A/N: At first, I was going to write a story about Steve and Nat meeting on a blind date, but one of my fellow Romanogers friends on here had started the same idea not too long ago. So I opted out of making this a blind date AU and changed it into a charity auction date AU instead!

xxxXxxx

"Why am I even here? I hate these kinds of things."

Wanda rolled her eyes and kept her arm tightly linked to Natasha's just in case the redhead tried to run while her back was turned. "Natasha, you're making a big deal out of nothing. All you do is stay at that dance studio, working instead of having fun. You need to relax."

"Oh? And this is supposed to help me loosen up? Buying a date for the night? Honestly, Wanda, you might as well have hired me an escort because that is the same principle being used here." Natasha picked up a glass of wine and sipped it with sigh.

"Natasha, please stop complaining. Escorts don't do anything else besides escort...unless they allow tipping. Anyway, charity auction dates are not like that. Your money isn't going into your date's pocket. Every dollar that you spend goes to a wildlife preserve, so you're really going out with a hot guy for a good cause. Oh, and they're all bachelors. Talk about a win-win situation."

Wanda finished off her glass of champagne and dragged her frowning friend closer to the stage. After a few seconds, a blonde woman in a simple, black dress came out and spoke into a microphone. "Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the charity auction for Aquarius Wildlife Preserve."

Natasha snorted. "Aquarius? What a creative name." She whispered in Wanda's ear. "When the moon is in the seventh house-"

"Shut up, Natasha."

"What? I thought it was funny."

The woman on the stage continued. "As you all know, the purpose of this auction is to bid on the participants for a night out together. The starting bid for every participant will be five dollars and upwards from there. The proceeds will to be given to our representative at the ballroom exit which will then be sent to the preserve in check format. Now, let's raise some money for the animals."

Luck Be A Lady Tonight began to play over the loudspeaker and a handsome man with long brown hair strutted across the stage. He turned Natasha off because of the arrogant way he walked and the cocky grin on his face.

"This is Bucky. Bucky enjoys white water rafting, going to the gun range and long Sunday drives." The announcer cooed as she spoke, enunciating her words carefully, as if to entice people to begin screaming out numbers. "Do I hear any bids for five dollars?"

"Five dollars!" One woman across from Wanda and Natasha screamed.

"Well, someone is desperate for a man in her life," Natasha snarked and Wanda giggled in response. "Either that or hearing those stats just made him more desirable. Why didn't they just hand out little cards with every man's face and important facts about them on the back of it? It'd have saved so much time."

Wanda pinched her and Natasha just smirked.

The auctioneer continued. "We have a five dollar bid. Do I have six dollars?"

"Six dollars!" Screamed another woman behind Wanda.

Wanda moved away from the woman due to her screaming in her ear. "Geez, maybe you should get in on the action, Natasha. Make it more exciting. After all, you do have a lot of experience with guns. You both could have a romantic dinner while polishing your weapons."

"Mm, you're hilarious, Wanda. I'll admit he's attractive, but I'm sick of men with long hair. You bid on him if you want. I'll wait for the next guys."

"Suit yourself. Twelve dollars!" Wanda raised her tiny paddle in the air to get the announcer's attention.

Shortly after, the two other women began screaming out higher numbers.

"Fifteen!" Shouted one.

"Nineteen!" Shouted the other.

Natasha sighed and leaned against the high rise table in front of her. This would take a while.

And she was correct.

It took six minutes before Wanda finally had the last word on her bid for Bucky. Those two other women had gradually begun to get on her nerves with their battling bids, so she pulled out two hundred dollars and ended it.

No one else contested that price.

Of course, Natasha had something to say about it.

"Wanda, are you insane? You're going on one date with this guy! Is that really worth throwing away two hundred dollars?"

The brunette rolled her eyes at Natasha and turned to look at Bucky. It would be an understatement to say that he was happy with the woman who bid on him. He was practically beaming.

"Natasha, remember, it goes to the wildlife preserve to help animals. It's for a noble cause. And who knows? I might get more than one date with him. After all, there aren't any restrictions against it. See ya later."

