Thanks to everyone who read, followed and reviewed the last shot! By popular demand, here is the next installment, and I hope it lives up to the first one!

"I need you to do me a favor."

The words tumbled out of Steve and Natasha's mouths at the same time, both of them having spit it out upon a chance meeting in the hallway. For days, the two of them had avoided Peggy's request like they avoided Bruce in Hulk mode, her words haunting their minds. Together? Why would she think we were together? Steve wondered. They were partners-bound to know every single thing about the other. There was no way of surviving if they didn't.

I can't believe the old broad thought we were together, Natasha sighed mentally. There's no way someone like me would ever deserve someone like Rogers. Obviously, the universe pitted us as friends a long time ago. For the first time in about a week and a half, she looked up into Steve's bright blue eyes, remembering why she'd avoided them-she tended to drown in them like Nemo heading to the ocean. "Please tell me this doesn't involve Stark and another whipped cream float," she smirked, making the first move. "The last time didn't turn out so well."

"Ah-not this time, Nat," Steve scratched the back of his head nervously. How did one tell their teammate they needed them to act as a significant other for an old lady? Whipped cream float. I wish it was that easy this time around. "It's something a little more...please don't hate me for this," he said, deciding to get it over with. "Ineedyoutoactlikemygirlfriend," he stumbled out, watching Natasha's forehead furrow adorably in confusion.

"Speak up, Rogers. This isn't the Army, no one's going to yell at you for speaking freely."

"I resent that comment," he returned, rolling his eyes. "I need you," extra emphasis added to the 'you', "to act as my girlfriend. Did I use enough one-syllable words for the Russian immigrant?" Her mouth dropped open in shock, and she playfully hit him in the arm.

"I don't know, am I going to have to act like a Russian immigrant for this woman?" she teased. "Or can I be the pureblood American gal Captain America deserves?" That, she knew, was a dig at herself and Steve-he only getting the perfect woman for his perfect image, she not being enough to even consider herself pure.

"It's nothing, really," If Steve had noticed Natasha's self-deprecating dig, he didn't say anything about it. "Peggy just wants proof that I have a girlfriend so that I can die in peace," he muttered, already regretting having brought this up. He probably should've asked Pepper or someone else to accompany him-Natasha was just playing things too close to home.

"Well, who am I to deny the wishes of the famous Agent Carter?" Natasha said, tapping a finger on her chin as if thinking. "I mean, she did found the very agency we work for, after all. Is her biggest wish really to see you being tamed by a reasonable woman?"

"It seems to be," Steve replied, grinning. "So you'll do it?" Natasha hesitated. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to pull off this ruse without letting her true feelings show. After all, playing it cool in front of the woman who had invented reading facades... Of course, he would never know that everything she did was laced with truth. Not after, she noted, most of her life had been based on lies.

"I'll do it," she said finally, exhaling. What did she have to lose? "But only once, Rogers. Then you're going to have to get Pepper to go with you or something." Once was her quota. Twice and she'd probably be spilling her emotions everywhere like a damn leaky faucet.

Steve's eyes lit up once more, and Natasha's stomach lurched as he briefly hugged her before running off. "Thanks, Nat!" She stood there for a while after he left, her emotions still churning. Drawing on her training, she attempted to settle them, taking several deep breaths and clearing her mind. Yet, she couldn't, her resignation threatening to choke her. Why had she just agreed to this? Didn't she know that she was going to come out five times worse that everything she did was going to be fake? That this was just a halfhearted attempt to grasp at what she could never have?

I still can't believe she agreed, Steve wondered as he dashed into his room, grabbing at his cell phone to call Peggy. It gnawed at him a bit to know that everything Natasha did would be false-not that he minded this time, of course, because the more convincing an act she put on, the more satisfied Peggy would be. But still-at least he'd have a taste of what being in a relationship with her really felt like. He just hoped that she wouldn't figure out that everything he did was genuine, an attempt to channel some of his emotions before he had to lock them up once more. And he'd always been the worst liar-Steve would be lucky if his emotions weren't written on his face within the first five minutes. He'd be close to winning the lottery if he made it through the visit without Natasha guessing why he'd really asked her to play pretend.

What did I just get myself into?

"Ah, Steve!" Peggy exclaimed as Steve and Natasha walked into her room, hand in hand. They'd agreed earlier that holding hands was to be the furthest point of contact, unless the situation seriously called for more action. Both of them were secretly hoping the situation got drastic, Natasha with a fervency that matched Tony's when he worked. "Glad to see you've finally brought your girlfriend!"

Steve turned a hearty shade of red at the term, and Natasha had to smile endearingly at him-one, because it was part of her role, and two, because he just looked so damned cute when he was embarrassed. Curse the world for making Steve Rogers a giant teddy bear. "This is my girlfriend, Natasha Romanoff," he said, gesturing to her. "Nat, this is Peggy Carter. She helped found SHIELD back in the day."

