Disclaimer: The Avengers, its characters and The Marvel Cinematic Universe belong to Marvel Studios and The Walt Disney Company, among many others. I'm only a fan, writing this for love of this film franchise and personal pleasure.

A.N.: This is a companion story of sorts to Lights Will Guide You Home, but you don't need to read that to follow this. I've alluded to a few moments between Steve and Natasha over the years, so I thought of a few of them that I wanted to explore in a little more detail.

To Build a Home

1. A Job Offer

Steve Rogers sat at his kitchen table of his SHIELD provided apartment in Brooklyn, his brow softly furrowed as he stared at the screen of the laptop Tony Stark had given him, looking at an article about the Cold War. Ever since the battle of New York a couple of weeks before, he'd spent his time recovering and trying to get acclimated to his new life in the 21st century. Despite their early mutual animosity, he and Tony quickly grew to call each other friends, especially after fighting side by side against an army of aliens from outer space (space! A part of him still couldn't believe that had actually happened).

He'd been spending a lot of time at Stark Tower with Tony and Pepper, but Steve still felt a pang in his heart whenever Tony's mannerisms reminded him forceful and painfully of Howard and all they'd shared together in their fight during World War II. For Steve, it was like only last month he'd sat at a table across from him as they'd strategized on how to take down Schmidt and suddenly here he was, living in the future and talking to his kid. As the couple would be busy today in meetings with the contractors for the renovations at the Tower, he'd decided to spend some time on his own at his apartment, keeping up with his own research and attempts at handling the new technology surrounding him. He'd always been a quick learner, so he knew eventually everything would stop feeling so strange to him, but it would still take a while.

He looked up as there was a sharp knock on his front door. Looking out through his peep hole, he saw what looked like a woman standing in the hallway, though she had her back to him so he couldn't recognize her. She looked like a redhead with straight hair coming down just below her chin and was dressed casually in dark jeans and a tan leather jacket.

"Yes?" Steve said politely as he opened the door ajar. The woman then turned to look sideways at him and he recognized the face of Natasha Romanoff, prompting him to open the door fully. "Agent Romanoff?"

She gave him a soft smile that was almost a smirk as she also turned fully to face him. "Hey Cap. Do you mind if I come in for a sec?"

"Yes, of course. Please, come in," he said, standing aside and gesturing at her to enter his apartment. As he closed the door, he turned back to her and said, "I'm sorry, it took me a moment to recognize you, with the new hair." She quirked an eyebrow up at him and he felt his face growing hot. "Not to say that it doesn't suit you. I mean, it looks good on you. Not that the old look─You look great, ma'am." Steve interrupted his own rambling, swallowed hard and just stood before her, crossing his hands behind his back before he could say anything else to embarrass himself any further. What was with his brain whenever he was standing before beautiful women?

"Thanks," Natasha said simply, amused at the way a soft blush seemed to creep up his neck and face. Taking pity on him, she decided to add in a conversational tone, "I needed the change, after being all over the news. It's no good if a spy is too recognizable."

"I see," Steve murmured, though he didn't really see anything. Her new bright red, straight chin length hair seemed way more noticeable than the dark red curls she sported before when he'd first met her. But he wasn't a spy, so what did he know anyway. Remembering his manners, he added, "may I get you anything? Coffee? Water?"

"I'll have coffee, thanks." She said and followed him into the kitchen, sitting down at the table as he pulled out a chair for her and set about fixing them both a cup of coffee.

"So to what do I owe this visit?" Steve said as he sat down opposite her with a cup of his own after she refused any sugar or milk.

She brought the cup up to her lips to take a sip before answering him. It was good, strong coffee. "How have you been doing?" She asked instead of answering him right away, looking attentively at his face to read his expression.

"I've been doing well," he answered with a slight sigh. "Trying to keep busy and catch up on what I've missed so far." He gestured at the laptop and assorted books stacked neatly on the table. "Stark has been helping me, teaching about new technologies and all of that. He's been only slightly condescending, too." He added with a soft smile.

