Cliché: Natasha doesn't have any other close friendships on the team.
Rating: PG

Between Captain America's spangly suit and shiny shield most Americans look up to him as the embodiment of everything USA. Every time he opens his mouth at a press conference he seems to say something brimming with honesty and American values, so much so that he’s used to being quoted by newspaper columnists and has developed what he feels is an excessively enthusiastic fanbase.

Steve Rogers feels like a fish out of water. It's not the big things that throw him. He can handle the internet and advances in technology just like he handled the serum and HYDRA. It's the little things. The clothing, more valuable but less valued. The language. He's been speaking American English all his life but sometimes he feels like he's quoting Shakespeare to infants. So when Clint teases Steve for the millionth time about an old-fashioned word ("Scram") Steve retreats to his room to brood. Natasha throws a glare at Clint but Steve has already left.

He sits on his bed and states blankly at his sketchbook. A light knock alerts him to Natasha’s presence on the other side of the door. He has to think about it for a second before he lets her in.

“Hey,” she says, looking at him thoughtfully from the doorway.

“Hey,” Steve replies, stepping back to let her in. He tries to look cheerful but only succeeds in giving Natasha a small smile.

An awkward silence descends on the room. Natasha is the first to break it.

“When I first came here I didn’t understand half the idioms or slang that people used, so I stayed quiet and pretended that I did. Then people started thinking of me as the quiet and reserved Russian. No matter how many bar fights I got into or how many dirty jokes I told I couldn’t shake that image.”

Steve understands what Natasha is trying to do, but it doesn’t make him feel any better. “Look Natasha, thanks for coming to talk to me, you’re a good friend. But I just want to be alone for the next few hours.”

“Okay. I’ll just give you something to think about before I go. We still live in the same country you grew up in. We live in a country founded on the idea that people can rule themselves. I think that’s remarkable,” Natasha says, warmth in her voice and expression.

Some of the warmth seeps through Steve's gloom and he does feel better at her words. He smiles at her and she moves to leave.

“And I’m sorry about earlier; Clint is sometimes.” She pauses and cocks her head as she tries to find the right word. “Thoughtless.”

“Sometimes I wonder why you keep him around.” Steve jokes.

“He’s great in bed. You would not believe the things that man can do with his tongue.” Natasha winks and Steve chokes. “Fun fact. Here people talk about their sex lives but don’t talk about the War in Afghanistan. Welcome to America.”