Work Text:
Almost three years after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D, the agency, newly reestablished, is finally fully operational. Natasha Romanoff gazes across the lobby of the new headquarters before finally spotting the reason she’s there. Steve and Bucky stand with Agent-no Director Coulson waiting, waiting for her. Three days ago, Phil had called in an old favor, he said he needed Nat for just one more mission, and she’d be done with S.H.I.E.L.D for good. She agreed under one condition: if she had to work with anyone she wanted Steve.
Since the HYDRA incident, Steve is one of the few people Nat feels comfortable around, and if she was being sent on an undercover mission there was no way she was going in with some new agent she’d never met. Steve agreed but of course he had a condition of his own. Bucky. Steve had barely let the other man out of his sight since they had been reunited, so Steve sure as hell wasn’t going to leave Bucky alone for a whole month.
Nat walks over to the group and Steve and Bucky both smile at her. “I’m glad you’re here Ms. Romanoff, please follow me to our conference room.” Phil leads them down a long hallway to a room with a long wooden table and a projection screen on the far wall. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I need the three of you on a mission instead of one of my own agents. I have received a tip on the location of a former HYDRA agent, an Alex Chapman who’s supposedly very high up in their ranks. The FBI has declared that SHIELD will have nothing to do with any cases involving HYDRA in any sense, but I don’t really trust them with this, which is why I called you in. Since you aren’t official SHIELD agents, you can go undercover to get the information we need for this her to be arrested, and maybe even get information from them. Ms. Romanoff and Mr. Rogers will pose as a newly married couple living in the apartment across the hall, the Smiths. Bucky is Natasha’s brother who is staying with you while he gets adjusted to living in the US after moving from Russia. All of you will keep your first names to be easy. Really all you have to do is get the bugs in the apartment across the hall from you and we’ll do the rest. Here’s a file with the more explicit details of your mission and new identities for each of you.” Coulson passes a manila folder to each of them. “Any questions?”
They’re soldiers. Soldiers don’t question. “Alright then. I’ll need the three of you to report to the base location specified in the files tomorrow at 8 am. The apartment is fully furnished. Bring any clothes or other things in cardboard boxes to give them the ‘just moving in’ feeling. Thank you.”
…
The trio drove together to the base in Steve’s car. After a quick meeting they’re ready to go. Their apartment is on the third floor of their building, a nice complex in Fell’s Point, part of Baltimore City. It has two bedrooms, a small kitchen with a table in it, and a living room. The complex is generally home to upper middle class couples just starting out, like Steve and Nat are posing as. They get settled in quickly, but then, have nothing to do. The three of them end up all sitting on the couch together (which is a little tight so have to sort of cuddle together to all fit) and watching TV mindlessly for hours. There is a camera hidden in their door to monitor how often the suspect leaves the apartment and when, so then Nat will know when to break in to plant the bugs. Until then they just have to hang tight and act like a family.
As Nat curls into Steve’s side, she thinks this job might not be that bad after all.
…
The first time Steve and Nat have to show PDA is three days into the mission. A couple down the hall invites them to dinner and they pep talk each other right before they go out to the door. “Remember, we got married 3 months ago, we’re still in the honeymoon stage. We have to act like there’s nothing in the world we care about more than each other right now. Ok?”
They hold hands as they walk down the hallway. For practice of course.
The two of them sit close together at the dinner table, hold hands, and exchange quick kisses here and there. They all small talk about “work” and the new apartment, and the neighbors, Sarah and Dave, are polite enough to only glance at Bucky’s arm occasionally.
As they finish eating, Sarah asks Natasha to help her clear the table for dessert. Which is code for “I need to talk to you in private.” Nat piles dishes into the sink and Sarah pulls a cake out of the fridge. “So how long has your brother been staying with you and Steve?”
“About two months I think. He’s living with us until the end of the year so he’ll be here four more months.”
“Isn’t that hard on you and Steve though? How do you guys ever get any alone time? You just got married! When Dave and I got married we could hardly keep our hands off each other for the whole first year, and you and Steve don’t seem much different.”
Natasha blushes just a little bit. “Oh, I mean, it’s hard I guess. Bucky doesn’t go out much it’s usually all three of us.”
Sarah grins “I have an idea, why don’t you and Steve head out now, and Bucky can stay here for dessert with me and Dave! You’ll be alone for like forty five minutes at least, which isn’t much, but it’s something!”
“I don’t know. Are you sure?”
“Absolutely positive, go have fun. You can thank me later.
They step back into the dining room, Sarah smiling, and Natasha looking vaguely uncomfortable. “Hey Steve, you and I are getting kicked out, let’s go home.” Sarah laughs.
“I hope you like chocolate Bucky.” Sarah said as Natasha closed the front door and entered the hallway.
…
“What was all that about? Why’d we leave Bucky there?” Steve asked as they entered the safety of their own apartment.
“Sarah is giving us ‘alone time’ but occupying Bucky for a bit, she felt quite sorry for us never getting any ‘couple time’”
“Oh, ok… Do you want to just watch TV now I guess?”
Natasha sighs, but not audibly. “Sure.”
…
They’ve been watching TV for about a half hour, cuddled against each other under a blanket, even though they don’t have to make room for Bucky. Natasha turns to look at Steve. He’s just a couple inches away from her. She leans in and gently kisses him. For a minute they just hold the kiss, as close together a physically possible, before Steve pulls away. “I’m sorry I Nat- I can’t-I”
“It’s Bucky.”
“Yeah.”
“I thought so. I have an idea about that. What If you were still with Bucky, but with me too? Like all three of us together?”
Steve thinks, and they sit in silence for a minute. “That just might work.”
Natasha smiles and pulls him back into the kiss.
…
“Hey Buck, Natasha just had the best idea! You’ve gotta get over here!”