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]

"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."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"I could always cut it for you," he offered thoughtfully, "I mean... wouldn't be the first time."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Thought about that, actually." He shifted the bag in his hand. "Getting you or Clark or Lois or somebody to cut it. Right now, I just know I don't want it as long as it is. Needs to be either longer, so it'll stay in a better ponytail or shorter so it won't need one."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"It could work for you either way," and he seemed to be considering the aesthetic appeal in either direction.

"Is it a lot of trouble to take care of as it is?"

[kolodnoykovki]

"Not really. Just kind of a pain in the ass having to keep up with the gloves. Learned that pretty quick, though - almost yanked out a whole patch of hair early on. It hurt like hell." And he rubbed at his head just remembering it.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve winced in sympathy.

"Do you need to pick up more gloves while we're in there?" he asked after a moment, spotting the supermarket on the corner.

[kolodnoykovki]

"Nah, they come in hundred boxes and I usually just use one a day." He shook his head. "It'll be next month before I need a new box."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Just wanted to make sure we didn't have to run out again once we got in," he said brightly as he trotted forward to open the door for Jim to step in.

[kolodnoykovki]

"We'll be fine," he assured, but followed him in, smiling to see Steve so happy. "Pies, a roast, some veggies..."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"And I'll get the pasta and the sauce and the cheeses. Don't forget your sausage either!"

Steve was happy. Steve felt like the world was finally starting to slot into place for him and the idea of getting to cook for their little family back at the apartment made him feel good.

Some part of him worried that something would happen, that there was some way, somehow that he was going to screw all of this up. But he squashed it as firmly as he possibly could. He'd paid, in blood, sweat, tears, and years. If it felt easy, it was probably just because everything before that had been so hard.

[kolodnoykovki]

"There's this chicken kind that's got cheese in it. I saw it one time, wanted to try it. I think I'll get that." And then he looked down at their bags and shrugged. If they really wanted to check their bags after they got done shopping, fine - but-- "Tie the bag with the candy in it shut. Just in case."

He did the same with his before heading over to the produce section. It was still amazing to see this much fresh food in one place. A part of him thought he needed to get it home and store it, freeze it, just in case something happened and they couldn't have any in the future.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"I'll try anything once," he admitted before he did as he'd been told. Of all the folks Steve would pause on an order from, Jim was not one of them.

"Meet you at the register?"

[kolodnoykovki]

"Sure thing," he agreed, already picking out some things here and there. It took him a while, but when he got back to the registers, he had four pies, a nice selection of vegetables, a pack of croutons, and the sausages he'd talked about. And then, last but not least, he'd gotten a carton of good neapolitan ice cream - so everybody could have what flavour they wanted with their pie.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve joined him with a basket full of pasta, a few jars of sauce, several different containers of cheeses, a proper pack of meats to roast, and a carton of whipping cream. There was also a few different varieties of yogurt.

"They help me with snacking," he explained, "and I know Diana likes it."