Steve parked up outside the restaurant and quickly hopped out the car so that he could open Ashley's door for her. "Thank you, kind sir," she smiled, getting out and shuffling to the side. She grabbed onto Steve's arm once more as they entered the beautiful venue, was shown to their reserved table, and then settled themselves in the comfortable chairs. The waiter swiftly approached them with two leather bound menus and a little welcoming nod. "Can I get you guys something to drink?" he offered brightly.

"Ah…just a glass of lemon water and ice for me, please," Steve nodded back at him. The waiter turned to Ashley, who was staring at Steve with her mouth hanging open. "What?" he chuckled.

"You're gonna make me feel bad for ordering alcohol," she huffed accusatorially, quickly scanning the menu for another alternative.

"What? You can order whatever you want, Ashley," Steve smirked.

"Nope! I'll have a lemon water too, please," Ashley smiled up at the patiently waiting waiter.

"Very good," the waiter nodded before speeding off. Steve shook his head as he cracked open the food menu instead.

"Ashley, you really didn't have to match my order," he assured her, trying not to burst out laughing.

"I'm not getting drunk on this date if you're not drinking too," Ashley replied quickly with her eyes on her own menu. "I point blank refuse to embarrass myself like that in front of you. Above all, Christie would kill me."

"Hey, I'm glad you guys are on good terms again," Steve smiled genuinely. "With how dark the world has become recently - family is more important than it's ever, you know?"

"It really is," Ashley sighed back in agreement. It was weird - Christie was her family, but then so were the X Men. So if that rule applied one, why couldn't it be applied for the other? What was this feeling creeping up on her? Was it guilt?

She didn't know - but she didn't like it.

She quickly shook the thoughts from her head and turned her attention back to the menu, but soon found herself distracted again as she distantly heard Steve humming to himself. The song was easily recognisable - given that it was the same song that they had just heard. "Stuck in your head now, huh?" Ashley giggled at him. Steve glanced up and laughed as a sweet little blush grew on his sculpted cheeks.

"I'm sorry," he admitted amusedly, raising his hands in defeat. "It's a bit of a hit."

"You should listen to their 'Feel Good' album. You'd like it," Ashley suggested. Steve raised an eyebrow and pulled a little leather-bound notebook from his back pocket, quickly yanked out a little pencil from the binder and scribbled something down. Ashley blinked her deep green orbs at him. "What's that?" she asked curiously, craning her neck to see.

"It's…it's a list of things I need to catch up on from the last 70 years," Steve explained with a small, slightly shy smile. "I haven't experienced a lot and I've missed three times as much."

"Awww," Ashley giggled. "That is SO cute! Can I see the list?" Steve didn't look too sure.

"I mean, it's nothing huge-" he started off, gripping onto his book tightly.

"Oh come on, Steve! Please? I won't laugh, I swear," she assured him, pressing her hands together in a praying fashion and wobbling her large eyes. To her surprise, Steve's shoulders dropped almost instantly and he reluctantly handed it over to her, already blushing like crazy.

"Alright. Here." Ashley gave him a dazzling smile of appreciation and took the book from him, her eyes scanning over the little list.

"'I Love Lucy', 'moon landings'…'Steve Jobs' - oh you're gonna LOVE him…and…wait, 'Thai food'?" she looked back up at him with her lips slightly parted. Steve blinked back at her, unsure of why she'd suddenly stop.

"What?"

"You've never had Thai food before?" Ashley gasped, closing the book again. Steve shook his head with an obvious frown. "And…and you chose me to experience it with for the first time?"

"Yeah," Steve shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. He was still failing to see the point, but his innocence and nonchalance just made Ashley feel even gooier. It took a lot for her to feel this way towards any man, but Steve?

He had her wrapped around his finger.

"Nah Steve, that is soooo sweet," she huffed as she passed the book back over to him. "I'm so honoured to be here for your first time…like I seriously am." Steve shot her a pleased smile as he slipped the book back into his pocket.

"Well…thank you for agreeing to come," he nodded back to her. "I was pretty happy about it…even though I couldn't get the words out properly." Ashley giggled shyly and shook her head. "I get pretty nervous around you…if you haven't noticed."

"Oh, I've noticed," Ashley giggled back. "Honestly, I feel the same way - I just hide it better. Unless…unless I haven't…"

"Well you were pretty upfront about the fact that you were attracted to me from the first time you washed your sheets," Steve told her with a little wince, causing Ashley to let out an embarrassed groan. "But I never acted upon it because I'm just not that kinda guy. I take things…pretty slow. And those other guys hate it."

"You really do," Ashley enthused with a nod. "But…why?" Steve opened his mouth to answer, but the waiter breezed back over to them with his own notepad poised.

"Are you ready to order now or would you like a few more minutes?" he offered up kindly. Steve glanced across at Ashley expectantly.

