*A/N I do not own Avengers, Marvel, or anything related to the movies. I only own my own character. This chapter is set just after Arianna and Steve return to New York, about a year after the end of 'Captain's Hart'.

Arianna hummed absently as she padded about the floor she and Steve shared. Technically, it was Steve's room/floor, since Tony had constructed the new Avengers Tower so that every Avenger had their own floor to themselves. The highest floor was a hanger for their private quinjet, and right below that was the two-floor lab and general meeting room. Technically it was just a really big "play-room" for Bruce, Tony, and Arianna that could on rare occasions serve as a meeting room for the team.

Most of the time, though, the team preferred to conduct their updates and general meetings in the communal lounge on the level below the lab. The 91st floor of the Avengers Tower was technically also the 92nd floor as Tony had decided he needed to have a two-floor living room. The whole lounge therefore was actually most of an entire building floor that had several clusters of sofas and booths and a bar in the corner of the room. The second floor was more of a loft-like balcony, fitted with more sofas and comfy beanbags, which overlooked the living room on one side and the New York city skyline on the other. The living room was also connected behind the bar to a kitchen, which took up the rest of the 91st floor.

Not that anyone really used that kitchen- it was mostly used by caterers or hired chefs whenever Tony threw a party in the communal living area. The Avengers usually used their own floor kitchens; partly out of convenience, and partly because whenever Thor or Clint were in the Tower, they were masters at 'passing by' whenever there was anyone cooking in the communal kitchen. The Avengers had since wisely learnt that if they wanted to eat their own food in peace, they should stick to their own private floor.

Tony lived in the highest living floor, his "master-suite" as he liked to call it set on the 90th floor. Pepper lived with him whenever she was in, although the couple still tended to favour their reconstructed Malibu home. Arianna suspected this was mostly because Pepper's business operations were based in California. But ever since the HYDRA hunt had started and Tony began to split his time at both locations, Pepper made the effort to come to New York more often.

Bruce lived below Tony, in order to be closer to the lab, and Steve lived right below Bruce, as the Avengers' unofficial official leader. Tony had 'kindly' placed Arianna's room right below, jokingly telling Clint- who lived below Arianna- that he couldn't put Clint any higher but surely 86 floors was high up enough for Hawkeye. Nat lived on the floor below that, with Thor's floor below her, and a communal pool on the floor below that. When asked why there was an entire floor for a pool, Tony had just shrugged and asked: "Why not?"

Most of the Avengers living floors were modeled after the same basic plan layout. The elevator that connected all the floors opened on each floor to a living room area, usually connected to the personal kitchen. The hallway on one side led down to a spare room for their own devices, the master bedroom (each with walk-in closet) and the master bathroom. The hallway on the other side led to a customized workout room for each Avenger, and another bathroom, usually for any guests to the floor.

Tony's workout room was composed of a few dumbbells and was more of another workroom to tinker about in, although he'd converted his spare room into his official "tinker room". Most of the technology and appliances on Tony's floor were of the most recent designs and upgrades that he could implement, and almost everything workout automatically. Steve, Thor, and even on occasion Bruce, tended to avoid trying to do anything on Tony's floor as even turning on the TV or microwave could prove disastrous for the less tech-savvy.

Steve's floor was by stark contrast very simple and- in Tony's opinion- bland. Tony had initially tried to decorate the whole floor in red, white, and blue, until Arianna put her foot down. Instead, everything was of cream tones, and although the appliances were more advanced than Steve was initially used to, they were all fairly straightforward to use. He was just relieved that Tony's humorous streak had not extended to the gym, which Tony had actually had decorated in a style reminiscent of the 40s. Well, except for all the workout machines. But the effort and thought was enough.

Steve's spare room had initially been intended as a guest room for Arianna, but it ended up being converted into a workspace for Arianna. With a desk and all of her higher-tech electronics, it was almost reminiscent of her old SHIELD office- including the several knives and guns hidden about the room. The only difference was, instead of two other desks as had been STRIKE team DELTA's office setup, the remainder of the room was instead composed of a simple desk for Steve to work at if he needed, and a small reading and relaxing area with beanbags and a comfy loveseat.

Arianna's floor was mostly empty, as was Thor's. Each rarely lived in their floors, and Arianna usually only went to hers in order to use the workout room that Tony had equipped with targets. He had also installed a new hologram program in the workout room that enabled Arianna to practice her skills with moving targets. He had also installed similar programs in Clint and Nat's floors, much to their delight.

Clint's spare room housed all the equipment for taking care of his custom bows and arrows, although he was often also missing from the Tower, disappearing off radar for large periods of time. No-one really questioned it after Nat and Arianna declined to expand on the subject, and Clint usually shrugged it off as needing fresh air. Nat's room was more of a yoga studio, albeit a yoga studio lined with various knife kits that she assembled and disassembled just for fun. Bruce's floor was more like an extension of the lab, and his was another floor Steve and Thor made a point to never visit. While the appliances were fairly normal, Bruce tended to have various experiments and projects set up all over the place.

Arianna hummed again as she cut up some bananas and strawberries as usual. She had just scooped everything into the blender and pulled out the milk and lemon juice when she heard a door slide open and shut down the hallway. She grinned and glanced back over her shoulder as Steve walked out of his gym, wiping the sweat pouring down his face with a towel.

"Morning." She called as she poured in the milk and lemon juice, and he smiled as he answered warmly: "Morning."

