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Cap's POV - First Meeting

Steve stood in his apartment and sighed.  Nick Fury had finally come calling.  He had a mission for him that Steve was sure he couldn’t turn down.  Didn’t mean he didn’t want to.  As usual, the little apartment started to feel cramped.  He walked over to the window and climbed out onto the fire escape, heading for the rooftop.

As his head made it over the edge, he noticed a petite blonde woman sitting on the opposite ledge looking out over the city. “Oh, sorry.  I didn’t know anyone else ever came up here.” Steve said before he could stop himself.

The woman turned around and gave him a smile. “I like having a view to think to sometimes.” He had never seen her before.  Maybe she was new to the building. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

“It’s ok.  You might as well join me, Steve.”

That stopped him in his tracks.  It wouldn’t be the first time that a beautiful woman had been sent by S.H.I.E.L.D. to trick him. “How do you know my name?”

“Besides the fact that you’re pretty famous?  You know, being Captain America and all.” She held up a file that looked identical to the one he was holding. “I got kidnapped tonight, offered a job, given a swanky new apartment, and…. If I choose to accept it…. A mission to go with you to retrieve this Tesseract thingy from Loki.”

Steve hopped off the ledge and walked across the roof towards her.  Nick Fury had been busy tonight. “Who are you?”

The woman turned and hopped off the ledge with a grace reserved for dancers.  She was short.  About as short as he’d once been, but the way she carried herself…. It was like she had the confidence to take on any opponent that came against her. “Buffy Summers.” She held up a cell phone. “And if I hit 1 on this cell phone, then I’m the newest member of S.H.I.E.L.D. and your partner.”

Up close, she was even more gorgeous.  He had to concentrate on not turning into a bumbling idiot in the presence of a beautiful woman.  Wait?  Partner?  Steve looked her up and down.  There was no way this tiny thing could keep up with him. “No offense, ma’am, but you don’t look like you could hurt a fly.”

“I only take offense to the ma’am thing.  Makes me feel old.”

His automatic response kicked in and he said, “I’m sorry for offending you.”

“Manners.  Refreshing.  Thank you.  And just for the record, I’m a lot stronger than I look.” Her eyes raked over him, but instead of feeling like a piece of meat, Steve felt like she was actually sizing him up.  She didn’t comment on that, though.  She gestured at the file in his hand where her eyes had come to rest. “Come up here for the same reason I did?”

Steve nodded. “It gets stuffy in my apartment after a while and I like the view up here.”

Buffy turned and headed back to her previous perch.  He watched her toss her legs over the edge and lean back slightly for balance.  She didn’t show an ounce of fear at toppling off the ledge.  Steve finally decided to walk over and join her.  He mimicked her position, taking a deep breath as he looked out over the city.  He decided to stare at Stark Tower looming over them instead of at her like he wanted.

“It’s a bit gaudy, isn’t it?” She asked, gesturing at the tower.

“A bit, yes.” Steve looked over at her.  They were quiet for a long moment and he suddenly remembered something she’d said a few minutes ago. “You said you were kidnapped tonight?”

Buffy nodded. “I was taking down a couple of Hytarga demons that were trying to break into the Natural History Museum.  They needed some crystal for some ritual to try and end the world.” She shrugged. “I stopped listening when Giles got all rambly.”

“Giles?”
“He’s my Watcher…. Mentor.  Well, not anymore.  Mostly he’s just my friend now who sometimes gives me orders.  Not that I always listen to them….” She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. “Anyway…. So, I was just about to snap the neck on the first demon when these commando creeps came out of the woodwork.  They shot the demons and came after me.  Next thing I know, I’m being handcuffed, tossed in an SUV, and driven to some headquarters where this guy with an eyepatch is telling me that my ex-boyfriend recommended me and they’ve been trying to locate me for a while to bring me on their team.”

Why would they handcuff her?  She was so small they could’ve just overpowered her if there were so many of them. “They handcuffed you?”

“Well…. I did kind of take out six of their guys.” She just shrugged at his expression.  He honestly didn’t mean to look so shocked.  Stranger things had happened.  Like a skinny, short, weakling getting injected with a serum to make him into a muscular, tall, powerful weapon. “I don’t take it well when guns are pointed at me.”

Steve couldn’t help himself from smiling. “I don’t either.” He set his face forward, but kept his peripheral vision trained on her.  They weren’t sitting right next to each other, but she smelled wonderful.  Like sunshine and vanilla.

“Wanna trade?”

“Hmm?” He looked over at her and she was looking down at the file he’d set down on his lap.

“Files.  Wanna trade?  I’ll show you mine if you show me yours?”

“I haven’t looked it over.”

“Why not?”

He decided to be honest with her. “I’m not sure I want to accept this mission.”

Buffy nodded as if she completely understood. “You know what’s sad?” Steve waited patiently for her to answer the question. “I don’t think we have much of a choice.” She held up her envelope. “This Tesseract thing sounds bad and in the hands of this Loki guy?  It sounds like it’s even worse.”

She was obviously pretty smart if she got that from just the file.  The smaller one that Fury had given him at the gym had contained basic information on the Tesseract.  There actually wasn’t that much on it.  So what was in that small file was probably the same file she had. “The Tesseract should never have been pulled from the ocean.  It should’ve stayed hidden.”

Buffy nodded. “That’s what I thought.” She looked him up and down again and this time Steve felt like she was assessing him again, but not physically this time. “My friend Xander is a big fan of yours.  He made me read the comics and I actually paid attention in history class when they mentioned you.  And from what I know, you don’t strike me as the type of person who can just sit by and watch the world be destroyed by the bad guys.  I think you’re like me.  I think we’re the type of people who get in there and fight to save the world even when we don’t want to…. Because it’s the right thing to do.  And I think that’s why this Fury guy wants to make us partners in this.” She really was smart with an incredibly keen eye.  He stared at her for a long time, trying to decide what to say. “Well, Steve…. Can I call you Steve or do you prefer Captain? ”

He smiled at her, actually chuckling slightly. “Steve is fine.”

“Well, Steve, at least we won’t be in this alone.” Buffy looked out at the night sky. “I usually am in these kinds of deals.”

Steve stayed silent for a long time.  He tried not to stare at her outright, so he stared at her out of the corner of his eyes.  Was she a ploy thought up by Fury to get him to take this mission on?  Or was she really the same as him?  A much stronger than average human with a good heart who just wanted to do the right thing.  Finally he turned his head to look at her. “Who are you, Buffy Summers?”

Buffy hit one on the cell phone and Steve could hear a voice on the line say. “Happy to have you on board.  There will be a car waiting to pick you and the Captain up tomorrow morning.  I look forward to working with you.”

Whoever it was on the other end hung up and Buffy turned her full attention on Steve. “I’m your partner, Steve Rogers.” She smiled at him and it lit up her whole face.

He looked down at his envelope, mostly so she wouldn’t see the blush he knew was creeping up his face.  He still wasn’t good with the ladies.  He couldn’t think of anything to say to her.  So he grabbed the envelope and held it out to her. “Wanna trade?”

Steve set the couch down for the fifth time and waited for Buffy’s approval.  They were moving furniture into her apartment in DC about one month after the battle in New York.  They’d spent the morning furnishing his apartment across the hall and now it was her turn.  He watched her as she moved around the room, eying the couch for a long moment, before turning and plopping down on it.

“Perfect.” Buffy said with a smile.

Steve smiled back. “Finally!” He sat down on the opposite side of the couch and looked over at her.

“I’m sorry.  I’m just picky.”

“It’s fine.  Really.  This is more fun than talking to those people at the Smithsonian about the exhibit they want to do about me.  I’m kind of sad that we’re almost done moving in.”

“You know, the furniture is the easy part, right?  I’ve still got to figure out where all the little things are going to go.”

“I’ll help you if you need help.”

“It’s mostly just pictures and little knick knacks.  I don’t actually own that much.” Steve looked around at the furniture piled around the room before shooting Buffy a dubious look. “Ok, my own personal stuff.  Most of it got swallowed when my town turned into a giant crater.”

“I’m sorry.”

Buffy shrugged. “It was just stuff.  The most important things made it out.” She reached over and grabbed a picture frame from the nearest box.  He looked over at it to see a picture of her with her sister standing on a bridge with Big Ben behind them. “I’m working on making new memories.”

“Well, that’s something we have in common.”

She set the picture back in the box. “What happened to all of your stuff?  The Army didn’t throw it out, did they?”

“I didn’t have much to begin with and what little I did have wasn’t much of anything.  Just some pictures of my parents and of me and Bucky.”

“What happened to those pictures?”

“They’re in a box in my apartment.  S.H.I.E.L.D. saved them.” Steve stood up. “Ok, we’ve got an oversized recliner to figure out a position for.” He held out his hand to her to help her to her feet.

Buffy took his hand and stood up. “Ok.”

 

 

Steve opened his front door to find Buffy standing there. “Buffy.” He smiled down at her. “Everything ok?”

“Peachy.” She smiled brightly up at him.

“Come on in.” He stepped out of the way so she could come in.  Buffy slid past him and he shut the door behind her. “Can I get you anything?  I think I’ve got some water in the refrigerator.”

“Sure.” Buffy walked over to the sofa and sat down.

Steve headed into the kitchen and opened the fridge.  It had been three months since they’d moved into the apartment building.  He and Buffy spent most of their time together.  When they weren’t working for S.H.I.E.L.D., they were in the gym training.  Buffy had agreed to train with him so he could improve his “rough” fighting style, as she called it.  Recently, they’d started spending time just “hanging out” together and watching movies.  Steve didn’t have any friends.  He only had Buffy.  And so far, she was an amazing friend to him.  They understood each other and that was a huge comfort for when he was feeling lonely.  Which, he had to admit to himself, was a lot of the time.

“So, I wanted to know….” Buffy said as he walked in and handed her a bottle of water. “Well, I’ve got to go make an appearance at Slayer HQ.  Giles has been asking me to come check in with the girls so they don’t think I’ve abandoned them.  It’ll only be for a week or two.”

“Oh.  Well that sounds like a good idea.  You’ll enjoy seeing your friends.”

“No.  Well, yeah, but I wanted to know if you wanted to come with me.  You could meet everyone and spare yourself some boredom.”

“That’s nice of you, but….”

“But I’ve already got your plane ticket and cleared it with Fury.  You’re coming with me, pal.  No more hanging around here and watching old movies of yourself on the computer.”

“I don’t….”

“Oh, come on, Steve!  You’re only right across the hall and I have super-hearing.”

Steve looked down at his feet, embarrassed that he’d been caught. “I miss my friends.”

Her hand covered his and gripped it tightly.  When she spoke, her voice was softer and understanding. “I know.  But sitting around being sad won’t bring them back.  And I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t want you just sitting around feeling sorry for yourself.  You’ve gotta get out there and meet people.  Make new friends.  Make new memories.”

Steve looked over at her.  He’d learned quickly that Buffy didn’t take no for an answer easily.  And in this instance, she was definitely not going to accept a no.  Besides, the offer sounded nice.  She talked about her friends a lot and they seemed like good people. “Ok.  When do we leave?”

“Right now!”

“Seriously?”

“No.” Buffy laughed. “We leave in four days on Saturday night.”

Steve chuckled. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Her face got serious. “Are you really?  Or are you just saying that because you think it’s what I want to hear?”

“I am.  Really.”

“Good.  Cause they’re excited to meet you.” Buffy smiled brightly at him and he found it infectious.  He smiled back at her and leaned back.

 

 

Steve stood with Xander in the kitchen of Buffy’s London flat.  They were having a little get together before Buffy and Steve had to leave for DC the next day.  They’d spent the last two weeks with Buffy’s friends and Slayers.  He and Xander had hit it off after Xander had gotten over being star-struck.  Xander had once been turned into a soldier a long time ago and had retained a lot of it, so that gave them some common ground.  Willow was incredibly sweet and very smart.  She had made Steve promise numerous times that he wouldn’t let anything happen to Buffy and then she had threatened to turn him into all sorts of random animals and bugs if something did happen to her best friend. 

Giles had been a little harder to crack.  He was very much the father figure in Buffy’s life and he took the role very seriously.  He didn’t trust S.H.I.E.L.D. and therefore, he didn’t actually trust Steve.  So, to put Giles at ease, Steve had invited the man out for lunch and had answered any and all questions that Giles had had for him.  It had been late by the time they’d gotten back, but Giles was a little more trusting of Steve after that.

“It’s good that she’s got you for a partner.” Xander was saying. “She needs someone trustworthy who’s got her back.”

Steve smiled. “She’s a great person.  I feel lucky to have her as a partner.”

“Hey, before you go…. And I’m sorry for this, but I’ve been holding it back for two weeks…. But do you think I could get a picture with the shield?”

“Xander, seriously?” Buffy asked, walking up to them and shaking her head at her friend.

“What!?  I’ve been really good for two weeks!”

“No.  You were obnoxious the first five days, then a little less obnoxious, and just when I finally think that you’re normal….”

“But it’s the shield!  It’s Captain America’s shield!”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “You’re hopeless.”

“Hopeless?  Nay.  I’m full of hope that Steve here will be a good guy and….”

Steve laughed. “Yeah.  You can get a picture with the shield.”

“Oh man, you’re the best!” Xander said, jumping a little with excitement. “Will, did you hear that?  I’m getting a picture with the shield.”

“You’re hopeless.” Willow retorted.  She was talking to Giles about something they needed to get done when they got back to Slayer HQ.

“I may be hopeless, but none of you will have held the shield.”

Buffy laughed. “I’ve held the shield.  And thrown it.  It flies pretty good.”

Xander deflated a bit. “Show off.”

“So besides Xander’s big ol’ dorkiness, what have you two men been talking about over here?”

Xander perked up again. “Actually, you can help with what we’ve been talking about.  I’ve started a list for Steve.”

“A list for what?”

“Things that I’ve missed in the last 70 years.” Steve said.

“Things that are vital to existing in this world.” Xander said.

Buffy looked at Xander doubtfully. “I think we might have a difference in opinions on this one.  What’s on the list?” Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out a small notebook.  He handed it to Buffy for her inspection. “Disco?  Ew!  Xander!”

“What?  It was the 70s!”

“I lived through the 70s.” Giles said, coming over and joining the conversation. “I can personally attest to it being horrendous.”

“Come on!  It’s John Travolta in the white suit!  It’s the BeeGees!”

“That wasn’t the 70s, Xander.  That’s the idea of what Hollywood made the 70s.”

“I’ll leave it on the list.” Steve said. “Just to see what it sounds like.”

“You know, curiosity kills cats.  I’m pretty sure it could kill you, too.” Buffy said to Steve.

Steve laughed and shook his head. “I’ve got to start somewhere.”

“Then listen to the band Queen.  Amazing music.”

“You like Queen?” Xander asked incredulously.

“Um, yeah.  You didn’t know that?”

“Not a clue.  Since when?”

“Since birth.  My mom loved Queen.  Every time Bohemian Rhapsody or Princes of the Universe came on, she’d turn the radio up and sing at the top of her lungs.”

“I knew that.” Giles said.

Buffy shot him a glare. “You don’t get to say that.”

Giles blushed and looked away with a slight smile. “Sorry.” Xander and Willow started laughing quietly, but Buffy’s glare at them made them laugh even harder.

“What am I missing?” Steve asked.

“Giles and my mom got high on magically spiked chocolate and…. Did things.  Things I had to find out from horrible visuals in my mom’s mind when she was trying not to think about it in front of me.” Buffy smacked Willow and Xander on the arms. “Seriously, you two, stop laughing!  It was gross!”

Steve let out a chuckle and then looked at Buffy seriously. “You can read minds?”

“Not anymore.  I got infected with telepathy from this demon’s blood that ended up in my system.  It almost drove me crazy before they managed to cure me.”

“Still not the weirdest thing that’s happened to you.” Xander said.  He looked at Steve. “Has she ever told you about getting poisoned by this demon and believing that this world wasn’t real and that she was actually a patient in a mental institution in Los Angeles?”

Steve’s eyes widened. “No.  No she hasn’t.”

“That’s a story for another day.” Buffy said. “And still not the weirdest thing.”

“What is?”

After a moment, Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles said in unison, “The cheese man.” That caused the four of them to start laughing.  Steve just shook his head, not understanding.

 

 

Steve stood next to Buffy in her small utility room folding clothes from the dryer.  It had now been a full year since they’d met.  And, he had to admit at least to himself, the best year he’d ever had.  Granted his friends were all dead, he’d missed out on 70 years of history, and the woman he’d been in love with was very old and married with kids, but meeting Buffy had changed his attitude about his life. 

He felt like a normal human being when he was around her.  And he was around her a lot.  Since coming back from meeting her friends, there were only a small handful of nights that they hadn’t spent together.  She had gotten him hooked on Queen’s music and he had gotten her hooked on Billie Holiday.  They had stepped up their training and were both beginning to learn new styles now.

