( PUNCHES AND PIE )

THERE WAS A KNOCK ON THE APARTMENT DOOR. Edith stopped the needle she was using to fix a shirt, glancing over towards the front door. Another knock followed the first, making Edith call out, "just a minute!", making sure that the needle was secure in a spot she would remember and got up, brushing her hands on her skirt. She made her way quickly through her brother and her's small apartment, grasping the front door's knob and pulling it open. Their neighbor, an elderly woman named Mrs. Finch, was standing there with a smile and her hand grasped around something. 

"What can I do for you, Mrs. Finch?" Edith asked as she smiled down at the cute old lady, always happy to help the woman. She opened the door wider, inviting the older woman into her home. Mrs. Finch smiled warmly at her, before she was moving into the small apartment to sit down at the tiny table Gordon had been able to find. Said man was off working, Edith glad that he had been able to find a job in these trying times. With his paycheck and the small amount that she was earning from fixing clothes, they were able to pay the rent for their apartment and even afford most meals. 

Mrs. Finch presented Edith with a fist full of coins when she was comfortably seated, soft smile on her face as she gave the girl a look. "I'm all out of flour, dear, and I was about to bake Rupert a pie. Could you be a doll and go and pick some up from the store? With Rupert's back, he can't, and Heaven knows I'm not as young as I used to be."

Edith smiled gently at the older woman, before she was accepting the money from her nimble fingers. "Sure thing, Mrs. Finch. I'll go to the shop right now." 

Mrs. Finch gave her a soft smile and a thank you, Edith waving her off as she got her jacket on, making sure to button it up, before she was pulling on her hat, grabbing her purse, and waving goodbye to the older woman sat at her table. The shop was only a block or two away from Gordon's apartment, so it was a short walk in the slightly dreary New York street. Edith had stopped for a child that was sitting dirty in the street, his face smeared with soot and grime, his right hand wrapped in a dirty rag. She gave him some money, telling him to go get a cup of something warm, which the kid's face brightened up so much as he thanked her profusely as he started running towards the closest diner. 

Edith got the flour easily enough, thanking the shop keeper and denying the help he tried to offer her to carry the bag of flour back to the apartment. She stepped out of the store, thanking the man who held it open for her. She started the boring trek back to the building and Mrs. Finch, looking out for anything that may cause her to trip or run into someone. The flour wasn't exactly heavy, but she knew that if she didn't walk quickly, her arms would get tired from carrying it. 

About a quarter of the way home, she was walking past an alleyway when she hear a grunt. Edith stopped, eyebrows furrowed, and turned just in time to see a much larger man hit someone who looked like a small teenager. Acting on instinct, she dropped the flour, ignoring the way that it broke open on the sidewalk and rushed to go save the smaller boy. 

"Hey!" She shouted, trying to grab at the man's fist as he pulled it back to punch the smaller man again. "Stop! What do you think-!?" The man turned and swung, obviously not realizing that a lady was behind him, and Edith cried out when his fist connected with her jaw. Her jaw burned, tears immediately coming to her eyes, but she managed to stay on her feet. The world seemed to freeze as she leveled her gaze to the man that just hit her, narrowing her eyes in a glare. "I suggest you leave before I get a police man."

The man gulped, sent a glance to the boy that was folded in on himself, before he was booking it out of the alleyway. Edith watched him go, blinking back the tears that were threatening to fall, before she was feeling the tender spot on her jaw and knowing that it was definitely already bruising. When she was able to ignore the pain, she turned back to the man that had been getting beaten up, who was now trying to get his breath back and was standing at his full height. Which was still taller than her, but still. Edith could tell that he was sickly from how he looked, pale and gaunt. 

"Are you okay?" She asked, reaching out to put her hand on his arm but stopped herself from it. His eye was already bruising and there was a cut over his eyebrow. There was also a dark bruise already formed on the cheek bone of the opposite side of his face. All in all, he didn't look okay. 

"I'm fine, ma'am," the man said, though the way he was struggling to get his breath back told her differently. Edith narrowed her eyes at him, finally meeting the blue of his with her own. He gave her a sheepish smile, before his eyes were landing on her own bruise that was forming. "You're bruising! That son of a bitch, I'm gonna fuckin'-"

She cut off the Brooklyn accent before he could finish that thought, "I'm okay! Plus, no offense, aren't you a little small to be fighting?" Edith hooked her fingers around his wrist, gently leading him to the mouth of the alleyway and staring down at the flour she had dropped. She leaned down to check on it. There was barely any of the contents on the sidewalk, so she carefully scooped it up as to not waste anymore and turned to the blonde man beside her. "I'm Edith, come on, Mrs. Finch makes the best pie." 

When he didn't immediately start following her, Edith turned around and rose an eyebrow at him. She wasn't sure why anyone would decline pie, because it was pie, but she was scared that she had scared him off already. He was cute, for someone who was smaller than the average man, but Edith didn't mind. "Are you coming,-?"

The man seemed to have a mental debate, before he was walking forward, and despite her protest cry, taking the flour out of Edith's arms to carry himself. "Steve," he said, the two of them now walking down the street. "Steve Rogers." 

Edith repeated the name back to herself, mouthing along with it before nodding to herself. The two of them walked in companionable silence until Edith couldn't keep her mouth shut due to her curiosity. "So, Steve, why were you getting beat up in an alleyway?"

Steve was quiet for only a moment before he was speaking up. "He was being rude to a dame and nobody was doing nothing about it. She was looking uncomfortable, so I intervened and, well... you ran into the aftermath of that." 

They got to the apartment building that Gordon's apartment was in, Edith leading Steve to where the stairs were and the two of them started to climb the. "How very heroic of you," Edith hummed as they climbed, Steve panting only a little. Edith guessed he had asthma or something of the sort as they walked down the corridor to the door. She opened the door, smiled at Mrs. Finch at the table, and raised her eyebrows at the fact that Gordon was home early. 

"Mrs. Finch, Steve has the flour that you wanted. The bag got a little banged up on the trip over, so be careful," Edith walked forward, making sure to discard her coat on a hook, her hat following it. "Brother," she moved forward, giving him a hug, like she always did, "what are you doing home so early?" 

He gave Steve a look, from where the man was dropping the flour onto the counter so that Mrs. Finch could start to make the pie in their kitchen. Gordon moved, holding his hand out for Steve to shake, "Gordon Rutherford." Steve grabbed his hand and shook, introducing himself as well, before Gordon was turning to Edith, moving a hand to her hair to try and mess it up, one where Edith dodged and smacked at his hand. "Didn't you hear, sis? America is joining the war! I'm gonna enlist!"

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hello, and welcome to the first chapter of skulls and bones and i hope you enjoyed. this is quite the short chapter, but it'll drag if i try and add any more to it. basically, steve and edith (and gordan and mrs. finch) eat pie, talk a little, and well, steve gets the idea of going to war!