Coffee, Courage and a Captain

Chapter Nine: Dates and Dresses

The day of the World Expo arrived on Monday, and Charlotte had barely slept.

Steve had poured her a coffee that morning before heading off to work, and Bucky had poked his head through the door to inform her that he would be arriving at five to meet with his and Steve's dates and to then escort Charlotte to the expo. Bucky hadn't missed the disappointed look on Charlotte's face and made a mental note to chastise his friend later regarding making a move.

Charlotte was grateful that Howard had given her the day off, as it gave her time to analyse the injection ports and work out the optimal points, and the order in which the injections and radiation would need to be administered.

As she drained her sixth cup of coffee for the day, the noise of somebody at the door made her cover the blueprints immediately.

Bucky flung the door open, Steve reluctantly following behind him. Charlotte stood up from where she was on the couch, gasping when she saw Steve's face.

"What the hell happened?" she asked, rushing over to him and seeing his small smile as she began inspecting the swelling along his cheek.

"Yes Steve, tell her what happened," Bucky cajoled, watching Steve take a seat while Charlotte continued to check him over.

Steve let out a sigh. "I got into a fight outside of the cinema."

Charlotte frowned. "That doesn't sound like-" She paused, doing the relevant calculations in her head. "The cinema is on the opposite side of town from where you work, what were you doing there?"

"Tell her, Steve," Bucky pushed, earning a glare from his friend. "It's on the same side of town as the enlistment office," he answered when Steve didn't, seeing Charlotte's frown grow deeper.

"What were you doing there?" she asked softly, pressing her cool fingertips against Steve's cheek and seeing him wince. "Also, I don't think you will bruise, so don't worry. Your date tonight won't be able to think you're cool for getting in fights." Steve blushed at the mention of his date that night.

"He's now on his fifth F," Bucky informed Charlotte, seeing Steve's glare as it turned into a glower. "He tried to enlist again."

"You're tenacious, Steve Rogers. I'll give you that," Charlotte said with a smile and a wink.

Steve felt his heart rate speed up slightly.

"I just want to do my part. I feel useless being here while everybody else is fighting," he murmured. "The people at the cinema who I fought with seemed to think I was."

She used the hand on his cheek to tilt his face upward so that he was looking her directly in the eyes. "Never let anyone tell you that you're useless," she said gently. "You're stronger than you know."

He smiled at the phrase that he had used with her a few days earlier- it was clear she had taken it to heart.

"Promise me, Steve," she said sternly.

"I promise."

Bucky- who had watched the entire exchange with equal parts excitement and happiness- cleared his throat. "Ah, Charlotte, I do believe we will need to leave in about half an hour, and unless you were planning on going out in your pyjamas, you still need to get ready."

Charlotte glanced at the clock and swore loudly, much to Bucky's amusement.

"Okay, I'll just go get changed and get my makeup done. I shouldn't take too long."

She stood and hurried into Steve's bedroom, pulling out the garment bag and shoebox that Howard had delivered to her the previous week- citing that she needed something to cause a statement at the first-ever expo.