Tony called Steve's number a little before ten on Saturday night. He knew his friends would probably be tired from moving day, and he figured Steve would be less likely to kill him if he woke him up. Luckily, Steve was still awake.

"How's the unpacking going? Has Red had to shoot you again?" Tony teased.

"We're making progress," Steve replied cautiously. "Nat is taking a shower. I'm just trying to get some of my clothes put away."

"Have you actually talked yet or is she still giving you the cold shoulder?"

"We talked."

"Well? Don't keep me in suspense. How'd it go? Am I going to be bringing James into a war zone or are you two going to get your heads out of your-"

"We have a plan," Steve interrupted, "or at least Nat has a plan. She thinks we should pretend to be together, so James won't feel like he's causing us to not get together."

"Did you tell her how stupid that plan is?"

"No," Steve paused, "if this is the only way then I'll take what I can get."

"Wait, you've already fallen for her, haven't you?"

Steve sighed. "It doesn't matter. What matters is keeping her and James here with me. If she ever feels the same, it'll just be a bonus."

Tony laughed. "So, tell me the rest of her little plan. Maybe you've got a chance at getting the girl this time, Capscycle."

After Steve finished filling Tony in, Tony couldn't help but smile. "She's taking you for a test drive, Cap. She's not doing this for James. She's curious about how a relationship with you would go, so she's using the kid as an excuse. That way, she doesn't have to risk getting hurt."

"Tony, I don't think that's what Nat has in mind."

"Of course, you don't see it, but you have just been given a golden opportunity my friend. Here's what you're going to do."

Tony spent the next few minutes grooming Steve to woo Natasha before hanging up the phone. Pepper was sitting beside him. She just shook her head. "I hope you know what you're doing," she said softly.

"Me too. I wonder how those two knuckleheads ever managed to get together in the first place. They're kind of clueless about romance."

"Oh," Pepper replied, "and you're the expert?"

"Well, I managed to get the hottest, smartest, most amazing woman on the planet to give me another chance," he said as he pulled her into his arms. "That's got to be worth something."

The New House

Steve had just finished hanging up his clothes in the closet when Natasha came out of the bedroom. Her hair was still damp, but she looked beautiful. She was dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a tank top that Steve assumed she planned to wear to bed, and she looked fairly relaxed. If he was going to put Tony's plan into action, he might as well get started.

He popped a quick kiss on her cheek and took off to the bathroom without giving her time to comment. Natasha was sitting on the bed reading a book when he came out ten minutes later with his own hair still damp wearing just a pair of boxers.

"All your pajamas in the laundry, Cap?" Natasha asked.

"You told me flannel wasn't appropriate for a hook up," Steve replied as he climbed into bed.

Natasha set her book on the bedside table and turned to face Steve. "This isn't a hook up. We're pretending, remember?"

"I think the word you used was practicing. I'm just trying to get into character, and I have a feeling this is what I'd wear to bed if we were actually together."

"And, the kiss on the cheek?"

"Hello and goodbye kisses, just like you said. Or, did I do it wrong? I guess I shouldn't have kissed you on the cheek. That probably wouldn't be very convincing, would it? Let me try again." Before she had time to stop him, Steve leaned in and kissed her soundly on the lips. He kept the kiss fairly short, but he tried to pour all of his passion into it. Natasha had closed her eyes when he pulled away. Steve smirked and went in for a second kiss. Tony had told him to keep her off balance. When he kissed her the second time, she definitely responded. He only allowed the kiss to continue for a moment before pulling away. "Was that more what you had in mind?"

Natasha was slightly breathless, and Steve was fairly proud that he had made her that way. Once she recovered a bit, she rolled back on her back so she wasn't looking at him anymore before answering. "I think kissing me like that in front of James would probably be extremely inappropriate."

"Well, I guess I was wrong. I guess I am going to need some practice after all," Steve grinned.

Natasha turned her head back his direction. "You're enjoying this a little too much, Steve. We have to be serious about this."

