Steve ran hard on the treadmill, relishing in the feel of letting out all of his pent up energy. It had been a while since he had been in a good rhythm of exercising, from the gunshot wound to everything that happened after it. And that was the stuff he needed to burn through right now.

Steve had never had a female roommate and definitely not one who shared his bed. He'd traveled with the showgirls during his USO days, but nothing happened with them. Well, not much had happened. The days were long and being on the road got lonely, so sometimes a little steam was let off. But it was different now, since Celia would still be there the next day, and the day after that.

They kept finding themselves in awkward situations, mostly by accident. He'd already learned to not wander around his floor in a certain state of undress, thanks to Tony. The man was a fan of the pop in and he'd gotten an eyeful once at an inopportune moment. So now Steve made sure he was always wearing at least a pair of pants at all times. Although, he hadn't known he needed to stepping out of his bathroom. Thank goodness for the towel. He didn't know if he'd be able to look Celia in the eye if he'd been fully nude.

Steve would be lying if he said he wasn't attracted to her. But more than that, he'd formed a bond with her. It was hard for him to connect with people in this time, with everything still so fresh. But somehow he had with Celia. Was it based on a shared traumatic event? Possibly. But hadn't all of his relationships these days been formed that way? It wasn't like he met the rest of the team at a coffee shop or something. All of his connections were born from blood.

Even if he could admit to a little bit of a crush, although that word sounded so juvenile, it wasn't like he was going to act on it. They still didn't know each other very well and with the situation they were in, it would be foolish to risk things going poorly. He'd much rather have a friend than a failed fling. And that was assuming Celia felt the same way. Steve didn't want to assign feelings to her and make her feel uncomfortable here. After everything she'd been through, the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel pressured. He would just keep going on as normal. Things would settle once the newness wore off.

Steve let himself stay in the gym for two hours, dragging himself from his place of refuge. The rest of the team would always get judgy if he stayed in the gym for too long. They just didn't understand. Thor probably would, but they obviously hadn't heard from the god since he'd left Earth after the battle.

Steve rode the elevator up, thinking of what he could do to pass the time before it was time for dinner with the team. They hadn't eaten together in a while, or even gathered really since the drama with Fury, but he was looking forward to it. He'd been giving Celia time and space to get more comfortable with the idea, but since training had gone well with Clint and Natasha, it would probably be a good time to ease back into team stuff. And Tony always ordered the best food.

"You still owe my three from that bachelor party I worked," Celia said. Steve tilted his head in confusion, following the sound of her voice. Had Celia invited someone to the tower? He found her in one of her favorite spots, sitting on the phone in front of the big living room windows with papers spread all around her.

"You call it an engagement brunch, I call it a bachelor party. All I know is my hands were sore for days after that. I could've charged double for your friend Alec." Steve froze, not knowing if he should keep listening or go to his room before he was spotted. The conversation sounded weird on this end.

"Because he looks like a linebacker and felt like he was made of solid steel," Celia scoffed, finally looking up and seeing Steve hovering in the doorway. Instead of looking embarrassed, she just smiled, waving him over. Steve hesitated before joining her, sliding down to sit against the window across from her. He tried his best not to snoop around and look at all of her papers.

"Look, Chuck needs the stuff, so tell me what I need to do to get the extra two. I don't know why you always fight me on this and still end up giving me what I want. You get the good publicity, the tax write off, and my services, which might I add, far exceeds the value of what you're giving up. So just say yes so I can get off the phone, please," Celia moaned, rolling her eyes when she saw the look he was giving her. Tony would be having a field day if he could hear this conversation.

"Thank you Murphy, I knew you'd come around," Celia purred, writing down a note in a small folder. "I'll let you know when I can come see you and start paying off my debt. Until then, give Wally and the kids a kiss from me." Celia said her goodbyes and hung up the phone, chuckling under her breath as she finished her jotting.

"So-"

"How was your workout?" Celia asked, gathering up her papers and shoving them back in her bag.

"It was good," Steve answered, wondering if he'd have to outright ask or if Celia would just offer up the information. He wanted to let her have her privacy, but this was too weird to ignore. "Did you find some way to pass the time?"

"Oh you know, a little of this, a little of that. Just making a few mysterious phone calls," Celia giggled, tilting her head to the side.

"The usual," Steve nodded.

"That was sort of a business associate of mine, I guess you could say. I've got contacts around the city and we trade favors now and then."

