Steve Rodgers pushed open the door to the old New York library, stepping inside. The smell of decade-old books and ink met his nose, and he inhaled deeply, smiling slightly, before setting back to the task he'd set himself for the day.

He approached the Librarian's desk and rang the bell. After a few moments an old woman hobbled out of the office behind the desk and peered up at him through inch thick lenses.

"Yes?"

"I was looking for the History section, Ma'am." He said softly, but making sure he spoke up so she could hear him. She nodded and wordlessly pointed behind him, to a large sign saying 'Historical.'

"Learn to read." the woman muttered, shaking her head and turning back to the office. Steve ignored her and made his way over to the history section, past the large table which was filled with open books. He chanced a glance down at one of the books and found it open to a large picture of an American propaganda poster. He curled his lip and swallowed hard, looking away from it, and turning around, straight into a girl.

"Oh, god, I'm sorry!" He jumped back, feeling his heart pump slightly faster. The girl looked slightly amused, and shrugged.

"Don't worry about it." she assured him, smiling and stepping past him to sit down. This pile of books was hers?

Steve watched as she began to leaf through the book, stopping occasionally to note down a page number or a fact, her pencil flying across her notes page as she flicked through.

After a few minutes, she stopped abruptly, and looked back up at him, her eyebrows raised.

"Looking for something?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No, it's just... That book." he pointed to it, and she followed his gaze slowly, before flicking her head back up to him. "It uh..."

"You need it?" she picked it up and pushed it in his direction, but he shook his head.

"No! You keep it. Where did you... Uh... get that from?"

She sighed over-dramatically, hauled herself to her feet , and led him over to the shelf where she'd found the book. Steve looked across the shelves, scanning then eagerly. She watched him, still slightly amused. He looked like a kid in a candy store.

"Something in particular you were looking for?"

He blushed. "Just... The later part of the war."

She leaned past him, her auburn curls brushing his skin. The blush darkened, and he swallowed hard.

"Here you go." she smiled brightly at him and wandered back to her table. After a moment of thought, Steve followed her, sitting down opposite her.

"Are you following me?" she asked, not looking up from her book.

"No, I just... I was looking for some company while I read. You don't mind, do you?"

She shook her head and continued to read. There was a long silence between the two while Steve watched her, twisting one auburn curl around her finger as her eyes flickered across the page.

"You're staring." she told him with a grin. He blushed again, apologizing and going back to his book. He couldn't help but glance back up at her every so often, but every time he did, she'd catch him, and that same grin would spread across her features.

They read for hours in the Library, and outside, the sun began to set. They'd begun talking after a while, and their books sat, discarded on the table.

She looked at her watch and sighed, genuine disappointment flowing across her face. "I've got to go. But this has been really fun, Steve." she stood up and swung her bag over her shoulder, pushing a book towards him. It was the book she'd been reading when he'd walked in.

"Goodbye Steve, see you around."

He watched her leave, before opening up the book. Inside, on a scrap bit of paper, scrawled in messy handwriting, was a string of numbers, and below that, the words

call me,
Corrie x

Steve folded up the bit of paper and shoved it deep into his pocket, smiling to himself.