The lights flashed bright once before the room went dark, illuminating the projection of virtual rain drops over the audience.
There were an abundance of oohs and ahhs as people began to make it from the photo booth outside to their seats along the figure eight shaped cat walk.
As Steve sits and waits in his seat for his boss, Nick Fury taking nervous sips on his sparkling water that was a complimentary beverage upon entry, he sees something out of the corner of his eye.
A yellow leather jacket fitted to suit a man with Disney prince worthy hair and a shaggy but not unkept beard. Steve waits to see the mans face, but before he can his boss finally arrives occupying the seat to his left.
He leaves the view of the mystery man to greet Fury, he is a large built man with an ever so threatening eye patch. No one knows how that came to be, it just is.
Fury is the director of Steve’s modelling agency, Shield, that he has worked at since he can’t remember when. Starting out as a minor after he lost both his parents and had no money left to live on, he lied on his application.
After he got the job, Fury also being new to the fashion game, was put on Steve’s case and they’ve been together ever since. Fury does everything for his star player be it big or small, their friendship has seen just about no limits.
An announcement was made that the weather themed fashion show was going to begin in a short five minutes. The rain recording covering the background noise began to soften until the announcer walked back out onto the front podium, where the headliner of the catwalk would be appearing.
It was a surprise guest who wouldn’t be exposed until the end of the show and Steve was especially exciting to see who they chose to be the face of their weather line.
The body’s filled the room, then the seats. Steve turned to face the figure he felt the presence of beside him in the seat to his right.
His features went through the emotions until settling on one that would be too awkward to be described. He looked over that yellow leather jacket once more as they blended into one bright blob of yellow together.
Steve’s large yellow winter jacket clashed directly with the mans outfit next to him. The only positive Steve’s mind could pull from the problem was of who the man was.
James Barnes, a fresh new and up coming world wide known model who worked for a company called Hydra Fashion and recently escaped their inadequate and careless contract to work as an independent, individualistic model.
How could this be happening Steve thought as he turned to Fury who didn’t seem phased by the act of colour displacement at all. He shrugged and continued talking to his old friend fashion designer next to him.
Steve found himself looking back to James. He was about to say something outrageous and call someone over to have the man switch seats with someone, but before he could lift an arm to bail anyone down he looked into those ocean blue eyes.
His face softened and he let out the squeakiest “Hello, I’m Steve” He has ever spoke.
James had to laugh at the sight... and the sound before shaking Steve’s hand and introducing himself.
“Hi, I’m James” He said with a smirk.
Steve almost fell off his chair hearing the mans voice. He was pulled back to reality as he missed what ever James had said and was laughing pointing to their colour matching jackets.
Steve laughed along to the chorus of angels sitting next to him.
Noticing the seat next to James empty Steve asked “No stylist?” With a curious look.
“Uhh... no. Just me” James spoke with both sadness and a sense of freedom.
“Huh” Steve gave him a warm smile.
The fashion show began and the two made a few comments between each other about what they thought about the clothes the models where showing off in down the runway.
The short comments with returned nods and huffed laughs from one another shortly turned into small talk. And after the show the two ended up sitting together at the open bar in deep discussions.
They sat, spoke and drank together until they were separated by Steve’s stylist/manager/assistant. Exchanging numbers they left with a handshake to any other person would be a normal departure. To Steve it seemed to be more of an everlasting expression that one can take in many ways telling Steve that he would definitely be seeing him again.
The car ride home Fury made way too many jokes about love at first sight and Steve with his google eyes on again. Sure Steve laughed along to the jokes being thrown at him by his old friend, but he could help feel like there was more. There was something there that he couldn’t move past.
The man was a perfect example of the complete opposite of a person Steve would normally fall for. He usually would go for the grungy, careless type that would always break his heart and take anything they could of his social dignity away from him in the meantime belittling him to being a person that is far from who he really is.
The ones who he finds are trouble and always take him down with them, dragging his reputation through the mud.
This is so much better this time. James is so far off from those guys, he quit his job to make a name for himself. He has built up his own self esteem and thrown himself under the bus when it was needed. He is so passionate and caring and that was all found out in just two hours of speaking with him over a couple of drinks.
Steve couldn’t believe what he was feeling. The attraction to James was already stronger then what he’s felt with anyone before. And he can’t wait until he gets dropped off so he can send James a message.
••••
James gets out of the cab and walks to the run down apartment in Brooklyn he’s been renting for the past few months. It’s nothing much, definitely nothing he’s used too. Quoting Hydra Fashion was And hard and gruelling experience. He was thrown straight out onto the street with nothing bar the clothes on his back and a back pack of sentimental things. A diary, a few photos and a small bag of plums he took from the kitchen bench before he left.
He unlocked the door and slammed it shut with a tug to the side, he learnt on the second day of moving in to this place that’s how you have to do it for the door to properly close. He threw his phone on the bed and stripped down and took a cold shower.
Ever since stepping into the cab he couldn’t shake a strange feeling he has never felt before. And he couldn’t stop thinking of the amazing conversations he had with Steve.
He stepped out of the shower wrapped in his towel for warmth and jumped under the covers on his bed to lay naked between the heated blankets.
He picked up his phone the screen brightness matching the glow of his smile.
Steve Rogers: Hey :) just checking you got home alright?
Straight away James called his sister to tell her everything right up to the text. Asking for advise on what to say to a message asking if he got home okay will go down in his history books and she won’t ever let him forget it.