( I THINK IT'S ADMIRABLE )

AFTER THE WHOLE PIE EATING AND STEVE STARING AT GORDON LIKE HE WAS THE SMARTEST PERSON IN THE WORLD WHEN HE TOLD EVERYONE HE WAS GOING TO JOIN THE WAR EFFORT, STEVE HAD GONE HOME. To wherever his home was. And, as big as New York was, Edith wanted to see him again. Despite the tragic events that took place during their initial meeting (AKA Edith being clocked in the jaw), Steve was cute, polite, and nice but also sassy and she wanted to see him again. 

"Gordon, I'm going out!" Edith called as she looked for her purse, blinking at the apartment around her. When she had found it, she got affirmation from her brother before she was leaving through the door. Mr. Finch poked his head out of the door then, Edith giving him a wave and a smile before she was making her way down the stairs of her building and onto the street. 

It was a fairly nice day, the sun was shining, and Edith was glad that she didn't have to wear a coat to keep her warm. As she walked down the street, she smiled at the people on the sidewalk, taking in the world that was New York. A car beside her honked at the too slow traffic, a man yelled about the prices of a newspaper stand, and Edith couldn't help but let her mind wander. What was this going to be like in the future? Was it still going to be as chaotic was this, if not more? 

Edith walked past a newspaper stand, got a glimpse of the front headline and the mention of Stark and wondered if the fantastical inventions he had been building will be the stepping stones of the age. Howard Stark was a name that was plastered in a lot of the media. The man was a genius and inventor, making things like new telephones and flying cars in his spare time, while also juggling the military (from what Edith has read, anyway). 

She so absorbed in her thoughts she doesn't realize she's lost in them until she's slamming into a body and large hands are catching her shoulders so she doesn't fall. Edith glances up, sees an attractive face with raven hair and stunning blue eyes, a smirk taking over his lips. He's wearing a button down shirt from what Edith can see, and he really is nice on the eyes, but Edith's mind wonders back to Steve and that's when she knows she has a crush. 

So, she looks away, and also determines that she's one lucky lady. 

"Steve!" Edith smiles, knowing her whole face brightens up as the man that was holding her blinks in confusion as he lets her go. The blonde man looks at her, recognition playing in those blue eyes, before a beaming smile takes over his face. His face was still healing from a couple of days ago in the alleyway (so was her's), but the bruises weren't an ugly purple anymore. "How are you? Did your friend like the pie we sent home with you?" 

Steve opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a throat clearing. Both blondes looked towards the man that had caught Edith, who was looking at Steve with a sort of expectant look. There was a second pause before Steve was turning back to Edith, sheepish look on his face, "Edith, this is my friend Bucky. Buck, this is Edith, the da- girl I was telling you about." 

"You mean the dame you haven't stopped talking about since you got those bruises?" Bucky teased and Edith had the joy to watch Steve turn red from his ears all the way down to his neck. She smiled at him, glad to know that she was stuck in his head just as much as he was her's. He may have been smaller than most average man, but now that Edith knew he was there, she realized he had a big presence. And, if she was being honest, she liked that. A lot.

"It's nice to meet you, Bucky," Edith tells him, holding out a hand for him to shake. Bucky does just that, smiling when she makes a show of the grip her father had shown her to do. When they let go, she turned back to Steve, who was doing his best to look like he wasn't focusing on their interaction. "Steve, you left so quickly after talking to Gordon, I wasn't able to get your telephone number." 

Bucky whistled beside them, Steve turning that nice shade of red again. He really was cute. Edith watch as he sputtered over his words, trying to get a plausible sentence out of his mouth when Bucky patted him on the shoulder and gave Edith a smirk. "What he's trying to say is: why don't you join us, and when Steve gets his ability to speak back, he'll tell you his number." 

Bucky started cackling as Steve smacked him in the shoulder, glare set on his face. Edith smiled at the two of them, wondering if Gordon could fit into the duo to make it a trio. But, then she caught sight of Steve's skin and how absolutely red it was (probably down to his chest) and felt her smile widen at the thought that Steve was interested in her (hopefully). Out of all the girls she had knew in school, the red head Gale had been the girl that had all the male attention. The smile she wore turned soft as Steve's blue eyes met her's and she noticed the nervous glint in them. "I would like that a lot."

The world seemed so pale in comparison to the smile that lit up on small Steve's face. Edith couldn't help but copy his expression, absolutely beaming as she found herself falling in step with the small man, basically ignoring the world around them. 

"Wow, Steve, now I know what you feel like," Bucky commented, making both Steve and Edith turn to him. Steve's complexion, which had went back to the normal pale colour, was turning red in his ears again. Edith giggled, felt fondness bloom in her heart at the way that Steve was. She thought back to the conversation that Gordon and him had had about the war, the set in his small shoulders and the determined look in his eyes. He had seemed so ready to go off and fight for he country, everyone could see, and Mrs. Finch had made a sad noise in the back of her throat. 

Upon asking about it, Edith had gotten, poor boy, the army will never take him. 

Edith had felt sad about that. This man, who wasn't as big as others but had twice the heart, wouldn't be able to do something that was clearly something he wanted. Steve Rogers was a good man, but he wouldn't see the day where someone who most definitely had asthma (with how badly he was out of breath after the fight she saved him from and the flight of stairs to her apartment, it was just telling). Plus, with his small stature, he had definitely been a sickly kid. 

