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Chapter Text

“Not having a girlfriend is not a crisis.”

“It is if you’re trying to win a gubernatorial election, Steve.”

He pinched his nose, letting out a defeated sigh. He wanted to keep arguing, wanted to dig his heels in the ground and insist that his private life wasn’t a crisis but unfortunately for him, Maria was right.

Not being relatable was dangerous enough to lose him this election and he wasn’t about to let all of their hard work go to waste.

Maria kept giving him a pointed look, waiting for him to finally make up his mind. She could see the gears turning in his head, the fight and reluctance to listen to her slowly melting away. His shoulders slowly dropped, and he tucked his chin to his chest.

“What’s your plan?”

She crossed her arms over her chest, raising a perfectly arched brow. “You have no objections?”

Steve scowled. “What’s the plan, Hill?”

Sam was pursing his lips, trying to cover his laughter with his hand. He had been telling Steve for years that he needed to find someone, but it wasn’t to help him with his career, he was just tired of seeing his best friend so alone. Anytime he’d try to set him up, Steve would come up with a million excuses or reasons why it wouldn’t work. Now he’d have no choice but to finally take his advice.

Steve let out a chuckle.

For the first time since Jasper Sitwell mentioned Steve’s family – or lack thereof – he found that he could laugh. Sitwell had brought it up during an interview with a local podcaster that spent most of his time making inflammatory comments and spewing up conspiracy theories. At the time, Steve didn’t think anything of it but according to Twitter, a man as “great as he was” that was still single was just a walking red flag.

He didn’t think it was going to matter much until Maria walked into his campaign office and told him they had a crisis in their hands. She asked if he was gay, if he had a secret family hidden somewhere in his basement or if he was just that bad with women that he hadn’t gone on a date in five years.

He wasn’t gay, he didn’t have a secret family – anywhere – and while he wasn’t the most suave guy, he wasn’t completely terrible with women. At least not terrible enough that he couldn’t get a date. He just…didn’t have time.

He didn’t blame them for breaking up with him. If the roles were reversed, he’d understand that he wasn’t exactly the best boyfriend. Work made it impossible for him to make birthdays, anniversaries and he just couldn’t make himself make time. So instead of giving anyone false hope, he just stopped dating.

He focused all his time and energy on this. On helping people, trying to make a difference and now trying to win the election against Jasper Sitwell.

“What’s so funny?” Maria cocked her head to the side.

Steve stopped laughing. “Oh, you’re serious?”

“Steve, when have you ever seen Hill crack a smile?” Sam joked from his seat.

Maria shot him a glare, narrowing her eyes before turning back to Steve. “Of course, I’m serious, Steve.”

“Jesus,” He swore under his breath, squeezing the bridge of his nose again.

“On the way back, I was compiling a list of possible candidates.”

“I helped.” Sam chimed in.

“Right,” he said dryly.

Maria continued, “I think this is our only option.”

His scowl, if possible, darkened.

“Steve-”

He swallowed hard. “Who are they?”

Maria turned to Sam with a sweet smile. “See?” She pointed to her mouth. “I can smile.” Sam scoffed and she turned back to Steve before Sam could say anything else. “I knew you’d come around.” She walked over to his desk to grab her briefcase and pulled out a folder. “These are our options.”

Sam drummed his fingers on the desk and kicked his feet giddily. “I feel like we’re in the Princess Diaries looking for Steve’s princess.”

Steve glared at him, pulling at his tie. He was starting to sweat now. “Come on, Sam.”

“Just trying to lighten the mood.” He held his hands up in mock surrender.

Steve motioned for Maria to continue.

“Alright, we’ve got-”

“Seriously?” He chuckled softly. “Pepper Potts?”

Maria shrugged with a little sly smirk. “Tony was being a little reckless last week. Pepper is a good friend of mine, thought this would be a good way to get him to finally want to settle down.”

Steve shook his head, laughing a little.

