Elaine nodded after a moment and leaned against him.

Steve put his arms around her, holding her there gently.

"Don't worry about it, we'll work things out," he said quietly.

"I hope so," Elaine said softly. She rested her head on his shoulder. "I don't like it when people are upset."

Steve stroked her hair lightly before pulling her closer, practically into his lap, relaxing there with her for the moment.

Elaine sighed softly and cuddled into the embrace.

"So what do you think?" she asked him after a moment. "About the X-Men. Have you ever met them outside of the occasional 'we have a mutant problem, it's your territory' thing?"

"I haven't, no," Steve said, shaking his head. "I'd like to, though. I've heard good things about Xavier, and I know his team does good work."

"Maybe one of these days we can get you out there to actually meet them," Elaine said. "I bet Kae wouldn't mind taking you with her once or twice."

Steve smiled. "What about you? Any interest in meeting the X-Men?" He looked at her curiously, still playing with the ends of her hair.

"I wouldn't say no, if I was invited," Elaine said after a moment. She knew he was playing with her hair, and she really didn't mind. "It could be fun. And absolutely fascinating."

Steve grinned and shook his head, amused. But he didn't let go of her.

"Well, we'll see what happens."

Elaine snuggled against him, relaxing with a small sigh.

"Before I forget," she said, "it's Christmas with my family this year. Are you still interested in going with me?"

"Yes." Steve smiled. "Can you imagine the whole group plus your family at Christmas?" He had to grin at the thought.

"We would need to rent out a much bigger place than my grandparents' house for it," Elaine said, grinning a bit. "And I don't think my family would know what to do with themselves."

"But it would be hysterical," Steve pointed out. "Tony wouldn't know what to do, and we already know your family gets along well with Kae. It would be the loudest Christmas ever."

"It would be amazing," Elaine agreed, grinning. "And could you imagine Thor's reaction to Alexis?" Because the little girl's adoration hadn't faded at all since her fan letter had been given to Thor. She'd actually begun to adore him more since he'd written her a reply.

Steve snickered. "I'm pretty sure he'd end up carrying her around on his shoulders all day calling her 'little warrior'," he said with a grin. "And everyone else wouldn't dare try to make him put her down."

"Alexis would love it," Elaine said. She grinned. "I should call Kenny and make sure she has a costume that fits her, last years' is probably too small."

Steve grinned. "You realize you're making plans for us all to go, right?" he asked. He found it amusing, and he wouldn't deny hat he liked the idea.

"I did notice that," Elaine admitted. She looked at him, grinning. "And it's your fault."

Steve laughed. "That's okay, I'll take credit," he said with a grin. "At least you're giving them lots of warning, they've still got a few months to get everything in order so that the Avengers can crash their holidays."

"I'll warn everyone now, then," Elaine said, leaning against him. She grinned. "Half of my cousins are total Tony Stark fanboys. That should be fun."

Steve snorted. "The last thing he needs is any more ego inflation," he said, but he was grinning. "I get the feeling your family is going to get along swimmingly with the group."

"Just remember my family is normal," Elaine warned him. "And they used to be blissfully ignorant."

"Everyone used to be ignorant," Steve said with a shrug. "Until the Chitauri. Besides, I used to be normal, remember? The one you'll have to remind is Tony."

Elaine just rolled her eyes a bit.

"How did I let you convince me to do this?" she asked, leaning up to give him a kiss.