Buffy Summers was amazing and Steve had to admit that he was beginning to fall for her.  Seeing her interact with her friends and with her army of Slayers had somehow changed the way he’d seen her.  She was so compassionate and smart and truly wanted the best for those she cared about. 

A lot of the money she got from working for S.H.I.E.L.D. went to help Slayer HQ.  And recently, she’d gotten Fury to help Slayer HQ as well.  She’d managed to get him to send some new technologies over to help her friends and the new Watchers track certain demons that posed a threat to the world.  The Cleveland Hellmouth had almost been opened, but thanks to the Slayers and S.H.I.E.L.D. working together under Buffy’s directive, they’d managed to stop it from happening.

The moment that he’d realized he was falling for the petite blonde was two days ago.  Her friend Riley’s wife Samantha had given birth to the couple’s third child.  It was a little girl that they’d decided to name Elizabeth Anne.  Steve had gone with Buffy to the hospital to meet the baby with gifts and flowers.  While Buffy held the baby girl and tenderly cooed at her, Steve had had the random thought that he wouldn’t mind having a family with Buffy.  It had made him think over his feelings and he’d slowly realized that his feelings for Buffy were a little deeper than he’d grasped.  He no longer saw her as just a friend, but she was someone he could imagine having a romantic relationship with.  But until he knew for sure if she felt something back for him, he would keep this revelation to himself.  He didn’t want to ruin anything between them if she saw him as just a friend.

“Hey, Steve?” Buffy asked, breaking him out of his reverie.

“Yeah?” Steve asked, looking down at her.

“Dawn’s graduation is in a couple of weeks.”

“I remember.  Are you excited?”

“Oh, yeah.  Over the moon.  And super proud of her for getting her residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.  I think Tony pulled some strings, but I can’t be mad at him for it because Dawnie is so excited about it.  Anyway, I’m babbling.  I was just wondering if you wanted to go with me?  To the graduation ceremony, I mean.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.  Tony offered us his newly rebuilt penthouse to stay in, so we don’t have to worry about a hotel or anything.  And I thought you might like to go back to your old stomping grounds.  We haven’t been back to New York since all that stuff with Loki and the aliens.  Dawn’s been kinda pissed that I haven’t come for a visit.  She’s also annoyed that I’m, air quote, ‘hanging out with superheroes on a regular basis and not sharing.’”

Steve laughed. “I’m in.  Let’s go to your sister’s graduation.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.  If you’re not here, Fury’s not going to send me out on any missions.  According to him we get more things done together than apart.”

Buffy laughed and looked at the piles of folded laundry. “Isn’t that the truth?”

“We’d eat nothing but take-out food if it was left to our individual cooking skills.”

“True.  Also true?  There’s only so many times in a row you can eat General Tso chicken and crab wantons before they start making you sick on sight.  So, we soldier on and try our best in the kitchen to remind ourselves how good General Tso chicken and crab wantons are.”

Steve laughed and opened the washer to get the wet clothes moved to the dryer. “Do you want to drive to New York or fly?”

“I thought we could drive.  I mean, I’ve got my new Mustang….”

Steve smiled.  She had been ecstatic to be able to afford a car for herself and had chosen a brand new 2013, silver, GT Mustang. “Are you going to let me drive it?”

“Maybe.  We’ll see.  She has some power and needs to be let loose.”

“What does that have to do with me driving it?”

“Well, you sometimes drive like a grandpa.  My car?  Not a grandpa car.”

“I drive a Harley.”

“Like a grandpa.  You signal properly and abide by the speed limit and sometimes I’ve caught you going under the speed limit.” She smiled up at him and nudged him with her shoulder. “But you’re old, so I’ve come to expect that of you.” Steve gave her a playful eye roll.  Before he could respond, Buffy said, “At least we’re getting your wardrobe updated and I’ve got you wearing jeans.  Those grandpa pants were starting to freak me out on you.”

“They’re comfortable.  And just what I was used to wearing.”

“I know.  I just love picking on you.”

Steve laughed and nudged her shoulder with his. “I could just love picking you up and tossing you across the room, short stuff.”

“Hey, not all of us had the opportunity to get injected with a serum that makes you sprout lots of vertical inches in a matter of seconds.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it.  It hurt pretty bad.”

Buffy shrugged. “I jumped into a portal that opened up to every dimension there is and was electrocuted to death by thousands of bolts of lightning.  Beat that, serum boy.”

Steve shook his head with a chuckle. “I’m afraid I can’t.” He smiled slightly at her. “But I can say that I’m glad it didn’t stick.  I’d be very bored without you around.”

“Tell me about it.  You’d still be just sitting around watching the old home movies of yourself back in the day and wondering where you go from here.”

“You’ve got to let that go.  I don’t do it anymore.”

“I’ll give you that.”

“Thanks.” Steve realized that he was missing a pair of jeans from the folded clothing in his arms. “Hey, have you seen a pair of my jeans lying around?”

Buffy looked around. “Nope.  Maybe you left them in your apartment.”

“I guess.  I could’ve sworn that I brought everything.”

“Well, you’re old.” She laughed and bumped him with her hip as she moved past him to put her clothes away.

 

 

Steve sat in his apartment and tried not to wait to hear Buffy’s footsteps in the hallway.  She’d gone on another blind date with someone Tony Stark had set her up with.  Four months ago he’d realized that he had romantic feelings for Buffy.  They’d gone to her sister’s graduation together and he’d planned to work up the courage to ask her on a proper date, but Stark had surprised them at the penthouse.  He had stayed the entire time and ruined any plans Steve had wanted to make with Buffy.

As soon as they’d gotten back, they’d been sent on three back to back missions for S.H.I.E.L.D. and he hadn’t had time to think about asking her on a date.  And of course, the minute they’d gotten a break, Tony had come swooping in and set Buffy up on a blind date.  The fact that Buffy had taken it didn’t bode well for Steve’s hopes for a romantic relationship.  It was even more discouraging when she continued to accept Stark’s blind dates.  She was out on her fifth blind date tonight.

“I should punch you in the throat.” Buffy’s voice came from out in the hallway. “Well, you thought wrong.  He was a jerk.  Call me old fashioned, but I don’t think you should spend the entirety of a date talking on your phone and then walking away to take yet another call when the check appears.  Yes, I had to pay!  You’re damn right you’ll reimburse me.  I’m done with the blind dates, Tony!  No more.  They suck.  Every one of them has been awful.  And you can’t tell me that Pepper picked this guy out for me.  She has better taste!”

Steve heard her open her apartment door and headed for the hallway.  He opened the door just as she ended her phone call with Stark and angrily tossed the phone on the couch.  He leaned against the doorframe as casually as he could manage and crossed his arms. “Have a nice time?”

“Oh please!  I was loud enough to wake the dead.” Buffy snapped.

Steve stood up straight. “Yeah.  I heard.  I’m sorry it didn’t go well…. Again.”

Buffy turned and headed into her apartment as she said, “I just don’t get it.” Steve shut his door and followed her into her apartment, shutting the door behind him. “How could a guy that was so sweet and charming at coffee yesterday be such a bold-faced jerk tonight?”

“Well, he’s friends with Stark.  That should’ve been your first clue.”

Buffy sighed. “Tony’s really not that bad.  He just…. I don’t know…. Has really bad taste in men?” She plopped down on her couch and laid her head back against the back of the sofa.  Steve stepped in behind her and began massaging her shoulders. “I’m done.  No more dating.  From now on, I’m just going to stay home.”

“Well, would you mind if I came over and kept you company?  I’m not dating either.”

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. “Of course I wouldn’t mind that.” Her smile lit up her face and Steve smiled back.  What he wouldn’t give to be able to lean down and press his lips to hers…. Steve removed his hands from her shoulders. “How about I pop some popcorn and you pick out a movie?”

“Let me get out of this dress first.” Buffy stood up and looked down at herself.  The dress she was wearing was made of red lace with a nude colored under-dress.  The style was something he would’ve seen in the 40s and he figured Buffy’s tastes were running towards the vintage end thanks to him. “What a waste.  I really liked this dress.”

“It is pretty…. And I’m sure you’ll find another reason to wear it.”

“Maybe.” She shrugged sadly. “I’ll be right back.”

Steve watched her walk down the hallway to her bedroom and shut the door.  If only she were interested in him, he would give her a reason to wear the dress again.  With a sigh, he went into the kitchen and started pulling out the microwaveable popcorn and a big bowl to pour it in.  While it was popping, he caught a glimpse down the hall and saw that Buffy had left her bedroom door slightly ajar.  Her back was to the door, but she was naked from the waist up.  He turned around and kept his eyes on the popcorn bag expanding in the microwave.  The sight of her bare back was almost too much.  The lean muscles that moved under her slightly tanned skin were like liquid and her long, blonde hair looked so touchable….

“Get it together, Rogers.” He muttered to himself.  As he was pouring the melted butter on the popcorn, he heard rustling behind him.  Buffy was going through the movies she owned in the bookcase trying to pick one out. “Popcorn’s ready.” He announced walking in.  She had changed into a pair of black shorts and a grey, oversized sweatshirt that fell off one shoulder.  Luckily he had just been sitting around his apartment wearing his running pants and a black Under Armor shirt, so he didn’t feel over dressed.

“Smells great.”

“Find anything promising?”

“I keep going back to one we’ve already watched.”

“Which one?”

“Casablanca.” She pulled out the DVD and looked at the cover. “Just have a craving for old movies lately.”

“I’m rubbing off on you.  Put it in.  I don’t mind seeing it again.”

Steve sat down on the couch and put the popcorn bowl to his side so it would be between them.  Buffy joined him a moment later as the DVD menu came up on the screen.  As the movie progressed and the popcorn was eaten, he noticed that Buffy’s eyes were starting to get heavy.  Eventually, he moved the now empty popcorn bowl to the coffee table and she scooted closer to him, laying her head on his shoulder. 

Steve reached behind him and grabbed the white, furry blanket off the back of the couch and settled it over Buffy as she fell asleep against him, her arms wrapped around his arm.  He didn’t dare move so as not to wake her, but that didn’t bother him.  She felt so warm against him and her hair smelled so good.  Eventually he felt himself nodding off with the thought that this was how it was supposed to be.

Cap's POV - Two Years Together

Buffy's POV - Two Years Together

“What are you thinking about?”

Buffy turned around to see Steve join her on the roof.  They’d moved from New York a little more than a month ago and had just finished moving themselves into their new apartments provided by S.H.I.E.L.D. the day before.  They were being sent on their first official mission in the morning and Buffy had come up to the roof to check out her new city.

“Actually, not much.” Buffy said as Steve joined her on the roof’s ledge.  “Just going over the last month.”

“It’s been….” Steve had to search for the right word. “Crazy?”

“To say the least.  I can’t believe I actually have a job where I actually get paid for being the Slayer.” She chuckled. “It’s not a thankless job anymore.”

“Well, I haven’t been around much the last few years, but on behalf on the world, thank you for saving it as many times as you have.  How many times is it, exactly?”

Buffy shrugged. “I lost count.  I’m fairly certain it’s more times than I have fingers and toes, though.” She looked over at Steve. “How are you doing?”

Steve shrugged. “It’s a new and strange world that I woke up in.  My friends are dead, the woman I love has grandchildren, and I have no idea where I fit in.”

“I felt like that once.  Just after I came back from the dead.  It had only been three months, but everything was so different.”

“You mentioned that you went through a really dark time….”

“Yeah.  That was after I came back.” Buffy sighed and curled in on herself, balancing her weight so if she fell, she’d fall back onto the roof. “There was this guy…. Spike…. He was a vampire and the only reason he was me helping out was because he had this government issued chip that stopped him from hurting humans.  I was desperate to feel something…. Anything…. Because coming back from heaven to this crappy world was traumatic.  He showed up one night and was able to hit me and something in me snapped.  He wasn’t supposed to be able to hit me with that chip in and it just solidified the thought that I’d come back wrong.” Buffy looked over at Steve and saw that he was listening intently. “The first time we had sex, we destroyed an entire house around us it was so violent.  And after that…. I let him hurt me.  I thought it was what I deserved.  I used him and he used me.  It was very dysfunctional and abusive and Riley…. My friend in S.H.I.E.L.D…. He saved me from it.  He reminded me that I did deserve better.  I broke it all off with Spike and he tried to rape me.”

“Buffy….” Steve reached out and placed his hand over her knee.  She could tell he wanted to protect her.

“I stopped him and he left.  I managed to find my way back to myself eventually.” Buffy looked over at Steve. “So, I think you’re doing better than me with the adjusting thing.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s ok.  Really.  What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right?”

“My mother used to say that.”

“Mine did too.”

Steve smiled at her. “I’m really glad I met you, Buffy.”

Buffy smiled back at Steve. “I’m really glad I met you, too, Steve.”

 

 

Buffy led the way into the training room at S.H.I.E.L.D.’s headquarters called the Trisklion.  It had been two months since they’d moved to DC and she had been studying Steve’s fighting style.  It was obvious he wasn’t trained in serious hand to hand.  He used his shield a lot, and that was fine, but sometimes he couldn’t always get to the shield.  So, they’d come back from the latest mission and Buffy had booked them some time in the training room.

“I feel strange taking fighting lessons from you.” Steve said.

“Why?” Buffy shook her head at him. “I’m better than you when it comes to fighting.”

“I know that you’re stronger than you look and can more than hold your own against me, but…. You’re so…. Little.”

Buffy didn’t take it too personally.  She was used to it.  But she wasn’t going to let Steve’s old-fashioned-ness stand in the way of learning how to protect himself better.  She pulled the hairband off her wrist and threw her hair up into a ponytail.  Her jacket came off and she tossed it to the side, stretching out her arms and neck.

Steve was still standing just inside the room holding a gym bag with their changes of clothing in it. “Take your jacket off.”

“Buffy….”

“Don’t worry, old timer, I’ll go easy on you.”

That got a small smile from Steve.  He set down the bag and peeled his jacket off. “Ok, ok, ok.  Just let me know if I hurt you.”

“Something tells me I should be saying that to you.”

“Cocky.”

“I just know what I’m capable of.”

Steve sighed and stretched his arms out as he stepped onto the mat.  Two hours later Buffy was standing over a sweating and panting Steve laying on his back yet again.  She was sweaty, too, and only slightly out of breath.  Glancing up, she noticed that the training room was still moderately intact.

“Point taken.” Steve said, finally catching his breath.

Buffy reached down and offered him a hand up. “You did good.”

“You did better.”

“You learned a lot, though.  This last time I had a hell of a time getting you down.”

“Where did you learn to fight like that?”

“I’ve had a few teachers.  My ex was a major influence.”

“Riley?”

“She means Angel.” Riley said, walking into the training room. “And don’t feel bad, Captain, she always wiped the floor with me, too.”

“Good to know.” Steve said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Buffy smiled and gave Riley a hug. “What are you doing down here?”

“They told me you and the Captain were down here.  I had some news to share with you.” Riley pulled a small, black and white, grainy picture out of his pocket and held it out to her with a big grin. 

It took Buffy a minute to realize it was an ultrasound. “Oh my god, Riley!  Congratulations!” She reached up and hugged him again.

He winced at her strength, but didn’t say anything. “Sam’s only about five weeks in, but she knew right away.”

“I guess with two other kids, she’d know what to look for.” Buffy handed Riley back the ultrasound. “Are Kailey and Chris excited?”

“Kailey is, but Chris isn’t too sure about being a big brother.” Riley looked over at Steve. “He’s almost three.”

“Yeah, Buffy mentioned you had kids.” Steve moved closer to Buffy and she was grateful to have him there at her side.

Riley looked back at Buffy. “Well, you know Sam, she likes to have a plan in place and we were wondering if you would be the godmother?”

Buffy pointed to herself. “Me?”

“Know any other small blondes with superpowers that Sam and I call a friend?”

“Not really.” She laughed, a little uncertain what it meant to be a godmother.  She’d never been a godmother before. “Yeah, I’ll be the godmother.  What do I have to do?”

Riley laughed. “Nothing, really.  Just make sure we’re doing our jobs as parents.”

“Oh, well then I won’t have to do a thing.  You guys are already good at that from what I’ve seen.”

“Well, now that you’ve said yes, Sam would also like me to ask you if you’d help plan the baby shower?”

Buffy blinked up at Riley. “Oh…. I’ve never planned a baby shower before.”

“It’s ok, Buffy.  Sam will do most of the work.  She likes planning parties and she’s good at it.  She just wants to know if she needs any help….”

“Oh, yeah.  I’ll help where I can.  Of course.” She smiled up at Riley again, hoping he didn’t notice the hint of sadness she was feeling.

“Great!  I’ll tell her when I get home.  I guess I’ll let you guys get back to it now.  Thanks, Buffy.”

“Yeah.” Riley hugged her again before walking out.

