Muse Steve Rogers x OC

Muse
Steve sat comfortably in his cushioned seat as he watched the beautiful muse sing up on stage.  Her dark brown hair curled around a heart shaped face and pooled around her shoulders.  A smile brighter than the sun lifted her rosy cheeks as a bell like voice left her dark red lips.  The sheer white, floor length dress made her look like an angel as it hugged her petite curves.  The slit up her left side gave a hint of toned, creamy skin as she swayed to the music.
Even though he had listened to her sing several songs already it still amazed him to hear such a strong voice come out of such a lithe body.  The words to Frank Sinatra’s Swinging on a Star danced around his ears and filled the entire theater.  This was Steve’s third time coming to the show.  Even though the songs of Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole came after he had been iced, they were still a lot more familiar than that rap and hip hop stuff they played on the radio nowadays.  It didn’t hurt that Miss Andrea Waverly was quite easy on the eyes, apart from having a fantastic voice.
After a few more songs, the show ended and a majority of the audience gave her a standing ovation.  An older gentleman walked across the stage and gave her a giant bouquet of red roses.  She gave one last bow and a bright smile as everyone clapped and cheered, before the main curtain closed.
Steve waited for a majority of the crowds to exit the theater before he stood up from his seat and made his way outside.  Standing on the front steps of the theater, he looked up at the starry night sky and took in a deep breath.  As the crisp air filled his lungs, he let a feeling of calmness settle into his bones.  Coming here had been the exact distraction he’d needed after the tough mission he’d just come back from.  Tucking his hands into the front pockets in his pants, Steve set off down the sidewalk in the direction of his apartment.  The sounds of modern city nightlife buzzed around his head, a noise he was still getting accustomed to.
“Let me go!” the strained voice of a distressed female cut through the air like a knife.  Without a second thought, Steve dashed off in the direction the voice had come from.  Luckily he wasn’t very far, and after turning the corner into an alleyway, he found the source.  A young woman was trying to fight off two disgruntled looking men.
“Leave her alone,” Steve spoke, using a voice that commanded authority.
The two men paused what they were doing and looked over at him.  The smaller of the two backed off, quickly growing intimidated the Steve’s large, muscular form.  The other was not so easily swayed.  “Get out of here, pretty boy.  This doesn’t concern you.”  Steve didn’t miss the way this man’s hand tightened on the woman to the point she let out a small whimper of pain.
Steve felt his glare harden as he took another step forward.  “I think you’ll find that it does.”
The bigger man shoved the girl into the arms of the smaller man, and then pulled out a handgun and aimed it at Steve’s head.  “Back off!” he threatened.
Before the man could even blink, Steve had knocked the mans hand, causing him to lose his grip, so Steve could take the gun away from him.  With his other hand, Steve grabbed the man’s hair and slammed his head to the brick wall, effectively knocking him out.  Steve held the gun to the other man’s head.  “I’ll say this one more time, let her go.”
The smaller man needed no further convincing, he let the woman go, lifting his hands innocently to the air.  He took three shaky steps backwards before turning around and high tailing it out of there.  Steve lowered the weapon before tucking it in the back of his pants and covering it with his leather jacket.
“Are you alright, ma’am?” he asked the woman, finally getting a good look at her.  She was wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a hoodie that was a few sizes too large for her.  Her long dark hair had been pulled back into a low ponytail, but a few strands had escaped after her scuffle.  She had large, expressive eyes, but the alley was too dark for Steve to tell what color they were.  Her plump lips held a tint of red as if she had just recently washed off some lipstick, but hadn’t managed to get it all.  The familiarity of her features didn’t get passed Steve.
“I-uh, yes.  You came just in the nick of time, thank you.”
It was when she spoke that it clicked in his head.  “You’re Andrea Waverly!”
Her eyes widened, “Do I know you?”
He grinned and shook his head, “No, I just came from your show.”
“Oh.” Her eyes moved downward to look at the unconscious man.  Steve noticed her shiver and realized she was quite shaken up from the incident.
“We should probably get out of here, before he wakes up,” he reached out a hand for her in hopes she would find it comforting.
“R-right,” she accepted his hand, immediately finding comfort in how warm he was.