“Jokes aside, Pepper is a good woman. She would be an amazing partner. She’s smart, career-driven and she’s beautiful. She didn’t need much convincing once I said it would be you.”

“Tony and I aren’t exactly best friends but that’s the woman he loves, I wouldn’t do that to him.”

Maria nodded and showed him the next picture. “This is Natasha Romanov. She’s the daughter of Ivan Romanov, head of one of the biggest tech companies in the world right now. They’re Russian but the Cold War has been over for a few years now, so I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”

Sam whistled softly. “She’s pretty. I’ve seen a few of her walks down the runway. Winnie’s obsessed with her. Says she’s the most beautiful woman in the world.”

Steve raised an eyebrow. She was pretty but…a model? “She’s a model?”

“She’s done a few shows, but it’s been for charity. Nat is one of the smartest women I’ve met. She’s beautiful, talented and has over 300 million followers on social media.”

“So, she’s an influencer?” The word sounded as bitter as it felt leaving his mouth.

That made Maria laugh. “Oh, I bet she’ll love that. Next, we have-”

Steve made a face. “Peggy?”

“I thought with your history…”

He waved her away. “Who’s next?”

Steve dated Peggy Carter for two years. Met her at Bucky and Sharon’s wedding. Things between them hadn’t exactly ended terribly but he did promise to never travel to London as long as she lived there.

He had loved her so much he nearly married her. At least he thought he had loved her enough to want to marry her. When he brought it up, she asked to take a break. A month later she was engaged to her partner at Interpol.

He hadn’t told anyone what had happened. Not even Sam or Bucky, so he didn’t blame Maria for not knowing and including her in the list.

“That was my idea,” Sam said, “thought you’d like a familiar face.”

“She was engaged.”

“Not anymore,” Maria shook her head, “I didn’t call her but my source at Interpol says it didn’t work out.”

Steve sighed. If he was going to go through with this terrible plan, he was not going to do it with her. “Who’s next?”

Before she could answer, his phone started to ring. Maria sighed and closed the file. “We can pick this up when you’re done.”

Saved by the bell.

~*~

When her dad asked her to visit him for a chat over breakfast, Natasha hadn’t expected him to be offering her hand in marriage to anyone.

The marriage part wasn’t what threw her off, it was the candidate and how nonchalant he had been when he mentioned it. Like he was just asking her how the weather was to keep up their conversation.

In fact, he had mentioned that Steve Rogers was looking for a wife and then asked her to pass the salt.

Her dad wasn’t the kind of man to be warm and fuzzy, he was very old school, but he did love her. Sent her to the best schools, made sure she was always taken care of and supported her in every business venture she went into – so it wasn’t like he was just selling her off.

She knew that he always wanted the best for her but…Steve Rogers? A politician?

It’s not like he was a bad man.

She had met him a few times at the charity events she hosted but they had never really sat down to talk. Politicians and businessmen always used her events as a way to network. They didn’t really care about the cause, just wanted a nice tax write-off. She didn’t mind as long as they contributed, and she was able to help those that were depending on her.

As she cut into her pancakes, he mentioned that he would be a good candidate for a husband. That he was smart, young and came from a good family.

He was giving her the option to choose, and she wasn’t sure what made her even consider it – maybe it was because an arranged marriage had always been something she expected or because her dad knew that she wouldn’t be able to turn down a way to keep helping.

Steve Rogers wasn’t the governor of New York yet, but his numbers were good. He had good policies and looked like he knew what the hell he was talking about. Being his wife wouldn’t be so bad.

As she looked down at the picture on her phone, she didn’t feel as crazy for accepting the offer so quickly.

He was handsome. A little too blond for her liking but he was cute, especially when he smiled. He was tall, had nice broad shoulders and some really nice hands. Not that that would matter – if a politician was looking for a fake wife, he was probably gay or into some freaky shit that she would not be a part of.

If it worked out between them, their marriage would probably be stale and frigid, but she was sure she could convince him on a few policies that would help her work with the public libraries she was trying to open.

