He knew from his own healing time that Steve's was better, so bruises were an acceptable burden of coming to find him. They would no doubt be gone within a day or two at most, though he resisted the urge to shift his hands in order to locate and touch the bloomed colour on his friend's flesh. Instead, he found himself simply appreciating their close proximity and the heat that Steve's body generated as they lay side-by-side on the bed just touching one another with no expectations of more or less than what they were giving.

"Yes," he admitted softly, his fingers trailing over Steve's cheek and then tracing the blond's lips and then chin. "On cold nights, I would sleep over at your apartment and keep you warm. The heating was pathetic and the pipes made noises which we would say meant the building was about to fall down on top of us." There was more, still not all of it in order, but it was there. "You called me your jerk."