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2024.
At a café, Steve, Bucky and Sam were sitting together in sharp suits. Steve was garbed in this extremely dashing tuxedo that Tony paid for (he paid for everything, you know). This, with his Super Soldier good-looks, his visage was elevated to infinite levels of greatness. Moreover, his face was positively content - a first. Given that he was a man out of time, he rarely smiled. He was no cynic, but he was rarely truly happy. This was it.
Bucky had short hair now and was clean shaven. He looked absolutely handsome again. Just as before. He was not on any missions, so, there was no use for him to wear his metal arm. It was just a regular, but special day involving close personal friends. He was all cleaned up now. Fresh and recovered from his decades as the globetrotting maniacal assassin he used to be. Sam sat beside Bucky with a sharp black suit on too. Black tie and everything. They all conversed.
“It was a simple diversion. Everett Ross somehow was on our six when we were in Kenya, so I had to think on my feet,” Steve argued to defend himself.
“Good God...” Bucky chuckled mischievously with a shaking head. “I didn’t take you for being the type to exert revenge on people, Steve.”
“It was not revenge, Buck. If I didn’t do anything, Ross would’ve seen us and we would’ve been caught and apprehended at best.”
Sam laughed. “Okay, so, you’re in a mall, you see the government dudes trying to get you, and the first thing you think of is grabbing Natasha, shoving her against the wall, and making out with her? Dude, you could’ve come up with something else, but you didn’t because you always had a thing for her. Just admit it already.”
Bucky kept on chuckling and shaking his head. He met his actions with these words, “You and I are more alike than you think, Steve.”
“And that scares me, because I can’t stand this one-armed idiot with the Mariah Carey hairdo,” Sam made fun of Bucky.
“Hey! That was uncalled for,” Bucky responded with surprise at Sam.
“Guys, cut it out. Buck, I am not like you, and Sam, in case you didn’t know, Natasha did the same thing to me on an escalator about 10 years back. Remember that HYDRA mission? Our first mission together?” Steve queried.
“Of course. And I know she kissed you, but her conviction was a blend of curiosity and aversion. Not a deep-rooted flaming libido that needed quenching,” Sam argued.
Bucky grimaced and responded, “Ew! That’s gross.”
“I’m actually surprised that’s what went down at the mall on that day. I remember you two coming back to the jet being all awkward and silent. I thought something else happened. Like, maybe you watched her eat a bug or something.”
“Natasha’s the Black Widow. Wouldn’t eating bugs border on cannibalism?” Bucky joked to make Sam sound stupid for that deduction.
“Why are you such a bonehead? Riddle me that, Barnes,” Sam fired back with his arms folded.
“I learn from the best,” Bucky responded and winked to Sam, which was actually a bit funny. Sam didn’t think so, of course. He gave Bucky a foul gaze before returning to Steve.
“Anyway, Steve, you said you didn’t wanna talk about it. I actually do remember you saying that.”
“I’m sorry, Sam,” Steve apologized. He didn’t exactly lie. Also, he was very polite, so the apology was a given regarding his good-willed nature.
“I should’ve known with the awkwardness. That kiss hit you both in the feels for real!” Sam discovered excitedly in a sense that he was cheerleading Steve. His smile gave it away. Then again, Bucky smiled too. He and Sam always approved of Steve making out with women. Don’t believe me? Leipzig airport. 2016. Steve versus Sharon. Look, as Romanogers fans, we tend to block that part of MCU history out, but in this paragraph, it applies as substantial evidence to my claim. Now, let’s traverse to the next paragraph that will host my subsequent consignment of libretti.
“I’m just happy to hear that you and Natasha made out more than once. My Romanogers heart is being fed like a chimera on wildlife Thanksgiving,” Wanda appeared with a cup of coffee she got at the café counter. She sat down beside Steve.
Sam and Bucky gave each other a look of perplexity. To Sam, Bucky said, “I have new respect for Vision.”
