Liar

Freyja ran a hand through her blonde hair and leaned against the railing to watch as Stark and Clint ‘discussed’ the best way to barbecue burgers and hotdogs. Her lips quirked up at the corners, blue eyes smirking before she brought her beer to her lips. After a moment, she let her gaze travel over their slowly growing party.

There was Thor with Jane a few feet from the barbecue. Darcy was sitting nearby, eyes glued to her phone screen. Pepper was doing the same but looked to be winding down. Banner and Selvig were discussing something or other a few feet from Thor and Jane. Fury and Hill had been invited but no one knew if they were going to show. Natasha, according to Clint, had work that she wasn’t willing to abandon for the Fourth of July; even if that meant missing Steve’s birthday.

And the birthday boy was, surprisingly, the only main member that was missing.

Freyja’s brow furrowed as she scanned the patio area ago. Thor, Jane, Stark, Barton, Selvig, Pepper, Banner, and Darcy; just Steve was missing. His handler, Anderson, was missing as well.

“Hey! Where’s Steve?” Tony spoke up, loudly, with a glance around everyone that was gathered.

“I haven’t seen him all day,” Pepper supplied as she took a sip of water.

“He’s probably just a little behind. Traffic and all,” Jane shrugged, looking around.

People continued offering up ideas of where Steve was. Freyja said nothing herself, just continued watching. For all she knew, he was at some veteran’s dinner or luncheon or something like that. He had said that he would be coming but he had never said what time he would arrive. Steve was an adult who was completely capable of taking care of himself.

“Maybe he’s treating himself to a day out?” Darcy offered, glancing up long enough to look at them all before pushing her glasses up her nose.

Clint snorted, loudly, and everyone looked over at him. Freyja’s brows lifted but she said nothing as she took another sip of her beer. She pushed off the railing and walked closer, if only to be closer to the people gathered.

The archer looked up, surprise showing on his face as he found everyone looking at him. “What?”

“That was probably the most derisive snort I’ve heard in weeks, even from Tony,” Pepper said with a glance at Tony when he let out an indignant, and undignified, snort of his own.

“Don’t tell me I’m the only one who’s noticed,” Clint said while flipping a few burgers. Everyone continued to look at him. “Oh, c’mon, seriously? No one else has noticed?”

“Not all of us lie around in the air ducts to spy on others,” Tony snorted mockingly. “And maybe we’d know if you mentioned what we supposedly haven’t noticed.”

Clint shot him a look and jabbed the spatula at him before continuing to flip burgers and hotdogs around. The grill hissed and spat for a few moments until he set the spatula down and took a sip of his beer.

“Who are the only two people missing, besides Fury, Hill and Nat?” Clint sighed.

“Steve and…” Jane began before glancing around. Darcy chimed in helpfully, “Kylie!”

“Very good. Gold stars for both of you,” Clint nodded and looked at bottle of sauce. “Now, what does that tell you?”

“That she’s probably doing her job and handling Steve?” Banner shrugged.

Clint just sighed and shook his head before grabbing another bottle. Freyja just watched and said nothing though she’d figured out what Clint was hinting at. Clint was suggesting that Anderson was doing much more than just ‘handling’ Steve. Freyja hadn’t seen anything to suggest in either direction of what Clint was suggesting.

“So close my naïve little Bruce,” Clint tsk’d and spattered sauce onto the meats. “So very close. But wrong, nonetheless.”

The frown line forming between Bruce’s brows could have been disappointment in being wrong or confusion at Clint was getting at. Freyja just smirked a little and took another sip of beer.

“Are you saying that the Captain and the Lady Kylie are…” Thor trailed off momentarily as he searched for the word, “acquainting each other with the knowledge of their bodies?”

Had she not halfway expected it, Freyja might have choked on her beer. She just blinked, instead, and listened to the sounds of others choking on their spit or drinks. Her blue eyes looked at Thor briefly before flicking over to where Clint was standing. The archer had a wide smile on his face.

“See? Thor’s on the right page. Thor knows what’s up,” Clint grinned wickedly.

“What does Thor know?” Steve asked, startling them all.

Freyja turned as Steve walked out, his bright blue eyes sweeping over them. Kylie was at his side, her own blue eyes guarded as she took in everyone’s appearance. The way her gaze swept over each person, taking in where they sat and how close they were to her, was a hint to what she did for a living. There was something about Kylie, though, that made Freyja watch her from the corner of her eyes.

“That you’re late,” Tony sniffed, recovering first, “to your own birthday party slash the Fourth of July. And by an hour and a half.”

The look on Steve’s face said it all; bull shit. It tugged at Freyja’s lips and split them in a crooked smile that she hid by finishing off her beer.

“I’m a senior citizen,” Steve quipped with a shrug, “which means I can be forgetful if I want.”

