Steve
Steve walked across the living room and he grabbed his apartment keys from the island in the kitchen. He tossed the keys slightly and he put them in his pocket. Steve had his wallet in his jacket. He looked back at the hallway and at his bedroom door. He paused slightly and he couldn't hear anything coming from the bedroom. Steve sighed slightly and he walked toward the hallway and he flipped on a light.
He put his hand on the knob and opened it. He looked inside and Natasha wasn't in the bed. Steve frowned and he looked around and he could see Natasha anywhere, and the bathroom was completely silent.
"What are you doing?" Natasha asked softly
Steve was startled and he looked behind him. Natasha was standing there in a blue shirt and jeans. Steve's heart slowed down and he sighed in relief.
"You startled me" Steve said exhaling and putting his hand on his chest.
"Well, at least I can still sneak up on someone" Natasha said smirking
"Yeah" Steve said and he walked past her and he entered the kitchen again.
"So where are we going?" Natasha asked following him.
"Well, I thought that you may want to go somewhere. You choose" Steve said
"Rogers, I don't go out much" Natasha said frankly
"Yeah, I know but there has to be somewhere you want to go" Steve said walking up to her
"Um… I'm drawing a blank" Natasha said
"Come on Nat, you want to go shopping?" Steve asked
Steve noticed that she wasn't saying anything and she was just giving him an unreadable look.
Steve slightly chuckled "What?" he said
"I don't go shopping" Natasha said
"Really, not any kind of shopping?" Steve said crossing his arms in a playful manner
"No" Natasha said still giving him the unreadable look.
"Ok, um… let's go to the clothing store" Steve said forgetting the name of the store.
"Victoria Secret?" Natasha asked
"What, no"
"So you don't want me to get sexy lingerie that I can wear for you?" Natasha asked with a playful tone
"No, of course I want you to have sexy lingerie, just what do you want"
"Sexy lingerie" She said
"No, what do you want for you. You can't get anything that is technically for me"
"Rogers, I don't know" Natasha said shaking her head
"Come on, let me buy you something" Steve said
"You want to buy me something?"
"Isn't that what boyfriends do, or is it different now?" Steve asked suddenly serious
Natasha couldn't help but laugh at Steve's face.
"What?" Steve asked starting to get worried
"Yes, boyfriends still do that" Natasha said reassuring him
"Ok, good. I didn't want to get into some uncharted territory" Steve said relieved
"Not a little uncharted?" Natasha asked playfully as she put her hands around him.
Steve stood speechless, and he almost said something then stopped. "I didn't say anything about that kind of uncharted" Steve finally said putting his arms around her.
"Oh, so like this…"
"Ah, no. We are going shopping for something for you" Steve said seeing what she was trying to do.
"You're no fun, Rogers" Natasha whispered seductively
"There are a lot of things you still don't know about me Nat" Steve said looking at her with a hint of lust in his eyes
"I'd like to find out" Natasha said
"Yeah, but now we are going shopping" Steve said still persisting
"Ugh" Natasha exclaimed
"Natasha we can't spend all day inside having sex" Steve said
"Why not?" Natasha asked innocently
Steve was speechless again and he was slightly breaking under her gaze.
"It's fun, but can we please do something in the world. Out there, not in here where you and me have our time together. I want to make out there our time to." Steve said
Natasha slightly sighed and she saw that she wasn't going to win.
"Fine" Natasha said
Natasha
Steve wasn't kidding when he said that he would buy her something. They had been past three separate clothing stores and Natasha said no to every one of them. Steve seemed to becoming frustrated.
"I did not know shopping for a woman would be this hard" Steve said
"I usually don't like being caught up in it" Natasha said
"Wait, you want something besides clothes?" Steve asked hoping for a good answer
Natasha paused in her walk and looked at him as he stopped a second after her and turned to look at her.
"You mean jewelry don't you?" Natasha asked
"Or that" Steve said
Natasha stood and she slightly tapped her foot looking uncomfortable and she knew she wasn't going to win this argument about buying her something. She looked at him. "Ok, let's go look at jewelry" Natasha said continuing her walk
"OK" Steve said following her, he was excited. Not for the jewelry, just being able to buy her something.
