16 : CHANGE OF HEART**

It was the fourth game of the season and the fourth win in Steve's record. He was undefeated in every way, nobody doubted his skill, nobody doubted him. Even Steve was very proud of himself. Yeah, Natasha came to all the games wearing his jersey. Steve knew that she was there and he was always looking for her. She cracked a smile and waved her hands for him every time their eyes met.

Every touchdown he made, he always turned to her and saw that bright smile on her face that gave him a confident boost.

He wanted to be the one who made her smile like that every day. He would do everything he could to keep that smile on her face forever. And here they were now, celebrating his victory with people he slowly begun to call his friends. They were good people and surprisingly enough they genuinely cared for him, not his fame.

Steve and Natasha walked into the bar together. Confetti fell on them from every direction. Nat yelped in surprised and hugged to his side tightly. Steve wrapped his arms around her before leading them to their table.

"Congratulation on your fourth consecutive win, Captain!" Tony said loudly, raising his glass of scotch. Grant Ward, junior year and the owner of this bar, handed the captain and the lady in his arms glasses of beer.

"Thanks for all the support guys but I couldn't do it without my team!" They all drank, laughed and joked around. Steve and Thor both boasted that they would always win because they were on the best team. Steve said, with his perfect aim, the team would not lose a single game. Well, unless he staged the lose by himself.

"Well, I'm thinking about straight W in my record for this season." Steve announced."Unless, something unfortunate came up or I have a bad day or if my luck runs out."

"Something unfortunate like you get killed by your own arrogant ass." Maria shot back and everyone laughed. Steve just shrugged,

"My dear Maria Hill, you wanna make a bet with me?"

"No, I already lost one bet with you. Damn my roommate for falling for you so easily."Steve gave a very evil laughed until Natasha slapped him on his forearm. Steve cried quietly and turned to bickering with Natasha again and easily forgot the prior conversation he had with Maria. Natasha dragged Steve to the bar to get another round for the group. They were talking with Ward and his girlfriend, Skye. But then Steve noticed something about his little red.

"Nat…" He began; blue eyes kept locking at her. "Your hair? Different?"

"Yeah, it's longer than we first met." She said. "I'm thinking about straightening it once it reaches my shoulders."

"No!—" He blurted it out to fast Natasha looked at him curiously. He coughed. "I mean I like your short curly hair."

"Aww, you think I'm pretty, don't you?" She teased.

"Whatever, red." He cut off. "Just trust me on this." Steve only stayed until 9 pm. Much to everyone's protests, Steve and Natasha managed to sneak out from the bar while everyone was focused on Tony and Clint doing some street dance. Natasha was tried and really need to get some rest after a long day. They took a detour again but it was the only time he had made a detour this week. Steve opened up to her enough to talk about Peggy.

"I thought she was rich." Natasha said. "Why is she working in coffee shop?"

"She's working on some academic related research or something." Natasha asked where he got this information from and this time, Steve told her every detail. They spent a good five minutes talking about this before heading back to their dorm.

He walked her back to her room as usual, bid her a good night, before bending down and kissing her on the cheek. He gave her a smile before walking away. Natasha could see that he was changing as he became gentler with her.

Is this the gentle side that Peggy was talking about?

"Steve…" A moan cloaked with pleasure escaped her mouth as he trailed his lips down her neck, right hand fondling her breast. They collapsed onto her bed with Steve atop of her. She kissed him hungrily, demanding all the attention from him, her body arched to meet the heat from his.

Her name was Rachel, one of his one nighters, she had texted him and told him that she wanted to repay the quarterback for his victory yesterday. So there he was, in her bedroom. Steve was about to pull her shirt off when a random thought suddenly came into his mind.

You don't wanna be here, Rogers.

The captain stopped what he was doing and jumped off Rachel's bed. She noticed the confusion in his eyes,

"I'm sorry—I just—I" Steve actually stuttered and rubbed his head awkwardly. "I gotta go."

Before Rachel could protest anything, Steve had already left and headed back to his dorm.

This wasn't the first time he's acted like this. Something else had come to his mind and completely distracted him. He didn't know what it was but whatever it was it wasn't good, it made him feel as if he wasn't himself.

His mind was wandering, preoccupied, he easily lost focus, distracted by a pair of beautiful green eyes and a mysterious smile. Or maybe he was just getting bored by his one-night stands. All he knew was that there was somewhere else he wanted to be.

Knock knock

"Come on in! It's not locked." Steve slowly opened the door and he saw Natasha sat on the couch, watching Sherlock.

"Hey, Steve." she greeted with a beautiful smile. "You're just in time. This scene is hilarious."

