Steve

When Tony had told me about the double date I had given in with little resistance. Really, I had learned early on in our friendship not to fight Tony on certain things. A date was something I would not fight him on. Tony's taste in women was impeccable, albeit abundant. The only worry I ever had when going on a double date with Tony was whether or not I'd get ditched for Tony, like so often had happened with Bucky.

I was used to unwilling dates, but Erin Shane took the cake. The woman in a simple pair of jeans and green shirt, her long red hair tied back and the little makeup she wore was breathtaking. I wasn't used to the type of person she was however. From the moment she arrived to the moment we all left, she had a snarky biting comment.

It was a bit off putting, she had even been rude to her friend, what shocked me the most was how she treated Tony. Most women tended to treat Tony with a reverence bordering on hero worship, but Erin wasn't like that. She had made it clear that she thought Tony no more special than a bug she crushed with her shoe. I had to admit, she intrigued me, even if it was clear she wanted nothing to do with me.

Tony ditching me at the restaurant, I should have seen coming. He had a way of catching me by surprize even now. The ride to Erin's wasn't unpleasant. She wasn't nearly as mean as she had originally come off, she was just mad at being lied to about a date she had no desire to go on. I had to admit, I understood her anger.

Bucky had pulled that same stunt on me a few times, and while I had not acted like Erin, I had wanted to. Blind dates really were the worst and I could respect Erin for her anger. When she learned that I had no involvement in the date, her cold disposition dropped and for a brief second I got to see the person behind the mask. I wanted to see it again. I just wasn't sure I'd ever get a chance.

But luck was on my side. The next day in the kitchen I ran into the only person that could help me with Erin.

"Good morning Chelle." I said grabbing the coffee and pouring a cup. Chelle didn't really say anything merely took the cup I offered and landed in a seat at the table. She was a lot like Tony in the mornings before coffee. I still didn't understand the modern world's dependence on the stuff, I'd never found it all that helpful. I'd seen the difference in both Chelle and Tony after a few cups and had to admit, the stuff worked magic on the pair.

I wanted to ask Chelle about possibly setting me up with Erin again, but it was still a little too early for that. The poor girl had just woken up. Instead, I decided breakfast was as good a meal to cook as any and it would give me something to do while I waited for the zombie at my kitchen table to wake up.

By the time the eggs and toast were done and Chelle had consumed another cup of coffee, she was more awake.

"So, that date last night was...fun." I said placing a plate of food in front of her. Chelle groaned, dropping her head down to the table.

"I'm really sorry for last night. Erin is normally so much nicer. I think you'd be really good together, if she's just give it a chance." I nodded, not that Chelle could see. I wasn't sure how good we could be for each other, but I wanted to find out.

"I was hoping you'd help me with that." I said into my orange juice. Chelle looked up from the table, eyes bright with hope.

"You mean you still want to get to know her, even after her behavior last night?"

"I do." Chelle smiled.

"I know exactly what to do." The manic glint in her eye should have warned me that something not totally pleasant was coming, but I was still hopelessly bad at reading women and Chelle was one that I had found baffled me most times. I had hoped that it would be a simple meeting, but instead I found myself waiting in the shadows -in the non-creepy stalker way- at a nice restaurant waiting for the signal from Chelle. This was going to backfire. If Erin didn't hate me already, I was giving her a good reason to start.

Chelle and Erin walked in and were led to a table, a few bags hung on Erin's arm. Chelle had said she would take Erin shopping as a way to loosen her up. I wasn't sure what she meant and I chose not to ask.

Chelle excused herself to go to the bathroom, gave me the nod and doubled back and out of the restaurant. Taking a deep breath, I made my way over to Erin's table.

"Is this seat taken?" I asked. Erin was on her phone not paying attention.

"Uhhh, yeah, it umm... Sorry what?" she asked looking up from her phone. "Steve! What... I'm going to kill her!" Erin said standing.

"Hey, calm down. Hear me out before you storm off and kill the wrong person."

