6 months later

Steve twirled his key ring on his finger as Tony went over the latest mission. They had been able to eliminate another stronghold and gained a lead on HYDRA's next move. He looked up and caught Natasha's eye, who in turn nodded towards his hand.

"What?" He asked as he stopped twirling the keys.

Tony cleared his throat. "As I was saying, the PR team at Stark Industries seems to think the Avengers needs to rebrand."

There were loud sighs around the table and he frowned.

"Rebrand?" Steve asked starting to twirl the keys around his finger again.

"Tony thinks we need to sell lunch boxes and pajamas," Clint said at the end of the table and slipped his sunglasses over his eyes.

"And why do we need to do that?" He asked and when Natasha nodded at his hand again and he stopped twirling the keys.

"We need the public back on our side after New York and Sokovia. They think we're the bad guys," Tony said with a shrug. "If you look at the big picture-"

Natasha rolled her eyes. "And that involves selling merchandise? I don't think HYDRA cares about how many Hawkeye sunglasses we sell."

Tony nodded in agreement. "Of course not, but if we show that we aren't the bad guys, the boys on Capitol Hill are more likely to leave us alone. And besides we cancelled bird boy's sunglasses-they weren't selling."

"Hey!" Clint shouted from the end of the table as the rest of the team laughed.

"Her name is Linda Smythe and she specializes in exposés. So, we're going to show her that we aren't the bad guys. Clint and Natasha will be interviewed. Me of course, since I fund the whole thing and American Pie himself, Steve."

"Fine," Natasha said as she stood up from the table. "Yes, Tony, I'm actually agreeing with you on something."

Tony covered his mouth in mock shock. "Banner day, folks. The Black Widow agrees with me."

"Whatever," she said as she nodded to Steve. "Walk with me?"

"Sure," he said standing up from the table. As they reached the hallway, Natasha looked at the set of keys in his hand.

"You know that you can leave those in your apartment unless you've changed your mind about Felicity."

Steve sighed. "No, I haven't. But before you call me an idiot again, hear me out."

Natasha scoffed as they made their way to the lab. "Go ahead."

"Felicity is special. The kind of special that I didn't think I'd find again after Peggy and-"

"Not hearing a solid reason why you ended things with her, Cap."

"I'm protecting her!" He said in frustration as they entered the lab. "If Felicity were to get hurt, or something worse, because of me, I don't know what I'd do."

"So, instead of talking to her about it, you just made the decision for her?" Natasha let out a slow whistle. "No wonder she was pissed. She told me -"

Steve stopped in his tracks and turned to Natasha. "Wait, you've talked to her? Is she okay?"

Natasha chuckled and giving him a knowing look. "Felicity? Yeah, she's fine. Pissed at you but fine. We talk every now and then. If you're wondering, I called her after she sent your things back. I wanted to make sure she didn't hate all of us...turns out it's just you."

"Nice, Nat" he grumbled as he waved at the lab tech. He knew that Felicity would still be upset but he felt his decision was for the best even though he thought about her constantly.

She shrugged. "I hate to say that I told you so but..."

"We've heard about the Avengers and their heroics during the siege on this city and their time in Sokovia. However, do we really know them? Do we really know what happens behind the scenes of these heroes' lives? Please join me as we do an in-depth profile on the Avengers and the team behind the name."

Felicity looked up from her tablet as the teaser for the interview ran again. She had heard about the interview from Curtis and had sworn that she didn't want to watch it. However, she missed her friends and if this was the only way she could catch up with them aside from sporadic calls to Natasha she would. Thea hadn't bought her wanting to see her friends excuse and had insisted that Felicity just wanted to see Steve.

"Just admit that you miss him, Felicity," Thea had said as they left the lair. It had been more than nine months since their breakup and every day the separation seemed to be getting a bit easier.

"It's not that I don't miss him, Thea," she said as they reached her car. "It's just that I think I miss him too much and who's to say that I won't call him."

Thea scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Not that it would be a bad thing. You should call him."

Felicity ended the conversation with a not so subtle gesture and Thea couldn't stop laughing.

"Okay, okay. So, did you want me to bring wine over when we watch the interview or no?"

