Hi all! Still working on 'Worth the Trouble', but was inspired to create this story while perusing the Shield and Gun tumblr pages (it's awesome and all about Steve/Natasha-lovin'- go there if you haven't already). This story was inspired by the tumblr site, so I hope all who follow there enjoy this!

Disclaimer: I, regretfully, do not own Steve, Natasha, or any of Marvel's other awesome characters. I do not make money off of any works I publish here.

Friends.

Natasha never thought she needed any outside of Clint…until she saved the world from hostile extraterrestrials alongside five highly skilled, charismatic men.

Apparently, saving the world forms kinships and bonds so strong, not even the Black Widow could escape. She was forced to accept these misfits into her life as brothers-in-arms, roommates and friends.

Months after the Battle of New York, the team had moved into Stark Tower, affectionately renaming it Avenger Tower and turning it into a high-end, multipurpose dormitory.

Clint, being a restless spirit, continued volunteering for protection details and overseas missions, so he was rarely "home".

In Clint's absence, Natasha figured she would turn into a recluse, but Steve didn't allow that. No matter how many times she retreated to her suite, he would always come knocking, inviting her out for pizza, a walk or pestering her with the random "help-me-because-I'm-not-from-this-era" issue.

Eventually, their pizza nights became routine, as did movie nights, and unofficial gym dates.

Of course, their closeness became the butt of many snarky, inside jokes between Tony and Bruce…jokes that they never dare utter in the presence of the Black Widow.

In all honesty, they were surprised Natasha allowed someone to get so close to her…actually SHE was surprised she let someone get so close to her…especially the unassuming, sweet all-American boy next door.

There was just something about him. He was nice, smart, and he could keep up with her in the gym…which was coming in handy right now.

They were side by side on treadmills in the Tower's gym, sprinting. They'd set their machines on a steep incline at its highest speed and were now in competition to see who would give up first.

Just when she felt as though her lungs would burst, Steve's hand hit the emergency stop switch on his treadmill. By the time she slowed her machine and stepped off, he was leaning over behind his treadmill with his hands on his knees as he panted heavily.

Sweat had soaked through his light grey tank top, making it virtually transparent and his golden blond hair was matted against his forehead. His physique was definitely a work of art she enjoyed admiring.

Natasha was so out of breath, she could barely speak, but she was able to utter, "Got ya…"

Steve let out a breathless, brief laugh, "I…I…let you have that one…"

She slowly straightened, "Like hell, Rogers."

"Well, I guess I realized that your pride might be hurting after losing the past 12 times, so I decided to give your ego a boost. You're welcome."

Natasha grabbed a towel and threw it at Steve's face, then patted her sweat-slicked chest down with her own, "Face it, old man. You're starting to feel your age."

He shook his head as he took a deep swig from his water bottle, "Whatever you need to say to make yourself feel better, Nat."

The two walked out of the gym and started down the hall toward their respective suites, where they ran into Tony and Bruce.

"Guess who's back?" asked Tony as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his ridiculously expensive designer jeans.

"Not Loki, I hope", said Steve.

"Jane Foster called. Apparently, Thor's back and decided to stop off in New Mexico first…for…obvious reasons. They'll be in New York by tonight", said Bruce as he removed his glasses to clean them with a ratty handkerchief he kept in his back pocket.

Tony threw his arms in the air, "We'll have to celebrate, naturally."

"Celebrate where?" asked Natasha.

"There's this amazing new bar that just—"

Steve held up a hand, cutting Tony off, "Thor…and Bruce in the middle of a crowded, loud bar? You don't think that's a bit of a risk? No offense, Bruce."

"As usual", muttered Bruce as Natasha swatted Steve's arm.

Steve favored her with a 'What did I say?' expression before she sighed and turned back to Bruce, "As clumsily as he put it, he brings up a good point. A crowded bar is enough to make me want to pull out my throwing knives. I can only imagine what it would do to Bruce…and Thor—"

Steve sighed, "I don't think Thor knows enough about modern America to hang out in a bar."

"…says the man who thinks that fellatio is a city in Italy", grumbled Tony as he pulled out his cell phone and began dialing a number, "Fine…you don't think the Avengers can handle a night on the town? I'll do you one better."

He wandered away from them and began a conversation on his phone as Bruce excused himself. Steve looked down at Natasha, "What do you think he's got planned?"

She glanced in Tony's direction and shrugged, "Something that'll leave Pepper annoyed…as usual, but whatever. He makes the mess, he has to clean it up. I'll catch you later. I'm going to go shower."

An hour later, Jarvis simultaneously sounded in each of their suites, "Mr. Stark requests the presence of your company in the lobby of the tower at 7pm. He asks that you dress to party."

She rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth as she contemplated blowing the whole "party" off, but she had to admit…she did want to get out of the tower and do something non-work related.

Natasha marched over to her closet and started sifting through the endless hangers of jeans, leather jackets and tank tops. She almost gave up when she found a dress…probably one she was supposed to wear on one of her more seductive, undercover assignments. It was a gun metal grey scoop-neck mini-dress that she would never wear when she was simply herself…but she was low on time and didn't want to put herself through the torture of "girl time", picking out clothes in Pepper's closet, so she pulled it out of her closet and held it up to her chest in the mirror, "It's better than jeans…"

At 7pm, Natasha walked out of the elevator and entered the lobby to see the back of a tall, golden-haired man wearing a perfectly tailored sport coat and jeans. She was surprised when Steve turned around, looking ever-the-part of a dapper, 21st century man.

His eyes traveled up and down her lithe form until her voice broke him out of his trance, "Wow. Where'd you get the new clothes, cap? Never thought I'd see you in anything outside of the stars, stripes and plaid."

