Steve trying to learn how to cope with Natasha's death after they've defeated Thanos.

Steve had shut down. He hadn't eaten, he hadn't slept, and he hadn't even bothered leaving his room.

Everything just reminded him of her.

When he closed his eyes, all he saw was her.

"See you in a minute."

Those were the words that haunted his every passing moment.

The smile on her lips haunted his dreams.

Her voice echoed in all of his thoughts.

Everything he did just reminded him of her.

And it hurt like hell.

All it did was remind him that she was gone. It reminded him that he had missed his chance.

His chance to tell her how he really felt, that he loved her.

Maybe if she knew it would have been different. Maybe she wouldn't have left if she knew Steve was waiting on her.

He blamed himself. Even if there was no way he could have known.

It could have been anyone. He wished it had been him. Then maybe Natasha would still be here, making everyone's day a little brighter, because that's just what she did.

She was undoubtedly the glue that held the avengers together. Her wit and morality made her irreplaceable to the team.

More then that, she had been the soul of the team. Her jokes kept everything light, and her presence always managed to put the team at ease.

Everything had changed without her. Steve wasn't sure how the others were taking it. He hadn't been outside. He did however, hear Thor's yelling every night when he yelled at the God's to bring her back from the apartment above him.

He had seen the look in Clint's eyes when he had returned. The spark in them, the happiness, it was gone.

He had watched from his balcony as Bruce had pounded a car until it was flat before falling to the ground and sobbing.

Steve could hear Tony's voice crack every morning when he offered him food. He could hear the hurt, the pain.

Everyone was suffering.

Steve heard a knock at his door and sighed.

"Hey Cap. I know you don't want to come out, but there's food out here. I also have something for you. We found some of Nat's stuff and I put together a box of things I thought you might want. It's out here if you want it...anyways. I'll be in the common room like always if you need something." Tony said and Steve listened as his footsteps disappeared down the hall.

When Steve was sure that no one was outside, he opened the door and brought in the box.

His heart was beating a million times per minute as he set it down on his bed and glared at it.

This felt wrong. If Natasha was here, she would kill all of them for going through her things.

He pushed aside his thoughts and opened the box. It didn't contain many items.

The first thing he noticed was her phone. He picked it up and noticed a sticky note on the back of it.

It was Tony's handwriting and it told him the password.

Steve opened her phone and stared solemnly at the home screen photo. It was taken probably three months before the first snap.

It was of her and Steve on a plane together. It was back when they had been on the run and Steve vividly remembered that moment.

It had been the first time he smiled in a while.

Now, the memory brought tears to his eyes.

Steve went to Natasha's camera roll and looked through more pictures of them.

She had a common hobby of taking pictures with him every time she got bored, not that he had minded.

Steve put Natasha's phone back down and picked up the next item in the box. It was the pair of glasses he had worn when they were tracking down Bucky in an Apple store.

He couldn't help but force a laugh at the memory.

"Yeah, you guys are practically twins."

The next thing he pulled from the box was the world war 2 veteran hat she had bought for him during that same mission.

Steve remembered her laughing as she handed it to him, she had thought it was hilarious, so naturally he had too.

Echos of her laughter flooded his thoughts and his heart clenched in pain.

The next and final item was a framed photo.

It had been a picture of all of the avengers.

The six of them were standing on the Avengers Tower and had been told to just act natural.

Thor, Bruce, and Tony had all looked at each other and started making jokes. Clint had cast his signature smoulder into the camera. Steve had whispered a joke in Natasha's ear and she had thrown her head back in laughter. In the picture, Steve had been looking at Natasha like she was the only thing in the world.

In that moment he knew.

He knew that even though he had never told her that he loved her, she knew.

He knew that all of the moments that had passed between them were enough to make her realize just how much he cared for her.

And most of all he knew that even if he had told Natasha about his feelings, it wouldn't have changed anything, because Natasha was a hero.

She would do anything to save the people she loved, her family.

Wiping a tear from his cheek, Steve set the photo down on his bedside table and laid back on his bed.

Her voice rang in his ears.

"Kiss me."

"I owe you."

"I only act like I know everything Rogers."

"I used to have nothing...then I got this family."

Steve squeezed his eyes shut and wiped the remaining tears from his eyes.

Slowly, he stood up and walked out of the room, joining Tony in the common room.

So, again. Two updates in one night. Also, at the beginning I was wrong, this was not really short. I just kind of went on and on lol.

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