fateandfortune | The Sweet Gestures Meme

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The Sweet Gestures Meme

the sweet gestures meme

Everyone loves sweet gestures—little things that remind someone that you love them, that you think of them, that you care for their general, and other things. A gesture could be made towards a friend, a family member, or some other loved one. Maybe towards a total stranger you think deserves something to make them smile.

prompts

1. LOVE NOTES ❤ Everyone loves love notes, and they don’t even have to be romantic. It could be simple as ‘have a good day at work’ or even something funny to brighten someone’s day.

2. BREAKFAST IN BED ❤ Especially on a Sunday morning or after a long, late shift at work, breakfast in bed with their favorite foods is surely the way to start the day off right.

3. PHONE CALL ❤ Who doesn’t like a phone call from someone they love, for no reason? A nice conversation can be all someone needs to have a better day or make a good day be a great one.

4. SWEET TREAT ❤ Late at night when you’re both tired from work or just general day-to-day things, something sweet from the local bakery can be just the thing you need.

5. MASSAGE ❤ While a wonderful idea, swapping massages can be a good idea too, or doing it after a nice bubble bath you made for them, or just randomly.

6. RANDOM HUG ❤ Even if they are not having a bad day, how could a hug not bring a smile to someone’s face?

7. SMALL GIFT ❤ It could be a piece of jewelry that caught your eye and reminded you of them, a stuffed animal you won at the carnival… just something small and sweet that you are sure they are going to love no matter how cheap or expensive it is.

8. FLOWERS ❤ From a florist or from a random patch of green, the surprise of flowers for someone you know and/or love is always welcomed! Look into their meanings to make the bouquet, big or small, become extra special.

9. RENT A MOVIE ❤ Sure, you might not like the genre of the movie, but if the other person does, then that is all that matters.

10. SLOW DANCE ❤ Middle of the living room, randomly while on a date, or maybe that is the whole purpose of the date. Slow dances are so underrated.

11. SURPRISE GETAWAY ❤ Yes, that is just what you guys need: a vacation from things, even if it’s just for a day or two and is not half way across the world. From a family vacation to a romantic spur of the moment, everyone loves going to a new place.

12. SURPRISE KISS ❤ Who doesn’t like a surprise kiss? A soft one on the cheek, a kiss being the thing to wake you up in the morning, or a big one right when you walk through the door.

13. HOLD HANDS ❤ There is nothing like holding hands. It’s a simple and intimate gesture, and if you do it the right way, it could have a whole different meaning.

14. COOK DINNER ❤ Come on, give it a go. Who cares if you’re not the best cook in the world or possibly the worst? It’s the thought that counts.

15. WILD CARD ❤ Was there something missed? Did you have another scene in mind? Want to roll again?

POSTED BY luuupin @ allmymemes

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

She'd never be bored looking at him. He was fascinating to her, intriguing, captivating. He meant the absolute world to her and she would let him draw her anytime he wanted.

Be natural. Alright. She gathered up the containers that held the few remnants of their lunch, closing them up and returning them to the cooler so they had more space on the blanket. That glint of sunlight caught her eye, as did Steve's scramble to hide what she assumed was his shield. "You know you're gonna have to show me that later," she informed him with a mischievous smile before scooting down on the blanket and moving to lay on her side. She straightened out the skirt of her dress and folded an arm under her head, her hair tumbling in its loose curls around her, sunlight catching her hair almost like it had his shield. "How's this?"

He huffed in amusement. "I don't mind showing you," he replied, a sardonic note in his voice. "It's the rest of the park who doesn't need to see it." He settled his legs taylor-style, before glancing over at her. Once again, his breath caught in his throat at the sight of her. "Perfect," he breathed, not meaning the pose at all.

But then he took a deep breath, pulling his brain back to the task at hand. Drawing. He unzipped his pencil bag, selecting a hard-leaded sketching pencil, as well as his gum eraser just in case, flipped his sketchbook to a clean page, and started outlining the major parts, that would eventually become her head, arms, torso, skirt and legs.