Steve grinned sheepishly as he fiddled with the lapel of his jacket, "You like it? I'm not so sure about it…Tony had it special ordered weeks ago and I figured tonight was a decent enough night to wear it."

She absently reached out to smooth a hand down the front of his jacket, "It looks great on you…real great."

Steve stared down into her eyes for a few seconds, "That dress…you look-"

"Holy hell, Romanoff. Where's the rest of your skirt?" blurted Tony as he and the rest of the gang walked toward them.

Thor, who was also dressed in civilian clothes, threw his hands up, "The brave captain and the ferocious widow! Wonderful to see you again, my friends!"

After he introduced Jane, they all piled into a stretch limousine, which took them a few blocks away to a lounge. Upon their entry, they were surprised to see that the establishment was empty.

Music played, and strobe lights danced across the room, but not a soul was in sight, save for a few waiters, a bouncer and two bar tenders.

Tony walked in and spun on his heel to face the group, "You didn't think a crowded bar would be a good idea for Thor or Bruce, so I took the liberty of renting an entire bar out."

Jane was the only one who seemed shocked by Tony's extravagant gesture, but the rest of the team knew just how flamboyant the party boy billionaire was, so this was no huge surprise.

Natasha had to admit though…this was a pretty smooth move.

As the others helped themselves to hors d'oeuvres, she made her way to the bar to order a vodka double on the rocks.

Natasha cursed the heels and dress she wore as she uneasily hoisted herself up onto a bar stool.

Being seated at the bar had several advantages. The most important and obvious was the fact that she was close to the booze. The second was that she was able to mingle without getting up, since everyone would come up to the bar to get something to drink at some point…so she sat back, drank her vodka and made polite conversation with her friends as they ordered libations.

After a while, Steve walked over, "What are you drinkin'?"

"Vodka."

"Anything else?"

The bar tender refilled her glass as she quirked an eyebrow, "You're supposed to put something in vodka?"

Steve laughed and looked at the bar tender, "I'll have a beer. I'm not gonna try to keep up with the lady."

Natasha used her foot to push the chair next to her out, "Take a load off, Cap."

He sat down with her, "Having a good time?"

She nodded, "I'm not much of a partier, but this is nice. Just the team…no drunken revelers-"

Natasha was cut off by Thor's booming voice encouraging Tony to take another shot. She laughed and shook her head, "Well…we still have the drunken revelers, but at least they're the ones I know how to deal with."

Steve nodded as he looked at Jane, who had distracted Thor from encouraging Tony's drinking with a searing kiss. The two stumbled to a couch in the corner of the room and proceeded to make out like horny teenagers.

When he shifted uncomfortably on his bar stool, Natasha followed his gaze to the lovers across the room, then took a swig of her drink, "I'm guessing that makes you uncomfortable, huh? Were the people in your generation even allowed to hold hands in public?"

Steve let out a weak laugh as he shrugged a little, then began intently staring at his beer bottle, "It's not that…"

Natasha set her drink down, "What is it?"

He looked back up into her eyes for a moment, but quickly looked away, "Nothing."

"Cut the crap, cap. Spill."

Steve shook his head and took a deep gulp from his beer, "It's…it's nothing."

"Steve…come on. I'm your friend. You can talk to me. I doubt anything you say is going to be very shockin—"

"I'm a virgin", he blurted, stunning the typically unflappable Black Widow into silence.

She stared at him, then began blinking rapidly, "Steve…you're…how? I mean…you've never even gotten close?" He shook his head as she continued, "Not even third base?" Again, he shook his head. Natasha paused and leaned closer, "How far have you gotten?"

"A kiss. One kiss…that lasted barely 9 seconds…"

Natasha furrowed her brows and shook her head as she desperately attempted to wrap her mind around the information she'd just received.

Steve sensed her confusion, so he began to explain, "I didn't always…look like this. I was scrawny…short…weak…girls wouldn't even look at me. By the time I did become Captain America…I had a crush on a girl who was too good for me…and…I guess you can say it wasn't meant to be."

She nodded slowly, "So…do you want—"

"Yes! Why do you think I spend so much time in the gym? I'm going crazy!"

Natasha took another sip of her drink, "Have you tried to get out there?"

"Out where?"

"The dating pool. Have you tried to meet people?"

Steve shook his head quickly, "I come from a generation where sex was a little less…" he stole a glance toward Jane and Thor, who were practically dry-humping on the couch in the corner. He turned back to Natasha, "…out in the open. I gotta admit…women of today are intimidating."

He had a point there. Any regular 21st century woman would probably devour his poor, sweet little ass whole and spit him out. Most attractive women his age were definitely experienced…and they didn't have time for a wet-behind-the-ears 80 year old virgin.

Maybe it was the overly-expensive bottle of vodka that she'd consumed talking…or maybe he just looked that damn good, but before she could stop herself, she started talking…

"I'm going to help you, Steve."

"What?"

"You've been a really good friend to me, so I'm going to do the same. I'm going to teach you everything there is to know about relationships…and I'm going to prep you for the modern dating world…by letting you round the bases and lose your virginity with someone you trust and won't make fun of your lack of experience...me."

"Nat, I—"

"It's just going to be a friend helping out a friend. Just sex. Pretend I'm helping you study for an important test."

Steve stared at her for a long time, then glanced down at the dress she was wearing and slowly leaned in, "When do we start?"

Get ready for LEMONY SMUTTY GOODNESS! Oh yeah...and review please! And then head over to the Shield and Gun for some awesome Steve/Natasha yumminess.