"Wine, my lady," Thea said as she sat next to Felicity. "Have we missed anything juicy?"

"No," she said as she took the partially full glass from her. "They just ran another teaser so I think it'll start soon."

"Good," Thea said and took a sip of her wine. "Do you think they'll interview everyone? Natasha? Hawkeye?"

Felicity smirked. In between Thea's concern about her relationship, Felicity had picked up on her new interest in Clint Barton.

"He's a good guy, Thea," she said as she took a long sip from her glass. "But we're not going to talk about the fact that he and your brother essentially are the same person."

Thea scrunched her nose and rolled her eyes. "You just ruined any fantasy I had of him."

Felicity laughed and shrugged. "Oh, don't let that stop you. I think Clint would be interested if you were to say anything."

Thea snorted as the interview began.

"Who are the Avengers? Are they meta-humans who work in the shadows? Are they superheroes and heroines with chips on their shoulders? Or are they something more? Tonight's profile will give you the viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the gods, meta-humans, agents, who make up this team. First up, the man who funds it all, the one and only, Tony Stark."

"Of course, they'll start with him," Thea said as took some popcorn from the bowl between them. "I wouldn't be surprised if his big head filled the entire screen."

Felicity giggled. "He's not that bad, Thea." She laughed as Thea cut her a sharp glance. "Ok, he does have a slight ego problem."

"Slight?" Thea said, exasperated.

"He does! Listen, you just have to know how to handle him. Pepper is able to do that. I can do it too, if I've had a glass of wine. He's a marshmallow."

"Uh-huh," Thea said as the interview with Tony began.

"Mr. Stark, thank you for taking the time to speak with me for this profile."

"No problem, Linda...or do you prefer Ms. Smythe? I know that some of your colleagues can be more formal."

The reporter smiled tenuously. "Linda would be fine, Mr. Stark."

"Tony."

"What?"

"Please call me Tony. Mr. Stark sounds like my father, God rest his soul."

Felicity sat back and watched the reporter ask Tony tough questions but true to his nature he deflected but also defended the team. The reporter seemed to be taken aback by his defense but Felicity felt nothing but pride.

"See, Thea, he's really not that bad."

"Shhh! Clint and Natasha are on."

Natasha Romanoff has a history of getting under bad guy's skin. Some would call her a bad guy while others call her a hero. The world remembers when she released all of SHIELD's information onto the open web and her lively testimony following it.

Thank you for speaking with me, Agent Romanoff.

"She's bored," Felicity said as she saw Natasha roll her eyes subtly. "She'd much rather be training or going after HYDRA."

"Shhh," Thea said as a clip of Natasha riding the back of one of the Chitauri filled the screen. Felicity bit back a response as the reporter continued to interview Natasha. Her answers were strong and concise but fair. She seemed to dial back her boredom and by the time the interview was over. She and the reporter were laughing about Tony and a mascot costume.

"She's pretty awesome," Thea said as the interview went to commercial. "I can see why you got along with her so well."

"Nat is hard to get to know but once you get past her 'Black Widow' thing, she's great."

"Ooh, Clint's next!" Thea said excitedly as the interview started again. The journalist showed a photo of Clint as a kid who was all attitude and Felicity was amazed at how much he hadn't changed. The camera panned around the interview space looking for him. Suddenly, there was a loud crash and Clint dropped from the air vent.

"Hey there, darlin'," Clint said with a grin.

Felicity looked over at Thea who was grinning widely at the screen. She shook her head as Clint flirted shamelessly with the reporter who was eating it up. When he picked up his bow to show her the trick arrows, Felicity thought that Thea was going to jump out of her seat.

She poked her in the side. "You okay, Thea? Remember Clint does exactly what your brother does. I'm sure there are a few articles addressing this very thing." She couldn't resist teasing Thea about her tiny crush on her old friend.

"Shhh," Thea hissed as the reporter asked if Clint was single.

"He's always single, Thea," she whispered as the interviewer giggled at Clint shooting an arrow at the ceiling and picking her up.

"We'll be right back with the leader of the Avengers, Captain America himself, Steven Rogers."

