This picks up where the last story left off. You don't need to read them in any order it just helps with context to read them in order. These are just a series of one shots where Steve and my OC, Elizabeth do firsts together. I hope you enjoy, this one is from Steve's point of view.
Please go easy on me. I've never written a Steve point of view before. Takes place pre Winter Soldier
The world has changed, and none of us can go back . All we can do is our best, and sometimes, the best we can do, is to start over.
- Peggy Carter
The fair was buzzing with the hustle and bustle of the crowd around them, with the loud music from the booths on one side and the chatter from the crowd around them on the other side. Tonight was one of the few times that Steve didn't have to be a soldier, there was no S.H.I.E.L.D, not Avengers, he was just Steve for the night. Somehow Elizabeth didn't even know who Captain America was, she missed the chaos and destruction that Loki's wrath had on New York, and somehow managed to live in the same town as the Captain America exhibit and never visit it. She happened to have been backpacking across Europe through it all.
She had no expectations of Steve, there was no assumptions about his life before now. Maybe that was why he had not told her the full story of the kid from Brooklyn, but he knew it was just a matter of time before she was going to hear the story. There was a whole exhibit on him at the Smithsonian after all, and the internet... well it was full of all kinds of information. Yes, she would find out eventually; but for now he was just going to enjoy the ignorance, just being able to be Steve and not Captain America for once.
After their adventure in Starbucks Steve was determined to find something that he could show Elizabeth, a first that he could help her to achieve. It turned out that she had never been to the fair before, and while Steve was no carnie by any means he had been to his share of fairs. Lord knows that Bucky had drug him out of the house and set him on his way with whatever girl he could sweet talk into a double date to the fair often enough. The memories of Bucky and the laughter that still rang in his head made the moment rather bitter sweet for Steve.
Considering that the last time he was at the fair was over seventy years ago with people who had long since died or forgotten him in their lives. He had finally found something new he could show Elizabeth though, something that was new for her; not to mention the first time that he had a date at the fair that actually paid any attention to him. What better reason was there to smile that having a beautiful dame like Elizabeth next to you, and sharing another first?
Just looking over at Elizabeth and seeing the look of awe on her face as she looked around at the sights and sounds around her, or the way she was chewing away on the oversized bag of cotton candy she insisted on buying herself; all of it was just so refreshingly normal to him. The way that the bright flashing lights reflected off her messy wind tousled bun, or the way the dim lighting reflected in her eyes, it all made her look beautiful. Steve wanted more than anything to tell her how beautiful she looked, but for the life of him he couldn't find the words to explain it to her.
He had never been good with talking to women. Maybe it was because of his nerves, or the fact that most of them would pay no attention to him because of his size before; all he knew was that he didn't want to upset Elizabeth by saying the wrong thing to her. So instead of telling her how beautiful she was he opted for just taking her hand in his as they walked along the boardwalk.
"I feel so small with all these giant rides." Elizabeth commented as she swung their hands clearly being affected by all the sugar that she just consumed. "Then again when you are five foot five everything seems big now doesn't it?" She added as more of a statement than a question. It wasn't that long ago that Steve would have been just as tall as her, if not shorter. Back before he became a science experiment. Honestly, being short was an inconvenience, especially when you are trying to enlist; it wasn't the end of the world though, there was a lot worse that you could have.
"Being short is not that bad, aside from being shoved into strange areas. Not that you are short of course. For a dame your age you're about average height, not that you are a average person. There is nothing average about you. That came out bad..." Steve rambled as he struggled to dig himself out of the metaphorical hole that he had made for himself. He just hoped that he had not offended the poor girl after subjecting her to his rambling. Steve quickly darted his eyes around them and looked for a distraction to take the attention off what he just said. "How is the cotton candy?" He asked, saying the first thing that popped into his mind, hoping that it was enough to distract Elizabeth.
Steve watched Elizabeth nervously as she laughed a little at him and shook her head. Well at least she was not offended right? To his relief Elizabeth wasn't offended at all. "You're adorable when you get nervous. Don't worry, I'm just impressed that you knew when to stop yourself." Elizabeth answer him as she gave his hand a squeeze. He felt his cheeks heat up as a light flush spread across his face. "The cotton candy was wonderful, completely worth the type two diabetes." She joked, looking full of energy which surprisingly seemed to last all night.