“Ms. Romanov,” The receptionist shook her hand when she stood up, “Ms. Hill is ready to see you now.”

Natasha followed her to the office and sat down on the chair by the desk. “Thank you.”

Maria wasn’t in her office, but Natasha could hear her through the wall. Her voice was muted but she could make out a few of the things she was saying.

“You said a girlfriend, Maria!”

“Who will turn into your wife!”

Steve – she assumed – said something else she couldn’t make out.

“Look, you hired me because you needed help and I’m the best. If I say that this is what we need to do, then trust me, it’s not because I’m trying to play matchmaker.”

“This is crazy!”

“Crazy is losing this election because you’re being too stubborn to do what you have to do!” Maria stopped talking for a moment and then in a softer voice said, “Natasha is nice. I’ve known her since we were in high school. Trust me, she’s going to be perfect.”

Aw. They hadn’t spoken in a few months, but Natasha always remembered her fondly. Maria was tough as nails, driven and fought to earn her place like a bulldog. She was someone you’d want in your corner, especially if you wanted to win in, well, anything.

“Look,” Steve sighed. Maria had definitely worn him down. “If we’re doing this, I can’t just…” he trailed off, “she’s beautiful, okay? Can’t deny that but I don’t want just a pretty face for a wife. I want someone that will be able to stand beside me and-”

Natasha rolled her eyes. Of course her future husband would be a snobbish idiot. He thought that because she had a pretty face, she wasn’t smart. She went to Brown – graduated magna cum laude and was the head of three internationally respected charities.

“Did you even bother to read the file I gave you?!” Maria snapped. “You know what, she’s probably in my office right now. I’m going to hope that she hasn’t heard anything you said and that if she has, I can convince her that you’re not a total tool.”

The door slammed behind her, and Natasha suppressed a smile.

“Hey Nat!” Maria grinned at her brightly.

Natasha stood up, returning her smile. “Hi, Maria.”

“We can catch up over drinks later, if you want but I figured you’d want to get straight to business.”

Before she could say anything, someone knocked on the door softly.

“Can I come in?”

Maria sent him a glare. “You’re already in, Steve.” She stood up and Natasha followed. “Nat, this is Steve Rogers. Steve, this is-”

“Natasha Romanov,” she offered her hand, “the pretty face.”

Steve winced and his face turned the colour of her hair. “You, ah, you heard that?”

Natasha shrugged. “The walls are a little thin.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Rogers, already forgotten.”

“Steve, please.” He lowered his hand to his side and kept his eyes glued to her face. He had seen the picture that Maria showed him, but they paled in comparison to the woman standing in front of him.

Her eyes were so green it was almost uncanny. She smelled nice too, sweet and floral. It was subtle enough not to overpower his senses but strong enough that he would probably still smell it after she was gone.

“Well,” Natasha cleared her throat, “my father suggested I accept the offer. I figured we could discuss the terms before officially agreeing to anything.”

“Terms?” Steve cleared his throat.

“Yes, Mr.-” She stopped herself, “Steve. Terms. Typically, stipulations within a contract between two consenting parties.” Her smile was saccharine, but her eyes made it clear that she had not forgiven his comments, maybe she never would.

Damn, he was an asshole.

“What are your terms?”

Natasha crossed her arms over her chest. “No kids. PDA to a minimum. I’m comfortable holding hands, kissing can be negotiated. I will not quit my job. Your career is not more important than mine. At least five appearances at one of my events. I will be your wife, not your toy or your pet. I’m not interested in your money, so we will sign a prenup and when we divorce, we will say it’s amicable and that we decided together.”

The more she spoke, the more Maria smirked, and the higher Steve’s brows went.

“Is that everything?”

“I believe I covered what’s necessary.” She uncrossed her arms and moved her chin in his direction. “What are your terms? Other than not wanting just a pretty face.”

Steve was speechless.

