"What's all this about, Rogers? I didn't take you as the type to go out for coffee with your coworkers."
"Well, I, uh, I need your advice about something."
Natasha raised her brow as she smirked into her cup, sipping her Americano slowly. She pulled the drink away from her plump lips and glanced around the D.C. cafe before replying, "Finally gonna do it, huh?"
"Yeah. I think it's time." Steve sighed as he looked down. He loosely held his own black coffee, trying to gather the courage to have this conversation. "I don't... really know what to do."
"Do what comes naturally."
"It's not like I've done this before."
Natasha chuckled, "No, I suppose not." She paused, considering how scared the man before her felt, "Are you nervous?"
"Terrified." Steve looked up to Nat, his brows drawn together so tightly his forehead creased, "That's why I wanted your advice. You're a woman, I thought maybe you could help me figure this out."
"I really think you have to figure this one out on your own, Cap. You have to make it special. Nobody knows her like you do." Natasha took another long sip, watching Steve from beneath her lashes as he huffed in frustration.
"Yeah, but what if she doesn't like it?"
"She's going to like it."
"What if she says no?" Steve argued back and Natasha laughed, tossing her straight red hair over her shoulder. "She might not be ready."
"She's not going to say no." Nat assured Steve, but he just clenched his jaw and looked to the side. Natasha gestured toward Steve's dark jeans, "Let me see it."
"Here?" Steve's voice cracked and Natasha just nodded, gesturing toward him again.
"Let me see it and I'll tell you if she'll like it."
Steve grumbled to himself as he reached into his pants and withdrew his hand, passing the black box across the table to Natasha. She quickly snatched it from his palm as he looked around nervously, "Well, what do you think?"
"She's going to say yes." Natasha told Steve as she looked up with a knowing smile, "It's perfect."
"You think so?" Steve pressed, the air deflating out of his chest as Natasha assured him, "I got the sapphire because blue is her favorite, and it will really show in photos. And it's a vintage setting. She likes vintage-"
"She does, because it reminds her of you." Natasha said, carefully pulling the ring out of the box to examine it further, "Steve, she's going to say yes, you have nothing to worry about."
Steve looked over his shoulder, noticing several photographers snapping their photo from outside the window. "Great. Can I have it back?"
"I'm not done looking at it, it's fine." Natasha continued to study every little detail of the engagement ring as Steve carefully slid the black box across the table to hold in his lap. He stared disdainfully at the photographers and they turned their attention away from Steve to begin frantically photographing someone else.
Natasha looked from the ring to Steve, seeing him glancing around nervously again, "Steve. Kayla loves you. She loves you in a way that you're never going to find again with anybody else. Lock her down."
"I just don't want to put myself out there if she's not ready-" Steve was cut off by the sound of yelling coming from the cafe's doorway and looked up to see his girlfriend striding toward them. Steve quickly pushed the black box onto the seat next to him, realizing there wasn't time to put the ring away before Kayla saw it. Natasha slid the ring up her pinky and turned it around, casually clasping her hands together and resting her chin on her knuckles as Kayla reached them.
"Kay! I didn't know you were coming!" Steve squeaked and Natasha's piercing eyes shot him a dirty look. "I mean, what are you doing here?"
"I saw the paparazzi outside the window and figured there must be someone interesting. Considering this is Washington and not LA, I made the accurate guess it was you." Kayla said with a wink, leaning down to kiss Steve softly as the cameras flashed outside the window again. Kayla turned to Nat, leaning her hip against Steve's side, "How are you? Keeping this one out of trouble?" She stroked her fingers through Steve's short hair as Natasha chuckled.
"Do you really think I can keep him out of trouble?" She asked Kayla teasingly, "That's your job."
Kayla looked down at Steve, feeling how rigid he was against her, "Honey, are you okay?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Steve croaked and Natasha shot him another dirty look, silently telling him that he was blowing it. "I'm just here, hanging out with my friend."
"I want to ask out one of the members of the Strike team and I want Steve to help me set up the rendezvous. Since he leads the team, he leads the training exercises, so he's my best bet of getting a little one on one sparring time." Natasha lied easily, breaking her hands apart, before twisting the ring farther against her skin so Kayla wouldn't notice the massive rock.
"Hmm." Kayla hummed, "That's one way to get a man, I guess. I prefer wrestling, myself." Kayla winked and Steve's cheeks began to turn pink. Kayla scratched the back of his neck at his hairline, "I have to go, I have a meeting at the VA. I love you."
