Later that evening Steve had taken you to one of his favorite restaurants. Time flew by just as it always did whenever you were with him. The hours felt like seconds, and before either of you could realize you were taking your last few bites of the chocolate cake you had decided to split.

"So is this where you take all the ladies you want to impress?" you joked, before taking another bite of dessert.

"(Y/N), I haven't tried this hard to impress a lady since the 1940's," he smirked back, reaching over the table with his fork to grab a piece of the cake. The plate sat in the middle of the table now with only one bite remaining.

"Really? Not even Sharon?" you asked, half-jokingly.

The jealous ex, who clearly had it out for you, had not come up in conversation since the night before. It wasn't something you really wanted to talk about but the topic still seemed slightly unfinished. You wanted to make sure the book on Sharon and Steve's relationship was fully closed, and after the drama of last night you felt like there were still a few chapters left unwritten.

"I thought you might ask me about her. I'm not going to lie to you, you obviously know that we dated for a little while. I'm not much of a casual dater but my friends kept telling me I needed to put myself out there," he explained.

His voice was calm but you could tell he was slightly anxious and you were too. You kept shifting your eyes back and forth between Steve and the last piece of the chocolate cake nervously.

"I know that the Sharon you met last night was terrible and I'm not excusing her actions in any way, but she wasn't always like that. When we first started dating she was funny, and caring. And it was nice to be seeing someone who understood my line of work."

Nodding your head to show Steve that you were listening, you grew more and more uncomfortable by the second. You were pretty much as far as anyone could be from being a superhero, but clearly this was something that had been important to Steve. From the sound of it Sharon had been important to Steve too. You suddenly felt trapped in the middle of two people, where you didn't belong. You blamed your pregnancy hormones for turning you soft when you realized even felt slightly bad for Sharon. It must be really hard to see someone you have feelings for about to have a baby with someone else. That didn't make the things she had said to you okay. You would never be friends with her, in fact you really hoped you would never see her face again, but you weren't perfect, so you couldn't expect everyone else to be either. Reaching across the table you took the last bite of cake, placing the fork on the table, avoiding any eye contact with Steve.

"Things were good with us for a while but we had only been seeing each other for a few months or so when she started to change. She got jealous and she got manipulative. I'd tell you all the details if I thought they were important but I know they aren't," he said, reaching across the table to take your hand in his.

"What's important is that whatever Sharon and I had was over a long time ago. Meeting you has been like a breath of fresh air, so please believe me when I tell you there's nothing she can say or do that could ever make me want to go back to her, and I'm so glad that I get to be here with you."

When he finished speaking he squeezed your hand gently and you looked up, finally meeting his concerned gaze. The situation was definitely less than ideal, but you would never hold Steve's dating history against him. If he was telling you that she was out of the picture than you would trust him. Visions of you, Steve, and your unborn baby living together happily as a family that had once seemed impossible had started to feel plausible. You weren't going to let this take that possibility away.

"I believe you Steve," you said, smiling softly.

"You do?" he asked, slightly surprised.

You nodded, feeling guilt start to bubble up inside you. Steve had never done anything to make you doubt his integrity. It wasn't Steve's fault that James and Amanda had thrown you away like yesterday's paper, or that you had been forced to watch your parent's marriage fall apart. You had never wanted these things to affect him, but they clearly had.

Steve deserved someone who was whole and you weren't whole, not yet at least. But being with Steve made you want to be. It might not be easy, and wouldn't happen right away but you were taking steps in the right direction. That was what truly mattered.

"I really do," you said, squeezing his hand back before continuing, "and I'm sorry too."

"Sorry for what?" he asked, brows scrunching in confusion.

"For taking the last piece of cake" you said, making Steve laugh.

"Sweetheart as long as you're with me, you can always have the last piece of cake."

----------

Steve blinked slowly, his eyes adjusting to the dark room. Tony had insisted on installing black-out shades in his room even though he had said many times he didn't need them. He went to get out of bed to open the shades and let some light into his room when he noticed a weight on his shoulder.

