You sighed as you slid into the elevator besides the other waiting staff at the stark tower- here to cater yet another one of Tony's parties. This was your first day at work and talk about a high pressure first day. You had already managed to infuriate your manager Michelle by turning up with the wrong shoes on and by accidentally forgetting a crate of high priced champagne that was to be used later in the evening for a toast. All of which had meant the entire staff were now late. You stood awkwardly sandwiched between Michelle and an equally anxious staff member whose name tag read Damien. You hadn't had chance to introduce yourself to the rest of the staff yet, what with all the rushing around and apologies but you could only assume it was his first day too.

You were here because on a whim you had decided that enough was enough and had uprooted yourself from (Your home town) and taken yourself and a couple of bags to the big apple. You loved the hustle and bustle of city living and the small town life you were accustomed to just didn't sit well with you. You needed more. You craved it. So here you were. It had been hard, you'd only been here a few weeks and already you were aware of how much you'd misjudged the ease of which you could just move to New York. Jobs were hard to come by especially when your resume consisted of various short term unskilled work. You'd applied for at least two dozen jobs and this was the first gig you'd been given. You were thankful for anything, the bills were piling up in your small basement apartment an hour out of the city and the money you'd brought with you as a buffer had pretty much disappeared. You had to make this work, your family had been anything but supportive of your plans, all of them content with their small time life is (your home town) and the last thing you wanted to do was go crawling back to them having failed to accomplish your dream.

The elevator reached its destination and you all piled out into the shiniest hallway you had ever seen. You blinked a few times allowing your eyes to adjust to the bright lighting and shiny floors before following the rest of the group to one of the catering kitchens.

2 hours later the party was in full swing and it was insane. It was a 40s themed party, the entire building had been kitted out with memorabilia and those attending were smartly dressed in clothing fitting to the era. You could only imagine the theme had something to do with captain America's return to the avengers. You didn't know the ins and outs of it, but the avengers had broken up for a while following a disagreement on the accords, but it seemed that this was now in the past and the aim for this evening was definitely to have fun. You had already spotted most of the avengers around; iron man, black widow, Hawkeye, iron patriot, ant man, Scarlett witch and vision. Thor and a man who you knew to be the winter soldier were stood by the bar in deep conversation. You tilted your head in confusion as your eyes scanned the "winter soldier". He was striking to say the least, especially in the 40s army uniform he was clad in. His long dark hair shadowed his face slightly but his strong jaw line could not be disguised. The last thing you heard the winter soldier was a bad guy so his presence definitely came as a surprise. You took a deep breathe as you pulled your gaze away from him only to find your eyes locked back onto him not two seconds later. "Wow get a grip" you scolded yourself as you turned abruptly away to gain some self control only to walk straight into a blonde woman wearing a stunning purple dress. The tray of champagne you had been holding in your hand slid from your grasp, and you watched in slow motion as the golden liquid cascaded down the delicate material of the ladies dress, the glasses bouncing off of the glossy floors and smashing into thousands of pieces with a loud crash.

The whole party froze, all of their eyes focused in on you. You gasped in both shock and despair muttering as many apologies as you could, your eyes meeting those of the woman whose dress you had spoiled.

"I am so sorry" you cried, your brain still trying to catch up with the situation.

Her eyes darkened and you could see the anger boiling up inside of her, her tone was sharp and clear as she scolded you.

"Are you blind? Oh god, it's ruined, ruined" she threw her hands up in the air dramatically as your manager Michelle rushed to see what the commotion was about.

"I'm so sorry, let me help you, I wasn't looking it was totally my fault" you almost vomited out as you tried to fix the situation.

"Of course it was your fault" you heard Michelle curse.

You were immiedatly on you knees picking up the larger pieces of glass as you continued to mutter apologies.

Most of the party had thankfully become bored with the spectacle and returned to whatever they were doing previously.

Your cheeks burned red with embarrassment as some of the other staff came to take over the clean up. You stood up again pushing the loose stands of hair out of your eyes just in time to catch the end of the conversation between the stranger whose dress you'd ruined and Michelle.

"I'm so very sorry agent carter, we will cover your dry cleaning bill and of course be rest assured miss (y/l/n) will not be catering the rest of the party" Michelle said clipping her words

"-what?" You almost whispered, your eyes meeting hers

She spun in her heel now so she could speak to you directly

"You're fired, take off your badge and leave it in the kitchen, you can collect the rest of your things tomorrow" she spat

Your eyes widened, your face still burning from the shame of Bringing tony starks party to a halt.

