Baseball

As Steve walked in with his groceries one afternoon, his phone went off. His hands were almost too full to get his phone out of his pocket and he fumbled it on the way to his ear.

"Hello?" The number of people calling him was usually limited so he was able to guess who it was.

"Thursday. You. Me. Yankees. I got tickets from this person at the school I was substituting with today, and I know they're not the Brooklyn Dodgers but like- they're the New York team and you know baseball an-" Eleanor's words were moving at a mile minute and he could feel the excitement coming off her and making their way through the phone.

"Okay, okay." Steve laughed and cut her off, knowing if he didn't she might burst. "I can't promise I'll wear any Yankees gear."

Ella scoffed over the phone, "I know like three things about baseball. So, I definitely won't be. And you're going to end up explaining the whole game. But it'll be fun, and you can wear a baseball hat and blend in even more. They've only got one game after this in their season or something."

"Do you want to meet at the Stadium?" Steve was already beginning to unpack his groceries and put them into the cabinets.

"We should meet somewhere else, crowded places sometimes make me anxious when I'm looking for someone. And I'll bet it'll be pretty jam-packed. The park maybe?"

"I can ride over and pick you up at your apartment? It'll save us the walk."

There was a moment of silence "Will you wear a helmet?"

He chuckled, "I'll see if I can find one."

"Deal. My Apartment. Maybe around 3:30? The gates open at 3:30, but the game starts at 4:30 and I don't think we need to get—these weird bobbleheads and be in the first 500 people."

"You're right, my father would roll over in his grave if I owned anything Yankees." He listened to her laughter on the other side of the phone for a moment. "What have you done today?"

"Aside from substituting a really exhausting 4th-grade class and acquiring these rad tickets, nothing. I'm walking home now. It's a beautiful day."

Out his wall-sized window, Steve couldn't help but agree. His living room window pointed south, and as one of the tallest buildings in New York, he could confirm that there were hardly any clouds in the sky. People were enjoying the summer weather while it lasted. Jarvis predicted that beginning on Monday they would have a turn of weather.

When Eleanor asked him the same question, he went through his average day—went for a run and trained for a bit in the gym, then read a book she recommended, followed by his trip to the grocery store.

"Wait, someone doesn't do the shopping for you?" She fake-gasped.

Steve rolled his eyes and held the phone to his head with his shoulder as he used both hands to move a few things around in one of his cabinets. "Tony does have people do most of the shopping for the group kitchen, but I honestly need an excuse to get out of this tower sometimes."

"That makes more sense." He could hear the honking of a car or two on the street. "Anyway, I'm arriving home now, so I'll text you tomorrow, and I'll see you on Thursday?"

"Sounds good to me." When Steve hung up, he looked down at his phone and smiled at the picture of Eleanor—he had updated it, and it was now a picture of her cheeks puffed up like a chipmunk from attempting a thing called the marshmallow challenge. He stared at it until the screen went back to normal and thought about how he wanted to hang out more often. While he had the occasional superhero job, his life seemed very boring compared to her constant movement and regular substituting jobs. She was also still regularly applying to full time teaching jobs, hoping to get hired before September hit.

Not paying attention to what he was doing, Steve went to place a box of cereal in the refrigerator. He stopped and stared at the box realizing that he needed to make sure he was also thinking about his groceries. He shook his head and pushed the thoughts away. He'd see her soon anyway.

The Yankees were winning, which wasn't much of a surprise. They'd had a relatively good year. Steve had definitely "googled" them before he left to meet Eleanor. She was completely correct in her estimate of how much she knew, and Steve found himself explaining to her the strategy to pitching and what each player's position did. The reason they put the hardest hitter fourth in the line-up. She seemed to take it all in stride, and often they got distracted talking about other things. She'd brought her camera, and spent almost as much time taking pictures of the crowd and the seats and the men and women that climbed the stairs with kettlecorn.

She explained the horrible failure of her attempt to try basketball in high school, resulting in a bloody nose and blackened eye, which lead to a dislike for sports that included flying objects. And Steve mentioned how despite loving baseball, he had always been too small and fragile to play on a little league team. But after his transformation, he was able to toss the ball with the Howling Commandos occasionally.

At the beginning of the fifth inning, Eleanor's stomach rumbled, and Steve insisted they try the overpriced hot dogs. It wasn't a baseball game without a hotdog he claimed. As they walked toward the food, Eleanor paused to take a picture, and when she looked down at the shot, Steve heard Eleanor curse under her breath. He glanced down at her only to follow her line of site. A couple was approaching them and the woman was waving enthusiastically. The Captain and his friend came to a stop at their approach, already sensing the conversation that was about to begin.

"Hi Stacy, how are you?" Eleanor asked. She almost seemed overly polite and he could feel her tensing up a little bit. She glanced up at him with a smile before focusing her attention on the woman. Steve just shrugged when they made eye contact and adjusted his fake glasses. He had been lucky for the most part to remain unnoticed, but he was still uncomfortable around people he didn't know. He didn't want to be a celebrity with paparazzi bothering everyone in his life.

Turning his attention to the couple walking toward them, he could tell that the woman was a little bit drunk. Eleanor knew because she was almost never this talkative when they were at school. "I'm fantastic. This is my husband, Marley, he's a radio host." Marley was slightly shorter in stature than Steve and had hair that was slightly lighter and longer but parted in the same fashion as the soldier. His eyebrow raised at his wife's antics. He seemed to size up Steve as well, giving a small smile but it was hard to tell with the reflective sunglasses he wore. He was carrying a carton of popcorn. She leaned forward and tried to whisper, "Who is your hot man," but her whisper was loud enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear her.

