Natasha tossed and turned in Steve's borrowed bed. Tomorrow basic started for Steve and she would be face to face with Peggy Carter. Hopefully Erskine would forget what she told him about Peggy's recommendation. Time was running out before Steve underwent his transformation. She needed to move on him soon. Finally, she gave up on sleeping, got up and padded down the hall to Steve's room in the t-shirt and pajama pants she'd packed.
She knocked softly on his door, "Steve? Can I come in for a minute?"
There was an instant response. He practically jerked the door open. "What's wrong, Natalie?" God, he was so cute. He was in similar attire: a white t-shirt and pajama bottoms. It made him look even younger.
Nat didn't say a word, just took his hand, led him to the bed and sat down on it. "Can I stay with you for awhile? I kind of need a hug."
Before he could answer, she slid under the covers, scooted over into the warm, cozy spot he'd vacated and held out her arms. When he balked, she reached up, grabbed his hand and pulled him into bed with her.
"Natalie? Wha...what are you doing? I don't know if this is proper," Steve stammered.
"Come here and just hold me, okay?" She turned her back to him then and snuggled down under the blankets.
Steve's mind was short circuiting. He wished Bucky were around to talk to. He'd never dreamed that Natalie or any woman would be asking him to hug her in bed...or anything else in bed. When she stayed where she was and he determined he wasn't hallucinating, he gingerly got under the covers and slipped his arms around her, careful not to touch anything. He even kept his pelvis back and away from her shapely bottom.
Natasha didn't move, just waited for him to settle and figure out where to put his hands. Despite her trepidation, his familiar scent and touch lulled her to sleep in his nervous arms. Steve, on the other hand, didn't sleep a wink for the rest of the night.
In the morning, Nat woke early and quietly went to the bathroom to shower and dress. When she came out, Steve was in the kitchen, making coffee and frying eggs for the two of them. "Thank you for last night," Natasha said, startling him.
His face flushed scarlet but he smiled. "You're welcome. Did you sleep okay?"
He looked tired. Nat supposed it was because he hadn't been able to sleep. "I did. That's what I'm thanking you for. It was nice to just be near you and feel secure." Thank the gods he wasn't mad at her for springing that on him.
Natasha moved closer and took the spatula away, "I'll finish this if you want to go shower and get ready." Steve nodded and hurried off.
When he came out a short time later in his uniform, she had the coffee poured with just the right amount of cream and sugar and the eggs and toast made. They sat together and ate their breakfast quietly. Together they cleaned up the kitchen, put the dishes away then shouldered their respective duffle bags. After Steve locked up, they walked together to the bus depot.
Natasha kissed him quickly on the cheek when she saw the SSR sign on one of the buses. "I'll see you in Jersey."
Steve smiled and gave her a quick peck on the cheek back. "I can't wait."
After arriving in Fort Lehigh, New Jersey, Natasha was shepherded to a supply building away from the barracks. They gave her two more full uniforms with pants and one with a skirt. She planned never to wear that one; it was itchy, woolen and ugly as hell. When they weren't looking she tossed the government issue underwear and bra. She'd brought her own and they were much more comfortable.
A nervous looking private escorted her to the SSR barracks. There, she found she had a modicum of privacy with a curtained off sleeping area, changing room with a door and a bathroom on site. After putting her things away and storing her bag under the bed, she checked to make certain Heimdall's tokens were safely hidden on the underside of the desk with tape. The same private came back and told her that Agent Peggy Carter would like to have a word.
Natasha followed him to the parade grounds where the newbies were all lined up. She was just in time to watch a beautiful dark haired woman deck one of the new recruits. It obviously wasn't Steve, the guy was too tall and too muscular. As she walked around the troops, she could see the woman's name tag: Carter. She saw Steve next, he was fighting back a smile. Probably in response to watching Agent Carter knock private what's his name on his ass.
"Agent Carter? I'm Natalie Rushman."