Gaze flicking to her momentarily before returning to the sketch, Steve didn't want her to get bored (no matter what she said, he couldn't imagine just watching him could be all that fun), so he pulled out a trick from his art school days, meant to keep the models relaxed and smiling, forgetting that they were holding a pose.

He started talking to her, telling stories. "I went to art school, y'know?" He added some wavy lines around the head circle, later to become her curling hair. "I told you, I was color blind back then, which, I could see some colors, but reds and greens and blues always confused me some. But I wanted to become a comic artist. A penciller; that's the one who actually draws all the artwork, before it goes to the inker, and then the colorist. At least, that's how it was back then." He added some lines to her skirt, where the folds would go. It wouldn't be a finished drawing, not right away, but he could go back and add in detail to the other parts later. Now he just needed a rough outline, so he could focus on getting her face.

"I spent a lot of my time at home, reading, and then making up stories for my favorite characters. I thought maybe, if I could get in good with some writers, make a name for myself, I could give them some of my ideas to add to their stories." He was always most comfortable like this, behind his sketchbook; his mind centered on what his pencil was putting on paper, and he could talk about himself in a way he found more difficult otherwise.

She watched as his fingers gripped the pencil and the tip started to move across the page, the movements smooth and practiced. He had been doing this for years, and she could tell that he took comfort in it. Seeing that finished piece was something she was looking forward to, and part of her wanted to fill their homes with his artwork. Cover the walls, the fridge, the bookshelves, all with pieces he'd created.

As she listened to him speak, her smile grew and she felt so very... happy and content. Just sitting there with him in the sunshine was one of the most perfect moments she'd ever experienced.

"You could still do that, you know," she offered, not being pushy but trying to show him that that dream, at least, wasn't gone. "The comic industry is huge now, and there are all sorts of stories being told. And if you didn't want anyone to know you were the one doing it, that's easy enough to accomplish." He could do a great many things in this new world, and she didn't want him to limit himself.

Keeping his head bent down, Steve looked up at her words. He huffed a laugh and smiled, but shook his head. "Yeah, it's huge. And I never even finished art school. Even if I did manage to find a job drawing - which, sketches are one thing, whole comics are another - I... I wouldn't feel right, taking that job from someone else." He tried to figure out how to articulate what he meant. "I'm-- I already have a job, as--" he flicked his gaze around, then murmured, "as you-know-who. Which, maybe that's not as irrelevant as I'd been thinking. It's not an every day job, but if it's important to people, I'm not gonna give that up."

Nothing was coming out right. He wasn't quite sure how to explain the fact that he was no longer that scrawny kid, dreaming of becoming a big name on the cover of comics. He'd seen the world, or at least large portions of it, that he'd never expected; he'd been to war; he'd essentially traveled through time. He wasn't sure he could be satisfied with the dreams he'd used to have. Not after everything else he'd gone through. He'd always feel that itch; that restless sensation that he should be out in the world somewhere, actively helping people. Fighting.

It all came back down to fighting.

His hand had slowed, but continued to add lines while he'd been contemplating. Now, he turned his attention fully back to the drawing, giving a one-shouldered shrug. "Maybe. We'll see." He gave a self-deprecating smile. "I'm not all that good, anyway, not compared to some others. This whole conversation may be a moot point after you see what I can manage."

Rogue wanted to point out that a lot of people had never even been to art school and still made art of all sorts their profession. She wanted to insist that he wouldn't necessarily be taking a job from someone, that he could do independent work or self-publish. But then he started talking about his alter ego and she sighed softly.

"If you're not that good, then you'll just have to practice," she decided, flashing him another smile. "I'm expecting great things from you, Mr. Rogers, and they have nothing to do with what you're hiding in that bag."

