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 comes immediately after the end of the Captain America: Homecoming comics, set between The Avengers and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. In that story, Steve and Natasha work on a mission in Brooklyn to prevent the abduction of a Nobel Prize winner by a terrorist group.


To Build a Home

2. Dating

"What do you know? You can go home again," Steve said, looking over his shoulder at Professor Amanat comfortably giving her interview as she enjoyed her very own glass of Brooklyn's best milkshake.

"Well, with a little help," Natasha commented, holding the door open for him as the two of them took to the streets of his old neighborhood once more. "Speaking of which, I decided I'm gonna help you."

"Help me?" Steve raised a curious eyebrow as he glanced down at her. "With what? Our mission just got wrapped up."

"Not a mission. Or maybe something more of a personal mission," she elaborated, tilting her head a little to the side in thought. "I'm gonna help you find a girlfriend."

"What? A girlfriend?" Steve's eyebrows jumped up on his forehead nearly reaching his hairline at this.

"Yes," she said simply, turning to him with one of her almost smiles. "I can see how much you liked taking us out for milkshakes and showing me around your old neighborhood, even if it was just a cover for the mission. If you had a real girlfriend, you could do all of that just for fun." She explained to him her train of thought. "I'm sure you'd love it."

"Well…" Steve trailed off, his words getting lost as he thought about what she'd said. It was true that he'd enjoyed greatly spending time with her today as a cover for their mission. But he didn't know if that was for the dating-like things they'd done or if it was for the company itself.

He'd been working with Natasha for almost six months now and even if he'd gotten to a point that he was completely comfortable around her, that woman was still very much a mystery to him. He knew exactly who she was on the field and she's also been helping him with training, SHIELD applications and protocols and getting him up to date on life in the 21st century in general, but he still didn't know a lot about her personal life. Which was why he'd never acted on this attraction he'd felt for her.

It was really hard for him to get a read on her. Natasha loved to tease him and she'd also on occasion drop by unannounced at his place to spend time with him. One Saturday she had just showed up with a six-pack of her favorite beer and Chinese take-out.

"What are you doing here?" Steve had raised an eyebrow at her, even as he opened the door to let her in.

"You said you have no plans today, so I decided it was time to work on that list of yours and introduce you to the wonders of Star Wars," she'd said, walking in unceremoniously and making herself at home, kicking off her boots after she set the beer and cartons of food on his coffee table then she turned on his smart TV, going right into Netflix and logging into her account, quickly finding the mentioned movie series.

"How did you know that was on my list?" He'd asked her with an amused smile.

"I saw it the last time you took it out to write something down," she said with a smile of her own. "And I didn't want you to watch it in the wrong order and have it completely ruined."

"Wrong order? Wait, why are you starting with episode IV?" He'd frowned at her as he looked at the TV screen.

"See, I knew no one had explained it to you," she'd rolled her eyes slightly, sitting down on the couch and patting the place next to her. "Clint did this for me as well, when I defected the KGB and joined SHIELD, so I thought it was a nice tradition of sorts to keep up. You have to watch it in chronological order, otherwise it will get ruined for you, and episode IV was the first one out."

"Why would they start a movie series with the fourth episode?" He'd still been frowning in confusion even as he sat down next to her.

"Because. Just hand over a carton and watch the movie," she'd rolled her eyes at him once more even as she sat back against the cushions.

"Yes, ma'am," he'd done as she'd said and smiled at her, receiving a slight glare back as she hated when he'd call her ma'am, and soon they'd spent a rather lovely evening together watching the original trilogy.

There were other times she'd drop by or accompany him out during their days off to a bar, museum or some other place just so they'd hang out. But she'd never invited him over to her place and sometimes she'd just disappear and he would not see her outside of work for weeks on end. To be honest, he would've liked if he could get to know her better and date her, but he was pretty sure there was something in SHIELD's guidelines against getting involved with an assigned partner. And at times he'd also suspected she was already in a relationship with Agent Barton, and now here she was offering help to get him a girlfriend, so he guessed that pretty much put the matter to rest.

