Summary: The five times Steve and Natasha confused the team by hugging and the one time they bothered explaining what was happening.
ONE
Steve was pretty sure he wasn't going to make it from the Triskelion to the Tower without accidentally maiming or killing someone. It wasn't often he had trouble keeping his anger under control, but there were some things that made him explode quicker than others. One of those things happened to be Agent Rumlow and his need to comment on every female he knew existed. There had been many other things over the short course of their mission that had slowly driven Steve to insanity, but Rumlow's last comment had been the final straw. Steve hadn't hesitated to knock him out cold in the quinjet on their way back to SHIELD then Agent Fury had threatened him with disciplinary action if he couldn't keep himself under control around other agents.
"Rumlow may be a pain in your ass, but letting you beat up other agents is an even bigger pain in my ass," Fury had said before dismissing him. Steve had stormed out of the Triskelion still in his Captain America uniform and climbed onto his bike without another word.
He could see the Tower up ahead, a bright blue 'A' lighting up the deck of the penthouse. The lights for the office levels were off but the penthouse lights were all on. Even if Steve couldn't see who was in the penthouse, he figured most everyone would be. Tuesdays were team bonding nights which usually involved alcohol, board games, and sometimes poker. He'd hoped his mission would finish in time to join, but now he was wishing that it had run late and he could miss the night altogether. The last thing he wanted right now was to hear some smart quip from Tony about god knows what.
"Welcome back, Captain Rogers," JARVIS said, closing the elevators doors behind Steve. "The team is currently gathered in the—"
"Where's Natasha?" Steve interrupted. She was likely sitting on Tony's couch drinking vodka straight from the bottle, but he didn't want to pass her floor in case she managed to get out of it.
"She is currently talking to Pepper in the penthouse," JARVIS answered. Steve nodded. He was glad Pepper was there if only because it gave Natasha someone worthwhile to talk to. Her ability to keep Tony under control was also greatly appreciated.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, Steve scanned the room for Natasha. The rest of the team was playing cards in the dining room and noticed him first.
"Welcome home, Rogers!"
Steve spotted a flash of red hair to his left and turned on his heel, leaving Tony without a reply. He could hear Tony mutter something to Clint but was too focused on pulling Natasha off the couch and into his arms to try and figure out what he was saying. The penthouse went silent as Natasha's arms immediately went around his neck and he buried his face in her short hair.
"What's going on?" Bruce whispered, loud enough everyone could hear in the silence of the penthouse.
"Not sure," Clint muttered back.
Natasha pulled away from Steve and frowned up at him. Pepper slipped away, heading into the dining room to convince Tony, Bruce, and Clint to stop staring. They only pretended to stop after Pepper threatened to personally lock all of them out of the Tower for the night.
"You wanna talk about it?" Natasha asked Steve, ignoring everyone behind her. Steve clenched his jaw, hesitating just long enough for Natasha to decide for him and pull him to the elevator.
"Hey, I don't think you two get to leave without telling us who died," Tony objected, overlooking Pepper's glare in favour of staring at Steve and Natasha again.
"Steve ran over a squirrel on his way back," Natasha lied bluntly. Tony frowned but didn't get to ask anything else before the elevator doors shut and they were no longer in sight.
Natasha waited until Steve had showered and changed before approaching the subject again. It was clear he'd calmed down since first arriving at the Tower, but even in sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt, Natasha could tell he was still tense. His steps were more deliberate and when he sat on the opposite end of the couch, she frowned.
"What happened?" she asked him, stretching her foot across the couch to gently push Steve. He looked at her blankly for a few seconds then sighed.
"Rumlow," he answered. Natasha pursed her lips, knowing Steve wasn't about to say something good like Rumlow was dead. "He was saying things during the whole mission and I lost it on the flight back."
"That's not all," Natasha prompted after a few seconds of silence. Steve shook his head and looked away, looking out across New York. "It was about me," Natasha guessed. Steve slowly nodded and Natasha sighed. "You know what he says doesn't bother me; he doesn't matter."