He didn't have to try to explain what he was feeling about his work as Captain America. She remembered what it was like to always be on the move, to be doing good work and fighting for a cause you believed in. She couldn't deny that she missed that part of her life as an X-Man, but... Taking up that lifestyle again just wasn't something she was entirely sure she could do again. There were too many painful memories, too much trauma she still had yet to overcome. That didn't mean that she wouldn't support him, though. She would be by his side no matter what he decided to do with his life - she was there to stay.

Grinning at her words, Steve set about adding the finer details to her face, defining the curls of her hair. It felt unbelievable, having someone believe in him, Steve Rogers, again.

He thought maybe she understood, remembering how she'd begun her own story to him, saying she'd been on a team of superheroes herself. Maybe, eventually, he'd feel comfortable enough to do more than just dabble with his art as a hobby. Right now, though...

"Hey," he said, flashing her a grin, "there's no rush. I'd rather get my head straight with the current world, and then have to worry about what I'm gonna do to fill up my spare time."

Setting down his pencil, he rummaged in his pencil bag until he found one with a softer lead, better for shading and smudging. He didn't want to get too carried away, though; if he decided, or if she wanted him to, he could color this one in with colored pencil, or maybe even pastels. "And believe me, I do practice. All the time. I'll doodle on any flat surface that holds still long enough," he joked. Of all the things that had changed, about the world, and about himself, that still held true; he still had to have a pen or pencil in his hand, creating, or re-creating, something.

He hadn't actually doodled recently, though. He'd gone out and drawn the Brooklyn Bridge, and different parts of the Manhattan skyline, he'd even drawn part of Lady Liberty, but that was all true-to-life art; he hadn't doodled anything fanciful, hadn't really felt like it.

No, that wasn't true. He'd drawn himself, eyes closed, shield resting on his chest as he lay in repose on top of a glass table, like Snow White in the animated Disney movie. He'd drawn the other Avengers gathered around, peering at him curiously (although he'd drawn Tony feigning disinterest while peeking at his shield). He'd had to stop when he realized the character he'd just drawn standing in the doorway was a younger version of Phil Coulson, clutching a fan of cards to his chest with an eager, joyous look on his face. He'd stuck to landscapes after that. Until now.

She giggled at the image of him drawing in all sorts of places, and on all sorts of things. It was a lovely image of the man she was in love with, a side of him that she'd only been glimpsing but certainly wanted to see more of. She wanted to see all sides of him, good and bad alike.

"Well, speaking of getting your head on straight," she started with a grin, "I'd like to help with that, if you'll let me. Maybe it's the teacher in me, of just the need to help you with whatever I can because I love you, but I really want to help you navigate all of this. We could work through that list of movies you haven't seen, music you haven't listened to, and I could share some of my favorites with you along the way."

She shifted a little, not really changing position because she didn't want to ruin his drawing, but rather just getting a little more comfortable. "It would be good for me, too," she added. "Sometimes I run into things that are different here from how they were back home. It's gotten me some strange looks these past few months. I think I'd rather avoid that in the future if I can."

He glanced up at her giggle, grinning to himself. He was never going to stop loving the fact that he could make her laugh. He listened to her words, soaking them in and just appreciating them, pushing down his knee-jerk reaction that he didn't need help. She'd said it herself - she loved him, she genuinely didn't see it as a burden.

After a brief pause, he nodded. "I'd like that. A lot." He thought back to that doodle, and thought maybe he could kill two birds with one stone, as it were. "There's so many movies on my list, it's ridiculous. But-- I know I've heard people mention Disney a couple times. Is he still making cartoons? Animated shorts, or even another movie? I'd like to see what else he came out with, if it's available." He didn't know if it would be, or if it was relegated to clips on Youtube - something he both enjoyed watching, and despaired of, sometimes, depending on how successful his search terms were.

