Steve and Martha basked in the afterglow for their engagement well into the New Year and all thoughts of caution and restraint were officially left behind in 2014. They were still in agreement that neither of them was ready to bring a child into their hectic lives. Therefore, they had not forgone using protection all together, but they knew that everything happened for a reason. So if Martha were to suddenly end up pregnant, they would adjust and find a way to make things work. In the meantime, Martha was enjoying what she referred to as 'honeymoon practice' and Steve had an overabundance of artistic inspiration.

Since their return to Manhattan just after New Year's, the two of them had spent a lot of time holed up in Martha's apartment. Sooner or later, they knew their peaceful existence would be shattered either by another mission or Tish's impending move to New York to work for Stark Industries full time. So they decided to enjoy the quiet as long as they could.

Steve sat up in bed with his sketchbook in hand, capturing Martha's essence as she moved about the kitchenette wearing only his shirt from the night before. She waltzed over to the bed with two mugs, black coffee for him and tea for herself.

Martha set both cups on the nightstand before climbing into bed next to him. "Is that a new sketchbook?" she asked while reaching for her tea and taking a sip.

Steve looked up from his half-finished drawing. "Yea, I needed a new one."

"Already?" Martha leaned back against the headboard. "What happened to the one Leo and Shonara got you for Christmas?"

"It's full."

She lowered her mug a touch to speak. "It's only been a fortnight."

The corner of his mouth turned upward. "Let's just say I've been really inspired lately."

"Are they all of me?"

"I told you that you're my muse."

Martha smiled widely and set her cup aside. "Are they decent?"

"They're some of my best work."

"That's not the kind of decent I was talking about," she clarified with a slight smirk.

Steve raised a brow. "Are you asking me if I drew dirty pictures of you?"

"Not dirty," Martha protested. "It'd be an expression of your love for me and that could never be dirty." She leaned over and gave him a tender kiss. "That being said…there are some things I wouldn't want expressed in front of my mum."

Steve turned his attention back to his sketch. "Some of them aren't for your mother's eyes," he informed her coyly.

Martha kneeled behind his back and tried to peek at his sketches over his shoulder. "Are you going to show me?"

Steve held his sketchbook against his chest so she couldn't see. "If you behave."

Martha wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing herself against his back. "And if I don't?" she questioned as she nuzzled his neck from behind.

"Then I'll have something new to draw."

Martha laughed softly. "You know there are people out there that still think of you as a boy scout," she teased. "What would they say if they knew this side of you?"

Steve flipped his sketchbook closed and set it aside. "I'll never know because it's none of their business."

Martha crawled around him so that they were face to face. "Does that mean it's our little secret?"

Steve pulled Martha into his arms. "Something like that." He buried his face into the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent.

Martha slipped her arms around his neck and moaned softly. "Speaking of secrets…sooner or later we'll have to venture out into the world again," she reminded him. "And tell people about our engagement."

Steve exhaled sharply against her skin. He lifted his head to meet her eyes with a frown on his face. "Are you ready to deal with that level of invasiveness? I mean just my team alone. You know how they can be."

"Sometimes it seems as though they've got a personal stake in our relationships as well," Martha quipped. "And not just because Clint makes a lot of money betting on us."

"Maybe because people in our position don't often get their happy endings," Steve replied with a heavy sigh.

Martha cupped his face between her hands. "Which is why we have to make the most of the time we're given, love." She placed a tender kiss on his lips and he responded by pulling her body flush against his and deepening their kiss.

"We're not leaving the apartment today, are we?" he asked once they broke for air.

Martha leaned into him as he fell back against the mattress. "Hadn't planned on it."

Steve pulled her down on top of him and resumed nuzzling her neck. "Good thing I have a few pages left in my sketchbook."

The next month or so saw a flurry of activity. For starters, Tish made the move to Manhattan from London. In addition to a hefty salary, her position in Stark Industries PR department afforded her a two bedroom apartment inside the luxurious Continental in Midtown.

"Bloody hell," Martha marveled with wide eyes as she and Steve helped move Tish into her new accommodations. "I can fit my entire flat in here."

"I've got a spare room," Tish reminded her sister while depositing a box on her sofa. "You still can move it with me if you like. There's no sense in both of us having to pay rent and you'd be a lot closer to the Tower," she reasoned.

"Walking distance," Steve agreed. He still enjoyed the privacy of Martha's place in Murray Hill, but the two halves of his life seemed to be overlapping more and more with each passing day. So having Martha and the Avengers within in a mile of each other could potentially be a much needed convenience.

"Plus the security is better," Tish added.

"Why would I be worried about that?" Martha countered. "My neighborhood is safe and the only people in New York who find me interesting are in this room," she joked.

"Well that's half true," Tish retorted as she pulled her phone from her pocket and did a quick search. "The media has been talking about you nonstop since the news of your engagement broke."

Martha frowned. "What?" She grabbed the phone from Tish. "One of America's oldest and most eligible bachelors is reportedly off the market as rumors have surfaced that, Captain America himself, Steve Rogers has apparently proposed to a British physician by the name of Martha Jones," she read aloud. "Rogers and the London born beauty have been seen together around town for several months in addition to sightings in London and Washington D.C. No official word has been given of the validity of these rumors or to which Avenger could potentially serve of the living legend's best man."

