Chapter 1.4
"So you're telling me they handed you a StarkPhone and never told you how to use it?" Sarah had to hold back a giggle as Steve fiddled with the piece of metal and glass housed in his hand.
"Basically." Steve shrugged and she gestured for him to hand it over, which he complied with.
"That's rough." She flipped it over and snorted when she saw the screen saver. "I take it your 'friends' are the fun sort?" A picture of Steve, with a fake mustache and party hat, was the lock screen, which made Sarah snort and then cover it with her hand, as she pretended to drink.
"How'd you guess?" He loosened up at her snort and his shoulders seemed to relax a little. They had been sitting their for a good two hours, going over the basics and trying to figure out where to start. He had suggested they work through it by decade, but Sarah had a different idea in mind.
"This mustache screams "Notice me!", which doesn't seem to be your style." She took a sip of her water from her straw and unlocked the phone, quickly typing her number into it and checking the time.
"I think I look quite good in it." He pretended to be offended, slowly feeling at ease around the brunette. It had been awkward at first, filled with silence and curt small talk. It had lasted nearly an hour, until Sarah had accidentally knocked her water down, which doused both of them. From there on, it was significantly less so, the small talk growing into a more informal "get to know you" type thing. He knew she had a cat, named Mr. Mistoffelees, a name that was in reference to a musical she promised she'd tell him about. He also knew that she liked the color blue, loved the beach, couldn't swim, hated horror films and worked as a middle school english teacher. At the same time, she had learnt that his birthday was July 4th, he could draw, he had only been 'awake' for four months, and he was from Brooklyn. However, he never asked about Thea, and she wouldn't have said much anyways. As much as she liked him, she was only supposed to get him up to speed. And she didn't trust him enough yet to know if he'd go blab to her mom about something she said.
"Okay." She made a face, which made him laugh for some reason. She checked the time, nearly chocking on her drink, "Holy crap, it's 8:30." She scrunched her nose up and handed the phone back to him.
"Really?" He looked down, surprised. "It feels like its only been an hour." She hummed as she stood up, stretching slightly and picking up the bill.
"Alright, let me grab my wallet and I'll pay." She set it back down, and reached into her jacket to grab her wallet.
"No can do, ma'am." He stood up and reached into his own pocket for his wallet. He wanted to pay for their meal, grateful she was helping. He knew it was because SHIELD had asked her too, but she was kind and he was thankful to talk to someone normal for once.
"Cute, real cute, but no, I've got this." She stopped searching her coat to lean over and tap his shoulder affectionately, only have to go on her tip toes slightly and went back to searching.
"I insist." He insisted, reaching down to grab it and before his hand was able to pick it up, her own slapped it down, lightening fast. He looked up at her, wide eyed and was surprised to see her still searching through her coat.
"I got this." She smiled at him and removed her hand, finally finding the pocket. "Aha!" She exclaimed and then looked down at the checkless table. She narrowed her eyes at Steve, who had an innocent look on his face as he paid. "I'm gonna kill him…and then have to explain to my mother that I killed America's icon…and wow now that I think about it, that's a bad—" her mumbling was broken by the sound of a waitress clearing her throat and giving her a look. "Sorry!" She blushed and put her coat on, walking out quickly.
As she went, she didn't notice the water spill and spiraled through the air. She expected to land painfully on the ground, but was pleasantly surprised when two arms wrapped around her middle and hugged her to a strong chest. She looked up and blushed even harder. "Why is it that whenever I fall, you're there to catch me?" She pondered out loud and if her face could get any darker, it would have.
"I have no idea…" Steve looked around at all the patron looking at them with knowing smiles. He cleared his throat, which made Sarah straighten up and fix her coat.
"So sorry." She said quickly as she high tailed it out of the diner. Steve followed her, his own cheeks tinged pink, and he stepped out into the dark night. Sarah was already crossing the street by the time he spotted her red coat.
"Sarah!" He said, slightly yelling, which caught her attention. He made the signal for wait, and crossed the street, easily catching up to her. She awkwardly stood, playing with one of the buttons that was about to come off the front of her coat. "I, uh, I figured we'd walk home together. Since we live next to one another…" He shoved his hands into his pockets, looking down at the ground.
