Steve POV

Nat was in the shower when I came back in. I decided that I wouldn't stay. Although I wanted to, I didn't trust that nothing would happen tonight and I'm not referring to sex. The last couple months my night terrors have come back. They are more prominent than before and although we've fallen asleep a few times, I don't want to risk it. I know it's silly, but I don't want to scare her off, I mean what grown man has nightmares? It's embarrassing. I figured I'd slip out since she was in the shower and send her a quick text letting her know that I couldn't stay. I know its a coward move but if I saw her face, I'd be more prone to stay. It was around 10:45 when I got home with Dodger greeting me happily. I had to admit, I did miss the little guy. I checked my phone to see if Nat texted me back but she hadn't. Assuming she went to bed, I followed suit. I dropped my phone on the nightstand next to my bed. I smiled as I thought about the events of tonight. I really did have a great night with her. I immediately started thinking about the next date. I went to bed happily for the first time in a while.

The Next Morning..

Another day, another dollar. It was a new week and Mondays were never my favorite. I skipped my morning run and just got ready. In no time, i found myself walking up the steps of the station. I pulled out my phone to call Nat before I went in but I didn't get an answer. She was probably still getting ready for work. My thoughts drifted to her as I entered the squad room, the thought of her suddenly made my morning somewhat happier.

"Good Morning Captain." Sharon said in her normal chipper voice.

"Good Morning Sharon." I smile matching her energy. "Any messages?" I ask entering my office with her trailing behind. "Nope. You have an empty morning so far. Need any coffee?"

"That'd be great, thank you." I plopped in my brown leather office chair.

"Alright, I'll be back in jiffy." She turned on her heels leaving me to the mountain of paper work on my desk. There were three cases that I needed to focus on. A 12-year-old kid who got caught up with some older kids. He was supposed go to Juvie for 2 years for the gang banging. Another kid, was a 16-year-old girl who was involved with a 25 year old man. I needed to get her into counseling and the man behind bars. There's just something about it that makes my skin crawl. The last case was Nat's. She identified the men involved and I needed the DA to work out a plea deal. Hopefully they could get 15 years but knowing how deep their pockets were made me think they may get less than that. I called Carisi who was a former cop turned lawyer. He would be the one pulling the case this time.

"Hey Carisi, how you doing?" I said into the phone.

"I'm good Rogers. Working as per usual. What's up?" His thick Long Island accent coming through the phone.

"The Romanoff case. The two men. You gonna work out a deal or you taking it to court?"

"Eh I still don't know yet. They're not turning on each other and all we have is the witness testimony. It's their word against hers. We weren't able to find any DNA or anything at the scene so I'll try to side-rail them if I can but if not we might have to take it to trial."

"Alright. Let's try to get them to turn. The last thing Ms. Romanoff needs is to let this thing get public." I leaned back hoping for the best. Suddenly, a new weight was put on my shoulders.

"I hear you loud and clear Cap. I'll let you know when I have more details."

"Thanks Carisi."

"Alright Chau"

I hung up and rested my head between my hands. Damn this was gonna get a little complicated. "Looks like I brought the coffee just in time." I heard Sharons light voice.

"Yea tell me about it." I reach out to drink the pipping hot coffee. Instantly the hazelnut calmed my senses.

"Is it about a case?" She said sitting across from me.

"Yea the Romanoff case. It might have to go to trial if we can't get these guys to flip on each other." My eyes glancing over to her.

"Well she identified them so it would be a slam dunk anyway whether you went to trial or not." Her head tilted as she spoke.

"It's more so about trying to protect the victim. Last thing anybody wants to do is be in court and have to explain how they were almost raped and attacked on their way home."

"Yes that's true. Well if you need me let know." She said standing up.

"Will do. Thank you Sharon." I threw her a soft smile.

"No problem. I'm here if you need anything else." She turned out and left adding a little more sway to her hips than usual.

I thought about whether I should call Nat and let her know about her case. I didn't want to call again since I just called not too long ago. I'd check on her later today before I leave. I downed the rest of my coffee before rubbing my hands together and began digging into the files.

30 minutes later, Sam walked in.

"What's going on?" His deep voice resonating through my small 8x10 office.

"Hey man, nothing, just going through this crap." I gestured to the paperwork laying sloppily on my desk.