"It bothers me!" Steve exclaimed. Natasha raised an eyebrow at his sudden change of tone but didn't comment on it. "You're a high ranking agent and deserve to be respected. Rumlow treats you like dirt and you let him—Fury lets him! You've proven time and time again that you're a good agent, but he always behaves like you betrayed SHIELD yesterday."
"Rumlow just can't get over the fact a whore has a higher ranking than him," Natasha said. Steve glared at her and Natasha considered correcting herself for his sake but didn't.
"You're not a whore, Natasha," he snapped. He took a deep breath to calm down and closed his eyes. "You're not a whore and no one—not even you—should say otherwise. The fact that Rumlow thinks he can make comments about you makes me mad, yes, but when he gets other people to believe them too, that makes me madder."
"So what?" Natasha prompted. "You're going to punch me because I said I'm a whore?" Steve frowned but she smiled. "I'm glad you landed Rumlow in the infirmary, I am, but maybe next time don't let it upset you so much. Besides, it would have been cooler if you'd thrown him out of the quinjet."
"Sure," Steve snorted, causing Natasha's smile to widen. "I'll just get myself fired."
"Who's going to fire Captain America?" Natasha teased.
Steve threw a pillow at her and Natasha grinned wildly. She grabbed a couch cushion and threw it at him before launching herself on top of it to keep him from throwing it back. Steve laughed from underneath the pillow and Natasha smiled victoriously. Step one was complete: she'd made Steve relax and forget about Rumlow. Step two would take place tomorrow: make Rumlow regret his existence.
TWO
Clint was in the middle of talking about baseball with Steve when Natasha walked into the living room. At first, she appeared normal and Clint planned on just continuing to ask Steve about the best time and place to take Cooper to his first baseball game. Then Natasha almost ripped his ear off in her attempt of getting him to move and Clint decided she might not be in the best mood after all. He was especially confused when Natasha's next move after releasing his ear was to wrap her arms around Steve's waist and demand he hug her back. Steve just smiled and did as he was told before looking back up at Clint for him to continue. Clint could hardly tear his eyes away from the two let alone continue a conversation.
"Uh, what's going on, Nat?" he asked instead, a little hesitant in case she pulled a gun out and shot him for questioning her.
Fortunately, that wasn't what happened. She remained silent and Steve rubbed her back gently. Clint looked up at Steve, bewildered and seriously tempted to ask JARVIS to take a photo.
"You were saying?" Steve asked before Clint could form a coherent sentence.
He dumbly pointed to the elevator doors behind him and took a step back as he began to stutter.
"I'm just... I'm gonna... go," he replied. Clint practically tripped over his own feet as he scrambled to leave Steve's floor and close the elevator doors.
He didn't relax until he was back on his floor. It was only then he realised he couldn't remember the last time he had hugged Natasha and frowned. What was going on?
Steve waited until he was sure Clint wasn't coming back before gently pulling away from Natasha and looking down at her. She made a point of avoiding his gaze but after a few seconds, she gave up and looked up at him with a small scowl.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Natasha just pulled herself closer to him and hid her face. Steve waited patiently, knowing if he gave her enough time, she'd tell him. It didn't take long, either, before he was proven right.
"It was a nightmare," she mumbled, not moving even the slightest bit as she spoke. If her head hadn't been pressed against his chest, he probably would have thought he'd imagined it.
"It's the middle of the afternoon," Steve reminded her. He knew she'd gotten back late from a mission last night, but she'd gone right to bed.
"Didn't sleep last night."
He frowned. She hadn't come by his floor, but then again he'd been asleep when JARVIS woke him up to inform him she had returned.
"So you took a nap and that backfired," Steve sighed. She nodded against his chest then looked up at him. "Want to tell me what it was about?"
"No," she replied, but he could tell what it was about anyway.
Part of him wondered if she knew that, but the other part was worried about how tight she was hugging him and just how horrible this nightmare was. He didn't ask, though. Instead, he just nodded and pulled her down onto the couch. She pulled away slightly, staying close enough to still feel his warmth, but far enough away it wasn't awkward. Steve turned on the TV and pulled Natasha's legs onto his lap, giving her a small smile then flicking to her favorite show (He was suddenly really thankful he recorded the last episode; he almost forgot to).
