Yawning into her open hand, Rosalie did her best not to let her mouth open too wide to show that she was exhausted. It was almost one in the morning and she could feel herself wanting to drift off. She could have done without a night involving Bucky Barnes. Was it really too much to ask for a peaceful meal out? She suspected being engaged to Steve meant that it was. She didn't dwell on it. Instead she focused on the positives. Bucky was still alive. He was still in hiding. He was a fugitive, but he seemed to have gained his memories back. He remembered who Steve was.

"You should go and get some sleep," Steve said as he noticed his fiancée with her head in her hands, her eyes beginning to close every now and then, only to open up wide again. She looked to him as he remained seated at the computer, lounged back in the leather chair while scanning CCTV near the venue for any sign of Bucky and where he might have gone.

"I'll wait for you," she responded and Steve smiled gently, moving over to take her hand, squeezing her fingers tightly.

"I have a room here, Rose," he said to her. "One of us should use it."

"I will in a minute," Rosalie muttered, trying to wake herself up as she blinked a few times. "Anyway, did you not think about what I told you? Bucky said it was dangerous to look for him. I mean, you're using S.H.I.E.L.D. technology to search the CCTV for him."

"Tony made sure it was protected before he went," Steve promised her.

"Even so," she said with a cocked head. "It's still dangerous. What if they think you are helping him? Or what if they find him through you?"

"I have to try, Rose," Steve said.

"I know," she responded. "I know how much he means to you. I know he is your friend…but he has also done bad things. He wasn't himself and I know that, but other people won't care."

"I get that," Steve said with a whisper as he kissed the back of her hand. "I know that you are worried about me looking for him, but I can't imagine leaving him alone out there. You don't leave friends when they need help."

"But you shouldn't get yourself into trouble either," Rosalie said and moved to her feet, draping her arms around his neck as she rested her chin on his shoulder. Steve took hold of her hands as she clung onto him. "Besides, you really shouldn't get into trouble when you're supposed to get married."

Steve smiled at hearing that, feeling slightly excited to hear her speak in a way. He couldn't wait to marry her. He couldn't wait to make her his wife, knowing that she loved him and would be with him for the rest of their time. It made him happy and Steve didn't know if he would have felt that happiness when he first woke up.

"Nothing can keep me from being at the end of that aisle," he promised her and she smirked.

"Glad to hear it," she said and pecked him on the cheek. "Anyway, I need to go and use the bathroom. Can I use the one in your room?"

"Of course," Steve said. "If you want to wait there then I won't be long."

"Promise?" she asked from him.

"Promise," he responded. "Besides, I'm not finding much. Bucky is like a ghost. Whoever taught him to hide taught him well."

"I think that's what he wanted," Rosalie admitted. "Anyway, don't be long, okay? You need a rest."

"Be right there," he promised her and she kissed him chastely before moving her arms from him and leaving the room. Steve turned his head over his shoulder to watch her go, seeing her wander away down the corridor, a hand raking through her hair. His jacket was over her shoulders and she carried her heels in her fingertips, padding down the floor barefooted. He smiled to himself and shook his head, vowing to keep her safe whatever happened with Bucky.

….

Rosalie couldn't deny that Steve's bed in the Avengers facility was comfortable. Tony hadn't shirked on spending, instead choosing to ensure that they had everything that they could ever want. Steve's room was pretty sparse. He preferred to keep all of his things at their apartment, only staying in the facility when he really had to.

He was already awake by the time Rosalie woke up, dressed in one of his sleeping shirts and bottoms considering she had no clothes there. She looked around for him, only to see him sat at the end of the bed, bending over and tugging his sneakers from his feet.

"Steve," Rosalie spoke his name sleepily.

"Hey," Steve said, moving to sit back on the bed and reaching across his bedside table. "I made you a cup of tea and brought you some strawberries. We didn't have that much in the cupboards for breakfast."

"That looks perfect," Rosalie said, moving to sit up and lean against the headboard.

Steve handed her the mug of tea. Taking hold of it, she let it warm her fingertips before yawning again and managing a sleepy smile towards him.

"Did you get some sleep?" she asked from him.

"A few hours," Steve shrugged. "I had things on my mind."

