Steve knocked on Olivia's door and waited for her to answer.
"Change out of your pajamas and get dressed," he told her. Olivia glanced at the clock on her wall.
"It's like 8:30 PM. Where are we going?"
"Just get dressed and meet me downstairs."
"Am I supposed to dress fancy?"
"Dress in what makes you happy. You're beautiful either way," he smiled and kissed her. "But casual is fine."
Olivia met Steve on the first floor. She had decided on a pair of blue jeans and a white v-neck t-shirt. He laced his hand in hers and pulled her back into the elevator, pressing the B button.
"Why are we going to the garage?"
"Because we need a car."
Steve escorted her over to Tony's Audi Q5, holding the door open for her as she climbed in and buckled up. He took his place in the driver's seat and rolled down the windows before heading toward the garage door.
"Do you have permission to use this?" She asked.
"Yes," he replied.
"Do you even have a license?" Olivia questioned. "One that's not expired?"
"Of course, I do!" He scoffed at her. "How's your research been going?"
Since Olivia wasn't allowed to return back to the Smithsonian, she had spent the last four months conducting research in the city on urban wildlife, trapping rodents, tagging them, and then tracking them with radio collars to monitor their movements and interactions. She hoped to compare rodent movement to density of people.
"It's been going well," she said. "I tagged four new individuals yesterday. Looks like one was nursing, so she must have a nest somewhere with babies."
"That's very good, then," Steve said, although he sounded unsure.
They drove through the city, the bright lights outshining the stars in the sky. The temperature was cool, as it was early April. Spring came late in the city.
"Where are we going?" Olivia asked again as they headed out of the city.
"It's a surprise."
Forty-five minutes later, they were pulling into a drive-in theater.
"The drive in!?" Olivia exclaimed excitedly. "How did you know I wanted go?"
"You told me when I was showing you around Brooklyn in November," he said.
"You remembered?"
"I remember a lot of things you say," he smiled and gave her a quick kiss before leaning out of the window to pay their entrance fee.
"You sure are something, Steve," she smiled as he parked the car. "Why are you parked backwards? The screen is the other way."
"Just be patient. I'll be right back," he smiled, putting a baseball cap on before stepping out of the car. A few minutes later, he opened the driver's side door and handed Olivia a large popcorn. "I got a Cola. Do you mind if we share?" Olivia shook her head and threw a handful of popcorn in her mouth. "I went easy on the butter."
"Good, that stuff stays on your hands for days!" She laughed. Steve closed the door again and went around to the back of the car, popping the hatch open. He opened Olivia's door for her and took her hand. In the back of the crossover was a plethora of pillows and blankets.
"I figured this would be more comfortable than the bucket seats," he smiled. Olivia couldn't hide her amazement. "Climb in," he offered her a hand and crawled in behind her, wrapping her in his arms. She snuggled into his chest, still within reach of the popcorn, of course, and wrapped a light blanket around them.
"Olivia," Steve whispered, as he gently poked her shoulder. "Wake up."
Olivia let out a snort of sorts from the passenger seat, her head resting against the headrest, mouth wide open, as she slept.
"Olivia," Steve nudged her again and she jerked awake, her eyes wide open with fear.
"What's wrong?" She questioned.
"Nothing, you were asleep. I just was trying to wake you up," he smiled. "We're back at the Tower."
"I was asleep? You saw me sleeping?" She asked and he nodded. "With my mouth open and everything?!"
He laughed. "Yea, I saw that."
"Oh my gosh, how embarrassing!" She exclaimed, covering her face with her hands.
"Nah, it was kinda cute."
"Pshh, yea okay," she snorted, as she clamored out of the car. Steve walked her to her floor and they stood outside the door for a minute.
"I had a really good time tonight, Olivia," Steve said, blushing slightly.
"Me too, Steve, me too."
"I, uh," he cleared his throat. "I've been wanting to tell you that...I, uh,"
"Yes, Steve?" She asked, hoping he would spit it out already.
"Well, I lo- like you a lot. I like you a lot, Olivia," he sputtered. Olivia paused, not quite expecting him to put it that way.
"I like you too, Steve." She gave him a small smile, kissed his cheek and opened the door to her suite. "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."
"Night," he said softly, as the door closed behind her.
You blew it, he thought to himself. I like you a lot? Just what a woman wants to hear.
"You kids got in awfully late last night," Tony smirked when Olivia entered the lab the next morning.
"Yea, yea," she jeered. "We saw a late movie."
"I know, I let IceCap borrow the car," Tony said, matter-of-factly. "Did you actually watch the movie or did you...'get to know' each other?" He made the air quotes with his fingers.
"Of course we watched the movie!"
"Capsicle didn't make a move on you?"
"No. We were there to watch the movie," she reiterated.
"Mmm, I see, I see."
"Anyway, I just came to get some batteries. My telemetry hand piece died."
"Speaking of, are you just spending your days playing with rats?"
"...and mice," she said. "Nick won't let me leave the Tower and go back to my work, so I'm improvising. If I get a large enough sample size, I can publish this research."
"You can probably get it published regardless. I can pull some strings for you."
