Chapter Eighteen

Steve

Six Months Later

We go on like I never said anything. Like I never found her in the kitchen that night. I don't know how to be anything but what we already are with her. And she didn't seem to want to, so…. I could take it. Her friendship was enough. I am honoured to have earned it in the first place. That is enough. I tell myself that it is enough, unfair of me to expect more.

"No, no, I did not just travel back around the world to come home, to give up my right to choose." Natasha snaps shaking her head, her red hair swinging around her shoulders.

"What?" I say, shrugging my shoulders.

Wanda nods, looking up at us from her seat, cross legged on the floor, "She is right, you have terrible taste."

"It's a movie." I snap. I look at Sam who shrugs as he slumps on to the sofa across from me.

"Sorry man, I am with the girls on this, the only one who likes your movie choices is Vision."

I roll my eyes, "Oh come on,"

Natasha shakes her head, "Give it up Grandpa, your movie taste is boring!" She looks up at me from under her lashes, smiling across the floor at me, challenging me.

I glare across at her but I can't keep the smile from my lips either, "You know, I think you can cease and desist with the Grandpa jokes, Ms. Romanoff,"

"Oh you do? Do you?" She says putting the DVD cases down and putting a hand on her hip.

I tug on my sleeve, getting ready to play my ace, "Well, ya see. I did the math. And technically we are the same age."

Wanda and Sam both look at Natasha who looks at me like I am crazy. "What? No, we aren't," She scoffs.

"Yeah we are," I shrug, "I mean if we don't count the suspended animation frozen in ice for seventy years thing." I glance at Sam and he nods back at me, like that is a reasonable assumption. "Well, actually your nine months older than me."

I smile at Natasha as she scoffs at me, but then I see her doing the math in her own head. She opens her mouth to argue, then she stops and looks at me, narrowing her eyes. "Well, I do have better taste in movies."

I can't help but laugh.

"Night guys!" I call over my shoulder wandering down the hall leading to my room.

"Night!" I hear both Sam and Wanda yell back to me.

"Steve, wait," I turn around and see Natasha walking towards me. She was pulling her cardigan around her tighter, sort of jogging down the hall to catch up with me.

"Yeah, what's up?" I ask turning and facing her. She smiles up at me and I see a dusting of a blush on her cheeks. I raise an eyebrow because Natasha is always in control. Except for those months back in the kitchen, she hadn't seemed so in control then, but that was probably because we were talking about Banner and less about me. But then it hits me, "Oh geez, I am sorry about before. Did I offend you?"

She looks confused, "What? Over what?"

"Bring up the age thing, I just-"

She shakes her head, laughing breathily. She steps towards me, she is looking down at her bare feet. She never wears socks. I look back up at Natasha. She looks good. Happy. Or at least I think she is happy. I feel certain she only lets me see what she wants me to see. Her hair is longer than it was. It looks beautiful. She has taken to wearing it in loose waves. Right now, it is falling in her eyes but then she looks back up at me, inadvertently flipping it over her shoulder.

"No, it wasn't- that was fine." She smiles at me, she looks… nervous? "Um, I was just wondering, if you wanted to have dinner." I stare at her, her eyes get bigger as I don't respond, "With me." She adds.

I feel sightly numb. Like my throat has totally closed. "Uh-"

She shakes her head looking back down to her toes, an awkward smile breaking out on her face. "I mean, don't feel like you have to or anything or we could-"

"No!" I interrupt her. She looks up at me with a confused expression, raising an eyebrow of her own. I shake my head, why was this going this way? "I mean, yes. That would be-" I hesitate not sure what to say because I really have no idea what it would be like. I had never really let myself consider it too much. "Nice." I find myself saying the most boring word in the English language and instantly want to hit myself.

But in spite of my idiocy she smiles at me, "Alright," She smiles at me and turns away from me, "Night Steve," She calls over her shoulder.

"Night Nat," I say rubbing my eyes with my palms, wishing I could have back the last about minute of my life to do over again.

It wouldn't matter either way because we never get to have that dinner. In the middle of the night my phone rings. It's a tip from Maria Hill about the possible whereabouts of one Brock Rumlow, and as I swing my legs over the side of my bed, I know, we have to go to work.

A/N: Sorry for another short one guys, chapters will be getting longer as we head into Civil War! I am very excited to start writing about it, as my feels from Romanogers on this movie are off the charts! Thanks Lux306 for the review! I never wanted to change the movies too much cause I think they work perfectly with this OTP, which makes it all the more devastatingly angst-ridden cause it is so close and yet so far ( I have VERY high hopes for Infinity War... very high hopes lol) , so I just try and flesh them out with things I feel could have realistically happened within the movie timelines. I will probably venture into more of an AU sort of story post Civl War but we shall see! Hope you enjoyed, more to come soon! -Cat