That took longer than I planned...oops! Now that swim season started it's going to take a bit longer per chapter.

Steve felt incredibly content when he woke up. He didn't know if he'd slept that well since infancy. He was warm and for once, he didn't feel tired. Steve felt comfortable and relaxed. Mmm. Tina's hair smells so good. Steve's eyes slammed open. Tina? She was still there, snuggled under the blankets next to him, sleeping peacefully. Her blonde curls were strewn around her head and she was still in her jeans. Steve thought he'd never seen anything more beautiful. He watched the sun come up in the window while Tina slowly began to wake up. She wiggled and stretched, yawning. Tina's eyes opened sleepily, but they widened in surprise when she saw that she wasn't alone.

"Oh!"

"Yeah, I had that thought, too," Steve chuckled.

"Well…good morning," Tina said, feeling somewhat awkward. Steve smiled his greeting and tousled her hair further as he got out of bed. Tina immediately reached for her hair. "Oh noooo," she moaned, "It's so tangly! Where's the bathroom? Do you have hair product? Of course you don't. Craaap."

"What's wrong?" Steve asked, confused.

"My hair! I can feel it, it's a haystack!" Steve laughed.

"I think it looks beautiful. But, the bathroom's over there." Tina scurried through the door with her hands on top of her hair, attempting to cover it, which provided much entertainment for Steve. She flicked the door shut behind her. His bathroom was elegant; white tiles, sky-blue walls and stainless steel accents. After a moment of being very impressed with the fact that Steve had a giant bathroom in New York City, Tina glared at her completely crazy curls in the mirror and yanked her fingers through it. There's no fixing that, she eventually determined. At that moment, Steve knocked on the door.

"Tina? I'm going to go get some breakfast stuff. Feel free to shower or whatever you need to do. There's towels and things in the cabinet under the sink."

"Okay, thanks!"

"I'll be back in like an hour."

"See ya then!" Tina heard his footsteps disappear and sprinted for the shower. Take that hair! As she toweled off, she stared at her clothes from last night sitting on the floor. I'd always promised myself I would never do the walk of shame…heck I still wear a promise ring! Tina pulled on her underwear and tiptoed down three steps into Steve's room for a better look around. The floors were a pale wood and the walls were a sky blue color that was a few shades lighter than that of the bathroom. The floor was depressed a few feet in the center of the room, while about four feet from the wall was the same height as the room she'd just left. There was a king sized bed pushed against the same wall as the bathroom, and it was also elevated to the same height as the top stair. The corner walls were comprised entirely of windows, providing a beautiful view of the skyline. In the window corner, the higher floor came out a little further to make room for the little desk and chair set up there. A love seat and coffee table satin the low center of the room, in addition to a small stereo. Along the high floors, there was a bookshelf and a few dressers. It was beautiful, but Tina felt almost depressed. The room hardly looked like anyone lived here. She kept her room freakishly neat, but this was…surgical. Depersonalized. Sterile. There were almost zero personal effects of any kind. She opened an armoire made of the same wood as the floor and was greeted by a sparse selection of t-shirts. At least it's not empty. And…mmm. It smells like Steve in here. Tina gathered the fabric of a blue shirt to her face, breathing in the scent. Almost unconsciously, she pulled it out and put it on, liking the feel of the soft fabric on her skin. Glancing down, she could see the SHIELD emblem on the front of the shirt. How very typical of you, Steve. Well, if I'm going to steal clothes I might as well go all the way, Tina thought. She opened a few other drawers until she found athletic shorts with a drawstring, which she pulled all the way and tied. After drying her hair, neatly folding back the bed's white sheets, and hanging up her towel, Tina decided to explore. She walked up the steps and opened the other door in the room, assuming it was the way out. She wandered down the hallway, which opened up into a large living room. There were a few black leather couches and a minibar, and the biggest TV she'd ever seen. A wall here was made of windows, too. Where is this place? This has got to be the biggest and most beautiful apartment I've ever seen. Tina heard a door open and footsteps shuffle in.

"Tina?" she followed the source of Steve's voice until she ended up in a kitchen.

"Hey," she greeted him. Steve smirked and eyed her clothing.

"Nice shirt," he remarked as he put away groceries. Tina looked down and blushed.

"Oh, yeah…um." Steve cupped her shoulders in his hands to get a better look.

"I like it. Looks better on you anyway," he said with a sweet smile. Tina sat in a chair at the kitchen table while Steve began cracking eggs into a pan.

"Thanks," she picked at her nails, searching for the words to say what she wanted to tell him. "Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"I…um. Well, thanks." Steve turned around, looking puzzled. "For, well, saving me last night," she clarified, "And for not being angry that I crashed here. And for…making me feel safe." Tina finished feeling quite vulnerable and stared at the table. Steve pulled out a chair next to her and sat in it. He lifted her chin up.

"You're welcome. And I'm kind of glad you crashed here. Breakfast has always been our thing," he smiled. "And you're always safe when you're with me. But you know something? You make me feel safe, too." Tina giggled at his last statement.

"Why? You think I could do what you did in there? I can't protect myself! Let alone someone else..."

"There's more kinds of safety than just physical." Tina stared into his eyes. This was one of those times she swore they were trying to tell her something. She understood that he was a man of many secrets, but sometimes she wished that wasn't the case.

"Where are we, by the way?" Steve took a deep breath.

"Stark Tower." Tina's eyes grew huge.

"WHAT?!" Steve got out of his chair and started scrambling the eggs.

