Title: Candyman
Chapter Title: Coffee Pie
A/N: "This is Bruce Man! Shit! I mean… this is Bat Wayne! FUCK!" – Starkid, Holy Musical Batman!
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He hadn't seen October on Tuesday. Nor Wednesday, and it left him feeling emptier than he had before. He was tormented by thoughts of his friends, his past, and what the future might bring. He lifted weights to try and get his mind off of everything, but the rhythmic movements caused his mind to wonder, and he started to dislike the menial task.
Fury had attempted to comfort him about living in the future. He told him how, when everything sorted out with this Loki guy, he'd take him to England to visit Peggy's grave. "Hell, I'll take you to the moon and back if you want!" He'd chuckled, but Steve gave a humorless grin and went back to lifting the hundred pound bar-bell as if it weighed two pounds.
Steve sighed, plopping down on a wooden park bench, lost in his own memories. Suddenly, he heard the tinkling of a tambourine and looked up, spying a head of fiery hair moving back and forth across the path and into a large courtyard.
Steve's heart raced at the thought that he might get to see the strange October again. He sprinted forward, taking several long strides before he stood at the front of a circle of people surrounding two dancers. Fast Latin music met his ears, the pounding of the beat and the harsh strumming of the guitar; a different change to the simple performance October had given a few days before. He watched the couple move in sync. He dipped and twirled her, she stomped her feet and kicked up her legs, spinning to and fro as they moved back and forth, fighting each other for dominance. Steve's eyes followed her form, taking in her movements and body language. She turned towards him, catching his eye.
She smirked, acknowledging him with a gentle bend of her pinky finger before turning back to her partner—oddly enough it was the guitarist from the other day.
The tango music finished with a triumphant note holding out for a bit towards the end, and the crowd cheered and applauded the two performers before throwing coins and crumpled bills into a colorful sombrero.
She can sing AND dance. He mused to himself, grimacing slightly. No chance she'll wanna be seen with me. He sighed, and smiled sadly when October turned towards him and waved, striding towards him with a quick and elegant sashay.
Steve gave her a crooked grin; she chuckled softly when he shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked his foot against the ground in embarrassment. "Long time no see, stranger." She placed her hands on her luscious hips, her lips (now painted a fire-engine red) were still plump and tempting, but he strained to maintain eye-contact with her, for her black and red salsa dress dipped low in the chest, revealing an ample amount of cleavage from her generous bosom.
He chuckled nervously, rolling back onto his heels. "Yeah, I guess. Uh," He straightened his shirt nervously, "that was a great dance. You were, uh.. great." He laughed softly in embarrassment at his lack of vocabulary.
She just smiled. Stepping forward, she tugged on his jacket collar playfully. "Wanna get a cup of coffee, Steve Barnes?" Her grin was Cheshire-like as it spread across her face, her nose wrinkling cutely with mirth at his discomfort and shyness of the situation.
Steve felt himself open and close his mouth like a fish, causing her to laugh, before shaking his head softly and answering quickly, a smile slowly forming on his lips as he spoke, "Yeah! I-I mean—Yeah, I'd love to."
October's grin became less mischievous and more sincere. "Great, just give me two seconds and I'll meet you back here." She turned, sprinting over to her guitarist and dance partner who, in turn, handed her a brown leather bag with a grin.
He sat on the edge of the fountain for what must have been a good twenty minutes as October changed into jeans. He sighed, running a hand nervously through his gold locks.
"Hey." He turned, seeing October in a pair of tight jeans, red flowing shirt, and her wild fiery hair pushed back by a ruby red and gold bandana. She was grinning when he continued to sit, pursing his lips into a thin line, nervousness creeping back into his movements, causing him to be twitchy and blush.
She walked in front of him, his eyes following her every move. "H-hey." He managed to squeak out when she stood directly before him. She smiled, grabbing the front of his plain white shirt and attempting to pull him into a standing position. Her guiding him, he stood of his own accord, knowing she couldn't even begin to move him if she tried. He stood at least a head taller than her, her forehead barely reaching his shoulders. She let go of his shirt and gave a short, curt nod.
"Good!" she grinned with her teeth, the glimmering objects like pearls that were surrounded by pools of ruby. Suddenly, she grabbed his arm and they began their walk towards where the supposed coffee shop was.
"So how long have you lived in New York?" She attempted, trying to strike up a conversation with the tense soldier.
"Um.. a while." He grimaced as his own answer, but she didn't seem to mind.
