*Keep in mind that any italics that are "underlined" are other people's thoughts. The italics that are "BOLD" are Freya's thoughts. Enjoy!*

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Turning to the voice, she comes face to face with a pair of ocean blue eyes and a warm smile. She tilts her head at the man, not used to such politeness. Glancing down, she takes note of the sketch pad in front of him. She looks up again and scans over him. He's dressed in brown slacks with matching shoes, a button up, light gray shirt with small checkered patterns and a dark brown leather jacket. His face is clean shaven and chiseled. A few small beauty marks dot it in random places. He has blonde hair that is neatly swept out of his eyes to the left. His full lips continue to smile up at her as she stands in front of his table. She finally brings her green eyes to meet his blue ones again.

"Are you sure?" she asks. "I don't wanna intrude."

"No, no. I mean yes. I mean no, you aren't intruding. Yes, I'm sure," he stutters back to her.

A soft smile forms on her face, seeing that he's being genuine. She steps over to the empty chair and takes a seat.

"Thank you, you're very kind. You don't see much of that these days," she mumbles the last part. He seems to hear her though.

"I've noticed," he states as he looks down at his sketch pad. Clearly disappointed in society.

She watches him thoughtfully. Searching his face for a tell that might give her any information about him. He looks familiar, but she can't seem to place where she's seen him. He looks up at her and slightly narrows his eyes. Seemingly in the same predicament as her. Noticing the awkward silence, he reaches a hand out to her.

"I'm Steve. It's nice to meet you."

Another smile makes its way on to Freya's face as she reaches out and takes his hand. Both of them instantly feel a jolt of electricity on contact.

"It's nice to meet you as well, I'm F-"

"Freya!" someone yells. Freya's head snaps to her left as one of the waitresses, her friend, Danielle, approaches her. "How've you been?! It's been a few weeks since I've seen you! Were you out of the country again?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. Just some work stuff. Back in town visiting family. I've been good though," Freya gives her a genuine smile. "Life's been crazy and super hectic. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. How are you?"

"Great! Just been working here and going to school still." Danielle looks away from Freya over to Steve, down to their hands that are still connected and then back to Freya. Her friendly smile turns into a shit-eating grin. Freya and Steve both look back at their hands and then meet each other's eyes. Which are now both wide with embarrassment. They quickly release hands and pull their own back into their laps. "Your usual, Freya?" Danielle asks, a smirk now on her face.

"Uh, um, yeah. Yes. Yes, please. Thank you," Freya says with an embarrassed smile.

"I'll get right on that." Danielle looks over at Steve and gestures to his cup. "Do you want a refill?"

Steve actually seems to be staring at Freya and is caught off guard. He awkwardly stutters out a response.

"Oh, uh, n-no. I'm good. Thank you."

Danielle gives a warm smile to the both of them and heads back inside. Freya watches her go, mentally cursing Danielle for embarrassing her like that. The waitress never sees her come here with any one, let alone a guy. She's definitely not going to let Freya live this one down. Freya turns back to Steve to find him watching her again. His face immediately turns a light shade of pink.

"So, Freya, huh? That's a unique name. Very pretty." Steve's eyes instantly go wide at the realization of what he said.

"Thanks, that's sweet of you to say," she smiles shyly.

"Freya, as in the Norse Goddess?"

"Um, I guess," she shrugs. "I'm not really sure. It's a long story."

Danielle walks back over with Freya's order before anything else can be said.

"Here you go, Frey."

Freya reaches out for her drink and breathes in its aroma. Dark roast coffee with a copious amount of hazelnut creamer.

"Thanks, Dany," Freya smiles.

"Of course! Let me know if you guys need anything else." Danielle quickly glances over at Steve then winks at Freya before she scurries back inside.

"I'm so gonna kill her later..." Freya groans in embarrassment.

"Huh, why?" Steve questions. She looks up from her coffee at his blue eyes. Which are giving her a questioning look at the moment.

