( IMAGINE THAT )

THE FIRST TIME SHE HAD CALLED STEVE, EDITH HAD BEEN SO EXCITED THAT THE MOMENT HE PICKED UP THE PHONE, SHE HUNG UP. This then caused her to burst into hysterical giggles because, God, how embarrassing was that? Gordon, who was sitting in the small living room area, looked over with his eyebrows raised in question. Once Edith calmed her laughing fit down, she turned to her brother and said in a whimsical voice, "Steve actually picked up." 

Gordon gave her a look, before shaking his head at her, "What did you think he was gonna do? Hang up as soon as he picked up?" The look that he leveled her after told her the same story it always did: Edith, you're an idiot. Edith crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her tongue out at Gordon. He glared at her, throwing a piece of candy at her as hard as he could, which nailed her in the neck and made she knew it was going to bruise. 

"Gordon!" She shrieked as she got up, charging at him with intent to smack his arm. However, her brother got up and moved away from her, lightning quick as he darted around the couch so he was standing with it between them. Edith stopped and glared angrily at him, pursing her lips. Steve would probably be waiting for her call, so she really couldn't deal with Gordon right now. "I'm going to get you back for that." 

"Yeah," Gordon shook his head, scoffing. "And I'm becoming a Nazi!" 

Edith stuck her tongue out at him again, sitting back on the chair she had pulled over to the phone and redialed Steve's phone number. This time, when he answered, she greeted him back and was beaming at house happy he sounded that she called him. (It's only been a day since her, Steve's, and Bucky's impromptu lunch. Edith had tried to wait and play hard to get or whatever, but she couldn't. Steve was too cute.) 

That first time, they talked for what felt like minutes, but was an hour. Edith learned that Steve was an Arts student and that he was working as a comic book illustrator. Which, Edith was happily surprised to learn about. She listened to him talk about his work, how he actually hadn't heard from Gordon that the U.S was joining the war, but had in a drawing class. 

Edith also learned that the way that Bucky and him had met was because Bucky had seen him being bullied and came in to rescue him (a lot like her, apparently). Ever since that, the two of them have been basically inseparable. Edith was glad to hear that Steve had someone to watch his back, especially after learning about how he really was a sickly kid, that her assumptions had been right. Even if either of them shouldn't hover, it was still nice to know that Steve was taken care of. 

In return, Edith told him about how she's pretty good at sewing and that she fixes clothes sometimes for a small price. Her repair is obviously better than the machines in the factories and it helps pay for the apartment. Plus, she enjoyed the soothing motion of sewing and the stability it seemed to bring. Steve even seemed generally interested and not just faking it like most of the boys Edith had talked to about it. 

Sometime, the conversation had switched to talking about anything and everything and Edith found out that Steve didn't like peas by themselves and always mixed them into his mash potatoes and that he's not overly fond of the taste of liver but he had to eat it everyday for medical reasons. She also learned that he liked the colour blue, once rode in the back of some kind of truck to get home from Coney Island because Bucky spent all their money trying to impress a girl. 

In turn, Edith shared funny stories of Gordon from their childhood, predominately the one time he was getting chased by a couple of school girls that wanted kisses so he hid in a garbage can. Gordon had scowled at her from his spot reading the newspaper and chewing on candy. Edith only waved him off. She told Steve about how her favourite pie was cherry and that she couldn't eat it without ice cream and that her favourite colour was silver and that she really enjoyed the way that water clung to the asphalt after a rainstorm. 

She asked if the next time she saw him, she could see some of his drawings. When Steve agreed, Edith had found herself beaming so brightly her cheeks hurt from smiling. 

The next two times they called each other were more or less the same, the two of them just talking about anything and everything that came to mind. Gordon bugged her about her clear infatuation with the man and Edith could do nothing more than blush and hit him because it was true. Steve Rogers had wormed himself into her life and she didn't want to change that for a single second. Edith made sure that Steve had her number after the second call so that he didn't have to sit by the phone waiting for her call like a girl. He had laughed and said he didn't mind the wait as long as it was her that was calling. 

