Steve was proud to call himself a calm driver. Whether he was driving his own bike or a car during a job, he always drove with peace and according to the rules, although if the situation demanded it, he could break a few rules here and there. He didn't like it, but he knew it was sometimes necessary if someone's life was in danger (generally, his client's).

So he wasn't nervous to drive a new car. He knew that brand but not the model and it took him a dozen minutes to get used to this specific car. But Natasha didn't say anything when he came to a stop at a red light more harshly than he intended. In fact, she didn't raise her eyes from her phone for the first half of the trip, clearly focused on something important. When Maria called her, Steve detected in Natasha's voice a softness she seemed to have for all her staff, as if they were a part of her family or they had earned her everlasting respect in some way. Steve knew, just from the tone of her voice and the various lilts that she would move heaven and earth to help the ones she cared deeply for.

"How well do you know New York, Steve?" Natasha suddenly asked.

"Pretty well."

"So you wouldn't get lost if I asked you to take the next left so we don't get caught in the traffic around the bridge?"

Steve smiled as he looked at her in the rearview mirror. "No I wouldn't". Then he turned left and saw her smiled back at him.

From then, Natasha put her phone down and sat in a more relaxed way, slightly less guarded than they way she was before. Steve couldn't help but occasionally glance at her through the mirror and it slightly unnerved him to see her smirking and looking at him as if she was trying to read his very soul.

So he did his best to keep his eyes on the road.

Surprisingly, she didn't say anything during the rest of the ride and Steve only asked where she wanted him to park the car. "Alright," Natasha said when Steve killed the engines. She let the silence of the underground parking lot belonging to the art gallery engulf them for a couple of seconds before she grabbed her phone and put it in her purse. "I'm meeting the Odinson brothers and then we'll get lunch together. Do you have a preference for the place? Because I know this excellent Ukrainian place downtown…"

"It sounds lovely," Steve smiled and turned towards her.

"Ukrainian it is. Come on, let's not keep them waiting."

Of course, she didn't wait for him to get out of the car although Steve wanted to open the door for her. His mother made sure he was taught some manners before she passed away and he would never shame her by forgetting what she taught him. But Natasha made it particularly difficult to be a gentleman when she was running a hundred miles an hour all the time. He didn't know her well enough yet to assume she was always like that, but he had the feeling he wasn't wrong.

Reminding himself that his job was to protect her, he quickly got to her level after locking the car and opened the door of the parking lot for her after checking that no imminent threat was waiting for them inside. From what Maria had told him, Natasha had only been attacked at night in a park, so he wasn't expecting anything to happen but still. Better safe than sorry, especially since he didn't know the whole story. And he wanted to hear it from Natasha herself. Maria had told him a great deal about who might be targeting her employer, but he had yet to know the reason why, who they were exactly and what means they had. But he guessed that for the first day, it would do, especially since nothing had happened since the attack in the park which left Natasha more unnerved than hurt.

So Steve kept his eyes open and led her into the elevator where she took over, pressing the button for the second floor where the brothers should be waiting for them.

"Relax," she said after a while. Her gaze was fixed on a point somewhere in front of her and her expression was neutral, her hands joined and holding her purse in front of her in a professional manner but still making her radiate confidence.

"It's just a business meeting. Nothing's going to happen," she said.

Her lips quirked slightly into the beginning of a smile before she stepped out of the elevator. Steve didn't even notice they had arrived and followed her out into the hall of the second floor.

Natasha walked through the hall, passing by glass sculptures and strange objects on display. She completely ignored the ones that baffled Steve in their splendor or originality and walked straight to the only door at the end of the room. She knocked twice and waited.

It didn't take long for heavy footsteps to be heard, approaching at a fast pace from behind the door. The next second, the tallest man Steve had ever seen appeared.

"Lady Natasha! It's so good to see you!" he boomed and wrapped her in a bear hug. Steve lunged forward, instincts kicking in, but was stop short by Natasha's flat palm against his chest. Steve's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion but he waited and saw after a couple of seconds that the man wasn't crushing her to death, rather holding her tenderly, almost lovingly as if she was a long lost friend or one of his glass sculptures.

"It's good to see you too, Thor," she said once she extracted herself from his big buff arms, the muscles barely concealed by the light cerulean shirt he wore. Now that the imminent threat seemed to be over Steve took a better look at the man. His long blonde beard was neatly trimmed and braided while his hair was tied in an elegant man bun. His clothes didn't exactly scream expensive but rather seemed to be related to some kind of Norse culture Steve knew nothing about. At least he thought he recognized some of the runes embroidered around the collar and sleeves of his shirt.

"Please, do come into our office," the tall man said and moved to the side to let them in.

The office seemed to be a continuation of the hall, but with more paintings than sculptures. One entire wall was made of glass, showing the city and especially the skyscrapers surrounding them. Two giant glass desks stood on opposite sides of the office and belonged to very different people from what Steve could see displayed on them.

One was neatly organized and was almost shining in the light pouring through the glass wall while the other seemed less clinical with the occasional trinkets and pictures as well as an overwhelming amount of red office supplies while the sober desk only had black and white things on it.

The dark haired man sitting behind the organized desk was leaning back in his massive leather chair, his feet propped up on the corner of his desk. A cigarette holder was daintily held between his long fingers and he let out the occasional puff of smoke, much to Thor's distaste since he waved at the air when he passed by him and asked him to smoke outside.