“Do you mind if I walk you to wherever you were going?  I just want to make sure you get there safely.” Steve asked, hoping he didn’t sound too forward.
She looked shocked for a moment before offering a small smile.  “I don’t mind.  Thank you very much.  I was heading home.  I live in the penthouse up in the Hotel Grand.”
Steve nodded before the two set off down the sidewalk.  “Shouldn’t you have body guards or someone watching over you?  I thought celebrities were protected almost as much as the President.” He asked curiously, noticing the way she glanced around, still on edge.
She sighed and gave him a guilty look.  “I do, but I slipped out the back door when everyone thought I was in the changing room.”
Steve raised an eyebrow at that.  “Why would you do that?”
“Because as awesome as Harvey is, he can be a little overbearing.  Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate everything he does for me, but sometimes I just want to pretend to be normal again.”
“Harvey is your body guard?”
“My main one.  There’s also Toby, Arthur and Zacharias, but they work underneath him.”
“Wow… So, what did you mean by wanting to be normal again?”
“I do love singing, and I love how happy it makes people to listen to my songs, but sometimes I miss not being famous.  I miss the simpler things, like getting to walk down the street without having a shadow following my every move and not getting recognized when I just wanted to buy some milk from the grocery store.”
“Yeah, I kind of know what that’s like.”
“You do?”  She paused in her footing as if she just realized something.  “Oh how rude of me!  Here you just rescued me and then offered to walk me home safely and I didn’t even bother to ask you your name.  I’m so sorry.”
Steve chuckled at her reaction.  “It’s alright.  We were a little preoccupied and at the same time, I forgot to give it to you.  I’m Steve Rodgers.”
She laughed lightly once she heard his name.  “Steve Rodgers?  Let me guess, your father was a big Captain America fan, too?”  Steve stiffened at that, but apparently Andrea didn’t notice.  “My dad was crazy for the Captain, he collected all of his comics and owned all of his movies.  He said that the Captain saved my grandfather, who was part of the 107th infantry captured by Hydra.  He named my brother Roger and wanted to name me Stephanie, but my mom told him no and he had to settle with giving me Stephanie as my middle name.  However, that didn’t stop him from nick naming me Stevie for a couple of years when I was younger… And I’m rambling, aren’t I?  Sorry.”
Steve was silent for a moment, trying to process all this information.  “Um, it’s okay.  But my parents weren’t Captain America fans, he wasn’t really around when I was born…” he replied slowly, not sure how well this would go over.
She laughed incredulously, “Not around?  But Captain America has been around for- Oh my gosh!”  She gasped and stepped away from him, holding both of her hands over her mouth.  “You’re really him!”  She then got a far away look in her eye and started to mumble to herself.  “Oh man… Captain America went to see my show.  And then he saved me from those creeps!  And then he offered to walk me home!  Oh gosh, then I acted like a total weirdo in front of him!  What kind of person goes around telling people that you and your brother were named after them?!  I am so sorry!  You probably think I’m a freak!”
Steve smiled, partially amused by her reaction, yet partially concerned for her sanity.  “It’s alright.  You probably wouldn’t believe the amount of real freaks I come across in my line of work,” he responded, images of the Red Skull and the Chitauri running through his mind.
“Oh, I bet.”
“And for the record, you’re the prettiest freak I’ve ever come across,” he told her, feeling a little bold.
He was pleasantly surprised to note the faint blush that painted her cheeks as she giggled and looked away, embarrassed.  “I think there was an insult hidden in that compliment, but I’ll take it anyways.”  She gave him a genuine smile and Steve was shocked to notice that it made his heart pound.
Unable to stop his own smile from forming, he offered her his arm.  “I think it’s about time that I get you home, ma’am.”
She gasped and her smile faltered.  “Oh no, Harvey is going to kill me!”  She looped her arm around Steve’s and all but ran down the sidewalk back to the hotel.

When they got to the hotel, the lobby was abuzz with life.  The main hotel desk was a frenzy with people on phones.  Security was running around, shouting at each other on their radios.  Four burly men in black suits were yelling on their cell phones as they paced around the room.