"The wrong... You set this up?"

"Kind of. I may have inadvertently had a hand in this one. I didn't actually know what Chelle would do when I asked about seeing you again." Erin sat back down and motioned for me to do the same.

"You have five minutes to convince me not to pour this cup of water on your head and walk out that door." At least she was nice enough to tell me what mishap would be my punishment.

"Things didn't go well last night, but I wanted to try again. I know you don't like being set up on dates, believe me, I get that. So I figured maybe this isn't a date. Maybe this is just two new friends getting to know each other."

"After the way I behaved last night, why would you want to get to know me?"

"See, I don't think that was who you really are. I think that was a show, to get Chelle off your back, to prove to Tony that you won't put up with any of his shit where your friend is concerned. Which is good, he needs that reminder. I think you are a pretty nice person, I just have to get around the prickly edges first. Its a good thing I have a shield. It cuts through hard surfaces pretty easy."

"A shield? What do you mean you have a shield?"

"Its for work." I said simply, everyone knew who Captain America was and Steve Rogers was always pushed to the sidelines.

"What do you do that requires a shield?"

"What... ummm, I work with Tony." I wasn't exactly sure how to tell someone I was Captain America. Its a little humbling to be sitting in front of someone who didn't know who I was and what I did.

"What could you possibly need a shield for at SI? Unless... Are you part of Stark's Avengers?" Stark's Avengers? I'd never heard us referred to like that.

"I'm Captain America actually."

"I don't know who that is honestly. I never pay much attention to the media where the Avengers are concerned." I sat back in my seat and let out a bark of laughter. This girl was amazing in more ways than I had imagined. For the first time in a long time, I had met someone that didn't know who I was. It was nice. Erin just shrugged.

"So, friends getting to know each other better yeah?" She asked picking up a menu and opening it.

"Yeah, just friends. Just Steve and Erin. No Tony or Chelle to drive us nuts."

"Alright, but you're paying, Cap." Erin smiled. Cap wasn't a name I was used to anyone but Tony and my team calling me but I liked the way Erin said it.

Erin

Our not date went really well. Steve was a perfect gentleman, like he had been the entire first meeting. I was much better the second time. I was still pretty annoyed with Chelle for once again tricking me. I swear, I'm never going to believe her again, but by the end of the day, I had to admit I was a bit taken with Steve.

I didn't know anything about Captain America. Finding out the guy you were walking down the street with was originally born in 1918 was a little hard to swallow, but in a world with superheroes and villains, a date with a man from another century wasn't as hard to believe. Steve sure acted like a man from another decade. He was polite and genuine and a little out of sorts when it came to the tech. Watching him play with his phone had made me laugh harder than I had in a long time.

The day ended with a trip to an ice cream shop and a guy from the 1940s kissing me on the cheek and wishing me good night. It was like something out of a dream and I had decided, I wasn't ready to wake up.

Somehow a relationship had started from a blind date from hell (mostly because I was being the devil) and a desire to always see the good in people (that was all Steve, how he saw any good in me that first meeting is beyond me). The relationship was an easy one. I had been hurt and wanted to take things slow, I had been worried that Steve wouldn't understand but he proved me wrong, he was always proving me wrong.

Our jobs prevented us from seeing each other all the time but that was ok because it meant the time we spent together was more meaningful and important. Three weeks into the relationship we had decided to stop hiding and sneaking around. The media would find out about us one way or another and it was better to just let it out. I wasn't often one for hiding away, but Steve valued his privacy and I had found I valued him, so we decided to let the media find out in their own time. I had not expected to find headlines on magazines the next day though. I knew the media worked fast, I'd just never seen it work that fast.

I put the magazine down on the table and looked up at Lynn, "I guess we'll find out if Steve and I are a match made in heaven or a recipe for disaster." Lynn huffed and stormed out of the room, the smile on my face growing.

"I think you two are adorable." I looked in the mirror of the makeup table and smiled even bigger.

"Thanks Sean, I do too."