#natsam

Title: everything's better (with the right company) Fandom: MCU Pairing/Characters: Sam/Natasha Rating: G Word Count: 300 Summary: Sam runs into a familiar face while on his search for Bucky. A/N: for the seasonsofdrabbles exchange

On AO3

For @nachodiablo, Who won one of my @marveltrumpshate 2019 Auctions. This is the fifth of six aesthetics, I’ll be making for Nacho over the course of the year. Here you are, Nacho!

Sam Wilson x Natasha Romanoff - Undercover AU.

Also on Ao3.

Sam waits to say anything, until the last customer ambles away from the counter he’s seated at. “You know,” he says, hushed and quiet, eyes darting around the small cafe before zeroing back onto Natasha. “You look pretty good like this.” He watches as she pauses in her task of restocking the cupcake shelf, before she flicks her eyes up to meet his. 

“I meant,” he tries to backtrack when he notices how they’ve narrowed with a dangerous glint to them. “Like you’re happy. Not like, you-I mean that is,” he flounders before letting his mouth snap shut when he notices the way her lips curve up at the side, in a half smirk. 

“you call that fighting?” nat asks, and sam shrugs, looking down at her. she’s spread out along the couch, her head in his lap, and she looks like a million dollars. 

Of course! I’m gonna do the Cap quarter if that’s ok! This is based off an actual thing that happened to me lol

Baking should be fun. It should be easy, relaxing, and fun. Just fun. Not stressful, hard, and exhausting. It all started off good, but slowly everything began to fall apart.

“Ok, so preheat the oven to 350° for me, Sam.”

“You’ve got it.”

“Awesome; Nat, can you get out the ingredients?”

“Already did.”

“Great; Bucky, do you have the instructions pulled up?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Ok,” exclaimed Steve, clapping his hands together happily, “lets bake! What first?”

“It says we need to start making the batter.”

“Alright, what do we need to do that?”

“We need two eggs,” started Natasha, peering over Bucky’s shoulder, “1/4 of water, and 1/8 of oil.”

“And we have all of that?”

“Right by the toaster.”

Sam picked up all the ingredients and made his way over to the bowl.

“Watch it, muscles,” mumbled Bucky. “You’re gonna break all the eggs.”

“I’m being careful,” mumbled back Sam.

“You’re literally balancing the carton on top of the cake mix!”

“I’m being careful!”

“Hey,” interjected Nat, “no fighting in my kitchen!”

Sam smirked at Bucky, who crossed his arms with a huff. Steve but a gentle arm around him as their boyfriend passed, giving him light kiss on the forehead. Hopefully the two would get along for the rest of the day and they’d all be able to enjoy some cupcakes in piece.

After Nat poured the mix and the eggs into the bowl, she reached for the oil. Something topped her, however.

“What’s up, Nat?”

“It said 1/4 of water and 1/8 of oil?”

“Yep.”

“...That doesn’t sound right.”

“How come?”

“I just,” she said, scratching her head, “feel like that’s wrong.”

“It says right here that it’s right.”

“I know, I know; but...maybe just...let’s just see how it feels.”

The woman poured in the water and the oil hesitantly. When both were in, she bit her lip.

“...I don’t think that’s enough.”

She grabbed the bottle of oil and began to pour more.

“Whoa,” exclaimed Sam, reaching for the oil. “What are you doing?”

“I think it needs more!”

“But the instructions said-“

“Yeah, I know; but it doesn’t feel right- Bucky? Can you get some more water?”

“Sure.”

“Bucky don’t-“

“Thank you.”

Nat poured in the full cup of water as Sam and Steve watched in horror.

“Let me see if it tastes right,” said Bucky, making his way over and picking up the whisk for a taste. He stood thinking for a minute after before pulling a face.

“It needs more sugar.”

“Buck,” started Sam, “we don’t need to add sugar; it’s not homemade cake mix.”

“He’s right,” said Nat after taking her own taste of the batter. “‘Needs sugar.”

“Guys, it doesn’t nee-“

“How much do you think,” asked Bucky, turning to his girlfriend.

“It doesn’t need any-“

“Try a cup.”

“A cup,” exclaimed Sam. “That’s way to much!”

“Oh, hush,” teased Nat, pouring in the cup.

Sam turned to Steve, who really had no clue what to do. After a while, it was just Bucky and Nat adding unnecessary ingredients to the watery mix.

“Ok,” smiled Nat, looking down at the mess in the bowl. “I think it’s good!”

“How about you and Bucky go relax while me and Sam finish the rest,” insisted Steve.

“How come?”

“Well, I mean...you two did most of the mixing.”

“Fine; but you two better not ice them without us.”

“We won’t; go relax.”

Bucky and Nat made their way to the living room, chatting about their work. Steve turned to Sam, who was cringing at the “batter” that sat on his counter.

“...Should we toss it?”

“...Let’s just...try.”

