AN: A lottttt more longer than I expected. Please don't forget to vote or comment. :D

I opened the door after hearing a hard knocking sound. Steve stood leaning against the door frame, grinning slightly. A red cap sat on his head and black framed glasses rested on the bridge of his nose. It all matched his brown leather jacket, white shirt, and blue jeans. A bouquet of flowers sat in his hands. "Hey. Are you ready?"

"What's with the getup?" I referred to his hat and glasses while I raised an eyebrow. I didn't think that he would ever wear things like that out in public. He didn't need the glasses, and the hat just looked tacky on him.

"Cover. Don't want to attract too much attention when we want privacy, right?"

I scrunched up my nose because I didn't think of that. "That's pretty smart. And your glasses actually match mine. I'm going to count that as a plus." I nervously unwrinkled my dark jeans and fixed my purple shirt. What is wrong with me? Get yourself together, Parker. I thought. My hazel eyes glanced at my black leather jacket to make sure it wasn't messed up. Great. Now I'm being self conscious about myself.

"I know..." His ocean eyes locked onto mine and held out the flowers in his hand. A small blush formed in his cheeks. "For you, m'lady."

"M'lady? I know you're old, Rogers, but you're not that old." I took the bouquet from his hands and instantly inhaled the sweet smell. Steve Rogers is being really sweet. Is the world ending yet? I wondered and laughed at my own joke on the inside. "Thank you. They look wonderful." I put the flowers in a vase in the kitchen and set them on the table. Now it would be a great addition to the ambiance.

Steve led me down to the garage where his bike was. He strolled over to it and started it. The bike itself was a new sleek black Harley Davidson with thick padding to sit on. The metal shined in the dim lighting like it was freshly polished. The red lights on the handles flashed and steadied to indicate the engine was on and the brakes were set. His foot kicked down the stand and his blue eyes glanced up at me from behind his glasses. "Coming?"

"With you on that? No way," I quickly replied. Riding with Logan was one thing. I had known him for years and was practically raised trusting him. Steve? That's a different story.

One corner of his lips lifted slyly. "What? Afraid of a little adventure?"

"Adventure is my middle name. But on a motorcycle with you? Yeah. That seems a bit dangerous."

He raised an eyebrow and his smile faltered. "You really don't trust me?"

I scoffed and instantly answered, "Do you trust me?"

Steve stayed silent. He took off his cap and scratched his head. "Well...yeah."

I watched him put his cap back on and set his hands on the handles. That was the only confirmation that I needed. He said he trusted me. This moment was a big push in our relationship. "I trust you, Rogers." I walked over to the bike and sat down behind him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and watched the trees pass by as we rolled down the street.

The wind swept through my hair and the sun reflected off of my glasses. I closed my eyes and took in the various smells in the city. Trash. Freshly baked desserts. Delicious aromas of dinner platters caught my interest. Smoke from cigarettes hung in the air. I held tighter onto Steve and thought for a moment. I've rode a motorcycle many times. This time...this time I felt a sense of freedom. No pun on Captain America intended. I laughed at myself quietly. I wonder where this is going to lead.

Steve pulled up to a busy coffee shop and parked the bike. "Barton said this was a good place to go to. I hope he's right." I fixed my hair and smiled as he opened the door for me. "Ma'am." He gestured me to walk in front of him.

I strolled inside and commented, "You should be nice all the time, Rogers. It suits you well."

Five people stood in front of us in line. The place was full of teenagers talking, laughing, and gossiping. Some took pictures with each other and sipped their drinks. Adults read a book silently in their seats or typed away at their portable laptops. Soft music from the radio played over the speaker system, creating a calm ambiance. Baristas worked quickly behind the counter to fix all the orders. I inhaled the smell of all the flavors of coffee in the air and exhaled in satisfaction.

Steve scoffed at me and stood next to me in line. His eyes glazed over as he looked at the menu. There were so many choices. "Back then, there was only black coffee, not...Caramel Ribbon Crunch Crème whatever."

I laughed and glanced over at him. "Times change."

The lady in front of us ordered, "Hi. Gimme a grande, iced, sugar-free, vanilla latte with soy milk."

Steve furrowed his brow and turned his back to the lady. He mouthed to me, "What is that even supposed to mean? And no respect towards the barista, either."

I shook my head. Most customers were rude. I've come across too many in my life to say otherwise. People will be people. There's no changing that. When we got to the counter, Steve ordered two black coffees.

