Who: Steve Rogers & Darcy Lewis What: A date When: Saturday evening Where: Farmhouse to movie theater to Hinkles Warnings: Is unexpected sweetness really a warning? Status: Completed GDoc
Steve Rogers had a date tonight. This would be the first actual date he’d gone on since going into the ice. (He didn’t count speed dating.) The implications of this was not lost on him. A lot of emotions were warring with each other as he got himself ready. Guilt. Anxiety. Anticipation. Those were the main ones. Disappointment laced through them all from the network conversation he’d had with Natasha. That hadn’t gone well, and it weighed on his mind. He didn’t like bad feelings between them. Of all of the Avengers, Nat had earned her way into being considered a close friend. He knew she was going through some stuff right now with John Grimm having been sent home, but this hadn’t been the first time he’d felt judged by her. As the time drew near, however, he pushed it to the back of his mind. There was another woman he needed to focus on now. Natasha would wait.
Dressed for the evening, he trotted down the stairs. On his way through the hall, he was met by a squealing Stephanie. Steve didn’t hesitate to scoop her up, assuming she had been picked up by Wanda or Clint. Imagine his surprise when he found her mother who was also his date standing in the living room with Wanda.
“How am I supposed to pick you up if you’re here?” He smirked even as the little girl declared that he smelled funny.
***
“It’s the 21st century, Steve,” Darcy said. “I had to drop Stephanie off so I figured I could pick you up.” She had dithered for a while over what to wear, not knowing exactly what they were doing or if this was a real date, and was glad that she’d gone with something nicer when she saw how he was dressed.
He looked good and she smiled. Yes, Steve had been one of her closest friends for pretty much the entire time she’d been in Madison Valley, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t always have a little crush. How could she not? He was gorgeous and he was one of the few genuinely good people in the world. Still, she wasn’t going into tonight expecting much.
“Unless you’d rather I go home,” she offered.
***
She looked nice. What she was wearing was very much her, but without being too wild or revealing. Steve smiled. “I keep getting told what century it is,” he said with a small shake of his head. “Trust me, I’m well aware. Just some things shouldn’t be let go.”
He set Stephanie down as he whispered in the little girl’s ear. She giggled as she ran to her mom and let everyone in the house hear what she had to say. “YOU LOOK NICE!!!”
***
Darcy laughed and leaned down to whisper in her daughter’s ear. Stephanie turned around and said, “You look nice too!” before running off with Judith to go and play. “Do we need to bring her along as a translator?” Darcy joked. Wanda shook her head at both of them, said, “Have a nice time,” and followed the girls out of the room.
Alone, Darcy realized she felt a little nervous. “Ready?”
***
Steve chuckled. “Pretty sure we can take it from here.” He thanked Wanda and gave her a wave before he turned his smile back to Darcy. “Ready,” he said as he gestured toward the front door. The lady always goes first, thank you.
Of course, he was there to open the door for her, and when they got outside he offered her his arm. “Does this 21st century include you driving or can I?” He was teasing, of course.
***
“I’m fine with you driving,” Darcy said with a laugh. “I’ll also let you pay.” She was a modern woman and perfectly capable of doing things for herself, but that didn’t mean she didn’t enjoy being spoiled. Besides, she wanted Steve to be comfortable, which meant that she was more willing to overlook any outdated missteps he might make. If he went on a date with someone else, someone who didn’t know him as well, she’d be happy to point those things out so he could avoid them in the future.
He smelled good, unlike what her daughter thought, and she debated if she should comment on it. “New cologne?” she asked. “I like it, even if Steph doesn’t.”
Talking about her daughter was a good ice breaker.
***
This was one reason why he’d chosen someone who knew him to ask out on a date. He didn’t have to worry about his proclivities offending someone. They would accept him for who he was, and understood the reasons behind it. They wouldn’t want him to change. He hoped, anyway.
“Oh, I was planning on paying,” he said in that amused, gravelly voice he could get. “And yes, that means you can go nuts at the concession stand. It isn’t a trip to the movies without popcorn.” For him, regular popcorn. He was kind of boring that way, but he was willing to try different things.
Steve opened the passenger side door for Darcy, made certain she was settled then went around the car. “Now I realize that you’re probably going to jump out as soon as we park instead of waiting for me so I won’t even ask.” He smirked as they got going.
***
Popcorn was a requirement at the movies though half the fun was sharing it with your date so you could have all those awkward hand bumps.
“You say that like I have no patience,” Darcy said. “I am happy to wait and let you open the door for me.” She would even appreciate a hand getting out of the car since there really was no graceful way in or out of a vehicle when you were wearing a skirt or dress.