"I love you, too." Steve reached up and guided her lips down to his, smiling into her as they kissed softly. "Bye." Steve added as Kayla waved, turning to leave the cafe.
As soon as Kayla was out the door, Steve snapped his head to Natasha with a warning stare and his hand outstretched. Nat slowly pulled the ring off her finger and handed it over to the soldier, "You two are adorable. Sickening even. I'm trying really hard not to vomit."
"Thanks for covering for me." Steve breathed, finally at ease with the ring in the box and the box safely stored in his pocket. "She's nosy."
Natasha nodded and Steve wondered what she was thinking. "What?"
"I'm just thinking about you and her. And how well you handle being in the public eye. I wasn't so sure you'd be able to hack it, but you're every bit the politician as her father." Natasha raised her chin, looking out the window, "You just don't let anybody in. It's all a grand facade. I wonder who you are, really."
Steve shrugged, finishing his coffee, "I just like to keep my personal life personal."
"Yeah, but she doesn't."
"She's been better." Steve countered, "I like who I am with Kayla, when it's just her and I. I don't need the whole world to know me. She does."
Natasha smiled sadly, pulling out her wallet to leave some cash, "Must be pretty lonely. Only having one person in your corner. She pays her best friend to hang out with her." Natasha tilted her head, her hair spilling over her shoulder as she studied Steve's reaction, "It doesn't have to be you two against the world." She slid out of the booth and raised her empty cup to say goodbye, leaving Steve to sit alone in the booth as he rested his fist to his lips to think.
Kayla Ellis strode into the VA office in her floral sundress and yellow sandals like she owned the place. The girl at the receptionist desk dropped her pen and readjusted her glasses as the President's Daughter approached. She looked Kayla up and down, thinking she looked more dressed for a picnic than a meeting, but who was she to tell the most notorious woman in D.C. how to dress.
"Miss Ellis, it's a pleasure." The receptionist stumbled out and Kayla smiled sweetly. "Mr. Wilson will be with you in just a moment."
"Thank you." Kayla replied, pushing her shoulder length hair behind her ear. She couldn't wait until the day her long, luxurious hair grew back, but in the meantime, Kayla was making do with the honey blonde waves that her hairstylist suggested. Kayla had balked at the word 'perm' but she was happy how it turned out.
Steve adored the softer color and the curls when her hair had reached her chin, so she conceded and kept the look as it continued to grow. She liked Steve's hair long enough for her to play with, and told him if he let SHIELD cut his hair again, she'd have the whole organization disbanded.
"Miss Ellis." Kayla turned to see a man beaming behind her, "Sam Wilson, it is such an honor to meet you. Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me."
Kayla laughed lightly, "I'm sorry I haven't met with you sooner, Mr. Wilson. I've been working with several chapters in New York and have been running myself ragged since getting back to D.C. earlier this year. Terrible excuses, but better late than never?" Kayla shrugged and the man laughed.
"To be honest, I wasn't expecting to get a meeting with you at all, so I'm happy to wait." Sam gestured for Kayla to follow him and she peeked into the rooms as they passed by, seeing the members engaging in somber discussions. Sam seemed to notice Kayla's attention drifting and he added, "I heard you spent some time here before your father was elected?"
"Yeah, I used to come to meetings. I'd go with some of the workers to the nursing homes, and just listen." Kayla caught herself staring and shook her head rapidly before catching up with Sam, "Things kind of took off when my father became President."
"I would imagine." Sam hummed, leading her into an empty room where they could talk. He gestured for her to sit in one of the chairs and he spun one around to face her. She scoffed to herself, realizing this reminded her of an AA meeting.
"So tell me, why did you reach out?" Kayla asked softly, crossing one leg over the other and resting her hands on her knees, "You made quite the impression on my assistant. She insisted I take the meeting... Not that I didn't want to!" Kayla put her hands up, worried her words would offend him.
"It's alright, I know what you mean." Sam chuckled, leaning back against his chair, "To be very straightforward, I was hoping your charity would make a donation. We're losing workers left and right, and more people are coming in every day. Like me, I'm barely getting by, but it's important to me to be here for them. We are a non-profit and aren't making money, but the cost of living here is too high for what we make. I'm worried if we don't make some changes we're going to have to let people go, and that will mean less meetings."
