Work Text:
Steve stares proudly at the painting in front of him. He takes a step back from the easel and soaks in the whole work now that he finally feels it was finished.
He cannot help the grin that pulls at his face. It had taken him so many hours to get this done. But he did it. He did it and it came out wonderfully. And he couldn’t have finished it at a better time too.
It was cheesy. He knew it was, he didn’t need anyone to point that out to him. He isn’t as inept as his friends seem to think he is at this dating thing. He likes to think he knows Sam well enough to gauge what he would like, what would be an acceptable gift. Not to brag, but, he really thinks he’s done well with this one.
Steve lets the painting sit for a few hours for it to dry. An hour before his date with Sam he wraps the painting in brown craft paper.
He is giddy all the way to Sam’s house. He makes fast time through the streets, weaving his bike through the cars. He counts down the streets until he reaches him.
Steve carefully pulls up into Sam’s driveway and pulls the painting out of his passenger bag. He takes a moment to straighten himself up in his motorcycle’s mirror before heading up to the front door.
The door is opened before he even reaches it, Sam coming out with a huge smile to greet him. They embrace warmly, holding each other close.
“I brought you something,” Steve says, unable to contain his excitement.
Sam pulls back and looks at the wrapped canvas in his hands, his eyes soft and full of adoration. “One of your works? You know I love them, Baby.”
Steve feels himself warm with pride. “Let’s get inside so you can open it then.”
Sam leads them inside, offering him a drink before they settle down in his living room. Sam tucks himself against Steve’s side and reaches out for the gift.
He watches excitedly as Sam open’s it, taking in every little expression that passes over Sam’s handsome face.
Sam looks at the painting a moment before it clicks and he starts to laugh. “You brought me flowers,” Sam says between breaths.
“Well, a fella’s gotta try now doesn’t he?” Steve says.
Steve was allergic to most things, but aside from hay fever, he wasn’t allergic to flowers. Sam, however, was allergic. Sam had mentioned a few months ago that he likes the idea of receiving flowers but can’t because of allergies. And that after people found out about his allergies no one tried to find a way around that. Not even a fake plant, or flower plush toy. So Sam just accepted that he wasn’t going to get flowers, and no one was going to get creative to get around that.
That didn’t sit right with Steve. He had dated people who considered his allergies a free pass. Due to his food allergies, none of his exes had taken him out to dinner and expressed that there was no point. Over the years he has heard his allergies, food in particular, be turned into various excuses: ‘there’s nothing you could eat anyway’, ‘you’ll just end up eating exactly what you eat at home, so why bother’, ‘There is nowhere that will be able to cater to your needs – no, I didn’t look’
He wanted to do this for Sam.
Sam; who loved all of him, even his allergies and ailments. Sam; who took him out to restaurants. Sam; who looked into things and rang ahead. Sam; who he was nearly sure was an angel.
He wanted to give Sam flowers. And it wasn’t hard to come up with how.
“This may be the sweetest, and dorkiest, thing someone has ever done for me,” Sam says, kissing him on the cheek. “Thank You, Sweetheart, I love it.”
“For you, Love? Anything.”