The record player turned out to be an amazing addition to the apartment. Steve was happy to have a piece of technology that he was quite familiar with and could operate seamlessly, and he wasn't ashamed to say that he did show off a bit in that regard.

And Aphrodite was making the most of the record player one night after their dinner, she was messing around with the vinyl's until she'd found one suitable to what she wanted. Once she did she stood swaying to the soft tune that rang out.

She turned to see Steve leaned up against the doorway to the kitchen smiling softly as he watched her. She smiled and sauntered over to him taking his arms and unfolding them from where they were crossed against his chest.

"Come and dance with me." She said tugging him further into the living room.

"I don't know how." Steve said blushing while staring down at his feet.

"I'll show you." She said, fully ready to do just that when Steve suddenly froze and his face fell. "What's wrong?"

"I can't," was all his said gripping her hands once before letting go. "I'm sorry I can't."

"Can't what? Dance with me?"

"No, it's not that." He swiped a hand frustrated down his face. "I- I'm sorry." He rushed out again before brushing past her and quickly retreating to his room.

Steve closed the door to his room and leaned against it wanting to bash his head against the wood. He didn't know what just came over him, but the truth was he had wanted to dance with her. Wanted it more than anything in that moment. And he knew it was silly but could it be that he hand finally found 'the right partner', and he was just too scared to admit it to himself. Just like he was too scared to admit that his crush on her had grown exponentially and his strong feelings continued to grow every day.

He felt his guilt increase tenfold when the music suddenly cut out and a few seconds later the door to the other room quietly shut.

Aphrodite tried very hard not to feel as rejected as she did, but it didn't work. You'd think someone that could read minds would have figured out a way to turn their own off, but sadly that wasn't the case. Truth is, she was hurt. She was fast developing feelings for Steve and they'd been steadily growing closer each and every day. But he couldn't or wouldn't dance with her?

It didn't make any sense.

Even with the sting of rejection still very much present, Aphrodite couldn't find it in herself to listen to Steve's grunts and groans as he was caught in the throes of what could only be another nightmare for very long before she got up out of bed.

She was never good at hearing people she loved suffer.

"I gotta' put her in the water."

"Please don't do this."

"This is my choice."

"7:30 at the Stork Club."

"I still don't know how to dance."

"I'll show you how."

"Steve?"

"Steve?"

"Steve!"

He shot awake at the feel of a warm hand shaking him and a different but familiar English accented voice speaking to him.

"You're alright." She told him, but he really wasn't. It had been a while since he's had that particular nightmare and he had a feeling that the earlier events of the night triggered it. And she still came to him, even after the way he's hurt her. If there was any doubt in his mind about his feelings for her they were all erased now. "You with me?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm with you." He stated with conviction.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked him, it was near routine now. If she woke him from one of his nightmares they would sit and talk about it, sometimes for hours. But not tonight, he didn't want to burden her with anything else.

"I- uh, no."

Aphrodite did her best to mask her shock. "Alright then, I'll just go."

And Steve let her, because he was a goddamn idiot that still to this day had no clue how to talk to a woman. But she wasn't just any woman, she was an Asgardian princess and goddess that he was absolutely falling in love with.

When Steve got up the next morning he quickly dressed and rushed out the door. There was someone he needed to talk to, there was only one person who could give him the kind of advice he needed right then and it couldn't wait until he was done with Shield.

When he arrived at the nursing home the nurses on duty gave him bright smiles and informed him that it had been a while, and that he was earlier. Once he apologised for his lack of appearance as of late he asked them how she was doing, and they today him that today looked like it was going to be a good day. She was coherent and had even asked for him.

Peggy Carter's bright smile as she greeted him told him that she remembered that he was alive, and would make this conversation a whole lot easier.

"I messed up Peg, I messed up real bad." He concluded after telling her that everything that happened last night.

"We all make mistakes Steve. Do you care about her?" Peggy had a smile on her face the entire time that was genuine and heartfelt.