Elizabeth took him on almost every ride in the place and still seemed to have a bottle full of energy. It was impressive, even to Steve who was starting to feel the effects of all the spinning and twirling. That was until they reached a large tent with a dimly dance floor that a small crowd had gathered in. Steve was hesitant to dance at first, after all he had little to no experience dancing through his entire life; but Elizabeth just looked up at him with her big green eyes with this puppy dog look that had been getting him all night. Now here the two of them stand off to the side on the dance floor waiting for the music to start.
"Don't worry the real trick to dancing is finding a partner that can dance." Elizabeth explained as he placed one of his hands on her side and took his other hand in hers, squeezing it lightly. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach as he held onto her, unsure of what to do next; just waiting for the next direction from Elizabeth. "Relax it is dancing not jury duty." She added, causing him to loosen up a bit at the smile on Elizabeth's face as her free hand rested on his shoulder; or at least what she could reach of his shoulder.
Maybe it was the dim lighting, but there was almost a mischievous sparkle in her eyes as she looked up into his eyes. Steve smiled back at her, just looked into her eyes for a moment till the music started and his gaze turned to their feet. He followed her movements step for step. Finding out just how right her advice had been, if both of them had no clue how to dance then this dance would be a downright mess. Yet somehow he was dancing along with her, only stepping on her feet a couple of times after the first two dances, actually relaxing and enjoying himself.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this." Steve said, looking up from Elizabeth's feet and nudging her foot with his again. "Almost." He added, chuckling a little while his eyes moved to hers again as she laughed a little at him. Steve knew that he should be happy right now, but he could not help but think of Peggy and the promise he made her. That dance that they never got to have.
Peggy had lived her life though, she got married and had children, heck she founded S.H.I.E.L.D. This was his chance to live his life, make his own story, and he would have to be crazy to pass this opportunity up. Despite the pain of leaving the world he used to call home for this new confusing one, it was something he needed to do. There was no going back to the way things used to be now. Steve had been so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed the music stopped and Elizabeth was standing there in front of him looking slightly worried.
Elizabeth just sighed as she continued to watch him. "Are you alright?" She asked as her hand rubbed circles on his shoulder, or at least what she could reach of his shoulder.
"I'm good, really good actually." Steve answered as he smiled at Elizabeth and watched her for a moment before slowly moving his hand to tuck a fly away piece of hair behind her ear. Now it was her turn to turn a shade a pink as a flush spread across the bridge of her nose. He slowly dropped his hands as some strange loud song with a lot of base came blasting through the large speakers in front of the dance floor.
"See, it was fun wasn't it?" Elizabeth asked as let go of his shoulder and took his hand again, leading him out of the tent and back into the crowd. He didn't get a chance to answer her before she was pulling him towards the ferris wheel. "What do you say, one last ride before we go?" She asked, pulling on his hand lightly towards the ride. "I've always wanted to ride one of these things."
"How do you still have so much energy?" He asked as Elizabeth bounced a little in her spot next to Steve, her hand still holding his hand. She had been going all night, and somehow still had enough energy to be bouncing on the balls of her feet next to him. She reminded him of those gerbils and how they seemed to have unlimited supplies of energy for such a small animal. "Well we need to get in line first." He added, squeezing her hand a little as she grinned at him.
"Blame the sugar." She answered as he let her drag him over to the line for the ride. While Steve wasn't exactly thrilled to be trapped in a tiny box feet in the air, there were worse things that he could be doing, and Elizabeth looked so happy standing there. How could he say no to that? They just stood there for a moment before Elizabeth spoke up again. "So I never did get to ask you before, what's up with the book you keep writing in when we are out?"
Steve frowned as he thought back about what book she could be talking about, then it hit him, his list. "Oh, it's just this list I have been making of things that I need to catch up on. I've been out of the loop for a while." He explained, it wasn't really that big of a deal to him to carry around a list, now a day's people carry all kinds of things around with them. Just the other day he saw a man with his cat in the hood of his jacket; so a list wasn't that abnormal. To his surprise Elizabeth stopped moving and looked up at him. Did he do something wrong, what just happened?
He was about to ask what was wrong when Elizabeth spoke up. "No way, you have a list too. Please tell me that you know what a Facebook is." Steve couldn't help but sigh a sigh of relief as he smiled at Elizabeth for what felt like the hundredth time that night. He couldn't believe that she had a list too, maybe they had more in common then he thought.