"Hope you in a mood for dinner." He asked, showing the two bags in his hand.

"The one on Roosevelt?"

"Yes, your favorite." Steve had taken her to this dinner joint a couple times and she said they served the best kebab she had ever tasted.

"You sure know how to make the girls feel special." He smiled fondly and sat down next to her. He just drove through the heavy traffic to get this delicious dinner for both of them. It was totally worth it to see her bright smile in return. They sat quietly and enjoyed their food. Steve never really watched Sherlock. He just didn't like the guy—what's his name again? Something —Cambechat—Cucumber—Whatever. So, Natasha excitedly told him everything to help him catch up with her current episode.

This is where you want to be, Rogers? A little devil Steve appeared again, questioning his actions. You missed a chance to sleep with one hell of a hot girl just to be with this girl!—because you felt like you want to be with her—not your one night stand!

I have my reasons, Steve answered back, And Natasha is more interesting than those brainless girls I always had.

Dude! You've changed, the devil said, annoyed before disappearing.

Steve found himself getting bored too easy lately. It was like any meaningless sex couldn't help with this, he wanted more, wanted something more than sex and lust. Something deeper and more meaningful. His mind was always wandering, but mostly it was focused about the most fascinating woman he had ever met. He knew they were closer than before and he found himself enjoying her company even if they just sat there and talked for an hour. Or maybe, he was just getting bored of sleeping around or bored with his one night stands.

And now she was giving him that smile of hers, a sexy, lazy smile and not making eye contact with him. He smiled back and felt himself wanting to lunge forward and kiss those plump lips of her.

Natasha Romanoff. She really was something else.

The next day, Steve was about to pick Natasha up at her room when he met with Pepper down the hall.

"Morning, Pepper!" Steve greeted.

"Hey, Steve." She greeted back. "If you were about to pick up Natasha, she's sick today. You might want to check her out. She could be really stubborn and refuse to take any medicine."

"Hell nooo! Romanoff will be full of germs." Pepper shook her head and said sarcastically,

"We are very lucky to have you as a friend, Steve."

"I know. I will not be in your room for a while. Not until Romanoff is fully recovered." Steve turned and walked downstairs immediately, leaving Pepper staring after him. The girl shook her head again because she knew Steve. He acted like he didn't care but really he did, deeply.

Steve walked back to his dorm later that morning with a bag of everything. He opened the door to Natasha's room and saw the girl was lying on the couch full with blanket and pillow.

"Eww. You look gross without make up. Romanoff." He teased. Steve hated to admit it out loud that his friend was beautiful without make up because he didn't want to boost her ego and Steve Rogers never had to compliment a girl he didn't try to get in bed with. He also knew that Natasha knew she was sexy as hell, she just didn't admit it out loud like other girls.

"Fuck you." She snarled weakly. "I'm sick. If you don't want to catch a cold, just leave now."

"Actually, Peps told me you're sick so I brought you your favorite mushroom soup."Her face lit up a little and gave him a smile.

"You're the best."

"I know." Steve said and sat down on the couch with her. Natasha immediately put her legs on his for a more comfortable position.

"You don't have class today?"

"No, I'm gonna spend my entire day with you." Natasha groaned and pulled the blanket over her head.

"Go away, I need to sleep." Steve pulled the blanket back but she held on to it tightly. Unconsciously during their tug of war Steve had ended up on top of her, but with a better grip he forcefully pulled the blanket down.

"Well then you'll have to make me go yourself because I just rented the entire Lord of the Rings for today's movie marathon." Natasha opened her eyes and saw Steve's face hovering above her with his baby blue eyes staring deeply. She had never noticed how beautiful his eyes were before. The bluest of the bluest shades, so beautiful like a calm ocean.

Steve noticed how close they were and he popped himself back to his seat.

"I'm sorry. I'll just put this soup in a bowl so you can eat and take the medicine afterwards."

Steve came back with the hot soup. It did smell really nice. He helped her sit up and gently feed her, not forgetting to blow some heat off the soup first. "Princess, you've got some soup on your chin." He said before he reached his hand out and wiped it gently. The gentle feeling of the touch erupted the butterflies fluttering inside her. When she finished the soup, he handed her a glass of water and medicine before putting everything away in the sink which he would clean after she got back to sleep.

"Can you put the movies on?" She asked.

"Of course, Nat." Steve put the movie on and sat back on the couch. Nat settled her head on his legs and he draped a blanket over her. She hummed happily and closed her eyes. Half way through the first movie, she finally, completely fell sleep. He kissed her lightly on her forehead and tried to stay still as much as he could.