Steve looked around, making the comparison to what SHIELD looked like on a bad day.  Andrea sighed and pulled Steve over to the four men in suits.  “Harvey, please tell me you didn’t call in the National Guard.”
This biggest man out of the four turned immediately after hearing her voice and ended the call.  “Ms. Waverly!”  He marched over and grabbed her, effectively taking her away from Steve, and pulled her into a hug.  “You had me worried!”  The amount of affection coming off his voice bothered Steve as the man was easily ten or fifteen years her senior.  He then held her at arms length and glared lightly, “Where have you been young lady?”  It was then that Steve noticed that the man cared for her on a level a brother would his little sister, not the level of a man and his woman.
Andrea rolled her eyes and stepped back.  “I just went for a walk, Harvey.”
“You’re not supposed to go out alone.”  He crossed his arms and gave her a condescending look.
“I wasn’t alone, Steve walked me,” she replied stepping up next to said person.
Steve suddenly felt uncomfortable as he met the scrutiny of Andrea’s body guard.  Sure he had the super serum running through his veins, but this man, though older, still looked like he could put up a pretty decent fight if he chose to do so.  “Andi, you know you’re not supposed to be alone with strangers until we’ve done a thorough background check.”
She huffed and wrapped her arm around Steve’s, “He’s not a stranger, he’s a friend.  Now if you will excuse me, Steve and I were about to head up to grab a drink.”
“Uh, we were?”  Steve asked, shocked by this sudden information.
“Yes, I have to thank you somehow.”  She grinned.
“Why do you need to thank him?”  
“Don’t worry about it Harvey.”
The bodyguard sighed, exasperated, “Yes, ma’am.”  He then pulled something out of the inside pocket of his suit and handed it to her.  “Please keep it with you this time,” he said, offering her a cell phone.”
Andrea looked at it and frowned sadly.  She took it and stepped back up the Harvey.  “Thank you.  And I’m sorry for being such a pain,” she got up onto her tip toes to give him a peck on the cheek.
He gave her a warm but tired smile, “You’re going to be the death of me, Andi.”
She smiled back, “Hey, there are less interesting ways to go.”  With that, she grabbed Steve’s hand and pulled him to the elevator.  Once inside, she pulled out a key card from her back pocket and slid it into the slot located underneath the floor numbers.
“Access granted to the penthouse.  Welcome back, Miss Waverly,” a computerized voice sounded from the elevator.
“So, you’re not going to tell him what really happened?” Steve asked once the doors shut and the elevator began to move upward.
“If I do, then he’s going to put a ball and chain on my ankle.”
Not very comfortable with lying to good people, Steve stuck his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and bit his tongue to keep from saying anything.
Andrea must have picked up on his vibe, because she sighed, “You’re right… I’ll tell him in the morning,” she replied even though he hadn’t said anything.
“Thank you.”
She galred at him playfully, “You’re lucky you’re cute.”  Steve looked at her shocked and once she realized what she had said, she slapped a hand over her mouth.  “Oh my gosh, did I really say that out loud?!”
The way she blushed and then wouldn’t look at him for a while was endearing.  It was a small comfort for Steve to know that he wasn’t the only one awkwards around the opposite sex.  Although he couldn’t understand why someone as beautiful as her could be so shy.
The elevator stopped and opened to a long white hallway with several doors.  “Let me give you the grand tour,” Andrea smiled, her awkwardness fading.  “First things first, bathroom is this first door on the right.  Well, one of them at least.  On the left is the kitchen…”  Andrea proceeded to drag him around the penthouse to show him each room.  It had a very modern design, which was something Steve was still getting used to, but Andrea managed to fill each room with enough personal effects to give it a homey feel.  “And lastly is the living room.  This is where I spend most of my time when Harvey keeps me cooped up inside, but the couch is comfy and I get like 10,000 channels which is completely unnecessary, and yet I still sometimes feel like there is never anything good on.  Which is completely ridiculous, because you’d think that out of 10,000 channels there would at least be one decent show or movie or something, right?”
Steve quickly learned that once Andrea was comfortable around you, she could ramble on about anything and talk a mile a minute, and yet he found himself paying close attention to every word she said.  Her voice acted like a soothing balm over his roughened soul.