"I've only been here for about three years. Were you born in New York, or did you move here?" She looked up at him, but Steve kept his face forward, muscles rippling in displeasure at his continuous tense state.
"Born here. I mean, I was. I mean: I was born here! God-!" He smacked himself in the face as he continued to skip and stumble over his words.
"Hey, Steve, look at me." Steve felt her delicate hands grab his chin and force him to look at her. She had wide, round eyes that were framed by a thick veil of lashes. Her eyebrows were thin, her nose slightly upturned, but small and cute. Her face was round, with a bit of baby-fat still remaining, but her neck was long and silky like milk being poured into a glass. He felt his hands itching to run his fingers down her smooth neck, but he snapped his eyes back up to her own and fought back a blush.
"Calm down, I'm not gonna bite your head off, I promise." She stroked his cheek and he felt his shoulders relax.
"Yeah," He smiled, feeling his neck and ears heat up as he blushed. She giggled and went back to holding the crook of his arm as they walked. "So, where did you live before you moved here?" He asked quietly, shoving his free hand into his jean pocket.
Her smile turned sad as she got a faraway look in her eyes, "Seems like such a long time ago." She muttered absent mindedly. "I lived in Mississippi. A small town called Corvert; only about two hundred people lived there."
Steve smiled when her grin became happier as she thought of her old home, "Sounds nice." He urged on when she had remained silent.
"It was," she chuckled, looking up at him with shining blue eyes filled with mirth. Steve's smile broadened when she saw this, "I can remember fishing at the creek with my brothers, reading for hours at Mrs. Grhams' book store, and eating the best ribs at Jefferson's BBQ. Because the town was so small, everyone felt like family." She laughed, squeezing Steve's arm unknowingly. He looked down at their conjoined limbs and brushed his hand against hers before taking it into a firm grasp. Her grin was sly as she looked at his now red face, him chuckling nervously when she began swinging their hands back and forth.
"What about your childhood?" She asked while lacing their fingers together. Steve couldn't stop himself from grinning when she did this.
"I—well, I was born in Brooklyn, raised there." He coughed as he tried to find a way to talk about himself without giving away that he originally lived in the 1940's. "I used to be a lot," he paused, searching for the right word, "more sickly and thin, when I was younger." He looked over to see October smiling sweetly at him as he spoke, and he matched her grin with one of his own. "But a good doctor friend of mine found a way to make me," He looked away, remembering Dr. Erskine and how kind he had been, "better." He finished lamely, for lack of a better term.
October smiled, seeing the distance in his eyes, "He sounds like a wonderful man." She spoke softly, bringing Steve out of his memories. He looked towards October, and smiled nodding his head and squeezing her hand as gently as he could.
"He was." He was quiet for a few more blocks before October began pulling him towards a small café centered between two giant office buildings. It was small, and looked to have been converted from a red-brick house. The front yard was surrounded by a picket fence, and tables and chairs were set-up in the grass. The window sills had boxes of flowers blooming brightly, and the smell of freshly cooked pastries wafted from the open windows. Steve stared in wonder at this out of place café, being dragged by October through the white painted door, a small bell ringing at their entrance. Steve looked over at the counter and saw a middle-aged woman smiling at the couple, waving gently. October quickly released his hand and bounded behind the counter to tackle the woman with a hug.
Steve glanced around as the two spoke to notice only a few people sat around at the sofas and chairs; probably no more than four. He looked at his watch which read 12:56, meaning it was lunch time and that people should be mobbing a coffee shop like this. He looked back up when October called his name and beckoned him over to meet the woman she had been speaking to.
He smiled and approached the woman, tipping his head politely at the new woman. "Ma'am." He spoke softly, shoving his hands back in his jean pockets.
"Whot a gentleman," The woman spoke with a strange accent. It sounded similar to Peggy's, but a little different as well. "S'hard to find a polite man 'n this day 'n age who's as young as 'im. Tell me, love, whot's your name?"
Steve rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Steve Rog-Barnes! Steve Barnes, Ma'am." Steve blushed at his almost mistake, but the two women didn't seem to notice.
"Well then, Mister Barnes, this rounds on me! A nice cuppa coffee for my favorite customer and her gentlemanly friend." The woman gave a curt nod and went back behind a red swinging door to where Steve assumed was the kitchen.
"I love this place, Mrs. O'Reily's coffee is the best in New York, and her lemon cakes are melt in your mouth amazing!" October jumped on top of the counter before swinging her legs around and sitting directly in front of Steve, her legs straddling his waist as she sat there.
