FIC: The Captain America Type
Title: The Captain America Type
Fandoms: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Avengers
Characters: Buffy Summers, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark
Summary: When Buffy moves to New York, she meets a nice, handsome, normal guy. Well, two out of three, anyway.
Words: 3497
Disclaimer
I don't own anything. Buffy is not owned by me. Nor is anything owned by Marvel, especially not the Avengers. It is owned by rich, talented people. I'm a nobody. Please don't sue me.
The Captain America Type
Buffy stood in front of the mirror, holding a dress in front of herself. She frowned thoughtfully, before switching it with another, much shorter, dress. “No. First date. He doesn't need to see that much of Buffy.”
Before she could consider another option her cell phone rang. “Hello?” she asked distractedly as she held yet another dress in front of her body. It looked good... but she couldn't kick in it. If she'd learned anything as the only Slayer to ever hit thirty (not that she admitted to her age, mind), it was that she always needed to be able to kick. Why had she bought it in the first place? Stupid tempting sales, she thought with a pout.
“Buffy?” Willow's voice asked from her phone.
“Yeah, Wills,” she said absently as she put down her dresses and began to examine her skirts. She wanted something that showed some leg, but didn't look trashy. And which let her kick.
“There're some funny reports of something Hellmouthy going on in Manhattan,” Willow said.
“Tonight?” Buffy moaned. “If it's in Manhattan, can't we let that Iron Guy deal with it?”
“I thought you moved to New York to keep an eye on all the weirdness after that invasion of Chit-Aou-Reh Demons?”
“Right, Cheeto demons,” Buffy said. “And, you know, Fifth Avenue.”
“Well, if you're doing something important it can probably wait,” Willow said uncertainly. “The only thing the reports are big on is vagueness, so it may be nothing...”
“Great!” Buffy said cheerfully as she began digging though her overstuffed closet again. She finally decided to go with a skirt and blouse, and some kicky Manolo Blahnik boots. That only left her with the question of which skirt.
“What's so important that you can't go?” Willow asked curiously. “You got a hot date?”
Buffy didn't answer for a minute. “Yes?” she finally said nervously.
“Really!” Willow said. “And you didn't tell me? What happened to best friend privileges?”
“Sorry, Wills,” Buffy apologized. “'S just, after how bad the last few times went...”
“Didn't want to jinx it?” Willow offered gently.
“Yeah.”
“Well, we won't be jinxy!” Willow said brightly. “We'll be encouragey. And-and... I'll do a good luck charm for you! Then you'll be lucky!”
“Not on the first date,” Buffy mumbled as she tossed away another overly short skirt.
“Well, no, not that quick I hope,” Willow said. “Come on, dish!”
“Well, he seems really nice,” Buffy said finally. “He's in my building. I met him when I first moved in. He held the door for me.”
“Good start,” Willow encouraged.
“We go to the same gym,” Buffy said. “He does some boxing.”
“You're dating a boxer?” Xander asked.
“Xander?” Buffy asked, confused. “You're not Willow.”
“Ah, the marvels of speakerphone,” Xander said. “You've got Giles here too.”
“Hello, Buffy,” Giles said.
“Hey guys,” Buffy said awkwardly. “And no, he's not a boxer. Trust me, that face has not been boxed. I mean wow. Nice eyes too. Got nothin' on his abs though.”
“Okay, TMI,” Xander inserted. “Go back to how you met mystery guy.”
“He's not a mystery,” Buffy objected. “He's nice. Sweet. Always polite to everybody. Kinda old fashioned charm.”
“Old fashioned?” Xander asked sharply. “That's not a code word for vampire, is it?”
“No!” Buffy defended. “Do that twice...”
“Three times,” Xander coughed.
“Two times, Mr. Dates-Demons-A-Lot,” Buffy said pointedly.
“So, nice, sweet, handsome,” Willow interjected. “What's the catch? Neanderthal?”
“No!” Buffy said. “He's actually really big with the women power thing. It's kinda weird, but there was this whole thing with a mugging...”
“Mugging?” Giles demanded. “You haven't mentioned anything about a mugging.”
“Oops?” Buffy offered sheepishly. She could see him in her head polishing his glasses. “Anyway, it was no big. We were walking home from the gym together. It was kinda annoying at first, like he thought I couldn't take care of myself. I mean, sure, New York after dark. But when I'd complain he'd pretend he just got done working out at the same time I did, so he had to walk home, too.”
“Sure he's not being stalkery?” Xander asked.