The woman turned and had to look down a little to meet Natasha's eyes. She looked to be in her late twenties and about five foot seven inches tall.
"Hello! Yes, lovely to meet you, Agent Rushman." Peggy shook her hand then turned back to the troops. Just then a jeep drove up and a full bird colonel got out and walked toward them.
He turned his attention to the man still sitting on the grass. "Get up, back in that line and stand there until someone comes and tells you what to do."
The private, whose name was Hodges, tried to salute and stand at the same time and failed at both. The colonel ignored him and spoke to the company. "I am Colonel Phillips..."
Natasha was too busy watching Steve to pay attention. He was woefully undersized among taller, burlier men; standing tall, listening to every word the Colonel was saying. Peggy poked her in the side and whispered, "Coffee after this?"
Nat zoned back to the present, "Sure."
The soldiers were sent out to the obstacle course then and Nat went with Peggy to the officer's mess hall. The coffee was strong and only drinkable with a large amount of sugar and cream but she'd take it.
"I'm excited to have another woman to work with," Peggy was saying as they sat down.
"Thank you for giving me this opportunity," Natasha said sincerely.
"We have a project going on that is quite secret," Peggy informed her. "One of the new soldiers here will be chosen for it. I'd like you to keep an eye out for any of the recruits who demonstrate outstanding abilities beyond just being a good soldier and report them to me or to Dr. Erskine, right away."
"You mean like, honesty, bravery, stubbornness?" Natasha asked.
"Something like that. We're looking for a regular Boy Scout, if you will. Someone whose ethics, heart and drive are above the rest. Meanwhile, we'll have a few other things for you to do like code breaking, hand to hand training, firearms training; but picking the right recruit takes precedence over all the rest." Peggy explained.
"Got it," Nat said, "I won't mind that at all."
"All right, well let's get out to the obstacle course and observe, shall we?"
Nat had to admit, Peggy was truly lovely and her charming British accent added to her appeal. "I'm with you."
After an hour or so of watching Steve nearly fall off the rope ladders, getting pinned by barbed wire when Hodges, the recruit Peggy had belted, kicked a support out next to him, and wheeze his way around the track, Natasha was fighting with her instincts not to go kill Hodges on general principles. She had to admit though, Steve had grit. He never complained, never gave up; never griped about Hodges or any of the other men, he just keep trying over and over until he improved.
As ordered, she went to find Dr. Erskine and reported to him everything she'd seen that day. He listened with great interest when she talked about Steve. "I believe I will come to the grounds tomorrow to see how our young man is myself. Maybe it is time for the little guy to be recognized."
The next day, as promised, Dr. Erskine came out to watch, accompanied by Colonel Phillips. The recruits were being put through their calisthenics by Peggy while Natasha took notes on their individual performances.
Nat was too far away to hear what Erskine and Phillips were talking about but she nearly had a heart attack when Phillips pulled the pin on a grenade and tossed it into the midst of the soldiers. She and Peggy were already moving toward it when Phillips yelled, "GRENADE!"
All of the troops scattered...except Steve who threw himself around it to presumably contain the coming explosion. She and Peggy skidded to a halt when Steve noticed their approach and waved them off. "GET AWAY! GET BACK!"
"It's a dummy grenade," Phillips yelled out.
"Is this a test?" Steve sat up and looked to the Colonel.
"He's still skinny." Phillips said and walked off. Dr. Erskine was grinning from ear to ear and winked at Steve as he followed Phillips off the grounds.
Peggy and Natasha were still trying to get their rioting pulses calmed back down and sat down hard on the ground against a truck. "Fuck me," Nat said, as she blotted the sweat off her lip. "I thought he was a goner. I may need to change my underwear now though."
Peggy looked at her then laughed her ass off. "Oh you and I are going to get along just fine."
Natasha couldn't help it. She liked Peggy Carter a lot. She grinned back and went to help Steve up. He was still shaking but composed. "Let's go get a beer. Peggy? You want to come?"
