A week passed by so quickly. And yet it was so agonizingly slow. Lucy was threatened by Peggy before she left to 'stay at home and rest or else she'd fly back across the pond just to smack some proper English sense' into her. Lucy huffed indignantly, whatever that meant. But she did not dare disobey the British agent; goodness knows it'd be something Peggy would do. So she spent a few days in her humble apartment, tidying up her spartan belongings, and hoping Howard was not messing things up too badly back at their lab. The worse part of being confined to her home was the restlessness. Even Steve was busy, so she was unable to spend her last few days in America with him. He was currently preparing for some show the foolish senator was setting up. Tonight was her last night before leaving for London and it was also the night of his first show.
Lucy was seated in the first row of the audience. There were folks of all ages here tonight. Old men smoking, ladies chattering, children laughing, and babies crying. Even with all the noise, anything was better than being stuck at home. It was nice to see regular people. People who were not as drawn as her colleges. People who actually wore a bit of color instead of the plain attire of the army.
Howard interrupted her musing when he plopped down beside her, "Here doll. I got you some popcorn." He handed her a small paper bag full of the light and fluffy goodness. "Sorry I couldn't take you for fondue like I promised. Next time." He leaned back in his chair rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Its alright." She nibbled happily on the snack and patted his back, "we can go when we're not so busy." Observing the stage girls who were setting up critically she asked him, "Do you know anything about the show?"
He grinned, "I know its full of gorgeous dames." Then he winked at a few of the girls causing them to giggle furiously in response. This caused Lucy to fall silent. When Howard looked over at her, she began to eat her popcorn with more aggression than before, ignoring him. He quickly backpedalled, "But nothing compared to you doll, Steve wouldn't look twice at them, trust me." One of the girls waved at Howard, not helping his point.
"I highly doubt that." Lucy grumbled.
Howard sighed, "Listen here doll face. Steve and I are two completely different men. Steve is the settling down type; I on the other hand, am not. I don't need a girl anyway, I've got you." He beamed at her.
Lucy went back to her snack, placated. "Wait." she gasped, dropping a piece of popcorn back into the bag which Howard grabbed a handful of.
"Hmm." He replied his mouth currently stuffed.
"W-when did you figure it out? About me liking…" she trailed off blushing, unable to finish her sentence.
Howard guffawed, "Well, darling, you do a fantastically horrible job at hiding it. I knew the first time you told me something about your special 'friend'. I just didn't have a face to fit the description until recently." He paused, deliberating, "You know he cares for you too, right?"
"Of course he cares for me." Lucy said not catching on, "I'm his best friend's little sister. He can't not like me."
"No, not like that, silly. He loves you, like how you love him." Howard nodded seriously. "You might not see it, because you're too blinded by your love. But everyone else can."
Before she could respond to his ridiculous claims, the show started.
-permafrost-
"Write me. Whenever you can." Steve made her promise. It was early in the morning. The sky was still grey, much like their moods. Today was the day Lucy and the rest of the SSR were going to join their other half in London.
"And you write me." Lucy reminded him back. "I want to hear about the great travels of Captain America, the star spangled man."
Steve grinned down at her. Their height difference had taken some getting used to. "Don't get all the bad guys until I get there." Then pulled her into one last embrace. Her face now fit comfortably into his chest.
"We'll save the best for last." She whispered committing his scent to memory. Then leaning up she kissed his newly defined jaw. "Don't miss me too much." She joked starting to step away from him and trying not to cry.
He caught her arms and placed a lingering kiss on the top of her head, "I honestly don't think I could miss you enough, Lu."
They both stood there staring at each other. Both had words at the tips of their tongues. Then just as something might have happened, Howard shouted down to her, bringing them both back to reality.
-permafrost-
Dear Lucy,
They've made posters of me now. I don't really know what to think about them, posing took a long time and it doesn't really look like me. It's a rendition of the 'Uncle Sam' one. I've included a sketch for you. Also they like me to take pictures with kids, especially babies. I'm still a little unsure about the costume though…
-permafrost-
Dear Steve,
Do you even know how to hold a baby? And you must send me more sketches. My quarters are so impersonal. I've been helping Howard mostly, developing better guns etc. I've also started to look through some of Erskine's notes…
-permafrost-
Dear Lucy,
The latest idea the senator had was to start shooting advertisements to show in movie theaters. It's a good plan, but they need to choose better actors to play the soldiers. In other news, I've finally learned all my lines. It's easier to engage the crowd these days…
-permafrost-
Dear Steve,
Howard has taken to annoying me by humming your song all day long…
-permafrost-
Dear Lucy,
Tell him when I come up to see you I'll sock him in the face like I do to Adolf Hitler everyday...
-permafrost-
Dear Steve,
He stopped…
-permafrost-
Dear Lucy,
There's a Captain America comic book now. I didn't even know until I saw some kids running by with them from the newsstand…
-permafrost-
Dear Steve,
I know, Howard got some flown in…
-permafrost-
Dear Lucy,
We've been filming more short films recently. I went to see one the other day, I've never been so grateful that a theater was dark…
-permafrost-
Dear Steve,
What I wouldn't give to have been there to see that…
-permafrost-
Dear Lucy,
Children have started asking me for my autograph. Its become a little ridiculous here, the shows are now starting to include fireworks and confetti…
-permafrost-
Dear Lucy,
…I hope you're still getting my letters; I'm going over seas to your side in a coupled days. Hopefully I'll hear from you soon.
Love,
Steve