The flowers were waiting in a vase on your kitchen table when you finally trudged home from work. The long day had left you close to exhausted, but at the sight of them you grinned. There was a label attached to them- you didn't need it to find out who they were from, though.
Nevertheless, you dropped your bag and looked at it.
Y/N,
Hope you had a good day. I'm looking forward to our meal later xx
Love from Steve.
A funny warmth began to tingle in your stomach, and you fought back a giggle. It had been so long since anyone bought you flowers. As hard as it was to admit it, Natasha's idea really had been a good one.
You had seen Steve several times since that first date in the park. Every time it felt like you fell a little deeper in love with him, because that man was all you'd ever wanted. He was polite and charming and he made you feel like a lady, despite the past you and Nat had shared. In short, Steve Rogers was all that you needed, and all that had been missing. It could be dangerous, you knew that. But you were already on the run from HYDRA, and the Black Widow was your sister. It would be hard for you to be under any more danger.
Nat knew how much you liked him, and she was unbearably smug about it all. She was due back from a mission next week, and the two of you were meeting for dinner. You had promised her that if you heard just one told-you-so, then you would leave her unable to go on a mission for a month.
The threat had only made her laugh.
But tonight you were seeing Steve again. Your outfit was already waiting on the bed, and you were almost quivering with excitement.
Just before seven, there was a knock on the door. You almost dropped your purse as you darted towards it.
"Hey, Steve," you grinned shyly when you opened it. "You look good tonight." Not that he didn't always look good, you added silently.
"You too." His gaze darted over your body, but didn't linger anywhere other than your face. He was practically beaming as he stepped forward and took you in his arms. You closed your eyes, bringing your lips up to meet his.
-
It was very late when you finally stumbled back into your apartment. You and Steve had drunk a whole bottle of wine between you both. You weren't drunk, but you were definitely tipsy. You swayed a little and hummed as you stripped out of your dress and into your pyjamas.
The bubbles of happiness in your stomach had just gotten even warmer as the evening went on. Truthfully, you thought they were more to blame than the wine. It had been too long since you felt this happy after a date.
Your hair fell around your shoulders in loose waves as you unpinned it. You moved into the bathroom to take your make-up off- you were tired, so you wouldn't have bothered expect for not wanting to have to wash make-up stains off your pillow tomorrow.
As you were pulling your hair into a loose ponytail, there was a noise at the front door.
The reactions that had been drilled into you for years kicked in. You froze. There came the sounds of someone fiddling with the lock, then the door creaking open and someone stumbling into the apartment.
Slowly, keeping as quiet as you could, you reached for the gun underneath the counter. It was cold against your suddenly-clammy palms as you pressed your back against the wall.
"Y/N? You in?"
The voice echoing plaintively in the hallway was Natasha's.
The gun clattered to the floor. You dived through the doorway, gasping when you caught sight of Nat. She was leaning against your wall, face pale against her black clothes. There was blood on her hands and seeping through the fabric.
"Y/N, help..." she said weakly.
The plea snapped you out of your shock. You leapt forward and caught her, just as her legs crumpled. "Oh my god, Nat...what..."
"The mission went bad. I- there wasn't anywhere else..."
Her words were slurred. Batting back the fear, you pulled her arm around your shoulders and helped her limp towards your bed. As you reached it, she fell down against the sheets, unconscious.
The bubbling happiness from earlier had evaporated, and in its place was crystal cold detachment. You couldn't help her if you were panicking.
You rolled her onto her back and peeled away the clothes. What lay beneath them nearly made you heave- at least two stab wounds, crimson blood still leaking from them. The skin of her chest and stomach was coated with rusty red.
There was a first aid kit in your bathroom. Your heart hammered as you grabbed it, and began to clean the blood away with a cloth.
The cleaner she got, the more you knew that you couldn't help her. You were trained in first aid, but this was beyond you. You reached for your phone. The first number you dialled was Nat's, on instinct. When you realised what you were doing, you hastily typed in Steve's instead.
"Hello?" he answered, sounding a little bleary.
"Steve...you have to help me..." Your voice tailed off into a choked sob.
"Y/N?" he said sharply. "Where are you? What's happened?" There was movement in the background, and you could almost see him grabbing for his boots.
"It's N-Nat...she just showed up and she's hurt so badly, Steve..."
"Okay, Y/N, it's gonna be okay. I'm on my way, you hear? Is it okay for me to call SHIELD?"
"Yeah. Yeah, sure. Just please, help me."
