Disclaimer: I do not own the Captain America series.

"Dinner was lovely. My favorite restaurant, the best wine… you really know how to treat a girl right." Natasha smiled at her date who was seated across from her. "Thank you, Steve."

"Of course," Steve replied, smiling back.

"All done, you two?" The owner of the restaurant, Chef Erskine, asked.

"Yes, thank you, Abraham," Natasha said kindly. She and Steve used to come to the restaurant so often, the owner knew them by name.

"Ah, wonderful. The staff missed the both of you coming by, we thought something horrible happened," he joked.

"Oh, nothing like that, Abraham," Steve said while he paid the check and added a hefty tip. "We've just been busy with everything and haven't had the time to drive back here in a while."

"Busy?" Chef Erskine's eyes twinkled as he took the bill from Steve. "Terrible two's, right? I've heard quite a few things about that time."

"Ah, well," Natasha said, her eyes lighting up with joy at the thought of what awaited her back at home. "It's not too terrible."

She reached her hand out across the table and Steve reached his out to hold it; they met in the middle.

Erskine chuckled. "Nevertheless, I am very happy the two of you took the time to visit our humble dwelling. Mr. Rogers, Ms. Romanoff— ah, I always forget, Mrs. Rogers."

Natasha smiled. "Don't worry about it. Sometimes, I can hardly believe it myself."

Her hand still in his, Natasha used the pads of her thumb to run smoothly over the band of silver on Steve's finger. He subconsciously did the same to her.

"I will leave you two to it then." Erskine began walking back to the kitchen. "Please take your time."

Natasha and Steve both thanked the chef and when it was just the two of them again, Steve asked, "You wanna go for a walk?"

"Tonight was perfect, Steve. We definitely needed a night out," Natasha said while they walked out the door of the restaurant. She popped a mint in her mouth and let its cooling palette fill her taste buds. She unwrapped another mint.

"We had to celebrate this special occasion." Steve opened his mouth for Natasha to toss the mint in.

"Special occasion? Did I forget your birthday again?" Natasha joked as she wrapped her coat around herself and began to walk out of the parking lot and in a familiar direction.

She definitely knew what today was and what it meant to them, but even as the years passed, Natasha never grew tired of playing with Steve. However, as the years passed, Steve had definitely learned how to play back.

"Yes, love," Steve agreed, pretending to be disappointed. "It was my birthday this late September and the fact that you forgot absolutely breaks my heart."

"Darling, no!" Natasha dramatized back. "I swear I'll make it up to you." She lowered her voice and tried a different tactic: entice Steve. He may have caught onto her sarcasm, but her flirting always threw him off, no matter how long they had been together.

She continued walking, but turned to do so backwards, her eyes focusing on Steve's the whole time and his on hers.

It definitely got his attention. "How so?"

Natasha grinned seductively and winked. The chase began and Steve was a willing player.

The two of them continued their stroll on the sidewalk, both glad that there was nobody else around to see their slightly tipsy alter-egos.

She stood in front of him to stop their walking and fixed his tie. Leaning in closer, her grip tightened on the silky fabric as she whispered, "How about a little friendly sexual unzipping?"

Steve pulled back from her and grinned. "You're forgiven. Let's go home," he said. In a haste, he grabbed her hand, ready to turn back and get into their car.

"Woah, woah, woah." Natasha laughed, pulling him back in. "Now hold on, are you forgetting the special occasion so soon?"

Steve looked around as he realized where Natasha had led them. "You know," he stated, matter-of-factly.

"Of course I know, I remember everything."

The two of them stood in front of their old apartment complex.

"Today is the first day we met," Steve reminisced. "It was exactly 5 years ago."

"Move-In Day: one of the most unforgettable days of my life." Natasha's green eyes twinkled.

"Says the woman who remembers every single day she has ever lived."

"You mean the 'ma'am' who remembers every single day she has ever lived?" Natasha teased.

Steve groaned dramatically, remembering their first conversation. "You know what, Romanoff?"

"You mean, Rogers?" She corrected teasingly.

Steve grinned at the reminder that they had finally tied the knot.

After dating for a few years, the two of them decided to move out of their apartments and find a place that they could share. While Natasha would miss her old place, she was excited to begin a new chapter in her life.

When they had chosen a beautiful and quaint home on the outskirts of the city, it was time to pack all their belongings in their old apartments.

