This fics begins a few months or so after The Winter Solider. Be warned: possible spoilers if you haven't seen it yet, also won't make as much sense. Enjoy :)

9pm

When Steve Rogers arrived home he was hit with the strongest feeling déjà vu as he stood outside his apartment fishing for his keys in his back pocket.

It was just like that awful night he came home to find Fury in his apartment. He could hear music playing inside. Angry music. It was the kind of music he'd privately dubbed 'Tony-tunes' after listening to the playlist Tony has loaded onto the i-pod he'd given him; it was all drum and gloomy minor chords.

Cautiously he opened the door and crept in, half expecting to once again find Fury sitting in his armchair looking unaffected and blasé despite the bullet holes in his leather trench coat.

There was someone curled up his arm chair, but it wasn't Fury.

"Natasha?"

She was sitting in the shadows skulling something out of a can. She held up a hand motioning for him to wait until she finished. A moment later she tossed the can aside and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand grimacing.

"Hi Steve. Long time no see," she said, reaching into a plastic grocery bag on the floor by her feet to pull out another can. It'd been a few months since they'd last seen each other at Fury's 'grave'.

"Are you drunk?" asked Steve incredulously. She snorted derisively.

"Don't be ridiculous," she said, pulling the tab to open her new can and taking a huge gulp.

Steve switched off the awful music, and Natasha made a face as she finished the second can.

Steve noticed other empty cans littered around his apartment... four large cans.

"What are you drinking?"

"Energy drinks. Tastes like liquefied candy floss mixed with cough mixture. I hate energy drinks," she said the last part emphatically, crushing the can in her fist and tossing it aside like the others.

"You look nice," she said suddenly, staring at him with a strange sort of intensity, "did you finally ask out that nurse?"

"No…" Steve glanced down at the black suit he was wearing, a familiar lump rising in his throat that he thought he'd gotten rid of sometime in the past four hours, "I was at a funeral," he admitted quietly.

"Oh…" replied Natasha softly. He didn't have to explain, she understood.

Natasha stood and stumbled and it shocked Steve because it was so unlike her to be clumsy, but then she was wrapping her arms around him and standing on tiptoes so she could pat him on the back awkwardly, so he let it go.

"Can you give me a lift to Tony's?" she asked abruptly pulling away and looking at him with fevered eyes. Steve blanked for a moment at the blunt subject change, and said the first thing that came to mind.

"But you can see Stark Tower from here. It's practically within walking distance…"

"Well will you come with me?"

"Hang on a minute-" Steve grabbed her by the shoulders and put her at arm's length, "I recognize that- that's my shirt!"

"I also took a pair of socks and I had a shower too, hope you don't mind," She replied with a shrug, ducking out of his hold.

"No, not at all, it looks much better on you than me anyway," he replied wryly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm glad we agree," she shot back.

"I'm just wondering why you didn't take any pants," he said, eying her bare knees.

"Your shirts, I look better in. Your pants, I don't think I could pull off," she admitted, as she bent over to pull yet another can of energy drink out of her grocery bag.

Steve switched on the light so he could look her over carefully. She was wearing his favorite blue checkered button down. His could see his black socks pulled up to mid-calf looking very loose on her much smaller feet.

Her hair was dripping wet and there were very dark bluish shadows under her eyes. She looked absolutely exhausted. She had a bandage wrapped tightly around her left forearm and he could see a pinkish tinge on one side where it seemed blood was seeping through.

"What happened to your arm?"

"Oh that's right; I borrowed your first aid kit too." Steve stared at her for a moment and she stared right back with that weird intensity.

"Alright, I'm going to need you to tell me what is going on. You are acting very strangely." He said.

"It's a long story; I'll explain when we get there. I don't want to go through everything twice."

"When we get where?"

"Tony's, remember? You're giving me a lift." Steve had a funny feeling she wanted him to come to act as a buffer, meaning she was probably going to tell Tony something unpleasant.

"Right… Okay fine. Let's go." He gave up. Tony would figure out what was wrong with her. He would go along to make sure they didn't kill each other.

"You aren't going to bring your shield?" she said in a tone that highly suggested he bring his shield.

"Are we expecting trouble?"

"Well maybe, I think you should bring it. Just in case."

"Fine, hang on."

He went to his room and quickly changed into casual clothes, not wanting to ruin his only suit and wondering what on earth Natasha had gotten herself into. He strapped his shield onto his back.

