Coffee, Courage and a Captain

Chapter Thirteen: The Last Day

The next morning arrived in a herald of loud noise from downstairs at six AM. 

It was no secret to the neighbourhood that the people downstairs were going through a rough patch in their marriage. The husband worked the night shift and would often come home somewhat drunk, and his wife enjoyed arguments. By the sound of the arguing, they could determine the reason for that morning's argument was the latter.

"We love the consistency," she muttered to herself, hearing Steve groan in agreement beside her in the bed.

She smiled to herself, knowing that she'd won the bed fight for once- after having a hushed argument with him last night about who got the bed, and eventually compromising on them both sharing the bed. Steve had stared at her as if she'd just suggested summoning a demon, but reluctantly agreed.

Steve had also grabbed ahold of her as they were going to bed, citing that he knew she'd try and sneak out and sleep on the couch if he fell asleep first- seeing through her compromise immediately. He had felt the heat from his blush spread up his face to the roots of his hair as Charlotte had laughed beside him, rolled over, muttered goodnight and then promptly fallen asleep. In his arms.

Steve had lain awake for a few more minutes, absorbing the feeling of falling asleep next to somebody- somebody who cared about him deeply- before he fell asleep next to her.

"Good morning," Charlotte said softly, rolling over to face Steve. "What time did you have to leave?"

He rubbed his face tiredly, feeling the beginnings of morning stubble that he knew he'd have to shave before he left. "I need to be there by midday, but to get there I should leave by ten, just to make sure."

"Well, you've packed everything that you need," Charlotte said, giving him a grin. "How about breakfast? My shout. I'll see you off at the station if you want?"

He didn't even hesitate, remembering the small gift he had purchased for her birthday and hidden in his cupboard. Now would be a good time, seeing as he would most likely be out of basic and shipped off to the front lines by September. "Of course, Charlotte. I'd love to."

*********

"These are so good!" Charlotte moaned through the mouthful of pancakes she had soaked in the small amount of syrup she had been allocated. She was wearing a white blouse and navy blue skirt with gold buttons, her hair pulled back in her standard bun.

Steve chuckled, taking the final bite of his egg and bacon muffin, and watching as Charlotte finished her pancakes within a few more bites. The waitress had refilled her coffee twice already, but she appeared to have slowed down on her intake, only casually sipping it as she stared at Steve from where he sat across the booth from her.

"I'm sorry," the female diner said from the booth behind them, tapping Charlotte on the shoulder. "But are you that girl from the Stark presentation at the expo last night?"

She turned to look at the woman who was standing beside their table and smiled. "Yes, that was me."

The woman's face lit up as she looked back at her partner. "Oh my goodness, I told you it was her!" She returned her gaze to Charlotte. "What you did was amazing!"

Steve watched as Charlotte spoke with the woman about how she had developed her gravitic reversion technology, patiently answering any of the questions the woman had to ask, and trying to simplify the process as much as possible for the woman to understand, eventually waving a friendly goodbye as the lady's partner escorted her out of the diner.

"You're a good teacher," Steve commented, seeing Charlotte smile.

"I like encouraging a positive outlook on women in science," she replied, taking another sip of her coffee. "And who knows, that lady might encourage her daughters, nieces or cousins to be interested."