Between Soldier and Spy

Too early, too late.

Steve
She was gone when he realized he'd loved her. When his legs turned to jelly on the platform and he thought he would no longer be able to stand, seeing Clint's tears was the only conformation he needed to know that she was gone. He'd missed his chance, like he always did. It seemed Steve Rogers was notorious for waiting too long. So he settles for accepting it, tears running their way down his face before plopping onto his t-shirt. He's sad, sure, but he's also angry, at himself, at the world, at that damn stone for taking her away. The love he suddenly feels for her doesn't come as a surprise. He fell in love with her slowly, piece by piece, and he didn't realize he fell until it was too late. Maybe it was the late night conversations, mixed with nightmares and a shared bottle of vodka, that brought them closer. Or the fact that she could never really truly leave his side. No matter what her head said her heart was with him, she told him that much in the way that she hugged him at Peggy's funeral, in the way she let him go while their team had their little "civil war", in the way the first person she searched for after they lost to Thanos was him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder reminding him that at least they still had each other. And now she's gone.
He's left thinking about the almosts, the nights they slept in the same bed because hey nightmares are easier to deal with when you're around and I sleep better when you're with me, when I know you're safe. The times he could have kissed her, lips so close to touching, and the times they did undercover when she'd intertwine their hands as they walked down the streets in Europe trying to pretend that their lives weren't falling apart. He thinks about the times he almost said I love you, how it almost just slipped. How she was the one to put him back together while his fingers bled from destroying the last piece of himself from the past, blood staining his uniform and her t-shirt. He wishes more than anything that he could tell her how much he loved her, how she was home, his home, how his heart could only ever belong to her. How after all the years he'd been waiting for her to suggest her own name when trying to set him up on dates. She'd say she's not worthy, not deserving and he knows that. He could have loved her and he did but it wasn't enough to bring her back to him. He loved her too late.

Natasha
She's not sure when she started falling maybe it's the way, his eyes don't flicker over her body when he thinks she's not looking. Maybe it's how he's unlike any of the other guys she's ever met, who are more concerned with her looks than what's inside her head. She makes it out to be the fact that he was raised different than the rest, that was raised to be a good man. She later finds out, that's just because he's Steve. He smiles at her from across the room, holds the door open for her, and values her opinions during their briefings and advice on the battlefield. He knows she's capable, and that's not something she gets very often. So she distances herself because it's what she's best at. Hell, love is for children. She was surprised when Fury partnered them together because soldiers and spies don't mix. Still she finds herself falling so she settles for teasing him and trying to set him up on dates instead. Then everything is ripped away from her, all she's ever know, what she's worked so hard to build. And they solve it together, which she soon finds out is a common pattern for them. He tells her he trusts her and that means more to her than anything. She asks him what he wants her to be and he says "a friend", and she feels stupid for wishing he was saying something else instead. They stop hydra, because of course they do, and she finds herself wanting to help him, repay him for his unwavering new trust in her. She gives him the files for his best friend and makes him promise to call that nurse but not before she places a kiss on his cheek and tells him to be careful. She wishes he'd ask her to come with him.
A year later and she's still trying to drown her feelings for him, burying them in some mild flirting with Bruce. She needs to get her mind off him somehow. So she settles for an easy distraction, anything to stop the butterflies that form in her stomach when she finds Steve's eyes across the room. It doesn't work. Then Bruce leaves and she's left with guilt and unwanted feelings for a certain super soldier.
They grow closer, leading their team. Some days it feels like they're teetering on the lines of something more, hugs that last too long and cheek kisses that linger too long. Then their mission goes south and suddenly their on opposing sides. Her head telling her one thing- to think logically like always cause hey she's pissed off the government too many times already. But her heart? It's his, it chooses him without a doubt. She tries to pretend it doesn't hurt when she finds out he kissed Sharon, but the truth is she knew  she'd never deserve him anyways. So she settles for just friends, because friends is better than nothing. She loved him too early and she thought he didn't feel the same.

She loved him too early, He loved her too late.

I got the idea for this one shot from a comment I saw on a tiktok video, I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you guys think in the comments, feel free to leave suggestions or prompt ideas below!❤️ thanks -musicgirl145