When he returned to the living room Natasha had pulled on her boots and thrown on her leather jacket over his shirt. Good thing the shirt was so big it could pass for a dress on her.

She skulled her fifth or sixth can of energy drink as he lead the way out of the apartment over to the elevator.

Steve was about to press the button to go down when the elevator dinged and opened to reveal three large men in black suits all holding hand guns. He threw out an arm and ushered Natasha back around the corner quickly.

"What number was the apartment again?"

"3c? Or was it d?"

"Pretty sure it was 3c-"

They sneaked into the stairwell and ducked as the men walked past towards Steve's door.

"They're going to trash my apartment aren't they?" he deadpanned.

"Well, at least we know where that trouble I was expecting is. Or should we beat them up before they go in?"

"You know what, yes. I'd prefer that. I already had to buy new furniture after what happened with Fury."

"Go ahead Cap, lead the way."

He took out two with a well-aimed throw of his shield, while Natasha delivered a round house kick to the head of the third.

"I'll take that…" muttered Natasha under her breath divesting the men of their guns. She strapped one onto each of her thighs high enough that the shirt covered them, and held the third in a tight grip.

"Don't I get a gun? I think I deserve one. I did take out most of them," said Steve jokingly.

"Very funny, let's go." she gave him a funny little half smile that often appeared on her face when he made lame jokes she found funny despite herself. She kept the guns for herself, but she did find a hand grenade which she handed over and Steve pocketed.

They took the stairs down to the basement where the parking lot was.

Natasha scoffed when he offered her the helmet.

"C'mon, there are people after you. Red isn't exactly the most inconspicuous color," he said gesturing to her still wet hair.

"I guess you have a point," she said, accepting the proffered helmet.

Steve attached the shield to the front of his motorcycle and swung his leg over in a smooth practiced motion.

Natasha slid on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly.

As he pulled out into traffic he saw a black SUV with tinted windows quickly pull away from the curb in front of his apartment building.

"Did you see that?" he said over his shoulder. He felt her nod against his back. He also heard the distinctive click of the gun being taken out of safety.

"Hold on tight!"

He sped up and wove through traffic, and the Black SUV followed. He swerved down a small side street suddenly and the SUV careened forward, unable to maneuver so quickly.

'I think we lost them' was on the tip of his tongue when a second SUV appeared at the end of the road in front of them. He slammed on the breaks and swerved around to drive in the opposite direction just as the other car showed up again. They were blocked from both ends.

Natasha shot at the car in front of them until the glass shattered and then Steve pulled the pin out of the grenade and threw it in with unerring accuracy.

He swerved around again and floored it just as the grenade went off.

Men spilled out of the other car in front of them with guns. Just as they opened fire, Steve swerved to the left. Natasha must have caught on to his idea because she shot out the windows of the glass store front of the café on the corner, and they drove right through diagonally to the road on the other side.

He rode hard for a few blocks, twisting and turning haphazardly. He didn't want to lead them back to Stark Tower.

Eventually he spotted a bus up ahead stopped at a bus stop on the opposite side of the road. He pulled over quickly, grabbing his shield and pulling Natasha along with him. She took off the helmet and left it beside the bike. As they ran for the bus, she covertly dropped the two guns she'd emptied into a storm water drain.

They made it in just before the doors closed.

The old bus driver gave the shield a strange look, but accepted Steve's money and pulled away from the curb. The only other passenger was an elderly woman reading a magazine who paid them no heed.

They took a seat next to each other towards the back and Steve shoved the shield down under their seat.

He pulled his hood over his head and Natasha sunk low in her seat to be obscured by him.

They both let out a relieved breath a black SUV sped past the bus in the opposite direction.

They got off three stops later a couple blocks from Stark Tower and begin to walk towards it.

Halfway there Natasha stumbled, and would have fallen into the gutter if Steve hadn't steadied her.

"Natasha…" he said, clicking his fingers in front of her unfocused eyes. She blinked and shook her head as if she were trying to clear it.

"Sorry I nearly fell asleep." Her face was pale and her hands were trembling. He was starting to get seriously worried about her…

"Natasha, are you okay? You didn't get hit back there did you?" She rubbed her hands over her eyes roughly.

"I'm fine, just tired. Adrenaline rush wore off. Let's just get to Stark Tower, and then I'll explain."

They walked briskly down a small alley that opened onto the street Stark Tower was on.

"Wait." Said Steve suddenly, making Natasha pause.

"Look, there. The guys in the black suits."

Natasha peered around the corner, and then pulled back with a disgruntled huff.