"So you invited me here to ask me for money, Mr. Wilson?" Kayla asked, her voice coy and her grin thinly veiled.
"Call me Sam, and yes. I did. I was hoping maybe you'd have a soft spot for veterans considering..." Sam bit his tongue and smiled and Kayla responded with a laugh.
"Because I'm dating one?" She supplied, her jaw hung open in a teasing smile, "You know, most people wine and dine me a little before showing all their cards."
"I've got nothing to offer you, so why should I waste your time?" Sam countered and Kayla hummed in response. Sam smiled, clearly trying to decide if he wanted to ask what was on his mind, "You really dating Captain America?"
"Among other things, yes." Kayla replied, quickly elaborating, "I also live with Captain America, am in love with Captain America, and fuck Captain America. Sometimes several times a day." She paused, sizing Sam up to see how he'd react, "Does that make you uncomfortable?"
"Not really, no, I would expect nothing less from the two best looking people in D.C." Sam replied with a shrug, his expression unchanging despite Kayla's lack of filter.
"Oh, I like you." Kayla cooed, leaning forward and biting her lip, "I know someone else who might like you, too. I'll give you your grant, on one condition."
"What's that?" Sam asked, and Kayla couldn't believe how calm he was. He took everything she threw at him with stride.
Kayla's lips broke apart in a perfect smile, "Friday night, double date. How do you feel about brunettes?"
Sam chuckled, "I don't know, is it the woman I talked to on the phone? Because we already have a standing coffee date."
"Perfect, then everybody's happy. Friday night. Tiffany will text you the details. You still have her number, I would assume?" Kayla asked as she stood, reaching forward to shake Sam's hand.
"Yes, I do." He answered and Kayla breathed deeply, pulling out her phone.
"Send her a proposal for what you want and we'll talk over dinner. And Sam?" Kayla asked as she reached the doorway, "Don't say anything to Cap about what I told you. He hates when I talk about our sex life."
Once Kayla was gone, Sam shook his head because he couldn't believe what he'd just experienced, "I wonder why."
"Honey, I'm home." Kayla called as she pushed open the door to their apartment. She looked at her watch, seeing it was already six-thirty. "Steve?"
"I'm in here." His voice called from the kitchen. Kayla came around the corner and found him leaning against the counter, scarfing a piece of pizza into his mouth.
Kayla sighed loudly, dropping her heavy black bag onto their kitchen table, "You didn't wait for me?"
"You were supposed to be home two hours ago." Steve mumbled through the pizza, inhaling another bite, "Long day? What happened with the meeting?"
"The VA meeting went great, we're going on a double date Friday, I just have to tell Tiffany." Kayla groaned as she opened the pizza box to find it empty, "Really?"
"Sorry, super-soldier." Steve swallowed the rest of his dinner and threw the box away. "I'll order something in for you."
"No. It's fine. I'm not hungry." Kayla grumbled, massaging her temples.
Steve grabbed Kayla by the hips and hoisted her up onto the kitchen counter, "So if the meeting went well, why are you so late and frustrated?"
"Because apparently you're cheating on me with the Black Widow."
"What?" Steve yelped, turning to see Kayla holding out her phone. There was an article on a gossip site with the photos of Steve and Natasha having coffee together through the window. "It's just one site."
"Oh, it's on lots of them. Your friend-date is today's hottest news." Kayla leaned back on her palms, kicking off her heeled sandals. "Get me a beer?"
"We're out of beer, how about wine?" Steve opened the fridge and held out a miniature plastic wine bottle for Kayla to take.
She took it with her eyes narrowed, unscrewing it angrily, "These are bad for the environment. You should just buy a glass bottle."
"Yeah, but they're great for days like this when I need to control your alcohol intake." Steve countered and Kayla bopped her head back and forth before taking a long swig.
"Fair point." She looked to Steve as he opened the freezer and pulled out a carton of ice cream. "Rocky Road?"
"No, that's for single people. This is Moose Tracks." Steve called back, setting the ice cream on the counter and grabbing a spoon to shove into it before handing it to Kayla.
Her lips pulled up into a comfortable smile, "You know me so well."
"I'd like to think so." Steve grinned and kissed her, then produced a can of whipped cream and squirted it into his mouth. Kayla laughed loudly and opened her mouth wide, sticking her tongue out. Steve looked at her with mock surprise and taunted, "Oh, you want it?"