“Yeah, but the way, Wanda, where is Vision?” Sam asked.
“He’s still at the chapel. He wanted to have a word with the Stark family about something,” Wanda responded.
“You already know what they’re talking about, huh?” Sam challenged with a smile.
Once Wanda finished sipping her coffee in a mug, she replied, “I’m not telling.”
“You know what this douchebag is thinking of?” Sam asked Wanda about Bucky, which made the latter deadpan. Wanda just smiled and shook her head.
“I’m thinking of you. And it involves a chainsaw. Fill in the blanks,” Bucky responded in an icy manner to Sam.
“Ouch. Keep your fists back, gents. We just had a wedding. We don’t want a funeral,” Wanda warned, then looked to Steve on her right and shook her head. Steve just looked neutral and slightly tired by Bucky and Sam’s relentless bickering. “But it is good news, nonetheless,” Wanda supported. “You and Natasha kissed each other twice before hooking up. It’s big news for those that have rooted for you two.”
“Which is everybody,” Bucky said honestly.
Steve, suddenly, rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand. Shameful was the nature of this neck rubbing. Wanda, Bucky and Sam all noticed this and made their deduction.
“It was just twice... right?” Sam questioned with a sudden suspicion that entered his body based on Steve’s odd reaction to their words. He just couldn’t let a lie live without spilling the tea. But Steve said nothing. A wordless response, in fact, said more than words could. It confirmed their communal misgivings and, collectively, all their eyes widened with shock.
“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?” Wanda reacted as she banged her clenched fists down on the table. She was super surprised. Just like the rest of the table.
The night before the Time Heist.
Steve and Natasha stood together downstairs. The time was just past 10pm in the evening. New York was dark everywhere. The lack of life given Thanos’ genocidal finger snap led to a universal damnation like no other. The psychological defects everyone faced after watching their loved ones turn to dust right before their eyes was undeniably annihilating. But the Avengers, the ten of them - at least, were recharged with a new hope. At last, something to look forward to in a deadened society such as... well, Earth.
Tony, Thor, Bruce, Clint, Rocket, Nebula, Scott and Rhodey had all already gone upstairs to their respective domiciles to sleep.
A white tee and some black sweatpants dressed Steve. Meanwhile, a flimsy burgundy sweatshirt and her trademark black sporting pants were what dressed Natasha. Her hair was a crimson field from its root but flaxen on its ends. She was outgrowing her nomadic look from five years’ prior. A disguise, it was. The government were out looking for a redheaded assassin, meanwhile, she bested them all by bleaching her hair. She was always a step ahead of everyone. A super spy. At the moment, her hair was fashioned into a rope ponytail. Nothing she did to her appearance wasn’t pretty. In Steve’s eyes, she was the epitome of perfection. A very good start to win a girl’s heart, if you ask me.
She stood tall with her back against the wall behind her. Steve was opposite of her, facing her - of course. But this was no ordinary tactical talk. This was a bit intimate. Why? Their volumes were soft. Every domicile at the Avengers compound was dummy-proofed, so why would they need to talk softly? There were no secrets being divulged during this colloquium, so the rational deduction was familiarity - particularly their solitude playing a major role.
“The Time Heist is gonna be scary, but I believe that we can and will reverse the damage Thanos caused to the universe. We will find those Stones”, Steve stated with confidence. He was never arrogant, but he always followed his heart and gut. And they were both in positive alignment.
Natasha folded her arms and smiled up at him. But you know, by now, that her textbook smile was her beguiling smirk. “Always optimistic”, she lauded his character. Steve closed his eyes and smirked humbly. He even craned his head to conceive her words in the modest of manners. “Just don’t get any venereal ideas when you see the 2012 version of me,” Natasha warned flirtatiously as she bit her bottom lip and smiled at him unethically. She was always on her A-game (pun intended) in terms of professionalism, except with him. It was so hard when her love for him multiplied by the mere millisecond that passed. For him, it was nanoseconds.
