~April 16, 2015~

The next morning, Sam was playing a game of crossword puzzle on the dinner table in the kitchen room while drinking a cup of coffee when Steve came in, looking so unusually happy and greeted him a bit jolly.

"Morning, Sam."

Smiling back at him, he also greeted though his eyes looked at him very curiously at his oddly pleasant behavior today.

"Morning to you too, Cap."

Knowing him very well for the past year, he had never seen him smile like that… unless it has something to do with him being that much happier than before. Deeply curious and wanting to know about it, Sam called out his blonde-headed friend.

"Hey, man. You're looking very happy today. Did something great happened to you?"

Steve took a jug of orange out of the fridge before facing his friend and tries to pretend being stupefied.

"What do you mean?"

"I have never seen you this happy, I mean I've seen you smile at times when we hang out together. But the way you smile right now, it's different." Sam said with a genuine grin.

"Different? How?" The super-soldier pours the juice on the glass before drinking it.

"Like someone has made you smile even more… someone who is a girl."

Their conversation was interrupted when a familiar person came into the kitchen with a smile on her face, greeting him.

"Good morning, Steve."

He grinned at the sight of her presence as he wraps his arm around his tiny waist and leans in to kiss her forehead affectionately before greeting her in return.

"Good morning, doll."

Helen begins to go towards the fridge to get a morning snack while Steve is still wrapping his arm around her waist, gluing his large frame into her petite one.

"Say Steve, you want some of quinoa fruit salad?" She asked while taking out a jar glass of contained fruits inside and shakes it carefully while getting a fork.

"If it's you who made it, then I would love some." Steve snuggled next to her like a cat purring with affection.

"Okay, Mr. Rogers." Helen giggled at his response, slightly shook her head in amusement and closes the fridge door while she pierces a strawberry and a banana covered in quinoa and lemon juice with agave then eats it with satisfaction. She begins to take another two pieces of fruit and leans in front of Steve's lips.

"Here you go, wang-ja-nim."

His blue eyes soften when she says in her native tongue. "What does it mean, doll?" he asked.

Helen gives him a gentle smile and replied softly. "It means "my darling"."

Smiling back at her before he leans in then takes a bite of it and softly moaned at the sweet taste. The sound of his low voice made her fair cheeks glowing rosy as she stares at him. 'God… he's trying to make me blush so hard when he makes a sound like that.' She thought.

"Is it good?" The doctor timidly asked.

"You never cease to amaze me, Soo-hyun. It's really good."

Both are gazing at each other with warmth and adoration as they felt their auras swirling and mixing together swiftly like the wind, nothing even matters if there are a few people around them. On the other side of the table, they did not notice that Sam was watching the whole moment between the two.

The former airman stared at the couple, witnessing the whole thing with his own eyes and immediately let out a soft chuckle. Now he knows why the Captain looks so very happy today as he couldn't stop giggling to himself. He had never seen Steve act that way for he is always calm, cool and a serious commanding person when he is around with his teammates especially with his female companions like Natasha and Maria. Now, he's seen his friend staring at her looking so in love. And this is without a doubt that Steve is in a honeymoon phase. As much as he didn't want to ruin their sweet moment, he really didn't want to be in the middle of the third wheel. So Sam begins to clear his throat to interrupt the couple's intimate gaze at each other as Steve had forgotten that his friend was sitting on the side of the table staring at them.

"So, Cap. You two are a thing now?"

Still wrapping his arm around hers and replied, smiling. "Guess you could say that, yeah we are."

"Well, I'll be. Never thought I would live to see this day that Captain America finally has a girlfriend already. I'm happy for you, man."

Chuckled by his response, Steve said. "Thanks, Sam."

The black man begins to face Helen, giving her a friendly grin. "I believe we've met before, right?"

Helen giggled then nodded and replied. "I'm sure we have when you brought Steve to my facility in Seoul a month ago."