Natasha noticed that Steve was walking with a lighter step and she could tell he was happy about something. She hid a smirk and she knew she wasn't going to find anything that she liked. Natasha never found anything that she liked. If it was at least going to make Steve happy to at least try, then she was ok with it.
Steve followed her into a jewelry store and Natasha paused as she looked at all the other girls looking at rings and necklaces and ear rings. She looked at their utter happy eyes as they smiled at a diamond. She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at the sight. Steve stood next to her.
"You know what you're looking for?" Steve said with a hint of unease in his voice.
"Not a damn clue" Natasha whispered to him
A woman in a black uniform, or more like a dress came over to them. She put on a big smile and Natasha could see jealousy in her eyes.
"Can I help you?" She asked politely
Natasha knew there was no sign of politeness in her eyes, but she smiled anyway and acted like any other girl.
"Yes, I was wondering if you could make any suggestions" Natasha said smiling
Steve noticed that it was a fake smile and he glanced at the women closely and he noticed that she was looking at Natasha funny. Whatever she had in them made Natasha put on a fake smile. He would keep to himself for now.
"What are you looking for, for a reference?" the woman asked
Natasha noticed her name tag: Natalie. She suddenly hated her a little more, but she kept the hate away and hid her emotions.
"Rings or necklaces" Natasha asked smiling
"Ok over here" Natalie said wand she walked toward a display case
Natasha followed and Steve was close behind.
Steve watched as Natasha and Natalie talked about certain jewels that he didn't know about. He could see there was no politeness in Natalie's eyes, Natasha had it, but he was pretty sure it was fake. Steve found himself looking at all the things they passed. He saw a big diamond ring and it looked beautiful. He looked over at Natasha and he looked at her left hand and pictured the ring on it. He frowned at it and he shook his head, Not Natasha. He saw another one and he did the same thing. It was close, but still no. Natasha wasn't kidding when she said she had no idea what she was looking for.
Steve made a good guess that this is why she doesn't go shopping, there's nothing in here that matched her. Steve wanted to walk away and take Natasha with her and take her away from the uncomfortable situation that he had currently had her in. He waited till her and Natalie were done talking. As he saw Natalie roll her eyes as she looked away and he was sure Natasha saw it to. He glanced at another display case and he saw a necklace. It was silver with a red gem in it and the fine silver was wrapped around it in pristine gracefulness. Steve saw that is was the closest thing to Natasha in here.
Steve made himself a mental note. He followed her out of the store and Natasha let out a tired sigh. Steve stood close to her.
"Sorry for that" Steve said
Natasha was caught off guard by his sentence "What?"
"In the store, you didn't want to be in there and by the way you and that one girl Natalie were staring at each other. It looked like one of you were going to kill the other."
"So you remembered her name" Natasha said
Steve instantly saw her face and her anger. He said the wrong thing.
"You know, I can't forget a name" Steve said
"Yeah, I know" Natasha said, her face changing from anger to a look of contrite.
Steve walked up to her and he put his hands on her arms "Come on, let's go to your favorite diner. Get some lunch." Steve said smiling
"Now that I won't object to" Natasha said
Steve
They were sitting in the diner and they were next to the window. Steve was sitting silently and he was doing something and Natasha noticed. His hand was moving quickly as if he was shading something. She turned her head away from the window and she looked at him.
"What are you drawing?" Natasha asked
Steve looked up at her and he smiled and chuckled lightly "Just something that always keeps me on my toes"
Natasha smirked and she knew what he meant and she nodded her head. The waitress came over with their food. Steve thanked her and he grabbed a knife and cut his hamburger in half so it wasn't as messy to eat. Steve looked up at her and he noticed that she was just sitting there.
"Nat?" Steve asked
"Hmm"
"You ok?"
