Sally Stetins

[sal_starkrogers]

[RP for starspangledcap, locked to same]Friday night at the mall. Sally was nearly dancing through her shift. Pansy let Sal pick the music, again, and it was one of those nights in retail when everybody left the counter in a better mood than the one they brought in. Sally had a smile for everyone

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[starspangledcap]

Steve knew his daughter well enough to know when she was being humble, and this was definitely one of those times. Which meant that she really was getting good grades. Steve had never cared quite as much about Sally's academic achievement as Tony had - he'd always just told her to try her best, whether that "best" resulted in an A+ or a C+ - but if she was doing well academically it meant she was at least somewhat well-adjusted, somewhat motivated. That she was, in short, at least somewhat happy. It was a relief.

Steve stuck out his hand to shake the boy's. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Khalidi," he said. His eyes flicked back and forth between the two teenagers. Steve had never been very proficient at recognizing others' sexual orientations (he apparently hadn't even noticed his own, though that was a subject he was for the moment steadfastly ignoring). But even he could tell that this boy had no interest in dating his daughter.

"Are you two best friends?" Steve asked. Emil didn't remind him precisely of any of Sally's friends from the other world, but he could see why she would like him. Their rapport was light and comfortable, the kind of gentle teasing Steve had seen between some of the closest Avengers. It warmed Steve's heart to know that Sally had that kind of friendship in her life.

[sal_starkrogers]

"Pleased to meet you, Captain," Emil said softly. Sally could tell he was a little cowed. She could see why, sort of. Captain Buchanan was physically imposing, sure, but there was something else. Something . . . grieving. His grief was a cloud around him, and it insisted on respect.

But one of the things Sally liked about Emil was the fact that he was never off-balance for long.

"Best girlfriends," Emil answered, kissing Sally on the top of the head. She rolled her eyes and pushed him away, giggling. She glanced at the Captain.

"Emil and I co-head the GLBT youth club at our school, the Wayzata Wings -"

"Because every fairy has wings!" Emil interrupted in a sing-song tone.

" -yes, shush," Sally replied. "And we run the school's chapter of Amnesty International." She sort of liked this guy. Sally idly wondered if he had a church. Maybe he'd be interested in the U.U. congregation she dragged her mom too? She chose her next words deliberately, a small challenge on her face. "Our most recent campaign was protesting the Registration Act, you know. Registering to exist, it's unconstitutional. It's like just like the demands to track homosexuals during the mid-80's AIDS crisis."

[starspangledcap]

Steve recognized the look in Sally's eyes. It was the look she'd had when she'd declared, a year before, that she was going to be a hero, and there was nothing her fathers could do to stop her. That stubborn, determined look of complete and utter conviction. Steve had always assumed that Sally had gotten her taste for saving the world from the environment in which she'd been raised. But the look Sally was sporting now proved that the instinct went beyond that. If her mother had chosen to keep her in New York instead of moving her to the relatively supervillain-free Minnesota, Steve had no doubt that Sally would have become just like Kate Bishop, training herself in martial arts and becoming a self-made hero, powers or no powers.

And she opposed the Registration Act. In a world where almost 70% of civilians supported the act, where she had to know that any random stranger was very likely to have the opposite of her feelings on the subject, she was unafraid to express that opinion. Steve had always admired his daughter's bravery and commitment to her ideals, and he would have felt his heart swelling with bittersweet pride even if she'd espoused a pro-registration viewpoint with such unapologetic candor. But knowing that she had supported him and his cause... it meant more to Steve than he could have imagined.

But, unable to say anything that would reveal his true identity, he was forced to reply with generalities. "I agree. It completely violates basic human rights and American ideals." He saw the surprise in Sally's eyes - she hadn't expected that response. "And it's nice to know that some young people care enough about those things to try to make a difference. Your parents must be proud."

"But I have to say I'm glad the superhero civil war is over, at least," Steve continued, somberly. "The heroes should be protecting civilians, not knocking down buildings to fight each other. Captain America" - he avoided glancing at Sally's shirt, or stuttering over his own use of the uncomfortable third person - "did the right thing, in the end."

[sal_starkrogers]

Sally looked at Captain Buchanan for a long moment. She always went with her instincts. Trusted them to guide her through the world.

"Captain, the church my mom - Toni - and I go to is having an International Workers' Day potluck this Sunday afternoon. Would you like to be my guest?"

