So, this was co-written with a friend of mine. Drop us a line if you like it and if not then tell us how we can make it better. We don't own the Avengers, which kind of sucks when I think about it. I got the idea for this when listening to the Toby Keith song 'Hope on the Rocks', and I have no doubt that I will be further influenced by country songs in the future. Hopefully, my friend will be able to keep this sounding like, I'm a drunk and/or I'm a full-out redneck (which I am, but the story doesn't need to sound like it). So anyways, here it is: Yesterday's Adventure.
"Where do they go?
They come here,
To drown in their sorrows,
And cry in their beer.
They're in need
Of a mindbender
I'm a bartender.
At the end of the day,
I'm all they've got
Hope on the rocks."
"You're going to fall. You're going to fall right through the ceiling, and crack your head open, and I'm going to have to take you to the damn hospital. And Jo they don't let you have alcohol in the hospital, so you'd go completely monkey-nuts crazy. So you should really get down from there to avoid another hospital-induced dry spell."
"I'm not gonna fall, Rosie."
"Yes you are! If you don't get down from there I'm coming up after you. And I'll push you down myself."
"Oh go fly a kite," came a voice from the rickety crawlspace above a polished black wooden bar. Rosie Bolton, a young woman of 23, stared up at the currently-shaking tiles that made up the celling of her bar. Her best friend, Jolene Waters, was attempting to locate the Fourth of July decorations that had been hidden away for years. She was so desperate to support the troops that she had volunteered to climb into the seldom-used, somewhat creepy space. The part that was freaking Rosie out was that neither of them had been up there since the bar had been built, which was longer ago than one may think.
"There's a bug up here!" Jolene called cheerfully. Rosie let her head fall onto the bar with a quiet thump. Sometimes, Jolene made Rosie want to beat her head on a wall. There was just no helping her.
She straightened up and grabbed a rag from the sink behind her so that she could start wiping down the bar. Rain was falling in a dreary haze outside, and the girls had agreed that they probably would see few other patrons tonight. She grinned at her reflection when it appeared. Light orange hair framed her face, the tight curls just barely brushing the bar in a length that would just brush the bottom of her shoulder blades. Watery, light blue eyes blinked back at her several shades darker than they normally looked. She was pretty tall for how old she looked. Pale, porcelain skin appeared almost grey on the black surface. She wasn't exceedingly thin, but she was far from fat, or even thick for that matter. Curves accentuated her tall frame, set off by the green dress she had on.
Rosie jumped and looked up when the door opened, allowing the sound of the rain inside. A man walked in and her eyes grew wide. Even if he wasn't quite her type, he was nice to look at. Short blonde hair fell over his forehead, and blue eyes stared rather distractedly ahead of him. Not to mention the muscles showing plainly under the wet t-shirt. "Well hey there," she said, recovering from the initial shock. "Welcome to the (Back Alley? Hope on the Rocks or something else?). What can I getcha?"
"Oh, uh..." he apparently hadn't noticed her when he first came in. "I don't know. The good stuff, I guess."
Rosie looked at him for a moment. After all her experience bartending, she knew exactly why he was in here. "You can't find what you're looking for here," she said knowingly.
He laughed dryly. "Am I that obvious?" he asked.
"No, no," she said. "It's a bartender thing. You see so many of every problem in the books that you can pick 'em out, easy. I'm Rosie, by the way. You in here to get drunk over your woes about her?"
"Steve Rogers. Well, Miss Rosie, what do you suggest I drink? I'd like to point out that I physically can't get drunk," the man said.
"What? Why can't you-" she was cut off by a loud crash as a large box fell through an open hole in the celling. American flags of several sizes and various red, white, and blue paraphernalia could be seen coming out of the top. It was followed by a string of American flag pennants such as one would see along a window and several Uncle Sam hats.
"Geronimo!" A young woman jumped down from the celling, landing in a crouch amongst the decorations. Needless to say, that was the last thing Steve expected. Dust clung to blonde hair, which fell in waves to the small of her back. She was definitely on the small side, probably around five feet tall and also very thin. Her skin was pale, from what he could see, and at the moment covered with smears of dust and grime. The most striking thing about her, Steve decided, was the color of her eyes. They were a deep, cerulean blue that he imagined would be associated with the deep ocean. It may have been the dust surrounding them that made them pop so much, but they were definitely not a common color.
