t w e l v e

*•.*

"YOU EVER THINK ABOUT settling down?" Natasha asked Geneva, resting her head upon her arms, which were folded against the kitchen counter. The two were waiting for Nat's coffee to finish brewing. The tower was quiet, the sun hadn't even risen yet, but Gen and Nat were always awake before then, Steve too, but he was out.

"All the time," she replied instantly. "It's easy to think about... but it almost feels unattainable, y'know?"

Natasha nodded wordlessly. "Do you see yourself with Steve in the future?"

Geneva was taken aback. Natasha had always asked her odd questions but that one took the cake. Sure, she teased Steve sometimes, and occasionally (maybe) even flirted with him, but her feelings for him were strictly friendly. The whole 'not dating anyone else' wasn't to be taken seriously; only to lighten a heavy moment."I see the potential for heartbreak, and a lot of it. Steve is... already in love."

"Maybe," Nat said sounding as if she didn't believe as much. "So..." she trailed off.

"So... Steve and I are friends."

"I still don't think that will age well," Natasha let out, her voice slightly muffled by her arms. "I can see it now, two kids, a dog, and a big house."

Geneva made a noise of disapproval. "With what money? 'Cause I'll be unemployed forever."

"Don't think I don't know about that savings account Gen. You're loaded."

"Loaded is a strong word."

Nat hummed. "Maybe not strong enough." There was a short pause as they listened to the coffee bubble into her mug.

"So, you and Bruce?" Geneva questioned suddenly. Things at the tower were heavy sometimes and anything even remotely interesting was cause for her full attention. It had been a few months since she'd been briefed on their ongoing mission and they had yet to take down any HYDRA bases or find any leads on Loki's scepter. The Avengers were antsy and tired.

Thor had been around. He came and went sometimes, checking in. There was always nothing. He'd given them a number to reach him by, but they had yet to use it.

Nat didn't answer as she pulled her steaming mug into her hands. Geneva followed her, the two moving into the living room.

"It was nothing Gen, we should focus more on the subject at hand," Natasha told her, sitting down. Geneva laid on the same couch. She draped her legs over Natasha's lap, getting comfortable. Her blue socks were bright against Nat's black pants.

"Who's idea was it for a lullaby anyway?" Gen questioned, ignoring her words. "He's got you looking smitten Natty. Personally, I would've never thought, but honestly I can see it." She was excited for her friend; maybe this would be her chance at settling down.

"He came up with the idea. I just volunteered," Natasha said with a roll of her eyes. "And there's nothing going on between us."

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" Geneva blocked the pillow Natasha tried to hit her with, having learned her lesson. "Anyways," she continued as if that hadn't happened, "I thought you were still dating—"

Nat immediately cut her off, her voice dripping with a not-so-subtle venom. "Don't say her name."

"Sorry," Geneva let out, raising her hands in surrender. She wouldn't say the woman's name.

"Now tell me where you and Steve disappeared to back in July," Nat demanded, setting her cup down.

Geneva sighed, remembering that night. "Why must we rehash the past Nat? That was forever ago." It wasn't truly that long ago, she simply did not want to talk about that day. It was almost as if it never happened; Gen and Steve pretended as much.

Geneva's mind wandered back to that day and, for just this once, she let it.

Geneva remembered quietly walking into Steve's darkened room. The man was sleeping in for the first time in months, but it was almost eleven and Geneva couldn't wait any longer. She sat beside his sleeping figure, taking a moment to appreciate the peace in his expression. His blonde hair was sticking up in various directions, causing Gen to let out a small chuckle. She placed a hesitant hand on his shoulder giving him a slight shake. "Steve," she murmured with another shake.

She began to shake him once more, but his hand snaked up to meet hers. "I heard you come in," he said groggily. His voice was deep with sleep.

Her eyes widened embarrassingly. "Well you should've said something."

Slowly, he opened his eyes. "I wanted to see what you were gonna do." His reply was innocent enough.

Geneva rolled her eyes with a smile. "Today's July 4th." Steve's eyebrows furrowed, waiting for her to continue. "We're going to celebrate, my friend."

"Independence Day?" Steve questioned almost hopefully.

She sighed. "Don't be like that Steve, you know what I'm talking about." They'd spoken over the phone about this, Geneva wasn't sure why he thought she would've forgotten in such a short time.

He chuckled warily. "Not sure I do."

"You're birthday," she said dryly. He let go of her hand with a soft groan. Someone wasn't ecstatic. "Happy birthday Steve."

His smile was small despite the agitation Gen had sensed. "Thank you, really, but I don't want you or anyone making a big deal about it."

She quickly kissed his cheek, eyes shining in the sliver of light from his window. His expression was one of surprise at her gesture but she promptly ignored it. "Well if I'm going to celebrate something today, it's going to be your birthday Steve." Her smile widened. "How does it feel to be ninety-six?"

He rubbed at his eyes for a second. "It feels like twenty-nine."

"Good point," she said, standing. "Now get up, 'cause you and I are going out."

"Just us?"

"Just us," she assured. Saying that seemed to make him relax slightly. It was a good thing she'd meant it.

They'd ended up spending the rest of the day out.

"Dance with me," Geneva said, reaching her hand out to a distracted Steve. This immediately got his attention though. His blue eyes were darkened by the sunset as he looked up to her, with a small smile and a look of slight confusion.

"Right here?" He asked. She nodded gesturing for him to stand. "There's no music." Geneva tapped a few buttons on her phone before tossing it into the soft patch of grass. Seconds later a soft song began playing through the speaker of the device. "I can't dance."

"Captain America can't dance?" Geneva questioned incredulously. "The guy who jumped out of the side of an elevator. Who helped fight an alien army, who stopped world chaos not once, not twice, but three times. The guy who—"

"Okay, okay," Steve chuckled standing up. He dusted off his dark jeans. Gen smiled triumphantly as he took her hand in his. His arm slipped around her waist; strong and grounding.

Steve kept a slight distance between their bodies. Geneva let her hand move to his shoulder, maintaining that distance for his sake. They swayed gently for a moment. "See you're not bad."

"You're just sparing my feelings," he said with a chuckle. Steve looked down at her, his eyes searching hers. "Thank you for today Gen."

She stopped dancing, pulling his body to hers in a tight hug. "Happy birthday."

"Did you hear anything I just said?" Natasha questioned, pulling her away from her thoughts.

She hadn't heard a word and she wasn't going to lie about it. "No ma'am I did not."

Natasha shook her head, shoving Gen's feet off of her lap. "Get your head out of the clouds Geneva."

She sighed. "What was it?"

Natasha hummed. "I guess you're just going to have to wait and see now."

"You know what?" Geneva said, watching her friend. "You just want to see me fail."

This time Gen couldn't stop the pillow from hitting her squarely in the face.

this chapter is long overdue and mediocre. sad, i know. but school is really taking up all my time. let me know how you felt about the chapter. age of ultron will probably start next chapter. and i will be doing it all. don't forget to vote and comment. thankyou for reading!

-syd