Greetings all. For the first time in history, I've started a new story that is actually finished! Which means, there will be only brief delays between chapters, since I don't have to write them as I go. Woo Hoo. There's a first time for anything.

Anyway, this is a Captain America/OC story, but all the Avengers are included. I might have tweaked the personalities a bit for my own selfish reasons, but this is my story. I can do what I want. (If you were here, you'd see me sticking my tongue out at the people who want to criticize the direction of my story.) Don't get me wrong, I like creative criticism, as long as it's constructive.

On with the show...

Cap A. POV

I was not a social butterfly, as Natasha put it, and had little to no interest in becoming one.

It had been about a year since Loki lead the alien army against us. It still amazes me that the six of us managed to successfully defend the city, capture Loki and reacquired the Tesseract. True, the city took one hell of a beating and many hundreds of people were injured or killed, but it could have been so much worse.

The leaders of the city tried for months to blame the Avengers for all the damage and even went so far as to try to sue us for the cost of the destruction. Fortunately, the american citizens who lived in New York were squarely on our side and it was an election year.

About a month after the battle, the Avengers still in the area officially moved into Stark tower. Tony had fixed it up so we each had our own floor. A few months later, Dr. Banner and Thor rejoined us.

Bruce had originally left to go back into his self enforced solitude, but ultimately ended up returning only two months later. His experience with the team and the way the big guy had cooperated with all of us seemed to boost his confidence that he could someday learn to live with his alter ego, rather than try to push him back. I think the doctor missed being around people who cared about him and who would support him, no matter what. Even if that meant we had to talk down the Hulk once in a while.

Thor was gone for 8 months before returning to earth. He had spent most of that time trying to get the old Loki back. Unlike the rest of us, Thor didn't have a choice when it came to Loki. He was Thor's brother, in every way but blood and he had to give the wayward man a chance to come back to his family and his old life. Loki, however, was a changed man. I'm not saying that he could never change back, but after causing the evil that he inflicted on the earth, I seriously doubt if he'd ever revert to the boy Thor grew up with and loved.

After failing with Loki, Thor decided to return to us. Sure, we had won a battle, but now many more worlds knew about us. Many of which were far more powerful. Thor figured he'd do the most good by staying on earth to help defend it from whoever, or whatever came along. It would also give him a chance to be with Jane. Thor could almost be described as schoolgirl like when he spoke of her. Big, mighty god that we was, he could be such a softy.

Clint and Natasha moved in reluctantly. It wasn't that they didn't want to be around the rest of us, it was just neither of them had ever had a place they could call home. They usually just stayed on the base. It was new for them to have a place of their own with people they had begun to call family, people they actually trusted with their lives. Ideas such as trust and family were foreign to them and being a part of the Avengers gave both of them a sense of belonging they never had before with anyone but each other. They were actually a pleasure to have around, once you broke through the tough, master assassin exterior. Clint was a very laid back person and Natasha was far more feminine and nurturing than she allowed the world to see.

We worked as a team and lived as a family and somehow it worked, after some adjustment from everyone. There was a harmony between all of us that no one could have guessed at.

I hated to say it, but I was the one having the hardest time adjusting. Not so much to living in the tower with the team, I was good with that, I just never left the tower. Ever. We'd go on missions and I could command the situation and get the job done, but when it came to simple tasks involving normal, everyday interaction with other people, my mind would go into a panic. This world was not the one I came from and my mind was just not allowing me to adjust to it and join it on any personal level. I didn't even have to leave to go to the gym anymore, since the gym in Stark tower was more than sufficient for my needs. Why I could command soldiers and agents of SHIELD with perfect ease, but couldn't interact with the woman ringing up my purchases at a drugstore, was beyond me.

I was perfectly happy spending my down time at the tower. The others might have allowed me to do so without really noticing that I never went outside, if it hadn't been for Clint. Hawkeye sees everything. He's more observant than anyone I had ever met. He knows everything that goes on around him, even if it looks like he's not paying attention. It was like he had eyes on the back of his head. He noticed my inactivity, but didn't seem to do anything about it, or so it seemed.

It was almost 9 at night and I sat in the entertainment room of the tower, reading. I was alone, enjoying the quiet, when Natasha came in. She took a pillow, placed it on my lap then sprawled out on the couch next to me with her head on the pillow. This, in and of itself, was not unusual. Natasha often used whoever was sitting on the couch as a pillow. The part of this situation that was off was that she didn't snap on the TV. She just laid on her back and looked up at me, smiling.

I sighed. "Something I can do for you?" I asked, putting my book down, resting my left arm on the back of the couch. I had a bad feeling about this.

"Clint recently informed me that you haven't left the tower for anything but missions for almost a month."

I sighed again, pressing the bridge of my nose between my fingers. "Living with him is like living under 24 hour surveillance." I grumbled. "Would you believe me if I told you that he was lying?"

Natasha scoffed. "One, Clint only lies about things to gain an edge, which means there is no reason for him to lie about you. Two, he doesn't lie to me and if he did, I'd know it. Three, you don't lie. It's against your nature and your character. It's something I admire about you."

I couldn't help but smile at my friend. "OK, I admit it, I try to avoid leaving the tower for personal reasons. I don't know, I just don't feel like I fit in."

"Come on, Steve, it's got to be more than that. Thor doesn't have a problem getting out there and he's not even from this planet. Even Bruce gets out once in awhile and he has a legitimate fear of turning into the big guy. You are a caring, friendly, attractive man. Out of time or not, you fit right in with the people of this city."

I took my hand that was resting on the back of the couch, placing it over Natasha's, where it was resting on her stomach.

"I guess I still have some leftover insecurities from when I was a young man and 'this' hadn't happened yet." I motioned my other hand over myself, to indicate my new physical form. Natasha nodded.

"The procedure didn't make you into a new person, Steve, not really. It just made your body match the person you already had inside you. You are a strong, confident person on the battlefield. You just need to convince yourself that you can be that strong, confident person outside of the battlefield too." She took her free hand and placed it on top of the one resting on her stomach. She squeezed my hand reassuringly. "Take it slowly. Instead of making coffee at the asscrack of dawn when you get out of bed in the morning, walk down to that little cafe on the corner and get coffee. You don't have to stay, just get coffee and leave. Maybe, in a week or two, you can take a book down there and drink the coffee down there. Watch people, make small talk with the poor soul who is forced to get up that early in the morning, so idiots like you, who choose to be up at the asscrack of dawn, can have their coffee."

I had to chuckle. You had to love Natasha's bluntness. It was true, I was always the first one up, usually rising before 6AM. The only time someone was up with me was when Tony or Bruce had yet to go to bed because they were working on something that made them lose track of time or someone was up preparing for or getting back from an independent mission.

"Fine." I said, giving in. "Tomorrow morning when I get up, at the asscrack of dawn as you so colorfully put it, I will go have coffee out."

"Do you want me to come with you?" She offered.

This wasn't just some idle offer, either. I knew for a fact that Natasha didn't like getting up anytime before 7:30 or 8 in the morning on her days off. The fact that she was offering to get up with me and help me with my insecurities spoke volumes about her character and just how much she cared about me.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think this is something I need to do on my own."

She settled in and closed her eyes, looking very self-satisfied. "Well, I'm here if you need me."

I smiled at her, even though she couldn't see it. "Thanks." I picked my book up and continued to read. Natasha fell asleep, still holding my hand.

To Be Continued…

There it is, chapter 1. What do you think? Feel free to let me know. I'll post another chapter in a day or two. Sooner, if I get a good response to chapter one.

Thanks for reading my ramblings…