"She's got a friend..."

[theycalledmeacurse]

It had been two years since Rogue had landed in this universe. Two years of learning how to be normal again, how to live without her powers. Try as she might, they simply wouldn't work, and she didn't know if it was because of something to do with traveling to a different universe or if it was something much more common: shock. Either way, in this world she was just a normal woman, working at a department store during the day and going home each night to her little room in a boarding house for women.

It got easier as time went on. She settled into a routine and learned how to live in the 1940s. The war made ot easier to explain her oddities. Those oddities that were likely a large part of the reason she was standing outside a dance hall with one of her housemates. Rogue had been the only one without plans on a Saturday night, and so Nancy had pleaded with her to tag along, because this handsome guy had asked her out but with the condition that she bring someone for his friend.

Sighing under her breath, Rogue reached up a hand to her curled and pinned striped hair, then smoothed it over her green dress, telling herself that it was silly to be nervous. It was just one night; she might even have fun.

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[mini_steve]

"I told you I didn't need a jacket," Steve groused, tugging at the sleeves of his wool suit jacket.

Bucky rolled his eyes. "It's gonna get colder, and a stiff wind would knock you out. Yer gonna need a jacket."

Steve made a face, but stopped arguing. About that, anyway. "What did you tell her about me?"

"Only the good stuff," came Bucky's usual, flippant reply. For once, Steve wished Bucky would tell the gal - who then relayed it to her friend - only the bad stuff, so he'd have some chance of impressing her right away. Bucky always made him sound like he was ten-feet tall, metaphorically at least, and never explained that he was barely over five feet in reality, and thin as a stick. And then Bucky could never understand how Steve was so talented at driving girls off.

Steve started glancing around as they neared the dance hall, but refused to believe it was from nervousness. No, he was just preparing himself for the inevitable.

"There they are!" Bucky raised an arm and waved to a couple of girls standing near the entrance. His face split into a grin, and he elbowed Steve, who gave a friendly, only partially forced smile to the two dames as they approached.

"Steve, this is Nancy, and this is..."

It was then that Steve realized Bucky didn't even have a clue who he'd be escorting to the dance. Wasn't that just fantastic.

Nancy jumped in with, "Marie! She lives in the house with me."

Translation: I suckered her into it.

Steve held out his hand and smiled at Marie. "Pleasure to meet you." He wasn't expecting much; half the gals wouldn't even shake his hand, and those who did looked like they wished to immediately wash them. He was used to it.

With one last encouraging glance, Bucky and Nancy disappeared into the hall, leaving Marie and Steve to become acquainted before joining them.

[theycalledmeacurse]

Steve wasn't what she'd been expecting when Nancy had quickly relayed Bucky's description of his friend, and she was actually grateful. She'd known a lot of guys who thought way too much of themselves and were insufferable to be around. One look at Steve, though, and she knew he wasn't that kind of guy.

Setting her hand in his, she gave it a solid shake and met his smile with one of her own. "The pleasure's all mine, sugar," she drawled, accent thickened because of hey nerves.

[mini_steve]

Slowly, Steve's smile transformed into a more genuinely pleased expression. Hopeful. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

And then he went and opened his mouth.

"I like your accent. I mean-- no, that's-- I didn't-- mean to...draw attention, or, just-- I don't usually hear Southern accents, and it's...pretty..."

She was going to think he was insensitive, or an oaf, or probably, both. He always started talking, especially when he was nervous. There were all sorts of different accents around, and Steve had heard quite a few, both different boroughs and from immigrants. He usually just ignored him, or kept his thoughts on them to himself. But that was accents common in New York - an American accent from some other place was different. And he liked the way the words seemed to roll off Marie's tongue.

He hoped she'd be willing to say two words to him after this, though.

[theycalledmeacurse]

Very few people had commented on her accent in the past few years, other than to use it as a means of asking where she was from. Sure, New York was full of accents, she heard dozens on the streets each day, but to have someone note hers specifically and say such nice things about it--

Her smile widened into a charming grin. "Thank you, sugar," she told him sincerely. "That's really sweet of you to say." And it went a long way toward making a really lovely first impression, whether he knew it or not. "I used to be a bit self-conscious about it, truth be told; so many people seem to associate southern accents with being ignorant. Now I try not to care so much about what other people think -- but it is really nice to hear." The last part was added a bit nervously, her smile softening.

Tonight might not be so bad after all.

[mini_steve]

Steve had already opened his mouth to apologize profusely, before her first words registered. That's really sweet to hear. Wait - what?

Steve nodded along, but then started shaking his head. "Oh--oh, no! That's, I wouldn't think that! That's just--well, not dumb, but... I mean, people say the same things about...pretty much every foreign accent they hear, too." It had been one more card stacked against him when he'd been young, when his primary source for learning had been his mother, and his accent hadn't morphed from Irish lilt to New York slur.

A gust of wind blew up, making Steve shiver slightly. Time to head inside, then. He still had plenty of time to scare Marie off, but at least this way when she tried to get away from him, she would be warm.

Tentatively offering his elbow, he asked, "You wanna head inside?"

[theycalledmeacurse]

He wasn't wrong about that. Rogue had seen so many people marginalized for one silly reason or another, and each and every time it liked to break her heart. Even with all the horrible things she'd seen, all the wrongs she'd personally endured from her fellow humans, she still knew that she'd rush to defend someone being persecuted for reasons like where they were born or how they spoke.

She didn't hesitate a second to slip her hand into the crook of his elbow, offering him a bright smile as she nodded. "Let's get outta this cold."

[mini_steve]

Steve almost couldn't believe this was happening to him. Really, the only reason he did believe it was because he could feel Marie's arm as a solid weight against his arm and side.

The dance hall was warmer than outside, at least, especially with the press of bodies, moving and breathing the same air. He could see Bucky dancing with Nancy, but felt no real compulsion to join in with the rather lively dancing.

"I-- is it okay if we sit, for a few minutes?" He asked, nodding to an empty table. He had nothing against dancing, although of course he couldn't do any of the more strenuous dance moves, and the slower dancing wouldn't happen until later into the night. But really, he just wasn't comfortable dancing with someone he'd just met. It seemed silly, but they'd barely spoken more than a few sentences to each other (and most of that had been Steve tripping over his own tongue, and Marie being exceptionally nice about the whole thing), and he'd like to get to know her more, since she seemed willing to tolerate him.

That didn't mean he'd know what to say, even if she agreed, however.