“You don’t really talk too much, do you?  But I guess I’ve been rambling so much that you can’t get a word in edgewise.  I’m sorry.  If I’m bothering you don’t be afraid to tell me to shut up.  I won’t take it personally, I know I can be a bit of a handful when my mouth starts running.”
Steve grinned, finding it very entertaining how she would answer her own questions.
She was about to start saying something else, when something behind him caught her eye.  “Oh no…” she mumbled under her breath and turned a deep red.  Feeling concerned, Steve turned to see what she was looking at.  “No, wait!” She cried out, but it was already too late.
There sitting in the corner of the living room was his shield.  Two bright red rings around a white ring, and in the middle a proud white star circled in a deep blue.  Steve walked over and picked it up.  It looked exactly like his, however he noticed that it was much lighter in weight, proving that it wasn’t made from the same metal.
“It’s an exact replica, well except for the vibranium part, but that’s obvious because your shield is the only one that has that.  I guess the cat is out of the bag, huh?”
Steve put the shield back in place and turned to look at her.  Her face was bright red and she was looking everywhere except at him.
“Let’s just say that my dad’s “obsession” may or may not have transferred over to his children…”
“So, you’ve got a thing for Captain America?”
“Um, yeah, you could say that?”
“Well then I guess it’s a good thing that I’ve got a thing for singers.”  Steve was nearly as shocked by the words coming out of his mouth as Andrea had been.  I guess those talks with Tony and Natasha had really paid off.
If possible, her face turned an even darker shade of red.  “Y-you do?”
Before Steve could reply, Frank Sinatra’s soothing voice filled the room.
Fly Me to the Moon
Let me play among the stars
Andrea jumped at the sound and rifled through her pocket.  “Oh shoot, is it that time already?”  She pulled out her cell phone and looked at the caller ID.  “I’m sorry, I have to take this.  Hello, love.  How is my favorite boy?”
Upon hearing those words leave her mouth, Steve could have sworn the searing pain in his chest meant he had just been shot, but he never heard any gunfire.
She laughed happily and walked off the the sliding doors that led out to the balcony.  “Well you’re just going to have to deal with it, Lucas.”  She flipped the latch and pushed open the door.  She turned to give Steve one last look, “Feel free to make yourself at home, I’ll be back in a bit.”  With that, she stepped out onto the balcony.  She pulled the door closed behind her, however it didn’t reach all the way to the wall, leaving a gap of a few inches.
Steve sat on the couch, not knowing what else to do.  He tried not to listen in on her personal conversation but because she had left the door ajar, Steve could hear it clearly.
“Yes, yes, I’m outside.  Yes, Lucas, I can see the moon, I’m not blind,” the light tone in her voice made it seem like she had said those words many times before.  Steve looked over and saw her leaning against the railing of the balcony and looking up at the full moon.  She and whoever she was talking to were both looking up at the moon together as they talked, how romantic.  Steve thought bitterly.  Although he shouldn’t have been surprised.  It should be obvious that someone as beautiful and talented as Andrea would already have someone special in her life.  Now he felt like an idiot for saying what he had earlier.
He heard Andrea sigh contently, “Oh you know, same old, same old.  The show has been sold out every night for the past three weeks.  I sang your favorite song tonight and thought about you… I did not forget that tonight was a full moon!..Okay, okay.  Maybe I did.  But that’s only because I have a friend over tonight… I did not say that, stop putting words in my mouth…  You know there’s no one more important than you, you’re the love of my life.”
Steve had to admit, that one hurt.
“Oh calm down, it’s just an expression...  You know, if you stop freaking out I’ll tell you who he is… Oh, believe me, you’re going to care about this… You’re going to flip your lid… Yes, you will… I bet you ten bucks, you will…”  Adrea was silent for a moment, trying to build up suspense.  “Captain America.”
Steve was pretty sure he heard a distinct “What?!” emanate from her phone, which means the reaction must have been loud.  However, Steve couldn’t understand why she would tell her lover that she had another man with her alone in her apartment. His thoughts were cut short when she burst out in laughter and couldn’t help but stop and listen to the sound.