"It's also my office. I can smoke in here," the man said with an accent that Steve couldn't quite place that was more pronounced than Thor's.

"Take your feet off the desk," Thor then said while he led Natasha and Steve towards a couple of couches in the center of the room before he brought sweets and asked them if they wanted to drink something.

"It's my desk," the dark haired man replied. His face was precisely shaved and his eyes seemed to observe everything. He wore similar clothes to Thor's but his were much more elegant and plain, with very little embroideries and with a slight splash of color which was a deep green bowtie. "Good morning Romanoff," he said to Natasha with a slight nod of the head.

"Good morning, Odinson."

"Would you like some vodka my dear friend?" Thor asked Natasha when she was sat and he showed her a bottle which made her smile. Steve wondered if it was her favorite brand or if this bottle held a special meaning.

"Maybe something lighter. I still have a whole day of work to go through and nothing I wish to forget yet." Thor nodded sadly at that as if this was a conversation they had one too many times. Or maybe he just understood what it meant.

So instead of standing there in the middle of the room and looking like the third wheel to a conversation between old friends, Steve moved to stand behind the couch Natasha was sitting on. She nodded at him then looked at Thor.

"Boys, I would like you to meet my bodyguard, Mr. Steve Rogers. He will be escorting me to my various meetings from now on."

Loki stood up and took one last drag of his cigarette before putting the last of the ash in the heavy glass tray on his desk. "And here I was hoping to be able to get a one-on-one with you after this meeting," he said suggestively.

Steve looked at Natasha. He didn't know how she wanted to handle the situation, if she wanted him to intervene at all. They hadn't discussed this kind of thing yet but fortunately he didn't have to wait long: she simply smiled, brushed it off as a joke (which it might have been but Steve didn't know this Loki well enough) and completely ignored his comment.

Thor on the other hand glared at his brother and handed Natasha a glass of white wine before turning to Steve. "Would you like something to drink, Mr. Rogers?"

"A glass of water would be nice."

Thor nodded, brought him what he asked for and sat down on the couch opposite Natasha while Loki took a seat on the armchair on her left, far enough so he could busy himself with something else if he wished but close enough to seem included in the conversation.

After a beat, Steve also allowed himself to sit in an armchair a little on the side, giving him a full view of the room and the two doors (the entrance and the one for emergencies), as well as the glass wall. He could also clearly see Natasha and looking at either Thor or Loki wouldn't be difficult if he slightly turned his head. They were all good.

"By the way, we have recently acquired a painting that you will like, I'm sure," Thor said before he took a sip of his beer. "A Chagall."

Natasha smiled politely.

"You know Thor, not all Russian things interest me."

"But I know what you like and what you are looking for, Lady Natasha. I think you'll like this one."

Her smile turned genuine and Steve was surprised to see softness in it. It felt as if her and Thor were good long-standing friends.

"We'll see. You'll have to show me later."

Thor nodded. "Now, about your next show." He looked at her then at Loki then at her again.

When Natasha spoke, she was looking at both brothers. "In two months my theater will present The Stone Flower by Prokofiev for the first time. And for this specific ballet, I would like to do something different for the set design."

She looked specifically at Loki then, her stare piercing and sharp like the edge of an assassin's knife.

"I was wondering if you would be interested in helping me with the design of the scenography. I saw your sculptures Loki, I know what you can do and I think your style would be a good fit for my ballet."

"I don't usually paint," he replied, but the glint of curiosity in his eyes indicated that he was considering the offer.

"But you have the skills, I know you do. You could pull this off."

"I would need supplies. A lot of it. And assistants. A whole scenography is not some meager task that can be prepared in one night."

"And I appreciate your perfectionism. Of course, you'd be provided with everything you'd need for this job. So, are you interested?"

Loki smiled devilishly. "I'll have to think about it."

Natasha nodded and they spent the rest of the morning negotiating the terms of this potential contract. Although Loki reminded her that he hadn't decided yet, he kept adjusting the terms with her, talking about ideas and possible designs at the same time.

Steve spent that time watching them and especially Natasha. It was something else entirely to see her professionally answer calls and organize her events and then see her negotiate something that she clearly cared deeply for. Being an artist (although modest) himself he was particularly interested in seeing her theater and he wondered if he would be able to watch this performance. Since he was her bodyguard and was supposed to follow her to all her errands and events, he would probably attend the show.

The rest of the morning quickly went by and after another coffee, Natasha turned to Thor to ask him to show her the Chagall painting before she left for lunch. She thanked Loki for his time, promised to send him a draft of the contract in three days and that she would be expecting his answer at the beginning of the next week along with a list of the needed supplies, means and the assistants he wanted to have. She was adamant about him choosing them since this kind of art was his domain of expertise.

Natasha wasn't impressed with the painting but reassured Thor that it was the real thing and not a fake (the Odinson brothers had unfortunately bought fake paintings in the past). She didn't want to buy it, but she advised him to keep it in their personal collection, not the one they were planning on showing in the spring because it didn't really fit in the theme of love and beauty they wanted to have for the next exhibition.

When all was said and done, Thor walked with them to the elevator, kissed Natasha's hand and wished them a good day. Once again, Natasha remained silent until they reached the car then she gave Steve the address to the Ukrainian place she knew and instructed him on the parking place.