fateandfortune | Just a kid from Brooklyn. [For Steve Rogers]

Three months. That's all the longer Rogue had been in this world that wasn't hers, trying to scrape together a life out of nothing. She'd barely made a decent start of it when the world had tried to end on her with the Battle of New York. The city had been in chaos, was still trying to pick up the pieces two months later, and Rogue did all she could to help in her own way. In a small way.

Sure, there had been a few times she'd been tempted during the battle to run out into the thick of things and become her old self. Join the superheroes who had taken charge of the situation. But in the end she'd stayed back, because the reality was that without someone to borrow an active power from, she was just another normal person, and normal people just got others killed in fights like that.

In the weeks that followed the Battle, she'd taken to volunteering whenever she wasn't working. She'd joined an organization that worked with the elderly in various capacities, and they sent her where she was needed. Sometimes it was a nursing home to visit with the ones who didn't have families or who had simply been forgotten, sometimes to the retirement communities that put on events and could always use a few extra hands. Those were her big plans that Sunday - a party at a residential community, complete with cake, punch, music, and streamers. Lots of streamers. They'd really done the place up for the 4th of July holiday, which wasn't technically until Wednesday, with red, white, and blue all over the common room. It had taken hours for Rogue and a few others to get the decorations up and everything ready, but the smiles on the residents' faces as they were shepherded in by a fresh set of volunteers made every second worth it.

Laughing as goofy Mr. Samuels swept Mrs. Hawkins into something almost resembling a waltz, Rogue continued spooning out strawberries onto the whipped cream on top of the line of shortcakes. It felt strange to not be wearing gloves, even after months of having decent control over her mutation, but she'd still chosen a blue dress with long sleeves for the occasion. A simple dress, with sensible heels, so the sticker nametag reading "Marie" didn't look too terribly out of place.

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Everything seemed to be going just fine until that quiet question raised every alarm within her. The way he asked it was what gave it away, the way the words were quiet and not as carefree as the ones before had been. He was testing her, trying to figure out what she knew, and that moment was absolutely terrifying for her.

She could tell him, right then and there. Lay everything out, that she'd picked up on the slips he'd made and put two and two together. Reassure him that it was highly unlikely anyone else there knew his secret too. It was so tempting... But this wasn't the right time for it. If they talked about this, it needed to be in private, where their reactions weren't going to be watched by a dozen pairs of eyes who might spread the word that Captain America was volunteering with the Average Joes. He didn't need that in his life - he needed a bit of normalcy.

...so then what the hell was she doing even talking with him?

Nothing about her was normal, and he deserved so much better. He deserved someone who didn't have more secrets than he did, someone who wouldn't have to spend their entire life hiding in plain sight. But even knowing that, she couldn't bring herself to walk away. It was selfish, but she wanted a chance to try and see if this could work between them.

Forcing a playful smile, she walked along with him for a second, reaching up to gently tap his extremely impressive bicep. "With muscles like these? Oh yeah, you're just fine without my help," she joked, trying to add a little flirtation back into her tone while she prayed that he didn't notice the unsteadiness of the whole thing.

Her reaction seemed perfectly normal, and Steve tried to smile at the playfulness in her gesture, but... Now that he was really watching, really paying attention, he couldn't stop his mind from questioning every minute move and change in her voice.

He tried telling himself that fine, so what? Either she knew, and for whatever reason she was keeping quiet about it - or she didn't know, and now he was acting weird and it was going to send her completely the wrong signals.

The fact was, though, that now he was in combat mode, and he couldn't just flip it on and off like a light switch. He couldn't go back to being carefree Steve Rogers who'd been flirting with a great girl, not right away. He had to settle his nerves, and that wasn't going to happen with a room full of strangers potentially watching his every move.

He paused by the wall, pretending to adjust the table so it was sturdy leaning there, and murmured so only Marie would hear. "Maybe I should go. I-- think it's best I go, now. I'd stay and help finish, but--" he glanced around again. "At this point, I'm not sure I'd be doing more harm than good."