Facebook, Tony had helped him... well more just set it up for him, and it wasn't to hard to get the hang of for Steve. Helping someone else with it though might be a little confusing for both of them, but it would give him a chance to be near Elizabeth again, which would be mighty convenient. "Facebook is something people use to stalk other people as far as I can see so far." Steve answered her as they moved forward in the line and managed the snag the last spots on the ride.
"I got an idea, why don't we help each other with the lists. Two hands are better than one after all right?" Elizabeth offered as she shifted so she was looking at him causing the small metal cart they were in to sway a little with the sudden movement. "Unless you have some dirty things on that list of yours, that's not until the third date." She added winking at Steve a little as he sat there, taken aback by her sudden forwardness. It wasn't that he didn't like it, honestly a woman that can take control was one of the most attractive qualities he found, she had just been on best behaviour all night if she was really this forward.
"Well I can't speak for you, but I assure you it is friendly for all audiences." Steve said as they reached the top of the ride and it stopped. It was rather unsettling to be dangling several feet above the ground with nothing but the steel bars of the rocking seats holding you up. Then again, even if it did break it wasn't like he would really get badly hurt from the fall. Elizabeth on the other hand, she was a different story. Yet the one who was currently rocking the seats was the one who was in the most danger. "Would you stop that." He asked as more of a statement as he placed a hand gently on her arm to grab her attention.
"Are you scared of heights?" She asked turning to face him, but none the less stopping her rocking in the seat. The ride was still stopped, and Steve was starting to get a bit worried that something was wrong with the ride looking down at the people below, forgetting about the question when he felt a hand on his face. "Don't worry, I can pad your fall." She joked, trying to ease what she thought where fears. It was a sweet gesture, unnecessary , but sweet none the less.
The joke took a more serious side as Steve just looked over into Elizabeth's eyes, getting lost in their depths as she reached over and weaved their fingers together. "I'm not scared for me, it's more you I'm worried about." Steve answered, being completely honest as the ride jerked and started moving again. They just sat there in silence as Steve enjoyed the view, his hand still tangled with Elizabeth's in her lap as the ride came to a stop again and it was time for them to get out.
"Alright, Let me see your list and you can see mine. " Elizabeth said as soon as her feet were back on the ground, already digging around in the small bag slung over her shoulder for what Steve would guess is her list. He wasn't sure where he had put his list to be honest, hopefully he didn't forget it at the house. He dug around in his pockets until he finally found the slightly warped note pad. "Here." She said quickly swapping his list with hers. There were a lot of similar things like Thai food or a few of the bands, but it had a little bit of everything on it from music to movies, and one stood out from the others. Captain America exhibit.
He put on his best poker face but the dread of her finding out who he really was rose in him as he quickly moved on with the list trying to find something, anything to distract himself from the feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. "I can help you with a lot of this. My mother used to sit us all down in front of the television and watch I Love Lucy reruns, and my dad was obsessed with Star Trek. So we could start there if you want." She said, bringing him back to reality as she help out his notebook for him.
He looked for something that he knew about on her list and spotted some familiar names. "Well you can cross out going to the fair; and I know a good place to go for sushi if you wanted to go some time. Since it is on your list and all." Steve said as he quickly handed her back her list not sure with how much he could help her with when he was learning for himself. "Oh, and I can show you how to make a Facebook." He added as they slowly made their way to the parking lot.
"Well sounds like we'll be seeing a lot more of each other." Elizabeth said as she turned and smiled at Steve as they stopped at her bright green car, and both of them just stood there for a moment. Steve went out on a limb and leaned down a little bit and kissed her like before outside her apartment. She moved both of her hands to his back and pulled him close into a hug. "Thank you, for everything." She said softly, breaking the kiss as a smile spread across her face.
"It was the least I could do after you showed me how to order a coffee." Steve answered as he moved his hands away from her and looked down into her eyes forgetting everything he had planned to say for a moment and just getting lost in her eyes. "Uh, so since we checked off something from your list this time." He said, going out on a limb, hoping that she would want to go out with him again despite his embarrassing rambles.
To his relief Elizabeth gave him a smile that lit up her whole face. "Of course, just call me and tell me when you want to get together." She answered before going up on the balls of her feet and kissing him on the cheek. "Night Steve."
"Night." Steve said, smiling a bright smile of his own as she walked over to her car. Now he had to figure out how long to wait before calling her. Should he wait till tomorrow? Definitely not tonight, that would look clingy. His thoughts were full of Elizabeth until his phone buzzed and he saw in big bold letters on the screen 'New Mission'. Figures, at least his date was over before they called this time.