Chapter Text
."So we have a fan question here. Slr689 asks, What is one thing about the other that REALLY bugs the other person?"
Steve and Natasha both speak up at the same time, creating a strange fumble of words.
"I think I know what he's gonna say. It's always the same thing."
"Oh you do?"
"Yeah, I do."
Steve raises his eyebrows.
"Go for it then."
"He's going to say I always have to fix everything, and that I can't let tech rest."
Steve tilts his head to the side.
"I knew it. It's always the same. He always says the same thing. Always."
"Well it is true Natasha. She just, can't let it go. She always has a tablet in her hands, has to have the TV on in the background all the time. Even when watching a movie, she has to fix the aspect ratio, if it's not perfect. She has to get up and start fiddling."
"Well what's the point of having a cinema room, if the it's not at the right aspect ratio. and I keep the tablet with me because I like to know what's going on, and I can't concentrate in silence, so I put the TV on."
Steve shakes his head, and smiles.
"You know what bugs me?"
Steve turns his head, and smiles.
"He won't eat cake. He just won't."
Nancy and Steve both look bewildered. Natasha shrugs and continues.
"He won't, he just won't. It's really annoying. He doesn't like desert in general. He eats sweets, but he won't eat and baked goods. It's very annoying."
Steve starts to snicker, and soon Natasha joins in.
Steve opened his eyes and looked over to the antique clock sitting on the table next to the TV. It said six, exactly. Steve smiled. He always managed to wake up the same time almost every day if he forgot to set his alarm. Steve threw off his blanket and stretched his arms upwards and yawned. He considered briefly going for a run, grabbing a smoothie, something small as he passed the fridge. He stopped abruptly, as his mind caught up. He remember Natasha. He rushed over silently to the door of his room and peered in. He caught a glimpse of Natasha laid out on the bed. Only one pillow remained on the bed, all other had fallen on the floor. The covers joined the pillows on the floor, and Natasha covered her self only in a the white throw Steve kept at the bottom of the bed.
She had pulled it up around her neck, but left the majority of her legs uncovered, and stretched out every limb as far as they could go. Her mouth was opened ever so slightly. Steve could tell she was in a deep sleep. He smiled and moved back to the fridge. He opened the door and peered inside. Normally Steve would have grabbed something small and gone down stairs to exercise, and then at ten he'd start the meeting. He decided he would skip today. He grabbed a large packet of strawberries, laid them out, and chopped them up, and paired them with a dollop of cream cheese.
Steve set the food down on his impossible small table that sat in the alcove he called a kitchen. Steve only took up three or four rooms on the floor. Natasha had insisted that he take the whole lower floor for himself recently, but something just didn't feel right about all the space he said. He turned on his TV, still not too well adjusted to how it worked, not that he was going to admit that. The table had been set, and everything was ready, so he moved back into the bedroom. Natasha still lay there spread out to a ridiculous extent. He hesitated for a second, it was only six o'clock, he'd bet his bottom dollar that Natasha never woke up this early. But in the end he figured he could just ask her if she wanted to sleep in, and if so, no harm done. He moved over quietly, and rather than whispering, or poking her. He instead decided to rip it off like band aid.
"Natasha? … Natasha?"
He didn't shout, but he did raise his voice ever so slightly. Steve wasn't sure what he had expected her to do. Have her eyes flutter open as she carefully and delicately got out of bed? Perhaps roll over gently and wave him away? Instead she attempted to open her eyes, only to find that the light of the room was too bright. She coughed as she threw the blankets over her head and said.
"Too bright. Jarvis. Turn the lights down."
She coughed again.
"And get me a glass of water, I slept with my mouth open again."
She groaned as she rolled around under the covers. Steve got a tall glass and filled it with water. He wasn't Jarvis, but he figured he would have to do for now. He shuffled over to the bed and crouched down.
"Natasha?" He whispered.
Natasha tossed the top half of the blanket away in one precise movement. She squinted from the light, saw the water, saw the man holding it, and then froze.
'oh, right." She said under he breath.
"Hey Steve." She said awkwardly.
"Hey Natasha."
Natasha's chest rose just the tiniest bit as he said her name.
