i'm with you, every step of the way

Chapter 19

"May I have this dance?" Bucky asked, taking Natasha's hand and doing a little curtsy.

Natasha rolled her eyes playfully and laughed, "You may," and mirrored Bucky's curtsy.

Bucky stood up straight and to his surprise, Natasha circled her arms around his neck. Bucky had no choice but to rest his hands on her back. She looked up at him and smiled. "James, you're the best," she whispered and Bucky looked taken aback. Natasha rarely calls him James.

"Anything for you," he mumbled back and felt her hug him tighter. He knows that Natasha is moving slowly so he could keep up, her feet only moving a couple of inches away so they won't trip, and Bucky liked this pace. He looked down a couple of times and Natasha chuckled, reassuring him that he's doing fine.

"I should teach you how to dance sometime," Natasha mumbled, this time resting her head on Bucky's chest and closing her eyes.

"Yeah, good luck finding the time to do that," Bucky answered and they both laughed. They stayed quiet and danced like that for a couple more minutes. Bucky is making small circles on Natasha's back while looking around, seeing Pietro giving him a thumbs up. He rolled his eyes and looked down on Natasha. "Please tell me you're not sleeping on your own birthday," he teased and felt her flick the back of his neck.

"Jerk, of course not!" she leaned back and laughed. "See, I'm awake!" she insisted. Natasha looked sideways and noticed Steve approaching them. She knew he'd want to dance with her too because he might have mentioned it to her once or twice.

As Steve approached them, Bucky saw him as well and stepped back a little but still holding on to Natasha. "Can I dance with you, Nat?" Steve asked when he was in front of them. She nodded and Bucky let go of her. Natasha placed her hand in Steve's and her other one on his shoulder, and Steve put his hand on her waist. If he's going to be honest he's kind of hurt that she didn't dance with him the way she did with Bucky, but he figured this is good enough.

However, just as he was about to speak, the music suddenly changed to a loud and upbeat one. This surprised the both of them and they leapt away from each other, a bit too fast and awkwardly. The next thing they know, the rest of their friends are crowding in on them. Wanda, on the other hand, "slipped" and "accidentally" pushed Natasha towards Steve, who caught her promptly. Wanda threw Steve a grin when Natasha wasn't looking but he narrowed his eyes at her and set Natasha down properly. Wanda pouted and moved away. Steve was then pulled away by an overeager Carol and he just gave in, dancing in her small group with Clint and Thor. Natasha decided to just sit down for a few moments before joining them back.

After a few minutes of dancing, Steve felt a bit light-headed so he headed out to get some air. He took out the gift he was supposed to give Natasha but so far, he hasn't had the right timing to give it to her and he didn't want to just leave it along with the other gifts. He sighed and was going to place it back in his coat when he heard someone talking to him.

"What, is there a ring inside that little velvet box of yours?" Natasha joked and approached him.

"Nat? What are you doing out here? Too stuffy inside?" he asked, taking off his coat and offering it to her. She took it gratefully and he helped her put it on.

"So, what's in it?" she prompted, pointing at the box he's holding in one hand. "Finally going to propose to the girl of your dreams, Rogers?" she asked, humor tinting her voice.

Steve grinned and shook his head. "Nah, it's my gift... for you. Do you want to see it?"

"Of course," she answered and Steve's smile seemed to brighten while he opened the box carefully. Natasha's eyes lingered at Steve's smile, her favorite of his, because it's that smile that she knows he reserves for her, the smile in which makes her feel safe and warm on in the inside, and the smile that she wants to forever ingrain in her memory.

Steve popped the box open and took out a bracelet. It has an infinity sign in the middle that is held up by platinum bands. "I just thought of you when I first saw this bracelet, I hope you like it," Steve murmured.

"Steve... I love it!" Natasha breathed out and touched the bracelet. Steve took it out of the box and turned it over.

"I also left a little something on the back," he said, pointing at the engraving. To infinity and beyond! Happy 16th, Nat. -SGR .

Natasha let out a small chuckle. "Toy Story. You remembered!" she ran her fingers around the engraving.

"Well, you only made me watch it for a million times, so," Steve teased. "Do you want to wear it now?" he asked.

"Yes please, I love it," she replied and handed him the bracelet so he could put it on. He looked at her through his lashes and smiled while putting it on.

"Thank you, this is beautiful and I love it," Natasha said, abruptly reaching up to kiss Steve on the cheek and hug him tightly.

"You're always welcome, Nat," Steve whispered and hugged her back, feeling his whole face heat up.

"Can we have our dance now?" Natasha asked, not moving away.

"But there's no music," Steve remarked but moved his hands to rest on her back.

"We don't need one," she said and started to sway, with Steve following suit. "I like it better out here," she whispered a couple of moments later while still dancing with him.

"Me too," was all he could think of saying and that's the truth. He would rather be out here, with her, in the cold than to be inside. He unconsciously tightened his hold on her but she didn't seem to mind. Steve felt content right there and then, with Natasha pressed to him, dancing the night away. He felt that the night has finally started to feel right and he wanted to cherish every moment of it.

Natasha, on the other hand, feels that this might be the last time she gets to dance with Steve like this. She just knows that by the next day, he'd probably be dating Carol already, given the way they were like earlier. She isn't jealous, she doesn't like Steve like that , she kept telling herself. She's not jealous of the way the Steve and Carol danced earlier, but it's more of envy that she's feeling. Natasha knows that girls like Carol - sexy, beautiful, and confident - are the ones that guys fight over, not girls like her. She's just glad that even as just a best friend, she knows that she'll always have Steve with her and she doesn't want that to change.

(There's still a voice in the back of her mind telling her that she doesn't want just friendship, but she stubbornly shuts it out and never listens to it.)