After the wedding cheers died down a bit, everyone congratulated the happy couple. Clint, Laura and their three kids were delighted that Auntie Nat and Uncle Steve were now officially part of their own family. Bruce showed up with a staggeringly beautiful brunette whom he introduced as Dr. Betty Ross. He'd brought her in to help with Natasha's case. He trusted her because she used to be his fiancee' and besides himself, Betty was one of the most respected nuclear biologists in the world.

Thor was there with Jane, looking like a golden viking. Jane loved the ceremony but only had eyes for her demi-god. With her was Erik Selvig and her assistant Darcy who was eyeing the buffet table with anticipation. Dr. Erskine was there, without a date but occupying himself with Clint's children.

The Warrior's Three were also present. Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg had gotten to know Steve during everyone's stay in Asgard and felt it was their duty to stand with their friend on this important day. Lady Sif was also there. She and Steve had talked a great deal about fighting techniques, battles and strategy and had become good friends. Natasha hadn't been sure about the whole thing but realized Steve could never be unfaithful and truly liked the tall, Asgardian warrior. He hoped she and Sif could become friends as well.

Maria Hill was on Nick Fury's arm. She'd talked him into coming even though things had not completely cooled down between him and Steve in particular over Natasha's disappearance. She'd made him promise no shop talk today, just enjoy the wedding and be pleasant.

As Steve and Natasha surveyed their family of choice, she had a wistful moment, "I wish Phil Coulson could have been here."

"Me too. He was a good man." Steve kept his arm around her and hugged her tightly. "I'd probably have married you after that first Battle for New York, you know, if I'd thought you would have said 'yes'."

"Really?" Natasha looked up at her new husband.

"Really. I'd never seen anyone as beautiful and brave as you were. You took my breath away then, just like you're doing today." His eyes were warm and still the most beautiful shade of blue she'd ever seen.

"Oh, Steve..." Natasha burst into tears and hugged him as tightly as she could. "I'm still so glad you picked me. I wasn't very nice to you when you met me. I'm so sorry about that."

"Nat, what in the world…?" Steve, seeing the tears scooped her up in his arms, and carried her into the house amid applause as she buried her face into his neck. Once they were safely inside, he sat her down in their living area and handed her a handkerchief.

"Sweetheart, talk to me. What's going on?" Steve knelt in front of her, tilting up her chin.

"You're just so wonderful and you always say the right things and I didn't understand how you could be so nice and sweet to someone you'd barely met and who was planning to seduce you and I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't loved me back and shit, I'm crying but I'm just so happy and..."

He kissed her. Mostly to get her to take a minute and breathe. Also because he recognized her tendency to speak in run on sentences when she got into one of her newly acquired overly-emotional states.

When he pulled back, he chuckled and lifted her onto his lap. "You are the love of my life, Natasha. Now you are mine just as much as I am yours. We are in it together, no matter what occurs. I will always, always be here."

"Thank you, Steve. I am so sorry you have to contend with an emotionally unglued woman." Natasha smiled at him through her tears."I don't know what the hell is wrong with me."

"Trust me, sweetheart, you are not a problem." Steve held her tightly. We're going to get through all of this together. Now we'll do it as man and wife."

Suddenly he honed in on what she'd said, "Wait a minute, did you just say you were planning to seduce me when we first met?"

Natasha clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh shit, I said that out loud."

Steve's bemused expression told her she had indeed said it out loud. "On the helicarrier...you were planning on seducing me...when we had known each other for just a few minutes?"

Natasha blushed, "I...wasn't in a good place right then. I thought... I thought...", she couldn't continue. She was too mortified.

"You thought…?" Steve prompted her.

"I thought I would use sex to keep my mind off how worried I was about Clint missing and being under Loki's control. You were there, handsome, capable, sexy and you handled everything and everyone so well; including me when I had that melt down. It was very, very attractive to me. It still is." She admitted.

Steve was smiling one of his rare big smiles and blushing a little himself. He found he was smiling more and more when she was around. "I don't know if I would have been brave enough to take you up on it, at that time. Not having any experience myself and being seduced by the Black Widow...I don't know, Natasha. You were pretty intimidating to me back then."

"I was?" She was surprised. "I was intimidated by you. You were this living legend who was totally living up to the legend. I couldn't believe when this famous hero took the time to find me and see if I was alright after Bruce shifted. I felt so safe with you from the very beginning. I think that's why when we were talking that night in your apartment and the opportunity presented itself, I wanted to take you to bed. I wanted to give you something from my heart for being so special to me since the moment we met."

Now Steve's eyes were noticeably damp and sparkling with happy tears. "I trusted you too, from the very start. I didn't know anything except what I'd heard rumored about this beautiful, seductive, capable spy. When we met, you had already exceeded any expectation I might have had. That night...when you were my first...was perfect because it was with you. You made it beautiful."

