"So what are you drawing, Steve?"

"What makes you think I'm drawing anything?"

Natasha gave him a pointed look before scoffing and reached over to pick up his sketchbook. "Please. You're a terrible liar. Every time I come to refill your coffee or give you one of those scones you like so much, you close this book like your life depends on-"

Her eyes ran over a page of a woman with full lips, curly shoulder-length hair and an apron. It became clear to her why Steve had been frequenting the coffee shop so often.

He came to draw her.

The coffee was good at Stark's and the blueberry scones, even more so. It was remarkably convenient that such a famous branch of coffee shops decided to come to Brooklyn. A lot of people in New York - well, the world, really - liked Starbucks, but Steve couldn't get into that. It was too trendy for him. He needed a place like Stark's, which was more homey and comfortable.

When the shop opened up three blocks away from his apartment, he was one of the first people lined up to go in. Faintly, swing music from the forties played through the shop speakers and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. That was another thing he liked about the place. They always played older music.

As it turned out, since this was the shop's grand opening, they were giving out free ten dollar gift cards to the first one hundred customers. Steve knew that he would be among those who received one because before the shop even opened its doors, there were less than twenty people in front of him.

When the line began to get smaller, he noticed that there was a beautiful redhead who was handing out the gift cards.

Fiery red hair, plump lips, dark green eyes, slender waist, curvy legs. She was a knock out and the most beautiful woman Steve had ever seen in his life. This was exactly the kind of woman he wanted to do a portrait of or a drawing. She was truly magnificent. Steve's fingers began to fidget a little. If only he'd brought his sketchbook. When it was his turn, she handed him a gift card.

"Thank you for coming to Stark's Coffee House. I hope you enjoy your visit."

"I know I will," he said, and indeed, he already was.

She smiled at him, then furrowed her eyebrows. "What-oh, hold on. You have something on your face." Leaning forward, she moved closer to him and rubbed at the skin on his cheek. Steve tried his best to keep his facial expression neutral. Not only had he found the girl he'd waited his whole life to draw, now she was touching his face. It was a dream come true!

"Huh. It's not coming off," she said in a confused tone and she rubbed harder on the skin.

"Oh, that's paint. I was giving my kitchen a little touch-up." He gently placed his hand on hers and smiled.

She seemed to brighten when he touched her and bit her lip. Her eyelids fluttered before she responded. "Well, I think every kitchen needs a touch-up sometime or another. After all, that's the place where we make the most messes, right?"

Steve couldn't resist the grin that spread across his face. The way she looked at him gave him the hint that she may be interested in him. Maybe she felt something in his touch. Who knew?

He wasn't able to find out because a middle-aged man behind him said, "Excuse me, but could the two of you flirt some other time? I want my gift card and there are a lot of other people who want theirs, too. You're holding up the line."

Two bright spots appeared on her cheeks and she lowered her head, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, sir." She looked at Steve again with a shy smile and said, "I hope you find something to your liking."

He merely nodded, feeling just as embarrassed as she and walked into the shop, so the line could keep moving. Of course, once he was seated, he couldn't keep his eyes off her. If he were thinking, he'd have asked for her name because after she handed out all of the gift cards, she went behind the counter to take people's orders.

Steve had seriously been lamenting his neglect of bringing a sketch pad. He'd found a pencil in his jacket pocket, but not one scrap of paper on his person. He began to debate going back home to grab his sketch pad, but hesitated. Since this was a grand opening of the Stark Coffee House, he wasn't guaranteed to find a seat as good as the one he currently sat in.

From here, he could see the counter perfectly and the lovely waitress who'd caught his eye as she dealt with customers, never losing that kind smile. If only there were something for him to draw on...

That's when he looked down and noticed that one of the waitresses had placed a handful of red napkins and white on the table. Perfect! He grabbed a couple and began running his pencil against the cloth. The pretty waitress was close enough that he could see the details for what he needed to draw: the sassy arch of her left brow, the curve of her smile, the way the hair at the nape of her neck curled against her skin.

A handful of times, he even caught her eyes and she sent him a sweet smile, the kind that said they shared some kind of secret that only the two of them knew. When the line began to dwindle, he went up to the cashier to make his order.

This is time, his eyes glanced at her name tag. Natasha. It was a beautiful and fitting name for this lovely creature. Natasha's lips curved upwards again and she relaxed her posture as if they were already quite familiar with each other.

"What can I get you?" She asked in a breathy voice.

There was no doubt about it. Steve would be coming to this shop frequently.

Three weeks had passed since Stark's had opened in Brooklyn and Steve made sure that he came at least four times a week. It was a good thing that he worked out regularly, or all of the blueberry scones and caramel macchiatos would be making him gain a lot of weight.

Even if he had, he wouldn't have minded one bit because the main reason he came to the coffee house was to draw Natasha. She was stunning and he couldn't get enough of her. Over the past weeks, they'd spoken to each other a number of times and had struck up a budding friendship.

Steve wasn't the least bit ashamed to admit that he'd learned Natasha's schedule. She worked part-time from nine pm to two pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Since those were the days that she worked, those were the days he came. Hopefully, she didn't think that he was a creep, just that he really loved the scones and coffee.

One day, on a Friday around two o'clock, business was kind of slow and Natasha had gone through the doors leading to the kitchen. This was something she always did before she left for home. She would eat her lunch with her other co-workers who were about to get off and then, she'd exit out the back door. Steve knew this to be a fact because he had asked after her a couple of times and her co-workers told him that she'd already gone.

It was a little frustrating for him since he really wanted to sit down and have a discussion with her when she got off work. She always left too damn quickly!