The smile Felicity had dropped almost immediately. She hadn't seen Steve since their breakup nine months ago and as much she told Thea she could deal with seeing him, now she wasn't sure.

"Hey," Thea said quietly. "We don't have to watch it."

She took another sip of wine and shook her head. "I have to do this eventually, right? I'll be fine."

They both grew quiet as the interview began again. Images of Steve and Bucky during the war flooded the screen, and people lining up to enter the exhibit at the Smithsonian. The reporter recounted his past and the events that Steve had been involved with since his return. Before she and Steve had gotten involved, she had learned all she could about him, it was nothing compared to actually getting to know him but it helped.

"For our final interview, we will be sitting down with Captain Steven Rogers to discuss his time with the Avengers. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, Captain Rogers."

"Anytime, Ms. Smythe."

"You can call me Linda. This is a casual interview."

"Okay, Linda. Ask away."

Felicity kept an eye on Steve as he answered the reporter's questions as genuinely and earnestly as possible. He was wearing a white dress shirt, slightly unbuttoned at the neck and she remembered how he would react when she would kiss him. The last time she'd seen him, his hair had been cut in a short military cut but in the time since she'd seen him, he had let it grow enough to curl at the base of his neck. She couldn't remember a time where he had looked so good.

"Felicity," Thea said as she snapped her fingers in front of her. "Earth to Felicity."

Breaking her stare, she looked over at Thea who was looking at her bemused. "What?"

"You haven't taken more than a short breath since his interview started. It's okay to look, you know."

She rolled her eyes and looked back at the television. Steve had turned to look at the reporter and she could see the traces of beard.

She scrunched her nose and looked over at Thea. "Does he have a beard now or is it the lighting?"

Before she could answer, the reporter let out a loud laugh and placed her hand on his arm, and it took all of her not to yell at the television.

"Ugh," Thea said. "Why is she touching him?"

"Because he's a charming guy, Thea," she said evenly as she could muster as the reporter smiled at Steve brightly.

"But he was your guy, Felicity," Thea muttered as she glared at the television. "I bet her curtains don't match her drapes. I know a bad dye job when I see it."

Felicity almost choked on her glass of wine and laughed. "Thea!"

"I'm just saying, Felicity," her friend answered with a wink. "That's a bad dye job."

Felicity grinned and shook her head. Without Thea, she wasn't sure she would've been able to get through the initial split with Steve. She was thankful to have a friend like her, who had been her rock through it all.

"Ooh, they're back from commercial!"

"So, Captain Rogers, let's have a bit of fun. When I was speaking to Tony earlier he mentioned that there was a new line of merchandise being released. Lunch boxes, pajamas, bedspreads, and the like. Did you keep any of these things for yourself?"

"I normally don't, Linda, but about six months ago I came across a vintage coffee mug." He took the mug from the table and showed it to the reporter. "I keep this one for myself. The handle is broken but it has sentimental value."

"Is that your mug, Felicity?" Thea asked as she took a sip of wine. "The one from D.C."

She nodded as Steve launched into a story about the mug and while it wasn't something that he liked to talk about, it made him feel good that people thought he was important enough to share a cup of coffee with.

Felicity's breath caught as she remembered one of the first times they shared a cup of coffee in D.C., she had been so nervous that he wouldn't want to go that she had spilt coffee on the front of his uniform. It was the first time she realized that she liked him.

"Dammit," she muttered under her breath.

"I'm Linda Smythe, and I'd like to thank you for joining me on this behind the scenes look into the men and women who make up the Avengers. Stay tuned for our report into the Devil of Hell's Kitchen."

"What a good interview," Thea said as she stood up from the couch. "The segment with Natasha and Clint was really cool."

"Thea, you were going crazy for Clint," Felicity said with a smile. "I can introduce you if you want."

She laughed out loud when Thea looked over at with an eagerness that rivalled a kid in a candy store. "Really?"

"If you want," she answered noncommittally. "Maybe he could show you his special arrow," she teased.

She ducked as Thea flung a pillow at her head.

3 months later

"And…there she is," Tony said as he peered at his screen, Natasha sitting next to him. "Smoaks and mini-Queen are in New York.'"