“Oh, you don’t believe me?.. When have I ever lied to you?.. Alright, alright.  You told me that if I let you eat that giant tub of ice cream that one time you came over without telling your dad, you would forget about the Hawaii incident.  How about I prove it to you.”
Those last few sentences confused Steve.  Why would she need to tell this man’s father about giving him ice cream.  Before Steve could ponder this any further, he heard the sound of the sliding glass door opening and Andrea stepped back in.
“Hey Steve.  I need a favor.  Can you prove to Lucas that you’re you?”  Without waiting for a response, she set her phone down on the coffee table.  “Okay, bud, you’re on speaker phone.”
There was silence for a few seconds and then “Are you really Captain America?” a young boyish voice emanated from the small device.
Steve felt relief wash through him when he realized she had been talking to a kid the entire time, not a grown man.  But then that started raising questions on whether or not this was her kid.  “Um, yes.” He responded, almost forgetting he had been asked a question.
“You hesitated, I don’t believe you.”
Andrea cracked up at his response.  “Nothing gets passed you, kid.  Does it?”
“Nope.  You’re going to have to do better than that if you want to convince me.”
Andrea elbowed Steve in the side.  “Go on.  Tell him about yourself.”
“Okay… My full name is Steven Grant Rodgers, I was born in 1918.  In 1942 Dr. Erskine allowed me to enlist in the army and chose me for his super soldier project.  After getting injected with the serum, I became Captain America.  I fought against Hydra in World War II.  However, in order to stop the Red Skull’s plane from reaching New York, I had to put the plane down in the arctic, where I got frozen over until 2011, when I woke up in a SHIELD facility.”
“Psh, everybody who's anybody already knows all of that.  Still doesn’t prove anything.”
Andrea laughed again, “Lucas, don’t be rude,” she scolded lightly.  “Oh, I got it!”  She grabbed her phone off the table and scooted in closer to Steve.
“You got what?” Lucas asked.
“I’m going to send you a picture to prove it’s really him.”
“It better not be a picture you take from the internet.  I’ll know if it is.”
“No, you goof.  I’m going to be in the picture.”  She lifted the phone with one hand until both of their faces were showing on the screen.  “Smile for the camera!”  Steve smiled awkwardly as her flowery scent washed over him from being so close.  He was pretty sure that taking the serum meant he didn’t have any allergies, but he was now second guessing that when he noticed his body reacting funny to her addicting scent.  “Okay, I sent it.”
“Alright, this better be good.”  There were a few moments of silence as Lucas waited to receive the message and then open it.  “No way…” he whispered, the sound barely audible from the phone.  “No way,” he said again, louder this time.  And the even more louder, “No way. No way! NO WAY!!!!”
Andrea laughed whole heartedly.  “I guess they were right when they said you’ve got to see it to believe it.”
“Captain America is at your house right now?!”  the kids voice reached levels higher than an opera singer, meaning he still had yet to hit puberty.
“Calm down, if you have a heart attack at twelve years old, your dad is going to kill me.”
Completely ignoring her, he continued to rant on.  “This is so cool!  It’s awesome infact!  I’m coming over!  I want to meet him!”
“Slow down there, cowboy! You’re not allowed to leave the house at night when you’re dad isn’t there, you know that.”
“Aw… But Jessica is such a pushover.  She’d do it if I asked her.”
Andrea shook her head.  “You’re such a creep.  You need to be nice to your baby sitter.”
“I am nice to her.”
“Putting a spider on the toilet seat right before she went in to use the bathroom is not being nice.”
“...Dad told you about that?”
“Yes, and he’s still pretty mad, so you shouldn’t push it by leaving the house.  He’d flip.”
“Psh, he’s going to flip when I show him this picture.”
All this talk of Lucas’ father was making Steve uncomfortable again.  And the way Andrea handled the kid was a perfect example of a mother diffusing her son.
“I’m sure he will, but you’re still not leaving.  How is my dear brother doing these days?”
That sure caught Steve’s attention.
“Dad?  He’s fine.  He works late.  Sometimes manages to come home before dinner, but not very often.  He still takes me to baseball practice on the weekends though.”
“That’s good,” Andrea replied, her voice not as energetic as it had been.