“Yes,” Buffy said. “Anyway, we were walking home and these two guys came out of the alley. We both knocked one out at the same time. I was all prepared to babble out some dumb explanation, but he just told me I had great form.”
“Great form?” Xander asked, his voice full of accusing innuendo.
“My kick,” Buffy insisted. “Anyway, he seemed happy I could take care of myself. Still walks me home, though.”
“So what's he do?” Willow asked. “For a living?”
“I dunno,” Buffy said thoughtfully. “I didn't want to bring up the whole job thing, since I haven't really settled on a good cover yet...”
“The standard cover for Watcher's council employees...” Giles began.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Buffy said, cutting him off. “It's lame. And so not Buffy.”
“It's a perfectly good cover...” Giles grumbled quietly.
“But I did see he's got a uniform in his apartment,” Buffy said. “He was in the Army.”
“So, you trying the Captain America type again?” Xander asked.
"Xander, you are far too interested in that bit of- of propaganda from the news," Giles said disparagingly. "Whoever than man was in the costume, the real Captain America died a long time ago."
“Yeah, but if Buffy's going out with her type, I'd rather it be a Riley, instead of a Dead Boy,” Xander defended.
“Look, he's a nice, handsome, normal guy, with nothing weird about him at all, okay?” Buffy said. She ignored Xander's disbelieving snort.
“So what's his name?” Willow asked, interrupting the argument.
Buffy finally settled on an outfit, laying it out on the bed before answering. “Steve.”
* * *
Steve Rogers stood in front of the mirror, carefully adjusting his tie. He had been on a few dates before. Mostly they had been double dates with Bucky, and by the end of them his date had been fawning over his best friend and ignoring him completely, but it wasn't the first time he had dated.
She was certainly a pretty girl, although after becoming Captain America he'd had more than a few pretty girls look at him. What had really caught his eye was her confidence. Despite being barely over five feet tall she walked around as though she was the biggest person in the room. He'd been concerned when he'd realized that she planned to walk home from the gym alone in the dark, but he'd immediately known that it would be a bad idea to imply that she needed his protection. So he'd gotten into the habit of leaving when she did, so that he could “coincidentally” walk with her.
He'd convinced himself that it was simply him doing the gentlemanly thing, but that had been shattered when they had been attacked by muggers. If the two criminals had come at them together he would've pushed her behind him, but since they'd come from both sides he hadn't been able to. He had decided to go all out and drop the first one as quickly as possible so that he could handle the other more safely, but when he had turned around he'd seen her casually defeating her own attacker.
He hadn't been able to stop thinking about her after that. While she was beautiful she wasn't like anyone he'd ever met. It may have simply been the generation gap, but her way of acting and speaking often made Tony seem straightforward. Seeing her strength, a compliment to her compelling confidence, had more than made up for that, though.
Just as he began to adjust his tie again, he heard his phone ring. Walking over, he grabbed it, answering as he went back to the mirror. “Hello?”
“Hey, it's Tony,” Tony Stark said. “I was thinking, you, me, Banner, check out Manhattan. You in?”
“Sorry, Tony,” Steve said. “I have other plans.”
“Please,” Tony scoffed. “What are you going to do, sit in the dark looking at old film strips? 'Cause I've gotta say, watching yourself that way all the time is a bit creepy.”
Steve froze for a long moment. “How do you know about the film strips?”
“Hacked your computer,” Tony said. Steve eyed the device warily for a moment, but before he could reply Tony continued blithely. “Not important. What is important, is some weird readings I'm getting on my sensors. I haven't found anything flying around as Iron Man, so I thought we could take a handheld device and go poking around.”
“Is it serious?” Steve asked.
“Well, it could be. I made the sensors to try and detect another incursion like the Chitauri, but if something that bad was happening I think we'd have noticed something. Why, do you have a date?”
“Actually... yes,” Steve said.
There was silence from the other end of the line for a moment, and Steve smirked at having made his motormouthed teammate speechless. It didn't last long. He suspected nothing could shut Tony up for long.
“Wow. Didn't expect that. So, tell. I need details. Come on, don't hold out on me.”
“She's a nice girl,” Steve said. “I met her a while back, and she asked me out on a date for tonight. Nothing else to tell.”
“Whoa, wait, hold on,” Tony inserted. “She asked you? Pretty progressive for an old timer.”
“Is that... unusual?” Steve asked.
“No, no, no. Well, yes. A little odd. Nothing too big, but I'd have expected you to ask her father before you decided to start courting her, not the other way around.”
“I had been planning to ask her, but she asked me first,” Steve answered.
