So, I should really be writing my 1940s AU for these two, but alas, that is going (A LOT) slower than I would like. I've been thinking about doing a drabble collection for these two anyway, and this is a good way to keep me writing when I can't quite write for my other stories.

I won't update this regularly, but rather when I happen to write the drabbles/when I have time. So I could update three times a week or once every three months. Who knows. I apologize ahead of time for sporadic updates.

And even though this will mostly focus on Steve and Natasha, I'm open to other pairings as well, so definitely feel free to send in prompts! They can be other pairings, au prompts, family prompts, anything! So let me know what you guys want to read!

This first one is an au prompt I found somewhere on tumblr. I don't have a link, but the gist is that the two characters (Steve and Nat) are super flirty neighbors and then there's a leak and the power goes out and what happens next type thing.

Title taken from two Sleeping at Last songs: Dear True Love and Venus

I don't own anything!

Enjoy!

-:-

Steve, walking quickly, exited the elevator on the top floor of his building and headed towards his apartment. He'd forgotten his laptop bag when he'd headed out that morning for coffee and now had to rush back and get it otherwise he would be late to teach his first class that morning. Not that his students would mind that much, but still. He hadn't anticipated how much longer his coffee would take with that stupid deal the café was having. He fumbled with his two cups of coffee as he reached his door and tried to reach in his pocket for his keys.

Steve turned when he heard the door to the apartment behind him open. His neighbor, Natasha, walked out and locked her door. Steve had seen her around enough that he knew her name, but that was about it. She was wearing a dark gray skirt suit with a plain white blouse, and he found himself wondering what job she was rushing off to.

"Uh, hey, Natasha, right?" he asked.

She looked up at him, mildly startled at first, before she realized who had spoken, and her features settled into an easy smile. "Yeah…Steve?"

He chuckled and nodded. "Yeah."

"What's up?" she asked, shouldering her purse.

"I was just wondering if you wanted this," he said, holding out the second coffee to her.

She gave him a quizzical look. "Coffee? Why?"

"Well, there was a deal or something going on and I got a free coffee. I don't need two and you were right there so…" he paused, watching her pretty face as she regarded him. "I didn't spit in it or anything, if you're worried about that."

She laughed at that and shook her head. "No. no, it's fine. Sure, I'll take it," she reached out her hand to take the coffee, "What kind is it?"

"Um," he rubbed the back of his neck with his now free hand. "Some kind of latte? Or a mocha? I, um, yeah, I have no clue, sorry. I was in a hurry and asked for whatever and it was one of the ones with the funky names."

Natasha laughed again, and he couldn't help noticing that it was a beautiful sound. She tested the coffee. Seemingly satisfied, she smiled brightly at him. "Thanks for the coffee. I've gotta get going, I'm kind of in a hurry, but," she gave him a quick once over, the corners of her mouth pulling up, "I'll see you around, Steve."

"See ya," he echoed, but she was already heading off to the elevator, a little more sway in her hips than before.

-:-

"Hold the elevator!" a voice shouted.

Natasha shot out her hand to brace the elevator door as it started to close. Sensing an obstruction, the door started to reopen. A guy practically flung himself into the elevator and when she looked up she saw it was Steve. She smiled at him, and he returned the gesture when she saw it was her in the elevator.

"Heading down?" she asked teasingly with a smirk.

He gave a breathy laugh. "Yes, please."

She pressed the button. The doors closed and the elevator started to descend.

"Why in such a hurry this morning?" she asked.

"I, uh, forgot I was teaching an extra seminar this morning."

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You're a professor?" despite having bumped into Steve several times now, she still hadn't bothered to ask what he did for a living.

"Yeah, I teach art at the community college," he replied.

Somehow the fact that he taught art, of all things, impressed her even more. Especially given the fact that he looked like he could lift a car off a trapped child. She smiled a little. "Guess they're wrong when they say you can't be smart and good looking."

He looked at her and laughed. "Guess that makes me the exception, huh? And what do you do, Natasha?"

"Oh, nothing. Just a boring old government job. Trust me, you don't want to hear about it."

"Mm," he hummed in disagreement. "I doubt anything about you could bore me."

She cocked an eyebrow at them, and then struggled to keep a smile off her face, eyes sparkling with amusement. "Good to know," she finally said, just as the elevator dinged. "See you later, Professor Steve."

Steve shouldered his bag and, with a warm smile, let her step off the elevator first, smiling to herself as she walked out of the building.

-:-

They saw each other almost every day after that, whether it was coincidentally when they happened to do their laundry at the same time, or on purpose to grab their morning coffee together. And each encounter was as flirty as the others. It was really fun, and they quickly became friends as well as neighbors. And then Natasha found herself really, really liking Steve. He talked to her about his classes and his students, showed her some of his own art, which she really loved seeing. She finally admitted that she was a defense attorney after enough nagging from him one night. Not everyone approved of lawyers, especially not defense ones, but Steve seemed to think that it was perfect, especially for someone as determined and caring as she was.