"That's not a bad idea." She said, after a few moments of silence. They were back to the awkward silence that had plagued them in the beginning. He nodded and they began their walk back in silence, neither knowing what to say. Finally, Steve spoke up.
"So what's the plan?" They were a few blocks away from the building, and the wind had picked up a bit, causing Sarah to shiver.
"What do you mean?" She asked, trying to shove her hands into her pockets as deep as they would go.
"For the whole," he waved his hand, "catch up thing." Sarah thought for a moment, thinking it out.
"Well, I was thinking we could meet twice a week? Watch a few movies, visit a few museums and monuments. Listen to some music, go over the major historical events. That kind of thing. That way we can fully immerse you into it." She said, perking up slightly. "Maybe introduce you to older tech and help you slowly work your way up? I was thinking about asking my m-boss about getting you a flip phone for a bit." She bit her lip before adding, "that's entirely up to you, though! You don't have to if you don't want to." She rambled on and stopped herself before it got too far.
"No no, I like the idea. Maybe it'll make this easier to get used to." He smiled, feeling the silence ease up a bit.
"Right." She said, walking up to the steps leading up to their building. She took her time walking up them and he stayed at the bottom step.
"When do you want to meet again?" He asked, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking adorable with his blonde ruffled hair and blue eyes.
She thought for a moment before saying, "How about Thursday?" He nodded in response and she sent him a friendly smile. "Good Night, Mister Rogers."
"Good Night, Sarah."
Their third meeting was much like the second. At little awkward at first, but soon it became almost natural. They were quick friends, and Steve was a quick student when it came to the history aspects. Sarah made sure to not bog it down too much and she gave him the basics. They spent over three hours talking about the world, post-World War II and he asked as many questions as he could. She tried to answer them, to the best of her ability and when she couldn't, she recommended some books that google had recommended her. She showed him a few films and some footage from the time.
The fourth meeting was trip to a museum and an old movie theater, which showed old films during the week at a discounted price. She introduced him to Twizzlers and he hated them, which made her laugh. She also presented him with his very own flip phone and they walked through a small park that was near their building.
The fifth and sixth meetings were all about daily life and different cars. She had arranged for him to see the car models of the time and see a few first hand. She also showed him to a gym where he could go to work off some steam. He, in turn, had shown her a few drawings and invited her into his apartment. She learned that he could cook the basics, and was extremely crafty, when it came to certain foods. "I had to be…" He would say as he made the wildest of dishes.
Time had past, the sixth meeting turned into the seventh, which became the eleventh, which became the fifteenth. She had yet to introduce him to Thea formally, and he had yet to speak about those he had left behind. Still, they carried on in their own little bubble. Meeting up twice, sometimes three, times a week, visiting various parts of the city and whatnot.
"Sarah!" Steve had called after her as she twirled under some fall leaves, a few getting caught in her hair. The weather had turned especially chilly in the fall, and thus Sarah was bundled up, refusing to be sick as the holidays rolled around. Thanksgiving was two weeks away and she hadn't made up her mind about inviting him to dinner or not. Usually her grandmother would host it, but this year everyone had decided to pull straws. It was safe to say that she had pulled the short one, and now her tiny apartment was about to host ten people around a four person table.
"Hey!" She grinned as he caught up to her, cheeks flushed and eyes twinkling with happiness.
"You dropped your scarf." He picked it up and brushed it off, wrapping it around her neck. She smiled widely and nudged him with her hip, stepping beside him.
"Why thank you, Mister Rogers." She walked with a slight skip in her step, which made Steve laugh slightly.
"Glad I could help, ma'am." He smiled and slowed down, so that she wouldn't have to run to keep up with him. They were at a slightly larger park, walking a path that was lined with trees. Some kids ran around, a few joggers made their way through the park, parents and pet owners watched their companions.
"Do you want to get ice cream?" She asked, after a few minutes of calm silence. They had come a long way from the awkward silences and blushing remarks.
"Ice cream?" He furrowed his brows. "Sarah, its cold out." He pointed to her coat and scarf ensemble.
"So? Ice cream is a year-round food." She lightly nudged him as she walked, laughing.
"Sarah, we're not getting ice cream in this weather." He lightly nudged her back, which sent her stumbling a bit on her feet a bit.