Natasha peered at the image of Thea and Felicity walking through Time Square. The two women were laughing and taking photos.

"You know, most normal people would call this stalking," she said glancing over at Tony who had zoomed in on Felicity talking to a man who looked a lot like Steve.

He shrugged. "Luckily, I'm not normal. Besides, I set up an alert for her every time Smoaks in New York."

"And that doesn't strike you as strange?" Natasha asked with another shake of her head.

"No, it doesn't. Smoaks is family even though we're estranged due to Capsicle's idiocy."

"Who is that with Felicity?" a voice asked from the air vent.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "That's Thea Queen, Clint."

"Oliver Queen's sister? She's cute."

"One in the same," Tony said as he sharpened the image to look at the man who was smiling at Felicity. "J, can you run a face scan on this person? He looks shifty."

Natasha threw her hands up in exasperation. "He looks exactly like Steve."

"Exactly. Shifty. For all, we know he could be some genetic double that HYDRA deployed to gather intel from Smoaks."

"Who looks like me?" A voice asked from the doorway. Natasha shook her head, as she couldn't see how this situation wouldn't get any worse.

"Smoaks is talking to some guy in Time Square that looks like you," Clint said from the air vent. His voice less muffled since removing the grate. "And I think Tony is starting to hit max paranoia levels."

"So, she did come for the festival," he said quietly as Tony enlarged the video of Felicity and Thea.

"You knew she was going to be here?" Natasha asked while looking at him. Sadness was etched on his face and he turned from the screen. She felt for him but this was a situation of his own making.

"Felicity and I have-had a thing for Alfred Hitchcock films. Something that we started in D.C. So, we were talking about going to a festival together and making a weekend out of it. That was before," he said as he busied himself with a manila folder.

"You should call her and invite her to the shindig tonight," Clint said as he dropped down from the vent. "Tell her that you're done being an idiot and ready to beg for her forgiveness."

Natasha tilted her head and looked pointedly at Clint. "You just want to meet Thea," she said, squaring him with a look. "You know her brother will put an arrow through you," she continued before turning away from him. "Steve, you don't have to do this."

Clint winked. "I'd like to see him try and besides Cap wants to see Felicity. So, it's a win, win."

"It's not that I don't want to see Felicity," Steve said. "I just don't think she wants to see me and besides this..." he motioned towards the bay of screens. "This is invasive. If she knew that you were doing this, she'd kill you, Tony."

"Mr. Stark," Jarvis announced, "I have the requested information from the scan on the man speaking with Ms. Smoak. He is one Douglas Michaels. NYPD."

Tony peered at the screen. "I guess he's not that sketchy."

While Tony was watching the video again, Natasha saw a storm of emotions play on Steve's face and couldn't remember time where he seemed so conflicted.

"Turn it off, Tony," Natasha said as she pushed back from the table. "Stop 'observing' Felicity. It's weird. And probably illegal."

Tony sighed loudly. "Fine. At least we know that guy isn't sketchy."

Felicity smiled up at the patrolman whose own smile mirrored hers. She had stopped to ask him directions and when he saw that she was going to a film festival, they launched into a discussion about the best Hitchcock films and where to get the best pizza.

"Officer Michaels," she said with a smile. "I'm probably keeping you from your work."

"Douglas," he said, "It's okay. My shift ends in a few minutes, Ms. Smoak." His voice had a deep timbre to it that made her shiver inwardly.

"You should call me Felicity."

"Okay, Felicity," he said with another warm smile on his face. "So, if you and your friend walk about three blocks north and take a left, you'll see the hall on the corner."

"Thank you, Douglas," she said folding the sheet of paper and putting in her bag. "I appreciate the help."

"Anytime," he said. "How long are you two in town?"

Before Felicity could answer, Thea hooked her arm into hers. "Long enough, Officer. Thanks for the directions," subtly ending the conversation.

Felicity waved at the man as Thea pulled her away. "Thea! What's your problem?"

"You don't see the similarities," she answered as they walked down the block. "He was a mirror image of Steve."

"He wasn't," Felicity argued. "He just happened to..."

