Earlier that day.
"Tony, hey," I called out as I ran outside after him once the girls had left.
"What's up, Capsicle?" he asked.
"I wanted to talk to you about the wedding."
"Uh oh. Having second thoughts already? You know, Nat would have a lot of offers if you back out now."
"What?" I shook my head. "No, Tony, I'm not having second thoughts. I wanted to talk to you about an idea I had for the venue."
"Oh. What were you thinking about?"
I took out a picture from my back pocket and handed it to him.
"The lakehouse, great choice," Tony said. "What fueled that decision?"
I smiled. "Nat and I had a really great time when we were there and I knew she would enjoy it. Even though we were there for only three days, we made a lot of memories. And I think getting married in the same place will bring us full circle."
"I hate to say it, but that's really romantic. And if you tell anyone I said that, I will deny it forever," Tony said.
I laughed. "My lips are sealed. So, you'll help?"
"Of course. Just tell me when you want to go out to the lakehouse and scope things out?"
"Not sure. Tomorrow, maybe?"
"I should be free then. Meet me downstairs tomorrow morning, and we'll head out early. I figure you don't want Natasha to know?"
"Right. And thanks." I glanced at my watch. "I need to get a quick workout in and then I have to go meet Natasha."
Tony saluted me. "Roger that."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
I caught up with Nat right outside of the cake tasting place.
"Hi," I said, smiling and leaning down to kiss her.
"Hey." She kissed me back. "How was your morning?"
I shrugged. "Eh. Same old routine. Ready for cake?"
"I'm always ready for cake," she replied.
I entwined our fingers together and we went inside the cake shop. The bell over the door chimed lightly, and a woman stepped out from behind the counter.
"Welcome! How may I help you today?" she greeted us.
"We have an appointment for Romanogers," I said.
Natasha stifled a laugh.
The woman filled through her appointment book. "Ah, yes. I see it here. I'm Jessica, and I'll be working with you today." She led us to a table where there was an assortment of cakes and explained the process. "We'll start with the first cake and then go down the line. I'll make a note of which ones you like and if you have trouble deciding on a type of cake, you can set up a second appointment for the final contenders. But before we dive in, who all is here?"
"I'm the bride, he's the groom," Nat said, pointing to herself then to me. "And these are my bridesmaids."
"We're here for moral support. And cake," Emery piped up.
Jessica smiled. "Well, the more the merrier."
We all sat down at the table and started the tasting. After a while, we decided that the chocolate ones were our favorites. And then we had one that changed my life.
"Oh my god," I moaned happily as the chocolate melted on my tongue. "This is amazing."
"Great choice. It's one of our most popular choices. Chocolate with a raspberry and mousse filling. And we can frost the outside however you want," Jessica explained.
I glanced at Natasha. She nodded.
"I think we've made our choice," I told Jessia.
Jessica smiled. "Perfect. Now, have you chosen a wedding venue yet? We do cater at a flat rate for up to 50 miles but if it's more of a distance wedding, we ask for a month's notice and an extra charge to be discussed later."
I nodded. "We haven't decided on a venue yet, but we'll be in touch."
"Thanks for coming in! And congratulations."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"So what do you want to do tonight?" Natasha asked me after the cake tasting. We had sent the others home and were taking a walk around the block.
I swung our hands back and forth. "Watch a movie? Eat some popcorn? Drink some wine?"
Natasha smiled. "It's not as fun when you can't get drunk."
I laughed. "That is true. But it doesn't matter because I'm with you."
She stopped on the sidewalk, leaning up to kiss me. "I love you."
I kissed her back. "I love you too." I looped my arm through hers. "Care for a churro?"
Natasha laughed. "We just spent the afternoon eating cake and you're still hungry?"
"Well, it's me. I'm always hungry," I replied.
"You're a goof," she said. "But sure, I could go for a churro."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
That night, we cozied up under the covers to watch a movie together. Natasha had made some popcorn and we were drinking wine.
"Can I ask you something?" Natasha asked, leaning her head on my shoulder.
"Of course. What's up?"
"Have you thought about moving?"
I scooched over on the bed. "Better?"
Nat smirked and hit me with a pillow. "Not what I had in mind, Steve. I meant, have you ever thought about moving out of the compound? You know, getting our own place?
I sat up. "Wait, are you serious?"
Natasha bit her lip and nodded. "Don't get me wrong, I love staying here. I love being close to everyone."
"I sense a 'but' on the way," I mumbled.
"I just think that once we're married, we might want to...settle down."
I grinned and kissed her. "Have you ever expected to say those words?"
She shook her head. "Never. But you're worth it. And we don't have to leave, but I just thought...I don't know, it's just something I've been thinking about."
"Well, I think it's a great idea. Having our own place might be a better way to raise a baby. Although, here we have 24 hr babysitters."
"I love how we're not even pregnant yet and you're already thinking about babysitters," she said, leaning against me again.
"It's good to be proactive." I kissed her shoulder.
Just then, my phone rang.
Natasha groaned. "Please don't answer that."
"I have to. It's Fury." I kissed her again and rolled out of bed.
"Hello?" I said into the phone once I was out in the hallway.
"I need you at headquarters pronto, Cap," he ordered.
I checked my watch. "Now? It's 10 at night."
"I am well aware of the time, Cap. And I'm telling you that I need you here."
"Ok. I'm on my way." I paused. "Just me or do you want Natasha or the others too?"
"Just you. Nat—Agent Romanoff needs to be left out of the loop on this one," he said, his voice giving off the slightest bit of emotion.
"Is everything ok, Nick?" I asked.
"You will know what you need to soon." He hung up before I could say anything else. I slowly returned to my room.
"What did Nick say?" Natasha asked. She was sitting up and had put on one of my tshirts for warmth.
"Um, he needs me to come into headquarters," I told her, not making eye contact.
Natasha, being the spy she was, picked up on it immediately. "Hey. Look at me." She tilted my face towards hers with her finger. "What aren't you telling me?"
"You know, I wish I knew. And that is the honest truth. All Fury said is that he needs me to come to headquarters."
"Oh." She stood up and started for her side of the dresser.
"Alone," I added.
Natasha paused with the drawer open. "Why?"
"I don't know. Honest. Believe me, if I knew I'd tell you." I kissed her cheek. "I'll see you in the morning?"
"You don't want me to wait up?"
I shook my head. "I don't know how long this is gonna take and I want you to get some rest. But I promise I'll be back in the morning. I'll make breakfast and everything."
Natasha smiled. "I love you. Be safe."
"I love you too. And I will." My heart sank a little as I closed the door to our room and headed down to my car.
Once at headquarters, I met up with Fury who did not look happy.
"Captain, we have a situation," he said.
"What happened?" I asked.
He showed me one of the monitors. "We got this on tape a little after 7 tonight."
My eyes widened. "No. That can't...I thought..."
"Exactly."
"So what do we do?"
"Well, for starters, you do not under any circumstances tell Agent Romanoff anything. I don't care that you're engaged. This just...it's not a heartstring you wanna tug at."
I nodded. "Who is she exactly? The girl?"
"A ghost from Natasha's past."
---
A/N: this ending definitely evolved differently in my head than how I was originally intending but I'm ready to see where my brain takes me 😂 I hope you enjoyed!
~Han