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

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Steve didn't think of asking her to stay with him while he washed up; he needed just a few moments to himself, to try and settle back into the here and now, and get his thoughts moving again. But as he automatically turned on the tap and splashed cool water on his face and neck, he still felt hollow. His thoughts were there, under the surface, but he could reach only the most superficial of things, and didn't have the mental strength to dig deeper for anything else. He glanced in the mirror and just stared at his face for a moment; he didn't feel anything, looking at his reflection gazing tiredly back at him. He noted dimly how he looked, but it was perfunctory and clinical. Just as he'd expected: bloodshot eyes, rimmed in red; bright red blotches across his cheeks and the end of his nose, the rest of his face a wan, almost sickly pinkish-white color under the bright bathroom light.

Moving at what was a slow shuffle for him, Steve ventured out into the living area, through to the kitchen. He sat docilely at the kitchen island, resting his forearms on the edge and leaning his weight heavily on his arms. He reached automatically for the orange juice and poured himself a glass, drinking in small, quick sips, more because he knew he needed it than for any want of it.

When Steve came back to the kitchen, Rogue finally noticed just how the crying spell had changed his appearance. He looked awful, to put it bluntly. She wondered vaguely if that was how she looked after her little breakdowns, but she'd never really taken the time to catalog her appearance and commit it to memory. She did remember how she felt afterward, though - hollow and disconnected, completely apart from life around her.

Setting the plates of food on the table, she stopped to stand beside Steve's chair, a hand going to his back again to smooth a gentle circle over it. She didn't want to crowd him, but she wanted to offer what comfort she could. "The food will help, sugar," she told him softly, leaning in just a little closer. "I promise, you'll feel at least a little better after eating something."

Steve shifted slightly, his eyes not raising as Rogue came over and set his plate down, but he reached his arm out and wrapped it around her waist, pulling her in for a sideways hug. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and turned his head to press it to her body briefly, much like he had in the studio while he was crying.

He didn't cry now, just needed to feel her for a moment, know that she was solid and real and there with him.

Pulling away, he ran a tired hand over his mouth, before picking up his fork. "It looks good." His words were sincere, if somewhat subdued; he couldn't honestly say that it smelled good, although he was sure it did. It wasn't that he couldn't smell it, but his brain just wasn't processing properly - or maybe it was processing too well; if he tried, he could pick out every individual ingredient and spice that she'd used, for everything, as well as smelling the tang of the orange juice in front of him. Instead of letting the smells assault him, he'd shut them all out. He'd had to do that before, but usually it had involved subpar army fare, that if he allowed himself to smell it, he would have lost all appetite.

Now, he picked up his fork and methodically began cutting into his omelette, occasionally scooping up some potato as well, before mechanically moving to take a bite, chew, and swallow. He knew, in some part of his mind, that this was what Rogue went through, every day with food; he was merely eating because he knew he needed the fuel to function. Unlike Rogue however, he knew his stomach wouldn't rebel, and he could eat as much as he wanted and almost guarantee that his stomach wouldn't tell him he'd overfilled himself.

Steve knew he was going into a sort of emotional shock. He'd felt like this after Bucky had fallen, and again when he'd finally allowed himself to start processing where and when he was after waking up. It had been a milder case when he'd gone to visit Peggy face-to-face that first (and so far only) time; then he'd walked out of her room, gone back to his bike, and just driven for hours until he'd traversed the entire area between D.C. and New York. His survival reflexes were as sharp as ever, everything slowing down and becoming crystal clear, but his thoughts were fogged over, pushed down so he wouldn't have to think about anything.

He ate slower than normal, and without his usual vigor, but it was clear from the look on his face that he was processing and trying to get his thoughts in order. He wanted to explain things to Rogue, but wasn't sure he'd be able to actually talk about it; not right now, anyway. He'd told her snippets, during previous conversations, but that had been when the wound was scabbed over and slowly healing; now it had been torn open, and he wanted to prod at it as little as possible. But by the time his plate was clear, he'd drunk two glasses of orange juice, and he set his fork down, he thought he'd figured out how to both tell her what was wrong, and still keep a safe emotional distance from it.

