Rogue had shared so much with him, Steve wanted to return that generosity. He thought maybe he could, right now, in this moment, without being overwhelmed by all his self-recriminations. Right now, he felt amazing, the lows from earlier swept away by the elation of this thing between them, unnameable in its intensity.
"You ever heard of the Coney Island Cyclone?" He couldn't help puffing up a little with pride at what he was about to reveal. "I went and rode it on opening day." It was a little ridiculous; he should feel embarrassed at being able to say that, but he thought she would enjoy the anecdote. It was one of the things he'd looked up when he had returned to New York after his brief tour of the country, and he'd been amazed that it was still there, after all these years. It was even on the National Register of Historic Places. Which made him both proud and despondent about the whole 'I rode it first' thing.
All the same, he ducked his head in embarrassment. "Okay, so I was basically dragged onto it by--" his voice hitched, but he was determined to get through this. "--my best friend. Bucky." He glanced off into the park for a second, before turning his gaze back to her. "He wanted bragging rights, and to be fair, it is something pretty brag-worthy, to be able to say 'I rode that first.'"
He started gesturing with his hands as he explained, "It's massive, right, and-- it's probably not all that impressive nowadays, but back then, we'd never seen anything like it. In our neighborhood, even! So, we went on it. And it was--" he laughed a little. "It was terrifying, honestly. But amazing."
He sighed in regret, but the nostalgic smile never left his face. "Unfortunately, it was June, so it was hot and muggy out, we'd been outside for a while anyway, and between my," he made a face, "'delicate constitution,' my intermittent vertigo, and just general crummy luck, I wound up throwing up once we got off." He shook his head. "I s'pose I'm lucky I didn't get sick during the ride."
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"You ever heard of the Coney Island Cyclone?" He couldn't help puffing up a little with pride at what he was about to reveal. "I went and rode it on opening day." It was a little ridiculous; he should feel embarrassed at being able to say that, but he thought she would enjoy the anecdote. It was one of the things he'd looked up when he had returned to New York after his brief tour of the country, and he'd been amazed that it was still there, after all these years. It was even on the National Register of Historic Places. Which made him both proud and despondent about the whole 'I rode it first' thing.
All the same, he ducked his head in embarrassment. "Okay, so I was basically dragged onto it by--" his voice hitched, but he was determined to get through this. "--my best friend. Bucky." He glanced off into the park for a second, before turning his gaze back to her. "He wanted bragging rights, and to be fair, it is something pretty brag-worthy, to be able to say 'I rode that first.'"
He started gesturing with his hands as he explained, "It's massive, right, and-- it's probably not all that impressive nowadays, but back then, we'd never seen anything like it. In our neighborhood, even! So, we went on it. And it was--" he laughed a little. "It was terrifying, honestly. But amazing."
He sighed in regret, but the nostalgic smile never left his face. "Unfortunately, it was June, so it was hot and muggy out, we'd been outside for a while anyway, and between my," he made a face, "'delicate constitution,' my intermittent vertigo, and just general crummy luck, I wound up throwing up once we got off." He shook his head. "I s'pose I'm lucky I didn't get sick during the ride."