Nikita woke in pain, which was nothing new. Someone was laying behind her, strong arms wrapped around her, and that was something new. Before she could do more than stiffen a wave of reassurance came through the bond and she remembered where she was and who those arms belonged to, who she now belonged to.

Steve knew the moment Nikita woke up, sensing her pain and confusion. He sent reassurance through the bond to calm her. "Good Morning," he said planting a small kiss to her temple. "Stay still, I'll get your medication." Steve got out of bed, careful not to jostle her and headed into the bathroom. He smiled to himself as he filled a glass with water. She had woken with pain and confusion yes, but there had been no fear. It was all the encouragement he needed to put the first part of his plan into action.

He returned to the bedroom, helped Nikita sit up, gave her a pain pill and antibiotic and held the glass for her to drink. When she was done he put the glass on the night stand. "Stay there and let the meds kick in, I'll take the first shower," Steve said as he headed back into the bathroom.

Steve returned from the bathroom a short while later, wearing only a towel. Nikita tried not to stare, but he was beautiful. Steve hid a small smile as he got dressed. Then he helped Nikita to get out of bed. She was still a little stiff, but the pain medication had already taken the edge off. The medicine made her a little fuzzy, but after a very good night's rest, it didn't make her more than a little drowsy. Steve steadied her on her feet, "Shower's all yours. Are you okay or do you need help?"

"I can do it," she replied. Steve let her go and watched as she headed towards the bathroom.

"Keep the door open and call for me if you need anything," he ordered.

Nikita carefully stepped into the shower, still a little unsteady on her feet. She spent a few long moments just standing under the spray of hot water, gathering her thoughts. She was still apprehensive, but so far nothing had happened that she couldn't handle. She figured that part of her acceptance of this new situation was due to the pain medicine she had been on since waking up at the Avengers Initiative, but she couldn't deny that most of the reason she wasn't completely freaking out was how careful the Captain was being with her. Thinking of her Dom, she was reminded that he was waiting for her in the other room. Nikita finished washing up before shutting off the water and gingerly stepping onto the plush bath mat. She used one of the large fluffy towels to dry herself off before wrapping it around herself and brushing her teeth then returning to the bedroom.

Steve directed her to sit down on the bed, once again treating her wounds. He determined that only the deep stab wound in her side needed to be re-bandaged. Nikita had been injured before, many times. Usually she was left to deal with them on her own after the initial medical treatment. Having someone else treating her wounds, caring for them -for her- was a completely new experience. When he was finished, he told her to get dressed in the clothes he had laid out for her.

She dressed in the brand new set of black cotton underwear and socks, a pair of black BDU pants, and a long sleeved dark blue henley shirt. She sat on the bed to lace up her black combat boots, making a mental note to clean them at her earliest opportunity. Steve picked up the brush from his dresser then sat down next to her. Nikita turned to look at him questioningly, he turned her head back away, telling her to hold it there. Steve then gently brushed her hair until it fell in tangle-free golden waves down to the middle of her back.

"We'll head up to the kitchen for breakfast, then I'll give you the tour," Steve said, heading towards the bedroom door. Nikita stood still, not following. Steve turned to look at her when he noticed her hesitation. It took him a moment before he figured out the problem. He crossed the room pulling a duffel bag from the closet floor, tossing it at her feet. "Bring what you need," he said before leaving the room. She opened the duffel to find all of her weapons, most of which were in desperate need of cleaning and maintenance. Nikita chose half a dozen knives, secreting them on her person, then placing the duffel back in the closet before joining Steve in the other room.

Nikita followed Steve out of the apartment and into the hallway, "Stark invited some of the Avengers to live here in the Tower, the apartments are all on this and the next floor down." They entered the elevator at the end of the hallway and Steve asked JARVIS to take them up to the Common Floor. "JARVIS is Tony's AI, he runs the Tower," explained Steve. "If you need anything and I'm not available, ask JARVIS." Nikita didn't respond verbally, but Steve could tell that she was paying attention. He was pretty sure that was normal for her.

They rode the elevator up to the next floor. "This is the Common Floor," said Steve guiding Nikita out of the elevator with a hand on the small of her back. Before she even had time to do more than register the touch it was gone. Nikita took in the space before her. To the right of the elevator was a sitting area with two large couches and three recliners positioned in a semi-circle around a sunken floor area filled with plush cushions. In front of this horseshoe configuration was a large flat screen. Directly ahead of them was a large kitchen surrounded by a counter lined with bar stools and a large dining table. To the left was a full bar and a pool table.

