These are the Hands of Fate - Steve Rogers x OC

Fourteen: You Saw Me Start to Believe for the First Time

December 3, 2022

"You're going to ask her again?"

Steve let out a muffled grunt as Natasha pinned his arm behind his back, his cheek pressed against the plasticky top of the table. Ducking down, he hooked his other arm around her leg, yanking her feet from under her as he gave a short nod, "Yep."

Even though she was upside down, he could still identify the almost judgmental apprehension on her features as she asked, bracing her hands on the floor below her head, "Even though she said no?"

"It wasn't a no." He let out a quiet 'oof' as she used her other foot to kick him in the sternum, forcing him to let go of her leg and stumble back while she landed on the floor as if she hadn't been strung up upside down by her ankle.

Hopping up with an ease that only she could have, Natasha resumed her spot at the far corner of the mat, her fists held up in a defensive position as she waited for him to move back to center. Maggie hadn't told her about the failed almost-proposal two years prior, but Steve had. She'd been teasing him about just asking her to marry him when he eventually blurted out that he almost had.

Like herself, she was well aware that Maggie could be a flight risk at times. It hadn't surprised her that Maggie had told him everything that gave her pause instead of simply saying yes, but Steve was nothing if not persistent. Of course, he'd try again.

She wouldn't say it aloud, but Natasha was rooting for them.

Raising an eyebrow, she bounced on the balls of her feet anticipatorily, "When?"

"Next New Year's Eve." He ducked, avoiding her swing and countering, gripping her arm, and flipping her over. There was a fond smile on his lips as he hopped to avoid her legs sweeping his out from under him, continuing, "It's when it all started, anyway."

Their first kiss had been on New Year's Eve almost five years earlier; how had that much time managed to pass in the blink of an eye? He could still recall the taste of her lips that night and the way her body felt when she'd pulled him closer, her hands threading through his hair that had been cut shorter back then.

There was something about the day that felt so hopeful, holding so much promise for whatever lay ahead. It felt right to wait until then, almost as if their love story would somehow come full circle.

"Remind me to leave town before you do that." Natasha made a face as they circled one another slowly, "I'm happy for you guys but if you're that loud when you're not engaged, I really don't want to be around to hear any pre-nuptial fucking." As he opened his mouth to bite back, she charged towards him, rebounding off the sidewall as she threw a leg around his neck to try and force him down to the floor with her momentum.

She hadn't realized until it was already too late that he'd gotten a grip on her calf, easily swinging her from her perch. In two quick moves, he had her pinned to the floor where she finally gave two, slow irritated taps. He chuckled, offering her a hand to help her up.

"We're doing best two out of three." She jabbed a finger at Steve, crossing the room, seeking her water bottle; the score was sitting at one to one and she'd be damned if he got another point against her.

The heavy door creaked open, and she turned, her brows drawn together at the unexpected visitor. No one came down there anymore; it wasn't like there was any use for tactical team, given the state of the world, so the gym typically only ever saw the occupants of the apartment above.

Though two of three were already there, she'd been told this morning that the third was too ill to get out of bed but, in the doorway stood Maggie, a small cake with a single glowing candle on top and a gift bag in her other hand with a sly smile on her lips. They'd been meant to train together that morning, but Steve had appeared in her place instead, citing his girlfriend's alleged ailment. It seemed, however, that the jig was up.