“So, it's mutual, not just you feeling trapped by a lady making a request, good to know,” Tony said. “Piece of advice, a woman that will ask the man? Don't be too overbearing. Women like that won't want to be patronized.”
“I'll try not to call her a dame,” Steve answered dryly.
“Actually, something that antiquated might be interpreted as charming,” Tony said thoughtfully. “If she didn't think you were a renegade from a noir film.”
Steve fell silent as he looked at his reflection. He smiled slightly at who was giving him advice. Tony's father had done the same the last time he'd been interested in a woman. With that in mind, he asked the question that had been bothering him for most of the day. “I'm not sure what to say.”
“What do you mean?” Tony asked. “She's a woman. Say something complimentary. Women love that kind of crap.”
Steve sighed, shaking his head. It was probably a severe indictment of his personal life that the only person he could talk to about his date was Tony Stark. He really needed to make more friends.
“So, how old is she?” Tony asked.
“Isn't it impolite to ask a lady her age?” Steve asked.
“Please,” Tony answered. “I'm not asking her, I'm asking you. Completely different things.”
“Well,” Steve answered after a moment. “I think she's a couple of years older than me.”
“Ew,” Tony answered.
“Than my biological age, Tony,” Steve said resignedly. “Not my actual age.”
“Oh!” Tony said. “Right. I knew that. So... you like older women? You dog, you.”
“That... I...” Steve stumbled. “I have to go. She'll be here shortly.”
“Picking you up, too?” Tony teased. “Don't do anything I wouldn't do.”
“I'm not sure I've even heard of some of the things you would do,” Steve grumbled as he hung up. He looked at himself in the mirror one more time just to make sure that everything was perfect. He was about to brush his hair again when he heard a knock.
He adjusted his collar one more time before walking slowly to his door. He took a deep breath before opening it. It took all of his battle tested composure not to gape at the sight before him.
She was even more beautiful than normal, a task that Steve had thought to be impossible. Her long blonde hair flowed past her shoulder like a waterfall, accentuating her tanned skin perfectly. She was also wearing clothing that looked more expensive than Steve's entire wardrobe combined. Normally he didn't have expensive tastes, but she certainly made it work.
“Hello, Buffy,” he said. “You look beautiful.”
Her smile told him that he said the right thing.
* * *
Buffy had known that he was a hottie from the moment she had laid eyes on him. She had really become aware of it when she first saw him working a heavy bag in the gym, her sharp eyes picking out the hard muscle under his loose workout clothes. Seeing him in a suit and tie, however, was an entirely different thing. She'd thought Cave Buffy was long gone, but part of her kept an eye out for convenient blunt objects to hit him over the head with so that she could drag him back to her apartment to have her wicked way with him.
It had been far too long since she'd gone on a real date.
She'd been relieved when he'd suggested a little cafe that he liked in Manhattan. Even though she'd been excited about her date, part of her had felt terrible about abandoning her Slayer duties, even if just for a few hours. As she arrived at the cute little cafe in the shadow of Stark Tower, she was able to convince herself that she was doing her job and having a private life. No demons in sight, so mission: check out Manhattan accomplished.
He held her chair for her, and she smiled at him as he sat across the table. “So, must be a good cafe.”
“I've been here a few times,” he said. “I've always liked it.”
The waitress walked up to them, smiling shyly at Steve as she set down the menus. For a moment Buffy felt territorial, but when she saw the way that the waitress was looking at her date she reconsidered. It looked a lot more like hero worship than infatuation. “If you two need anything, anything at all, just call.”
When the waitress left, Buffy looked at Steve quizzically. “What's with the fangirling?”
“What?” Steve asked, bemused. She decided that it was a good thing that befuddled was a cute look on him or they would be in a lot more trouble. Even Angel had been better at catching her references.
“The big ol' case o' hero worship,” Buffy said. “She's looking at you like you saved her pet puppy from cancer of the cuteness.”
He blinked again, before looking faintly embarrassed. “I helped her out once. I guess she's grateful.”
Buffy was about to ask, but decided to let it slide. She really didn't want to turn their date into an inquisition, especially when she had plenty of things she didn't want to talk about, too. “So,” Buffy said brightly. “After the food, what's the plannage? Movie? Dancing? Stroll through the park?”
“Well,” Steve began nervously. “I saw that they were having a Big Band show in Central Park tonight. It's a bit old fashioned, but if you're interested...”
“Ooh!” Buffy said. “Stroll in the park to dancing? Sounds great.”
“Actually, I don't really know how to dance,” he confessed.
