Holly Potter and the Midlife Crisis (Hp x Mcu) by Enigmaris

Chapter 10: Painting with Bob Ross

Right. Steve hadn't actually signed up for an art class yet. Maybe he'd hadn't thought this one all the way through. Before he could admit to his failing, Jarvis spoke.

"Mr. Rogers' class is held twice a week on Wednesdays and Fridays from 7pm to 9pm." Jarvis said. "It's located at The Art Studio NY in the Upper West Side, if you'd like Miss I can sign you up."

"That's...sure. Could you let them know that I'll work out payment details tonight then?" She asked. "Because Jarvis I can easily pay for an art class or two."

"Of course, Miss." Jarvis said in a tone that heavily implied that she wouldn't be paying for a cent of that class. Holly pursed her lips.

"What class is this anyway?"

"It's titled 'No Fear Oil Painting'."

"Is oil painting scary?"

"It can be." Steve said. "Trust me, between the two of us I'm sure we can handle it."

She actually giggled at that and then told him that she was glad that she'd have a strong wall of muscle to protect her from the evils of oil painting. He rolled his eyes at her joke. Jarvis confirmed that she'd been added to the class roster and told her not to worry about bringing supplies as the class would provide what she needed.

"So, we can meet outside the art studio say at 6:45?"

"That sounds great." Steve said.

"Good." She paused awkwardly and Steve was once again reminded that Holly was probably even more unpracticed in this than he was. "Well...I'm going to get back to work. Thor's room always takes a bit of time."

"Right. See you tonight." Could he sound anymore stilted? She gave him one big, curt nod and went to the other side of the floor where Thor's mess began. Steve turned back to his painting. Eventually Holly went to a different floor and the awkwardness finally left. What had he been thinking? She'd never shown any interest in painting!

"Sir?" Jarvis said.

"Yes Jarvis?"

"Thank you for inviting her, even if you didn't actually have a class in mind. I know that Miss will enjoy finding new hobbies to indulge in."

"You think?"

"I do."

"Thank goodness. It just slipped out because I was thinking about how she'd never even doodled before and..."

"You did the right thing sir. Just make sure not to embarrass yourself tonight."

Right. Steve nodded to himself. He could be cool. Probably. This wasn't a date and he didn't want it to be, but still...what were the protocols for something like this? Because he wanted Holly to enjoy making art. He wanted her to find joy and passion in things that had nothing to do with war and fighting and heroics. It's what she deserved after everything. So, what did Steve need to do to make that happen?

On the outside Steve spent his morning trying to paint, on the inside he was strategizing. There had to be a way to make tonight perfect for Holly. All of the planning made him think of Bucky. There had been a handful of times in their teen years that Steve had been well enough and they'd had the time and resources to do something fun. Bucky had always been obsessed with making sure that Steve had the best time possible.

And now here Steve was doing the same. It made him feel very warm. When lunch came around Steve went up to find Clint making a large vat of pasta for everyone, it was his day to make lunch according to the schedule Jarvis had set up. Holly was taking lunch with her normal coworkers. She'd told them that she considered the other workers her friends and that she liked spending time with them, they saw her as normal, she liked being normal. Steve couldn't blame her, even if he did wish she'd eat lunch with them more often.