She watched him go, letting the sadness take over for a moment.  Steve’s hand came to rest on her shoulder, offering her a little comfort.  He knew what it was like to not be normal.  To be denied a normal life. “I’m happy for them.”

“I know.” Steve said.

Buffy turned and looked up at Steve’s understanding gaze. “Talk about getting sucker punched in the emotions, huh?”

“Anything I can do?”

“Buy me lots of Chinese takeout and lock me away in my apartment?”

Steve laughed slightly. “Mind if I join you?”

“Not at all.  My pity party is open to all superheroes who can’t have a normal human life.”

“I fit that description.” He picked up their bag. “Let’s get showered and changed and get out of here.”

 

 

Buffy stood in her office with the big window overlooking the backyard of Slayer HQ.  There was a big group of Slayers learning new fighting maneuvers with quarterstaffs from Giles that she was keeping an eye on.  Xander had volunteered to take Steve on the “grand tour” of the place while Buffy caught up with some things. 

It had been nearly five months since the battle in New York.  One of the reasons Giles wanted Buffy to come visit Slayer HQ was because some of the girls had heard that Buffy had been killed.  Others were worried about another alien invasion.  Buffy had wanted to come to discuss with Giles about S.H.I.E.L.D.’s reasoning behind bringing her in on the Avengers Initiative.

A knock on the door made her turn from the window. “Come in.” Buffy called.

Willow poked her head into the office. “Hey.”

“Hey, Will!” Buffy smiled brightly at her best friend and walked around the desk to greet her.

“Sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived.” Willow said, still gripping Buffy tightly in a hug.  Eventually they released each other. “Three more girls showed up about twenty minutes before you got here and I had to make sure they were actually Slayers and then set up places for them to stay.”

“I still can’t believe we get girls pretending to be Slayers.”

“Pretty trippy.  So where’s Captain America?”

“Steve is getting the grand tour from Xander.”

“Oh god…. Poor guy.  Xander has been freaking out about meeting him.”

“I could tell by the laugh that came out of him when Steve said, ‘nice to meet you, Xander.’” Buffy chuckled. “He was prepubescent suddenly.”

“I can imagine.” Willow sat down in one of the chairs in front of Buffy’s desk and curled one leg under her. “So, what’s he like?”

“Steve?” Buffy asked, going to sit in her chair to face Willow.

“No, the Easter Bunny.  Yes, Steve!”

“He’s…. Steve.” Buffy noticed Willow’s face. “What?”

“You’re totally crushing on him.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?  Ok, yes, he’s good looking…. I’m not blind…. But we’ve actually got a lot in common and I know what he’s going through.  It’s not exactly easy to come back from the dead.”

“What do you guys do together?”

“We work a lot.  I started training with him recently.  His fighting style was so rough.  It was all bang, smash with no finesse whatsoever, you know?  He was a little hesitant at first, but now he looks forward to our lessons.” She paused for a moment. “I think.  I do tend to beat him a lot.”

“Maybe he’s letting you win.”

“He better not be.”

“Ok, so tell me about living in DC.  Do you like it?”

“So far, yeah.  I enjoy going to all of the museums and checking out what they’ve got.  Steve has a dedication ceremony soon for his exhibit at the Smithsonian.”

“Yeah, I heard that they were putting one together about him.  How does he feel about it?”

“He doesn’t talk about it much.  I don’t think he particularly enjoys it.  I wouldn’t enjoy being reminded that all of my friends are dead and the life that I knew was just a memory or a story to people now.”

Willow shook her head. “No, I don’t think I would like that either.”

“There’s a lot of other things to do.  Great places for shopping and eating.  You should come for a visit.”

“I’ll try to get down there.”

“Oh, do you know who lives in DC?  Clem!”

“Really!?  I wondered where he went when he left Sunnydale.”

“Yeah.  He met some Dorsterc demon through a dating website and they’ve been seeing each other for a few months now.  He’s really happy.”

“How did you find out he lived in DC?”

“Well, apparently it was big news in the demon community that I had moved to the city and he managed to look me up.  We had coffee a few nights ago.  He says hey to everyone.”

“Wait, Clem is gay?”

“Yeah.  How did you figure that out?”

“Dorsterc demons are all male.”

“Really?  How do they make baby Dorsterc demons?”

“Don’t ask that question.  You really don’t want to know the answer.”

“Gotcha.” Buffy shuddered.  Her imagination was starting to run wild. 

Luckily, Xander and Steve walked into Buffy’s office. “And here’s the Buffster’s office.  Being the head Slayer, she’s got the nicest of them all.”

“You say that like you’re jealous.” Buffy shot at Xander.

“Not really.  When you’re not here, I take this office over.  That is until Willow or Giles finds out and then they kick me out.”

Buffy just shook her head and rolled her eyes at Xander.  She turned to her partner and gestured at Willow “Steve, this is my best friend Willow Rosenberg.  Willow, that is Steve Rogers.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Steve said, shaking Willow’s hand. “Buffy talks a lot about you.”

“Does she?” Willow asked, shooting Buffy a look.

“All good things, I assure you.”

“Good to know.  It’s nice to meet you, too, Steve.” Willow glanced at Buffy quickly and then looked at Xander. “You.  I need your help with some paperwork.”

“What paperwork?” Xander asked.

“I brought in some new girls today.” Willow grabbed his arm as she led him out.

Buffy shook her head at her friends and looked at Steve. “Do you want to go meet some of the girls?”

“We can.” Steve said. “If you have work to do, I can figure out something else to do.”

“No.  I’m pretty much done for right now.  I need to talk to Giles later, but I’ve got time.”

“Then I’ll let you lead the way.”

“So, what do you think of the place?” Buffy asked Steve as they walked down the hallway.

“It’s great, Buffy.  You’ve really made sure these girls have a safe place to come to and that they’re prepared for whatever lies ahead of them.”

“They also have a choice.  That’s something most Slayers are denied.  If they don’t want to be a Slayer, then they can choose not to be.  They can walk away and be normal teenage girls.  It was important to me that that be a choice for them.  The Watcher’s Council…. Well, they sucked.” They came outside where the girls were practicing with their quarterstaffs.  It was clear none of them was enjoying this particular weapon.

One of the girls spotted Buffy and grinned at her. “Guys, Buffy’s here!” All the girls turned and swarmed towards Buffy.  Most of them were excited to see her, but a few of them took the opportunity to complain about learning the quarterstaff.

“I hated this training too.” She said to them. “I told Giles I wasn’t going to be fighting Friar Tuck, but trust me…. It comes in handy.  Sometimes you won’t always have a great weapon like a sword or a crossbow to play with.”

“Or a scythe!” One of the girls called.

Buffy chuckled. “Or that.  But I have used my quarterstaff training when all I had was a metal pole I found in a pile of scrap metal and a number of times with a pool cue.  So suck up all the knowledge you can, guys.  It’s not a waste like algebra.”

“Is that Captain America?” One of the girls asked.

“That’s Steve Rogers.  Just like us, he’s only Captain America when he’s fighting bad guys.  Other than that he’s just your average guy who likes beer and motorcycles.”

“Come on, girls!  Get back in line!” Giles called, clapping his hands loudly.

The girls groaned and moved back to continue their lessons.  Steve put his hand on her arm and said sincerely, “Thank you for that.”

Buffy shrugged. “I’m not always the Slayer just like you’re not always Captain America.  We’ve got lives outside of our jobs.  Besides,” She looked up at Steve with a smile. “It would just be weird if we walked around in our supersuits.”

Steve laughed. “I don’t know.  I think the world would be fine with you walking around in yours all the time.  I know I don’t mind when you wear it.”

Buffy laughed, but she could’ve sworn that Steve had just flirted with her.  That was the first time he’d ever been that bold with her.  And she also found that she really didn’t mind it.

 

 

Buffy followed Clem through the sewers as he led her to his and Roy’s hidden “apartment”.  It had been ten months since the battle in New York.  Buffy found her thoughts drifting to Steve more and more these days, but she wasn’t sure how he felt about her.  And anyways, she had to wait for him to make the first move.  She didn’t think the women he was used to would ever be so forward as to ask a guy out.  She could be wrong, but what if she did ask him on a date and he didn’t like her like that.  Then they’d just end up awkward around each other.  That would definitely affect their work and possibly get them hurt in the field.

“Ok, Buffy.” Clem said. “This is where we keep the hide-a-key.” He knelt down and wiggled a brick loose.

“How can you tell which one it is?” Buffy asked, looking around at the bricks around the hide-a-key. “They all look the same.”

“Oh, that’s easy.  It’s one, two, three, four, five bricks away from the turn in the tunnel.  See?”

Buffy counted again and sure enough, five bricks in was the hide-a-key. “I really appreciate this, Clem.”

“Anything for you, Buffy.  You’ve been a good friend.  Besides, I’d rather leave this to you than Roy’s cousin.  We told him the place had already sold.  He has a thing for eating children once a month and you know I just can’t abide that.”

“Oh.  You probably shouldn’t have told me that.”

“I’m telling you because I don’t agree with his eating habits and just because he’s Roy’s cousin doesn’t mean that I’m not hoping you’ll get rid of him.”

“Gotcha.”

“Just don’t let Roy know that I told you that.”

“I’ll send one of the girls to do the job.  That way he’ll never know.  It’ll just seem like Roy’s cousin finally ran across the wrong person.”

“Oh, you’re a good girl, Buffy.  Here we are.” Clem ducked down and stuck the key inside the third slat from the bottom in a large grate. “You’ll just have to feel for the lock.  It’s not hard to find.” The false grate opened and Clem pulled on it. “It’s heavy, but that shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

“Where is Roy?”

“He’s getting our car filled up before we leave.  You know, I would’ve invited you to the wedding, but it was just a tiny little thing.  We didn’t have any family there at all.”

“It’s ok.  I was working, anyway.”

“Well, here it is.” Clem held out his hands to present the surprisingly well-sized space. “We’re leaving the furniture, so it’s all yours.  Why do you want this place anyway?”

“It’s off the grid.”

“You’ve never been worried about that before.”

“I know, but one can never be too careful these days.  I am the Head Slayer of an army of Slayers.  Doesn’t exactly make me a lot of friends.”

“That’s very true.”

“I really appreciate you giving this to me, Clem.”

“Hey, anything for a friend.  If you’re ever in Boca….”

“I’ll look you up.”

Clem handed her the key. “I’ll let you have this and I’ve got to go.  You take care of yourself, Buffy.  Don’t get into any bad situations.”

Buffy smiled and nodded, giving Clem a quick hug.  She wasn’t sure if she was already in a bad situation or not.  The whole reason she was taking Clem’s sewer hideaway was because she wanted somewhere S.H.I.E.L.D. didn’t know about.  The organization had so many secrets and she and Steve weren’t privy to most of them.  So, to protect herself and Steve, she had a plan B in the works.  Over the next few months, she was going to start stealing clothes whenever she and Steve did their laundry together.  She was going to make sure when she went grocery shopping to pick up extra canned foods and first aid supplies.  And she was going to start putting some money away, hiding it here in this hideaway somewhere.  If anything happened with the agency she worked for, she and Steve would be prepared to go into hiding.

 

 

“I swear, Tony, Steve and I are just friends.” Buffy said over her pasta bowl, hoping that she came off sincere. 

Tony Stark sat across from her enjoying a calzone.  They were sitting in the living room of his hotel suite enjoying the Italian fare they’d had delivered.  He had come out to visit his friend and see how she was even though he’d just seen her at Dawn’s graduation.  It had been a little more than year since they’d met under S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Avengers Initiative.  Tony really did consider Buffy a friend and he came to visit her often and they talked on the phone a lot as well.

“You two have had a crush on each other since you met.  Just admit that!” Tony said.

“I won’t admit it because it’s not true.”

“The lady doth protest too much!”

“The lady is going to kick you off the balcony if you don’t drop it.”

“Then kick me off the balcony.  I’ve got my suit ready to go.” Buffy rolled her eyes at him. “If you’re just friends, then why aren’t you dating anyone?  Why did you take Steve with you to your sister’s graduation?”

“I took him because he wouldn’t have anything else to do and he’s my friend that cares about my friends and family.  And the answer to your first question is that I don’t have time to go out and find a boyfriend.”

“It’s all that time you’re spending with Rogers.”

“It’s all that time I don’t want to spend having to explain to a civilian what I do and how I’m able to do it.  Guys don’t take well to women being more powerful than they are.”

“That’s not true.  Pepper has all the power in this relationship and I’m fine with it.”

“That’s because you’re still a super smart billionaire with a really cool metal suit that happens to give you superpowers of your very own.  Speaking of, how is Pepper doing?”

“She’s doing good.  She’s stabilized and there’s no threat of her burning herself up or anyone else around her.  Which is good for me.”

“And how are you doing without your chest thing?”

“It’s nice not to have a hole in my chest.  But enough about me.  I know someone you should go out with.  He’s here in DC.”

“If you say Steve….”

“It’s not Steve.  This guy works at the Italian Embassy.  His name is Macon.”

“Did you miss the part where I don’t have time?”

“You don’t have time to be in a serious relationship?  So what?  Don’t have a serious relationship.  You have time to have some fun, don’t you?” Buffy sighed. “Go out and date.  You’re young, Summers!  You can do whatever you want.”

“And what happens if I get one of these dates killed?”

“That’s happened?  What kind of dates do you take these guys on?”

“Normal guys don’t do well in relationships with me.  I once went out with a guy and he was nearly killed on the first date.  And to make it worse, he liked it and wanted more.”

“Then what was the problem?”

“He could’ve been killed.”

“That would’ve been his problem.”

“It could’ve gotten me killed trying to keep an eye on him and save the world at the same time.”

Tony set down his calzone and leaned forward. “Buffy, you don’t have to be the Slayer all the time anymore.  You’ve got an army of Slayers to take over when you want a day off.  You’re part of a team of superheroes that can pick up any slack you want to drop so you can go on a date.  You’re allowed to have a life, kid.”

Buffy sighed. “I know that.”

“Then prove it.  Let me set you up on a date with Macon.”

She eyed Tony for a long moment before saying, “He’s not going to turn out to be a demon or an alien or anything, is he?”

“As far as I know, he’s a run of the mill human male with a love for medieval weaponry.  You can start your conversation off on how you both collect swords and stuff.”

“Why are you pushing this?”

“Why are you fighting this?” Buffy just glared at him until Tony finally said, “Fine.  Because I want to prove you wrong.”

“About what?”

“That you have feelings for Rogers.”

“And how do you think setting me up on a blind date is going to prove that?”

“Because you’ll go out with other guys and see that Steve Rogers is the right guy for you.”

“Are you sure you’re not the one with feelings for Steve?”

“One hundred percent positive.” Tony shuddered dramatically. “Ew.  He’s too patriotic for my tastes.” She rolled her eyes at him. “Is it so wrong that I want to see my friend happy?”

Buffy sighed. “Of course it’s not wrong, Tony, but Steve and I are just friends.  We spend so much time together because he doesn’t exactly have a ton of friends and my friends live elsewhere, so I’m all alone here in DC, too.” That wasn’t exactly a lie, she told herself.

“Your protests are falling on deaf ears, sweetheart.  I maintain that you and Rogers are a match made in superhero heaven, but until you can recognize that, too, I’m just going to set you up on some blind dates to bide your time.”

“Fine.  Whatever.  Set me up on the dates.  Maybe one of them will be The One and I’ll prove you wrong.” She would never tell Tony this, but she really wanted him to be right.  That she wanted her and Steve to be that great match he was talking about.  She just wasn’t sure how Steve felt about the whole thing.

Cap's POV - Love

Steve sat with Peggy in her home just outside of DC.  He’d been to visit the exhibit they’d set up at the Smithsonian after leaving the Trisklion.  He had wanted to speak with Buffy about their relationship, but Fury had thrown a wrench in that.  It was time to get his feelings out there about her, but he was nervous.  He thought that Buffy felt about him the same way he felt about her, but he wasn’t completely sure.  They’d been partners and friends for two years and for the last year, he’d begun to feel more for the beautiful, petite blonde.  He was starting to have a hard time being around her without wanting to just grab her and kiss her.

“She’s a wonderful girl, Steve.” Peggy said, drawing his attention back to her. “You two are good together.”

“Thank you.” Steve said.

“You’re worried she doesn’t feel the same about you, though?”

“I think she does, but how can I be sure?”

“Were you so sure about me?”

Steve chuckled. “No.  I’ve never been a master in the art of dating.  You know that.”

“Steve, you shouldn’t be scared to ask her on a date.”

“I just worry that…. Well, what if she doesn’t feel the same way?  I don’t want to ruin our friendship by making it awkward for her.”

“You said she seemed interested in talking with you about your relationship.”

“She never got to answer me when I asked her about having the discussion.  We got interrupted by work…. Again.”

“The last time you brought Buffy here, I watched you two.  There’s something there, Steve.  Don’t let it go.  We waited too long, you and I.  Don’t do the same to you and her.” She reached out and he took her hand. “You love her.  Tell her before it’s too late.”

