The next morning found Andrea pacing nervously in front of Mo's Diner as she waited for Steve to arrive for their date. Andrea wasn't even sure that this qualified as a date. It's not like she'd ever really been on one before. Her experience with men consisted primarily of physical relationships as a mode of stress relief. Having joined SHIELD at seventeen, she just hadn't had the time or inclination. Yet here she was, waiting for Steve so they could have breakfast together. Sounds like a date to me, she groused to herself.

Her silent rant was interrupted by a much too chipper "Hey! Good morning!" Turning, Andrea saw Steve striding up, a big smile on his face. Oh boy, Andy thought as she couldn't help but grin back.

"Morning," she replied, uncharacteristically nervous around him.

"How'd you sleep?" Steve asked smoothly. At Andrea's raised eyebrow, he plowed on, flustered, "I mean, just, uh… yesterday you said you'd had a bad night and I was concerned and-"

"Steve?" Andrea interrupted, taking pity on him.

"Yeah?" he asked, not meeting her eyes.

"I slept fine," she offered with a small smile.

"Oh, uh… good. That's good," he responded, obviously still uncomfortable.

"Shall we go?" Andrea asked, comforted that she wasn't the only nervous one.

Steve nodded in response. "It's a little ways to the Navy Yard area. Sure you can run that far?"

Andrea rolled her eyes at him. "Care to make it interesting?" Andrea asked, a hint of challenge in her voice.

Steve laughed. "What is it with you and making bets?" he asked.

Andrea smiled and shrugged. "Is that a 'no'?" she challenged.

"No…" Steve drawled as he started to jump around to warm up. "What's the bet?" he asked with a smile.

"Simple," Andy replied, "loser pays."

"Well in that case…" he started and then took off down the street.

Andrea bolted after him, laughing. "Cheater!" she hollered.

Andrea caught up with him quickly - he must have slowed down for her. She'd always been fast - faster still since… Well, since them - but she still had to push herself to keep up with him.

They kept a steady pace together - not talking - just running. Andrea was grateful for it. She didn't enjoy running and talking at the same time. She felt oddly comfortable around Steve - in a way she hadn't been comfortable with anyone besides Clint and Nat. Maybe this assignment won't be so bad, she mused as they neared the waterfront.

Steve broke their comfortable silence with, "The coffee shop is straight ahead - about half a mile." He doesn't even sound winded Andrea lamented.

Not one to back down easily, Andrea kicked it into high gear and took off ahead of Steve. She could hear him laugh as she did so. She could hear him just behind her seconds before he easily passed her. Damn it! she thought as she pushed herself even harder. What am I doing?! Killing myself trying to beat Captain America in a foot race?!

Finally, though, she started to slowly gain ground. Steve must have heard her because she saw him glance over his shoulder, a mildly surprised look on his face.

Just as they were about to reach the coffee shop, Steve came to a dead stop. Andrea had too much momentum to stop right away and inadvertently beat Steve to the shop.

Andrea immediately bent over with her hands on her knees to catch her breath. After a few seconds, she felt her breathing start to return to normal. She couldn't help but smile when Steve's shoes made their way into her field of vision.

"You're fast," Steve observed.

Andrea stood up and faced him, smile still in place. "And you're a cheater," she shot back at him.

Steve's face morphed into one of fake outrage. "Me?! Are you really going to accuse Captain America of being a cheater?"

"No," Andrea responded, taking a step closer, "But I'll accuse the hell out of Steve."

Something flashed on Steve's face at that. It was some mix of surprise and… gratitude? Steve cleared his throat after a moment, coming back to himself. "Anyway, how can you accuse me of cheating? You won!"

"You let me win. Plus, there's absolutely no way that I could come close to keeping up with you in a fair fight," Andrea replied.

Steve shrugged, "You might surprise yourself… And me for that matter." Before Andrea could respond to that, Steve continued, "And besides, my ma would box my ears if I let a woman pay for a date," he said, turning towards the cafe.

So this is a date. Andrea couldn't decide if the feelings she was having at that were excitement or terror. It really could go either way. Andrea thought as she too turned towards the cafe.

"Shall we?" Steve asked, gesturing towards the cafe.

Andrea smiled. "After you," she waved her hand towards the building.

Steve looked like he wanted to argue at that. Shrugging, he walked the few steps to the door and held it open for her. Such a gentleman, she thought as she walked inside.

The cafe was on the small side but had a nice homey feel to it. I suppose that's why Steve likes it, she thought as they made their way to the register to order.

They made polite conversation as they waited for their drinks and made their way towards the outdoor seating once they had them.

Sitting across the table from each other, Andrea took a moment to take in her surroundings. Besides her habitual scan for threats, Andrea appreciated the calm of this area. She had a great view of the water and of the people milling around. Turning back towards Steve, she smiled. She knew he would watch her back just as she watched his. He allowed her to relax in a way she hadn't been able to with other men.