"Oh! You're ready?" she blinked.

"I've never had Thai food before, remember? So I'm getting whatever you're getting," he reminded her with a light wink. Ashley's entire body nearly melted completely there and then, but she just about held herself together.

He really had no idea what he did to her.

"Right! Can we get two Pad Thai's with prawns, please…with a side of Thai-style pan fried chicken pieces and sweet chilli dips?" she beamed up at the waiter, battering her long lashes at him with a smile.

"Very good! I'll throw in some spicy spring rolls too - I think they're on the house," the waiter nodded as well.

"Lovely, thank you so much," Ashley grinned at him as he left. Once he'd gone, she let out a small sigh and turned to Steve again - but she quickly realised that he was staring directly at her as if he was daydreaming. His eyes were fixated. "Earth to Stevie boy!" Ashley finally trilled, lifting her glass to her glossy lips.

"Sorry! Sorry," he murmured - but he still hadn't fully broken his gaze yet. "You're just…you're beautiful, Ashley."

"Oh Steve, stop it!" Ashley gasped back jokingly, placing her glass back down with slightly trembling hands. Those were the very words that she always wanted to hear him say, but now that he actually had, she found herself flustered. She was usually one for slick comebacks, but this time she had absolutely no idea what to say back under Steve's soft gaze. "Steve! You're making me blush, dude - stoppppp!"

"I'll stop, I'm sorry," Steve chuckled, finally breaking eye contact again. "Natasha would kill me if she saw my attempts at flirting."

"Your 'attempts' are good, Steve. Trust me - they work very well," Ashley assured him as she playfully fanned herself. "You are honestly something else."

"As are you," Steve nodded back in a gentlemanly manner.

"Mhm. So tell me," Ashley started off, getting a little comfier in her chair. "Did you have a special lady before the ice?" Steve cleared his throat again and focussed a little harder on the tablecloth.

"I…I did. Kind of, yeah," he answered quietly. Ashley cocked her head to the side and stayed quiet so that he could continue, but Steve couldn't seem to get the right words out. "She was…yeah. I did."

"She's gotta be a little older now, right?" Ashley asked tentatively.

"Yeah," Steve grimaced at the thought of Peggy. "In her 90s, married, in a nursing home and I'm pretty sure that she has dementia." Ashley gasped with her hand clamped over her mouth. She wasn't expecting that, and now she felt incredibly guilty for even asking in the first place.

"I'm so sorry, Steve," she gave a muffled murmur back. "That's gotta…hurt."

"It does. I still visit her," Steve admitted, chewing on the inside of his cheek. "But I can't dwell on that, as much as I've tried. I'd never move on if I did." Ashley nodded in understanding, although she was now becoming a little uncomfortable.

"D'ya think that's why you weren't ready to find a girlfriend? You know, when Natasha was trying to set you up?" she felt herself asking, even though her mind was against it.

Steve thought for a moment before finally shaking his head.

"No," he sighed, "I really am too busy." Ashley let out a relieved laugh again, feeling herself relax once more and he started to perk up too - just in time for the gorgeous food to appear on a large black tray. He placed the plates down with all the sides and little dishes of sweet chilli sauces, before bowing his head and sweeping away again. Steve stared at the food in awe, unsure of where to begin, whilst Ashley simply grabbed her fork and got straight to it. As she did so, she noticed Steve mutter something under his breath with his eyes closed.

"Are you…are you saying grace?" she whispered loudly. Steve finished murmuring and cracked an eye open again

"Sorry. Force of habit," he grimaced as he picked up his fork as well.

"Bless you," Ashley cooed sweetly. "You're honestly too cute."

"Is being 'cute' a…uh….good thing?" Steve frowned playfully, twirling his Pad Thai onto his fork.

"Yes, of course it is," Ashley rolled her eyes before taking a bite herself. She let out a small moan of appreciation and threw her head back as the flavours burst onto her tastebuds. "Oh my godd! I loveeee Thai food!" Steve took a bite of his own and chewed a few times, his eyebrows knitting together as he experienced the brand new flavours for the first time.

"Wow," he breathed once it was swallowed. "That is…like nothing I have ever tasted before."

"Right?!" Ashley gasped excitedly, genuinely happy for him.

"It's a little spicy, though," Steve panted as he reached across for his glass to take a gulp of his water. Ashley frowned, cocking her head to the side in confusion whilst twirling some more noodles.

"No, it's not," she blinked.

"Yes it is, Ashley," Steve chuckled back, unsure of whether she was joking around or not. Ashley laughed as well, in total disbelief of his words.

"Steve, you're lying," she tutted knowingly. "It's either that or you really can't handle your spice."

"Oh?" Steve spluttered back, heaping his fork with a good helping and leading it towards her lips. "Try some!"