"Idiots. They're so conspicuous."

"I guess they anticipated that you'd come to me or Stark. They've covered their bases," said Steve, glancing around the corner again. He took note of where they were standing, how their hands were resting above where their guns were most likely concealed. There were three of them.

"I don't think Tony would appreciate us leaving bodies on his doorstep," said Natasha.

"I don't think we want them knowing where we are," replied Steve thinking hard.

Just then a boy on an electric scooter came down the alley, and light bulb lit up in Steve's head.

He moved and blocked the scooter's path, making the boy skid to a halt.

"Dude what's the matter with you! Get out of the way!" it was a pizza delivery boy, no older than 18 or 19 with a spotty face and limbs too long for his body.

"Want to make an easy hundred bucks?" asked Steve. The boy eyed him suspiciously, and then Natasha stepped forward with a look that that was all honey and promises.

"Pretty please?"

"How?" asked the boy, mesmerized by her smile.

"Deliver this to Stark Tower; just leave it with the security guard. Also, give me your hat."

The boy's eyes bulged at the shield Steve pulled off his back.

"Is this, I-I mean are you-"

"We just want to play a little prank on Ironman. You'll help us won't you?" said Natasha sweetly.

"S-sure."

The boy inspected the bill Steve handed him closely before deeming it authentic and tucking it away in his pocket. He handed over the hat, and Steve handed over the shield, which the boy tucked into the bag he usually kept pizzas in.

"Once you're done, get out of here," said Steve sternly.

"Sure man, but first… Can I take a picture with you?" the question was aimed at Natasha with boyish hopefulness.

"Only if you keep this a secret," said Steve quickly.

"My lips are sealed," said the kid reverently.

"Make it quick," said Natasha drily, glaring at Steve with no real heat. The kid flicked down the scooter stand with one foot and pulled out his phone.

He inserted himself between Steve and Natasha, surreptitiously elbowing the former in the arm to get out of the way.

He held up the phone and grinned like he'd won the lottery, while Natasha obliged him with a half-smile as the flash went off, then he got back on his scooter and flicked the stand back up.

"I just want to say, I'm a big fan and you're really hot," were his parting words before speeding off around the corner.

Steve couldn't help the snicker that escaped between his lips, although it was quickly stifled by the dirty look Natasha threw at him.

"Alright 'man with a plan,' what's part two?" she said tiredly.

"First we wait a little, then I'm borrowing a little off something that was your idea. Here, put this on," said Steve, shrugging off his jacket and dropping it around her shoulders. She obliged him and slipped her arms through the sleeves as he jammed the borrowed hat on his head.

The jacket looked ridiculous on her, but that was the point. With the hood over her head she was practically swallowed and indistinguishable.

"Are you going to 'laugh' at something I said?" said Natasha casually, pushing up the sleeves so she could put her hands in the pockets.

"Something like that," replied Steve, peering round the corner just in time to see the pizza boy successfully speeding off away from them.

"C'mere," he said, holding out an arm.

She walked over and he clamped it over her shoulders firmly.

"Follow my lead on this one. No offence, but you suck at improving, almost as much as you suck at lying," said Natasha.

"I'm not that bad…" spluttered Steve. She gave him a pitying look, but didn't say anything else as they rounded the corner strolling casually.

Steve tensed up immediately. He found himself staring at the three men, waiting for them to look up and recognize them. He couldn't help it, he'd never been subtle.

Natasha snorted, and said "You suck."

Suddenly she pushed him off her, and in a voice very unlike her own, she hissed at him at him, "I saw you! Don't deny it, you were flirting with her!"

"W-what?" his bewildered expression was not fake.

"I can't do this anymore! You're on your own!" she said, and then she turned and stormed away from him.

"Hang on a minute!" said Steve, jogging to catch her, and grabbing her arm to turn her towards him, but she wretched it out of his grip and continued marching away.

"I didn't do anything! I really don't know what you're talking about!" he said to her back pleadingly. She ignored him.

"Please, wait up." He managed to grab her hand and pull her around. She gave a very convincing sniff, and then she was sobbing noisily into her hands. Steve knew it was for show, but he still felt horrible.

"Hey, please don't cry. I'm sorry…" he said, putting his hands on her shoulders, feeling more than a little panicked.

"Y-you promised you'd be there! Then I saw you with her!" Natasha said brokenly.

"I-I really don't know what you're talking about..." he said desperately.

