Ok, so I'm very sorry for such a late update but things have been very hectic lately with finals about to begin and the holidays being only a week away but here is the next chapter! A lot of fluff and quite short... Again, I'm sorry but please enjoy! ~RachaelPuffinFace

Chapter Thirteen: Trees and Dates

~*~Steve's POV~*~

The look on her face made this whole hectic day worth it in the end. Her hands came up to cover a smiling mouth; cheeks flushed and eyes wet. My pulse quickened and my chest swelled with hope. It had all started the night before.

"What do you mean you don't get a tree?" Stacey was sprawled across the couch, eyes following Tony as he wandered about the roon with his ever present glass of scotch in hand. Stark spread his arms wide in an exasperated manner.

"I barely do Christmas, let alone decorate for it. Besides, a tree does not belong inside. They belong outside, not in my expensive living room." I watched as he approached her and looked odwn at her feet with disdain. "And your shoes don't belong on my couch, either." With an annoyed grunt Stacey swung her legs over the side of the couch.

"But that's stupid. A tree is an essential part of the Christmas Season! Even a little Charlie Brown tree would do!" At this point I tuned them out as they began throwing insults at eachother. The two of them had slowly been getting closer over the course of her stay. Now they were more like uncle and niece than near strangers and it was amusing to watch them interact.

I couldn't help thinking about what Stark had been trying to convince me of for the past week or so. His New Year's party was next Monday, much to my disdain, and he had apparently made it his goal to get Stacey and I to go together. I blushed, I brushed him off, I ignored his jabs, but I also planned. I wanted to go with her, not as friends, not as roommates going to the same destination but in a more, if I could, intimate way. I had come up with many different ways to ask her all ranging from flowers and chocolate to as simple as just asking her. Nothing sounded right. So when I heard arguing coming from the living room and Christmas trees brought up, I had a plan.

Throughout their whole exchange, neither of them had seen me standing in the doorway so I easily sliipped away. I spotted Pepper quickly, red hair standing out against the modern black and white interior of the open room she had taken over as a personal office. I hurried over to her.

"Excuse me, Pepper?" She looked up from her newspaper and smiled.

"Hey, Steve. What can I do for you?" I ran my hand through my short hair, a mixture of excitement and nervous energy running through my veins.

"Well, I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"What about this one?"

"I don't know. Isn't it a bit... big? The twelve foot tree loomed above my head and I frowned. Pepper, bundled all the way up to her nose in coats, huffed and turned fully toward me. I knew I was being picky but, standing in the middle of the pine scented lot, I wasn't quite sure what I was looking for.

"Of course it is, Steve. And the eight foot one was too small. What exactly do you want?" I pushed around some dead pine needles and dirty show with my foot, ignoring her irritated gaze on me.

"I want her to be happy... but I don't know how to do that." Her eyes softened.

"Oh, honey. You could probably give her a plastic bag and she'd be happy." I let out a long breath and watched it fog up around me.

"Alright. Well, what do you think she'd like?" We began walking between trees of all different shapes and sizes. Pep would occasionally brush a branch or pause at one she liked.

"Just remember, Stacey is a fairly simple girl. Nothing too big, nothing to extravigant." She paused at an esspecially full tree thoughtfully. "I really don't understand why Tony is so against these. I think they're great, except I've always had a fake tree. Did you find one you like?" She stepped up next to me and looked down at the small tree. It was short, maybe about two and a half fee, but full and green.

"I think this is the one."

"It's adorable, Steve. She'll love it."

It took about an hour to get the tree back to the tower and set up without Stacey seeing and another two hours just for us to scrounge up some lights and ornaments and hang them on the tree. Luckily, Bruce and Tony had been willing to keep her company, or, in other words, locked up in the lab with them, or else we never would have been able to set up the tree in her room.

Deciding we were done, we left the room and closed the door behind us, heading toward the labs. Standing outside the door to the lab, Pepper stopped and began adjusting the collar of my shirt like a mother would do to a child on their first day of school. I squirmed away from her worrying.