"What kind of favors?"

"I have a particular set of skills," Celia said with a grin, wagging her eyebrows at him.

"Uh…"

"I'll put that movie on the list too," Celia snorted, standing up and stretching. Steve followed, rolling his shoulders to work out the soreness from his exercise. "Actually, maybe I can show you."

"Show me what?" Steve asked, feeling a little nervous.

"Trust me?" Celia questioned, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

"Of course," Steve said quickly, letting Celia guide him to his bed with an appreciative smile. She gently pushed him down onto his bed, positioning him on his stomach. Steve's brain was screaming at him to get out of this situation before he passed a point of awkward no return, but he couldn't go back on his word when he just said he trusted her. He could let this play out for a little longer.

"One of the courses I took while I was in school was on therapeutic massage," Celia explained, sitting next to him on the bed. He turned his head to look at her as she carefully climbed over to straddle his hips, giving him enough time to stop her if he felt uncomfortable. She started pressing her fingertips into his back, feeling around the different areas. "I never took enough classes to become officially licensed in it, but I picked up a few skills."

"What kind of-" Steve moaned into his pillow as Celia pressed into his shoulders, just to the side of his neck. "Oh God."

"A massage like this can be pretty expensive, depending where you go. So I've got a deal worked out with some people to trade my hands for their goods," Celia said, digging in so deep Steve was convinced he'd melt into a puddle. "Murphy owns a chain of furniture stores and he hooks me up with free futons in exchange for a deep, full body massage. Then I send them off to whatever shelter I'm working with at the time."

"That's great," Steve murmured, actually purring when she worked out a knot in the middle of his back. He should be telling Celia she didn't have to do this, but he was weak and it felt too good. He'd find a way to pay her back somehow.

"You've got so much tension built up back here," Celia commented, moving around to get better leverage. The ends of her hair were brushing against the back of his neck and it sent a shiver down his spine. "I'm gonna have to start working on you more often." Steve hummed in agreement, feeling so relaxed that he'd probably say yes to anything right now.

"'Kay," Steve sighed, letting his eyes flutter closed in pure bliss.

"I guess this will make up for not being able to do the laundry," Celia snickered, moving down to knead at one of his thighs.

"I'd wash your laundry by hand if it meant I kept getting this," Steve mumbled.

"I'll keep that in mind," Celia said, moving onto his other leg. She kept working in silence, moving systematically over every body part. The foot massage was out of this world and the hand massage was surprisingly pleasant. She ended by lightly scraping her fingers along his scalp, ducking her head down close to his ear. "How was that?" Celia was draped across his back and all he had to do was turn his head a little to the side and they would make contact. Just a little brush of their lips wouldn't hurt, would it? Steve tilted his head back, looking up into Celia's eyes. She had the ability to move away if she wanted to, but he swore he saw her eyes flick to his lips briefly before landing back on his eyes again. Just a few more inches.

"Pardon the interruption, but Mr. Stark would like me to inform you that dinner will be arriving in approximately an hour," Jarvis said suddenly. Celia jerked back, the moment officially ruined. Steve didn't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed.

"You need to take a shower, don't you?" Celia said in a rush, smoothly hopping off of his back and off the bed. She flexed her hands a little, looking everywhere but in his direction. "Shit, Tony is going to have a field day when he sees I'm wearing one of your shirts."

"Uh-"

"Let me get out of your hair so you can get ready. I promise I won't be in here this time," Celia stammered, rushing out of his room without another word. Steve flipped onto his back, trying to figure out what just happened. What kind of reaction had that been? Celia was definitely flustered, but was it in a good way? Had she been glad they were interrupted? The endorphins released during the massage must've been messing with his mind. He'd already decided that blurring the lines past friendship would be a bad idea. This was just them getting caught up in the moment. It wouldn't happen again.

Steve reluctantly rolled off the bed and headed to the shower, setting it to cool to try to clear his head. They'd almost crossed a boundary they wouldn't be able to come back from. It's not like one kiss had to lead to anything more serious, but the memory of it happening would always live between them. And the team would definitely be able to sniff it out somehow. He and Celia needed to stay friends only.

He finished up his shower, putting on his clothes from before his workout. He walked out of the room to look for Celia and found her sitting where she was before, only now she had the jar of marbles Clint had sent in the elevator.

