See You in a Minute

S T E V E

❝Well, I guess I finally found someone with the same shared life experience.❞
- Steve Rogers

× × ×

I have been to New Jersey a couple of times before—and I even trained here, all those memories still embedded on my mind. But truth be told, I didn't know much about the city and the places to see that's why Natasha and I ended up walking around the neighborhood.

I wanted her last time in 1970 to be spent better, but I wouldn't say that this day sucked. There were nicer things to do, I know that—but when did we ever really get what we wanted in the way we wanted it?

The whole time I was with Natasha, we just talked about whatever passed through our mind. I didn't think I could ever have so much to say and that she would, too, because we've always been more of the action-rather-than-words kind of people but we did.

With smiles on our faces and her arm linked with mine, we walked the streets of a neighborhood in New Jersey. We talked about my day with Peggy, World War II, my mom, the different things I'm planning to do once she leaves—stuff like that. She also shared her dreams with me, what made her go with Clint that time he was supposed to kill her, and she told me about the life she thinks she would have had if she wasn't taken in by the KGB. Today, she showed me who Natasha Romanoff was when she lets go of the Black Widow in her and I saw a girl who had dreams, who had a promising life ahead of her... if only.

It brought me so much happiness and honor to know that Natasha can show me the vulnerable but never weak side of who she is. I know I can never have what she has with Clint, or what she shared with Bruce, but I do know that she has never been as trusting to them as she is with me and that would just have to be something between her and I. She showed me that she trusts me as much as I trust her, and words can never suffice to how much that means to me.

To the world, she may seem as The Black Widow—the deadliest Avenger—but to me, she's not just that. She's smart yet stubborn, strong but vulnerable; she cares more than she likes to admit but she's not afraid to show what she feels. She can trust they way nobody is supposed to trust somebody but carry on even when they break it. She continues moving forward even when she can't forget her past, and she can love like there's no tomorrow even if it cost her everything. Natasha may as well be the most flawed woman I have ever met, but I wouldn't have her any other way. That is the Natasha I know. This is my Natasha.

We sat down on a bench near the house we were currently staying at after hours of talking, just watching as the sun slowly began to hide. She leaned her head on my shoulder as she closed her eyes, and I rest my head on hers, catching a whiff of her scent that reminded me of a field full of flowers as beautiful as her.

Before returning to the house, a little girl with a huge grin came up to us with a rose in her grasp and Natasha greeted her with a kind smile. The little girl giggled as she gave Natasha the rose, saying it looked as beautiful as her, then skipped away happily.

I took the rose that Natasha held in her hand and put it behind her left ear as I told her how much I agreed with the kid. She just rolled her eyes at me before placing a swift kiss on my cheek and after that, I trailed behind her as we entered the house we stayed in.

× × ×

Coming out of the shower with a towel wrapped around my waist, I grabbed a tank top and some pajama and put it on.

It was time for me to rest now but before I do, I head towards Natasha's room to say good night to her. It was the last time I'll ever be doing it so I couldn't let the opportunity pass.