After searching high and low for what felt like an hour, Natasha finally found Steve. He was sitting by a river that ran through the Wakandan forest. His back was to her and she approached him stealthily, coming up behind him. Part of her was still afraid that he would turn her away, but the other, stronger part of her told her to stay.

"Steve," she said quietly.

His head moved to the side and he gave her a sidelong glance. The look on his face wasn't angry like it was when he'd seen her hug Bucky. Instead, he seemed...pensive and thoughtful, as if he'd realized something while in solitude.

He wasn't saying anything, just watching her with careful eyes and it made her nervous. Natasha Romanoff had been many things in her life, but before she met Steve, she never really understood how anxious being near another person could make her feel.

Her mind was going a million different places at once and it was hard to focus. Unsure of how to word what she wanted to say, she wrung her hands desperately and looked at the ground. This was unbelievable! She felt like an awkward teenager or something absurd like that! These kind of things didn't happen to her, ever.

"Nat, I know."

Her head snapped up and her mouth opened, a near inaudible "What?" coming from her lips.

Steve stood up and slowly made his way over to her. Natasha found it boggling to be so excited and frightened by the presence of this man. He stood tall and his eyes bored into her as though he could see right through her skin. She'd never understood what feeling naked under a person's gaze felt like until now.

Natasha wanted to reach out and touch him, squeeze his hand, bury her face in his chest, anything to be nearer to him, but she was glued to the spot. She had to know what he meant.

Taking a deep breath, Steve spoke. "I've known about you and Bucky for a while now."

The redhead's eyebrows shot up in the air and she wanted to ask him how on earth had he ever found out about she and his best friend. Then, it occurred to her. The SHIELD files. All of that classified information she dumped onto the internet a couple of years ago. A few of them gave the details of Bucky's assignment as her trainer when she was a part of the Red Room.

Of course she knew that knowledge would be available, but she never thought that Steve would find out about it. For that matter, she didn't know that she'd grow to care for him the way she did now. Life certainly gave you a handful of surprises when you weren't expecting them.

"What do you mean, you knew? Did you just happen to feel like going online and reading up everything there was on me or something?" Natasha laughed awkwardly.

Yes, it was a colossally stupid thing to say. Yes, she knew that he didn't judge her for her past, but she couldn't help feeling a little worried. Had something he'd read changed the way he looked at her? If she ever lost Steve's faith in her, she wouldn't want to live.

"No. Someone sent them to me. I don't know who. One day, I just looked in my emails and all the information was there." Honesty and concern was etched on Steve's features and as Natasha watched him, a sense of relief swept over her and she felt herself relax a little.

Of course Steve wouldn't have purposely looked up the files that SHIELD had on her. It was foolish of her to even ask him that, but these damn nerves had her more anxious than she'd ever been in her entire life.

Natasha shook her head. "I'm sorry. That...that was a ridiculous thing to say. I know you'd never..." She broke off her sentence and rubbed her arms, disliking the vulnerability of her situation.

The blonde merely gave her a small smile and waved his hand, dismissing it. "Nat, it's fine. You were on the defensive. Believe me, I probably would be too if I were in your shoes. It's alright."

Natasha blinked back tears and chuckled in disbelief. How could he do that? How could he allay her fears so quickly and touch her heart while doing so? God, she wanted to kiss him. Better to take her mind off that for now.

She stepped back. "That just doesn't make sense to me, though. Why would someone send the files to you when we're teammates? You'd think people would assume that we know everything about each other after I released all of the SHIELD files online."

Steve took a step closer. "Maybe it came from an ex-KGB operative...or a Red Room spy." Natasha flinched when he said this. In all the years she'd known Steve, she never thought that she'd hear him say those two words. She crossed her arms as he continued.

"It could be someone who wanted to ruin the relationships you've started. For all we know, it could have been part of a back up plan from Zemo. Right now, I don't even care."

They were standing mere inches apart now, and Natasha could hear her heart pounding in her ears. Her hands were clammy and she looked up at Steve, lips trembling. He took her by the arms and held her close.