"Why do people even care about this?" Steve questioned. "They don't even know us."

"Like it or not, you're a celebrity. Even if they don't know you, people feel like they do and they're invested in your personal lives. Sometimes too invested."

"This Martha chick is kinda pretty I guess but she's no Black Widow. If I was Cap I'd be hittin' that six ways to Sunday," Martha added, reading the comments below the article.

"What?" Steve scoffed. "That's ridiculous."

"Of course it is." Tish nodded. "You and Natasha would never work romantically in a billion years. She and Clint work well together because they both live in the grey. You're far too sanctimonious to accept her baggage in the long-term," she commented matter-of-factly. Steve's mouth formed a straight line. "No offense," she added quickly. "I mean from a PR standpoint, the virtuous thing works for your image."

"Living legend my ass," Martha chimed in with another comment. "Who the hell does this bozo think he is? He's prancing around using the name Captain America but Americans aren't good enough for the likes of this asshole? What a fucking disgrace! I don't want to live in world where a so called American icon would choose a dog like that over a pure, red blooded American woman…"

Steve clinched his jaw. "Stop reading."

"Why doesn't he just take that ugly black bitch and move to England with the other pansies and save the stars and stripes for a REAL patriot," Martha finished in a quiet voice.

Steve snatched the phone from her grasp and he probably would have smashed it if Tish hadn't wrestled it away from him. "Rule number one to life in the spotlight, never read the rubbish people say about you online," Tish advised gently.

Steve descended on Martha quickly, taking her by the shoulders and staring her in the eyes. "Martha…none of trash means a thing," he insisted. His hands moved to her face, cupping her cheeks between his palms. "Their opinions mean nothing. You hear me? Nothing."

Martha scoffed softly and covered his hands with her own. "You're not the first white man I've dated. Tom and I got a few dirty looks back when we were engaged and I've told you all about being stuck in 1913 with the Doctor. Granted, the criticisms are a bit more vitriolic on this side of the pond, but either way…" She shrugged. "I've got a thick skin."

"Yea, you build one up pretty early on in life in our world," Tish said bitterly. She seemed quieter than usual and, perhaps, a bit angrier than Steve was used to seeing.

"You're perfect," Steve insisted to Martha. "There's no one else I could ever want."

Martha nodded. "I know."

"And I think Tish might be right about you moving in here," he added a moment later. "At least until we get a place of our own."

Martha pulled away rolling her eyes. "Why? Because a doorman and a neighborhood full of Avengers is going to protect me from the racists and xenophobes of the world?" She scoffed and began unpacking boxes. "I'm not a bloody damsel. I don't need saving."

Steve sighed heavily. "I know that." He moved over to her and hugged her from behind. "Doesn't mean I'm not allowed to want to keep you safe," he reasoned.

"It's just words," Martha countered.

"To paraphrase the great Samantha Jones…if she worries about what every bitch in New York says about her, she'd never leave the house," Tish commented.

Steve glanced in her direction. "Samantha Jones?"

Tish stared at him in disbelief. "You don't know who Samantha Jones is?"

Steve shook his head. "Is she related to you?"

"Seriously?!" Steve shrugged and Martha chuckled softly in his arms. "Samantha Jones," Tish repeated. "Kim Cattrall's character on Sex and the City? PR maven and fictional icon of the sex-positive movement? She's only the person I've modeled my entire life after." When Steve still didn't show any signs of recognition, Tish let out an exasperated sigh. "I swear sometimes talking to you is like have a chat with someone's bloody grandad." She turned her attention to her little sister. "I have HBO Go on my tablet and the entire series is in my watch list. Please educate your man." She glanced at Steve. "Maybe he'll even learn clever trick or two in process."

Steve and Martha continued to help Tish organize into her apartment, but Martha had put a halt to any further discussion on the subject of moving. Despite the impasse, Steve was determined to make his case whenever the opportunity presented itself again. At the very least, he was able to convince her to spend a few days with him at his apartment within the Tower. Of course whenever the Avengers were involved, privacy was hard to come by.

The other five Avengers had already gathered together in Tony's penthouse when Steve and Martha arrived. "There's the happy couple," Tony greeted them with a wide grin. "I'm surprised you even showed up. We figured you'd be trying to get a jump start on the honeymoon."

"Have you ever spent time alone with the two of them?" Clint questioned from his position on the couch. "They exist in the honeymoon phase." He looked at Natasha, who was sipping a beer to his right. "Remember that time you broke my nose to get those two numbskulls together?"

"It wasn't an actual break," Natasha reminded him.

"Point is," Clint continued. "I'm there bleeding out…"

Natasha rolled her eyes. "So dramatic," she muttered.

"And there the two of them were standing over me having enough eye sex to impregnate the whole medical tent," he teased. "Have the two of you ever even had a fight before?"

Steve glanced at Martha. It was true that they had never had any serious arguments, but there had been more than a few heated discussions, all of which ended up being resolved relatively quickly and rather passionately.