"Michelle please, it was a mistake, it won't happen again. I need this job, please don't fire me, I'll do better... " you spluttered out. She wasn't even listening, her face hard and her head shaking almost continuously as she dismissed you with a flick of her wrist.

You took a step back taking in your surroundings one more time. Not able to take the embarrassment any longer you bolted. Back through the party trying to hold yourself together until you could find somewhere to be alone. You skidded into the hallway at the back of the kitchen just as the tears started to spill. You'd blown it again. You knew you wouldn't be able to last much longer in New York without a job. It was over. On top of that you'd just humialited yourself in front of the avengers, THE AVENGERS!. You shook your head as you cursed at yourself, beating yourself up like you always did.

The noise of someone's throat being cleared shook you from your self pity, your head shooting up in surprise to come face to face with captain America himself. He swallowed your breath immediately feeling the need to stand up straight. You quickly wiped away your tears pushing your hair out of your face as you let out a shaker breath.

"Tough night?" He questioned , his deep tones like music to your ears.

"You could say that" you replied a nervous laugh escaping.

He nodded shifting a little so he could lean his body against the door frame

"I'm sorry, I was just leaving..." you explained as you reached for your bag, realising you had probably out stayed your welcome.

"You know-" he interjected "you don't have to leave"

You froze mid bad retrieval, your brows raising in confusion and surprise as you waited for him to continue

"You've had a rough night, why not turn it around. Come to the party. As a guest. Tony won't mind and I saw how your boss spoke to you, might be nice to show her you don't need her job" he suggested his icy blue eyes piercing into you.

You met his gaze for as long as you could, the less confident part of you dragging your gaze away before you could get too comfortable

"I don't know... " you looked down at your champagne covered work clothes " it's very kind of you captain but I'm not really dressed for it..." then came the nervous laughter again.

He gave you a warm smile as he straightened up from the door frame, his hands sliding into his pockets

"We can fix that" he explained thoughtfully "-wait here"

And he was gone. You inhaled deeply unsure of how to react to the situation that was unfolding. Had captain America just invited you to Tony Stark's party as a guest?! Maybe things were finally looking up. You had barely recovered from your last encounter with him when he returned with another familiar face. Black widow, Natasha Romanov. You swallowed thickly as your eyes flicked between them. They both seemed to be eyeing you up before the captain turned to Natasha.

"Think you've got something" he asked arms folding across his broad chest.

"Sure" Natasha said Cooley with a shrug, she met your eye a half smile flicking across her features "-follow me"

You looked between them "uhm-...okay " you agreed quickly. Natasha led you away from the captain, through various different corridors until you reached What you assumed to be her living quarters.

The red head turned to you briefly before entering

"If you ever tell anyone I let you in my room, I will hunt you down" she said with a soft smirk.

You nodded nervously

"Sure... of course" you muttered

She let out an easy laugh

"Relax, I'm kidding, come on in and take a seat while I find you something to wear".

—-

Half an hour later and Natasha was marching you back towards the party like a trophy she wanted to show off. She was proud of her work and you had to admit she'd done a pretty good job. In the end you'd gone for a fitted lace navy number, with an off the shoulder neck line. The hem fell just below your knees and it hugged you in all the right places.

She had forced you to take your hair down and managed to tame it into soft curls. Correcting your makeup after the tears where she saw fit. You didn't share her shoe size but she still had some of wandas that she'd left behind and swore she wouldn't mind if you wore them.

You felt uncomfortable returning to a party you hadn't actually been invited to, especially after causing such a seen as a member of staff earlier in the evening. Natasha bumped you gently with her shoulder for support

"Come on, let's go show the captain our work" she drawled as you entered the main area of the party.

_—

You glanced around anxiously at the party in full swing glueing yourself to Natasha's side not wanting to find yourself abandoned in this sea of high profile people.

You were half way across the room when Michelle stomped up to you angrily, making a point of clicking her heels as she walked.

"Y/n!?" She half questioned as she took hold of your arm, her grip tightening as her glare met yours.

Natasha stepped between you mimicking Michelle's action by taking hold of Michelle's wrist

"Lets not make a scene..." she whispered, her voice lowering.

Michelle released your arm but continued on with her rant all the same.

"I told you to go home, your fired and no amount of begging or pleading is going to change that" she hissed stepping to the side of Natasha so she could scold you better.

"Actually-" started natasha "Y/n has been upgraded to guest status."

Michelles expression changed to one of confusion and finally suprise as she looked between the former assassin and her former employee

"I'm sure Mr stark would love to hear how his catering team are speaking to his guests." She continued stepping between Y/n and Michelle once more.

Michelle opened her mouth to respond but found no words. She huffed, her face reddening as she spun on her heel marching back the way she'd come from.

