*Kissy face* You guys are so awesome!
"That is really good," an older woman cooed, causing Salem to jump in surprise. The waitress smiled, her lightly wrinkled oval face open and friendly.
Sitting in a small retro looking diner in the middle of the night Salem was dressed in her gray pajama pants and a simple pale yellow t-shirt, a sketchbook in front of her and a half empty mug of hot chocolate at her elbow with a few pencils placed beside her.
Salem flushed as the old woman continued to stare at the picture with warm hazel eyes that Salem had been working on since she showed up.
Earlier that night when Salem first arrived there was a little girl across the black checkered tile floors nearly swallowed up by the plush red vinyl seat while barely reaching the table as she colored on napkins as the girl's mother flited from customer and kitchen running her fingers through the girl's hair lightly every so often she passed.
The toddler had unruly copper colored curls let loose to her shoulders, a delicately boned face with a bow shaped mouth, a small button nose wrinkled in concentration and bright sapphire blue eyes.
She was dressed in blue overalls with a white undershirt and her little feet had kicked to some unknown beat under the table.
The mother, who had to be at least Salem's age, returned to her place to the little girl before they waved goodbye and left, a small chorus of departing words from the other staff members had the woman smiling.
The mother had the same copper colored hair, but with cornflower blue streaks woven throughout, pulled back into a messy bun with small curls escaping to frame her heart shaped face and showcasing her triple pierced ears. Big light gray eyes sparkled even though exhaustion was etched into her pale face, and her pale bow shaped lips seemed to always have a smile.
Her uniform of a black skirt and a white button up with a black apron adorning her slender waist was spotted with stains from the day and her steps had gradually lost their bounce as time went on.
Something about the little family had resonated with something in Salem, either the obvious tired mother who still smiled brightly at her daughter or how they seemed to be in their own small world.
Sketching them seemed the right thing to do even though it was a hobby Sterling hadn't had time for since she started working with her old tyrannical boss, Dr. Keller.
She had almost forgotten how relaxing it could be.
"Thank you, ma'am," Salem said shyly causing the woman to grin at her and pat her arm before wandering back behind the counter to bicker with the cook.
She went back to her sketching, finishing up the picture while it was still fresh in her mind, and she lost herself in the smooth curving lines left by her pencil and the gentle scratch it made on the thick paper.
Pretty soon though she was jolted back to reality by the same woman from earlier setting a fresh cup of hot chocolate beside her and opposite of Salem.
Where Captain America was sitting browsing a menu looking sleep ruffled.
The small blonde blushed and closed her sketch book quickly and offered a nervous smile at the man when he glanced up at her.
"I, uh, didn't see you there," she said and he blinked at her.
"You looked engrossed in your work," he said simply raising a blond eyebrow and she couldn't help the smile that curled her lips at the playful decorating his lovely face.
"I didn't know that you sketched," he continued, his bright blue eyes twinkling as he wandered to her pencils placed next to her.
Salem felt a blush rise in her cheeks even though her mind went back to that little girl.
Steve and the toddler nearly had the exact same shade of blue for their eyes.
Clearing her throat awkwardly she shrugged and tried to shove up her glasses before remembering that she left them on her bedside table back at Stark's Tower.
"Just a little," she admitted and saw Rogers's face light up as his gaze flicked to her book where her pale fingers were griped.
"May I see?" he asked, tilting his head to her hands and Salem couldn't resist the hopeful look he gave her.
She nearly threw the worn book at him before sinking into the creaking leather of the seat, cradling her mug and watched as passing car's headlights briefly illuminated Steve's handsome face, throwing shadows from his sharp jaw and long eyelashes, as he browsed her drawings.
The first one was of Echo, sleeping curled up on her favorite pillow back in her old home in Georgia and Steve made a small cooing noise in the back of his throat that dispelled some of Salem's discomfort.
He flipped past more sketches of her pet, drawings of her hands in different poses, of her feet propped on a coffee stand, and of scenery differing from her home state to the skyline of New York.
He hummed in appreciation at each one as his eyes scanned the pages thoroughly.
He flipped the page and her face heated in mortification as her embarrassingly detailed drawing of her Soul Mate appeared and she shifted in her seat.
She let her eyes glue themselves to the salt and pepper shaker on the somewhat sticky red table until the force of his stare had her glancing up shyly.
His eyes were serious as he stared right into her amber eyes and she let her eyes drop again from the intensity of his gaze.
"It is a really good piece," he said honestly and her face heated more when he flipped the page and saw another picture of Barnes and a smile twitched the corners of his lips.
The small woman fiddled with the collar of her shirt nervously as they both stared at her picture.
She had the vision of him in his uniform stuck in her head since her adventure in the infirmary the other day.
He had looked like a force to be reckoned with, his dark browns furrowed over bright winter blue eyes that sparkled with a challenge as a small frown tilted his pouty lips into a dark scowl. His dark hair framed his face and his whole demeanor seemed primed for a fight.
"I see you like drawing him," Steve said softly, motioning to the picture with a jut of his chin.
