[Console: Video]

[leaptopudding]

[The feed kicks on to an empty chair. The video is streaming, but there's no sign of Makoto anywhere. She may or may not be sitting on the floor, out of view.]

Alright, real talk.

I have something super important to ask you all, so listen up.

[She actually sounds pretty serious here too.]

How uh... How many of you know baseball?

[Home is far away and out of reach, so she's on the hunt for common ground.]

Comments

[leaptopudding]

[Even as she'd voiced the question, Makoto had been bracing herself for silence. Getting a reply at all, let alone one saying that they both know and love it comes as a surprise.]

Wait. What really?

[And with that, a skinny Japanese girl peeks out from under the table, looking to see who's talking.]

You're not just saying that are you? You really really know it?

[starspangled]

August 26th, 1939. The Dodgers beat the Reds 6 to 1 on one of the happiest days of my life. It was the first Major League game on television, but I was there.

[Steve pauses, grimaces, and the pain on his face just isn't the kind that can be faked.]

That was before they moved to Los Angeles.

[leaptopudding]

[Her face lights up the more he speaks and Makoto slides onto her chair. Once she's settled though, she catches his pain and her smile drops.]

That's so cool... A little old school compared to where I'm from but still really awesome. I'm kinda jealous I didn't get to see it too.

[The words are soft but genuine. Happy is she is to have someone to talk baseball with, seeing him hurt kind of kills the moment.]

I've been to a few night games, but nothing on that level.

[starspangled]

[He's been through worse. And hey, he still has the Yankees and the Mets to root for - the latter was new for him.]

Do you ever play?

[leaptopudding]

My friends and I used to play a little after school. There's only three of us most times so it's not enough for a real game, but one's on the bat, one's pitching and the other takes the field. Then we all cycle through from there.

[Dear god does she miss them, but there's no hiding her affection when she speaks about her buddies. Those boys really are two of her favourite people.]

[starspangled]

That would work.

[Steve hears that, smiles a bit.]

Sometime we would have stickball games in the neighborhood. I wasn't able to play much. But my friend and I, we'd toss a ball back and forth to each other a lot.

[leaptopudding]

I miss that kind of thing. I've been looking around the market for a bat or ball or just, y'know, anything that could work like one, but I haven't found anything yet.

[She seems pretty determined to find it all though.]

Hey, if I do, would you want to throw a ball around some time?

[starspangled]

I'll keep an eye out too.

[Two heads are better than one, right?]

Sure, I'd like that. I'm Steve.

[leaptopudding]

[And she grins at him, a little surprised that he said yes but super stoked that he did.]

Really? Yes! That'll be so cool!

[She hopes he's not a creep, but so far Steve really doesn't seem like one. In fact he's pretty darn nice. And he likes baseball so that's a plus. Her mother told her not to talk to strangers but in this place, everyone is. Sometimes rules need to be broken.]

I'm Makoto. It's nice to meet ya, Steve.

[starspangled]

[He's certainly done his share of breaking the rules lately. Sorry Ma.]

You too. Where are you from?

[leaptopudding]

Japan! Or well, Tokyo, to narrow it down a little.

[But she won't go more than that. Stranger Danger and the internet and all. Makoto knows the rules.]

How about you?

[starspangled]

Brooklyn.

[Something about her answer has surprised him a little though.]

Baseball's popular in Japan? I didn't know that.

[leaptopudding]

It's pretty huge! We have our own league and everything. I mean, you guys still have the rep as number one, but the NPB is a big deal in Japan.

[She sounds pretty proud of it all too.]

Cool, huh?

[starspangled]

It's very cool.

[It's one of the nicer changes he's learned about.]

[leaptopudding]

When I go home, I'm gonna make sure I go more. My friends and I always talk about going but we don't get to go all that often.

[Being a high school student probably counts for a lot there. That said, there's something Steven mentioned that's got her attention.]

Hey um, I don't mean to be rude or anything but... How old are you? Or well, what year are you from?

[Cause he said 1934 like he was there, but Steve doesn't look like an old guy...]

[starspangled]

That sounds like a good plan.

[He wishes he could say the same, but maybe Sokovia is it for him. Even if it's not, do any of his friends even like baseball? Natasha? Sam, Sam has to. He's too perfect to not love baseball.

She asks a complicated question. Questions, really.]

Technically, I'm 96. It's 2015 back in my world.

...i just realized i typo'd 'steven' in the last tag. can't stop laughing.

[leaptopudding]

[And she frowns, then leans a little forward to squint at him.]

You're totally making a joke here, aren't you.

[Dry tone is dry.]

\using his full name, he must be in trouble!

[starspangled]

I'm not at all.

[But he can see why she'd been doubtful about it. He expected as much.]

I sort of ended up frozen for around seventy years. That stopped the clock.

[leaptopudding]

Whoa.

[Makoto sits back, a little blown away.]

That's... rough.

[What do you even say to that. Just how many frozen people are there out there that she doesn't know about.]

Is that something that happens often..? Or are you kinda special.

[starspangled]

It's okay.

[He gives her a little smile, because he can see that she doesn't know what to say in response at first.]

It doesn't happen often. I have a serum in me that made it possible.

[leaptopudding]

[Her expression softens, though there's still a hint of a frown. She's not scared at all, but rather worried for him.]

Did you want the serum or..?

[Did he want any of this?]

[starspangled]

I volunteered for it.

[Granted, he would've volunteered for just about anything if it gave him a shot at the Army.]

Still, it was pretty surprising.

[leaptopudding]

Huh.

[It's a surprise to her, but she doesn't know his story more than what he's said. Makoto assumes he must of willingly signed up for being frozen, along with the serum. She really can't understand it.]

Well, if you were okay with it I guess... I mean. Are you happy with that choice?

[starspangled]

[If Steve looks caught off guard, it's because no one's ever really asked him that. Is he happy? It made him healthy, made him strong. It made him a hero.

And at times it's made him feel lonely, a man out of time, his time. But if he knew everything that he knows now, would he have chosen anything else?]

Yeah, I'm happy with it - it made me taller.

[leaptopudding]

[At his pause, Makoto worries that she's said too much. It wouldn't be the first time that she's done so. But then, he speaks and she lets go of a breath she didn't know she was holding. She shoots him a small, reassuring smile.]

I'm glad. If you're happy, I'm happy. I mean, you're a good guy from what I can tell, and good people deserve to have things work out for them.

[A beat.]

Man, maybe that's what I need. I'm a shorty.

[She's kidding. Mostly.]