"Oh, uh. I always come here by myself to relax and have some 'me' time. I enjoy being out here on the patio. It's nice," she explains. "Sitting here with a guy though. She's definitely gonna bug me about that later."

"Bug you about it?" he asks. "What do you mean?" His innocence surprises her and she lets out a chuckle.

"She think's we're on a date," she tells him. His eyes go wide again and his face turns an even darker shade of pink.

"O-Oh, I see. I don't mean to make things awkward or anyth-"

"Really, it's fine," she interrupts him with a small smile. "She's just a bit nosy. Dany's a really good person though. She's not one to gossip or talk. I trust her. That's why I like coming to this specific café."

She takes a sip of her coffee and lets out a content hum. He senses that she doesn't want to talk about that subject any more as she keeps sipping her coffee. So he doesn't push it. He looks back down at his sketch pad and begins to busy himself with his drawing. Freya watches him intently. The way his eyebrows furrow together when he concentrates. How his nose crinkles slightly when he's thinking. He's a very attractive man. His personality making him even more so. As her green eyes study him, he glances up to find her watching. A smile starts to pull at the corners of his mouth. It's Freya's turn to blush. She clears her throat to try and cover it.

"So, what are you drawing?" she asks. She glances down at the sketchpad, trying to decipher his work while it's upside down. He picks it up and turns it to her.

"Just the city," he replies. "The buildings and such. It's calming to me."

Freya studies his drawing, immediately noticing the talent he possesses.

"Wow, that's really good," she states as she looks up at him with a warm smile. He gives her a shy, half one.

"Thank you. It's honestly not that great, but thanks." He pauses for a second, seemingly thinking about what to say next. "So, you said you were out of the country for work and now you're back in town visiting family?"

"Uh, yeah. I actually live in DC. But I try to visit as much as I can. Work requires me to travel a lot." She should know what his next question will be, but she still freezes when he asks.

"What do you do?"

"I, uh, um. I work for the government," she blurts out before mentally smacking herself for telling him that. "What the hell just made me say that!?" she thinks to herself.

"Oh, wow. That's pretty neat. How do you like it?" he asks curiously.

"I love helping people," she smiles widely. "So I get to do what I love." For the first time since she sat down, a toothy smile forms on Steve's face. "Wow, he's gorgeous!" Freya thinks to herself. "Oh, God. Stop it! You just met him!" Freya clears her throat again and takes a sip of her coffee before continuing the conversation. "What about you? What do you do?" She notices he has the same reaction as she did when he asked her that question. His smile instantly fades.

"I, uh, kinda just got out of the army." He pauses and clears his throat. "Not really sure what I want to do next. But, I guess I feel the same way as you when it comes to helping people."

She can see the pain in his eyes. Like he's getting caught up in memories.

"Something will come up. Everything will work out, I promise," Freya smiles.

She has no idea why she feels the need to comfort and reassure him. She's a ruthless assassin for fuck's sake. But here she is, turning into a softy in front of a man she just met. The pain in his blue eyes slowly fades as they bore into her green ones. A thankful smile graces his lips.

"Thank you," he nods.

They find themselves staring at each other in comfortable silence. Trying to figure the other person out. Freya's phone suddenly dings, making both of them jump. She pulls it out of her pocket to check it, seeing a text from Coulson.

-URGENT: Report to JFK, Hangar 3.

Freya sighs and looks back up at the passing cars. Now realizing that it had gotten dark since she sat down.

"Is everything okay?"

Steve's soothing voice breaks her from her thoughts. She looks back up at him to see him staring at her with concern.

"Um, honestly, I'm not sure. Work." She holds up her phone and wiggles it. "I'm sorry to abandon you in the middle of conversation. I really wish I could stay, but I've gotta go."

She takes one last drink of her coffee and goes to stand up. Steve immediately gets to his feet and moves to pull back her chair. Freya looks up at him with furrowed eyebrows, wondering how in the world he's so polite. She instantly takes note of the height difference and fights to keep her eyes from going wide. He's easily an entire foot taller than her.

"Oh, wow. Um, thank you. You're a real gentleman, aren't you?"

