Steve let himself relax when she obviously wasn't pulling away. He practically melted with relief when she started comforting him. He was also a little mortified; surely, at some point, they would be able to get through one day together without one or both of them crying--right?

He squeezed his eyes shut, reaching up to rub the tears out of his eyes before pulling back enough so she could see him. Clearing his throat so he didn't sound quite so raspy, Steve took a steadying breath. "I'd better not," he said, giving a small, but heartfelt, smile. "My plans for world domination kinda hinge on you sticking around," he joked. Every diabolical plan ended with world domination; any kid with a comics allowance could tell you that.

"Guess we both kinda panicked for a second there, huh?" he glanced away, shame-faced. He was an idiot, telling her how he was feeling like that. He wanted to be honest with her, but he surely could've worded it better than that. He should've known, should've realized after she'd told him how people gave up being near her, that it had taken her husband - Remy, she'd called him - years to convince her that he was serious about her.

At this point, Steve was pretty sure he didn't have years of that kind of fight left in him. So much of the time now, he felt like he was running on empty, just because what other choice did he have? Dying hadn't taken, so now he was left with living. Living some kind of life he couldn't make sense of.

Ironically, the one part that did make sense was Rogue. Who shouldn't even exist in this world.