It was moments like this that made everything worth it. The room had a gentle glow and a comfortable warmth to it that allowed the covers to be kicked to the bottom of the bed and the lights to remain off. Steve had put on one of my records, Edith Piaf's La Vie En Rose playing softly by the window. I sang along with her as Steve rested against the headboard, his sketchbook perched in his lap.

Quand il me prend dans ses bras

Il me parle tout bas

Je vois la vie en rose

Il me dit des mots d'amour

Des mots de tous les jours

Et ça me fait quelque chose

Il est entré dans mon cœur

Une part de bonheur

Dont je connais la cause

C'est toi pour moi, moi pour toi dans la vie

Il me l'a dit, l'a juré pour la vie

Et dès que je t'aperçois

Alors je sens dans moi

Mon cœur qui bat

"Are you serenading me?"

I let out a soft laugh and lolled my head over to smile up at him. "Soldier, if I was serenading you you would know it," I told him. "I'd be wearing something a little sexier than pajamas and I wouldn't be singing La Vie En Rose."

He let out a laugh of his own. "Honey, you look plenty sexy in those pajamas," he told me, a blush dusting across his face, "and I always get a little hot under the collar when you speak French."

I couldn't help the smile that stretched across my face as I pushed myself up and twisted around to face him. "Juste un peu? (just a little bit?)" I asked, tilting my head as I leaned closer.

Steve shifted towards me, one hand coming up to grip my waist while the other put his sketchbook on the nightstand. "Peut-être un peu plus, (maybe a little more)," he answered, tugging me towards him.

I smirked and crawled up further till I could swing my leg over his hips. "Gardien de mon Coeur. (keeper of my heart)."

"Mon petit chou. (my little cabbage)," he murmured back, bringing his free hand up to cup my cheek.

A snort of laughter left me before I could stop it and I dropped my head to press my forehead to his. "You just had to say it, didn't you?"

He laughed with me. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself," he apologized. "Did I ruin the moment?"

"No," I chuckled, running my hands up his chest and to his neck, tilting his head back slightly. I made my way down to his lips, pressing kisses to the bridge of his nose, his cheeks and chin before ending on his lips. I ran my hands up his chest and past his neck to thread my fingers through his hair.

Steve let out a soft moan, his hand on my hip pulling me closer before moving up my back, his fingers slipping under my shirt.

A shiver ran down my spine when his calloused skin ran over mine, his thumbs skimming across my ribs. I made a mental note of how dangerously close he was to second base but put it out of my head, knowing that pointing it out would only make him fluster. I've learned that in situations like this it was better to let Steve rely on his instincts rather than his brain. When he relied on his brain he tended to overanalyze and overthink the whole thing. That's when Steve Rogers was reduced to a stuttering school boy.

Steve broke away with a soft gasp and made his way down my jaw, the hand that still cradled my cheek tilting my head back to give him better access. "Do you think," he started, pressing a sloppy kiss to my throat, "they'll last longer this time?"

I couldn't help but smirk. "Only one way to find out."

Something keen to a growl left him and he bit at my neck, nipping the spot he knew I liked.

My breath hitched and my grip tightened in his hair, pulling him closer.

Knocking at the hotel door startled us apart, Buchanan's voice soon following.

"C'mon, lovebirds, up and at 'em!"

Steve let out a frustrated groan and dropped his head back against the headboard. "Dammit, Buck."

"He has the worst timing," I agreed, reluctantly climbing off of him and heading towards the door, making no effort whatsoever to appear more presentable. "This better be important, Buchanan," I stated once I had the door open.

He flashed me that horribly charming smile and pushed off the doorframe. "Aw come on, Beth, don't be sore," he teased.

I had intended to tease him back but stopped short when I saw how light the shadows under his eyes were. "Holy shit, Buck," I said, reaching up to grab hold of his face.

His smile only widened. "I couldn't believe it either," he said, stepping closer to I could get a better look. "I haven't felt this good in months."

"What's going on, Bucky?" Steve asked from his spot on the bed, the usual concern for his friend overriding his annoyance.