"What?" Steve asked, catching her smile, smiling himself.

Andrea shrugged to cover her blush at being caught staring. Am I really blushing over this guy?!

"Nothing," she hedged, looking down at her iced coffee. She didn't see Steve grin. Stop being weird, you moron...

"So tell me something, Andrea," Steve said, thankfully breaking Andrea out of her self-flagellating head.

"What?" she asked when he didn't elaborate.

Steve shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. "Anything. I don't know anything about you and I… I'd like to," he finished, no doubt a little lamer than he'd intended.

Now it was Andy's turn to grin across the table. Deciding to rescue him, she said, "I can't whistle."

"What?" he asked, looking up at her with a mildly confused look on his face.

"You wanted to know about me," Andrea shrugged. "I can't whistle," she repeated.

Steve smiled. "Oh… Really?" he asked with a laugh in his voice.

"Really," she confirmed. Steve chuckled. "Your turn," Andrea pointed out after a moment.

"Oh, okay. That's fair. Um…" he trailed off.

"What's your favorite color?" Andrea supplied.

"Green," Steve repeated with a smile.

Andrea made a noise of surprise. "Not read, white or blue?"

"Nah," Steve responded, waving a dismissive hand, "that's just the uniform."

Andrea nodded her understanding. Makes sense, she thought to herself.

"If you don't mind me asking…" Steve began. At Andrea's raised eyebrow, he went on, "What do you do at SHIELD?"

Andrea considered him. It's a fair question, she decided. "I'm a Specialist," she responded simply, knowing that he'd know all that her job entailed.

To her surprise and relief, he didn't appear to be thinking any less of her for it. He would know she'd killed people - was dangerous. But he didn't seem to care. He simply nodded and moved on - which Andrea was grateful for.

They talked about everything and nothing - they stayed on safe topics and didn't delve into topics Andrea and Steve didn't want to share. It would needlessly complicate things. She just couldn't let him in too much. He'd already weaseled his way past a number of her defenses.

Despite the self-imposed restrictions on conversation, Andrea found herself really enjoying the day. She enjoyed talking to Steve - he made her laugh more sitting at that table with him than she'd probably laughed all year. She even found herself wanting to tell him things she hadn't really told anyone - things about her past or her family.

As if reading her thoughts, during a lull in conversation, Steve said, "I really like talking to you, Andrea."

Andrea blushed and softly replied, "Me too, Steve." Their eyes met at that moment and Andrea felt her blush deepen.

Steve opened his mouth to say something else but was cut off by a loud blaring coming from Steve's pocket causing both Andrea and Steve to jump. Cursing softly, Steve pulled a high-tech looking phone from his pocket and scrambled to shut off the alarm.

"Sorry," he murmured at Andrea before turning his eyes to the screen. Whatever he saw on the screen couldn't have been good news as, upon reading it, Steve's face grew tight and his eyes serious.

"Bad news?" Andrea asked as Steve finished reading the message and pocketed his phone.

"Yeah," Steve started, standing up and looking extremely apologetic, "I mean, no… I mean… I have to go," he finished, the apology practically dripping from his words.

Andrea stood up with him. Smiling, she said, "Don't worry, Steve, I know what you do for a living," she added with a wink.

Steve grinned at that, but then his face grew somber, as if realizing something. "I don't know how long I'll be gone," he said regretfully. Something twisted in Andrea's gut knowing she was going to have to lie to him, that this might be the last time she sees him before her assignment starts.

"Well," she began, "if you're back by Sunday night, I'll be around." She managed a small, unconvincing smile.

"And then what?" Steve asked, stepping closer.

Andrea shrugged. "And then… on to the next assignment."

"But what about this?" Steve asked, gesturing between the two of them.

"Steve-"

"I know you feel it, too, Andrea," he began. "We owe it to ourselves to see where it goes."

"You don't know anything about me," she shot back, slightly irritated.

Steve's smile was small. "I'd like the chance to change that."

Andrea was struggling to maintain her composure. "Steve, I don't think that's a good idea," she responded.

"Andrea-" he was suddenly interrupted by more noise from his pocket. "Fuck," he cursed as he silenced the device again. "Look," he tried again, "I want-"

"Steve," Andrea interrupted.

"What?" he asked.

Andrea stepped in close then, standing up on her toes, she touched her lips to his cheek. After lingering a moment, enjoying the heat of his face near hers, before pulling away.

He looked suitably flustered when she took in his face. He's adorable, she thought as she took a small step back.

"Go," she urged, "Be safe."

Steve nodded. "I will see you again, Andrea," he promised as he turned to leave, starting to jog away.

Not knowing what possessed her, Andrea called out to him, "Steve!"

When he turned to look at her with a curious look on his face, she shouted with a blush, "My friends call me Andy."

Steve's grin could have powered all of Brooklyn. "See you later, Andy," he called before turning to run off.

Oh boy, Andrea thought, turning to walk back to Clint's apartment. This complicates things.