That evening as I got ready to meet Natasha out at the pool, I fiddled with a picture of the lake house Tony had given me when he first told me that Howard had wanted me to see it. I was gonna hide it in the picnic basket for my date. I'd texted Nat earlier that I had a surprise date planned for tonight when we met at the pool.

"Steve, if you keep doing that, Nat won't be able to see what's in the photo," Bucky said. He stood in front of the bathroom mirror, shaving for his own date with Emery.

I folded the picture and put it in my shirt pocket. "I know. I guess I'm just nervous."

"Don't be nervous, Steve. She loves you. And she is gonna love the lake house."

"You know something, Buck? I always knew you'd be my wingman forever, I just never—"

"You never imagined we'd live this long?" Bucky finished for me, letting out a small laugh. "Yeah. I know how you feel. But hey—you got the girl, and a pretty great one at that."

I smiled. "Nat's pretty special."

"She sure is. I've never seen you this happy, Steve. And I'm really happy for you. Both of you."

"Thanks, Bucky." I hugged my friend before heading downstairs to meet with Pepper. She had promised to help me prepare the food for my date with Nat.

"Hey, Pep. How's it going in here?" I asked when I got to the kitchen.

"Strawberries are in the fridge. Wine is chilling. Peanut butter sandwiches are in progress." She was carefully cutting sandwiches into small squares.

"Thanks, Pepper. I really appreciate the help."

"Of course." She caught me fidgeting with my hair. "Stop fussing, Steve. You look great."

"I know, I know. But—"

"You and Nat have been dating for two months technically speaking, but your love for each other has extended well before that. I know what happened in DC. You've been in love with her ever since then, don't try to deny it."

I opened my mouth to protest, but she cut me off.

"Don't deny it, Steve. You have nothing to worry about."

I nodded. "Thanks." I reached out my hand to sample some of the cheese Pepper had moved on to preparing.

She slapped my hand away. "No."

"Ow," I complained.

"Listen, Steve," Pepper continued, ignoring my complaint. "Nat loves you. She really loves you. And she's gonna love what you have planned. Just remember that," she said, pointing the cheese knife at me. She'd been spending way too much time with Nat because I was terrified to disagree.

I nodded.

After a few more minutes, she helped me pack everything up nicely into the basket so I could take it outside and get set up. It was almost time.

"Have fun and relax." She squeezed my arm reassuringly.

"Thanks, Pepper."

Once outside, I laid out the blanket and a few lanterns to set the mood a little bit. I'd just finished setting everything up when I heard footsteps and the sliding door.

"Steve, this is beautiful."

I turned and smiled as I saw Natasha standing on the deck, wearing a stunning white and blue flowered sundress and strappy white and beige wedge sandals.

"Nat, you look...breathtakingly beautiful," I said as she walked over to me. I wrapped my arms around her waist. She tipped her head ever so slightly to kiss me.

"Thanks, Steve. You look pretty great, too." She looked at the set up behind me. "You know, when I said meet me here at nine, I didn't expect this."

"Well, I am full of surprises."

Natasha laughed. "I love it. Just like I love you." She kissed me again.

I leaned her back slightly, deepening the kiss, before breaking away.

"You hungry?" I asked.

She smiled. "Starving."

I took her hand and led her to the blanket. We sat down and I opened the basket, taking out two wine glasses.

Next to us, I'd set up an ice bucket where I was chilling a bottle of wine. I had chosen a special merlot that I knew Nat would love with a label that said, 'What dreams are made of'. I poured a glass for each of us and then opened the basket, taking out some cheese and crackers. We ate those as we made some small talk and just soaked in the moments we had together. Then we moved on to what I considered the main course of the night.

"Peanut butter sandwiches," Natasha observed, laughing. "You remembered."

I smiled. "Of course I remembered. We ate them during our mission in DC."

"You really are such a cheesy romantic," she said, kissing my cheek. "What else do you have in there?"

After we ate our sandwiches, I pulled out dessert. Chocolate-covered strawberries—another Natasha favorite. We took turns feeding each other the strawberries, laughing when Nat got chocolate on my nose.

"This has been fantastic," Nat said when we finished eating and started to clean up.

"I have one more surprise." I reached into the basket and handed Natasha the photo.

Her eyes widened. "Steve, this is...I mean, how..."

"It belonged to Tony's father," I explained. "He had told me about it during the war, always wanted me to see it."

Nat covered my hand with hers. "And Tony?"

"Tony...he wanted to grant his father's wish of letting me see it. And...he gave me the keys. He's letting us have access whenever we want."

"He and Pepper don't mind?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Not at all. Tony wanted it to stay in the family."

"Wow. I—I don't know what to say." She turned to me. "This is amazing. Steve, the house...it's beautiful. Is this the place you mentioned earlier?"

I nodded. "I was thinking since we've wanted some time alone together, this would be the perfect place to get away for a few days.  Everyone knows about us, so it's not like we'd have to lie. And...it would be good to get a break. For both of us." I said.

Nat and I stood up to get ready to head back inside.

"So, what do you say? Do you want to go to the lake house with me?" I asked.

Natasha smiled, her eyes glimmering in the moonlight. She put her arms around my neck. "Yes."

I returned her smile with one of my own and pulled her toward me. "Tomorrow?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Tomorrow." She pressed her lips against mine.

We stayed like that until the first drops of rain started to fall from the sky. I tried to make a run for it inside but Natasha pulled me back.

"Dance with me," she said, smiling through the rain.

"Really? Now?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes. Dance with me in the rain."

I laughed and put my hands on her waist. We danced until we were soaked through. We danced until Sam opened the sliding door and yelled at us to come inside before we got washed away. We danced until there was not a care left in the world.

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

Once we finally came in to dry off, I dropped the picnic basket and ice bucket off in the kitchen before following Nat upstairs.

"Stay with me tonight?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah."

She rummaged through the closet in the bathroom and pulled out a towel for me. Luckily, I already had something to wear for sleep in her room. She'd kept a drawer of my things in her room.

We took turns showering, although she teased me about how much water we'd save if we just showered together.

"I'm just saying," she mused after we'd climbed into bed. "It's more environmentally friendly." She laid on my chest as I played with her hair, still a bit damp from the shower.

I laughed. "I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet."

She reached out to lace our fingers together. "I understand. When you're ready."

I leaned down and kissed her cheek. "I love you so much."

She turned her head so she could kiss my lips. "I love you more."

---

A/N: This was another chapter I really enjoyed writing :) I hope you enjoyed it as well!

~Han