*Memories are in Italics*

Steve chanced a glance in your direction. You were worried. He could tell. It was your first mission without Nat or Clint, who had trained you. Still, you were determined to see it through. Steve could see your hands shaking though. He leaned his shield against the seat of the jet and walked over to you. He sat down and took your hand in his.

"Hey, it'll be alright. You know what you're doing, Doll." You smiled up at him before letting out a shaky breath. "It's not the mission, Steve. It's the flying part. Clint's basically a frickin' bird! I'm not. I don't do flying. If we were meant to fly, we'd have been born with wings." Steve's brows furrowed for a minute. He had to take your mind off your nerves, if only for a moment. You took care of that for him. "Steve, you remember how we met?" Steve grew even more confused. Of course he remembered.

Steve really didn't want to be here. He wanted to be anywhere but here. He wasn't overly fond of Tony's parties. Still, this was a celebration of the reunion of the Avengers, and the recruitment of a few more friendly faces, including you. From the moment Steve laid eyes on you, he swore he couldn't breathe. Maybe it was the hopeless romantic in him, but you were a vision.

Steve found that he couldn't keep his eyes off you for long that night. Not that he didn't try. He didn't want to be caught staring. But somehow, his gaze kept managing to find its way back to you. "Just go talk to her!" Natasha urged. With a deep breath, Steve made his way over to you. "Excuse me?" he said just as you stepped up onto stairs. You instantly lost your footing and slipped, forcing Steve to think quickly and reach out to catch you. You looked up at him and thanked him breathlessly.

"I didn't think I'd fall for you that soon," you quipped, making Steve laugh. "How about our first kiss? That didn't exactly go as planned either." You shook your head with a giggle.

"Are you serious?" Steve heard someone, Sam he thought, ask. "As the grave. Come on! When was the last time we had any kind of fun? Yes, I think this kind of game is just the kind of game we need." You suddenly appeared at Steve's elbow, making him jump a little before he smiled down at you. The two of you had gone out on a few dates, but nothing serious had happened. Yet.

"What kind of game?" you asked. Tony gave that wicked Cheshire Cat grin that told Steve that he was definitely up to something. "I'm glad you asked, Y/N. I want to revisit our youth by playing a mix of Spin the Bottle and Seven Minutes in Heaven." Steve blushed up to this roots. He didn't have any experience with those games but he knew what they were. "No thanks. I'm nowhere near drunk enough for that," you said. Steve gave you another grateful smile. "Why not? Afraid you'll have to kiss Bird Boy here? Or maybe there are some hidden feelings you don't want to come out?"

You glared at Tony. He was baiting you and everyone knew it. Steve held his breath, wondering what you would do. "Or maybe...there's someone here you don't want kissing anybody else." It was quite obvious to Steve that Tony knew exactly what he was doing. But Steve was pulled from his thoughts when he felt a hand on his neck. Suddenly he was being pulled down to your waiting lips. As quickly as the kiss began, it was over. You squeaked out a "Sorry!" and ran from the room.

"I was mortified, Steve! I was so scared you'd think I was crazy or creepy or something. That you wouldn't want to have anything more to do with me." Steve took your hand again. "We'll be both know that's not true. Don't you remember the second try at that first kiss?" You grinned.

"Y/N! Wait!" Steve called, chasing after you. He watched the elevator doors close with you behind them. Not one to waste time, Steve turned and took the stairs two at a time. He reached your floor just a moment after the elevator. "Y/N, please, wait!" You stopped in the middle of the hall and Steve nearly ran into you. You sniffled, breaking Steve's heart a little.

"Oh, Doll." He turned you gently so he could see your face. The tears hadn't fallen yet, but they were close. "Doll, don't cry. Please." You looked up at him. "I just completely embarrassed myself, Steve. In front of everyone. I did something stupid because Tony baited me and I've probably ruined whatever it is we had going on." You moved to turn away, but Steve caught your arm.

"You didn't ruin anything," he said softly. You didn't reply, but you didn't struggle to get out of his gentle grip either. "Look at me, please, Y/N." You turned slightly back to him. "You didn't ruin anything," he repeated, "I nearly did by not kissing you back. Or not kissing you sooner. I've wanted to kiss you for so long." Your eyes widened a bit. "Really?" Steve smiled and nodded. "Really. C-Could I try now?" With your permission, Steve closed the distance between you.

"That kiss was much better," you whispered, squeezing Steve's hand. "Yeah it was. So were all the other kisses that followed over the next two years." You let out a soft sigh. "Two years. I can't believe it's been that long already. So much has happened. We got together, Tony and Pepper got married. Clint got divorced and then married Nat. Bucky came back from Wakanda. We've shared so much. So many firsts. So many memories." Steve blushed again at the mention of "firsts" as one particular first popped into mind. But it was the memory of the morning after that stuck.

Steve had always been an early riser and this morning was no different. What was different was the weight he felt on his arm and across his torso. He opened his eyes and couldn't fight the smile that crept onto his lips. You were laying on his chest, mouth open slightly as you breathed steadily. Your hair was absolute mess after the activities the night before and your body was covered in love bites. Steve smiled proudly at his work.

In your sleep, you snuggled even close to him, throwing one leg over his. Steve let his arms wrap around you as he took in the smell of your shampoo that he knew would linger for a while. He pressed a kiss to your forehead. You sighed softly in your sleep. Steve let his eyes drift closed again while he enjoyed the feeling of having you in his arms a little while longer.

"You okay, Steve? You're blushing." Steve cleared his throat. "I'm fine," he assured you with a smile. You returned the grin. "I think I'm okay now. Thank you." You leaned over and kissed his cheek before you stood to finish prepping. The jet would be landing soon and you would have to get to work. Steve stayed in his seat for a moment longer. As you walked away from him, he couldn't help but smile. Never before had he wanted a mission to be over with so quickly. He wanted to return home, grab the little box that was hiding in his dresser, and ask the question he'd been dying to ask for months now. He only hoped you'd say yes so he could make many more memories with you.