Superman, Firebrand, and the Metropolis Gang in... the World's Mightiest Duckling

[stands_for_hope]

[continued from here]

It took a few weeks, but soon enough, the apartment had become an entirely settled little commune between the five of them. Steve's things had arrived as Clint had promised, they'd been installed in the new apartment, and the group had made the changes they'd discussed for everyone's comfort with one addition: with Steve bunking with Jim, the room he'd initially intended to take had become a general office/library/art room for everyone to use when they felt like a bit of time alone. For as silly as the concept sounded, all of them had ended up using the room a time or two and it had definitely kept things peaceful despite the addition of two new people.

Considering that the apartment was home to four superheroes and a world-famous journalist, it was amazing how easily they all fell into a routine. Jim, Lois, and Clark would usually leave for work around the same time and Steve, always an early riser, had taken to making them something to munch for breakfast on the way after he returned from his morning run. Having also gotten a position at the community center (teaching kids art and art history), Steve would leave with Diana an hour or so after that. Everyone filtered back into the apartment at different times and whoever was feeling up to cooking would usually start dinner when they got in. If no one was feeling up cooking, one of the two 'old' men would treat takeout.

Today, however, Jim's site was currently closed for due to an issue with the plumbing contractors and some unfortunate flooding that had occurred overnight. That was why Clark texted Jim and invited him to come visit he and Lois at the Daily Planet offices and go out for lunch together.

Comments

[kolodnoykovki]

His smile was bittersweet as he looked down at the plate (the mussels were gone, and he figured the dish would be swooped away soon) and then at Steve's soup. Something in his heart would always feel better knowing that Steve ate well. But he couldn't help remembering, and then saying quietly, "I'm sorry I was such a jerk when you told me. I was... There's no excuse; I was a jerk."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve breathed in for a moment, trying to figure out how he wanted to handle it. Then he shook it off, waving one hand as if to flick the whole of the trouble off the table.

Finally, he offered a warm little smile.

"Can't argue the results, though," he pointed out cheerfully. "And it only made sense for you to prove you were a jerk when I admitted I was actually a punk."

[kolodnoykovki]

"All I could think about is... what if somebody had found out back then, y'know? What if somebody..." He bit his tongue for a few long moments, something twisting in his chest, tightening at his throat before he swallowed and made it go away. "I couldn't live with it if somebody'd hurt you that way back then. I guess part of me wanted to show you it was dangerous."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

He glanced down at his soup, stirring in a few oyster crackers.

"The scariest part of it was the idea of telling you. I just remember... I remember I didn't want to admit it because if I admitted it, I'd have to tell you. Because I tell you everything. And I was terrified that you'd-- I dunno. My brain couldn't even go that far because it all came down to you kicking me out and I just couldn't think past that."

[kolodnoykovki]

But Jim shook his head. "I wouldn't'a kicked you out. I don't know much else of what I would'a done back then, but I know I wouldn't have kicked you out." He smiled faintly, glancing up. "You were too much of me for me to do that."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

He looked at Jim's hand on the table for a moment before reaching over and putting his own over it.

"When I told you... I got angry then, can't lie about that. You know me angry more than anyone. But when I started thinking again, I figured out... you've never done a thing in your life that wasn't to take care of me somehow. Then I thought about it a bit more, about how we grew up..."

He shook his head.

"I wasn't upset about five minutes after we yelled at each other. So... no apologies necessary, but if you need to hear it, it's forgiven."

[kolodnoykovki]

"I'm just glad you... you know that I'm not..." He turned his hand under Steve's, palm meeting palm. "You know."

He'd risk it for now, when there was nobody looking through the window who could see, and when everybody else was paying attention to their own table.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

He raised an eyebrow and gently pulled his hand away.

"I know you better than that. And pipsqueek best friend or not, you swung more than a few punches in defense of some of our neighbors... and you never seemed too keen on the kind of guys whose faces you were caving in."

[kolodnoykovki]

His hand curled, missing Steve's, but letting him go. He tucked his hands into his lap instead.