Tony just rolled his eyes as everyone laughed and began to return to what they had been doing. Tony and Clint went back to arguing over the food, Banner and Selvig resumed their conversation about stars or lightsabers, and Freyja went to grab a water bottle in lieu of drinking another beer. As the alcoholic didn’t effect her, there was no point in drinking it and wasting it.

“So what were they talking about?” Steve asked, walking over to where Freyja stood.

“They were just suggesting what might have taken you so long to get here,” she shrugged and took a drink of water. “So…what were you doing?”

“I had something that I wanted to do before I came here. It is my birthday, after all.”

She grinned and shook her head. “Sure, birthday boy. How’s everything going with you?”

“It’s going pretty good,” Steve replied. “I’m on a crash course of 1945 up until the day I woke up.”

“And how’s that going?”

Steve looked at her and caught her smirk as she popped a chip in her mouth. He just shrugged a little, blue eyes flicking across the patio to where Kylie was. The SHIELD agent had joined up with Darcy and, by default, Thor and Jane. Jane looked a little less guilty now that someone was there to keep Darcy company so she could spend time with Thor. As if Jane didn’t spend almost every waking hour with Thor already.

“It’s good,” Steve nodded. “I mean…the stuff that happened? I don’t understand how any of it could have been seen as right or justifiable.”

“People have a habit of letting you down,” Freyja replied, her voice tightening as she spoke. “The people you love, they turn on you.”

The split-second before Kennedy’s face flashed into her mind, Freyja saw Loki’s face. Her jaw tightened, blue eyes hardening. It was a long moment before she forced herself to inhale, to relax the tensed muscles along her body. When she did, she saw that Steve was looking down at the ground. She knew he was aware of what had just happened, he was just trying to be polite and not intrude unless she wanted him to.

“Be careful who you trust,” Freyja snorted before taking a long drink of water.

“No one intends to become ‘evil’, Freyja,” Steve said quietly.

Loki had said almost the exact same thing that day on the Helicarrier, only in not so many words. Freyja had said it herself, that she didn’t intend to become Loki. Loki had replied with a simple ‘none do.’ She wondered if he had ever intended to go down that road himself.

“Good people make bad choices. And they don’t know how to get out, they get desperate.”

“Kennedy’s not desperate, Steve. You know it as much as I do. The only thing that she’s desperate to do is stay out of SHIELD’s grasp.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“So was the shirt with the American flag design really necessary?” Steve asked, smirking a little, as they walked down the sidewalk.

“Hey, I could have worn the American flag pants,” Kennedy shrugged before tilting her head back. “This is about the lesser of two evils for you.”

“Why do you have clothes with the design of the American flag on them?”

“Because I knew that one day I would be dating Captain America?”

Kennedy just smirked as Steve let his muscular arm rest along her shoulders. ‘Dating’ was probably a little too strong of a word to put alongside their relationship but it worked. After tomorrow night, it wouldn’t matter much anymore. This was only temporary; despite everything else, Kylie Anderson was only supposed to be temporary.

She pushed the particularly sobering thought to the back of her mind. The last thing she needed was for the exceptionally perceptive Steve to pick up the fact that something was wrong. She didn’t want anything to go wrong tonight; it was Steve’s birthday after all.

“So you know they all think we’re climbing in each other’s pants, right?” Kennedy asked as they strolled along.

“I figured that was what they were talking about,” Steve replied as he brushed his fingers along her bare shoulder. “So anyways, what’s this grand birthday present that you set up in my apartment?”

“You’ll see,” Kennedy smiled, “in another hour.”

He frowned and, even without the pouting lower lip, she wondered if he knew how great a puppy dog face he had. There was just something about his face that could manage to look wounded and innocent at the same time. It drove her completely batty whenever he turned it on her, most likely knowing that he was doing it subconsciously.

“Those jeans look good on you,” Kennedy said as they continued walking in the general direction of his apartment. “No more khaki pants for you.”

“Is that an order?” Steve asked, smirking.

“It’s definitely an order,” she nodded. “Unless I say so.”

“Uh huh…” he drawled as they stopped at the end of the sidewalk, “you know how I am with orders, right?”

“Khakis are so dated though,” Kennedy sighed loudly and rolled her eyes. “You know who wears khakis?”

She tilted her head back to look at Steve’s face and he just raised an eyebrow at her. She sighed loudly, again and shook her head.

“School kids. School kids wear khakis with their preppy blazers and starched Oxfords. That’s who wears khakis.”

“I’m beginning to think you had a bad experience with khaki pants at some point in your life,” Steve mused.

“What ever would give you that idea?” Kennedy drawled sarcastically.

They quickly crossed the street to the other side once the light changed. Once safely on the sidewalk again, they slowed to the ambling pace that they had taken up a few moments ago. Steve kept his arm secure around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side. She looped one arm about his waist and let her hand rest on his far hip.

