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]

"Could'a called -- Uh." Her name, he reminded himself. Her name, not her callsign. "Natasha. But I'm glad Lois is here, too. I think she'll be good for her."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Nat's fantastic," he says, without even a pause, "but she's kind of in hiding. And I have a feeling that'd just turn into a whole lotta sparring."

[kolodnoykovki]

"And Lois knows how to navigate the world. If Diana's gonna learn, learning from Lois is probably the best idea - for now, anyway."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Though I'd love to introduce her to Nat eventually."

He quirked his lips a little before letting out a tired sigh.

"I miss her, honestly. As much as I don't regret anything we decided, I realize she's had to pay for it more than most."

[kolodnoykovki]

"I don't think she's too eager to see me," he said quietly. "Not that I blame her. I wouldn't be either, in her case. But I know of her. She's good. She'll be all right."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"I think she'd understand more than you'd think," and his voice was soft, but hopeful.

"I'm sure she'll be fine too. She's got Clint at her back."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Clint seems like a good guy, too. ...Reminds me of you, a little." But only a little. He smiled. The building was in sight now. "Joker. But good at what he does."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"You're probably the only guy I know who'd call me a joker," he pointed out with a little smile.

He could see the apartment building from here and he could honestly say that he'd never been so glad to see a building in his life.

[kolodnoykovki]

"Then they don't know you too well." The apartment. Home. He took a breath and then asked, "What do you think of me buying the building? I'd be your landlord."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve looked sideways.

"I'd say you'd be a little better than Tony and a lot better than Mr. Sanderson who couldn't be bothered to fix anything and still insisted on a Christmas present for 'keeping the place up'."

He gave Jim another pat on the back.

"I think it's not a bad idea, though. Nice to come back to something that's yours."

[kolodnoykovki]

"I wanna repair all the apartments, put in an elevator. Some new appliances... I really want a dishwasher in our place. By a brand that's not 'Kent.' He looks so damn smug when he does that." Jim was smiling, though. He looked smug, yeah, but Clark also looked happy to do little things like that with his speed.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Sounds like you've got everything planned out. And he does look pretty smug when there's suddenly nothing in the sink after a big meal. It's kinda like magic."

Steve had only seen it a few times.

"Does he always do that?"

[kolodnoykovki]

"Yep. He does. If clothes washers worked faster, I think he'd do it with the laundry, too. I think he has fun with it." Jim smiled. "I think the best thing, though, is how when he thinks something is funny and doesn't want to laugh, he floats."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"...I honestly thought I was seeing things. So he is floating?"

[kolodnoykovki]

"He is. Usually just a couple inches - but he floats."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"...now I wanna see how high I can get him to float."

His face seemed to be asking whether he was a terrible human being for that while simultaneously not caring about the answer.

[kolodnoykovki]

"About four inches is the best I've gotten so far." His eyes gleamed as he said it. It sounded like a fun challenge.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Half a foot by the end of the week," he challenged, mostly to himself.

[kolodnoykovki]

"Y'know I don't think anybody ever just played with him like that? He's overdue for some friends."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Huh," and Steve looked genuinely flummoxed. After all, he'd never been the most popular kid in the world, but he'd known a few guys. He'd had a few friends, none as close as Bucky, and he'd done okay at work with other people.

"Wouldn'ta guessed. He's a solid guy."

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim nodded honestly. "He is. He's fun to hang out with, he loves baseball. Pretty damn sure he would've been right beside me making sure you didn't get flattened, but I did have to teach him how to dance."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Not everyone has a gift at it, Rogers," he said with a shake of his head and a laugh. Then he's running up to the front door, holding out a hand for some of the bags. Jim's the one with the key, after all.

[kolodnoykovki]

But instead of that, Jim dug into a pocket and tossed something into Steve's hand. When it landed, it was half-plain what it was - a keychain with a heavy enamel Captain America shield as a fob, and two keys hanging off the ring: one was painted with stars and stripes, the other with a golden retriever. "Let us in."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve stared at it for almost a minute before a warm smile curled on his lips. Then he looked up at Jim and tilted his head to the door.

"Do I use the retriever or the flag here?"

[kolodnoykovki]

"Flag first, then the dog," he grinned. "Had to."