"Yes, of course," Peggy got to her feet and the three of them went to the officer's mess for a cold one. They were all enjoying their beers and making Steve blush when Dr. Erskine came into the mess.
"So, Steven Rogers from Brooklyn, how would you like to be a volunteer for a very important, extraordinary procedure?" Dr. Erskine pulled up a chair and sat next to Steve and Natasha.
"What kind of procedure?" Steve looked curious and his blush faded.
"A procedure of creating a Super Soldier, my friend. If you agree, we will do this tomorrow." Erskine went on to describe in detail what would occur and how he hoped Steve would transform. "This could assure us, the United States, of maintaining a position as a world leader and completely defeating the Nazis. If this works, we will soon have an army of these Super Soldiers and wipe the Nazi plague and all other hate mongering regimes from the earth."
Steve looked at Nat, Peggy then finally back to Dr. Erskine. "I'm your man then, Doctor. I've got nothing to lose and everything to gain."
"You are already a good man, Steven," Erskine said proudly. "We will just make you into a better one. I do not think we could go wrong with you."
"Is this procedure dangerous, Dr. Erskine?" Natasha piped up. She knew damn well it was from reading the Project Rebirth file but she couldn't allude to that.
"All experimental procedures carry a certain amount of risk, Agent Rushman. Rest assured though, we are taking every precaution to be certain Steven comes to no harm."
"I'm willing to take the risk if it means helping my country." Steve said definitively.
"I will come by and see you later then," Erskine said. "Oh and don't finish that beer. No more fluids today for you. You will be sequestered until tomorrow when Agents Carter and Rushman escort you to the lab. All right?"
After he left, Peggy rose, "Come on, Steve. I'll show you where you are going to bunk tonight. You will be locked in and under guard. It's mostly so no one can bother you tonight but also so that you don't get cold feet."
"I won't ma'am. I am ready to do what I need to for my country." Steve seemed to already be standing taller.
Together they walked to Steve's new accommodations. All of his things had already been brought over so he didn't have to do a thing. The building he was housed in even had a private bathroom. They stood with him while he looked around. Peggy finally said something.
"Steve...I'm very glad he picked you. There isn't anyone better for this. Agent Rushman and I have been observing you and gave Dr. Erskine our recommendation for you to be the test subject. I want you to know I will be there and so will Agent Rushman, every step of the way."
"Thank you, ma'am," Steve said, smiling.
"Well, we are off. You get some rest. It is your big day tomorrow." Peggy turned and walked out the door.
Natasha paused a minute and whispered. "I'll come back and sneak in to see you tonight, if you like."
Steve's eyes widened, "You can do that?"
"Do you want me to?"
"Yes, very much. Thank you, Natalie. I'll wait up for you."
"See you soon," Nat pressed a quick kiss on the corner of his mouth then hurried after Peggy Carter.
Much later, Natasha crept out of her barracks and made her way over to where Steve was housed. The lock presented no problem, avoiding the guards was a little trickier but she managed. Once she was inside, she re-locked the door and whispered to Steve who was lying on his bunk, reading a book about the SSR.
"Hey, I'm here."
Steve nearly dropped the book he was reading. He sat up quickly with a beaming smile. "You came!"
"Of course I did. I said I would,"
Nat went to him and pulled him up so she could hug him properly. Steve's arms immediately tightened around her and he buried his face in her hair. "I'm so glad you came, Natalie. After tomorrow, I'll have a new bigger, stronger body. I hope we can still be friends...and that you might still want to be my girlfriend one day."
She pulled back, "Steve, I like you. I don't care what the outside looks like. I'm sure I'll like you whatever happens during the procedure tomorrow. Don't forget though, I liked you when I first met you, just like you are."
He smiled then, "You always know what to say to make me feel better."
