[OOM: Howard Stark]

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

London, 1943

Downtime is both precious and rare when you're in an elite military force. Steve spends it at Milliways when he can, and at the pub that's become their local when he wants to stay in London.

(Which he often does, despite the air raids and curfews. He's come to love this dark, sprawling city. It's not New York, but it'll do until it's time to go home.)

So Steve is having a drink and smiling at the singing. Another thing to like about the English--no matter what, they keep on singing.

Comments

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"I'm really fond of music," says Steve and has a pull on his drink.

[thefirststark]

"Then try to find a place with music." Pause. "Professional music." The endless singing doesn't do anything for Howard. "Listen for a while, and then just start up a conversation with a woman the way you would with anyone else."

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"Wouldn't she be annoyed by a complete stranger making conversation when she's trying to listen?"

[thefirststark]

"She might be. But you have to take chances, Steve. And it's not like she's going to show at you." He won't Steve forget that too soon.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve won't forget it, with or without help. He even smiles fondly at the reminder.

"I've been thinking I'd just wait until the war is over to think about meeting girls. It doesn't seem fair to make someone wait for me."

[thefirststark]

"All's fair in love and war. This would seem to be both." Or is Steve really that hung up on Peggy? Well, it wouldn't be the first time a man mooned over her, that's for sure. "Take a chance, at least once in a while. You can face a HYDRA tank, you can talk to a woman."

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"HYDRA tanks don't talk back," Steve points out.

[thefirststark]

"Do you want me to set you up with a date? I'm sure I could find someone. One of Mavis's co-workers, maybe."

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve flushes a bit and says, "That still doesn't help the conversation problem."

[thefirststark]

Howard gives it a bit of thought.

"No, it doesn't."

Give him a simple problem instead. Like creating a sustainable atomic reaction.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"You're kind to offer, but don't worry about my social life. I hardly ever do."

[thefirststark]

"Fair enough. It isn't like I have that much time most nights for this sort of thing. But if you change you mind, let me know." Seems a waste to be that attractive to women and not use it. But Steve is clearly the sort who has no real clue about that.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve nods. "Thanks."

He looks over at where Mavis is still talking with her friend. "Can I ask--the two of you, are you friends, too?"

[thefirststark]

"Do you mean, do we actually have conversations when we're not on dates or in her bedroom?

"Sometimes. But mainly about her brother. So I don't know if 'friends' is a good choice of word." It doesn't seem to bother him.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"It just seems like that'd be important for the long term.

"But if you're not looking for long term, I guess it's not so important."

[thefirststark]

"The long time will have to wait. I suppose you're right about that much. But Mavis and I knew right away. The war ends, and she will stay here and I go back home, and that's that." And if pressed, he might even admit she's really dull sometimes. "I suppose you don't see yourself having that kind of fling, do you?"

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"No," Steve says. "I suppose I'm hoping for something impossible: meeting someone and just knowing.

"Bucky would say I watch too many movies, wanting something like that."

[thefirststark]

"He's probably right. But you don't seem to care much about what other people think, from what we've all seen you do." Which is why Howard isn't trying harder to convince Steve to loosen up. "You just need to know that life is going to bite you on the butt sometimes if you expect it to be like the movies.

"Besides, the guy doesn't always get the girl even in a movie."

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"I feel like I'm in the middle of a John Wayne picture sometimes. Only better, 'cause no screenwriter could make the treatment seem real.

"I think, for me anyway, it'll happen when it should. If it should."

[thefirststark]

"That's how it is for all of us. It's not like I'm spending much time worried about finding a wife either."

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"But you still date. Why, if you not looking for a wife? For the company?"

[thefirststark]

"For the company, the sex, the escape. Like a lot of men do. They just don't like to admit it sometimes." He doesn't care what others might think.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve toys with his glass. He has things he doesn't want to admit himself, and he wishes he could.

"Yeah, I know they do," he says quietly.

[thefirststark]

"Look, you'll figure it out when you figure it out. Just don't think about it that much. You have a lot to deal with as it is, and dating shouldn't consume you." At the end of the day, Howard's first love isn't women or sex. It's science.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"Oh, it doesn't," Steve assures him. "But sometimes, it seems like it would be nice to have somebody just ... there for you."