Sharon Carter is a super spy (exshieldagent) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2014-05-28 07:36:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, sharon carter, steve rogers (captain america) |
Who: Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter
When: Circa May 23
Where: Supermarket
What: Random Encounter, in which he recognizes her, but she doesn’t know him.
Rating/Warning: Low/None
Status: Complete
Sharon needed something for dinner. She didn’t want to eat out, but she wasn’t sure what she wanted to cook, either. It was hot, and she wasn’t the best chef in the world. Her options were limited. A bagged salad, bottle of pasta sauce, and a bag of dry pasta seemed like it would make a good meal. Low on protein, but definitely tasty.
The supermarket aisles were overstocked. It must have been the employees getting ready for the holiday weekend? Sharon had to skirt by a man in a motorized cart, and backed into a towering display of corn chips, sending a half dozen bags tumbling to the floor around her. It wasn’t like her to be so clumsy, and it was mortifying when other people turned to see the chips raining down over her head.
Steve was a frequent shopper. His metabolism was off the charts with the super soldier thing, and he had a few stores he went to, so he didn’t go to the same one several times a week. His cart was already half full in no time, and he was making his way toward the meat department when a situation caught the corner of his eye. He wasn’t fast enough to stop some of the chips from falling, but he at least managed to dash over to catch the rest of the display as well as the poor woman who’d stumbled into it.
“Hey, are you all right?” Steve asked, giving her a smile. The smile, however, faltered a bit when he noticed who he had caught. It couldn’t be - This place was getting crazy.
Sharon was glad that the man with the strong arm caught her. She’d gone off-balance--probably because she was running late for dinner and had skipped over lunch today in lieu of a sparkling latte. Not the best choice. She turned to give him a sheepish smile. Her cheeks were bright pink as she straightened up. “Yes. Sorry. I was avoiding that man…”
The man in the motorized cart must have had his hearing aid turned down, because he just kept plodding along with his shopping and didn’t seem to notice the mess behind him.
“Who’d have thought grocery shopping could be so dangerous.” He laughed a bit, because what else could he do? Suddenly everyone he dreamed about was here, more or less. Steve stooped over to pick up some of the chips. “Luckily I think we avoided any major damage.”
“No permanent damage to the display.” She bent down and picked up some of the bags to put back on the stand. “I can’t say the same for my ego, though,” she added, smiling an embarrassed smile. “How many people saw that little slip, you think?”
“Do you want the honest answer?” Steve cracked a bit of a smile. “Nah, I think you’re fine. Everyone seemed to move on pretty quickly.”
“Good. That’s good. Though, I don’t think I can ever come into this supermarket again.” She gave a playfully dramatic sigh. “And the deli here is so good.”
“Hey, if you want a good deli, you should try that little local store just down the street a few blocks.” Steve looked amused. “I sort of do the store-hop thing. I know, it’s weird. But definitely a good deli.”
“Yeah?” Sharon asked, eyebrows raising. Now that the chips were back on the display, the man in the motorized cart was out of sight, and no one was staring at her anymore, Sharon was feeling a little less mortified about the whole thing. “Is it over on [Street Name]? Because I think I’ve driven by there a lot and considered going in, but I’ve never gone.” Beat. “Wait, store-hop?” She grinned. “What’s that?”
“Oh, well, you know.” Steve shrugged, trying not to look embarrassed. “I don’t have just one set supermarket I go to. Variety’s the spice of life, right? Anyway, you learn pretty quickly where the best of everything is.”
“Oh. Yes.” Sharon nodded. “I’m afraid that I get into habit. Routine. It’s one of my few faults.” She hoped that came off as playful and not conceited. “Anyway, I’m Sharon Carter.” She held out her hand to her handsome savior.
Carter. Steve blinked, and before he could stop himself his mind connected Sharon mentioning an aunt in her dreams and he said, “Like Peggy Carter?” Immediately he cleared his throat and he shook Sharon’s hand quickly. “I mean. I sort of know another Carter. But there are probably loads of Carters out there.”
And then her handsome savior blurted out Sharon’s cousin’s name. She blinked at him, her brow furrowing. “...my cousin’s name is Peggy Carter. That’s so weird. How do you know Peggy?” It had to be the same Peggy. How many Peggy Carters could there possibly be in Orange County?
Oh geez. Steve cleared his throat again. “I met her at her office. Ran into her in the elevator. Sorry, it was a pretty strange thing to just connect. I didn’t mean to, you know, startle you. Or creep you out. Or something.”
“Hey, no.” Sharon said, shaking her head. She broke into a small smile. “I mean… what a small world, right? She’s only just moved over here from England, so… Do you two work together? You mentioned her office?”
“Uh. Sort of?” It was hard to explain. Steve didn’t need Fury breathing down his neck for talking too much. “I’m really more just affiliated with it. I don’t officially work there or anything.”
“Oh.” Sharon nodded. She knew that her cousin worked in some sort of security agency, but she didn’t know much else. They didn’t talk much about work when the two women got together. “It’s kinda nice to be on the same continent as Peggy for a change. I mean, we were good pen pals growing up, but it’ll be nice to get to know her better now.”
Steve completely understood what Sharon meant, but he couldn’t say that. Not without sounding like Captain Creep. “I bet,” he said, instead. Then he glanced at his cart and at Sharon’s, and cleared his throat. “I shouldn’t keep you any longer, though.”
“Oh, of course. Thanks for saving… the chips.” She motioned to the display. “Maybe I’ll see you again at a different supermarket.” She added, giving him a smile as she turned to head out to the check-out stand. She didn’t care if she’d missed half her list, she was mortified and wanted to simply get out of there.
He just laughed and nodded. “Yeah, no problem.” He had a feeling he’d see her again anyway, especially once she started dreaming herself. But in the meantime, Steve just smiled back and watched her go for a moment before carrying on with his own shopping.