I ushered Buchanan into the room before closing the door behind him, wondering if he was really going to tell Steve or not.

"You know how I've been havin' trouble sleeping?" he asked.

Steve gave a small nod. "Yeah?"

"Well, Beth," he started, gesturing back to me, "and Howard gave me something to help with that. Best night's sleep I've had since before the war," he explained, giving his friend the same smile he had gave me.

Steve smiled back, albeit a little uneasy. "Really? What'd they give ya?" he asked, the question directed more towards me.

"They're just modified Barbituates. Howard makes them for himself," I explained, shuffling over to my mess of research that still littered the floor. "I've looked at his formula, it's stable."

"I don't care what it is as long as it keeps working," Buck said, spinning on his heel to look back to me. "What the hell is all that?" he demanded, his eyes taking in the books and papers.

I resisted the urge to groan. "The bane of my existence so we shall not speak of it," I told him. "Did you come up here to show us that your beauty sleep worked or was there something you wanted?"

He didn't seem to mind the change in subject. "Yeah, I wanna have breakfast with my pal and his girl," he answered. "Think you two can pull yourselves off each other long enough to manage that?"

It was Steve's turn to roll his eyes. "What do you think, Ellie? Can we managed that?"

I made a show of having to think about it. "I don't know, Captain, it sounds awfully daunting."

"It'll be our toughest mission yet."

"We might not make it back in one piece."

"Little lone alive."

"Are we willing to take that risk?"

"Do we have a choice?"

"Not really. The fate of Buchanan's breakfast rests in our hands."

"Then there's only one thing to do."

"We have to go."

"It's our patriotic duty."

"The nation is counting on us."

"Oh my God," Bucky groaned, rubbing his hands over his face in frustration. "Why the hell am I friends with you two? You're gonna give me a fucking aneurism."

I laughed and reached over to give him a hug. "We're sorry, Buck, we'll stop," I promised. "And we'll go to breakfast. Just give us a couple minutes, alright?"

"Alright," he said, his voice muffled by his hands.

Ten minutes later we were making our way across the lobby, Steve and I hand in hand while Buck ranted about 'finally getting some real food'. We had made it half way across the room when the woman at the front desk all but ran over to us.

"Agent Howlett!" she said, holding out a slip of paper. "I've been trying to get a hold of you. Colonel Phillips called. He left a message."

I let out a disappointed sigh and took the slip from her. "Thanks, Julie."

She nodded and returned to her post.

"What does he want?" Buck asked, leaning over to try and read the message.

I held it out of his line of sight with a coy smile before reading it over. "Dammit, he wants to see me and the brothers in his office ASAP," I explained.

"What? No. We're getting breakfast," Bucky protested, the devastation in his voice hard to miss.

I rolled my eyes. "Calm down, Buchanan, he just wants me. You two can still go."

"Are you sure, Ellie?" Steve asked.

I gave an affirming hum. "I'm afraid you must go this mission alone, soldier," I told him, leaning up to give him a quick kiss before heading back for the stairs. "I'll see you two later, alright?"

"Alright," he agreed. "Do you want us to get you something?"

I shook my head. "If the meeting runs long I'll just raid Howard's lab. He stashes food like a squirrel in there."

The boys chuckled as they watched me climb back up the stairs, taking them two at a time this go around. Luckily for me I didn't have to go nearly as far and was soon knocking on their now shared room, half expecting to be told to go away. Instead, the door flew open and a, shockingly, dressed Victor greeted me.

"Morning, Ella," he said, swooping down to kiss my cheek. "C'mon, Jimmy!" he called as he stepped out into the hallway.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'!" Jimmy called back, rushing through the door as he pulled his jacket on. "Mornin', Lizzy," he said, kissing my forehead.

I looked between the two of them. "What the hell is going on?" I demanded.

They looked to me with confusion. "What?" they asked.

I gestured between them. "You're dressed and ready to go without any nagging or bribing," I pointed out. "What the hell is going on?"

Victor rolled his eyes and started down the hall.