"I saw Snow White when it came out, it was amazing." He hoped there were more like that. Walt Disney had been something of a personal hero for him; a man who had been told he wouldn't be able to accomplish what he wanted, and had gone out and done it anyway. The fact that it included drawing and animation was just a bonus.

She was so glad that he didn't automatically reject her offer. Spending time with him would inevitably include things like watching movies, so why not make the most of the opportunity and help him learn about the things that came up in everyday conversation and, sometimes, had helped to shape society.

Like Disney. It was amazing to her to realize that he'd seen Snow White in theaters but had no idea of the legacy that had followed.

"Oh sugar," she said softly, a look of awe and affection in her eyes. "We could watch a Disney movie every night for a month and still not get through them all. Walt Disney's name is known all over the world, their movies are dubbed into dozens of other languages. It's not just movies, or even short cartoons, either - there's an entire industry creating family entertainment under the Disney name. There are even whole amusement parks based on Disney's creations; Disneyland opened in California in 1955, and it's still one of the most popular vacation spots in the world, especially for families."

At the mention of the park, Rogue knew immediately that she take Steve there one day. When they'd watched the films and he knew the characters and stories, she would take him there and show him that part of the world that he lived in now. She could hardly wait.

In his day, watching movies entailed dressing up, going to the theater, maybe drinks before or dinner after. He kept forgetting that you could buy movies to watch at home. He was still getting used to television (he had one, but rarely used it, since he didn't understand about 90% of what people were talking about).

At first, Steve was puzzled by her reaction, until she told him just how many movies there were, and how famous Disney had become, and his whole face lit up. He stopped drawing, unconsciously leaning forward and pulling his sketchbook to his chest as he listened to her explain all that had been accomplished, all because Walt Disney hadn't given up in the face of his naysayers.

"That," Steve had to pause, his voice scratchy from emotion, "is amazing. I had no idea... Wow." He pulled his sketchbook back down, glancing at it consideringly before he began drawing in the final touches. If Walt Disney could do all that... maybe him becoming a comics penciller wasn't so far-fetched, after all.

Glancing quickly back and forth between Rogue and the drawing a few times, Steve finally nodded. "Okay. Finished." He handed it to her for inspection. Even if she hated it, nothing she said would be any worse than he'd heard before.

Rogue didn't know much of Walt Disney's story, she was sad to admit, but something in it clearly resonated with Steve, and for that alone she would make it a point to watch as many Disney-related things with him as he wanted. She hadn't been much of a fan of the "Princess" films when she was growing up, especially the early ones where the woman always seemed to need rescuing, but there were some that she especially liked and was excited to share with him. Aladdin, The Lion King, The Rescuers, Lilo & Stitch... And there were so many shorter cartoons that she remembered watching with the kids on weekend mornings, old classics that were timeless, and she couldn't begin to think of their names.

Taking the sketchbook as it was offered, she glanced down to see his creation and... Her heart caught in her throat and all she could do was stare at the image of herself etched onto the page in pencil. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words snagged the first time, and it took a second attempt for her to manage a slightly strained and stuttered, "Th-this is how you see me?" She couldn't tear her eyes away from the drawing to look at him, it was just too captivating.

Should Rogue point out how the princess always needed rescued in those films, Steve would gladly discuss it with her; it wasn't that he believed it was true of all women, even back then, but society as a whole had accepted it as such. Art was merely imitating life in this case, and he'd met plenty of women who had wanted nothing more than to find a husband who would take care of them.

Not exactly the reaction he'd been hoping for, but not necessarily bad, either. Speechless could be good. Or good-bad, even. Oh, Lord, he thought, listening to her voice, I went and made her cry again. She wasn't actually crying, but he was getting better at recognizing the warning signs from her.

"Well, yeah," he replied, trying to sound casual; his voice came out a little too soft and sincere to pull it off properly, but he continued anyway. "That's the way you look." He thought she was the most amazing person he'd met, so maybe he was a little biased, but his portraits were usually more objective than he was. Everything was lines and curves and basic shapes, fiddled with here and there to create a unique whole, but they were still as true to his source material as he could make them. Rogue just happened to be excellent source material.

