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Steve was exhausted. He and Natasha had been dispatched to Brazil to scope out a group that was buying up a large number of weapons and munitions. The goal was to have Natasha infiltrate the organization, gather the information that they needed, and get out without needing Steve for anything other than helping her with the schematics of the organization and watching her back. He should’ve known it wasn’t going to be that easy. After a large firefight and more than a couple bumps and bruises, the pair managed to shut the entire operation down and walk away with nothing worse than a cracked rib on Steve’s part and a sprained ankle on Natasha’s.
All he wanted was to get out of his suit and take a hot shower before going to Nat’s floor for pizza and one of the movies on his list. He was currently slumped against the wall of the elevator, tossing out titles from his list as they made their way up to the common room so Natasha could snag one of Tony’s high dollar bottles of Vodka before heading to their respective floors to clean up.
“Forrest Gump?” Natasha suggested; her head tilted back against the wall of the elevator.
Steve thought about it for a moment before shaking his head, “how about something more light-hearted, a comedy or something?”
“How about a musical?” She asked, straightening up as the elevator slowed on its approach to the common room. “Mary Poppins is another one on your list.”
Steve nodded, “yeah, okay!” He moved to the center of the elevator beside her as the elevator came to a stop.
“It’s also a Disney movie, and I know you like Disney so- what the hell?” She cut herself off as the elevator doors opened, revealing stacks of boxes all over the living room. They were piled on top of practically every surface within the room and made it nearly impossible to walk aside from the few pathways that had been pushed aside. “This has Stark written all over it.”
Steve sighed, “What do you think he’s up to this time?”
“Probably something that’s going to make us wish we were still stuck on that mission,” she teased. They attempted to walk further into the room, but Steve nearly knocked over a pile of boxes when he bumped into it with his shoulder and Natasha had already run into a dead end once. She let out a frustrated groan, “JARVIS, where’s Stark?”
“Mr. Stark is with Ms. Potts and Dr. Banner in Ms. Potts’s office. Floor 78,” he replied.
“Thanks JARV,” she replied, turning on her heel to walk back to the elevator. “Come on Rogers.” Steve turned to follow her, bumping into another set of boxes and gently steadying them before following her back into the elevator. “Floor 78 JARVIS,” she called again.
“Right away, Agent Romanoff.”
Natasha stalked down the hall towards Pepper’s office, the last week or so of built up exhaustion finally getting to her. She swung open Pepper’s door, causing the two men to jump, while Pepper looked at her surprised. “Stark, you better have a damn good reason for the common room looking like the inside of a moving truck,” she growled.
“Good to see you too, Romanoff,” he replied, turning in his chair to face the pair. “Spangles,” he nodded at Steve. “And I do have a good reason, though those boxes aren’t mine, they’re Pepper’s.”
Natasha lifted an eyebrow for a moment before moving her gaze to Pepper. “They’re yours?”
Pepper crinkled her nose slightly as she cast an apologetic look their way, “yeah, sorry. I told the guys who brought them in for me to take them to floor 71, but apparently, they heard floor 81. They should be out of there by tomorrow morning.”
Natasha and Steve shrugged simultaneously both saying things like “no problem Pepper,” and “it’s not a big deal.”
Tony’s mouth fell open, “hold on, you were ready to kill me when you thought they were mine, but now that they’re Pepper’s, all is forgiven?”
“Because Pepper doesn’t do stupid stuff, Tony. And like she said, it was a miscommunication, it wasn’t ever supposed to be on that floor. You, however, do things like rig the microwave to explode,” Steve replied, moving into one of the empty chairs in the room. He sank into it, doing his best not to wince as his side pinched where his rib was healing.
“In my defense, that wasn’t supposed to happen.” Tony looked to Bruce for support, but Bruce just shook his head.
Pepper rolled her eyes at Tony before turning her attention back to Steve and Natasha. “It’s actually a good thing you guys are here because there’s something that we need to talk about.” Pepper gestured for everyone to follow her out of her office and into her personal conference room next door. Natasha narrowed her eyes slightly as they followed her into the room, taking the empty chair to Steve’s right as they all got comfortable. Pepper pulled out her computer, quickly pulling up what she needed before turning back around to the group.
