2016 | AVENGERS COMPOUND — Steve Rogers has never been a fan of technology, it was just overall too complicated for him. The only thing he barely even touched, was his phone and only if it was truly necessary. After all he was the kind of person who preferred to sit quietly and listen to music, read a great book, or draw something.
One afternoon he walked into the kitchen to get a cold bottle of water, from the fridge. But as he walked past the living room, he noticed a lonely redhead girl sitting all alone on the couch by herself.
And just like him, she must have noticed his presence as well. She turned around and immediately, a small smile appearing on her face, when she recognized the captain and decided to give him a short wave with her hand. Her voice was still a little sore, so the wave was better than nothing, she thought. And even if it was just a shy little wave and smile, it still made Steve's heart race a little faster, as silly as it sounded.
He took a few steps towards her and leaned down over the big couch. His gaze fell on her lap, on which was a sketch book, or rather the back of it. Clearly she didn't want him to see what she was drawing, embarrassed he would laugh at her. But instead, he was amused by her silly attempt hiding it away, or even the way she always seemed so extremely shy when he was around.
"You draw?" He asked, getting a quick nod from her as she clutched the notebook and pencil tightly to her chest. "Let's see." He then said, but only got a quiet laugh and a head shake in return. "Oh, come on. That bad?" He joked. "I'll tell you something: If you show me your drawing ... I'll show you a few tricks." She now thought about his offer, but then stared at him with an uncertain grin. She wasn't sure, if he was being serious. "Before I became Captain America, I studied art," he told her, still trying to wrap her around his fingers.
Still not giving up though, Steve went back to his room and came back a few minutes later to Arielle with one of his own sketchbooks, who finally couldn't resist looking at his own drawings. Defeated, she let out a deep breath and tapped her hand on the seat next to her and motioned Steve to sit down next to her. When he was next to her, the girl handed him the sketchbook and then covered her eyes with her little hands, and sleeves to spare her the embarrassment she was about to experience.
Very excited, Steve opened her sketchbook and then found a drawing of a mermaid, similar to the one from the movie they watched. He was even impressed with her cute drawing.
He looked up from the drawing to his childish Ariel, who was still covering her eyes. He could only smile at the sight ... and his heart jumped once again. How could you not love her? Steve grabbed her hands, forcing her to look at him. "It's cute don't worry." He said with a look that could melt her heart. And before he completely let go of her hands, he carefully moved the sleeves up her wrists, just so her hands weren't covered by them – so her scales weren't covered by them.
She didn't know what to say, which is why she only smiled, thanking him, but now hoping he wouldn't notice the rosy color on her cheeks. warm hands, she thought thinking about the way his hands grazed her own. hold them one more time, she thought knowing her hands will never be as warm as his, after all she was still a mermaid.
She shook off her thoughts, or rather that feeling, she couldn't really explain. With a little more confidence she finally wanted to see his own drawings, at least he had seen hers too. She tapped his book several times with a grin and gave him a challenging look, which he returned with a defeated smile. He handed Ariel his sketchbook which she pulled tensely onto her lap. She opened it and immediately admired his great and creative drawings. With a gasp and wide eyes she was amazed, but also a bit surprised at the talent of the captain.
"Ahhh Beautiful." She exclaimed, her eyes never leaving his drawings. Every drawing by Steve Rogers had a meaning, a story. And she was curious to find out more about him. Because he too was a small part of her own story. "Yeah." Steve whispered rather to himself, but his gaze was not even once on the drawings...
He could stare at her for hours, and not get tired.
After several begging from Ariel, which Steve liked a lot, he finally showed her how to do a few cartoon sketches and scribbled a little on her book with her together. It was more chaotic and funny than educational, but she never regretted showing him her picture, not even for a minute.
Several pencil strokes later, Steve finally started drawing on his own sketchbook again, starting with simple outlines. Ariel leaned her head tight against his upper arm and watched from there. Despite his muscles, he was quiet comfy, she had to admit. At her touch, Steve's gaze wandered down to her, surprised and he lost himself again in her eyes, which met him. Blue eyes that could even make the ocean jealous, he thought ready to drown.
And at that moment he looked at her with one of those looks that every girl wants to be looked at by a man.
What would he do next?
Would he tell her how he felt about her?
Would he hold her hand?
Or would he try to kiss her?
It didn't matter, because she shyly turned away from him and looked back, grinning, maybe even a little nervously, at Steve's notebook, which was in his lap. She was scared of that feeling, she never felt like that about anyone...
Steve stopped too, because he did remember that feeling, or rather a similar one. He would loose her too, he thought. So instead he continued to draw for her, but she still couldn't exactly see what it was going to be. After a few minutes, Ariel was getting more and more tired and could hardly keep her eyes open until she finally fell asleep on the shoulder of the super soldier.
When Steve realized though, that she had actually fallen asleep, he snorted softly with a loving smile. It was a long time since Steve Rogers had felt like this, well maybe even the first time ... that feeling when he looked at her and suddenly forgot what breathing felt like.