"Chester called," Jimmy explained, following after Vic.

I thought on that for a moment before starting after them, still confused. "So? He's called you guys before and you've never snapped to this quick. What did he say?"

"You didn't get breakfast, did you?" Vic asked, the smugness in his voice deliberate.

That didn't help my mood. "No, no I did not," I ground out. "I was on my way to breakfast when I got Chester's message. So why don't you tell me what's so fucking important about this before I eat one of you."

Jimmy let out a snort and reached back to wrap his arm around shoulders. "Keep your wig on, Lizzy," he teased, jostling me slightly. "You'll find out soon enough."

I resisted the urge to push him away. "It's too goddamn early for surprises, James."

"It's practically noon, Eleanor."

I scoffed. "You know that means nothing to me."

Vic barked out a laugh. "It's not our fault you keep whore hours."

I probably should have been more offended but the fact that he was right kept me quiet.

"A solo mission?" I demanded, looking between the three men like they'd grown an extra head. "You've gotta be shitting me."

Chester gave me an unamused look. "I am not shitting you."

I frowned and glared over at my brothers. "That's what you two were so excited about? A fucking solo mission?"

Victor gave me an easy smirk. "Come on, Ella, we haven't done one of these in a while."

"Yeah, Lizzy, come on. It'll be fun."

I scoffed and slumped further back into my chair, chastising myself for not just going with Steve and Buck to breakfast. "Where are you sending us?"

"Home."

"Canada?" I asked, probably sounding a little more hopeful than I should have.

Chester gave me another look. "You forget you're an American citizen often?"

"Only when it's convenient," I quipped back.

He huffed and pushed a folder across his desk towards me. "Just read the damn file, Howlett. I think you'll have a different opinion after you do."

I hesitated for a moment before picked up the file. I flipped it open and thumbed through the paper idly, my brow furrowing the further I got. "This isn't Hydra."

"Nope, it's just regular old Nazis'. Well, sleeper agents but still Nazis," he explained. "I know you haven't dealt with them in a while but I'm sure you'll do just fine."

"Sarcasm shouldn't be insulting."

"Sarcasm can be whatever the hell I want it to be."

I sighed and tossed the folder back onto his desk. "So we capture these sleeper agents and take them where?"

"You'll be handing them over to the FBI."

A snort of laughter left all three of us.

Chester raised an eyebrow. "You got a problem with that?"

"Sorry, sir, but the FBI doesn't really like us," Jimmy explained, shooting a pointed look towards Victor. "We've had a few altercations with them."

Chester took that in for a moment before giving a small shrug. "Well, they asked for you three so I think they've gotten over their issues," he stated. "And if they're not then I'm sure you can handle yourselves."

"Do you think if they arrest us we'll get our one phone call?" I asked, more joking than serious.

"Probably not," he deadpanned.

"Swell."

"When we leavin'?" Vic asked, already getting up from his chair.

Chester glanced over at the clock. "You've got 10 minutes. You're going back to your old aliases before the war so don't bother taking anything from here. We don't need you blowing your cover over a jacket."

I scoffed and pulled my bomber jacket closer to me. "I've had this since the first world war, thank you very much!" I defended.

"Yeah, but that Howling Commando patch is new," he argued, pointing to the wing on my left shoulder. "They're gonna spot you a mile away, Howlett. Pull your head out of your ass and leave the damn jacket here."

I wasn't happy but I didn't argue. "I'm guessing I won't get to say goodbye to Steve and the fellas?"

"You're guessing correct."

"Fine, I'll leave it with Howard."

"Good. Now get out of my office."

*line break*

I hated leaving like this. The usual words of reassurance and the obligatory promise of coming back alive gnawed at the back of my head as I made my way towards the waiting plane. I knew that I was going to be fine and that I was coming back alive but it would have been a little more grounding to have told Steve that.

"You're not going to mope the whole time, are you?!" Jimmy yelled over the engine roar.

