Author's Note: I am consulting with JaspersDarkAngel as I write this! She deserves as much credit on this as I do. She is behind Erin mostly, and I consult her when writing Steve as well!

Steve

I stepped off of my motorcycle at the restaurant to have lunch with the other Avengers, my friends I've known for almost a year now. It had taken me so long to acclimate myself to this time, to the way life was lived now, but I was doing it, with the help of my friends anyway. I'd started out a little rocky with Tony, or Iron Man, but after a while, we had learned how well we worked together and soon that camaraderie had trickled over into our daily lives. Neither one of us had seen it coming, but after a while we were always spending time together, a little more than most people, even best friends, but it was just something that was comfortable for us. I would spend countless hours in Tony's lab drawing as Tony worked on this that or the other. It was something we did and no one questioned.

I liked the other Avengers as well, but Tony and I were exceptionally close. Sometimes when I was down in Tony's lab, I would relay my tales as Captain America before my fated crash in the Arctic, and Tony listened, quite often getting distracted from what he was working on and focusing solely on the tales I was telling. Tony listened especially close when I talked about Howard, his father. He'd grown up thinking the man was a cold, distant man, but the way I talked about him, I could tell Tony was enthralled, telling me my stories were different from the one's his father would spin when Tony had been younger. Some may be the same stories, but being told from different people made them different

Today, we were meeting for lunch. It was something we weren't always able to do, but we did it as often as we could. We all worked together, side by side, but we tried to do this often so we could stay in sync with each other in and out of training. It helped us understand each other a whole lot more. Even Tony. Ever since he and Pepper ended things, for reasons only I knew about, he had spent a whole lot more time with the rest of the Avengers, something I had told him he could use. Tony didn't have many friends outside Pepper and Rhodey. Pepper wasn't an option any longer and Rhodey wasn't always around. That only left the next thing to friends, his comrades. I had suggested he spend more time with us, and Tony had done so, reluctantly in the beginning, but he had done it. He found out, a rather shocking discovery after months of down time like this, he actually enjoyed it.

I was immediately flocked by a swarm of people with cameras. Paparazzi hadn't been a big deal in my day, seventy-some years ago even when I was filming movies as Captain America, but I'd seen a few in my time since being here in this new century. However, I hadn't expected to ever be surrounded by them, at least not alone. I'd been seeing Erin Shane, the Hollywood starlet, now for a few months, only the last week or so have we really been open about it. I wasn't sure if that's why they were camped out here or if it was because of Tony who was already inside the restaurant. Tony got his fair share of publicity, even though he preferred his privacy. His lifestyle had attracted attention and he flaunted it, but for the most part, he preferred to be left alone.

I didn't know why they were now flocking around me though.

"Steve, what's your relationship with Erin Shane?"

"Is it serious?"

"How long have you known her?"

"Is she different from girls you're used to?"

I blinked, not ready for this. My relationship was still new with her and I didn't expect all this. I should have known last night when a cameraman snapped a shot of us together that this was going to happen, but I hadn't even thought about it at the time. We had been meeting without sneaking around for a little less than a week, but last night was the first time the paparazzi had spotted them and taken the shot of us.

"Please, no pictures," I groaned, holding a hand up in front of my face, pushing past them toward the restaurant. I entered the establishment, pulling the door to shut behind myself. Tony stood from the table, waving me over. Looking back out the glass door and windows at the men with cameras, I shook my head and hurried over.

"What's with the entourage, Cap? Sign a new movie deal?"

I furrowed my brows on Tony, glowering slightly. "No."

"What is with the vultures, Steve?"

Looking over at Natasha, I let out a slow sigh. "I guess you guys will be finding out sooner rather than later."

"He's playing house with Erin Shane."

Everyone else around the table started firing questions at me, but my gaze was stuck on Tony. Couldn't he have just kept his mouth shut? Of course not. He was Tony Stark after all. He never kept his mouth shut. I contemplated for a moment whether or not to keep his secret from them. Smirking to myself, I lifted my shoulders in a slight shrug. If he was going to dish my deeds, he'd get the same.

"Tony's..." I tried to think of something as eye popping as what he had said. I wasn't as brash as him, but I could try. "... shacking up with Chelle Frost!" It was crass, for me anyway, but it was only friendly banter, right?

Tony's eyes blazed at me and I sat back smugly. The attention was now off me and on Tony.

"Damnit, Capsicle! This is not Google!"

I shook my head. I'd heard people mention this google thing before, but I really had no idea what it meant. But I wasn't going to question him on it.

"This is not Avengers sharing time, Steve!"

I let my shoulders roll slightly as the waitress came to our table. "I'm not the one who decided to blow the top on my relationship, Stark." I smiled up at the waitress to order my meal. At least with the waitress around, I knew our friends wouldn't ask questions they knew we didn't want to answer in front of others. Everyone else ordered their food and once the waitress had left the table, they all started firing questions our way again. Tony and I each relayed how we met the actresses we were dating now. He was a little more reserved about what he disclosed than I was, but we each shared just enough to pique the others interest, leaving it at that.