He had walked into Maria’s office to apologise for being so hard-headed and was met by a force. She was as direct as she was beautiful and the iciness in her green eyes made him hate himself for not reading Maria’s notes.

“Uh,” he cleared his throat, frowning and clearly at a loss for words, “I don’t…Maria?”

Maria straightened her back, trying to hide her smirk. “I can discuss them with Natasha if you’re okay with her terms.”

“Yeah,” Steve nodded, sliding his hands in his pockets, “yeah, those are good terms.” He looked at Natasha, trying to come up with something, anything that would make up for the shit first impression he gave her, but his mind just went blank. “I, uh, gotta make a call. It was nice meeting you, Natasha.”

“Nat,” she corrected him. “Can’t be so formal if you’re going to be my husband.”

“Right,” he smiled weakly and nodded in Maria’s direction before locking the door behind him.

As soon as he was gone, Natasha turned to Maria with a smirk. “Not so bad for just a pretty face, right?”

Maria laughed. “He’s really not so bad. He’s just…,” she sighed, “a man.”

“The man of my dreams apparently.”

As they began to discuss the more technical details of their arrangement, Natasha realised that her marriage to Steve Rogers would be more technical than the terms and conditions on her phone.

Chapter Text

“You’re getting married?!”

“Wanda, shh!” Natasha laughed, placing her index finger over her lips.

“Excuse me,” Wanda whispered, leaning over the table to not bother the patrons around them, “when your best friend – who has been single for the past two years – suddenly tells you she’s getting married, you’re allowed to be a little loud.”

She rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her wine and said, “Not if it’s meant to be a secret.”

“Nat,” she grumbled, “you didn’t even tell me you were dating anyone! I’m your assistant, I know you don’t have time to date anyone.”

She reached across the table, squeezing her hand gently. “I’m not getting married yet. We’re still working out the details but because you’re my best friend and my assistant, I wanted to keep you in the loop.”

The gears in Wanda’s head started turning and her eyes widened slowly in realisation. “Is that why Maria Hill asked to have a meeting with you last week?”

“Wanda!” Natasha chastised, “Inside voice.”

Her best friend grumbled in irritation but nodded her voice and whispered, “I thought it was a friendly get together. I can’t believe you’re doing this!”

Just a week ago, she had discussed the idea of an arranged marriage to the gubernatorial candidate Steve Rogers. At the time, she had felt confident and unbothered by the idea, but as the days went by, she felt a little more nervous.

One of her terms had been an amicable divorce but Maria reminded her that things in the political world didn’t exactly work that way. Especially when Steve’s plans possibly included running for a presidential election down the line.

If she was going to commit to the arranged marriage, it was going to be at least a 20-year commitment. She would have to forget all about a divorce and really think about the plans she had for her life.

It was a little…frightening.

And yet, she had always known that a marriage in her life wouldn’t be the most loving. Unfortunately for her, the last man she had been involved with left a bitter taste on her tongue.

Matt had been an ambitious lawyer, driven and always pushing her to be the best version of herself. At one point, she thought that she had finally met her person, that she had been one of the lucky ones.

Then she found him with one of his clients hiding under his desk as she used…questionable methods for payment and all the allure of spending the rest of her life with him disappeared. She was not one of the lucky ones.

Being born into wealth and power gave her so many advantages that she knew others would spend almost their entire lifetime trying to achieve but it did come with the disadvantage that made it difficult to make meaningful connections in life.

Of course not everyone she met saw her as a lottery ticket, but she had to be wary of the people she surrounded herself with. The men within her social status wanted her to be a perfect trophy wife and those that weren’t in the same social class as her, were intimidated by her ambition and dreams.

“Nat,” she whispered almost in a hiss, “this is an arranged marriage! I mean – don’t you want someone to love, and I don’t know, start a family?!”

“I have people I love,” she responded defensively, “I have dad and I have you!”

Wanda narrowed her eyes, pursing her lips. “Romantic love and platonic love are not the same, Nat.”