"Fine!" Ashley raised her eyebrow sceptically and leaned forward. Steve placed the forkful directly into her mouth, his eyes focussed firmly on her lips. Ashley took it and scraped her teeth against the fork as she pulled her head back, chewing intently whilst focussing on his face. Steve watched her chew with the fork still hovering in mid air, his eyes darting from her lips to her unblinking orbs and back again. He felt his tongue involuntarily and ever so slightly run across his bottom lip at the pure sight of her. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her then and there - but was it too soon?

Either way, he swiftly snapped himself out of it, bringing his fork back down and leaning back in his chair properly. Ashley did the same, smiling to herself but lifting her glass to her lips so that she didn't make it too obvious. "See? Not spicy," she finally spoke after a few tense seconds of silence.

Steve's head snapped back up.

"Huh?"

"Damn, Steve. Have I really got you in that much of a trance?" Ashley couldn't help but giggle cheekily. Steve just bit back a smile and focussed on his meal, leaving her to shake her head. "Ugh, why won't you just marry me tonight, and we can wrap this whole thing up now?" Her words immediately caused Steve to choke on one of the sweet chilli spring rolls, making Ashley laugh even harder.

"Woah, you just skipped straight to the finale, huh? No beginning or middle?" Steve spluttered, grabbing a napkin to dab the corners of his mouth. Ashley giggled to herself, holding those words as close to her heart as she could.

So there was an end in sight? Very telling.

Before she could even continue her inquiry, Steve's little S..H.I.E.L.D device went off, rudely interrupting the sweet atmosphere. Steve answered it up with a frown and held it against his ear whilst mouthing a polite 'excuse me'. "Yeah?"

"Cap," came Agent Hill's voice down the line. "You're at the new Koh Thai place, right?"

"I am," Steve confirmed with a frown. "Why, what's going on?"

"Just gonna go to bathroom," Ashley whispered, standing up and excusing herself. Steve nodded at her as Agent Hill went on.

"Intelligence have confirmed that here are HYDRA guys somewhere close and…we think they're there for Ashley," Agent Hill blurted out in a panic. Steve's eyes went wide and he clenched his jaw, attempting to keep cool.

"How do you know?" he muttered back.

"Intelligence from old S.H.I.E.L.D disguised HYDRA agents - Natasha managed to get it out of them, it really didn't take long," Agent Hill explained in a rush. "But we need you both to get outta there. We have a small team on standby if they try and do anything to her but-" Steve surveyed the restaurant as Agent Hill spoke, determined to try and place anyone that looked the slightest bit suspicious. His eyes quickly fell on two men sitting a few tables away, one of them focussed on his phone and the other one looked a little more restless, briefly catching Steve's eye.

"I've got 'em," Steve murmured, staring the guy out fearlessly.

"Don't bother taking them down yet Cap, just get Ashley the hell outta there," Agent Hill urged him.

"Ashley's not even- oh god," Steve began, suddenly leaping straight to his feet. But before he could finish, he noticed one of the HYDRA men slowly begin to stand up as well, as if he was going to the bathroom.

The bathroom.

Ashley had finished peeing and was casually checking her reflection in the gold framed bathroom mirror, fluffing her hair out. "You're killing it, Ash," she hummed to herself moments before another woman strode into the room and shot her a small smile. Ashley smiled back at her as she continued to fix herself up when suddenly, the unexpected happened.

In a quick flash, the woman had hooked her arm over Ashley's neck to restrict her, and injected something straight into her collarbone, causing her to gasp, stagger and struggle for a few moments before eventually going limp.

"Target neutralised," the woman murmured into her lapel, dragging Ashley's barely conscious body into the hallway where two more agents were already awaiting her. Ashley could barely keep her eyes open - her head was lolling back and her entire body felt numb. She couldn't even see properly because everything was blurry and it was making her panic, because she knew she was in trouble but had no idea what it was. And, to make things worse, she had been placed on a stretcher and two men dressed as paramedics were lifting her straight out, both of them with masks on to cover their faces. She knew they weren't paramedics - but there was nothing she could do about it as she felt herself get carried out of the bathroom and down the back dark hallways of the kitchens. Using all her might, she attempted to click a fireball or something, anything into her hands.

But it wasn't working.

"P-please," she managed to whisper weakly, as her breathing started to slow down. "W-wh-" As she attempted to splutter her words out, the stretcher she was on suddenly fell straight onto the floor and she landed with a painful 'CLUNK!' She distantly heard a kerfuffle begin to ensue around her, the sounds almost overwhelming to her senses - grunts, punches and kicks being delivered every few seconds. All she saw was the wooden hallway floor beneath her whilst the faint scent of lemon and lime floor disinfectant overwhelmed her nostrils. Then within a few short moments - everything went deadly silent.