"It's... It's just stronger comin' from somebody else sometimes. A white guy's gonna listen to another white guy more often than they'd listen to a black guy, as stupid as that is. So guys like that... they'd listen to a guy they thought was like them. Between that and... that being safer..." Shaking his head, Jim sighed. "It sounds terrible. Probably said everything wrong."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

He watched Jim's hand and moved his foot to rub up against Jim's; he'd pulled away so as not to make him uncomfortable, not to draw back from him, after all.

"I'm the last person gonna give you trouble for everything coming out all wrong. I learned my feet were flat by gettin' both of em stuck in my mouth at the same time, remember?"

[kolodnoykovki]

"Wonder if I could pick up your arches with a foot rub?" That, he hoped, couldn't go wrong as a statement. After everything he'd said so far, who knew.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"That's not an offer I'm about to refuse. Maybe offer in kind back, but not refuse."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Mm, you said you were going to rub my back. So you rub my back, I rub your feet, we'll count it even."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Sounds... indulgent. I could get to like that."

He refocused on the soup, finishing it off quickly enough. Almost instantly, the server swept it and the mussel plate away and slipped in their salads before disappearing again.

[kolodnoykovki]

When the plates were exchanged, he started a, "Thank y--", but their server had disappeared before the second word could be finished. Jim raised his eyebrows. "Efficient."

But now they had salads - and he was starting to wonder. He hadn't read the menu very closely, but now, between appetisers and salads, would he even have room for his main course? He knew Steve would, but that wasn't the question. He didn't really want to go anywhere with a doggie bag. Especially when the idea of a doggie bag seemed like anathema to him.

Someday, he'd get used to having all the food he could eat.

"I do have to admit something," he eventually said between forkfuls of salad. "I didn't stumble over this place myself. Lois pointed me here, so I'll have to thank her."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Very efficient," he agreed before turning to the salad. He'd worried about getting too much food, but now he was thinking it'd probably be about right.

"I'll have to ask her for suggestions for next month then," and he started in on the salad happily enough.

[kolodnoykovki]

"And just so you know, sometime I'm getting a suit for Clark and dresses for the girls - 'cause there's a dance hall here in town where they dance like we used to. So I'm gonna have to teach you to dance before we go, but I think we can do that." He looked forward to doing that. He wasn't sure he could teach him to do the Lindy moves, but he loved the idea of being at a real dance hall with Steve there to dance with.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

His head tilted to one side as he considered the idea of Clark, Lois, and Diana dressed up proper and he couldn't say it was a bad picture. But most importantly, a dance hall. He'd get to see Jim dance. Bucky'd always loved dancing and while it'd never really worked out for him on the dating front, it'd been a kick and a half to watch his friend at it.

"If anyone could teach me, it'd be you."

[kolodnoykovki]

"We've got a nice rooftop we can practice on," Jim grinned. "Just need to take somethin' up there to play music. Think you could swing now?" He wasn't sure he could swing with Steve, but he'd try. He'd learn.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"I think I've got a better shot at it than I used to," he admitted as he considered the question, "and I know just the thing for a little music up on the roof. I just have to unpack it from the boxes that came in."

Because Steve hadn't quite unpacked entirely, mostly out of a total lack of need. A lot of it had been his scrabbling way of trying to catch up, trying to force himself into a world that seemingly didn't need or want him anymore. Now, here, he'd put that concern down to some degree. He was who he was, after all, and the most important parts hadn't changed. He'd just needed some reminders of that to get it through his skull.

[kolodnoykovki]

"It is a little sad that I probably won't be able to slide you between my legs for some of those moves, but there are still other moves I could do with you." He grinned at the thought. "After all, you're the tall one now."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"By a couple inches," and his fingers ticked back and forth between their foreheads as if to prove it, "not that I'm all that worried about tossing you. Promise not to try and bounce you off the ceiling either."

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim laughed at the thought. "Yeah, I'd appreciate not coming back from dancing with many more bruises than usual." Dancing wasn't exactly safe, even at the best of times. With feet flying, bruises were pretty common.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Well, if you get 'em, at least they won't last as long," was the only upside he could think of, "but I'll do my best. Just don't wear stripes and we ought to be okay."

[kolodnoykovki]

"No stripes, except maybe on the tie. How's that?" His eyes gleamed with amusement.