"How'd last night go?" He asked sitting across from me.

"It went good. She loved it." A smile dancing across my face. "Thank your brother for me please."

"I'm glad, so what happened after? Did you guys fondue?" He grinned raising his eyebrows up and down.

"No Sam. I don't want to yet. I want to make sure she's emotionally ready. She wants to but I just want to wait."

"How do you know she's not?"

"How can she be? The attack happened and isn't even settled yet. I don't think she would even know if she's emotionally ready for that yet."

"Well on the leading authority of waiting too long, Don't. And Don't underestimate her either. She's stronger than you give her credit for."

"I won't. She wanted me to spend the night last night but I didn't. I just went home."

"You kidding me right? You had the perfect date and you didn't at least stay for a night cap? How she take that?" Sam asked looking at me incredulously.

"Well um..i kinda left while she was in the shower." I rubbed the back of my neck looking away. "I sent her text when i was in the car but she didn't respond and haven't talked to her since."

"Damn man, you fucked up." He pursed his lips, shaking his head.

"What do you mean? I let her know i would leave. She won't be mad, at least not too mad, right?" My heart started beating faster at his tone.

"She invites you inside, is comfortably enough to take a shower while you're there and instead of you telling her you're leaving. You dip on her without so much as a goodbye. You could've at least said it to her face. What the hell happened?"

"I knew if I saw her I wouldn't be able to leave Sam. She's amazing and I didn't want to scare her with my night terrors. That wouldn't exactly be the perfect ending to a first date." I roll my eyes leaning back.

"And you think your ending was?"

"Look I'll call her again and see if she's ok. I'm not gonna worry, at least not yet." I brushed off his annoyed facial expressions silently praying I'm right.

"You called her already?"

"Yea she didn't answer." I heard how that sounded and wondered if maybe I did make the wrong choice. It had been so long since I've been with a woman, I hope i didn't mess this up already.

"Well I wish you the best of luck. If Maria tells me anything, I'll be sure to let you know."

"Alright thanks Sam."

He left and I marinated on what he said. Hopefully he has no idea what he's talking about because the last thing I want to do is explain to Nat why I jetted on her.

Hours passed and I figured I'd give her a call to discuss the case and the possibility of trial. It rang five times before I was cut off by her voice. 

Hey it's Natasha. Sorry I can't get to the phone right but if you leave your name and a number. I'll give you a call back. Bye!

"Hey Natasha. It's Steve. I wanted to talk to you about your case. You can just call the station to get filled in. Alright Bye." Damn maybe she really was upset. Normally she would text me if I can't talk to her but I still haven't gotten a message. I glanced at the time and it was going on 1. I decided to take my lunch break. I went to a nearby Chinese Spot. I ate there and thought of ways to make it up to Nat. I had a couple ideas but eventually just settled for explaining what was going on. I mean if she could open up to me, I shouldn't exactly hide what was going on with me, especially if I like her as much as I do.

I went back to the station and could hear Sharon on the phone.

"Ok. We will give you a call if things change. The ADA will contact you if there's anything he needs from you...You're welcome...Bye." Sharon hung up and looked at me. "Oh Captain, hello."

"Hey, who was that?" I stood in the doorway of my office looking at her.

"Ms. Romanoff. She wanted an update on her case." My heart raced, why didn't she call me. "I let her know the information I had and told her the ADA on the case would let her know more details."

"Oh um ok. Well if she calls back, you can transfer her through to me."

"She actually didn't want to talk to you Captain. Said that she'd rather I just give her the information."

"Oh ok well that's fine too." I grimaced and stalked into my office, shutting the door. Fuck. I did mess up. I had made a dent in my work so I left to the workout room in the basement of the precinct. They implemented a workout room in hoping it would allow cops to blow off any additional steam rather than taking it out on people who didn't deserve it in the field. I changed into my spare clothes I kept in the metal lockers and started working on the punching bag. Each hit I felt myself get more and more upset. I was frustrated, not even mad. This was bullshit. It's crazy how one of my days started out so good, turned out so bad.