Dressed in her, or rather Steve's, favorite shirt and ratty old sweatpants, Natasha pulled her hair up into a messy bun and began the packing process. While she was packing up box after box and throwing away everything that didn't bring her joy, she heard a nervous cough behind her.

She turned to go face to face with a giant stack of boxes labeled "books." Moving them out of the way and wiping a gleam of sweat off her face, Natasha saw Steve walking back and forth, pacing the room.

Quirking a brow, Natasha studied him up and down. "You gonna tell me what's wrong?"

"Wha— what? Nothing's wrong." Steve laughed nervously.

"I know your 'I'm keeping a secret' face, so you gonna tell me what it is or am I gonna have to resort to my harsh interrogation methods?"

At Natasha's teasing and sarcastic voice, Steve calmed down a little and stopped pacing. He pretended to think for a moment. "No, I don't think I will."

"Well, you asked for it." Natasha walked towards her boyfriend, her fingers wiggling threateningly. "Harsh interrogation method it is. You know, this method has a 100% success rate."

Jumping forward, Natasha tickled him causing him to laugh and fall on the couch. Natasha followed suit, continuing her tickle torture.

"Alright, alright, Agent Romanoff, you got me! I surrender!" Steve cried out melodramatically.

He slid off the couch in defeat, before he reached the final position of kneeling in front of her.

"Steve," she said confused. "What are you—"

That was when Steve had pulled out the ring box, his nimble fingers opening it up for her to see. Realization struck Natasha faster than lightning.

He took a deep breath in. "Natasha Romanoff, will you—"

"Yes."

"I didn't get to—"

"Yes."

"Marry me?" Steve grinned as he saw how bright and happy she looked.

"Yes!" Natasha kneeled on the ground across from him and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him close for a kiss.

They had shared many kisses before, but somehow, this felt like the best kiss she ever had. She thought that every time they kissed though, so she was pretty biased.

Steve broke the kiss and let out a relieved laugh. "A small part of me thought you might say 'no.' You have no idea how relieved I am."

Natasha let out an uncharacteristic girly giggle. "I'm glad you asked. A couple more weeks and I would have asked you myself."

"Yeah?" Steve asked tenderly.

"Yeah," Natasha confirmed. "But I held off on it cause I know you're old," she paused, her eyes twinkling, "fashioned."

"Ha, ha." Steve rolled his eyes, but the smile never left his face.

"The old me was terrified of connecting with people and sharing a space with them, whether it be in a home or in my heart, but you… you've changed me for the better."

"You were a pretty good influence on me too. You helped me move in to my apartment and helped me move on from the past. You opened my heart to new possibilities."

At that moment, their dog, Dodger, came tottering in towards them, wondering why his mom and dad were kneeling on the ground.

Steve beamed as he and Natasha pet the furry beast. "And you helped me adopt Dodger."

"He may have been the best thing to come out of our relationship," Natasha joked as she rubbed behind his ears.

"Oh, no doubt."

"Wait a minute, you've proposed, but I still don't have my ring!" Natasha exclaimed.

"Oh, right!" Steve remembered.

While Dodger scampered away, Steve pulled out the ring and allowed Natasha to examine it carefully.

Simple, yet elegant.

Beautiful and creative.

Remarkable.

Dazzling.

Amazing.

(Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before…)

Completely Steve.

The ring was definitely custom made. She gave her hand to Steve and watched as he easily slipped the ring onto her finger. Admiring its design, Natasha noticed how the silver glistened differently and how the design of the ring looked like a—

"You like the zipper?" Steve asked.

The ring wrapped around her finger in the design of a small dress zipper, its little teeth interlocking to form a beautiful design.

Natasha grinned and she looked up from studying the ring to meet the face of the man who gave it to her. "I love it, Steve."

"It gets even better." Steve took her hand and ran his thumb on top of its pattern. "The silver metal used to make it came from our two keys from this apartment. I asked the guy to melt them together and make the ring."

"Who knew you were such a romantic?"

"We've made some pretty good memories in this place. I thought I should add one more for good measure," he said while Natasha wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned against him. They both curled up at the foot of the couch, relishing each other's warmth. "Something permanent."

As the two of them settled against each other, a thought struck Natasha. "If you melted our keys together for the ring, how are we gonna turn in our apartment keys?"

Steve kissed the top of her head lightly. "Relax, I made a copy and we'll turn that in. The landlord will never know."

