Steve had already opened his mouth to apologize profusely, before her first words registered. That's really sweet to hear. Wait - what?

Steve nodded along, but then started shaking his head. "Oh--oh, no! That's, I wouldn't think that! That's just--well, not dumb, but... I mean, people say the same things about...pretty much every foreign accent they hear, too." It had been one more card stacked against him when he'd been young, when his primary source for learning had been his mother, and his accent hadn't morphed from Irish lilt to New York slur.

A gust of wind blew up, making Steve shiver slightly. Time to head inside, then. He still had plenty of time to scare Marie off, but at least this way when she tried to get away from him, she would be warm.

Tentatively offering his elbow, he asked, "You wanna head inside?"