Steve scratches the back of his neck. Freya instantly picks up on this as a nervous habit.

"I try to be, ma'am," he smiles shyly.

"Please, call me Freya or Frey," she grins up at him. "Ma'am makes me feel old."

Steve lets out a hearty laugh. Like there's some inside joke she doesn't get. His laugh makes shivers run down her spine, but in a good way.

"Okay, Freya," he smiles down at her.

As she looks up at him, it's like she can see the gears turning in his head. She slightly winces when she suddenly gets a minor head pain. But as soon as it appears, it's gone.

"Should I ask her to have coffee with me again? There's something different about her. I'd really like to get to know her better."

Freya's eyebrows furrow together again in confusion as she stares up at him.

"Sorry, did you say something?" she asks.

"No, I didn't," he shakes his head. He notices her face get slightly pale and her expression go from happy to worried instantly. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm good," she answers shakily. She tries to put a reassuring smile on her face as she attempts to regain her composure. But in reality, she's internally panicking. "Did I just hear his thoughts?! What the actual fuck is happening to me?!" she asks herself.

She takes a deep, calming breath as she reaches into her back pocket and pulls out a 50. Even though she knows both her coffee and his are no more than 8 combined. She hides it under the napkin holder on the table. Knowing the young waitress will know where it is.

"Oh, wait, no, no. I can't allow you to do that," Steve protests. He scrambles to pull out his wallet, but Freya puts her hand on his. He freezes at the contact and meets her eyes. She gives him a sweet smile.

"Please, let me. You allowed me to sit at your table and tolerated my company. Plus, I always leave Dany a nice tip."

"I honestly really enjoyed your company, Freya," he tells her. "Don't think otherwise. Please, let m-"

"Steve," she interrupts him. The contact from her hand is sending electricity up his arm. Freya feels the same thing, but the assassin in her keeps it well hidden. He watches her curiously as her smile grows. "It's really not a big deal. I'm more than happy to pay for it."

"If you say so..." Steve sighs as he finally caves and puts his wallet away. A smile starts to pull at the corners of his mouth. Freya lets out a small laugh.

"Thank you for the coffee. I appreciate your politeness. It's rare nowadays."

"It was my pleasure, ma-." He pauses with a chuckle and clears his throat to correct himself. "Freya." She grins at him before turning around to leave. Steve closes his eyes and takes a calming breath before calling out to her. "Freya?"

"Hm?" she turns around with a raised eyebrow.

"Would you, uh. Would you like to have coffee sometime? With me? Again?"

Steve scratches the back of his neck, his nervousness showing. Freya fights the big smile trying to form on her face. She looks around quickly and notices a pen on the table next to them where a couple of elderly men are sitting while they work on crossword puzzles. She politely leans over to them.

"Do you mind if I borrow your pen really quick, please?" she inquires.

"Anything for a pretty thing like you," a gray haired man grins up at her.

Freya lets out a loud laugh which in turn causes a giant smile to involuntarily form on Steve's face. She grabs the pen and says a quick "thank you". Turning back to their table, she grabs a napkin and writes her number down. She quickly hands the pen back to the old man and turns to Steve.

"Here." She hands him the napkin and looks up at him. "Give me a call whenever you like. Coffee again sounds great."

"I'll do that," Steve smiles down at her as he takes the napkin.

"Have a good evening, Steve," she says as she begins to walk backwards away from him. An ever present grin on her face.

"You too, Freya."

Steve returns the grin and watches her as she turns and leaves. She quickly walks inside before exiting out the front door. As soon as she does, he notices a change in her demeanor. She grabs her phone again as her face becomes serious. As she begins to speak with someone on the other line she takes off into a jog down the street that eventually leads to Stark Tower. Hoping that everything is okay with her, he begins to gather up his sketchpad and other supplies to leave.

"So, I'm guessing Freya had to go?"

Steve turns around to see the inquisitive stare of Danielle.

"Oh, uh, yeah," he nods. "She said she had a work thing. Seemed serious."