So, there he was, drawing yet another portrait of Natasha on his sketchpad and feeling a little sorry for himself. He had been so focused on the drawing in front of him that he didn't realise someone had taken the seat across from him until they spoke.

"Hard at work again, I see," came the all-too-familiar feminine voice.

Steve startled and gave a tiny jump in his seat before looking into the eyes of none other than Natasha herself.

"Oh...hi, Natasha," he said nervously, voice shaking.

Natasha frowned at him and cocked her head to the side. "Steve. You've been here for hours. I know the scones and coffee is good, but it can't be good enough for you to hang around for four hours. Were you...waiting for me?"

His heart began to pound furiously after she said that. Had she seen him watching her? It wouldn't surprise him the least if she did. Natasha was a very observant person and she had no doubt caught him watching her during his previous visits.

"No. I just...like the atmosphere."

She rolled her eyes and pointed to his sketchpad. "So what are you drawing, Steve?"

"What makes you think I'm drawing anything?" It was a feeble response, but the only one he could think of at the moment.

Natasha gave him a disbelieving look before scoffing and reached over to pick up his sketchbook. "Please. You're a terrible liar. Every time I come to refill your coffee or give you one of those scones you like so much, you close this book like your life depends on-"

Her eyes ran over a page of a woman with full lips, curly shoulder-length hair and an apron. It became clear to her why Steve had been frequenting the coffee shop so often.

He came to draw her.

She gasped softly as she gazed at the drawings. "...wow. So I was right. You were drawing me."

The worried look on Steve's face went away in an instant and was replaced by a confused one. "Wait a minute. What do you mean, you were were right?"

Natasha's hand touched the page she flipped to very lightly, as if she were afraid to ruin the drawing in front of her. Never before had she seen such a remarkably lifelike drawing of herself. Tiny butterflies started fluttering around in her stomach.

She grinned at him. "Well, you weren't very inconspicuous. Just about every ten seconds, you kept looking over at me, then back down at this pad. It didn't take so long for me to figure out what you were up to."

Steve hardly knew what to say. He expected Natasha to get angry with him, yell or call him a demented pervert or something. The very last thing he thought she'd do is smile at him and admire his drawings. He licked his lips and replied, "I guess I'd make a lousy spy, then, huh?"

"Oh, definitely. Very lousy, but that's okay. From what I can see here, you've already found your calling. These drawings are so beautiful. Are they...what you see when you look at me?" The was a slight tinge of concern in her tone when she asked him this.

He didn't hesitate to respond. "Yes. I think you're beautiful, Nat, but these drawings pale in comparison to the real you sitting in front of me."

Natasha sucked in a breath and looked down at the drawing again. Her chest heaved up and down as she tried her best to keep her emotions under control. Then, she lifted her head and met Steve's eyes with her own lovely emerald ones. Before he knew what was happening, she leaned across the table and pressed her lips against his.

Startled, he sat there for a few seconds, unsure of whether this were a dream or reality. Her fingers tangling in his hair soon put him to rights and he kissed her back with passion. Natasha sighed into the kiss and let one of her hands drift down to Steve's shoulders and grip it tightly.

They sat there for who knows how long, enjoying the feel and taste of each other until their lungs screamed for air and they were forced to pull apart. When they did, they stayed connected, Natasha's hands entwined with Steve's.

"Natasha...I never knew you cared," he said cockily.

"Don't-don't call me that. Call me 'Nat', like you did earlier. I like the way it sounds on your lips."

"Yes, ma'am," he said as he leaned forward to capture her lips again.

She moaned and nipped at his bottom lip, feeling so pleased with the sultry sensation of his mouth on hers. Suddenly, she pulled away and rubbed his knuckles with her fingers. "Wait. Steve...we're moving too fast."

A disappointed expression came on his face and he frowned. Maybe he had misread her? "Sorry...I thought you wanted-"

"Oh, I do! I do, but I mean, you haven't even said that you like me yet. I'm not the kind of girl who goes home with a guy when I don't even know how he feels about me."

"So you want to go home with me?" A smirk replaced the disappointed look quickly and Steve's breath tickled against her skin.

Two bright red spots appeared on Natasha's cheeks and she looked away. "Well...yes, but that's not the point. I may want to go home with you, but I'm not a one night stand kind of girl. I like it when a guy wines and dines me. I like knowing where I stand with someone before committing to a relationship with him."

"Alright, then. Natasha Romanoff, I would be honored if you'd consent to be my best girl."

Her breath hitched in her throat. "D-do you mean that, Steve?"

Steve brushed his hand along her cheek before replying, "I'd never lie about this, Nat. Not with you. That's a promise." He gave her a determined gaze that took away all of the fears she had left and squelched them.

Natasha took a deep breath and smiled at him. "Well, if that's the case, then let's go to your apartment."

He widened his eyes. "But I thought you said you didn't want-"

She covered his lips with her finger. "I'm not coming over for that. Not yet, anyway. I haven't had lunch today and I think it's only fair that you treat me to pizza and a movie at your place. And if you're lucky, I may even let you cop a feel." She winked at him and stood up, donning her jacket.

"Heh, well, in that case, I'm game." Steve got to his feet as well and picked up his sketchpad, putting it in his pocket and holding his hand out to his new girlfriend. Natasha took it, once again entwining their fingers together.

They both walked out of the coffee shop and into the fresh spring air. As they made their way to Steve's apartment, he said, "You know, it's funny. I never would have expected that a new coffee shop opening in my neighborhood would change my life."

Natasha chuckled. "Me either. I'll tell you something. I am definitely purchasing stock in the company after this."

Steve joined in her laughter. "So am I."