Steve felt his cheeks rubify as his heart pounded at a quicker velocity. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Steve questioned with a bit of shock on his face. His eyebrows furrowed, forming, seemingly, a linear line that roofed his otherwise confused eyes.
Natasha began to giggle and look down, realizing how she just let her thoughts slip through her mouth like that. Very thoughtless indeed. Playfully, Natasha placed her left hand on his right chest pack. Any excuse to touch him, right? “Doesn’t mean anything. Don’t worry about it.” Now, this was a guarantee she was thrusting onto him to throw him off and in a hopeless attempt to keep things professional between them, but her words were only tinged with unmistakable love and caution.
“I do, however, have to admit that it’d be rather...” Steve smiled and tilted his head at her, “...interesting... seeing you with that quantum uniform on,” Steve proposed the idea honestly and innocently. Maybe not so innocently, but only because of his suspicious head tilt.
This made Natasha flutter her eyes at him as she responded, “I do hope I look good for you tomorrow. Captain America does need his eye candy.”
Great. She was teasing him once again. Steve started to blush and chuckle once more. Poor guy, he was still that 90-pound asthmatic kid from Brooklyn, wasn’t he? After all these years. Well, it was the promise he kept that he made to Dr. Abraham Erskine before his death. Always have a good heart. Steve had the best one of all the Avengers, so it turned out. Anyways, Steve turned away to his right to excuse his crimson face from her viewing. Natasha knew that Steve embarrassed easily and secretly adored how much she made him blush at times. What an interesting dynamic, they had.
“Nat, I... well, you see... you make anything look good,” Steve admitted. “That’s why I like being around you - to look good,” Steve joked to her in equal playfulness. This made Natasha laugh. Her bodily response was a nudge to Steve’s chest with her left hand. A loving laughter and gaze was tendered from both ends of this sugary conversation. “Nat, I... I better get some sleep now,” Steve gestured his right thumb pointing behind him to the stairs behind.
“Okay Steve,” Natasha responded with a smile uncompromised and untainted by anything else in this world. It was a smile of the same purity as the one she gave him at the cemetery back in 2014. Oh, he remembered how much kissing her would’ve made him happy. Damn, that was one of Steve’s biggest regrets. If there was any girl he would’ve, at that time, attempted to move on with, it would’ve been her. Now, it was worse. Now, he loved her. That’s some serious stuff right there.
So, Steve took the chance. No more hesitation. No fear at all, even.
It’s like that old Romanogers saying: “One small step towards Natasha, one giant leap for Romanogers.”
Jeez, that would make a badass t-shirt. Anyways, moving on (again).
Steve moved towards Natasha without even doubting himself or this moment right now. Even her readiness for what he had planned wasn’t accounted for. Steve was out here to get what he wanted. Something in Natasha’s instincts picked up on that, but that was actually a turn-on for her, so, why even bother? His muscular arms were the subject of her ocular focus for lengthy portions of the evening. Especially at the dinner table when they discussed Morag with the team. They just couldn’t tear their eyes off one another. And they kept whispering things to each other. Would a kiss mean they’d focus more on the mission than their puppy love? Possibly.
Her small waist wore his muscular arms like a belt. It’s like this was supposed to happen. Without thinking or retaliating in any way, Natasha’s arms naturally found themselves wrapping around his upper back. Both pairs of watery green and bright blue irises were hidden by their eyelids. They constantly felt right at home with each other. Was this still gonna be a hug? Absolutely not. Steve’s lips moved 90% towards Natasha and hers 10% towards his.
And their lips met. This was the third time in their lifetime that they kissed. First time was on that escalator during the HYDRA fiasco, the second was during the Sokovia Accords fiasco at a mall in Kenya, and now, this was their third time. But, you see, the third time is truly a charm, because this one had the biggest impact. Neither was this an ordinary kiss nor a mere diversion from villains. This was a private, intimate and sentimental moment to culminate their 11-year friendship (est. 2012) and initiate... something new.