Rogue knew now that the films through the ages reflected society, but that didn't mean she'd known it growing up. As a little girl, all she'd known was that no one was coming to rescue her, so why should those princesses expect anyone to rescue them? It was better to be strong enough and have the resources to rescue yourself.

He was right about the warning signs, because his words had her eyes burning with tears and she had to blink them quickly to hold them at bay. "You made me beautiful," she commented quietly, in awe of that accomplishment. Brushing at her eyes and sniffling twice, she added, "Thank you for that."

It was all she could say, because how was she supposed to explain that she no longer felt beautiful because of the scars on her back. He hadn't seen them yet, and she didn't need to ruin this part of his birthday with it.

Now it was Steve's turn to be unsure of how to respond. Of course he'd made her beautiful, she was beautiful, and not just because he loved her. He'd thought so the first time he'd seen her, floundering so badly he'd spilled his punch. Learning everything she'd gone through in her life only made her more beautiful to him.

Deciding to forego being casual about it, Steve scooted down the blanket until he could lay propped on his arm, mirroring Rogue, their bodies not quite touching, but intimate for such a public setting. He reached out and cupped her cheek, making sure to catch her eyes before saying with utter sincerity, "You are beautiful, Rogue. The only one who doesn't see it is you." The rebuke was soft, rounded out by love and his fervent hope that eventually, she'd come to believe him. He did recognize what a hypocrite he was being, though; he'd heard much the same speech from Bucky on numerous occasions, and he'd never believed him, either.

Steve had seen scars from war. He'd seen scars from bar fights, and what people now referred to as 'domestic disputes', but back then they hadn't been called anything, because people didn't talk about it. He was intimately familiar with those kinds of scars. He'd seen men with amputations, eye patches or false eyes; he'd seen men with no visible scars, but it was still obvious that they had them mentally.

Nothing on her body would shock or disturb him or make him change his opinion of her. The worst scar would always be the tattoo on her wrist, and while it was ugly and horrific, it marked her as beautiful.

His words and that gentle touch reverberated through her and there was simply nothing she could say to it. He was right that she didn't see it, not the same way he did - she knew that she was still found attractive by some people, but that feeling of being truly beautiful, and having the confidence that came with it - that was what she was lacking. It was something she'd had once, years ago, and she very sorely needed it these days.

She knew, realistically, that Steve would have seen scars during the war, if nothing else. He'd been in the thick of things, scars would be nothing new to him. But having seen how he reacted to the tattoo she bore, she was a little terrified of what he would do when he saw what had been done to her. None of those details had been shared with him yet, but after he saw those lines of marred flesh he would know at least part of what she'd endured. He wouldn't know that it had happened dozens of times, not unless she told him, and she didn't know that she could bare to do so.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she pressed a hand over his for a moment, keeping it firmly against her cheek, and then she let go to lean in to him. They might be close, but they weren't close enough for what she needed at that moment, which was to be held by him. "I love you," she breathed as she hid her face against him, in the spot between shoulder and chest. "So very much." She wasn't quite crying, but it was nearly to that point.

As far as he was concerned, any other scars on her body, due to her captivity, were a direct result of the ugly branding on her wrist. It wasn't that he expected her to have terrible scars, but he wasn't going to be that surprised, either, especially from what little she'd told him and alluded to, and the way she reacted to some things. He already knew about her scars, both physical and mental; he just hadn't seen them yet.

Steve wrapped an arm around her shoulders, cradling her against his chest, and reached out with his other hand to snag his jacket; he wadded it up and tucked it under his head, so he could turn and lay on his back, pulling Rogue over with him. Snuggled together, sun shining down, the smell of grass and an assortment of picnic foods mingling together, people murmuring and laughing all around them... This was what Steve had always imagined, wished, his life could be like.