She glanced over at him, trying again to figure out if this was an actual date or more of a training wheels type of situation. Either way was fine with her, she just didn’t know which it was. “What are we seeing?”
***
She would have to ask to find out, but to Steve this was a date. He wouldn’t do that to a friend.
He laughed. “It’s not a lack of patience. It’s that I know that certain...behaviors are out of style. Some gals would see it as an affront to their independence, insulting their capabilities. To me, it’s treating them like a lady. Someone important. The right thing to do.” He shrugged a shoulder. “My mom made sure I knew all this, and I can’t undo that education without insulting her memory.”
A peek into his past, and what made him, him. The only person who knew anything about it was Bucky, and he wasn’t here to enlighten people.
“They’re showing movies from the 80s,” he said. Anyone else would call them old movies. Most of them were still new to him. “Tonight is Say Anything.”
***
Darcy liked hearing him talk about his past. She knew it wasn’t something that he talked about often and she understood the reasons for it. Still, it was nice to learn more about him pre-Captain America. “There’s a balance that can be had between being a gentleman and being a chauvinist,” she said. “You seem to be on the right track to that.”
When he mentioned 80s movies, she grinned. “Oh, classic John Cusack,” she said. “Excellent choice. I think my favorite of his is High Fidelity, followed closely by Better Off Dead and Grosse Point Blank.”
*** “Trust me when I saw that I entirely believe that women can do anything a man can do,” he said with a smirk that indicated he’d learned the hard way, “sometimes better.” Peggy had taught that lesson to one of the men being considered for the super soldier serum. It had been amusing to watch.
“I haven’t seen any of those,” he admitted. “I haven’t even seen this one, but I’m told it’s good.” Steve had called the theater to get the recommendation, and when they found out it was for a date, they had practically fallen all over themselves to suggest Say Anything.
***
“Now I feel like I need to develop a curriculum of Important Pop Culture of the late 20th Century,” Darcy said. “I introduced Haymitch to a lot of my favorites. His world didn’t really have entertainment like ours does.”
She wrinkled her nose, not liking to think about Panem and their idea of what passed as entertainment. “If you like it, I can give you some other suggestions,” she said. “And even if you don’t, but you want other recommendations, let me know.” Movies, music, and television were all firmly in her area of expertise.
***
Steve couldn’t help but smirk as he reached over to open the glove box. Inside was a small notebook and a pen. “Go ahead and add to the list.” Pages and pages had already been filled with suggestions people had given him. “I’m slowly working my way through, and that’s not the only notebook.” He literally had a dozen back home.
“I’m glad you brought up Haymitch,” he said amiably. “I don’t know how much you’d want to talk about him, if at all, so you’ll have to take the lead on that one.”
***
Of course he was keeping a list. That was a very Steve thing to do and Darcy chuckled as she flipped through the pages and saw some of the things that were on it. “How about I make you a list,” she said. “I don’t want to spend our whole date writing things in your notebook.”
She glanced over when he mentioned Haymitch, realizing belatedly that it probably wasn’t cool to bring up her long time significant other on a date. Then again, it wasn’t like Steve didn’t know about him and they did share a child, so she couldn’t pretend he didn’t exist.
“I’m okay talking about him,” Darcy said. “I mean, I’m still a little sad that he’s not here, but we always knew that was a possibility. And I am doing what I can to keep his memory alive for Stephanie.” She didn’t ask about her dad too often, but when she did, Darcy always answered her questions.
***
“A list would be great,” he answered. “Maybe you could make a spreadsheet. Organize it by subject and genre with color coding.” He grinned at her sideways to make sure she knew he was joking. Steve didn’t expect her to do anything let alone get that detailed.
Steve gave Darcy an understanding smile just before they pulled into the theater parking lot. “You should be able to talk about him with anyone. He’s an important part of your life. No one can replace him. No one should try.” One of the many reasons he hadn’t dated was the fear that anyone would feel as if they were in Peggy Carter’s shadow. That would never be the case, but he could see how someone might think that way.
***
Darcy grinned at the suggestion. “Wouldn’t that be too high tech for you?” she teased.
Her grin faded a little and she nodded at his comments about Haymitch. “Yeah, I learned a lot about myself with him,” she said. “Never really thought I was the settling down type.” And even though they hadn’t gotten married, she had been fully committed to him and their relationship in a way she’d never anticipated being.
When they parked, she sat patiently in her seat, waiting for Steve to come around and open the door as she’d said she would.
***
“It suits you,” Steve told her in all seriousness before he smiled then got out of the car. His amused smirk was in place as he opened the door. “I appreciate you waiting,” he said as he offered her his hand. His hand was perhaps surprisingly smooth, and he was definitely gentle. It was something he had to be cautious about, his strength, when touching other people.