The barista furrowed her brow when she heard Steve's voice and scribbled down the order. She paused for a second. The barista glimpsed up after handing the order to another worker and inspected Steve. Her mouth moved, but nothing came out. The woman's eyes lit up and she almost started jumping up and down. Steve put his finger to his lips to motion her to be quiet. She nodded and motioned us to get out of line.

I snagged a small table by the window and sat down. Rogers followed and sat across from me, clasping his hands and immediately setting them on the table. He leaned forward and looked up at me from underneath his hat. "Pretty busy in here, huh?"

"Yeah. Gives us more privacy to talk about anything we want to without being listened in on. Right?" I pointed out and leaned back against the chair. How am I going to approach this? Act casual? Joke around? Bicker like we always do? That always made us get along on some level. Testing each other was our thing. Wait...This is a real thing. The reality didn't hit me until now. I'm on a date with Steve Rogers...My mind buzzed with thoughts as I studied him. Rogers bit the inside of his cheek for a second and slightly cocked his head to the left. His bright sky eyes stayed locked on me and didn't move. Did he ask a question? God, how long have I been lost in my thoughts?

"Parker?" Steve tried to get my attention back. He raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth a little to say something else.

My head snapped to attention and I immediately apologized, "I'm sorry. Can you repeat that, please?" That was embarrassing. I couldn't last ten minutes without messing something up. I hadn't been on a date in a while, considering I always buried myself in my work. It was the only way to get on Johann's good side, but look where that turned out. All those years thrown down the drain because I had to see Peter. I only had myself to blame.

"How are you getting along with everyone at the tower?"

I hesitated, "Uhh...pretty good actually. I have a few arguments here and there with Tony. He's trying to remodel the floor that Bruce wrecked and Pepper says he should do something completely different. I side with Pepper and I fight with Tony about it. He feigns hurt...but other than that, I get along with everyone." Everyone...I still haven't forgiven myself for Peter's accident. A pain in the pit of my stomach formed and twisted my guts. I joked, "But this one guy...man is he a pain in my ass." I glanced down and then back up at him with a smile. "He's constantly picking fights with me and challenging my intelligence."

Steve rolled his eyes and huffed, "He sounds like a tough guy to get along with..."

I chuckled to myself and set my hand on his. "He's actually being nice to me for a change, and I have to say, I'm really enjoying it." My fingers glided over his rough hands and trailed the bones of his fingers.

The barista walked over to the table and handed us our drinks. Her hand lingered on Steve's cup and smiled. She winked at him and glared at me before walking away back to the front. Rogers turned his cup to see her phone number written on the side of it, accompanied by a heart.

"Guess I have competition, huh?" I asked and took a sip of my coffee. I retracted my hand from his and absorbed the warmth from the cup. I cringed and reached for the sugar packets Steve had brought to the table. The coffee was too bitter. Sugar never hurt anything.

Steve got a kick out of the comment and snickered. "No. You...You've managed to grow on me."

I almost spit my coffee out. I inhaled some of it and went into a coughing fit. I asked in between coughs, "What? Like...a tumor? That's how...you seem to act..."

He quickly went up to the counter to ask for water and brought it back to me. He made me drink some of it and clear my throat. Steve rubbed his hand on my back to help soothe me. "No. Nothing like that. You're just a part of me that I can't let go of now."

I nodded to him and motioned him to sit down. I groaned and stayed silent for a moment to get my bearings. Why did that affect me so much? He just said he's liking me more than he has before. "That's good to hear. I was afraid you were going to kick me off the team or something because of our bickering."

"You really think I'd do that?" He waited and only received a shrug in response. "If I had the power to do that, Stark would have been suspended a couple times by now," Steve chuckled and ran his finger along the brand name on the coffee cup.

Before another silence could kick in, I quietly asked, "Why the coffee shop date?"

Steve set the cup down on the table and stared at it. His eyebrow slightly twitched at the thought of his answer. "I know I wanted something different before I went into the ice...but that's not my life anymore. The man that came out of the ice wants something new." He moved his mouth for a couple of seconds and hesitated. His face changed to a soft shade of pink. "That starts with you."

I glanced around the café and thought of how to reply. My heart was flittering like crazy and I had to calm it down before I said something stupid. The same people were talking and laughing. Some were dancing. New people were in and out of the café with their orders. My eyes flickered back to one woman in the corner.

Black shades, tousled blonde hair, dark clothing. Her bright red fingernails tapped at the screen of her new Apple phone. She pursed her red painted lips when she caught me staring and quickly took the initiative to leave.