"It was my first time too, Steve. It was the first time I'd ever made love with someone instead of just having sex." Natasha looked at her hand with the rings he'd put on her mere minutes ago.

"Oh, Sweetheart," Steve smiled, gathered her closely and hugged her as tightly as he dared. "You made love with me before the serum and right after the serum, too. I have three first times with you that I can cherish in my memory and I hope that you feel the same way."

She nodded against his neck, "I do. I love you, Steve. Thank you for taking a chance on the jaded heart of a damaged, lying spy."

He sat her up on his lap, "Don't do that, Natasha. I am taking no chances here. I chose you and you chose me." He tipped her chin up with his hand, "You are the woman I love. Don't ever let me hear you degrade yourself again or I will really spank you, do you understand me?"

"But you don't know everything I've done..." She started to tell him.

"I know what I need to know, Nat. None of us are just our past. We have the here and now and our future. I love you for who you are. All of you. That won't ever change." He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly.

Natasha returned the kiss and relaxed in his arms. Since she'd met him, he had done all he could to be honest, consistent and trustworthy. Not just to her, but to all of them; their little make-shift family. He tried every day to be a man of his word, someone they could all depend on. It wasn't about ego for him. It was about being what he'd always been: a good man. She was so lucky. She was trying to believe him, that she deserved him and deserved happiness. She'd work on it harder. He deserved her best.

They decided they wanted to spend their honeymoon with their family. Peggy and Bucky were delighted, as were the rest of the Avengers. Since their jobs basically involved constant travel, it was a nice change to look forward to cook outs and dinners together; lazy afternoons curled on the couch reading or spontaneous love making sessions that lasted into the wee hours of the night. Nick Fury wasn't particularly thrilled but he let it slide since literally all six of the Avengers were standing firm on this.

Pepper suggested fully redecorating the mansion so that the two couples could have their own personal stamp on it. She arranged for designers to come and make a pitch until they all settled on an elegant French provincial look with a lighter color palette and lighter toned wood. "It's home." Steve said, with his arm around Nat as they surveyed the new look.

"It definitely is home," Nat agreed.

One evening when Peggy and Bucky were out leaving Steve and Natasha alone, Nat came slinking down the stairs to surprise Steve in the kitchen in a short white nightgown that was mostly scraps of see through material and lace with strategically placed crystals. She'd totally forgotten that the curtains in the living room's enormous plate glass window hadn't been installed yet.

The house was far enough back from the street and there were a lot of trees surrounding the property so she thought she'd risk it. She scuttled across the expanse of room, through the dining room and into the kitchen where she hopped up on the granite counter and leaned back on one elbow, swinging one foot while the other was bent and supporting her other hand; watching him preparing their dinner.

"You've still got a great ass, Rogers." She smirked as he spun around at the sound of her voice.

"Nat!" Steve's eyes opened wide as he surveyed her attire.

"Like what you see, soldier?" She purred.

"What the hell are you almost wearing?" Steve dropped the knife and dried his hands on a towel before coming over to kiss his very seductive bride.

Natasha slipped her hand around his head pulling his mouth tighter to hers as he swung her around and wrapped her legs around his waist. Suddenly, he pulled back and looked her over.

"Natasha...did you wear a robe down here?" He was frowning a little.

"No, I wanted you to be surprised."

She wriggled and tried to kiss him but he looked at her sternly. "You walked in front of the big window wearing that?"

"I didn't exactly walk...I sort of sashayed." Nat's eyes sparkled with fun.

"Jesus, Nat. Are you putting on a show for anyone with a pair of binoculars?"

"Oh and someone might sneak a look?" She made the mistake of looking smug.

Steve studied her for a moment, a wicked quirk at the corner of his mouth, "Doll, you are lucky I've evolved a little from the 1940's because my first instinct is to turn you over my knee for being an instigating little exhibitionist but I'm restraining myself."

"Yeah that wouldn't give anybody watching a show at all. C'mon Steve, don't tease me. You wanna spank me on the porch so they have a better view?" She grinned at him, daring him to do it.

He tossed her over his shoulder and started for the stairs. He smacked her butt while she giggled and bounced on his shoulder. As soon as he got her up to their room, he pulled her off his shoulder, sat on the bed and unceremoniously bent her over his knee.

"You are a glorious pain in the ass, Nat." He spanked her halfheartedly a half dozen times while she laughed and kicked.

"Harder, I can take it." Natasha chortled, thoroughly enjoying herself.

"I'll give you harder." Steve growled at her, lifting her up and tossing her onto the bed, then following her down. He felt like he had an iron rod in his jeans. If he didn't get inside her soon, he was going to embarrass himself.

