The sound of Matt's laughter filled him to the brim, something of an accomplishment with the previous overwhelmingly haunted look he took in from before. There were plenty of things to haunt them but he wanted to be able to pull Matt out of that, if only for a few moments here and there. He knew how difficult it could be to completely step away from certain things, especially when someone seemed willingly to shoulder the entire burden of everyone else around him so they didn't have to. Admirable, maybe, but also completely unrealistic. Matt's huge heart could be his greatest strength and weakness all at the same time.

Intimacy curled around them again and Steve's eyes fell shut for a moment as he just drank it all in. The soft touches, the gentle and reassuring words. It reminded him yet again of being safe and warm, the complete opposite of his last couple of years with training and the running around a warzone. "My life was only missing you to come into it," Steve whispered, eyes slowly opening again.

It felt like a moment - the one to finally indulge in the realizations lighting him up from the inside out. But even with his bravery on the field, Steve felt at a loss to carry it over into his personal life. Rather than take the plunge he chickened out and only pressed a kiss to Matt's cheek before he pulled away. Silently berating himself the entire time.

"Like you could even get rid of me by this point. Who else would you get mostly burnt food from?" Steve's cooking skills left little to be desired but he tried. It counted for something, right?