"You're a terrible liar," said Natasha in a low voice, but Steve could see her face, and the amused glint in her eyes.

She turned her back on him and marched towards the door to Stark Tower.

"Where are you going?" he called after her.

"I need to use the bathroom." She snapped back marching in through the revolving door.

He followed quickly, accidentally catching the eye of one of the guys they were trying to avoid, but before he could panic the guy gave him a sympathetic look that seemed to say 'I feel ya buddy' and then he turned away.

Blinking in surprise Steve entered the building just as easily.

Tony gave them all security clearance cards after New York. Steve fished his out of his wallet, using it for the umpteenth time to flash the security guard who nodded them through.

They got in an elevator and Steve swiped his card and pressed the button for the top floor. Natasha yawned widely, before removing Steve's jacket and handing it back to him.

"That was horrible," he said stonily, accepting the jacket and shoving his arms through the sleeves with jerky movements.

"Public displays of aggression make people uncomfortable," said Natasha with a smirk, which quickly turned into a yawn.

"Yeah? Well I prefer what we did last time," he grumbled.

"I'd be offended if you didn't," she shot back.

The elevator dinged as they reached their destination. They were on the floor where they had apprehended Loki the year before.

The damage had been repaired for the most part, but Steve could still see the indentation of Loki where the Hulk had smashed him. He could see Natasha staring at it too, a faint smile on her lips, and then she was yawning again.

"Did you know that being sleep deprived produces the same effects as being lobotomized? Your frontal lobe literally shuts down," she said suddenly.

"Has the good ol'Cap been depriving you of sleep Nat? I'll be honest, didn't think you had it in you Steve."

They both just rolled their eyes as Tony appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"So what brings you guys to visit? Can I get you anything to drink?"

"-No thanks."

"-Coffee?"

"Did you hear that Jarvis?"

"I did indeed. Coffee for the lady coming up. And for you sir?"

"Hmm, how about a Martini? You know how I like it."

"Wonderful selection sir."

"Go ahead, take a seat, welcome to my humble abode. So are you guys going steady? Is that what you came here to tell me?" Steve blinked.

"Why would you think-"

"Jarvis, the footage if you please. Put it on the big wall. Oh, and dim the lights."

"Yes sir."

Security camera footage of them kissing each other on the escalator played, and the images were almost life size. Steve pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You've been sitting on this for a while haven't you?" he said exasperatedly.

"Jarvis, let's play it again, but this time can you zoom in-"

"Okay Stark you've had your fun, but we actually have something serious we need to discuss with you." said Steve reaching the end of his patience.

Usually he humored Tony, but it had been trying day for him even before Natasha had shown up.

Tony sighed exaggeratedly.

"Fine. Jarvis, lights," said Tony snapping his fingers. The room brightened again.

"Your drinks are ready sir."

"Thank you kindly." A tray rolled over the stopped in front of Natasha first; who grabbed the coffee and downed it before Tony even had the chance to grab his. She took a breath, and then launched into her story.

"I was in East Russia when I caught wind of a group that specializes in memory, that is the erasure and alteration of memories, and I thought I'd check it out because I thought they could have had something to do with why your friend didn't remember you." She gestured to Steve before continuing.

"Long story short, I stole this Intel," she pulled a USB from her jacket pocket and tossed it to Tony.

"That has information on all their methods. I got a bit cocky though and let them capture me hoping to get a bit more information, but I miscalculated. They got their new memory serum into my system. Once I fall asleep, the serum will be activated and it will suppress all my memories. At least… that's what they think it'll do. It was untested. They put a homing beacon in my arm and they were waiting for me to fall asleep so they could see what would happen."

She held up her arm gesturing to the bandage which was now soaked through,

"Needless to say I escaped and got rid of the homing beacon. I kept myself awake and came back here. They have men in the city, they knew I'd come here, also knew I'd come to you and Steve for help. I was hoping you could come up with something to counteract it with."

"Hang on a minute," injected Steve, "So, how long has it been since you slept?"

"About a week now I think, maybe a week and a half, I've lost track," replied Natasha nonchalantly. Steve's jaw dropped. No wonder she'd been acting so strangely.

"A week!?" he cried in shock.

"Well shit…" said Tony almost sounding sympathetic, "You do realize that I'm an ingenious engineer? Not a doctor, or a chemist." he said.

"Well maybe between you and Banner you can figure something out? I don't have a clue where he is, I was also hoping that if you couldn't help me, you could point me in his direction."