"You made a copy?" Natasha mock-gasped. "Breaking the rules? My, my, my, what a rebel. The tenant has gone rogue."

Steve exaggerated a sigh. "I guess I'll have to get kicked out of the apartment and become a nomad living in the wilderness with nowhere to go."

"You know, I would offer to let you stay at my new place that I'm moving to, but I don't know if my fiancé would be okay with." She leaned in and stage whispered, "You see, he's kind of a goody two shoes."

"Oh, yeah?" Steve asked, taking both her hands and guiding her body onto his lap. "I don't think he'd mind."

"You think so?" Natasha leaned in closer, her lips gravitating towards his. She freed her hands from Steve's and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her fingers playing with the hairs on the nape of his neck.

"I know so." There was a heat in his eyes. Biting back a grin, he crooked one perfect eyebrow as his hands slipped up and down her body. "I don't think a goody two shoes would be able to handle you."

"Maybe he isn't as big of a goody two shoes as I thought," she whispered as her legs tightened its hold on his waist. He could definitely handle her.

When he finally kissed her, she felt like she was on fire. Her fingers travelled up the back of his head and firmly clutched a handful of his golden hair.

He bit the bottom of her lip in retaliation. A devilish smirk gracing his face as he did sinful things to her.

Bringing two hands to his chest, Natasha pushed Steve so hard the couch went backwards and Steve fell to the ground, the couch no longer there to support him.

Her knees on either side of his stomach and her palms lying flat on either side of his head, Natasha gazed at him hungrily for a second before leaning down and meeting his lips once more.

So there in an old t-shirt and baggy sweatpants, Natasha felt like she was on top of the world.

Well, she thought as Steve moved under her, right now, in a way, she was on top of her world.

A few months had passed and their wedding ceremony had gone on without a hitch. It was simple with only a couple of guests and a whole lot of food and music, just how they wanted it.

Just as they were about to enter their new home as a newlywed couple, Steve turned to Natasha and asked, "Ready to start our new life?"

From the porch, Natasha peeked through the open front door into the bare home filled with boxes yet to be unpacked; boxes they were saving until after the honeymoon. In that moment, amongst all the cardboard, she saw the potential for a new beginning. She met Steve's baby blue eyes, her own eyes feeling ever so misty. "You first."

Steve rubbed her back gently, placing a feather light kiss on her forehead. Then, without warning, he scooped her up bridal style.

Natasha laughed, batting his chest as she pretended to hate being carried like that.

Steve studied her softly, as if he couldn't believe that she was actually here with him. He reached the door, one foot about to step into the home, his arms still holding the love of his life. He looked down at her and asked, "How about we start that new life together?"

At Natasha's nod, he stepped fully in and shut the door behind him.

Together, they walked into their new life and never looked back.

Natasha tried to open the door to their home. The drive back from the restaurant felt like hours and she couldn't wait to come home and celebrate "Move-In Day" Natasha and Steve style.

While she was struggling to fit her keys in the lock, she couldn't help but shiver as Steve left hot kisses on her neck, his arms wrapping her waist from behind. He was definitely not helping to speed the situation.

Once Natasha had opened the door, she turned and grabbed Steve by the tie, pulling him into the house and kissing him hard.

Kicking off her heels, she forwent turning on the lights because she figured the two of them knew the layout of the house well-enough by now and didn't find the need to ruin the romantic mood with blaring lights.

Their mouths moved in sync as they made their way to the bedroom. Until—

"Ah!" Natasha let out a small yelp of pain as her foot stepped on something pointy. She pulled the foot that had stepped on it up and massaged it as she stood on the other.

Steve searched for the light and turned it on. The two of them looked down at the ground to see what caused Natasha to hurt her foot.

"Shit," Natasha said, letting go of her foot and making sure she stood somewhere where she was safe.

Steve put a hand to his forehead as he remembered, "James."

Natasha bit her lower lip as she thought of what to do next. "Call Clint and Laura," she said. "Ask them if—"

"On it," Steve said, his phone already ringing.

While Steve talked to the couple, Natasha bent down to clean the mess left by James. Natasha tossed everything she found in the bin: a Buzz Lightyear action figurine, a couple of plastic trains, and Legos (a whole bunch of Legos). She hated Legos. She didn't even know why she bought them. This wasn't the first time those evil building blocks had stabbed her in the foot. Natasha could still feel its annoying sting on her bare foot. But James was creative (just like his father) and Natasha loved to see him play and create his own world, so she supposed she could live with the Legos, just to see the smile on her son's face.

