"I'm going for a run, do you want to come?" Steve whispered in her ear when he noticed she was semi-awake.

"Is Bucky going with you?"

"Yeah, I can probably convince Sam to go too if you want."

"No, it's okay. It's too early for me to try to keep up with two super soldiers," she said, rolling on her back to look up at him with a sleepy smile. "Have fun."

"Love you," he said as he leaned down to kiss her.

Sharon smiled to herself as she rolled back over and tried to go back to sleep. Being able to spend time with Steve the last week has been better than she could have imagined. They didn't have the chance to do this while they were on the run. They don't have to stay holed up in their safe house for days, or constantly be on guard while they were out in the public. They could just be Steve and Sharon, which she loved.

She slept for about another hour before she decided to get up and start the day. She quickly showered and got dressed, slipping Steve's dog tags around her neck and tucking them into her shirt before heading down to the kitchen.

"Good morning, sunshine," Natasha said as she handed Sharon a cup of coffee she just brewed. "Ready for tonight's festivities?"

"Still mentally preparing for them," she said as she sat down at the island. "When is the space crew scheduled to come in?"

"Later this afternoon. Carol is skipping out on the joy and I think Thor is stopping in New Mexico to see if he can convince Jane to come."

"They're talking again?"

"Sounds like it," Natasha said with a shrug. "Darcy is on her way, but couldn't get Jane to come herself so I don't know how much luck he'll have."

"Any word from Wanda?"

"Fury said she's with Strange."

"You've talked to Fury?"

"Just this morning. You were sleeping still, didn't know what you and Steve were up to last night. He had a little extra pep in his step this morning," Natasha teased.

"You're ridiculous," Sharon said, smiling as she shook her head. "We're not there yet. I think you and Bucky are having enough sex for everyone in this house. You've scarred Sam."

"He'll get over it," she rolled her eyes. "Anyway, not to talk business on vacation, but when we get back we got a situation with Parker. Some guy who used to work for Stark framed him for his murder, exposed him as Spider-Man. Tony is freaking out but Fury makes it seem like he has it under control. Anyway, that's how I know Strange is with Wanda. He's assisting somehow."

"Where's Peter and his aunt now?"

"Fury is having them brought here for the time being. They will also be here later today, so enjoy the quiet while you can," Natasha said and then smiled brightly. Sharon turned around and saw Steve and Bucky had gotten back from their run.

"You guys want coffee," she asked them as she stood up to start to grab breakfast for them. Steve came up behind her and placed his hands on the counter, blocking her in. He moved her hair aside and kissed her cheek, smiling when he noticed the chain she was wearing.

"Coffee sounds great," he said before moving away to lean against the counter.

"Good run?"

"Yeah, I beat him," Bucky bragged and Sharon saw Steve roll his eyes. "Old man couldn't keep up."

"Like he's a spring chicken," Steve muttered and Sharon chuckled as she handed him a mug.

"Good morning everyone," Pepper said as she entered the kitchen with Molly following behind her. Pepper looked a little frazzled and Molly couldn't keep her eyes off Steve. Sharon made sure to step closer to him.

"Pepper, is there anything we can help with today," Natasha asked. "More than willing to put the big strong men to work."

"I think I'm good, Molly is here to coordinate today," she said and thanked Sharon who handed her coffee. "The situation with Peter has Tony locked up in his lab with Bruce and Rhodey. Morgan keeps trying to break in, but I'm a little worried about what the three of them might come up with."

"Ah, last time Tony and Bruce were locked in a lab together, they created Ultron," Steve mused.

"They know better to do a repeat of that," Sharon said, shoving Steve slightly. "Rhodes won't let it happen."

"Yeah, and I'll kick their asses," Natasha said cheerily. "On a lighter note, Clint and Laura just landed with the kids. They should be here soon."

"Oh good, Morgan has been looking forward to them coming, that should keep her away from the lab," Pepper said. "Molly, will you please check that the Barton's room is ready for when they get here."

"Sure," she said, looking annoyed to be sent to do that but left anyway.

