The Heart Thaws In Its Own Time (Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff)

Chapter 17 - Heating Up And Cooling Down

Steve and Natasha had settled into a routine in their daily life. Lots of it involved working on the house together but they were discovering so much about each other at the same time. They'd started to cook together and of course, Steve was still making it his mission to knock her socks off when it came to taking her out. Not to be undone, Natasha insisted he let her share some of that burden and cost. They babysat for the Bartons one night, they took a road trip to visit Wanda and Vision, and Steve had even taken up a new secret hobby in the garage.

Everything was going right except that one little thing was missing but they would eventually get there and they both new it.

One afternoon, late in the month, Natasha was decorating the front porch with pumpkins and yellow mums. She wanted to put something out there to play off the new blue siding and she spent quite a while getting it just right. Steve walked out of the garage and he was talking on the phone, obviously finishing up a conversation and he looked uneasy.

"That looks great," he said as he got closer to the porch. "Gettin' crafty on me there, Romanoff."

She laughed. "Maybe it's because there are no decorations around here, I just feel the need to get in touch with my creative side."

He smiled and sat down on the front steps next to her. "That was T'Challa," he said as he held up his phone and let out a sigh.

"Oh?" Her brow furrowed because she knew it could be concerning Bucky and that could be serious.

"They've had a power loss... an unexplained power loss." He looked off into the distance. "Even the backup generators were down. They were hacked."

"So Bucky's awake?" she asked.

"Yes, he is. Nothing happened but they're on alert. T'Challa has asked that I come to stay for a while, just in case... he's sending for Sam and me tonight."

"That soon?" she asked and she realized she was disappointed by the news.

"Yeah," he sighed and laid a hand on her shoulder. "But it will be good to see Bucky."

"I guess we better get you packed up then," Natasha said, standing up.

Steve wasn't sure if her feelings were hurt or if she was truly trying to be helpful and pack with him. He wrapped his arms around her legs and pulled her close. "Baby, I'm going to miss you."

As she sat down sideways on his lap and hugged him, he breathed in her scent and tried to memorize it for when he was gone. He squeezed her a little tighter and said, "We have time for a special dinner before I go. We should make something nice."

"I'd like that," she said. And they were off to pack him up.

***

They made a steak dinner for themselves and ate together as the sun went down. It would be maybe an hour until a helicopter would arrive. While they cleaned up dinner, Steve snuck in lots of kisses, hopefully enough to last him until he got back, whenever that might be.

"There's a little something upstairs for you," he said, slyly.

"What is it?" she asked excitedly.

"Take a look," he smiled.

Natasha raced out of the kitchen and up the stairs as Steve followed, walking instead of running.

"Steve!" she screamed as he caught up. "Oh my goodness! I love it!"

He walked into her bedroom and she was standing back looking at a painting of the sunset that was leaned against the wall.

"It's our first date..." she said with an "awww" in her voice. She grabbed him for a hug. "This what you've been up to in the garage?"