Never | Steve Rogers x OC

Chapter Eleven

The restaurant had changed from the last time Steve had been there nearly seventy years ago. It was more formal and quite a bit more expensive. There was a sense of sadness in his eyes as they walked inside the dimming lite restaurant with round, white clothed tables with candles flickering on them. It was a stark reminder of how much the world had changed since he went into the ice.

He tried his best not to let Brianna see his dismay as he pulled the chair out for her. The owners were the grandchildren of the original owners of the restaurant. The owners had passed away nearly thirty years ago.

"This is nice." Brianna tried to play up the restaurant after seeing his expression. 

"What?" Steve hadn't even heard her. He was too distracted.

"The restaurant, it's nice. It smells good too." She reiterated.  "We could go somewhere else, if you wanted?"

Steve shook his head. "No, it's okay. I'm okay."

"I never said you weren't okay." She said with a teasing smile. "So, what is good here?"

"We always got the fish and chips. Sometimes the baked cod."

Brianna closed the menu. "Fish and chips it is."

He caught her eye for a split second. She was trying her hardest to make him feel better and it felt like a punch in a gut. It was suppose to be a date and so far he had only sulked. At least she was understanding.

"So, how much longer are you going to kick our asses during training?" She asked.

"Until Natasha and I think you guys are a team. You guys are getting there, it's just not fully there." He answered.

She took a sip of her water. "I thought we were doing pretty good."

"You guys are. It could be better though." There was some amusement in his voice.

"Well, we can't all be super soldiers." She teased.

He shifted forward in his seat slightly. "I'll make you a deal. On Monday, if you can beat me in hand to hand combat, no bows or shield, I'll make you guys train only a few days a week."

"I'm going to be straight with you and say I probably won't be able to beat you. It'll be fun trying though."

He flashed her a larger smile. "Maybe I'll go easy on you."

"Nope. No way. Don't you dare go easy on me and I'll know if you do."

"Will you?"

"I will. I can read minds."

"Oh, really? What am I thinking about right now?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Hmmmm. That Brianna Barton is the funniest person you've met."

Steve chuckled and shook his head. He was loosening up for the first time in a while. It was hard for him not to be so serious all the time when he felt like he was at war with himself. His eyes flickered up to meet her darker ones.

"Can I ask you a question?" He asked.

"Sure."

"What was it like, having Clint as a dad with him being an agent and an avenger?"

"It was hard at times. He had to travel a lot. When I was little I didn't quite understand the dangers of his job. The older I got, the more I worried." She answered. "Why?"

"Sometimes," he paused and swallowed. "I think about having a family, but would I be putting them in danger? Would they be scared for me?"

Brianna didn't speak at first. Talking about children was a normal first date conversation. She supposed that if one person wanted to have children and the other didn't, they shouldn't go much further. It was still odd for her to talk about with Steve of all people.