Pepper came back to her room but the sound of the television inside stopped her. She quietly opened and the sight she saw made her smile. Steve and Natasha were lying on the couch together. Natasha was in his tight embrace while her head rested on his chest, hands clutching his t-shirt. The television was left unwatched.

Pepper gently poked Steve's arm and he woke up slowly. He opened his eyes and saw Natasha was sleeping in his arms so he didn't move. He didn't want to wake her up after he saw how peaceful her sleep was.

"Hey, Pepper." Steve quietly greeted.

"Hey, Steve." She greeted back. "You should put her in bed so you can get something to eat and take a shower. It almost 8 pm."

"Yeah, she's just had a very long sleep. I don't want to wake her up yet." Steve replied.

"You can carry her to her room." Steve silently and gently moved out the couch before carrying Natasha back to her room and tucking her in the bed. He was about to leave when,

"Don't go..." she murmured and grabbed his hand.

"If you need anything, just call me."

"I want you here." Steve turned to Pepper who nodded an approval.

"I will be right outside if you need anything, Nat."

"Okay." She got back to sleep and Steve kissed the top of her head again before walking out of Natasha's bedroom with Pepper who had a questioning look on her face.

"What?" He asked harshly.

"And you say you don't worry about her." Pepper teased.

"I'm just afraid she might be dead without someone watching her."

"You can sleep on the couch if you want. I already got you some burgers."

"Thanks, Pep."

Steve ate his dinner and got a shower before coming back to Natasha/Pepper's room and found that the ginger already set the couch for him to sleep in. Pepper disappeared into her room to get some homework done.

Steve laid down on the couch to get some sleep. It was almost midnight and he was slowly drifted into his slumber when he heard a painful groaning inside Natasha's bedroom (Pepper insisted to keep the door open in case something happen)

He got up and ran to her side.

"Nat, are you alright?" He asked and put his hands over her forehead. He could feel her body burning. "Nat, you're hot."

"I know, right?" She sleepily said, not opening her eyes. "I'm hot."

"Nooo! Not that kind of hot. Your body's temperature's too high. You're burning. I'll take you to hospital."

"Whatever you say, Steve." Natasha had a fever. From what he felt, it was probably too high. He grabbed his belongings before scooping her up in his arms. Pepper was also awake.

"Pep, I'm gonna take her to the hospital."

"Alright, I'll tell the others." Steve carried Natasha all the way to the parking lot and put her in the passenger seat. He drove to the nearest hospital when she started to feel cold so he draped his leather jacket over her. Steve carried Natasha into the hospital where they were all over him. Steve gently put Natasha on the bed.

"Please take care of her." He said to the doctor. Steve was waiting outside the diagnosis room, but it wasn't long when the doctor came out.

"Luckily, there is nothing serious. It's just a flu and fever." The doctor informed. "She will have to stay in the hospital for 3 days if she gets better, she can leave."

"Thank you, sir." Steve said before the nurse led him to Natasha's recovery room. Steve sat down on the couch and watched Natasha sleeping until he fell asleep because of the exhaustion.

"Buddy! Wake up!" A loud voice came with a shake on his arms. "Wake up, Rogers. Red is dead!" Steve snapped his eyes opened and jumped off the couch, terrified. Tony and Clint were the two that had woke him up and they laughed at Steve's reaction. Clint fell to the ground, clutching his stomach.

Steve was about to snarl something at the two pranksters but then he heard a melodic laugh and knew who it belonged to. He turned and saw Natasha Romanoff sitting on the bed, looking at him. Her face looked tired but still had a smile.

"Dude, we thought you were dead." Tony said. "It's almost noon."

"You stay here all night?" Clint asked.

"Yeah." Steve replied. "I must have slept in. You guys don't have class?"

"This morning, I don't have." Tony told them, "So Clint and I decided to visit little red."

"I don't want you here, Stark." Natasha spoke up for the first time. Steve turned his attention to her

"Are you feeling better?" She nodded.

"I'm okay now."

"You scared me last night, you know?"

"I'm sorry." Tony coughed,

"Guys, we're still here, you know" The rich boy gave them a grin. "But you can cuddle all you want, I don't mind."

They both turned to give him a warning glare.

AN - I know it's a long story. But I really want to get in detail of how they develop their relationship, okay? It's more fun that way and a lot happen in their daily life too!

- Changed of plan, I will update within 5-6 days. Please be patient with me.

- Special thanks to my friend, sleeplessinbudapest. *hugs*

- Thanks to my beta readers, Gabby Bensaro NCIS-SVU-Fan and keepcalmandwrite

- Please kindly leave a review :)