"Have you seen Steve? We were going to spar. Well, he was going to kick my ass and then we were going to grab a bite."Charlie asked, coming up behind Serena who was looking at a computer screen, Serena's fingers flying over the keyboard.
"Umm, no."Serena said distractedly, not looking from the screen.
"Alright, thanks anyway," She got up and wandered off to the kitchen to grab an orange juice when Steve walked in.
"Hey Charlie, sorry I'm late. Ready?"Steve said stealing Charlie's drink.
"You bet super soldier."She said and followed Steve to the Gym.
Charlie and Steve spent the next hour sparing, though it was more of a rolling on the floor tickling each other and laughing. The tickle war ended when Steve rolled Charlie over and pinned on the mats. The two were breathing hard. Charlie's cheeks flushed slightly, though do to her Hispanic skin tone, it didn't show too much.
Steve cleared his throat and jumped off of Charlie, grabbing her hand and pulling her up. Charlie took his hand and dusted off her pants, looking at the ground awkwardly.
"Ah, so, nice work."Steve said, his cheeks a slight pink.
"Thanks, I'll just tickle the enemies to death,"She teased. Steve laughed, rubbing the back of his neck, trying to think of something to say. He settled for:
"Want to go get a bite?"
_
Alexandra, currently invisible, followed Logan around Stark tower with a dreamy expression on her face – though you couldn't see it.
"Kid, just because you're invisible, doesn't mean I don't know you're there."
Alexandra made no noises, but her face turned a wonderful shade of crimson.
_
"You wanna –" "No."
"But you didn't –" "No."
"Oh come on! Just here me out!"She turned around and raised an eyebrow.
"What?"she asked crossing her arms across her chest as she waited for him to ask her out again, so she could say no and go back to work.
Tony shrugged. "Who does Steve have a date with?" "Who do you think? Charlie, obviously." "When did this happen?"
"Well I'm just thinking if Steve can get a date after all these years-"
"A few minutes ago, Ghost told me." "She said she wasn't going to spy anymore!" "That's beside the point. So will you?" "Will I what?"
"Do you want to get a drink?" "You'll never leave me in peace, will you?"
"Nope!"Tony said popping the 'p'
"Fine!"Serena snapped reaching for her coat.
"Tony, can I ask you a favour?"the words were like bile in Steve's mouth. Tony looked up at Steve who looked like that sentence had caused him physical pain. Tony smirked and stood up wiping the grease off his hands.
"You can ask,"he said, causing a spark to shoot from the far side of the room where Serena was working,"Ouch, what was that for?"
"Be nice!"Tony grumbled.
"What'd you need?"Tony asked rubbing his arm where the spark had hit. Steve blushed and looked down.
"Well, I wanted to take Charlie on a date –" "'Bout time boy scout." "Yes, well, I was hoping for some advise."
"Well you've come to the right man my man."Tony said wrapping his arm around Steve's shoulders, somewhat awkwardly,"now what you're going to do is –"
"Oh no, whatever he tells you, don't do it!"Serena yelled coming up from behind the console she was working on. She came over, putting a hand on her hip,"why would you even ask him for that kind of advise?"
"You wound me doll face, I wasn't going to say anything inappropriate."His arm moved from Steve to Serena who gave him a bull shit look.
"Now, Steve, trust me, she's absolutely head over heels with you, take her dancing and to a chip truck, she loves potatoes."
_
After the advice given to him from Serena, Steve rolled up his sleeves and waited for Charlie to arrive at the front door. He heard the soft click oh shoes on linoleum, he turned around and his jaw hit the floor. She looked beautiful, curves highlighted by the red dress that came just below her knees. Her dark hair was curled, framing her face, lips dark red and eyes lined with black and red glitter. Charlie bit her lip awkwardly, feeling vulnerable under Steve's stare.
"Hi. You, you look, ah,"Steve coughed,"you look beautiful."He flushed, giving her a shy smile.
"Thank you, you look nice too."Charlie smiled, her face heating up,"so, where are we going?"
"It's a surprise."Steve said looking away sheepishly. Charlie giggled at his offered hand.
"Ooh, a surprise; how interesting."
Steve smiled, and handed her the helmet he had in his hand,"how are you with bikes?"he asked playfully, leading her toward his bike. Charlie looked at it uncertainly, but slipped on behind him, arms going around his waist. Steve had a hard time concentrating on the road.
