Requested by ROMANOFFWARRIOR, Steve is taskmaster after being forced into it.

It had only been a few weeks since Natasha had arrived in Russia...to say she had to take care of some shit from her past was an understatement. 

She had been working on shutting down the Red Room and it was far from an easy task. Luckily, she had her family with her. The people who had been there before the Avengers. 

With them helping her, Natasha really thought that they'd be done fighting within a few days and then she'd be able to go join Steve and Sam on the run. 

She had sent Sam a text right before leaving and telling him to keep her updated with the burner phone she always carried and he had, letting her know every few days when they moved to a new place.

Last she had heard they were in Paris. 

She had hoped that maybe she could join them there.

Of course, fate wasn't in her favor and just as she had gotten close to finishing the Red Room, they brought in someone called the Taskmaster. 

He was another super-soldier but he somehow had the ability to watch someone fight once and then use their fighting skill set as though it was his own. 

The first time she had seen him, she had frozen up. He was carrying a shield, and she'd be damned if he didn't look exactly like Steve. They were the same height, the same build, and fought the same...of course, that could have just been his adaptive skills but still. 

She had nearly gotten herself killed because of the slight moment of hesitation. 

After barely escaping the battle with a bloody lip and numerous cuts all over her, Natasha had Yelena tell her everything she knew about him. 

Surprisingly, she had never actually heard of him existing. Just of plans to inject someone with a serum to give him those capabilities. 

"So you think they just did it?" Natasha asked, driving as quickly as she could down the highway to try and get to a safe house. 

Yelena shrugged, "If I had to guess, I'd say this is their last resort. I don't know how they did it though. Last I heard, they needed to inject someone who was already enhanced and even then, the effects would only be temporary."

Natasha frowned, Steve was already enhanced.

"They don't need this guy to last long. They just need him to kill us," she said, not taking her eyes off the road. 

Yelena nodded, "Fair point." 

Natasha suspected Yelena was about to say something sarcastic about her driving but before she got the chance, their car was hit by some sort of grenade and they were flipping, landing off road. 

"Fuck," Natasha whispered, noticing that Yelena was out cold, she grabbed her gun and aimed it out of her broken window.

She looked at the Taskmaster and had to collect herself quickly. He still had that shield. 

He threw it towards Natasha and she quickly rolled out of the car, reaching back to grab the shield before firing a few shots at him. 

The taskmaster pressed some button on his suit and the shield was instantly returned to him, dragging Natasha with it, she loosened her hand just as it reached him and threw a punch at his jaw, landing it enough to loosen his mask. 

"Who are you?" She growled as he grabbed her wrist and pushed her away. 

He stayed silent and threw his shield at Natasha again, this time knocking her backwards a bit. 

Natasha grunted in pain and tried to think back to what she would do when she sparred Steve. 

She threw the shield at his legs and smirked a little when he wasn't quick enough to catch it and came crashing to the ground. 

Not dwelling on her small victory, Natasha ran to the Taskmaster and shot him with her widow bite, making him immobile just long enough for her to pin him down without risk of being thrown off. 

"I'm not gonna ask you again," she threatened, "Who are you?" 

He fought to get away from her so Natasha tazed him again, this time simply ripping the mask from his face. 

Her breath hitched and her grip faded, "Steve?"

Steve used her moment of hesitation to his advantage and threw her off of him, "Who the hell is Steve?"

Natasha couldn't breath but she knew if she didn't keep fighting, he'd kill her. 

He threw his shield at her again and Natasha moved out of the way, not even bothering to raise her gun, "Come on Steve, it's me. It's Natasha. I'm your partner." 

Steve shook his head, "No, you're my mission." 

He ran at Natasha and she barely had time to raise her arms to block his punch. 

"I won't fight you Steve," She whispered, ducking another one of his punches. 

Steve didn't even acknowledge her statement, opting instead to land a cheap blow to her gut. 

Natasha fell to her knees and caught his fist as he threw a punch at her head. 

Suddenly, a shot fired and Steve grunted in pain, falling to the ground in front of Natasha, whose eyes darted to Yelena. 

Now she was standing ten yards away and aiming a gun at Steve's side. 

"Shit," Natasha whispered, quickly applying pressure to his wound. 

Yelena ran over to her, "Natasha what the hell are you doing?" 

She shook her head, "I know him. He's not a willing volunteer Yelena. He's been brainwashed. We have to get him to the safe-house. I have to help him."

Yelena knew better then to argue and instead, shook her head and moved to help Natasha lift him up.

"How are we going to get to the safe-house? Your friend just blew up our car." 

Natasha looked around, spotting a car off in the distance, "There. We can hot-wire it and take it to the safe-house from there."

Yelena nodded and they quickly walked towards the car. Natasha couldn't take her eyes off Steve, he was unconscious and she was worried that Yelena had hit a major artery. 

