After they are seated at the small mom and pop diner Steve had found, a silence fell over the table. They each quietly perused their menus after ordering drinks. Hill found herself not feeling awkward about the silence. So many people feel the need to talk, can't stand a few minutes of silence. Hill appreciated that Steve might be able to understand the value of it. Hill looked up, and met Steve's eyes, which were trained on her. "What," Hill asked. "Nothing, um, its nothing." Steve responded, obviously flustered. "No, seriously, what is it?" "Well, I was just wondering if you knew what this song was." Steve asked. "Steve, you don't have to be embarrassed about asking me questions. You've missed a lot. It's understandable. And it's not annoying. Don't worry about it. And to answer your question, I do. This is Oh! Darling by The Beatles. They were popular all through the '60s." Steve smiled at her then, and Hill was surprised when she smiled back. "So uh, do you know what you're getting?" Steve just shook his head and turned back to his menu.

After ordering their food, the conversation turned back to music. Steve wanted to know more about music, and popular culture related to it. "I'm probably not the best resource. I don't really listen to today's music, but I can tell you a bit about the fifties, sixties, and seventies." Her answer seemed to surprise Steve, but he just nodded for her to continue. "Well the fifties truly were about Elvis. Elvis Presley, aka The King." Hill continued on about Elvis, The Beatles, and other musicians of note. "We could probably download some on your phone, just so you can get some samples." Just then their food arrived.

"What did you mean just the fifties, sixties, and seventies? Why not any more recent than that?" Steve asked. Hill finished chewing the French fry she had just bit into. "Well those are just the decades of music I like the best. There are of course great songs, bands, and artists from the eighties and nineties, and even in this century, but I just tend to like stuff from earlier." Steve nodded his understanding.

They ate silently for a few minutes. Hill was startled when Steve spoke suddenly. "So what are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, are you gonna keep tailing me, or do you just want to go on a road trip?"

The frankness of his question amazed Hill, but she took it in stride. "Well I was trying to decide. Because I should really inform Fury that I have been compromised, and he would send another agent."

"But you're not gonna do that."

Hill raised her eyebrow. "I'm not?"

"Nope. You've already decided what you're gonna do, you just haven't admitted it yet." Steve said as he took a sip of his soda.

Hill thought on this for a moment, then answered, "Well you know me so well, why don't you tell me what I'm gonna do?"

Steve smiled softly at her, "I wouldn't presume to tell you what to do, Maria."

Probably a wise choice. Hill was silent for a minute, trying to decide her next course of action. "Alright, road trip it is. Where are you headed anyway?"

"Where are we headed, you mean."

Hill just quirked her eyebrow and took another bite of fries.

"Well I'm not really sure. I thought I'd just ride, and see where I ended up."

Hill smiled. That sounded like a great idea.

Steve and Maria rode for about a week and a half, staying (in separate rooms) at tiny little motels all around New England. Hill found herself enjoying her time spent with Steve. Every once in a while, he'd want to stop to sketch something. Hill would occupy herself by reading in one of the books she'd picked up along the way. Sometimes they talked, and sometimes they were just quiet, leaving each other to their thoughts. They laughed a lot, which Hill found strange, but really nice.

One night, it was fairly late when they found a motel. Steve's bike had been making a strange rattling sound, so when they dismounted, he motioned for Maria to just go ahead and get her room. "I'm just gonna check my bike real fast, I think I might have lodged a rock." She hesitated, but went and checked in. "Here you go, dear, room 107." "Thanks."

Hill headed up and decided to hop in the shower. She didn't know how long Steve was going to be, but she stank, and they could talk in the morning.

Steve was a bit surprised when a lady came out from the main office and wordlessly handed him a room key. "What's this?" She just smiled and said, I'm closing up, you can square it in the morning. Steve nodded, surprised at the woman's trusting nature. He looked down at the room key. 107.