The man in the rain

He makes me smile

Mrs. Gilebertson gave the person who walked in a sweet smile and she put her hand on Vieve's arm signaling to her that she was good to go and talk to them. Genevieve looked at her with a shimmer of excitement in her eyes and gave Charlene a big hug, enough to lift her off the ground. She walked over to the person, a bundle of nerves starting to make themselves known. When she reached them their eyes met and both had a smile spread across their faces.

"You know I didn't think that you would actually show up," Vieve said a little slyly but just enough to know that there was a joking tone to her words, causing the person to let out a little chuckle.

"Well, when you promise me a cup of coffee I just cannot resist," James said joking back. This kind of banter between the two is what he was looking forward to when he was making his way towards the diner. Not only was he looking forward to the banter, but he was also looking forward to seeing G. She had made a difference in his life even if they had just met a few days ago. She didn't treat him any different than she would a normal person and that brought a sense of comfort to him.

"Wow I feel flattered that that's your only reason for coming back here" she joked while leading him to the bar. She handed him a menu and started pouring his cup of coffee. What she didn't know is that he was watching her every move, not because he liked her that much, but because that is what he was trained for years to do.

He caught himself doing so and tried to put a stop to it immediately because he knew that he could trust her. But the decades of brainwashing didn't let him stop. He just continued to zone out not even paying attention to the conversation anymore. He knew that he was zoned out and that he needed to get back to reality or else another episode would take over, but his brain wouldn't let him. That was until she said his name.

"James," Vieve said while waving her hand in front of his glazed-over eyes. She had noticed he started to zone out when she was talking but she didn't think anything of it until his breath started to quicken. She didn't know why, but she did know his past, so she knew that she needed to get him out of this trance that he was in or there could've been treacherous consequences.

Her hand broke his line of sight and took his attention from the trance to her eyes. He soon felt his heart racing and not from the flashback but from the girl that sat in front of him. Her face showed concern, but not concern about her well-being but about his. He could tell that she wasn't scared of him and that made him feel more comfortable than he ever could be at that moment.

"Are you okay?" she asked putting her hand on his arm that was resting on the counter. He looked down at the close contact between the two and felt a warmth rush to his face and his cheeks hit up.

"Yeah," he breathed out sharply, "I'm good, just a flashback I guess. They seem to be happening a lot more, sorry" he apologized and took a swig of his coffee.

"No, please don't apologize. I'm not saying that I understand, but please don't ever apologize for something that you cannot control okay?" she said to him, her hand on his cheek forcing him to make eye contact with her. There was just some silence between the two, it wasn't awkward, but more of a comfortable silence. They were locked in on each other's gazes, but when there was a cough Vieve cocker her head to find that the chef of the diner had food that she needed to go and deliver to the other guest at the diner.

"I'll be back in a minute, decide what you want to eat, it's on me," she said with a wink and took off to deliver the plates of food.

James tried to put together what just happened. The only person who has been able to pull him from his flashbacks has been Steve, but she was just as capable and maybe just a bit better at it than Steve was. He looked over the menu and was met with homestyle meals that would bring you comfort just by the smell. Looking over that menu over and over again took ages, but he had finally found what he wanted and by that time Vieve was back and pouring him another cup of coffee that he had subconsciously drunk.

"Did you decide what you're having?" she asked while pulling out her notepad and pen. James did decide but when she asked the idea of it had left his head. He just sat there looking dumbfounded and blushing out of embarrassment.

"Honestly, everything just sounds so good I don't know what to choose," he stated while looking back at the menu "why don't you just choose for me?" looking up at her as he questioned.

"Okay but if you don't like it, that's not my fault" she exclaimed with a smile and writing down something on the notepad and handing it to the chef.

The diner wasn't too busy that night so the pair got to spend even more time getting to know each other, while G made the occasional runs to see how the customers were doing. It was however getting close to close and Vieve needed to start cleaning, but she just didn't want to say goodbye to James. She liked who she was when she was with him. She felt like she could truly be herself and not worry about scaring anyone away. The last person she felt like she could be herself with was her brother. So being around James was just like a breath of fresh air.

"As much as I hate for the night to end, we are closing soon and I need to start closing the lobby and kitchen," she said leaning up off of the counter and smoothing her apron down.

"No worries G, I'm sure Steve is wondering where I am at anyway. Thanks for dinner and the coffee," he stretched and got up to leave. But before he left the bar he hesitated. He wanted to hug her but he didn't want it to be an awkward situation. But little did he know that Vieve wanted the same thing. So with them both wanting a hug they both just stood there awkwardly until Genevieve spoke.

"So, when can I see you again?" She questioned quietly scared that he might not want to see her again. She waited so desperately for his answer and while waiting for him to answer she turned her head down so she wouldn't be any more embarrassed than she already was. James noticed that her head turned down and how she was feeling embarrassed but he was excited that she actually cared that she wanted to see him again because he wanted the exact same thing. Seeing her was the absolute highlight of his day today and so he was thrilled that she wanted to see him again.

"I'm not sure, I know that Steve wants me to train most of the morning, and then Tony said he wants to go over my brain and I don't really want him to, so if you're there then that gives me an excuse to not do that," he said. Vieve didn't know why being an excuse hurt her but it did, but she wasn't going to let him know that.

"Sounds good to me! I have class until about one but I can come over right after that. Does that work?" She asked picking up some of his dishes and putting them in the bus bin.

"Yeah, that will be great," he said with a smile and walked towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow G, have a good night," and with that, he walked out the door and left Genevieve to close the restaurant.

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Hey guys I am so so so so sorry that this part is out so late!! I got a promotion at work and that means I am working a ton more hours, so I am just a bit drained from that. Also, I am still in school and it's towards the middle of the semester so midterms are happening, BUUUUUUTTT  This week is spring break so I will be uploading a chapter every day. NO MATTER WHAT!!!

So thank you guys for sticking with me and reading this story...

anyway happy reading

XX--Pag :)