“Love, huh?” He gave a small smile and looked out the window.  Peggy was right.  He was in love with Buffy.

Peggy gave his hand a squeeze. “It’s ok to love her, you know?  If that’s what you need…. My permission…. Then you have it.  And my blessing.  You two couldn’t be more perfect together if you tried.”

Steve nodded and looked at the pictures on Peggy’s night stand.  There were pictures of her kids and her grandkids there. “You should be proud of yourself, Peggy.”

Peggy looked over at her pictures. “I have lived a life.  My only regret that I had was that you didn't get to live yours, but that regret vanished when I met Buffy.”

“Why?”

“I’m a practical woman, you know that, but I believe that sometimes things happen for a reason.  When I met Buffy, I came to believe that maybe you going into the ice for 70 years was just fate’s way to get you to her.” Steve looked down at his shoes sadly.  Being reminded of how much time he’d lost and that his life was so different now…. It still hurt. “What is it?”

“For as long as I can remember I just wanted to do what was right.  I guess I'm not quite sure what that is anymore.  And I thought I could throw myself back in and follow orders…. serve…. It's just not the same.  I’ve really started to question things I never thought I would question.”

“You're always so dramatic.  Look, you saved the world.  We rather…. mucked it up.”

“You didn't.  Knowing that you helped found SHIELD is half the reason I stay.”

“And the other half is Buffy.  The funny thing is, I get the feeling that she’s staying for you.” Peggy sighed. “Oh, the world has changed and none of us can go back.  All we can do is our best and sometimes the best that we can do is to start over.  Buffy’s your chance to start over, Steve.  Make a life with her.  Love her with all of your heart and soul.” Peggy started to cough and Steve turned to get her some water.  When he turned back, Peggy was looking at him like it was the first time she’d seen him. “Steve?”

“Yeah.” Steve said, knowing that her illness was the cause for the sudden memory loss.

“You're alive!  You…. You came…. You came back.”

“Yeah, Peggy.”

Peggy began to cry and it broke his heart just as it did every time this happened. “It's been so long.  So long.”

“Well, I couldn't leave my best girl.  Not when she owes me a dance.”

 

 

After leaving Peggy’s home, Steve checked in with Buffy to see where she was at.  She was still getting her hair fixed from the explosion.  He decided to go visit his running friend Sam while he had some time on his hands.  He headed to the VA and asked the woman at the front desk where Sam was.  She directed him down the hall to where a PTSD group meeting was being held.  It was almost over, so Steve decided to stand outside and wait.

“I'll see you next week.” A woman said to Sam as they walked out of the room behind the others.

“Yeah.” Sam said.  He turned to look at Steve. “Look who it is.  The running man.”

“Caught the last few minutes.  It's pretty intense.” Steve said.

“Yeah, brother, we all got the same problems.  Guilt, regret….”

“You lose someone?”

“My wingman, Riley.  Fly in the night mission.  A standard PJ rescue op, nothing we hadn't done a thousand times before, till an RPG knock Riley's dumb ass out of the sky.  Nothing I could do.  It's like I was up there just to watch.”

“I'm sorry.”

“After that, I had a really hard time finding a reason for being over there, you know?”

“But you're happy now, back in the world?”

“Hey, the number of people giving me orders is down to about zero.  So, hell yeah.  You thinking about getting out?”

“No.  I don't know.  To be honest, I don't know what I would do with myself if I did.”

“Ultimate fighting?” Steve laughed. “It's just a great idea off the top of my head.  But seriously, you could do whatever you want to do.  What makes you happy?”

Steve smiled at the answer that popped into his head.  Buffy Summers made him happy.  If they left S.H.I.E.L.D. together, they still had her army of Slayers to watch over and train.  New Slayers came into the mix every week.  The spell that Willow had done with the Slayer’s scythe not only activated every potential Slayer at the time, but any future potential Slayers whenever they came of age.  Buffy seemed happiest when she was working with her Slayers and that’s all Steve wanted was for her to be happy.

His phone beeped and he looked down to see a text message from Buffy.  His smile widened.  Her message was right on cue. “Sorry, Sam, but I’ve gotta….”

Sam chuckled. “Duty calls.  I get it.” He held up a finger and disappeared back into the room for a moment.  When he returned, he had a piece of scrap paper with his name, number, and address on it. “Stop by anytime, man.”

“Thanks.  I’ll take you up that soon.” Steve shook Sam’s hand and headed back outside.  Buffy’s text had asked him to meet her at the World War II Memorial.  He hopped on his motorcycle and sped through town.  Parking his bike in a tight spot, he took a deep breath and walked towards the memorial.  People were walking around, taking pictures of all the different states and the gold stars by the fountain.  He finally spotted Buffy standing in front of the fountain at the foot of the Atlantic archway.  She was people-watching and didn’t notice him approach behind her.  He took a moment to admire her new haircut.  It was shorter than she’d had it before and the layers fell in soft waves to her shoulders.

Before he could stop himself, he reached out and ran his hand through it, enjoying the soft layers that flowed between his fingers.  She turned around with a smile. “It looks nice.” Steve said.

“I had to tell the lady that fixed it that it happened in a kitchen accident.” Buffy said to him with a grin. “She thinks I’m incompetent in the kitchen and gave me the number to a personal chef.” Steve chuckled as they headed out of the memorial and towards his bike.  She wasn’t completely incompetent in the kitchen, but she was no chef. “Where did you go?”

“I visited the Smithsonian…. and Peggy.  And I also caught up with that guy…. Sam was his name…. The one that I ran with the other day?”

“I remember.”

This was it.  He was going to talk to her now about their relationship.  He was finally going to ask her to go on a date. “He asked me an interesting question.”

“What was it?”

Steve took two steps forward to get in front of her and stopped.  She looked up at him, a curious expression on her face.  He took a deep breath and said, “He asked me what made me happy.”

“Did you have an answer?”

“Honestly, there was only one thing that came to mind.” He thought about telling her what Peggy had said, but decided to just tell her what he’d told Peggy. “These last couple of years have been…. Well, interesting doesn’t even begin to cover it…. But there’s one person that I’ve been able to rely on the most.  One person that always tells me the truth and treats me like a human being and not like…. Well, like I’m Captain America.” He reached out and took her hands, weaving his fingers with hers and marveling at how soft and warm they were in his hands.  He was also pleased that she didn’t pull her hands away at the intimate touch. “And that person is you.”

Buffy smiled at him and squeezed his hands. “You’re just plain old Steve to me.”

His smile widened.  She wasn’t rejecting him yet. “So, Buffy Summers, I was wondering if you’d like to go on a date with me…. Officially, that is.”

She returned his smile and his heart leapt. “I thought you’d never ask.” He blew out a sigh of relief and he was pretty sure his face was going to crack in half if his smile got any bigger. “So, was that the conversation?”

Steve laughed.  Now that the nerves were gone, he was more relaxed. “Close enough.  I’ve been planning to ask you on a proper date for a few…. Well, to be honest…. Almost a year now.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Because I could never figure out a good time or what to say to you when I did.  I barely had the courage to ask if you wanted to have a conversation about dating me.  I had to throw it in while we were on a dangerous mission.”

“Boy, we’re a couple of pieces of work.  I’ve wanted to ask you on a date for just as long…. If not longer, but I just didn’t know how you would take it.”

She had been pretty decent at hiding it.  He would’ve tried asking her on a date a lot sooner if he’d known that she was that interested in a romantic relationship with him. “Why?”

“Well, you’re…. old fashioned.  I figured a woman asking a man out might be a little too advanced for you.  And also…. I was just as nervous about it as you were.  I, uh…. I don’t exactly have the best track record with guys.  Angel, Riley, Spike…. That guy Ben that I dated for two months before realizing he was a Chrinara demon trying to suck my soul from me.  Besides, you were in love with Peggy and getting over losing her and I didn’t want to push or….”

Steve let her babble on, admiring the look of awkwardness on her face and thinking about how beautiful she was even when she was babbling.  He finally gave her hands a squeeze to stop her. “Buffy, this isn’t about anyone else.  It’s about us.  You and me.  We’re great partners in the field.  We’re even better friends off it.” He took a deep breath and jumped into the speech he’d been working on in his head on the ride over. “I wasn’t exactly great with the ladies before I ended up becoming Captain America.  The only dates I went on were charity dates that Bucky set me up on.  I was even more awkward about it all afterwards because I wasn’t used to women wanting me or being so…. Forward.  I was so awkward that I thought fondue was a form of sex.  Don’t laugh.” Buffy bit her lip to stop herself from letting the laugh out he’d seen on her face. “Peggy was the only woman I had the courage to ask on a date and that didn’t exactly turn out well since I crashed a plane and ended up frozen for almost 70 years before we even got to have that date.  So, we’ve both got bad histories with the opposite sex.  And the only way to get past those is to move forward one day at a time…. Together.”

“Practice that speech a lot, did you?”

Steve chuckled. “Almost every day for the last month.” He joked.

Buffy smiled and nodded. “One day at a time together is a good plan.”

Steve pulled her to him and wrapped his arms tightly around her.  The feel of her pressed against him made his heart leap again and he buried his face in her hair.  They stayed that way for a long moment before he heard her stomach rumble. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving.” She laughed. “I haven’t eaten since we got back.”

“Me either.” He reluctantly released her and took her hand. “How does Italian sound?”

“Sounds yummy.”

First Official Date

Buffy and Steve dropped his bike off at the apartment building after leaving the Smithsonian Mall.  They took her car to a small Italian restaurant a few miles away from their home.  Steve held the door open for her as she got out of the car and again when she walked into the restaurant.  It was just before the dinner rush, so they were seated right away and Steve requested a booth in the far corner.

“So…. Here we are.” Buffy said.

“Here we are.” Steve said.

They stared at each other for a long, quiet moment before grabbing up their menus and burying their noses in them.  The waiter came and took their drink orders and again to bring them some bread and a small plate of olive oil with Italian spices floating in it.  Over her menu, Buffy would catch Steve glancing at her.  They averted their eyes when they caught each other.  A couple of times they tried to start a conversation, but both of them failed miserably.  

“This is ridiculous!” Buffy said finally, putting her menu down. “Why are we nervous?  We’ve been out to eat together before.”

“I don’t know.” Steve set his menu down.

“It shouldn’t feel any different, right?”

“Of course not.”

“So why does it?  We’ve been playing boyfriend/girlfriend for months now if we really think about it.  We’ve even fallen asleep together.”

“Solid reasoning.”

“So, this isn’t different and we should just be normal.”

“As normal as two super humans can be.”

Buffy laughed and reach across the table.  Steve took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I’m really happy that it’s official, though.”

“I am too.”

The waiter came with their drinks and took their food orders.  Steve, as usual, got two plates of food.  It always amazed Buffy how much he could eat, so she had to comment on it. “Where do you put it?  You eat more than a horse!”

“My metabolism just burns through everything so quickly that it takes me longer to actually get full.”

“It is incredible to watch you eat.  Why have I never taken you to an all-you-can-eat buffet?  We’re going to a buffet for one of our dates.”

Steve laughed. “Whatever makes you happy.”

“So, how was Peggy today?”

“She was good for most of the visit.  Her memory lapsed at the end.  She spoke very highly of you, though, and she sends her regards.” Buffy cocked her head and stared at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Your speech just got very formal.  What happened?”

“Nothing happened.  It’s just hard to talk with Peggy and then her memory goes and she gets upset because she’s forgotten that I didn’t die in that plane crash.  It hurts.  Every time.”

“I know it does.”

Buffy got up and moved over to Steve’s side of the booth.  She took his hand and laid her head on his shoulder. “She was your first love, right?”

Steve chuckled. “The first love that actually returned my feelings.” He kissed the top of her head. “I feel guilty sometimes that I love her and that I have such strong feelings for you, too.”

“Don’t feel guilty.  First loves are hard to shake.” Buffy looked up at Steve. “I haven’t seen Angel in years, but I still love him.  I’ll always love him.  He was my first everything.  And just like you and Peggy, we were denied happiness because of crappy circumstances.  Different circumstances, of course.  I mean, you and Peggy could sleep together and not have her go psycho and try to torture and kill you for months and then try to end the world when that failed.”

Steve chuckled slightly. “I don’t know.  I never slept with her.  Maybe she could’ve.”

“True.  People surprise you.  But Peggy doesn’t strike me as the type of person to lose her soul and go fifty shades of evil.”

“No.  That she doesn’t.” He hesitated for a moment, but decided to ask what was on his mind anyway. “You don’t talk much about Angel.  Why not?”

Buffy shrugged. “Too painful, I guess.”

“Do you miss him?”

“Sometimes.  He wasn’t just my boyfriend, he was my best friend.  I would tell him everything.  There are moments where I want to run and tell him stuff out of habit that should be long dead, but it’s not.”

“When was the last time you felt like that?”

“When I first joined the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D., I wanted to tell him about it.”

“Did you?”

“No.  I don’t even know if he knows about it.”

“Can I be honest?”

“Of course.”

“A part of me would like to meet him.”

“Oh?  Why?”

“Maybe it’s a male thing, but I’d like to meet the man every guy you’ve ever dated has been compared to.  See what I’m up against.” Buffy began to laugh and shook her head. “What?”

“I’ve never once compared you to Angel.”

“Why?”

“He’s not a factor in my relationship with you.  The only way he could relate to us is the fact that he was the first in a long string of doomed relationships.”

“We’re not doomed.” Steve said quickly, squeezing her hand. “I think this is the long haul, you and I.”

Buffy smiled. “I think it is, too…. I mean, we took two years before we even went on a date…. But it doesn’t stop me from being scared that I’m going to screw it up somehow.  It’s just my track record.”

He reached up and cupped her face, turning her to look at him. “I meant what I said before.  We’ll figure everything out together one day at a time.  I can’t lose you, Buffy.” Just as he leaned in to kiss her, the waiter came back to freshen up their drinks, give them their salads, and ask if they wanted more bread.

Buffy sighed and went back over to her side of her booth.  After a few bites in silence, she finally said, “If you really want to meet Angel, I’m sure I could arrange it.”

“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

“It’ll only be uncomfortable if he gets all judgy about who I’m dating.”

“Do you think it’ll be a problem?”

“I’m not sure.  He couldn’t stand Riley.  They got into a fight the instant they met.  Of course he hated Spike, but Spike and I never actually dated.” She snorted slightly. “There were definitely no dates involved there.  Angel is actually the one who realized Ben was a Chrinara demon.” 

“I can’t blame him for being judgy on that one.”

“I can’t either.  A soulless Buffy would do no one any good.” After a few more bites of salad, Buffy finally said, “Ok, I’ll call Angel.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.  It’ll be nice to see him again.”

Steve took a bite of his salad and looked up at Buffy. “What if he doesn’t approve of me?”

“I don’t care.”

“You don’t?”

“Angel’s opinion on my love life has no bearing on me.  Just because I love him and respect him doesn’t mean I have to agree with his opinion.  He’s not the one dating you.  I am.  And I am perfectly happy doing so.  Also, I don’t care what my father says either because I haven’t spoken with him in years.  So, if it comes to it and you wanna be all old-fashioned and adorable, please ask Giles or my sister for my hand in marriage.”

Steve laughed and shook his head. “With you, Buffy, I don’t think I would ask anyone but you.”

Buffy smiled. “Good.”

 

 

Steve sat back and sighed.  He’d just finished his second plate of food while Buffy was still working on her plate.  They’d kept up an easy flow of conversation between bites.  Their initial nervousness had been so silly and they’d ended up laughing at it a few times over the course of their meal.

“Do you want dessert?” He asked her.

She laughed. “Dessert?  I haven’t even finished my dinner yet!”

He grinned. “Well, I know how much you like dessert and I saw that they have cannolis on the menu.”

“I do love cannolis.”

“May I order you a cannoli and get us another bottle of Lambrusco?”

Buffy smiled. “Sure.  Why not?”

Steve stuck his head out of the booth and gestured for their waiter.  The place was now super busy with the dinner rush, so the waiter took a few minutes to make it over to them.  When he finally came over, Steve ordered Buffy’s cannoli and their third bottle of Lambrusco before adding on a large slice of cheesecake for himself.  The waiter nodded and headed off to add to their ticket.

“Cheesecake, huh?” Buffy asked.

“I didn’t want you to eat dessert alone.”

“Such a gentleman.” She chuckled. “I have to tell you, this is the best first official date I’ve ever been on.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah.  My first date with Angel I didn’t even make it because I got ambushed by a vampire on the way there.  When I finally showed up, I was covered in pumpkin guts and hay.” At Steve’s expression, she added, “It was Halloween.”

“What about Riley?”

“It took me a long time to agree to go on a date with him.”

“Why?  He seems like a decent guy.” 