They were halfway through a new movie Steve had found interesting when Steve realised Natasha was asleep. Her head was laid back on the couch cushion and her mouth was slightly ajar. Steve smiled and turned back to the movie. At the very least, he could tease her for not liking anything he picked out when she woke up. Until then, though, he'd keep the TV volume low and try not to wake her up.
THREE
Natasha actually wanted to kill Steve. Not just punch-him-in-the-face-and-walk-away kill him, but honest to god, end-his-life kill him. Of course, first she would let him recover, but after that, he was dead. She thought for sure she could trust him not to do something stupid for a couple of hours while she worked with Nick to infiltrate the Triskelion of HYDRA agents, but clearly, she couldn't. Sure, he'd managed to take care of Project Insight with Sam's help, but then he had to go and convince the Winter Soldier they were friends.
They had barely been able to find him, beaten up and lying on the edge of the Potomac, and when they had, Natasha had to resist the urge to hunt down every HYDRA or KGB agent and kill them herself. Now, sitting in a chair beside Steve's bed with nothing to do but watch him sleep and work on her laptop, she had a list of every living agent that had been on the planet when the Winter Soldier had tried to kill Steve.
"Nat?" Steve moaned, opening his eyes and frowning as he blinked up at her.
She hummed and closed her laptop, setting it aside until Steve went back to sleep.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
Stupid question, she thought to herself.
"Making sure you don't go fight another KGB assassin while Sam gets a Snickers from the vending machine," Natasha said. It wasn't a complete lie. She'd been there since the doctors had brought him out of surgery except for the two times she'd left to talk to Nick or use the bathroom. Sam happening to be gone the moment he woke up just provided her with an easy excuse.
"What's wrong?" Steve asked, his frown deepening. Natasha frowned back and shook her head.
"Nothing, Steve," she lied. "Just here to make sure you're alright."
"We both know I'm fine," he said, pushing himself up to see her better and groaning in pain. Natasha reached forward to help him, but he waved her off and settled down. "Super serum will have me back to normal in a few days and you know that. Now, what's wrong?"
Natasha refused to give in that easily. Sam could walk in any minute and the last thing she wanted was for him to walk in on her in the middle of telling Steve why she was stuck at his bedside instead of hunting down HYDRA agents like she wanted. One more concerned look from Steve was all it took for her to huff and fold her arms across her chest.
"Fury wants me to talk to the government," she started. Yeah, it irritated her that Nick thought she was the best fit for that particular job when literal Captain America was lying in front of her, but she knew that wasn't what Steve meant. She continued anyway. "They aren't happy with me dumping all their top secret files on the internet even if Tony was able to delete everything that really mattered like chemical formulas and other weapon schematics before they actually hit the web. I think their biggest problem is the fact that all their agents were exposed."
"Wait, you dumped SHIELD files on the internet?" Steve interrupted. Natasha paused before remembering he hadn't known about that part of the plan. She nodded. "Everything?"
"Well, like I said," she replied, "It all went through Tony first. He deleted weapons information, but all missions and agent files are on the web, yeah."
"Even your own?" Steve asked, face softening in concern.
Natasha pursed her lips and nodded. She hadn't asked Tony to keep those off the internet as well considering all other agent files would be online.
"It's fine," she assured him, waving her hand nonchalantly. "I just kind of liked where I was at and now I have to go make a new life for myself, but that's the easy part."
"Or you could stay," Steve suggested. Natasha snorted and shook her head with a smirk.
"And watch you get yourself killed? No thanks," she said. Steve gave her a look and she stared at him blankly.
"You know I'm fine, Nat," he told her, reaching out for her. Natasha let him grab her hand and pull it towards him. "I'll be up and running around Washington Monument in a few days."
"And then you'll go find a fight bigger than you and get killed," she grumbled.
Steve chuckled and tugged on her hand. It wasn't hard enough to pull her out of her seat, but she still stood up and took the small step towards his bed. He sat up and pulled her into his arms. Sitting on the bed, he was just a little shorter than her. She collapsed against his chest, wrapping her arms around him tightly but not tight enough to hurt him (okay, maybe it hurt him a little).