"Have eyes like Steve, a smile like him, and let's not ignore the fact that he looked like he wanted to eat you alive."

Felicity laughed. "Douglas wasn't that bad, Thea. He was charming."

"He was trying to charm your pants off," Thea mocked as they reached the theatre. "Let's watch a movie before I make myself sick."

"Could I have a refill of my popcorn, please?" Felicity asked while she checked her phone. The film festival had started with Psycho and before intermission, Rear Window had started and she had to step out before her emotions got the better of her.

She looked at her phone and frowned as she saw twenty emails from a familiar address.

"Tony," she muttered as she read the subject lines. They varied from 'Please RSVP' to 'Please don't hate us because Cap is a damned idiot.' She smiled at that one. Finding the most recent email, she clicked on the video attachment.

"Salutations, Smoaks! Before you plot to hack me, yes, we knew you are in New York. I have alerts set up for you so that I know when you're here."

"Most people would call this stalking, Tony."

"It's not stalking, Smoaks. At best, I'm checking in on family even though Capsicle is being absolutely ridiculous. The reason for my multiple video messages is that I'd like to invite you, plus one, to a shindig we're having at Stark Industries this evening. Oh, and by plus one, I mean Thea Queen. Not the toothy cop you were speaking with earlier in Times Square."

"Here's your popcorn," the young man said snapping Felicity's attention from her phone.

"Thanks," she said quietly as she made her way back into the theatre. She and Thea hadn't made any plans for the evening aside from dinner and Stark parties did have the best food.

If she were being honest with herself, she was curious to see if the dynamic between her and the rest of the team had changed and she wanted to hack something of Tony to get back at him for his 'alerts'.

Once she reached the door of the theatre, she turned her phone off as she tried to ignore the nagging feeling that going to the party would open old wounds.

Steve tried to calm his nerves as the elevator ascended to the penthouse. He had been fine until Tony had said that Felicity and Thea were attending. He hadn't seen Felicity since they'd broken up and from what he saw, she seemed to be doing fine.

"If you thought that," he said to no one. "Why are you so damn nervous?"

The elevator door opened and was caught off guard by the sheer amount of individuals waiting to greet him.

As he stepped off the elevator and shook a few hands, he spotted Natasha who had changed out of her trademark uniform into a sequined party dress.

"Help," he mouthed to her and she just smiled absently at him and turned to talk to the reporter that conducted their initial interview.

"Folks, let Cap through. Give him a moment to catch his breath," Tony said from behind him, clasping his shoulder. Isn't this cool?"

He bit back a groan. "It's fine, Tony." His eyes scanned the crowd looking for the blonde ponytail that would give him a peace of mind.

"She's not here yet," Tony said with a wink. "Not that you were looking..."

He cleared his throat. "I wasn't, Tony."

"Good. So, mingle, and make us look good," he said, clapping him on the shoulder before he danced a little shuffle. "And don't drink too much. The last thing we need is bad headline hitting the front pages tomorrow morning."

Before he could tell Tony that he couldn't get drunk, he had already turned away from him and moving onto the next person.

"You're awfully quiet," a woman said from behind him.

He turned to face Linda Smythe who greeted him with a warm smile. "Just a lot on my mind, Ms. Smythe."

"Remember. I told you, call me Linda."

He nodded. "Okay, Linda. Are you enjoying the party?"

"I am," she answered taking a sip of her champagne. "I hope that I didn't offend you with that interview."

"Why would you think that? I thought it was very well done," he said offering her a friendly smile. "You were very fair to all of us. Even Tony."

Linda smiled even wider at his attempt at a joke. "Stark is a prince."

"Depending on who you ask," Steve said with a wink.

Linda smiled. "That is true. Listen, Captain Rogers, feel free to tell me to go to hell..."

"I'd never do that," he said. "And please call me Steve."

There was an awkward but comfortable silence.

"Okay, Steve. Would you like to go to dinner sometime?" She asked with a nervous smile on her face.

He cleared his throat. It wasn't that he couldn't go out with anyone else. In fact, while Natasha was still mad at him because of Felicity, she had told him that unless he was ready to tell her how he felt, he should start seeing other people.

