DINNER COULD NOT BE ANY MORE AWKWARD because no one was talking. Except Gammy. Obviously, Sarah and Joseph recently had an argument, and Steve and his dad weren't any friendlier either. And her and Steve? Since their naked incident earlier, they couldn't look each other in the eye.

Hell, they couldn't even get a word out to each other without the memory flashing back in their minds. And then they'd blush like crazy.

"Natasha, are you alright? You seem redder than usual, dear." Gammy suddenly notices. "Doesn't she, Sarah?"

Sarah looks at her, seemingly worried. "You do look a little feverish. Are you feeling okay? Did our activities earlier drain you too much?"

"Oh, um. No, I'm fine, thank you. Don't worry. I, uh, it's probably because of the cold air. I mean, my skin gets a little pink from the cold." Natasha lies, and she could see from the corner of her eye that Steve was keeping his head down, probably so they wouldn't notice his 'feverish' state too.

"Maybe you can turn the heater up in your room if it's too chilly for you." Sarah suggests.

Gammy, however, had another idea. "Or you could just snuggle her tighter, Steven."

Steve almost chokes on his dinner, earning glances from everyone at that table. Even his dad was looking at him strangely. "Yeah, sure, Gammy. I'll make sure she's warm enough."

Even from that simple statement, it was enough to make Natasha blush again. Fortunately, the subject wasn't brought up again later on.

When dessert was served, Gammy offered Natasha a slice of the pie she baked. "Try this, Natasha. It's an old family recipe."

"Oh, that smells nice. And it looks good too, Gammy, thank you." She says eagerly, already cutting herself a piece to taste.

Steve takes a bite of the pie, savoring the flavor in his mouth. It really does taste good. He hums in wonderment. "Wow. What's in this pie, Gammy?"

"It's Kiwi, dear."

Alarmed, he pulls Natasha's hand away from her mouth before she could eat the piece. "Don't eat that."

"Steven!" Gammy scolds, shocked at what he just did.

"She can't eat Kiwi, Gammy. She's allergic to them."

"Oh," Gammy deflates. "That's a shame."

Natasha shrugs his hand off. "Maybe it's fine if I just eat the crust."

Steve frowns. "Don't be stupid."

She rolls her eyes. "Steve, it's fine. I brought my antihistamines here with me anyway."

"Natasha."

Sarah steps in before this could escalate further. "Annie, maybe you can just let Natasha try some of your apple pie, instead."

Gammy beams. "Oh, right! I think there's still some left in the fridge, let me go get it!"

They continue eating in silence, with Natasha waiting for Annie to return with the apple pie. However, somewhere deep inside, she can't help but feel that very same tingle again when she and Steve had held hands for the first time. The same tingle when they kissed in front of everyone.

And now, it was here again, situated deep in the pit of her stomach but, nonetheless, growing bigger with each time it reappeared. 

And the idea of where this was heading terrifies her completely. She isn't dumb not to know what this can mean.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

After dinner, they said their goodnights and went straight to bed. However, sleeping proved to be more difficult as they couldn't sleep at all, yet no one was talking.

So, they drown in their own silence.

It wasn't awkward. Just quiet.

Then Steve suddenly says. "You're so stubborn."

Natasha can't see him, confused, she asks. "What?"

"You were really going to eat that pie?" he asks, disbelievingly.

She sighs. "Your Gammy seemed so excited to let me try it. I didn't want to hurt her feelings."

"So you'd rather hurt your own tongue?"

A lopsided smile make its way to her lips. "Is that concern I hear?"

"No, that's disbelief." Steve retorts, "You know what Kiwi does to you. You swell up like a blowfish."

"I'm not a baby, Steve. I'm sure I can handle myself." Natasha returns, still teasing him. "But it's cute that you're worried, though."

"Shut up."

Another beat of silence.

"But... that's sweet of you." Steve pauses. "To care about my grandma."

Natasha smiles feebly. "Well, I like her. And your mom too. It's a pity that they're related to you, honestly."

Steve rolls his eyes, yet couldn't hold back the smile threatening to break from his lips as well. "It's kind of sad that they seem to share that sentiment. What ritual did you do to make them like you?"

"Shut up."

Steve laughs, which makes her laugh too.

While they were on the subject, Natasha makes a move to dare ask him about something she's been wondering about for a while now. "Steve?"

"Mm?"

"Uh, what's the deal with you and your father?"

She feels the tension in the air immediately thickens when he doesn't respond right away.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I think that question isn't in the binder." Steve replies stiffly.

