rogue_america | Original-verse: November 2nd

Halloween, like so many other things, was different now than when he'd been a kid. There were still adult parties and adults dressing up, but nowadays, it really seemed to be a holiday for children. He liked that, and liked seeing how traditions had changed, but how some things were the same. He'd carved a simple Jack o'Lantern to put outside his apartment door, and had handed out candy to the neighborhood kids. It was nice, and had felt normal, which he always appreciated. It had been a little strange, seeing so many kids dressed up as Avengers, including Captain America, but it was cute, and funny. (He liked the Hulk outfits best, but he was never telling Tony that, or Bruce, although for different reasons.)

But now, October was over, and November was moving in. There were still some colorful leaves clinging to the trees, and so far fall had been surprisingly mild. A few days with freezing rain, but not too bad. Currently he was sitting on the couch, sketching; just little comics, something he was slowly getting back into, mostly thanks to Rogue's encouragement. They'd been dating for four months now, and while he still felt like he had a lot to catch up on in the contemporary world (and wondered if maybe he always would feel that way), Rogue had played a large part in helping him feel more comfortable with the world around him, and himself.

Rogue was seated beside him, and on TV was an episode of I Love Lucy. She'd seen it before, but of course Steve hadn't, so it was fun experiencing it with her. There were some references he didn't quite understand, but it was great how many references he did get, and all the celebrities he recognized. It was one of the reasons he didn't really enjoy seeing newer movies; not just all the references to pop culture he didn't understand, but not knowing any of the actors. He hadn't even realized it was a thing, until he recognized someone for the first time and literally jumped off the couch and started pointing in excitement.

In the middle of Lucy getting herself into another predicament, and Steve sketching her with a vase stuck on her head, suddenly the Imperial March from Star Wars started playing. It was so incongruous, it took Steve a couple seconds to remember cell phone, ring tone - Fury. He huffed a laugh, even as he reached over to the side table beside the couch and grabbed his phone, squinting at the caller ID that did indeed notify him that Fury was calling.

Turning to press a quick kiss to Rogue's forehead, he moved his sketchbook and pencil aside and stood up, swiping his phone screen to answer the call.

"Hello, this is Steve."

Threaded | Flat

Halloween had been difficult for Rogue. She'd always enjoyed the holiday at the mansion because of how much it meant to the younger children, and so seeing everyone in costume again had... been painful. Much more so than she'd expected. It was lucky that she'd had to work that night at the restaurant, with so many people who had asked off to go to parties or take their kids out trick-or-treating -- it meant that Steve hadn't had to see her like that.

November was starting off smoothly at least, thank goodness, and she was already beginning to plan for Thanksgiving. They didn't have family here, but that didn't mean they couldn't still celebrate together in the way the holiday deserved. And if Steve wanted to invite some of his friends, she'd have absolutely no problems with that.

The sudden interruption of Lucy's shenanigans had Rogue glancing over at Steve, frowning with amusement at the ringtone that she most certainly recognized. Who on earth could be calling who would be assigned that? The frown turned to a smile at the kiss and she watched with curiosity as he stood.

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