slightly which caused Natasha to hiss in encouragement.

Steve's hand dropped when he had reached the apex of his thighs. Cradling her hips with his hands, he stroked her soft skin with his thumbs as he went down on her. His tongue stroked slowly, taking in all she had to offer him - which, by this point, he had reduced her into a gushing river already.

Feeling slightly guilty that he had already brought her over the edge once this evening, Natasha gasped out, "Are you sure you don't want me to-"

He shushed her gently, not once removing his mouth from her. "I can do this all day, sweetheart." And she knew fully well that he could. Once again, she found herself thanking that super soldier serum that bumped through his veins, as her fingers glided through his hair and her back arched. Natasha's head fell back against the pillow and the entire world disappeared for a little while.

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I want to say a big thank you to those of you who contacted me regarding my post about not seeing any new views and therefore being concerned that my recent chapters weren't uploading. It's good to know that I haven't broken this site in some way, and that you can still read my uploads!

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