“Don't worry, I can teach you,” Buffy said, looking at him through her lowered eyelashes. She was satisfied when she saw him gulp slightly.
Before either of them could say anything else, Buffy's cellphone rang. She smiled apologetically as she pulled it from her purse to answer it. “Hello? Not a good time.”
“Buffy!” Willow said. “I'm sorry about your date, but this serious!”
Buffy felt her heart clench, although she kept her face calm even as she watched Steve pull his own cell phone from his pocket. He frowned at it for a moment before he was able to answer it. She was surprised that he had used a Black Sabbath song for a ring tone, but she suspected from his difficulties using it that he hadn't been the one to choose it.
She returned her attention to her call. “What is it?”
“Kaliflax demons,” Willow said. “Big invasion of them in Manhattan.”
Buffy sighed. It never failed. “Fine.”
She listened dejectedly as Willow described everything that she needed to know. Finally, she hung up, and avoided looking at Steve as he finished his own call. “I'm sorry, I have to...”
He had begun speaking at the same time. “I apologize, but something...”
They looked up at each other in surprise, before chuckling slightly. “Rain check?” Steve offered.
“Sure,” Buffy said. “How 'bout this weekend?”
“Alright,” Steve agreed. Buffy wanted to say more, and she could tell that he did too, but after a hesitant moment they both ran off. Sometimes she hated being the Slayer.
* * *
Steve pounded the... creature again. He was glad that he had a shield, since the things were bleeders. Actually, they didn't so much bleed as burst, like oversized, glowing blue goo filled pimples. With one more swing of his shield the creature splattered like the rest, joining its fellows in decorating his signature weapon.
He had felt guilty about going on a date when there was a possible situation, which was why he had decided to take Buffy to the cafe near Stark Tower. That way, if anything did happen, he was only a minute away from a change and his shield. He considered that for a moment, before hitting the next creature. He hadn't been on many dates, and it had been going so well, until they had interrupted. The look he gave his opponent made it gulp slightly before he smashed it into goo.
“Date go that bad?” Tony asked as he blasted two more.
“Actually, it was going very well,” Steve said. “Then this happened.”
“Ah, too bad,” Tony said with a slight tinge of real regret. “Pepper'd been hoping to double date. She missed the chance with Coulson.”
“You mentioned my date to her?” Steve asked.
“Well, yeah,” Tony answered after blasting a cluster of the creatures with his chest repulser. “Someone finally thawing the Capsicle out enough to date? I told everyone.”
Steve shook his head. He wanted to be angry... but he should have expected it from Tony. “Actually, she had to run off too, so this probably won't be a problem.”
“She had to run off too?” Tony asked. “You sure there wasn't a bigger problem? Girls who run out halfway through dates aren't usually looking to repeat the experience.”
“No,” Steve said. “She was enjoying herself. I don't know much about women, but I know she was enjoying herself, too.”
“Women are good at faking it,” Tony said in a faux-wise voice. “Trust me on that.”
“Maybe in your experience.”
“Ouch,” Tony replied. “Score one for the old guy. Didn't expect you to work blue.” He suddenly saw something across the battlefield. It was a woman dressed in a once very expensive skirt and blouse, which had been ruined by a layer of blue glowing slime. She was also taking on an entire pack of the creatures, smashing them to goo with a Stop sign that had been ripped from the ground. “Whoa. Who's the blonde?”
“Buffy?” Steve asked in shock.
“What's a Buffy?” Tony asked
Buffy broke her sign as she destroyed two more of the creatures. She simply snarled and grabbed another one of them by the shoulders and tore it in two. Blue slime went everywhere, and the creatures that saw her do that slowly began to back away from her.
"Can I have one?" Tony asked.
"No fonduing," Steve said.
"Fonduing? I love fondue. There's this great little place in France... not the point. We go for shawarma after battles, remember?”
“Buffy?” Steve called as he knocked another one of the creatures into a puddle.
Buffy looked up, taking him in with calculating eyes for a second before her jaw dropped in shock. “Steve?”
“Wait, this was your date?” Tony asked. “Mini Thor over there?”
“Xander is never gonna let me live this down,” Buffy muttered.
Author's Notes
This takes place after the Avengers movie. The fondue comment was a reference to Howard Stark from the Captain America movie. The Black Sabbath ring tone was of course Iron Man. I made up Kaliflax demons as a random standard Buffy style demon to attack. I used some material about Steve's life from a cut scene that was on the Blu-ray of the Avengers movie.
My sister betaed this for me. She's a total Marvel fangirl and was pleased to see me writing this (I'm a DC man myself, but I love the recent Marvel movies).
