Here's another chapter for your reading pleasure. Enjoy. Thanks for reading.

Cap. A POV

It had taken a week and a half, but our mission had been a success. The entire team came back with relatively few injuries and, just as we did in the battle against the alien army in New York, we worked almost flawlessly as a team.

We had returned to the tower an hour ago and I had immediately showered and shaved and was currently sitting at my desk, looking at my cell phone and the piece of paper with Alex's number on it.

It was only 7PM, so I still had plenty of time to call her and make plans to meet her tomorrow morning for coffee, but I was nervous. I was successful in blocking out my personal insecurities while on the mission, but now that I was home, they seemed to come flooding back to me in a rush.

The big question was, what did I have to be nervous about? I was just calling to let her know I was back. It wasn't like I was calling to ask her out, or anything of that nature.

I reached out and entered her number into my contacts, then hit call. I waited two rings before the phone was answered.

"Hello?" came a familiar voice.

"Alex?, it's Steve." I was smiling like a fool again. It made me wonder if she could tell from my voice.

"Hey, you're home. It must have been one hell of a business trip. You've been gone the better part of two weeks."

"Yes, it was a long week and a half, but it was a successful trip. Definitely worth the time. How are you?"

"Well enough. My mornings have been disappointing, but other than that, things are good."

"Good, I'm glad. So, obviously, I'm back home. Will you be available for coffee tomorrow morning?"

"I will indeed. Looking forward to it."

"Well then, I'll talk to you tomorrow." I said, trying to close out the conversation. I was not much for talking on the phone. If things had the possibility of progressing in our relationship, I wanted them to progress face to face, not with technology.

"Talk to you tomorrow, then."

"Tomorrow." I agreed. We hung up and I leaned back in my chair, replacing my phone on the desk. I still had the goofy grin on my face.

I heard a knock on my bedroom door and got up to find Natasha, also freshly showered, standing on the other side. Though we all lived on our own floors, most of them consisted of a public half and a more private half. This made it possible for us to visit each other on our respective floors without invading privacy.

"So, did you call her?"

I chuckled, shaking my head in slight disbelief and opened my door fully for her to come in. "Really? We just get back from a mission and you have nothing else on your mind and nothing better to do then make sure I call Alex?"

She shrugged, crossing past me to lean against my desk. I returned to my seat and waited. She obviously had something to say.

"I care about you and I like to see you happy. And you've been spectacularly happy since you met Alex. Even Bruce noticed and you know how he can be when he's got science on the brain, which is most of the time. In fact, he was the one who pointed it out to me and prompted us to follow you to the cafe." She took my hands, giving them a gentle squeeze. "You deserve to be happy, Steve. You are allowed to have a life outside of SHIELD and this team. Just look at Tony with Pepper or even Thor with Jane. It might be difficult, but could be worth it."

"I like Alex, but I just don't know, Nat." The stupid grin returned to my face.

Natasha's eyes widened.

"Fine, I really like Alex. Calling her was the first thing I did once I was cleaned up from the mission. I don't know. We live very dangerous and secretive lives. Pepper and Jane both knew what they were getting into. This poor woman doesn't even know who I am. She thinks I'm some kind of businessman."

Natasha took back her hands, placing them on my shoulders. "I'm not saying you have to marry the girl. Just get to know her. Bring her into your life and let her decide if she can handle who you are. You need a friend outside of the team. And who knows, maybe she can help you out in certain ways. I'm sure you have to be...how do I say it delicately...pent up, if you take my meaning."

I sighed, leaning my head against the back of my chair. "You had to go there, didn't you?"

She took a few steps back, returning to leaning against the desk. She crossed her arms over her chest. "I think it needed to be said. Just think about it, that's all I ask." She gave me a kiss on the cheek and left the room, closing my door behind her.

I hated to say it, but Natasha had a point. As much as I hated to endanger someone by bringing them into the Avengers fold, I longed to get to know Alex better. It was true, the woman made me happy. For the first time, I stopped feeling like a man out of time. I sighed again, turning out my bedroom light and crawled into bed, suddenly exhausted. It was early to go the bed, but I needed time to think and figured if it looked like I was asleep, I wouldn't have anymore surprise visitors.

I was up thinking for several hours. I think the only reason I finally fell asleep was from pure exhaustion.

To Be Continued...