Wow, I took way longer to update this than I thought I would. I planned on posting the epilogue a couple days after I uploaded the last chapter, but then college was like HAHAHAHA NO. Anyway, I seriously felt bummed finishing the last chapter, so you can imagine my sadness writing the epilogue to finally wrap things up. It's really short, but I honestly couldn't think of anything else I wanted to add to it.

Natasha's mind could hardly grasp it; she actually felt… normal. She was resting her head on Steve's (very comfortable) shoulder, and allowing his arm to wrap gently around her shoulder to pull her more tightly to himself. His constant inhale and exhale relaxed her to the point that she would have fallen asleep - if she wasn't so engrossed in the movie they were watching. Natasha shifted slightly and reached for Steve's free hand to absent-mindedly play with his fingers. Her hand looked so small and slender compared to his, but this fact didn't make her feel weak or tiny next to him. On the contrary, she reveled in their differences and was confident that she could pull as much as he pushed, and vice versa. They may have started dating, but they were friends first, and neither was better or more important than the other. They both had their strengths and their faults, which each knew they had to accept in the other.

When the credits began rolling, neither Steve nor Natasha made any indication that they had a desire to move a centimeter from their current position. Their movie night had become so routine that Natasha hadn't even bothered texting before arriving at his doorstep. Tony hastily tried to clear out, but Steve felt better about having someone else around in the apartment. At any rate, neither Steve nor Natasha would have felt great about booting Tony out of his own apartment. Therefore, Natasha could hear faint rock music and hard typing sounds from Tony's room down the hall. Natasha smiled and exhaled a soft laugh that melted into Steve's shirt as she pressed her face to his chest. Steve lightly pulled on a few strands of her hair and nudged her questioningly.

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

"I was just thinking about Tony and the others," Natasha said, "and how they set us up on the day we got together."

"Oh," laughed Steve.

After a few moments of comfortable quiet, Steve laughed again.

"Now what are you laughing about?" questioned Natasha, who poked him on the side, where she knew he was ticklish.

Steve pushed Natasha's hand away before asking, "Did I ever tell you about the time you came to my house for dinner?"

"What about it?"

"I knew you were standing in front of the door for five minutes."

"WHAT?"

Natasha hadn't thought it was possible for her to ever feel mortified, but oh did she feel it now! Maybe, since it had skipped over her during her high school years and most of her college career, mortification decided to strike a full blow right now just for the simple, sadistic pleasure of it.

"I watched you stand there, looking unsure about even opening the door for a simple dinner," chuckled Steve.

"You and I both know it was way more than that - "

"Shush, I'm telling you the story. Anyway, you looked so torn about coming in or not, but I was even more torn about whether or not I should open the door. I mean, if you just left and I let you, I knew I'd probably regret it forever. But if I opened the door on you, I would be the one pushing the whole time. I had to let you come to me on your own terms."

"How did you even know I was there?"

Now it was Steve's turn to be embarrassed.

"I was looking for you through a crack between the blinds in my mom's room. It gives a really good view of the front door. I sat by that window for half an hour until you showed up."

"Oh my gosh, I did the same thing when you came!" Natasha cried.

"No!" gasped Steve.

"Yes!" exclaimed Natasha, and they both burst out laughing.

"Oh my gosh, we're such dorks," Steve said, shaking his head.

"I blame you," stated Natasha.

"Me? How can you blame me for this?"

"You made me a sap. You even got me to kiss you. In public."

"Ugh, feelings!" fake-gagged Steve, who was struggling not to laugh again.

"Yes, feelings," emphasized Natasha with mock disgust.

"Do you remember my mother's face when she saw us at the gallery holding hands?"

"Oh my gosh, it was the best reaction ever!"

"…Until she started asking when we were going to get married and have kids."

Steve flushed with embarrassment at the thought, and Natasha couldn't resist making his blush deepen.

"Dad still has the voice mail you and your mom left when I slept over," Natasha told him.

That sentence achieved Natasha's desired result.

"What did you hear?" he asked hurriedly.

"Take a guess," smirked Natasha. "And your mom was right. You haven't taken advantage of me yet, but remember I know a few jujitsu moves."

Steve shuddered at the image of a full-blown Natasha attack, and gripped her hand more tightly; in response, Natasha cuddled closer to him, amazed that the action was so natural to her.

Steve sighed. "Do you know what I'm grateful for?"

"What?"

"Coffee."

"Coffee?!"

"Yes, coffee. And do you know why I'm grateful for coffee?"

"No, why?"

"Because my insatiable need for it drove me to the coffee shop - our coffee shop - every day. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have met Sam, or Clint, or…" Natasha raised her eyebrows. "Kate."

Natasha gasped and slapped Steve hard on the chest. "I can't believe you said that!"

"Oh, did you expect me to say 'you'?" Steve asked with pretend surprise in his voice.

"Grrrrrrrr!"

Before Natasha could tear his eyes out, Steve said hastily, "I'm sorry, but if I had said 'you,' you would've teased me for being cheesy again."

"I - " Natasha snapped her mouth shut, then sighed frustratedly. "Okay, so maybe that's true, but as my boyfriend you are still obligated to say it."

"I'm sorry, I lost my copy of the How to Be a Boyfriend Manual. I'm kinda winging it here."

"So am I."

Steve smiled and leaned his face so close to hers that she thought he was going to kiss her. However, he stopped several centimeters short and dug into her heart once again with his penetrating blue gaze.

"Natasha?" he whispered.

"Hm?"

"I am very grateful for you. Always grateful."

Their lips touched, and Natasha smiled in a way that Steve didn't think he had seen before.

"Me too, Steve."

Okay, that's the end of CWIACS. Again, thank you so so much for your positive reviews. Even if all you did was favorite or follow, you have been an invisible but very encouraging support to me. I've noticed that as my writing skills have progressed, my stories on this site get longer and get more attention. It's definitely a good sign, and I look forward to writing more in the future.