{ open } i've been holdin' back

[smoak]

CHARACTERS: Felicity Smoak and You!
LOCATIONS: Various places around town
WARNINGS: None!
SUMMARY: Open starters; Plus a few closed starters that I owe in the comments

[ It's a little hard for Felicity to wrap her head around the idea that there don't seem to be any tech giants in this city. Maybe that makes sense given all the magic that the city has access to in the form of energy. But that said, there's OkCuddle, and their phones exist for a reason.

Maybe that means she should be pitching ideas to Cadelle itself, or starting her own brand of iPhones. Part of her has always dreamed of being able to make something that could make the lives better.

The other part of her though, is still a little reluctant to work with authority.

So.

Non-governmental work it is. At least for now. Which means she needs to start looking.

Felicity's job search takes her all around the city. She's not looking for interviews, but rather trying to get the vibe of places that are currently looking for help — especially all the places she didn't get to visit on her scavenger hunt. Of course she has to visit Deja Brew first. Given how much she loves coffee, Felicity's spent her fair share of time imagining herself as a barista.

But she also tries the public library and the museum of art. Two institutions she can get behind, and to which she thinks she could offer a major upgrade for their websites and ways to track their collections. Going to the Best Friends Rescue was a terrible idea though, because once she's there, it's so hard to leave without adopting one of the dogs or cats there. Felicity makes her final stop at the university. It's the only place with people who might actually challenge her technical skills, and she can't help but wander the halls of the computer science department, poking her head into offices just to see who's there, and what they teach. ]

Comments

Closed to Steve

[smoak]

[ As promised, the next morning Felicity sends Steve a text around 10 a.m. She's on her way, and she knows exactly how to get BSG to play on their room TVs.

It would be an understatement to say how much she thought about exactly what time to leave. First off, 10 isn't too early, and if this really is Steve Rogers, he probably got up at 5 a.m. or something ridiculous like that. That's what Captain America does, right? Anyways, it's not too early.

It's also not too late, because they could watch a few episodes and reasonably "stop" hanging out before it became socially required to eat lunch. Felicity wouldn't want to presume.

But finally, and most importantly, she just needs some time before she goes over there to emotionally prepare herself. For what exactly, she doesn't know. Disappointment, if it just so happens to be some guy who is pretending to be him? Who happens to have the same time and thought it'd be a funny joke to say that he's 99 on his profile?

Or maybe ... she's preparing herself for the idea that it could actually be him. And in that case ... she really needs to make sure she isn't weird. Not that she's particularly good at it.

But around 10:15 a.m., Felicity raises her hand to knock on Steve's door. Three light taps, strong enough to sound like knocks. ]

[recruited]

[ There's never a too early with Steve. The serum does a lot of things for him. It's not like he goes to sleep with the rest of the elderly, but it's not like he stays out all night partying. Steve just doesn't need much sleep to even function. He could go for a while without every resting and just keep moving. If he had to. But Felicity arriving at ten am isn't going to be an awful thing. Steve's been up for a while to begin with. To jog and to tidy up despite the fact that Steve is not a messy guy by nature.

He's in the process of drying off his last dish when he hears Felicity's knock. He finishes that up and puts it away in his cupboard before going to his door. He tosses the towel over his shoulder and pulls the door open with a smile. It's strange to see someone you've communicated with over this thing in the flesh for the first time. Steve slides to allow her a path into his apartment. ]

Hi there. Come on in.

[ You'll be pleasantly surprised, Felicity, to find that you are indeed dealing with the real deal Captain America. ]

[smoak]

[ Holy shit.

It's the only two words she can think of when he opens the door, and Steve is going to have to excuse her for the next couple of minutes because Felicity is no longer in control of what she's about to say, or do. ]

Oh my god it's actually you. You're Captain America.

[ The octave she normally uses drops lower for a moment, the way people get sometime when they're too excited. Voices either go really high, or really low, and Felicity's goes low.

She hasn't said a word about recognizing him until now, but he's here. He's standing right there and Felicity ... she ... reaches out to touch his chest. Just for a tiny millisecond before she comes to faint grips with herself and takes her hand back.

Now she knows how Peggy must have felt when he first came out of that crazy machine. ]

Sorry, I just- I can't believe- You're real...ly here.

[ Good save, Felicity. ]

[recruited]

[ She catches him off guard with that. It's really been pretty standard for people not to know Captain America or Steve Rogers. But she seems to know immediately upon seeing him. Which makes his brows go up and Steve for a brief moment looks like a deer in headlights. It's not like he would have not invited her over if she knew him, but it's just a little alarming. But he can go with it. It's not the first time he's ever been recognized.

The way she reaches out does send a strange wave of nostalgia up his spine. For half a second he smiles without realizing. But she seems to have the same sort of reaction to him that Peggy had. It's a little strange, but it's probably for the best they get this out of the way now. As opposed to her holding in that she does recognize him and it coming out in a stranger manner than this. ]

So, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you know me.

[ She's gotta be from his world. Or something. ]

Did you think I was some guy pretending to me?

[ Considering how shocked she seemed by actually seeing him. ]

[smoak]

[ God, and he's so disarmingly light-hearted about it too. A wave of embarrassment washes over her when he asks that question. ]

Maybe ... just a little? [ She brings her thumb and index finger together so they're barely an inch apart, as she bites her lip. ]

It's normal, back home, for people to say they're you. But not like- that they're trying to impersonate you. They're just ... fans, and no one ever assumes it's actually Captain America. [ Because back in her home, that's ... actually not possible. He's not supposed to be real.

Then, in a tentative voice and an expression that only looking for forgiveness: ] So I might have been keeping my expectations low, on the chance that you ... weren't you. [ A beat. ] Can I ... still come in? Or ... if you want me to go, I ... that's okay too.

[recruited]

[ It's better than getting recognized somehow on the subway because someone just has his face memorized from all the old war bond ads. Once the Smithsonian exhibit came out it was impossible not to be noticed. Not that he minded. He understood that people just wanted to say hello. He didn't quite soak up the attention though like Tony once had. ]

By a little you mean a lot.

[ He smiles. It's alright. He's not sure he's never met anyone just trying to say they're him. Not because he would get offended, but mostly because back when he worked with SHIELD they got touchy about that stuff. They monitored a lot. Steve would say a little too much. ]

It's just Steve these days. I uh--hung up my shield.

[ It's partially correct. More like laid down, but that's a long story. ]

Come in. It's totally okay.

[ He steps back to let her in. ]