I felt the sweat drop down my forehead as I punched the bag over and over. Harder and harder. The sounds of my fist hitting the ripped leather filled the room. I could no longer hear the footsteps of the other men above. My mind kept racing until I destroyed it. I quickly replaced it with the spare we kept in storage. I washed up and changed my clothes. By the time I left and went back upstairs it was 4. I sat at my desk to check any messages and finish up some paperwork. I didn't know if I should call Nat to talk to her or if i should just let it be. I know that she didn't want to talk to me anymore but I was hoping my persistence wouldn't do more harm than good. I opted to not call and just focus. Give it some time and see....

Nat POV

I woke up feeling a sense of heaviness. I checked my phone and saw a text from Wanda asking how the date went. I rolled my eyes before quickly responding "good and bad. I think I messed up."

I threw my phone down and got ready for work. As I put in my earrings, I noticed I had a call from Steve. I missed it but somehow felt it was better to just not talk. The last thing I want him to do is dump me over the phone. I sighed and made my way to work. Monday's were always the slowest at school. I walked into my classroom and saw Maria sitting with Clint at my desk.

"Good Morning Guys." I said dryly.

"Good Morning Nat." They said at the same time, sounding rehearsed. They looked mischievously.

"Whats going on you two?" I eye them.

"Oh nothing, just wanted to see how you were doing?" Maria said resting her chin on her hand, leaning against my desk.

"Well things are going good. Kinda I think. I don't know at this point." I sigh putting my red Chanel bag down.

"What happened?" Clint asked sitting up.

"Well as you know I've been seeing the cop from the attack, Steve. We have been spending so much time together and yesterday we had our first date. It was beautiful. Movie in Prospect Park. Russian and American snacks on a blanket and everything. It was so romantic. But then after we went back to my place a—"

"Oooo you guys had sex? It was bad huh?" Maria asked cutting me off.

"No not exactly..." I explain as I was to my nearest cushioned seat.  "I asked him to come inside and he was hesitant and I could tell so I told him never mind, but he told me that he wanted to. Sooo we go inside and go to my bedroom. At this point the tension in there is super thick and I can't even look at him, so I tell him I have some clothes if he wants to sleep in them or his boxers, whatever he's comfortable with. Wrong move. He just tells me he has clothes in his car and goes out, so when he leaves I hop in the shower and when I come out he's gone. I look for him but nada. He texts me and says he went home and he had a goodnight. Now I feel like an idiot for even being so suggestive especially since we haven't done the deed." I let out a frustrated sigh a plop on my desk.

"Damn Tasha. That's....a lot. You haven't talked to him since?"

"No, he called but I missed it. I'm kinda glad too, I'd rather not get dumped after the first date."

"Tasha, you don't even know if that's the reason for the call." Clint pointed out. I just shook my head. "I don't know what else it could be. Oh Hey Nat, Sorry I ran out last night. I just couldn't bare the thought of actually having to lay in the bed with you." I say imitating Steve. "Please, spare me the pain." I say rolling my eyes.1

"Or it could be a better explanation as to why he left." Maria suggested. "He seems like a nice enough guy, I don't think he would have put all that effort into a date for him to just dump you the next day."

"I guess. I don't know guys. I'll see. In the meantime, I need to prepare for the rascals, the bell is gonna ring in a few so shoo shoo." I motioned with my hands for them to leave.

"Fine, but you better call him" Maria called out pointing her finger at me

"I'll think about it." I said smiling as they left.

In no time, kids began to file into my classroom. I greeted them and began to teach after they got settled. I went over their homework from the previous day. Then gave them a pop quiz in geography before the lunch bell rang. While they tested, I checked my phone to put on the timer and saw a missed call from Steve.

I stepped into the hall to listen to the message. Hey Natasha. It's Steve. I wanted to talk to you about your case. You can just call the station to get filled in. Alright Bye.

My heart dropped as the message finished. Not only is my little nickname gone but he doesn't even want to talk to me directly. He knows I have class so I can't answer. Then he tells me to call the station and get an update instead of him? Any other time, he has the updates waiting for me by the time I see him. I guess he's just trying to revert back to being the professional he is. The timer blared signaling the end of the quiz. I went back inside tucking my phone away. I dismissed my class for lunch and collected their quizzes. As the last child left, I figured this would be the prefect time to call the station.

"Hello this is the Bronx PD; Captain Rogers office." I heard a familiar voice.

"Hi this is Natasha Romanoff. I'm here for an update on my case."