He coughed and backed up a bit, averting his gaze to anywhere but October. She just grinned, crossing her legs and dangled her sandal between her toes. "You want anything to eat? Amazing lemon squares." She sang to tempt the shy man in front of her.
He chuckled; looking at her sideways while she grinned and bounced her sandal on her foot. "Sure, why not." She gave a triumphant sound and swung her legs back behind the counter and went behind the red door.
Steve twisted his head to glance behind the swinging door, wondering if she was allowed to do that. Turning around behind him when he heard the bell ring again, Steve saw three young women giggling and grinning at him, waving shyly. He waved awkwardly, causing the three to squeal making Steve cringe at the sound. He faced forward again and hoped the girls didn't approach him before October got back.
He tapped his foot against the hard-wood floors and felt himself tense up when he heard heels clicking against the floor. He sighed when he heard giggling behind him, he closed his eyes to try and tune it out. "Um, excuse me." Steve looked beside him and saw a tall and lean woman smiling suggestively at him. She had long blond hair that curled across her bare shoulders, and wore a bright pink top that had no sleeves, seeming to be held up by her chest alone, causing Steve to stop his scrutiny of the young woman and look straight forward, and stood at a respectful distance away. "Ma'am?" He spoke softly.
He heard more giggling after he spoke, causing him to cringe slightly at the annoying sound.
"I couldn't help but notice you walking in here," he raised his eyebrow when she made no mention of October; she had come in here with him, "and I was wondering if you'd like to get a coffee with me." He glanced sideways at her and saw she had come closer to him, batting her long eyelashes lined with some kind of dark makeup.
Steve gave a tight-lipped smile and nodded respectively at the young lady, "I'm afraid I'll have to decline, ma'am. You see, I'm already here with someone, that woman I came in with."
The lady scoffed and placed a hand on her hip, startling Steve with her slightly hostel actions. She flipped her curly hair behind her shoulder as she spoke with a slight grimace, "Well, then where is she? If I were her, I'd never let you out of my sight." She grinned, leaning over slightly to show her cleavage to Steve.
The soldier turned away respectfully from her very forward offer, and gulped nervously as he felt himself blush from her suggestive movements. Steve opened his mouth to tell the young lady where October was before he was cut off, "I'm right here." Her voice was deadpanned as she held a large knife covered with a thick red substance, her cheek smeared with it as well. Steve felt his eyes widened while the girl beside him went pale.
"Whatever." She hissed, pushing her shocked friends out of the door.
October just grinned and licked her finger that also had the red substance on it. Steve studied the knife and looked back at her, furrowing his eyebrows, "What is that?"
She just laughed, holding the knife towards Steve, "I was helping Mrs. O'Riely cut a cherry pie. Want some?" He grinned, taking the knife from her tiny hands. When their skin met, Steve felt sparks run through his fingers where he had touched October.
He clutched the knife tightly, looking at October strangely, "Did you feel that?" he asked quietly.
"Feel what?" She laughed airily, moving to go back around the counter. Steve reached forward before he could stop himself and grabbed her wrist, sending sparks up and down his arm at their contact. October looked at him oddly, a blush rising from her milky neck to her full cheeks.
"That." He whispered lowly, staring into October's cerulean eyes intensely. This woman was strange; singing and dancing with him, tempting him unknowingly, and allowing him to relax and stop thinking of everything he lost only to have his mind focus on her wonderful quirks.
October glanced away, pulling her hand away and holding it close to her chest, a small smile gracing her lips. "I'm helping Mrs. O'Reily make the lemon squares, if you'd like to help." Her voice was low and breathy, like she'd just run a marathon and was trying to breathe right.
Steve looked down at his hand, before looking at the cherry-pie knife and grinning, licking some of the pie filling off of the knife. He snapped his eyes wide as he swallowed, "I want pie." He grinned, causing October to laugh and grab his free hand, pulling him behind the counter and into the kitchen.
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A/N: Hello! Sorry this took so long, I've suddenly been on a Bruce Banner/Mark Ruffalo kick and began writing a story for him as well, that I may perhaps post when I get more chapters in for this one. ;) Anyway, thanks to DiaDeLosMuertos, stabbythings, ILuvOdie, Ravenclaw Slytherin, and BlackMoonWhiteSky for such wonderful reviews! You all get a virtual cookie and my real love! Here's a hint, wonderful readers, Reviewing boosts my confidence and inspires me to please you. So if you wish, I would really love to hear from you guys. C: