Celia smoothed her hands down her slacks, checking herself in the mirror one last time. It was finally Monday, the day the clinic was opening, and she had to admit she was excited. Even with all the chaos of everything happening with Steve and her new life, she was confident in her ability to do her job. And if the stuff with the team didn't work out, as long as she had this, she would be fine.

"What's all this?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen. Steve was standing at the counter, waving a towel over a steaming pan.

"I wanted to surprise you with breakfast on your first day," Steve grinned, gesturing down to the dish. "It's a breakfast casserole."

"It looks amazing, but you didn't have to go to all this trouble," Celia said, sitting down on one of the stools.

"Of course I did. It's your first day and I had to do something special," Steve scoffed, cutting her a slice and presenting it to her with a flourish. Celia took a bite, moaning when the flavor hit her tongue.

"This is amazing!"

"Really?" Steve asked, sounding completely delighted by the praise. "Better than the smoothie?"

"I'd drink 10 of your murder smoothies if it meant I got even one more bite of this," Celia sighed, looking dreamily down at her plate.

"Wow, that's a pretty high mark. Probably has something to do with the fact that I added sausage and bacon," Steve bragged, digging into his own serving.

"It's a good thing I'm headed down to the clinic then," Celia laughed, finishing her food with Steve in companionable silence. It had gotten so easy with him recently, which Celia really appreciated. Steve was steady and safe, something she hadn't always had in her life.

"You look nice today. New clothes?" Steve asked, taking their plates and rinsing them off in the sink. He'd taken to using the dishwasher when she wasn't there to dry as he washed.

"Tony said he was sending up the clinic uniform, but instead of the scrubs I was expecting, I got a whole bunch of business casual outfits. He completely took advantage of Jarvis taking my measurements," Celia grumbled. While she appreciated the fact that she wouldn't have to wear scrubs all day, it still made her uncomfortable to accept all these new clothes from Tony. There were more clothes in her closet now than she'd ever owned in her entire life.

"That sounds like Tony," Steve laughed, shaking his head at the thought of their billionaire friend. "At least he has good taste."

"I'm going to tell him you said that," Celia teased, laughing at Steve's grimace. Celia glanced over at the time flashing on the stove, noting that there were only a few minutes left before the clinic opened. "I should get going. I'd never hear the end of it if I was late on the first day."

"Probably not," Steve sighed, tapping his fingers on top of the counter. Did she just walk out now? It seemed like there was something else that needed to be said to smooth the transition, instead of ending abruptly.

"So…" Celia trailed off, looking to Steve to make the next move, whatever he thought that might be.

"Yeah," Steve replied. Scratch what she'd thought earlier about things being easy with Steve now. It was like they'd have a lull and then something would happen and the tension would ratchet up again. Maybe the days apart would help them get back to that relaxed place again.

"See you later, Steve."

"Bye Celia."


Celia hung up the phone, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. Only a couple hours into her day and she was already over it. She knew it wasn't all going to be fun and games, but this was getting ridiculous. Her coworkers and the patients she'd talked to were great, it was all the other stuff that was annoying. It was finally time for her lunch though, so at least she'd have a little break from the nonsense.

She was just about to stand up when there was a knock at her door. Celia groaned, wondering what it could be now. It wasn't this person's fault, so she wouldn't let her exasperation out on them, but she really wasn't in the mood for anything else right now.

"Come in," Celia called out, putting on her best customer service smile. Steve's head peeking into the room made all of her earlier worries go away.

"Hey, I hope you don't mind me coming down," Steve said, still keeping most of his body blocked by the door.

"Of course not. This is actually the perfect time, since I was about to grab some lunch."

"I know," Steve grinned, opening the door wider and revealing bags of takeout.

"What's all this?" Celia giggled, watching as Steve set the food down on her desk, then walked back to the door.

"I thought I'd bring you lunch on your first day, plus," Steve said, leaning out of the office and picking something up, "an office warming present." He was holding some sort of complicated looking house plant.

"Wow, you really didn't have to do that," Celia said, shaking her head as she could feel her stomach doing a pleased little flip. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Steve brushed off, setting the plant down in the corner. "Do you mind if I join you for lunch?"

"Like I'd kick you out after you did all this," Celia scoffed, waving him into the visitor's seat. "So, what did you get? It smells great."

"Well, I thought since we indulged a bit for breakfast, we should get something a bit more healthy for lunch," Steve said, opening one of the containers. "So I got street tacos."

"You almost had me there," Celia snorted, digging in and grabbing an overloaded tortilla. The flavor was great and she sighed thinking about how spoiled she was becoming. "Nice choice."

"I thought about making something, but I decided to pick something up. I wanted to make sure it was actually good," Steve chuckled, wiping at a bit of sauce that was dripping down his chin.

"But I loved your breakfast this morning. I'd pick something you made over the fanciest lunch in the city." Steve ducked his head, trying to hide his blushing face.

"Even my everything but the kitchen sink smoothie?" he asked, trying to cover with a bit of humor.

"Maybe not that."

"So, how has your first day gone so far?" Steve asked, cracking open a bottle of Coke.

"Honestly, not the best, but that's to be expected. I've been on the phone all day getting medical records transferred. It'll be nice when I can actually see patients," Celia sighed, accepting a sip from Steve's drink.

"Do you need an assistant? I'm sure I could answer phones for you," Steve offered.

"My goodness, you must be very bored," Celia laughed.

"You have no idea. I can't remember what I did before you came here."

"Probably slept well, had less stress and more fun."

"Yeah, but it wasn't as exciting." Celia shook her head, smiling at her friend. As if waking up in a new time and saving the world wasn't exciting.

"So, tell me about this plant. Is it hard to take care of?"

"The woman at the nursery said it's called a snake plant and that it's pretty easy to take care of. Just a bit of water and some sun and it should be good to go," Steve explained.

"I don't know, it sounds pretty complicated. I'm not very good at keeping plants alive," Celia sighed, glancing up at Steve through her lashes. "It might be too much work for me to handle."

"I guess I could make sure to come down here every so often to join you for lunch. I mean, for the sake of watering the plant."

"Really? You'd be doing me a huge favor," Celia laughed.

"It's a big sacrifice, but I think I'll be able to do it," Steve snorted, tipping his head in the plant's direction. "So, are you gonna name it? The woman who sold it to me said she names all of her plants and sings to them every night. Sounds kind of strange, but maybe that's normal these days."

"I think I'll name it Steve," Celia said, giggling at Steve's face as his eyebrows scrunched together.

"But how will you tell us apart in conversation?"

"I doubt that will be a frequent issue, but you can just be Steve 2," Celia replied matter-of-factly.

"Why am I Steve 2?" Steve pouted.

"I wouldn't want to hurt Steve 1's feelings," Celia shrugged. Her phone rang so she held up her hand, clearing her throat to put on her professional voice. "This is Dr. Burke." She rolled her eyes as the person on the other end droned on about faxing something instead of emailing. Eventually she got them transferred to the front desk to be their problem now.

"Doctor? Should I have been referring to you by that title this whole time?" Steve asked.

"It's complicated. Depending on who you ask, I'm either a doctor or I'm not. It has to do with the different programs they have out there now. But Tony said it sounds better so I just go with it," Celia explained. "But when people ask me, I just say I'm a physical therapist. Less questions that way."

"I can sort of relate. Having a title that doesn't completely fit," Steve murmured.

"Yet another thing we have in common," Celia agreed, holding up a taco in cheers. They ate and chatted for the rest of her lunch break, with Steve offering again to be her assistant before he begrudgingly left. She was sad to see him go, but the levity of his visit helped carry her through the rest of her day.

Celia said goodbye to Maggie and Margot as they packed up and she climbed on the elevator, making sure she was the only one on as she was going up instead of down. One day they were going to realize she lived in the tower, but hopefully they'd get to know her first and see she was a hard worker. She still didn't know what she was going to tell them though.

"Honey, I'm home," Celia called out as she got off the elevator.

"In the kitchen, dear," Steve responded, and Celia felt her stomach flutter a little bit. She knew they were just playing around, but a part of her wished that it was genuine. Celia had never considered herself a lonely person, filling her down time with all sorts of tasks and activities, but now that she was living with Steve, it was reminding her what possibilities were out there. This is what she'd wanted with her ex husband, but never got.