Sharon headed up to her room to check her work email to make sure the world wasn't on fire. She had a little bit of time to herself before Steve would be out of the shower and they could head out to get lunch. She gasped when she felt someone grab her waist and push her against the wall. She smiled up at Steve who leaned down to kiss her.

"You're sweaty," she said, scrunching her nose as she rested her hands on his chest, leaning away from him.

He pulled out the dog tags from her shirt and pulled on the chain to bring her closer to him. He leaned down again and kissed her deeply. She felt like a teenager again, making out with her boyfriend in hidden corners like they had all the time in the world. His hands skimmed down her body until they rested under the butt, suddenly picking her up. Her legs immediately wrapped around his waist as he began to kiss down her neck. She giggled when he pressed his lips against a sensitive spot and moved against him, causing him to press her firmer against the wall with a groan. They heard someone walking down the hall and turned their heads toward the sound, finding Molly standing there.

"Anything we can help you with?" Sharon asked, feeling possessive as she tightened her legs around his waist to keep Steve from putting her down like he was trying to do.

"Oh, I was, um," she stammered at first before regaining her composure. "Just wanted to see if Steve needed extra towels for his shower."

"We're good," Sharon glared at her. "If we need anything, I'll ask F.R.I.D.A.Y. for it. Thanks so much."

"Mr. Stark would have to give you access to do that."

"I know," Sharon said as she made a show of sliding down Steve's body back on to the ground. She looked up at Steve, who looked both amused and confused, and kissed him. "We should go take a shower now, we don't want to miss lunch. Bye Molly."

"We?" Steve said as he was dragged into the bedroom by Sharon. She made sure to lock the door behind them before walking over to the mirror to fix herself. "We're showering together now? Again?"

"Not at this moment, no. Sorry, honey," she said, patting him on the shoulder. "She was bothering me."

"She was just being nice."

"You're so naive," Sharon said, rolling her eyes. "Go shower."

"You joining me," he asked as he backed her against the mirror.

"Not yet," she said, kissing him before shoving him toward the bathroom. She laughed as he made a show of taking his shirt off before going in the bathroom, and quickly had to busy herself so she didn't end up joining him.

By the time Steve and Sharon came back from lunch, the Stark mansion was once again filled with Avengers. They waved hello to everyone before heading upstairs to change and get ready for the party. Sharon changed into a metallic, gunmetal bandage dress and Steve was wearing a blue button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. She had to stop herself from pulling him into bed and not leaving their room the rest of the night. She still didn't want to rush anything, and neither did he, but she missed that aspect of their relationship a lot.

"We could just stay in here and hang out," Steve said as he eyed her hungrily.

"I just thought the same thing," she whined slighted as he pulled her closer. "We can't do that."

"No, we can't," he sighed, his hand brushing her thigh, slowly making his way up to the hem of her dress. "I know we want to take things slow."

"Mhm," she said as his fingers brushed past the hem of her dress.

"And I'm thoroughly enjoying slow because we never really got to date while we were wanted criminals," he said, hand still moving higher up her thigh. He felt Sharon's breath speed up as he brushed the edges of her lace underwear.

"Steve," she borderline begged, trying to move her hips but he kept her still. "You're the worst."

"I know," he chuckled moving away from her.

"That wasn't nice," she pouted.

"That's for earlier," he said with a laugh. "That was a very cold shower I took this morning."

"Is Captain America trying to steal my virtue?"

"Pretty sure I already did," he said with a smirk. "Looking forward to when I can do it again, and again, and again."

"You're the absolute worst," she laughed.

They both headed downstairs and saw the festivities had already begun. Morgan was showing her new toys off to Nebula and Shuri. Valkyrie and Darcy looked like they were consoling Thor in the corner, Sharon had to assume he couldn't convince Jane to join them. Steve went over to say hi to Peter and Aunt May, and to check to make sure they were doing okay. He had a soft spot for the kid. Sharon noticed Wanda was speaking with Natasha by the bar, so she headed over toward them.