“What? Babe, we both know that this isn’t gonna bake. Look at it! It’s literally just liquid!”

“What if...what if we add flour to it? Make it lore solid?”

“...Do you think that’s gonna work?”

“I don’t know, but it sounds like it should.”

“Alright,” sighed Sam, “let’s try.”

Steve opened the bag of flour that was in the cabinet and began to pour it in.

“Do you think that’s enough?”

“...Maybe add some mire just to be safe.”

Sam watched as his boyfriend kept emptying the bag into bowl.

“Sam, that was like half the bag.”

“Seriously? What did they do that made it this watery?!”

“I don’t know, Bucky poured in, like, three cups.”

“Three?!”

“Maybe two- look, let’s just try, ok?”

“...If it explodes, I’m not cleaning it up.”

“If it exploded they’ll clean it, ok?”

“...Fine. I’ll get the tin.”

After Steve and Sam has poured the disgusting mix into the cupcake tin, they put it in the oven, praying that it would actually bake. Once it was in, the two went to go sit with their boyfriend and girlfriend in the living room.

“Are they in,” asked Nat, who was resting on Bucky’s chest, watching TV.

“You bet,” responded Steve, taking his place on the couch and letting Bucky rest his feet on his lap. Sam curled in next to them, resting his head on Steve’s shoulder.

“If I get food poising,” he whisper into Steve’s ear, “I will never forgive you.”

Steve smirked before pressing a kiss to a grinning Sam’s nose and turning his attention to the TV screen.

After about a half hour, the timer on the oven went off, causing Bucky and Nat to spring up in excitement.

“They’re done!”

“Ok,” laughed Sam, “let’s go check them out.”

Bucky and Nat instantly ran to the kitchen, Steve and Sam close behind them. Once Steve opened the oven, smoke poured into the room.

“Whoa,” exclaimed Nat, pulling him back by the back of his shirt.

“Did they burn?”

When the smoke cleared, Steve tried again to see, this time opening the door slowly. He looked isnide, expecting to see the worse, and...

“They’re perfect!”

Bucky and Nat high-fived as Sam and Steve stared in disbelief. Did it actually work?

“...Ok,” said Steve, a smile returning to his face. “Let’s let them cook for a minute before frosting them!”

Nat and Bucky frantically searched the fridge for the various icing flavors they had bought the night before. Steve and Sam stood off to the side, watching the whole thing.

“I can’t believe that actually worked,” whispered Sam.

“I didn’t expect it to...lucky us, I guess.”

Soon enough, the cupcakes were frosted and on a plate in the living room.

“Ok,” announced Nat, holding a pink frosted cupcake in the air, “three, two, one...”

The four took a bite out of each of there own cupcakes in celebration. Instead of tasting the deliciousness of cupcakes, however, they tasted...

“...Nothing?”

Nat took another bite, confused.

“They...don’t have a taste?”

Sam saw Bucky’s posture drop a bit in defeat.

“That’s so weird,” he said through a mouth of food. “I don’t get it? We followed the instructions.”

“...I feel like I messed it up,” sighed Nat, putting down her cupcake and resting her chin in her hands, “I’m sorry guys.”

Bucky put an arm around her, resting his head on her shoulder as he did. Steve turned to Sam, not knowing what to do.

“Hey...Nat-“

“Well,” interrupted Sam, who was reaching towards the plate, “I think they’re good!”

“But they have no taste,” said a confused Natasha, looking at her smiling boyfriend.

“Doesn’t mean they’re not good,” he smiled, taking a bite out of a misshapen, blue frosted one.

“...I think so, too,” added Steve, taking his own from the plate. Nat stared at them as they bogged down the food.

“...A-are you serious?”

“Yeah,” exclaimed Sam, “the texture is awesome!”

Nat and Bucky looked at each other before slowly reaching for their own cupcakes. Bucky bit into his, thinking as he did.

“...I guess they’re not terrible,” admitted Nat, turning to see Bucky’s reaction.

“...I think I have to agree; I mean, I’ve had worse.”

“They’re really good, guys,” soothed Steve, who had just finished his second one.

“...Ok,” shrugged Nat, smile n a it as she did.

“Ok.”

“Cheers, guys.”

“Cheers,” said everyone in unison, holding they’re cakes in the air before eating the rest.

words are overrated. without them, you can let your eyes close, rest a little. your head can tilt back and your mouth can open in a horrific exhausted snore (sam) or your head can fall forward so you can shake the dust out of your hair (nat). you can splay out on the ottoman so booted feet don’t get the important upholstery stained (sam) or your fingers can dig into arches that have started complaining about the point of your toes (nat).

your eyes can linger over the little cuts that cover her arms or scan across the bruises on his jaw. your hands can reach for her hand and squeeze, and your grip can pull him towards a bed that has hotel-fresh sheets.

silence gives you room to breathe. gives you the chance to swallow your pride and nod when fingers dig into the aches you haven’t yet discovered.