The Captain America Love Story You Never Knew You Needed

Part 2

Steve was in a good mood. No, a stellar mood. It was beginning to annoy Sam, who did not share this sentiment, especially not after jogging for 45 minutes.

"Hey Steve, I need a break. Some of us don't have super-soldier serum running through their veins like you do."

It was Sunday morning, and like every Sunday, Steve and Sam went for a run. They usually did it around the compound, but today, Steve wanted to take the jet and do a lap around Washington DC'S National Mall.

"So how'd your date with Tony's ex go yesterday?" Sam said after taking a few deep breaths in.

"It wasn't a date," Steve answered immediately.

"Uh, huh. Sure yeah, it wasn't. I saw how happy you looked when you finished the tour. She looked pretty cozy with her hand around your arm."

Steve looked at his friend.

"I just showed Alina around the compound. That's all."

"Oh, Alina. First name basis now are we?"

Steve shot his friend another look.

"So, what did you show Alina exactly?"

Steve took in a breath. He was not going to fall for Sam's baiting.

"The hangars. The assembly rooms. She plays a couple of instruments, so I showed her the new conservatory."

"A musician," Sam winked.

"Sam," Steve warned.

Sam held his hands up in mock surrender. "Hey, man. I'm just calling it like I see it. You like her, Cap. Don't deny it. She's a beautiful woman. Smart too, it seems."

"Very much so," Steve heard himself say.

He recalled the conversation they had on the bench. Alina's keen interest in history surprised him, especially after she revealed that she could play multiple instruments. Steve felt his heart skip several beats. To be in the company of another artist was exceedingly rare for him these days. Much less, one as talented as Alina. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if she would ever play something for him.

He took a swig of water. Alina had been so willing to open up to him. To listen. Her witty quip about the British allowed him a small moment to laugh at himself. No one had been able to make him do that since Peggy. And what about the kiss on the cheek she had gifted him with at the end of the tour? Surely it meant something.

Steve looked away from Sam and down at the ground. He couldn't stop himself from smiling, as he recalled the tingling sensation of her lips on his cheek.

"I knew it, Cap. I knew it. You do like her!"

Sam was practically dancing on the ground in front of him.

"You're ridiculous, you know that?" Steve said, shaking his head.

"Can you blame me? I haven't seen you smile like that since...well, since never. When was the last time you even went on a date?

"Not for a while," he said truthfully after a few moments.

It wasn't that contact with women wasn't available. Christine from Statistics regularly flirted with him, and Lilian from Accounting would smile at him whenever they passed one another, lip piercing and all. And then there was Agent 13.

He was well aware of the effect he had on both women and men. It had taken some getting used to at first — there was that incident with Phillip's secretary and Peggy — but after a few years serving in the war and his reawakening in this new century - he had kept to himself as he tried to understand his place in all this.