But as Linda looked up at him with hopeful eyes, he didn't know what to say.

"Linda," he said, "I'm flattered but -"

"But you'd be bored senseless," finished the voice from behind him.

He let out breath that he didn't know he was holding as Natasha moved next to him.

Linda laughed and appeared to relax. "I think we'd have fun? Maybe? I don't know. That sounded better in my head."

"Trust me. He's dull as a doornail. Let's get another drink," Natasha said as she moved towards her. "Besides, Steve, a VIP just showed up." She nodded behind her. "You should say hello." Steve followed her eye line and his breath caught as he spotted the one person he never thought he'd see again.

"Felicity," he said as if she could hear him.

"Thanks," Felicity murmured as the coatroom attendant took the jackets from her and Thea. The penthouse had been decorated with replicas of Tony's Iron Man suit and photos of the Avengers in action over the years. Red and gold streamers hung from the rafters and the champagne was flowing.

"Wow," Thea said as they walked through the crowd. "Tony Stark does not believe in subtle."

Felicity hooked her arm through hers. "This is subtle. Let's see who is here."

"Smoaks!" Tony shouted startling her. "You made it!"

She narrowed her eyes. "You didn't give me much of a choice, Tony. Twenty emails? In one day? Really?"

"I wanted you to come to the party," he said with a shrug. "Besides, I wasn't sure you'd come because you hate me...well, not me, but the team."

She sighed and shook her head. "I don't hate you guys. Things are just different now."

"Different, she says," Tony said with a disapproving head shake. "Smoaks, I'm hurt."

"Don't be, Tony," she said as she kissed him on the cheek. "Just when Jarvis starts to quote Hamilton don't be surprised."

"Game on," Tony said, displaying his signature Tony Stark smile as he took a sip of champagne while handing a glass to her. "You must be Thea Queen," Tony stated, pivoting towards Thea.

"I am," Thea said taking a glass of champagne from the tray of a passing waiter. "Nice to meet you. Thank you for inviting us to the party. Everything is so nuanced and subtle."

Felicity coughed as Tony grinned at Thea. "I like her, Smoaks. She can stay. Ladies, enjoy the party."

"So," Thea said as she continued to sip her champagne.

"So," Felicity answered as a smile appeared on her face. Thea had met Thor who kept calling her Lady Queen, Wanda who Thea thought had great boots, and Natasha who wanted to train with her. They had yet to see the one person that Thea wanted to meet.

"We can continue to say so to each other, sip really expensive champagne or you can just ask about Clint," Felicity said not so subtly while her eyes scanned the crowd. Her old friend had a habit of hiding in plain sight but since she hadn't been around him, she was out of practice.

"Am I that obvious?" Thea asked a slight blush on her face.

Her eyes zeroed on a crowd of people surrounding someone dressed in a sharply cut suit. "Yeah, but it's cute. Come on," she said taking Thea's hand and leading her deeper into the room.

Felicity led Thea through the crowd towards Clint who caught her eye and waved. As she passed through them, she felt as if someone was watching her.

"Clint Barton," she started as they reached him. "Thea Queen."

Clint looked Thea over and bowed. "It's an absolute pleasure to meet you, Thea Queen."

She rolled her eyes as Thea grinned at him. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Clint Barton. Your interview was..."

"You saw that?" He asked his grin growing broader.

She nodded. "It was great. I liked your trick arrows."

Felicity rolled her eyes again as Clint offered to take Thea to the archery range so she could see them in person.

"Told you he'd show you his special arrows," Felicity said and Thea poked her in her side.

Clint wiggled his eyes brows and held a hand out to Thea. "My lady."

Thea looked at Felicity who gave an encouraging smile. "It's fine, Thea. I'll be okay. I can start plotting my revenge against Tony." She pulled her into a hug. "Have fun and don't embarrass him too much."

"I can't promise that," she said over her shoulder as she took Clint's hand.

"I said that Tony was being weird watching Felicity," Natasha said as she sat next to Steve on the stairs, "but you are currently in a close second."