The detail was elaborate, the sight of him seemed to be burned into her brain for hours afterwards, from the arch of his eyebrows and the tense posture of his broad shoulders. To the shadow of his jaw from his beard stubble and the wicked curl of his pink lips.
The detail of his left metal arm was something she spent at least two hours on and her fingers itched to trace the actual intricate metal plates.
He flipped through the creamy pages some more, past half-finished drawings of Natasha and Stark and of even Steve himself which he grunted at, a soft smile decorating his features.
When he got to the sketch she did earlier, his whole demeanor shifted.
His muscular body jerked as if sucker punched, his breath stuttered out, and his bright blue eyes were riveted on the picture and widened slightly in surprise.
Immediately her bashfulness evaporated and Salem straightened in her seat, concern marring her delicate features.
"You okay?" she asked and watched as his eyes seemed to soak in every detail of the two girls.
As if he couldn't help himself, one finger traced the curls of the little girl's hair before tracing the loving expression on the woman's face.
His long strong fingers trembled ever so slightly.
"Steve?" Salem asked hesitantly, light brown eyes flicking from his fierce expression to the drawing.
"Do you know them?" she continued softly and at once he snapped the book close and cleared his throat, a pink tint rising high on his cheek bones even as he carefully composed his expression.
"Sorry," he mumbled before snatching up his drink and taking a big gulp.
Sterling winced and eyed the steam curling from his mug. "Um, ouch?" she muttered, trying not to feel hurt that he wouldn't talk to her.
"So how did you know where I was at?" she asked instead, moving her sketch book next to her on the red seat. The Captain shrugged a broad shoulder stiffly.
Her eyebrow arched sharply as she regarded him suspiciously.
"You didn't put a tracking ship in my shoes did you?" the small woman asked and he finally smiled as he chuckled at her words.
"No, it was just a lucky guess," he replied before settling more comfortable in his seat, the bench groaned under his weight but he didn't pay it no mind.
"Can't sleep?" he asked while glancing at her pajamas and Salem felt another blush warm her cheeks before she nodded and looked over at him.
He was wearing black sweatpants and a white muscle shirt that was trying it's hardest not to burst at the seams. His blond hair was ruffled and sticking up on end.
"I'm guessing you couldn't either?" she replied and he smiled tightly in response, something hard flashing across his eyes before he let his gaze fall back to the laminated menu, "Bucky couldn't sleep either..." he said instead eyeing her slyly and she couldn't help swinging her brown eyes around the nearly deserted diner at his words, only spotting the cook, her waitress, and a few late night stragglers.
"He's not here," Steve muttered before taking a smaller sip of his drink, "he isn't sure of his welcome to you," he explained after a moment of silence and Salem gaped at the super soldier in surprise.
"Are you kidding? I've been dying to talk to him since his name appeared on me nearly eight years ago," she gasped out blushing as his eyebrows shot to his hairline at her outburst.
He muttered something to quiet for her to hear and immediately afterwards he blushed a bright scarlet when she tilted her head to the side curiously.
"Uh, nevermind," he muttered awkwardly, ducking behind his mug and Salem frowned but stared out the window she was beside, watching cars pass and every now and then seeing a person hurrying across the dark streets.
They sat in silence for a while longer and eventually the old woman came back and took Steve's order. He ate two large slices of apple pie and ordered one for Salem.
She noticed while regarding him over the rim of her mug that eyes were still hard and distant and shoulders still tense.
"I wanted to be an artist growing up," Salem blurted suddenly, blushing as he glanced up from eyeing the menu. She brushed away a few stray curls from her face.
"My mother paints and my father works as a carpenter. So they were pretty ecstatic that I wanted to follow in their footsteps," she continued shooting a small smile to Steve where he was paying rapt attention.
"I even minored in Fine Arts at college," she said with a grin, remembering how much fun that class was and how happy she had been while losing herself in her projects.
"So how come you didn't stick with it?" he asked curiously and she sighed as she leaned back against the creaking leather, slim fingers tugging at her messy fishtail braid, staring thoughtfully at her sketch book beside her.
"I thought my Soul Mate was dead," she whispered not meeting Steve's eyes as she frowned at her reflection in the dark window.
"I wanted to see how people coped with losing their Soul Mates, or how people acted if they didn't have one" she stated with a tense shrug.
The silence was thick between them and after her admission, Salem's face burned.
After a few more heartbeats, right when she was about to brush off her words, he spoke softly.
"Thank you," he murmured while staring at her with the gentlest expression she could've wept, his long fingers reached out to touch her hand lightly as if sensing her nostalgia.
She hesitated before grasping his large hand in her smaller one. After a moment his grip tightened and he gave her a dazzling smile and she squeezed back with her own smile.
They sat in comfortable silence after that and Salem felt a sense of pride when she noted how less rigid he sat in his chair. Suddenly though, gunfire rang out loudly and the silence was shattered like a fist through glass.
Let me know what you think! Bucky will show up next chapter! I promise!