Love, Romanoff Style

The familiar rev of a motorcycle sent Natasha's heart pounding with an intensity that worried her for fear of a heart attack.

Steve was back.

She gripped her pillow and held it to her head, breathing deep breaths and trying to get a handle on herself. It wasn't working. It felt like every cell in her body was screaming for a touch, a taste of Steve. It was insane how emotionally compromised she was. 

"I officially hate Tony. He said this potion was just supposed to shoot up my pheromones, but he never said anything about me wanting to jump out of my skin so I can be near Steve. How am I going to get through three whole days of this and avoid him? It's not going to work."

Natasha rocked back and forth on her heels, attempting to summon up the courage to stay in the room. 

When she heard a knock at the door, she snapped her head up and licked her lips.

"'Tasha?" Came the meek voice.

It was Tony.

The sheer disappointment that ran through Natasha's being was a terrible thing to feel. Maybe she could ask Bruce to put her in a coma or something. Just until the three days were up. Ot maybe there was some kind of drug they could give her to offset these feelings. She was a strong woman, but even being the Black Widow couldn't help her now.

"What do you want?" She asked, glaring at the door as if Tony was standing in the doorway.

"I just wanted to tell you that Steve is home and he's...he's asking for you. What should I tell him?"

"You can't tell him that I drank your love potion. He'd put your head through a wall."

"I doubt that very seriously."

"Mm, you're right. I meant I would put your head through the wall. Or I should, anyway. You'd deserve it, for sure."

"Tsk. Resorting to violence doesn't help anything, Natasha. You know that."

"Yeah, whatever. Look, I was thinking. Maybe there's some kind of drug that could help me stave off this potion. It's either that or you'll have to put me in a coma."

"...ah, wow. You've really thought this through, huh? Look, as sorry as I am about this whole thing, I don't think that giving you drugs is going to help. For all we know, giving you drugs could exacerbate the problem. The last thing you need is a stronger desire to...eh, do whatever it is that you might want to do to Steve."

"Like music to my ears. Alright, fine. What about a coma?"

"I couldn't do that to you. Bruce isn't here, so it's not like he could stop me if you were determined to do that. Steve is here, though, and since the two of you are always around each other ninety percent of the time, it wouldn't work. He'd want to know where you are and for some reason, Captain Perfect never believes it when I lie, so he'd see through whatever elaborate story I'd come up with and then, he would put my head through a wall once he'd realize what happened to you."

"Dammit," was all Natasha could say after that over-indulgent explanation. "I really hate you. This potion is going to mess things up. I just know it."

"Well, if you could make a move on him first. Go to his room later today and offer yourself up to him on a golden platter. Maybe he'll say yes and prove himself human for once."

Natasha burst out laughing even though she tried to fight against it. It was true that she was angry at Tony for what happened, but he knew she was going through difficulties and was trying to cheer her up, so she couldn't fault him for that.

After a short moment of silence, Tony cleared his throat and Natasha could tell he was making that nervous look when he creased his brow and his eyelid twitched. 

"What is it, Tony?"

"Well, uh...I told him that you'd probably be down in a few minutes or so. Not to speak for you or anything like that, of course. I had to tell him something because I think he would have come up here and if I left you two alone, you'd probably take advantage of him. Then again, it wouldn't be taking advantage because he'd likely let you."

Natasha glared at the door. Well, now her thoughts had turned to visions of she and Steve lying in bed, together, hands stroking naked flesh. Damn it to hell, she wanted him so badly she could taste it. The redhead put her hands on her eyes and wiped away the frustrated tears - tears! - from her face. "Go away," was her threatening and monotoned response.

"Okay, okay! I'm gone!" The departing footsteps let Natasha know that Tony had, indeed, left from her door.

"Guess I'd better go down there and make an appearance before he wonders where I am," she muttered to herself.

Natasha slid off her bed and held her hands to her forehead. "You can handle anything that comes your way. You're an Avenger and you've been tricking men and misleading for years as a spy. This is nothing. You can lead Steve on with no trouble at all."

Centering herself was no problem - although, twenty minutes was her longest time for that - and Natasha opened her eyes after a few minutes and opened the door, heading downstairs to greet her friend.

Steve was in the living room, standing behind the couch, talking with Sam and Bucky about something. The sight softened her heart a bit. Sam and Bucky really couldn't stand each other when they first met, but now, they had become good friends who teased each other good-naturedly.

"Good to see you back, soldier," Natasha said as she approached the three men.

When she spoke, Steve turned around and a kind smile spread across his face when he saw her. "It's good to be back, Nat."

