The timer went off, alerting Natasha that her cookies were finished. She jumped up from her spot on the couch in an unusual spurt of excitement. This would be her first time baking cookies, so she was eager to see how they'd turn out.

Of course, this wasn't just a cooking experiment for her. Natasha couldn't count the number of times that Steve mentioned his mother's wonderful baking skills, especially when it came to cookies. So eventually, the redhead got an idea to make some snickerdoodles for him.

Today had been the perfect day for baking. All of the other Avengers were out on holiday, save for Steve and Natasha to keep an eye on things in the tower. That worked in Natasha's favor because she preferred not to let anyone else know she was doing this for Steve. Her relationship with the super soldier had grown a lot the past few years. Besides Clint, he was the one person on the team whom she felt the most comfortable around.

Steve was a good man and whenever Natasha was around him, she felt like she was good too. He just had that kind of inspiring affect on people and she was glad for it. Sometimes, she thought about her past with regret, but when she looked into his eyes, a swelling grew in her chest and she knew that if someone as amazing as Steve thought highly of her, maybe her ledger could be wiped clean.

No one else had ever made her feel such hope, but she loved it. Because of this, Natasha found many reasons, both important and unimportant, to spend time with Steve. And thanks to her great attention to human behavior, she knew that he liked being with her as well.

It was all in the signs. The way his eyes caressed her with his gaze, the throbbing at his temple when she stood near him, how he licked his lips when she smirked in his direction. Just as Steve affected Natasha, she affected him.

She wouldn't lie and say that it didn't thrill her because it did.

Natasha opened the oven door with her mitt covered hands and the sweet smell of cinnamon hit her right in the nostrils. Immediately, she deposited the snickerdoodles into a medium sized bowl and and took one for herself, biting into it curiously. Flavor exploded on her tongue, making her close her eyes and moan in satisfaction.

"God, these are good." She unashamedly shoved the rest of the cookie in her mouth and grabbed three more before snapping the lid on the bowl. Natasha was so engrossed in eating the cookies that she failed to hear someone enter the kitchen.

"Never thought I'd see the day when you're stuffing your face." The familiar masculine voice made Natasha smile.

She opened her eyes and felt her cheeks blush a little as Steve came over. "Hey, I didn't hear you come in."

"I figured that from the near-orgasmic sounds you were making. Those cookies must be amazing to get you to react like that."

Natasha's blush turning a little deeper. She was used to Steve teasing her, but the mention of orgasmic sounds made her thighs clench.

Ignoring the butterflies in her belly, she removed the lid and retrieved a couple of snickerdoodles, handing them out to him. "Here, try one and tell me what you think."

Steve bit into one and his eyes widened in surprise. "Wow. You made these?"

She nodded and smiled softly. "I wanted you to have a taste of home or at least, something to remind you of it."

A soft look appeared on Steve's face and it warmed Natasha's insides like heat from the sun. He chewed the rest of the cookie slowly, savoring every bite. Once he finished eating all three cookies she had given him, he spoke.

"So I was the reason you had this sudden foray into baking?"

She could have sworn that her heart was pounding in her ears. "Yeah. Everyone needs a taste of home to remind them of the good times, you know? Clint once brought me a bottle of vodka from Russia when he had to go on a mission there. Best friends tend to be pretty good listeners, you know?"

"Anyway, I thought you deserved a nice memory to give you a good case of nostalgia. You're an important person to me, Steve and...I did this also because I wanted you to know how I care about you."

Steve blew out a breath of air and walked over to Natasha until he stood right in front of her. "Thank you for being so thoughtful. This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. I don't even know what else to say."

She felt a blush coming on. "Well, you don't have to thank me."

"No, I do. I don't even know how long it's been since I told you about my ma and the cookies she used to make. You remembered anyway. That means a lot to me, Nat, just as you do." He gazed down at her and she felt like she could drown in those beautiful blue eyes, but he surprised her when he pressed his lips to hers.

Natasha moaned into the kiss. Her hands gripped at Steve's t shirt, twisting in the fabric. She definitely hadn't expected this reaction, but she wouldn't complain about it.

There was not one inch of space between their bodies and Steve took that opportunity to tease the skin at Natasha's waist. He enjoyed how soft and compliant she was to his ministrations, but deep down, he suspected that his red headed partner just needed the right kind of spark to light her fire.

After a while, they were forced to separate so they could breathe, but Natasha's hands were still in Steve's shirt and his thumbs were running circles on her sides. It was incredibly soothing as well as arousing.

"So now that we finally got things out in the open, what do you say we go to my room and have a little fun?"

Steve's pupils dilated and his grip on Natasha's body tightened.

"You really mean that?"

"Mmhm." Natasha leaned against him, letting her breasts brush Steve's hard chest as she placed a kiss on his mouth. When she drew back again, she moved her finger along his upper lip and dipped it between his lips. "We have to make up for lost time, you know. Are you down for it, soldier?"

Steve felt his blood rush down south. Soldier. Natasha used to call him that quite a lot when they first became partners. It had always driven him crazy because of that little smirk she'd throw at him and the sultry tilt in her voice every time she said it.

"Just try and stop me." Hormones already at full capacity, Steve picked Natasha up in a bridal carry and began walking to his bedroom. The redhead slipped her arms around his neck, rubbing the warm flesh sensuously. Once inside his room, Steve tossed his partner on the bed and climbed over her, a dark, lustful expression on his face.

Natasha shivered in excitement and started tugging off his shirt. "I have a feeling that I won't be leaving this bed for a while."

"Damn right," Steve quipped before capturing her mouth with his.