"You drive," Natasha mumbled, "I need to stabilize him."

Yelena did as she said and watched in the rear view mirror as Natasha ripped the top of Steve's uniform so that she could get a better look at the wound. 

She applied more pressure and checked to make sure his pulse was still there. 

"You love him don't you?" Yelena asked as she noticed the worry written all over Natasha's face. 

Natasha sighed, "I don't know how I feel about him. But I know I can't lose him."

Yelena nodded and sped up, trying to help in the only way she could.

They arrived at the safe-house and Natasha had managed to do a shitty job at stitching his wound with the mini first aid kit she always had with her, although she still needed to find something to wrap it with. 

She and Yelena carried him inside and Natasha asked Yelena to cook while she brought Steve up to a bedroom. She unzipped her suit and removed the thin tank top she always wore underneath just in case of an event like this.

Quickly wrapping it around his wound, she couldn't help but be relieved when Steve's eyes began to flutter open. 

Her relief faded quickly though, because before she could open her mouth, Steve's hand was wrapped around her throat and he flipped them over so Natasha was pinned beneath him. 

"Why did you save me?" He growled.

Natasha's hands flew to her neck and she tried to pry his away, "Steve please, you know me. We're partners Steve. You're my best friend," She choked out, tears building in her eyes.

His grip loosened but he didn't let go, "I don't know you," He whispered, not sounding completely convinced. 

"Yes, you do. You know everything about me Steve. We watch movies together, the ones that you missed while you were in the ice," She whispered, still struggling for air, "Your best friend is Bucky Barnes and your mothers name is Sarah Rogers. You told me once, that if you ever had a child, you'd name it after them. James for a boy and Sarah for a girl." 

Steve seemed to hesitate more so Natasha kept going, "You're the only guy I know who follows his heart no matter what everyone else is saying. Do that now Steve. You know I'm telling the truth."

Steve stared into her eyes and all the sudden, withdrew his hand and jumped away from Natasha, his eyes widening in fear and shock.

"Oh my god," He whispered, limping away from the bed.

Natasha tried to not make a big show of catching her breath as she stumbled up and came towards him, "Steve I'm okay."

He shook his head, staring at his hand, "I almost killed you Natasha."

She shook her head, "No you didn't Steve. I'm okay, look at me," She grabbed his chin lifting it up so his gaze was on her face rather then his hand.

His eyes were watery and Natasha could tell he was overrun with guilt. 

"I'm still breathing Steve, and I don't blame you. You didn't have any control," She whispered. 

Steve shook his head, "I still did it Natasha. I was somewhere in there and I couldn't control it." 

Natasha let her hands fall to his cheeks as she brushed a stray tear away, "I know Steve. Believe me, I do. I've been there and you can't blame yourself. You didn't blame Bucky, and you've told me a thousand times to not let myself dwell on what I did in the past...now I'm telling you the same thing." 

Steve looked down at Natasha's neck and frowned at the red hand prints. She grabbed his chin again and shook his head, "Don't."

"I hurt you Natasha," He whispered.

She shook her head, "I don't care, now come sit down so I can make sure you don't bleed out."

Steve did as she said and sat down on the bed, watching Natasha carefully as she sat down besides him and examined his wound. 

"How long have you been under their control?" Natasha asked softly. 

Steve shook his head, "Only a few days. Last thing I remember, Sam and I were in Paris and I went to go get some food and they cornered me in an alleyway. They injected me with something and everything went dark. I don't even know how to describe how I felt when they were controlling me."

Natasha sighed, looking up at Steve and frowning, "I'm sorry. They came to you because of me. I should've known they'd figure it out."

Steve frowned, "Figure what out?"

Looking up, Natasha frowned, staring into Steve's eyes as she tried to decide how to phrase it, "My weakness."

Steve raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" 

"I mean that they figured out that you're the one person who I would never kill. They knew I'd let you kill me if it came down to it," She whispered. 

Steve frowned, "Why?"

She sighed, "Because I think I'm in love with you."

Steve's eyes quickly found hers and he managed a small smile, "You do?"

Natasha chuckled dryly, "You think I'd lie about that?"

Steve shook his head, brushing a piece of hair from Natasha's face, "I love you too."

Natasha smiled and leaned to kiss him softly, bringing her hand up to his face. 

She probably would have deepened the kiss but before she was able to, the door opened and Yelena cleared her throat. 

"I made soup," She said, bringing the two apart quickly. 

Steve blushed and Natasha smirked, standing up and grabbing Steve's hand.

"You up to help us out?" She asked.

Steve smiled, "Why not?"

Hey guys. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I know there is a possibility for a part two but I don't think I'll do one simply because it wouldn't be for another fifty or so chapters and by then it hardly seems worth it. 

Like always, I hope you all enjoyed this and if you did, please comment and vote!