"Oh yeah, I remember. You're his guardian angel saving his stubborn injured ass."

All of them chuckled as Steve shook his head in amusement before Helen extended her hand towards Sam.

"I'm Dr. Helen Cho."

He took her hand in his, shaking it softly. "Sam Wilson." He smiled. "Nice to meet you, Dr. Cho."

She smiled back. "Nice to meet you too, Sam. And please, call me Helen. Steve's friends are considered my friends as well. "

Sam nodded in approval and grinned at his patriotic friend. "I like her."

"I'm sure you do, Sam." Steve grinned back.

"Well, as much as I like to have a good chat with you boys. I have to get to work." She closes the jar with the lid and takes her breakfast food with her then turns to face Steve and gives him a soft kiss on the lips. "There's another jar of fruit salad there, take it as your breakfast meal."

"Thanks, doll." The Captain smiled.

Smiling back at him. "See you later, Steve." Then faces her new friend and companion before leaving the kitchen.

"Bye, Sam."

"Bye Helen." Both bid her simultaneously and watched her go.

Sam turns to look at Steve still staring at her distant form before she disappears from his sight. The dark-skinned man smirked as he spoke out.

"Your girl is amazing, Cap."

"I know." Steve replied with a smile before facing him.

"It's about time for you to find a wonderful woman like her."

"I never really thought I would go this far to be with her… but somehow I'm not sure."

Sam furrows his eyebrows a bit, confused at his words.

"Why?"

It took Steve for a short moment of silence until replied. "I honestly feel like I'm neglecting Peggy if I were to be with Helen."

The former airman sighed deeply. "Man, listen. I know how you feel, alright. I know Peggy's your first love. But, I can tell that she'd be happy for you if she were to know that you finally found someone in your life. She already found hers and had beautiful kids and grandkids with the man you saved seventy years ago. Trust me on this, Cap. Peggy would really much want the best for you too."

Realizing that his friend was right, Steve gave him a genuine smile at the corner of his lips before slowly nodded in agreement. It's true what Sam has said, Peggy would very much be happy at what he had found in his life. And he finally knew that Helen is the woman he had fallen in love with and would someday be the one he will spend the rest of his life with.

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It was an early night and Helen had finished all of her remaining works then would continue to finish the others on the next day. That actually took a lot of pressure off of her for the next day and she figured she could get another week's worth of studying more of Vision's mind stone tomorrow. She'd finished all of the analyses she had worked on from the past hours. Sometimes Helen felt like she had more work in the lab than the people she had been tending because of this. It was certainly worth it though as she really felt like she was doing some good in the lab.

Once her job is done for now, Helen made a loud yawn, hinting that she had been tired after a hard day of work before she closes off the computer and went out of the lab to take a rest when she saw Steve in his casual attire, wearing a checkered navy buttoned shirt and dark brown pants. She can also see he is holding two medium paper bags with one arm on his left side and can assume are filled with food.

"Steve, what are you doing here? What's in those bags?" Helen asked, giggling.

"Well, I thought we could have dinner." Steve replied with a smile. "Maybe in the kitchen, so we can…" He then begins to feel bashful before continuing to say. "You know, eat together."

"Okay then." She smiled back. "How about we could eat dinner and watch a movie together in my room?"

"Sounds great."

They walked together through the hallway then the elevator to where her room stays while both were chatting about random things like favorite movies to watch or best music genres. And once they were finally at the door, Helen puts out her keycard and slides it to unlock the door before she lets him enter first.

"Um, put them on the table right there." She points it towards the table of the living room where the TV was standing in front of it.

"On it." Steve nodded while placing the paper bags on the table.

"I will just take a shower and change my attire before we can pick some of the movies."

"No problem." Smiling assuringly at her.