"Pleasure," Natasha murmured, taking Peggy's frail hand and shaking it. As they shook, Peggy winked at her, and Natasha sent her a mental message saying, There, we're together, are you happy now? "Glad to meet the woman who played a part in resurrecting my life."

"Ah, it was nothing, Agent Romanoff," Peggy dismissed the praise, waving the hand Natasha had shaken. "Saving the world from men who want to take it. Just another day." Steve rolled his eyes good-naturedly-he'd forgotten to tell her Peggy was a natural wit. "So tell me," she said to the both of them. "How'd you two realize you were meant for each other?"

Steve and Natasha glanced at Peggy, then at each other, miniscule horror written on their faces. They hadn't prepared for this. Natasha sneaked a glance back at Peggy, who was grinning in triumph. She knew they weren't actually together. It was just a matter of making them extremely uncomfortable until they admitted to it to each other. You sneak. Peggy just smirked in return.

"Well," Steve started uncomfortably, "if you think about it, it wasn't really-"

"Stark," Natasha cut in, and Steve shot her a grateful look. "It was actually Stark that brought us together. See, apparently we were 'too close to be just partners', so he and Barton decided that they'd lock us in the alcohol closet together. Rogers gets truthful when he gets Asgardian mead in him."

"Oh yeah," Steve threw in with some pretend bravado. "I really did drink too much that night." Natasha shot him a look that said 'just let me deal with this and keep your mouth shut' before turning back to Peggy.

"Stark was elated, of course. He had a pool running and he was the closest one to the lock-in date." Just for good measure, she threw in, "And Barton was pissed. Three more days and he would've won the entire thing."

"And how does Mr. Barton feel about you two being in a relationship?" Peggy asked evilly. "Surely he must have some reservations, with you two being so close and all, Agent Romanoff." Natasha froze. Clint had actually taken to asking her every other week as to whether she'd asked Steve out yet, and every time had either been flat denial or a threat. "Did he talk to Steve at all?"

"I actually got threatened with an arrow," Steve chuckled, remembering the time Clint had actually cornered him the gym once, holding an arrow aloft and proclaiming that 'he'd better get together with Tasha by the 29th, dammit, or I'll have lost the pool to Stark.' "It was a frightening experience."

Just then, Natasha's cell phone rang, and she excused herself politely to pick it up, backing out of the room. Once she was out of earshot, Steve leaned in to Peggy, who was attempting to sit up. "So, how's the kissing like?" He started, clearly not expecting that question. "I mean, she's much shorter than you are. What is it, almost a foot?"

"Well-um-it's-" Steve stammered, his previous blush making a comeback. "Nat's kind of-" Honestly? He was just buying time until Natasha came back, because he was really bad at this whole lying thing.

"Have you taken her on any romantic dates? Taken her dancing?" When he looked surprised, Peggy sighed and said, "Steve, dancing isn't something that was reserved just for the two of us. Take her out. Show her a good time. Just because today's teens consider going to Olive Garden a date doesn't mean that's what you have to stoop to,"

Steve was about to retort that no, he wouldn't have gone to Olive Garden, there were much better Italian restaurants in the area and he wasn't that cheap, especially not with Tony's credit card-when Natasha made her way back into the room, looking decidedly annoyed.

"Pepper just called," she scowled. "Tony built a float out of pumpkins and attempted to enter it into next month's pride parade. We have to go to pumpkin control." To Peggy, she said, "I'm sorry, but we really have to go, Agent Carter. It was nice to meet you!"

"Not at all," Peggy scoffed, coughing a bit. Natasha handed her a glass of water, taking the moment to glare at the agent. "You two go save the world or whatever it is you do." Then, she winked at Steve. "Make sure you do what I told you about. I don't want to see you again until you do."

"And on that note, we've got to go," Steve said, throwing an arm around Natasha. She could barely register the shock of his arm around her before she was being steered out of the room. "I'll see you next time, Peg!" His voice dropped as soon as they were out the door, his arm following. The loss of warmth was instantly felt by Natasha, and she missed it intensely. "That was awful."

"Agreed." She paused before looking up at him, hailing a cab with her other arm. "What did she tell you to do?" Steve looked away abashedly. "What?" she asked, chuckling. "It can't be that bad, can it?"

"I have to take you out for dinner," he admitted. "I was thinking we could just make it a partners thing. You know, go to some restaurant and make snotty remarks about the other people there or something. It doesn't necessarily have to be a date or anything."

"Well," Natasha said as the cab arrived. She opened the door and got in, leaving it open for Steve. Before he got in, she replied, "whether it's a date or not depends on what you want it to be."

And so it begins. I don't even know where this is going, haha. But I hope you read and review all the same! (And follow? Hmmm...) :D