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Who: Njoki and Steve
What: A Very Important Conversation
Where: An ice cream parlor on the outskirts of Mog Hill
When: this evening.
Notes: Always wait 30 minutes after you eat to go for a run. Or, do as Captain America does, and have your ice cream after.
Warnings: Cap may or may not keel over from mortification in his post. Film at eleven.

Steve is happy to lose a race these days. He's not a guy concerned with winning in the first place. Since the procedure he was the strongest, the fastest; losing a race is a gift he doesn't often get. It keeps him humble, keeps him connected to who he used to be.

To the person to whom he promised Dr. Erskine he would remain true.

"Fair's fair," he says as he steps into the ice cream parlor, holding the door for Ki. "You won, I'm buying. What are you having?"

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"You're a good man," she says to Steve before passing through the door, scrutinizing the menu and making her decision, "Definitely a root beer float. You?"

Njoki loves to go out running, but unless she has company that can hold their own, she's not about to really push herself like she did tonight. Partly, it's not as fun to run full tilt on your own, and partly because certain Concern Citizens of Baedal might not take well to someone obviously not quite 'normal' out on their own.

He's seen the broadcasts, posters, literature. Truth be told, he's glad his friend isn't out running solo. He doesn't like the atmosphere with these "concerned citizens"; he's got a bad feeling push will come to shove and something terrible will happen if people don't calm down.

He'd never tell his friend he worries over her, though.

"A root beer float sounds good," he agrees. "And thanks. And likewise. You too, you're a good man, too."

"Hardly, kiddo." Her laugh is a short, sharp bark of a thing that Steve has probably heard a good deal during their runs. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the sentiment, but ..."

"But...?" Cue one expression of complete and utter lack of comprehension, right here. "But what?"

"We're gonna want to have this talk outside, okay Steve? Just, ah, trust me on this?" She sounds resigned and a little worried. As far as she's seen, he's a good, stable sort of man, but if his embarrassment turns to anger, she doesn't want to deal with that inside a small ice cream shop.

He's still not clear on what's happening, frowning, replaying the last few minutes in his mind. Did he say something wrong? Do something?

But he nods, and he holds the door open again, this time so they can step back outside. "What's up?" he asks, concern written all over his face.

There's never any easy way to have this conversation, so she's just going to say what she needs to say and hope for the best: "People make the mistake all the time and I want you to know that I'm not upset at all, right?"

"I'm a woman, right. Just making sure that we're both on the same page."

"You are?" Steve just gapes for a moment. And then his face falls--his head, too, his chin dipping, head hanging in shame.

"I sure am glad you're not upset at all, but, gosh, do I ever owe you a huge apology for assuming. I shouldn't have and I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

"Always have been," she says quietly and moves close enough to lay a hand on his shoulder. There may even be a soft, wuffle noise as she tries to get him to buck back up. "It happens sometimes and so long as you're not angry with me, all is forgiven."

He lifts his gaze at that, a soft smile turning his lips.

"Why would I be angry with you when I'm the one that made the mistake? That doesn't make any sense."

"Sometimes, people get angry. They feel betrayed or that they've been made a fool of and then, if they're really angry, they'll cuss me out or try to deck me, and I'm just piss-poor in a fight." Njoki doesn't sound angry about it herself; maybe a little upset that other people chose to act that way. "I can't really help how I'm built, and I don't want to dress in frills -- can you imagine me in a dress? Don't. You'll hurt yourself."

Edited 2011-10-01 05:18 (UTC)

Her warning comes just in time because, bless him, Steve was just about to try to imagine that.

"People shouldn't get angry," he replies, earnest, still a little confused that people would act that way. "I'm sorry they do. I'm not one of those people. I mean it."

"I know, Steve, and I'm really glad you're not, because if you were such a jerk, you wouldn't get me my well-earned float, would you?" Behold the wonders of Njoki's keen grasp of logic.

Hey, that sounds reasonable to Steve. He grins, nodding. "That's it exactly. Do you want to go do that now, or do we still need to talk out here?"