When he discovered that she was wearing exactly nothing under the nighty he rolled her over, swatted her again then pulled her around so she was halfway under him and kissed her. "You're going to give me a heart attack, Natasha."

She rolled her eyes at him and nipped at his full lower lip. "Not a chance, Tiger. You're stuck with me."

"Thank god," Steve whispered as he unbuckled his belt, unbuttoned his jeans and lowered his zipper.

Natasha reached down to free him from his boxers, shoving his jeans down over his ass as he scooted up over her. One arm was around her, the other hand he skated down her side and around between her thighs to test her readiness. He found her already slick with want.

"God, Nat...I love that you are always ready for me." he eased into her slowly giving her time to adjust to his size.

As soon as he was deeply seated she flexed her hips and wrapped her legs around him, urging him to move. Steve took her mouth in a searing kiss as he started a slow, tantalizing rhythm that had her panting and moaning in no time. She savored every thrust as he teased her higher and higher.

"Steve!" She caught her breath as he increased the pace and she arched into his every stroke.

"Tell me, honey...tell me what you need," Steve's voice was thick with passion.

"Harder...I won't break," she panted against his mouth.

Steve obliged her, his own control stretching to the breaking point when she moved his hand down to touch her. "Touch me, please."

He stroked her as he curled over her, pulling her against him as he took shorter, harder thrusts. "I'm here, Nat...let go for me Sweetheart...let it come. I'm right here to catch you."

The climax he'd been building hit her hard and she bucked frantically under him, straining against his hand and into every thrust. "Yes, yes…!" she was nearly sobbing as he took her over the edge.

When she broke, the sweet sucking caress of her orgasm pulled him in. Steve arched into her, riding her climax, releasing inside her in a heavy flood. He shuddered, nearly collapsing on top of her. He swore every time he came with her it was better than the last.

He didn't move for a bit. He knew she liked to feel his weight and to feel him inside her for as long as possible. Kissing her tenderly until her eyes came back in focus, he stroked his knuckles over her cheek.

"That never gets old," She panted when she could form a complete sentence. She stroked his hair pushing back the stubborn lock that always fell across his forehead.

"Best I've ever had," Steve teased her.

"Definitely the best I've ever had," Natasha kissed him softly.

"Really?" Steve looked surprised.

"Oh god, Steve. You're absolutely lethal. I told you that your instincts were good, your prowess and stamina are amazing and you are a very, very giving lover. Seriously, no one I've ever been with made me feel the way you do." There was no trace of humor in her words.

He blushed and smiled that adorable shy smile he had. "Maybe it's because I love you and we are making love, not just having sex."

"Rogers, I'd have jumped your ass on the helicarrier for certain if I knew it could be like this." Natasha smiled at him.

"That would have given me an anxiety attack," Steve laughed. "Not to mention if Coulson had caught us." He disengaged from her and tucked everything away, rearranging her nighty to a more modest version of lust filled fantasy but stayed close as she was still curled against his chest.

Natasha laughed at that as well. Poor Phil would have probably fainted dead away if he'd caught her riding his personal hero's cock in the lower decks of the helicarrier.

Thinking of Phil Coulson made her tear up. Steve quickly gathered her in his arms and held her as she rode out yet another emotional storm. Afterward, they got up, she changed into shorts and her Captain America shield t-shirt. Together they went down to finish preparing dinner. Steve was teaching her to cook, slowly but surely. She was enjoying the lessons as well as spending time with him.

He kept an eye on her as they worked together. Sometimes she had one emotional outburst, sometimes they piggy backed each other throughout the day. He hoped that Bruce, his fiancee' Betty Ross and Dr. Erskine could figure out what was going on with Natasha soon. With her being a victim of the Red Room training program he knew it was agonizing to have emotions wrung out of her like that.

The longer they were together, the more her real emotions became naturally evident. He could tell instantly if there was something legitimately making her happy or sad as opposed to it being one of the emotional storms she'd been dealing with since coming back to this time. She was trying very hard to overcome all the negative training she'd received; learning to be who she really was all the time, not just with Steve.

Having real friends like the team including Peggy, Bucky and Pepper, was helping her a lot. Maria Hill was also becoming a good friend. Clint and his family had been her friends for a long time but branching out a little was definitely good for her. Her biggest supporter and anchor was always Steve. He was always honest with her even if sometimes she wasn't in a listening mood. He was stubborn and patient in equal measures plus he loved her. It was the perfect combination to make her want to respond favorably when he called her on her bullshit occasionally.

It was a scary world dismantling her ingrained defense mechanisms but it was a lot less scary when Steve was by her side.