"It's so good to see you," she said as she hugged Wanda. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Dr. Strange is helping me find my children, I think I have a chance at getting them back in this reality," she said happily. "And you are just radiating with happiness and frustration?"

"Oh that would be sexual frustration," Natasha laughed. "Her and Steve haven't had sex since before the Snap."

"I see," Wanda said, laughing as well. "I mean, you know I see Steve as an older brother, but how have you held out this long?"

"Carter stubbornness," she said, taking a shot of whatever was being passed around on the trays. "I'm definitely starting to break."

"When you do break, can you give me a heads up? We have a betting pool going on who breaks first and when," Natasha said and Sharon glared at her. "I'll share my winnings with you."

"You two did past my date in the pool. I thought for sure by Thanksgiving after I heard about Halloween," Wanda said with a shrug.

"This is why I tell people I hate the Avengers," Sharon shook her head as she took another shot.

"You are dating one of them, so I don't know how much you can hate us," Natasha said, pulling the chain out from the inside of Sharon's dress. "This was a really sweet gift from him."

"Were those his from when he enlisted?" Wanda asked and Sharon nodded, tucking them back in her dress. "That's really special."

"We're like officially back together," Sharon said, unable to contain her smile. "It's been really great spending this time together."

"What are you going to do back in New York?"

"Haven't figured that out yet," Sharon said with a shrug. She spotted Molly talking to Steve, Sam, and Bucky in the corner, clearly flirting with Steve and loving the attention from the boys. "I'm going to find Pepper a new assistant though. That girl is the worst."

"She's been flirting with Steve and trying to flirt with Thor all night," Wanda said. "I can send a little magic her way and make her think she has food poisoning to get her to leave."

"I'm so tempted to say yes to that," Sharon said as Natasha nodded enthusiastically next to her. "I'm just going to handle it the old-fashioned way. Excuse me."

Sharon walked over to Steve, who immediately smiled and reached out for her hand when she got close. Sharon quickly cuddled into his side, creating a buffer between Steve and Molly.

"What are you boys talking about? Is Bucky planning another prison break, because if it is I really want part of that conversation," Sharon said with a smile, noticing Molly looked unhappy with her presence.

"Okay, first, I said I was sorry. Second, I didn't really plan it. It was more like if it needed to be done."

"Yeah, yeah," she rolled her eyes. "I hear he's in the Raft."

"Great spot for him," Steve said and everyone nodded in agreement.

"So, when are we finding Sam a girl," Natasha asked when she walked over to the group for them, Bucky wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "I'm really good at meddling, I have a great track record."

"Oh no, I don't need your help," he said and Sharon laughed.

Sharon had left her phone in Steve's room and wanted to check it to see if she had any messages from her family. When she opened the door, she scanned the room quickly and felt that something was off. She grabbed at where he gun would have been and silently cursed as she turned on the lights and hoped she was over reacting.

"Hello, Steve," Molly said as she rolled over in bed and gasped when she saw Sharon.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Sharon asked as she watched the girl scramble. Molly had pulled up the sheet in a way that Sharon assumed she was either naked or wearing minimal clothing. She needed to remember to have the sheets changed by one of the bots.

"I, I was waiting for Steve," the girl stammered. "You ruined everything by showing up here."

"Excuse me?"

"You don't deserve him. I see how you string him along because you can and he just goes along with it because he doesn't know any better. I can make him happy."

"Okay, you need to go now before I call Stark and/or Pepper to get your ass out of here."

"You're the one who needs to go."

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., can you please bring Stark and Pepper up to Steve's room. There's a bit of an issue."

"Right away, Agent 13," F.R.I.D.A.Y. responded.

"I don't even have access to that," Molly muttered. She looked like she was assessing the situation and Sharon blocked her before she could make a run for it.

"Oh no, I gave you your chance to leave quietly. Now Pepper gets to go back to her roots when she used to kick out Stark's trash."

"Carter, we were just getting to the party games, this better be good," Tony said as he rounded the corner and spotted Molly. "Oh, okay you're forgiven. Hello, assistant."