The woman stood up with a bounce and grinned at Rosie. "I found them!" she proclaimed, waving an arm at the things scattered around her. When she noticed Steve, her eyes bugged out. "Oh! Hello," she said.
Steve smiled and lifted a hand in greeting. The girl walked around to the back of the bar, where Rosie handed her a damp towel and pointed her at the mirror over the sink. "Did Rosie here get you anything?" She asked while she whipped at her face. "It's on the house for the boys fightin' for us." She turned around with the dust mostly gone. As it turned out, she had a smattering of freckles across her face that made her look decidedly Irish.
"How did you know I was military?" Steve asked. The blonde pointed to his shirt, and he belatedly realized that he was wearing his Army tee.
"And besides," she added, leaning on her forearms on the bar. "Everyone knows who you are, Cap."
"Oh, yeah, that," Steve said. "Did I hear your name was Jo?" he asked.
"So what if it is?" she asked.
Steve looked taken aback at her sudden hostility. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean any offense, I just-"
The blonde, Jo, laughed. "My name's actually Jolene," she said.
"She just likes to mess with people," Rosie said, throwing Jolene an exasperated look. Steve nodded, deciding once again that he would never understand women.
"Rosie!" Jolene snapped. Rosie turned to her with a look that just screamed 'you did not just shout at me.' Jolene pointed at him. "Get the man a drink! He obviously needs one. I mean, what person comes to the bar, in the rain, at," she glanced at the clock on the wall above them, "Twelve-thirty, and doesn't want to get drunk off their rocker?" By this point she wasn't even looking at them spare a glance over her shoulder while she rinsed off some of the decorations.
Rosie smirked. "You ready for this one, Jo?" she asked with a wink at Steve. Jolene turned back to them and tilted her head in confusion.
"What?" she asked, pushing a blonde lock out of her face.
"I can't get drunk," Steve said. For the first time, he found some amusement in the situation. Jolene just stared at him, mouth open the slightest bit. After she blinked once, Rosie couldn't hold it in any longer and just burst out laughing. Steve tried to stifle his own laughter, to the same effect.
"Oh you poor man," Jolene said, finally recovering. "And you're in here for girl problems? You're doomed."
It was Steve's turn to stare at her. "Really?" he said, throwing his arms out in the universal 'what the hell?' gesture. "I thought you said I wasn't obvious!"
"You're not, I swear!" Rosie promised. "But what you're dealing with here is the original mind-gamer. She can tell you what your problem is, tell you how long you've had it, and fairly guess what your thinking at any given moment."
"That so?" Steve asked.
"You're having trouble figuring out how to ask a girl on a date," Jolene stated.
Rosie handed him a bottle of soda. "See?" she asked.
Steve just shook his head. "How did you know that?"
Jolene and Rosie shared a look. The former apparently decided to take pity on him. "Scary good memory," she said, tapping her temple. "I've seen a lot and remember what it all looks like. It's become a game between the two of us. Can I figure out the problem and can Rosie here fix it."
Steve nodded. "And you two are sisters?" he asked. Both girls laughed at that.
"Captain Rogers, do we look like sisters?" Jolene asked, placing one hand on her hip.
"We're just best friends," Rosie said. "We've known each other for a long time."
Steve nodded, understanding the idea. "I see. And you're the only staff here?"
"We own the place," Rosie stated proudly.
"Really?" Steve asked, his surprise obvious.
Jolene crossed her arms. "It's legal, if that's what you're implying," she said, glaring at him.
Steve gave her a calculating look, and decided that she was messing with him again. "That's not what I meant at all," he said. "It's just that you both seem rather young for owning a bar, and it's not really a woman's trade."
"A woman's trade?" Rosie smirked. "What exactly does that mean?"
"Nothing! I just mean that two pretty dames like you seem like you would be married or at least in a relationship, and certainly not owning a bar," Steve tried again.
"Please, you think I could convince anyone to marry her?" Rosie asked, pointing at Jolene.
"Hey!" Jolene glared at her. "I'm out of here!" She walked back over toward the decorations.
"So, who's this girl that's got you stumped?"
"Her name's Peggy," he told her. She smirked at the way his eyes took on a wistful, faraway look. "She's the most amazing girl. But I think I really screwed up."