“Steve isn’t bad, okay?” She tried to reassure her friend and herself at the same time. “It could be worse.”

Wanda sighed, dropping her shoulders in defeat. “The moment I don’t see you happy, we’re going to war.”

That made her eyes water a little and she laughed softly. “So, you’ll help me plan the wedding?”

“Jesus,” she swore under her breath, shaking her head as she pressed her hands against her face. “You’re lucky I love you.”

Natasha grinned, poking her hands. “So, will you?”

“Of course I will!” She gave her a look that told her she was going to be part of that process whether she liked it or not. “Besides, I’m your assistant.”

“This is a best friend task too!”

“Of course it is!” Wanda reached into her purse for her digital planner and began to tap her pen across the screen rapidly. “I’ll start making a list of all of the things we need and have it ready by the end of the day.”

Natasha suppressed a smile, using her glass of wine as an excuse to hide behind it. Having Wanda on her side would definitely help her prepare for the next chapter in her life.

“Maria will send you an email later today with a little bit more information on what we have to do.”

Wanda raised a brow, stopping her pen. “What do we have to do?”

“Well,” Natasha began softly. They were in a very private restaurant, but this was still something that could never get out. “Last week Steve and I went out to a restaurant and had a pap take some pictures. They will release sometime this week.”

“Ah,” she nodded in understanding, “the PR part.”

“Right.”

“Did you share your calendar with her?” Natasha could have been marrying the Emperor of Rome and Wanda would still make sure that her friend’s career was not forgotten. As her best friend, she had to make sure that she was happy, and nothing made her happier than her work.

“Yes. The interview we have scheduled this week with Drew for Valkyrie app launch will be where I confirm our relationship.”

Wanda nodded, pressing her lips together in a firm line and then shut her planner. She placed it back in her purse and turned to give Natasha her full attention. “Tell me about him.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow, an amused little smile lifting at the corner of her lips. “What do you want to know?”

“What’s he like!” When Natasha shrugged nonchalantly, Wanda reached across the table to smack her hand lightly. “Nat!”

She laughed. “He’s alright. A little nervous and not very talkative. I will definitely have to sell our relationship.”

Wanda tilted her head to the side, letting her hair fall over her shoulder. “What do you mean? He doesn’t like you.”

“No, no,” she shook her head, “he was a bit of an ass at first but he’s nice. Respectful. I just think he’s not comfortable enough with the arranged marriage. He seems more like…he wants love in his marriage. Which I get! But he chose this career path,” she let out a sigh, “and hasn’t met that person so he will have to settle for this arrangement.”

“So he’s just too…respectful?” She frowned.

Natasha laughed lightly. “We’re supposed to have been dating for five months but he acts like we’re dating in the 1940s.”

“Ahh,” Wanda joined in her laughter, “at least he’s being a gentleman.”

“He’s coming over with his team to take a few pictures and videos for our debut.”

Their waiter stopped by to ask if they wanted anything else and Natasha waited for him to fill her wine glass before telling Wanda all about how her first meeting with Steve was.

~*~

Bucky let out a low whistle as he looked at the picture of Natasha on Steve’s phone. Sharon wrapped her arm around him as she looked over his shoulder and agreed.

“Steve, she’s beautiful!”

Steve shot her a little smile.

Of course that was the first thing they’d say after he just dropped a bomb on them. He only wanted a few people in his circle to know, so that they wouldn’t be blindsided by the news in the tabloids and Bucky and Sharon were the only ones he trusted enough.

He told his dad, but he didn’t have the heart to tell his mom.

He was a little worried that they would try to talk him out of it but all they had to say was that she was beautiful.

“Y’know,” Sharon added, “Winnie’s obsessed with her.”

“Yeah,” he smiled more, “Sam told me.”

Bucky squeezed Sharon’s hand before kissing it lightly. They both seemed to glow with love whenever they talked about their daughter. “You don’t know how many YouTube videos she makes us watch of her. We watch her that more than Cocomelon.”