Edith was pretty sure her heart was gonna explode or something it was beating so fast at those words. 

The fourth time they talked on the phone, Edith had ended up crying. Only because they had talked about their families. Like her, he had lost his dad to the World War and that was okay. They didn't really know them, they could only mourn the stories they had heard. And while Edith's mom had been lost to the low of the Depression, Steve had lost his mother to tuberculosis at a young age. He had told her how he used to be a sickly child and one of the main reasons he was alive was because his mom had been a nurse. He had loved her so much and the world had decided to rip her away from him. 

Edith had cried for Sarah Rogers, mourning a woman she hadn't even met but knew that she must have been an amazing woman if she nurtured and raised someone like Steve Rogers. 

The fifth time they talked to each other, they set up to go get coffee so that Steve could show off some of his art. So, Edith had dressed up in some of her best, the dress really pushing it because it fell a little above the knees and was a beautiful floral pattern that had blue flowers that matched her eyes. With that, she announced to Gordon that she was going out before she was rushing down the stairs from her apartment. 

New York was the bustling city it always was when she got on the sidewalk. Except now, she could see men in uniform, escorting their sweethearts or laughing with their friends. It was weird to think that they were at war now. 

Edith made her way to the cafe that Steve had suggested, finding the man already there, wearing a too big shirt, suspenders, and pants that were rolled up at the bottom. The fond feeling that blossomed every time she saw or talked to Steve returned with fervor, and she found herself smiling as she watched him flip throw a book. It looked like the one he used as a sketched book. 

"Steve," she breathed, making the man jolt and look up at her, before scrambling to get to his feet. Edith let him pull out her chair for him, sitting down at their table for two before watching him settle himself and ruffle the papers nervously. Not being able to take it, Edith reached out and put her hand on top of his, smiling, "I'm sure they're great, Steve. I'm excited to get a look." 

Steve was red with a blush, making pride swell together with the fond feeling, settling in her chest and making her know that she was definitely on the way of feeling more than just a crush for Steve. Steve, who was taking a deep breath, before he was putting the sketch book down carefully on the table in front of her. 

She flipped through it slowly once she had ordered some tea, looking at the clean lines of each drawing, how the colours blended together to make the picture come together. She let her fingers run gently over the pictures of the landscapes of New York, of a drawing of who she assumed was his mother, of Bucky laughing with his arm around another fellow. Steve sat quietly drinking his coffee unless Edith asked a question, in which he would answer with as much detail as he could. He showed a lot of enthusiasm when she asked about one of the more detailed landscapes of New York, talking about how he had sat in a cafe for a couple of hours and had made sure to tip well for taking over the table for that long. 

She turned to seemingly the drawn on page, if how much the first three quarters of book were flip through and worn. When she saw the picture on the page, a gasp fell from her lips and she felt her eyes widen. Her side profile was drawn on the page in smooth lines. He somehow managed to capture her with a beaming smile on her face, her eyes basically glowing even if it was in lines of graphite. She noticed that the tip of her nose had been erased a couple of times, like he had had a hard time getting the angle right. Still, the picture was beautiful, from the drawn curls in her hair to the brilliant smile he had drawn. 

She looked up at him, mouth slightly parted in awe. Steve blinked at her, fidgeting slightly in his seat. Edith took another moment to glance at the picture, before she was looking at Steve again, her mouth turning into a smile that she hoped matched the one in the drawing. "Steve, this is beautiful." 

if her tone was a little breathless, she thought it helped get her point across.

Steve raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Really?"

