When he saw her he froze.
Natalia
She was here. Here! He hadn't seen her since 1945, before he went into the ice.
Flashback….
He looked at the woman lying on top of him, her hair shimmering in the sunset's rays. He wanted to stay like this forever.
She sighed and moved further into his chest, her arm coming to throw itself around his waist. He held her closer.
“Steve… do you know when you'll get back? Maybe we could finally do that thing we've been waiting to do? Then the war will be over?” Her voice was so soft he almost didn’t hear. Looking down at her he saw the hopeful gaze in her eyes.
“If everything goes according to plan.. Yes we should. I want to be with you forever and if making it official is what you want, then I'll gladly do it for you Nat.” She smiled and hugged him and her eyes slipped back closed. He followed her holding hed impossibly closer go him in the hope that she’d never be far from him. Ever.
End
He went into the ice later that week. He didn't know what had happened to her afterwards. She was Russian. She was also a known spy called the Black Widow and he knew if they found her she’d be lost from him forever. He didn't even know if she had managed to stay under the radar.
Does she remember our promise?
Nat's POV
She heard his voice before she saw him.
Steve! It was him!
She had missed him so. When he left in 1945 to go on the mission that would end the war, he made her a promise. A promise of eternity and he never broke his promises. He also never came back.
She was left alone after that. When she heard that Captain America had disappeared, she knew she couldn't stay. They would be coming to get his belongings and she couldnt be there when they did.
Flashback
“Captain America has disappeared. He's feared to have died when his plane went down in the arctic.”
She stopped what she was doing and stared, ignoring the shattering of the decorative champagne glass that had slipped from her hand.
No! No! No! She screamed and screamed until her voice was hoarse and then she sat as silent tears ran down her face.
He was supposed to come back. She needed him to know. He had promised!
She knew they would be coming here and she had to leave. She packed up everything that held any clue to who she was and anything that held clues as to who they were together. She wouldn't let them find out. They couldn't.
And so she ran and she ran and she ran. She ran until she got far enough away from DC that she felt safe enough to stop and start over. And that's what she did. She started over. Never once forgetting her lost soldier, she started over and she built a life for herself in the middle of the Californian desert. She didn't have Steve but she had what he left her with. His children. A son and a daughter. Both redheads like her but with their fathers striking blue eyes. Because of the serum they both shared, their children would not age like normal children. They instead aged 2 years every 10 years. She wasn't sure if this was necessarily a gift or a curse but she knew would cherish them for the next few decades as they waited for any sign of him. She knew he'd come back to her. He always kept his promises.
End
And he did. He came back to her. He came back.
“N-Nat?” She heard him as he realized who she was. He started walking faster and faster before he was in a full blown run towards her.
When he reached her he stopped. He was analyzing her. “But how? You, you look... the same. How?”
“You knew about the serum Steve, I didn't age. Just like you wouldn't have aged.” She was nervous. “Steve. I- I can believe you're here. I always thought that I'd see you again but I never thought it'd be like this. I thought it'd be to late by the time we finally saw each other again.” Her voice caught and she couldn't stop herself. She launched at him with such force it threw them both back and he had to throw his hands out behind them to catch them. She was sobbing and he just held her close, breathing in her scent. Violets. She still smelled like violets.
He realized they weren't alone and so he carefully picked her up and took her into another room. There he continued to hold her as she let out 70 years worth of emotions out.
“I'm so sorry Nat. I didn't mean to leave you alone. I didn't know.” He didn't know what to say to her. He had broken his promise.
“No. Its okay Steve. I know you wouldn't have left me on purpose. Its okay. I actually needed to tell you something…” she wasn't sure how to tell him.
“Yeah?”
“Remember our last night? When we, were together? I found out was pregnant the day after you left. I had been feeling a bit off but had chalked it up to just the stress of you leaving. Turns out I was pregnant.”
“Pregnant?” she had been pregnant? And alone. Pregnant and alone. He had left her alone.
“Twins. A boy and a girl. Steve they're so beautiful.” She was looking for his reaction. She saw sadness and regret. But she also saw happiness and hope.
“Are- are they still here? Alive I mean?” They had to be.
“They are. We think the serum from both of our systems affected them too. They're physically 7 but age wise, 70. They don't age normally either. Maybe it's mercy? We get to live the life we wanted with each other and our babies.” She was hopeful after such a long time of feeling inadequate and alone. She felt, happy. Something she hadn't felt since seeing her babies on their first day of life.
“I thought you'd forgotten me. I thought everyone had forgotten. 70 years Nat. I thought you were all gone. I'm so happy you're here and- our kids? Can I see them?” He needed to see them.
“They're in my room. Sleeping probably.” She got off his lap and led him out the room towards the SHIELD apartments...