Apparently word had spread throughout the residents of the Tower that Cap had found his bonded sub, because the room seemed to be full of members of the Avengers family. They were all gathered around the kitchen and dining area. Tony and Bruce were in the kitchen cooking breakfast. Bucky, Jane, Thor, Clint and Darcy were seated around the dining table. Clint and Darcy were in the middle of a heated discussion about some action movie they had watched during the last movie night. Clint was bemoaning all of the inaccuracies while Darcy insisted they didn't matter because the action hero Dom was hot. Bucky was watching them with an indulgent smile. Steve introduced Nikita to each of those around the table before steering her over to the kitchen, seating them both at the counter.

"So, Capsicle," snarked Tony. "I hear you snagged yourself a girl!"

"Yes Tony," replied Steve with an exasperated smile, "I found a girl. This is -"

"Nikita Ivanova," interrupted Tony. "Impeccable timing, I was saying just the other day I needed another Russian assassin in my Tower."

"Tony," chided Steve "play nice."

"What? Now we have a complete set." Tony joked while pouring a cup of coffee for each of the newcomers.

"Don't mind him," Bruce said softly to Nikita before announcing to the rest that the food was ready.

Nikita said nothing, merely took a sip of her coffee.

Shortly after that Nikita found herself seated next to Steve at the massive table with everybody else enjoying what was actually a surprisingly good breakfast. She took the opportunity to observe the people around her. She learned that the young sub Darcy Lewis was bonded to Bucky Barnes, who was also the Captain's (Steve, everyone called him Steve) best friend. Darcy was also Jane Foster's lab assistant. Nikita didn't miss the way that the Soldier kept himself between herself and his sub.

Bruce Banner was a quiet scientist, the Hulk, and apparently the bonded sub of the Black Widow. Tony Stark was a loud, brash sub who was bonded to the Domme who ran his family's company, a woman named Pepper. What intrigued her about Stark was the fact that, while the Captain commanded the Avengers, Tony bank rolled the entire operation and designed everyone's gear. He also made it clear through his sarcastic humor that they all lived in HIS Tower. Nikita knew Stark was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

The scientist Jane Foster and the Asgardian Thor were married but not bonded. Apparently Asgardians didn't have Dom/sub dynamics and Jane was a rare Switch. Hawkeye - Clint - was still wearing the kevlar around his neck (minus the tactical mic), confirming her guess that he was bonded to someone, though no one mentioned who to. Clint and Darcy seemed to be the only ones at the table capable of matching Tony's snark. In fact, the three subs were easily the loudest people at the table.

Nikita observed the way that Steve interacted with them all. Clearly these people weren't just his teammates, they were his family. She also noticed the way that he took every opportunity to touch her. Always light, small touches. There and gone again before she could even react.

After they finished eating Steve took Nikita on a tour of the rest of the common areas. He explained that Tony and Pepper lived in the penthouse above the Common Floor they had just left. He showed her the gym which had an impressive array of equipment, an open area covered with mats for sparring, a sauna, jacuzzi, and an indoor pool. Next they visited the range which had lanes for handguns, rifles, archery, and throwing knives. Steve informing her that all of the common areas were open to any of them at any time. Next he showed her where the labs for Bruce and Jane and Tony's workshop were located, warning her not to go in unless invited by one of them due to the potential volatility of the projects they worked on.

By the time they finished the tour it was time for lunch so they went back up to the Common Floor. The space was pretty much clear of everyone except Clint and Darcy who had just finished 'pop tarting' Tony and the scientists. Apparently they would forget to eat if she didn't remind them. The four of them made sandwiches and iced tea which they carried into the sitting area to eat while watching a movie. Nikita sat on one of the couches next to Steve. Clint and Darcy had JARVIS play From Russia With Love, which they thought was hilarious. Steve could sense Nikita's amusement at their antics coming through the bond, though she let nothing show. After they finished eating Steve rested his arm over the back of the couch, idly running his fingers through her hair throughout the rest of the movie.

After the movie Steve took Nikita back to their apartment where he gave her another dose of her medications. Steve felt that the day had gone well. Nikita had seemed to react positively to the other residents of the Tower. The first part of his plan seemed to be going well, she hadn't shied away or reacted negatively to his touch all day. He decided it was time to enact the next part of his plan.