A few hours had passed and the room was dark. Natasha opened her eyes to meet deep darkness interrupted by rays of light climbing into the room from the crook of the door Steve had left open. She smiled and stepped out of bed, she pulled out one of Steve's shirts from his drawer and put it on. At the beginning of the mission, she had told him that this was necessary because they were being watched by their neighbor, but as time passed she has gotten to enjoy carrying his scent around with her.

She walked out of the room to face absolute silence in the house.

"Steve?" She called to him as she climbed down the stairs but there came no reply.

She reached the floor and looked around but saw nothing and no one and the only thing that caught her attention was the open patio door. Natasha slowly walked to the door and stepped outside, a cold breeze running to her hair as she did so.

"Steve? Is this a joke?" She took a couple of steps forward and gasped as a sudden light appeared in front of her.

"Happy birthday Nat" a girl shouted with laughter and wide happy eyes. She emerged toward her and pulled her into a deep hug.

" Wanda?!" Natasha smiled and hugged her back as her eyes moved along the backyard to face the other two men standing apart.

" Sam, Vision" she slid out of Wanda's embrace and walked to them, hugging them both and laughing when Sam pulled her up, "Oh I've missed you girl, it's boring working without you, there's no fun in working with than android guy" he put her down and pointed a finger to Vision who was now shaking his head. The girls laughed at the two men and Wanda said "see what I have to deal with? Their getting worst day by day" Nat hugged her and shook her head, she knew exactly what Wanda was going true.

" Hey, where is Steve?" She asked and turned to look at the end of the backyard, searching for a couple of deep blue eyes.

"I'm here." His voice came from behind her while a pair of hands laid a blanket on her shoulders. "Happy birthday, Natasha" he smiled.

"Wait, what?" She looked around to see a cake on the table underneath the lights, "Wanda said the same, but it isn't my birthday, I mean, I don't even know my birthday." She said wearing a sad small.

"I know you don't, but I know." Steve replied as he smiled at her, "and I wouldn't wanna miss it" he said as he nearly pushed her to the table just before Wanda grabbed her hand and pulled her behind the cake. Natasha's eyes fell on a bouquet of Poppy flowers, her hand reaching out to feel the soft petals as a smile spread over her lips. A smile reached her eyes, making them sparkly.

"Steve had looked at your background files after you found your parents, he knew the date, and since you guys have been on back-to-back missions and we never got to see you, he called us in for a surprise," Wanda explained with a smile that went straight to her eyes making them sparkle brightly.

"What?" Nat asked

"He has been desperate to make you happy, makes us wonder what have you two been up to lately?" She winked at her and giggled at her question.

"Hey, girls, ready to cut the cake? I'm starving" Sam nagged "this guy hasn't been letting us eat anything, saying we have to wait for the birthday girl"

"Sam you ate a whole burger, not to mention, my burger! It was my burger, man"

Sam and Steve argued for a bit while the other three laughed and Natasha took the chance to glance at Steve and admire his kindness.

She blew the candles, they cut the cake and each had a piece, talked, and laughed while catching up.

"So, what's this about your neighbor?" Vision asked.

"He's gonna have a deal with the Russians, we need some paperwork from his place to approve it and sent it over to Fury, he'll pull some of his strands to get him. They've been keeping an eye on him, it's almost impossible to get near to him, his house has better security than most of the shield facilities, it's almost impenetrable." Steve explained

"Almost?" Sam wondered

Natasha shrugged "He has a thing for involved women, enjoys tearing relationships apart, gives him pleasure."

"So, you're supposed to seduce the guy?" Sam asked with widened eyes and a what the hell expression on his face.

"Or let him seduce you?" Wanda asked with a low voice as she studied Natasha's neck.

"That sounds about it," Natasha said with no enthusiasm, she wasn't happy about the subject.

"And that hickey is a part of this plan?" Sam growled.

Steve's body tensed at the mention of the bruise, he remembered her body, all the blue, and purple circles, the broken skin on her breast. His fits clenched as he remembered the previous night.

"The plan will change soon enough, but we'll leave that for another time." He said, looking directly at Natasha who was wearing a confused look. "for now, let's have dinner and enjoy ourselves."

They all walked to the dining room, taking their places while Steve and Wanda set the table, giving Natasha more time to catch up with the other two as she had spent most of the time with Wanda.

"So, how're the sleeping arrangements?" Vision asked as Wanda yawned for the second time

Nat let out a small laugh "there are two spare rooms, Steve and I have to use the main bedroom, we're being watched from another side of the street."

"I've got one room ready for Wanda, one for you guys," Steve told them and Natasha saw Vision and Wanda share a glance. 'So, there's a story I haven't yet heard, she thought.

"We are undercover you know, so it'll be weird to have you guys in one room without any relationship, I think it would be best if Wanda and Vision share a room and Sam takes the other one. Wanda and Vision glanced at each other, a smile dancing through their eyes that of course, Natasha saw and grinned.

"Also, remember, I'm Chris and Nat is Scarlett, we don't wanna blow up the cover."

They all nodded their heads in reassurance.

A couple of minutes passed, the three settled down in their rooms and all decided to call it night.

As Steve and Natasha walked into their room, he pushed the door shot with his foot, grabbed her by the waist, and pulled her to himself so her back would lean on his chest.

"Did you enjoy the surprise, baby?" He whispered in the crook of her neck.

"No one had ever cared about me that much, Steve." She replied pushing herself further in his embrace, inhaling deeply. "I've never felt like I cared about the day I entered this world, this life, but you made it seem precious. It was my first birthday party." she smiled.

"I'm happy I was your first." He kissed her neck, caressing her waist while holding on tight. "I know you are tired, otherwise I would offer you a special birthday gift." He smirked at his comment while Natasha laughed

" I like this side of you, you know? It's fun"

" Huh, so my attempts to seduce you come out as funny?" He shook his head while she laughed again.

Steve scooped her up in his arms, carried her to the bed, and laid her down while pulling the covers over her, then walked to the other side of the bed and laid beside her only to spoon her. Natasha simply gave in to his embrace, feeling home, and a smile spread through her face.

Steve rested his face on her neck, whispering happy birthday, he smoothly kissed the bruise on her neck and Natasha loosened in his embrace until sleep took over her.