"I'm sorry I scared you," Steve said, wincing slightly as her hand pressed against a bruise on his back. He knew she was aware of it, but didn't pull away until she poked the cut on his hip. "Alright, I get it," he chuckled, pushing her away. She smirked and sat back down in her chair. "I promise I won't run head first into a fight against a KGB assassin again without your permission," he teased.
Natasha rolled her eyes.
"Captain America needs permission to fight?"
Natasha and Steve both whipped their heads up to see Sam standing in the doorway with a smirk and a half-eaten Snickers bar.
"Don't worry, I think it's sweet," Sam told them, walking into the room and taking the chair opposite Natasha on Steve's other side. "It is a little strange to see Natasha all worried and lovey-dovey—"
"Watch it, Wilson," Natasha growled. Sam grinned as Natasha glared at him.
"—but it's sweet," he finished. Steve shook his head and laid back down in his bed. "Whoa, did Natasha give you permission to sleep, Cap?"
"Sam," Steve warned, holding an arm out in Natasha's direction to stop her from lunging at Sam.
Sam just grinned and settled down in his chair to finish his Snickers bar. He'd tease Steve about it later when there wasn't an easily irritable assassin glaring across the room at him.
FOUR
Steve sat outside the Compound, staring down at the text that probably couldn't have come at a worse time. He knew Peggy was getting worse and worse as the days went on, but he hadn't prepared for the day he'd get the text she was gone. Things rarely worked out well for him, that much became obvious when he woke up 70 years after going in the ice, but he was really hoping maybe she would live until he had died so he didn't have to live knowing she was gone now too.
"Hey," a soft voice said.
Steve turned to see Natasha sitting down beside him on the steps. He didn't reply and she didn't say anything else. They sat in silence on the steps for a while, staring out across the Compound yard and listening to birds singing nearby and agents talking in the distance as car doors slammed shut.
"She's gone," Steve muttered, handing his phone over to Natasha as he watched Ross climb in his car and leave. Natasha glanced at the text then handed his phone back to him.
"I'm sorry, Steve," she replied quietly. She gently took his hand and rubbed the back of his hand tenderly.
Steve took a shaky breath as his nose began to sting and his eyes watered. Without warning, he turned to Natasha and wrapped his arms around her as best he could. She shifted as she wrapped her arms around his neck, straddling his lap as she let him hug her.
Steve cried until he was too exhausted to continue. He kept his arms around Natasha, tightly hugging her despite wanting nothing more than to sleep at the moment. When the door behind them opened, he didn't move from his spot. Even when he heard Tony saying they needed to talk, he stayed put and let Natasha deal with it.
"Not now, Tony," she hissed, one hand moving up to cup the back of Steve's head. Tony frowned at her and nodded at Steve.
"What's with Spangles?" he asked. Natasha shot him a warning glare though she had no plan to leave Steve's arms even if it meant she could punch Tony. "I understand personal stuff and whatever, but we really need to—"
"Not. Now," Natasha growled. Tony took a deep breath and nodded shortly.
"Fine," he agreed. He pointed at them. "But I want to know how this whole 'You Hug Me, I Hug You' thing started between you two."
"And I want to know why you're still here," Natasha snapped. Tony glared at her, but Natasha glared back. After a few seconds, Tony turned back around and left them alone.
Natasha waited until she was certain Tony was no longer around before gently pulling away from Steve. He refused to let her go, but she pulled her head back and cupped his face tenderly, using her thumbs to wipe away the few tear tracks that were still on his cheeks.
"You're gonna be okay," she promised him. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against hers. "I'll take care of the Accords, you take care of yourself."
"No, I can help," Steve tried to say. Natasha shook her head and pulled back.
"No, I've got this," she assured him. "You can take a break and mourn. Lock your door, leave the Compound, do whatever you need. I'll take care of Tony and the team."
"Thanks, Nat," Steve murmured, pulling her back against his chest and hugging her.
She rubbed his back and squeezed him tightly, trying to figure out just how she would take care of the Accords without worrying Steve. She could do it. Everything would be fine.
