romanogers || one shots

Broklyn boys(5)

“Do you like working for him? Is he a good boss?” Patrick asked.

“Just like any other boss I guess.” She shrugged. “I can’t really say much about him though, confidentiality reasons.” It was a bit of a fib, but she really didn’t want to talk about her boss right now.

“Oh, of course!” He backtracked, hands held up in mock surrender. “No worries! I won’t pry.” He smiled, then asked, “So what are you doing out tonight? You don’t seem to be waiting on anyone. No boyfriend?”

The question caught Natasha off-guard, surprised he’d ask such a question. It put her on edge a little, though she didn’t know why. It really didn’t sound like he was trying to pry into her life or anything, but it was a rather personal question to ask so bluntly.

“Uh, no. No boyfriend.” She answered uncomfortably. “I just felt like a night out, I guess.” She shrugged. This time when Steve walked over to drop off their food, she was grateful for the distraction.

“One order of nachos,” Steve smiled at Nat as he placed the plate down in front of her. He put down a couple of side plates in front of Patrick with a pile of napkins and walked away without another word.

Natasha frowned at his retreating form. She didn’t know why he was being so rude now. It wasn’t like him at all. She hoped everything was okay. Maybe he was just having a bad day.

“Is that the owner?” Patrick asked. He was frowning in disapproval at Steve. “Seems like kind of a jerk.”

Nat bristled at the comment. “He’s not.” She defended. “He’s probably just having a bad day. He’s usually very nice.”

Patrick didn’t seem to believe her. He was still watching Steve, who was now talking to some customers at the other end of the bar. Steve was smiling at something one of them said. “Sure seems like he’s having a bad day.” Patrick muttered sarcastically.

His attitude was bothering Natasha. He had seemed so shy and sweet when he first came up to her, but now Patrick seemed like a bit of an asshole. He was judging Steve without even knowing him. She understood that first impressions were important-and Steve’s was clearly a bad first impression- but Patrick didn’t even sound like he would give Steve a second chance. His opinion was decided and unwilling to change.

Natasha stood and walked away without another word and left the bar. She walked outside and down the block, before stopping to lean against a brick wall. She knew it was rather rude to just walk out like that, but Patrick had struck a nerve and she couldn’t sit there any longer and listen to him talk down about Steve.

She leaned her head against the brick, her hair catching on the roughness, and took a deep breath. The air was cool and pleasant, a balm after the hot and sticky atmosphere of the bar.

“Natasha!”

She turned her attention to the source of her name being shouted and her eyes widened in surprise. Steve was jogging down the sidewalk toward her. He stopped a couple of feet away, barely winded.

“Hey,” his eyes held concern. “Everything okay? You never walk out without saying goodbye.” He reached out and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” She sighed. “Why were you being such a jerk?” She called him out on his earlier behavior. “I’ve never seen you act rude to anyone. What’s going on? Is everything okay with you?” She glared, hands propped on her hips.

He looked guilty at that. Good. At least he knew he’d been rude. “I’m sorry. I just-,” He paused and looked like he was trying to find the right words. “He just reminded me of someone I don’t like, I guess.” Natasha could tell he was lying and couldn’t understand why.