"We can do that." Njoki chuffs again and gently shoulder-bumps against him. "If there's anything you want to know, anything you need to ask, you go for it, okay? Don't hold back with me."

Steve--believe it or not--returns the shoulder-bump, though it's about as shy as something like a shoulder-bump can be.

"I don't have anything to ask you right now. But if I think of something, I'll ask. And that goes for me, too. If you have something you want to know, you can ask me."

The shoulder-bump, despite being shy, pleases her. She takes it to mean that he won't be treating her any differently than he did before.

While they reenter the ice-cream parlour and order their floats, she sticks to polite chit-chat about what they're going to get, but once they've got their snacks and have found a place to sit, she's got something to say.

"So, you can tell me off if you want, but, how do you run so fast?"

He's mid-polite-slurp when Ki puts the question to him; he glances up at her, through those impossibly long eyelashes, blinking a few times. He takes the straw out of his mouth and he straightens up, smiling. He's not surprised that she wasted no time in taking him up on that ask-me-anything offer.

"I'm an experimental super soldier," he tells her without hesitation. "I was meant to be the first of my kind but things went wrong and I wound up being the only one of my kind. I was given a serum and exposed to these vita-rays. They changed me physically. They made me bigger and stronger, they improved my reflexes and stamina. They sped up my metabolism, too, which in turn speeds up my healing."

He grins, a bit rueful. "Believe it or not, I used to be five-foot-six and barely a hundred twenty pounds. I had asthma and a whole laundry list of other physical problems. And now--" he gestures at himself-- "I look like this and I can run that fast."

"Less portable now and probably need to get your pants rehemmed, but it's not all bad." Vita-rays? Sure, why not. If she can accept and roll with every other half-mad thing in Baedal, 'vita-rays' are perfectly plausible. She does want to ask about why he's the only one, but has a sneaking suspicion that it would be a less pleasant answer.

"You volunteer for it?"

"Pants were a problem," he agrees, with a wry smile.

"I sure did." He pokes at the ice cream in his glass with his straw. "I tried to enlist in the regular Army. They wouldn't take me. I got rejected four times. I kept trying. I was willing to serve my country and protect those who needed it. So many men my age were laying down their lives to do those things. I had no right to do anything less. But I couldn't get in the regular way. I happened to meet Dr. Erskine and he offered me a shot at this. I had to work for it. Tryouts, kinda. I went up against a whole bunch of other fellas who were bigger and stronger and seemed more like your typical soldiers. But Dr. Erskine picked me in the end."

He pauses, pressing his lips together for a moment, that shadow having settled across his features again. He glances up at Ki a moment and then he goes back to swirling his straw around. "I asked him why. The night before the procedure. Why me. He said it was because of my heart. And because those other fellas--see, men who have always been big and powerful don't know any different. But a man like me, who used to be small and unimportant... he said I'd always remember what that was like, and that would make me compassionate. And he was right."

His voice softens. "He made me promise I'd always stay true to who I was. That night, and the next day, before he... before he died. I'm never gonna forget, I swear. I promised him."

"I don't know if I'd've had the nerve to do that, but I am damn thankful you did," she says sincerely. Njoki believes that she's a bit of a coward. There have been times when she feels that she could've or should've stood up against some of the less pleasant vampires she's worked for, but chose to stay quiet. "And I'm sorry you lost your friend. He sounds like a smart man who understood how people view the world."

"I might not know you like he did, but I'm glad you got the chance to do your part and fight. Worth the cost, right?"

"Thank you." He gazes down into his glass, still idly playing with the straw for lack of anything else to focus on, emotional as he is right now. It shows a little in the way he won't look directly at her for long, the way the smiles that come and go from his lips are just pale shadows of what they usually are, the wistful cast in his expression.

"Dr. Erskine was a good man, himself. I sure was proud he chose me... but I was even more proud to call him a friend and a mentor. I looked up to him. He believed in me like nobody had since my mom and dad, may they also rest in peace." He glances up at her again, for a moment.

"And I'd do it all again. Even knowing the cost, I'd do it all over again. Ten times."

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