There was a small silence.  “I saw him looking at a picture of mom the other night.  The one from their wedding.  I couldn’t hear anything, but I saw his shoulders shaking.”  Lucas’ words seemed to drop a bomb into the room.  All happy feelings that had once filled the room were now gone in a flash.
“Oh, sweetpea.  I’m so sorry.”  The look on Andrea’s face was heart breaking.  Her eyes were filled with such sadness as they clouded with unshed tears.
“It’s okay.  I just miss her, you know.”  A short sniffle sounded from the phone and Steve could swear he saw Andrea completely fall apart.
Her eyes slammed shut and she held her head back.  He could tell she was trying to stay strong, but that didn’t stop a tear from leaking out of the corner of her eye.  Her hands were clenched in her lap so tightly that they were shaking.
Wanting to provide some form of comfort, Steve reached out and put his large hand over hers.  Her eyes opened and connected with his.  The green flecks in her hazel orbs became more prominent when she cried, and it just made her look even more breathtaking.  She gave him a small, sad smile before turning back to her phone.
“I know, love.  But you know what?” she paused to make sure he was listening.
There was another sniffle, that caused her to flinch before he responded, “What?”
“I’m sure if you asked really really nicely, Steve here might just give me his autograph so I can give it to you.”  She glanced questioningly at Steve, hoping that that was okay.
He gave her a reassuring smile and nodded.
“Really?” Lucas asked, the tone of his voice immediately bouncing back.
This caused an obviously shift in Andrea’s mood, “Yes, but you have to ask him yourself.”
“Mister Captain America Sir?  Would you mind giving my aunt an autograph for her to give to me?” He asked.
“What do you say after that, Lucas?” Andrea reminded.
“Please?”
Andrea gave a satisfied smile and nod.
“Lucas, I would love to give your aunt an autograph so she can give it to you.”
“Alright!  Thank you!”
“Okay, Buttercup.  It’s getting late, you need to start getting ready for bed.”
“Ugh, Aunty Andi how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me by those girly nicknames?!”
Andrea laughed, “Well, until I have a child of my own to traumatize, you’re all I’ve got, so you just have to deal with it.”
“Bleh!  Okay, love you, bye!”
“I love you, too Lucas.  Say hi to your dad for me.”
“I will when I show him that picture!”
“Goodnight.”
“Night!”
Andrea ended the call and left the phone on the table.  “Sorry about that,” she gave him a guilty smile.
“It’s alright.  He’s quite entertaining.”
She laughed, “Yes, he’s quite a character.  He gets that from our side of the family.  Lily was always a little more reserved, but she handled him like a pro.  Lily is his mother.  Well, was.  She died a year ago, from cancer.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, it hit my brother and Lucas pretty hard.  But they’re recovering slowly.”  The room was filled with a somber silence for a few moments.  Andrea shook her head, as if to push out the memories, then turned to Steve.  She tucked one leg under the other and leaned her elbow against the back on the couch.  “So, enough about me, I feel like I’ve told you my whole back story, I want to hear about you now.”
“Me?  Don’t you already know everything?”
She smiled, “I know what’s in the comics, what the history book claims and what the media portrays, but I want to hear your side of things.  And I want to get to know Steve Rodgers, not just Captain America.”
Steve felt the first genuine smile he’d had in years grow onto his face.  “Alright.”
The two spent the next several hours talking about anything and everything.  Neither one concerned with the time.  Steve found himself truly opening up to someone and willing divulging information from his past that he’d never given to anyone else.  He told her about his parents and how hard it was growing up alone, and about Bucky and he even told her about Peggy.  Andrea was 100% invested in the conversation, always interested in what he was saying, and never hesitating to ask questions for better clarification.
When Andrea felt her stomach rumble, she put a pause on their conversation.  “I’m kind of hungry.  Do you want anything to eat?”
“I don’t know, what time is it?”
Andrea reach for her phone on the table and clicked the button that would bring the screen to life.  “Holy crap!  It’s 5:30 in the morning!  I’m sorry!  I hope you didn’t have somewhere you needed to be today!  You’re going to be so tired!”  Sure enough, looking out the sliding glass doors, the beginning rays of sunshine were starting to peak over the horizon to awaken the city.