"Ok. Do you want me to transfer you to Captain Rogers?"

"Um no that's fine. I'd rather you just tell me now." I said remembering his voicemail.

"Ok, well as you know the men in charge of the attack were caught, however we may need to take it to court and in order to do so, you'll have to testify."

"Oh..um.. Are you sure thats necessary?" I bit my lip in worry.

"It's a strong possibility at the moment." I felt my nerves act up. I didn't want to go to court. The last thing I needed was to be in the middle of a criminal proceeding. I've tried to keep a low profile so far and I can't let myself get caught in trouble with all this.

"Is it possible to avoid all that? I really can't deal with testifying..." I silently prayed for another way out.

"You could drop the charges."

"Um ok Thanks. I'll...I'll just do that." I reply meekly. My voice shaking from the tears that were threatening to erupt at any moment. I didn't want to drop the charges but I can't deal with a problem this monumental. 

"Ok. We will give you a call if things change. The ADA will contact you if there's anything he needs from you."

"Thank you so much."

"Your welcome."

"Alright Bye."

"Bye." I rested my head between my hands as the tears trickled down my face. How could a matter of 24 hours change my life so drastically? I was closing on the biggest deal of my life and now I have to let my attackers go free. I felt a panic attack begin to set in. My tears were full fledged and my make-up was definitely ruined. I could feel the droplets on my hands as I looked down. I can't afford to let this ruin my present and future, especially with the ballet studio opening soon. Just when I thought I could move on and have my closure, I'm thrown a curveball. Why did my life have to be so damn unfortunate? Every time I leave the studio, I'll have to look over my shoulder all the way home in hopes of making it back safe. Will the men recognize me? Will they want revenge because who else could've put them behind bars? My body  trembled and my leg bounced up and down as the sobs erupted from my throat. I tried to wipe my tears but it seemed like they were an endless stream. I heard the door open and saw Clint and Maria enter. Clint was the first to reach me.

"Tasha what happened? What's wrong?" He asked kneeling in front of me with his hands lightly grasping my wrist.

"I..I..I can't press charges on them." I sputter out.

"What? Why not?" He asked concerned.

"because I'll have to testify and I can't. If anybody finds out who I am.." I shake my head not wanting to finish. "If they know...It..it will be a mess. The paps will find me and my life won't be the same." I say glancing between my two friends. "I just finished the studio yesterday and the last thing I need is bad publicity. I don't want people to feel unsafe coming there. It'll be better if I drop it and just let it go." I felt defeated. I wiped my tears that were finally beginning to slow down.

"Oh Tash. You don't have to drop the charges. I am sure you can work something out. They can protect you. You have to put them away. Lord knows what could happen if you don't." Maria said finally speaking up, while gently rubbing my back.

"I cant. You guys don't know what it's like." I looked up at her." to constantly be under the eye of the media and constantly under scrutiny. I've dealt with that. It's too much for me now. It's just not worth it, ok?"

"What did Steve have to say about it?" Clint asked.

"I didn't find out from him." I roll my eyes sniffling. "His assistant told me.You know the one I told you about. He called but I missed it because of work and his message told me to call the station to get an update about the case. It was so impersonal. I just feel like everything is crumbling." I felt myself getting worked up again as more tears shed. A knock interrupted us and I tried to pull myself together. It was Principal Fury.

"Ms. Romanoff I need to talk to you." His voice commanding attention. The moment he saw me his voice dropped and a look of concern was etched onto his face. "Are you okay?" He asked walking over to me.

"It's fine. Nothing really." I tried to convince him with a hollow smile.

"Maybe you should take some time. The day is pretty much over and you know the kids will ask a bunch of questions. I'll have someone come in and watch your class." He said taking in my disheveled appearance.

"Thank you sir. What was it you needed?"

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to help with creatives night next week." Creatives night was a night for all the students to display any art work or creative pieces and display it for friends and family. It was like a gallery.

"Um..yea I'll be able to help. No problem." I assured him, sniffling the snot that dared to slip from my nose.

"Alright. You can go now. I'll take care of your room." He dismissed.

"Thanks." I gave him a weak smile. I felt embarrassed. Now I can't even hold my job together. "and thanks you guys." I looked over to Maria and Clint. "I'm going to rest for the day. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Ok. Let us know if you need anything and we will come." Maria said.