A year into their marriage, the two of them had decided it was time to fill their house with more love. They adopted a little boy with blond hair that could rival Steve's and the most beautiful smile that could light up any room. He was absolutely perfect.

While James wasn't theirs by blood, he was theirs in every way that mattered. James was their baby and the most important person in their life. Every time she would hear her little boy call her "mommy," she felt like her heart had doubled in size.

But like any parents, they needed a break once in a while and Laura and Clint had graciously offered to babysit. In the heat of the moment, they had forgot to pick James up on the way back and that was why Steve was currently calling the Barton household.

Through the speaker, Natasha could hear Laura's laugh as she assured the (still kinda new) parents that it was an easy mistake that she and Clint had done a few times. "Oh, yeah," Laura said, "The number of times we almost walked out of the store without Cooper or Lila." Clint laughed in the background as he agreed.

Steve and Natasha could hear squealing in the background as the sound of children running around overtook the speaker. While the Barton kids were also shouting and giggling, Steve and Natasha could specifically hone in on the sound of James and his adorable, yet slightly mischievous, voice.

"Is that mommy and daddy?" James waddled towards the phone and Natasha could picture him making grabby motions towards the device with his tiny chubby hands.

"It sure is, sweetie," Laura said to the boy. "You wanna talk to them?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" James said excitedly while Laura handed him the phone.

"Hi, Jamie," Steve said into the phone.

Natasha stood up from cleaning the toys and walked over to Steve, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Daddy! Is mommy there?" the little boy asked energetically. He sounded like he had eaten a whole bowl of sugar.

Steve grinned, rolling his eyes with mock-exasperation as he handed the phone to his wife. James was such a mama's boy. Natasha stuck her tongue out at Steve as she took the phone. "I'm right here, baby," Natasha said. "You having fun over there?"

"Uncle Clint show us all the bows and arrows! We played with it! It's super fun, mommy!"

"It sure sounds like fun," Natasha said. "I hope they're not real bows and arrows you're playing with. Right, Uncle Clint?" she asked slowly, a sharp edge in her voice.

"Relax, Nat," Clint assured through the line. "It's just a Nerf bow and arrow set. We'll wait till he's three to bring out the big guns."

Natasha could make out the sound of James giggling in the background. She could only assume Clint had made a weird face at him while he joked around with her.

"Mommy! It's fun here! Can I stay?" James had the phone again.

"Stay?" Natasha questioned. She looked up at Steve, who shrugged, but had a noticeable excited energy around him.

"A sleepover!" James blurted out while the Barton kids agreed with him and begged their parents to let it happen.

"It's fine with us," Laura said into the phone.

"Alright," Natasha conceded. "You be a good boy for Uncle Clint and Aunt Laura. We'll pick you up in the morning, okay baby?"

"Okay, mommy! Bye! Bye, daddy!" James then handed the phone to the adults and ran off with his friends to build a fort.

Once Natasha and Steve had said their "good-byes" and "thank yous" to the Barton's, they ended the call. The house was silent again.

"So James is still at Clint and Laura's and he's spending the night there." Steve said, his eyes twinkling mischievously, making Natasha wonder if that was who James had learned it from. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Natasha definitely knew what Steve was thinking… and she liked it.

"Oo, this dress is feeling pretty tight." Natasha teased. "I think I'm gonna find my handy-dandy Zipper-Upper3000 and get unzipped." She paused at their bedroom door and winked as she pulled a bobby pin out of her hair, letting her curls fall loosely down her back. "I'll see you in a minute."

Steve growled good-naturedly as he loosened his tie and followed her inside. He wrapped his arms around her stomach and twirled her around causing her to burst out laughing. She leaned back into his chest and asked, "You jealous of an appliance, Captain?"

"These machines are taking all our jobs," Steve rumbled into Natasha's neck muttering curses against technology like the Boomer he was on the inside.

She wanted to make a joke about old-man Steve, but the feeling of his hands against the fabric of her dress distracted her to no end. She closed her eyes and relished his touch. "Mmmh, and it's a job you've done beautifully."

"You're damn right."

"How about you finish the job and unzip me, Rogers?"

He did.

Author's Note: That's all folks! Hope you enjoyed the final part/epilogue. Please leave a review if you have time cause it would make my day!