Friendly Face

Chapter 4

You woke briefly to Steve's usual 6am alarm. You smiled warmly at his old army habits as the alarm shut off after it went off only once. He wasn't one to hit the snooze button. You shifted more comfortably to doze back off for a little while. You knew Steve would be exercising for the next hour or so, so you could gladly roll back over and get some more sleep. This was your vacation. You were sleeping in.

You did finally get up a couple hours later, after Steve had finished whatever army regulation exercises he was doing and had gotten a shower. You heard the shower running since it was between your bedrooms and your helpful brain decided that it should imagine what he looked like in said shower.

Stupid brain.

You shoved that thought from your mind and tried to cool the blush on your cheeks as grabbed a change of clothes and your toiletries. You were leaning on the wall outside the bathroom when he came out, in nothing but old jeans a towel in his hands. You smirked at him from your vantage point, admittedly enjoying the view. "Hope you left me some hot water, Rogers," you teased as you started to walk past him into the bathroom.

He laughed "I tried, but who knows how well the hot water heater works in this cabin in the woods-"

"Cottage in the forest!" you corrected him quickly. He raised an eyebrow at the correction. You sighed. "Cabins in the woods are in horror movies as places stupid people go to die. Cottages in the forest are settings for vacations and Disney movies," you told him a bit defensively.

He chuckled. "Fine, who knows how well the hot water heater works in this cottage in the forest," he corrected himself, with a wide smile at you. You huffed and his expression softened. "Hey, doll, it's safe out here. Fury wouldn't have sent us somewhere that was dangerous. Besides, if something does somehow attack us, you know I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Not that you're not perfectly capable of defending yourself," he added quickly.

You smiled warmly at him, grateful that he wasn't teasing you too badly about your insistence on the proper term for this place. "You still better have left me some hot water," you told him.

He laughed. "I'll make you breakfast to make it up to you, just in case," he promised.

"Deal," you laughed and headed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind you. Steve was a gentleman and wouldn't peek, but that didn't mean you were going to torture the poor guy. You showered quickly and dried your hair. You padded barefoot downstairs to find Steve at the stove cooking eggs and bacon. "Hey soldier," you greeted him before you entered the room so you wouldn't startle him. Things tended to break when he got startled. "You're in luck, there was enough hot water so I don't have to kill you today," you teased him.

He turned to look at you and laughed, his attention mostly on the eggs so he didn't burn them. "I still made you breakfast, just in case," he told you with a smile. "Glad the bribe isn't necessary, though," he added.

"Thanks for making sure I got to bed alright last night," you told him before you forgot. It was a kindness that he'd carried you to bed when he really hadn't had to.

He gave you a warm smile "Couldn't let my best girl sleep on the couch," he told you automatically, his cheeks a little red you noted. You blushed a little at that, sure Steve had misspoken. 'Best girl' was old slang for 'girlfriend' surely he hadn't meant that...

Surely.

"It was still nice of you," you told him and turned to dig in the cabinets to find the plates and silverware, getting out of this conversation before it got awkward. You were sure he had misspoken. Or you'd mistranslated his old forties' slang.

There was coffee already and you set the table while Steve finished cooking. He brought in the plates of breakfast as you were setting out glasses of orange juice too. It was comfortable working with him on simple domestic things. You'd formed a comfortable friendship over the last few weeks.

"So what'dya wanna do today?" you asked him over breakfast. "There's hiking trails, I think there were some fishing poles, books, an internet to scroll, I think there was even a gym in the basement," you told him all the things you'd found so far. "You also don't have to spend the time with me!" you clarified quickly. "I'm perfectly capable of entertaining myself and this is your vacation,"

He laughed at how flustered you were "I would like to teach you how to throw a proper punch," he teased. He saw your SHIELD assessment and knew that you had no physical fighting ability.

"I'm not sure that's why Fury sent us out here," you teased.

"I'm sure it's not," he agreed warmly. "But I don't like you not being able to defend yourself, especially since danger follows me around like a puppy, and you insist on spending time in my company," he teased.

"Of course I do, you're my friend. Fine, fine, I'll learn how to throw a proper punch, but we're not spending all of the trip working on teaching me to fight," you told him firmly. He chuckled.

"I can agree to that," he replied.

You finished your breakfast in companionable light conversation and you did the dishes. It was only fair since he'd made breakfast. You spent an hour down in the gym with him and he taught you the absolute basics of self defense, including how to throw a proper punch. It was ridiculous working with him, since there was no way you were going to be capable of moving his huge form, but you still let him teach you anyway.

After that, you spent most of the rest of the day sitting by the lake. You had a book to read and Steve was sketching the wildlife. Or you thought he was sketching the wildlife. You went in to the cottage to get you both fresh glasses of lemonade and caught a peek at his sketchbook as you grabbed his glass. You also caught the flush on his cheeks.

He had been sketching you.

It was a soft picture of your fond enjoyment of your book as you read.

The likeness was remarkable. You knew that Steve loved art and was good at drawing. You hadn't known how good. You also didn't know how he'd captured that look of happiness on your face. You'd been rereading one of your alltime favorite books and couldn't help your fond expression at being reunited with some of your favorite fictional friends. He'd recorded that expression perfectly.

The drawing also had a certain softness, a gentleness to it.

Almost as if...

Almost as if the person who drew it cared very deeply for the subject.

Or maybe even loved her