La Vie En Rose

"Des yeux qui font baisser les miens

Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche
Voila le portrait sans retouche

De l'homme auquel,

j'appartiens..."

Steve looked up as the record began to play. The soft sound of Edith Piaf's voice fluttered through the air of his apartment, painting it in a warm yet melancholy mood. This song brought back a lot of memories for him.

In front of him, Elizabeth stood facing the record player. Her hair bounced as she swayed to the music, her hands clasped behind her back. Steve still wasn't use to seeing her hair so short. Until a few months ago she had worn it down her back in a loosely tied blue ribbon. Now it was chopped into a short bob that gradually grew longer closer to her bangs. It was just one of many changes they'd faced in recent memory. Not that he minded. He thought the new look suited her better somehow. If anything, it made her look more mature.

Elizabeth began humming along with the song's chorus and Steve smiled. "I didn't think you'd know this song." He said absently. One of the things he liked about Elizabeth was that he didn't feel like he had to talk needlessly when he was with her. They more often times enjoyed each others company over a record or book rather than a conversation. "It's a little before your time, isn't it?"

The young woman turned and smiled at him playfully as she folded her arms. "Says the fossil." They shared a laugh, the two sounds harmonizing into one beautiful song. Elizabeth looked down at her pinky and twirled the thimble on the end of it out of habit. "I suppose you could say I know it from another life."

"Ah." Steve nodded, content to leave it at that. He knew there was still a lot Elizabeth hadn't told him about her time before falling into SHIELD's hold. All he knew was what she'd told him about Columbia and about her father but she had always been vague even on those details. He was resigned to patiently waiting for her to volunteer the information. He wouldn't push her. After all, he also knew what it was like to have to abandon a former life in another time.

Elizabeth began to sing again, this time delivering each word in flawless french. Her brilliant blue eyes were shut away from the world as she swayed and sang.

When they opened again, they were locked on Steve. The couple stayed like that for a few moments, locked in the magic of the music. It was only broken when Elizabeth smiled faintly and reached out her hand, her palm laying upwards as if offering him help up from his chair.

"Dance with me, Captain Rogers."

It was as much a request as it was an order and Steve wasn't one to ignore orders. However, he still hadn't danced since going under the ice. He was pretty sure he'd end up stepping on those delicate feet of hers.

"That's okay." He shook his head sheepishly. "I uh... I can't. I mean, I'm just no good at dancing."

"Nonsense!" The brunette beauty insisted. "Everyone can dance. It just takes some practice to polish out the rough patches." She caught his eyes again and smiled confidently, giving a short wave of her outstretched hand as if to say "just take it already!".

Steve hesitated then gave a short sigh and a shrug before taking her hand in his. With a laugh, the woman pulled him onto his feet and into the center of the livingroom. "Slow dancing isn't that hard." She assured him. "You take my hand like this..." Their hands met at their sides and Elizabeth positioned them properly. "And then you put your hand here..." She took his other hand and placed it at her waist. The light blush that reached Steve's cheeks was not lost on her. "And then I place my hand on your shoulder like this."

The two of them fit together perfectly even though they had no reason to. Elizabeth was much shorter than Steve and much smaller too but standing here like this, hand in hand, face to face, it seemed as though there were no two human beings made more perfect for each other than them.

They were a respectable distance apart but that didn't keep the atmosphere from feeling any less intimate. The two of them were drawn to that feeling, held by it for a moment before Elizabeth began moving her feet.

"Just concentrate on where I'm moving." She instructed. "Take small steps where I do. There you go, you're getting it!"

Steve was surprised by how easily they moved together. He'd always been afraid of dancing with a woman, first because he didn't want to get stepped on and now because he was afraid to do the stepping but the way they moved felt like a constant flow of back and forth, as natural as waves rising and falling in the ocean.

"See? It's not so hard, is it?"

"No. No it isn't..."

As the orchestral solo picked up in the song, Elizabeth led him into a twirl and giggled when he nearly let her drop to the floor.

"S-Sorry." Steve muttered, flustered.

"It's alright." Elizabeth assured him, still smiling with a laugh left in her voice. "It was good for your first time without instruction. To be honest, I'd never tried it before either."

"But you have danced like this before?"

"Yes. Once. A long time ago with my father."

They were silent again for a long time, neither sure of what to say. Steve noticed they had become closer since her attempt at a twirl. Just a little closer and they'd be dancing cheek to cheek. Her dress constantly brushed against his legs as they swayed, calling the soldier's attention back to their proximity again and again.

Elizabeth's face had grown darker, her eyes dimmed in a narrow stare, her head tilted down. The mention of her father usually did that to her, Steve had noticed. He watched the way her eyes flickered in the light of the open window before gently raising a hand to lift her chin. "Hey," He smiled softly at her. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." She replied, the light returning to her eyes. "I was just remembering... well... it doesn't matter right now." Pushing the memory of the song aside, Elizabeth smiled and leaned up on her toes. She was just barely able to kiss his cheek even stretched to her full height. As her lips left his skin, she lingered there and spoke softly against his cheek. "Thank you, Steve. For everything."

Steve blushed a dark red, taken off guard by the sudden show of affection. He still nodded none the less, muttering a "You're welcome." quietly as she shrunk down to her regular size. Elizabeth just smiled up at him, eyes shimmering with what Steve hoped was happiness.

As the record spun to the chorus once more, Elizabeth sang the words in translated English that still held the melody well.

"Hold me close and hold me fast

The magic spell you cast

This is life in rosey hues,

When you kiss me heaven sighs

and though I close my eyes

I see life through rosey hues,"

Steve leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together as they swayed once more. They closed their eyes together and Elizabeth continued to sing.

"When you press me to your heart

I'm in a world apart

A world where roses bloom,

And when you speak... Angels sing from above.

Everyday words seem... to turn into songs of love..."

In the brief moment that the lyrics broke, giving way to the instrumental, Elizabeth opened her eyes and looked at Steve who gazed back wistfully. They drew closer as she uttered the last refrain softly in the short space between them.

"Give your heart and soul to me

And life will always be

la vie en rose..."