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

[kolodnoykovki]

"Yeah, I'll definitely give the points to the food now," he agreed. "Clark's got a thing for food from all over the world, so we end up going to a lot of different places. There's a gyro stand not far from the latest worksite, too - I usually end up grabbing one of those for lunch."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Those aren't bad. There's a little hole in the wall place near the Tower I used to go to did gyros."

They're walking at a good clip now.

"Guess I'll look forward to whatever Clark brings in, then. So far, he seems to be steering us right. The food from that place a couple of months ago was solid, after all."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Just wait 'til we go back to that place with all the beers again," he laughed. "Belgian beers at a... I think it was... either Thai or Vietnamese place."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"...how's that even match up?" because he's trying to make the connection and he's just not finding it. And it isn't as if he hasn't looked into a decent amount of the history both from after he went down in the plane and before.

[kolodnoykovki]

"Damned if I know." Jim shook his head. "Seriously. I just know they've got a good red ale."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"I'll have to try it some time. Maybe I should grab something I can make for dinner for tonight. Or... maybe we should get something special to celebrate? What do you think?"

[kolodnoykovki]

"Well, what goes with pie and has a vegetarian option?" Jim asked - because he wasn't going to leave Clark out.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"I don't know about an 'option'," he said after a minute, "but I know how to make a pretty good baked ziti with eggplant. I could put that together."

[kolodnoykovki]

He nodded. "Sounds good. We've done something like that a couple times. Get some Italian sausage to have on the side for us meat-eaters, and some salad greens..."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"I'll leave that to you. I still don't have the knack for sausages," he admitted, "but I'll get the salad done. And that should fill us all up."

[kolodnoykovki]

"I know we've got some salad stuff at home," he said. "But we might wanna get some other stuff, like those bread cubes and things."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Croutons. You like croutons?" Because he was kind of ambivalent about it.

"Dressing?"

[kolodnoykovki]

"I like a little bit of crunchy somethin' in the lettuce," he said, "and I know we've got... uh. A few dressings. An orange one, a couple white ones, and one you've gotta shake up before you use it."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"That'll work," he agreed as he pressed the button for the crosswalk.

"Sometime, I'm gonna ask you to make a pot roast though. Cannot even tell you how much I've missed your pot roast."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Even Clark eats my roast," Jim said, "but I'll still make sure there's enough vegetables for him. If you wanna pick it out tonight, I'll make it tomorrow. We'll need potatoes, carrots, green beans... I'll make it in the oven since I'm feedin' you and Diana and everybody else. Crock pot won't hold a roast that big."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"That's a deal," he said, a little bounce in his step at the thought.

"We do all seem to have healthy appetites. Even Lois can put away a lot, though it makes enough sense given Dum Dum. He always could eat half a cow himself."

[kolodnoykovki]

"He was even bigger than you," he nodded. "I remember that much. That and that hair - that's the reason I pegged him as her granddad."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"I saw the look first. Pure guts without a second thought, and just a dash of crazy. She was ready to hand me my own guts that first day."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Believe me." He stepped out into the crosswalk when the light turned. "I know. She told me. She and Clark. She's..." A smile flickered across his face. "She reminds me of Peggy. If she wasn't so determined to be a reporter, I'd recruit her."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Yeah," he agreed. "I guess... I guess that's part of why I felt like I could talk to her so easy."

Then he nudged Jim's shoulder.

"Recruit her? She's already saved the world once, from what I heard. We'll be out of a job if she gets any better."

[kolodnoykovki]

"You should'a seen her against those Hydra heads. She almost had me convinced," he said, grinning over at Steve. "She had 'em shaking in their shoes, and they weren't even lookin' at the Winter Soldier standing right beside her."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Sorry I missed it," he said honestly, leaning up against Jim's shoulder, "though... I mean, the choice between looking at a lovely dame like Lois and this mug here..."

He grinned over at Jim.

"...I mean, you win, but I'm clearly biased."

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim laughed, rolling his eyes - "Yeah, I guess I'll take that compliment," he smirked. "I'm still deciding what to do about this hair."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve trotted up to walk beside Jim again.

"What're you thinking of doing? Don't like it long?"

[kolodnoykovki]

"Gets in my face," he said, wrinkling his nose. "Gets stuck in my hand unless I put a glove on. It's a pain, but goin' to the barber's even worse."