“He was so human and normal and I’m so not.  He pursued me for months with tons of rejections.  When I finally said yes to a date, we ended up getting interrupted by the Initiative wanting us to catch a demon.”

“Any other bad first dates?”

“Well, I guess I could include Parker.  I met him in college.  He was really sweet and charming.  I fell for it because I missed Angel…. It was right after he’d left Sunnydale…. And I ended up sleeping with him on the first date only to wake up and find out that he’d moved on to his next conquest.  I was just one girl on a long string of them.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too.” She laughed. “I hate that I have a one night stand on my record.”

“Don’t feel bad.  I have a couple.”

Buffy blinked in surprise. “You do?”

“Well, Bucky was always trying to find girls to go on dates with me and a couple of them weren’t exactly…. Well, they weren’t upstanding ladies I could take home to my mother.  I was young and, I’ll admit it, desperate.” He shook his head. “So, what about Ben the demon?  I would assume that would be bad.”

“Oh, the service was terrible and the food sucked, but it was actually semi-decent.  I just don’t count it because he turned out to be a demon and all the charm he was using was just to draw me in so he could suck my soul.  I’m really embarrassed that I didn’t realize it.”

“How did Angel find out about him?”

“We ran into him in London.  He had come to visit Slayer HQ and I was walking around with Ben after a date and Angel knew right off.  Apparently there was some kind of spell happening on me and my friends to cloak his demon essence.  He didn’t know about Angel.  I thought Angel was crazy and being a jealous ex, but during the fight he had with Ben, the crystal Ben had been using as part of the spell broke and my Slayer senses went haywire.  Angel and I took him out together.”

“Will you tell me more about you and Angel?”
“What do you want to know?”

“What’s he like?  What were you two like as a couple?”

“You’re just asking me to compare you two, aren’t you?”

“I’m a male.  We like to know where we stand in the world.  Especially when it comes to women.”

Buffy laughed slightly. “I don’t know how to describe Angel.  He’s…. Angel.  When I first met him, he was cryptic.  He would swoop in and tell me about some impending doom and then swoop back out.” She looked down at her fingers for a moment, remembering the feel of the claddagh ring she’d once worn. “I was head over heels for him.  I can’t remember wanting anything more than I wanted him.” Buffy looked back up at Steve watching her and listening intently.  She loved that about him.  He actually cared about what she had to say. “He resisted for a while, but eventually we started dating.  We were definitely not an old fashioned couple.  We spent a lot of time patrolling together and making out when things weren’t busy.” The waiter came back to the table with their desserts and bottle of wine.

After making sure Buffy’s glass was filled, Steve said, “So you were in love.”

“I was in deep.  And on my 17th birthday….” Buffy smiled slightly, looking away with a blush. “He gave me a claddagh ring that matched his and told me he loved me and then we…. You know…. We were so happy for that one night.  And then everything changed.  He changed.  He lost his soul and became the Scourge of Europe again.  Angelus hated me for making him feel love.  He tried for months to literally drive me crazy.  He’ll never know just how close he actually came to succeeding.  There’s no torment worse than a monster wearing the face of the man you love.”

“I couldn’t imagine what that would be like.” 

Buffy thought for a moment how to accurately portray a fraction of what she’d felt in those months. “Imagine if Bucky hadn’t died.  Instead he’d become your enemy.  Someone two hundred percent bent on destroying you because you were his best friend and you reminded him of his humanity and the bond that you guys shared.  That was Angelus for me.”

Steve looked down at his hands before getting up and going to Buffy’s side of the booth.  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into his side. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not your typical damsel in distress, though.  Everything he did to me…. To my friends…. It made it that much easier to finally do what I needed to do…. To kill him.” She took a long sip of wine before continuing. “Of course my life can’t be that black and white.  Just as I was ready to kill Angelus, we discovered how to bring Angel back.  Giles’ girlfriend Jenny was part of the clan of gypsies that originally cursed Angelus.  She had been working on a way to decipher the original spell and do it again.  Angelus found out and killed her.  He thought he’d destroyed everything, but she’d managed to save it to a floppy disk and it had fallen between her desk and a filing cabinet.”
“Did he know when you tried to curse him again?”

“Not at first.  He sent me a message to come to the cemetery to distract me while he kidnapped Giles.  That’s when they were doing the spell.  His lackeys did some real damage.  They put Willow in the hospital, broke Xander’s arm, and killed my friend Kendra.  She was the Slayer that had been activated when I died the first time.  I was blamed for her death because the police came in just after I had.  They found me standing over her body.”

“You were arrested?”

Buffy chuckled. “They tried.  But you know my reaction to having guns pointed at me.  I knocked them out and ran.  When Willow woke up, she decided to go ahead with the spell while I went to kill Angelus.  It was the first time Spike and I had worked together.  We made a deal that if I let his girlfriend and him walk, he’d help me kill Angelus.  I didn’t know that Willow was trying the spell again, though.  Xander lied to me about it to get his way.”

“What do you mean?” 

“He hated Angel.  A big part of it was because I chose Angel over him.”

“Xander was in love with you?”

“For a long time, but I was never in love with him.  He’s always been just a friend.  Then everything happened with Angelus and Xander hated him even more.  When we found the spell to restore Angel’s soul, Xander was seriously opposed to it.  We got into a fight about it.”

“If Angelus was so bad, then bringing Angel back…. Why wouldn’t he want to bring Angel back?”

“Xander couldn’t separate the two.  He thought everything Angelus did somehow reflected back on Angel.  He thought they both deserved to die.”

“That makes me think of Xander in a new and less flattering light.”

Buffy shrugged. “He’s Xander.  He has opinions that he doesn’t always filter properly.”

“Does he still hate Angel?”

“I don’t know.  Maybe he’s grown up and he’s able to separate Angel from Angelus now.  After all, he was in love with a vengeance demon.  Almost married her.”

Steve chuckled. “Ok, so what happened next?  You were going to fight Angelus and Xander lied to you.”

“I was too late.  Angelus had already started the ritual to end the world.  We got into a sword fight and he almost beat me, but I turned it around and just as I was about to kill him…. Willow’s spell worked.  Angel’s soul came back, but the only way to stop the end of the world was to kill the one person I loved most in the world just as I’d gotten him back.  So I kissed him and told him that I loved him and then I shoved a sword in his heart.  I’ll never forget the look of hurt and betrayal on his face.  He was so confused because he didn’t remember what had happened in the last five months.  The last thing he remembered was going to sleep with me in his arms after the happiest night of our lives.”

Steve blew out a breath after a quiet moment. “No wonder you don’t talk much about him.”

“It gets worse.”

“I don’t see how it could.  That was pretty bad.”

“He came back.  I didn’t actually kill him.  I just sent him to hell for a hundred years.  He was brought back somehow and he was…. Well, imagine being tortured for a hundred years straight.  He was a feral animal, but…. He’s so strong.  He came back from it.  He healed from it.  I spent a lot of time with him just talking and desperately trying to keep my distance.  He was right to walk away from me.  I was so angry at him for making that decision for me.  A part of me hated him for walking away and hurting me that bad.  I couldn’t breathe.  I couldn’t eat.  He helped us defeat the Mayor and then he just…. Left.  I spent most of that summer in a haze.  I just curled up on my bed and slept as much as I could.  I really didn’t care if I stopped existing.  I just wanted that pain to go away.”

“I’ll never do that to you, Buffy.”

Buffy looked up at Steve and smiled. “I know.” She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. 

He closed his eyes and turned his face in to press his lips to her palm.  After a moment, he looked back at her and said, “Was that the end of it?”

“Of course not.  There’s always more pain to dole out in my life.  He had this friend…. Doyle…. Who got visions.  Doyle got this vision of me in trouble and Angel came back to Sunnydale.  He didn’t let me know, though.  I swear, everyone knew he was there but me!  I got really mad and I went to LA to confront him about it.  We got attacked by a demon with regenerative blood.  Angel got some mixed in his system and…. He became human again.” Buffy looked down for a long moment. “We got to be together.  We got to be young and in love and I don’t think we left his bed the entire day and night.  It was the happiest 24 hours of my life.  But then Doyle got another vision the next morning and instead of waking me up, Angel went after the demon alone.  He was just human, though.  No strength to fight demons anymore.  I managed to find him just before the demon was going to kill him.  We went back to his apartment and my head was swirling with all of these happy thoughts of having a life with the man I loved.  He said he was going to go out for coffee and he didn’t come back for a couple of hours.  I got really worried and it was so much worse than I could’ve imagined.”

“What happened?”

“He went to these things called the Oracles.  They work for the Powers That Be.  He had them turn back the clock.  Reverse time so he could kill the demon before it made him human.”

“Why would he do that?”

“He said it was because he couldn’t protect me.  That there was an apocalypse coming and he needed to be able to protect me from it.” Buffy shook her head. “Once again, Angel took my choice away from me.  I didn’t have any say in his decision.  We had only a few minutes before the Oracles took back the day.  He hurt me yet again.  The day reset and I didn’t remember any of that.  I just thought I was there and I snapped at him for not telling me he was in Sunnydale and then I left.”

“How do you know about it now?”

“When I died the second time and went to what I believe was heaven…. Those memories were a gift from the Powers for sacrificing myself to save the world.  And when I came back…. I got to keep those memories.  Angel confirmed what had happened when we saw each other after I came back.”

“Was that the last time you saw him until everything with Ben?”

“No.  He showed up right before we turned Sunnydale into a massive crater.  He gave me the pendant that destroyed the Hellmouth.  At first he wanted to stick around and help, but I needed a second front in case I couldn’t stop what was coming.  We talked about the future and I told him that maybe one day we’d have our chance.  I used this awful cookie dough analogy.”

Steve cocked his eyebrow in amusement. “Cookie dough?”

Buffy rolled her eyes and laughed slightly. “I told him that I was like cookie dough.  That I wasn’t done baking yet.  That I still didn’t know who I was going to be.  But one day I would be cookies and that maybe he would be the one to enjoy Cookie Buffy.”

“Are you Cookie Buffy now?”

“I hate that I used that analogy.”

“Well?”

She laughed and shook her head at him. “Yes, Steve Rogers, I believe that you are the lucky winner of Cookie Buffy.”

Steve smiled. “Good.” He leaned down to kiss her, but the waiter chose that moment to come to the table to check on them.  Both Buffy and Steve groaned and turned to look at the waiter. “We’ll take another bottle of wine and the check.”

“Yes, sir.” The waiter went off to fulfill the requests.

Buffy looked around to see that the once busy restaurant was now only a few customers. “We talked all through the dinner rush?”

Steve turned to see what she meant. “Oh wow.  I guess we did.  And finished off three bottles of wine.”

“How did we not notice that?” Buffy laughed.

“Well, I was a little preoccupied with listening to you.” He went to kiss her again, but the waiter interrupted them yet again with the check.  Steve sighed and handed the man money to cover the check and tip. “Can we take our next bottle of wine out on the patio?”

“Of course, sir.  I’ll bring your change out to you there with your new bottle.”

“I don’t need any change, thanks.”

“Thank you, sir.” The waiter ran off to get their fourth bottle of wine.

Steve stood up and held his hand out to Buffy to help her out of the booth.  She grabbed her purse and jacket and took his hand, letting him lead her outside.  The patio was lit with little white Christmas lights and soft music played through hidden speakers.  There was no one else but them out there. “This is romantic.” Buffy commented.

“Care to dance?”

She looked up at him. “You don’t dance.” He smiled and took her purse and jacket, setting them down on the nearest chair before pulling her to him.  She put her right hand on his left shoulder and held his right hand in her left.  He began to sway gently to the music and she laid her head down on his chest as he moved their entwined hands to the other side of his broad chest. “You big liar.  You said you didn’t know how to dance.”

“This is about the extent of it.  And I may or may not have practiced a little in the last few months.”

“With who?”

“A body pillow.” She looked up at him incredulously. “What?  It’s about the same height as you.”

Buffy smacked their entwined hands against his chest. “I’m not the same height as a pillow.”

Steve laughed. “I said about.”

The door opened and their waiter interrupted them yet again with their bottle of wine and two new glasses.  Buffy rolled her eyes and looked up at Steve. “Would it be wrong to stuff him in a large tire and roll him down a hill?”

“Wrong?  Yes.  But it would be funny to see.” They sat down at the table and Steve began pouring the wine into the glasses. “The funny of it might just outweigh the wrong of it.”

Buffy smiled up at him. “Why the hell did it take us so long to get here?”

“Past trauma.  I’m glad we’re over that now.” He held up his glass. “To our future.”

She clinked her glass against his. “To our future.”

 

 

Steve came around to Buffy’s side of the car and opened her door for her.  He helped her out of the car and they headed for their apartment building hand in hand.  All the way up, he had to refrain from kissing her.  He wanted to make it to her door, kiss her there, and then say goodnight.  It was going to be a proper first date.  No interruptions.

“This was amazing.” Buffy said as they mounted the stairs.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better night.” Steve said.  They’d spent over five hours at the restaurant just talking and enjoying each other.  He didn’t want the night to end, but he was going to make it a perfect first date and end it like a gentleman.

But as they came to their floor, Buffy stopped and held up her hand.  He looked down at her, confused, but on alert.  They’d been partners long enough for him to know when her Slayer senses were warning her that something was off.  Finally he heard what she was hearing.  Music was playing from his apartment.

“You never leave your stereo on.” Buffy said quietly.

Steve shook his head. “No.”

She motioned to her apartment as she took out a throwing knife.  He hadn’t known she had that on her.  Steve had her keys in his hand and he quietly opened the door.  It was dark inside her apartment and they split up to check for any intruders.  He met Buffy at the window and they climbed out onto the fire escape.  Steve stayed behind her up the escape and then took the lead as they headed to the other side of the roof.  

When they got down to his apartment, he quietly lifted the window and slid in before turning to help Buffy.  He’d left his shield leaning against the wall in the hallway.  He picked it up and turned to tell Buffy to go through the kitchen, but she was already moving in that direction.  Whoever the intruder was, they were in the living room and he and Buffy would surrounded them.

Much to Steve’s surprise, the intruder was none other than Nick Fury.  He was sitting in the chair in a corner with his head leaned back on the back of the chair.  Steve dropped his defensive stance and said, “I don’t remember giving you a key.”

“You really think I’d need one?” Fury retorted.  He looked at over at Buffy as she stood in the kitchen entryway. “My wife kicked me out.”

“I didn’t know you were married.” Buffy said.

“A lot of things you don’t know about me.”

“I know, Nick.  That’s the problem.” Steve said, reaching over to hit the light switch.

The light illuminated Fury’s badly beaten up face.  He reached over and turned the light off before typing something on his phone and showing it to Steve and Buffy.  It read: Ears everywhere. “I’m sorry to have to do this, but I had no place else to crash.” Fury began typing again on the phone and turned it around. SHIELD compromised.

“Who else knows about your wife?” Buffy asked.

He started typing again. You two and me. “Just…. My friends.”

Before Steve could say it, Buffy asked, “Is that what we are?”

“That’s up to you two.”

Suddenly, gunshots rang out Steve ducked behind his shield.  He saw Buffy hit the floor as Fury was shot multiple times.  Steve reached out and dragged Fury away from the wall into the hallway.  Fury grabbed Steve’s hand and shoved a flash drive into his palm.

“Don't…. trust anyone.” Fury passed out and Steve stared at him for a moment before  heading into the kitchen.  Buffy was leaning against the kitchen counter gripping her shoulder.  It was bleeding pretty badly.  He grabbed a towel from the sink and pressed it against her wound.

Before he could ask her what happened, his front door was kicked in. “Captain Rogers?  Miss Summers?” The nurse from the third apartment on their floor appeared.  She walked into the kitchen with a gun drawn. “Captain, Miss Summers, I’m Agent 13 of S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Service.  I’m assigned to protect you two.”

“On whose order?” Steve demanded.

The nurse spotted Fury bleeding to death on the floor a few feet away. “His.” She pulled out a com unit from her pocket and said, “Foxtrot is down, he’s unresponsive.  The Slayer has a gunshot wound to her right shoulder.  I need EMTs.”

“Do we have a 20 on the shooter?” The dispatcher asked.

“He’s on the roof over there.” Buffy said, pointing with her uninjured arm.  She pushed Steve away. “Tell them Steve’s in pursuit.” He started to protest, but she pushed him again. “Go.  I’ll be fine.”

Steve sighed and let her take the towel from him.  This was not the way their first date was supposed to have ended.  He backed up, grabbed his shield, and took a flying leap out the window to chase the shooter.

Playing House

Buffy woke up to a nurse standing outside the doorway speaking loudly to someone she couldn’t see.  She looked up and realized that Steve was holding her tightly.  He was still asleep, but he was starting to wake up at the loud voices.  They’d been in the hospital for two days now.  She’d moved into Steve’s room against the doctor’s orders.  They felt safer together and didn’t worry about something happening to the other.  The door opened and Sam stepped in, dodging past the angry nurse.  While the door was open, she could hear a raised familiar British voice competing with the angry nurse’s voice.