"And stubborn," he'd added with a smirk, and she'd shoved him playfully for that.

Then, one night at the end of June there was a terrible summer storm. Rain pounded down outside, accompanied by the crashing of thunder and the bright flashes of white lightning across the sky. Natasha hadn't really thought much of it—in fact, she loved storms—until she was sitting in her bed reading and a drop of water suddenly splashed against her hand.

She frowned and looked up, craning her neck back. Sure enough, another drop came down. And then another, and another.

"Well, shit," she muttered.

She moved her blankets aside so they wouldn't start getting too wet. She grabbed a large bowl from the kitchen and placed it under the leak. At least it's small, she thought. But it would get bigger and much worse if she didn't do something about it. She called the landlord but ended up hanging up after a ten minute argument. She sighed, hands on her hips. She didn't have the stuff to fix a leak, but she might know someone who did…

-:-

Steve stopped sketching when there was a loud knock on his door.

"Just a minute!" he shouted loud enough for the person to hear while he went and washed the charcoal off his hands in the kitchen real quick.

He went to his door, and when he opened it, was only half surprised to see Natasha standing there, dressed casually in a black zip hoodie and red sleep shorts.

"Hey, do you know how to fix a leak?" she said by way of greeting.

"Uh, yeah," he responded. "You have one?"

She nodded. "In my bedroom, yeah. I called the landlord and he said he'd call some guys to come and fix it, but they can't get out here until tomorrow because of the storm."

"Well, it's no problem," he reassured her with a smile. "Just let me grab my stuff and I'll be right over."

She grinned broadly. "You're the best."

Steve could only smile wide in response.

A few minutes later he was in her room, standing on her bed, inspecting the small leak in her ceiling. It would be an easy fix. And easy temporary one, that is, until the landlord's guys came out and gave it a look.

He started working and Natasha sat on the floor, watching him work with a glass of wine in hand.

"Smart, hot, and a handyman…" she mused and he chuckled. "Yup, way too good to be true."

A few more minutes and Steve leaned back slightly, looking at his work.

"There," Steve said, craning his neck back a little farther. "I think it's—"

There was a flash of lightning outside, a groan, and then the power went out and the room was plunged into darkness.

"Fixed," he finished, looking down in Natasha's direction though he couldn't see her, and steadied himself on the mattress.

It was silent for a moment before Natasha spoke, "I'll get some candles."

14 minutes and quite a bit of fumbling and swearing later, Natasha had lit a dozen little candles all around her room, as well as a few more in each room of the apartment so they weren't tripping over their own feet in the blackness.

Steve climbed back onto Natasha's bed and took another look at the leak he'd just patched up, testing the drywall patch under his fingers. He smiled a little to himself. It would definitely hold till tomorrow when the professionals could take a look at it.

"I think you're set," he said, glancing down at Natasha, who had set her wine down and now had her arms crossed worriedly over her chest.

"Really?"

"Yeah, come see," Steve said, reaching down and grabbing her hand, helping to pull her into a standing position next to him on the bed. He put a hand on her arm to steady her. She smiled at him, their eyes meeting for a moment before she teared her gaze away to look at the patch on her ceiling. She prodded the patch, inspected the sides for any leakage.

When she was satisfied, she looked back at him, smirking a little at the fact that they were a mere millimeter apart. All the times they'd flirted, almost pressed the button at the same time in the elevator, all the times he'd thought about knocking on her door to see if she was free on Friday, it all came rushing back to him and Steve was struck with the inexplicable desire to kiss Natasha Romanoff right then and there. It would be too easy. They were so, so close. God, she was beautiful, and the soft candlelight was doing wonders for her. He could feel her body heat radiating off of her, smell the coconut and vanilla of her shampoo, the lilac of the lotion on her skin. Her green eyes gleamed in the dim light.

"So," she whispered, a hint of wine on her breath, her smirk never fading, "you want some ice cream? I don't know when the power will be back on…"

Steve nodded, the electricity in the air certainly not from the lightning and thunder charging across the sky outside. "It'd be a shame to waste it," he agreed.

"A damn shame," Natasha murmured, her voice only audible because Steve was standing right in front of her.

They just looked at each other; Steve's mouth slightly parted, feeling completely grounded by her gaze despite the fact that they were still standing on her bed. Then Natasha leaned up and no space at all existed between them as her lips pressed, somewhat desperate, against his. They nearly toppled over as Steve wrapped his arms around her, and they had to take a moment, laughing, to lower themselves onto the bed from a standing position. Steve hovered over Natasha, kissed her again with a smile.

As their kisses deepened and clothes started dropping to the floor, Natasha smiled at him, her voice breathless as she spoke,

"I can always buy more ice cream."

-:-

Thanks for reading!

Remember to leave me any prompts you have!

-DaughterOfPoseidon333

P.S. Any typos, I apologize, it's late.