Work Text:
Natasha had always loved photography. No one knew this, of course; it was a hobby that she wanted to keep for herself (and Steve). Which is why they're here on the rooftop of Steve's house, which technically isn't really his because it belongs to his mom, but that's besides the point. Two pairs of feet are dangling just by the edge as they take in the sunset in its full beauty. Knee to knee, elbow to elbow, Natasha couldn't deny how much she enjoyed having these moments with him. Just the two of them together, wrapped up in comfortable silence, warmth, and maybe just a little bit of sexual tension.
"Aren't you gonna take a picture?" Steve inquired, leaning back slightly as he took a gulp of Sprite.
"Well, there's always tomorrow," Natasha replied easily, turning to her right to look at him, "The sun's not going anywhere anyway." She added.
Steve furrowed his eyebrows a bit and nudged her elbow, "You mean we came up here for nothing?"
She squinted slightly at him. "Not exactly for nothing," Natasha said, tapping her fingers against her knee,"I kinda like it here, you know? Besides, don't you enjoy my presence?"
Steve failed to hide the smirk forming at his lips, leaning forward again. He looked at her fondly, thinking of what kind of a fool would not enjoy Natasha's company.
"That's ridiculous, you know I do," He answered lightheartedly, now staring directly at her as Natasha tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear absentmindedly, "I always do."
Natasha was satisfied with his answer. She knew that he enjoyed her company, but nothing compares to hearing him say it to her. She simply shook her head at him with a small smile, turning her attention back to the remaining colors of the sunset, watching the yellows, purples, and pinks turn into a shade of blue. The silence engulfed them again just before she heard the sound of a camera click.
Natasha looked back at Steve as he shifted his attention to his phone, putting up an innocent face.
"What was that for?" Natasha asked, leaning back so that she could take a look at the picture (which was totally not just an excuse to be closer to his face).
Steve looked at her sideways before shrugging and handing over his phone to Natasha. It was a picture of her; hair slightly covering the side of her face with the hues of the sunset spilling over in the background. It was beautiful. She smiled wider as she just looked at him in awe.
"Couldn't decide which one I liked better," He answered, seemingly pleased with her reaction at the photo, "you or the sunset."
"It's gorgeous,"Natasha answered sincerely, genuinely admiring the photo and the thought of having someone take a picture of them. She was used to taking a photo of someone or something else, but being the muse and not the photographer for once felt different. Flattering, even. "You're practically a pro."
Steve playfully scoffed at her and said, "You're just saying that because you feel sorry about my photography skills," He said, taking back his phone and trying to ignore how he shivered as their hands touched, "For all I know you'd be talking about me behind my back about my poor photography."
"Well for starters, the picture looks damn good because it has my face on it," Natasha said, raising a finger as she listed off her answers, "And second, how did you know I talk about you behind your back?"
Steve frowned exaggeratedly and drank the rest of his Sprite, "Hey! I did try my best. I wanted to take a photo of the sunset but your face was in the way. I guess I have to live with it," He answered, faking his disappointment enough to make her laugh, "Besides, where else am I gonna get a view like this?"
As long as the sun exists, a view like this is literally available anywhere, Rogers.
Steve looked at her, his baby blue eyes looking at her adoringly, a happy smile resting on his lips.
Natasha opted to stay quiet, knowing how her sarcasm often resulted to cutting off their moments, which was sometimes good and sometimes not so good. She shifted her attention at how the stars were slowly starting to be more visible, occasionally poking Steve's belly to point out the brightest star to appear.
Steve sighed contentedly beside at her as he looked liked he was trying to come up with a coherent sentence to describe what he wanted to say.
"Hey, Nat."
"Yeah?" She turned to her side to come face to face with him, her green eyes searching for his. He rubbed the back of his neck as his other hand drummed his belly.
"I've always wanted to kiss you." Steve said, a faint blush appearing on the apples of his cheek. His usual confidence was present, but so was his nervousness. Natasha felt her breath hitch in her throat as she tried search for any trace of humor behind his words, but found sincerity instead. Under the moonlight, Steve looked a little more ethereal. Despite the darkness, his eyes shone a little bit brighter, his lips looked... better as well? Natasha had always wondered if his lips were as sweet as she thought it would be. Feeling bolder, she leaned in closer to him, close enough to feel his hot breath mingle with hers.