“It’s alright.  I was going to have a training session with Natasha at 8:00, but I’m sure if I tell her what happened she’d understand.”
Andrea grinned, “You mean because she’s been trying to set you up with every girl that walks passed.”
Steve chuckled.  “Besides, you don’t really have to worry about me.  I’ve gone on missions where we had to go without sleep for several days.”
“That’s not very healthy, you know.”
“I am a super soldier, you know.”
Andrea smirked at that.  He was catching on pretty quick to modern humor.  “Touche…”
When her stomach growled again, she laughed and stood up from the couch.  “What do you want for breakfast?” she asked casually and she made her way to the kitchen.
Steve was surprised by her question.  “You don’t have to make me breakfast.”
She paused at the doorway and turned back to face him.  “Well I know I don’t have to, but I want to.  I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to.”  She then turned back around and strolled into the kitchen.  “Do you like pancakes?” she called from the kitchen.
Steve got up from the couch and followed her into the kitchen.  “Yes, I do.  Do you want any help?”  He found her standing by the counter, reading a yellow box of Bisquick.
“Yeah, can you grab the milk and eggs from the fridge?” she asked as she grabbed a large bowl and measuring cup from her cupboards.  She poured the ingredients into the bowl and began to mix it with a spoon.  “Actually, do you mind mixing this?  I need to change out of these jeans, I swear they’re squeezing the life out of me.”
Steve chuckled as she handed him the bowl and spoon before walking off.  She came back a few minutes later wearing some plaid pajama pants and a tank top.  She set a flat pan on the stovetop and started the heat.  Once it was hot enough, Steve started to pour out the batter into small circles.  Andrea gave him a spatula before getting the coffee maker ready.
Steve couldn’t believe how normal this felt.  Cooking breakfast before work, while Andrea walked around in pajamas like this was an everyday occurrence.  This was something he could definitely see himself getting used to.  And he could see himself getting used to it with her.
Once the food was ready, the two sat down at the table and continued talking.  They were in no short supply of conversation topics, easily transitioning from one topic to the next.  When the food was all gone, Steve got up and grabbed all the dishes to take to the sink.
“Oh, Steve, you really don’t have to do that,” Andrea said when she noticed him go for the sponge and dish soap.
“Well I know I don’t have to, but I want to,” he smirked at her.
“Already using my own words against me, are we Mr. Rodgers?”
He laughed before turning back to the sink.  “Why don’t you go find something for me to sign to give to your nephew.”
“Oh, right!  Good idea.”  Andrea went rummaging around the penthouse, looking for the perfect item.  Her mind kept running to the replica shield, but she wasn’t sure she would be willing to give that up.  Sure, she loved the kid, but not that much.  It was then that she remembered the poster that she got a few months back that sat in the back of her coat closet.  She had seen it at a store and just knew Lucas would love it, she just forgot about it until now.
She came back into the kitchen with the poster just as Steve finished up with the dishes and was drying his hands with a towel.  “So I have this poster that I forgot to give to him.  It’s got all the Avengers on it, I think it’s different pictures of all of you that have been photoshopped together.”  She rolled the rubber band off then unrolled the poster over the kitchen table.  It was a pretty epic poster.  All of the Avengers were posed in different action shots, but it worked well together.  It looked like a movie poster.
“You know what, I think I have an even better idea,” Steve stated as he looked down at the poster.
“Huh?  What’s that?”
“How would you feel about letting me take this and getting all the Avengers to sign it?”
Andrea gasped and felt her eyes well up with tears, “You would do that for Lucas?”
“I would do that for you.”
“Oh, Steve…” she practically launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug.  “Thank you, thank you, thank you.  You have no idea how much this means to me.  How much this will mean to him.”  With one final squeeze, she pulled back and smiled up at him.
“Don’t thank me yet.  Who knows if I’ll even be able to get Natasha to sign, and don’t even get me started on Tony…”
She chuckled at that.  “It’s okay.  It’s the thought that counts.”
They were both silent for a moment.  For the first time not quite knowing what to say.
“Andrea,” Steve felt her name leave his lips.
“Hm?” she responded and looked up at his questioningly.  And she just looked so damn cute that he couldn’t help himself.
