Feelings II
Winter was in process but that wasn't stopping the pair from getting out on the few sunny days they had left. Ella had insisted after seeing the news mention the oncoming turn of weather approaching quickly as they headed into the beginning of November. She insisted they have their Thursday lunch in the park, just behind the bench where she had taken those first photos of him. She brought the picnic basket and a blanket and everything, even her Camera sat beside her as she laid out, trying to soak up the sun with her skin like a flower, mumbling something about photosynthesis. Despite the sunshine, it wasn't warm like it had been in the winter, and Eleanor had a balled hat perched on her head and was wearing a jacket. Really the only thing getting the sunshine was her face and the palms of her hand.
As Steve approached, he couldn't help but shake his head. Just the presence of her grin made him wonder if it was June again, the only difference being the color of the leaves in the trees and the breeze that caused them to drop. He hadn't brought anything except for a small bouquet of flowers he had seen on his walk there and couldn't help but purchase. She was always the one making the food when they were not eating at restaurants, and he always felt he needed to contribute something. She wouldn't even let him pitch in for groceries despite the ridiculous amount of money he had in his bank account.
When he got close enough and she still hadn't moved, he couldn't help but toss the flowers onto her chest, they made a solid 'flopping' sound, causing her to jump into a sitting position with a yelp. He laughed as she took off her sunglasses to glare at him. "What are these for?"
"Lunch,"
"We can't eat flowers, especially when they're this pretty Steve." She scoffed with a mock-serious voice as but also set the items down gently next to the picnic basket. He shook his head and set his own side bag down. They had agreed to 'take a Thursday off.' Since it was the middle of the week, there were not nearly as many people in the park and it already felt much more peaceful than normal. Not to mention the spot they'd chosen was open. The path was in the distance, and aside from the occasional bird or sound of footsteps, it was quiet.
He chuckled at her smirk, "I guess you're right. Sorry, I'll do better next time." Steve's tone seemed to tease her a bit as he sat down beside her on the edge of the patterned black and red blanket. "What did you bring to ea-"
As he reached for the basket, she slapped his hand. He withdrew it, turning to make eye contact with the brunette who had her hand against her heart as though she was offended. He immediately noted that she was in a teasing mood. It must have been the weather. "Jesus. Do you only hang out with me to be fed? No 'Hello Ella, how are you?'" Her eyes narrowed once more in a joking glare.
Steve lifted both of his hands as though she were a police officer, "Hello Ella, how are you?"
"Now it's not even genuine!" she opened the basket herself, immediately tossing a sandwich at him. It was aimed at his face from what he could tell, but reflexes reacted easily and he smiled innocently at her before he took his first bite.
Once they'd finished their meal, Eleanor glanced up at the man beside her. She lay on her stomach pointing toward the bridge, and he faced the opposite direction, sitting up straight with a sketch book in his hand and a sketch partially finished of the skyline just beyond the trees. They'd been quite for most of their meal, not really having anything to talk about but enjoying the company of one another. Steve was plunging into the detail of his drawing, his pencil hard at work. "I can't believe you quit art school to join the military," Eleanor mentioned offhandedly, sitting up to get a better look.
He gave her a brief look before continuing with his picture, "The war just seemed more important to me."
"But so many people tried so hard to get out of serving, half of your generation went to college just to avoid the draft. I don't understand why anyone would want to go to war. You saw the reports of how brutal it was, right?"
"Yeah. Just because I wanted to join didn't mean I wasn't terrified as hell." Her attention stayed on his face as he dazed up at the blue sky, the wind ruffled the back of his hair, which was getting uncharacteristically long. He wasn't distant, but she could feel the pondering of his thoughts. "I guess I figured if other men were laying down their lives to protect people from seeing the horrors that war would bring, who was I to do any different?"
Ella looked off into the distance too and nodded her head. "I couldn't imagine. Has anyone told you you're unbelievably selfless?"
"Nah," He winked at her.
She pushed his side with her elbow, forcing him to look down at her once more. When his blue eyes met her brown ones, she suddenly didn't have any words. To make up for her speechlessness, she just shook her head at him. "you're a really good guy Steve."'
The tone she spoke with was so genuine that Steve just smiled at her and bobbed his head. "Thanks Ella. You're a great dame too."