[starspangledcap]

Steve's eyes widened. "I..." For a wild second, he contemplated saying yes. Why not? He hadn't even been in his new place for a week. He could stay in town for this party. He could befriend Sally and her mother (Toni - Steve had known that was her mother's name, had learned all of her background information when they'd adopted her, but he'd never noticed the irony of the name before that moment). He could cancel the lease, move out here to Minnesota, get an apartment and a job. He could have his daughter in his life again. He could be happy, here.

But Steve knew that lying to Sally long-term would start to kill him, little by little. That being around her without really being around her would only hurt him more. And he also knew that, eventually, he would go back to hero work - either as Captain America or as some other alias - and he would have to leave her, for the sake of practicality and her safety. He couldn't let that happen. It would hurt too much, for both of them, to be separated after all of that.

"I wish I could," he said, regret evident in his voice. "But I'm only in town for a couple of days, visiting the family that couldn't... couldn't make it to Sarah's funeral." He looked down again at the counter, eyes glazing over an array of stickers advertising bands he'd never heard of. He could never tell his lies to Sally's face.

Then he looked up again. He wasn't about to leave until he was sure, absolutely sure, that Sally's life was a happy one, and that meant getting as much information as possible without seeming suspicious. "Thank you for the invitation, though. It sounds lovely. Do you and your mother live alone?"

[sal_starkrogers]

He was lying. But why was he lying? He wasn't lying about his loss. Wasn't lying about only being in town for a few days.

Sally couldn't figure him out. She squinted at him, trying to see what didn't fit. What was not right. Well, the silly hair dye wasn't right. Sally started with that. Why would he disguise his looks? She studied him openly, brazenly, not caring that he was watching her back. What color was his hair? Not darker. Lighter, obviously. Blonde, maybe?

Sally froze.

Blonde.

I really shouldn't try to figure out who he looks like, she thought faintly. He opposed the Registration Act. Soldier. Stop now. You don't want to know, Sally told herself firmly.

"Are you . . . " Sally couldn't tell him about herself, about her mom. Not this very strange man. This . . . whoever he was. But she wanted to trust him. Everything in her said trust him. "Are you a good man?" she finally asked, staring at his dark -- contact lenses, she could see, now, colored lenses -- his dark eyes.

[starspangledcap]

Steve felt his heart speeding up. He'd said something wrong. He'd taken a misstep, had been too focused on his goals to make the conversation sound natural. Sally suspected... something. He couldn't tell what. Did she think he was a predator again? A criminal? A murderer? Why wouldn't she, considering how he'd been acting? Oh, God. Steve loved her so much, and all he was doing was making her afraid of him. His eyes clouded with pain. He had to reassure her...

"I'm not a bad man," he answered, carefully. "I'm sorry, you must think... I'm sorry. I should have left before."

[sal_starkrogers]

"No," Sally answered slowly. Yeah, trust him. "No, I believe you. I don't know which parts you're lying about, Captain Buchanan, but I think you are a good person."

Sally turned and pulled a folder out of her bag. Emil looked at her, a wide-eyed glare that the Captain couldn't see. What are you doing? he mouthed at her. Sally shrugged. She set the new folder on the counter and began filling out scholarship applications, letting the tension ease. Dropping the subject, letting this weird man with his bad dye job say what he needed to say.

Sally sighed a bit. She wanted to go to summer classes at the U, but there was no way Mom could pay for it. Hence the applications. She somehow didn't think the Wayzata Rotary Club would be impressed with the sit-in she held last year to protest the removal of The Handmaid's Tale from the school library.

"My mom and I get by," she said, answering his previous question. "I do my part." Sally tapped the scholarship forms with her pen. "And swing shift pays a night differential for hours after 8 pm, so she brings in enough."

[starspangledcap]

If Steve had hated having to lie before, he hated it even more knowing that Sally could see through his lies. He wished, desperately, that he could just tell her the truth, but, on top of the fact that it would be entirely too dangerous, for both of them, there was also no reason to think that she'd even believe him. He'd seen how people reacted to alternate universe friends and relatives before, and the reaction was very rarely positive, even among people who experienced all kinds of bizarre things on a daily basis. For someone who had grown up in a completely normal world, the truth of Wanda's universe would seem completely unbelievable.