And with that, she went towards her bedroom and begins to change her clothes into something more comfortable while Steve looks around her whole room, it was simple and satisfyingly cozy. With its light green color that reminds him of grasses and forests, he had seen around him, knowing Helen is so fond of that color he was not surprised at how her room would pretty much look like from the inside. Steve can see some of the books standing in the bookshelf on the opposite side of the TV, both medical and classic novel ones. He continues to wander around until he found a picture beside the couch. He took the frame to examine it, looking curious as he stares at it from what reveals to be a family photo.

Steve can see a little girl looking very happy with her parents, all of them smiling at the camera. Immediately he realized that this little girl in the picture is Helen, he remembered that she was the only child in the family as he then looks at her mother's features and can completely see that she resembles her the most while her personality he assumes came from father.

'What happened to her father by the way?' He thought curiously.

He knew her mother died when she was sixteen and went on her own after she graduated high school as he had heard from her. But she didn't mention anything about her father, the only thing he knows is his name and him being an electrical engineer. Did he too die the same way her mother did? Or maybe she and her father had an estranged relationship? Who knows, maybe she will tell more about him at the right time.

"That's me and my parents."

Steve looks up to see Helen walking towards him with a wisp of a smile. He begins to notice from the way she was wearing is kind of adorable in her 'Science is Magic that Works'printed shirt and pink floral pajama pants while her hair was tied up in a messy bun.

"It was taken the day I won first place at the Junior Science Fair. I was only eleven at the time."

"Really? That's amazing." He gave her a small smile in return, looking impressed by how she had achieved at a very young age.

"My dad did some of the help while I work on most of the ideas and tinkering. We were building a solar tracker that follows the movements of the sun or the light. We were so happy after we've finished it together like a team. I remember when I won first place, both he and my mom stood up and were cheering for me, yelling out my name as I received my award, and once I have it, I ran towards my parents and gave them both a hug. I remember my dad told me… that I could do great things without realizing it and he was very proud of what I have done. We were all so happy…." Helen begins to feel her eyes watery as she immediately wipes them away and sniffs a bit. "So happy…"

Steve's expression then softens when he sees the sight of her crying and felt sympathetic towards her. He raised his free hand and gently wipes the remaining tears from her cheek then caresses it lovingly, giving her a comfort smile.

"They'd be even happier on what you have done today."

She smiled back at him and placed her hand on top of his. "I know."

He puts down the picture frame where it was placed and wraps his arms around her while he can feel her arms placing around his back. It took a moment for them to stay in each other's arms when Helen was first to let go of their embrace and made a deep sigh before looking up at him.

"Okay, let's not dig deep into the sad moments and let's just enjoy our movie date while the food is still warm." She went towards the table and kneeled in front of it then begins to unpack the food from the paper bags.

"Right." Steve nodded as he followed her and helped along.

"So you brought burgers and fries from Burger King?" She looked at him with an amused smirk on her face when she sees him blushing and scratches at the back of his head with an awkward smile.

"Tony kind of helped out while he and I were strolling together at the mall."

"Strolling together? You mean you two are like dating together?" Helen giggled.

His cheeks turn red when she mentions of him and Tony dating. "W-what? N-no, no, no, no. Doll! Stark and I aren't really dating or anything—"

"Steve, I was kidding. Of course, you two are not. Though I honestly don't mind if you both are."

He rolled his eyes sarcastically. "Ha, ha. Very funny, doll."

Once the food is all set at the table, they both sat down on the couch as Steve pulled her closer while wrapping his arm around her waist. "You know, you should take a break from work. Maybe a week off." He said with a little smile on his face. Not that he minded because he was honestly impressed with her work. There were just moments when he wished that she had a little more time for him.

"A week off? What do you suggest I do during my break?" Helen asked as she snuggled in next to him, she took a deep breath and sighed before closing her eyes. There was something about the way he smelled that was both comforting and exciting. It was a familiar scent at this point but whenever she had a chance to breathe him in, Helen snuggled in closer and would take a deep breath. "I don't want anything to forget or miss all the work I had done, especially my employees."

