Steve smiled and settled in there, going back to his sketching. This he could do for a long time, given the opportunity.

Hillary ended up drifting off, the end of her tail curling around one of his ankles as she snuggled in close to him. She felt safe enough that she didn't even shift back to her normal form.

Steve just stayed there, letting her rest. He didn't need to keep watch anymore, so he finished his sketch and then just settled in, napping a bit.

Hillary stirred a while later, still comfortably snuggled up to him. She'd somehow managed to get most of herself up onto the couch, and she was simultaneously tucked against his side and draped across his lap, just basking in his warmth.

Steve had moved to use some of her coils as a place to put his sketch book, and he was working from memory on a sketch of a team dinner, relaxed and quiet as he worked.

Hillary woke up a little more when she felt the slight pressure of the sketchbook.

"Mmmm... Sorry, am I crowding you?" she murmured to him. "I can change back."

"No, you're good," Steve said, glancing at her. "Long as you don't mind, anyway." He tapped the sketch book briefly.

"I don't mind if you don't," Hillary replied. She moved around a bit to resettle herself. "So what have you drawn so far? Anything I can look at?"

"Sure." Steve flipped back to the one of her he'd been working on, letting her look. "It's not quite done, but I can add to it later if I decide to. Sometimes I don't finish the sketches."

Hillary couldn't help but blush a little at the sketch.

"Is that what you really see?" she asked, handing it back to him.

Steve blinked. "Yes," he said, looking at her. "That's what I see." He brushed a finger along the sketch.

Hillary buried her face in his shoulder, trying to hide her blush.

"I didn't think anyone saw me that way," she mumbled. She definitely wasn't used to someone thinking she was as pretty as what Steve had drawn.

Steve smiled a little, curling his arm around her. "Well, I do," he said. "And I'm not going to stop seeing you that way."

Hillary blushed again, but snuggled close to him.

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to that," she said.

"You've got time," Steve said with a smile. "I'm not going anywhere." His arm tightened a little around her.

"You'd better not," Hillary teased. "I won't be able to find anyone else like you."

Steve smiled a little at that and shook his head. "I'm nothing so special," he said with a little shrug. "I'm just a guy from Brooklyn."

"You keep thinking that," Hillary said, grinning a bit. She pushed a bit of amusement at him through their bond.

Steve grinned at that, sending affection back at her. The bond was really kind of useful that way, he had to admit.

Hillary smiled at that. She definitely appreciated that part of their bond.

"Do the others know you brought me back here?" she asked after a little while.

"They all know," Steve agreed. "I told them what I planned to do beforehand, and Jarvis alerted them when we actually arrived. Like I told you before, no one has a problem with you being here. They're probably going to give you some time to settle in before they come say hi again."

"I just hope they give some warning before they do," Hillary murmured as she cuddled closer. While she trusted Steve with knowing what she looked like, she wasn't sure she trusted any of the others yet.

"They will, they all know better than to just barge in here," Steve said. Then he paused. "Well. Except maybe Bucky, but he's busy with his own girl, so we don't have to worry about him popping in unexpectedly."

"He brought Liz here?" Hillary asked. She considered that for a moment. "Makes sense, I guess. I can't imagine anyone being stupid enough to try to break into this place."

"Exactly." Steve nodded. "We all agreed here was the best choice. Anyone stupid enough to try won't get far."