Son of a bitch... "We've been followed," I stated calmly. I instantly began pursuit with Steve following close behind. "Hydra agent. She was an old partner of mine. Quick. Agile. Not very smart." My brain couldn't form whole sentences. I had to keep it short and simple. I tossed my coffee into the garbage can and kept my eyes on her. She glanced back every once in a while, but she didn't seem worried.

"How are you so sure we aren't walking into a trap?" Steve questioned. His tone became grave and slightly confused. He glanced around the street. People were starting to watch them. They noticed the girl trying to get away from us, like we were the bad guys. Steve wrapped his arm around my shoulder and smiled. "At least make it to where we don't look suspicious. People are noticing."

Must be taking lessons from Tasha. He's never noticed things like that. I pretended to laugh, but didn't take my eyes off of her. "You know, Rogers, sometimes you surprise me."

"Surprise you? Is that a good thing?" He tugged me closer to him.

"Any surprise is good nowadays. We're about to head into a war with Red Skull and Loki." I bit the inside of my cheek. My heart ached and I knew why. "Bad things are going to happen, Cap. Not all of us are going to make it out alive."

"We go out fighting then. Whatever it takes to put an end to their plans."

The woman turned the corner and locked eyes with me before she disappeared.

Steve was willing to die for humanity...But what if we failed and died for the cause? Who would protect the people then? S.H.I.E.L.D. was just barely getting on their feet. There were maybe some scattered heroes around the world. But such a small group against a larger, more powerful one? There was no way.

We walked into the same alley she had and cornered her. She was stuck in a dead end on purpose. She thought she could take on me and Captain America? Come on. Get real. This was already a losing fight.

Or maybe Rogers was right. Maybe it was a trap. Too late for that now.

"Loki will be excited to hear about this little love affair going on. Finding weaknesses within the group is what is going to be your downfall," she spoke in her fake English accent.

"Cut the crap, Dahlia," I spit out and eyed her. It was all just a rouse to upset the Captain, maybe to bring up memories of the past and distract him. Chances were she was really working for Loki. She was a great spy, after all. Stirring up emotions and hurting loved ones is certainly something the God of Mischief would do. "Why are you following us?"

She took off her shades and threw them to the side, revealing her dark brown eyes. Dahlia stuffed her phone in her pocket as she talked, "Darling, it's not that hard to follow you." Her hands worked with her hair and put it into a ponytail. Her eyes glanced around to make sure no one was watching from above. "I'm here to take you back to Hydra, alive, of course. Don't need to shed blood so early, when the war is so close."

Steve stood straight and I knew he was getting ready for a fight. I cracked my knuckles as Dahlia got closer. She has no chance up against us. The thought floated through my mind.

Dahlia threw the first punch to my rib cage, but I simply blocked it and elbowed her in the shoulder. She cried out a short second and retaliated with a kick to the stomach. My hand came into contact with her face and sent her back, but I yanked her hair to keep her in place. Dahlia knew not to mess with me. She bit my arm and her nails dug into my skin. I threw her onto the floor and waited for her to get back up.

When she did, punches were thrown and kicks were made. Both of us screamed for a second before separating ourselves from each other.

Your powers are supposed to be for good, not evil. Logan's words played through my mind on repeat as I iced Dahlia's feet to the ground. A sick feeling riled up in my stomach and distracted me. Dahlia punched me in the jaw and sent me flying backwards.

Steve hesitated. He didn't want to hurt a woman, but she was out of control. He took out a small metal ring and attached it to her skin. Dahlia shook for a second and fell to the floor unconscious. "Natasha said these electric rings worked like a charm. Guess she was right."

I didn't use my powers for evil. This was just. She was going to blab to Loki about everything. I couldn't let her jeopardize everything I have here. That could cause more deaths than we intended. This was for good. I stood up slowly and moved my jaw. It stung a bit, but it would get better.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked from his position.

I nodded once more. Rogers turned to leave, but before he could, I called out, "Steve..."

That was the first time I've said his first name. An invisible weight lifted off of my shoulders and relieved me. I hit the stage where I could move on from just friends to more than that. I've said everyone else's name, but saying his name was the last step to being completely comfortable around him after all the fighting we've been doing. Now, it was just a waiting game until he said my first name.

He turned around and lifted his red cap. Steve's blue eyes locked onto mine and he ruffled his hair as he waited patiently for me to continue.

"Thank you for the coffee." I couldn't manage to say any more than that. I was truly thankful, and even more thankful to have a guy like him in my life.

He grinned. "We should have another, sometime." Rogers leaned against the wall at the entrance to the alley and surveyed the area.