I flipped him off as an answer and climbed into the cargo bay, making my way to the cockpit. I dropped down into the copilot seat and put on the other pair of headphones. "Mornin', Howard," I greeted.

He smiled widely at me. "Good morning, El. I've got something for you."

I watched with mild interest as he reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out something wrapped in wax paper. The smell reached me before he had the chance to hand it to me, my hand reaching out to snatch the sandwich from him. "Grilled ham and cheese?" I asked as I unwrapped it.

Howard laughed and nodded. "Yep. When I heard when and where we were going I knew you wouldn't get a chance to eat. Thought I'd make it easier on all of us and feed you."

The excitement of the food overshadowed the dig at my personality. "Thank you, Howie, really."

"I think that's the first time you've genuinely thanked me," he marveled. "We outa document this. Get a plaque made or something."

"You can have a goddamn statue erected for all I care, just tell me where you got this," I bargained, restraining myself from shoving half of it into my mouth.

"I made it."

"Bullshit."

"One of these days you're gonna believe that," he grumbled. "You know that brunette I had a date with?"

"When you stabbed yourself?"

"Yes," he begrudgingly agreed. "When I stabbed myself."

I nodded as I chewed. "Well, either there's something wrong with her or she really likes you."

Howard actually looked a little affronted. "There's nothing wrong with her!"

That actually got a smile on my face. "So she's smitten with you, huh?"

He let out a heavy sigh and slumped down slightly. "I hope so cause I'm gonna lose my fucking mind if she leaves me."

"You're this fucking stuck on her and you haven't even told me her name," I accused, reaching over to smack his shoulder. "I haven't even met her yet!"

He slapped my hand away with a pointed look. "Her name is Maria and there's a reason why you haven't met her."

"And that reason would be?"

"Do you honestly not remember what you did the last time I introduced you to one of my girls?" he demanded, twisting full on around to look at me.

I had to think about it for a moment before I was full on giggling.

"It's not funny, El! She called the cops on me! They did an investigation!"

"Jesus Christ," I gasped, struggling to keep myself from being hysterical. "You didn't tell me that part. Howie, all I did was ask her if she was excited to be a sister wife, it's not my fault that she flipped her wig."

"It completely is your fault! She wouldn't of flipped her wig if you hadn't of asked her that!"

"Well I'm sorry! When she said she was from Utah I couldn't help myself. You would have done the same thing, don't even try to deny that. There's a reason we're friends and it's not because of your good looks."

His glare lessened slightly as he arched an eyebrow. "So you're admitting we're friends now, huh?"

I shook my head as I shoved the last of the sandwich into my mouth. "I'm tired of fighting you. You wore me down."

He bounced both his eyebrows now. "I knew I would eventually!"

"Don't make me regret it."

"You already do."

"Yeah, probably," I agreed, crumbling the wax paper. "So if I don't get to meet her the least you could do is tell me about her. What's she like? What are her hobbies and aspirations?"

"Swear you own't use this against me later on down the line?"

"Scouts-"

"No, swear on something that actually means something. I'm serious, El," he cut in, pointing at me with as much threat as he could.

I rolled my eyes and held my hands up in surrender. "I swear on Steve's shoulder to wait ratio that I will not use any of the information you are about to divulge against you at any point in time," I recited, making a show of how I wasn't crossing my fingers. "Happy?"

He looked downright giddy. "Ecstatic. Alright, she's a nurse right now but back home she runs her family's restaurant," he started.

I smiled as I listened to Howard ramble on about the woman who had caught his entire attention span. Normally, when Howard became obsessed with something he was distracted and hardly managed to keep himself functioning at a Human level. But now, watching him talk about Maria, we got the plane moving and into the air without so much of a stutter.

If you had told me four years ago that I would be where I am now I don't really know what I would have done, but I certainly wouldn't have believed you.

Everything was changing and for once I wasn't completely hating it.

This might look like filler but it's not! It's setting up a bunch of shit that's coming down the way so just hang in there.

I feel like there was something I wanted to ask you guys but I can't remember what it was...I'm sure I'll think of it later and get back to you.

Reviews=Love