The Shield and the Rose || S. Rogers

Assignments

Steve had taken Katherine on a date later in the week, both agreeing that it was nice to have another night that wasn't interrupted.

Their lunches became a meet up and sit down together as each day passed. Each day, Katherine would take her seat beside him, finding herself sitting just a smidge closer, leaning into his words just a bit more. Steve found himself studying her, taking note of little things about her. He took note of what he found to be beautiful and bright green eyes that held a smile in them every time he looked.

He wasn't unaware of how Katherine would find herself closer to him each time that they met. It was never anything too extreme, but he felt as if he and the beautiful brunette had begun to meld together in the way that they sat and spent time together.

On one afternoon, Steve had been in the midst of ordering his own meal as Katherine walked up. Silently mouthing and asking her if she wanted her usual lunch, she nodded and settled herself as he ordered her lunch as well. The waitress left with a smile as Steve turned to face Katherine.

"I don't know if I could ever part from my usual," Katherine grinned.

"Neither could I," Steve laughed.

"See, I really need to work on getting you to be more adventurous," she sighed.

"Me? You won't change your usual order either," he gave her a look of amused confusion.

"Well, yes," she nodded, leaning in closer and lowering her voice. "But I'm still adventurous, Cap."

"Oh yeah? How so? When you have been adventurous?" he grinned.

"I was nineteen and it was midnight. I was with a group of friends and we'd been drinking a bit," she took note of his scolding look. "Okay, this was a while back, but just let me tell the story."

"Okay, continue," he laughed.

"We got the bright idea to walk down to the closest lake to us, a private lake mind you, and skinny dipped," she shrugged.

"You skinny dipped in a private lake?" Steve looked at her in surprise.

"I did," she nodded. "The lake was miserable feeling. I don't recommend it."

"Did you get caught?"

"We just barely escaped the flashlights that had come to see what was in the lake that late at night," she grinned. "Besides those who were there that night, you are now the only person to know about that night."

"I don't know if I should feel honored or taken aback."

"Honored," she nodded. "And stop judging me for that. It was almost ten years ago."

"I'm not judging you," he grinned.

"I could read that look," she teasingly narrowed her eyes. "Don't give me that look."

Steve smiled at her as she cracked a grin and began to laugh. He found that the sound of her laugh was almost like a sweet melody to his ears. She didn't seem to care who heard her and it was a genuine sound. It was refreshing to him.

As their lunch came and they enjoyed it as they always did, it was almost as if the world around them couldn't touch them. They were in their own little world, happily so, as they continued to talk and eat.

"You really didn't do anything bold back in your day?" she teased.

"First of all, don't refer to it as back in my day. That makes me seem old," he frowned, only laughing when he saw her brow quirk up. "Moving on, I did do bold things."

"Like what?"

"I falsified enlistment forms on more than one occasion," he shrugged.

"Look at you being bad," she laughed.