Edith was surprised at that. She looked at the drawing once more before handing the book back to Steve. "I have never been the subject of anyone's drawings, and I've decided I don't want to unless you're the one doing the pictures. I-" She cut herself off, taking a deep breath as she felt tears grow in her eyes. Edith had never felt so beautiful in her life than looking at how Steve drew her. Feeling bold and full of emotions, she reached out and intertwined Steve's and her fingers on the table. She could feel the callouses from drawing and feeling the artist's grace in the fingers. "I've never felt so beautiful, Steve. Thank you for sharing." 

Steve looked taken aback. "You've never-? Edith, I can't believe-?" Edith watch him stumble over his words some more, seemingly trying to find the right words, but his tongue not able to form them fast enough. Edith squeezed his hand reassuringly, which made Steve snap his mouth shut, take a deep, calming breath, before squeezing her hand back. "Edith, you are one of the most beautiful dames I have ever seen." 

Edith felt herself blush, smiling widely. She couldn't help herself, beckoning Steve closer over the table and planting a kiss on his cheek. The pleasure to watch the red start at Steve's ears and consume his face and neck was something Edith delighted in greatly. Edith decided that he was just as beautiful, if not more, than that picture that Steve had drew of her. 

They both drank their warm drinks in a comfortable silence, hands still being held over the table. Edith studied the man, looking at his sandy blonde hair and his blue eyes that seemed to have hints of green in them. She couldn't help the fond look that over took her face as Steve smiled shyly at her. 

Steve decided that they were going to order a pastry, so when the waitress came back to see how they were, he ordered one to share. Edith smiled, then couldn't help but asked, "Did you try to enlist yet, soldier?" 

A sigh escaped Steve's lips, which made Edith squeeze his hand. "Yeah, I went a couple days ago. Too many health issues, got a 4F. I wish they would just give me a chance." Edith felt herself purse her lips and look at Steve sadly. He took another sip of his coffee, clearing his throat. 

"You know, I bet in a few years, we would be advanced enough to have an asthmatic on the battlefield," Edith mumbled, playing with his fingers. A small laugh escaped her at the thought of the future. "Imagine that. Having the medical advancement so that we can cure diseases and we don't have to worry about people dying from the flu." 

Steve blinked at her, before a wide smile took over his face, "Now, that I'd love to see." Edith smiled back at him.

The two of them fell into comfortable conversation, really only broken when their pastry was brought and the two of them were being polite as they chewed it. Steve was rather good at cutting it in half with one hand, seemingly refusing to let go of Edith's. They spent a while just talking, until getting one refill each on their drinks and letting them cool without drinking them they were so caught up in conversation. 

Edith helped Steve pay by giving the tip when the two of them decided that they had had the tale for too long. Once outside the cafe, Edith made sure to give Steve a kiss on the cheek as goodbye before the two of them were separating to go back to their homes. 

Edith felt like she was floating on cloud nine, glad that it seemed Steve and her were on the same page for feelings, it seemed like. So, with a skip in her step, she walked home, humming to herself. She arrived relatively quickly, immediately going to the phone to call Steve but stopped herself. With the fact that she had just seen him, it may be a little weird that she was calling him. So, instead, Edith grabbed one of the shirt's of Rupert's that Mrs. Finch wanted her to fix and sent to work. 

Maybe half an hour of the methodical movements of sewing, Gordon burst through the door, triumphant smile on his face. Edith carefully put her needle away, somewhere she could find it when she decided to continue her work and turned to him. She waited patiently as she waited for Gordon to tell her why she was so excited. The answer was given when he moved towards her, handing her a small rectangle paper.

It was folded in half, Edith looking up at Gordon, who urged her to look. She unfolded it and felt the breath get stuck in her throat. It was an enlistment form, 1A stamped neatly in the box at the bottom right corner.

Gordon was going to fight in the war. 

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by god, thEY"RE IN LOVE!!!!!

yes, as you can tell, this is a fast burn. i think because preserum steve isn't used to this kind of affection, he'd fall in love with anyone in the snap of his fingers. plus, i mean, edith is such a cutie and she's so sweet.

more cuteness in the next chapter too!

ps i really like pre-writing stuff