Steve stopped smiling and put his hand on Natasha's cheek. "We have to make James believe we are together and that you feel about me the way I have been feeling about you since D.C. That's the mission. Are you really going to fault me for enjoying having the woman I want pretending she's in love with me?"

"Rogers," Natasha whispered, "you better not be playing me."

"I thought I made myself pretty clear in D.C. I'm always honest, Romanoff. Now, why don't you show me the way you'd prefer I kiss you for this little charade. I promise to be a very willing student," Steve replied, hoping he came off more seductive than creepy.

"I think we should probably save that lesson for tomorrow when we aren't so tired and you're wearing a few more clothes."

"Whatever you think is best, Nat. You're the one with the plan," Steve replied, giving her another quick peck on the cheek before turning off the lamp on his side of the bed.

Natasha woke up with a super soldier spooned up behind her the following morning. She certainly wasn't going to deny that it felt good to feel so much of Steve's body against her own, but what on earth had gotten into him last night?

She had fully expected him to have come up with a long list of reasons why her plan was a bad one by the time she got out of the shower. She honestly half-expected him to have already gone to bed in the other room, and she'd intended to go get him and drag him to her bed to practice. Instead, he had been all to excited to put her plan into motion. He had even admitted his feelings in a way where there was absolutely no denying them. Steve was in love with her. She would be the only one playing pretend.

Steve kissed her neck as soon as he woke up. "Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"Very," she replied. "We should get back to unpacking."

She heard Steve groan slightly. "Not until we have breakfast and get some groceries in this house."

Natasha couldn't help but laugh a little. "You and your super serum induced appetite," she teased, "but food wouldn't hurt."

"Want to go for some overpriced coffee with me? I hear they have great blueberry muffins. We could even do a little practicing," he said as he rolled her onto her back and hovered over her, his lips just shy of touching hers.

Natasha felt herself flush. She was pretty sure future her hadn't had any trouble falling for future Steve if future Steve had pulled a move like this one. "Well, I did say we'd practice this morning, but I also said something about more clothes."

Steve laughed. "So, if I get dressed you'll let me take you out for coffee and practice kissing you?"

"Everybody needs practice."

Steve stood up and pulled on a pair of jeans and a tight t-shirt without ever turning away from Natasha. "You still believe that? I got the impression I did pretty well last night."

Natasha got up and grabbed a change of clothes from the closet. She didn't bother closing the closet door while she dressed, but she did turn her back to Steve. She finally turned around as she pulled her shirt over her head. "I'm beginning to think you're trying to seduce me, Rogers, and we both know that's my game, not yours," she teased.

"I certainly wouldn't mind letting you take over," Steve replied honestly, "that is, if you're ready to admit the idea of falling for me isn't such a bad idea," he paused, "and if you think you're ready to move past Bruce."

"I think I moved past Bruce the minute I learned he gets another chance with Betty. The real problem here isn't Bruce. It's me. What if I'm not enough for you? You know who I was, what I've done. You told me once you wanted me to be a friend. You didn't give me any indication that had changed until I had already moved on with Bruce. I feel like I've been on a rollercoaster for the last month, and I just really don't want to make any mistakes."

Steve took two giant steps before pulling her into his arms. "I said I wanted you to be a friend, because I didn't want you to pretend with me not because I wasn't attracted to you. I don't think I want you to pretend now, either. This plan isn't going to work. James will just have to understand that you need more time. I'll talk to him when he gets home. No more pretending to feel something you don't. I'll move my stuff to my room after breakfast."

Natasha looked into Steve's eyes and pulled his face down to hers and kissed him. "No more pretending and no moving your stuff out of our room. We're going to have coffee now then you're going to take me out for Italian tonight at that little place on Elm-"

"Maybe after dinner, we can hit that club over on 4th-" Steve added.

"Then we can come home and I'll give you a private dance lesson and make sure you never kiss anyone else."

"Sounds like the perfect day to me," Steve replied, kissing her again, "but, I'd be willing to skip breakfast and take you back to bed right now if you're up for it."

"Not a chance," Natasha laughed, "you're going to need your energy."