“As you know, after the Battle of New York many people hailed you all as heroes. It’s seemingly brought America, and most of the world closer together. People love you guys,” she explained. “This presents us with an opportunity. People want Avengers merchandise. Bootleg Avengers merchandise has been popping up all around the globe. So,” she continued, “I’m proposing that Stark Industries launches an official Avengers brand.”
Pepper clicked one of the buttons on a small remote, pulling up the Avengers logo from the side of the building on every one of the TVs within the room. She began clicking through, each hero’s symbol flashing across the screen. “Captain America merchandise, Black Widow merchandise, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and Hawkeye. All of it produced through Stark Industries.”
Steve’s eyebrows knitted together as he watched the presentation. His lips turning down slightly at the corners. He glanced over at Natasha whose face was stoic, though he could see with the way her shoulders were set, she wasn’t completely sold on the idea either.
“It would include anything from t-shirts, to action figures, to posters, wallets, home décor, anything you can think of, we could place individual or team logos on.” Pepper clicked through renderings of different designs, each one adorned with logos of some sort on them.
“Let’s do it,” Tony replied, slapping his hand on the table. “The Avengers Brand. I can dig it.”
Pepper gave him a small smile before looking towards Bruce. Bruce moved his head from side to side for a moment weighing the options before lifting his shoulder slightly. “If you think people want that.” Pepper nodded before turning towards Natasha and Steve. “Steve? Nat? What are you guys thinking?”
Steve blew out a breath as he crossed his arms over his chest. “It sounds like a money grab.” Tony shot him a look before he elaborated, “I guess I just don’t know why we’d do this. We don’t need the money.” He gestured to Tony across the table. “Tony, you’re like a millionaire.”
Tony held up his finger, “um, billionaire, but…” he shrugged his shoulders.
Steve rolled his eyes, “Sorry, billionaire. My point is, we’ve all got plenty of money. If other people are making Avengers things, why does Stark Industries need to, other than to try to cash in on us.” He looked at Natasha for a minute who was still sitting quietly before turning his attention back to Pepper. “I’m sorry Pepper, it just doesn’t seem right.”
Pepper smiled at him, “I thought you might say that. Which is exactly why I initially denied the idea when it was pitched to me. After running some numbers though, I think I’ve come up with a solution that would appease everyone. “The point of making our own Avengers Brand would be to reach out to the public more. Bridge the gap between you and them. Show the public that you care about them aside from just saving the world every now and then.”
Steve nodded, his frown lines softening slightly as he listened to Pepper talk. “That’s why I’m proposing that the majority of the profits from the Avengers Brand and Avengers Merchandise goes towards charities of your choices. It can be a pre-existing charity, or we can set you up with your own charity. 25% of the proceeds would go towards Stark Industries to keep producing the merchandise. 25% goes towards you for every piece of your own merchandise sold. While 50% goes towards the charity of your choice.”
Natasha lifted an eyebrow slightly. “How do you decide how much goes to each charity?”
“Any Black Widow merchandise sold would go directly to the charity of your choice. Same for anyone else. Avengers Merchandise gets split between all 6 charities. So, for every $20 Black Widow T-Shirt sold, $5 goes to SI, $5 to you, and $10 toward your charity.”
Natasha looked over to Steve who had brought a hand up to his face, his finger resting against his lips, something she knows he does when he’s actively considering something. His eyes moved over to her, lifting his eyebrows.
She turned back to Pepper, folding her arms and placing them on the table. “Tell you what Pep, make it a 30% profit, split 15/15 between SI and us, with 70% going towards the charities and you have yourself a deal.”
Pepper looked at Bruce and Tony who gave their approval before turning back towards Steve and Natasha. “If you guys are in and Clint and Thor agree, you’ve got a deal at 15/15/70.”
Natasha looked to Steve once more and they both nodded. “It’s a deal,” Steve replied.
“Barton won’t have a problem with it. In fact, he’ll be thrilled,” Natasha said as she playfully rolled her eyes.
“And I don’t think you have to worry about Thor. Big guy should be on board,” Tony added.