He turned, a smile instantly spreading across his face. (Y/N) had made herself comfortable, her face resting on his shoulder and tucked into his neck. He could have sworn it was the sweetest sight he had ever seen. It was hard to believe that something as simple as waking up next to this girl could make him feel so content. Instinctively, he pulled her closer, kissing her forehead gently. His heart fluttered when (Y/N) wrapped her arm around him, snuggling into him.

"Not bad for a first date," (Y/N) sighed happily.

"Not bad at all," he agreed.

They laid there for a while, Steve absentmindedly drawing his hand in circles on her back while he got lost in his own thoughts. He couldn't believe this was real. As much as he was upset with Sharon for what she had said to (Y/N), he couldn't help but feel that it was worth it seeing that the end result was waking up to his girl in his arms. His girl...

(Y/N) hadn't been in his life for very long, but she already meant the world to him. To Steve, there was no doubt in his mind that she was his girl. But what about (Y/N)? Is that how she felt? He didn't want to pressure her or move too quickly, but he was tired of playing the long game. Besides, everything about his relationship with (Y/N) has been so out of order and they were having a baby together. He wanted to put the "just friends" nonsense to bed once and for all, but he couldn't be sure that him telling her this wouldn't send her running in the other direction.

He started to get angry thinking about the man that did this to her. (Y/N) had so much love to give and this "James" had made it so it was nearly impossible for her to give it to anybody else. If he ever met him in person Steve wasn't sure that he would be able to resist from beating him to a pulp.

"You're awfully quiet," (Y/N) noted, pulling Steve from his thoughts.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, obviously having noticed that he had been distracted by something. He tilted his head so it was resting against hers, gently moving her hair behind her ear.

"I want to ask you something, but I don't want you to freak out", he stated cautiously.

"You realize, saying that makes me ten times more nervous right?" she chuckled and he grinned slightly but felt very serious and focused on what he was about to ask.

"I want you to be my girlfriend."

(Y/N) was silent for a moment. Crap. He had ruined everything and she was going to make a run for it and-

"Okay, I'll be your girlfriend."

He froze, sure that he must have heard her wrong. She moved in his arms so she was laying on her stomach with her chin resting on his stomach, smiling at him happily.

"Really? You don't have to say yes," he said calmly, trying to hide the nerves he was truly feeling. She just looked at him slightly confused, clearly wondering why he wasn't more excited about her agreeing to be in a relationship with him.

"I don't want you to feel like you have to say yes, and I don't want to pressure you into something you aren't ready for. So you can get up and walk out that door right now and I won't hold it against you."

"Oh well in that case," (Y/N) responded, playfully pretending to get up to leave, giggling to herself. He pulled her back down now fully smiling as she got comfortable laying on top of him.

"Ha ha very funny," Steve chided.

Staring into her beautiful eyes he searched for any sign of her wanting to bolt but he couldn't find any. She seemed certain, like there was no other place in the world that she would rather be than laying there in his arms. Relief and joy washed over him as he realized she had just agreed to be his girlfriend.

"So boyfriend, are you gonna kiss me now or what?" she said, still laughing softly and Steve didn't hesitate to connect his lips with hers.

To Steve's disappointment, (Y/N) pulled away, kissing his nose gently and propping herself up on his chest.

"I know this is a big moment for us and all but I do actually have to get going. I promised Nat I would go shopping with her for maternity clothes. Your new girlfriend is about to get fat fat fat," she hummed.

Steve smiled back, thinking about how cute (Y/N) was going to be when she started to show. He was glad she was getting along with Nat and making an effort with his friends, but he wanted to keep her all to himself, at least for a little while longer.

"Well I could convince you to stay," he said suggestively, making her laugh.

Rolling her onto her back, he slid on top of her so that she was now pinned underneath him. Leaning down he kissed her slowly, his hand reaching up her side and moving into her hair, grabbing a handful of it and tugging lightly causing (Y/N) to moan in response. Steve swore this was the happiest moment of his life, and wished for nothing more than to feel just like this, in this perfect moment with his beautiful girl, forever.