The Metropolis Not!Vengers in... Location, location, location!

[stands_for_hope]

[continued from here]

Steve wakes up slowly, happy and warm and content enough he's not sure where he is at first. The clues he gets initially aren't helpful because they're such universal parts of his life, as far as his hindbrain is concerned, that they're just a part of 'how he should wake up'.

There's a warm body up against him, deep brown hair pressed up against his nose and mouth that smells like home, a ratty old mattress beneath him that's too firm for anyone but someone like him--

And a metal arm across his stomach. Huh. That shakes some things loose.

It doesn't halt the grin on his face, though. That's... probably never going away, or at least it won't be budging anytime soon (probably until Jim looks at him, disgusted, and tells him to 'stop lookin' like a loon'). Instead, he just reaches over to grab his phone from the the bedside table (amazing the things that survive a plain crash when they're kept in the right pocket) and peers at the time.

Huh. Nearly two. That's fair. But--

"Hey, sleepyhead. You get some good rest?"

Comments

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve couldn't help laughing just a little.

"Well, I guess that's a better way of judging, considering."

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim smirked down at him before going over to the other side to sit down. "Replace the second one with this one on the list?"

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Already done," he said as he let his eyes close. Then, sighing almost regretfully, he sat up again and gave the bed a push with his hand.

"Okay, that's a good gauge for some of the others."

And he hand tested three or four before finally sitting down on another one and frowned. He stood up quickly and tested another couple, sat--

Then he was back to the one Jim was on.

"So far, I'm good with this one."

[kolodnoykovki]

He watched, half-smiling, amused, as Steve tested further. He'd leaned back, hands taking his weight on the mattress' surface. "I'm fine with this one, too. Now," he said, "we just have to choose what size."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"The sizes are over here," because he'd seen the size testing area while he'd been checking out the other beds. Getting up, he walked around all of the various options before settling on--

"Queen looks long enough."

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim stopped beside a single and pointed. "Familiar?"

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve smiled a little and nodded.

"Yeah, more than."

And a little part of him wished they could still both curl up on it together.

[kolodnoykovki]

He smiled a little, but then wandered over toward the queen to give Steve a light shove. "Lay down on it. See if it fits."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

He lets himself totter over into the bed, spreading out to make sure that the bed is long enough for him. It is, just long enough that his feet don't hang off when he approximates where his pillow would be, and he pats the other side.

"Look good?"

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim dropped onto the other side, making the mattress spring up under Steve - and he smirked when he laid back, fingers knit behind his head. "I think this size should do."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Then you lay back and I'll go make the arrangements," and he patted Jim on the belly before hoping up and heading over to the store's single employee, pointing over at the bed they'd picked. She moved to go over and get the number before he rattled it off, which had her looking grudgingly impressed before starting to file things into a computer to get things going. After a few minutes of talking, she pointed over to the various bedframes and he gave her his parameters (namely STURDY) before continuing to enter his order. He handed over his card, ran a hand through his hair, signed a few things, and eventually walked back over with a large sheet printed out as a receipt.

"So that should be at the apartment in a couple of days."

[kolodnoykovki]

Nodding, Jim sat up and rolled his shoulders. "Sounds good. We'll let Clark know later. Now... drug store? Pretty sure there's one about a block away. I mean, they're everywhere."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"All for it."

He led the way out of the shop, holding the door for Jim on his way out before glancing around to see if there was one on the actual block. Unsurprisingly, the next corner held a CVS.

"Like you said. They're as bad as Starbucks."

[kolodnoykovki]

"This place, one called Rite-Aid, another one called Walgreens... They're seriously everywhere." But once they crossed the street, he walked right in, the doors sliding open for him. He'd liked that particular development.

The place was stocked and Jim looked around with his usual feeling of vague disbelief. There was just so much of everything. "Haven't got over it yet."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"It's wild," he agreed in something only just higher than a murmur.

"But it's convenient, I'll admit. Though it's useful that they're all laid out about the same."

He started walking towards the medical supplies, looking for a cream for Jim.

[kolodnoykovki]

The shelves took his attention as he trailed behind, absently taking in the displays - now and then prodding at something as he walked past. All these things for needs he hadn't even imagined before he'd suddenly found seventy years had passed. They'd made do with cotton balls and scraps of cloth, boiled water and harsh soap. Sometimes a dash of whiskey if they couldn't find anything else. And now there were pads and bandages and ointments and creams, alcohol that he knew better than to even think about drinking.

He picked a box up at random and started reading before shaking his head and putting it back. "Is there anything this stuff doesn't cure?"

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Probably doesn't 'cure' any of it," he said cynically. "Just keeps it at bay, same as always. Can't sell something if it works too well, after all."

He picked up a hand basket and tossed in a Benedryl lotion, Calomine, and something that said it was good for 'redness and irritation'.

"We'll see if any of these do the trick and go from there, I figure."

[kolodnoykovki]

He looked them over and then, with a shrug, dropped in the one he'd put back. Cortizone. If nothing else, they could give it a test. "Now let's go take a look at the fun stuff. The candy and the crap they sell on TV at four AM."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"This should be fun," and he looks over sideways to smile at Jim, "I haven't really looked into it. Mostly, I was pilfering every local bakery I could find."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Y'know, if we ask nicely, I bet we could get Clark to go for bagels." But he led Steve into the candy aisle, which was full of everything from hard candies (butterscotch, peppermint, wintergreen, strawberry and more), gummies, and more varities of chocolate than he'd ever imagined. "Amazing, isn't it?"

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"And by nicely, you mean absently mention it and we'll find them there the next morning because he's too sweet by half," Steve said, his voice drifting off as he started looking at the giant assortment of candies.

"...well, the butterscotch is coming home with us. That's a given."

[kolodnoykovki]

"I heard there are some candy stores now that have miles of aisles of nothing but candy. Think we might have to make a trip?" But he plucked a bag of butterscotch candies off a hanger to put in the basket. "Get some saltwater taffy off the boardwalk while we're up at Coney Island...?"

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Absolutely," though he grabbed a couple of Hershey bars from the display. He pointed to the gummi bears.

"...have you tried these yet?"

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim shook his head but looked at them closely. "No. That looks... Well. It looks weird."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

He grabbed a couple bags of the various types.

"We should try it out. Live wild."

He grinned over at Jim.

"Gotta let Diana try it at least."