"How about let your employees do all the work for you while you take a break for a while? Okay, doll?" Steve said with a chuckle and a shrug. The last thing he wanted was for Helen to stress herself out but he knew how important her work seemed to be for her. Steve wanted her to get the most of her researching but at the same time, he hated seeing her so worn out when it was only one night. He kissed the top of her head and nodded towards the TV. "Shall we start the movie?"

Helen nodded and quickly reached for the remote. She started to flip through the channels before Steve got a chance. It wasn't that she didn't like the movies he picked. It was more because Helen wanted to find something that they both could enjoy until she found Mulan on one of the movie channels. It seems this movie had just got started the time she landed on that channel.

"Have you watched Mulan before, Steve?" Helen turns to face him, with a hint of excitement in her features.

"No, but from the looks on what I am seeing right now. I'm guessing it's one of Disney's animated films." He said with an endearing smile.

"Mmhmm, that's absolutely right. It's actually one of my favorite Disney films." She smiled back in return while resting her head on Steve's chest.

"Is it any good?" He asked, curious about what some of her favorite movies were. He just liked hearing her talk and learning more about her because of it.

Helen smiled and nodded a little. "It's more historical and beautifully mythical. And I love it. You see it is a story of a young strong-willed woman who wants to prove herself for selflessly protecting her father and family honor by going to war."

"Looks remarkably interesting." Steve rubs her lower waist gently, smiling as she snuggled up to him without another thought. It seemed to be her immediate response when he held her close like this. He liked that because the feeling of her close to him meant that he could keep her safe this way. When her arms wrapped around him, he sighed softly and happily. "So are we gonna eat those burgers and fries before they'd go cold?" Steve asked with a shrug.

"Yeah, we don't wanna get these all to waste." She took a piece of fry from the table and took a bite while looking up at him with a sweet grin on her face. He chuckled a bit at her expression before leaning down to kiss her softly on the lips.

"Tá mé i ngrá leat." He whispered.

"What does it mean, Steve?" Looking entrance from his kiss though curious, wanting to know it means as he said in a soft tone.

"In Irish. It means… I love you." He smiled happily to her.

Smiling back at him, she leaned in this time and softly kissed at the corner of his mouth then brushed her fingers against his cheek. "I love you too, Steve."

Satisfied with her response, he leaned in to kiss her head before they watched on the screen where the strong-willed Mulan lets her adorable dog do her chores for her. Entertained by the scene they saw, Steve shook his head in amusement though intrigued by the young woman who's a bit clumsy and was unable to follow rules, regulations that most of the women should do, especially during the 1940s. Though the scene where she got painfully humiliated by this matchmaker woman telling her that she is a disgrace and will never bring her family honor, made him feel so saddened by the sight he was seeing but what's sadder is that she tries to stop her disabled father from going to war. God, he can't help but feel very bad for Mulan being an outcast. Yet when he saw her taking her father's place by posing as a man, astonishes him but was more astonished when she cuts her beautiful long hair with her father's sword and steals his armor before riding away with her horse to go to war, never turning back. At first, he thought that this movie will go all rainbows and colorful happy cartoons but this film proved him wrong. Suppose this Disney movie will somehow interest him completely than the last animated one he once watched was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

Until one scene shows a small red dragon yelling out "I LIVED!" by Mulan's ghost ancestor while lifting himself up like a raised undead person and begins to go comical and overconfident with himself. Steve's expression went slightly cringed when he saw this, and somehow he reminds him of…

"That little dragon reminds me of Stark." He said a bit sarcastically.

Helen made her eyes roll in amusement while slightly giggling at his comment on comparing Mushu and Tony as the most obnoxious people 'or animals' on his list.

Irish Steve is one of my favorite Headcannons, I mean Chris Evans is from an Irish descent and I can't help but become so in love if he speaks Irish ❤️!
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See you soon for the next chapter ;)

Review (^u^)❤️?