"Sounds like we're about even, then," Hillary said. "I don't like the cold, either, and I can definitely be crabby. And--" She stopped herself there, turning a bit red and looking away for a second.

"And?" Steve prompted gently, looking at her. He'd already told her he didn't mind mutants, and he was fairly sure she was one. She just had to confirm.

Hillary bit her lip a little and, after another moment of hesitation, slid her cardigan off her shoulders. The sleeveless black blouse underneath clearly showed the copper and black scales going from the edge of her collarbone all the way down to her upper arms. She looked at him, obviously waiting for a negative reaction.

Steve blinked at that. Well. Bucky had said scales.

"So that's your mutation?" he asked, looking at her. "Doesn't seem that bad, apart from having to be careful about what you wear out in public. I know there are plenty of people who would as soon kick you out just for that, which is wrong but unfortunately I can't change everyone's minds."

"That's not all of it," Hillary said cautiously. "Not by a long shot. That's just all I dare show you in public." She tugged her jacket back up to cover her shoulders. "There's... a lot more."

"Ah." Steve blinked as the lightbulb went off. "That's what was itching, right? A couple weeks ago?"

Hillary couldn't help but turn a little red at that.

"Shedding time, yeah," she muttered. "I always stay home for that, it usually takes like four days."

"Shedding, huh?" Steve hid his smile. "Sounds interesting. I remember it was itchy, although I imagine it was a lot worse for you."

"I take most of the week off of work for it," Hillary admitted. "I..." She sighed. "Okay. Background information. The scales you can see now are what I can't control. Everything else, I can hold back to look mostly normal in public. I'm what they like to call a demi. Kind of like a centaur or a mermaid, actually, just... snake instead. But it makes shedding really annoying, when it happens, because I can't shed like this, I have to change as far as I can."

Steve blinked at the flow of information and let it all absorb for a minute before he blinked again.

"So... you turn into a half-snake?" he asked. Odd, certainly, but not something that was going to scare him off.

Hillary hesitated in answering.

"Yeah," she said finally, hunching down in her seat a little. She looked at him worriedly. "I-I mean, if that's a problem, I can stay like this, I don't mind..."

Steve shook his head. "If it's okay, if you're comfortable, I'd like to see," he said, blushing a little. "I mean, if it's okay."

Hillary looked at him, a bit shocked.

"You... you don't think it's disgusting or unnatural?" she asked.

"No. How can it be unnatural? It's not like you did any genetic tinkering." Steve shook his head.

"But you think it's disgusting." Hillary had definitely noticed he didn't deny that one, and she slumped a bit.

Steve shook his head. "No, I don't. I don't have any issues with what you are. You're not disgusting, you're not unnatural. I promise, I don't find you disgusting."

"You're sure?" Hillary pressed, searching their bond for anything that could hint at a lie. She couldn't afford to be wrong about him.

"I'm sure." Steve smiled, not hiding anything from her. He was sure about that, absolutely sure. And he didn't mind her caution, either.

Hillary studied him for a few moments, and then cautiously nodded.

"Alright," she said. She sat back in her chair a bit, still a little anxious.

Steve smiled. "I'm not exactly one to be throwing stones," he said. "I mean, this all came out of a bottle." He made a vague motion at his body.

"I hear you signed up for that," Hillary said, a cautious little tease. "And, I mean, the results are kind of nice."

Steve grinned. "I did want to join the army," he quipped. "It just got me a little more than I expected."

"I doubt anyone expects to triple in size and even more than that in strength," Hillary said dryly, managing a bit of a grin.

Steve grinned. "No, no one expects it," he agreed. "There were a lot of things we didn't expect."

"I didn't expect to turn half snake when I turned fourteen," Hillary agreed with a cautious grin. She wasn't sure quite how far she would be able to joke about it with him.