Fandoms: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Avengers
Characters: Buffy Summers, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark
Summary: When Buffy moves to New York, she meets a nice, handsome, normal guy. Well, two out of three, anyway.
Words: 3497
Disclaimer
I don't own anything. Buffy is not owned by me. Nor is anything owned by Marvel, especially not the Avengers. It is owned by rich, talented people. I'm a nobody. Please don't sue me.
The Captain America Type
Buffy stood in front of the mirror, holding a dress in front of herself. She frowned thoughtfully, before switching it with another, much shorter, dress. “No. First date. He doesn't need to see that much of Buffy.”
Before she could consider another option her cell phone rang. “Hello?” she asked distractedly as she held yet another dress in front of her body. It looked good... but she couldn't kick in it. If she'd learned anything as the only Slayer to ever hit thirty (not that she admitted to her age, mind), it was that she always needed to be able to kick. Why had she bought it in the first place? Stupid tempting sales, she thought with a pout.
“Buffy?” Willow's voice asked from her phone.
“Yeah, Wills,” she said absently as she put down her dresses and began to examine her skirts. She wanted something that showed some leg, but didn't look trashy. And which let her kick.
“There're some funny reports of something Hellmouthy going on in Manhattan,” Willow said.
“Tonight?” Buffy moaned. “If it's in Manhattan, can't we let that Iron Guy deal with it?”
“I thought you moved to New York to keep an eye on all the weirdness after that invasion of Chit-Aou-Reh Demons?”
“Right, Cheeto demons,” Buffy said. “And, you know, Fifth Avenue.”
“Well, if you're doing something important it can probably wait,” Willow said uncertainly. “The only thing the reports are big on is vagueness, so it may be nothing...”
“Great!” Buffy said cheerfully as she began digging though her overstuffed closet again. She finally decided to go with a skirt and blouse, and some kicky Manolo Blahnik boots. That only left her with the question of which skirt.
“What's so important that you can't go?” Willow asked curiously. “You got a hot date?”
Buffy didn't answer for a minute. “Yes?” she finally said nervously.
“Really!” Willow said. “And you didn't tell me? What happened to best friend privileges?”
“Sorry, Wills,” Buffy apologized. “'S just, after how bad the last few times went...”
“Didn't want to jinx it?” Willow offered gently.
“Yeah.”
“Well, we won't be jinxy!” Willow said brightly. “We'll be encouragey. And-and... I'll do a good luck charm for you! Then you'll be lucky!”
“Not on the first date,” Buffy mumbled as she tossed away another overly short skirt.
“Well, no, not that quick I hope,” Willow said. “Come on, dish!”
“Well, he seems really nice,” Buffy said finally. “He's in my building. I met him when I first moved in. He held the door for me.”
“Good start,” Willow encouraged.
“We go to the same gym,” Buffy said. “He does some boxing.”
“You're dating a boxer?” Xander asked.
“Xander?” Buffy asked, confused. “You're not Willow.”
“Ah, the marvels of speakerphone,” Xander said. “You've got Giles here too.”
“Hello, Buffy,” Giles said.
“Hey guys,” Buffy said awkwardly. “And no, he's not a boxer. Trust me, that face has not been boxed. I mean wow. Nice eyes too. Got nothin' on his abs though.”
“Okay, TMI,” Xander inserted. “Go back to how you met mystery guy.”
“He's not a mystery,” Buffy objected. “He's nice. Sweet. Always polite to everybody. Kinda old fashioned charm.”
“Old fashioned?” Xander asked sharply. “That's not a code word for vampire, is it?”
“No!” Buffy defended. “Do that twice...”
“Three times,” Xander coughed.
“Two times, Mr. Dates-Demons-A-Lot,” Buffy said pointedly.
“So, nice, sweet, handsome,” Willow interjected. “What's the catch? Neanderthal?”
“No!” Buffy said. “He's actually really big with the women power thing. It's kinda weird, but there was this whole thing with a mugging...”
“Mugging?” Giles demanded. “You haven't mentioned anything about a mugging.”
“Oops?” Buffy offered sheepishly. She could see him in her head polishing his glasses. “Anyway, it was no big. We were walking home from the gym together. It was kinda annoying at first, like he thought I couldn't take care of myself. I mean, sure, New York after dark. But when I'd complain he'd pretend he just got done working out at the same time I did, so he had to walk home, too.”
“Sure he's not being stalkery?” Xander asked.