“Sorry to wake you.” Sam said. “There’s an older British guy out here that really wants to see you.  He’s about to get arrested.”

Buffy smiled. “He can come in.  That’s Giles.”

Steve stirred beside her and looked around. “What’s going on?”

“Giles is about to get arrested outside our hospital room.”

“Are you sure it’s ok?” Sam asked.

Steve chuckled and sat up slightly. “It’s fine, Sam.”

Sam opened the door and told the nurse and the hospital security officer to let the man in.  A moment later, Giles walked into the room. “Dear lord….” He said when he saw Buffy and Steve’s appearances.

“Hello to you too, Giles.” Buffy said, trying to sit up.  Steve lifted his arm and helped her to sit as Sam came over and hit the button to lift the bed into a better sitting position. “Thanks.”

“What happened to you two?  I saw on the news about S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Helicarriers crashing in the Potomac and taking out their building…. And your friend Natasha said that you were there.”

“You spoke with Nat?”

“She called to let me know that you were ok, but you were in hospital.  I jumped on a plane and came straight here.  But that bloody woman out there wouldn’t let me in.” Giles walked over to the bed and gently touched Buffy’s hair before hugging her. “You look awful.”

“No, that’s ok…. Don’t hold back.”

Giles smiled at her and shook Steve’s hand. “Well, looking awful is a lot better than what I was imagining.  I’m so happy you’re all right.”

“If you call being in a plane crash and shot three times ‘all right’.” Sam said.

“Good lord…. Three times?”

“Each.” Steve said.

“You two may be in the wrong line of work.”

Buffy chuckled. “I don’t think we are.”

“Well, I hope this warrants a vacation for you both.”

“I think this is the vacation.”

“Is S.H.I.E.L.D. reforming?”

“Don’t know.” Steve said. “We won’t be a part of it if it does.”

“What will you do?”

“We’ve got a couple of things we’re talking about.” Buffy said.

Giles finally seemed to realize that they were in the same bed. “Are they short on beds here?”

Buffy and Steve glanced at each other and smiled. “No.”

“Are you two….”

“Yes.” They said again.

Giles smiled. “It’s about bloody time.” That caused Sam to start laughing. “When did this happen?”

“A few days ago.” Steve said, reaching over to lightly punch Sam’s shoulder.

“Xander will be pleased to know that he wins the pot.”

“The pot?” Sam asked, still chuckling.

“There’s been a running bet since these two came to visit Slayer HQ on when they would finally admit their feelings to one another.  Everyone put the money they bet into a pot and whoever comes closest without going over wins the money.  Xander said it would take you a year and four months.” Giles held his hand out. “Rupert Giles.”

“Sam Wilson.” Sam said, shaking Giles’ hand.

“I’m a…. friend of Buffy’s.”

“More like father figure.” Buffy said. “What did Tony say?”

“He put in $5,000 that it would take you two five years because you’re both, and I quote, ‘blind, stubborn, lovesick fools’.”

“He’s such a drama queen.”

“Glad we could prove him wrong.” Steve said.

“And speaking of drama queens….”

“Sorry.  He just rubs me the wrong way sometimes.”

“He rubs everybody the wrong way sometimes.  That’s just Tony.” Buffy looked over at Giles. “I’m glad you’re here.  Can you find out when we’ll be allowed to go home?  They kind of ignore us when they come in here.”

“Buffy….” Giles started.

“You can pretend to be my dad.  Throw some of my loathing and terror of hospitals at them and promise to take care of us when we leave.”

“You were both shot three times, Buffy.  You need to stay where there are doctors.”

“My first gunshot was healing just fine without doctors.”

“Buffy, we’re fast healers.” Steve said. “We can stay here for another day or so just to make sure everything looks good.”

“She’s not partial to hospitals.” Giles explained. “She never has been.”

“I avoid them whenever possible.  I’m feeling much better now.” Buffy said. “So, Giles, you go talk them into getting us out of here because you’re really good at that and Steve and I will start getting dressed.”

Before anyone could say anything, Sam held his hands up to stop her from getting out of the bed. “Where are you gonna go?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I went to get you guys some clothes, but your apartments are sealed.  There’re signs all over the doors to both of them saying to keep out and private property.  And there’re some new padlocks on there, too.”

Steve sighed. “That’s because S.H.I.E.L.D. owned them.  They’ve probably been seized by the government….”

“Or HYDRA.” Buffy added.  She sat back and sulked slightly. “They didn’t own everything in there.”

“Here’s an idea.” Giles said. “You two stay in the hospital for at least another day or so…. Let you both get completely healed…. And I’ll go speak with some realtors and find you two a place to live.”

“It’s like free accommodations with meals until then.” Sam said.

“Crappy meals.” Buffy said.  She chuckled at her unintended pun on Happy Meals.

“They may be crappy, but it’s all we’ve got right now.” Steve said. “I think that sounds reasonable.”

“Well, of course it sounds reasonable.  Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Steve laughed and kissed the top of her head.  He looked over at Giles. “I guess that means we’re staying.”

Giles stood up. “I suppose I’ve got some calls to make, then.  Buffy, you and Steve rest.  Heal.  I’ll come check on you later this evening.”

Sam stood up as well, following Giles to the door. “Where are you going?” Steve asked him.

“I’m hungry.  I’m going to go get some take out.” Sam said.

“And leave us with hospital food?” Buffy pouted.  Sam gave her a big grin before walking out.  She looked up at Steve. “I take it back.  I may not like your friend anymore.  At least Bucky shot us and then saved us.  Sam just walks off and leaves us here to starve on hospital food.”

Steve chuckled. “I don’t think we’ll be here too much longer.”

 

 

Two days later, Buffy and Steve stood in the empty living room of their newly acquired townhouse in Alexandria.  Giles had managed to not only find a place and buy it for them, but he’d done it in record time.  Willow had apparently thrown in some witchy assistance for him to get it settled so quickly and cheaply.

“This place is huge….” Buffy said, raising her eyebrow at the echo.

“How many bedrooms did he say it had?” Steve asked, walking around the large room and stopping in front of the fireplace.

Buffy ventured over to the stairs in the foyer and glanced up them. “He said there were only two, but this office over here by the stairs is big enough to be one.” When she turned back, Steve had made his way through the French doors at the back of the living room and into the kitchen.

“How are we going to furnish all of this?”

“Ikea?” Buffy suggested, catching up to him.  The kitchen led into a dining room where a large oak dining table that sat six people was sitting. “I guess they couldn’t get that out.  Well, one less thing to get new, at least.”

“Why are there two living rooms?” Sure enough, around the corner was another living space.

Buffy headed over to the sliding glass doors at the back of the kitchen. “We have a deck….”

“And a fairly big, fenced in yard.” Steve nodded his appreciation of that and then paused. “Is he trying to tell us to start a family?”

Buffy laughed. “I seriously hope not.  We’ve got a while before we should even start thinking in that vein.” She looked around. “Speaking of family, though, at least this place is big enough for three.  Bucky will need somewhere to stay when we find him.”

Steve looked down at her. “You think we will?”

“I know we will.  We have to.  Because if his memories are coming back…. If Bucky is coming back to himself…. He’s not going to like who he’s been for the last 70 plus years.  And I know you.  You won’t rest until we do find him.”

He nodded and jammed his hands into his pockets.  A knock on the front door made them exchange confused looks.  Buffy turned and headed for the door.  Tony Stark stood on the steps with an extra large bouquet of white lilies and pink roses and a small stuffed bear holding chocolates.  He grinned broadly at her. “Hey, Summers.”

“Tony?” Buffy shook her head. “How did you…”

“Well, I brought these to the hospital for you, but they told me you’d left already.  So I had JARVIS track you down.”

Buffy took the flowers and the bear and stood back for Tony to step inside. “Thank you.  They’re lovely.”

“Figured you’d like them.” Tony smiled at Steve. “Captain.”

“Mr. Stark.” Steve said, shaking his hand.

“Well, you two look like hell.”

“You should’ve seen us a week ago.” Buffy said, grateful that Tony had gotten a vase for the flowers.  She set them up on the mantel of the fireplace and fluffed them a bit.

“Sorry it took me so long to come by and check on you.  I only just found out that you were in the hospital.  So what happened?”

“His best friend shot us each three times and beat Steve to a bloody pulp all while we were in a crashing Helicarrier.”

“And taking out S.H.I.E.L.D. with it.  Bet Fury loved that.”

“He helped us do it.” Steve said.

“Hmm…. Shocking.  Why is there no furniture here?”

“We literally just got the place.  We haven’t gotten to move in yet.” Buffy said.  She paused and shook her head. “Not that we’ll have anything to move in.  All of our furniture in our old apartments has been seized by the government.”

“You know you’ll have a place to stay when my new Tower is finished in New York, right?”

“Didn’t know that, no.”

“There’s a place for all the Avengers.  Though….” Tony looked between Buffy and Steve. “I may need to knock down some walls between yours and the Cap’s places.  I hear that I lost the bet.  Your buddy Xander called to gloat.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe you guys put a bet on that.”

“You can’t?  Really?”

“Ok, you I definitely can.  Everyone else…. You’re a bad influence on.”

“Missed you, too, Summers.” Buffy rolled her eyes at Tony. “So, do I get a grand tour?”

“There’s not much to see.” Steve said.

“And we’re still just taking it ourselves.” Buffy added.
“You bought the place without looking at it first?” Tony asked incredulously.

“Actually, we didn’t buy it.  Giles did.  We just got out of the hospital this morning.”

Tony nodded and walked past them towards the kitchen. “What can I help with?”

“Nothing.” Steve said as Buffy said, “You don’t have to.”

“You’ve got a lot to furnish.”

“We’re going to break into our apartments and get as much of our stuff as possible.” Steve said.

“And we’ve got some savings that we can use to buy furniture.” Buffy said. “It won’t be much, but it’ll be a start and it’ll be ours.”

“If you change your minds, the offer still stands.”

“Thank you, Tony.  It’s really appreciated.”

He turned to them and grinned. “At least let me buy you a housewarming gift.  This is your first place together!  It’s a huge step that needs to be celebrated.”

“And what would you get us?”

“Well….” He looked around the kitchen and smiled. “How about a cookware set?  That’s an appropriate housewarming gift.”

“Ok.  You can get us a cookware set.”

“Great!  Awesome!  Good decision because I was going to get it for you anyway.”

“That’s why I said yes.”

“I knew you were smart.” Tony clapped his hands. “You know, I’m going to go shopping for that set right now.” He headed for the front door.

“You’re leaving?” Steve asked.

“Of course I’m leaving.  You don’t have any furniture to sit on.” Tony turned around and hugged Buffy gently. “I’m really glad you two are ok.  Life would be boring without you around to amuse me.” He shook Steve’s hand. “And I’m happy you two finally woke up and smelled the roses.  You’re good together.”

“Bye, Tony.” Buffy said, shaking her head.

 

 

Steve waited for Buffy to open the front door while he balanced some boxes in his arms.  It had been two days since they’d left the hospital with no word from Tony.  Buffy had asked Steve to go out for boxes that they could use when they snuck into their apartments to steal back their stuff.  Finally she opened the door and her expression told him something was off. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s…. wrong.  We just got some house warming gifts.” Buffy said, taking a couple of the boxes.

“I thought we were only getting the one from Tony.” Steve set the boxes down in the office to get them out of the way and turned to see the front living room filled with wrapped gifts. “Oh wow.  Who are they all from?”

“Well, the rest of our Avengers team, apparently.  Though how Thor knew to send us a housewarming gift, let alone what a housewarming gift is, is completely beyond me.  My friends sent some.  Agent Hill sent us some stuff.  Dawn sent us something too.  Oh, and we won’t be needing groceries for a while.” She took his hand and led him into the kitchen. “Because Tony had pretty much a whole grocery store delivered to us.” There were grocery bags filled with every assortment of food one could think of.  Buffy opened the refrigerator to show that it and the freezer were also packed full.

“I thought he was only getting us a cookware set.”

“I should’ve known he would do this.  And we can’t complain.  I’m not sure if he bought everything and put everyone’s names on them or if he called them up and told them.”

“You haven’t talked to him?”

“Not today.”

“All right, finished putting that together.” Sam said, walking in.  He’d been upstairs putting together Buffy and Steve’s bedroom set they’d gotten. “It’s up to you to decorate and put the sheets on.”

“Thanks, Sam.”

“So, now that Cap’s home, can we open presents?  I’ve been dying to rip into them and see what you got.”

“That’s up to Steve.  I’m still trying to figure out where to put all of this food.” She held up a bottle of olives. “I mean, when will I ever need cocktail olives?”

“Throw a party.  I’m sure someone will use them.  I mean, you guys worked with bunch of James Bonds.  Spies like martinis, right?”

Buffy rolled her eyes at Sam. “You’re hilarious.”

“I know.  Come on!  Let’s go open presents.  It’s like Christmas came early.”

 

 

Buffy sat curled up in Steve’s arms on the couch two days later.  They were in the back living room with the TV on.  The presents had all been things one would actually need to make a house a home.  Plenty of kitchen electronics and some furniture; a high thread count, Egyptian cotton sheet set; towels and other bathroom essentials; a complete office set with a desk, chair, bookshelf, and a really nice computer; the large, flat screen TV they were currently watching….

“I think Stark did all this.” Steve said.

“I think he did, too.” Buffy said.

“And you’re right.  We can’t complain.  We needed all of this stuff.”

“I’ll send him a thank you note from us.” She shifted slightly, rolling her injured shoulder slightly.

“How are you feeling?”

“Honestly, my stomach and shoulder are still a little sore.  I don’t think I’m healed completely yet and I don’t think lifting all of this furniture was a smart idea.  You?”

“My leg and shoulder are a bit sore, too.  I vote we take the day to just lay around and heal some more.”

“That sounds great.  We can watch Nat on CSPAN when she goes in front of that committee later today.” Buffy’s stomach rumbled and she laughed.

“Sounds like you’re hungry.” Steve laughed. “Or a monster is about to pop out of your stomach.  Which, I saw that movie and I really hope that’s not what it is.”

She laughed. “Hungry.  I haven’t eaten all morning.”

“Stay here.  I’ll make you breakfast.” Steve looked at the clock. “Or rather, lunch.”

Buffy smiled. “Steve Rogers pancakes?”

“Of course.”

“Yay!”

He dislodged his arms from around her and stood up.  Bracing himself on the couch, Steve leaned down to kiss her before heading into the kitchen. “You know, it’s almost refreshing not to worry about getting called away on a job.”

“Isn’t it?  I almost don’t know how to relax.” She called back.  Deciding she didn’t want to yell back and forth, she got up and walked into the kitchen.  Steve was gathering things to make breakfast and she slid up onto the counter to watch him.  He wasn’t in a shirt and she enjoyed watching his muscles ripple under his skin.

“Do you want blueberries?” He asked.

“I would love blueberries.”

It dawned on her that this was their first time completely alone together since their time in the hideaway.  They’d been so exhausted the last few nights from getting out of the hospital, moving in to their new place, and shopping for furniture that they’d just gone straight to sleep every night.  Sam and Riley had both come over to help them every day and Riley hadn’t left till late last night.  He said it was nice to get away from the kids for a while.  It also dawned on her that Steve was the first man she’d ever shared a place with.  They had taken a huge step in their relationship and it hadn’t even really been acknowledged.

“You look like your brain is about pop.” Steve said, stopping what he was doing to walk over to her. “Are you ok?”

“Just thinking.” Buffy said distractedly.

“About what?”

She looked up at him. “Steve, we moved in together.”

He smiled patiently. “I noticed.”

“I’ve never done that before.”

“I haven’t either.”

“Doesn’t it scare you?  Even a little bit?”

Steve reached up and took her face gently between his hands. “Of course it scares me.  I’ve never made it this far with a woman.  I’m just as new at this whole thing as you are.” He kissed her forehead and moved his hands down to her thighs. “But remember what we said?  One day at a time, Buffy.  We’re not going to panic about this.”

“I’m not panicking.”

“Really?  It sounds like you’re starting to.”

“No, I just…. We kind of didn’t even talk about it.  We just…. Did it.  Isn’t that supposed to be a big discussion or something?”

“Ok, look at it this way: it’s not really that much different from living across the hall from each other.  At least that’s how I see it.  We spent so much time together in one or the other of our apartments and we’ve stayed the night at each other’s places.  Now we’re just cutting out the hallway.”

“I know.  I know I shouldn’t be all ‘eeeee’ about it, but this is a huge step.”

“It is a huge step.  But I think we were both ready to take it.” He took her hands in his. “You’re my best friend, Buff.  The one I want to spend the rest of my life with anyway I can.”

“That sounds like the makings of a proposal.”

