AN: Don't own the Avengers.
Steve Rogers liked his job. Leading the Avengers and training new recruits had become his life and he was content with that now that he had Bucky back in his life. The Civil War, as the media had come to call it, had been a brutal fight within their family and friends until they learned they were being played by outside sources, mainly General Ross.
Ross, the Red Hulk, I don't even want to think about that right now.
Tony had been by earlier that day to chat with him about press conferences and a gala for the team to show off how well they were all getting along again. They had repaired their friendship and Steve was thankful for that.
A throat cleared as Steve finished signing the last his daily paperwork. Looking up, he spotted one of the more talented new recruits standing in front of his desk.
Marin Wells had been a special recruit of Bucky's after the Civil War. He remembered her from his days serving for HYDRA and how she had been hunted for her abilities. It would later turn out she was the daughter of what was thought to have been a failed super soldier experiment back in the sixties. When she had been born in '72, premature but fully formed, it was clear the experiment had been a success but in the genetics of the man and destined to be passed down to his children. Marin, however, was the only child he ever had. Natasha had met her in her late KGB and early SHIELD days so she brought her in. Marin joined the ranks of agents working at the Avengers facility. She began training under the Avengers directly to be a support agent if Natasha, Clint, or either super soldier was ever injured.
"Wells, what can I do for you?"
"I have a favor to ask of you Cap." He put his pen down and straightened up. "It's more of a personal favor though. It's perfectly all right if you say no. I'll ask someone else then, maybe Barnes, he might."
"Wells, get on with it."
"Romanoff, sir, you know how she is when it comes to trying to set her friends up on dates." Steve smirked at the thought and nodded thoughtfully. "Well sir, she's turned her attention to me and I grew tired of it. So, sir, I sort of told her I had a date this Friday with someone from work and that's why I didn't talk about it at work. She said she was going to tail me to verify that. Who better to have pose as my fake date than you, sir? That would be a perfect reason why I had to hide it from the rest of the team. I, of course, understand if that would be too awkward for you."
Steve chuckled into his hand and rubbed his face tiredly. "How long has she been trying to set you up on a date?"
"Since I arrived."
"You lasted nearly a year, impressive. Send me an email with any information I might need to know for our date, family background, etc. I'll set up the reservations for a nice dinner somewhere. Natasha knows me too."
"You'll do it?"
"Time to give the Widow a taste of her own medicine," Steve replied with a laugh. "I will."
"Thank you, sir!"
"In private, Marin, call me Steve."
"Steve."
Marin left the room with a skip in her step. Steve smiled at the way she acted before making a note on his calendar to call Tony for an idea for a good restaurant. He had a date to plan.
It was that simple in the end. Friday rolled around and Natasha was waiting at the main lobby of the facility when Marin came down in a slim red dress. It hugged her curves and revealed her bare shoulders. Her short hair had simple braids done throughout it in seemingly random patterns that, when viewed from different angles, formed different shapes.
"Well don't you look nice. Taking this fake date a little too serious, aren't you?" Natasha teased.
"Who said anything about fake?" Marin glanced up at Steve as he entered the room. He wore black slacks and a button up dark red shirt. He walked over and wrapped one arm around her waist, a smile on his face. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
The car was waiting outside. Natasha waited five minutes before trailing the pair into the city. She was surprised to find the date was actually real. She watched from across the street for twenty minutes before leaving, content that it was an actual date.
Inside the restaurant, Marin laughed as Steve told her stories from his youth. Their appetizers were in front of them and they munched on them slowly. Their topics moved from work and their pasts to hobbies. They discussed the better points of sketching until their dinner arrived.
"Why have we never done this before?" Steve asked.
"Because we never had reason," Marin replied.
"I'd like to do it again, Perhaps a second date? Start making this a regular occurrence as long as it doesn't interfere with work."
"I'd like that, dating you."
"Marin? Marin Wells?" The pair both look up startled at a familiar and yet different voice. Her eyes go wide as she turns her attention to the man standing beside their table, a drink in hand. There is a table of three off in the back that looks toward them as he draws attentions to Marin and Steve. "It's good to see you again Marin, after you dropped off the face of the Earth like that."
"Johnny." Her voice was filled with hurt as she slowly reached across the table and gripped Steve's hand. Steve glanced at her and then at Johnny. Johnny's appearance had been startling enough, being the near perfect mirror to Steve that he was, but now to see Marin's reaction, it startled him.
"Marin, come on, don't be like that."
"I will be if I want to."
"That was ten years ago."
"You broke my heart then you flame headed prick," she seethed. Cap's fingers tightened on her hand.
"Marin, hun, who is this?"
"I take it you haven't had the pleasure of meeting Johnny while working then, Steve. This is the Human Torch, Johnny Storm. My ex-boyfriend."
"The Fantastic Four," Steve acknowledged. He stood up and offered a hand to Johnny. "Steve Rogers." They shook hands, Cap's staying locked around Johnny's painfully. "Captain America." He squeezed down on Johnny's hand to make his point until the man winced.
"Got it, sir." Cap released his hand and sat back down, his other hand going to take Marin's still shaking hand.
"It's good to see you're doing well for yourself, Marin. Good luck with everything. I have to get back to the others." Johnny walked through the crowded restaurant, a hint of steam coming from his ears.
"Marin, are you okay?"
"Can we go back to the facility now?" she asked. Steve nodded and signaled the check over. As they paid, someone else walked up to the table. Marin looked up to see Sue Reed nee Storm standing there.
"Mar."
"Sue."
"I see you're doing well for yourself. No longer working private sector?"
"Super hero sector," Steve replied looking up from where he laid the cash on the check and handed it to the waiter. "All set," he said to the waiter. He looked back at Marin and Sue. "She's part of my team, the Avengers. She serves as our black ops operative. I'm not sure the Fantastic Four can appreciate that considering how publicized their activities are." Steve stood and wrapped the jacket he had kept in the car around Marin's shoulders. "Steve Rogers."
"Johnny told us, well after he told us you gave him the shovel talk."
"He made my girl upset." Steve let Marin come in close and pulled her tight against him, kissing the side of her head in a showy manner. He heard the click of a camera and knew they would be front page news tomorrow. "No one makes her upset."
"I don't blame you for still being angry at him," Sue told Marin. "After all, he did cheat on you with your partner."
"Whatever. I have a new team. A new boyfriend." Marin looked up at Steve. "Steve won't do that to me. The only competition I have is another former WW2 vet and I wouldn't mind sharing Steve if that means I get a share of Buck too."
"I'll tell him you said that."
"See you Sue." Steve let her lead the way out. They sat in the car for a few minutes, silent, before looking at each other.
Marin moved first. She twisted and turned until she sitting in Steve's lap. She then leaned up and kissed him gently on the lips. His hand cupped the back of her head, keeping her steady. When they pulled away, both were smiling.
"Wow," she breathed.
"Yeah." Steve cleared his throat as he rubbed his thumb across her cheek. "Free tomorrow night?"
"I think it just opened up."
Across the city, Tony smirked from where he sat sitting next to Natasha watching the security footage outside of the restaurant.
"Well, we got those two together. Who is next?" Tony asked.
"Sam looks awfully lonely," Natasha drawled. "Gotta get him somebody."