A Time of Gods

Felicia pushed the over-sized shades up on to the top of her head and stood watching a group of mid-teens play soccer in the sunshine. It had been a long while since she had spent a relaxing afternoon strolling through the park and she was actually enjoying herself.

Felicia's view was obstructed as Steve came to stand in front of her, a white cardboard tub in each hand. He held one out for her, which she took with a childish smile on her face. "You sure know how to make a girl happy."

Steve mimicked her smile, "I never knew it was so easy."
Without warning, Felicia dipped an index finger in to the chocolate scoop and left a splodge of ice cream on Steve's nose. She walked away, leaving Steve to catch her up and settle in to a steady pace by her side.

"Do you always choose vanilla?" she asked, gesturing at his own choice of ice cream.

"Not every time. I've been known to have sprinkles." He joked, wiping the ice cream from his face with a napkin.

"Good to hear," Felicia winked at him and Steve was left to wonder if this was another case of mistaken fondue. He made a note to track down one of the less serious agents and get a quick lowdown on modern references and innuendos.

"So, how have you been?" He asked.

"We spoke yesterday Steve," Felicia laughed, reminding him of their phone call only yesterday afternoon. She swirled the ice cream around the tub with her plastic spoon as she contemplated whether or not to tell him what she had done. It wasn't something she would willingly tell Fury, but perhaps Coulson on a good day. Finally, she decided to tell Steve.
"I stopped a robbery last night," she added, "it was only small time, nothing to write home about."

Steve stopped walking and cocked his head. He was becoming accustomed to the idea of female superheroes, villains and crime fighters, both with powers and without. But Felicia's admission still surprised him. Perhaps it was because she had painted herself as a selfish character and was adamant that she wouldn't change. Steve had never shared the view Felicia had of herself. He didn't doubt that she was capable of something more if she let go of the hurt and whatever unknown force was holding her back.

"What made you do it?"

Felicia shrugged, "Maybe you're rubbing off on me." She gave Steve's shoulder a gentle nudge with her own, "I hate to admit it, but I kind of enjoyed myself." To this Steve raised a brow. "Oh don't be getting any ideas Rogers, I'm far too lazy to be a full time crime fighter."

He grinned. "We'll see."

They began to walk down the wide pathway again. "Some thing's been nagging at me," she began, to which Steve threw her a questioning look and waited for her to continue. "Your Captain America gear, do you still wear the original suit?"

"I haven't actually worn it since I erm, woke up."

"I've seen pictures from the glory days and it always looked incredibly thick, and quite tight," Felicia continued in her up-most casual tone, "Did you wear anything underneath it?"

Steve coughed, "Do you...wear anything under the catsuit?" he asked, turning the question around as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Felicia smirked, "Nope." She paced ahead of him to the empty bench.

Steve composed himself and followed after her. They sat for a short while in a contented silence while they finished their snack. They watched the soccer game as it became competitive, and the young couple go by walking their golden Labrador. As she watched them, Felicia asked herself if it would ever be possible for her to have the best of both worlds; to retain the identity of The Black Cat, but be able to come home to a 'normal' life. She wasn't picturing herself in the suburban life scenario; the cute house with a garden, two kids and a dog. Just the chance of normality.

But was she ready to let a man in to her life? Was she ready to let anyone in to her heart? Someone she could come to trust and felt secure with.

Felicia stole a glance in Steve's direction and caught him watching her. They both quickly averted their eyes. "So how are you adjusting to life in the 21st century?" She asked him.

"I'm slowly getting used to things. Some of the advancements are incredible -modern medicine, education, the stance on 'equality for all'.."

"Well, we've still got a long way to go but it's good to know we're on the right track."
They shared a smile. Steve was choosing to focus on the positives of the modern world and his new life now he was over his slump. Otherwise he would dwell on the tragedies that had befallen the world while he was away.

"I'm not sure I'll ever get my head around all this technology though." Steve frowned, "Some thing's always ringing."

Felicia nodded sympathetically, able to share his thoughts in the way she shared his sensitive hearing. "Give it time, you'll soon be able to block out the interfering sounds."

He stole a look at the woman beside him. Felicia was becoming quite a big part of his life, in a world which had little consistency, appearing when he had been lonely.

Then, he did something utterly uncharacteristic of Steve Rogers; kid from Brooklyn. And it took a greater courage than walking in to enemy territory. "Felicia," she looked at him. He leaned in slowly, slightly hesitant, making it obvious to Felicia what he was about to do. The foreign voice of her conscious was telling her to stop him before he made a mistake, but her actions betrayed her and she let Steve kiss her. His touch was gentle, caring, as she knew it would be and she let herself be lost in that moment.