"You know Tony used to make weapons for the military, before...you know. But he still is close with a lot of the people he knew then, especially those in SHIELD. And I'm a part of SHIELD. That's how we became friends," Steve finished evasively.

"You live with Iron Man," Tina said, obviously still shocked. And you don't want to know who else I live with! Steve thought.

"Yes…but call him Tony. His ego is big enough already."

"That's so cool! Have you seen his suit up close? Is it awesome? Does he have that chest-light thing in all the time? Is it really bright? Does it feel hot like a lightbulb? How does he get his beard like that?" Steve laughed at Tina's star stricken flow of questions.

"Yes. The suit is pretty swell. Yes, he'd die without it. It's annoyingly bright. No. With much effort," he responded, still chuckling. Tina smiled widely.

"That's amazing! How come you've never mentioned that you're friends with him before?" Steve shrugged, sliding breakfast plates onto the table.

"I don't know…I didn't really…didn't want you to be overwhelmed?" Steve wasn't sure what to say. He really meant something more along the lines of "if I told you I lived with Iron Man and the Avengers you're going to ask why I'm there too and I hate lying so here it is I'm Captain America". She has to know sometime. She's got to find out soon, he kept thinking to himself. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. Steve was impossibly happy with Tina, and he worried endlessly that telling her who he really was would somehow ruin their relationship. What if it makes her not trust me? What if it just plain freaks her out? What if it stresses her out and she leaves me? No matter what he tried, he couldn't reconcile the thoughts.

Tina raised her eyebrows at his comment, sensing the evasion.

"Sure," she said. She was annoyed. Why is he acting so weirdly? I tell him everything! And there's obviously a huge amount of stuff happening with him that he's keeping a secret…it's getting really annoying.

Steve recoiled a bit at her tone. He realized that she had gotten sick of all his half-truths. He was terrified of losing her. Steve steeled himself to tell her the truth. No time like the present. He placed his hand over hers.

"Okay, Tina? I-" he was cut off by her phone calendar beeping shrilly. She checked it and immediately gasped.

"No! I have a dorm inspection! Oh my god I didn't clean up after Abby! Or Emma! They're going to fail me, I gotta go." Tina started pulling on her shoes at top speed. Steve panicked. I have no idea if I'll ever have the nerve to tell her this again…

"Oh." She looked up, concerned with his tone.

"After I clean up you can come over," she offered. Steve smiled weakly. Cameras. Cell phones. Security footage, the paranoid voice in his head said, No good.

"You can come back here if you want. I'll pick you up?" Tina kissed him briefly.

"Awesome. I'll call you then!"

Steve waved from his motorcycle as she jogged away to her dorm, thinking of how she would react to the secret he'd been keeping.

…

As Tina sprinted down her hallway, she noticed that the door was slightly ajar. She rolled her eyes. Abby was being careless again. She flicked the light switch on as she shut the door behind herself. The scene was not what she expected at all.

A redheaded woman dressed entirely in black was frozen in surprise, but was clearly midway through searching the room. Tina's eyes darted around, spotting her sketchbook open on the bed. She opened her mouth to angrily question her, but something about the woman's presence silenced her. Then Tina saw the gun on her hip. Her eyes widened in fear, and her hand searched for her phone. If I could just call 911…or Steve...maybe I could make it out somehow? Tina willed herself to not pass out like last time. At the same time, she couldn't believe there was a 'last time'. The woman smirked.

"There's no one who could come fast enough. Don't bother." Tina gasped as the woman strode across the room and snatched the phone out from behind Tina's back. Tina caught sight of an emblem on her black jacket.

"SHIELD?" she murmured. The SHIELD agent turned and analyzed Tina. The art student gulped nervously, heart thumping. She pressed her back against the wall. The spy's eyes were hard and unforgiving. Tina knew she would not hesitate to kill. The blonde fervently hoped that she would move on. Why is she here? Is she background checking me because of Steve or something?

"Look," the spy began, "I don't know exactly who you are. I don't really know what you're after either." With this she moved until she stood almost pressed against the petite girl, towering over her five-two frame. "But I don't like you. Not one bit. Know why?" Natasha asked softly as she pulled her favorite knife out of her belt and toyed with it. To her surprise, the girl answered.

"I don't really see you as someone who likes many people," Tina mumbled. Natasha hissed. How dare this little whelp sass me?

"Because you're a threat." Natasha growled, jabbing her finger into the girl's shoulder with each word for emphasis.

"Why are you here? If you wanted me dead, I'd be ashes by now," Tina said with fake bravado. The spy laughed softly, seeing through her ruse. The effect was terrifying to Tina, and Natasha could tell by hearing her heart speed up even further.

"Who says you won't be?" the pause following the question had Tina saying a few prayers that Steve would come look for her very, very soon. "No. I don't plan on killing you," continued the assassin, "I have this feeling that dear Steve would be very put out with me if I did that." Tina gasped, and the Russian continued. "You don't know, do you?" she asked, in a much kinder tone.

"Know what?" Tina whispered. The spy's eyes widened and she backed away.

"He hasn't told you yet." Tina's brow furrowed.

"Told me what?" Natasha shook her head and put one leg out of the window.

"I'm not going to tell him that I met you. I'm going to let him tell you in his own time. But…" the assassin's eyes softened, "take it easy on him when he does? He's a good guy you know." She dropped out of sight. Tina stood in shock against the wall. What is he hiding?

Uh oh! Steve is in deep trouble! What did you all think? Reviews please :)