The three made their way down the street, Bucky moving from his spot trailing behind them to leading them to wherever he was taking them. He was speaking quite loudly, Edith wondering if the city was actually that loud to warrant him raising his voice. She didn't question it though, because she felt her elbow brush against Steve's and that little amount of content made a shock run through her system. 

Small talk was made, Edith stuck close to Steve so that their arms would brush every so often. Bucky obviously caught on to what she was doing and was sending a sly smirk her way, one that made her flutter her eyelashes at him innocently. This seemed to make Bucky smirk even more, before he was turning into a doorway of a small diner sitting on the corner. Steve held the door open for her, making Edith beam at him. 

Bucky lead her to a booth located by the window, tucking himself onto the bench but stretching out so that there was no way that neither her nor Steve could sit beside him. Steve must have given him some kind of look because Bucky returned it with one of the smuggest smiles that Edith had the pleasure to see. So, Edith was pushed against the wall, though she sat comfortably, probably a little closer to Steve than she needed to but the man made no protest to it. If she was bold, she would have grabbed his hand. 

Unfortunately, she wasn't that brave.

The waitress came over, her brown hair done in tight curls that made Edith envious of her beautiful looking hair. She smiled widely at the three sitting at the table, getting their drinks as she gave them some menus. When she was gone, Bucky leaned back in his seat, "So you're the damsel that saved Steve in distressed?"

"I guess that's me," Edith nodded, thanking the waitress when she almost automatically came back with their drinks. Edith made sure to get a glimpse at the menu, chose one of the cheaper options on it, before placing the menu on the table. "But, really, I'm sure Steve had him on the ropes before I stepped in." 

Bucky let out a loud laugh that had Steve turning bright red but scowling at him. "She sounds just like you, Stevie! Didn't you say the same thing just the other day?"

"Buck," Steve grumbled, giving him a warning look at Edith felt herself flinch at the thought of Steve being in more fights. Did he do it often? He was entirely too small for such a feat. If Edith was going to be honest, she would be scared that a strong wind would knock the poor man over. Which, now thinking about it, Edith was scared was actually going to happen. 

"I'm sorry, but the fight I saved you from wasn't a once in a blue moon kinda thing?" Edith asked, looking between Bucky and Steve, eyebrows raised. Steve was full out glaring at Bucky, who was waving him off. 

"Our little Stevie gets into a tumble at least once a week, if he's lucky," Bucky stated, the same time Steve mumbled, "I don't like bullies."

"Jesus Christ," Edith swore under her breath, which got a confused look from Steve. She blinked at him, turn to Bucky, who mouthed he's a little hard on hearing sometimes which made Edith's eyes widen. To add to the growing list of issues Steve had, he was deaf or partially deaf too. 

The waitress came back then to take their orders. Edith couldn't take her eyes off of Steve as he told her politely what he would like to eat, couldn't help it. It probably seemed rude, but all Edith could think about was how brave Steve was for getting through his childhood that was probably filled with trips to the doctors and not going outside and playing wit the other kids. Being an asthmatic, he was probably sheltered because there was a possibility that he could have an attack and die. And even though Edith didn't know him that well, living in a world without Steve Rogers seemed emptier somehow. 

She was shaken out of her thoughts when Steve asked something about Bucky and the army, in which the man looked incredibly guilty about. Which means that Bucky enlisted and was going to go to Basic soon, probably. She knew that Gordon was going to try to enlist soon and be approved, which meant that she was going to have the potential to lose another family member to the war. 

"Steve-" Bucky started, but was interrupted when Steve gave him a look that was all courage and determination. 

"C'mon, Bucky," Steve took a glance at Edith from his peripheral, though his main focused stay on Bucky. Edith watched the two of them carefully, wondering what was about to happen. Steve's shoulders seem to set, a rigid line that made Edith stare at them. "I deserve to fight! I work just as hard as anyone and want a chance just like anybody else! You know I have to try! I just can't sit on my hands and pretend that I'm okay with staying back while men are laying down their lives."

Bucky sighed, taking a drink of the soda he ordered, obviously lost in his thoughts. He ran a hand down his face once he put his glass back down and looked at Steve seriously. "You know you got nothing to prove." Steve opened his mouth to speak, but Bucky turned to Edith and said before he could get a noise out, "What do you think of this?" 

Steve turned towards her, his blues eyes searching. She took in his facial features, the way he was holding himself like he was ready to fight even though he was small and at a disadvantage. Without turning to Bucky, her eyes firmly on Steve, she told them, I think it's admirable." 

Steve beamed at her. 

Which prompted him to grab a napkin, pull a pen out of his coat's inside pocket and wrote his number down on it, sliding it over to Edith.

She beamed back.

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hi hello, because i'm pretty sure there is going to be one or two comments about asthma and i gotta say, this is the 1940s and inhalers weren't as easy to use as they are now. especially if you're having an asthma attack. in fact, they actually made cigarettes to prescribe to asthmatics and the children that have it are mostly confined to their houses so they don't overexert themselves, have an attack, and die. 

also, my brother has asthma and dang can that be scary, ngl.

there's going to be a little bit of a time jump to the next chapter because i honestly hate writing people getting to know each other. so, oh wellllll. 

they're basically in love anyway, duh.

ALSO HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE ROGERS AND MORE IMPORTANTLY ELEANOR