"What do you think he was doing with all of these?" Celia wondered, holding one of the glass balls up to inspect it in the sunlight. It looked like Celia was going to pretend nothing happened, which was just fine to Steve.

"I honestly couldn't tell you," Steve said, stooping down to grab a few for himself. "What are you going to do with these?"

"I'm not sure," Celia replied, rolling a few along her palm. "Just leave them in the jar for now, I guess." She slipped one into her pocket before she closed the lid.

"Planning on getting a little revenge?" Steve asked, tilting his head at her pocket.

"Nah, just keeping one on me for a little luck. Who knows when I'll have to leave some evidence somewhere?" Celia laughed. Steve could feel his mood immediately darken at the mention of that whole ordeal, wishing he'd gotten more of a chance to show Agent Miller just how angry he'd been. All of those bones in his body and he'd only been able to break a couple.

"You're not planning on being abducted again, are you?" Steve muttered, wondering how hard it would be to get Tony to hide a tracker on the inside of a marble.

"Not particularly, but that's not really the kind of thing you can plan for," Celia snorted, getting up and taking the container back to her room. Would it be over the top to hire a security guard to follow her around? Being around the team could be dangerous, if they crossed the wrong people. He didn't need to worry about the rest of them, since he knew they could defend themselves, but he didn't know what Celia was capable of. Steve was pretty sure Pepper had a security team that went with her wherever she went, but people actually knew she existed. Celia was still kind of flying under the radar, except for the few agents who knew about her in Shield. He hoped they knew better than to mess with her, after what happened with Miller. Fury wouldn't tell him exactly what happened to those agents, but he said they wouldn't be an issue anymore. When it came to Fury, that could mean so many different things.

"You ready?" Steve called out, walking over to the elevators. He was starving after his workout and wanted to get up to the food before it all got picked through. Tony always ordered enough, but he liked to pretend there wasn't enough for Steve or that his favorites were already taken.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Celia sighed, joining him at the doors.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you. No breaking your back this time."

"I didn't break my back. Don't be so overdramatic. A slipped disc at most."

"Says the person who needed to be carried."

"Don't make me carry you!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

"Oh, if that's a challenge, you know I can't just ignore it," Celia said seriously, bouncing on the balls of her feet and loosening up her arms.

"You couldn't get me off the ground," Steve scoffed, spreading his arms in invitation. Celia gawked at him in mock offense, then squinted her eyes in determination.

"Bridal or fireman?" Celia asked, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

"Do I look like a bride?" Steve questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"You are very pretty," Celia said, smirking at his slight pout. He wasn't pretty. Pretty was for girls, wasn't it? Maybe she-

"Oof!" Steve grunted as Celia tackled him in his stomach, flipping him over one of her shoulders. She staggered a bit under his weight and he instinctively grabbed at her to try to help her regain her balance. Of course his face was hanging right above her lower back.

"I got you off the ground," Celia wheezed, locking her knees. "Damn, you weigh much more than that dummy."

"Okay, you proved your point," Steve grumbled, pinching her side lightly.

"Hey! I can still drop you," Celia said, shaking her hips to dislodge his fingers. "Your life is in my hands."

"I'm pretty sure I can survive a fall from this height," Steve laughed, ignoring Celia jiggling her butt in his face. "What, you aren't ticklish, are you?"

"Don't you dare," Celia growled, a clear warning in her voice. She couldn't really do anything to stop him though, not while she was holding him hostage. He dug his fingers into her sides, chuckling at the girlish squeal she couldn't hold back. Celia squirmed as she tried to wriggle her body away from his tickling hands, but it was no use. She bent forward suddenly and Steve found himself plopped onto his butt. Celia lost her footing and fell over him, catching herself on her arms so she was hovering over his face. They stared at each other for a few moments, panting to catch their breath. Celia's hair was hanging around their faces like a curtain to section them off from the outside world. It would take no effort at all to just lean up and come together.

"Tony," Steve said abruptly.

"Tony?" Celia repeated, looking a little confused and frustrated.

"We don't want the food to get cold," Steve mumbled, sending her a guilty smile. Celia hovered over him for a moment before sighing and standing up. She pulled him up as she straightened with surprising strength.

"Well, let's get going. We don't want to disappoint Tony," Celia said, walking back over to the elevator. Steve followed in silence, hoping the team wouldn't notice the weirdness between them right now. Their time spent apart today was supposed to help with the tension, not ratchet it up.

