Nat walked hastily down the hallway; her mind distracted by Wanda's words. It was definitely past midnight, and Steve was probably asleep, but she needed to talk to him.
Wanda's words from earlier had put a whole new perspective on her relationship with Steve.
She knew she loved him. She always had, ever since she joined the Avengers all those years ago, but she never would've admitted it to him if she thought that he could hear her.
Nat liked to keep her thoughts and feelings to herself. Everybody knew that. It's why she always came across as distant and cold, but really, she just had a hard time trusting people.
Never in a million years did she think that Steve had feelings back. She wanted to know for sure.
Hell, she was an Avenger. She could do this, right?
Natasha strode down the hallway, making her way to the hospital wing from the hall lights giving off a faint glow.
Taking a deep breath, she entered the wing, only to find that Steve was wide awake. He was sat up against the headboard, scrolling through his laptop.
"Doesn't that hurt your eyes?"
Nat leaned against the doorway, and Steve smiled at her. He closed the laptop, placing it on the bedside table.
"I heal fast. I was just looking at the file from that mission." Steve said, slowly swinging his legs off the side of the bed so he was facing Nat. She sat beside him.
"I didn't think you could even use a laptop." Her lips turned up, giving him a slight grin.
"Funny." Steve rubbed the back of his neck. His face fell slightly.
"I can't believe that was a set-up from HYDRA. Did you and the rest of the team figure anything out?"
Nat shrugged. "We tried, but we were more worried about you."
She paused, staring at her hands. Why did she feel so awkward all of a sudden? It was just Steve.
"We missed you." She looked up. "I missed you."
Steve wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned against him.
"What was it like, the coma?" Nat asked him.
Steve stared at the ceiling. He didn't really know how to put it into words.
"It felt...strange. I could hear everything, but I thought my brain was making it all up until Wanda said you guys weren't."
Nat listened intently. Steve continued.
"It was dark, and I tried to yell back to you and Wanda, but obviously you couldn't hear me."
Nat sighed, bringing her knees up to her chest. She waited for him to continue, unsure of what to say. She was never good with words.
"I didn't know how to get out until Wanda helped me. I thought I was never going to see you again."
Nat stared at her hands, which were folded in her lap.
"I thought I was never going to see you again."
"Well, we're both wrong, aren't we?" Steve laughed. "And I'm really glad about that."
"Me too."
A moment passed where they enjoyed each other's presence, something they hadn't done in a long time, until Nat broke it.
"You...You said you could hear everything?" Чёрт побери, Nat. Could you be any more obvious?
Steve rolled his eyes. He knew where this was going.
"Yes, Nat. Everything." He shifted slightly on the bed. "Even what you said."
Nat felt her cheeks go red. What was happening to her? She never blushed.
Steve laughed, noticing the colour.
"Natasha Romanoff, blushing? Never thought I'd see the day."
"I didn't think you would hear any of it. I didn't really want you to hear it either." She said defensively, referring to her confession the night she found out Dr. Cho induced his coma.
"Doesn't make it any less valid, does it?"
Nat crossed her arms.
"What did I even say then, Rogers? If you think you know so well?"
Steve chuckled. She was trying so hard to escape this conversation, but he was thoroughly enjoying it.
"You know what you said. Sappy shit you'd hear in a Nicholas Spark's movie."
"How do you even know what that is?"
"I'm not that uncultured."
"You're literally 97 years old."
He paused, tilting his head at her. "Are you gonna kiss me or what?"
Nat nodded, swallowing. "Yeah."
So, she did. It was short and sweet but filled with passion. Something she had wanted to do for a really long time.
Steve pulled away, looking into her eyes. Despite the fact that she looked sleep deprived from stress, he felt he could stare into them for hours.
"I tried to tell you, but since you couldn't hear me, I'll say it again."
Nat raised an eyebrow.
"I love you too, Nat."
Nat embraced him, thankful he felt this way too. She was worried that this whole situation wasn't going to turn out this way.
"Why didn't you say anything before, then?" She asked him.
"Why didn't you?"
"I didn't think you felt the same way."
Steve chuckled. "I didn't, either."
Nat leaned in to kiss him again. "Well, now we know."
Steve smiled against her lips. They were both deliriously happy.
