Romanogers One-Shots 2

Waiting

Requested by ROMANOFFWARRIOR, Natasha wants to tell Steve how she feels before he goes back to return the stones but shit happens.

Natasha watched quietly as Steve said goodbye to Bucky and Sam. 

She couldn't help but notice that the goodbye lasted longer than he was meant to be gone. 

Bruce had said five seconds. That's how long he'd be gone from their time. 

But Natasha couldn't help the pit of dread in her stomach that told her it'd be much longer than that. 

This was his chance. 

Peggy had been his first love and for as long as she'd known him, he'd put her on a pedestal, never going a second without thinking about her. 

It hurt. 

Watching the man she loved pine after a dead woman was hard. Especially when she knew that she could never measure up to Peggy. 

There had been so many times where she had wanted to tell him how she felt. Sometimes she even wondered if he felt the same way. 

Then he'd pull out that damn compass again and she'd be brought back down to reality. 

She frowned as Steve walked over to her. 

If this was her last moment with him, she wanted him to know how she felt. 

"Hey," Steve said quietly when he stood in front of her. 

She smiled weakly, "Hi." 

"Don't let Sam and Bucky kill each other while I'm gone okay?" Steve said, reaching between them to grab one of Natasha's hands. 

Natasha nodded, "I'll do my best. You know how they get though." 

Steve nodded with a small laugh, "Yeah. I know." 

Natasha looked up at him and frowned, she couldn't tell him this now. It would only make things harder for him. For her, it'd only be five seconds, but for him it could be weeks. 

If he came back she wanted it to be because he wanted to, not because he felt obligated. 

"I'll see you in a minute?" She asked, her eyebrows raising hopefully. 

Steve nodded, "See you in a minute." 

She pulled him into a hug, not caring how unusual it was for her, and sighed, "Be careful Steve." 

He nodded, "I will be. I promise." 

Natasha nodded slightly and placed a chaste kiss to his cheek. 

"Good luck," She said, pushing him away towards the machine before he noticed the tears in her eyes. 

Steve gave her a small smile and walked towards the platform with the case containing the stones. 

"Ready in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1," Bruce said, counting down and then pressing a button and making Steve disappear from Natasha's vision. 

She stared at the platform, biting her lip to keep herself together. 

"Returning in 5,4,3,2,1," Bruce said, pressing the button again. 

Except this time nothing happened. 

Bruce frowned and pressed the button again. 

Sam frowned, "Where is he?" 

"I don't know. I'll get him back. Hang on," Bruce said, typing something into the computer and trying the button again.