“Yes,” Buffy said. “Anyway, we were walking home and these two guys came out of the alley. We both knocked one out at the same time. I was all prepared to babble out some dumb explanation, but he just told me I had great form.”
“Great form?” Xander asked, his voice full of accusing innuendo.
“My kick,” Buffy insisted. “Anyway, he seemed happy I could take care of myself. Still walks me home, though.”
“So what's he do?” Willow asked. “For a living?”
“I dunno,” Buffy said thoughtfully. “I didn't want to bring up the whole job thing, since I haven't really settled on a good cover yet...”
“The standard cover for Watcher's council employees...” Giles began.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Buffy said, cutting him off. “It's lame. And so not Buffy.”
“It's a perfectly good cover...” Giles grumbled quietly.
“But I did see he's got a uniform in his apartment,” Buffy said. “He was in the Army.”
“So, you trying the Captain America type again?” Xander asked.
"Xander, you are far too interested in that bit of- of propaganda from the news," Giles said disparagingly. "Whoever than man was in the costume, the real Captain America died a long time ago."
“Yeah, but if Buffy's going out with her type, I'd rather it be a Riley, instead of a Dead Boy,” Xander defended.
“Look, he's a nice, handsome, normal guy, with nothing weird about him at all, okay?” Buffy said. She ignored Xander's disbelieving snort.
“So what's his name?” Willow asked, interrupting the argument.
Buffy finally settled on an outfit, laying it out on the bed before answering. “Steve.”
* * *
Steve Rogers stood in front of the mirror, carefully adjusting his tie. He had been on a few dates before. Mostly they had been double dates with Bucky, and by the end of them his date had been fawning over his best friend and ignoring him completely, but it wasn't the first time he had dated.
She was certainly a pretty girl, although after becoming Captain America he'd had more than a few pretty girls look at him. What had really caught his eye was her confidence. Despite being barely over five feet tall she walked around as though she was the biggest person in the room. He'd been concerned when he'd realized that she planned to walk home from the gym alone in the dark, but he'd immediately known that it would be a bad idea to imply that she needed his protection. So he'd gotten into the habit of leaving when she did, so that he could “coincidentally” walk with her.
He'd convinced himself that it was simply him doing the gentlemanly thing, but that had been shattered when they had been attacked by muggers. If the two criminals had come at them together he would've pushed her behind him, but since they'd come from both sides he hadn't been able to. He had decided to go all out and drop the first one as quickly as possible so that he could handle the other more safely, but when he had turned around he'd seen her casually defeating her own attacker.
He hadn't been able to stop thinking about her after that. While she was beautiful she wasn't like anyone he'd ever met. It may have simply been the generation gap, but her way of acting and speaking often made Tony seem straightforward. Seeing her strength, a compliment to her compelling confidence, had more than made up for that, though.
Just as he began to adjust his tie again, he heard his phone ring. Walking over, he grabbed it, answering as he went back to the mirror. “Hello?”
“Hey, it's Tony,” Tony Stark said. “I was thinking, you, me, Banner, check out Manhattan. You in?”
“Sorry, Tony,” Steve said. “I have other plans.”
“Please,” Tony scoffed. “What are you going to do, sit in the dark looking at old film strips? 'Cause I've gotta say, watching yourself that way all the time is a bit creepy.”
Steve froze for a long moment. “How do you know about the film strips?”
“Hacked your computer,” Tony said. Steve eyed the device warily for a moment, but before he could reply Tony continued blithely. “Not important. What is important, is some weird readings I'm getting on my sensors. I haven't found anything flying around as Iron Man, so I thought we could take a handheld device and go poking around.”
“Is it serious?” Steve asked.
“Well, it could be. I made the sensors to try and detect another incursion like the Chitauri, but if something that bad was happening I think we'd have noticed something. Why, do you have a date?”
“Actually... yes,” Steve said.
There was silence from the other end of the line for a moment, and Steve smirked at having made his motormouthed teammate speechless. It didn't last long. He suspected nothing could shut Tony up for long.
“Wow. Didn't expect that. So, tell. I need details. Come on, don't hold out on me.”
“She's a nice girl,” Steve said. “I met her a while back, and she asked me out on a date for tonight. Nothing else to tell.”
“Whoa, wait, hold on,” Tony inserted. “She asked you? Pretty progressive for an old timer.”
“Is that... unusual?” Steve asked.
“No, no, no. Well, yes. A little odd. Nothing too big, but I'd have expected you to ask her father before you decided to start courting her, not the other way around.”
“I had been planning to ask her, but she asked me first,” Steve answered.