"Maybe I can show you as well." Natasha made up her mind. It was now or never. She leaned in and gave him a tender kiss that soon turned into something else. Steve tightened his arms around her and when he pulled her closer, this time she didn't pull back.
To his surprise, she skated her hands down his back to his ass and pulled him tighter to her. His cock was already ahead of him apparently in reaction time because it was pressed between them, hard and ready for whatever was happening next.
Natasha noticed that the serum apparently hadn't altered everything because what was poking into her abdomen was his original equipment and it was impressive on its own just like it was in her own time. That really made her think of present day Steve and catapulted her into a level of passion that she had missed for the past few days.
She opened her mouth and urged his lips apart. Her tongue was a hot, quick wetness in his mouth and he tentatively reciprocated. When she got his tongue, she sucked on it, drawing a deep guttural moan from Steve. Gently she pushed him back onto the bed and lay down next to him.
"Let me love you, Steve. I want you to have a memory of us before the serum. I want you to know that you are handsome and desirable in any form. What you look like isn't as important as what kind of man you are and you are exactly the kind of man I could fall in love with."
He stared into her green eyes not quite believing what she was saying. "You...you want to..."
"It's called sex, Steve. And yes, I want this. Don't you?" Natasha sat up, unbuttoned her blouse and was soon in her bra and panties.
Steve watched her with an almost glassy-eyed fascination. "Natalie, are you certain?" His voice was the baritone she loved but it had a tremulous quality at the moment. She hoped she wasn't giving him an asthma attack.
In response, she took his hand, put it on her breast and kissed him thoroughly again. While he was busy putting all that together, she lifted the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it up, breaking the kiss to get it over his head. She was pleased when he put his hand back on her breast once it was off.
"You are so beautiful," Steve whispered reverently as he ran his hand down the column of her neck to her waist. She unhooked her bra and tossed it aside to give him something to do while she fiddled with the knot in the drawstring on his pajamas.
"Lay back," she ordered him softly. His eyes rose from her cleavage to her eyes and found her smiling.
"Have you done this before?" Steve asked abruptly. In his little world, all women were virginal goddesses.
"Yes, I have. It was with someone I loved however if that helps." That wasn't totally a lie, it just skated around the truth a bit. She was proud of herself for resisting an eye roll.
"Oh...I haven't." Steve was blushing again.
"That's fine, Steve. Everyone needs to learn. It really isn't as scary as you think it might be." She grinned at him and kissed him harder and deeper. Soon he was trembling again and this time it wasn't from fear. She'd managed to get the knot loose on his pajama pants and started to slide them down his hips, then stopped.
"Steve? Is this okay with you? I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to do." She met his eyes squarely and waited.
He studied her face, her eyes and her mouth and made a decision, "I want this more than anything."
"Well, all right then." Natasha finished pulling his pants off then wriggled out of her own underwear and lay next to him on the narrow bed.
The way he touched her, the way he looked at her, was so familiar yet so foreign with this body. She felt worshiped, loved, wanted...needed. He hadn't gotten below her waist with his hands but what he was doing was wonderful. He was a quick learner as she gently explained where to put his hands and why.
Since she outweighed him, she figured it would be better if he were on top to give him a modicum of control. She maneuvered him over her and kissed him deeply. Steve pushed up on his arms and looked down into her beautiful eyes.
"Natalie, you are sure?"
It echoed with her back to the night a short time ago when Steve Rogers gave her the same choice due to his gallantry. "I am very sure."
He gasped when she took hold of his length and guided him into her body. She knew before he thrust once that he wouldn't last. That didn't matter. He needed this. He needed her and by all the gods she was going to be there for him.
"Natalie..." her name fell from his lips like a prayer as he began to move. Nat stayed fairly still. He wasn't quite ready for enthusiastic sex just yet and she didn't want to break his rhythm of discovery.