"So what's your type?" Natasha asked him, bringing him back to their current conversation even as she unlocked the doors of the car and they got into the vehicle.

"My type?" Steve simultaneously furrowed his brow and raised an eyebrow at her in confusion.

"Yes, what type of women do you prefer?" She elaborated patiently, even as she started the engine and expertly maneuvered the car out into traffic, keeping her eyes trained on the road as she kept on talking to him. "Any special attributes I should be looking for? Blondes or brunettes? Girl next door or take a walk on the wild side type? Smart? Demure? Shy? Loud?" She glanced at him with a smirk as he kept silent before all her questions.

Steve could only shake his head slightly in bewilderment. "You know, I never really thought about all of that, Natasha."

"You must have dated women before, back in the 40's." She raised an eyebrow challengingly at him.

"I did." He set his jaw rather firmly and avoided looking at her. Despite Tony's constant jokes to the contrary, he wasn't a virgin yet his dating history wasn't the greatest, so he didn't particularly want to get into that with Natasha.

After the serum, Dr. Erskine's assassination and feeling despondent that he'd missed his chance at getting to fight in the war, he'd settled for working with the traveling show with the USO and even shooting a couple of movies to promote efforts for the war. With his newfound physique and fame, he'd actually been a little in over his head with so many beautiful women suddenly giving him more than the time of the day when before they would not even spare him a second glance. So he'd lived a series of short-lived romances with a couple of the girls from the traveling show (until the director had absolutely forbid them from getting involved with him, as it was causing a lot of backroom drama), actresses in Hollywood or fans that would practically accost him after the presentations. But he'd never actually got to dating one of them, not in the traditional sense of the word. And of course none of them had meant half as much to him as what he'd felt for Peggy, even if the two of them had never actually been together.

If he would think about it, that would be his type: strong-willed, fierce, beautiful no-nonsense women who weren't afraid to put him in his place. And it was just his luck that Natasha Romanoff fit the bill, yet she didn't seem interested in him in the slightest.

"I could help you find someone suitable in the 21st century," Natasha said, once more bringing him out of his private reverie.

"I think I can find myself a girlfriend just fine," he rolled his eyes good-naturedly at her. He appreciated the thought behind the gesture, but getting her to find him a girlfriend could be something that might get awkward pretty quickly, all things considered.

"C'mon! This would be something like my pet project," she insisted a little, laughter in her voice. "Doing my part in helping Captain America get settled with his new life."

"Well, that's actually the problem," Steve confessed with something of a sigh. "Women see me and they seem to want to date Captain America, not Steve Rogers."

That had been true back in the 1940's and it was still true today, he thought as he remembered that waitress from the restaurant in Manhattan near Stark Tower. He'd saved her during the battle against the Chitauri and when she saw him again one day when he'd been visiting Tony she'd insisted on taking him out to thank him for it, but the whole time Steve had felt like he was abusing his position as her rescuer and that she wasn't actually interested in him, but the fact that he was Captain America and one of the Avengers.

"How is that a problem?" Natasha furrowed her brow at hearing this. "You may be Captain America, but before that you're Steve Rogers."

"Exactly, I'm just a kid from Brooklyn," he said, shaking his head a little. "When I'm on a mission, I put on the Captain America mantle and fight with all I have. But at the end of the day, I'm just me. I'm afraid I just end up disappointing their expectations."

"In what world would a woman be disappointed in dating Steve Rogers?" She countered, raising a disbelieving eyebrow at him as she took her eyes off the road and concentrated fully on him for a moment. "If that happens, then obviously she's not the one for you. You see, this is why you need my help, Steve." She finished with a smile.

"I'll think about it." Steve conceded with a slight smile of his own, feeling encouraged by her words, and pretty soon they'd arrived at the airbase to catch the Quinjet back to D.C.