Steve pulled her back on the bed, so she was laying on his chest. They stayed there, wrapped up in each other's warmth.
"What made you come down here? You told me that night you would say anything when I wake up."
Nat laughed to herself, thinking about her daughter.
"Wanda, if you can believe it. She told me that you told her you loved me, when you were unconscious."
Steve snapped up, groaning when he realized he moved too fast.
Nat touched the back of his head gently
"Be careful, your head is still hurt."
"I never said that." I mean, it's true, obviously, I do have feelings for you, but I never told Wanda that."
Nat shook her head, a laugh echoing through the otherwise quiet room.
"That little..."
Steve cocked his head, confused. "What?"
"She lied in order to get me to come to talk to you."
Steve fell into a fit of laughs. "She smart, she knows what she's doing, doesn't she? I can't believe she got you to admit your feelings for me."
Nat went red again.
"She didn't, I did that myself when you were in your coma."
Steve blinked, waiting for her to continue.
"Okay, well I guess I owe her then. Without her, I don't think I would've had the guts to come down here."
"I don't think you would've, either."
Nat slapped his arm playfully, getting up off the bed.
"You should rest, we can talk about this tomorrow."
Steve shifted over in the bed.
"Stay with me."
She squeezed his hand.
"I can't, I have to go back to Wanda."
Steve pouted. "She'll understand. I mean, she did plan this whole scheme. She probably doesn't expect you to come back."
Nat rolled her eyes, laying back into Steve's arms.
"I guess I can stay a little longer."
Steve wrapped his arms around her, and she felt herself drifting.
"I'm so glad you're here, Nat." He whispered into her hair.
"I'm glad too." She whispered back before drifting off to sleep.
...
The next morning, Nat woke up to an audience. Wanda, Clint, Tony, Peter, and Bruce were all staring down at both Nat and Steve.
She shot up, and so did Steve.
"Morning, love birds." Clint said, a smirk plastered to his face. Tony and Bruce were laughing, and Wanda was smiling brightly.
Steve rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?"
"Almost nine." Clint pointed to the clock on the wall. "I can imagine you two didn't get too much sleep last night."
"Shut up, Barton." Nat and Steve snapped back in unison.
Clint raised his hands in defense.
Nat reached for Wanda's hand. She had gotten ready herself that morning, and Nat could tell by the lopsided braids that she sported. It was cute.
"Sorry I didn't come back last night, milaya. I fell asleep."
Wanda stepped forward, shrugging.
"It's okay. I knew you wouldn't come back."
Tony and Peter snorted but stopped when they realized no one else was laughing.
Tony hit Peter lightly. "Don't laugh."
"You did, too!" Peter protested.
Nat rolled her eyes, shaking her head. She pulled Wanda onto her lap.
"When can Steve leave, Bruce?"
Bruce pulled a clipboard off the bedside table and pulled his glasses down from his head.
"I still want to keep him for today to monitor the injury to the back of his head. I'll have a nurse come and check on it in a bit. If everything looks good, I can discharge you with a few precautions. You'll have to be woken up every four or so hours, and no loud noises, lights, or screens. Just regular concussion protocol."
Steve grimaced at his mistake. No wonder his head hurt a bit more this morning that last night. Nat gave him a look, eyeballing the now closed laptop that sat on the desk.
He shrugged.
There was a knock at the door, and Rhodey came into the room on crutches, followed by Sam.
"I think we've got a lead on HY-"Rhodey noticed Wanda.
"I mean..."
Nat shook her head. "She knows, Rhodey, it's okay."
Sam continued.
"I think we might have some new info."
He pointed to the computer. "It seems we might have an idea on an actual location. SHIELD has a lead; we just have to get the details from them."
The rest of the team stood up.
"Duty calls." Tony turned to Steve.
"Glad to have you back, Capsicle."
Steve nodded. "Glad to be back. Are you sure I can't help?" He asked Bruce.
"Sorry, Cap. You're still on bedrest until I say so."
"Well, let me know if there's anything I can do."
Nat stood up, taking Wanda's hand. She smiled at Steve, her eyes full of happiness.
"I'll see you in a bit, Captain."
Steve saluted playfully.
"Looking forward to it."