linger » james buchanan barnes AU/OC

beginnings

Steve was eager to settle in on the garden area with Natasha. He was nervous, obviously, but had concealed it relatively well for someone so new to the country.

He had previously explained his relation to Ireland, how his family was from Queens and how they'd moved from here to there some years ago. He expressed to Saoirse that he was greatly in touch with his Irish side, though. Saoirse laughed at him, his American accent betraying him. She'd guessed he'd stopped here because of Natasha's wanting to go to college here and he probably didn't want to be separate from her, which was unfortunate in her eyes, but she was also happy because he had landed in Irelamd with herself now and she was pleased to call him her friend.

Usually, she only knew Steve at Christmas when they'd visit their grandparents. In particular, Steve's grandparents had met in Thomas Street earlier in their lives, with both of them meeting in Dublin as they attended college. Both of them attended Trinity too, which, Saoirse supposed, was also probably a factor in Steve's attendance. She was unsure in general, she'd never asked.

Natasha frowned at Steve as he slumped into the garden chair on the grass in front of the accommodation. He looked up at her innocently, smiling to her as if he were really satisfied with himself. Saoirse smiled too, remembering once more how nervous he seemed up until now as he sat.

Later, the trio decided to get ready to go out. Trinity was luckily in the city centre and Dublin was just one of those cities that had hidden places in tiny streets, which added to its overall volume. Obviously, Saoirse knew her way around quite decently, she'd been coming in and out for 19 years, but her American friends were clueless. She was enthusiastic about the first night, confident that Steve and Natasha would like wherever they ended up. Besides, Dublin was a likeable city, it wasn't too up itself.

The college was hosting a pub crawl for the first years to be acquainted. Usually, it went by which majors everyone took, like Art History or Geography. But, tonight, it was just going to be a general mix according to the Student Union.

It was still warm at this end of the summer season, it was September. The heat of the summer arrived late to Ireland this year with rain battering the exam hall windows in mid June when Saoirse sat her Leaving Certificate. She was grateful for the late sun tonight, however. She didn't doddle too much over what to wear, settling quickly enough on a white shirt which she only buttoned in the middle, leaving her chest exposed and allowing it to flare out across her hips. She also wore a leather coat and some black trousers. She painted her lips red.

Steve and Natasha also dressed casually enough, though, Steve took it in a tourist way and wore a chunky, cream, knitted Aran jumper. Saoirse shook her head slightly to herself before offering her friends a smile. A rather large group had formed on the grass and the Student Union began ushering people toward the exit of campus.

They had informed people of the general area they would stay that night and encouraged them to choose whichever bar within that radius they liked the look of.

Saoirse wasn't terribly worried about staying along with Steve and Natasha, however, they ended up going together unintentionally. Saoirse had intended, however, to make some friends.

There were some bars down at Powerscourt that she already knew of, but since they were in the right area, she just went again anyway. After ordering herself a gin stood at the bar, she curiously looked around for her friends.

The pair where socialising with some people in the corner of the bar, laughing and nodding along to whatever conversation was being had. Saoirse gripped her slim glass and headed over.

She was greeted by a few people, new people obviously, and they chatted and drank for a while. They moved every so often to socialise with more people, eventually finding some who were also students at TCD.