"You had someone on your mind," Rosalie corrected him. "But it's fine. I get it, Steve. I just want you to be careful, okay?"

"I'll do my best," Steve assured her. "Anyway, I was thinking that we could go back to the apartment and…I know this is a strange request…but I was thinking about going back to London for a couple of days to see Peggy. I've wanted to go for a while, but after everything that happened with Bucky there hasn't been a good time. I think now might be a good time. Things are quiet, except for trying to find Buck."

"I think that is a good idea," Rosalie said to him. "I'll come with you. If you can hold off another month or so it will be the end of semester again."

"You sure you want to come?"

"Of course," Rosalie said. "I liked Peggy. She was really nice…sassy…I can see why you fell for her."

Steve smiled at that as Rosalie took a sip of her tea, finding that it was still hot. She opened her mouth for cool air before placing the mug down on the other bedside cabinet next to her. She moved her hands into her lap, pulling the duvet to sit there.

"I think that I must have a type," Steve said.

Rosalie scoffed. "I'm nowhere near as great as Peggy," she said to him. "Do you know what she did for our country? Stupid question, of course you know, so that is the point. I'm nothing like her."

"You put yourself down," Steve said to her. "You don't need to, Rose."

"I'm not," she said. "I'm just saying that she has done so much more than I could even dream of doing and that is fine. We're both pretty sassy though, I'll give you that."

"You're more than that, Rose," Steve said to her. "I mean, you're pretty much everything to me. You know that, right?"

Rosalie tried not to let tears well in her eyes as she heard him speak so earnestly. It seemed that he had changed since their argument. He was much more emotive, which Rosalie had not thought possible.

"You know," Rosalie said, "you said that I had gone soft, but I think you've gone softer. I didn't think that was possible."

"Yeah, yeah," Steve brushed her off. He moved to kiss her again before slipping from the bed. "You can finish taunting me at home. We're going back to the apartment and we're going to spend the day watching whatever box set you want."

"Ah, Rogers," Rosalie teased him, moving to her feet and stretching, "you spoil me."

She threw him a soft smirk as she stepped into his bathroom and closed the door. Steve chuckled and closed his eyes for a second, his mind going back to Bucky and what he was going to do about his friend.

Rosalie finished work early the following Wednesday. She had finished the marking she had to do and had prepared her seminars and lectures up until the week after. Stepping out of her glass office, she locked the door and bid goodbye to the support staff sat in the open planned office. Moving down the staircase, she walked outside to see a gaggle of students stood by the road. Frowning, Rosalie tucked her hair behind her ear and tugged at her mac as she looked at what they were staring at.

There was an expensive looking car sat there. Rosalie didn't know much about cars, but she could tell that it was pricey. She frowned as she wondered who owned it, but she soon found out. Looking down the path, she saw a familiar man stood by the end of the journalism department's building. Nodding, she suspected that made sense.

"Tony," she greeted the man.

"Rose," he responded, greeting her as though they had been friends for ages. "Do you know where we could talk? I was swarmed as soon as I got out the car. I had to go for a walk wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap."

Rosalie scoffed and nodded. "Let's go to my car," Rosalie said. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I needed to talk to you," he said and she walked into the parking lot, unlocking her car. Climbing into the driver's side, she turned in her seat as she tossed her bag into the back. Tony closed the passenger's side door and looked around her car.

"Does Steve not get paid enough to buy you a car with a built in GPS?" Tony asked from her and she snorted.

"He doesn't buy my things," Rosalie said. "Besides, I like this car."

"Of course you do," Tony responded, not sounding convinced. "Listen, Rosalie, I don't have too long. Pepper…she wants to talk to me tonight, but I need to talk to you about things that are happening to us."

"What things?" Rosalie wondered.

"Bucky," Tony said to her and Rosalie nodded. "Steve needs to be careful. He's still looking for Bucky and I know that he thinks that he is being careful, but he isn't being as careful as he could be. He is still being watched. I encrypted his computer, but I caught someone trying to break through the firewall."

"He isn't going to stop," Rosalie responded. "Bucky is his friend. He loves him and he wants to help him. He doesn't know how to stop."