He took a sip from his beer and nodded to her. "Doing my best." He smiled as he watched Felicity talk with Clint and Thea. Instead of a ponytail, her hair sat on her shoulders in loose waves. He had seen her in different dresses before but the one she decided to wear was a sheer pale green with roses embroidered on it-he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"I'm confused Steve," Natasha said. "Why don't you just talk to her?"

"And say what? I haven't changed my mind. Can we be together once again? I was an idiot for letting you go?" he answered, the sadness of the voice playing through his words. "Bucky's still out there and HYDRA-"

"Is a constant, Rogers. I get it, but you still haven't given Felicity the choice about what she wanted to do or wants. And try as you might, to justify what happened, it wasn't fair to her."

They watched as Felicity made her way onto the balcony as if it were perfectly timed.

"Go talk to her," Natasha said taking his beer. "At least this way, you can either figure out what you want, what you both want, or move on."

Felicity placed the champagne flute on the table as she walked onto the balcony. The temperature had dropped just enough to give the air the distinct fall feel that she loved. She was glad she had come to the party. Things had changed but based on everyone's reaction, everything would be okay.

The whole night she had known that Steve was there but she hadn't seen him. Thea had said that was she was avoiding the golden retriever in the room and maybe she had been. She just didn't know if she was ready to see him.

"Felicity?"

She sighed as she recognized the voice that used to make her smile and turn her insides all warm. She almost made it without seeing him.

"Steve," she said quietly as she turned to face him. He was wearing a pair of dark khakis, with a deep blue dress shirt. She tried to ignore how the shirt showed off his broad shoulders. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," he answered looking at her nervously. She almost smiled at the thought of him being that nervous around her. "How about you?"

"Considering that Tony sent me twenty emails about this party? I'm fine. Did you know he was watching me?" She asked casually.

"To his credit, he called it monitoring but..."

"To normal people, it's a little bit weird," she said smiling at him. He seemed to relax a little.

"Just a little," he said quietly and continued to look at her.

The comfortable silence they were used to had now become awkward and tense. She was at a loss.

"Steve, did you want something? This staring contest isn't as fun as it used to be," she said, not missing how her words seemed to lance at him.

"I wanted to talk to you about us or what happened," he said stepping towards her.

"And there it is," she said not moving. "Do we have to? I mean, I get it. You don't want to be with me. It sucks but you know it's okay." Her words sounded harsher than she intended but she struggled to find the purpose of caring as she stood in front of the man who had once held so much hope to her.

"It's not that I don't want to be with you, Felicity. You were my friend. I've had two great loves in my life, Peggy and you. Peggy and I ran out of time and you..." he looked at her with pleading eyes and she refused to give him any leeway, "are important to me Felicity. I don't want HYDRA to even know who you are or even that you and I were together."

She tried to process his words. "You love me?" she asked quietly, stunned. She didn't want to believe him but he had never been dishonest with her.

"What?" Steve asked in disbelief. "Yes, I do," he said as he took her hand. "I have been for a while."

She pulled her hand away and frowned at him. "If you do love me, Steve, why'd you leave?"

"Because I had to, Felicity. I didn't want anything to happen to you and if it did, I would never forgive myself."

She laughed bitterly. "Nice of you to ask me how I felt."

"You're right, Felicity. I should've asked how you felt about this and I didn't. And for that, I'm sorry."

She felt tears start to form in her eyes and she wiped at them furiously. "Stop saying you're sorry, Steve. You already said that."

"I know," he said, sounding pained. "I don't know what else to say."

"How about Felicity, how do you feel about this? Or I'm a fool who broke the heart of the woman he claims to love?" She asked while knowing either option would've suited her fine.

He nodded and took her hand. "Felicity, I am and will always be a fool who broke your heart. I should've asked you how you felt about this before and not assumed anything. I was wrong. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you were. And for the record, Steve, I put myself in danger every day just by working with Oliver. I can handle it and I could've handled anything thrown at us. We were partners, and partners would've trusted each other." She said taking a calming breath. "I don't know what hurt more. The fact that you broke up with me or that you didn't trust in us enough."

He winced at her words and she knew she had hit home.

"You must hate me," he said, avoiding her gaze and staring at their clasped hands.

