A request on my blog multifandomhaven

Steve laughed and wiped his hands off on the scrap cloth he had laying beside him. "You've got a little paint by your nose."

"Oh," the woman on the ladder rubbed at the paint but only seemed to smudge it further.

Steve's eyes widened and he laughed again, this time his hand draped over his stomach for effect. "You're making it worse!"

The woman rolled her eyes, but her smile still broke through. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. You have it all over you, too, ya know. You look life a smurf!"

Steve raised his eyebrow. "A smurf?"

"Those little blue guys... ya know." She began to list off the names of the cartoons she'd loved as a child.

Steve shot her a confused face and shrugged his shoulders - naming them didn't make him know them, he'd told her.

She sighed and rolled her eyes, "Get out your list then, Stevie-boy, cause we have some catching up to do."

Steve shook his head lightly, his smile still in place. "I think I can remember Smurfs without writing it down, Doll."

"I doubt it," she teased. "With your old man brain and all."

Steve winced playfully. "That hurts."

"Tell me about it," she retorted.

She dipped her brush back in the small tub of paint and kept carving out the corner of the room. She worked in long, even strokes and made sure that every little crevice received it's share of color, she was a perfectionist like that

. Her tongue was poked out from between her lips as she concentrated, and Steve didn't think he'd ever seen anything so striking, over sized, splotchy shirt and all. Something about seeing her in his old t-shirt made his mouth dry and his heart race and stomach do flips.

"You gonna sit back and let me do all the work, then?" She asked as she climbed down the ladder to get a drink of water.

Steve blinked out of his trance and held up his hands in defense. "Can't blame me, I get to watch a pretty lady do something she's great at doing."

"Great at doing? Anyone can paint a room, Steve," she laughed. A gleam came into her eye and she tipped her head back slightly to get a better look at him. "If we raced I bet I would win."

"Oh you'd mop the floor with me." Steve felt his heart leap into his throat at the sweet laughter his words brought from her. "I'm glad you're here with me."

"Me too," she smiled, this time softly. Sincerely. "What can I say, you're my best guy."

Steve opened his arms wide for her, but she began shaking her head quickly.

Steve raised his brows at her, his lips pulled back into a grin. "What? I can't give my best girl a hug when I want to?"

"Oh no. No, no, Steve. C'mon, I've already got paint all over me -"

Steve dashed at her, chasing her around the room carefully, he didn't want to make her trip or get hurt. They ran around the room a few times before he had her backed into a corner.

She knew that she couldn't lean against it so she simply stood there, her eyes and smile wide. Steve dashed at her, taking her into his arms as quickly as he could, squeals escaping her as he squeezed his paint covered arms around her.

And, although she was complaining the whole time about more paint being smeared onto her, Steve felt her arms wrap around his back and return the gesture.

It gave him hope that someday they might have something more than friendship together, but for now he was content like this - happy in the arms of the woman he loved.