It seemed that everyone in his circle knew the beautiful Natasha Romanov and how amazing she was except him. At the memory of their first meeting, he winced and confessed what an idiot he had been.

Bucky let out the loudest laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. “Man, you just never know how to talk to women, do you?”

Steve narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. “I technically wasn’t talking to her.”

“Natasha is one of the UN Women’s Goodwill ambassadors and spends most of her time advocating for women equality. She spent a year in Sokovia after their Civil War in shelters, making sure that people had safe living conditions and proper healthcare.” Sharon spoke so proudly, like she was another fangirl of his future wife.

He was almost jealous that they knew of her before he did.

“Didn’t know you were a walking wiki page for her.”

“Told you,” Sharon laughed, “Winnie loves her and if my daughter is going to have anyone as a role model, I’m happy it’s her.”

“So you guys aren’t…” he trailed off, “you’re not against this?”

Bucky shrugged. “It’s your life, man. She’s definitely better than Peggy.” He turned to Sharon and muttered, “Sorry, babe, but your cousin sucked.”

Sharon rolled her eyes, ignoring his comment. “It’s your decision, Steve. Just…you know, try to make the best of the situation. We know it’s part of the job but try to make it work as best as you can. The last thing you want is to spend the next ten years in a miserable marriage because you wanted to be governor.”

“Will you get divorced if you don’t win the election?”

Sharon smacked him upside the head. “He’s going to win.”

Bucky ducked, rubbing the spot she had just hit and said, “I’m just asking!”

“Stupid questions get stupid responses,” she pinched his side.

“Mommy?” Winnie walked into the kitchen rubbing her eyes sleepily. She was dragging her blue blankie behind her with her curly hair falling over her eyes.

“Hey baby, did you have a good nap?”

Winnie nodded and raised her arms for Sharon to pick her up. “Hi, Uncle Steeb,” she muttered tiredly into Sharon’s neck.

Steve walked over to kiss his goddaughter’s cheek and she smiled happily. “Hey Win.”

“Where’s my kiss?” Bucky stood up from his chair and walked over to take Winnie from Sharon. He began to pepper her face with kisses until Winnie was giggling and squirming against him.

“Daddy, your beard! It’s itchy!”

Instead of letting her go, he just kept rubbing his face against hers until she was shrieking in laughter.“James!” Sharon chastised, sighing as she rubbed his back. “She just woke up, stop getting her so riled up.”

Bucky put her down on her feet and rubbed the mop of curls on her head. “Alright kiddo, you hungry?”

“Mm,” she nodded and then turned to Sharon, “mommy, can I have screen time?”

“Just fifteen minutes.”

Bucky grabbed Winnie’s hand as he walked her into the kitchen and asked her what kind of snack she wanted. As they walked away, Steve looked after them with Natasha’s voice echoing in his head.

No kids.

Having a family wasn’t necessarily his ultimate dream, it wasn’t going to make or break his decision to their arrangement but…the idea was always nice. He felt himself become a little warm at the idea of bringing that up to his future wife.

“Have you talked to her lately?” Sharon asked, trying to get him out of his head.

Sharon met Steve and Bucky during one of their tours overseas. She was a nurse in charge of Bucky’s stubborn ass and somehow she handled his grumpiness. He was the only soldier that managed to get under her skin at the trauma wing, but Sharon didn’t mind it as much as she acted.

Seeing Bucky try to flirt with her was better than having him snap at everyone after losing his arm. Steve had Sharon to thank for bringing his best friend back to life and they had all practically become inseparable.

“Uh,” he glanced down at his watch, “I actually have to head over to her place now. Maria said we have to take some pictures.”

“Alright. I can’t wait to meet her. I hope she’s as nice as she seems in person.”

“She’s...something,” he chuckled softly to himself, “more beautiful in person, if you can believe it. Smart as hell too. Made me feel like an ass.”

“As she should,” she laughed, “she agreed to help you and you didn’t even bother to read her file!”