“So, it's mutual, not just you feeling trapped by a lady making a request, good to know,” Tony said. “Piece of advice, a woman that will ask the man? Don't be too overbearing. Women like that won't want to be patronized.”
“I'll try not to call her a dame,” Steve answered dryly.
“Actually, something that antiquated might be interpreted as charming,” Tony said thoughtfully. “If she didn't think you were a renegade from a noir film.”
Steve fell silent as he looked at his reflection. He smiled slightly at who was giving him advice. Tony's father had done the same the last time he'd been interested in a woman. With that in mind, he asked the question that had been bothering him for most of the day. “I'm not sure what to say.”
“What do you mean?” Tony asked. “She's a woman. Say something complimentary. Women love that kind of crap.”
Steve sighed, shaking his head. It was probably a severe indictment of his personal life that the only person he could talk to about his date was Tony Stark. He really needed to make more friends.
“So, how old is she?” Tony asked.
“Isn't it impolite to ask a lady her age?” Steve asked.
“Please,” Tony answered. “I'm not asking her, I'm asking you. Completely different things.”
“Well,” Steve answered after a moment. “I think she's a couple of years older than me.”
“Ew,” Tony answered.
“Than my biological age, Tony,” Steve said resignedly. “Not my actual age.”
“Oh!” Tony said. “Right. I knew that. So... you like older women? You dog, you.”
“That... I...” Steve stumbled. “I have to go. She'll be here shortly.”
“Picking you up, too?” Tony teased. “Don't do anything I wouldn't do.”
“I'm not sure I've even heard of some of the things you would do,” Steve grumbled as he hung up. He looked at himself in the mirror one more time just to make sure that everything was perfect. He was about to brush his hair again when he heard a knock.
He adjusted his collar one more time before walking slowly to his door. He took a deep breath before opening it. It took all of his battle tested composure not to gape at the sight before him.
She was even more beautiful than normal, a task that Steve had thought to be impossible. Her long blonde hair flowed past her shoulder like a waterfall, accentuating her tanned skin perfectly. She was also wearing clothing that looked more expensive than Steve's entire wardrobe combined. Normally he didn't have expensive tastes, but she certainly made it work.
“Hello, Buffy,” he said. “You look beautiful.”
Her smile told him that he said the right thing.
* * *
Buffy had known that he was a hottie from the moment she had laid eyes on him. She had really become aware of it when she first saw him working a heavy bag in the gym, her sharp eyes picking out the hard muscle under his loose workout clothes. Seeing him in a suit and tie, however, was an entirely different thing. She'd thought Cave Buffy was long gone, but part of her kept an eye out for convenient blunt objects to hit him over the head with so that she could drag him back to her apartment to have her wicked way with him.
It had been far too long since she'd gone on a real date.
She'd been relieved when he'd suggested a little cafe that he liked in Manhattan. Even though she'd been excited about her date, part of her had felt terrible about abandoning her Slayer duties, even if just for a few hours. As she arrived at the cute little cafe in the shadow of Stark Tower, she was able to convince herself that she was doing her job and having a private life. No demons in sight, so mission: check out Manhattan accomplished.
He held her chair for her, and she smiled at him as he sat across the table. “So, must be a good cafe.”
“I've been here a few times,” he said. “I've always liked it.”
The waitress walked up to them, smiling shyly at Steve as she set down the menus. For a moment Buffy felt territorial, but when she saw the way that the waitress was looking at her date she reconsidered. It looked a lot more like hero worship than infatuation. “If you two need anything, anything at all, just call.”
When the waitress left, Buffy looked at Steve quizzically. “What's with the fangirling?”
“What?” Steve asked, bemused. She decided that it was a good thing that befuddled was a cute look on him or they would be in a lot more trouble. Even Angel had been better at catching her references.
“The big ol' case o' hero worship,” Buffy said. “She's looking at you like you saved her pet puppy from cancer of the cuteness.”
He blinked again, before looking faintly embarrassed. “I helped her out once. I guess she's grateful.”
Buffy was about to ask, but decided to let it slide. She really didn't want to turn their date into an inquisition, especially when she had plenty of things she didn't want to talk about, too. “So,” Buffy said brightly. “After the food, what's the plannage? Movie? Dancing? Stroll through the park?”
“Well,” Steve began nervously. “I saw that they were having a Big Band show in Central Park tonight. It's a bit old fashioned, but if you're interested...”
“Ooh!” Buffy said. “Stroll in the park to dancing? Sounds great.”
“Actually, I don't really know how to dance,” he confessed.
“Don't worry, I can teach you,” Buffy said, looking at him through her lowered eyelashes. She was satisfied when she saw him gulp slightly.