He stepped forward, grabbed her face and then bent down until his lips reached hers.  Her eyes widened in shock at first, before closing as she wrapped her arms back around his neck.  One of his hands moved to cup the back of her head while the other pressed into her back, keeping her close.  He hadn’t kissed many women in his life, but he was finding that this one so far was his favorite.  Maybe it was because he finally got to be the one to initiate the kiss and catch her by surprise, or maybe it was just because he’d finally found his life’s dance partner.  Either way, he realized he didn’t want to stop.
Sooner than he would have liked, she pulled back in order to catch her breath.  Steve kept his arms around her so she wouldn’t pull all the way back.  He leaned his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes.  “I think I might be in love with you,” he whispered to her.
“Really?” she whispered back.
He brushed his nose against hers.  “Yeah.”
“Good, because I think I’ve been in love with you since I was sixteen.”
Steve grinned and moved in for another kiss.  Her lips molded perfectly to his and her body felt amazing in his arms.  Just as he was about to take the kiss one step further, the Star Spangled Man began to play in the next room.
Andrea pulled back with a blush.  “Um, that would be my brother…”  Embarrassed by her ringtone, she rushed off to the living room to answer the call.  Sliding the answer key on the touch screen, she accepted the call, not realizing that the phone was still on speaker.  “Hey Roger, how’s it going?”
“What is the meaning of this picture that Lucas showed me?” he asked, straight to the point, his voice filling the room.  Steve walked into the living room to see what all the commotion was about.
Andrea pulled the phone from her ear and set it on the table, so she could rub the ringing out of her now deaf ear.  “Well, what does it look like?”
“It looks like you’re standing next to Steve Rodgers.”
She laughed lightly, “Then why do you sound like you don’t believe what you’re seeing.”
“Because I don’t.”
“Gosh, you and that son of yours are very incredulous people,” Andrea laughed and it caused Steve to let out a small chuckle.
“Who was that?” Roger asked.  Immediately on alert upon hearing a male laugh over the phone.
“Oh no one really, Roger.  Just my close friend that you have no faith in.”
“He’s still there?!”
Andrea laughed again, “Why does it now sound like you believe?”
“Andrea, I seriously need you to answer this question honestly.  Did you, or did you not, spend the night with Captain America in your apartment?”
“Well, he was here all night.  Although I wouldn’t really call it spending the night.  We didn’t do any sleeping.”  She responded.
“Oh man, Andrea!  Did you do the deed with CAPTAIN AMERICA?!”
Her eyes widened to the size of saucers as she turned beet red.  Steve stared at her wide eyed, a faint blush painting over his features as well.  “WHAT?!  NO!  Roger, that came out wrong!  We were just talking, alright?! TALKING!  There was no funny business!”
“Gosh, Andi!  Way to give your brother a heart attack!”
“Sorry,” she winced.  Someday she would look back and laugh about this but that wasn’t going to be today. Or tomorrow.
“So, just once more.  Is he the REAL Captain America?”
She sighed and threw herself against the pillows of the couch.  “Yes, Roger.  He is.”
“And he’s currently at your place?”
“Uh, yeah?”
“That’s all I needed to know,” he responded, the next part was slightly muffled, like he had moved the phone away from his mouth.  “Hey Lucas!  I’m calling you in sick today!  We’re going to visit your Aunty Andi.”
“Wait, what?  Roger-”
A muffled “Yay!” sounded from far away on the other line.
“See you in a bit, Sis.  Love you!”
“Wait!  Roger!  Roger?  Ugh!  He hung up!”  Andrea looked up guiltily at Steve.  “I’m sorry.  You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”
He smiled.  “It’s alright, I’ll just text Natasha that I can’t make it.”
She stood up from the couch and walked over to him.  “You sure?  They’re probably going to bombard you with questions.”
He laughed, “You mean like you did?”
“What?  I didn’t bombard you!  Did I?”
“No, I’m just teasing.”
“Oh, okay.”
“How long before they get here?”
“Normally about 30 minutes.  But Roger is probably going to drive like a maniac in order to get here as soon as possible, so maybe 20 minutes?  Why?”
“Just wondering how long I get to do this.”
That said, he pulled her back into his embrace and covered her lips with his own.