Never Letting Go (Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff)

Chapter 1 - Tired Honeymooners

This story is based off the MCU timeline— within the year post Captain America: Civil War —and characters based off Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, and all other Avengers in the MCU to this point in time.

This story is a follow up to the story THE HEART THAWS IN ITS OWN TIME. If you haven't read it yet, go read it first. It's a longer story but it's worth the time if you love Steve and Natasha together.

I do not own these characters (I just write them as a way to love them and care for them).

| Warning: These are two people on their honeymoon... you know what honeymooners do. ; ) That's a mature warning, in case my "wink wink" wasn't enough. |

-March 13, 2017-

Natasha gazed contentedly out the airplane window at the turquoise ocean below. She nudged her foot over a few inches in front of her to tap it into the side of Steve's shoe, watching his face for a reaction. He looked up from his magazine giving her a dreamy smile.

"Hi, happy girl," he said.

"Hi, yourself," she replied.

Steve set the magazine aside and leaned forward towards her with his elbows on his knees and she did the same. Steve ran a hand up through her hair and kissed her deeply. "I wasn't paying enough attention to you," he laughed lightly.

Natasha reached to the sides of his face with her hands, scratching her fingers lightly through his newly overgrown face.

"I know you don't love the beard," he started, "but since we're leaving the country, I thought it would be a good idea."

"I understand," Natasha said. "I'd be lying if I said the traveling didn't make me nervous. I can't help but worry about getting caught."

He put his hand on top of hers and gave it a squeeze. "I know, I'm trying not to think about that... trying just to enjoy the time with you all to myself."

"Our first vacation," she smiled.

"Technically, yes... but it's our honeymoon," he said, leaning in for another kiss. "Pepper has a special dinner set for us tomorrow night."

"That's right," she said. "I still can't believe she did this for us. What an amazing gift."

"I know, we would have never been to fly under the radar like this...is this Tony's private plane?" he asked.

"No, this one is all Pepper's," Natasha responded. "I think it's a bi-product of the time they were split up."

"Can you imagine Tony without Pepper?" Steve shook his head. "He's hard enough to control with her around."

The pilot came over the speaker to let them know they were about to land and to buckle up. "It's going to be a little rougher than normal, so hang on," he said.

As they looked out the window and saw the shoreline, they could see a large home near the water with an even larger fence. The roof was white with large solar panels and although there were lots of trees on the property, they could make out a swimming pool. The rough landing the pilot was talking about was obvious to them when they saw a short runway strip near the house, scattered with sand.

"Hold on, baby," Steve said as he reached out for her hand.

They quickly descended and the plane bounced and stopped abruptly. Steve's hair shook down into his face and Natasha squeezed her eyes closed as she suddenly felt sick from the bouncing. When he was sure they were really stopped, he took his seatbelt off and stood up, offering his hand to Natasha. "You okay, honey?"

"Yeah," she sighed, "that was a rough one." She suddenly wished she had the same super soldier stomach as Steve.

Steve, Natasha, and the pilot made their way off the plane and started walking towards the house. Truthfully, it was more of an estate.

"I'll be staying on the island if you need anything this week," the pilot told them and handed Steve his business card. "Miss Potts wants to make sure you're well taken care of so please don't hesitate. The house is stocked but call if you need something or if you need to go somewhere. I'll be by tomorrow to pick you up for dinner." He gave them a shy smile as he unlocked the front door and carried their bags inside, "And don't worry, I will keep this to myself. You need your privacy. Congratulations, by the way and welcome to St. Martin." He bid them goodbye, and walked to a car parked nearby.

Steve and Natasha looked around the large, open first floor, not moving an inch. "This is big," he said, staring up at the balcony above. Natasha knew he didn't necessarily mean that like a compliment. She knew it wasn't his way of insulting Tony but it was to subtly let her know the lavishness made him a little uncomfortable. Steve's taste was much more understated than Tony's and that in itself was an understatement. One of the things she loved about Steve is that he didn't want more than they needed and focused more on the relationships in his life than the things.

She put her arm through his and said "Come on, let's look around." He picked their bags up and they walked up the stairs to find the bedroom. Steve stood and looked near the top of the stairs looking at the first floor from above while Natasha walked down the hallway and opened doors. "Well, there are at least 5 bedrooms here..." she smiled at him. "Steve?"

"Yeah?" he said, looking like he was waking up.

"Come on, I think this one is the master... let's get you a nap."

They walked into the large room. The far wall was complete floor to ceiling windows, overlooking the beautiful Caribbean water. It was mid-day and the sun was hitting the sand harshly, giving it a white glow. Natasha drew the blinds as Steve sat down to take his shoes off and pull back the covers.

"I'm going to unpack," she said as he laid down.

"Okay, sorry baby, just a quick nap," he sighed and then it turned into a yawn. She sat down on the bed next to him and tucked him in, bending down to give him a hug and kiss, pressing her cheek onto the side of his head.

Natasha's phone dinged and she looked to see it was a message from Pepper. "Is everything going okay there?"

She looked at Steve, who already had his eyes closed and she walked quietly out into the hallway to find a quiet place to call Pepper. When Pepper picked up the phone, she said, "Hey, Nat. Is everything okay?"

"Oh, it's perfect. Everything's great. I just wanted to call and say thank you again. This was so sweet of you."

"You're quite welcome," Pepper responded. "Now, get back to honeymooning!"

"Thanks, Pepper," Nat said, about to hang up the phone until she heard Pepper's voice still talking.

"Oh, Nat? Wait... Go downstairs into the closed room to the left of the kitchen and turn off the security protocols for the inside of the house," Pepper laughed to herself. "You know... just in case..."

"Thanks, Pepper," Natasha said as she smiled wide.

As she walked back into the bedroom, she could tell Steve had already drifted off to sleep. She grabbed her suitcase and slowly lifted it onto the bed, trying not to disturb him. It felt heavier than she remembered and she realized maybe she was tired too. She still wasn't feeling quite right from the rough plane landing. She slipped off her shoes and pants and crawled into the bed next to Steve, moving right up against him. He opened his eyes and lifted his head up to look down at her as he whispered "Tired, baby?"

"Mmmhmm," she hummed as he wrapped an arm around her.