"Well, you're not…" She righted herself, before turning on to the path that lead to the small ice-cream parlor just on the edge of the park. "But I am!" With that, she started to march her way there, a large smile on her face. Steve shook his head, smiling at his friend and followed her. It had taken some time, for the two to admit that they were now friends. Sarah had been reluctant at first. Steve was her 'student' of sorts, she was supposed to bring him up to speed. And yet, there was a familiarity there, one where two people just sort of fit together.
"Decisions, decisions." She was the only customer in the store and the worker looked at her like she was insane. Steve was an imposing figure behind her, which meant no one would say anything. "Is the Mint Oreo good?" She asked, looking at the bright green ice cream with trepidation.
"Not really, to be honest. I've heard it's pretty bland, from most people." The worker said, holding a scoop and a cup.
"What about butter pecan?" She took a step to the side, pointing out another flavor.
"We ran out of pecans two days ago. Those are the excess we had." The started to tap their foot, bored with the exchange and wanting to get back to their phone.
"I'll take chocolate then." The worked nodded and scooped out two scoops of the brown ice cream, making Sarah smile. She reached into her wallet to pull out the money, when a hand reached past her head and handed them a $10.
"Steve!" She whirled around, mock scowling at him. He gave her an innocent smile and grabbed her ice cream from the counter behind her.
"Keep the change.:" He said to the surprised worker and handed her her ice cream. "You bought the popcorn last week, so I'm paying you back."
He held open the door to the cold outside world for her and let her step through first.
"Yeah, but that's what friends do." She says as she takes a bite of her ice cream and shivers a bit. They both strolled along a secluded path, Sarah eating her ice cream. "Do you want some?" She held up a spoon with some of the slightly melted treat on it. Steve thought on it for a moment, before nodding and accepting the spoon. He took a bite, and his eyes widened at the taste. It was rich, richer than anything that he had indulged in in some time, and he knew that a few bites would make him sick.
"It's good right?" She asked, eyes trying to gauge his reaction.
"Yeah, its a bit—" He searched for the word.
"Much, right?" She finished and he nodded. "Yeah, I don't often get Chocolate because of it. I prefer mint chip or strawberry." She took the spoon back and an idea crossed her mind.
"I get that." He nodded, pretending he understood what she was saying.
"I—" she began and then her eyes widened, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but you've got ice cream all over your nose." She pointed to the side of her nose and gestured to his own.
"What? Where?" He rubbed his own with his hands and the edge of his sleeve, trying to fathom how the cold treat had escaped his notice.
"There." With that statement, she swiped up some on the tip of her index finger and put it on his nose. His face was comical, eyes wide and mouth open as if to say something. She couldn't hold in her laughter and doubled over at the look on his face. She was laughing so hard, she didn't see wrapper under her foot and she slipped, falling down. It was his turn to laugh now, her face mirroring how his had looked. Finally, she laughed as well from the ground and to a passerby, they were quite the sight.
"Are you okay?" Steve finally asked, feeling lighter than he had in a long time. Sarah nodded, brushing off her jeans and standing up, surveying her fallen ice cream.
"My ice cream…" She looked down, longingly at her frozen treat.
"I'm sorry for your loss" Steve said, patting her arm in mock sympathy. She pursed her lips and hip bumped him, hurting herself more than she moved him.
"Rude." She said, walking past, chin up and shoulder squared. He followed after her, laughing lightly and they walked along the path, watching some leave fall in the wind. After a good ten minutes, she found what she was looking for and stepped off the path onto a smaller dirt track. She navigated that until she found a small alcove, where a wall used to be, and approached it. "Hello old friend…" She murmured as she dug her foot into a slight gap in the worn grey bricks and hauled herself up to sit on the top. Steve watched her, taking in the small area that looked virtually untouched. A few small touches of human activity lingered, but for the most part it was empty. "You can sit, you know." She stated, watching him observe the area before him. He looked around, trying to find a place before he settled on an old tree stump.
"How'd you find this place?" He kept looking around, fingers itching to sketch it out.
"Thea found it, actually." She said, smiling fondly. "We were exploring the park, and she ran off while I wasn't looking. Nearly scared me half to death." She said, chuckling at the memory.
"Do you mind if I ask a few questions?" He sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees and stared up at her.
"Ask away." She drummed her fingers on her knees, fighting the urge to pick at her cuticles.