Natasha’s dreamt about kissing Steve’s lips like this for ages.
Steve’s dreamt about kissing Natasha’s lips like this for ages.
They were making out hard! His hands even traveled to her face, they ran through her hair gently, and they continuously insisted on holding her small waist. Her fingers just massaged themselves into his hair and across his neck. Oh, this was so heavenly, it was like they were flying right now.
Funnily enough, it was Natasha that was left in sweet disarray after their lips communicated everything they felt inside. Natasha was shocked at two things. Firstly, that Steve kissed her the way she had never been kissed before - intimately. Secondly, that Steve’s kissing skills had dramatically improved.
It was as if Steve could read her mind, because he responded, “Everybody needs practice.” Natasha giggled with her set of cheeks being the ones that turned blood-red now. Her eyes gazed at him wistfully, yearning for his love but feeling, as always, unworthy of it. Steve cupped her face into his hands and assured, “I don’t know what’s gonna happen tomorrow, but... if things go wrong... or if I don’t make it back...”
“Steve, don’t,” she shook her head. “Don’t talk like that. We’ll be fine. We’ll all be.”
“But if not, I just...” Steve humbly proclaimed, but Natasha understood what he wanted to say. He wanted to tell her that if something happened to him during the Time Heist and he didn’t come back or worse, died, then at least he would’ve shown Natasha that he loved her. She understood this very well.
Back at the café.
“WHOA!” Wanda, Bucky and Sam all reacted. “That is bananas, dude! I can’t believe we didn’t scroll through the CCTV footage at the Avengers compound to see that!” Sam joked. Bucky elbowed him to stop, but they were all in the same wavelength when it came to shipping Steve and Natasha.
Speaking of which, Natasha entered the café with a white lace long-sleeve wedding dress on. She wore a gorgeous veil and carried a bouquet of white jasmines with her. She approached them. Sam and Bucky were the firsts to see her arrive since they were seated at a bench table at the window - and, their seats viewed the entrance door to the café. Steve and Wanda’s seats had their backs facing the entrance.
Natasha reached them and then addressed Steve by saying, “Honey?”
Steve turned to view his newlywed with sparkling blue eyes of delight. Oh, he was beyond smitten with her. Wanda shifted and ascended, saying, “Let me excuse myself.” Natasha and Steve shared a happy grin as he got up to be before Natasha.
“The wedding reception is ready,” Natasha informed him as she adjusted his bowtie with her hands. Steve had a blissful smile on his face. He was home. Wherever she was, he was home. Plain and simple. Bucky and Sam watched them like they were the most heartwarming thing on Earth. And they weren’t wrong.
“It is?” Steve responded.
“Yeah,” Natasha affirmed with a murmur and a heavy smile. She was on cloud nine. So was he. Steve didn’t hesitate to kiss her once again. Bucky and Sam whistled and cheered for them. “Oh, grow up, will you?” Natasha scolded them, breaking off the kiss after just a few seconds. They all (including Wanda) chuckled. Natasha then resumed with kissing her husband again. Yes, that’s right. Steve and Natasha had just gotten married. Well, it was a small wedding. About 20 guests only (excluding Steve and Natasha’s five groomsmen and five bridesmaids respectively.
This group went on to the wedding reception hall to have themselves a blast in celebration of Steve and Natasha’s nuptial. Thor, in particular, thought he’d never live to see the day this happened. Clint was so happy for Natasha. In fact, he was the one that walked her down the aisle. It was such an emotional moment for both of them. Tony only celebrated that the two of them were finally hooking up, which was very immature, but he theorized that Steve would pipe down from his strict, rigid and disciplined soldier lifestyle if he got womanly attention. He wasn’t that wrong though. Steve was quite mellow now. Satisfied. Content. Blissful.
After the wedding reception, Steve and Natasha had their honeymoon in Barbados. Tony paid for it, of course. After which, the two of them lived happily ever after.
The end.