"I will." I gathered my materials and purse before saying final goodbyes and making my way home....

Steve POV

I heard raised voices as I looked through the documents on my computer. It was almost time to go and it was too late to deal with unwarranted drama. I would've ignored it but the mention of my friends name peeked my attention.

"Are you kidding me Sam? She's dropping the charges after what they did to her! She couldn't even stay the full day at work, she's a mess." I got up from my desk and left the office, searching for the source of the yelling. I noticed a woman inches from Sam, waving around angrily.

"Hey, you guys alright out here?" I looked between Sam and the brunette, Maria, who I remembered from the double date many nights ago.

"Do we look ok?" Maria questioned with her voice still raised.

"Look Maria. I'll figure out what's going on. I'm just finding out ok? I don't know why she doesn't want to pursue it, but I'll check with the ADA about what can be done." Sam assured his girlfriend before turning his attention to me. I glanced at Sam questionably.  "Steve. Maybe you can help. Na—"

"I think he's done enough already." Maria cut in, with her arms crossed across her chest.

"What do you mean by that?" I challenged.

"I mean you leaving her alone yesterday without so much as a damn goodbye. Just a text. Now she's going through this bullshit ALONE and you don't even have the decency to tell her what the hell is going on with her case. You use your damn assistant to do that for you." Maria fumed as she stepped towards me. It dawned on me that she was speaking of Nat. The pieces fell together and the confusion set in.

"What are you talking about dropping charges?" I ask hopping for a straight answer.

"She's not charging the guys anymore for her attack. She wants to drop it. Something about her having to testify." Sam cut in.

"But that's not a large chance." I reasoned. "The ADA is still trying to flip them without her. She doesn't have to testify if she doesn't want to, but dropping the charges all together is unnecessary." I reply trying to make sense of the new information that has been given to me.

"Well apparently, she was told there was no other way to avoid testifying." Maria said. I looked over at Sharon who was working on the computer pretending not to notice.

"Sharon." I bellowed. " Come here please." I watched as she got up and made her way over to us, fidgeting her fingers ever so slightly.  "What happened when you were on the phone with Ms. Romanoff? Did you tell her that the only way to avoid testifying was to drop the charges?"

"Well not in those exact words but maybe thats what she took away." She said biting her lip nervously.

"Why would you do that? Huh? Thats not your place to say. Dammit."  I was livid. I ran my fingers through my hair. "Look I'll go over and talk to her and explain the situation." I said focusing my attention on Maria.  "And we will discuss this later." I voiced to Sharon. "I'm sorry Maria. I'll straighten this out now."

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Nat." I nodded turning on my heels wasting no time going over to Natasha's house. 

Knock. Knock. Knock.

I could hear shuffling from the other side of the door and the locks turning. Her emerald eyes met mine. They were red and puffy. The evidence of crying. "Hello." Her raspy voice brought me out of my head. "Hey.." Unsure of what to say. In a matter of 24 hours, our relationship had felt like it changed.

"What are you doing here?" Her question was simple but there was so much meaning behind it.  I could tell she had a lot on her mind.

"You're dropping the charges." She scoffed at my response and rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I am. So that's why you're here?" Half her face still masked by the door.

"Um Yea. I wanted to see what changed."

"I don't see why? You should be happy. I'm lightening your load right?" The sarcasm dripped from her words. Her eyes not meeting mine.

"Nat it's not about that." I sigh, stepping closer to the half opened door.

"Oh I'm Nat now. Great." Her green eyes rolling.

"Please talk to me. What's going on? Can I come in?" Still pointing out the fact that I'm still in the hall.

"Why? There's really nothing to discuss. I'm dropping the charges and I don't plan on changing my mind." She tries to close the door but I shoot my hand out blocking it.

"Nat. You don't need to do that." I say pushing myself through to pass her. "The case is important and it will do more harm than good to drop the charges." I spun around to face her while she slammed the door shut.

"More harm for me or YOU?" Her head whipping in my direction, the anger evident on her face. Tears dripping down while she quickly tries to wipe them away. "Do you have any idea how that will affect me? Not only do I have to relive that night but I also have to worry about tabloids, paparazzi, my life here could be drug through the mud. Everyone will know where and who I am. I don't need that and the fact that you can't understand that says more about you than me." Her voice dropping down to almost a whisper. "But it's not like I expect you to care." She shook her head and walked towards her bedroom.