"She's gonna be okay, Y/N, but you have to stay calm. I'll be there in ten."
In the time it took for him to arrive, you could have sworn she got worse. Her breaths were shallow and rattled her whole chest, and she was pale and sweaty. All you could do was hold her hand and murmur to her soothingly.
Steve strode in, and before you really knew what was happening he had swept you into his arms. The gesture took you off-guard, and before you knew it you were sobbing into his thin t-shirt.
"Hey, Y/N, Y/N, shush. Don't panic. SHIELD are on their way."
He put you down and hurried over to the bed to examine Nat. As he did so, you watched his face closely. His eyebrows drew together, and he clenched his jaw.
"She's going to be okay, Steve, right?" you asked shakily.
He nodded, giving you a tight smile. "Course she is. She's a fighter."
But he wouldn't meet your eyes.
-
After SHIELD arrived, everything seemed to blur into one. Nat was rushed out ahead of you both, and Steve wrapped a jacket around your shoulders as you were hurried out to a waiting car. The whole ride to SHIELD headquarters, he held you close to his side, rubbing your shoulder gently when you started to shake.
You'd only seen where Nat worked a few times before. This time you weren't in much of a mood to appreciate it, and you were taken straight through to what looked like a standard hospital waiting room.
The next forty-five minutes seemed to drag on for the whole night. The only time Steve left your side was to fetch you a drink of something hot- it was a kind gesture, but it ended up going cold on the table beside you. You felt like you were going to throw up if you drank anything.
Eventually, Nick Fury himself came in. He was dressed much more casually than normal, and he looked weary.
"She's okay, right?" you demanded, leaping to your feet. Steve leaned forward and caught your hand in his.
Fury gave your question no response.
"Miss Y/L/N, please sit down. I need to talk to you. Your sister is stable. I'll take you to see her in a minute."
You looked back at Steve, who nodded at you. He put his arm around your shoulders as you sat back down.
"Thank you. Y/N- I can call you that, right?"
You nodded.
"Did Agent Romanoff tell you anything about what happened to her?"
Natasha's official title made you cringe. "No. She-she wasn't conscious for long."
"And no one was chasing her?"
"Not that I could see. Mr Fury, what's happening?"
He sighed. "Like I said, Natasha is stable for now. You can see her. But she is still very ill, Y/N."
"What happened to her?"
"I wish I knew. As far as we know, her mission was proceeding well. We'll let you know as soon as we find out anything."
You felt a little dizzy as you let that information sink in. Steve's grip on your shoulder tightened as he helped you to your feet.
Fury led you down the corridor to another room. "She's in here. I'll leave you in privacy."
You glanced in through the window, and your legs nearly buckled at the sight of Natasha lying prone on the bed. She was connected to at least five different machines.
You turned to Steve. "I don't think I can..."
He wrapped you firmly in his arms. "Yes, you can. She needs you, Y/N. I'm right here, okay?"
He let you lean on him heavily as you went inside. You sat on the edge of the bed and reached for her hand. Steve began to leave.
"No. Stay, please," you begged him.
He was hesitant. "Are you sure?"
You nodded, throat too thick for words. "I can't be by myself."
Natasha was everything to you. For years, you'd only had each other, and you didn't know if you could cope with thinking that you might be left alone.
You choked back another sob. The sight of Nat looking so vulnerable was something you would never be used to. Steve was instantly at your side.
"Hey. You're not by yourself, and you never will be. Even if Nat...whatever happens, you've got me, okay?" You looked up at him, wide-eyed, taken aback at the passion behind his voice. He bit his lip. "Look, I don't want to scare you off. But...Y/N, I might be in love with you. In fact, I think I am. And you need to know that that's never going to change."
You flung your arms around his neck. He was momentarily stunned, then chuckled against your shoulder. "Thank you, Steve," you murmured.
"Anytime, sweetheart."
-
Natasha stirred, her limbs feeling like they'd been replaced with lumps of metal. She blinked a few times as the memory of where she was drifted back to her.
When she remembered your ashen face as she stumbled for your door, she was immediately more alert. She looked around the room wildly before finding you.
You and Steve were curled up in a chair together in the corner. Your head was resting on his chest, and your face looked pale and pinched. Steve was stroking your hair gently.
His eyes met Nat's, and he took a sharp intake of breath. She looked down at you significantly, pressing a finger to her lips. He nodded, and smiled.
She knew she'd found the right guy for you, she reflected as she sat up against her pillows.