That need to touch, to know that the other person was real... It was something Rogue could relate to on a very deep level. There was still an entirely irrational fear at the very back of her mind that this was all just a dream she was having, that she was still back in that lab and her mind had finally broken and given her a delusion in which to escape. But being able to touch Steve, to reassure herself that he was actually, physically there, went a long way toward convincing herself that this second chance wasn't a lie.

When he let her go, she took a seat at the island as well, pouring a small glass of juice and slowly tackling her own plate of food. It was good, she was a little pleased with herself for it, and she made a note to make it again when Steve would be able to more properly enjoy it. It wasn't hard to miss the way he wasn't digging in like usual.

The silence that stretched between them wasn't pressing, at least not to her, and she just waited for them both to finish their food before doing anything, and even then it was just reaching over to take his plate to put in the sink with her own. "Would you like some coffee, Steve?" she asked him in the same soft voice she'd been using for a while now.

Steve was peripherally aware of Rogue moving around after they finished eating, but her words seemed to pull him out of his own thoughts. He blinked languidly and turned to look, just regarding her for a second, before shaking his head. "No, thank you. I..." Taking a deep breath, his voice came out stronger when he asked, "Can we go lay down, for a while? I wanna... tell you a story."

Now that he had a clear plan of action, and was determined to see it through, the lethargy from earlier fell away. It wasn't that he still wasn't feeling anything, but now it had been pushed aside, to get on with business.

Rogue watched Steve as he watched her, and she gave him an affectionate smile at his question. "Of course we can, sugar," she answered. "I've got the whole day to spend with you, there's no rush for anything." She wanted him to know that he could take his time telling her what he wanted to, however long he needed for what she was sure wasn't going to be an easy story to share.

Grabbing the mostly empty carton of juice, she returned it to the fridge before turning back to hold her hand out to Steve. She'd set the timer on his pot to stop warming after so long, so the coffee would be just fine, and she could deal with the dishes later. She was all his now.

Standing up, Steve reached out and took her offered hand, pulling Rogue to him and placing a gentle kiss on her mouth. He left his forehead pressed against hers, pulling away just far enough to murmur, "Thank you." He meant it for so much more than just breakfast, or even just staying with him; he was thanking her for everything, for being in his life in the first place.

Leading her into the bedroom, Steve lay on the bed on his side, pulling Rogue down until she fit comfortably against him, and he could wrap his arms around her, feeling her pressed against him, solid and warm and real.

Rogue knew very well that this thing between them was likely anything but healthy, with the way they clung to each other like they were the last sane things in the world. But she didn't care. He was in her life and she wanted him to stay right there, because she needed him and he seemed to need her just as much.

Snuggling into his embrace, she relaxed into Steve's warmth, letting out a sigh just waiting for him. She really wasn't in any rush, and she was happy to spend hours there wrapped in his arms if that's what he needed.

Steve took a deep breath, letting out slowly, before inhaling again and beginning the story.

"Once upon a time." Every good fairy tale began with that, of course, and he wasn't going to buck hundreds of years of tradition. "Once upon a time, there lived a boy. He was frail and weak, and not what anyone would expect for a warrior. But, according to others, he had a hero's heart. He abhorred prejudice, and stood up for everyone to have the same freedoms and liberties. He hated bullies, and would fight them even when they were twice his size.

"There was a war raging between the kingdom the young man lived in, and the neighboring kingdom. The Red Skull was a wizard, horribly transfigured while performing his dark magics, who believed that man couldn't be trusted with his own freedom, and needed to be ruled with an iron fist. A colleague of his, a fellow wizard, had fled from the Red Skull and journeyed to the neighboring kingdom, intent to help them fight against the tyrant. He possessed the same magic as Red Skull, but knew it wasn't the magic that made someone evil, but what was already in his heart.

"So the wizard searched the land for someone already brave and true, and discovered the boy. Many scoffed at his choice, but the kind wizard was wise, and soon the boy proved himself without even realizing it.

"During his training before the wizard bestowed his magical gift, the young man met another unlikely warrior. A princess, with chocolate brown hair and piercing, intelligent eyes; a lady who was charming, and a crack shot with a weapon, and had no qualms about standing up for herself in the face of less intelligent men, who thought she had no place in their world of fighting. The princess even seemed fond of the young man, though he was never sure if it was true affection, or how one watches a bumbling puppy and can't help but think how adorable they are, even as they accidentally ruin something valuable."

