Yes, I do suppose that this story is going in the Romanogers direction, isn't it ;)
Sorry for the delay in updates- I was trying to come up with a good idea for this next chapter and was also suffering a obsession with the X Factor :D I also apologize for those who don't celebrate Christmas. Hopefully you still find this part enjoyable. Also, this is not a Brutasha fic so Betty is present in this story :) Long live Liv Tyler. Anyway. Commencing with the story. This also has ties to the Incredible Hulk.
It was Christmas morning. Steve had wrapped, tagged, and tied all of his presents and they were now placed under the Avengers Christmas tree down on the main floor. It was a stark contrast from the events that had occurred in Russia. The atmosphere was charged with spirit and cheer, and Steve was glad that the holiday was finally here. All of the Avengers were sitting in a circle in front of the tree. The group also included Pepper (who was beginning to show), Jane Foster and Betty Ross. Laura and her children were coming later.
"Okay, how about we pull names out of a hat to see who goes first?" Tony suggested. They all wrote their names down on a piece of paper and put it in a baseball hat. It was returned to Tony, who shuffled the pieces inside.
"The winner is... Betty!" Tony announced. Betty smiled. "Nat, why don't you pick one out for her, since you're on her left? That's how it will go for everyone else, too." Tony continued. Natasha gracefully rose and scanned the tree for Betty's presents. She finally chose a small, square box and handed it to Betty.
"It's from Steve." Natasha told them. Betty flashed a brilliant smile in Steve's direction. She neatly untied the green ribbon on the package and parted the purple wrapping paper. She opened the box and gasped.
"Thank you, Steve! It's lovely." she held up a picture of the campus that she worked at before Bruce's incident with the military. Steve nodded.
"I had hope that you'd like it." he said. Betty nodded.
"Alright, Steve, get a present for Nat." Tony said. Steve stood up. He didn't know where to look under the tree. He decided on a somewhat squishy package that was from Clint. He handed it to her and Natasha shot Clint a withering glance.
"If you got me a Spiderman shirt I'll kill you, Clint." she said. The archer looked properly ashamed. Natasha ripped the wrapping paper off and her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my god, Clint." she said softly. Clint looked smug.
"Not exactly a shirt now, is it, Tasha?" he asked. She shook her head. Steve was startled to see tears welling in her beautiful eyes. She held up a ragged old teddy bear. The circle was silent for a brief second.
"You have no idea how much this means to me, Clint." Natasha said. "This is unbelievable. I thought they had thrown it away." Clint smiled at her.
"Care to explain to us what's going on?" Tony asked casually. Natasha turned to the rest of the circle. Steve leaned forward in anticipation.
"My parents gave this to me. It was the last thing I ever got from them. The next day, our house was burned to the ground and they died. I escaped from the house and wandered the streets with nothing but the bear and what clothes I had on my back. The Red Room found me and I never saw the bear again. The first night was awful because I thought they had thrown it away." Natasha replied, her voice shaking a little bit.
"You're welcome, Nat." Clint said softly.
They finished opening the gifts. Steve received a gift card to and a huge stack of books, among other things. The gift card was from Betty and the books were from Natasha. Some of the books were the Lord of the Rings, the Mortal Instruments and a book called 'An Idiot's Guide to Captain America'. Steve read it and found it hilariously funny.
"Steve?" a voice asked. Steve looked up from the Fellowship of the Ring. Pepper was standing there, an anxious look on her face. Steve slipped a bookmark into the book and closed it.
"What is it? Are you alright?" he asked her. Pepper sat down across from him. The living room was deserted. Jane and Thor had gone to look at the stars. Tony was presumably in his lab, working on another project. Natasha and Clint were running ten miles around the city together, and Clint's family was doing a massive puzzle in the gym. Betty and Bruce were examining something odd in the lab on radiation. They were alone.
"Yes, I'm fine. I wanted to ask you about Nat." she told him. "I'm worried about her. She doesn't have her usual spunk anymore. It's like she's dead inside. I mean, not completely, but we've lost the Natasha we used to have."
"You must understand, Pepper, that this isn't something that can be cured in a night. The consequences of being a hero are bigger than you might think. Her past is far more traumatic than we could ever imagine." Steve said seriously. "We're all worried, but she's healing already. I think that being around Betty and yourself makes her more comfortable."
"I think that you're helping, too, Steve. She clings to you now. I just wanted to know if there was anything you think might help her." Pepper admitted. "You're a great guy, Steve. She deserves someone like you to look after her."
"She may deserve someone like me, ma'm, but she certainly is too good for an old guy like me." Steve joked. "Just talk to her. Try not to mention her past too much. Engage her. Make her understand that we're her friends. Congratulations on your..." he motioned to Pepper's body. "Friend." Pepper laughed.
"Thank you, Steve."
The roar of a helicarrier reached Steve's ears as the team raced through the Russian tundra. Natasha was cradled in his arms. Her eyes were closed and her chest was rising and falling at a frightening rate, and dark, scarlet blood was seeping into his jacket's sleeves despite Thor's cape wrapped around Natasha's body.
"Stay with us, Nat." he begged her as the sound of people drew closer. The team moved in. Clint jogged beside Steve, their breath coming out in puffs of vapor. They had been running for three miles. Steve's arms were beginning to tire, but still he pushed through. Natasha needed help and she needed it immediately.
And with a sudden jolt, Steve saw Natasha's chest stop moving. No clouds rose above her pale lips. Clint sprang into action. He felt for her pulse.
"She's leaving us."
Suddenly, a black clad figure emerged from the trees ahead of them. Tony, flying above them, fired his guns at the figure. Clint yanked the shield off Steve's back with a rough, violent motion. He threw it above the figure's head and the bullets bounced harmlessly off the enforced metal.
"It's Hill, Stark!" he bellowed. Agent Hill rushed forward and took Natasha from Steve. She sprinted back where she came from, and the team followed in hot pursuit. As they settled into the plush chairs of the helicarrier, Clint told the rest of the team what Steve also knew.
"She's dying."
"Steve!" a hand shook Steve roughly awake. "It's a dream, man." Steve blinked. The face of Clint swam in front of him, covered in sweat. Steve bolted upright. His neck hurt from being slumped against his armchair.
"I saw the helicarrier." Steve gasped. Understanding dawned in Clint's eyes.
"You saw her almost die, there, on the run." he said. Steve swallowed and nodded. The windows outside were pitch black now. The room's lights were dimmed and the hallways were dark. "Go to bed, Steve."
"Thanks for waking me up." Steve said as he rose.
"I figured that it couldn't have been a good dream. Those never come from sleeping in armchairs."
Again, sorry for the delay!