Steve blushed, scratching the back of his neck. “I forgot. Didn’t think I would meet her so soon.”

“Oh, what are we going to do with you, Rogers?” She shook her head, smirking. “Go, you don’t want to be late. Remember, a happy wife is a happy life.”

He nodded and went to say bye to Bucky and Winnie before leaving.

~*~

“Steve,” Sam groaned, “you need to stop being so stiff, man. You look like a board.”

Next to him, Natasha stifled a laugh.

It was true. They were supposed to be taking couple pictures and he looked like they were recreating realistic versions of statues.

Steve swallowed hard and muttered, “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“Trust me,” Natasha said, “you would know if I’m uncomfortable.”

He nodded but didn’t say anything.

They didn’t have a professional photographer. They were just taking “candid” pictures on their phones. They wanted to have things in hand to solidify their fake relationship, especially when the tabloids would be searching for any mistake they could find in their lie.

Natasha had gone through all of her Instagram posts for the past five months and recreated the looks so that she could take pictures with Steve and sell their relationship better. She was a natural at it, so much so that Steve was starting to feel a little out of his league.

“Why don’t we try a video?” Wanda chimed in, “That’ll make the fans go crazy.”

“What were you thinking?” Sam asked.

Maria was sitting in the living room sorting out the finer details with her tabloid contacts.

“There’s nothing that people love more than seeing a man in love with his girlfriend. If Steve takes a video of Nat doing something normal, it’ll make their relationship a little more grounded, more relatable.”

“Yeah,” Sam nodded, becoming a little excited as he pictured their vision, “yeah, like Steve bringing her flowers.”

“Putting them in a vase,” Wanda added, “there’s nothing more frustrating than a man bringing you flowers that you have to find a place for.”

Natasha laughed softly. “We don’t have flowers.”

“What about Steve washing dishes? Women love that, right?”

Steve pulled at his tie, starting to feel a little suffocated with all of the instructions. Natasha noticed his discomfort first, letting Sam and Wanda bounce ideas off each other until Steve looked like he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

“Come here,” she grabbed his hand and tugged him toward her kitchen. She grabbed two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine.

Steve watched her pour it silently, thankful that she had pulled him away to the quietness.

“Two months ago you started to win ahead in the polls,” she handed him his glass, “we could celebrate that.”

He nodded. “What did you have in mind?”

Natasha pulled out her phone and told him to hold his glass up. “Do you know what a Boomerang on Instagram is?”

“Uh,” he frowned a little, “a photo?”

She smiled. “It’s like a photo and a video in one. It’s really short though, so it’s going to keep replaying. All you will do is touch your glass to mine, okay? I will make a sweet caption and that’s that.”

He watched as she held the phone up and took the pictures. “Why are you doing this?” He blurted it out before he realised what he was saying.

She raised an eyebrow, lowering her phone. “Taking pictures of you?”

“No,” he shook his head, “helping me with this. Being my fake wife.”

Natasha pursed her lips, thinking of the answer to give him. She didn’t really have a good answer for it other than just being impulsive. “Every good politician needs a pretty wife, right?”

Steve let out a sigh, dropping his shoulders in defeat. “Nat, I’m really sorry about that. I didn’t mean to insult you. I just…I didn’t want anyone that would just look good on paper. I wanted a partner, someone that could become involved in this chaos and not…be miserable.”

“And you don’t think I can be that?” She didn’t sound accusatory or offended, she was just curious.

“Honestly?”

She nodded, waiting for his answer.

“You’re probably more qualified to be governor than I am.”

That made her laugh so much that he felt himself relax a little. She had beautiful laugh, contagious and he couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

“You’re amazing. I still kick myself for not having read Maria’s notes. Everything that you’re doing with your charities and your project with Valkyrie…it’s just amazing. You’re already doing some of the work that I would like to make more accessible and I couldn’t find anyone more qualified for this part than you.”

She bit her bottom lip softly. “You know about my Valkyrie project?”

