It was a bad day for Victoria.

The new intern SHIELD hired contributed more to her stress levels than actually helping her. Unfortunately, this new intern was more awe-struck by the fact that Victoria is Captain America's girlfriend and is on good terms with the rest of the Avengers.

Other than asking her questions about the Avengers, the intern managed to spill a cup of Starbucks on Victoria's paperwork, accidentally shredded an important memo from Nick Fury, and filed all her documents wrongly.

All in one day.

All she wanted was to just take a nice, warm bath then curl up on the sofa watching a movie while cuddling up next to Steve. She knew that Steve was busy training the new recruits and at the end of the day, he was probably exhausted.

Times like these, Victoria wished that Steve would move in with her. It's not like she has not tried, but Steve is rather conservative and during his era and it was not appropriate for a man and woman to live together unless they're married, no matter how many times she kept telling him that in the year 2012, such living circumstances were acceptable.

It's been close to six months since they've started dating, but Steve still insisted that it should be something that could only be done after marriage. Also, Steve was still a virgin, so that was definitely out of the question. If she couldn't get the guy to move in, what are the chances of that happening? Victoria, although disappointed at first, finally came to respect his decision and she found it rather sweet that he still held on to his moral values.

However, that has not stopped Victoria from doing exactly what she has planned. After thirty minutes of self-pampering, she slipped on a pair of yoga pants, a tank top, and a pair of fuzzy slippers and plopped herself on her sofa to watch a movie.

Just as she was starting to get comfortable, her doorbell rang and she mentally cursed at the person who was ringing it. Reluctantly getting herself off the sofa, she lazily dragged her feet to the door and opened the door to see who had the balls (or the non-existant balls) to disturb her during her moment of peace.

She was surprised to see Steve standing in front of her, a sheepish smile on his lips and a single rose in his hand.

"Surprise," he said, smiling and handing her the rose. She laughed as she smelled it and it instantly made her feel even more relaxed.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes," she said as he walked into her apartment and she shut the door. "What brings you here?"

"Well, I heard from Bruce that you've been having a rough day. Since I wasn't able to see you the whole day, I thought I'd drop by and do just that."

She smiled as she wrapped her arms around him and sighed as he did the same. He smelled as if he just came out fresh from the shower and snuggled towards his chest, loving how warm it felt.

"Thank you," she said, and then she looked up. "But how did Bruce know that I was having a bad day?"

"Sweetheart, he said you were storming around the whole day and looked as if you yourself were about to Hulk out, and that's coming from Bruce," he said, laughing as she playfully smacked him on his chest.

She squealed in surprise as Steve easily lifted her up and walked towards the couch, gently placing her on it and she wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him down with her. She kissed him as he kissed her back, but she was careful to not go overboard.

She was surprised when she felt Steve's kisses getting more and more passionate, so she wrapped her arms around him tighter and she practically melted when she felt his tongue licking her lips gently. She opened her lips slightly and was hit by a whole new wave of sensation when he intensified the kiss.

When they finally broke for air, both were panting and their faces were red. She noticed his eyes, which was in an intense shade of blue and his lips were red and swollen from their kiss. His hair was messy from her fingers running through them and she had to admit, he looked so damn sexy like that.

"Steve..." she sighed. "What was that about?"

"I - I don't know what came over me," he said. "I'm sorry if I crossed the line, Victoria. It's not a very gentlemanly thing to do, but I was overwhelmed by feelings when I decided that I wanted to…"

"To what?"

He smiled sheepishly as his face turned even redder. "... To want to move in with you," he said softly.

Victoria's eyes grew wide with surprise and she quickly sat up. "But... Steve... are you sure? I mean, I understand if you want to wait. I don't want you to do something you're not ready to do."

Steve ran a hand through his hair. "I've been thinking about this a lot. I've been asleep for seventy years and I can't keep living in the past. I can't keep living as if it's the forties, especially when it comes to you. I'm... afraid."

Victoria furrowed her eyebrows together. "Afraid of what, Steve?"

He looked at her, looking ashamed. "I'm afraid that you'll leave me for another man. I'm afraid that I'm too... old-fashioned for you."

She reached out for his hand and placed it in hers. "Steve, I would never leave you. You are the best guy I've ever met. You are the best thing to ever happen to me. You are worth everything to me. We don't have to rush into moving in or making love, we can try other things first," she said.

Her heart fluttered as he finally smiled. "Thank you. I love you," he said as he kissed her forehead. "I want to start living in the present."

"And you will, just don't lose that old-fashioned charm of yours that made me fall in love with you," she said, gently tapping his nose.

"Don't worry, ma'am. You can't take the gentleman out of this man," he said in his best Southern accent and Victoria doubled over, laughing.

They spent the night watching movies and falling asleep in each other's arms.

XXXXXX

When Victoria woke up to see Steve's handsome face sleeping peacefully, she smiled as she used her finger to outline his well-defined jaw. His eyes fluttered open and his blue eyes met with her green ones.

"Morning," he said lazily, and then he smiled. "You look so beautiful in the morning."

She blushed and smiled back as she leaned in to give him a gentle kiss on the lips.

They were taking baby steps to bring their relationship to the next level, but at least they were steps forward.

END.