Steve shook his head with a smile. “Not yet.  Eventually, but not right now.  Right now we need to figure out who we are as a newly moved in together couple.  One day at a time.”

She held his gaze for a long moment before leaning in and kissing him gently. “One day at a time.”

He kissed her again before heading back over to the stove. “Good, you didn’t make me burn the bacon.” Steve turned and winked at her with a laugh.

Buffy watched him work for a little while, curling her legs underneath her on the counter.  As he was mixing the pancake batter, she said, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.  Communication is one thing we’ve always had going for us.  I’m happy that you feel comfortable enough to let me know you’re scared.”

“I don’t want to mess this up.  I’m really good at messing up good things.  I don’t want to run you off with my neuroses.”

“It’s been two years.  You haven’t run me off yet.”

“Are you saying I’ve had neurotic moments since we met?”

“A few.” Steve chuckled. “I’d say the last year was a huge neurotic moment for both of us.”

“Why?  Because we over thought the other’s actions and feelings and couldn’t get it together enough to just say out loud that we were in love with each other?”

“Exactly.  Don’t hold back on me.  You once promised me you wouldn’t.”

“That was in sparring practice.”

“It reflects on non-sparring, everyday life practices, too.  We can’t wait months and months again before we tell each other what we’re feeling.  It’ll tear us apart.”

“Ok.  As long as you promise not to hold back with me.  If I do anything that weirds you out or makes you want to run for the hills….”

“I’ll tell you.” He walked over and kissed her. “It’s a deal.” Buffy grabbed his hand before he could leave and pulled him back for a deeper kiss. “I’m officially burning the bacon.” He said against her lips.

“Turn it off and take me upstairs.” She pulled back to grin at him. “That’s an order, Captain.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Buffy squealed slightly as he hauled her off the counter and over his shoulder, careful not to put any pressure on her still healing stomach.  He turned the stove off and put the batter in the refrigerator before turning and heading for the stairs.

 

 

Steve rolled off Buffy and laughed. “What?” She asked, turning on her side and propping her head up with her elbow.

He took her hand running up his chest and kissed her fingertips. “I just can’t believe how amazing this can be with someone you love.”

“It is pretty great.” Buffy leaned over and kissed his shoulder as he weaved his fingers in her hair. “It’s even better when you’ve got someone with stamina to match yours.” She glanced up at the clock and realized what time it was. “Crap, we’ve got to get dressed.”

Steve looked over at the clock and sighed. “Yes, we do.”

It had been three weeks since they’d moved in together.  It had been a slow process, but they’d finally found a good rhythm together with only minimal arguing about things.  They’d also talked about how to find Bucky since S.H.I.E.L.D. was out of commission.  They decided that their best bet would be to head to London and consult with Willow.  They were also going to use the army of Slayers around the world to keep an eye out for him.  Buffy had also asked Natasha if she had any contacts that could help.  She’d said that she might have something.  Tony had offered to help as well and it was the first time he and Steve hadn’t argued with him.

The night before, they’d both received texts from Nick Fury asking them to meet him at his grave the next afternoon.  They’d woken up that morning and, like a good portion of their mornings, hadn’t managed to leave the bed.  Despite being friends and confidantes for over two years, they were still enjoying the honeymoon phase of their relationship.  The text from Fury had signaled the return to life outside of their little bubble.

“You know, we could always just stay in bed.” Buffy slid on top of Steve and slid up to kiss his neck. “Pretend we didn’t get the texts.”

He ran his fingers up and down her spine. “That sounds a lot better than getting back out there, but we texted him back.”

“Why would we do that?”

“A sense of duty?”

“A moment of insanity.” Buffy sighed and rolled off Steve and out of bed, stealing the sheet and wrapping it around her.

Steve grabbed the edge of the sheet and pulled, dragging her back to the bed.  He caught her as she fell backwards and sat up, kissing her. “We have our whole lives to lay in bed.  Today we need to go see Fury.”

“I hate it when you do the whole reason and sense thing.”

He shrugged. “Someone has to do it.  Might as well be me since I’m the older of the two of us.”

“All right.” Buffy kissed Steve again. “Let’s go see what our old boss wants.”

Current Meet Former

“Buff, sit down.” Steve said. “You’re making me dizzy.”

“Sorry.  He’ll be here soon.” Buffy said, pausing in her pacing for only a moment.  She, Steve, Sam, Bruce, Pepper, and Tony were all sitting in the front living room of Buffy and Steve’s townhouse in DC waiting for their guest to arrive.  It had been about four months since the destruction of the Triskelion.  Buffy and Steve had settled into their life together away from S.H.I.E.L.D.  They were going over to London for a while and working at Slayer HQ since their search for Bucky was hitting dead end after dead end.

“You know that you didn’t have to call him.” Tony said. “This is just asking for trouble.”

“Tony!” Pepper scolded.

“What?  It is trouble.  Look at what happened when I met your ex.”

“Killian was not my ex.”

Tony ignored her and looked at Steve. “You’re not supposed to seek out the ex, Rogers.  What if he hates you?”

“So he hates me?  I don’t need his approval.” Steve said.

“Then why call him and invite him over for dinner?”

“Because he’s important to Buffy and I want to meet him.”

“Please stop arguing.” Buffy said. “Can’t you two be together for five minutes without arguing?”

“I’m so sorry, Buffy.” Pepper said.

“No, I’m sorry.” Steve stood up and gripped Buffy’s shoulders. “I shouldn’t let him bait me like that.”

“I’m not baiting anyone.” Tony said. “I’m just stating that it’s inviting trouble in when you meet the ex.” Buffy shot Tony a withering glare and he sighed. “Look, I get that this Angel guy is your first love and that you care about him, but didn’t him meeting Riley go over like a lead balloon?”

“That was different.” Buffy said. “They met in a dark alley when Angel was fighting the Initiative commandos trying to kill him…. And it was also just after I’d told Riley that Angel upset me…. And on top of that, Xander had opened his big mouth and told him what triggered Angel losing his soul.  Riley was just…. being protective.  So was Angel.”

“So you’re not worried about your house being trashed?”

“No.  Steve knows everything between Angel and I.  He’s very well prepared.”

“Then why are we here?” Tony pointed at himself, Pepper, Bruce, and Sam.

“I really wish you wouldn’t drag me into this.  I’m just here for the free food.” Sam said. 

“You guys are here because you’re our friends and this is a dinner for friends.” Steve said.

“Where’s Natasha?” Bruce asked.

“Still MIA.  We haven’t seen her since we saw her at the cemetery a few weeks after we took down S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Just then, the doorbell rang.  Buffy’s eyes widened and she took a deep breath.  Steve gave her hand a squeeze as she went to open the door.  Angel stood there in his typical black pants, a dark gray button up shirt, and a long black duster that stopped just past his knees.  His hair was a little longer and styled a little better than his usual crazy spikes.  He looked just as handsome as she remembered, especially when he smiled at her.

“Buffy.” His voice formed her name like it always had.  He was carrying a large bouquet of stargazer lilies.

Buffy smiled. “Hi.” She stepped outside, took the flowers from him, and gave him a tight hug.

“This place is pretty amazing.”

“Giles found it while we were in the hospital three months ago.”

“You were in the hospital?”

Buffy chuckled. “Yeah.  Did you hear about that big Helicarrier crash in the Potomac?”

“The one that destroyed that government agency’s building?”

“Yeah.  Well, I had something to do with that.  In fact, I was in one of those Helicarriers as it was crashing with three bullet holes in me.”

Angel shook his head. “What have you gotten yourself into?”

“Well, I did have a nice paying job with S.H.I.E.L.D., but like all government agencies I get involved in, it turned out to be not so great.  So I got rid of it.” She smiled brightly. “Come in, Angel.  I want to introduce you to everyone.”

“You can start with me.”

Buffy looked around Angel to see Natasha standing there. “Nat!  What are you doing here?”

Natasha smiled as she moved around Angel and hugged Buffy tightly. “You didn’t think I’d miss this, did you?”

“How did you even know about this?”

“Just because I blew all of my covers doesn’t mean that I don’t have ways to keep tabs on my friends.” She looped one arm through Buffy’s and held her hand out to Angel. “Hi.  I’m Buffy’s friend Natasha.”

“Hi Natasha.  I’m Angel.” He said, shaking her hand.

“The ex.  Yeah, she’s mentioned you.” Natasha looked at Buffy and grinned. “Nice flowers.  What’s for dinner?”

Buffy led the way back inside where Sam, Bruce, Pepper, and Tony stood up.  Steve stood off to the side waiting to greet Angel.  Natasha went over to him as Buffy introduced Angel to the others. “Angel, this is Sam Wilson.” Angel shook his hand. “And this is Pepper Potts.”

“Nice to meet you.” Angel said, shaking her hand.

“I’ve heard a lot about you.” Pepper said.

“This is Bruce Banner.”

Bruce shook Angel’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too.” Angel said.

Buffy turned Angel to Tony. “And this is….”

“Tony Stark.” Angel said.  He leaned down as he was shaking Tony’s hand and lowered his voice. “How are you friends with Tony Stark?”

“Long story.” Buffy shook her head and directed Angel towards Steve. “And this is Steve….”

Angel’s eyes widened. “Captain America?”

“My boyfriend.”

“Wait…. You’re…. Dating Captain America?”

“More than, I guess you could say.  We’re living together.  This is our house.”

“Where have I been?”

“I don’t know.  It’s been a few years since I last saw you.”

“Sorry…. Can I…. Can I talk to you in private?” Angel made his way to the kitchen.

Buffy looked at Steve for a moment.  Tony looked at them and held his hands out. “See?  What did I tell you?”

“Tony.” Pepper hissed.

Buffy shoved the flowers into Tony’s arms. “Shut up.” She headed into the kitchen and took Angel’s arm, leading him out to the deck.

Angel paced away from Buffy and leaned against the railing, looking out at the darkened yard.  She shut the door behind her and crossed her arms, steeling herself for whatever he had to say. “I thought this call was the one I’ve been waiting on.” He said finally. “The one where you tell me you’re finally ready for a relationship….” Angel turned around to look at her. “With me.”

Buffy took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.  I should’ve told you about Steve when I called.”
“Yeah.  You should’ve.” 

“I didn’t know that you thought….” She took a deep breath to keep from getting upset. “It’s been years since we last talked, Angel.  Why would you think I would call you out of the blue and want a relationship all of a sudden?”

“Isn’t that what we said that night?”

“That was years ago.  I was a different person.  Back then, when I looked into the future, yes…. I wanted it to be you.  Two years ago I still wanted it to be you, but Steve….” She smiled at the thought of him, unable to stop herself. “I didn’t expect Steve.  Hell, I didn’t expect any of this.  When S.H.I.E.L.D. approached me about a job, this is not where I thought I would end up.”

“Do you love him?”
“Very much so, yes.  These last two years with him…. They’ve been amazing.  We were both lost when we met.  We didn’t know where we stood in the world anymore.  He had just been woken up after 70 years on ice and I was starting to feel like I wasn’t needed at Slayer HQ anymore.  Xander, Willow, and Giles had everything running smoothly.  I just went out and backed the girls up every now and then.  So when Fury wanted to stop Loki from destroying our world, he threw the Slayer and Captain America together as partners in a team of superheroes.  Steve and I became great friends through our partnership and our work with S.H.I.E.L.D.  We began to rely on each other and this….” She gestured at the home they were making for themselves. “This just grew from that.  I trust him completely.  You know, I’ve never had that before.”

“I guess you haven’t.”

“We couldn’t be together, you know.  You still have that loophole.”

“I know.” Angel took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.  When you called….” He shook his head. “I’ve been so lonely since that battle with Wolfram and Hart.  Illyria isn’t exactly the best of company.”

Buffy moved over to stand next to him, looking out over the yard as well. “You know you have a place at Slayer HQ.  We could always use your knowledge to help train the girls.”

Angel nodded and turned to look at her, leaning one arm on the deck railing. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Which one?”

“How are you friends with Tony Stark?”

“Carefully.” Buffy laughed. “He can be a handful sometimes.” She glanced back inside where she could see into the front living room.  Everyone was pretending not to be interested in the conversation going on out on the deck. “He’s a great friend, though.  When Steve and I lost pretty much everything we had when we brought down S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony stepped in and helped us get up and running again.”

“How did you meet him?”

“We’re all part of the Avengers Team.”

“That was you in New York a couple years ago?”

“Yup.”

“Wow.  I’d heard there was a strong blonde woman fighting with Captain America.  I should’ve guessed it was you.”

“Can you believe I actually get paid to save the world?”

“You’ve been complaining about the lack of pay for that.”

“For a long time.  Guess I’m back to that now that we took down our bosses.” Buffy shrugged. “So, will you meet Steve now without freaking out?”

“Can’t guarantee anything.” Buffy glared up at him and he chuckled slightly. “Sorry.”

She shook her head and walked over to the door, opening it and calling Steve’s name.  He walked out on the deck and Buffy shut the door again.  Tony held out his hands and gave her a what-the-hell look.  She just smiled at him and turned around. “Let’s try this again.  Angel, this is my boyfriend Steve Rogers.  Steve this is Angel.”

Steve held out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Angel took Steve’s hand and gave it a firm shake. “Likewise.  You and your Howling Commandos did a lot of good during the War.”

“Thank you.”

“Didn’t you serve some, too, Angel?” Buffy said.

“I wouldn’t call it serving.  Some military thugs showed up, said they had a captured sub in trouble and they needed someone like me to go down and save them.  I was forced into it.” He smirked. “They were surprised when I showed up in their torpedo tube.  I heard one of them say they thought I was in the Super Solider program like you.”

“What happened with the sub?” Steve asked.

“The Nazis were transporting vampires for experimentation.  They wanted to make their own Super Soldiers from them.  The vampires woke up and the crew that captured the sub couldn’t handle them.” Angel looked at Buffy. “Spike was one of them.”

“He told me.” Buffy said.

“I killed two of them.  Should’ve gotten rid of Spike, too.  The sub got damaged and the German hostage got free and shot the commander of the sub.  I had to turn him to save the rest of the crew.  I sent him and Spike swimming before I jumped ship off the coast of Maine and hid till the war was over.  I didn’t want to end up one of those experiments.”

Steve nodded. “What happened to the commander?”

“Showed up a few decades later threatening to kill my friends.  He’d lost his mind somewhere along the way.  He was a soldier without a purpose and that was my fault.  I ended up finishing the job I should’ve finished back in the 40s.”

Buffy noticed that Steve didn’t seem to appreciate the ending of that story.  She slipped her hand into his and said, “Tony is getting ready to invent an eavesdropping machine if we don’t go back in.  Let’s not be rude to our other guests anymore.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah.  The food smells about done now.”

Natasha met them in the kitchen.  She was looking through the refrigerator for something to drink.  Buffy walked over and stood next to her as Steve and Angel joined the others in the living room. “You all right?” Natasha asked.

“This may have been a bad idea.” Buffy said, grabbing the plates to set the table with.

“Don’t tell Stark that.” Natasha picked up the silverware and napkins and followed Buffy to the table. “He’s been in here saying just that.”

“He was saying it before Angel even got here.”

“What was all that about?”

“Angel thought that I was calling to tell him I was ready for a relationship with him.”

“Ouch.”

“Big ouch.” 

“You got it all sorted out now?”

“Maybe.” Buffy glanced at Steve checking on the food in the oven. “I hope.”

“Steve’s not going to be rude.”

“It’s not him I’m worried about.”

“You think Angel will?”

“He’s almost 300 years old and manners have never been his strong suit.”

Steve walked over with the large bowl of salad. “Dinner’s about ready to be served.  Just waiting on the bread.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll go make sure the veggie tray is still a hit.” Natasha said, walking back into the front living room to give them some privacy.

Steve set the bowl down and turned to Buffy.  He took her hand and pulled her into the back living room, gently brushing her hair back from her face. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah.  I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t be sorry.  You couldn’t have known he would react like that.”

“I know.”

“Can I ask why he reacted like that?”

Buffy sighed and looked down at her heels. “He, uh…. He thought I was inviting him here to start a relationship with him again.  You were a surprise for him.”

“You didn’t tell him on the phone?”

“No.  I told him there was someone I’d like him to meet….”

“And when he got here, a good portion of the Avengers Team was standing around.”

“Yeah.  I should have told him about you, but I never even thought that he would think…. I’m sorry, Steve.”

He smiled and kissed her forehead. “Don’t be.  We’ll be fine.”

“You seemed kind of upset about his sub story.  I’m apologizing for bringing that up, too.  I remembered that he’d been a part of the War and I thought it would be common ground for you guys.  I didn’t know about the ending.”

Steve smiled slightly. “It was only upsetting because it just reminded me that we all did things we aren’t proud of back then.  Also, if Angel had killed Spike back then, he never would’ve hurt you that way.”

Buffy wrapped her arms around Steve and buried her face in his chest. “Don’t think about it.”