You smiled thankfully at Natasha

"Thank you, I don't know what I'd have done without you" you admitted allowing yourself a sigh of relief.

Natasha shrugged

"Dont sweat it— now come, lets get you a drink" she mused as she led you over to the bar.

You were surprised when instead of taking the seat beside you, Natasha slid in behind the bar.

"What will it be" she asked raising a brow "I make a mean Moscow mule" she admitted.

"Perfect" you admitted with a nod of your head "to be honest anything with alcohol in it will do right now"

she nodded with a tight smile and got to work. You could tell from the short time that you had spent with Natasha that she was a closed book, she never gave too much away but there was to say the least a kind heart behind all the sarcasm and sexiness.

A man approached the bar, not a man you recognised but natasha seemed to know him. You could tell from the way her body language changed that this was someone she knew well.

"Bruce" she addressed the man. This allowed you put two and two together, this must be Bruce banner AKA the hulk.

"Hey Nat" he responded taking a stool a few seats away from you. Natasha introduced you briefly before sliding over to that side of the bar and leaving you floundering around on your own. You sighed softly to yourself as you took a few large gulps of your Moscow mule and damn it really was good.

Just as you went back for another taste you felt a presence beside you. You allowed yourself a glance to your right and froze when your eyes met that of the captains for the second night tonight.

"You made it back then..." he acknowledged propping himself against the bar rather than taking a seat, the sleeves of his shirt were up on his forearms, the material tight before his elbow due to the sheer amount of muscle.

"captain rogers..." you breathed allowing a small smile to form on your lips.

"Steve is fine.." he interrupted.

"Steve" you said with a nod, it felt strange calling him steve, almost too personal but you could see his shoulders relax as the formalities were dropped so you would go with it.

"Thank you for before" you continued "It was really kind of you to invite me"

"Don't worry about it" he replied leaning over the bar to grab a beer from the ice bucket "couldn't let you leave like that, not after how your boss spoke to you. That was out of line"

You nodded taking another mouthful of your drink, the scent of his cologne going to your head a little. You allowed your eyes to wander around the party.

"Well I appreciate it, although I probably should get going soon." You admitted "Ill have to be up early to start applying for jobs"

He winced slightly in acknowledgment of your situation.

"Yeah New York can be tough right?"

"Yeah you could say that" you agreed

"I'm guessing your not from round here?" He asked obviously picking up on your accent.

"That obvious?" You asked running a hand through your curls.

He let out an easy laugh and you couldn't help but stare. The way his face lit up when he laughed was infectious. You found yourself mirroring his smile.

"you could say that" he chuckled

"I moved here a few weeks ago" you explained "I'd had enough of living in a small town, you know. Needed something more. The thought of settling down with every day the same just doesn't appeal to me like it does my friends and family"

He raised a brow "the quiet life" he muttered as he eyed up the beer he was slowly warming with his hands "doesn't sound too bad to me" he challenged.

You smiled considering his situation, you - like the rest of the world knew about captain americas history and the tragedy of his early life.

"yeah I guess it doesn't" you relented in understanding.

There was a small pause and you could tell he had become lost in his own thoughts so you decided to lighten the conversation.

"So I'm guessing the theme is in your honour?" You guessed finishing the rest of your drink.

"Yeah uhm Tony wanted to welcome us back" his eyes met your again "Not just me, Bucky too" he said nodding over to the winter soldier stood with Wanda at the other side of the party.

So that was his name, you realised leaning over the bar in imitation and taking a beer.

He raised a brow a small smirk sliding across his features as he watched you relax in front of him.

"Bucky." You stated "Formally the winter soldier?" You asked turning your entire body towards him now as you relaxed in to conversation.

Steve winced in response and you worried you may have pried too far.

"That wasn't him" he said plainly taking another swig of his beer before continuing "Hydra had control of his mind" he explained briefly.

You nodded in understanding "Wow, poor bucky" you said, the tone in your voice filled with compassion.

Steve smiled again at you as you spoke kindly of his friend, a friend so mis understood to so many. He was taken back that after all the negativity surrounding his best friend in the media you were quick to see the good side of him without having even spoken to him.

Your eyes made contact again both just drinking each other in, the silence somehow comfortable.

You were about to ask more about Bucky when the blonde woman in purple, agent carter , you think ,slid into view beside steve.

"Steve ..." she complained gripping onto his forearm until his forced his gaze away from yours.

"Come" she almost demanded "the girls and I need you to settle an arguement for us.." she explained as she pretty much dragged him away from the bar.

He didn't speak a word to her as he steadied himself his eyes meeting yours once more.

"I'll see you around" he said with a apologetic shrug.