"I love you too," he told her. He was never going to not tell her.

Rogue let Steve move her when he turned onto his back, snuggling into him and rubbing her cheek against his chest where it rested. She felt so completely safe in that moment, with his arm around her and the sun shining on them, the sound of real people in the air... She never wanted it to end.

But the sun was shining really brightly on them, and Rogue was reminded of their earlier conversation. Sighing contentedly, she commented, "We're gonna have to relocate to shade soon. I don't really relish the idea of being a melted lobster on your birthday. But this is too nice to move just yet..."

Especially with the sound of his voice echoing in her thoughts. I love you too. He'd said it multiple times now, but each one was as special as the last, and she'd never tire of hearing him say it.

It was perfect, so Steve didn't argue with her about not moving yet. Like Rogue, his thoughts were circling around their proclamations of love. They came so easily, for both of them it seemed, which was truly amazing, considering what each of them had been through, and neither of them had been at all interested in finding someone new at the moment. More amazing, and unbelievable, was just how quickly they'd fallen into it; barely three days together, and they were very much a couple. They definitely still had the glow and excitement of new love around them, but they were rapidly settling into something more comfortable, too, and he loved that.

Knowing she was right, Steve sighed. His eyes tracked around their little picnic blanket island, and caught on the unopened container she'd set out earlier. "Yeah. Tell you what. Let's pack up, find some shade... And then eat cake." Knowing Rogue, he didn't even try to guess what kind or flavor of confections were in that tub, but he knew he'd enjoy sharing the moment with her.

Amazing was the word for it. Rogue couldn't begin to explain why or how she had fallen so completely for Steve, or so quickly. It had been as natural as breathing, and before she'd known it, it had just... happened. Her heart raced when she was around him, but she also felt entirely comfortable and at peace, something that had taken a good long while to achieve when she'd been with Remy. Being with Steve was like being wrapped up in a blanket and thrown onto a rollercoaster - she didn't know what would happen next, but she felt safe and ready to face that excitement. Together.

Listening to his proposal, she let out a bright laugh and hid her face against him for a second. When she'd composed herself, she leaned up a little to look at him. "You found me out, huh? I couldn't resist, birthdays need cake, and you deserve everything good on your birthday."

Steve grinned boyishly. "You did ask what kind of cake I like, and that's the only thing you didn't pull out for us to eat right away, so... Yeah, I had a hunch."

He didn't know what to say at first to the last part of her words. Steve never felt entitled to anything, and to the rest of the world, his birthday was just another day - a national holiday, in this case, which just made it easier for him to accept that he wasn't going to get anything special or personal that day. A couple gifts from friends, a few well-wishes. His ma had tried every year to have some of his favorite foods prepared, but eventually her health had deteriorated and Steve had taken over the household chores, not letting her cook and not worrying all that much about his birthday. And then war had broken out, and he'd had much bigger issues to deal with.

Finally, he tightened his arm around her shoulder and smiled contentedly at her. "This is probably the best birthday I've ever had."

Rogue had always gone to great lengths to make birthdays special for her students and friends. She'd baked cakes for them, had cards signed by others at the mansion, thrown a few parties for the youngest ones who couldn't make their own plans. Once she'd even managed to almost surprise Charles on his birthday, but it was pretty difficult to hide things from the world's most powerful telepath, even when he tried not to intrude upon their personal thoughts - he'd still been grateful to everyone, of course.

"Next year's will be even better," she promised him with a grin before sitting up and giving him a gentle pat on the chest. "Now come on, handsome, I need my sugar fix."

Steve almost asked what she seemed to already be planning for next year, when to him, she'd already gone out of her way to make this day so special for him - but decided against it. He could put it out of his mind if he didn't know the details, but if she was already making plans for next year... he'd be fretting for another 365 days over the trouble she was going to. Best to just not think about it, and let her do what she wanted. It was a theme he was still getting used to, with Rogue. He had a feeling it would be an every day occurrence for a while, stepping back and letting her go to whatever lengths she wished for him. He wished he could do more for her...