FIVE
Heart pounding in her ears, Natasha could barely breathe as she ran through the forest. Something had happened, she could tell that much. There was a strange wind blowing softly through the forest and she was pretty sure some supernatural force had been what knocked over the cage she'd been trapped in.
The fact that something had gone horribly wrong was painfully obvious, but she didn't realise just how horrible it was until she watched King T'Challa disappear right in front of General Okoye. Natasha choked on her own breath before racing off towards the battlefield. She watched from afar was Wakandan warriors turned to dust while others watched in equal horror.
She could hear Rhodey yelling after Sam, but she couldn't see either one from where she was standing. Numbly, she stumbled back into the forest, wishing to unsee what she'd just seen on the battlefield. She tripped over a root and fell to the ground, grunting as she felt her knee hit a rock. She jumped when she felt someone help her to her feet and twisted around to see Rhodey, faceplate up and looking concerned.
"I'm okay," she assured him, wincing when she took a step forward and her knee protested. She glanced down at it, but it wasn't bleeding and she knew it wasn't broken, so she ignored the pain and limped beside Rhodey to find the rest of the team.
"Buck?"
Natasha's head snapped towards the sound of Steve's voice so fast she heard it crack. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched what remained of Bucky Barnes disappear into dust. She waited in horror for Steve to disappear too, but he didn't. He dropped to his knees where Bucky had disappeared and stared at the ground in shock, not having noticed her behind him.
Rhodey spoke up. "Cap?"
Steve slowly tore his gaze away from the ground where Bucky's ashes were and his eyes met Natasha's. He scrambled to his feet and lurched towards her. Natasha wasn't sure how, but one moment she was standing numbly beside Rhodey, shaking as she waited for Steve to disappear, and the next she was jumping into Steve's arms, wrapping her legs and arms around him as tight as she could.
"Natasha," Steve breathed, clinging to her just as desperately. He wrapped one hand around her waist and the other went to the back of her head. "Don't go. Don't leave me alone," he begged quietly, burying his face in her short blonde hair.
"I'm not," she promised, hugging him tighter as warm tears began to run down her face. "I'm staying here."
Natasha unwrapped her legs from around Steve and he set her on the ground, keeping her just as close. She unwrapped her arms from around his neck and cupped his face, making sure he really was standing in front of her and not disappearing into dust. He grabbed one of her hands and turned his head to kiss her palm, tears forming in his own eyes as he stared down at her terrified face.
"I'm here," he assured her, squeezing her hand to emphasize his point. "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."
His arm around her waist tightened and he let her hands wander from his face, down his neck, and to his arms as she silently reassured herself he was telling the truth.
Rhodey stood back at a distance, trying not to stare as his friends clung to each other. It had been a long time since he'd seen them, but he had figured they'd tell him if something had happened between to two of them. Now, watching Natasha panic about Steve and seeing Steve beg Natasha not to leave, he wondered if they really were the same people that had left the airport fight in Leipzig. Sure, he'd seen the two hug each other before, but this was a whole new level of closeness.
"What's going on?" Bruce asked, stumbling up beside him. He was staring at Steve and Natasha too and Rhodey briefly wondered if this was even more awkward for Bruce to see than him.
"I have no clue," Rhodey admitted. The world was falling apart, people were disappearing into dust, and they had lost the battle against Thanos, but Rhodey would be lying if he said the most confusing part of his day was not meeting a talking raccoon, but seeing Natasha and Steve hug each other as if their lives depended on it.
PLUS ONE
Natasha grinned as Morgan ran into the living room, chasing Steve and giggling when he tried to hide behind the couch. Tony and Pepper had invited the team over for a celebratory dinner after saving the world from Thanos once again. Even if Tony was short one arm and Bruce kept bumping into furniture, it felt almost like old times.
Sam and Bucky fought at the kitchen table as they played Jenga and she could vaguely hear Clint trying to help them out. Laura and Hope were helping Pepper in the kitchen and the only reason Natasha wasn't with them was because the last time she'd tried to help, she'd forgotten to inform them she was hiding from a water fight. After Clint and Tony had run into the kitchen and thoroughly drenched her, the food, Hope, and Pepper with water, she'd had to explain she'd been using them and was promptly kicked out.