The warmth and happiness in his gaze was blinding. Natasha took in the tall man with fervor, her gaze running over his strong frame. She had never said so out loud, but she always wanted to see him do a striptease out of that Captain America uniform. With those pulsing abs, toned biceps and rock hard legs, she bet it would be quite a delicious sight to behold.

Natasha's breath hitched and before she could stop herself from doing it, she launched forward, throwing her body into Steve's arms.

"God, I missed you," were the whispered words that came from her mouth as she squeezed his back affectionately and brushed her lips against his throat gently. It took everything in her being not to suck the spot where her lips were pressed upon. 

Oh, now I want to give him a hickey?! Borzhe moi.

The rational part of her brain was yelling at her to get the hell off of him, but the mind and the body were like two separate entities in that moment. Natasha couldn't pull away from Steve if she tried. She was drawn to him like a magnet.

Luckily, Steve pulled back and rested his hands on her shoulder, looking into her eyes with a concerned look on his face. There was also a pair of pink spots on his cheek, which she attributed to his reaction when she kissed his neck. "Hey...are you alright? You've never hugged me like that before. Everything okay?"

She let out a hard breath and smiled at him. "No. Everything is just fine. I...I just missed you. Being stuck in this place with Tony, Sam and Bucky is pretty harrowing, even for me." Humor was the only way she could see herself making it safely out of this situation.

"Uh, we're right here, you know," said Bucky, who had an annoyed look on his face.

Sam interjected. "Come on, Natasha. We aren't that much of a hassle. Sometimes we have arguments, but we've been the perfect gentlemen."

"God. I can only imagine what you three are like when both Wanda and I are gone. Well, I have some things to do, and I know you'll want to take a shower and relax so I'll...uh, I'll see you a little later, okay, Steve?" Natasha turned and nearly ran up the stairs in a hurry to get away from the handsome soldier.

Once she was back upstairs, she hid in the closet and stayed there God knows how long. She had to get her breathing under control. She had to. "It's not like Steve's irresistible, right? No. No, of course not. He's just too hard to stay away from because of that damn potion I drank. Who knows what would have happened if Sam and Bucky weren't in the room? I probably would have begged him to take me right there on the carpet. Oh, get it together, Romanoff."

While Natasha was in the closet and trying to get a handle on her emotions, Steve, Sam and Bucky continued to talk amongst themselves. They were confused by her peculiar behavior - well, only Steve was the clueless one, Bucky and Sam had figured out a long time ago that their two friends had sexual tension in spades.

"Is Nat feeling sick or something? I've never seen her act like that before. It's almost as if she...was afraid to be around me." Steve looked at the two other men with his trademark 'concerned papa' look on his face. He touched his neck, too, wondering why she had kissed him there.

Sam and Bucky gave each other silent, knowing glances before responding.

"Look, Steve," said Sam. "I'm not going to pretend that I know a lot about Natasha-"

"Or woman in general," Bucky interrupted with a sly grin on his face.

"Shut up, metal man."

"Oh, 'metal man'? Really? Is that the best you got, bird brain?"

"How about I bird brain my foot up your ass!"

Steve was already a bit tired and wasn't in the mood to hear Bucky and Sam's squabbling. "Hey! Guys, come on. Reel it back in. I just got back after a mission. I'm tired, hungry and sleepy. Cut to the chase, will ya?"

"Sorry," muttered Sam and so echoed Bucky.

"Now, are you guys sure that she's okay? She hasn't been acting strangely or anything, has she?"

"No. She's been fine. Nothing's wrong with her. I mean, she missed you like she said when she came down and...hugged you." That was still a hard thing for Sam to wrap his head around. They barely ever saw the red headed assassin show that kind of affection to anyone.

It was true that she played with Clint's kids a lot and picked them up, tickling them, but when it came to the Avengers, she was more platonic. The rest of the team got fist bumps, high fives and arms around the shoulders - save for Thor because he was a big hugger and every offered hand that came his was received with a giant squeeze in his arms. Natasha actually didn't mind that so much because Thor was kind of like a big brother to her.

The most anyone had ever seen from her interactions with Steve was side hugs and friendly claps on the back. Earlier, Natasha had just moved things onto a whole different level because when she hugged him, she pressed her face into his shoulder and held on to him as if he were about to be taken away from her. Not only that, but she also kissed him on the neck. That was definitely an intimate action.

Perhaps she was finally beginning to accept her true feelings for him? Who knew? Only time would tell...

