Steve and Red

When He Learns Her Secret

Steve couldn't find her anywhere. For three weeks he had searched the city, everywhere he knew that she loved to go. The garage hadn't seen her, Tony hadn't seen her, even the old woman that lived down the hall from her and knew the goings on of everyone in her building didn't know where Red had gone. She had vanished.

He had cornered Natasha the morning after the party.

"What did you ask her?" he'd demanded hotly. She'd glared up at him.

"You're ruining my oatmeal" was her curt response. He took the spoon from her hands and did a quick stir of the cereal so that it wouldn't burn.

"Natasha, what did you ask her?" he had snarled. She hadn't said anything, just gazed at him, straight faced. Glowering, he had finally left her to her oatmeal.

Today, however, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope. When he walked through the turbulent chaos of machinery, Murray spotted him and beckoned him excitedly over.

"She called in today," he said with a grin. "She'll be in around noon or so."

"Thanks," Steve said, feeling a smile of his own beginning to form. Then Murray leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, "She knew you would be asking about her, so she told me to tell you that. She'll be here any minute, alright?" Steve nodded and gave Murray a sly wink.

"Thank you, Murray," he murmured, then casually walked over to the car bay where Tony Stark's Dodge Viper still stood up on the jacks. He was inspecting a wrench when he heard footsteps behind him. Turning, he saw her frozen, her bag over her shoulder, staring at him. He smiled.

"Red!" he exclaimed. She swallowed, and he saw her eyes becoming red rimmed.

"S-Steve," she managed to say; her hands were shaking. He nodded.

"I've been worried about you," he murmured. She dropped her bag to the floor, still staring at him. She didn't say anything. He frowned.

"What's wrong?" he asked, confused.

Suddenly she was running at him, throwing her arms around him and sobbing into his chest. He hugged her in return, burying his face in her hair and whispering, "Hey, hey, it's alright, it's fine, I'm here" over and over again as she cried. It was totally unlike her, and he was beginning to worry when she finally managed to calm down and pull away a little bit.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, untangling herself to wipe her eyes.

"Don't be," he said gently, reaching up to cup her cheek in his palm. "You don't have to be strong all the time." Her face darkened slightly.

"I have to talk to you," she muttered. Steve nodded.

"Alright," he said. She hesitated, then whispered, "Now?"

"Sure. Come on, let's go to Stark Tower," he said. He grabbed her hand and then stooped to pick up her bag. With their fingers interlaced, they walked out of the garage and down the street to the Stark Industries tower. Red waved her badge and the secretary allowed them into the employee access elevator, which they rode all the way to the top. The elevator doors opened out into a large penthouse sized suite. Lab tables covered in electronics lined the one solid wall, where the elevator was set. The rest was floor to ceiling windows, scribbled on with dry erase maker. Large sheets of glass were set vertically into the floor, and they were covered in more writing above stainless steel tables with tools and wiring. It was any inventor's dream workspace.

Red led the way through the maze to a set of sofas crouched around a low coffee table. She sat down on the loveseat and swung her legs up, eyeing him. Steve reached down and scooted her legs out of the way so that he could sit down next to her, one arm up on the back of the chair. She sighed.

"You're not going to want to be so close when I tell you what I have to say," she warned him. He shook his head and took her hand in his.

"I don't think there is anything you could say that would change my mind," he whispered, and raise her hand to his lips. She squirmed.

"Steve," she murmured. He smiled.

"Tell me," he said gently. "You can trust me." She took a deep breath to steady herself, and then looked directly into his eyes.

"I am a former Hydra agent," she said shakily. He froze. She watched his face, her eyes becoming red rimmed again. He took a deep breath and then said as calmly as he could, "Former?" A nod. He took another breath and then whispered, "Jacob would be your handler, then." Another nod. He sighed and then reached down to pull her into his lap.

"Wha—," she began. He covered her lips with a finger, looking into her face with serious eyes.

"I told you," he muttered, a faint smile lifting the corner of his mouth. "There isn't anything you could say that would change my mind about you."

"But I—," she tried to say.

"You are a former Hydra agent," he said. "Yes. I understand."

"No, that's—," she started to protest. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her shoulder.

"Red," he moaned into her shirt. He felt her shaking and looked up to see that she was crying again. "Oh, Red, don't cry," he murmured, reaching up and wiping away her tears. She shook her head.

"You're not making this easy, Rogers," she chastised weakly. He tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ears and laughed quietly.

"I know, I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'll stop." He squeezed her tightly with a smile.

"How are you taking this so calmly?" she demanded with a shaky laugh. He kissed her cheek and whispered, "I learned a long time ago that people's hearts can change. And that sometimes," he paused to tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear, "the heart does strange things." He smiled.

"Strange things?" she asked, though a small smile grace her lips. He nodded.

"Even fall in love with Hydra agents," he teased. She jolted a little, her eyes widening. Quickly she jumped to her feet, striding over to the window to gaze out over the city. He stared after her, still frowning.

"Did I say something wrong?" he murmured. She shook her head.

"No, no," she said quietly. "It's just..." He stood and walked over to her, and after a moment of debating, carefully wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. He pressed his lips against her cheek.

"It's just what?" he asked.

"I'm not sure anyone could love...what I've become," she whispered. He spun her around so that she was facing him, a smile on his lips.

"And if I could?" he teased. She looked up at him with a mixture of hope and terror.

"Could you?" she asked. He nodded.

"Let me," he said, leaning closer. "Please?" She hesitated, just for a moment. Then, in a flash of decision, she leaned up and kissed him.