"Then do it."
Steve licked his lips as he cupped her cheeks and looked at her, as if he couldn't believe this was happening. She smirked at him as her hands found its way behind his neck, feeling him lean closer to connect their lips.
And then they were kissing, tentatively first. She idly stroked the back of his head with her thumb, urging him to deepen the kiss. Steve let out a sound from the back of his throat and didn't waste time as his tongue was against hers. Natasha was in euphoria; all the waiting and anticipating all lead up to this and it was all so damn worth it. Steve tasted even better than what she imagined, his lips softer than how she thought it would be. Everything was somehow better maybe because it was Steve. He always had a way to make things better.
Things were going smoothly until she felt a jolt of pain from her bottom lip and pulled away from him.
Steve grinned sheepishly, the faint blush once again making it's appearance. "I'm sorry I accidentally bit you," He said guiltily, rubbing the back of his neck, "You just felt so right and I-"
Natasha reached her palm up against his cheek to cut off his rambling. "Hey, it's okay."
Steve visibly calmed down a bit as he leaned his face against the inside of her palm,feeling the heat radiate throughout his body. Natasha couldn't do anything else but look at him, not that she was complaining though.
"I'm gonna pretend I didn't see that."
Natasha and Steve both whip their heads toward the direction the voice came from; Natasha immediately pulled her hand away from Steve and draped it lamely on her thigh. Both of them sighing exasperatedly at realizing who the voice belonged to.
"Bucky, what's with you and spying on people?" Steve called out, an embarrassed expression written all over his face. Natasha managed to maintain a poker face after Bucky showed up; she'd been told that she was good at it.
"Spying on people? I thought that was your girlfriend's job?" Bucky replied, a smug grin sitting on his face as he purposely dragged out the word 'girlfriend'.
Steve gave Natasha a brief glance, to which she just shrugged her shoulders in response. Sometimes, silence was the better answer.
"Why are you here then?"
"Oh, you know. I need your notes from psych class so that I can study for tomorrow," Bucky answered easily, casually shoving his hands inside the deep pockets of his dark-washed jeans, "But after what I've witnessed, I think I need bleach more. Something I could use to deep clean my eyeballs with. Does Sarah have one of those?"
Steve playfully rolled his eyes at his friend as he slipped back inside the small window that connected the rooftop and the attic. Bucky and Natasha were patiently waiting in silence, the latter avoiding eye contact. It took a few moments before Steve reemerged, his forehead glistening with a thin layer of sweat. Natasha acted immediately and reached for the handkerchief inside her small handbag, patting the sweat away on Steve's forehead. His eyebrows rose in surprise but recovered quickly, giving her a grateful smile as he let her finish her job. Bucky only groaned again in fake disgust in the background, bringing the couple back to their senses once again.
"Here, catch." Steve said before throwing a green notebook at Bucky, to which he effortlessly caught with one hand.
"Thanks, punk," Bucky replied shoving the notebook inside his gray backpack, "you two can now continue being exhibitionists."
"Bucky!" Steve warned, his cheeks blushing harshly as he sent Bucky a weak glare. Natasha only chuckled beside him and jokingly flipped Bucky off, earning a full on laugh from him.
"Whatever. Take it easy, you two. Always use condoms." Bucky replied before running off, probably to avoid hearing anything Steve had to say back at him.
"Well, that was something." Natasha said, craning her head up to look at Steve, who looked like he was unable to move.
"It was."
"Wanna continue what we started somewhere else?" Natasha teased, a flirty smile sporting her face. If possible, Steve only looked a little bit more smitten than earlier. His eyes slowly gazed down on her figure before offering a hand to pull her up, snaking his arm around her to bring her body closer to him. Natasha traced a line against his jaw and bit her lower lip as she watched his pupils dilate again, wider this time. Steve dipped his head to kiss the junction between her neck and her shoulder; making Natasha shiver against him. He pulled back and looked at Natasha, his eyes gleaming with promise to make up for the time they lost for dancing around their feelings for one another. With a big smile, Natasha let Steve take her by the hand and lead her out of the rooftop.
Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.
.