As they made for the box office he tucked her arm through his. He looked at the marquee and apparently there were a bunch of John Cusack movies planned. A Regular Cusack-o-rama was spelled out. Steve chuckled. “This Cusack guy must have been really popular.”
***
“It’s the least I can do,” Darcy said, taking his hand as she got out of the car and tucked her arm in his for the walk to the theater. She couldn’t remember if she’d ever been on a proper date like this before. When she was younger, dates consisted of fumbling makeouts in bars and fast food runs. And her relationship with Haymitch had been anything but conventional. It was kind of nice.
She laughed. “Oh, yeah, he’s a terrific actor,” she said. “Really good range. All those movies I mentioned earlier are very different. He can do it all, though back in the 80s, he was a romantic comedy leading man type.”
***
Romantic comedy. Uh. They hadn’t told him that! Too late now.
“Guess we’ll find out,” he said with a smile down at her. He let go of her long enough to buy their tickets then hold the door for her. It wasn’t that busy, but everyone here seemed to be a couple. Oh yeah. He’d been played by the theater, and he couldn’t help but laugh at himself internally.
He queued them up at the concession stand and realized there were different flavors of popcorn. “Lady’s choice,” he said. He’d let her order for herself. Even in his day it was kind of rude to order for another person who wasn’t a child.
***
Since she didn’t know if they were going anywhere after the movie, Darcy decided to play it safe with the concessions. “Why don’t we get one of those deals that’s a big bucket of popcorn to share and two drinks,” she suggested. “I’m fine with regular popcorn. Wouldn’t mind extra butter, but it’s not a requirement.” She liked the classics.
Which could really describe her taste in a lot of things, including men. Hmm, that was a bit of self-realization she would have to examine later.
***
“Extra butter it is,” he said with a nod. Steve stepped up next to Darcy to place the order and pay. Since theaters made their money from the concession stand and not ticket sales, it was a small fortune for the snack. Not that Steve so much as blinked. He was used to things being much more expensive than what they had been in his time.
He carried everything but left it up to Darcy to hand the guy their tickets. There was only so much he could do and carry. He also let her pick out the seats since it was her line of sight that would be in question. Not his. Finally, they were settled, and Steve leaned in a bit to speak with a lowered voice.
“If you’re the type who talks through the movie you’re walking home.” He teased, of course.
***
It almost startled Darcy when he leaned in close, though she laughed at his words. “So I guess making out is out of the question,” she joked back.
She settled into her seat, taking a sip of her soda and then reaching over to grab a handful of popcorn while the pre-movie commercials played. They’d timed it well enough that it was only a few minutes until the movie began. Since it was an older film, they didn’t have to sit through thirty minutes of previews. Darcy honestly didn’t mind them most of the time, but she was okay with sitting back and enjoying the show.
Through the movie, she glanced over at Steve a few times to see his reactions to different things, particularly liking the moments when he would laugh at something on the screen.
***
Steve chuckled as he grinned a bit sheepishly. “Alright, but no tongue. First date and all.” He wouldn’t normally make a comeback like that, but this was, in fact, a date. You were supposed to open up. Let more of yourself show through. He just hoped he didn’t step over a line with that one. Modern humor was weird.
He did find himself enjoying the movie. It was lighthearted. Told a good story, without falling into vulgarity or absurdity. They were barely half way through when he understood why it was recommended as a date movie. But he was enjoying it enough that he didn’t resent the ruse.
There were moments when they went for popcorn at the same time. Their hands touched, one time he even snagged her hand with his fingers. She got a smile and a whispered apology before he allowed her to take her handful. By the end of the movie there were only unpopped kernels left and melting ice in his cup.
“Ok, I liked that one,” he said as the lights came up. The trash was gathered and stuffed into the popcorn bucket then he held out his hand to help Darcy out of her seat. “If the others are like it then I wouldn’t mind seeing them.”
***
His comeback surprised her, pleasantly so, and she laughed, but the movie started before she could make a retort. When he took her hand by accident, Darcy realized she was a little disappointed when he let it go. Maybe this really was an actual date. If so, she had to figure out if she was ready for that sort of commitment. Steve was not a casual dating kind of guy.
“Well, in Grosse Point Blank, he plays an assassin,” she said as they headed out of the theater, pausing to toss their garbage in the bins outside the doors. “But it’s actually really funny. The other two are lighter though. And you’d probably like Serendipity.”
***
Once outside, Steve extended his arm in an offer for her to slide hers in. “I watched one of those Bourne movies.” He jerked a shoulder as an unimpressed expression formed on his face. “Non-comedy assassin movie, but it was too close to what we did back home. I kinda slept through it.” Not to mention it dealt with someone’s memory being tampered with. That was a bit too close to reality and Bucky for Steve’s tastes.
