A/n: I started to feel guilty about not finishing this fic. Also, I kind of missed it. Anyway, back to it and sorry if you were totally over it. Just to catch you up, this story is set before TWS and Steve and Natasha are in a relationship. Things have happened differently from canon in the lead-up to TWS, the events of which are now imminent. Yes, well. Excelsior!
Monday morning came too soon. Steve tried to focus as he sat on the couch in Director Fury's office, but Natasha was making it impossible as she played with his left hand. He could always pull his hand away, but…she was doing the most interesting things to his fingers. He knew hands were sensitive, but not to the degree she was currently exploiting them. Her nails stroked from the base of his palm to his fingertips, sending tingles through his entire body. And why was she wearing that damn skirt today? He wanted to get her alone in the worst way; they could have had the whole room secured for themselves if Fury weren't on the phone…in his own office. Steve yanked his hand away from Natasha before she could distract him further. She pursed her lips slightly in what he knew was annoyance he would pay for later in ways he wouldn't actually mind.
Her expression was back to neutral when Fury ended his call and turned to them. He gave them a look as if they'd intruded on him rather than being summoned. "Well? The gala?"
Natasha rolled her eyes and leaned into Steve. "It was an open bar and I can afford tips, Nick. Don't expect a thank you. Also, you were there."
"Er…" Steve tried to think about baseball as she switched the direction in which her legs were crossed, though no sporting event could compensate for the dress she'd been wearing two nights ago – a dress that was still hanging on the back of their bedroom door. They'd spent Sunday in bed, happily putting off everything in favor of each other and his attention at the DOD gala night had been almost entirely consumed by her, despite the distractions of Army brass. Everyone in the room had faded into vague shadows compared to Natasha. He barely recalled the minor theme of the DOD shindig, mostly in the context of their subsequent undressing activities, and said, "I suppose we got certain insights."
Although Natasha was giving him a disapproving glare, Fury seemed surprised. "Oh? Insights?"
He nodded. "Secretary Pierce did seem to emphasize the word insight in his speech."
"Mm-hmm." Fury jerked his head and they followed him out of the office to the elevator. "Insight Bay."
The computer voice chastised, "Captain Rogers and Agent Romanoff do not have security…"
Fury overrode the protocols with an offhand remark. Steve took his cue from Natasha's unimpressed stance. "You could have just told me to listen for references to insight." She didn't step toward the glass sections of the elevator as they descended into the hangar they had previously seen only in Clint's photographs. "So that's what you're calling the secret helicarriers?"
"Project Insight, yeah." Fury slowly turned on his heel. "How in the hell do you know about…you know what? Don't tell me. I don't want to know."
She shrugged, continuing to look casual as she leaned against the elevator wall. "We weren't about to tell you."
"Romanoff, remind me to keep telling myself I'm glad you're on our side."
"Isn't that a given?"
"Hm. Anyway, here they are." Fury swept an arm out to indicate the airships as they walked out onto a gantry from the elevator. "Three coordinated helicarriers monitoring threats constantly. Once the satellites are in orbit, we'll be able to track terrorists from their holes. DNA confirmation the minute they step outside…"
"Seriously?"
"What?"
"You can't analyze DNA from space."
"Says who?"
Natasha continued to be as unimpressed as any sane person could possibly be. "Anyone with basic knowledge of genetics or forensic science?"
"Rogers would've bought it," Fury replied with a huff.
"He can only catch up on so much in a year."
"You been out of the ice for a year already, Rogers?"
"Fifteen months, sir." Steve pulled his attention away from the massive guns mounted beneath the behemoths in the even more massive hangar. No one needed an update on the latest developments in modern weaponry to understand what those were for. Even the greenest recruit could have understood the Insight helicarriers' intended purpose. He leaned over the railing to watch some large caliber shells being loaded. "Give or take a few days."
"And Romanoff's had you for nearly ten months. Guess I won't try convincing either of you that the new repulsor engines were designed by Tony Stark."
"DARPA reverse-engineering?" Natasha's voice was right behind him, even as ever. "I'd be willing to believe Stark didn't patent anything Iron Man-related to prevent you from getting the schematics. He's got the ego to assume SHIELD couldn't figure stuff out without his input."
"Mm hmm." Fury watched the activity on the floor around the nearest helicarrier for a moment. "Of course, unlike Stark, you do work for me."
"I prefer SHIELD to SI any day."
"Was it really that bad being Tony Stark's assistant?"
"You read my report. Not to mention my personal comments." Natasha crossed her arms, barely brushing against Steve as she did so. "So when does SHIELD gain insight over the world?"
"Two weeks, barring any unforeseen obstacles."
"Such as?"
"Some issues that you don't need to know about at present."
"Sorry, Nick. I'd be less inquisitive if you told me why you were looking for reasons to delay the launch."
"Did I say anything about delaying Project Insight?"
"No." Natasha nodded, though Steve didn't understand why. She pushed him toward the elevator. "We're going to miss lunch if we stay here any longer. Are you coming, Director?"
"Go on." Fury folded his arms and stood facing the helicarriers as the doors closed.
Although he felt he should probably be discussing what had just happened, Steve said, "Ten months seems significant."
"Nearly a year," Natasha agreed.
He slipped an arm around her waist. "Anniversary coming around."
"You've got two months to plan." She tugged him down into a kiss by his open shirt collar. "Better impress me."
"I heard somewhere that diamonds are a girl's best friend." She deftly maneuvered out of the embrace as he tried to kiss her again. "I'm going to start taking it personally if you discourage me every time I mention I bought an engagement ring."
"I postpone. I don't discourage."
"Nat…"
"I've never told you to stop trying."
"Is this a veiled hint about our one-year anniversary?"
"Veiled? Hardly." She ran a hand through her hair, reminding him how much he liked to see his own fingers tousling those locks as they made love in the lamplight at midnight or the grey dawn of a new day.
"Nat, you know I won't marry anyone but you. Would you really leave Captain America alone his whole life?"
"So now it's blackmail?"
"I didn't mean…"
"I know, Steve. I just have to get used to it, you know? Thinking about it, saying out loud – it helps."
"I'll wait. You know I'll wait. Heck, I waited seventy years without knowing it." He watched her walk out of the elevator at the cafeteria level. "Waking up would have been a lot easier if I'd known you were gonna be there."
"What, would you have gotten a haircut or something?"
He paused to consider the question, nearly allowing the elevator doors to close before he could exit. He took a moment in the hallway to organize his thoughts. "You say that like I could have been prepared for you."
"Please. You were terrified the first time you met me."
"Only that you'd murder me before I'd looked at you enough to satisfy my lifetime requirement."
She eyed him up and down before walking away. "Flatterer."
"It's the truth."
"I know. Only because you're such a terrible liar."
"You could at least let this terrible liar buy you lunch on our ten month anniversary."
"Yeah, well, that's three days away and you're not going to get an eleventh month anniversary if you think the SHIELD cafeteria is an appropriate date."
"Oh, I know what's appropriate." He knew that kissing Natasha in full view of the lunch crowd was fodder for the gossip mill for the next month or more, but she didn't pull away until he ended it. He whispered, "Expect flowers and a fancy dinner requiring a dress next weekend."
To his surprise, she didn't push him away. "You're lucky you look so sexy no matter what you wear. Now come on. I've got to deal with my rookies in an hour."
In spite of his intentions, he found that he was the one blushing as they made their way through the line. He suspected that no matter how far he got from unfreezing, he was never going to be as hot as Natasha. And that was perfectly fine in his opinion.