"That girl is always on the move," Danielle sighs. "Always caring more about others than herself. Sometimes I really worry about her." Steve glances down at Danielle before looking back at the way Freya went. The waitress collects the money under the napkin holder with a warm smile. "She's a great girl and deserves the best. Just know she won't ever let you down. She seems to get along with you well, which is surprising. She's normally pretty closed off toward new people. Even if you guys are just friends, be good to her. Please."

Danielle grabs their cups and looks at him one last time before walking away. Steve doesn't get the chance to reply before she walks back inside. Again, he just reverts his eyes back to the spot where Freya had run off to. He lets out a deep sigh before gathering up the rest of his things and starting his walk back to his apartment. From there, he'll most likely go to the gym. Sleeping just doesn't come easy anymore.

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"Coulson, it's Freya. What's wrong?"

"The Tesseract was taken. Barton's been compromised."

Freya's blood runs cold at the information. Causing her to break into a jog as she leaves the café. She can feel someone's eyes on her, but resists the urge to look back.

"Do you know where he is?" she asks.

"Unfortunately, no. Not yet," Coulson replies with a hint of disappointment.

"But he's alive," Freya points out.

"As far as we can tell."

Her thoughts immediately shift to Natasha.

"Where's Nat?" she asks.

"Already called her. She's on her way to recruit Doctor Banner."

"Banner? Wait, so does that mean...?"

"Yep, the initiative's been brought back."

"Wow, okay. This is huge then. Sending Nat after Banner, though. I bet she wasn't happy."

"No," he sighs. "She really wasn't. I've got your dad, though."

"Wait, what? My dad?" Freya asks in confusion. "I thought he didn't qualify."

"He didn't. But Fury says he needs him on this."

Freya nods her head in understanding. Even though Phil can't see her.

"Anyone else being called in?"

"Fury's gonna head out soon to recruit Captain Rogers."

"Wait, Captain America?"

"That would be correct."

"I'm sure you're excited about that one, huh?" she chuckles.

"Freya, just get here."

She can practically hear him grinning.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm on my way," she rolls her eyes. "Will you be there to see me off?"

"Yep," he pops the "p". "As soon as you leave I'm heading over to your dad's."

"Better you than me..." she mumbles.

"He was bound to find out what you really do for work eventually, Frey."

"I know, I just don't want him to be disappointed. He never wanted this life for me, but I just want to help people. It's what makes me happy," Freya sighs as she looks both ways before jogging across another street.

"And that's all that matters to him. Sure, he'll probably be mad at first. But he'll get over it. He loves you and only wants what's best for you. You know that. If he sees this job makes you happy, then he'll be happy for you. It's gonna be okay."

"You're right," she says as her mouth quirks up into a half smile.

"I always am. Now get your ass over here."

"Fine, fine. Want me to take a cab or fly over?" she asks. She can tell he's thinking with how silent the line is.

"Honestly, just fly over. We need you on the helicarrier ASAP for a full debrief. But be careful," he warns. "Please, don't let anyone see you this time. I really don't wanna deal with that mess again."

"Okay, fine," she laughs. "Let me find a good spot and I'll be there in a couple minutes."

"Sounds like a plan."

The line clicks as he ends the call and she puts her phone back in her pocket. Looking to her right, she notices an empty alley where she can take off from. Jogging down to the end, she pulls her phone back out and sends Natasha a quick text.

-On my way to the helicarrier. Talked to Phil. He told me where you're going - please be safe. Love you.

She hits send and pulls up her connection to JARVIS.

"Hey, J? Can you let my parents know something came up for work and I won't be home to help with getting the arc reactor online. Please?"

"Of course, Ms. Stark. The message has been sent. Your parents said they're 'bummed' you can't be there, but understand and love you very much."

"Thanks, J," she smiles warmly as she sticks her phone in her pocket once again.

"Always a pleasure, Freya," JARVIS responds cheerily before disconnecting.

Glancing down the alley, she makes sure no one's watching before she initiates flight and disappears into the night sky.