Steve and Natasha decided to throw a party on New Years Eve. They invited their friends over to join them. Natasha was so happy that Clint could come, she hasn't seen him in months, due to him getting transferred to a different facility in New Jersey. She ran to him and jumped into his arms as soon as he came in, and Clint hugged her tightly.

"Cliiiint, I missed you so much!" She squealed after it seems like calming down for a few seconds. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

"Of course I'm gonna be here. Can't start the new year without my girl now, can I?" He said, finally entering the living room and setting his coat on the coat rack. "Hi! You must be Steve! I'm Clint." He smiled and gave out his hand for Steve to shake.

"Uh, yeah. I'm Steve… nice to meet you, Clint." Steve was quiet and awkward with him, not really meeting his eyes and turning away right after shaking Clint's hand.

The doorbell rang and Maria, Wanda, and Thor was by the door, it seems that they carpooled together. Natasha introduced them all to Steve, "This is Maria," she points at a woman who seems to look serious and fun at the same time. "This is our little baby, Wanda," she pointed at the girl next to Maria and pinched her cheeks. She pouted at Natasha while the others snickered and although she seemed shy at first, Steve feel himself warm up to girl. "And lastly, Thor." Thor gave Steve a huge grin and patted his back with his huge hand.

"It is nice to meet you, Steve!" His loud voice boomed and Steve can't help but to laugh. Thor trekked to the couch where Clint was and gave the guy a side hug. Steve went to the kitchen to go get drinks for them.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you guys Clint's here." Natasha told Wanda and Maria, who rushed to the living room to see the guy.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd be able to make him come." Maria said, giving Natasha a questioning look.

"Yeah, well he owed me one. Suddenly leaving my ass without even saying anything," she muttered and rolled her eyes, but her lips are quirked up. Wanda chuckled and rubbed her back. She's seen Natasha upset when Clint had to leave and she's glad that she has finally come to terms with it.

As for Steve's friends, Bucky, Bruce, Peter and his girlfriend Gamora, Tony, Sam, and to Natasha's surprise, Sharon, came. Natasha narrowed her eyes at the sight of Sharon, but she shrugged it off and still treated well as Steve seems to be warming up to her friends. Natasha liked them right away, Bruce gave off a brotherly vibe, Tony looked serious at first, but he just really likes to talk in sarcasm, so that was easy to get used to. Peter is a goofy guy, she found out, when he kissed Gamora after introducing her as his "sister". Natasha raised an eyebrow and looked at Steve, who laughed and shook his head, mouthing " They're married" to her. Steve rolled his eyes when Sam greeted Natasha with a "Hey, how you doin'" and gave her a lazy smile. She chuckled and gave him a nod and a fist bump.

When it was turn for Sharon's introduction, Natasha gave her a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and shook the other girl's hand, a little bit too quickly, before retreating her hand. Steve noticed and let out a nervous chuckle after noticing the somewhat tense atmosphere.

Peter started off the night by blasting some old rock music on and dancing on the living room, he's easily the life of the party, not hesitating to talk or dance with anyone. Thor pulled a hesitant Bruce into dancing, and soon the three guys were howling like crazy while dancing. Gamora just rolls her eyes at him while quietly watching from the couch, talking to Maria and Wanda. The three girls are talking about where they get their hair done, and what's the best place to go to for spas. Tony and Clint started talking after Clint heard that Tony does work on some equipment enhancement.

"Hey Tasha, is that the girl you told me about that got Steve so sad?" Clint whispered after following her to the kitchen where it can be just the two of them. He subtly pointed back to where Steve is talking to Sharon on the couch, while Thor and Bruce are singing a duet in front of them. They seem to be really enjoying themselves, with Steve listening so intently on whatever Sharon was talking about.

Without even looking back behind her, Natasha muttered a low "yeah", and busied herself with refilling the tray of chips. She's had enough with Sharon and her shenanigans. She figured that Steve must really like her, for him to just let her back into his life like that. Although he and Sharon didn't really date, Natasha could tell Steve liked her. He wouldn't get so heartbroken on being stood up if he wasn't looking forward to it. Natasha offered Clint a small smile and went back to the living room to pass the chips around for those who want to eat. When Natasha got back, she noticed that Sam and Maria are dancing alongside each other. Maria looks a bit embarrassed but Natasha and Wanda both gave her a cheering gesture, and the woman, laughed freely. Natasha and Wanda looked at each other triumphantly, Maria can sometimes be so quiet and stressed, it's nice to see her be laid back and just enjoy herself in the moment.

Bucky, who has been quiet the whole evening, took this chance to grab Natasha, who just finished giving the others chips and was standing by the couch, and pulled her into the dance floor. She resisted at first, but since glancing at the general direction of Sharon, she figured she had some steam to blow off. She grabbed Bucky's shoulders and started to dance very close to him, and he smirked and put his hands on her hips. The music seemed to encompass the two of them as they start to dance more aggressively and to their surprise, they see to complement each other's dancing. It took a while until they were both panting and slowed down a bit, only to find out that the whole room was watching them. It was then that they realized that the music was turned down but it seems like they were still dancing to it. Natasha stopped and held onto Bucky, leaning on him a bit as she tries to catch her breath. Bucky has his arm looped around her, with his right hand resting on her waist. They looked at each other and smiled.

Peter started clapping and whooping, "I feel like I just watched Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan dance on Step Up," the room erupted into applause and laughter as the two did a little bow of their own.