There was a fire in Steve's eyes that Natasha had never seen before. She swallowed and licked her lips as he came nearer. How he intoxicated her with his very presence. She whispered, "And just what do you care about?"

Steve brushed his knuckles against her cheek and said softly, "You."

Natasha covered his hand with her own and sighed. She'd never dreamed that she would be in this moment, with Steve's hand caressing her face. The protective look in his eyes made her blush.

As much as she wanted to feel his lips against hers, she still needed to say something about what happened earlier. "Steve, back when Bucky hugged me...I just should have made you stay and listen to me. I know it wasn't the best thing in the world, seeing him hug me and I think-"

Before she could go on, Steve pressed his finger to her lips. He shook his head. "You don't have to apologise, Nat. That was my fault. You shouldn't have gone after me; I should have made myself stay." He ran a hand through his blonde locks. "For the first time in a long time, I felt...jealous. That's not such a good feeling, you know."

The redhead opened and closed her mouth a few times, but found that she had no words to say. Steve Rogers? Jealous of someone? That was definitely a rare occurrence. If this were a lighthearted situation, she would probably laugh at him in mockery.

"You were jealous of me...and Bucky?"

The faint pink blush on Steve's face made it clear that he was embarrassed about the way he felt. Natasha knew he wasn't the kind of man to be at ease admitting this to her, but she was glad they were finally getting everything out in the open.

"Yeah. And I know I hurt you by leaving like that, but seeing you in his arms and hearing him call you by your Russian name...it was too much. I know that's no excuse for what I did. I acted like an ass."

Natasha smirked as she replied, "Language, Rogers."

Steve laughed at her remark and moved a strand of hair away from her face. He kissed the top of her head before pulling her closer to him, so their foreheads rested against each other. They embraced for several minutes, then Steve spoke.

"Forgive me?" He asked her quietly.

"Yeah. You're forgiven." She moved back slightly and grazed her lips against his gently.

They stayed like this for a while, nestled in a close embrace, until Steve began tensing up. He pulled back from her and Natasha looked at him curiously. "What is it?"

He rested his hand against her cheek. Her heartbeat sped up again as he gazed down at her. There was something so tender and passionate in his eyes. It made her hold her breath in anticipation.

Steve took a deep breath and gave her a small smile. "Nat, I...I love you."

After he said that, Natasha felt like she just might faint, which was absurd because she wasn't the fainting type. Nevertheless, her legs began to buckle and Steve, sensing what was going to happen, wrapped his arms around her waist and held her securely.

Tears brimmed in her eyes and she did her best to blink them away. "Do you...really mean that?"

Steve wiped away the wetness on her cheeks and kissed the damp skin. She never looked more beautiful to him than in this moment. "Yes. I mean it more than anything in the world. You captivate me, Nat. You make me feel like I could do anything. I can't tell you how scared I was after you let me and Bucky go in the quinjet. I was sure I'd never see you again and I thought I'd lost my only chance to tell you..."

The grief in his voice touched Natasha and she held her finger up in front of his mouth. "Shh, Steve. It's alright. We're both here now and we're safe. That's the only thing that matters."

Steve nodded. "You're right."

The redhead smiled and let her fingers run through Steve's hair. "Mm, I hate sounding like a copycat, but...I love you too."

A look of childlike wonder appeared on Steve's face. His lips spread into a grin and the most beautiful laugh came from his mouth. Natasha had always loved the deep, melodic sound of Steve's laughter. It wasn't something she was used to hearing very often, but when she did, she savored it.

"You mean it?"

She cocked her head to the side and smiled as she lie her hands on his chest. "Yes. I'll be honest with you, Steve. For now and always."

Steve rested his hands on her hips. "Well, since this is out in the open, I think another kiss is in order."

"I think you're right."

Their lips met in a gentle, yet passionate kiss. As they held each other in that moment, Natasha knew that everything would be alright because she had the man she loved by her side, and with him, she could do anything.