romanovajames replied to your post “In the Venn diagram of my fandoms, there aren't a whole lot of people...”
Exactly this! I was so happy. Especially with him still working in the academic world it's kind of like a futuristic thing with him getting offered another job because he did such a great job with Greendale so he felt like it was time for him to move on. And like you said, especially with how they still kept him in character it was easy for me to imagine community and mcu in the same universe - and with Abed working at SHIELD the reunion must be fun ahahaha
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~1,200
Prompts: "Steve and Natasha as an established couple when they learn of Peggy's death", inspired by the glimpse of the church scene from the new trailer.
For: @romanovajames
Read on: [ ffnet ] [ ao3 ]
Peggy dies on a Sunday, and Nick is the one to deliver the news in person.
Steve sort of stares at Nick for a moment once the words are out, then just presses his lips together and runs a hand down his face, shaking his head ever so slightly, and she knows that this means a lot more than you'd think. Nick knows, too, because it's sort of just quiet for a long moment and neither of them really moves, until Steve meets her eyes and she sees this sort of helplessness in them that squeezes over her chest. She walks over to him, presses a kiss to his cheek and gently pushes on his shoulder until he sits on the couch.
"Thank you for coming here to tell us," she tells Nick. She knows that's what Steve would say if he could.
Nick nods, and another beat of silence passes. She knows Nick is probably a little more affected by this than he's letting himself be.
He hands them a paper with the viewing and funeral information printed, and then in Sharon's perfect script, there's a note asking if Steve could be a pallbearer. It's something the girl should probably be asking in person, and would, but they all know how close Sharon was to her Aunt Peggy were. The girl is probably too devastated to talk to anyone right now.
After a moment, Nick moves as if to head for the front door again but then hesitates, glancing at Steve. He looks up to meet Nick's eyes. "We'll all be at the funeral, Steve."
We're all going to be there for you.
"Thank you." His voice is barely above a whisper and it sort of breaks her heart.
"I'm sorry," Nick says, his own voice growing a little soft, too. Steve nods a little, glancing down at the floor, and Nick meets Natasha's eyes. You take care of him.
She nods once – I know – and the man takes that as his cue to leave. Natasha thinks about walking him to the door, but she can feel Steve quivering ever so slightly underneath her hand where it's still placed on his shoulder, and she knows she couldn't bring herself to leave his side in this moment even if she wanted to.
Once Nick is gone, Natasha glances down at Steve and doesn't really know what to say. She can't see his eyes right now but maybe that's a good thing, because as soon as he looks into hers, he'll see just how lost she is on how to comfort him. She's terrible at this kind of stuff, and she thinks that it probably makes her the shittiest girlfriend in the world that she doesn't even know what to say right now, especially when Steve always knows the perfect things to say. He's so good at cheering her up even when she doesn't know she needs it.
She can't even do the same for him.
"Steve," she says softly, bringing her other hand to run through his hair. He lets out this breath at her touch, wraps his arms around her hips to pull her close and presses his face into her stomach, and she feels her chest tighten a little more. He's not crying, but she knows he could at any moment. She hates seeing him like this.
She pushes her fingers through his hair, gently massaging over his scalp the way she knows he loves, that drives him crazy, because she really doesn't know what else to do.
Slowly, though, she feels him ease into her, pulling her closer so that she's standing between his legs, bodies pressed together. She can feel his eyes wet through the material of her shirt and she smooths her hand over the back of his neck, strokes her thumb over her skin. He swallows hard.
She's not entirely sure if it's even appropriate for something like this, but she has this urge to, so she sort of loosens his hold on her hips just enough for her to kneel down and then barely catches the confusion in his eyes before she's tipping her head up and pressing their lips together. He lets out his breath, tongue passing over the seam of her lips as his hand tucks into her hair, cradling the back of her head as he kisses her back. It's desperate, and he's shaking, but he's holding onto her so tightly that she thinks that his heart would break even more if she tried to let go. So she presses herself closer, grips his shirt between her fingers as his tongue presses against hers, his tears wetting her cheeks. She doesn't mind.
After a long moment, he pulls away, breathing hard, and presses his face into the curve of her neck, kissing the skin there. "Natasha," he murmurs.
"Let's go to bed," she tells him, and he nods, letting her pull him to his feet and holding onto her hand a little too tightly as she leads him for their bedroom.
It's quiet as they wash up and change, when usually Steve will tell her about his day, or ask about hers, or they're continuing a conversation from earlier in the day. She wonders if she should try to talk this time, about anything to take his mind off of it, but then he catches her gaze in the bathroom mirror as she's wiping her makeup off and gives her this little smile, and she thinks that trying to carry on as usual isn't what will make him feel better. He's heartbroken, she knows, and it's okay for them to acknowledge it. It's okay for him to be upset.
He holds the covers up for her to crawl underneath them as he does every night, then wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her close. Usually they sleep with his chest pressed against her back, but he keeps his hand over her hip when she moves to turn over, and she slides her hand over his chest, pressing it flat against his heart as she kisses his lips.
"Thank you," he says softly, holding her gaze.
"For what?" she asks.
He gets the ghosts of a grin on his lips, and her heart flutters in her chest because she's kind of stupidly happy to see it. "You always know what to do," he says.
He's still emotional and really thinking straight, probably, because she thinks she did a terrible job at comforting him today.
"Steve, I suck at this stuff," she tells him, because as much as she hates being helpless, she'll admit it to him. "I didn't even know what to say."
He lets out this breath that sounds like something of a laugh, and yeah, she feels a little proud that she can get something like that out of him considering how he must be feeling, but mostly she's just relieved. "I didn't need words," he says, squeezing her hip a little. She tucks herself closer, tangles her legs with his, and he smiles. "I just need you."
"Steve," she whispers. In any other moment, she might've called him a sap. But right now, she just smooths her thumb over his chest, holding his gaze. "You'll always have me."
I love you, she means, and he kisses her like he's saying it right back.
