Natasha woke up startled and picked her phone immediately to see what time it was. 4 a.m. appeared on the screen.

"Fuck!" – Natasha exclaimed. She rubbed her eyes and got out of the couch. She fell asleep in there almost immediately after the phone call with Steve ended. She put the bottle of vodka back to the kitchen and stayed there, leaning against the counter, thinking about the call.

She thought how good it felt to hear Steve's voice again. How it lighted her mood to know he was arriving the next day. He was the one person she needed now. Natasha just pictured his arrival, how she would just hug him and stay with him, peacefully.

This thought created a fluttery sensation in her stomach. She instantly dismissed the thought.

"Come on Natasha, you and Steve are friends. Good friends. That's all." – She whispered to herself.

Deep down she wished he and her could be more than that. She was in love with him. But there was not much room for love in her life. Natasha thought that love was for children.

She was a spy, a killer, a monster, as she thought about herself. She couldn't be like other people, have a normal life. The only feeling she had close to love was toward Bruce. But he left and she knew they were never going to have anything.

But with Steve it was different. She had been feeling this almost since the beginning of their friendship.

Finally she decided to go to bed and sleep before he arrived.

Natasha woke up again with her phone buzzing. She rubbed her eyes, yawned and looked at the screen to see who was calling. The name "Steve" appeared on it and she picked up, full of joy.

"Hi." – She greeted, with a sleepy voice.

"Romanoff, wake up! It's 4 p.m., why are you sleeping? Get up and open the door, I'm outside the cabin."

She hang up the phone and jumped out of bed, heading to the front door. When she opened it, she found Steve Rogers. He had deep dark circles and a tired yet warm smile.

They instantly hugged each other. Tears started streaming down Natasha's face. She tighted her grip around Steve.

They stayed like that for almost 2 minutes. They ended their embrace and smiled. Steve sat on the couch and put his bag down on the floor. She followed him.

"Nice place you got." – He said while looking around the living room.

She put up a shy smile. "Thanks. Are you hungry? Can I get you something? You look like crap."

Steve laughed. "Thanks. I had a rough time. But things are starting to get better now. It's ok. I just need to sleep. Been a while since I had a good night of sleep." He put a serious face, while looking into Natasha's eyes. "And you? How are you doing? You were crying on the phone. And you were crying too when I hugged you. Never seen you like this."

"I just really missed you. And, you know, things were complicated. So, I don't know. But I'm good now." She lowered her voice. "You're here, so I'm gonna be alright."

Steve smiled and rubbed her face. "I could never leave you on your own. Nat."

Natasha cleared her throat and got up. "Come on, Rogers. Let's go to the kitchen and eat something."

They ate some pancakes and discussed more in detail their present situation. Steve, as he promised before, told Natasha the fight he and Bucky had with Tony. How Tony ripped Bucky's metal arm and how Steve was told by him that he didn't deserve the shield his father had built.

After this talk, Natasha decided to call Clinton and catch up a bit with him too. Clint was laying low, living a normal life, with his wife Laura and their three children. Nat was smiling the entire phone call, happy to know her best friend was ok.

By the end of all this it was past 9 pm.

Nat decided to prepare something quick for them to eat. Both of them were exhausted and just wanted to sleep the whole night.

They had mac and cheese and afterward sat on the couch talking.

Natasha yawned and said "Ok, I'm pretty exhausted and so are you. We should get some sleep."

"Agreed. Do you have like a blanket or anything, so I can cover myself on the couch?"

Natasha blushed a little and cleared her throat. "You can take my bed if you prefer. You look like you could use a good night of sleep."

"I could never let you sleep on the couch, Nat. I'm fine here."

She lowered her eyes and these words slipped out of her mouth. Natasha had no time to control them. "Sleep with me, please. I could use a friend."