Steve nodded, smiling a little bashfully. “I’m not just saying you’re amazing to feed your ego. I read about it and it’s honestly really great. What made you want to start it?”

“A lot of my work is with survivors of domestic abuse. I wanted to have all the resources available to them in one spot. Doctors, therapists, lawyers, other survivors – people they can trust won’t take advantage of their vulnerability. We’re working with professionals that are interested in helping the community and-”

She stopped when she noticed that he was just…staring. He had a goofy smile on his face, almost a lopsided one and his eyes were glimmering with admiration.

“Sorry,” she felt herself blushing, “I was rambling.”

“No, don’t be sorry. You’re passionate about this. I like it.”

Before she could say anything in return, Wanda called out her name.

“Yeah?”

She bit her bottom lip, looking down at the pictures she was taking. “I know you said in your terms that kissing could be negotiated.” Beside her, Steve stiffened. “But I think right now would be a perfect time to do it. You guys look relaxed and happy. It’ll be a perfect picture.”

When Natasha turned to look at him, he whispered, “We don’t have to if you don’t want to, okay?”

She smiled. “It’s alright.” She raised her hands, sliding them up to his shoulders and then tugged him down.

He was rigid at first. She couldn’t even feel him breathe.

“Relax,” she whispered and then kissed him so softly that if they didn’t have the picture as proof, he wouldn’t have believed it happen.

Her mouth was so soft, so gentle against his that he felt himself immediately melt into her touch. It was almost impossible not to. Her lips slowly parted, just enough that he felt the tip of her tongue brush against his and he tightened his grip on his wine glass to not do something stupid – like pull her closer to him.

She tasted sweet, like the wine and just…her. The sweet floral scent that she left behind in his office last week when she had gone to do the paparazzi shoot was now engulfing him. Turning his brain to absolute mush.

Slowly, Natasha pulled back and sent him a sweet smile. “See? Not so bad.”

Steve swallowed hard, nodding as he slid his sweaty hands down his pants. “Thank you.” His voice was husky, laced with lust he was not expecting to feel. Hell, he should not be lusting after his fake girlfriend.

“Alright,” Sam clapped, making Steve nearly jump out of his skin. “I think we have enough pictures for today.” He turned to Wanda, and they discussed what photos they would show Maria.

“You asked why I’m agreeing to this, but you never told me why you need a fake wife.”

Steve blushed. “I haven’t really had time to meet anyone.”

“So, it’s not because you’re gay?”

He chuckled quietly. “No, it’s not because I’m gay.”

She peered up at him suspiciously. “And you’re not into hardcore kinky stuff?”

His face flamed up again and he shook his head. “Uh,” he cleared his throat, “no. I just haven’t met anyone I could commit to as much as I commit to my job.”

“Mm,” she murmured, rubbing her lips together. “Then, I think we can make this work. Our work complements each other, and I think you could really make a positive change, so if I can help, I will.”

Steve couldn’t hide his smile even if he tried. “Thank you.”

~*~

The next week, when he watched her interview with Drew Barrymore, he felt something stirring in the pit of his stomach. When Drew asked if the relationship rumours were true, she confirmed it and gave such a heartfelt answer that Steve almost believed her.

She explained that she had asked him to keep their relationship a secret until they were both sure that this was something they wanted to explore. She described in detail their first meeting – which wasn’t exactly a lie. They had met at one of her charity events, but they hadn’t actually talked.

Natasha described him as funny and charming, said that he was sweet and supportive and treated her like a princess. When they showed the never before seen “candid” photos of them in her kitchen or on dates, the audience nearly lost it.

It was surreal. Her fans loved her so much that within seconds they were trending on Twitter, her Valkyrie project and his policies. His approval numbers were rising and all of the comments that had worried Maria were no longer a threat.

And while all of that was great, he couldn’t help but focus on how jealous he was of the version of himself that had the fake relationship with Natasha that the world was slowly obsessing over.