"I don't hate you, Steve," she said taking her hand from him. "I could never hate you. I fell in love with you, too. I just…I just need time. Time to figure out if I even want to be friends again."

"I can give you as much time as you want," he said.

"Good," she said she kissed him on the cheek. "I should go."

"You don't have to, Felicity," he said. She could almost swear that she could hear him pleading with her.

"I do. Thea is off with Clint somewhere, and I'm just really tired." Since arriving at the party, she had been dreading talking with him and now that she had, she was exhausted.

"Can I walk you to the elevator at least?"

Shaking her head, she stepped away from him. "No, I'd rather you didn't. Besides Tony will have to impress all those people himself and you know how much he hates doing that. He needs you to keep him in check."

"Okay," he said with a sad smile. "Goodbye, Felicity."

"Bye, Steve."

Felicity plastered a fake smile on her face as she hugged Natasha goodbye. She frowned at her and made her promise to call her as soon as she could.

"I can still punch him out if you want,'" she said as she walked her to the elevator.

Felicity smiled and shook her head. "It's okay, Natasha. We talked and that was that."

"If you're sure?"

"I am," she said as the elevator door opened. "I'll see you around."

Steve watched from the bar as the elevator door closed and Felicity was gone. Their talk had been needed but it didn't help the pang in his heart when he looked her. She had told him that she had been in love with him and he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and hold her close. The moment he thought about it, he thought about what someone could do to her if they ever found out about them.

It was silly he knew, but the idea of something happening to Felicity worried him more than anything he could remember.

If denying his true feelings kept her safe and happy-he'd deal with it.

One year later

"Captain Rogers," Jarvis said as he entered his apartment, "since you're moving out soon, Mr. Stark asked me to check with you about Ms. Smoak."

Steve took a bottle of water from the refrigerator. It had taken some time since he'd seen her at that party but they were on speaking terms again. He had begun to think about the possibility of asking her out once more. Natasha had asked him what changed since there would always be a threat. He had simply said that he missed her. His feelings for her had only grown and he hoped she still felt the same.

"What about her?"

"The apartment keys, Captain Rogers. Mr. Stark said that since you're moving, Ms. Smoak won't need access anymore."

He'd forgotten about the keys and reached for the coffee mug that held them.

"I'll call her, Jarvis. Thanks," Steve replied, a small smile growing on his lips.

Felicity darted around her apartment looking for her heels and also trying to calm her nerves. She had picked out the red dress for dinner with Oliver and after seeing her reflection in the mirror, she knew she had made the right choice.

Spotting her heels underneath the couch, she reached down to grab them. Thea had asked her if she ready to start dating again, even if was with her brother. Felicity knew that Thea was thinking about what had happened with Steve. She had assured her that she was fine. She and Steve were on speaking terms and she would even go as far to say that they were friends again.

She was applying her lipstick when she heard her computer ring. Recognizing it as Steve's ring, she hurried over to answer it.

"Hey," she said with a smile on her face. "How are you?"

Steve smiled back at her and she noticed that it was much broader than she remembered. "I'm good. You look amazing."

"Thank you," she said flipping her hair over her shoulder. His compliments still made her blush a little.

"Going out with Thea?"

She wavered on answering his question. She and Steve had been over for a while and while they were speaking again, she wasn't sure if she should say anything, but deciding otherwise, she did.

"No, I have a date," she said quickly, "with, umm, Oliver."

Surprise etched his face but he quickly recovered. "Oliver. Right. Umm, I'm sorry to bother you, Felicity."

"You aren't bothering me, Steve. You called, I answered. What's up?"

"Nothing pressing. We can talk later. Go. Enjoy your date."

Felicity couldn't fight the nagging feeling that he wasn't telling her something but she chalked up to her nerves.

"Thank you. Talk to you soon?"

"Of course."

Steve placed the keys back into the coffee mug and shook his head. He had known that Felicity would move on eventually but by some slim chance, he had hoped he'd have another chance.

"Jarvis, you can remove Felicity's access. She won't need it."

"If you're sure, Captain Rogers," Jarvis asked.

"I am," he replied, looking dejectedly at the keys that once held so much possibility as he placed it into another packing box and taped it up.