"Where's Thea's dad?" Steve hesitantly asked, watching Sarah's fingers cease and her nose to scrunch up slightly.
"He's uh, he's dead." She said, finally. "Along with her mom, my sister."
"Oh I—"
"I know." She breathed out, a sad smile on her face. "They died in a house fire when Thea was five months old." It fell a little and she gave into the urge to pick at her cuticles, looking at the ground. "Thea and I—-I was trying to give them a night to themselves, so I took Thea for the night. I decided to take her to my grandmothers, just outside of the city." She gulped, "we got the call around 3am. They were able to pull his body from the fire, but hers was too far gone." She looked back up, focusing on a lone flower, struggling to bloom in the cold still.
"What were their names?" He asked, heart breaking for the woman in front of him.
"Thomas and Victoria Williams. She is" She corrected herself, "was my older sister. Tori was two years older than I; the more adventurous one out of the two of us. If there was something to find, or the possibility of getting in trouble, she was there at the front leading the way." She looked back at Steve, and tucked some hair back behind her ear. "Thea's the spitting image of her, with Tom's hair. I swear it's like having a mini Tori around, which is why it was hard in the beginning."
"Were you both close?" Steve asked, and Sarah pondered for a moment, reminiscing.
"Thick as thieves." She smiled at a few memories and added, "We had to be. Our parents divorced when I was six and she was eight. We didn't see much of them before, but the changes sort of solidified it. Alex, our brother, was twelve and tried to guide both of us as best as he could." She shrugged, "Mom kept the house in the city, dad moved us three to our grandparents just outside of DC, and life went on. Our grandparents raised the three of us, and dad tried to be home more often, but mom just sort of…gave up, I guess. She never was the maternal type, from what I can remember. I don't even know how she had kids in the first place or how my dad and her got married. Tori says…said that she was warmer when she was younger. She was kinder, would smile more, would even sing." As she continued speaking her brows started to furrow. "But she went away for a few weeks, and came back different. She came home, chopped off her hair, locked herself away and didn't come back out until she just sort of did…We had no idea what had changed, I was only a few months old, but it never went back to normal. She'd go off on trips more and more, we'd be left with a nanny. Dad would be home occasionally, between stints at the hospital and all of the other odd things he did." She looked back into his eyes and just sort of shrugged.
"I'm sorry." He said sincerely and she smiled slightly.
"Don't be. It's life, I guess. It just gives me a reason to try and be there as much as I can for Thea." A breeze blew by and ruffled her hair, sending some into her mouth, which she crinkled her nose at and tried to blow it away.
"What's she like?" Steve smiled at that, "Thea, that is."
"That child, I swear…" She finally dislodged the hair and tucked it back behind her ear, cursing the wind. "She's fun, when she wants to be. Very opinionated, wants it her way or the high way. I think she just likes giving me grey hair." Sarah chuckled and then remembered something. "This morning, while I was trying to get my coffee ready and find my shoes, she said "I got this, Aunt Sarah. Go find your keys." and I was skeptical, I'll admit, but I told her how much sugar and cream to add and went off." She wiped her forehead and continued, "Anyways, after a few minutes, I find my coffee. So I shuffle Thea off to Mrs. W's for the day, and i rush to school, not taking a sip of my coffee the entire way." She mimicked rushing to her room and holding her coffee. "Finally, I get there, rush to my room and one of the other teachers unlocked my door so the kids could sit down, which is fine." She put her hands out in a 'its chill' kind of way. "Anyways, I'm about to explain the bell work and I take a sip of my coffee and I kid you not, I spat it out across the room." At that, she snorted and her arms flew around, eyebrows raised and telling the entire story. "The entire class is staring at me, and I'm trying to figure out why my coffee does not taste like coffee. So I open the lid and it looks fine. I take another sip and I nearly gag." She pretends to hold her coffee away from her. "She put salt instead of sugar in it. So I go to set it down and something pokes out from the liquid, which its not supposed to, so I pull it out, confused." At that, she pulled out a brown stained note, dried, but smelling distinctly of coffee. "So I pull it out, and unfold it over the trash can, and its a note, saying "I put lots of sugar, Aunt Thea!" thought its spelled wrong. I swear I laughed so hard the entire class probably thought I was insane." She finished, grinning from ear to ear, shoulders still shaking from her laughter.
