"Don't worry about that, it takes a lot to make most of us uncomfortable. You'd be surprised." Steve pulled her in closer, slipping his arm around her waist.

"No one ever guesses," Liz said with a brief grin, pausing in front of the surplus store. "Are we looking for anything or just looking?"

Hillary cuddled close to him, basking in his warmth.

"If you say so," she said.

"Whatever catches your eye," Bucky said, opening the door for her. "Anything that jumps out at you."

"You'll see." Steve didn't rush them back to the tower, but he didn't dawdle much, either. He'd already learned that reporters of this age were ruthless, and he didn't much like them.

"Hopefully not literally," Liz muttered as she moved inside, starting to look around.

Hillary glanced around occasionally for reporters, too. She didn't want to be stopped by reporters, not when there were already some vague rumors floating around about Steve Rodgers possibly seeing someone.

"Hopefully," Bucky agreed as he wandered around with her.

They got back to the tower without incident, and Steve took her into the elevator and straight up to the living areas.

"Welcome back," Jarvis greeted.

"Thanks." Steve grinned. "That's Jarvis. He runs the tower."

Liz poked around a bit, looking briefly at a pair of lightweight combat boots that she could absolutely modify before she shook herself and moved on. No, she didn't need daggers hidden in her boots, at least not anymore.

Hillary had indeed jumped a bit at the disembodied voice.

"That'll take some getting used to," she murmured.

Bucky had noticed Liz looking at the combat boots and made a mental note to grab them for her. There was no reason not to, after all.

Steve grinned. "You get used to him," he said. "Eventually. Promise."

The elevator doors opened on the main living room. Clint was sitting on the back of the couch playing a video game, while Bruce was in the kitchen. Thor was watching Clint, clearly still fascinated by the TV, and Natasha had settled at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and a book.

Liz found a few odds and ends to pick up, briefly perusing the jackets before settling on a plain green one with a multitude of hidden pockets.

"Find anything you like?" she asked, glancing back at Bucky.

Hillary stayed close to Steve, not at all certain about meeting the Avengers. What if they didn't like her?

Clint was the first to notice them, and he grinned when he looked over.

"Hey, Cap, welcome back," he said.

"Not yet," Bucky said, shrugging a bit. Nothing had jumped out at him yet, and he wasn't in the habit of collecting clutter.

"Hey Clint. This is Hillary. Hillary, this is Clint." Steve gently propelled her forward with a hand behind her back. "That's Thor, Bruce and Natasha are in the kitchen, and Tony is undoubtedly down in his lab."

"Greetings!" Thor beamed at Hillary.

"You're also not a tinkerer," Liz said with a bit of a snort. "There's so much here that can be so easily modified."

"Hi," Hillary said, still a bit nervous. She waved a few fingers in greeting.

"That's why I brought you here," Bucky pointed out. "You should be able to find all kinds of things here."

"Would you like anything? Tea? Water?" Steve headed over for the other couch, letting her pick where she'd like to sit.

"Oh trust me, I've got ideas coming out my ears, it's a matter of what's practical and necessary." Liz grinned briefly. "For instance, I don't need to modify a pair of boots to hide daggers or have a blade in the toe."

Hillary followed him over to the couch.

"What kind of tea?" she ventured cautiously.

"You don't need to," Bucky agreed. "But I bet it would make you more comfortable to have them." Hell, he knew it would make him more comfortable.

"Green, jasmine, chai, vanilla rooibos, caramel black tea, caramel almond amaretti..." Bruce listed off without looking over at her, already putting the kettle on. Steve just shrugged helplessly.

"Probably," Liz agreed with a little sigh. "Because I'm absolutely crazy."

"Vanilla rooibos sounds good," Hillary said after a moment. "Are you sure it's alright? I mean, some of those can be expensive..."

"Lucky for you, I'm the same kind of crazy," Bucky said, handing her the boots. He'd grabbed them as he walked past, intending to get them for her anyways.

"Don't worry. Tony buys in bulk," Bruce said, his voice rather dry. "Doesn't even notice the difference."

"He spends more on scotch," Clint piped up. "Really good scotch."

Liz smiled at that. "So we can be crazy-paranoid together," she joked, taking the boots and giving them a closer look, just to make sure she actually could do what she thought she could.

Hillary just blinked. Somehow, that didn't seem possible.

"If you say so," she said faintly. She couldn't imagine having the money to buy expensive tea in bulk.

"Good plan," Bucky replied, grinning a bit and letting her examine the boots.

Steve grinned at that. "You get used to it eventually," he promised. "Eventually."

Liz nodded her satisfaction and picked up a pair in his size as well. Might as well, if she was converting one pair, it was no harder to convert two.

"I don't believe you," Hillary replied. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that."

Bucky noticed that and grinned a bit, pleased that she wanted to do something like that for him.

"You will if you stick around long enough," Steve said. "I'm mostly used to it."

Liz took another quick look around the store before raising an eyebrow at him. "All set?"

"It still seems unbelievable," Hillary said, cautiously stepping forward to smell the tea. She breathed through her nose and her mouth, partially to disguise the fact that she was trying to taste the air like a snake rather than smell it like a normal person.

"Ready when you are," Bucky replied, gesturing for Liz to go first.

Steve let her take her time, instead just settling in and ignoring Clint swearing at the video game. It was normal, he was used to it, and he was trying to let her get used to their brand of normal-crazy.

Liz nodded and headed out. "I was going to tinker with these a little," she said, clunking the boots together. "Not exactly something I can do in the coffee shop, so I was going to head back to the apartment, if you wanted to come help out a bit?"

Once the initial shock faded, Hillary tentatively settled in with Steve. He was warm, and she felt a bit more secure when she was tucked against his side.

"As long as it's alright with you," Bucky said. "Don't want to invade your space or anything."

Steve just watched Clint for entertainment, draping his arm across the back of the couch behind Hillary. He was definitely content there.

Liz snorted quietly. "You're fine," she told him. "Besides, it's not like you don't know my apartment already anyway." Because she knew he'd seen inside one way or another already.

Hillary cuddled a bit closer, basking in his body heat. She sighed softly, and her eyes went snake-yellow as she relaxed a bit more.

"'S not polite to go into a dame's home without permission," Bucky said with a shrug, giving her a bit of a grin. The grin was almost as charming as any he'd done before everything had happened to him.

Liz laughed quietly. "Alright," she conceded. "Well, you've got my permission now, so stop dawdling." She could definitely see why he'd been popular before. It kind of made her wonder how she got to be with him, however temporary it was.