On The Run) Romanogers

Part 13

Steve P.O.V.

I woke up and saw the world was still dark, but I knew exactly where I was and who was wrapped against my side. I looked down expecting to find a sleeping Natasha, but her eyes were open as she simply stared out the window. "I'm sorry if I woke you," she whispered, keeping her eyes where they were.

"No, I don't think you did," I answered just as quietly. We were tucked in the corner of the room, but I could still clearly see out the windows given their angle. The world was so dark, but the lake reflected the stars in the sky perfectly, it was like space had opened up below us rather than it being a lake. "It's breathtaking," I added.

"That's why this is my favorite safehouse," she added, nuzzling her head closer to my chest.

"How did you know it would be open?" I questioned, enjoying the calmness of the night and what was the closest we had had to alone time in a while.

"Fury shut it down ages ago after I had a particularly grueling mission," I could hear the pain in her voice at those memories and decided not to push, "when I didn't come back, he assumed I was dead. He came here and found me held up in this safe house and I refused to leave," she huffed a sarcastic laugh, "I was a typical teenager at that point, stubborn as hell. He talked me into coming back, and then a few weeks later the safe house was taken off all SHIELD databases and he gave me the key. He said when I needed a recovery place, it would always be open for me."

"That was very kind of him," I held onto her just a bit tighter, I didn't like the thought of her going through something so traumatizing, and I could feel that the tension was slow to leave her.

"I don't come here often because every time I do, I always debate just never coming back," she sighed, "I know it's selfish, b-"

"Nat, in this line of work, I think just about everyone debates it, almost daily," I stopped her, not wanting her to feel guilty. "I debate it all the time, it's normal."

She was silent for a bit, and so was I. I could almost hear the thoughts swimming through her brain, and while I couldn't tell exactly what she was thinking, I could see the thousands of ideas swirling around her head.

"Steve," she finally broached the silence, "what are we?"

"Fugitives?" I attempted a joke, which got a small laugh, but I could tell she was getting at something deeper.

"I mean us, like the two of us, what is going on here?" She reframed.

I paused, "do you not like it?"

"No, that's not at all what I'm saying," she moved her good arm to reach and grab my hand in hers, "I just want to know what it is. What you want and what you're comfortable with."

"What do I want?" I giggled just a bit, "I think the better question is what do you want?"

She turned her head to look at me, her eyebrow raised in a bit of confusion.

"Natasha, I do hope that I've made it pretty clear, I like you a lot and," I was trying so hard to read her face, something I was usually good at, but I couldn't quite make out what she was thinking, "I want this to go further, I want to be in a relationship with you."

"I want you to be happy," her face turned to shame, and I was confused. She had seemed so happy earlier, "I think you should be with someone better than me, Steve. You're good, and I'm not."

My heart sank so fast, "but Nat, that wasn't what I asked. I asked what you want."

"Steve," she shook her head, clearly not wanting to answer the question.

"Do you really think you're not good enough for me?" I couldn't help but laugh just a bit, "Natasha, I think you're the one who is out of my league," I couldn't help but laugh just a bit more.

"Steve," she scolded lightly, a smile now forming on her face.

"Tell me what you want, Natasha. Do you want to be with me?" I directly asked.

She bit her lip, and I couldn't help but think it was adorable, "I do want to be with you," she finally admitted, her gaze falling as if in shame.

I gently cupped her chin and guided her to look back up at me. She had a sad sort of smile, "I want to be with you, let's give this a try."

"I still think you belong with someone better than me," she pushed, "and I swear I'm not compliment fishing or anything. I am genuinely baffled, why do you want to be with me? What the hell do you see in me?"

"Natasha, what is there not to love? You are so incredibly tenacious and strong, you never back down. You have such a kind and beautiful heart, and those who you let into that heart are damn lucky. You defend them with your all," I placed my hand over her chest, "I'm constantly in awe of you."

I saw the tears slowly falling down her cheeks, "I don't know what to say," she shook her head.

"You don't have to say anything," I smiled as I brought my head down to rest on her's. She gave a small, happy hum as we both stared out at the stars.

"I feel like I should," she added, and then yawned.

"You should rest up," I realized that she was tired, and it probably wasn't great that I was keeping her awake.

"Are you finally going to kiss me?" She asked, a mischievous glint to her tone.

I couldn't help as I laughed out loud, I could see her grin out of the corner of my eye. "I suppose I do owe you an actual kiss at some point," I admitted, "but as I said, right now, you need to go to bed."

"You're such a tease," Nat scolded as she nuzzled back down into me, clearly agreeing that she should sleep.

We were both quiet for a long time, I couldn't tell if she was asleep or not at this point, given that her breathing was evened out but still so shallow. "So... we're a couple now?" She whispered, confirming my suspicion that she was awake right now.

"Yes, I think we are," I hummed back. "How is that sleep going?"

"Shut up, I'm cold," she grumbled back.

"Well why didn't you say anything?" I reached over and grabbed some blankets off the side of the nest, conveniently in reach. I made sure to flip the blankets over her and not me, she was incredible to be next, but she was also incredibly hot and I was burning.

"Because I thought I would fall asleep and it wouldn't be a problem," she hummed, clearly more comfortable with the extra blankets. A little bit later, we both drifted off to a comfortable sleep as we watched the stars.