Joel

[nola_steve]

Backdated to V-Day 

It was Valentine's Day, which he remembered pretty much only because he'd made heart-shaped pancakes for anyone who'd wanted them that morning. Otherwise? For Steve, it was just a day like any other.

It wasn't that he turned his nose up at commercial holidays. He was a straight-up sucker for Christmas. It was just...this was a day all about romantic love, and that was a bug that had never managed to bite, no matter how many friends tried to set him up. So he wasn't exactly paying attention to what was going on around him until he headed into the campus cafe to grab lunch and realized the entire place was packed.

Also? They'd gone out of their way to make it look cozy and romantic, with candles flickering at each table.

"...huh," Steve said, looking around for somewhere to sit. He'd already gotten his food ordered and had his sweet tea in hand, but there didn't appear to be a single clear table in the place.

Before he could turn back and cancel his order (maybe try somewhere a little less quaint?), one of the waitresses caught his eye. "We're asking people to double up tables, if they don't mind," she explained, making a sheepish face. "We already got a few people to agree. Here," she added, grabbing a chair at a small two-seater table. A vaguely familiar young man sat in the other seat. "Sit here."

Steve stepped forward, then cocked his head as the man looked at him. "You sure you don't mind?" he asked with a friendly-yet-rueful smile.

Comments

[nola_buckybarnes]

Joel was idly scrolling through his phone as he waited for his order to come in. "Not at all," he said without looking up. No skin off his nose to share—it wasn't like he didn't sit shoulder to shoulder with all these students in class anyway.