"Yeah. Well, she was pissed at Tony about something in the morning. Yelled at him about something he made in his lab. I didn't hear everything they were saying, but it was pretty heated." Bucky was telling the truth, save for not knowing what Natasha and Tony were talking about. He used to be a HYDRA super soldier after all. That meant he had perfect hearing. 

When Natasha and Tony were arguing earlier, Bucky had been in the pantry looking for the box of Danish cookies that he'd hidden - he hid them because Sam freaking Wilson always enjoyed pilfering his snacks to piss him off. As he reached for the box behind various other bottles and boxes in the pantry, Bucky picked up on a couple of harsh voices talking about the love potion.

Maybe this is just what they needed to get things started...

"Why don't you take a shower, get settled and go talk to her, Steve? See what's going on with her. The two of you have a close relationship, so I'm sure she'd tell you if something's up." 

Steve looked up where Natasha had gone and smiled. "You're right. Thanks, Buck."

"Anytime."

The blond took the stairs two at a time and Sam and Bucky watched him until he was out of sight. Then, Sam turned to Bucky with a suspicious look on his face. "Alright, what do you know that I don't? Something is going on with Natasha and you're keeping it to yourself."

Bucky just chuckled and moved a few strands of hair behind his ear. "Oh, Sam. You have no idea what good news I have to tell you. In fact, when I'm done telling you about it, I think you might even want to make a bet about it."

"Then by all means, spill," replied Sam with a greedy smirk on his face.

Natasha had finally gotten a grip on herself and was now standing at Steve's door. Even though she didn't want to tell him how she felt, this damn potion was making a mess of her emotions. She felt like a lovesick teenager.

"Better to just get this over with..." She knocked on Steve's door. "Steve? Are you in there?" 

There was silence on the other end of the door and she knocked once more. "Hey, can I come in?"

Still nothing.

Not wanting to get caught by Sam or Bucky or any of her other teammates, Natasha opened the door and went inside, closing it behind her quietly. She went over to his bed and sat on it. The bed dipped under her weight and she laid on the bedspread, making herself comfortable.

There weren't many people who could take such liberties as Natasha did - particularly when it came to her coming into his room without his knowledge, but there was trust and an understanding between she and Steve. He was used to her coming in his room all the time because there were many times in the past when he'd get nightmares and she'd come to comfort him during his moments of distress.

Natasha was the one person who could relate to Steve when it came to facing his ghosts. She knew it was still hard for him to accept being a part of a new generation, feeling like he didn't belong, wondering if he was a relic in a time that had gone on without him.

Every time, she had reassured him that he had worth and there was something worth living for. After years of searching, he had found his best friend, Bucky, and he was a part of a great group of super powered people who saved earth from both human and alien threats on a regular basis. 

It was true that things got crazy sometimes, but the Avengers were Steve's family and they would always be there for him, no matter what. Natasha in particular would always be there for him and she let him know that many times. 

After all, they'd been there for each other in times of need for several years and were arguably the closest friends out of all the Avengers, second only to Steve and Bucky. Although, Natasha knew for a fact that her feelings for Steve were more than friendly.

God knows this potion is making things near unbearable for me at the moment, Natasha thought to herself as she curled up on the bed in a leisurely position.

"Nat?"

The masculine voice snapped Natasha out of her reverie and she looked up, then sat up when she realized that Steve was standing in front of her with only a towel wrapped around his waist. The glistening of his muscles shone from the shower he had just taken. 

Natasha felt her heart begin to pound against her chest and she licked her lips nervously, trying to keep her eyes from roving over Steve's very wet, very tempting chest. All of the dirtiest, filthiest thoughts of her wrapped in his embrace, fingers exploring intimate places, touching, tasting and bringing them both to ecstasy filled her head again.

Steve stood there, looking so delectable and desirable and Natasha was just sitting there, ogling him like he was her next meal. She got on her knees and crawled forward on the bed as Steve did the same, frowning deeply at her.

"What's wrong? Is there anything I can do for you?" The blonde had the most adorable sheepish expression on his face and after he said that, Natasha knew that there was no way she could keep from touching him any longer.

She slid her arms around his neck and pressed him to her, purring in delight at the feel of his pectorals against her body. "Oh, I'd say there is something you could do."

It was clear that Steve was clueless as to why Natasha was in his room. The funny thing was, all she wanted to do was talk. Then he came in with just a towel covering his hard, wet body and the rational part of her mind shut down.

His gaze was intense as he asked, "And what's that?" 

There was not even a beat of silence. "Me." Then, without any hesitation, she ran her other hand into his wet hair and pulled him down to her, pressing her full lips to his in a passionate kiss.