This is the last chapter of the fic. Thanks to all of those who read it. And let's hope A4 makes Romanogers canon in the MCU. xx


Steve and Sam returned from their race, both breathless and sweating. They were talking and laughing.

Natasha heard them entering the cabin and smiled to herself when she listened to them. Hearing Steve laugh like that made her very joyful.

The past weeks had been difficult ones for them: having to hide, not being able to contact or seeing anyone. They had each other of course. Natasha could never stop thinking of how she wouldn't have been able to do that if she didn't have Steve by her side.

But now they had their friend Sam. She knew how important it was for Steve to have him there. Natasha also knew he missed Bucky a lot and she hoped they could go meet him soon in Wakanda.

"I won so I'm showering first. " – Sam chuckled.

"You only did 'cause I let you." – Steve replied while going into the kitchen, where Natasha was cooking lunch.

She was in front of the kitchen stove, frying some hamburgers. He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his head on her neck, trailing kisses down it. "Hey, baby girl. I missed you."

Natasha giggled and moved so she could face him and kissed his lips, caressing his hair. "You were gone for like half an hour. Plus, you're all sweaty. Go get a shower."

"Just waiting for Sam to finish having one." He began stroking her hair and smiled passionately at her.

Natasha turned off the stove and noticed the way he was looking at her. She grinned as she faced him. "What?"

"You're so beautiful, Nat. I just… I just can't stop thinking how lucky I am to have you."

She buried her face in his chest and hugged him tightly. "No. I'm the one who's lucky to have you. Ya lyublyu tebya."

One of the languages Steve could speak was Russian. His heart fluttered when he heard the woman he loved telling she loved him in her mother tongue.

"Ya tozhe tebya lyublyu, moya lyubov'" – He replied.

She moved from his chest and kissed him. Steve deepened the kiss and held her by her waist, lifting her and sitting her on the kitchen counter.

Natasha held Steve closed to her, grabbing his neck and kissing him fervently. He nuzzled her back and then kissed her cheeks and neck. He sucked it hard, which caused her to moan and to squeeze his hair.

Sam entered the kitchen and stopped when he caught them making out.

"Oh, come on, you guys! Is it gonna be like this now every day? Get a room." – Sam said playfully.

Steve pulled away from Natasha, clearly embarrassed. His whole face and ears were red. Natasha came down from the counter and laughed when she noticed her boyfriend's embarrassment.

Steve pressed a light kiss on her forehead and left the kitchen to have a shower.

"Natasha, do you need help with anything?"

"You can set the table if you want."

Sam grabbed the cutlery and the plates and put them on the table.

He cleared his throat. "Hey, Natasha. Congrats on you two. You deserve to be happy. I always suspected there was something between you guys."

Natasha gave him a sweet smile. "Thanks, Sam. That means a lot to me." She hugged him. "I'm glad you're here."

Steve returned shortly and the three sat on the table to have lunch. Throughout the meal they talked about past missions and what to do next. Sam talked about some information he had received days before about several HYDRA bases that were still active in Eastern Europe.

They decided to stay hidden for a couple more days and then to go to Europe to take down those HYDRA stations.

Steve's mood suddenly changed and he looked sad. Natasha noticed it.

"Steve."

"Hm. What?" – He responded looking down to his plate.

"Are you ok?" – She asked, squeezing his left hand.

"Yeah, sure. Don't worry." – He looked at her, his blue eyes meeting her green gaze and smiled lightly.

She was certain something was going on and wouldn't take that answer. You're a terrible liar. She thought to herself. "Steve."

"What? Natasha, I'm trying to have dinner. Leave me." – He snapped at her.

"Nothing." The way he talked to her took her by surprise. He hadn't been rude to her before. She tried to forget it, but she still felt hurt. Steve could not be pushing her away. They were a team. They needed each other. What affected one affected the other.

Sam looked at both of them and decided to finish his lunch quietly. It felt so awkward to witness Steve and Natasha fight.

After they finished eating, Natasha, upset with Steve, got up without looking at neither of them and went outside. "I'm going for a walk."

Sam took the plates and cutlery and offered to wash them.

Steve was still siting and buried his face on his hands, sighing.

Sam gave a quick glance at his friend. "Steve, are you ok?"