By the time they made it back to Steve’s apartment, it was close to ten. They had left Stark’s close to eight but had spent the last two or so hours wandering around New York on their way to his apartment. Somewhere along the way they’d ended up showered in glitter. She wasn’t really sure how that had happened.

“I still think you should have let me get you a stripper for your birthday,” Kennedy said as she leaned back against the wall.

Steve just rolled his eyes as he unlocked the door to his apartment. Once it was open, she slipped inside first and flipped on the lights. Steve followed; his familiar bulk close behind hers as he closed and locked the door once more.

“How’s your hand?” he asked as she kicked her boots off and hung her jacket over a chair.

Kennedy glanced down at the white bandages wrapped tight around her palm. The cuts were healing nicely but still had a tendency to bleed if she used them too much. She would have to make sure that, if they bled, the blood didn’t get smeared on anything onboard the Helicarrier tomorrow night. The last thing that she needed was for SHIELD to have a sample of her blood, despite the fact that they probably already did.

“Good,” she nodded before looking back at him.

He was looking at her, clearly waiting for whatever it was that she had kicked him out of his apartment for. There was a hint of amusement to the expression on his face that made her try not to grin. She managed to, mostly, keep the look off her face.

“It’s in here,” Kennedy nodded and backed into the living room.

Steve followed by lifting his eyebrows to take in the living room. She had managed to get as much of his furniture pushed against the walls as she could. That wasn’t his birthday present, of course.

“Okay, so, I’m not a red-headed English woman from the early twentieth century but I was born in the twentieth century and I have English blood in me somewhere,” Kennedy said as she stood in the middle of the room. “But any grown man worth his salt needs to know how to dance.”

She hooked her thumbs in the pockets of her shorts, blue eyes watching him as she suddenly felt nervous. Rocking back on her heels, Kennedy bit the inside of her cheek before trying her damnedest to not like self-conscious. Instead, she just gave a hapless shrug and ran a hand through her long faux hawk.

“So you went and found a record player just to teach me how to dance?” Steve asked, nodding to where the record player sat.

“Hey, that took some time that I didn’t have,” Kennedy replied while pointing a finger at him warningly. “But if you don’t appreciate my hard work then fine.”

“No, no, I appreciate it,” he grinned, arms folding across his chest as he leaned against the doorframe. “I appreciate it a lot.”

“Well you can’t damn well appreciate it way over there where I can’t teach you how to dance.”

Steve just laughed before walking over to where she was standing. He let her position his hands so that they were in the right spot before she put her own hands on him.

“Okay, now, take your right foot and step right,” she ordered, watching his feet to make sure her bare toes didn’t get crushed, “slide your left in. Step back on your right. Take your left foot and step to the back and left. Slide your right in.”

They went slowly at first and without music just to make sure Steve picked up on it. Kennedy had no idea if he even knew how to dance. She just wanted to cover her basics, and remind herself. From the way he moved, it was obvious enough that he had known the steps. Satisfied, she turned and set to work on getting the record player ready.

“Why haven’t you ever danced before?” Kennedy asked as she crouched. “You’re not that bad.”

“Imagine me about your height and skinnier than you,” Steve replied.

She glanced over her shoulder at him and ran her eyes over him. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Name one girl who wants to dance with an asthmatic who is all bony elbows and knees.”

“Those bitches.”

The comment earned her a laugh from Steve as she finally managed to get everything set up. Brushing her hands off, Kennedy got to her feet and turned back to Steve as the music started playing. She ignored the crooked grin on his face ‘Moonlight Serenade’ by Glenn Miller started playing.

“One snide comment and I will drop you so fast that you won’t know what hit you,” Kennedy warned as he started leading.

“I would never,” Steve grinned cheekily, “but seeing as you’re the only person in the apartment besides me, I might know what hit me.”

She swatted his chest before returning her right hand to his left. His strong right hand was cupped beneath her shoulder blade, the heel of his hand helping to lead. He had taken his shoes off while she had been working so now they were both in socks. It made moving across the floor a little smoother.

His hand slid lower, gripping her slender hip and pulling her closer. Their waltz turned to a slow swaying as her arms lifted, looping about his neck. Her hips bumped against his until he pulled her to where they were touching. Stretching onto her toes, Kennedy kissed him.

The hands resting on her hips slipped lower, grasping the backs of her thighs as he leaned down. Her lips pulled at his firmly as Steve’s hand tightened on her legs to lift her. She hooked her legs around his hips, fingers cupping the sides of his face.

Her fingertips curled into his blonde hair, tugging on it lightly as he carried her from the living room. Steve responded as aggressively as she did, his lips pulling back at hers firmly, hungrily. Her back collided with the mattress of his bed and her hands slid to his shoulders, then over the strong muscles in his back.

Steve’s hands were on her hips before slipping up and beneath the thin material of her tank top. She could feel her lips already going numb even as her body flushed with warmth. Pressing her hips up into his, Kennedy grasped the hemline of his shirt and began tugging it up over his torso.