Hello Captain (Steve Rogers)

Tour guide

Steve's POV

"Of course," Sarah replied, glancing at me with a curious expression. "I haven't got around to telling him about the time we borrowed your brothers' wagon and -"

"Have some more bacon, pooka! Steve doesn't need to hear that story." Jace said, holding out a piece of bacon to her as a bribe.

I forced myself to smile at their banter; Jace met my eyes briefly and turned his attention to his food just as Sarah attempted to take another piece of bacon from his plate and he endeavored to stab her with his fork. Sarah was faster, though and crunched the bacon happily, giving him a grin. I sipped my coffee, finishing it quickly. I hadn't realized I'd been lost in thought until I felt a small hand on my arm squeezing it firmly as she leaned over to refill my cup. I took a deep breath and smiled at her, back in the present time.

"Thank you." I said, and I hoped she knew it wasn't just for the coffee. She topped off her dad's cup and put the pot back on the warmer before going back to her chair, nudging Jace with her hip to let her back on the chair. I simply watched them with an amused smile.

"So Jace, are all your aunts, uncles and grandparents coming to the ceremony?" Sarah asked him.

He swallowed before answering, "As if I could talk any of them out of it! They seem to think that if they don't witness this it never happened. I'm the valedictorian for Pete's sake- not the class clown! Even my great-aunt Rebecca from Brooklyn is here. Chloe's picking me up at 1:30 so we get there on time and I can avoid getting sandwiched in the back seat with the twins."

I couldn't believe that Becky was was still alive – she had to be in her late 80's then. I listened to Sarah and Jace chattering with half an ear, not thinking I would need to contribute to the conversation anytime soon.

"They're not that bad."

"To you! They like you; they kinda somewhat behave around you! Around me, they're like yapping puppies chasing their tails and fighting over a bone." I could hear the fondness in his tone when he talked about his little brothers. Bucky'd had the same tone whenever he'd complained about his younger siblings, too. Sarah only laughed at his complaint. He scooped up the last bite of eggs and polished off his orange juice.

"You coming over to see everyone this morning?" he asked, and luckily Sarah answered, because I didn't know what to say.

"A little bit later, maybe right before dinner. Things should be less chaotic by then."

Jace snorted. "Keep telling yourself that, pooka." He stood up and put his dishes in the sink before going to let himself out the patio door. "Thanks for breakfast Mami, see you later." He kissed Mrs Evans' cheek and gave her a one armed hug.

"You're welcome, Jace," she said with a pleased smile, ruffling his unruly hair. "See you later."

"Jace very conveniently lives just next door on the other side of the hedge." Sarah told me, pointing the right direction. "I'm going to go get in shower. Mom, will you send Chloe up if she gets here before I come back down?"

"Of course. I'm surprised Jace beat her here."

"I'm not. She's probably still doing her hair." Sarah put her dishes in the sink and headed upstairs as Mr Evans and I continued our discussion of baseball like nothing had happened.

Another one of Sarah's friends showed up shortly after that, a petite blond who seemed to be a frequent visitor here as well. She introduced herself as Chloe Turner and told me she lived across the street. She was wearing a light summer halter dress and her blond ringlets were piled on her head, and I gathered that she was graduating today as well. Chloe got herself a cup of coffee and took the open chair sitting at the table, talking to Sarah's parents briefly before starting to ask me questions.

By the time Sarah came back downstairs, her questions had become more pointed, hinting that she was available. My posture became more rigid, and I was feeling a little threatened by her. I didn't want to ask her questions because then she would think I was interested in her when that couldn't be farther from the truth.

Sarah came to stand next to me, putting her arm around my shoulder and leaning into me. She murmured a quiet apology so only I could hear her.

"Sorry Steve, I thought I'd beat her here. She'll back off if I claim you."

"Please do," I begged, putting my arm around her waist.  Chloe's hazel eyes widened slightly, getting the message that I wasn't interested in her, just Sarah. I relaxed slightly as Chloe shifted her attention to Sarah.

"Hey Sarah. Your mom said you would be down in a minute." Chloe grinned, completely unapologetic.

"Morning Chloe. She tell you Jace beat you here?" Sarah said, running her hand through my hair for a moment before she eased out of my hold and sat in her mom's empty chair. Mrs Evans was washing dishes already. I'd offered to help earlier only to be turned down. I don't think she was comfortable having her guests work, but my mom had been the same way.

"That little punk – I'm going to kill him!" Chloe said, banging her hand on the table. "He said he wasn't going to come over until later."

"It was at least after 7 and we're going over there later." Sarah said, grinning at her friend. "Did you really believe him when he told you that?"

She smirked, "Nope. He was rubbing his ear."

"So Steve, I see you met my other best friend."

"Yes...it's been an interesting morning so far." I smiled wryly, sipping my coffee.

Chloe snorted and got up to refill her coffee cup with the little bit left in the pot. "Always is around Sarah." she said. "Are you coming over later? We're having my party at my grandparents this afternoon. Their house is bigger and Gramps is, well, Gramps. I told him you'd be in town," she said with a shrug. Her grandpa was even more stubborn than me, which is probably why we got along so well.

"Hah – you knew there wasn't going to be any choice involved a long time ago. He always gets his way!" Sarah grinned. "Of course we'll be by afterwards."

"Great! I told him I knew you'd come see him." Chloe returned her grin. "So are you going to show Steve around town?"

"I don't know; we have a little time this morning, I guess. I haven't asked him if there was anything he wanted to see while we were here. Steve?" Sarah asked, turning to me as I stood up.

"Sure. I've never been to Princeton before. Are you going to tell me the stories involved?"

"If she won't I will." Chloe volunteered.

"Sounds like fun," I said with a smile. "Shall we?" I pushed my chair in and gave my empty cup to Mrs Evans. Chloe finished her coffee and put the cup by the sink.

"Bye Mom, Dad. If we don't see you before you leave, Steve and I will meet you at the school. We're sitting by Jace's family in Section C."

"Sure, see you later, honey."

"See you later, Mami, Papi!" called Chloe.

We all got in the Shield car; I insisted on driving after talking to Chloe and Sarah only shook her head when I gave her a questioning look and held out the keys. They directed me past Sarah's college and Jace and Chloe's high school.

Chloe and Sarah reminisced about the random silly things they had done growing up as I followed their directions. I enjoyed seeing this side of Sarah, the typical American teenager growing up in a smaller town. It wasn't anything like her normal behavior around me so far. It was a great way for me to learn a lot about Sarah because Chloe – true to her word – told every story she thought of, whether Sarah wanted her to or not. My muscles ached from laughing so hard by they time we headed back to Sarah's.