She pushed the button to switch on the blender, as Steve walked into the kitchen. He grabbed two cups from the cupboard, setting them on the counter as Arianna switched the blender off. She smiled again as he poured milk into one glass and she raised a brow at him, making him shrug.

"It's the least I can do when you insist on making my shake for me." He said lightly, and she laughed at him.

Shaking her head, she poured his shake into the other cup, handing it to him as she teased: "It's the least I can do when you insist on working out every morning and making me look bad."

"You'll never look bad." He replied equally teasingly, and she playfully pretended to shudder at his words. He laughed at her and she grinned back as she walked over to sit at one of the barstools by the counter, downing her morning glass of milk.

Steve leaned on the countertop beside her as he drank his shake, asking between sips: "What's your plan for the day?"

"Probably get some practice in- I was actually a bit lazy yesterday and slacked off more than I should've." Arianna admitted as she pulled a face. "Nat's probably going to whip my butt, and then yell at me."

"I did say I'd work out with you yesterday." Steve pointed out, and she answered with a sigh: "I know, but I was feeling really sore from that raid the day before."

He glanced at her sympathetically, and as he took their cups to her amusement, he asked: "Do you want me to run a bath for when you get back?"

"Nah," she replied easily, "I'll stretch it out, don't worry."

"Hmm." Steve hummed thoughtfully, and she smiled.

Patting his cheek lightly, she hopped off and called as she walked off towards the elevator: "And just leave those dishes in the sink- Jarvis will get it."

"I know." He called, making a face. He was so used to getting everything done himself, it was strange having the AI basically take care of him as though he was a baby once more. As the elevator dinged shut behind Arianna, Steve walked off to take a shower. He walked a little slower than usual, his face thoughtful.

He knew, despite what Arianna said, that Nat would really be brutal in their practice session once she noted Arianna hadn't practiced enough yesterday. It was the unfortunate nature of their job, where even one minute's slacking could mean instant death. But, surely there was something he could do to alleviate some of the pain she would surely be in when she came back?

An idea hit him.

"Jarvis." Steve called.

Arianna groaned as she returned, clutching her sides. Her prediction had been as accurate as she could've foreseen. Unfortunately, she hadn't counted on Clint returning from his rest so soon. He'd also caught the telltale signs that she'd skipped out an hour's practice yesterday, and he'd been brutal in kicking her back into shape.

The worst part was the nagging. Nat was usually quiet and deadly in administering punishment, but Clint scolded her ear off. He'd threatened to lock her on her floor, away from what he'd called a "bad-influence boyfriend", for slacking off as she hadn't since she'd turned twenty-one.

It was one frickin' hour. She groaned mentally. I took one hour off from my planned schedule. But she knew she'd probably deserved the beating she'd taken today. It wasn't the fact that she'd slacked for an hour- they all had their rest days- but it was that she'd slacked on a day she hadn't set aside to rest.

Maybe it is the boyfriend. She mused as she walked out of the elevator. Arianna stopped immediately, blinking as she took in the scene before her. The whole room was lit by a warm, low light and the entire living area was filled with the soft smells of lilies and a hint of lemons. Candles flickered all over the place in a calm and soothing manner, lining the walls around the couch.

Steve grinned as Arianna stood in shock, and he asked proudly: "Well? What do you think?"

"What did you do?" She asked blankly, although a small smile was beginning to form on her lips.

He smiled back as he saw her stare around in awe, and he answered lightly: "Nothing much. I was thinking I could treat you to a massage, and then we could enjoy a movie or something for the rest of the night."

"Steve…" Arianna whispered as she stared around again, touched. He grinned, pleased with the reaction he was getting as a warm smile broke out over her face. "You did this just for me?"

He nodded, and she mused as she finally walked into the room: "Maybe I need to skip out practices more often."

"Don't you dare." He warned teasingly, and she laughed.

Walking right up to him, she wrapped her arms around his neck. He answered by placing his hands around her waist as she reached up on her toes and kissed him softly.

"Thanks, babe." Arianna murmured as she finally broke away, and he murmured back: "Any time."

She smiled up at him, making him grin back softly. A mischievous gleam entered her eye and she pressed even closer as she hinted slowly: "Hmm, a movie?"

Steve raised a brow, fighting a grin as he nodded, saying nonchalantly although his heart was starting to beat a little faster: "Something light, maybe funny."

He paused as she lifted up on her toes again to brush her lips against his.

"Something you can relax to." He continued, although his voice was huskier now. She hummed as she began playing with the small hairs on the back of his neck as she said lightly: "That all sounds good, too, but…"

She leant up, pressing a kiss to his lips and making him smile.

"What happened to the massage?" Steve asked lightly, and she sighed.

"Unfortunately, that sounds a little too good." She admitted and he laughed at her.

Taking her hand, he led her to the centre of the living room where he'd had Jarvis help him set up a table for her to lie down on, and Steve promised: "We can pick up where we left off after."

"Why, Captain America," Arianna said in a false posh accent, "whatever do you mean? Could it be you misconstrued something I said?"

"Ria," Steve warned in a suddenly tight voice, "keep that up and you won't be able to get your massage."

Arianna laughed, shaking her head.

"Okay," she said lightly, "we'll pick it up afterwards."

He grinned at the promise in her voice, leaning down to kiss her once before she settled down for a thorough spoiling session as he gave her a wonderful full-body massage, soothing all the aching muscles as she relaxed contently.