"How was the rest of your day?" Steve asked, handing her a martini glass.

"Amazing, now that I'm back with you," Celia grinned, taking a sip of the drink. "This is-"

"Sparkling water," Steve confirmed, suppressing a laugh. "I don't have any alcohol here, but I remembered watching some of those shows with Clint where the housewife greeted her husband at the door with a drink, so I thought I'd do the same."

"Well, you are the best housewife I could ask for," Celia giggled, downing the rest of her drink.

"Just wait, I'm not finished yet," Steve said, holding out his elbow for her to take. She easily linked up with him, letting Steve lead her toward the hallway. "I remembered what you said about borrowing my bathtub and I figured, what better day than today for it." He took her to his bathroom and opened the door, presenting her with an already filled tub.

"This is amazing!" Celia gasped, taking in all the details. There were candles all around, giving off a mild vanilla scent. The water was shimmering with some sort of oil and topped by red rose petals.

"I have to admit that Natasha helped me with all this. She said this is how women like to take baths," Steve said.

"This is really incredible. You didn't have to go to all this trouble," Celia murmured, trailing her fingers along the top of the water.

"No trouble at all," Steve waved off, stepping backwards toward the door. "I'll leave you to it then. Take as much time as you want."

"Do you want to join me?"


"Do you want to join me?" Celia asked, turning to face him with a coy smile on her face. Steve could already feel his cheeks heating up from this unseen turn of events. He hadn't been expecting an invitation when he did all this and he wasn't sure what to say. Sharing a bath would surely take their relationship to a place further than it was now.

But was he ready for something like this? They sure had been flirting with each other recently, even he could admit that. But it had never progressed any further. Did he want it to? Did he want to make that first move and see what happened afterwards? Did he want Celia to? Was this her doing just that?

"With bathing suits. Of course," Celia added quickly.

"Of course," Steve chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"No different than a hot tub, right?"

"Right?"

"No pressure, but it really is amazing," Celia said, leading him into his bedroom. "I'm gonna go change. If you want to join me, get ready. If not, I'll see you later." She slipped out of the room, leaving Steve alone to decide what to do. The idea was tempting and the tub looked very inviting, but it all seemed so intimate. But was it more intimate than all the other things they'd done? It wasn't so long ago that they'd spent every night in bed together.

He probably didn't have a bathing suit anyways. Like Celia, all of his clothes had been provided for him by either Shield or Tony. Would they have thought to get something like that for him? Maybe he would check, just to see if he had something. If he didn't, that would be the sign to let Celia have her time alone. Then he would have a built in reason.

Steve opened the bottom drawers of the dresser he didn't usually look through, pawing around the folded items. What even was all this? How many outfits could one person need? Steve sighed when he found what he was looking for. He knew that this was a Tony purchase when he saw the stars and stripes. Only he would get something so obvious.

But now that he was confronted with the shorts, did he put them on? He wouldn't lie and say he didn't have a pair, because that would be deceitful. If he was going to decline Celia's offer, he would come right out and say it.

"You know what…" Steve muttered under his breath, peeling off his shirt and tossing it onto the bed. He was an adult and Celia was an adult. Who said they couldn't have a little fun? This didn't have to mean anything they didn't want it to. Steve quickly shucked off the rest of his clothes and pulled on the shorts, appreciating the length. Swimwear back in his day had been pretty short sometimes, which was always awkward on his small frame.

"Nice suit," Celia chuckled from the doorway. He was relieved to find her wearing a fluffy robe. "I'm happy you decided to join me."

"Well, I've never really taken a bath like this before, so I figured, why not? Probably better to have someone to show me the ropes on my first go around," Steve laughed.

"Prepare to be a changed man," Celia said, grabbing his hand and pulling him back into the bathroom. "Tip number one: rose petals are cool and all, but nothing beats a bubble bath."

"Natasha said they were a necessity," Steve argued.

"Natasha was messing with you," Celia chuckled. "This scene is straight out of a honeymoon or something."

"Oh," Steve whispered, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks. This would be the last time he'd ask Natasha for help with anything like this.

"Maybe she's got a crush on you," Celia teased, dropping her robe and hanging it on a hook along the wall. Steve suddenly found the ceiling lights very interesting and stared up at them.