“Great!” Pepper replied. “I need you all to figure out what charities you want your proceeds to go to. We’ll meet on Monday and I’ll show you all of the prototypes I’ve had made up. We can talk designs and things then.”
Natasha lifted an eyebrow, “So that’s what’s in the boxes. You were really counting on us saying yes, weren’t you?”
Pepper smiled and gave them a wink, “let’s just say I was really hoping you would.”
Steve slumped down on Natasha’s couch with a plate stacked full of pizza. Natasha scrolled through the queue on her TV for Mary Poppins as she nibbled on her own piece of pizza. When she found the movie, she quickly clicked on it before setting it down and settling back into the couch.
The pair watched in silence for around half of the movie and a box and a half of pizza for Steve before either one of them spoke again.
“So, what do you think you’re going to pick for your charity,” Natasha asked, pausing the movie to get up and refill their drinks.
“I was thinking maybe something with the Veteran’s Association. Help guys coming back get settled in again. Get them help. Help fund PTSD research. I don’t know. They do a lot for the guys there, but I’d also like to have a say in how the money is used in the organization.” He looked over to her as she was filling up the drinks. “Make sure it’s being used right. That the guys are benefitting from it. So maybe I’ll end up making my own charity that does those things. No better way to see how the money is being used than to be the owner. I could call it ‘Cap Cares’ or something.” Natasha walked back into the room, an eyebrow raised as she handed his glass to him. He flushed and brought his hand up to the back of his neck. “I don’t know. It’s just an idea.”
She shook her head lightly, “it is a good idea, Steve.”
“Then why are you looking at me like that,” he replied, raising his own eyebrow in challenge.
“I always look at you like this, Rogers,” she teased. When he didn’t relent, she acquiesced. “I was just thinking that you’ve put a lot of thought into it, and it’s nice. You have a big heart, Steve.” He smiled at her, his cheeks flushing slightly again. “If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to take it back.”
Steve laughed, “sorry, just – thank you, Nat.”
She playfully rolled her eyes and bumped him with her shoulder, “yeah, yeah. Don’t mention it.”
He was quiet for a moment, before asking, “what about you? What charity are you going to donate to?” She stiffened nearly imperceptibly, though he immediately noticed. “You don’t have to share if you don’t want to Nat, I was just curious.”
He could see her hesitate, seemingly forcing herself not to let her walls go up. He didn’t push or pry. He was completely willing to accept her refusal and return to their movie. He was even prepared to leave if that was what she really wanted from him. He would do anything to make sure that she felt comfortable.
They’d been partners for well over a year now, and while he was making great strides in getting through her barriers, there were still some that he hadn’t quite broken down. In the beginning she’d been closed off, aside from a few quips here and there, she avoided talking with him about anything other than mission details. That was how it had been for the first month, until one day, after seeing his ever growing list of things to catch up on in the 21st century, she’d shown up at his apartment with enough take-out to feed a small army and a couple of the movies on his list. From there, their friendship had grown. Steve could feel himself ever-so-slightly chipping away at her façade with each movie night, history lesson, sparring session, and mission.
About eight months ago, they were on a mission in northern Russia, when they had gotten snowed in at their safe house up in the mountains. It was nearly a week before the extraction team was able to land within a reasonable distance, which was still a four-mile trek through calf-deep snow. While they were stuck there, her guard had dropped completely. She told him about what it was like growing up as an orphan in Russia, about the Red Room, about the things that she was made to do. He’d reassured her that her past didn’t matter to him, and he was pretty positive she’d actually believed him for once. She wasn’t the only one who had shared, though, he had also shared things with her. He talked to her about his Ma, Bucky, and even Peggy. She was the only person who didn’t look at him with pity when he talked about his past, and he appreciated it. He wasn’t sure what had changed between them during the week, but by the time they made it back to the quinjet, he could tell that something was different.
While they had hung out on a regular basis before, they had become nearly inseparable after. She had never allowed him into her apartment before, which Steve had accepted as a boundary of hers, all of their movie nights taking place at his apartment. However, she started inviting him over to her apartment, with them spending time at one of their apartments nearly never night. When Tony invited them to move into the tower, they’d spoken with each other about it before making final decisions. If nothing else, I won’t have to drive out to Brooklyn to just steal your food, she’d teased. A week later, they were both moved in, her floor located right above his. He was finding more and more that he just wanted to be around her, that he felt comfortable around her. And in his very limited experience, the only other woman who had made him feel that way before was Peggy.
