At first, Steve thought he had gone and said exactly the wrong thing. Rogue had been understandably vague when discussing it that first day, but Steve could just imagine, with her powers being uncontrolled at the time, that physical intimacy had been a deal-breaker far too often with anyone she'd tried to get close with. And here he was, saying he'd really like to have sex with her. He was a complete idiot.

But then she wrapped her arms around him, and automatically, Steve's hands moved to hold her waist to steady her, the blanket caught between them and wrapped around her. He managed a nod and half-smile. "Not...worrying, exactly. More like... slightly anxious anticipation."

Steve was about to lean in and kiss her again, less chastely than previously -- when something hard hit and bounced off his back. Even as he began to turn his head to see what it had been (but not letting go of Rogue), he heard a woman shout "Jesse!" He saw her come jogging over to them, bending down to pick up some kind of large, bright green and black ball, vaguely shaped like a football, with spiraled grooves carved into it.

"I am so, so sorry!" she apologized, even as a boy of about 10 came up beside her. She turned and glared at him. "What have I told you about this thing?!"

Jesse shrugged, trying to look careless, but also obviously uncomfortable. Steve knew the feeling. "Not to throw it in the house?"

"NOT where people might get hit!" His mother corrected fiercely. "Now apologize!"

Jesse sighed, digging his toe into the ground and pushing his hands deeper into his cargo shorts' pockets. "Sorry. I hope I didn't hurt you."

Steve smiled, letting go of Rogue so he could fully face the boy. "It's fine, son. But-- maybe you should listen to your mom when she tells you something. It-- she's just trying to look out for you, so you don't get in trouble."

Looking even more uncomfortable, Jesse just nodded.

Not sure what possessed him to do it, other than the weather and the good mood he was in, Steve jerked his head. "Tell ya what. Only time I ever got in trouble was when I didn't listen to my ma. Wanna see how I turned out?" He moved over to his bag, picked it up and came back over to Jesse and his mother. He knelt down and said softly, "Can you keep a secret?"

Jesse's eyes grew big, and he looked at his mother, who shrugged helplessly, just as confused as he was. Finally, Jesse nodded.

"Always listen to your mom," Steve said, before opening his bag, just enough to reveal the edge of his shield, "and maybe someday you can be just like me."

"Whoa, cool! You're--!" he stopped just short of shouting the whole thing, catching Steve's wide-eyes and the finger he'd thrown against his lips to signal silence. Jesse nodded frantically, bouncing in place with excitement.

Handing the ball back to her son, his mother said, "Go back to your friends. Play out in the field, not near the blankets!" She shouted after him, before turning back to Steve. Her eyes were still a little wide, and she said again, more fervently, "I am so sorry!"

Standing back up, Steve shook his head with a smile. "It's no problem, ma'am. Just, uh-- don't hold this over his head, except for the really important stuff, okay?"

She laughed a little. "Does doing his homework count?"

Steve shrugged. "Only until about 10th grade."

Eyeing Steve speculatively, she nodded. "I'll take it. I'm sorry, for the interruption." She glanced over quickly at Rogue, before smiling at them and starting to turn. She stopped midway, though, and turned back to say fervently, "Thank you. For--" she nodded at his bag. "What you're doing. It means a lot, to a lot of people."

Steve nodded again, watching as she began to pick her way back through the sea of people and blankets and baskets, back to her own spot.