Alterlife ⇝ Bucky Barnes [1]

fourteen.

14. | RECONCILIATION.

LYDIA WOULD BE LYING IF SHE SAID THAT SHE DIDN'T MISS HER BROOKLYN BOYS. It'd been a few days since the whole mishap at the Barnes house and she bode her time by focusing strictly on work and her nursing classes. Speaking of which, she was exhausted after her late class the night before and had made herself comfortable on a counter in the back of the restaurant, sipping her freshly brewed coffee. She clutched the cup with both hands, relishing in the warmth of the liquid and the taste of good coffee. Mr. King was not cheap when it came to his product - he only bought the best for himself, his family, and his customers. 

She watched from the corner of her eye as Kenneth King poked his head through the double doors that led to the floor. He had a pitiful smile on his face, seemingly sensing the younger woman's plight, "You've got two more people that sat. I gave 'em menus."

Kenneth disappeared as quickly as he'd appeared, while Lydia let a sigh fall from her lips before forcing a small smile onto her face as she pushed through the double doors. She walked toward the first table that she had remembered being empty, greeting the two teenage girls and asking if they were ready. They asked for a few more minutes, so she politely nodded and made her way to the next new table, where a suspiciously small blond was practically hiding behind a menu.

Lydia frowned, "Steve, why are you hiding?" 

The Brooklyn boy dropped the menu down a bit to where his eyes were peaking out, "The guy two booths down beat me up two weeks ago and I really don't want him to say anything." 

"What is with you and gettin' beat up by half of New York?" Steve only shrugged at her curiosity, making her frown again. She quickly got rid of the expression and proceeded to ask him what he wanted to eat. He wasn't like Bucky, whose order she had memorized because he got the same thing every time they went up to the diner. He got something different almost every time and she loved that about him.

"Just a cup of clam chowder. Not too heavy on the salt or pepper, please. Or any of the other seasonings."

"That's it? That's barely even a snack, Stevie." 

"I'm just not that hungry today." 

He was looking at her with those puppy-dog eyes - the kind that meant that he wanted to talk to her and didn't want to outright say it. He was always doing that with his friends, tiptoeing like someone would get angry at him for saying what he meant. She and Bucky both tried to no avail to get him to understand that standing up for yourself wasn't wrong by any means, which they were sure he knew and just didn't want to fight with them. 

"I'll see if I can go on break," she gave him a soft smile and went to the back of the restaurant towards the office after dropping off Steve's order, where Miss Ida Mae sat counting out the previous night's deposit before she took it to the bank on the other side of the city. As if she sensed the younger girl, the woman looked over her shoulder at Lydia with a soft smile and invitation in her eyes. Lydia smiled back, "Miss Ida Mae, can I go on break? Just for fifteen."

"Of course, honey. We're not busy yet."

Lydia thanked the woman in return as she walked out before she untied her apron and sat it on the counter to grab later. Luckily, Gumbo had already whipped up Steve's order, so she grabbed that and brought it to the table as she sat down across from the boy in the booth. His eyes were already trained on her, but they seemed sad and it made her worry, "What's going on?"

"I should be asking you that," she couldn't help the frown that appeared on her face. "Buck told me what happened." 

The brunette sighed and rolled her eyes, slumping back into the booth as she crossed her arms over her chest. She made a point to look out of the window instead of at the boy in front of her, "Of course he did." 

"Lyd, he didn't mean anything by it." 

"So he says." 

"He wouldn't lie." 

Her eyes narrowed into slits as she finally looked at Steve, "And why should I believe him? Why should I believe you?" 

She felt guilty immediately after she'd said it. There wasn't a bone in her body that didn't believe that Steve was here out of goodwill, she was just having a difficult time with everything. She hated feeling so reliant on other people who weren't family, even though she'd grown close with the two boys and wouldn't have difficulty considering them as such with more time. It was easier to consider Steve as a little brother since he didn't have anyone else; Bucky was a different story.

She hadn't mentioned it, but going to meet his family and have dinner with them had meant a lot to her. She felt that was a huge step in any relationship - romantic or friendly - and to even think that she'd screwed it up by letting his idiot of a father bring her out of character like that... She didn't mind calling out bigotry but she could have done it differently. She knew that her actions had repercussions and usually didn't care, but she was worried that they wouldn't understand. That was why she stayed on her side of town.

"Because we're your friends. And I don't have a dishonest bone in my body." 

"When it comes to trying to get your way you do." Lydia looked down at the table and thought, for just a split second, that she wanted to explain to him. She was tired of having to explain herself, though, and decided against it. "Just forget about it, y'all wouldn't understand." 

"It bothers you, talk about it." 

"Steve y'all can't be that blind to what's happenin' to people like me! What's been happenin'. Maybe y'all don't see it but people stare when the three of us are out together. They don't see a few friends just out to have fun, they see two upstanding citizens and a negro." Lydia inhaled deeply, trying to steady her breathing and correct her volume. "It's different here, with my family. We understand each other and doors are always open. People in this neighborhood don't treat y'all how people in yours treat me." 

For the first time since she'd known him, Steve Rogers looked absolutely stumped. She didn't necessarily mind them not really understanding her feelings - as long as they didn't minimize them - but it just made the barriers more real when she had to explain them. Probably more so for Steve since she'd never said anything before, but that was how she felt every day of her life. He'd be able to deal with it for however long he remained a friend. 

He suddenly sat up fully in the booth, his eyes bright, "Let us make it up to you, then. We'll go to Coney Island." 

"An amusement park can't make racism disappear, Steve." Lydia's face scrunched up as she looked at him in confusion.

"Well, no, but all kinds of people are there. It's probably the one place in New York where you can just get away for a while. We can talk about everything - you shouldn't have to feel that way with anyone, let alone us, Lyd."

"Fine," she had waited a few moments for responding and let out a heavy sigh afterward. "What day and time?" 

"Tonight, seven o'clock." 

"I have class until nine." 

"What about tomorrow?" 

Based on his sudden energy burst, something told her that he wasn't leaving without getting a date set. She couldn't run away or avoid this one.

been slacking on posts i knoooow, grad school is kicking my ass y'all!