The Prince And The Rose

25 - Halo

Steve didn't typically drive his car. Not that it was a bad car; if you lived with Tony Stark, you got the best of everything whether you wanted it or not. But he preferred taking his motorcycle whenever he could. Unfortunately, when it was raining, he had to opt for a car instead.

He switched the radio on, hoping to hear (for once) good music. When he heard a female voice, he almost switched it back off; he didn't like most of the pop stars he heard on the radio. Then he paused.

"Remember those walls I built?
Well, baby, they're tumbling down.
They didn't even put up a fight,
They didn't even make a sound.
I found a way to let you in,
But I never really had a doubt:
Standing in the light of your halo,
I got my angel now."

He smiled a little. The song reminded him of Nat. Lately she'd been opening up more, tentatively sharing things with him about her past and her emotions. It almost made him nervous, because as glad as he was that she was telling him about herself, he was also terrified of saying the wrong thing, or not saying the right thing, or just generally reacting badly.

Most recently, after describing more about the Red Room and what had been done to her, she had disappeared for a week.

Clint knew where she went, but he wouldn't admit it until Sunday.

...

"I'm sorry, Steve. I thought she'd be back by now. She's at my place with Laura."

Not five minutes later, Steve took a quinjet and flew to Clint's secret family farm. It was hard, not knowing if Natasha wanted him there or not. He thought she'd run because she was ashamed and protecting herself, but he was a little afraid it was because she thought it had been a mistake to trust him.

When he got up to the house, a golden lab came charging out of the house barking and wagging its tail, and Steve really wished he'd been able to avoid all that fanfare. He dodged the animal's excited overtures and made his way up onto the porch, stuffing his hands in his pockets, then thinking better of it and starting to pull them back out, then giving up and leaving them half in as the door opened.

Laura smiled genuinely at him. "Hey Steve. I knew you'd be coming. Why don't you step inside? Natasha is upstairs showering."

Steve smiled sheepishly. "Thanks." The dog followed himself inside, tail wagging. "Who's this?" he asked, mainly to distract himself.

"Lucky, say hi to Captain Rogers." Laura gestured to the couch and sat down on a rocking chair; Steve took the indicated seat. He wasn't sure whether to stretch his legs out or not, so he ended up with his knees bent at an uncomfortable angle.

The Labrador trotted over to Steve, sat down, and lifted a paw which Steve shook politely. "He's nice."

"Yeah." Laura hesitated, then said more quietly, "I told her you would come. She didn't believe me, or at least didn't want to."

"Didn't want to?" Steve's heart plummeted to his stomach. She didn't want him there. This had been a mistake, as usual-

Laura sighed. "She's very confused, Captain Rogers. It's not that she didn't want you to come here, it's that she was afraid you wouldn't so she tried to convince herself she didn't think you would. She doesn't talk much about her past and when she does she gets very... dare I say skittish." She was looking at Steve as if evaluating him, waiting for a proper reaction.

"I..." Steve stopped, stroking Lucky's ears nervously. "I know. I don't think I can blame her. There are things that aren't easy for me to talk about and they aren't nearly as bad as what's happened to her."

Laura nodded slowly. They sat in silence for a few more minutes, and Steve focused on scratching Lucky behind the ears just right so the dog's hind leg thumped up and down like a drummer keeping a fast rhythm.