Romanogers: One shots

Reconcile

Steve unlocked the door to his motel room, moving inside quickly before removing his hood from his head so he was no longer hidden. He entered the room, curtains still drawn from when they left easily this morning, and plunged himself into darkness as he closed the door, triple locking it behind him.

As he slid the last lock into place, the faintest noise caught his attention and he spun around to face the room, hand on the gun in his back pocket. The floor boards creaked slightly towards the bed and he drew the gun, pointing it in the direction of the sound. He wasn't one for guns usually, his fists or shield being weapons of choice. But he no longer had his shield, and his fists wouldn't protect him forever. His heartbeat was in his ears, dread creeping up his spine as the adrenaline surged through him as he tried to adjust to the darkness. Fight or flight, He thought. Fight or flight.

"I didn't exactly expect a warm welcome from you, Rogers." The light by the bed flicked on, illuminating only a small part of the old motel room, but enough to show Natasha standing by the bed, arms folded and her signature half smirk pulling at her lips. "Though the gun does go with your new bad boy image,"

Her hair was blonde, almost white, and a lot shorter than when he had last seen her, and he was unnerved by how much he missed seeing her with red hair until now. Not that this looked bad, it was just...different. Everything in his life right now was.

"Nat?!" he blurted out, lowering his gun slowly as the reality set in. "Holy shit..."

"Language Captain," she tsked, arching an eyebrow stepping towards him, moving around the bed to turn the other light on.

"How did you find me?" He asked, pocketing the gun as he watched her move around the small space and removed his jacket.

"I have my loyal contacts, or should I say royal ones." She smirked. "It wasn't that hard."

He frowned at her, shrugging off his jacket and hanging it over the small wooden chair by the door, which wobbled on uneven legs. He had tried to be so careful to slip under the radar, but she was an expert and knew his thought process by now.

"You knew I'd try to break out the others," he stated, running his hand across the stubble forming on his jaw.

"I know you'll fail without help. More specifically, my help. " She dropped herself onto the edge of the bed, the mattress springs creaking in protest as she tried to get comfortable.

He looked at her, folding his arms across his chest as she sighed softly, looking down at her feet for a moment then back up at him.

"I want to...apologise. The whole accords business was-"

"Don't, Nat." He sighed. "You don't have anything to apologise for, you made your decision and I respect it. I should apologise for causing the mess, and thanking you, for helping us escape."

She nodded slightly, pursing her lips in thought "It wasn't all you, Steve. Ross drove that wedge between us all. You and Tony are both just..."

"Stubborn?" He said, smiling weakly as his lips twitched at the corners.

"I was going to say passionate about your beliefs."  She offered and he laughed once, a soft chuckle that made her smile grow. He came to sit beside her, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked at her.

"Do you really want to do this Nat? Risk everything and end up out on the run?" He asked, concern laced in his blue eyes.

"I do, it's worth the risk. They're my team too. Plus, I already am dodging the limelight," She ran her fingers through her hair so it caught the light. She caught his questioning look and sighed. "T'challa told Ross what I did for you and Bucky, I'm not exactly his most favourite person right now. Or Tony's for that matter." She frowned.

"Is he...okay?" Steve asked, shifting uncomfortably at the mention of his former friend. He had a lot of regrets towards how things ended, but then again so did Tony.

"He's his same egotistical self." She stared blankly, "He is hurting still, obviously, after everything with Barnes. " She fidgeted with her hair, looking a little uncomfortable as did Steve.  "But he will get it over it. Frankly I'm not his favourite person right now either, but life is too short to hold a grudge, he knows that." She rested herself back on the flat pillows, shuffling to get comfortable against the headboard before bending up her knees. Once she was comfortable, she folding her arms over her chest and gave him a smirk, trying to lighten the mood once more.

"So. What do you say Cap?" She asked, her eyes holding his. "Fancy a second in command?"

He smiled fondly at her, "You've went to all this trouble to find me, Romanoff. It would be rude to turn you away now."

"Not to mention a death wish." She teased, as he moved to the other side of the bed to lay at the opposite side next to her, turning the lights off on his side. "Loneliness is the number one killer in people over 90 after all."

He lightly nudged her off the bed so she landed with a soft thud on the floor. "Just for that comment, you can sleep on the floor." He chuckled, throwing her a blanket and a pillow.

"Touché." She laughed, fluffing the pillow up and placing it on the floor before turning off the light at her side.

She counted barely 4 minutes laying in the darkness before a pair of strong arms lifted her bridal style into the bed. She smiled as she murmured her thanks as he pulled her into a tight hug, almost suffocating her before he relaxed his arms around her. "Thank you, for coming back." He was grateful for her company, tired from spending weeks alone constantly glancing over his shoulder. "I missed you" he admitted sincerely, nothing but a whisper in the darkness. He waited for it, the tensing of her muscles as she cringed away, never a fan of emotions, but she didn't move. He almost thought he saw the ghost of a smile on her lips through the veil of moonlight through the cracks in the old curtains.

"I missed you too, Rogers." She whispered in reply, happy that, despite everything, he was still the good boy Steve Rogers at heart she'd always known.