She couldn't hear anything.

Had her hearing gone? Or was there nothing going on?

"Ash?" she heard someone pant as she suddenly felt herself being scooped off the ground and into someone's strong arms. She already knew it was Steve without even opening her eyes. "It's alright Ash, it's alright - I got you, just stay with me, okay?" Her head was lolling over his forearm as she felt them both lurch forward. He was running, and she didn't know where to - she still couldn't see. But she was certainly started to feel weaker. Something was happening. She was starting not to feel like herself and her heartbeat continued to get slower.

No. Not here.

"S-S-St-e…eve," she panted out lazily, trying her hardest to force her eyelids open.

"Ash, don't speak," he told her firmly, still running ahead with her draped over his arms, "I'm gonna get you outta here, just hang on for me honey, alright?"

"Th-they p-put….s-s-somethin' in m-me," Ashley breathed hoarsely as she desperately clutched onto his top.

"They put something in you? What did they put in you Ash?" Steve suddenly asked, coming to an abrupt halt and looking down at her worriedly. She looked so drawn out and pale - almost dead.

"Y-you n..n…ne..eed to get m-me out. G-g-get me o-o-outside, please," Ashley begged as clearly as she could, her voice beginning to crack.

"Ashley, you're not making sense…what's going on?" Steve asked her loudly as he booted the fire exit door open with his foot.

"O-outside…j-just drop m-me t-to the fl-floor," Ashley spluttered with a gasp. Then she fell limp. Properly this time, eyes fluttered close and everything. Steve tried not to panic at just how doll-like she had suddenly become in his grip. He didn't even have a chance to to check whether or not her heart was still beating - he just stepped straight through the fire exit into the outdoors, where the night air was cool but slightly bitter. He did as Ashley told him to and placed her onto the cold ground, before spinning around to see a number of HYDRA agents behind him, their guns at the ready.

"Rogers," came one of their voices, a familiar one at that. It must've been an ex 'S.H.I.E.L.D worker'. "Stand back and let us take her. We're not gonna hurt her-"

"Not a chance in hell," Steve told them firmly, standing directly in front of Ashley's crumpled body.

"We have no problem terminating you too," the agent warned him, raising his gun a little higher. But before anything else could take place, there was a sudden breeze, coating every single one of them like a thick blanket. Steve looked into the sky, confused as to where it was coming from on a dry night, but when he glanced behind him, he understood. Ashley was no longer on the floor - not only was she standing up, but more importantly, she was levitating. Her eyes were unfocussed and the slowly gathering wind around her began to slowly destroy the tin bins and rubbish bags nearby.

That was when Steve understood why she told him what to do, and he could only watch on as the fire from her palms began to engulf her entire body, and the wind slowly spun itself into a slowly growing tornado at her feet. He backed up back through the fire escape door to use it as a shield, whilst the braindead agents still attempted to shoot her down. But their bullets only deflected - and the fireball pelting rocks started to fly out from her fingertips instead, hitting each and every one of them. Passersby were starting to panic, unsure of what was happening as they fled from the restaurant, as far away from the scene as they could. A few others had pulled out their phones and stood their ground even though the wind was getting worse, determined to catch this on camera.

Many of them were in awe.

Now that the HYDRA agents were neutralised, Steve took this as his opportunity to attempt to get closer to Ashley, determined to snap her out of it.

"Ashley!" he shouted, slowly stepping from behind the fire exit door. Clearly it wasn't loud enough, so he tried again. "ASH! IT'S STEVE, IT'S OKAY. YOU'RE OKAY!" he bellowed as loudly as he could. Ashley's expressionless flaming face turned in his direction and something flickered in her eyes, suddenly bringing her back to reality.

"Steve?" she murmured quietly before the wind and fire came to a sudden halt and her body was almost flung back onto the ground again. Steve rushed over to her as soon as he could, collapsing onto his knees and lifting her up by her torso as her eyes suddenly flew open in a panic. She was panting harshly, her legs were thrashing about and she was clawing at her own throat, as if she had just woken up from one of her violent dreams again, squirming about uncontrollably.

"Sssh! Ash, it's okay," Steve hushed her as he held her struggling body close to his, pressing a small kiss to the top of her feverish forehead. Ashley gradually remembered who Steve was and stopped the struggling, turning her panicked sharp breaths into shaky tears instead. "It's okay honey, just breathe-"

"What happened?" Ashley managed to thickly choke out, noticing that her upper torso had started to regain feeling but her legs were still wobbly. There were still people staring at her from a few paces away.

"HYDRA tried to come for you, but you're all good now. I promise. We're gonna take you somewhere safe," Steve assured her quietly.

It was a good thing that Ashley was in this arms, as within the next few seconds - she'd passed out from exhaustion yet again.