The familiar honks of taxis and dull roar of pedestrians filled the hotel room as the two women silently got dressed. Ada rolled her stocking up and clipped them into place before pulling the dark tweed of her skirt down. She brushed her hands along it to remove any dust and dirt before standing up straight. The blonde was fully aware of Peggy's gaze on her as she reached over for her jacket.
"Are you going to say something? Or just stare?" Ada finally sighed.
"I want to apologize...for not telling you. About Abraham and Steve."
"If I was in your position, I wouldn't have told me either." Under her blouse went a pistol. In her shoe, a knife. "I'm a risk. You and I both know that."
"You're not a risk. And you're not a weapon. I let myself forget that you are just as human as I am. I should have restricted some of your missions when I saw you were tired."
Ada pulled on her jacket and buttoned up the front, smoothing her hand along the coarse fabric. She raised her head to look Peggy in the eyes and nodded sharply.
"Thank you. I'm afraid that I have forgotten that I am human myself."
A knock on the door interrupted them from further conversation. Ada brushed past her to answer the knock, opening the door to find a uniformed Steve standing before her. He nodded in greeting to Peggy with a soft "ma'am" and then looked to the woman before him.
"I was wondering if you'd like to get something to eat with me before we have to head in."
"Did the morning porridge not hold you over?" she asked, a teasing tone dancing at the edges of her words. His lips curved up and a spark of humor glinted in his blue eyes. They both were acutely aware of the serum's effect on metabolism.
"Alright," she accepted. "But you better not make me late."
They found a fish and chips vendor, one of the few items not being rationed right now, and shared it as they walked down the busy London street. Steve couldn't stop staring at the occasional shelled out building or the injured person calmly walking to work. Ada nudged an elbow into his ribs and he looked down at her.
"It's different from Brooklyn," he admitted.
"Brooklyn certainly hasn't been bombed to oblivion by the Nazis," she agreed. "Londoners are resilient. They get knocked down and they get back up. Much like someone I know."
He held out the sachet of food for her and she had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes. For a super soldier who complained of hunger earlier, he sure was eager to give her more of the food.
"Getting your ass handed to you builds character," he said, sarcasm dripping from his words. She stopped munching on the fry in her hand and studied him. The strong curve of his jaw and the hook of his nose and all the sharp angles that looked simultaneously soft and hard at the same time. He was a handsome man before the serum, but she wouldn't deny that it certainly amplified attention towards the blue in his eyes and the fullness of his lips.
"There was that time when some guys whistled at me on the street. I begged you not to fight, but of course you took a swing at them."
"They insulted you. I wasn't going to sit there an-"
"I didn't say that to hear excuses, Steve. You fought them because you believed my honor to be more important than your safety. While I don't agree with you on that, I understand where you're coming from. But I need you to understand something."
She pressed her hand against his forearm, her calloused fingers curling around the rough woollen fabric of his jacket as her pale eyes stared up into his own.
"In war, things are different. You are different. I need you to promise me that you will at least attempt to care for your own safety, even if it means losing the battle. We can still win the war."
"You know I won't do that. Can't do that," he said softly.
"I know. All I ask is that you try and come back...to me." The last two words were added with a hesitant pause in between, but he knew the depth of her statement. The fullness of her request. Steve nodded sharply, an unspoken vow hanging in the air between them.
I will if you will.
They were snapped out of their reverie by a man bumping into Ada, pushing her closer to Steve who, with the briefest of touches on her waist, steadied her. The blonde inhaled sharply as her hands planted against his broad, firm chest and she immediately pulled away, avoiding meeting his eyes. Steve swallowed against the rough dryness of his throat as the thought floated past his mind and dug into his heart painfully.
She's ashamed of me. Of this body. Of the serum being given to me.
"We should start heading back," she said quietly. He didn't argue.