"Really? Well, I thought you were the one that said we needed to learn all this..."

"Not about that, I didn't."

"But if the guy asks us–"

"Not about that, Natasha. Good night." He snaps, all the playfulness in his voice gone.

Natasha gulps. It was definitely the wrong question to ask that night. Great. Just when she thought they were making progress enough to be close to friends.

She hears him sigh deeply and clear his throat a few minutes later, indicating that he's still awake.

She doesn't know what comes over her that makes her say– "I enjoy browsing Tiktok."

Silence.

Five. four. Three. Two. one–

"What?" Steve asks, puzzled.

"Not in the 'ha-ha, isn't that funny, she looks so stupid' kind of way. I actually quite enjoy it." She continues, feeling her throat restricting as well as her heart thumping louder. "Um..."

Steve stays silent, but listens intently.

"I took ballet lessons all the way to sixth grade. My first concert was Rob Base & D.J. E-Z Rock. I think Ryan Reynolds is sexy." She starts twiddling her thumbs. "Don't like flowers in the house because they remind me of funerals. Always wanted to stand at the edge of a cliff and scream. I watch Home Alone every Christmas. I dream of having blue roses on my wedding day, someday. They're my favorite flowers."

Steve smiles shortly, remembering that she said that when they were faking their proposal story.

"Been on my own since I was sixteen. Haven't slept with a man in over a year and a half. And, uh, I went to the bathroom and cried after Rumlow called me a poisonous bitch."

She pauses, trying not to let her voice shake.

"And, uh, about my scar?" She remembers that he's asking about it on the plane. She wasn't ready to tell him about that yet. "I do have one, it's, uh, it's above my hip. My mom and I were robbed on the way home one night. She was shot. I was grazed."

She takes a deep breath. Shockingly, her eyes weren't welling up with tears yet. But her voice did start to tremble.

"I used to hate it whenever I looked at it in the mirror. But, now... this may sound cheesy, but it keeps me strong. It reminds me to keep going."

She clears her throat again.

"I'm sure there's many, many other things, but that's all that I can come up with right now."

Silence on the other end.

She feels her heart crack. Did he fall asleep? Did she bore him to sleep?

"Steve?" Still no answer. "You, uh, you there?"

Finally, he responds, voice sounding all raspy and small. "I'm here." He just needs a moment, but he's here. "Just processing."

Her breathing hasn't slowed down, and she's still twiddling her thumbs anxiously. Waiting for him to say something. Anything.

"You really haven't slept with anyone in eighteen months?"

A snort escapes her. "Oh my God. Out of all that, that's all you got?"

"That's a long time."

"Yeah, well, I've been a little busy."

"Same here."

Now, she's shocked. "You haven't slept with someone that long too?"

"Probably even longer." Steve admits. "Why do you sound so surprised?"

"Nothing, I just... I just thought that you... you know, have more time than me. Meet more people than me."

"I spend the same time in the office with you, Nat. All the midnight Tampax runs and whatnot." Steve reckons. "I'm just as miserable as you are."

Natasha smiles. "Hmm."

"What?"

"Nothing, you just... you called me Nat."

Steve seems surprised himself too, and wonders if he's crossed a line. "Sorry," he immediately says.

"It's okay. Nobody's called me that since my mom died. It just surprised me, that's all." Natasha tells him, suddenly wondering if it's even a right move to tell him all this stuff at once. In just one night. Maybe she's overwhelming him too much. Or scaring him.

Oh, dear. Abort. Abort!

"Nat..." he says, testing her nickname out himself. "It... suits you."

She smiles again. "Thank you."

"Nat."

"Yes?"

"Don't take this the wrong way."

Her face falls slightly. "Okay..."

"But you are a very... very beautiful woman."

Natasha feels her face heating up, but this time, for an entirely different reason. And the smile on her face grows wider at his honest declaration.

Needless to say, that night was one of the best sleeps they'd ever had in their life. Especially after when Steve just bursts out singing Rob Base & D.J. E-Z Rock's It Takes Two to Make a Thing Go Right. 

Natasha couldn't remember the last time she laughed as hard as that night. It was impossible not to given Steve's god-awful singing. But it didn't stop her from jamming along.

Neither addressed it but both felt they've gotten more closer despite the obvious distance existing between them. 

Well, for now that is.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

a/n:

ok im sorry i have been away for a long long looooooooong time for personal reasons (and school reasons bc college sucks)

i'm sorry if this was such a short chapter! i'll make it up to u guys for the next ones <33

drink lots of water and get lots of sleep my dear readers <3