He glanced down at the scholarship forms that Sally had brought out, listened to what she had to say about her financial situation. Her family seemed to be a close one, for which Steve was grateful, but it made him sad to think that money was such a problem. It reminded him of his own childhood: selling newspapers, helping his mother at the laundry she'd set up in the basement, working as a delivery boy, all just to keep food on the table in a single-parent home. Sally wasn't nearly as poor as he had been - she certainly wasn't malnourished, and this wasn't the Depression, after all - but it was still a far cry from the luxuries she'd known as Tony Stark's spoiled only child.

That thought gave him an idea. "Have you thought about applying for a Maria Stark Foundation Scholarship?" Steve asked, motioning to the forms. "You seem like just the sort of student they look for." This was partially true - Tony's charity did give out scholarships, and they tended to look for good, enterprising students with strong science and math leanings. But Steve also had a feeling he could ensure that this particular girl would be a scholarship winner for completely different reasons. Tony hadn't been upset about Sally's loss like Steve was, but that mostly seemed to be because he didn't think of her as "real." If he knew that she was, Steve doubted he'd deny her the chance at a good college education.

Still, he probably needed a better reason for being so sure, and so he added, by way of explanation, "My daughter got one. She would have used it to take summer classes at NYU, if she'd had the chance. And if you're as much like her as you seem to be..." He trailed off.

Steve felt the sudden urge to reach out, to touch Sally's cheek or hair, to show some bit of affection like he always had and reassure himself that she was really there. But there was no way he could do that with this Sally, this Sally who'd never known him, and so he kept his hands still at his sides.

Other people were coming into the store, now; soon they would want to check out, and Steve would have to end this, to let Sally go back to her job, to her life that didn't include him. He tried not to let the thought fill him with despair.

[sal_starkrogers]

"Maria Stark Foundation? That's a good one -- I've got an application here, but I'm not certain . . . " Sally pulled a form from the back of the stack. "Oh, here it is. The essay was pretty killer, but I think mine's okay."

Captain Buchanan looked so sad. Maybe . . . ?

"Wait a sec," Sally said, dodging around the counter. She grabbed one of the American Hero shirts, a 3x from the bottom of the pile. Back behind the counter she grabbed a Sharpie from the pen cup. Turning the hem of the shirt up, Sally wrote her email address on the inside of the shirt, secondchancesal at gmail dot com.

"That's what my mom calls me, when she's proud of me," she explained a little sheepishly. "There was some sort of accident when I was a kid, and she always says we are both on a second chance. But, don't turn out to be some sort of weird stalker, okay? And email me anytime." She handed the shirt to Captain Buchanan with a smile. "The shirt's my treat."

[starspangledcap]

Steve took the shirt in his hands, running his finger over the letters of the handwriting he knew so well. "Thank you, Sally," he said. "Thank you for listening to me. I know... I know you're not my daughter, no matter how much you remind me of her." God, how it hurt to say that. "But I can tell that you're the type of girl who would make any parent proud. Thank you."

He rolled up the shirt, stuffing it into the pocket of his jeans. Another patron - a teenaged boy with a green mohawk and piercings in places Steve wasn't aware one could be pierced - was standing next to him with an armload of CDs, looking impatient. It was time to go.

"Good luck with those scholarship applications. It was truly a pleasure to meet you, Sally." Steve stuck out his hand for a handshake, knowing it was the only chance at physical contact he would be able to get, and looked into her daughter's eyes for what he knew would be the last time.

[sal_starkrogers]

"Pleasure's mine, Captain," Sally said, shaking his hand. "And thanks. I'll look into the Maria Stark one, just for you." She crinkled her nose, letting him know she was teasing a little. He nodded and left.

"Sometimes, girl, I do not know how your head works," Emil said. Sally began stripping the security tags off the cds and rang them up. "What makes him okay and that guy who was in on Monday a creep?"

"Dunno, Emil," she answered. "That other guy was a creep. I just know. This one?" Sally glanced up at the store entrance, but Captain Buchanan was gone. "He's a good man. I hope his life turns around soon. I hope he's happy again."

Sally finished checking out the kid in front of her and turned to fiddle with the iPod in the player. "No lip from you know about the music," she warned Emil.

There's a somebody I'm longing to see, I hope that he turns out to be someone to watch over me . . .

The strains of Gershwin filled the store and Emil rolled his eyes. "This crap?"

"This crap," Sally said, glancing one last time at the door. "It just seems right."