"I made breakfast."
He passed the cup of water to her, and she sat up. She took a couple gulps of it as Steve moved back into the other room.
"I was going to let you watch the news, since you know, you always have your tablet with you in the morning, but it doesn't look like the TV is working."
Natasha put down the drink and waddled over to the TV without a second thought. She hit the side of the TV lightly. It fizzed and Natasha tilted her head to the side. She peered behind it to get a better look.
"Natasha just leave it. It's fine."
"What do you mean it's fine? It doesn't work."
"I mean, it's just. It's not that important. Eat something first."
She didn't seem to reply from the back of the television. Steve sighed and sat down in his chair.
"I think I've got it."
Natasha was now fully behind the table that held the television, scooting around with the wires. The TV buzzed back into action, as the BBC news played.
"There."
She returned from behind the TV and stood in front of it.
"Natasha?-"
"Why is your TV so small? Who can live with a TV this small?"
"Natasha?" His said with his voice raised slightly.
"Huh."
Her attention moved back to Steve, and the table with her breakfast on it. She sat down quietly while Steve stared at her. She started shoveling the strawberries into her mouth one by one. Natasha's eyes darted round his apartment. It was a little brighter this time round. It wasn't the same amber colour it was last time. But the furniture was still brown and the tables almost exclusively wood. The walls were lined with vintage appliances, that Jarvis had no doubt spent a very long time finding for Mr. Captain America. Eventually her eye caught sight of a plastic cover of a barely eaten slice of victoria sponge cake, or at least that's what it looked like. She scooped up her bowl and walked over to the cake. It looked a few days old.
"When did you get this? Did I miss a birthday?" She said in between bites.
"Umm no. I had dinner, with someone. Took the desert home, but I don't really like desert."
"You don't like desert? What is wrong with you. It looks expensive too."
Natasha raised her eyebrows in Steve's direction as she took another bite. He sighed.
"You can have it if you want."
"Sweet." She set down the bowl with the carefully prepared breakfast in it, and picked up the cake. Steve held a gentle frown on his face as he looked downward and pushed away his food. Natasha stopped abruptly, threw the cake into the bin and picked up the strawberries again.
"I think I'd rather eat what you made for me."
Steve smiled and the two sat down together.
"You know you didn't have to fix the TV right?"
"I'm pretty sure I did. I mean it's not like you'd know what to do."
"Oh nice."
"What? And you knew what to do with it?"
"Well, no, not really."
"Well them."
She smirked at him.
"You think you're so clever don't you."
"No, I know I'm clever."
"I'm not completely useless when it comes to technology."
"Oh really."
"I'd say considering, I've done pretty well adjusting."
"Says the man who doesn't know how to send an email."
Steve looked up from his meal mouth open.
"Widow told me."
"Damn it. That's just one thing. I can use a computer. A smart phone. The jet."
"Yet you won't let me upgrade your suit. If you just let me-"
"I'm fine. I'd really like to stick to doing it the old fashioned way if you don't find."
"look just say it Capsicle."
"Say what?"
"You know."
He shook his head.
"I'm scared of tech. It's only natural Cap."
"I'm not scared of tech."
"Uh huh."
He scowled and deep fatherly scowl.
"Oh gee Ms. Stark what ever will I do with all this baffling technology? If only there was someone smart enough to teach me about the terrifying future? I mean gosh, I'm just a regular old city boy, what do I know about all this-"
"I get it. You're sassy today star spangled banner."
"I'm always sassy."
"Really, then why does it always seem like you have a stick up your ass?"
"I don't Natasha. I just. I want to do my job. I want to make sure everyone's safe. And, I know you feel the same. It's just sometimes it doesn't seem like you do, so I'm a little hard on you."
Natasha smiled as she finished her food. The two of them let their eyes drift over each other. The doorbell rang. Natasha got up to the door and opened it. Hawkeye stood on the other side with Natasha's tablet in hand.
"Oh wow you really are sleeping in his apartment, I though Nat was making it up."
"What is it?"
"We have a trace on the craft from yesterday."
"Where is it?" She took the tablet from him.
"In the middle of a forest. We think there could be a base there or something."
"We'll have to check it out."