Alterlife ⇝ Bucky Barnes [1]

three.

Once they got inside, Lydia looked to her brother and instructed him to check on whatever Gumbo had claimed to have cooking in the kitchen. Ken disappeared to the back without question, while Effie gathered her coat and announced that she had an appointment to make. Lydia watched her in silence, perching against the inside of the counter just as Gumbo had been earlier and waiting for her to leave before she said anything. 

She looked back down to the young man in front of her, noticing how he kept his eyes trained on the counter. A habit due to a lack of confidence she was sure, since he couldn't keep eye contact for his life earlier, either. "What's your name?"

He jumped in surprise at her tone, looking up from the counter and finally at her face. He wasn't sure how old she was, but the lack of a blemish on her face suggested she was still in high school. Her eyebrows were thicker and more defined than he was used to seeing them on his side of the city, where the women still kept them thinned out like when he was growing up, with eyes that were dark and intense. Her cheekbones were high and prominent despite the lack of a smile on her face, paired with gaunt cheeks and full, upturned lips. The most interesting feature he couldn't help but notice first had been her nose. It wasn't distracting, but despite the wideness of her nostrils, the entire area reminded him of his Jewish neighbors that he had grown up with and he couldn't help but wonder if she was somehow related to them. "Steve Rogers, ma'am." 

"Oh, you don't gotta be formal." 

"It's a habit. Sorry." 

Lydia allowed a smile to grace her face at the apology. She adjusted her arms so they were folded over her chest, still keeping her hip resting against the counter, "Well, Steve Rogers, my name is Dorothea but folks call me Lydia. What's a guy like you do to get bullied by a random in the middle of the street?" 

"That's Louis deSanta. He's been my bully since the third grade." 

"I think we're a little grown to be bullies, but what do I know?" Lydia turned around to grab a glass and the water pitcher from the cold fridge, missing his look of surprise. Her statement knocked his original theory of her still being in school out of the list, but another thought crossed his mind. Everyone assumed that he was still in junior high with his stature and on the rare occasion that he and Bucky would head outside of Harlem, he'd be  mistaken for a little brother or cousin. 

"How old do you think I am?" Steve found himself asking, watching as the young woman turned back around with the desired items in hand. She placed the glass gently on the counter and began to pour ice cool water into it in a fluid motion that made Steve realize she must have been a waitress at the diner. He didn't know how the obvious had slipped his mind (she was dressed in a uniform),

"My age, twenty or so. You're small and have a baby face, but it's always the eyes that give it away." the smile that had fallen from her face returned, even bigger than before. For the first time during their conversation, she didn't seem so scary. Maybe wiser than her years and more maternal than anything, but definitely not as scary as she seemed in the alley.

Before their exchange could be furthered, the tall man from earlier came back from the kitchen. Steve thanked him as he placed a bowl with a hot, steaming stew in front of him, watching as Lydia stopped him for a moment to tell him something. He wondered if they were together, or even married, but the lack of a ring on her finger suggested otherwise. Maybe their relationship wasn't like that at all though; the thought of it made him feel some shame at his assumption. 

The man - who Lydia referred to as Ken - made some joke that made her gently shove him back towards the kitchen. The action was clearly affectionate, meant to be a loving gesture and not aggressive, but the young woman feigned an irritated expression until the man had fully disappeared into the kitchen. She looked down at the small wristwatch on her person, her eyebrows shooting upwards.