She laughed and smacked his shoulder. "Dame? Whatever grandpa." She watched him as he laughed and looked back to his drawing, comparing it to the actual skyline. The gears turning in his head could be seen even from where she sat.
Not much later the teacher watched him making the same look across the shop once she had picked out her new pair of sunglasses. He was browsing the New York memorabilia and the classic fifties cola section. In his hand sat a bright mug that had an outline of New York. Even at a distance she couldn't help but smile. His fake glasses only did so much in hiding who he was, but they added to his look of curiosity. He lifted a finger to adjust them as if he were using them.
At that moment, a store clerk approached him, batting her eyelashes as she nodded to the item in his hand. Ella couldn't understand the conversation being had, but she could see him shake his head. As the Clerk continued to talk to him, something deep stirred in her chest, and she couldn't help but respond with a bit of surprise. Was she—Jealous?
Admittedly, she hadn't had a real friend in years outside of school and Peggy's. Not someone who cared so deeply about what she thought, someone willing to go out of their way to check in and make sure she was safe. She'd always been a loner. The longer they got to know each other, the more she felt herself coming out of her shell. She could tell Steve was more familiar with her as well. He wasn't afraid to tell her when her jokes were crap anymore. But as she saw the clerk nod at him, and his light chuckle, she couldn't help but feel a little hurt. When would he realize that there were other people that he could make friends with? Steve was kind, and brilliant, and funny, and sweet.
She paused her thought process, backtracking. He wasn't HERs and it was none of her business. She'd been a strong and independent person for a long time and avoiding the dating game was part of that. The dating game? Eleanor felt a rush of despair run through her body.
"El?" Steve was standing in front of her, leaning down to make eye contact. "What's wrong?"
Pressing back her panic and sudden emotions she shook her head. Her thoughts raced as she tried to think of something different to talk about "Nothing. I'm good. We're good. Let me buy these and we can head out." Slipping out of reach Eleanor made her way to the woman at the checkout counter, paying quickly with a card as Steve trailed after her, frowning. He didn't say anything as they made their way outside and Eleanor took a deep breath in the fall breeze.
"You sure you're okay?" the blonde glanced down at her, watching her facial reactions as she looked up to smile back at him. When they held eye contact for more than a moment, her face flushed a charming pink and she looked away.
"Yeah. Of course! I'm good." Even with her smile, Steve looked unconvinced. But rather than pressing the matter, he smiled looked up toward the sky, leaning back with his hands in his pockets. She could have her secrets for now.
"If you say so." He said. Their walk led them down the street back towards the central park and the car that Steve drove, they passed by the MET. Eleanor gazed up at it as they walked looking at the architecture and the numerous people walking in and out of it.
"Have you been to the MET yet?" She wondered.
The super soldier shrugged causing them both to fall to a halt. Eleanor's head jerked to him and her voice raised an octave, "You HAVENT?" She gaped.
"No, but Pepper mentioned that I got an invite to some gala event next spring." He raised a hand to rub the back of his neck.
Eleanor stared at him even more "The MET Gala? You got invited to the MET GALA." She opened her mouth, paused, and closed it again. Steve laughed and tugged her out of the middle of the sidewalk where they were starting to get stared at. He hoped people weren't listening too closely to what she'd said. It sounded like it might be a bigger event than he'd even thought it was.
"What is it?" He asked, causing her to gap at him speechless again for a few moments longer.
"It's this fundraising event that all the celebrities go to. Every year the open a Fashion Exhibit and Celebs wear ridiculous artsy outfits and get to have dinner and see the museum in all out-party mode. They block off half of central park the week before in just preparation. You'll love the gala. You should go. Actually, yeah. You're going. I've decided for you. Don't go before it because it'll ruin how amazing it is. I can't imagine seeing it during an event." Eleanor looked excited and practically waved her hands around as she talked about it, beginning to walk again in the direction they were headed in the first place.
Steve noted what she'd said in the back of his mind, also making sure that he'd have the chance to ask if he could take a plus one. If there was a lot of media, then maybe they could get around it and still go? He wasn't sure but it would be worth a try and a chat with Pepper.
"Have you been to the museum of natural history on the other side of the park?" Eleanor brought up as they made their way toward the great lawn.
"Nope. I haven't been to any of the New York museums. Just the library." Eleanor turned to him once more.