Eleanor felt her face grow a little bit red as she looked up at Steve. "She's a Math teacher at one of the high schools," She said in way of explanation. She was leaving him room to introduce himself, not really sure what to say beyond that, but also giving him room to make his own decisions. Steve wasn't completely recognizable with his had and glasses, and he had dressed like most of the other men in jeans and a t-shirt, though he was long sleeved to try and hide some of his massive muscles. He still stood a bit ridged and Ella thought they could probably make out that he was military or security. After a moment of eye contact and conveying that he could introduce himself, Steve stuck out a hand.

"My name is Ted." His dazzling grin seemed to catch the math teacher's attention.

"You are so attractive. What an attractive couple. Marley, they are such beautiful people. Eleanor, you'd be more beautiful if you were blonde too. Marley, Are we beautiful?"

Eleanor couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly at her antics. Her hair blonde? She had nothing against blonds but where did that come from? Marley seemed to look between Steve and Ella and he gave them a timid smile."Yes hun, we should probably find those seats again though."

"But El has her camera! Picture first! Hey-hey-you" She stopped a stranger and asked if they'd take a picture using Eleanor's camera. Steve held his breath, knowing that the girl hated giving her phone to other people. For the sake of the drunken woman though, she did as asked and handed it over. The gathered into a small group and second later it was over. Ella showed the picture to Stacy and the woman nodded in affirmation.

"You'd still be better blonde." Her husband though was already pushing her toward their seats, telling her they could get the picture another time. Stacy sighed and rolled her eyes but nodded her head "I HATE baseball." When she began giggling her husband was able to get her to walk in the correct direction for their seats. Eleanor looked up at Steve and gave him a bit of a wink.

"Ted? Like Teddy Roosevelt?"

Steve shrugged again and winked back. "Nothing gets past you." He put a hand on her back and motioned in the direction they were originally headed.

"Of course not, I'd catch it first."

"With your face?"

Eleanor stuck her tongue out at him. "You could've just used your name Steve. You don't have to be James Bond and say 'the names Rogers. Steve Rogers.'" She deepened her voice to make fun of him.

Steve just shook his head. "Natasha told me if I want to stay hidden, I should avoid using my name in public spaces. And I'd hate to have those huge cameras on me." They generally avoided mentioning his status as 'the original avenger', but he had a feeling Eleanor was very aware. She almost always took the care to pick unique places and avoid tourists' spots. Steve wasn't sure, but he figured that just her presence helped mask his identity. Most people were not expecting to see him out with someone who wasn't an Avenger.

"Steve is a pretty common name still… But your right, Ted, let's avoid the paparazzi for the foreseeable future. Even if being friends with a superhero would boost my standings with the children I work with." She winked at him.

"Maybe when you have a classroom of your own I'll show up in uniform for the job fair."

They both laughed and Eleanor hit him in the chest as they stood in line for their 'All American Hot Dogs'. Eleanor stared at the menu for a minute and adjusted her purse. "Are you sure you want to pay for both? You're always paying." Almost every time they ate out or got coffee, Steve would insist on paying unless Ella got to the cashier first with her own card. The more they hung out though, the more Ella just let Steve do his thing. She always asked though.

Steve always chuckled and responded with the same though: "I have more money in my bank account than I know what to do with it, and I don't pay for anything at the tower." For that matter, Steve had the booth runners give both of their hot dogs 'the works' practically doubling the size with all the condiments that were put on them.

"I don't know if I'll be able to finish this." Eleanor laughed as she tried to hold the hot dog in one hand while taking a picture with the other on their walk back to their seats.

At that moment, they passed Marley a second time. He paused on his way in the opposite direction. "Sorry about my wife, man, you know how women get when they have a few drinks." He smirked at Steve who maintained a straight face and didn't nod or affirm his suggestion. He seemed to stare at Eleanor strange enough to make the couple uncomfortable. Not really waiting for the moment to grow more awkward, he mentioned, "I've seen you somewhere before though, do you live on the hill?"

Ella shook her head and scrunched her nose up. "No, I live near the old colonial museum. It was probably someone else."

"Huh. Funny how some faces are so beautiful they just stick with you." He lifted his head to (maybe) make eye contact with Steve again. Despite not seeing his eyes, Steve still felt uncomfortable under his gaze. He stepped closer to Eleanor and gave the man a smile.

"We've gotta get back to our seats, It was nice to meet you again." The men shook hands and Steve put his hand on Ella's back as they walked toward their seats once again.

She glanced up at him once they were far enough away with a flat face. "Not a fan."

"Me either. So many things have changed, but sadly, people haven't." As he finished his sentence there was an eruption of cheers from the stands. Steve looked up on the television immediately for the replay. "That's a triple!" He pointed at the TV to make sure Ella was watching as well. "See how the shortstop becomes the middleman for the ball, so the outfielder doesn't have to throw it all the way to Homeplate if he tries it? That's what I was talking about earlier"

Ella laughed and nodded her head, motioning to the stands. "We better go get our seats before he gets a goal"

"That's soccer – they call it a" Steve looked at her and her pursed lips, trying not to laugh. Gently, he pushed her toward their seats. "You know it's not a goal, right?"

Eleanor just laughed.

Hi! Sorry! Fun fact about me: I live in middle-of-nowhere Asia and in this country, which means my internet is unreliable and it's competition season which means extra work hours- I finally got a trip to the big city this weekend so I was able to upload a few documents to post!

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