"How nice," she said, half-sarcastic. "I'd prefer to let me talent speak for itself, though."
"As you wish. Let me know when you submit for peer review," he said, tossing her a pack of batteries.
"Thanks," she said, catching them and making her way to the elevator.
"Oh, and Olivia?" Tony called and she turned to face him. "Cap's a nice guy, but how long do you think you can go before getting bored with him, if all he offers is kisses on the cheek and the occasional make-out session?"
"Not everyone's a playboy, Tony. And not everyone puts such an emphasis on sexual activity."
"We'll see," he muttered to himself.
"Want to go for a run?" Steve asked as he plopped onto the couch next to Olivia.
"With you?" She asked. "No way. I'll be eating your dust!"
"Aw, come on," he pleaded. "I'll go easy on ya."
"I don't see this being a good idea," she laughed.
"You said one of your New Year Resolutions was to get in shape, didn't you?"
She sat silently for a minute, imagining Steve in a fitted t-shirt and gym shorts, sweat glistening on his skin. She found that that to be quite an enticing picture, so she agreed.
"I'll go change," she said.
"Me too, meet you back down here?" He asked and she nodded.
Fifteen minutes later, she was dressed in a teal sports bra and black shorts, with matching teal and pink new balance tennis shoes. She waited downstairs for Steve, who arrived shortly. Much to Olivia's dismay, he was wearing sweatpants. She also couldn't help but notice that Steve was staring at her.
Steve couldn't avert his eyes when he saw that Olivia was wearing only a sports bra as her top. His gaze immediately went to her stomach. She was thin, but it wasn't like she was a size zero. She had this sexy sense of normalcy, if that even made sense.
"Don't stare," she said, wrapping her arms around her stomach. "I can't help that I'm so pale."
"No, no," he chuckled nervously. "Blue looks good on you, is all."
She followed him out of the tower and they made their way through the city. It was only a few blocks to Bryant Park, a small green space behind the public library. They started out at a steady jog. Olivia could feel the burn creeping up her calves. It had been too long since she last went running. Steve kept to his word - he didn't leave her behind. She figured it was probably boring for him, as he couldn't push himself, but it was as if Steve read her mind.
"Don't worry, I like a slower pace sometimes, too," he said.
"Gee, thanks," she laughed.
She watched as his muscles tensed and relaxed after each step. The sweat was pooling around his lower back and Olivia couldn't help but let her eyes drift a little bit lower.
"I'm being outrun by a senior citizen," she commented as he pulled ahead of her.
"Hey now!" He laughed, nudging her arm with his elbow. She lost her balance and fell right to the ground. "Oh man, I'm sorry!"
Olivia couldn't help but laugh as she pulled herself onto her butt, burring her face in her knees.
"Are you alright?" he asked, kneeling next to her. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to knock ya down."
"You're stronger than you think," she said as she hoisted herself up. "I'm okay, let's keep going."
They ran for what felt like hours, although Olivia came to find it had only been about 45 minutes.
"Okay, I think this is my breaking point," she huffed. "You've got some crazy endurance and I, well, I don't."
"You gave it a good run," he clasped his hand over her shoulder.
"Thanks," she gave a small smile as she tried to catch her breath. "I'm gonna do some stretches to cool down." She slowly walked over to the grassy patch closest to them and plopped down to the ground. Steve sat across from her and stared at her expectantly. Olivia raised her eyebrows at her questioningly.
"I don't usually stretch, so I'm going to follow your lead."
"Oh, okay," she said. "Uh, let's start by spreading our legs and then reach for your foot with the opposite hand." She took her left arm and stretched it out, reaching to touch her right foot. "And then switch." Olivia felt Steve's eyes watching her as she stretched. "Now to the middle." She leaned forward, keeping her back straight and grabbed her toes as she rested parallel to the ground.
"Okay, I am not that flexible," Steve laughed.
"That's okay, just go as far as you can."
She stood up and Steve copied her.
"Now put your legs shoulder width apart and bend down to one side," she instructed.
Steve watched as Olivia slowly bent to her right side. He watched as a droplet of sweat rolled down her back toward her neck. Her body was speckled with freckles, much like the stars in the night sky, and they glowed an amber color under the sun. Olivia switched sides and Steve did the same before she sat on the ground again.
"Now our backs," she said. She turned so Steve was on her right side and she placed her right leg over her left, positioning her elbow behind her right knee and pushing away. Steve found that he was mesmerized by the movement of her hips. He just couldn't look away. She let out a long sigh after she had switched sides. "I think that's enough for today. Perhaps enough to carry me through the whole month."
"Ah, c'mon, it wasn't that bad," Steve offered his hand to help her up. "I think you did a great job."
"That's very nice of you, but I know you're just saying that to make me feel better."
"Maybe I'm just saying it so you'll join me again soon?"
"Maybe if you play your cards right, Captain," she smiled, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
A/N: Well here it is. I am currently in the process of writing next week's chapter, so fingers crossed it will be done in time. If not, I may have to post on Saturday. Thank you so much for your patience, for all of your favorites and reviews!