"I get that he wants to help," Tony said. "Steve's unwavering loyalty to his friends is in his DNA. I know who he is and I know that if I tell him to stop then he won't."

"And you think he will stop if I tell him to?"

"I don't know," Tony admitted with a shrug. "All I know is that he chose you over being Captain America in the end. He clearly loves you. I think, if anyone can convince him to stop, then it would be you."

Rosalie bit down on her tongue.

"Let me put it simply," Tony said as he noted her hesitation. "If Steve doesn't stop then Bucky is going to get him into trouble. How long do you think it will be before he does something foolish? Like go against S.H.I.E.L.D? If he does that then we can't help him."

Rosalie shook her head. "Steve wouldn't go against S.H.I.E.L.D."

"They wouldn't see it like that," Tony said. "They would wonder why he has secretly been searching for a fugitive, not just any fugitive, may I add, but the Winter Soldier. He would be seen as his accomplice of some kind."

Rosalie rolled her head back against the headrest. "I don't know what you want me to do…I really don't know."

"Just talk to him," Tony told her. "I care about him, but I hold no sway over him. Let him know that he is on a dangerous path."

"I'll talk to him," Rosalie agreed, "but I am not making any promises. Steve is his own person and he cares about Bucky. He is his friend. Wouldn't you do anything for your friends?"

"Yes," Tony admitted, "that's why I am here talking to you."

Rosalie knew that Tony cared about Steve. He saw him as a good friend. He saw him as someone who he could talk to and reason with. They were both chalk and cheese, but they got on well together. Tony managed a soft nod to Rosalie before opening the car door.

"I should go before someone thinks about stealing my car," he commented. "Catch you later, Rose."

"Bye, Tony," Rosalie said as he closed the door and wandered away.

Rosalie sighed for a second before putting the key in the ignition and driving away from the parking lot. She had agreed to meet Steve at the Avengers base that evening for dinner considering he had to work late. Driving to the outskirts of the city, Rosalie parked her car, thinking about what Tony had said to her. She grabbed her bag, slinging it onto her shoulder before locked her car, pocketing the key into the front compartment of the bag.

Wandering into the base, she pressed the code that Steve had given her. Moving to the kitchen where Steve had said he would be, she saw him stood there, a cup of coffee in his hands. She smiled over to him as he looked to her, but his smile seemed forced.

"Good day?" he asked from her.

"Not bad," she responded. "What's up? You seem on edge."

"We had a sighting of Rumlow in Lagos," Steve said to her. "We think he is going after some chemical weapon."

Rosalie nodded. "So you're going?"

"We shouldn't be gone long," Steve promised her. "I have Wanda, Sam and Natasha coming with me."

"Wanda?" Rosalie checked.

"She is ready," Steve assured her. "She's been on some smaller missions before, but she can control her power. Don't worry about her, Rose."

"I know," Rosalie shrugged, "but she's a nice kid. Just look out for her, okay?"

"Of course."

"And look out for yourself. I want you coming back to me in one piece, do you understand me? Seeing you going again…I knew you would because I know how important finding Rumlow is to you…but just be careful, okay?"

"Yeah," Steve said and moved to sweep her into his arms, holding her to him. "And when I come back we are going to start preparing for that wedding…I want to get married sooner rather than later, Rose."

"Well, we can discuss that when you come home," Rosalie smiled to him, pressing a hand to his cheek as she pulled back, moving to kiss him chastely as he closed his eyes, smiling into the movement. "Call me when you can."

"Of course," Steve responded.

"And be careful," she whispered to him and held him tightly again. Closing her eyes as she buried her face into his neck, she felt his hands press against her back before he pulled away.

"I have to go. They're all waiting for me."

"Then go," Rosalie said, trying not to say the opposite to make him stay with her.

Kissing her once more, Steve longed not to pull away. But he knew that he had to. Dropping her from his arms, he left the room after one final goodbye and moved down the corridor towards the hanger. He looked back over his shoulder as Rosalie remained in the kitchen, a hand on her chin and her other arm wrapped around her waist. She had her eyes closed tightly and Steve knew she was worried. He restrained himself, longing to go back in there and hold her tightly. But he didn't. If he did that then he would never leave again and he had to go. He had to finish what he had started so that they could have a future.