Life After the Fall

Chapter 6

Two weeks after receiving the shield, Sam said goodbye to them for a while to see his family in Harlem. After that Steve, Natasha, and Bucky tried settling into a routine that worked for them and it did not take long for the three of them to find their groove together. Steve and Bucky took turns in cooking, chores, and errands.

Shuri was very satisfied with Natasha's recovery. Two months in and she finally gave her more freedom on her activities. But still, Steve could not help but be a bit protective of her. He knew Natasha would sooner or later get tired of him waiting on her all the time but until then, he would spoil her and let her not lift a finger.

Steve was very grateful that Natasha and Bucky got along. As a matter of fact, they got on pretty well that they ended up teaming up in teasing and pulling pranks on him. He did not mind of course, but it did make him miss Sam and even Clint. Steve had a feeling that Clint would be on his team because Clint would do anything to defeat Natasha in a prank war.

Things were pretty much laid back. Days were too leisurely, not that Steve was complaining, that was pretty much what he expected out of retirement, but he was nervous that Natasha and Bucky would eventually get restless and bored. It was true, the two were similar in so many ways that Steve could not believe he did not realize it before. Aside from their almost identical and equally horrible pasts, their personalities overlapped as well and their unfiltered views of the world matched most of the time. While that amused Steve, it also made him wonder if future disagreements with Natasha would be more difficult to handle because Bucky would probably back her up.

Of course, he anticipated arguments and disagreements with Natasha in the future. He realized that disagreements have hovered and lurked around their relationship ever since the beginning. They just did not end up fighting or biting each others' head off because they were constantly negotiating, compromising on everything. And it worked!

But Steve knew he could not be focused on worrying about the future right now. He did not know how well he and Natasha would handle retirement so they would take it one day a time. And today was a break from the usual mundane.

Steve sat on the porch, sketching the Wakandan city in the distance and Natasha and Bucky were on the porch steps, Natasha braiding Bucky's hair, when a pillar of light appeared from the sky and landed on the front lawn. The light had streaks of colors in it.

"Thor," Steve said as the light eventually faded and revealed the god and the racoon on his shoulders.

"There she is," Thor exclaimed and beamed at Natasha.

He stepped out of the Bifrost and walked up to her on the porch steps, arms wide open. Steve smiled as Natasha hugged Thor back. But then he worried a bit when it seemed like Thor hugged her too much that she stopped breathing.

"Thor," Steve called out.

Thor realized it and released Natasha. She clearly almost ran out of air. Then Natasha turned to Rocket, still on Thor shoulders.

"Still not a hugger?" Natasha teased him.

Rocket hugged her too then pulled out something from his bag. It was a small ball of twig, peppered with leaves and flowers and buds.

"Nebula says she'd come soon but Groot says hi," Rocket said as Natasha took the gift then petted Rocket on the head. Steve knew Rocket did not like people doing that but he guessed Rocket had made that exception for Natasha, just this one time.

Steve invited them inside the cabin and said he would phone T'Challa to inform him of their arrival. Then Steve noticed Bucky hanging back on the porch, hands on his hips and was looking at something at the lawn.