A Love Like No Other

Chapter three

Steve POV:

I turned my attention back to Peggy and said "What makes you think that I like her?"

"The smile on your face when you heard the person on the phone starting to talk, the look you have right now, as you're thinking about her I presume. I wasn't born yesterday Steve, I know what that means. Those are small but incredibly meaningful signs." she answered.

Talking about my possible feelings for Natasha with Peggy felt weirdly...not weird? I don't know. You might think that talking about your love life, with your ex that you never actually got the chance to be with and just saw again for the first time after decades as she has lived her life while you were playing the role of the male version of the sleeping beauty, would be weird and make you feel uncomfortable but it was actually the opposite.

With time and some hard work on myself, I was able to get over my feelings for Peggy and even if a part of me will always love her, the possibility of a life with her had left my thoughts. And I think she appreciated the possibility of me being happy with someone, just as much as I was happy for her, about the life full of happiness she got to live with her husband and that made the conversation feel very comfortable, as If we were just two old friends, looking after each other.

"To be honest, I don't know. I've never really thought about it honestly"
"Hum, okay. Let me ask you something."
"Yeah?"
"What do you think about the possibility of the two of you together?"
"Well, I wouldn't be unhappy about it" I said, with a little chuckle while nervously scratching the back of my neck, as I realized that the thought of being with Natasha actually brought up a pleasant tickling feeling in my stomach.

"I see." She said with a smile before adding "And what are the things you like most about her?"

"Hum, I don't know. There are so many things to say, like how she always finds a way to make me laugh and is able to bring joy and lighten the mood, even in some of the toughest times. I love the feeling I get when I'm finally able to pass through that wall of hers, keeping her emotions all to herself. I like it when she lets me be there for her and how she always acts so tough, like she doesn't give a damn about anything or anyone when in reality, she wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice herself for her friends and the people she cares about."
As I was talking, I found myself looking through the window, the thought of the red haired girl bringing up a shy smile on my face.

"Alright. You were right, you don't have a thing for that girl" she said looking at me with a serious look on her face, to which I frowned my eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean?" I asked Peggy.
"You don't have a thing for her, you're in love with her Steve." She said, looking at me softly with a genuine smile growing on her face. "Deeply in love, I might say"

Strangely, hearing her say that didn't surprise me as much as I thought it would. I think I kinda figured it out too as I finished telling her about the things I liked about Nat.

"You know what? I think so too." I said, looking at her, a big smile growing on my face too.

I am in love with Natasha. I think I actually have been for a while now and I can't believe how long it took for me to realize it. And that it took me Peggy's help too.

I stayed with Peggy a little longer. She kept asking me questions about Nat, like how and when we met, where she comes from, etc.

"You should tell her how you feel Steve. I can see how happy being with her would make you and you deserve to be happy."

"I want to but I don't think I can. If she doesn't feel the same way, it could ruin our friendship and I can't risk that"

"You prefer spending your life wondering what could have been if you had told her and she did feel the same way? Trust me Steve, you don't want to live a life filled with regrets, especially that kind of regret."

I sighed, knowing how right she was.
After a bit more than half an hour, I told her I had to go because they needed me for a mission.

I told her I was going to come back visit her as soon as I could. As I opened the door of her room, about to walk out I turned around and said "thank you", which she understood was about her helping me realize how I really felt about Nat and nodded, smiling. I turned back around and walked through the door and right before I could close it, I heard her calling after me.

"Wait, Steve!"

I popped my head though the opening of the door and looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah?"
"You never told me her name, you know" she said, in a laugh.
I laughed too, smiled and said "Natasha. Natasha Romanoff."