"That's good," she smirked in reply. She could imagine Tony rolling his eyes insufferably whenever Steve didn't get one of his jokes or references. "You should probably keep a list of priorities on what to catch up. I'm sure people will have all sorts of suggestions for you."

"Ma'am? I don't think you came here to talk to me about a list of things I missed in the last 70 years," Steve said, trying to cut to the chase and find out what exactly she'd come to do here.

"Okay, if we're going to work together, you have got to stop calling me ma'am," Natasha said and her eyes seemed to sparkle in amusement at him then. "It makes me feel ancient."

"Work together?" Steve raised his eyebrows at that.

"Yes. I'm here to offer you a job." She reached into the pocket of her jacket and slid an envelope across the table at him. As he opened and scanned through the document quickly with his eyes, she elaborated. "My partner is taking an extended leave of absence, to recover from the harrowing experience of having a Norse god messing with his head, so I need someone to work with me. Director Fury decided it would be a good idea to get you working with us at SHIELD full-time, if you'd like it."

"He did?" Steve raised his eyes from the letter to her, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Then why isn't he the one making the offer?"

"He thought you would be more likely to accept if I was the one that came to you, especially since it was my idea," she told him softly. Even after how things had ended with the Battle of New York, Fury knew Steve still had trust issues with him, but the Captain had trusted Natasha so it had been a safer bet to send her in.

"You recommended me," Steve noted, looking attentively at her and attempting to read her, though he already knew it was very hard to do so. She seemed to only let out what she wanted him to see. "Why?"

"Do you even need to ask?" She raised an eyebrow at him, somewhat surprised at his question. "We worked great together in the field during the battle against the Chitauri and you're Captain America. You were made for working at SHIELD."

"Really? How so?" He seemed more curious to know her reasoning than doubtful.

"Your old Colonel Phillips and your squad, the Howling Commandos, helped build SHIELD after World War II, along Stark's father," she said, gesturing with her chin at a stack of SHIELD files he had on the table next to the laptop. "This agency is your legacy, Cap."

"I'm a soldier, not a spy," he said gravely, and Natasha almost smiled at it, thinking back on the conversation she'd had with Clint on the helicarrier right before they joined the Battle of New York. Oblivious to her train of thought, Steve continued with his own point. "I don't know if I would fit in running intelligence ops. I'm not exactly inconspicuous." He finished with a rueful smile. Ever since the battle, people seemed ridiculously aware of who he was, so he was recognized nearly every time he walked outside now.

"Agent Barton and I were used to running two-men missions or working separately on our own," Natasha explained. "By contrast, Fury would have us working closely with STRIKE Team; they're an elite black ops unit. We need someone to lead, and that's you alright." She paused then decided to add one more thing with a small smile. "Plus I trust you, and I can't say that about many people."

Steve sat back and just watched her for a moment. Then he gave her a curt nod. "Alright. I accept, then."

"Really? You don't want to think about it?" Natasha tilted her head a little and quirked an eyebrow up at him. "You might need to move to D.C., to be closer to headquarters."

"There's nothing keeping me here, and if I get to fight to protect the world, then it's good enough for me," he said with a casual shrug then he narrowed his eyes a little at her as a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "And I thought you were trying to convince me to work with you?"

"Didn't think it would be so easy," Natasha said, a sly smile taking over her lips. "Thought I might have to seduce you a little."

"Agent Romanoff─" He said as he struggled to keep another blush from erupting on his face.

"We're going to be partners, you get to call me Natasha," she smirked at him then. "And relax, I'm just teasing you, soldier." Her eyes sparkled mischievously up at him.

Steve merely tightened his jaw and narrowed his eyes at her once more as she just quirked an eyebrow up at him. It looked like working with Natasha Romanoff was going to be a new challenge all onto itself.