"So much." He admitted for the first time out loud.

"Then tell her. And dance with her Steve, for god's sake." Steve laughed a little and Peggy smiled tired of seeing him look so serious all the time, she reached out for his hand and held it gently. "If there's anyone in this world that deserves happiness, it's you." She said looking straight into his eyes so he could feel the impact of her words.

"Thank you Peggy." He spoke sincerely. In some subconscious way Steve felt like he might have been betraying Peggy, by loving Aphrodite. But he realized now that Peggy had lived her life, and it was time for him to do the same.

"Come now, you've talked about this girl too much for me to not know what she looks like." Peggy teased and Steve blushed. "Would you happen to have a photo?" Luckily he did, when he figured out how to use the camera function on his phone they'd both had a lot of fun, as a result the phone's storage was mostly full of pictures of her. He told her he was going to delete them. Only he didn't know how. At the time. Which wasn't a lie. At the time.

Steve pulled up one of his favourite photos of her, holding the phone steady so Peggy could see clearly. "Oh Steve, she's gorgeous." She gushed. "You're a lucky man."

"Not yet I'm not." He said sadly locking the phone and putting it away

"Then what are you doing talking to an old bird like me? Go to her."

"I'd love to Peggy, but I gotta' go to work." He said glancing at his watch before shaking his head.

"Do those people ever let you take a break?" she teased. "Then the moment you see her, tell her how you feel." Peggy instructed firmly.

"Yes ma'am."

Steve heard the now familiar sounds of a pair of heels clicking against tiles and hid a smile. Instead not turning around as he spoke to her, fiddling with the file in his hands. "You know, a lot of people spent a lot of money and effort into making this a secure facility."

"I know, it was very impressive. They should be proud." Aphrodite said coming to a stop near him.

"I'll pass along the message." He responded finally turning around to face her.

"In their defence it is hard to defend against someone that can walk through walls. And believe me many have tried." She quickly added on hoping for that crooked smile that she was coming to adore to grace his face, which it did. "Something important going on?" She questioned looking around the room that he'd just held a meeting with the Strike team.

"Nothing more than usual. What's going on?" he said placing down the files and turning so that his leaned against the table making them nearly the same height.

"I actually came here to talk to you." She finally said.

"What's wrong?"

"It's about last night." Steve nodded and steeled himself for whatever she was going to say next, "I wanted to see if you were okay. After all that, and then you weren't there this morning." what she did say next though shocked him. "If I overstepped, or did something wrong I am sorr-"

Steve's head snapped up and cut her off before she could apologize for something that wasn't her fault. "No, no, no doll listen." He took both her hands in his and pulled her closer. "Last night I felt horrible for hurting you like that,"

"Steve you didn't-" She went to defend but he gently cut her off.

"Please let me finish. I woke up later than usual an had to rush out the door, I should of told you, or left a note or something. I'm sorry." He stressed. "But I like you, Aphrodite, and I just wanna do it right." He finally said.

"Well you're doing something right." She said smiling and moving between his legs to hug him around his shoulders as his own arms wrapped around her back. "And I like you too." She spoke into his ear and the two technically very old people laughed at their somewhat juvenile declarations. "There's one more thing." She said pulling back slightly to look him in the eye. "I'm bored." She stated making Steve's eyebrows raise. "I can't stay inside that apartment another day while your off saving the world."

Steve snorted. "Hardly, but maybe I can arrange something." He said looking at her through his lashes, before a loud clearing of someone's throat made them spring apart like they had been caught doing something naughty rather than just talking.

Luckily, or maybe unluckily it was just Natasha looking quite comfortable and highly amused leaned against the doorway. "Rogers." She said nodding to the Captain in question.

"Romanoff." He said in response resting his hands on his belt in hopes that his confident stance would help dismiss her of noticing the blush on his cheeks. It didn't but she didn't comment on it either.

