What Hasn't Changed
Steve was trying; he really was, to learn how the world worked now. It's not very easy, Steve thought bitterly, when everyone from before is gone and everyone now expects me to know it already. He learned to use a simple cell phone that only called and texted, which SHIELD supplied. They were trying to help him making the adjustment, but he really needed someone to help him. He couldn't ask Bruce, because he would be too science-y and explain how everything was, when Steve only needed to know what everything was. He couldn't ask Natasha because, frankly, he scared her and didn't seem to be much of the tutoring type. Pepper was too busy. Tony would just make jokes. Phil would want to talk about the old days, so Steve wouldn't make any progress. Thor knew less about modern Midguard than Steve did. Clint might be able to help me, Steve thought.
Maybe I'll just do something familiar tonight, he supposed, to relax. I'll go to a Yankees game. Once his mind was made up, he was quite excited. He hadn't been to a Yankees game in decades, and he had always loved baseball. The crisp air and the sense of camaraderie with fellow fans as they cheered on their team was one that couldn't be replicated by watching the game at home. There was a home game that night at Yankee stadium and Steve wanted more than anything to be there. He put on khakis and a blue and white plaid button down and headed for the door. The team stopped him, confused, because Steve rarely went out in the evenings.
"Where ya headed, Spangles?" Tony asked from above his glass of scotch.
"The Yankees game. Would any of you like to join me?" Steve offered politely.
"Sure, why don't we all go hang out in my top box?" Tony suggested.
"Thanks, Stark, but I'd rather watch out in the stadium with the rest of the fans." Steve declined politely.
"Oh alright. We'll still go. I can at least get us some good seats on the first base side." Tony conceded.
"Sounds great, let's go." Steve agreed, surprised at Tony's willingness to comply. The rest of the team agreed, some rather hesitantly. Bruce flat out refused.
"There is no way am I going to a public sporting event with thousands of people in a high stress environment." Bruce said flatly.
"Oh come on Bruce, you'll be fine." Pepper assured. He sighed, but followed them out to the limo.
When they were seated, Steve took out his information booklet and began studying the players' stats intently as the Yankees warmed up to play their biggest rivals, the Boston Red Sox. He quickly analyzed the teams, and from the Brooklyn born and raised man came the least biased prediction of the game he could have given.
"The Yankees are gonna crush'em. They won't score a single run." Steve declared confidently, causing some heckling from the Bostonians a few rows over. Steve bristled, but soon found that they would be the least of his irritations that night. The announcer came on the loudspeaker.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you would, please rise and remove your caps for the playing of the National Anthem." The voice boomed across the stadium. The team rose, with Steve snapping to attention before putting his hand over his heart. The music swelled and the team noticed his lips moving, he was mouthing the words as the song went on. In front of them, a young couple on a date was talking and snickering at Steve's military posture while tossing popcorn at each other as the National Anthem played. When the song ended, the crowd took their seats, but Steve continued standing until the colors left the field, along with a handful of other patriotic fans. He huffed in annoyance at the pair in front of him, and made it known.
"Show some damn respect!" Steve said forcefully to the insolent young pair.
"How come?" the man sneered, turning around to face Steve.
" 'Cause that was the Flag and Anthem of the country that's given you everything you've ever had." Steve replied angrily. They team tensed; they had been worried about Bruce getting angry, but had not prepared for this.
"You might wanna listen to him." Natasha warned. Now ignoring his date, the man leered at Natasha intensely. Clint noticed and his eyes narrowed.
"Yeah and what if I don't wanna stand at attention like Captain America here?" The man smirked, gesturing to Steve. They would have laughed at this man, who had no idea he was talking about the real Captain America, if it hadn't been such a stressful situation. "You can't make me do anything." The man declared.
"You're right, son, I can't make you do anything, because I'm not a bully. I don't like bullies." Steve replied.
"You couldn't even if you tried. You're weak." The man sneered. A flash of knuckles and the man hit the ground. His date, who had been watching the whole thing quite amusedly, shrieked. Security showed up and Steve went quietly as they led him to a detention cell.
"Why did you hit that man?" the security officer asked.
"He was being disrespectful during the national anthem and continued to be disrespectful when I suggested he learn some manners." Just then, a man in a gray suit walked in, talked for a moment to the head of security. The head of security opened the door to the holding cell.
"You're free to go, Rogers," he informed Steve. Steve walked into the hall and immediately recognized the man who had bailed him out.
"The man you hit isn't pressing charges. Natasha...uh…persuaded him not to. You aren't banned from Yankee Stadium; just don't pull any stunts like that again." Phil Coulson informed him before he could get a word out.
"Gee, thanks. But I don't think I'll be back for a while. I thought a baseball, of all things, would still be the same. The American game. Everywhere you look nowadays there's someone that's too cool to have pride in their country." Steve shook his head. He knew things were different, but he had hoped he could find just one thing that was the same. He walked out to the parking lot, where his team was waiting for him. He smiled, pleasantly surprised that his team had stayed for him.
"What are you guys doing here?" Steve asked.
"Waiting for you, duh. After you punched that guy we stepped out so Bruce wouldn't have a problem." Clint explained. They were gathered in and around the bed of Steve's truck. They didn't leave right away, instead they shared a few boxes of Cracker Jacks and each had a few beers. They sat and talked and laughed the night away. Because his serum made him immune to alcohol, Steve drove home. He turned on his music, which made Tony groan his disapproval, but he decided to sing along anyway. He smiled, not minding that there were peanuts and popcorn being thrown around his truck, because when he looked around at his team, he found the one thing that hadn't changed. He would always have people to talk and laugh and drink with, no matter what decade it was. It's not much, Steve thought, but I'm happy with what hasn't changed.