"Auntie Nat!" Morgan shrieked, throwing herself onto Natasha's lap in the living room.
Morgan burrowed into the cushions behind her as Steve came running into the living room. Natasha grinned and shielded Morgan from his sight. Of course, he spotted her right away and pulled Natasha off the couch to get to Morgan. She squealed as Steve lifted her upside down and tickled her.
"Don't let Pep see you," Tony warned.
Steve just grinned and set Morgan back on the ground. She ran back outside to find Nate Barton and whoever else she could coerce into playing with her while Steve sat on the couch beside Natasha.
"She's sweet, Tony," Steve said. Tony just smiled and nodded, glancing out the front window where he could see Peter helping Morgan climb into a tree.
"Gets it from Pepper probably," he shrugged.
Steve rolled his eyes and threw his arm over Natasha's shoulder. Tony raised an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything about it, instead, he asked how life without being Captain America was.
They talked until Pepper asked if Steve knew how to work a barbeque. He admitted he didn't, but could figure it out easily enough. Tony followed him outside to help get it started while Natasha wandered into the dining room to check on Sam, Bucky, and Clint.
"Welcome to the fun zone," Clint deadpanned, looking up at her.
Bucky was very carefully pulling a Jenga block from its spot while Sam watched closely to make sure he wasn't cheating.
"Looks really entertaining," Natasha commented.
She suddenly grinned and looked down at the Jenga tower. Clint gave her a warning look, but it didn't do anything to stop her from bending down and blowing into Bucky's ear. He jumped, not having noticed her move beside him and knocked over the tower. Sam yelled victoriously, declaring himself the winner, while Bucky yelled at Natasha for ruining the game. She laughed but jumped out of his reach when he tried to grab her.
"It's not fun when you choose sides!" he whined, standing up and reaching for her again. Natasha jumped behind Clint and Bucky gave up, grumbling about cheaters as he rebuilt the Jenga tower to start a new game.
It wasn't long before Natasha got bored and wandered outside to see what Steve was up to. He and Tony were still standing by the barbeque talking quietly while the Barton kids, Peter, and Morgan were stuck up a tree. She smiled and made her way over to Steve.
"Incoming," Tony said, confusing Steve for only a second before he felt arms wrap around from behind him. Steve grinned and twisted around to look at Natasha while Tony frowned.
"What's wrong, Stark?" Natasha smirked, "Never heard of hugs?"
"No, I've heard of them," he replied, rolling his eyes. He pointed at them and said, "I've just never heard of you two being so touchy-feely."
"Really? Steve's a pretty touchy-feely person," Natasha told him. Tony gave her a look but she just smirked.
"So are you two together or are you just doing this to see how long it takes me to realise it's a prank?" he asked. Natasha glanced up at Steve who gave a small shrug then nodded.
"We're married," she said casually.
If Tony had a drink, then would have been the moment he spit it all over Steve and Natasha in shock. Unfortunately, he didn't, so he was stuck choking on air instead.
"When?" he managed to choke out, struggling to get his breath back.
"Sometime between the Accords fall-out and the first attack on Thanos," Steve answered, rubbing Natasha's arm and kissing the top of her head. Tony looked at him in disgust but Steve ignored him.
"And you didn't tell us because...?" Tony prompted. Steve shrugged.
"There was never a good time," he replied.
Tony rolled his eyes and grumbled as he opened the barbeque to check on the hotdogs. Steve let go of Natasha so he could switch out the now-cooked hotdogs for raw ones and when he turned back around, she was all the way across the yard, helping Nate climb down from the tree while Morgan jumped around her legs and chattered happily. Steve just smiled as he watched her. He jumped when he felt a sharp jab to his ribs and turned to see Tony frowning at him.
"Next time tell us about something that big," he demanded. Steve promised he would as he rubbed his side. "Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a life-changing announcement to make inside."
It took Steve less than a second after Tony broke into a sprint across the yard to realise what he meant, but instead of chasing after him, he turned his full attention to the cooking hotdogs. He'd let Natasha deal with the fallout.