“I just…. I hate that anyone could do that to you.  I want to protect you, even from your past.  I know it’s completely irrational, but….”

“That’s love.”

He chuckled and it rumbled against Buffy’s cheek. “That’s love.” Steve kissed the top of her head.

“So I’m guessing that meeting Spike is out of the question.”

“Oh, I would put a stake through his heart faster than you could say ‘Bob’s your uncle.’”

“He’s really not that bad…. Well, now he’s not that bad.  I do still care for him.”

“I’d have to set my foot down on that one.  It would be pushing it for me.”

Buffy looked up at Steve. “That’s fine.  No inviting Spike over for dinner.”

“Speaking of dinner…. What is it with you making me burn food?”

They went over and started pulling everything out of the oven and putting things in their serving dishes that “Pepper” had gotten them.  Nothing was burnt, thankfully.  The table was set and the food looked great.  Steve set out the bottles of wine they’d gotten for the occasion and called everyone to dinner.  Buffy and Steve sat on opposite ends of the table since they were the hosts.  Angel sat to Buffy’s left with Natasha beside him and Sam between her and Steve.  To Buffy’s right was Tony and Pepper sat between him and Bruce.  The table had originally sat six people, but Steve and Buffy had discovered an extra leaf and two extra chairs down in the basement, so everyone fit comfortably.

“This looks great, Buffy.” Angel said.

“Thank Steve.  He’s the cook.  But I made the salad.  It’s idiot proof.  Open bag, pour in bowl, add cheese.” Buffy said.

“You helped with the rolls, too.” Steve said. “It wasn’t all me.”

Buffy shrugged. “Kneading isn’t so hard.”

“So this is all homemade?” Pepper asked.
“Steve wanted to make this dinner special.”

“So, I bought some cookbooks and watched a lot of the Food Network.” Steve finished. “Hopefully it tastes as good as it looks.” Bruce said.

As they all began passing around the food, Tony looked over at Angel. “So, Angel, what do you do these days?  Are you still running…. Angel Investigations, was it?”

“Angel Investigations.  Yeah.” Angel said. “No.  I haven’t used that in a while.  No one to run it with.”

“Why not?”

“Everyone that I ran it with is, um…. Gone.”

“Oh.  Sorry.  Buffy didn’t tell us.”

“I didn’t think you’d ask.” Buffy said.

“Angel, why don’t you help out at Slayer HQ?  I’m sure your skills and experience could be used there.” Natasha said.

“Buffy’s offered a couple of times.” Angel said.

“Why haven’t you taken her up on it?” Steve asked.

Angel shrugged. “There’s not much I can really do.  I’m a bit limited on when I can work.”

“There’s plenty of training indoors that could be done.”
“Tony has offered to be a benefactor for Slayer HQ.  He’s building a state of the art training center for the girls.” Buffy said.

“Really?” Angel looked impressed. “That’s very generous of you.”

Tony shook his head. “It’s a good cause.  Those girls are like an extension of Buffy.  They keep the world safe just like their amazing leader does.”

“So, you two met in New York?” Angel gestured between Tony and Buffy.

“Germany.” Buffy said. “He saved me from Thor’s brother, Loki.”

Tony waved away the comment. “You were holding your own.  I distracted you and that’s the only reason he got a shot in.”

“Steve and I were on our first mission as partners.  Our boss Fury had called Tony in for backup.”

“He called us in to get the Avengers together.” Natasha said.

“You know,” Tony said. “Just because S.H.I.E.L.D. is out of the game doesn’t mean the Avengers have to be.”

“What do you mean?” Steve asked.

“I mean…. Let’s keep a good thing going.  Earth’s Mightiest Heroes keeping the world safe.”

“I thought that was Buffy’s army of Slayers.”

“They don’t have outfits.”

“I don’t have an outfit.” Buffy said. “Well, I don’t anymore.”

“Actually…. I’ve been working on one for you.  And for you, Rogers.”

“Why?”

“You’re part of the Avengers.  We all need suits.”

“Banner doesn’t have a suit.” Natasha said.

“Well, it’s a little difficult to get the green guy’s measurements.”

“Green guy?” Angel asked.

“We call him the Hulk.” Buffy said. “He’s Bruce’s alter ego.”

“I was trying to replicate what happened with Steve using Gamma radiation.” Bruce said. “The experiment backfired and I ended up with a….”

“Giant green rage monster.” Tony interjected.
“That.”

“Oh.” Angel nodded. “I remember seeing that on the news…. A few times.”

“Yeah.”

Angel looked at Buffy. “You’re keeping interesting company these days, Buffy.”

“Haven’t I always?” Buffy retorted.

“Touché.”

“How did you and Buffy meet?” Pepper asked.

“He was stalking me so I kicked his ass.” Buffy said.

“That’s not exactly how it happened.” Angel defended.

“You were stalking me.  I lured you into an alley and then used my Slayer skills to attack you from behind.”

“I just wanted to give you the necklace.”

“That’s one way to fall in love.” Bruce said.

Everyone laughed. “Angel didn’t want me, though.” Buffy said. “He spent months being Mr. Cryptic and keeping his distance.”

“I didn’t want you to know I was a vampire.” Angel corrected.
“Well, I figured it out eventually and you still avoided me.”

The rest of the dinner went smoothly.  Everyone took turns telling stories and getting to know each other better.  Buffy caught Steve’s eyes at one point and they smiled at each other.  After dessert was finished, Natasha helped them clear off the table while Angel took a tour of the house with Sam.

“You were worried for nothing.” Natasha said to Buffy as they headed out to the patio.

“Apparently.” Buffy said. “I’m glad it’s going well.  I was worried something would happen.”

“Like what?”

“Well, like zombies attacking or having to run off to save someone or Angel being rude to Steve.”

“I don’t think we gave him much of a chance.”

“I appreciate that.  I’m really glad you could make it.”

Natasha nodded. “You guys have really made a home here.”

Buffy glanced at Steve wiping down the table. “Yeah.  It’s really nice.  I’m going to miss it.”

“Why?”

“A few reasons.  Mostly Giles needs some help running Slayer HQ since Xander is leaving for his job in LA and Willow is going to be gone for a couple of months on a witch retreat.  And with all the projects Tony’s got in mind, someone has to oversee them.  We’re leaving for London next week and then we’re talking about moving back to New York in a couple of months and making Avengers Tower a second base for Slayer HQ.”

“I’ve missed a lot while I was gone.”

“You should stick around for a while.  You’d be a great help with the girls.”

Natasha laughed slightly. “I don’t make friends easy.  Especially girl friends.”

“You don’t have to tell me.  I know firsthand.”

She smiled. “I’m happy for you two.  Maybe once everything is settled, I’ll come join the Slayer Brigade.”
“I would like that.”

Bruce walked out onto the patio. “Ladies.”

“Dr. Banner.” Natasha said.

“Buffy, your house is nice.  I took the tour as well.”

“I wish I could take credit for choosing it, but that was all Giles.” Buffy said. “Steve and I were just laid up in a hospital bed.  And speaking of….” Steve was making his way over to her. “Hey.”

“Sorry the chicken was dry.” Steve said again. “I left it in for too long, I think.”

“It was good.” Bruce said. “Not dry at all.”

“You’re a good cook, Rogers.” Natasha said.

“Thanks.” Steve said. “I appreciate you saying that.”

Bruce smiled and pointed between Buffy and Steve. “So when will I get a Save the Date from you two?”

They exchanged glances and shrugged. “We don’t have any plans for that yet.” Steve said.

“I still can’t believe Xander beat me in the pool.  I thought I’d gotten it the closest.”

“You put money in that, too!?” Buffy cried. “Seriously?”

Bruce laughed. “The chemistry between you two is undeniable.”

“Thor even put some money in.” Natasha said.

“Yeah.  We heard about that.” Steve laughed.

“Out of curiosity,” Tony said, walking out onto the patio with Pepper. “Do you two ever fight?”

“What kind of question is that?” Buffy asked.

“Well, they say couples that have never fought are doomed to fail.  I’ve never once seen you two have a disagreement and that worries me.”

“Yes, we’ve had arguments.” Steve said. “We just don’t have them out in public or in front of our friends.  We’re just like every other normal couple in the world.”

“Good.” Tony smirked. “I don’t want to have to build those walls back up between your apartments.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Thank you for caring in your special way, Tony.”

“You’re welcome.  Hey, what would your couple name be?  Stuffy?”

Before anyone could respond, Sam and Angel came out onto the patio. “This place is amazing, Buffy.” Angel said. “You guys have really made it something.”

“Thank you.” Buffy said.

“So, Bruce and Sam did some convincing while I was on the tour and I think I’m in.”

“In where?”

“You offered me a position at Slayer HQ and I’m in.”

“Oh!  Really?  You changed your mind?”

“I may have thrown in some incentives.” Tony said.

“Like what?” Steve asked.

“Uh…. A paycheck.  Necrotempered windows on his car…. And a flat in London.”

“And what will Angel be doing?” Buffy asked.

“Teaching.  And whatever else you want me to do.” Angel said. 

“He’ll be a paid employee at Slayer HQ just like we agreed for your friends.” Tony added.

“Actually, it wasn’t the incentives from Mr. Stark.”

“Tony.”

“Sorry.  Tony.  It was Sam talking about you and the Captain and all the good you’ve done with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers and Slayer HQ…. And talking about when we first met, it reminded me of why I started fighting the good fight.” Angel sighed. “This is going to sound corny, but I have to say it.  I tend to lose my way sometimes.  I signed away my shanshu and didn’t think I had anything to fight for anymore, but I forget that since the very beginning, Buffy, you’ve been the key to my salvation.  This dinner reminded me of that and I’m ready to get back into the fight.”

Buffy shook her head. “I had no idea you did that.  Why did you do that?”

“It was the only way to bring down the Senior Partners.  The members of the Black Thorn wouldn’t trust me until they knew I had nothing left.”

Buffy nodded. “You’re kind of an idiot, you know that?  You should’ve called me.  I would’ve helped.”

“You made your feelings perfectly clear about the firm I was working for.”

“Yes, I hated Wolfram and Hart.  After everything you told me about them, all the horrible things they did to you and your friends, not to mention countless others in the world…. Of course I hated them.  They were pure evil.  And you deciding to work for them was probably the craziest thing you’ve ever done.  But despite all of that, I still would’ve helped you.  I’m never above helping my friends out.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You should be.”

“I defeated them.”

“Not without heavy casualties that were completely unnecessary if you would’ve just picked up the phone and called me.”

Steve squeezed Buffy’s waist to reign her back in. “Buff, he said he was sorry.”

Buffy sighed. “I know.  Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Angel said. “You’re right, though.  I should’ve put my anger at you aside and called for help.”

She nodded and smiled slightly. “It’s just because you wanted to slay the dragon and not share.”

“Dragon?” Tony asked.

“There was a dragon.” Angel said.

“They’re real?” Pepper asked.

“Yes, but they don’t live in our dimension anymore.” Buffy said.  She looked at Angel. “I wonder if it was the same dragon that came through the portal the night I died the second time.”

“I thought the same thing when I saw it.” Angel said.  He shrugged. “Guess we’ll never know.”

“I’m ok with that as long as it’s gone from our dimension.”

“I made sure of that.”

Bruce looked at his watch. “It’s getting late.  I better head back to the hotel.  It’s not good if I get too tired.”

“Want some company on the way back?” Natasha asked him.

“Sure.  It’ll be nice to catch up.” Bruce looked at Buffy and Steve. “Dinner was great.  We should do it again soon.”

“Definitely.” Buffy hugged Bruce tightly. “We’ll see you later.” Bruce shook Steve’s hand as Natasha hugged Buffy.

“I’ll try not to be such a stranger.” She said to the blonde.

“Good.”

Natasha looked at Steve. “Rogers.”

“Nat.” Steve said, giving her a smile.  They watched as Bruce and Natasha said their goodbyes to everyone else and headed out.

“I’m gonna follow their lead and head out, too.” Sam said.

“We should, too.” Pepper said to Tony.

“You don’t want to stick around?” Tony asked.

“We should let Buffy and Steve have their house back.”

As they made their way to the front door, Angel waited in the living room to let Buffy and Steve say their goodbyes to Sam, Tony, and Pepper.  They joined him a moment later. “I shouldn’t overstay my welcome.” He said.

“Where are you staying?” Buffy asked.

“A hotel a couple miles away.”

“Do you need a ride back?”

“No.  I’ve got my car.  It’s parked three blocks away.  But you can walk me to it, if you like.”

“Ok.” Buffy nodded. “I’ll get my coat.” She went into the coat closet under the stairs and grabbed her coat. “Steve, I’ll be right back.”

“Ok.” Steve smiled and kissed her quickly. “I’m going to finish putting the dishes in the dishwasher.”

Buffy and Angel made their way down the front steps and onto the sidewalk. “You’ve really got a good life finally.” Angel said.

“Yeah.  I think so.” Buffy said. “It’s a good balance between my Slayer life and my regular life now.”

Angel glanced back at the townhouse. “I like him, Buffy.  He’s good for you.”

She smiled. “I wasn’t sure you’d give a seal of approval.”

“It’s begrudgingly that I do, but I can’t deny that you two have amazing chemistry together.  It’s good that he can keep up with you, too.  Not a lot of guys can give you normal and superhero at the same time.”

“Was that a dig at Riley?”

“A little bit.  I know he’s married with kids, but I still don’t like him.”

Buffy shrugged. “It’s ok.  He still doesn’t like you, either.  He was going to come tonight until I told him you were coming.”

He laughed. “You’d think we’d have grown up a little by now.”

“You’d think.”

“I will admit that it hurts that it’s not me you’ve found happiness with.  I am jealous.  But I want you to be happy and you are very obviously happy.”

“Thank you.” She spotted his car parked on the next block. “I’m glad you agreed to come help out at Slayer HQ.”

“I am too.  Will I get to see you much or will you be busy working with the Avengers?”

“My time will be split.  HYDRA is still out there.  Fury has been in contact with us about it.  There’s a lot of factions out there that the remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D. can’t handle without some help.  This isn’t the first time Tony has talked about keeping the Avengers going.  Working with Slayer HQ to make it bigger and more state of the art is sort of our version of a new S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“Is that a good idea?  I mean, didn’t you say the reason you had to take down S.H.I.E.L.D. was because HYDRA took it over from the inside?  Wouldn’t bringing back S.H.I.E.L.D. be dangerous with HYDRA still out there?”

“HYDRA infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. over the course of decades and since we know about it now and we know a lot of their tactics they’ve been using, it’ll be a lot harder for them.  With the Avengers on the front lines and Tony keeping tabs on everyone that comes in and out of Stark Industries and joining forces with an army of Slayers…. It would be really stupid to try anything.”

“I hope that’s the case.”

“You and me both.”

“Well, this is me.”

Buffy ran her hand over the side of the car. “You’ve had this car for ages.”

“It’s a good car.”

“Not as good as mine, though.”

“I didn’t know you had a car.  What kind of car do you have?”

“A silver 2013 GT Mustang.  I got it back when Steve and I broke into our old apartments and got some of our stuff.”

“That’s great.” Angel smiled. “You know, you’ve come a long way since Sunnydale.  This grown up Buffy?  I like her a lot.”

“Yeah?  If you’d have told me when we first met that I would be a part of a group of superheroes saving the world with the help of Stark Industries, I would’ve laughed at you and found a way to commit you.”

He laughed and held out his arms.  Buffy stepped in and hugged him tightly. “It has been great to see you, Buffy.”

“Likewise.  I’m glad you’re coming to work with us finally.”

“When do you want me to start?”

“Whenever you make your way to London.  Steve and I are leaving here next week.”

Angel nodded. “I’ll probably be there around the end of next week.  I’ve got a few things to tie up before I leave.”

Buffy nodded and stepped back. “Good.  I’ll see you in a week or so, then.”

“I’ll see you.” Angel waved as he got into his car.

Buffy turned and headed back to the townhouse.  Steve was sitting on the stairs outside waiting for her. “Hey.”

“I like him.” Steve said. “He’s a good man.  And he genuinely cares about you.”

She smiled and sat down next to him. “Yes he is.  I’m glad you like him.  He likes you, too.”

“He said that?”

“He gave you the Angel Seal of Ex-boyfriend Approval.  Which he never gives out.”

Steve smiled. “Proving Tony wrong again.”

She shook her head. “Steve, you have got to quit competing with him.”

“I’m not competing.  It’s just nice to prove him wrong when he’s being negative.  He said meeting Angel would go over badly and it didn’t.”

“I think Angel won everyone over.  Tony included.”

He nodded and took her hand. “Have I ever told you how glad I am that I met you?”

“Not today.  We’ve been a little busy.” She put her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her.

“I love you, Buffy.”

“I love you, too, Steve.”

All stories are written by BuffyL. I don't own any of the Buffy/Angel/Marvel characters. If you want to use my work, please ask me.

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