"Sup, blue?" She said nodding to the woman behind Steve.

"Hi red." Aphrodite said peeking out and waving from behind Steve's broad shoulder.

Natasha nodded like she had finally figured something out. "So this is why you won't go on any of those dates I tried to set you up on?"

"Dates?" The blonde woman asked looking back between the two of them. "What dates?"

Steve narrowed his eyes at Natasha before turning to face Aphrodite. "Nothing, she's kidding." He was quick to reassure.

"He's right I'm kidding," Natasha said moving further into the room. "But nice to see the reason you're always so eager to come back here after mission." She said taking a seat and making herself comfortable.

"Please go, before she gets on a roll." Steve said taking Aphrodite's hand briefly who was looking far to amused at the moment.

"Alright," Aphrodite nodded. "But I want to show you something later."

"I'll be there." He nodded and without giving it a second thought especially to Natasha who was watching them back and forth like tennis match, lest he chicken out he pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.

"Bye red." She said to Natasha who wriggled her fingers with her accompanying smirk, and once she gave Steve's hand another squeeze she was gone.

"Don't start." Steve warned Natasha, turning his back on her and pretending to look busy, but he should have known better.

"Oh come on, you look like a teenage hanging out with their crush for the first time," she teased. "You've gotta' give me something."

"Something like what?" Steve asked over his shoulder at her.

"How long has it been going on?"

"Nothing's going on. It's not - we're," Steve sighed stopping himself.

Taking pity on him before the old man had an aneurism she asked, "So it's still new?"

"Yeah something like that." he responded distractedly.

"Well I think it's adorable," and that was the truth. She'd noticed a change in Steve these last few months but couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. "And for what it's worth, I'm happy for you."

"Thank you, and could you just keep this between us?"

"Sure, you can trust me." Natasha responded easily and Steve did nothing to hide his shock at the declaration. "And if you need any advice, feel free to come and find me." She said standing and following him towards the door.

"Advice?"

"You know, gift ideas? Planning dates? Best sex positions?" she said the last one so casually that it may have been an added reason as to why Steve choked on nothing and she tried her best to stifle a grin. "If you need the birds and the bees talk, I'm here for you Cap." She said patting his shoulder.

"Please stop." Steve nearly begged but he knew well enough by now that she wouldn't. But he couldn't lie, it was nice to see the teasing playful side of Natasha. Even if it was at his expense.

It wasn't until later that night long after dinner and approaching the midnight hour that Aphrodite indicated that she was ready to show him whatever it was she needed to. "May I?" Eagerly took her hand in his, wanting that contact with her he so desperately craved. Then with a sharp crack they were both gone.

Steve stumbled slightly as he landed. Shaking off the disorientation and slight nausea he felt. "You alright." She asked sympathetically to which he just nodded.

"Where are we?" Steve questioned taking in what just seemed to be an empty field.

"I'm not quite sure." She responded. "Somewhere outside of the city."

"What're we doing?" Steve asked her more than a little confused.

Aphrodite smiled and crouched down gesturing for him to do the same, he did and stared out at what looked to be just another field of grass. After a moment of silence between them he was about to question her more, before the grass shimmered and melting away revealing the symbol of the Bifrost. Then it clicked.

"This is how you got here." He said in realization.

"Yes," she responded even though he didn't phrase it as a question. "I come here most nights to think. Ponder. Reflect." She listed standing up to more to the centre of the symbol before laying down there and looking up at the stars. "I want to remember Steve." She said as he came to lay down on his back beside her.

"Tell me something." He said nudging her shoulder with his.

"How much do you know about stars?" she asked glancing at him then up at the constellations above them.

"Nothing."

"A long time ago, mother used to tell us stories about the constellations, what they were named for. What they represent. Who they were named after."

"Did you know any of them?" he asked only half joking, from what he understood about stars and constellations they were named after Gods from Greek mythology.

She laughed as she could tell he was kidding. "No, they were before my time." She joked right back, and Steve squinted at her.