"You've been complaining about nothing to do but you haven't even visited all the art galleries? What about the zoo?"
"Nope"
She gave him a severe look. For a second, she reminded him of his mean old grammar teacher in 7th grade. He took a step away from her as if she were a dangerous animal, even with a smile on his face. "I've always worried about being recognized and haven't thought much about it." He claimed. Eleanor gave him a light slap. "Ow" He said jokingly.
"You were freaking out over the Smithsonian, but you haven't even been to the New York Natural History Museum! They've got a huge planetary display. And Dinosaur bones! You love dinosaur bones!" She pointed toward a path in the park. They'd watched Jurassic park just a few weeks back and he had enjoyed every suspenseful second of it.
"That's where we're going now. We're taking you to the ANHM. You're going to get educated. And add the Zoo to our list of things to do in the spring. It's best when the snow is melting, and the animals are starting to get out and play." She mumbled under her breath as they took a different path. Steve shrugged and relaxed a bit more. He knew she was right when she said that he should have visited all the museums, but he did visit a few closer to the tower. They were never the most interesting to him though. But with her attitude, he figured that she was probably at least a little right about his need for more formal art education.
They made their way into the museum and Steve adjusted his hat, preparing for being spotted. When the woman at the front desk asked them what kind of tickets they needed, Eleanor just grinned. "One Adult and one Senior." The woman looked between them for a second not fully understanding. When Steve nudged her, she smiled at the lady again. "Oh, I mean one Veteran." The woman at the front desk asked to see Steve's ID, and when he set it in front of her she looked up at him quickly.
Eleanor leaned forward. "We'd prefer your utmost confidentiality on this matter" She mentioned to the woman. Responding with a nod, the tickets were slid under the booth after she rang them up on Steve's debit card. Steve gave the woman a small smile and adjusted his glasses once more. They were more annoying than anything and sometimes irritated his nose. Walking away, Eleanor smirked.
"I've always wanted to do something like that" she murmured when they handed their tickets to the person at the entrance. The man didn't look at them twice. Walking in they made their way up the first staircase after Eleanor pointed toward the planetary theater. When they got to the top, she had him choose between the mammals and the ocean exhibit to begin.
Like most of their adventures so far, it was rather unexpected. Eleanor pointed out the things that she most recognized and any scientific facts that she could remember in her years of education. Steve watched as she gazed up at the creatures and occasionally spoke to them. ("What a good boy") Sometimes he had to try not to laugh at her childlike wonder.
"I always forget how much I love museums." She mentioned as they walked through the grand gallery and toward the next set of stairs. "Next is the people's floor."
They walked through that exhibit and the next. Steve was able to gawk at the dinosaur bones on the fifth floor and Eleanor forced him to take a picture underneath it and they took at least half a dozen selfies with various other museum artifacts.
They didn't leave the museum until nearly closing. Steve was starting to admire how Eleanor enjoyed taking her time. While the rest of the world seemed to rush past her, she stood and read about the research, she watched the videos when they played in their full entirety. Eleanor at the same time was coming to the realization that Steve also enjoyed the slow progress they made through the building. He also seemed to feel a lot more confident because so much of the information he knew already. He'd been a real big fan of dinosaurs and animals growing up, and the newest discoveries really entranced him. Occasionally he would also take a photo with his phone, mentioning that he wanted a reference to sketch out at some point. He knew about dinosaurs and evolution theory and while he may not have known everything about the cultures of people around the world, he'd interacted with many of them.
On their way out of the building, Eleanor yawned in the park, pushing her purse onto Steve as she attempted a cartwheel on the great lawn. Only pausing once more to pet a corgi dog, they made their way to the Stark Vehicle. Steve held the door open for her to slide in and then walked around to sit behind the wheel. Once they were both comfortable Steve looked at the clock as he started to turn on the car, and then he glanced over to her. "Do you want to get dinner? I know a good Chinese place?" His fingers drummed lightly on the steering wheel, despite the fact no music had even started.
Eleanor stared at him, hit with a slight sense of deja-vu. She offhandedly offered an affirmation before sitting back and looking at the road. There was an overwhelming amount of peace that washed over her. At that moment, despite SHIELD's visit and the fact she had become friends with a superhero by some odd drop of fate. She felt content.
A/N: Ha! Another chapter!
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