"I can contact him. I'll see if he can come back. In the mean time I'll look through all this," he held up the USB, "but Natasha, I don't know how long this will take. Longer than a couple days… You're going to have to sleep and maybe forget everything."

"I know. Which is the part I'm worried about…"

"Is that why you dragged me along? To make sure Tony doesn't mess with you?" asked Steve curiously.

"Well, partly."

"I take that as a personal affront. I would never dream of messing with you if you were to lose all your memories!" said Tony theatrically. Steve and Natasha just looked at him.

"Okay fine, you got me." He said raising his hands in defeat.

"What I'm more worried about it how I'll react," continued Natasha, "I could seriously injure someone. I haven't had the most peaceful life… If I didn't have any memories and I was just running on instinct, I could potentially run around trying to kill everyone I come across."

"I could get Happy to watch her?" suggested Tony looking at Steve. He shook his head.

"No, no offense to Happy, but Natasha would get by him way too easily if she flipped out. How about Hawkeye?" Natasha shook her head.

"He's in Europe with Fury."

"So it has to be me then," said Steve slowly.

"If that's alright with you?" asked Natasha looking at him. He knew what she was really asking, 'Do you mind postponing your search for Bucky?'

"It's fine." He said with a reassuring smile. Natasha breathed a sigh of relief.

"So Cap, you're on babysitting. Make sure she doesn't break anything or kill anybody. You can take the 20th floor, it's for guests anyway. I'll get Maria, you guys remember Maria right? I'll get her to put together a team and deal with the guys in the city."

"Tell her to call Sam if she needs any help. He'll be itching for some action. We've been grounded for the past week." Tony gave him that raised eyebrow look that said - I know perfectly well you haven't been grounded because I fixed Falcon a week ago - but he let it go. For now.

"Alright. Let me know when she wakes up, Bruce will probably want to run some tests... Sweet dreams." With that, Tony drained the rest of his Martini and went over to his computer to plug in the USB. They were dismissed.

"C'mon." said Steve gently, leading Natasha to the elevator. Now that she knew it was inevitable; the fight to stay awake seemed to have drained out of her.

Steve nudged Natasha a little as her head slumped against the side of the elevator, and it snapped back up. She flashed him a grateful look.

They got off on the 20th floor like Tony said.

"Before you pass out, you better let me redress that arm," said Steve practically.

She followed him to the bathroom docilely.

"Jarvis, where's a first aid kit?"

"Cabinet on the left Mr. Rogers."

Steve found it and grabbed out new dressing, cotton swabs and some antiseptic.

He had her sit on the edge of the bathtub, and she leaned against the wall tiredly, holding out her arm dutifully, blinking drowsily.

Steve knelt in front of her gently unwrapped the bloodied bandage. He grimaced at the wound revealed underneath.

It wasn't big, but it was deep. She'd obviously had to gouge out the homing beacon.

"I think it needs stitches…" voiced Steve reluctantly.

"Can you do it?" asked Natasha tiredly.

"Yes. I have in the past, but it would be better if we took you to a real hospital or got a real doctor-" Natasha shook her head tiredly.

"I'm about to pass out. Just get it done quickly."

"Jarvis, does Stark keep any pain killers in here?"

"I believe there is some tramadol in the second drawer."

"I hate that stuff, it always gives me headaches. Just do it Steve. I'm too tired to feel anything and I've had worse in any case."

"Are you sure?" she just looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Alright fine…" Steve acquiesced with a frown. He looked through the first aid kit and found a curved needle and sutures sealed in sterilized plastic pockets.

First he cleaned up the wound a bit, gently clearing away the excess blood and disinfecting the area.

"This is going to pinch a bit," he warned, needle poised and ready.

She didn't even flinch. It took five sutures to close up. Steve was pleased with his efforts, they were neat and precise.

He wrapped up her arm tightly with a white bandage.

"There you can sleep now," he declared.

Natasha stood and swayed for a moment before placing one foot on front of the other in what was obviously a concentrated effort.

She stumbled over to the nearest bedroom, falling face first onto the bed without even bothering to take off her shoes or jacket.

Steve did that for her, and even managed to coax her into taking off the remaining gun strapped to her thigh.

"Steve?" she mumbled sleepily.

"Yes?"

"In my jacket pocket, give me the letter in there when I wake up okay? Sorry about this…"

"Don't worry about it."

"Also, whatever you do, don't let me get my hands on any weapons."

"Okay. I won't."

She was out before he pulled the blankets over her.

What did you think? Review please! :)