"About time," Tony scoffed, waiting for them at the elevator doors once they got to the correct floor. "I was wondering if you got lost."

"Just checking the elevator for booby traps," Celia snarked, scrunching her nose up at the other man.

"How cute that you think you'd be able to see it coming," Tony cooed, draping his arm across Celia's shoulders and leading her to the dining room. Their relationship had progressed to one where they were always joking with each other, much to Steve's surprise. After Celia stopped feeling like she owed them all the world and got more comfortable, she started trading barbs with Tony, much to his delight. He always liked a person who wasn't afraid of a little friendly banter.

"Oh hey, you survived!" Clint said with a grin as soon as they all entered the room.

"Good as new," Celia confirmed, twisting a little at her waist. "I'd do some sort of fancy flip to prove it, but I don't know how."

"Survived what? What happened?" Tony asked, looking around the room. "Does it have something to do with you wearing one of Steve's shirts? Don't think I didn't notice."

"Mistress Natasha kicked my ass this morning," Celia snorted, sitting down in an open seat next to Bruce.

"Sounds hot. I'll have to see if Jarvis has any footage for me to watch," Tony said, sitting in his customary head of the table seat.

"I'm going to tell Pepper you said that," Natasha threatened, glaring over at the man.

"Cool it, snitch. Let's get back to this shirt situation. What's the story? Just grabbed the first thing you saw when rolling out of bed this afternoon?" Tony asked, resting his chin on his fist in rapt concentration.

"It was just a laundry issue Tony," Steve grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest as he sat down next to Celia.

"Speaking of clothes, we should probably get you some new ones. While your current ensemble is certainly a look, I wouldn't say it's a good one."

"It's minimalist, which you wouldn't understand," Celia defended, rolling her eyes. "Besides, I have more stuff in my storage locker that I can grab."

"I look forward to seeing the high end fashion you procure from your storage space."

"And I look forward to eating this food I've been smelling for the last ten minutes," Clint grumbled, waggling his fingers over the array of boxes covering the center of the table.

"Well, we wouldn't want our little Clint to starve, now would we? Dig in everyone," Tony instructed. Everyone started passing around the cartons of Chinese food, pouring whatever they wanted on their plates. Steve was glad to see Celia was going with the flow, taking a healthy amount of food.

"Where are the forks?" Steve asked, looking around the table for some silverware.

"They're called chopsticks," Tony snorted, twirling a bundle of noodles on the end of his own.

"Tony, you know I don't know how to use chopsticks," Steve groaned, knowing the man didn't bring anything for him to use on purpose. He picked up the sticks, trying to hold them like everyone else was. It didn't feel right and he couldn't spread them apart far enough to pick up anything.

"Let me help," Celia said, leaning over to move Steve's fingers in the correct position. "It's easy once you get the hang of it." He tried to copy what she was doing and almost had it, but the bite dropped back onto his plate before it could reach his mouth.

"Great," Steve groaned, staring mournfully at his plate of food that was rapidly getting colder. He was just going to have to get up and grab a fork, no matter how much Tony teased him. Steve was just about to stand up when Celia slid the chopsticks out of his hand and expertly twirled a pile of noodles onto the end.

"I thought you had better hands than that?" Celia grinned.

"Easy for you to say, showo-" Steve's words were cut off by Celia sliding the food into his open mouth. He reflexively closed his mouth around it, glaring at Celia as she barely held in her giggles. "So you're just gonna feed me like a baby?"

"Maybe," Celia shrugged, taking a bite of her own food. Steve huffed out an embarrassed laugh, more determined than ever to figure these things out, so he wouldn't look like an idiot. But he just couldn't get the hang of it. He could fight in war but he lost in a battle against two little pieces of wood?

Steve was about to give up again when Celia silently grabbed his hand, this time working his fingers to get the bite and letting him guide the food to his own mouth. This method was a little less mortifying, so he told her a quiet thanks and they got into a rhythm of eating for the rest of the meal. He was even able to grab a few pieces by himself near the end.

It was nice eating with everyone again and adding Celia to the mix. Her earlier nervousness was gone and she seemed to be having a good time chatting with the others. Steve was glad she was getting more comfortable around everyone, even if the two of them together was getting a bit more awkward. They would figure things out soon enough now that they were spending more time apart and had different things to distract them. The beginning of a friendship would always have a few bumps, and that's all this was. That's all they were. Just friends.