Coffee, like alcohol, just didn't affect him anymore, but unlike alcohol, Steve never missed the effects of coffee. He wasn't exactly a morning person, but waking up at dawn had been drilled into him during boot camp, and he needed less sleep than the average person anyway. He could go for several days with hardly any sleep, and longer than that if he could take naps now and then. He'd learned to sleep whenever he got the chance, because during a mission you never knew when you'd be needed in tip-top shape. He wouldn't consider most of his dreams as nightmares, because to him, nightmares woke you up in a cold sweat, panting and terrified. Most of his dreams made him wake up aching, and sometimes even sobbing over what he'd lost.

That wouldn't be attractive to anyone. But he wasn't planning on sharing his bed with anyone anytime soon, anyway. He was enjoying Marie's company, this new friendship they had, and while he was hoping maybe it could turn into something more, he was certainly in no rush. He recognized that he was still grieving; part of him wanted to just get over it and move on, but he knew he never really would. It was like Marie had said earlier; the ache never really went away. But when it lessened, maybe then...

Well. No use counting his chickens before they hatched. He just had to keep taking it one day at a time. And now, the next couple days were starting to look up.

Steve heard the vast amount of space her promise left open, and gave her an unimpressed look to show just what he thought of her clever wordplay. The effect was somewhat ruined when after only a few seconds he couldn't keep his lips from twitching in a smile. "Okay, fine. Not like I can stop you anyway," he gave her another pointed look, "so I'll just let you do what you want." He paused, taking a deep breath. "And no matter what, I'll be grateful." He smiled at her, to show he really didn't mind, no matter what he pretended.