Lark

Picnic in the park

Steve's POV 3:47 p.m.

Immediately when they got home he asked F.R.I.D.A.Y. where Aria was when he didn't immediately see her as they debarked the quinjet. He had hoped she'd be waiting for him when they landed but the AI told him she was off sparring with Loki down at the docks. Steve was still leery of Loki and his supposed turn around, but the way the Asgardian treated Aria and Peter had him relaxing a bit. Not that he'd fully trust him until he proved himself. With as many times as Thor had told them that his brother had betrayed him, Steve wouldn't tolerate Loki hurting the kid or the girl he loved.

Steve and the others agreed to split up to get cleaned up before checking in with Fury, Hill and Tony. He'd already changed out of his uniform on the jet, but he definitely needed a shower before their date after that meeting. Aria had texted him a couple of hours ago that she had everything covered. She'd followed up with the advice to wear something nice but comfortable and that after his debriefing they would head out. She refused to tell him where they were going saying that it was a surprise that would help him get to know her a little better. Steve was more than a little excited because he'd never gone on a date he hadn't planned and never one that had meant so much to him before.

Standing in his closet with a towel wrapped around his waist he flicked through his clothes. Something nice but comfortable. In the end he went with some nice dark blue jeans, a light grey Henley and his favorite boots. Grabbing some boxers he got dressed before going back to the bathroom to try and tame his hair that was in desperate need of a haircut. Looking in the mirror he ran his hand over his beard and thought, should I shave it? It was the middle of the summer after all and it made his face hot. Thinking that if things went well tonight then he'd get to kiss Aria again, he didn't want the coarse hair of his beard to hurt her fair skin. Decision made, Steve pulled out the shaving cream and his razor. Ten minutes later he wiped his face down with a warm damp towel making sure to get all of the shaving cream off.

Finally finished, he hurried out of his apartment and down to the conference room two floors down. Disappointed that he still hadn't seen Aria on his way to the elevator, he figured she was probably getting ready for when he was done. And she would be because when Aria said she'd do something or be somewhere she was. Even if she didn't like people on the best day you could always count on her keeping her word. Smiling like a love sick school boy at the thought of seeing her beautiful face soon he tried to rein his excitement in before entering the conference room. Reminding himself that he had to be professional for the next hour or so.

"Director Fury, Maria." He greeted them both with a polite nod as he walked into the room. Then nodding to Natasha and Wanda with a tired smile as he sat down in between them. A few minutes later the meeting started when Tony came in apologizing for being late. That was a first. He never apologized for pretty much anything. However it was the look he shot his way that had Steve's brow pinching together. "I had some last minute things to take care of. Let's get this done shall we?"

Used to Stark's lateness and absent mindedness Fury tapped on the table to get everyone's attention. Looking in his direction their boss tapped on the glass table's keyboard to bring up the footage of their mission. "Now that we're all here, Cap, you wanna get us started?"

Leaning forward Steve grabbed a Stark pad and got straight to it. Their mission had been easy enough at the beginning. It was the rogue Crimson Sparrow agents they hadn't been expecting that had tied them up for longer than they'd anticipated. The mutant agents were increasingly becoming a massive thorn in their side. It didn't help that Aria's former people weren't happy that one of their own had defected to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s side. To become an Avenger after being a Sparrow practically her whole life was seen as the highest form of betrayal and they did everything they could to make trouble in the hopes to draw her out. It had been agreed from Fury on down that Aria would stay as far away as possible from any Crimson Sparrow related assignment for her own safety. Thankfully she had been happy to steer clear of them completely so in the end it worked out for the best.