Steve was very good at being an obstacle for people, whether he meant to be or not. In this case, however, it was completely unintentional. He was willing to share everything with her. He had always been a fairly open guy, if anyone had cared enough to ask, but this felt like something more. Steve shied away from just what it did feel like, because he didn't believe in love at first sight. Love was built, even after you knew someone; it had to be maintained and tended, cared for, or it waned. He didn't know Rogue well enough to be in love with her yet. ...but he was definitely headed swiftly in that direction.
Straightening his shirt was such a maternal image to Steve, he couldn't help but smile as he watched her do it, even while he listened to her explanation on her various names. He'd never really thought about how much more difficult it was for a married woman to deal with paperwork and legal transactions, just because she'd had to change her name. It was something trivial, but he loved listening to her give brief explanations about it, little stories that all added up to the woman sitting beside him.
He watched a little more attentively as she considered and decided what she wanted him to call her. It was obvious what she wanted, and even having spent so little time with her, in the grand scheme of things, Steve could tell it weighed heavily on her that she was essentially forced to give up the name she considered to be her real one, just to stay anonymous and safe. It was one more way she was hiding who she really was. He thought about never being casually called Cap again; he remembered how disconcerting it was whenever he heard someone call his best friend 'James' instead of 'Bucky'.
The comment about gloves did puzzle Steve slightly, since he didn't know her exact mutation, but he just assumed that she didn't wear them here so she could more easily hide her true nature. He didn't consider the fact that they might have been a necessity before, since whatever her power was, they weren't a necessity to hide or control it anymore.
It was her true nature, though, wasn't it. She identified with those gloves, with her mutation. She identified more with being a mutant, and a superhero, than she did with being an every-day, ordinary person. He sympathized with that feeling, and it cemented his decision. He reached up and pulled one of her hands off his shirt, lacing his fingers together with hers. "Okay," he said softly, easily. "Rogue it is." He smiled gently, reaching up with his free hand to trace a finger over the white locks along the edges of her head. "It's not so unusual a name. You look like a Rogue."
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Straightening his shirt was such a maternal image to Steve, he couldn't help but smile as he watched her do it, even while he listened to her explanation on her various names. He'd never really thought about how much more difficult it was for a married woman to deal with paperwork and legal transactions, just because she'd had to change her name. It was something trivial, but he loved listening to her give brief explanations about it, little stories that all added up to the woman sitting beside him.
He watched a little more attentively as she considered and decided what she wanted him to call her. It was obvious what she wanted, and even having spent so little time with her, in the grand scheme of things, Steve could tell it weighed heavily on her that she was essentially forced to give up the name she considered to be her real one, just to stay anonymous and safe. It was one more way she was hiding who she really was. He thought about never being casually called Cap again; he remembered how disconcerting it was whenever he heard someone call his best friend 'James' instead of 'Bucky'.
The comment about gloves did puzzle Steve slightly, since he didn't know her exact mutation, but he just assumed that she didn't wear them here so she could more easily hide her true nature. He didn't consider the fact that they might have been a necessity before, since whatever her power was, they weren't a necessity to hide or control it anymore.
It was her true nature, though, wasn't it. She identified with those gloves, with her mutation. She identified more with being a mutant, and a superhero, than she did with being an every-day, ordinary person. He sympathized with that feeling, and it cemented his decision. He reached up and pulled one of her hands off his shirt, lacing his fingers together with hers. "Okay," he said softly, easily. "Rogue it is." He smiled gently, reaching up with his free hand to trace a finger over the white locks along the edges of her head. "It's not so unusual a name. You look like a Rogue."