"What's that supposed to mean? Why would you think that I wouldn't? I care about you and I thought last night showed that." I said following her into her room. The rich red walls enveloping me.

"Oh yea like when you left without a word right?" She said turning to face me. Her chest heaved up and down as she stood in front of me. She quickly turned around as her tears began to fill her eyes again. "Forget it, I can't exactly blame you for that. I pushed. I'm sorry." She sounded defeated. She moved to sit on the bed and wiped her eyes.

"Nat I didn't mean to leave. I ju—"

"Yes you did." She spoke softly, her voice cracking. "I pushed you too much. You didn't even want to talk to me today. Would you have even came had you not heard that I dropped the charges?" Her eyes finally meeting mine.

"Of course Nat. I called you and you didn't answer. I called twice." I quickly sat next to her.

"I was getting ready for work and at work.... Then when I heard your message it was so impersonal I figured you just wanted to keep things strictly professional. I had to talk to Sharon about my case. Not you. It hurt. I should've never pushed last night and I'm sorry for that." Her gaze falling to her hands.

"Nat, I thought you were upset with me because I left. That's why I called the first time, not to stop seeing you. You hadn't responded to my text or my phone call so I figured you were done with me. I loved spending time with you, I could never be upset with you. I'm just concerned Nat."

"Then why did you leave?" Her voice breaking as we stared at each other.

I blew out a puff of air, shifting my attention to a vacant space on the wall in front of me. I rubbed my thighs, hoping that would soothe my nerves. "Over the last year,I.. I've had to deal with... nightmares. They get bad, I wake up in cold sweats and scream in my sleep. I..I didn't want you to see me like that. It's embarrassing, so I left. I know I should've just explained it last night, but I was....afraid..of how you'd view me." I felt relieved that my secret was now out. "Nat, I like you and I didn't want the night to end badly. I'm sorry." I finally turned to look at her.

"Oh Steve. That's nothing to be ashamed about. I would've understood." I thought I would see disgust in her eyes but all I saw was understanding. She looked at me with nothing but affection and love.

"I find that hard to believe." I shake my head and chuckle.

She placed her hand on my wrist, pulling my attention towards her. "I used to get them. After Alexei and I split, I had them for months and months. It took a long time for them finally stop. I rarely get them now, so yea I understand and I would never judge you for that." She said firmly.

"Thank you. I just didn't want to risk losing you from that."

"You would never lose me..." Her hand going up to my chin."I thought you didn't want me because I was moving too fast."

"No, no, no of course not. I would've loved to spend the night with you. You're amazing and I'm trying my best not to mess anything up. I told you I'm not good with women." I smirk at her.

"You could never mess up with me." She hugged me tight and I never felt better.

"Does this mean we're ok?" I ask as I nestle my head into her neck.

She pulled back to look at me. "We're better than ok."

"Well if that's the case, I would love to make it up to you tonight. Maybe I could spend the night. We can talk some more and make up for all the craziness today." I smiled at her hoping she would say yes.

"I'd love that, but only if you really want to."

"Well I really." kiss. "really" kiss "want to." I kissed her between each word.

"Then you got yourself a date Captain." She kissed me back and I could feel the passion. Her soft lips moved with a swiftness. Her tongue darted into my mouth which I gladly took. It was warm and velvety. Her mouth tasted sweet like strawberries and I couldn't help but groan as her hands traveled down my chest. My arm wrapped around her back while I gently used my body to lean her back against the king sized bed. I hovered over her while her fingers ran through my hair. "I really did miss you today." I heard her murmur from under me. "Me too baby."  I heard it come out my mouth before I could stop it. I knew she heard it too because she stopped kissing me and smiled. "Baby?"

"Well yea. I mean if thats what you want to be? I'd love to make you my girlfriend."  I nervously smile down at her. "Really?" She ask excitedly looking at me with amazement.

"Yea Nat. Will you be my girl?" I ask wanting to finally make it official.

"Yes, yes, yes." She grabbed my face and brought me down to taste her lips once more. We attacked each there hungrily, not wanting it to end.