Changes (A Prequel to "Through, Together")

A Good Challenge

Waking up next to someone wasn't something that Steve was used to. Or Natasha, for that matter. Even though they'd been exploring their "relationship" for a while now, Steve was either too much of a gentleman or too scared to spend the night with Natasha. Maybe it was a little bit of both. It wasn't like she'd been pushing for it too hard, either. Nat was used to keeping people at arm's length, both for her protection and theirs. She'd been intimidated by her feelings for Steve and even more intimidated to learn that he shared those feelings. Now, though... Now, things were different.

Natasha had slept better than she could remember sleeping in... well, longer than she cared to admit. And even though this was all new, the warm weight beside her felt familiar. Like she'd woken up to it a thousand times already. When she opened her eyes to see Steve lightly dozing beside her, it stirred a strange, warm feeling inside of her. It was like being shot in the chest with a burst of sunlight, but she wouldn't be caught dead telling anybody that. Instead, she leaned over and pressed a kiss to Steve's cheek.

The Captain didn't really have a great relationship with sleep. Not since waking up to find that he'd been sleeping on ice for six decades. There was always that fear that if he slept too hard, it would happen again. He knew it was ridiculous, but he couldn't help it. The thought of losing another lifetime and all the people in it was pretty terrifying. Despite all this, Steve couldn't deny the comfort he felt with Natasha beside him. Her arms wrapped around him seemed to serve as an anchor, keeping him grounded and letting him know that everything was alright. Everything he needed was right there, and it would still be there when he opened his eyes.

The drugs that were still phasing out of his system probably didn't hurt, either.

Regardless, when sunlight started slipping through the bedroom windows, Steve's internal clock had started chiming. He was coming to the surface, not quite awake but not quite asleep, when he felt the soft pressure on his cheek and the brush of hair against his ear. He slowly batted his blue eyes open, inhaling a deep, cleansing breath as he did so. The world came into view, and he rolled his head to the side to see familiar green eyes and the half-smirk that accompanied them. The sight caused an involuntary reaction of his own lips curling up into a small, sleepy smile.

"Good morning," he said, his voice still gravely from sleep.

"Good morning." Natasha replied in her slightly raspy tone. She rested her hand on his chest and then lowered her chin to rest on top of her knuckles, peering up at him with wide eyes that contained a maddening mix of complete innocence and pure mischief.

"If we're going to keep bunking together," she said, "we're going to have to do something about that snoring."

Steve furrowed his brow and lifted his head off the pillow to look down at Natasha. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was joking. "Are you always this funny first thing in the morning?" He asked with no shortage of sarcasm.

Natasha shrugged one shoulder. "I dunno," she said. "Guess we'll find out." Her eyes roamed his face, and her expression fell into something soft and serious.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

The question prompted Steve to take stock of his current situation. There was a dull ache between his eyes that made him feel like he needed to chug a gallon of water... or coffee. Or both. Other than that, he felt okay physically. It was his mind that was a bit uncertain. There were a lot of memories and emotions quietly swirling just beneath the surface, and it felt like any one of them could come bubbling to the top at any moment. He wasn't quite sure how to handle all that, let alone describe it.

"Like I shouldn't have jumped into that helicopter." He admitted.

"Mm," Natasha made a sound and nodded. "Well, I could've told you that."