Tony filled a glass with ice and poured scotch over it. "What are they going to fight about? Who's the prettiest?"

"Tough choice," Clint said, appraising Steve and Martha in equal measure. "Cap does have that classical aesthetic going for him."

Natasha nodded. "Strong jaw."

"He possesses the build of a great warrior," Thor praised with a huge smile and raised the flask he usually kept filled with Asgardian liquor.

"He's an all American dreamboat," Tony said. "But don't count my girl here out." He passed the glass he had just filled to Martha while Steve fetched a beer for himself. "Everybody knows that dark hair and brown eyes is a winning combination." He winked at her and Martha stifled a laugh.

"She does have a beautiful smile," Bruce commented.

"With the grace and benevolence of a Midgard based goddess," Thor added with a nod in Martha's direction.

Natasha tilted her head to one side and rested her beer bottle on Clint's knee as she studied Martha. "And she could probably kill a man with those thighs."

"But what a way to go," Tony and Clint said in unison.

"If you lot keep singing my praises I might be tempted to marry you all," Martha joked.

"Polyamory is a valid life choice," Clint retorted.

"You and Jane would get along very well," Thor insisted.

Tony drew a breath in through his teeth. "Pepper would kill you," Natasha told him.

Tony nodded. "Yep," he confirmed into his own glass of scotch.

"So have you picked your best man?" Clint asked Steve.

"Nope," Tony answered confidently. "But when you do make your big announcement, just give me some notice. I might want to get a new suit made beforehand."

Clint scoffed. "What makes you think he'd pick you?"

Tony responded with a scoff of his own. "Like he'd pick you instead?"

Natasha looked back and forth between the two of them. "There's a better chance of him picking me than either of you."

"I'm not sure if you're what Tish had in mind to escort her down the aisle," Steve shot back playfully.

Bruce cleared his throat gently and removed his glasses. "Isn't she back in town?" he asked casually as he cleaned his lenses with a handkerchief.

Martha smiled warmly at him. "She's just moved into the Continental. Shall send her your regards?"

"Uh…no." Bruce put his glasses back on. "No need."

"I think she'd be happy to hear from you," Natasha insisted. Steve noticed that glint she got in her eyes whenever was in one of her matchmaking moods.

"Perhaps you both should battle Banner for the honor," Thor suggested to Tony and Clint.

Clint looked at Bruce suspiciously. "Is he allowed to Hulk out?"

"I'm not interested," Bruce said quickly.

"Well I hate to break it to you all, but I already have someone in mind and he's not in the room," Steve informed them, effectively ending the conversation.

Later when he and Martha had retired to his apartment, she cornered him in the bedroom. "Bucky or Sam?" she asked, while undoing the buttons on his shirt for him.

"Hmm?"

"The best man you had in mind," she clarified.

Steve sighed heavily and untucked his shirt. "Bucky is…" He shook his head.

"Still your best mate," she finished for him. She took a step back and turned around so he could unzip her dress.

Steve shrugged his shirt off. "Sam is my best friend too."

"But…" she pressed while stepping out of her dress and removing her bra. Steve passed his shirt over to her and she slipped it on over her underwear.

"I've known Bucky my whole life," he answered with a shrug as he took a seat on the edge of the bed. "I suppose I…"

Martha sat next to him. "Always pictured him standing up for you?" she guessed.

"More like the other way around."

Martha wrapped both her arms around one of his and leaned her chin against his shoulder. "We don't have to get married right away, you know. I mean between my work and yours and working out the logistics with all of that and my family and friends in London…" She shrugged. "It could take a while for us to sort it all. Maybe even time enough for Bucky to come back to us."

Steve looked at her. "Back to us?"

Martha smiled with love in her eyes. "We're a team, aren't we? I told you that everything that's important to you is important to me. Bucky included."

Steve slipped his hand behind her neck and kissed her deeply. "Tomorrow is Valentine's Day," he reminded her with lips still close to hers. "What do you say we go back to your place and escape from the world for a bit?"

Martha laughed softly. "On one condition."

Steve nodded. "Name it."

Martha pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "Help me pack up my flat?"

"You're going to move in with Tish?"

"I was thinking that maybe we should move in together," she told him. "Not because of those awful things on the internet," she added before he could comment. "I mean we broached the topic before back in D.C. and once we're married will be living together anyway, yea? So even if we don't get married right away, we can still start building our life together."

Steve leaned his forehead against hers and stroked her cheek. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

Martha nodded. "You and me. Us against the world."

"Us against the world." Steve laughed as Martha pulled him into another deep kiss. They pulled apart long enough for him to strip out of his pants and join her in bed. "So that's how you want to spend our Valentine's Day? Packing up your apartment?"

"No," Martha told him with a wicked grin as she snuggled up to him under the covers. "I was thinking we take my sister's suggestion and binge watch Sex and the City."

"Do I really need that much help?" he joked.

"Not in the slightest," Martha assured him. "But maybe we can spark some new inspiration."

"In that case, maybe we should stop off and buy another sketchbook on our way to your place," Steve suggested as he nuzzled her neck.