"Pepper, it's fine." I finally had to pull her hangs away from me and set them at her sides when she didn't stop.

"Alright, I know. It's just... you'll do great." I nodded, feeling awkward. I know that I had asked her for her help but I don't think I needed the pep talk right now. "Ok." Entering the code for the lab door, we both walked in. Stark and Bruce were huddled in a corner talking science while Stacey sat on one of the counters across the room looking nearly bored to death. They all looked over at us as we stepped into the room. Stacey looked relieved.

"Hey Pep, Cap. Where've you been all day?" Tony was only half paying attention as he asked the question, already returning to whatever research he and Banner had been doing. Pepper walked over to her boyfriend and wrapped her arms around him.

"Nothing important." They shared a quick kiss before she pulled away. "Come on, Tony. I doubt you've eaten anything all day." She began dragging him out of the lab. "It's good to get away every once in a while." As they left I realized that Stacey had made her way over to me and was looking up at me expectantly. I got nervous all over again with thoughts of what I was about to ask her and the image of Tony and Pepper in my mind. It made me very aware of how close she was and my own feelings. I swalled hard.

"Hey..." I mentally kicked myself for how uncertain and small I sounded. I was 6'1", I was Captain America and I was a soldier. How could one girl make all of that feel insufficient? She frowned.

"So where were you guys today? And why did you guys leave me with the science geeks? No offense Bruce!" She called the last part over her shoulder and I heard the faint chuckle come from the man but otherwise he continued his research.

"Well... I can show you if you- if you come with me..." She looked at me confused and I didn't blame her. After being MIA for an entire day and then having only this by way of explanation I would be confused too.

"Um, sure, I'll follow you." I nodded and led her from the room. We walked through the tower, eventually standing outside of her room. I turned to her, waiting for her to do something. She looked between me and the closed door with a confused smile on her face. "This is my room."

"Yes, it is." She nodded, clearly not understanding.

"Ok... any particular reason we're standing here?" I couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

"Just open the door already." Slowly, she reached for the doorknob and pushed the door open. I couldn't help the anxious feeling rising up but it was immediately subdued by the surprised gasp and happy smile that split her lips as the blinking lights from the tree shone off her face. I began to wring my hands together as she stepped further into the room, anticipating her reaction. I slowly followed, keeping a few feet between us, as I took in her expression. Her hands had come up to cover her smile as her cheeks flushed happily and her eyes grew wet. My pulse quickened because I knew this was the moment I would ask.

"You... you did this? But, why?" Her eyes stared up into mine, waiting for my explanation. I struggled to find the words and keep my face from heating up too much as her eyes bore into me.

"I, well, I have something I've been... I've been wanting to ask you for a while now." I hesitated and she nodded for me to continue. In that moment a torrent of images of the endless possibilities of her responses boured through my mind and I mommentarily lost my nerve. I glanced back up and caught her hazel eyes, sparkling from the lights, and realized just how much I would like her to be my date to the party. "Stacey, would you like to go with me to Stark's party?" It came out in a rush of words but I made sure that she would understand. She froze and I began to wonder what would happen now. Would she laugh? Get upset? I decided the not knowing was the worst part. Subtly, color began to flood her cheeks and her mouth opened and closed repeatedly with no sound. I slowly felt my confidence draining.

"What- you mean like... like friends, or-"

"I mean more than friends. Like a... date." The word 'date' came out as more of a whisper than anything but, judging from the color of her face, was audible. I could feel my pulse in my throat as her reaction still hadn't shown any signs good or bad. Finally, she grinned.

"I'd love to." I could feel the relief spread quickly through my veins.

"Really?" She nodded, hands clasped shyly in front of her. I smiled brightly back at her. "Great! That's great... alright." We stood there awkwardly for a moment before I realized it was probably late. "Well, you're probably tired so I should really let you get to bed."

"Oh! Ok. Well, goodnight I guess." I nodded, broad smile still on my face.

"Yeah, goodnight..."

"Steve!" I quickly turned back as she called my name, a bright smile on her face. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." I shut the door behind me, and smiled to myself as I heard happy laughter come from her room.