"He kissed someone else, didn't he?" Jolene called from where she had begun stringing the pennants across the front window.
"Hush Jo!" Rosie called back. She looked at Steve, who looked just a bit mortified. Her jaw dropped. "You didn't."
"He did," Jolene said.
"I didn't!" Steve said defensively. "At least, not exactly."
"Oh really?"
"She kissed me and I guess I got...caught up in the moment," Steve said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.
"That's what they all say," Jolene said. Steve laid his head in his hand as Rosie threw a dirty rag over it, aiming for Jolene. "I bet'cha it was a hot blonde, too!"
"Oh will you just shut up!" Rosie shouted. She shook her head at Steve. "Alright, Spunky, so you want to ask out Miss Peggy, but she's seen you kissing another girl. What was her reaction to said episode?"
"Well, she broke up the kiss, because she actually saw it. I was actually supposed to go to a meeting, and she was trying to find me. And then she may or may not have attempted to shoot me four times in the chest. I mean, I was holding an indestructible shield, and she knew it. I think that she was just trying to test the shield. But she was pretty mad," Steve said with a wince.
Rosie only blinked at him. Jolene started to make a quip, but Rosie held up a hand before she could get a word out. "Alright. The good news is that she's jealous. The bad news is that she saw you kiss another girl. But I think you can makeup for it. Just ask if she'd like to go out dancing one night; there's no way a night out dancing can't turn romantic."
"I don't know how to dance," Steve said.
Rosie rolled her eyes. "I bet you five bucks she'll offer to teach you," she said.
"I don't know. It's just, every time I try to ask her out, I get tongue-tied," Steve said. "I'm not good at talking to women; even Peggy's said it."
"Was this before or after she witnessed you kissing another woman? Because if it was right after I'm gonna bet you said something stupid," Jolene said. She walked back over to them and sat down on the barstool next to Steve. "But she's already proved that she's way into you with the whole jealousy thing, so now it's your turn. Just walk up to her and say 'Peggy, I have no idea how to dance, but do you want to go dancing with me this Saturday?' And, ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom, you've got yourself a date with a pretty girl."
Steve looked at her skeptically. "Are you sure it'll-"
"Of course I'm sure!" Jolene said.
"You just have to be confident, Steve," Rosie agreed. "You can do it. Besides, if what you've said is anything to go by, there's no way she'll turn you down." She grinned at him. "In fact, bring her by here if you'd like. It doesn't look it right now, but this place gets hoppin' on Saturday nights."
Steve nodded again. "Alright. I think I will," he said, beginning to smile.
"Hell yeah you will!" Jolene said.
"Jo," Rosie sighed, shaking her head. "Language."
"Oh, sorry, Rosie," Jolene said. "Let me rephrase that. F-"
"Jo!" Rosie shrieked, knowing what the smaller girl was about to say. "That's enough out of you!"
Jolene just shrugged. Steve chuckled at the antics, then saw something that made him do a double take. The clock read almost quarter 'til two.
"Wow, it got late fast!" He said. "Sure don't feel like it's been that long."
Rosie threw a frantic look to Jolene, and the blonde gave her a stern look. Steve looked confused at the interaction.
"Well, time flies when you're having fun and all," Rosie said quickly.
"And time always passes faster in a bar anyway," Jolene commented.
"Well, I'd better get going," Steve said, standing up. "Thank you both so much for your help."
"Any time, hon," Rosie said. "So, will we see you on Saturday?" She added hopefully.
"Sure will," Steve said. Rosie grinned.
"Alright, bye Steve!" Rosie said.
"Good night Rosie, Jo," Steve finished, nodding at each of them and walking out the door. They watched his retreating form and began the chores for closing up shop.
"Mm-mm-mm," Jolene hummed. "That is a fine man."
"Jo! He's about to have a girlfriend," Rosie exclaimed, lightly punching her in the arm.
"Yeah, I know. I think it's cute."
"I don't think I've ever heard you say the word cute," Rosie gasped.
Jolene shook her head. "Yeah yeah yeah. I have a feeling, though, that we're not going to see him for a long time."
"What do you mean, Jo? He said he would come back Saturday with Peggy."
"I don't know, Rosie. But something big is gonna happen to us because of him," Jolene said. "I know it."