_
Steve pulled into the parking lot of a local club – Tony said it was good, he earned a shock for the suggestive looks, Steve didn't understand – helping Charlie off the bike. Charlie looked at the building and smiled,"The (insert clever club name here). What an interesting choice Steve."She said, looking quite amused by the idea of modern dancing and Steve together,"did Tony recommend it?"
"Err, yes, yes he did."Charlie giggled, taking Steve's hand and walking into the club. Steve's ears were assaulted by loud electronic music, somewhat similar to the noise he heard come from Tony's workshop when he and Serena were working on a new project."I'm starting to regret listening to him."
It didn't take long for Steve and Charlie to leave the club, laughing at the absurdity of Steve trying to 'grind'. They were now sitting at a local park, fries and beer on the table. Charlie was draped across Steve's lap, giggling and just a little tipsy.
"You are so funny!"Charlie giggled, Steve running his fingers through her hair.
"I think you've had enough, come on, let's go home,"Steve smiled helping to lift her off the picnic table. Charlie tripped slightly and fell against his chest.
"But I don't want to go home; I'm having so much fun!"She whined with a giggle. Steve smiled, and led Charlie toward the motorcycle. Charlie pouted at Steve, whose eyes were flicking from big dark eyes to full red lips. Making a split second decision, he leaned down and lightly touched his lips to Charlie's. Charlie kissed back with fever, her arms going around his neck.
"No,"he pulled back, holding Charlie at arms length,"You're drunk."
"So?"Charlie said making a grab for Steve's shirt. He grabbed her wrists, and shook his head.
"So, I care about you, and I won't take advantage of you like that. Now come on. I'm taking you home."
_
Somewhere in the depth of Stark Tower was the kitchen. A very heavy scent of roast and potatoes was in the air.
"So you just-" "Yeah." "And then you-" "Yes, can you grab me the knife?"
"Here you go."Erynne said with a smile handing him the knife before returning to the potatoes that she was thoroughly mashing.
"Did you hear Steve and Tony finally got a date?"Clint hummed, looking quite amused by the gossip.
"Serena finally gave in?"Erynne said, not exactly shocked about the whole Steve and Charlie – yes she knew, it was quite obvious the two liked each other – but Tony and Serena?
"Yeah, Ghost told me."Clint said, looking quite content about being in the loop.
"How did Tony get that date out of Reni? Oh the roast looks delicious by the way."Erynne said, looking over the roast with a happy expression.
"Your guess is as good as mine."Clint said looking quite flustered as he picked up the roast with covered hands and put it on the counter."Th-Thanks. This isn't the best thing I can make."
"We all know your bakery is the best Clint, stop being modest."Erynne said, pressing her lips against the man's cheek with a soft blush. Clint's cheeks turned a deep scarlet and he returned to his work, offering to show Erynne how to cut the roast just right.
Charlie groaned and turned onto her back, black messy hair obscuring her face. The sun shone through the window and Charlie guessed it was about 11 am. She squinted her eyes, her head pounding. She sat up and put her glasses on just in time to see none other than Steve walk through the door with a tray of food in his hands.
"Good morning!"came his chirpy voice. Charlie mumbled intelligently, the smell of coffee welcoming.
"What happened?" she asked, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.
"Well it involved potatoes, and beer..."Charlie's eyes widened as the memories of last night's events came flooding back.
"OH GOD."she pulled the blankets over her head. More 'oh god's' could be heard from under the blanket."I can't believe I did that"!her face was violently red. Steve chuckled and set the tray down on her nightstand pulling the blankets off her head.
"I don't know about you, but i had a great time. "Steve blushed and handed her the steaming cup of coffee. She sat up and took the coffee, taking a large gulp and burning her mouth in the process.
"I had a great time! I swear! Until I went and blew it..."she looked down at the cup, eyes focused on the steaming liquid. Steve sat down beside her on the bed and and put a finger on her chin, lifting her head to meet his eyes.
"You didn't blow it."he said never breaking the eye contact. He leaned in towards her and placed a soft kiss on her lips, which she quickly deepened. When both needed air, Steve broke away and stood up. Charlie was in a daze, a goofy grin plastered to her face. Steve grabbed the tray carrying bacon, toast and a fruit cup and placed it on her lap.
"Eat up, get dressed them come out. I'll be waiting."he kissed her forehead before practically skipping out of the room. When the door was shut and Charlie was sure that Steve was out of hearing distance she let a squeal of joy. Moving the tray off of her, she grabbed a piece of bacon before jumping off of the bed and quickly getting ready.