You smiled "Ill see you around" you repeated, but he'd already gone.

You suddenly realised you had barely taken a breath the whole time he had been by your side. For a man you'd only just met he'd certainly caught your attention.

Tony stark wandered over to you confusion plastered on his face.

"Say, I like the staff to be comfortable but maybe your pushing boundaries just a little?" He quizzed not unkindly.

"Sorry Mr stark, I actually got fired and uhm...capta...steve invited me to join you...and then natasha leant me this dress and then..." he put his hands up to stop you "I can go ..." you finished hoping off your stool.

"No no no...what was your name again? " he asked "Sarah, candice, Britney..."

"Y/N" you cut in quietly.

"Right y/n" he said with a nod pretending he had known all along. Not that you had expected him to even recognise you from the huge amount of staff at the party. But then you were the one who had thrown champagne everywhere so that figured.

"Jobless huh?" He asked, becoming thoughtful as he eyed you up. You nodded quickly in reponse allowing yourself to slide hesitantly back onto the stool you'd previously occupied.

"Any receptionist experience?" He questioned "you know phones, files...that kinda stuff"

He didn't even give you time to answer

"Great so you can start Monday?"

Again he waited for no response.

"Ill have my guys call your guys..." he said with a light chuckle at his own joke.

"Ive been meaning to hire someone for a while now and now I don't have to go through millions of applicants" he said with a growing smile "win win right?"

"It was nice to meet you...Y/n" he finished and with that he was gone.

You blinked a couple of times, your mind racing. What the hell was going on. This night was getting better and better. You'd spent time getting to know both black widow and captain America and now tony stark himself had offered you a job in the tower.

You were still smiling away to yourself when two guys approached the bar chatting loudly to each other one of them being the winter solider or bucky as you now knew him to be called.

"Yeah yeah yeah..." bucky laughed as he patted his friend on the shoulder.

"Hey nat" the other guy piped up "What does it take to get a drink around here?"

Natasha looked up from her conversation with Bruce

"Sam speak to me like that again and you may just find out" she said, her voice soft, more relaxed than earlier in the night.

The guy who you now knew to be Sam laughed along with her as he jumped over the bar to help himself and bucky to some drinks. you finished your beer and pushed it to the side glancing back around the party unsure if you should stay or leave now those who had invited you were preoccupied.

"Haven't seen you here before" you suddenly heard from behind yo. You spun back round on your chair to come face to face with Sam- still behind the bar.

"I...uh...no" you started

"Can I get you another drink?" He asked nodding to your finished beer.

Natasha had now come around the other side of the bar and was stood to your right.

"This is Y/n, she had a rough night so steve invited her...you know how he is" she explained quickly

"Ahhhh okay, now that makes sense. Here" he passed you another beer and you gladly took it.

"Y/n, this is Sam aka the falcon and this here is bucky Barnes" you could she was deciding whether or not to reveal his past identity as the winter solider, but thought better of it.

To your surprise bucky closed the gap between him and yourself and held his hand out to you.

"It's nice to meet you y/n" he said, his voice low but smooth. Your cheeks warmed as your eyes met his. He really was breathtaking to look at.

"It's nice to meet you too..." you whispered with a smile, your voice getting lost somewhere. Natasha eyed Sam and they shifted a little bit over to the right to continue a conversation away from you and bucky.

It was an hour later when bucky finally plucked up the courage to ask you to dance.

You almost choked on your drink in response.

"I'd love too..."

He slid from his stool holding his hand out to you. You took it and he immediately slid it through his arm resting your hand on his forearm as he led you to the dance floor. Bucky Barnes had game. That was for sure. After all he'd been through you hadn't expected him to be such a smooth talker.

You slid your arms around his neck and felt his hands make contact with your waist. You hid the shiver that ran up your spine at the contact and chewed on your lip lightly.

"Your a really good dancer..." he whispered leaning down so his breath was warm on your neck. Another shiver ran through you.

"Thanks" you blushed "If I'm honest in kinda winging it" you admitted

he laughed tilting his head to the side

"Well your doing a great job, doll"

Your eyes widened at the word "doll". Okay so that was the cutest thing ever, and it sounded so sexy coming from him. You felt like you'd been blushing for the past hour and it just kept coming as he held you close to him.

Your eyes fell behind him and immiediatly made contact with Steve's. You looked away quickly the look on his face ingrained in your mind. He looked hurt, upset almost or maybe disappointed. You chanced another look to see Sharon sat to the side of him chatting away at him. He wasn't paying attention, he was looking at you. You looked away again and back at bucky clearing your throat.

