Life | Steve Rogers.

seventeen.

That morning Hazel woke up happier than ever. She turned her head to the side and Steve smiled sweetly at her, hiding part of his face in the soft pillow.

"Morning, sunshine," she whispered, turning to her side as she moved her hands in front of her to meet his big ones.

"That's the biggest smile you've ever made," he said in a hoarse voice, twirling their fingers together.

"It is. I realized I love you." she didn't even falter after that statement. It wasn't something that scared her, not anymore. After what happened the night before between them, and after everything she had already showed to him to let him know the amount of affection she felt towards him, saying she loved him had become trivial. But still, she needed to let it out.

"I love you too, Haz," he whispered, inching closer to her as he kissed her nose. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and Hazel snuggled towards her chest, taking in his morning scent as she closed her eyes, breathing heavily.

"You make me really happy, Steve. And I want to thank you for this." he traced small circles on her back as she talked and she felt shivers running down her spine.

"You don't have to thank me. And you make me really happy, too."

Hazel suddenly stood up, bringing Steve up with her as she looked at him, her eyes slightly glistening.

"What about a trip? I mean, nothing too far from here, we might prepare something to eat and go look for a lake to take a swim or something. We might ask Bruce too, if he wants to," she said.

Steve laughed, running a hand through his face as he thought about her proposal. "Yeah, I guess one day off won't hurt us too much. I doubt about Bruce, but I'm sure you can convince him."

Hazel jumped off the bed and hurried towards the wardrobe, searching for something to wear as Steve headed to his room. She quickly got a shower and wore her clothes before rushing outside, walking down in the lab where she knew Bruce would have been since the sunrise.

"Bruce!" she exclaimed, walking in the laboratory. Bruce jumped slightly at the sudden sound and made his pen fall, turning towards Hazel with an accusatory look. She chuckled and reached him, grabbing the pen to hand it to him.

"You scared the shit out of me! What are you doing up so early?" he asked, rolling his eyes before returning to his studies.

"I could ask you the same question," Hazel sassed, crossing her arms as she sat on the hospital bed.

"You know I wake up quite early. This idiot doesn't let me sleep too much." he complained, pointing a finger on his temple.

"Well, this idiot needs some rest, and I'm planning on giving it to you. Steve and I were thinking about a harmless picnic and a swim, if we find a lake. You're in, aren't you?" she asked, dangling her feet above the pavement as she waited for an answer.

Bruce sighed. "Yeah, I'm in."

"Oh my god, I thought it would have been way harder. You're cool, Banner," she said, faking a gasp as she stood up and patted Bruce on the back.

"Only because I'm not finding anything interesting so far. I'm probably missing something, but I might need some time off," he said, taking off his lab coat and leaving it on the table. He left the computers on standby and followed Hazel out of the lab.

"Hey, you have the patient in front of you, what best way to study me?" she said sarcastically, raising her arms and turning towards Bruce for a moment before returning to her steps.