Okay, he was getting a little off-track, here. "Once the young man was imbued with the wizard's magic, he was as strong as ten men, and exactly how anyone would picture a warrior. But now that his body matched his heart, he found the warrior princess seemed distant with him; she believed he'd become just like all the other warriors she had known.

"But over time, even though they saw each other little because of the battles they both were fighting, the hero showed her that he was still the same man inside, and steadily, they grew closer." He had to stop and take a deep, fortifying breath, because no matter how he masked it, the next chapter in this 'story' was the real crux of his problems.

"Finally, the day arrived when the warrior faced the Red Skull himself. Already he had lost his brother-in-arms during battle, and even if he lost his own life, so long as he defeated Red Skull and protected everyone he cared about, the hero was content with his destiny. His one regret was that he would never find out how things might have progressed with the warrior princess, after the war was over.

"What the young hero didn't realize, was that the kind wizard had been far more powerful than he'd realized. Despite what should have surely killed him, the hero fell into a deep sleep, for almost a hundred years. And when he awoke, he learned that many things had changed. He was adaptable, though; the changes in society and technology didn't really bother him. What tore at the hero's heart was that... every single person he'd cared about, that he had considered friend and brother and sister - they had all passed away, beyond his reach forever.

"Except-" his voice broke, and Steve closed his eyes against the tears forming. "Except for the warrior princess. She had survived it all, and become queen. She had married, and had a family, her children now older than the hero himself. But when the hero finally saw her again, to him she had changed just as quickly as he had with magic. Her spirit was the same, and though she still spoke the same, her body had aged and become frail. And with the advanced years, her mind was failing, too. She would forget things, sometimes even whole conversations that had just been spoken with her.

"To the hero, she was still the woman he loved, and during the good times, he would forget, for minutes at a time, that anything had changed. But then he would remember, and his heart broke all over again at the reminder of all that he had lost."

Once upon a time...

Rogue listened to every word of the story Steve had crafted from his own life, not once doing anything to interrupt him as her mind tumbled over the pieces of his life he was presenting, matching them with what she already knew from what he'd told her and what she'd read from history. It was heartbreaking, knowing that he had been dealing with all of this alone for the months since he'd woken up in this new, changed world.

When he got to the part about losing everyone he'd cared about, tears stung at her eyes and it became a little more difficult to breathe, but she was lost when he spoke of the woman he'd loved, lost, and was still losing everyday, a little bit at a time. And she knew without asking that this was the person he'd spoken with on the phone, and that had what had started the crying - he was still grieving the life he'd lost and everything he might have had with friends and loved ones.

Rogue clung to Steve while she tried to keep her own sobs inside, because this wasn't about her, damnit, and she should be strong enough to hold it together for him. But she wasn't, because her heart was breaking for him, and all she wanted to do was chase that pain away for him.

Steve breathed slowly and deeply, letting his thoughts settle and shy away once again from the pain. He would survive, he knew; he would go on, and he would thrive, and he would be happy. But there would always be days where he mourned the life he'd lost, and he'd wanted to explain that to Rogue, to prepare her.

He hadn't wanted her to cry, but when she did, he pulled her tighter against him, and it actually helped. He never wanted to see her in pain, but when she was, it gave him something else to focus on, and let his own sadness be pushed to the back of his mind.

Leaning forward, he pressed slow kisses against her hair. "I love you," he murmured. "And I never want you to doubt it. But I will always love Peggy... and I'm sure you understand that." He knew it had to be the same for her late husband, and he understood that. He was hoping that together, they could build something that wouldn't eclipse that love, but would dull the sharp edges that still cut into them, so that it became something they could reminisce about, with sadness, yes, but not so much longing for things that couldn't be changed.

Steve's murmurs washed over her, soaking through the tears and anguish like a soothing balm. She nodded slightly at his words, confirming that, yes, she understood all too well. Even wrapped up in Steve, she missed Remy fiercely and felt an aching longing to see that mischievous smile and have his hand hold hers. It was something that would always be there, she would always love him, but she knew she couldn't stay lost in the ghosts of her old life forever. Nor did she want to - she had the chance for something beautiful with Steve, and she wanted desperately to take it.