They laughed and broke away from each other, both seemingly looking for something to drink. Natasha went to the kitchen and grabbed two cold water bottles from the fridge and handed one to Bucky, and they both drank like it was the last time they were going to drink water. They returned to the living room to wait for the countdown with their friends. Steve was still sitting next to Sharon, but his ears look very red and it's as if he wasn't listening to her ramblings anymore. He kept glancing back to where Natasha and Bucky are sitting, the two laughing and talking animatedly like they have known each other forever.

"Guys, five more minutes!" Tony shouted, pointing at the TV where they are watching the dropping of the ball at Times Square. Everyone started to countdown with the people in Times Square, looking giddy and excited for the new year to start.. Clint disappeared into the kitchen, and after a while, Natasha excused herself and followed him.

Steve frowned and got up too, following Natasha following Clint. He heard voices coming from Natasha's closed bedroom, and it sounded like Clint's.

"Happy New Years, baby," Steve heard Clint happily say. His stomach dropped. When Clint arrived earlier, Steve has had this feeling that he and Natasha might have a thing together. And now, his suspicions are right. He felt stupid for actually thinking he has a chance with Natasha. Of course, Natasha will give Clint a New Year's kiss, they are together anyways.

He started to walk away dejectedly, but then he heard another voice coming from the room. "Aw, I'm so sorry I couldn't be there with you, babe." Steve felt his ears perk up. That was a woman's voice but definitely not Natasha's. He was gonna walk up and open the door until a warm hand touch his arm. Natasha was there, smiling and shaking her head. She grabbed him and brought him by the terrace so they can be alone, and the place where the liveliness and excitement of the Big City can be seen.

Natasha leaned against the railing and inhaled, smiling brightly. "I love standing here during New Year's… everything just feels so alive and everyone's happy and there's hope…" she trailed off, turning to look at Steve who seems to be frozen in place. "Steve? Are you okay?"

He turned to her, looking dumbfounded. "I thought… you and Clint?" He stammered, making it sound like a question and seeming not being able to finish his sentences.

Natasha laughed out loud, just downright guffawed, that Steve feel his face turn red. He started to get pissed too, he feels like he's been in the dark for the entirety of the night. He doesn't know what's going on with Natasha, nor what to do with her.

She cleared her throat when she noticed that Steve looks ready to explode. "Sorry, but the idea of Clint and I is just really funny. But no, we're not together, nor will we ever be. He's been my best friend all throughout childhood until now and he's just like a big brother to me. He's actually talking to his fiancee, who's away on duty right now. I don't want Clint to spend the New Year alone so I invited him here." She ended with a shrug, as if it's something everyone knows.

Steve momentarily felt embarrassed for ever being jealous of Clint. He shook his head and smiled to himself, leaning against the railing next to Natasha. They heard the others start the final minute countdown and Natasha lightly bumped Steve with his shoulder.

"Hey, shouldn't you be there right now to kiss Sharon? They said a New Year's kiss brings good luck and happiness to couples for the whole year." She said, sounding nonchalant, but Steve heard an edge to her voice.

"Why would I want to kiss her when the only person I want to kiss is you?" He replied, his eyes sparkling, maneuvering so he can face Natasha. As soon as he said that, he heard the voices countdown.

Five.

Steve moved away from the railing.

Four.

He moved closer to Natasha and towered his body over hers by the railing.

Three.

He placed his right hand on Natasha's cheek and his left hand hovering over her hips.

Two.

She closed her eyes and he smiled, leaning his face closer to hers.

One.

He pressed her lips against hers, lightly at first, and Natasha grabbed the back of his neck to deepen their kiss, her other hand gripping the front of Steve's shirt. Around them, there are fireworks everywhere, the night lit up like it's daytime. They heard their friends screaming from the distance, shouting "happy new years" and laughing like crazy. Steve and Natasha broke off, whispering "happy new year" to each other, their noses touching, huge smiles plastered on their face.

A flash interrupted the both of them and they turned to see Bucky holding a camera that is now developing a Polaroid film, and Clint with his own phone, who seems to be taking pictures of the moment. Bucky winked at Steve, and at that moment, Steve just knew that his best friend has played him.

Bucky knows that Steve was stupidly in love with Natasha, and he was against to bringing Sharon tonight. But alas, Steve is a thick idiot who don't know when people are playing with him. When Bucky saw the way Natasha look at Sharon and Steve, he knew he has to help his friend or he will just end up being even more miserable. That dance with Natasha wasn't supposed to be as intense as what happened, but he figured it would be better that way to make it look real.

He smirked as Steve subtly gave him the finger, and he just mouthed "thank me later" to him, before scurrying away to give two some more alone time. Clint gave Natasha a thumbs up before quickly following Bucky and showing everyone their photo. It was beautiful, with fireworks in the background the two looking so smitten with each other.

Steve turned back to Natasha, ready to kiss her again. She looked at him in a skeptical way, about to say something before he cut her off.

"I know what you're gonna say. I'm sorry for bringing Sharon tonight. I didn't really want to but she knows the rest of the guys are going and I didn't want her to feel left out. I'm sorry for being with her so much tonight, but I really thought you were with Clint. And before you ask, I already got over her the moment you bought me that hot chocolate the morning after she stood me up." He finished, breathing hard to catch his breath after talking too fast.

Natasha just shook her head and hooked her arms around his neck, stepping on her tiptoes to lean her face close to Steve. "Shut up and just kiss me again." Steve grinned and happily obliged.