"Mr. Stark," Molly said, having the decency to blush. "It's not what it looks like."

"You mean you're not in Steve Rogers bed scantily clad waiting for him to arrive, but you got caught by his girlfriend instead?"

"She's not actually his girlfriend."

"Eh, semantics," Tony said and laughed. "I mean, Capiscle is right here. He thought Sharon was in trouble, almost crashed through the walls to get to her."

"Hi," Sharon said with a smile as she looked out the door at Steve, who looked shocked. "Remember when you told me she didn't have a crush on you?"

"Okay, luckily I'm very familiar with this type of thing," Pepper said as she walked in and ushered Molly out of bed. Steve turned his head quickly when he saw she was only in a lace bra and underwear. Tony was cackling in the corner. "Honey, where are your clothes?"

"In my office."

"Okay good. So we'll stop there and you can change, take home what you'd like, leave your company-issued phones, and we'll ship you your belongings after the holidays. A cab is already outside waiting for you."

"I'm fired?"

"The fact that you're shocked by that is hilarious," Pepper said as she gently shoved her out of the room. She paused to look back at Steve and Sharon. "One of the Bot-lers has been instructed to strip the bed and clean up before midnight, so your room will be fine for later."

"Isn't she the best," Tony said in admiration of his wife. "It's like the good ol' days. Anyway, Thor is a little shwastey-pants and Rocket got him to take out his eye so they're playing keep away with it."

"I really did pull you guys away from the party games, thanks for the assist," she said as Tony left, leaving her and Steve alone. "Are you good?"

"I'm just confused."

"Captain America not used to women throwing themselves at him, I find that very hard to believe for many reasons."

"No, I mean," he sighed. "Let's just go back downstairs."

"We're almost at midnight," Tony said, standing on the table to get everyone's attention. "We've all had a hell of a year. A lot of us weren't here last year, and some of us even died before Captain America made a time travel no-no."

"Didn't need that reminder," Steve muttered to Sharon, who patted him on his chest.

"I don't want to make the Hulk cry - the big sensitive green man he is - but it means a lot to me to have all of us together to ring in the New Year. Luckily Natasha is retired and has too much time on her hands to help coordinate and plan all of this. And by coordinate and plan, I mean pester everyone until they say yes."

"I'm good at what I do," she shrugged.

"Let's make this the best year yet," Tony said as he raised his glass.

Sharon and Steve walked outside to get some reprieve from the craziness that was inside. They sat down on the couches by the fire pit, Steve wrapped his arm around Sharon's shoulders as she curled up next to him. They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the sky light up with fireworks as they heard the countdown from inside.

"As much as I wish we didn't have the bumpy start that we did, having you back in my life has made this the best year," Steve said sincerely.

"We learned a lot from the bumpy start, I think we're stronger for it."

"I love you," he said as reached down to kiss her when the countdown stopped. Sharon placed her hand on his cheek, holding him there to savor the moment.

"Happy new year," she said when they pulled away. "That's probably the best New Year's kiss I've ever had."

"That's the only New Year's kiss I've had," he said with an awkward laugh. Tony was blasting Frank Sinatra once it hit midnight. Steve stood up and reached out his hand to help Sharon up. "Dance with me?"

"Of course," she smiled, grabbing his hand. They swayed to the beat of the music, content with being in each other's company for the moment as their friends celebrated inside. They'd go back in and rejoin the festivities, but they needed these few minutes alone to start the new year together.

"Hey lovebirds, don't want to ruin the moment, but Thor and Banner are rematching their fight on Sakaar," Sam yelled from the door. "I've got money on Banner."

"Shouldn't we stop this?" Steve asked and Sharon shook her head. There were enough people in there, they didn't need to be the adults for everything.

"Put me down for $200 on Thor," Sharon yelled back and Sam nodded.

"You made out with my aunt," they heard Peter yell at Sam before he shut the door.

"Think it's time to go back in for the party games," Sharon said as she pulled Steve back in the house, excited about what the new year will bring.