Wanda walked - well, more like strutted - over to Bucky and introduced herself, shaking his hand. Then, he held out his hand to her, she took it and they walked to the end of the ballroom so she could pay for her date.


The next few guys who were auctioned off were cute, but not interesting enough for Natasha to pay cash for. One man was bulging with muscles and long blonde hair. His name was Thor - his parents were probably obsessed with Norse mythology - and it clear that he was a model.

Not her type.

The next guy seemed to be a lot of fun. His name was Sam, he was dark skinned and had a congenial look about him. There was a little gap between his two front teeth that was pretty cute. Interestingly, two of his stats were skydiving and flying aircrafts for the military. He didn't look like a pilot to Natasha, but looks could deceive.

The guy after him was a bit shorter and had an air of cockiness about him. His beard and moustache looked downright douchey and the swagger of his walk was that of a self-important man. This guy obviously thought he was a real good catch. Tony, the auctioneer had called him.

Goodbye, Tony. You're not worth my money either.

Natasha headed to the bar and got a couple drinks. This was getting to be a pain, but if she didn't get a date with one of these men, Wanda would find out - she always found out - and rag at her about it for days.

"It's not like I don't have a life. I do, and I enjoy it a lot. The dance studio takes up a lot of my time, but that doesn't mean I'm overworked or boring. It just means that my job is very fulfilling."

Talking to herself was one of Natasha's little idiosyncrasies. She always did it when she needed encouragement and knew she wouldn't get it anywhere else. She stared at her glass...or was it glasses?

Oh, no. Have I had too much to drink? My head is feeling kinda heavy...

She was vaguely aware of the auctioneer droning on and on about different, eligible men to date. Her introductions of the men had begun to sound half-hearted and bored. Maybe she'd been doing this kind of job for too long.

"And finally, our last man of the night!"

Natasha's head perked up and she turned her head to the stage. The auctioneer suddenly sounded very bright and excited. If this really were the last man to be auctioned off, she could go home soon.

Before she was aware of what she was doing, she waved her little paddle in the air and shouted, "One thousand dollars!" Then she giggled to herself.

As she downed another glass of Chardonnay, the auctioneer shouted, "Sold! To the lovely lady by the bar! Alright, ladies and gentlemen! This ends our charity auction for tonight! Have a lovely night and drive carefully!"

The redhead slid off her stool and pulled out her wallet as she walked over to the man at the end of the ballroom. The only thing on her half-drunken mind was going home to her nice bed so she could get some sleep. After paying the man, she gave him a smile. "Sayonara!"

"Hey, lady. You can't leave yet."

Natasha frowned at the man and crossed her arms. "What do you mean?"

"Ya gotta take your date with you."

"My...date?"

"Yeah, here he comes now." The man pointed behind her.

Natasha swivelled a bit unsteadily and faced the guy she bid a thousand bucks for.

Boy, that was money well-spent.

He was tall, probably six feet, towering over her, even in her heels. He had blonde hair that was cut short and had a bit of spikiness to it. The button down shirt he wore was dark blue and just the right fit to accentuate his biceps. To say nothing of his black pants, which made his calves look very fit.

It was hard to not salivate by just looking at him.

Once he came over, he gave her a dazzling smile. "Hi. I'm Steve. And you are?"

A/N: At first, I was going to write a story about Steve and Nat meeting on a blind date, but one of my fellow Romanogers friends on here had started the same idea not too long ago. So I opted out of making this a blind date AU and changed it into a charity auction date AU instead!

xxxXxxx

"The woman who bought you. Oh! I mean, Natasha. I'm Natasha. Sorry...I'm a little tipsy." She almost fell, but Steve moved quickly and looped his arm through hers. Her head was feeling a bit fuzzy...

"Maybe you should let me drive. I don't think we'd make it with you driving us anywhere." He gave her this parental look and she could hear the authoritarian tone of his voice. Whoever this guy was, he was used to giving orders and people listening to them. He was probably in the military.

Yummy.

This...was definitely going to be a nice kind of evening. A chill ran through Natasha's body and she reached into her purse, handing him the keys. She gave him a sultry smile. "I'm placing my fate in your hands, handsome."

Then she fainted.