Before either of them could say anything else, Buffy's cellphone rang. She smiled apologetically as she pulled it from her purse to answer it. “Hello? Not a good time.”
“Buffy!” Willow said. “I'm sorry about your date, but this serious!”
Buffy felt her heart clench, although she kept her face calm even as she watched Steve pull his own cell phone from his pocket. He frowned at it for a moment before he was able to answer it. She was surprised that he had used a Black Sabbath song for a ring tone, but she suspected from his difficulties using it that he hadn't been the one to choose it.
She returned her attention to her call. “What is it?”
“Kaliflax demons,” Willow said. “Big invasion of them in Manhattan.”
Buffy sighed. It never failed. “Fine.”
She listened dejectedly as Willow described everything that she needed to know. Finally, she hung up, and avoided looking at Steve as he finished his own call. “I'm sorry, I have to...”
He had begun speaking at the same time. “I apologize, but something...”
They looked up at each other in surprise, before chuckling slightly. “Rain check?” Steve offered.
“Sure,” Buffy said. “How 'bout this weekend?”
“Alright,” Steve agreed. Buffy wanted to say more, and she could tell that he did too, but after a hesitant moment they both ran off. Sometimes she hated being the Slayer.
* * *
Steve pounded the... creature again. He was glad that he had a shield, since the things were bleeders. Actually, they didn't so much bleed as burst, like oversized, glowing blue goo filled pimples. With one more swing of his shield the creature splattered like the rest, joining its fellows in decorating his signature weapon.
He had felt guilty about going on a date when there was a possible situation, which was why he had decided to take Buffy to the cafe near Stark Tower. That way, if anything did happen, he was only a minute away from a change and his shield. He considered that for a moment, before hitting the next creature. He hadn't been on many dates, and it had been going so well, until they had interrupted. The look he gave his opponent made it gulp slightly before he smashed it into goo.
“Date go that bad?” Tony asked as he blasted two more.
“Actually, it was going very well,” Steve said. “Then this happened.”
“Ah, too bad,” Tony said with a slight tinge of real regret. “Pepper'd been hoping to double date. She missed the chance with Coulson.”
“You mentioned my date to her?” Steve asked.
“Well, yeah,” Tony answered after blasting a cluster of the creatures with his chest repulser. “Someone finally thawing the Capsicle out enough to date? I told everyone.”
Steve shook his head. He wanted to be angry... but he should have expected it from Tony. “Actually, she had to run off too, so this probably won't be a problem.”
“She had to run off too?” Tony asked. “You sure there wasn't a bigger problem? Girls who run out halfway through dates aren't usually looking to repeat the experience.”
“No,” Steve said. “She was enjoying herself. I don't know much about women, but I know she was enjoying herself, too.”
“Women are good at faking it,” Tony said in a faux-wise voice. “Trust me on that.”
“Maybe in your experience.”
“Ouch,” Tony replied. “Score one for the old guy. Didn't expect you to work blue.” He suddenly saw something across the battlefield. It was a woman dressed in a once very expensive skirt and blouse, which had been ruined by a layer of blue glowing slime. She was also taking on an entire pack of the creatures, smashing them to goo with a Stop sign that had been ripped from the ground. “Whoa. Who's the blonde?”
“Buffy?” Steve asked in shock.
“What's a Buffy?” Tony asked
Buffy broke her sign as she destroyed two more of the creatures. She simply snarled and grabbed another one of them by the shoulders and tore it in two. Blue slime went everywhere, and the creatures that saw her do that slowly began to back away from her.
"Can I have one?" Tony asked.
"No fonduing," Steve said.
"Fonduing? I love fondue. There's this great little place in France... not the point. We go for shawarma after battles, remember?”
“Buffy?” Steve called as he knocked another one of the creatures into a puddle.
Buffy looked up, taking him in with calculating eyes for a second before her jaw dropped in shock. “Steve?”
“Wait, this was your date?” Tony asked. “Mini Thor over there?”
“Xander is never gonna let me live this down,” Buffy muttered.
Author's Notes
This takes place after the Avengers movie. The fondue comment was a reference to Howard Stark from the Captain America movie. The Black Sabbath ring tone was of course Iron Man. I made up Kaliflax demons as a random standard Buffy style demon to attack. I used some material about Steve's life from a cut scene that was on the Blu-ray of the Avengers movie.
My sister betaed this for me. She's a total Marvel fangirl and was pleased to see me writing this (I'm a DC man myself, but I love the recent Marvel movies).