"I'm not sure about that," Steve mumbled.

"You know, I think I'm gaining on you," Celia said seriously. Steve risked peeking one eye at her and couldn't stop the snort that burst out. She was flexing her arm, comparing it to his. "Maybe another week of workouts."

"Yeah right!" Steve scoffed. Celia put her arm next to his, trying to prove her point, but failing miserably. "Keep dreaming."

"See there, it's not so awkward, is it?" Celia grinned, bumping him with her elbow. Steve realized he'd been tricked into relaxing. "This is nothing. I've woken up to you snoring and drooling in my face."

"I don't snore or drool!" Steve insisted.

"Well, you wouldn't know, would you?" Celia argued, smirking in triumph. "Now, how about we get into this tub before the water gets too cold." She was just stepping in when Jarvis' voice came over the speaker.

"The tub is temperature controlled." Celia was startled by the voice, as usual, and would've fallen if Steve hadn't caught her at the last second, stopping her from toppling backwards out of the tub.

"Careful," Steve murmured, holding her steady until she regained her footing.

"Always saving me," Celia chuckled, fully stepping into the water and turning to face him.

"Someone's got to protect you from the big, bad computer," Steve teased.

"You laugh now, but wait until the computers take over the world," Celia warned, holding her hand out to help him step in. He didn't really need it, but he accepted the offer anyway. The water felt amazing on his legs and he was instantly glad he'd agreed to this. Maybe he would convert after all?

They sank down on opposite sides of the tub, letting their legs rest alongside one another's. Steve couldn't even be bothered to feel awkward at this point, leaning his head back and relishing the warmth that was all around him. It was much better than the cold he remembered. And the soft smells and relaxed atmosphere just added to the overall effect.

"Hey Jarvis, can you dim the lights a bit?" Celia asked, humming in satisfaction when it was mostly the candles around them giving off their gentle glow. "We're going to have to get Natasha a gift basket."

"I agree. I don't think this could get any better," Steve sighed, closing his eyes in contentment.

"Hold that thought," Celia said. That was Steve's only warning before the water came to life, with pressurized points of water pushing at different parts of his body. He couldn't stop the embarrassing moan that burst from his mouth, and honestly, he didn't really care. Baths were great.

"You were right," Steve mumbled, rolling his head to stare over at her.

"Say that again," Celia grinned.

"You were right," Steve laughed, tossing a rose petal at her.

"I love hearing that," Celia sighed, grabbing one of his legs and pulling it into her lap.

"What are you-" Steve started, before her intentions were clear. "Oh." Celia dug the pads of her thumbs into the bottom of his foot and his eyes rolled into the back of his skull.

"There it is," Celia giggled. Steve just nodded, feeling overwhelmed by all of the good sensations. How had all this been at his disposal without him even realizing it?

"Teach me?" Steve asked, grabbing Celia's foot and trying to copy her grip. Celia talked him through some steps, showing him first on his own foot. He knew when he did well every time she made a little whimpering noise and Steve didn't understand what the sound was doing to him. It became his goal to get that sound out of her as much as possible.

"You've got good hands," Celia mumbled, biting at her lip a little.

"Do you think you could teach me how to do a leg massage?" Steve asked quietly, letting his fingers trail further up her ankle.

"Pardon the interruption, but Mr. Stark has requested everyone join him on the common floor for a celebratory dinner," Jarvis announced, completely shattering the moment. Steve grit his teeth, wondering if Tony was actually sitting in a room and watching them on a video feed, with his knack for always finding the worst moments to interrupt. He didn't actually know where all this was going, but Steve wasn't planning on fighting whatever the natural progression was this time. At least, that's what he was telling himself now, since it didn't really matter anymore.

"Well, I guess we don't want to keep Tony waiting too long," Celia said, reluctantly pulling her leg back from Steve's hold.

"Raincheck?" Steve asked, standing up to help Celia out of the tub.

"Oh, you couldn't keep me away," Celia replied, wrapping herself back up in her robe. She sauntered up to him with a sly grin on her face, leaning up to whisper in his ear. "Have fun fishing out those rose petals." Celia sprinted off with a giggle and Steve watched her go, cursing everyone in this tower.