"Which is?" he drawled.

"I'm still not telling you." She said glancing quickly at him.

"When we were kids Bucky and I used to sneak out on the roof of the apartment, and pick out pictures in the stars. And when it got too cold to go outside he'd cover a flashlight with a drainer, so we'd have stars in the apartment." He reminisced. "Do you see these same stars on Asgard?"

"I think so. The universe, it isn't finite it changes. But the stars, they're infinite. Always constant, never changing."

"That's beautiful."

"Mother said that."

She took his hand again and with a sharp crack they were back in the apartment, bouncing from the impact onto Steve's bed.

"Hey," he said nudging her slightly again. "They're gonna' come back."

She looked over at him, then leaned over slightly to press a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you, Steve."

He nodded before rolling over onto his side to face her fully, she did the same and they just stared at one another for a beat and Aphrodite took note of how Steve's blue eyes practically glowed in the darkness of the room.

Steve found himself indulging in what little he could see of her from the moonlight streaming into the room from the window. His eyes flickering down to her lips more than once noting how pink they were and how soft they looked.

He eyes flicked back up to meet hers and caught the shy look only moments before he registered her leaning in, he took the initiative to do the same and their lips met in the middle in a kiss that was short and sweet.

She pulled back only enough to look him in the eye again, her eyes bouncing back and forth between his before leaning in and connecting their lips once again, and his hand slip to that curve of her hip that he'd admired more times than he'd care to admit, where he gripped it to pull her closer, as one of her hand came up between them to rest on his chest.

He broke the kiss this time both of their breathing only the slightest bit heavier. She leaned her head against his chest and his arm left her hip to wrap around her back.

"We should get some rest." She whispered into the darkness.

"Yeah, we should." He responded but neither of them moved for a while, it was silent in the room with only the sound of their breathing as they laid tangled in each other. He thought she had fallen asleep and was dozing of himself when she shifted and began untangling from his grasp. She sat up and made to leave the bed but his hand shot out before he could think to stop himself and grabbed her wrist.

"Stay," he pleaded voice soft and thick with sleep and sounding far more arousing than it should. "Please."

She nodded and flicked her hair over to one shoulder so she could lay down comfortably on her side facing him once again. Once she was settled he reached out in the space between them and took her hand again. They remained like that, both of slowly drifting off into unconsciousness.

BrittStar1199: Thank you. Patience my dear, Infinity War is still a long way away from this story. Still a lot to happen for our favourite couple.

BlueBloodsSVUOrder: Thanks for the support as always.

Guest: Thanks for voting. Glad you could feel the chemistry.

Lumpy's chickin: But I like to tease :D. Thanks for the unique face claim.

Babyi.G: Thank you.

crimson. blood. witch: You're awesome as always. And we finally got the kiss we've all been waiting for. Hope your PTSD is getting better.

MidnightPenguin: I KNOW! It took everything in me to hold off on the kiss until this chapter. Yup, she's officially meet Sharon. As far as Greek legend and any other religious theories goes, I consider it to be variations of the titles that I've given her. It would take much to long for me to sit down and map out all of the titles from various different stories, legends and religions (especially since Aphrodite the goddess is a combination of two goddesses) then decide which titles I want her to actually have and claim. Goddess of Love is indeed another one of her titles but only in name, men do not fall for her in droves just by seeing her, if she's able to put a spell on someone it would be just that, a spell. They won't just be hypnotized by her looks. Hopefully I answered your question, if not feel free to PM me. Well it's your lucky day.

Alright friends, starting Monday we will officially move into the Winter Soldier storyline. Finally!

Then I will hopefully go back to my updating everyday schedule (If I'm not too exhausted after work). So leave me some predictions of what you think could happen or what you'd like to see happen.

As always let me know what you think and what you'd like to see in the future. Leave me a review too, as you can see I'll be answering/responding to the ones can. So feel free to say or ask me anything.