Before it got too awkward, he looked down at Darcy. “So what do you think of either ice cream or Hinkles grease?”
***
“I could go for a burger,” Darcy said. “And a milkshake. That’s the best of both worlds.”
She could understand why he wouldn’t like the Bourne movies and would make sure not to recommend anything like that when she made him a list. Maybe he’d like heist movies, like Ocean’s 11. Those were exciting without involving too much spy stuff.
***
“Hinkles it is,” he said in agreement. If she had wanted to go somewhere else he would have accommodated her. As it was, they were bound to be seen and recognized. Not that it was a big secret. He just didn’t want anyone coming up to them.
Fifteen minutes or so later they were seated in a booth waiting on their drink order. Steve had opted for a vanilla shake himself. “Think we can skip all the vanilla jokes?” He smirked at Darcy and actually gave her a wink. He’d heard enough of those jokes to understand.
***
Darcy ordered a chocolate shake and didn’t comment on his choice, though she laughed when he asked her to skip the jokes, especially since he accompanied it with a wink. It was a very different side of Steve for sure. “I think I can control myself this once,” she said. Though it was tempting to make an offer to teach him about less vanilla things. Not as tempting as she would have expected though because she realized that she was actually really enjoying their date and wouldn’t mind doing it again.
“You’re not gonna judge me for getting one of those mini burger platters, are you?” she asked. Hinkles specialized in sliders and she was eyeing the option that included three burgers and loaded tater tots.
***
“Why would I judge you?” Steve was honestly kind of baffled by that. “Get whatever you want. If they had lobster I’d say go for it.” Was she thinking he’d think she was eating too much or too little? Why wasn’t there an instruction manual for these things?
Their shakes were delivered, their food ordered, and Steve waited a few moments before he got into more personal stuff. “Something Natasha said to me before tonight has been kinda sitting on my head. I don’t want you to get the wrong impression.” She could be excused for thinking the wrong thing until he continued. “I want you to know that this is a date. Not a couple of friends going to a movie. And you weren’t a safe choice. I mean, sure I know you and that made it easier for me, but it’s because I know you that I asked you out tonight. I knew I could trust you, and you already know all the main details about me.” An awkward smile pulled his lips to the side. “Am I making any sense?”
***
His speech answered a lot of questions she had about tonight and Darcy nodded when he asked if he was making sense. “I’ll admit I was wondering,” she said. “I didn’t ask because I decided it didn’t matter.”
She paused, taking a sip of her shake, before continuing. “But I’m glad it’s a date. I’m having a really nice time with you.” Even if she’d sort of bullied him into asking, if you wanted to get technical, she was happy that he had.
Maybe this could turn into something. Darcy wasn’t going to get ahead of herself thinking about the possibilities, but she was open to them.
***
Steve’s smile came a little easier. He was glad she hadn’t laughed at him. Then again, after the movie and up until now he hadn’t really thought she would. Still, it was nice knowing that they were on the same page.
“I’m having a nice time, too.” He sounded a little surprised, knew it and decided to explain. “I wasn’t expecting you to be right. The whole...met the right person. I don’t think tonight would have been the same with anyone else.”
Yes, he played for keeps. But this was just a first date. It could be that other people would give her a hard time about being out with Captain America. It was hard enough for him to deal with let alone anyone else.
***
“You didn’t expect me to be right about you needing to meet the right person? Or didn’t expect me to possibly be the right person?” Darcy asked. “Not that I’m saying I am. After all, I am an unwed single mother, so I know that might be tough for you.”
She wasn’t under any illusions that dating her would be a treat considering all the baggage that she came with.
***
“Hey my mom was a single mother.” Steve lifted his brows as he pointed at Darcy. “What do they say?” He thumped his chest with a fist then pointed back at her again. “Respect.” Again, not many people knew that it had been just him and his mom.
“That you were right about needing to meet the right person.” He smiled again as he shrugged. “I’d like to do this again some time.”
***
Darcy couldn’t help laughing at the gesture. It looked so very wrong coming from him. “Don’t do that,” she advised. “It’s not you at all.” He looked like he was trying way too hard and while she thought it was cute, she didn’t think it would go over great with other people.
“I’d like that too,” she said.
***
Good. He had gotten the reaction he wanted from her with the gesture. Steve grinned. This was a time he didn’t mind being laughed at.
“Good,” he said with a smile. “Now that we’ve cleared the air let’s enjoy the rest of the night.”
***
The server brought their food just then and Darcy’s eyes lit up. “I’m definitely about to enjoy these burgers,” she said.