The Recruit

2. You

There had been a lot of different dates you'd had in your life. Good dates. Bad dates. Fun dates. Boring dates. You'd done everything from the old-fashioned dinner and movie to taking a hot air balloon ride through the countryside. Yet even with all the different dates, you'd been on with people you barely knew or knew really well, you had never felt such a strong connection with someone as you had Sam Wilson.

The date hadn't even been that outstanding. If you'd described the date to someone and only said the things you did, you were sure they'd tell you it sounded horrible. Sitting outside Madison Square Garden with an ice cream listening to a band neither of you had paid to see sounded cheap and lazy. Yet it had been fun, and relaxed, and you had loved talking to him. He had somehow managed to both listen to you in a way that made you feel like you were the most important person in the world and to be able to hold your attention with every story he told.

The date was so good when Sam called you, you weren't at all surprised. Delighted - but not surprised.

"I was hoping you might like to come around," Sam said. "I'm a decent cook and my sister always said cooking for someone was the best way to share a part of you."

"Aren't you an old romantic?" you teased. Normally you would be a little hesitant about being invited to a homemade dinner so early. They always seemed to come with the expectation of sex. You weren't opposed to having sex early on, but you liked to come to these things naturally without added pressure. You trusted Sam though. Not just because you had gotten along so well, but also because he was also an Avenger. The fact he hadn't gone in for a goodnight kiss was encouraging too. He didn't seem like the kind of person to pressure you. Besides - you could handle yourself if your instincts were completely off. "I'd love that."

"There's just one thing - and I get it if it's a deal-breaker - but the tower has a lot of hush-hush stuff in it. Plus, you know, the Avengers all kind of want to keep their private lives private, so coming here needs you to sign an NDA," he explained, sounding about as nervous as he had when you'd shown up to the restaurant. "It's standard and I can send it to you if you want a lawyer to look it over - and I get if you're not comfortable, we can do something else..."

"No, it's fine," you laughed, interrupting him. "Send it over. I'm ex-special-ops, remember? I get the need for Non-Disclosure Agreements."

"Great," Sam said with a sigh of relief. "I'll email it to you now. If you read it over and change your mind, let me know. We can go catch a game or something."

The NDA had been fine in the end. Nothing out of the ordinary, just a promise not to share sensitive information about the Avengers' business or the private lives of the residents of the tower. You signed it and sent it back, and the following Friday you arrived at the tower at six to meet with Sam.

You had to pass through security when you got to the tower and you were directed to an elevator and told to just get on and it would take you to the correct floor.

The doors opened to a large open area with an open kitchen, a large glass dining table, and several couches along one side of the room, each paired with a small table. Behind them were frosted glass windows that seemed to lead into various offices. There was a selection of art on the walls and sculptures scattered here and there, but your eyes were drawn to the people sitting on the couches by the window that looked out over the city.

You froze when you saw them. It had been nerve-wracking first meeting Sam. He wasn't just famous for being Falcon of the Avengers, he was legendary in special ops, and the date Joaquín had set up seemed too good to be true. You had needed to work up to it and practice not saying something dumb. It was Sam's nerves that set yours at ease. Yet here was a whole group of Avengers you hadn't been expecting to see at all. Not just any Avengers either. Most of them were big names.