"Oh my god." Steve grinned and tried to contain his own laughter, looking at the tiny note.
"I have no idea where she gets it from…" Sarah smiled and kicked her feet some more. "What was it like before…crashing? Sleeping?" She tried to figure out what the word is and Steve looked down, his smile fading.
"It was…different, you could say." He said, thinking for a moment and repressing painful memories. "My dad died in the first World War, my mom passed on when I was eighteen. I didn't look like this." He gestured to himself, "I was small, constantly ill. Didn't stop me from getting into fights." He smiled at the memory and Sarah shook her head. "I had my best friend Buc-"
"Bucky Barnes." Sarah finished. "I hate to say this, but we learnt that in history. I meant what was it like? What was your fondest memory, favorite color, artists, singer…that sort of thing. I know who Captain America is, but who's Steve Rogers?" She finished, hopping down off the wall and sitting in the grass.
"Right. Uh…" Steve wracked his brain for a story before remembering one. "Oh! Coney Island. Ever been?" He asked, looking at her expectantly.
"No…" Sarah stated, raising an eyebrow.
"Right so—-"
And thus Steve opened up to her a little more.
When Steve met Thea, he met Lina and all hell broke loose. Sarah had convinced him to come back to her apartment after the park, wanting to introduce him to The Breakfast Club. They were on the 80s, in their Catch-Up Sessions, and she was insistent that he watch this particular movie. They had decided to come back to the apartment late in the night, having gotten dinner on the way.
"Are you sure you want me here?" He asked nervously, taking in the pictures on the walls and the toys stuffed in random places.
"Of course, now shhhhhhh." She shushed him from the kitchen window, grabbing a few waters and some popcorn.
"Okay…" He said, looking at the pile of movies next to her tv on a shelf. It was nice, her apartment. It had the same colored walls as his, but that was where the resemblance stopped. His was sparsely decorated, a few books and trinkets here and there. It was organized and cold, barely lived in. Hers, on the other hand, was organized chaos. Toys littered the floor, hand drawn doodles mixed with professional photos on the walls. Her couch was warn, the handmade blanket on the back providing warmth. There was dust in places and small handprints on the glass coffee table, but it felt like a home and made Steve long for more.
"Ready?" She asked, padding into the living room and plopping on the couch, handing him his drink.
"Yeah." He said, taking a sip, and she made him press play on the remote.
One hour into the movie, and Sarah was asleep, head on his shoulder. She snored slightly and he shuffled around trying to get comfortable without disturbing her. Close to the end of the movie, he was asleep, his own head resting on hers.
The faint rays of the sun poking through the drapes awoke him, making him groan and crack his neck, trying to recall who's living room this was. The sight of Sarah partially sprawled across him was a reminder and he smiled fondly.
"Mister Steve." His head snapped to the hallway on the far side of the room and he saw a sleepy Thea standing there clutching a worn down teddy bear.
"Hi." He said awkwardly, untangling himself from Sarah and standing up, stretching.
"Why're you here?" She furrowed her brow and looked up at him, walking forward slightly.
"Uh, your aunt wanted me to watch a movie with her." At that Thea nodded and yawned. She watched him a little longer before nodding and walking back to her room. Steve breathed out a side of relief and recalled the directions to the bathroom. He would have gone in his own apartment, but it was early and he wanted to leave Sarah a note.
Blearily, he stumbled to the bathroom, passing Thea's room, and jiggled the knob. It didn't open at first and he jiggled it some more, thinking it was like his own, which required some 'assitance'. Finally, after some jiggles, it turned and he abruptly stopped when the door swung open. Two blue eyes stared back into his, and blinked. He blinked as well, and thats when all hell broke loose.
"INTRUDER!" The person yelled, wrapping her robe tightly around herself and grabbing the closest thing to her: a hairdryer. "SARAH! CALL THE COPS!" She yelled and whacked Steve upside the head with it, denting the hairdryer. Steve was in shock, trying to register the situation, when the second blow knocked him to the ground.
"OH MY GOD! LINA! YOU KILLED CAPTAIN AMERICA!" Sarah yelled, running into the hallway with a baseball bat.
"I did what?!"
A/N: As of 3/31, this is unedited