"Yeah, I was just thinking" Natasha said trailing off
"Is this about the jewelry store?" Steve said making a good guess
"How could you tell?" Natasha said lightly smiling at him
"Look, its ok that you couldn't find anything. I looked around while you were talking and I couldn't see anything that was you" Steve said
"I just feel like I'm letting you down" Natasha said
"Nat, you can't let me down." Steve said putting his hand on hers
"But I can Rogers" Natasha said frankly
"Then we keep going, no one said this was going to be easy" Steve said looking at her kindly
"I just don't think I'm the right kind of girl for you" Natasha said
"That's crazy" Steve said
"Why is it crazy? You're a hero, I'm just a trained assassin with a horrible past"
"Natasha, look back at the past few years, can't you see all the good you have done?" Steve asked
"I don't know" Natasha said averting her eyes toward the table
"Well, I'll tell you something. You are an amazing woman, and you are smart, and brave, and kind. To me that's enough" Steve said
"What if one day someone from the past comes back to destroy everything?" Natasha asked
"Then we will get through it, it already happened once"
"Yeah, with you almost dying"
Steve exhaled and he looked at her and she lost herself in the deep blue pools.
"Natasha, I don't plan on going anywhere" Steve said
"But it's never in your plan to get shot" Natasha said
"I can't stop things from happening" Steve said
"Then don't promise to not get killed" Natasha said a little more harshly than she wanted to
Steve looked at her and he nodded and he took his hand away from hers.
"You're right, I shouldn't promise. I'll just hope I stick around" Steve said with a certain look in his eyes and he began to eat his burger.
Natasha noticed that his eyes looked different and he looked hurt. Natasha inhaled and she closed her eyes and she looked out of the window. She lost her appetite.
Natasha
They had left the diner and Steve ate her meal to and he tipped the waitress and Natasha was walking slightly behind him. She couldn't tell what he was thinking. She felt angry at herself, why couldn't she just stay calm whenever they talked. Whenever they got into a conversation, she always ruined it. Yet he always forgave her. Most men would have left by now, but Steve stuck around. Maybe that's what he meant by sticking around.
Maybe his promise wasn't about the fighting, or missions. Maybe it was about the other times, like the moment in the diner. He promised to stick around. Natasha guessed that was why he was hurt, because she didn't know what he meant. Natasha inhaled sharply and she rolled her eyes at herself. She needed to apologize to him.
They stopped at the entrance to the park and Steve stopped. He stood there silently and he looked up at Natasha. Natasha noticed his eyes were still the same as they were in the diner. Man she wished she knew what he was thinking. Steve walked up close to her and he smiled at her.
"Nat, I never meant about missions and out on the field. I can't promise something like that"
"I know you can't Steve" Natasha said
"But with all this" Steve said looking around and his eyes went back to Natasha "I will stick around"
"I'm glad" Natasha said
"So Miss Romanoff, would you care to go on a walk with me in the park?" Steve said smiling and holding his arm out.
Natasha smiled and lightly chuckled "Yes Mr. Rogers" Natasha said and she put her arm through his and they both walked into the park.
Steve
They walked for what seemed like hours. Steve tried to tell a joke he heard from Clint and he told it wrong. Natasha laughed at his failed attempt and Steve blushed. Steve saw a bench and it was the same one from the last time they were in the park. Steve led her over and they both sat down.
Natasha sighed as she sat down and she put her head on his shoulder. Steve smiled and he could smell her hair and it made him feel, lifted. He rested his cheek against her head and they both held each other in their arms and looked out over the pond and the leaves blew across the grass as the cold wind blew by.
"Hey Nat?" Steve asked
"What?"
"Would you do me the honors of helping me with Thanksgiving?"
"Uh, Steve I can't cook" Natasha said thinking that he should have remembered that.
"You don't need to cook, just help me around the kitchen"
"Follow orders?" Natasha said teasingly
Steve chuckled "In a way, yeah but, really just so you can be with me" Steve said smiling and he lightly kissed her head.
"It would be my pleasure, but I'm not touching the Turkey" Natasha said sarcastically
"I wouldn't expect you to" Steve said smiling
"Hey Steve?" Natasha asked after a long pause
"Yes?"
"Did you mean it, when you said you would teach me to cook?"
"Yeah, of course"
"Ok, when is our first lesson?" Natasha said smiling and she looked into Steve's pleasant gaze.
"After Thanksgiving" Steve said smiling
"Ok, it'll be fun to be in the relationship with my teacher" Natasha said smiling seductively
"You're my everything Nat, you know that don't you?" Steve said smiling
Natasha smiled and she put her hand on his face and she lightly kissed him.
Author's Note: Just wanted to say thanks for reading, and that my completion date is around May 22nd, It may change, but at the moment the story will be done, and it will tie into the Age of Ultron movie. I promise.