Steve came to the uneasy realization that he didn't really know what there was he could do for Rogue. So far, all he knew was that she enjoyed physical contact, and was a little spotty on modern pop culture; not as much as himself, and it wasn't like he could really help her with that, other than letting her help him figure it all out, and maybe she'd learn some things as well. He was forcibly reminded that they really didn't know each other that well, besides the broad strokes of their lives that coincided so well. It seemed like she'd been asking the questions, and he'd been giving the answers, but not returning the favor.

He really wasn't very good at getting to know people. Not in a short amount of time like this, anyway. He'd have to start paying attention, and try to remember to ask questions more. Nothing probing, he didn't want to inadvertently upset her - that was really part of the problem, he still didn't know where any of her personal landmines were, and he'd already set several off on accident, he was loathe to do it again.

He'd just have to take it one moment at a time. Neither of them was going anywhere, after all.

Grinning, he heaved himself into a sitting position, folding his legs under him and smoothing down the khaki. "You don't need more sugar," he teased, feeling bold, "you're already sweet enough as it is."

Corny. So corny, Rogers.

Edited 2016-06-11 20:01 (UTC)

There was so much about herself that Rogue wanted to tell Steve, stories that she wanted to share with him so he could know and understand more of her life and who she was. But it was all so wrapped up in darkness and death that it was difficult to even broach the subjects - she didn't want to ruin the good mood by sharing funny stories about her teaching experiences because inevitably her thoughts would turn to what had happened to her students and why she couldn't work with children now. It was a domino effect and there was the eventual crash at the end that she wanted to avoid as long as possible.

If he asked, though, that would make it easier. She almost felt like she was intruding when she brought up the darker parts of her life without prompting, but if he asked about something, then she felt like she had permission to share those things with him. And sharing things... helped, in a way she wasn't ready to admit yet.

His teasing was corny, extremely so, and she adored him for it. Tilting her head back, she let out a full laugh before leaning in to give him a quick kiss, barely able to suppress her grin long enough to press her lips to his. "I can always use more sugar, thank you," she informed him playfully. "Especially when chocolate's involved."

The problem was, until she spoke about something, Steve felt as if he were intruding, or being too forward, asking her about the more personal details of her past. It was a catch-22 that only time, and comfort and familiarity with each other would be able to solve.

Today would be about having fun and enjoying the more lighthearted moments. The days after, they could begin to broach more serious topics again. Right now, he just wanted to enjoy spending time with her, laughing and feeling completely normal, for possibly the first time in his life.

Steve laughed through the kiss, and he thought maybe it was his favorite kiss yet, full of joy and fun and happiness. "Oh, I see," he nodded sagely, the effect ruined because he couldn't stop grinning. "So, sugar, and especially chocolate, are things I can count on for you. I'll remember that." He said it teasingly, but a small part of him that was always analyzing things tucked the piece of information away. He wanted to make sure he knew all he could about her, but he knew with certainty that she'd always be surprising him.

"So, am I gonna get some of this chocolate cake," he teased, "or is this a new-fangled birthday tradition, where you eat all the cake while I watch?"

It might be her favorite kiss too, and certainly one of her favorite moments they'd shared. It was light and happy, easygoing with no pressure at all. She wanted to have more moments like that with him, thousands more. Those happy moments would fill their entire life together, if she had anything to say about it.

"Well, if you're into that sort of thing, I wouldn't say no," she teased right back, mischief written across her face. "But I suppose, since it is your birthday, that I'll share at least a few bites with you."

She hoped he liked the cupcakes she'd made, even just one of the flavors. He might not be a picky eater, but she wanted him to really enjoy something she'd made, and to tell her so she could make it for him again. But if he didn't particularly like any of the flavors, then she'd just have to try others until she found something he did like.

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