The smile he gave her this time really was genuine, and fond. "I'll call you, in a couple days, we can finish making plans for the 4th, okay?"

He had the strongest urge to lean over and kiss her goodbye - just a simple brush of mouths, the kind of kiss you saw long-time couples give each other without a second thought, and it was completely absurd, but he still caught himself swaying slightly in her direction. Yeah, maybe it was definitely time to leave. Before he made an even bigger fool of himself.

Oh Steve. She didn't want him to go, didn't want to spend the next few days agonizing over these moments and worrying that he might hate her for having kept her knowing his secret from him. That was what she was most worried about, that she had messed things up even before they'd really started. But she understood why he felt that he had to, at least she thought she did, and so she wouldn't try to keep him there.

Secret identities always made things more complicated, but not everyone could be Tony Stark and throw themselves into the spotlight.

"Okay," she agreed quietly, giving him a fond smile in return, though she knew there was worry etched into her expression. With him standing so close, she could have sworn he was moving toward her ever so slightly, and in that moment she didn't care who might see - she leaned in and up to press a soft kiss to his cheek, anchoring herself with a hand on his shoulder. It only lasted a second, and then she was settling back on her heels, letting her fingers trail down his arm before dropping away again.

"So you don't forget me," she explained, and if he looked, he might see very clearly painted on her face that she'd like nothing more than to kiss him properly right at that moment. But she couldn't bring herself to do it, not with all those people watching. Kissing was something extremely personal and intimitately special for Rogue, the one thing she'd always longed to be able to do in her world. And even though she'd touched him a few times that day, including that brush of her lips on his cheek, there was something in her that was somewhat terrified of her lips meeting his. She'd get over it before long, but there was nothing to do for it now.

Well... Well. That was...unexpected. Steve held himself perfectly still for a moment, just staring at Marie with slightly wide eyes. He probably looked like a deer in headlights at the moment, but he was too busy processing to really care. It was just a kiss on the cheek, and yet it was much more than he'd been expecting, especially now. Maybe he should raise his expectations for their get-together on the 4th. Their date? Was it going to be a date, now?

Don't get your hopes up too high, a cynical part of him warned. You still don't know if she knows you're really Captain America. And if she does, she might just be looking for a good story to sell the rags.

He was pretty sure that was ridiculous. She was too kind and understanding to do something like that. But even kind people could be curious, and if curiosity about getting together with Captain America was her driving motivation... He'd met girls like that during the war. (He'd gotten friendly fire because of one, too.)

Drawing in a deep breath and holding it for a second, Steve decided he was being an absolute idiot. Regardless of her motivations, he was taken with Marie, and at this point he should just let the chips fall where they may. He gave her another smile, warm and heartfelt, and told her gently, "Definitely not forgetting anything about today." He reached up and pressed his hand to her bicep, giving it a soft squeeze, hoping it conveyed that they were okay, and he meant what he said.

Then he turned and started to walk away. Because if he didn't go now, he wasn't sure he'd be able to.

[Seriously. I was starting to worry they were just gonna keep dancing around each other while everyone ~~watched~~ cleaned up around them.]

If Steve wanted their get-together on his birthday to be a date, she had absolutely had no problem with that. She was going to dress up like it was a date, and bake him the best damn birthday cupcakes she could, because he deserved nothing less than that.

And if anyone ever even suggested that she was just interested in him to get a story to sell, she would punch them right in the face - Steve included. Besides being the furthest thing from that sort of person, notoriety was the very last thing she wanted in this world. But beyond that, she would physically fight anyone who tried to see Steve like that, consequences be damned.

That touch of his hand was perfect, and it made everything better. She was still smiling like an idiot when he turned away, and he'd made it only a few feet before she was calling after him, "I'll see you soon!" Definitely an idiot, an infatuated idiot.

But the 4th couldn't come soon enough.

[They are adorable in their dancing, but it really is very "Oh come on already."]

Just a kid from Brooklyn. [For Steve Rogers]

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Why must you create drama, Steve? WHY

Because who would these characters be without their drama?

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