Just as she guessed, it didn't take long. His eyes locked onto hers and she smiled up at him, stroking his back in encouragement and whispering how good he made her feel. She could feel him inside her, feel him trembling above her and heard the deep moan from his soul as he reached the pinnacle.
"Oh god, Natalie..." He arched into her and came hard. She followed him a moment later and he stared in wonder as she climaxed around him. The beauty of the moment was imprinted on him forever.
"Don't pull out. Not yet." Nat pulled him tightly against her chest. His weight was negligible on her. He leaned in and kissed her passionately as though they hadn't just made love. He couldn't get enough of her kisses, her taste, the way she felt inside and out.
"That was so beautiful." Steve reached up and stroked her hair with one hand and kept the other arm around her, holding her tightly to him. "I never knew it was this special."
"It is when two people really care about each other," Natasha told him.
"I...I love you, Natalie."
"I love you too." That wasn't a lie either, she realized.
They lay together, still joined and talked for awhile. Steve became concerned that he was crushing her but she wouldn't let him roll off.
The wonderment on his face convinced her that she had indeed done the right thing for him and for herself. Even after sex, he remained humble, sweet, endearing, and very concerned that she might become pregnant. Natasha explained to him that she couldn't have children and not to worry. That made him a little teary until she told him that was okay, she'd adopt if she wanted any kids.
Soon she let him lay next to her and said her good nights with a kiss. He watched her as she got dressed then put his pajamas and t-shirt back on. When they were both clothed again, she pulled him in for a hug and another deep kiss. "I've got to go in case they check up on you. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
He was reluctant to let her leave but said nothing except, "Good night, Natalie. Sleep well and I love you."
"I love you too, Steve." She gave him a little wave before she slipped out into the night.
She made it across the compound safely. Once in her quarters, she rummaged through her bag and pulled out a lightweight vest. It was made of adamantium fibers by Stark Industries and could stop a fifty caliber round. Nat tucked it into her jacket then stealthily skittered across the base to Dr. Erskine's lab. She knew he worked late most evenings. Looking through the windows, he was there, alone and packing large blue filled vials into a container.
"Dr. Erskine? May I speak with you a moment?"
He looked up, startled at her voice, "Of course Agent Rushman. Please come in."
"Dr. Erskine, if I ask you to do something as a personal favor to me, will you do it and not ask me any questions?" Natasha waited.
"That depends on what it is, my dear," Erskine replied with a thousand questions in his eyes.
She pulled the vest out of her jacket. "Will you please promise me that you will wear this under your clothes all day tomorrow while we do the procedure on Steve and not take it off until I tell you to?"
He looked at her quizzically. "You want me to wear a vest? That's the favor?"
"That's the favor. Please, Dr. Erskine. It is vitally important that you do this for me." Natasha looked at him so earnestly that he chuckled.
"All right. It is a small thing to do. I will wear it." He took the vest from her and looked it over carefully. "What is this material?"
"I can't tell you that or why it is important. I'm sorry." Natalie kept her gaze steady.
He sighed. "I will put it on first thing in the morning, under my clothes and wear it, but afterwards, I would like you to tell me what this is all about."
"If I can, I will. Thank you Dr. Erskine. This means so much to me that you can't possibly know." She shook his hand and scooted out the door. Once outside, she melted into the shadows and made it back to her quarters undetected.
She lay down, not bothering to get undressed. Revelry would wake her in the morning and she would take Steve to his fate. Her time here was running out. She had a few more things to do before she could leave.
The next day, Peggy shook her awake before revelry even sounded, "Come on, Natalie. We've got a date with Steve's destiny."
If she was surprised by Natasha being in bed in her clothes, she didn't mention it. Nat rolled out of bed, ran a brush through her hair and applied a little lipstick. "Ready when you are boss." Peggy had to smile at that. As soon as Peggy's back was turned, Nat grabbed on of Heimdall's golden tokens and slipped it into her pocket along with a tiny flash-bang grenade, then followed Peggy to collect Steve.