He nearly choked on the thought as he took a sip of his water, his eyes moving back onto Natasha, respectfully waiting for what she was going to say.
“Sorry, I-,” she started, realizing she had been quiet for several minutes.
“Nat, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he repeated.
“No,” she said quickly. “I want to. I just had to-“ she shook her head at herself. “I just needed a minute to collect my thoughts.”
Steve nodded in understanding. “Okay, so what’s your idea then?”
Natasha drew in a breath, fixing her attention on a stray piece of string coming out of her sweatshirt. He nearly smiled seeing her fidget. He’d seen her stay perfectly composed in battle but watched her fidget slightly here now. This time he did smile, knowing that she was only letting him see that because she trusted him. “Do you remember when I told you about how I grew up? About the orphanage and the stuff I went through?” She looked up and met his eyes.
“Yeah, of course I do,” he replied.
“I don’t want anyone to have to go through what I went through. Those places, the people, all of it. When I joined the Red Room, at that point it felt like an escape. The things they asked me to do, didn’t matter because at the end of the day, it seemed better than being at the orphanage,” she paused for a moment, swallowing hard. “I don’t want anyone in the position I was in to have to make that choice. I want to give them a good place to be until they can get adopted.” She shrugged slightly. “I just want to give better than I got and maybe wipe a little bit of the red in my ledger out in the process.”
Steve stayed silent for moment before moving to set his cup on the coffee table. “Rogers, what are you-“ She grunted as she was wrapped tightly in a hug.
“I think it’s a great idea, Nat.” He murmured into the top of her head.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” he replied, pulling back slightly to look at her better. “I think it’s a fantastic idea.” He offered her a bright smile before squeezing her tightly once again.
She laughed into his chest and Steve felt his heart flutter slightly at the sound. When she pulled back, she kept herself wrapped loosely in his arms as she looked at him.
“I was thinking I should probably start small, just get one orphanage up and running the way I want it to. Maybe in Moscow, that’s a big one. There’s a lot of kids in that one. Though obviously the goal will be to eventually get as many as possible.” Her eyes shone as she talked about the different options.
“Romanova house,” he said, with a smile on his face.
Her eyes flashed with something Steve wasn’t sure he’d ever seen on her face before, “what did you say?”
Steve back-tracked, quickly trying to remedy whatever he’d done, “I-uh-sorry. I was just- I meant- I thought you’d want to use your real name. Because it’s in Russia, and I was just throwing name ideas out there. Sorry. That was stupid I shouldn’t have- what’s that thing that Tony says? Never assume, it makes an ass out of both u and me.” He chuckled nervously, his cheeks bright red as he pulled further back from her.
“Steve,” she said as she tangled her hands in the front of his shirt to keep him in place, her voice carrying an unspoken command to stop talking in it. He sheepishly looked over to her and she had a smile on her face. “I love it. It’s perfect.”
“Really?” He asked, visibly relaxing.
“Really.”
He let out a sharp breath, “okay. Okay, good.”
She smiled at him, before turning her attention back to the paused TV screen. “You want to finish this movie?”
He nodded, “yeah, that’d be good.”
He shifted back against the couch as Natasha leaned forward to grab the remote off of the coffee table. Once Natasha had grabbed it, she sat back as well, picking Steve’s arm up from its place on his knee and throwing it around herself before curling into his side. Steve’s breath hitched slightly as she relaxed into him.
“This okay?” She asked, looking up at him from where she was nestled against him.
He cleared his throat and willed his heartrate to calm down as he replied, “yeah.” He gave her shoulder a slight squeeze as well, “yeah, absolutely.”
Her lips turned up slightly as she replied, “good.”
Natasha nuzzled in tighter as the movie played. And if Steve didn’t pay attention to the rest of the movie and instead spent the time contemplating just how often he could sit like this with Natasha, he was perfectly content doing so.