Steve couldn't believe his eyes. The emerald of her eyes, and the faint blush in her cheeks, these caused a torrent of emotions to run through his mind, and his heart. As he knelt down in front of her he wanted to reach out and touch her face. He held back, for fear that this was some dream. As if his touch would make her disappear. He had to pinch himself to make sure he was awake. Once again, he could only say her name.

"Nat?"

For five minutes she just stares at him. She still can't believe her eyes. When she doesn't move, he takes it as a good sign. Slowly, Steve gently places his hand against her cheek. All of a sudden she can feel the warmth that she missed. Leaning into his touch, she doesn't want to ever lose the feeling again. But when he speaks one more time, she snaps back to reality.

"Nat, talk to me, please."

"Steve I…, I have to go."

Natasha quickly pulls back, and runs out of the front door. Of all the actions she could have taken, this one surprises him the most. Still kneeling, he's not sure what to do. Until her friend walks up behind him, and asks a question.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go after her you dope."

That was all the encouragement he needed. Busting through the door, he chases after her. She is already thirty feet from the bar, but he catches up quickly.

"NAT! Nat, wait!"

Natasha stops dead in her tracks. She doesn't know why. She remembers the fight. She curses herself for never reading his letters. When she turns around, she still feels like the young college girl who let him get away, because of his loyalty to his best friend.

"Wait for what? Why are you chasing after me?"

Trying to catch his breath, he offers his best explanation.

"I just…, I just wanted to make sure that jerk didn't hurt you. After all this time, won't you let me make sure you're okay? Just once?"

"You lost the right to protect me when you left me, Rogers. I've been taking care of myself for fourteen years. I needed you then, maybe I don't need you now."

He is shocked at her dismissal of him. He knows it's his fault. As his hands drop to his sides, he turns to walk away. Again Natasha doesn't believe what she is seeing. The man she fell in love with, the one she never got over, isn't fighting for her. In her own heart, she knows what she told him was a lie. She still needs him. As much as she wants to run to him, ask him to hold her, her feet don't move. She curses herself again, this time for her stubborn Russian pride. So she turns away, for the walk back to her own apartment. One last time, Steve looks back, but she just keeps walking. After a slow trudge back to the bar, all of his friends fall silent when he walks in, and past the police who are carting Rumlow off. Five minutes later, only Bucky dares to speak.

"Steve? Come on man, you got to see her again. You're back, and she's here. Just give her time. She'll come back. You know it."

"No Bucky. She was right, I left her when she needed me the most. How could I ever have believed she would still need me fourteen years later."

There is only one dry eye in the bar after Steve says this. Even Tony, Bruce, Betty and Pepper break down. They don't even know the story. The only person with the courage to call him out on this, is her friend.

"Steve? It is Steve isn't it?"

He doesn't look up, but he does answer.

"Yeah, who are you?"

"I know that I've never met you before now. But I've seen your picture on her desk. And I have to say, you're an idiot if you think she doesn't need you. I saw the look in her eyes when she realized who you were. My name is Carol Danvers, and I'm not just Natasha's business partner. I'm her friend. For these past fourteen years, I've listened to her stories about the one that got away. I was there along with Clint and Bobbi, when she turned down Alexei's proposal. She did that for you."

"I wish I could believe that, but…"

"Forget the ifs, ands, or buts, Steve. You obviously want her back. But you're not going to get there if you don't start acting like the man she fell in love with."

"How? How do I make her see that I'm still that guy? So much time has passed that maybe I'm not that guy anymore."

"Uh…Bullshit. You stood up for her even when you didn't know who she was. You fought a guy who was going to do God knows what to her. What more proof do you need that you're still the good guy?"

"Carol, sometimes even the good guy needs to let go. Especially when it's what is best for the people he cares about."

"Yeah, she said you are almost as stubborn as she is. If you're not going to do anything to win her back, I'll do it for you."

Steve is speechless as Carol walks away. Exiting the bar, she knows what she has to do, and where she has to go. Shortly there-after, she arrives at Natasha's apartment. She has a spare key so she lets herself in.

"Hey, Nat. I know you're here. You want to tell me what all that was about back there?"

She doesn't find her friend in the living room, or the kitchen. As she walks through the rest of the rooms, she hears crying from the bedroom. Standing in the doorway, she tries to console her friend.

"Nat? Come on, it's not that bad. Rumlow didn't hurt you, and now he's going to be locked up for a while."

"It's not about Rumlow. I didn't expect to see Steve ever again. Then he's there kneeling in front of me. I was such a fool for walking away when he chased me down."

"You did what you thought was right. He left fourteen years ago. You told me all the stories. Do you really think he deserves to be in your life?"

"I love him Carol. I never stopped loving him."

"And what did that love cost you?"

Carol turns the light up, and can see what has been causing her friend's tears. Envelopes ripped open, letters surrounding her on the bed. Every one of them from Steve, fourteen years of letters from the front.

"All of these letters he sent. I never read them until now. One saying he forgives me for leaving him when he enlisted. Another that says he can't wait to see me when he gets back. And all of them end the same way: 'If you don't write back, I understand. I miss you.' 'Love, Steve.'

"Then he never moved on. You did. To be honest, I don't think he deserves a second chance with you."

Hearing her friend say that, sets Natasha off.

"Who the hell do you think you are to tell me that Carol?! What if this happened with you and Peter? Do you think I would look you in the eye and tell you he doesn't deserve a second chance? Do you?"

"Whoa, Nat. Slow down a minute. I just…"

"Stuff it! I don't care what you or anyone else says. If I ever see Steve again, I'm going to tell him how much I love him. I'm going to tell him that I understand why he felt he had to join the Army. I couldn't very well keep him from joining his best friend in the war, especially after he was so accepting of my friendship with Clint. No matter what happens, no one is going to stop me from being with him!"

When Nat finally finishes shouting, Carol breathes a sigh of relief.

"Good, it's about time you stopped moping and realized how you still feel about him. I didn't know how much longer I could keep talking like that."

"You mean, you were just…I can't believe you played me like that."

"I did what I had to. I saw how you looked at him. It's the same way I look at Peter. So what are you waiting for, go get him."

Even in her current state, tears drying on her face and her cheeks flushed red, Nat doesn't hesitate. She runs out the door of her apartment, to go back to the bar. She didn't even think about it, and left Carol cleaning up the letters and tissues. When she finally arrives after running all that way, the only people left are Sam and Hunter.

Sam! Sam, where's Steve?"

"Natasha? What are you doing back here?"

"Never mind that! Where did Steve go?"

"He left, about an hour ago. Bucky took him home."

"Bucky? He still hangs out with Bucky? Tell me where! I have to find them."

"I can't. I made a promise. They're my friends. Besides, I don't know the address."

"Fine, I'm going to give you my address. If you see either of them, make sure they get it. I let him go once. It's not going to happen again."

As she walks out of the bar for the second time that night, Sam can't help but think to himself:

"Man, I wish I'd known these two when they were together. They're both pig-headed, stubborn, and completely perfect for each other."