"Uhm...I'm just going to the ladies..." you said suddenly slipping from his grasp and making your way through the crowds and out into the hallway.

After your trip to the ladies you'd found a quiet spot outside on the balcony to get some air and take in the last few hours to decide whether or not this was actually happening. You'd benn out there about 5 minutes when steve stepped out next to you closing the door behind him.

"Y/n?" He questioned following your gaze out across New York.

"Hey steve..." you acknowledged allowing a quick glance to him before returning to admire the skyline.

"You know Bucky was worried when you disappeared earlier..." he began. You froze a little, you hadn't meant to cause concern when you'd left Bucky on the dance floor earlier.

"He was? Sorry...I became distracted" you admitted

He didn't speak but you could feel him shift next to you, closing the gap slightly.

"I'm sorry Sharon interrupted our conversation earlier..." he began

"Oh no, its fine...your girlfriend had every right to pull you away" you interjected attempting to be as subtle as possible and still get the answers you needed.

He picked up on it and it definitely hadn't come out as subtly as you'd have liked.

"Not my girlfriend..." he confirmed before pausing having an battle within his own mind "...it's complicated.." he finished.

You nodded releasing a slow breath as you tried to gather your thoughts unsure of what to say in response.

"Your a good dancer..." he said, his voice low as he changed the subject.

You smiled , this was the second time you'd had your dancing complimented tonight.

"Thanks, I noticed you didn't spend any time on the dance floor..." you commented finally allowing yourself to face him trying to steady your breathing as you felt the magnetic pull you felt towards him every time your eyes met.

His stance changed and he almost closed up as he spoke his next words.

"No. You could say I'm waiting for the right partner" he breathed, starting to get lost in his thoughts once more.

There were a few more seconds of comfortable content silence before either of you spoke again.

"It seems Ill be seeing a lot more of you Capt...steve"

He was knocked out of his thoughts, straightening himself, his eyes sparkling with perhaps hope as he waited for you to continue.

"Tony offered me a job..." you explained your tone filled with optimism, a huge difference from the Y/N he'd met at the start of the evening.

"I start Monday" you declared, a now huge beaming smile lighting up your features. He mirrored your smile as he slid out of his jacket placing it over your shoulders.

"I'm happy for you doll, really, I'm glad your night turned around" his fingers made contact with your shoulders as he placed his jacket over you, each touch sending a bolt of electricity through your body. You hadn't even noticed how cold you were untill now- and there was that word again. "Doll". Man that word did things to you.

"Thanks" you said gesturing to his jacket, the gap between you had apparently pretty much disappeared throughout your conversation.

There was silence again as you became lost in the depth of his eyes.

"WIthout your help, I would definitely be crying into a Chinese right about now." You laughed lightly your eyes still locked on his.

He smiled softly his hand slowly coming to rest on your cheek as he tilted your head up slightly.

"Then I'm glad to be of service" he whispered faintly before he closed the gap between you even further his soft lips making contact with your own. The electricity you'd felt by his touch earlier was much more intense through his kiss. You both relaxed into the his, his arms snaking around your waist as he pulled your body flush against his. Your hands rested on his chest and you let out a small whimper as your fingers found the rock hard muscles beneath his shirt.

When you both finally pulled away you were both breathless, your heart banging against your chest threatening to break your rib cage. You both laughed softly as your eyes met once more.

"That was...unexpected" you whispered breaking the silence

"Ive waited too long once before..." he excused, you could see the worry in his eyes in case he may have overstepped.

You leant up and kissed him briefly once more.

"Unexpected but...amazing" you blushed.

He beamed, satisfied with your response, slowly releasing you from his grasp. The door opened and natasha stood in the door way

"Oh hey y/N...steve" she said, a sly smirk plastered across her face.

"Youre needed inside rogers..." she concluded, giving You one more knowing smirk before turning and heading back in.

Steve took a breath and nodded

"I should go and..."

you cut him of stepping back slowly a small smile still playing on your lips.

"I should be going anyway, busy day tomorrow" you lied sliding his jacket off of your shoulders and handing it back to him.

He took it from you folding it over his arm.

"Ill see you Monday?" He asked as you turned away from him. You reached the door looking back briefly

"See you Monday" you confirmed before heading for the exit, the smile still plastered on your face. You made your way to the elevator passing Michelle on your way. She shot a glare in your direction and you mustered up the confidence for a sassy wave as you glided past her sliding happily into the elevator. You pressed the ground level button and stepped back waiting for the doors to close. And they did...but not before your eyes met Bucky's. The look on his face making your breath catch in your throat, similar to the look steve had had earlier when you had been dancing with Bucky.

Monday was going to be interesting, that was for sure