"I understand," she whispered through her sniffles, her voice cracking a little. "I love you, too. And I'm so sorry you have to go through this. I can't imagine..." But she could, in a way. It was different for her, there was no chance of anyone from her past remembering her here, but that didn't mean that they didn't exist in this world. She'd looked, after all.

This time, the breath he let out really was a sigh, not sad, but wistful. "Most days, it's okay. It hasn't been great, but I've gotten through it." He was resilient, as his mother had told him. He was a survivor. In more ways than one, now, and for better or worse. "It's been better, since meeting you," he confided. It felt like months instead of days since he'd first started talking with her at that community party. It hadn't even been a week, but he felt like he'd shared more of himself with Rogue than anyone barring Bucky in his whole life.

"She called today, and... it was okay, at first. She wished me happy birthday. And we talked. But then... she wished me happy birthday again, and-- I just-- I couldn't..." He couldn't handle it, especially not almost right on top of the nightmare he'd had that night about Rogue, and remembering Bucky.

"I've only been to see her once," he whispered, "and I didn't handle it very well then, either. Not afterward, anyway. But I know... time is running out, and what if I never get to see her again?" That was what he felt guilty about, because it felt like running away from the truth. Steve never ran, and he believed in facing the truth, and the consequences of your actions. Yet here he was, unable to face the one tangible link to his past, and the proof that he really was alive, so many years in the future. Facing his own mortality had been easy; facing the reality of his friends' mortality was almost unbearable.

Rogue held on to Steve a little more tightly when he mentioned things had been better since they'd met. She felt the same way - everything was easier since he'd come into her life. Getting up in the morning wasn't like facing a lifetime alone, the nightmares weren't as difficult to move past, and she felt like she had a purpose, even if it was just working to make his life better as he deserved.

"Would it help," she started quietly, uncertain that it was the right thing to offer and hoping that he took it as she meant it, "if I went with you sometime?" Because she didn't want him to lose this opportunity and regret it for the rest of his life. She knew it was hard for him, how could it not be, but it sounded like he needed the closure of seeing her, even if it wasn't really closure at all.

Breathing slowly for a moment, Steve considered her suggestion seriously. He knew Peggy would enjoy meeting Rogue; it might make her ache that he was moving on, but like her, they both knew that they'd missed their own opportunity to be together. He was happy that she'd married Daniel, and had a good life, even while he was sad he couldn't have been there for it, and he thought she would feel the same, seeing Rogue.

"I think it would," he finally responded softly, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Thank you. I don't know when. I'm not putting it off, exactly, but... I want to get settled a little more, first. But sometime, yes."

Part of Rogue wished that she could have found a version of Remy in this world, that she could've seen him alive and happy with a family like he'd deserved. But it wasn't meant to be. With Remy, at least, she would never have the consolation of knowing that he was happy and safe, and that hurt something fierce.

"Anytime, sugar," she assured him, reaching up to lay her hand along his jaw. "Whenever you're ready, I'll go with you. I promise." She was in his corner, supporting him always.

Reaching up, Steve covered Rogue's hand with his own, before turning his head and pressing a lingering kiss against her palm. "You're incredible," he murmured. He didn't care what she thought, he knew she was perfect, and this was right.

Hoping to lighten the mood, and change the subject before it grew too heavy again, Steve smiled and asked, "Wanna go be incredible some more, and help me hook up that DVD player? I think today would be perfect lazing around on the couch watching movies."

Rogue could feel her cheeks warming and she ducked her head a little in a silly attempt to hide the blush forming. It was difficult for her to accept praise like that, but it did mean the world to her that it was coming from him.

"I think it would be, too," she agreed with a smile of her own. "And there's no one I'd rather spend a lazy day with."

Leaning over, Steve pressed a soft kiss against Rogue's lips. "Come on," he murmured, reaching for her hand and threading their fingers together. "You get to teach this old man how all this new-fangled technology works."

He couldn't quite wipe the smile off his face; he understood most every day modern technology - he had no problem working his phone, even figuring out new things on it - and once he was shown something, he picked it up right away. But it was inescapable that he hadn't grown up with this stuff, or even been around as it was being invented and progressing, so he had to jump in with both feet when everyone else, no matter their age, had had the chance to learn it as it advanced.

Grabbing his phone, Steve stood and pulled Rogue along, stealing another kiss as he did.

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The Sweet Gestures Meme

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