He relaxed when Steve's body was pressing more insistently against his own, and his arm tightened again. He flexed his fingers around the blond's smaller ones and nestled his face into Steve's hair as he sighed contentment.

"You don't have to apologize to me," he whispered. "Times aren't fabulous for this kind of... uh... bonding. It's hard to know how to proceed or know boundaries, isn't it?"