"Yes, please!" Kayla giggled and Steve filled her mouth with the whipped cream before grabbing the spoon and dishing himself a mouthful of ice cream. Kayla wiped some stray whipped cream from her chin as she watched him, "You always know how to make me feel better."
"Tell me what the article said." Steve ordered as she picked up the ice cream and began to stuff her face.
"Ugh, I had to spend two hours on the phone with seven different editors explaining that you guys are coworkers and that I'm cool with it and it was a hot mess." Kayla opened her mouth and Steve deposited more whipped cream into it. "My personal favorite article lists reasons why you might be meeting with some hot redhead."
"Oh yeah? Why would I meet with some hot redhead who's actually an assassin?" Steve asked, running his hands up Kayla's thighs. She scooped up some ice cream and fed it to him before continuing her venting.
"Well," She said through the cold, "Either you're cheating on me with her."
"Okay, not that one. What else do they got?"
"She's the mother of your secret love child." Kayla suggested sensually, spreading her legs so Steve could get closer. He hiked up her dress around her waist, causing her to grin as his fingers drifted slowly towards her core.
Steve snorted loudly, "When was I supposed to do that? While I was frozen?"
Kayla leaned forward, draping her arms around Steve's neck as she felt him slowly pull her thong to the side, "Last but not least, because there's pictures of me showing up, you were interviewing women to join us for a hot threesome."
Steve gasped in time with the hissing noise from the whipped cream can, but Kayla's jaw dropped open in true shock as she jumped at the contact.
"Did you just put whipped cream in my-"
Steve backed away, looking down between her thighs worriedly, "Oh- Ma'am, that really doesn't look good. Don't worry, I'm a trained professional. I'll take care of it." Steve looked up at her from under his lashes as he knelt down between her legs, and she responded by dropping her dress over his head casually as she rolled her eyes.
"Damn it, Steve." She hissed in annoyance, gripping the edge of the counter as his tongue slid inside her folds to lick out the whipped cream, "You can't do that!"
"I didn't do it, it was like this when I found you, I swear." Steve mumbled from beneath her dress and she gasped happily, picking up her phone from beside her. Her best friend was going to kill her, but Kayla knew the responsible thing to do was to let an actual professional know that another food substance had found its way where it didn't belong.
"Hello, what do you need?" Tiffany drawled, but Kayla responded with a sharp inhale. She grimaced as Tiffany hummed, "Hmm, great, what's so important that couldn't wait?" Tiffany droned, clearly aware of what was happening on the other end.
"I need you to call my gynecologist."
"Why am I not surprised? What happened this time?" Tiffany asked dully, sure nothing could surprise her, or Kayla's gynecologist, at this point.
Kayla bit her lip, smashing her foot against the counter and accidentally whacking Steve's back in the process, "Oh! Sorry, honey!" She hissed when he pulled out of her, then turned her attention back to her call as he put his tongue back inside her, "I got a little something, up there- there was a-ah- there was a whipped cream incident."
Kayla heard a loud huff followed by several curses coming from Tiffany's end of the phone, "I'll text you back with what she says."
"Oh wait! I got you a date Friday night!" Kayla yelped and Steve gripped her legs tightly so she couldn't hit him in the head. "There's this really sweet guy from the VA office, the one you talked to on the phone! Set up dinner for the four of us!"
There was a pause, then Tiffany spat, "Oh, Friday? Will you to be done by then? Maybe I should make it for September."
Kayla quickly muted the phone and laid back against the counter, not even caring that her waves rested in the leftovers of Steve's pizza as he finished his good work. She clenched the counter so tightly her knuckles turned white, vaguely aware that Tiffany had hung up on her. She was too busy seeing stars.
Steve stood and smoothed her dress back down over her legs, looking down at her seriously, "Don't worry, Ma'am. I got you all fixed up. You really need to make sure you don't put foreign substances inside you though."
Kayla panted, unable to sit up as Steve casually pat her stomach. After a few moments trying to catch her breath, Kayla slurred, "I bet the Russian assassin we're sleeping with won't put dessert toppings in my vagina."
Steve licked his lips, then grabbed her hands and pulled her up so she was right against his chest. She looked up, her pupils wide as she breathed heavily against him. There was no way Steve would mess this up, he was going to spend the rest of his life with this woman, "I could put something else in, if you'd prefer?"
Kayla's chest shook as she laughed, knowing she'd need Tiffany to cancel her Thursday morning appointments, "Only if you let me finish my ice cream first."