Steve lifted his head and looked at him. "I'm just stressed about all of this, you know? And we were talking about going to Eastern Europe and I couldn't help but think of Bucky." He lowered his voice when saying the name of his friend.

Sam finished washing and sat next to him. "Steve, what about Bucky? You know he's being well treated in Wakanda. T'Challa is a good man. You know Bucky needs this. His HYDRA brainwashing is gonna be removed. There was no other way that could be done." He put his hand on Steve's shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

"I know. But I feel like I should go see him. It's time."

Sam sighed. "We can go to Wakanda before heading to Europe. If you and Natasha think it's safe for us to go."

Steve nodded his head.

"Steve, you should go talk to your girl."

"I know." – Steve tapped Sam's shoulder and got up, going outside the cabin, to take a deep breath and wait for Natasha to return.

He sat outside and after a while Natasha returned.

She looked at him briefly and headed to the door, ignoring his presence.

"Natasha, wait. Don't go inside. Can we talk?"

She faced him and let out a sigh. "What, Steve?" – She asked while seating next to him.

"I love you. I shouldn't have talked to you like that at lunch. I'm sorry."

"You hurt me. You got distant and pushed me away. You never did that before. I'm scared this is how things will be between us. Eventually you'll end up not wanting to have me in your life anymore and you'll leave." A tear streamed down her face. She wiped it right away.

"Nat. Come on, sweetheart, you know me. I could never leave you." He put an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, kissing the top of her head. "I don't wanna lose you, please." He caressed her side, looking away from her. "Do you still love me?"

His question made her look at him. She grabbed his face and locked her eyes with his. "Are you stupid? Of course I love you. You're the love of my life." Natasha pressed her lips against his. "Don't push me away like that again, ok? You don't have to do anything alone. I'm with you. I worry about you."

He hugged her, burying his face on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Nat. I never wanted to hurt you. I love you. You're the love of my life too." He kissed her face and caressed it with his hand.

Natasha held his hand and smiled. "Now, tell me what happened. What was troubling you at lunch?"

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'd like to go back to Wakanda, to see Bucky."

"No."

"Nat…"

"No. You're not thinking. You're out of your mind. Steve, we're wanted criminals. We gotta be careful, did you forget that?"

"So you think it's safer for us to go to Eastern Europe? Nat, no one will find us in Wakanda. Ross can't send anyone to search for us in there. And it's just for a couple days. I just wanna check on Bucky. I owe him that."

"Did you talk to Sam about this?"

"Yes. He says he's ok with it, if you are too."

"What about Eastern Europe? HYDRA? We finally have a chance to leave this place and help people. Help destroy HYDRA. That's what we've been wanting."

Steve stroked her hair. "I still want to do that. There's nothing I want to do more."

She cupped his face with both of her hands. "Listen to me. I know Barnes means a lot to you. But we need to think rationally. We should check the leads Sam got. Scrutinize them. If they're crucial, we should go to Europe now and work on them. Later, we can go to Wakanda. Do the job now and then we head to Wakanda."

He closed his eyes. "Fine. You're right. I'm sorry." He took her hands and kissed them. "I love you."

She hugged him and whispered to his ear. "I love you too."

They went inside and met Sam.

Steve told him what they had decided. "Sam, Nat and I were talking and think it's better to examine the intel you got and if they're important, go to Europe and work on them. What do you think?"

"Let's go." – Sam answered with a grin on his face.

They spent the rest of the afternoon and night making a plan, studying the information they had.

The three decided to go to Eastern Europe. They would go to Romania and Russia. The thought of returning to Russia made Natasha shudder. She hadn't been in her home country for several years.

The next day they were packing, in order to leave that same night. Natasha carefully packed their fake passports and IDs.

Steve got into the bedroom, smiling and helped Natasha.

"I think I should grow a beard, what do you think? Just to remain incognito."

Natasha chuckled at the thought. "Well, not a bad idea, I like it. A beard would look good on you." She squeezed his cheek and kissed him.

At 7 pm, they left the cabin. Natasha looked one last time inside it. That place had been a home to her during those tough weeks. It was in that place where she and Steve became a couple, where they made love for the first time.

She closed the door and joined her teammates, knowing for sure whatever was ahead of them, they had one another, so they would be fine.