so goodbye yellow brick road

[ex_enlisted288]

WHO: Steve Rogers
WHERE: Village environs
WHEN: Mid to Late October
OPEN TO: Tony Stark + Open
WARNINGS: TBD

---

Domestic Agendas

[ It's been a long time since Steve lived with just one person. Five years, seventy years, a few months and some change. He tries to make himself invisible as much as possible. Lets Bucky know that he's welcome to bring over Liv and Steve will find somewhere else to be if they need alone time. He reads the books he got from Father Mulcahy and gets accustomed, for the very first time, to sharing space with a cat for more than a couple of days. Steve had wanted a pet as a child, but money and multiple health concerns had nixed that plan before it ever came to fruition. The best he could do back then was sneak scraps to the alley cats that roamed the tenement buildings and belonged to nobody.

He's getting a little better at fishing now, too. Several times a week, he makes the trip down to the river and splits his haul between himself and Bucky and the Inn. His newest project is learning how to gut and cook the things, and anyone who stops by to visit is more than likely going to find themselves at the kitchen table, talked into eating Steve's latest cooking experiment. (At least he's getting fairly decent with stews. Hanging around the Inn pays off sometimes.) ]


Great Minds*

[ Steve has been trying to avoid Tony since the incidence with the breathing problems. He's glad the guy is doing okay, but has decided that trying to mend fences any further would be like slamming his head repeatedly against a brick wall. In other words, a futile exercise that may yield results in the far future but only give himself a headache in the here and now. But he does make a point of widening his jogging ritual so that he heads by the forge twice a day - once in the early morning, and once after dinner. Just in case.

And, if Tony is paying any attention when Steve happens by, he may notice a quiet, continuous stream of useless useless you're nothing emanating from the super soldier's subconscious. ]


Tricky Treats

[ On the 24th of October, at exactly high noon, Steve is frequenting the Inn to catch up on gossip and eat a meal prepared by someone with more culinary skills than he currently has. At first, everything seems normal, but his nose starts to twitch. About a minute after that starts, and he clearly isn't able to help it, a fuzzy little rabbit tail appears in the immediate vicinity of his rear end. How embarrassing.

But not the most embarrassing. Not by a long shot. Because there are also two rabbit ears sprouting from where human ears should be. And, in the midst of the usual 'What the hell' reactions, Steve is probably going to try and slip out the back door and head for his own house. Feel free to stop him on the way and strike up a conversation. He'll be bunny-ed for a whole hour. ]


((* - if you want in on mindreading shenanigans, hmu at anthologies and we'll discuss options.))

Comments

Domestic Agendas

[notsoangry]

Bruce is not difficult to persuade to eat cooking experiments. Mostly because it's Steve asking and he probably would pretend to like something rancid for a friend, but also he takes good food when he can get it. There were a lot of times in the past decade he had to scrape for food, and it's not something you can forget. It's nice to see Steve enjoying a new project and learning how to do something. Bruce loves learning new things.

"This is great. You're really getting good at this." Yes, Bruce is complimentary either way, but the way he's eating indicates he means it. He's a little worn out, having skipped sleep recently in favor of writing notes and letting his mind wander to a variety of topics that would keep a man up at night. He tries not to make a fuss so Tony can sleep easy. "I kind of wanted to talk to you about something." He isn't sure how else to build up to it, honestly. Bruce is best at straight honesty.

[ex_enlisted288]

We used to do this before the war. Scrounge for meat and vegetables, then throw everything in a pot. Boil until the contents were edible.

[ And food was usually in short supply, first because of the Depression, and later when lots of things were rationed for the war effort. It is nice to get back to doing something he was never that great at, though, and finding out he's improved.

Steve finishes wiping down the counter, then tosses the rag into the sink and takes a seat at the table. Across from Bruce. ]

Well, when you're ready. Shoot.

[notsoangry]

"I think sometimes we forget how lucky we ended up being, born in the time we did." Bruce isn't exactly young, and he had one hell of a childhood, but at least he didn't go hungry. Not until he was an adult and on the run, more aware than ever before of how lucky he'd been. "I think there are how to cook books in the schoolhouse now, they filled it with a lot of how tos." Bruce could be better in the kitchen, but he got distracted by handyman type instructions.

Bruce thinks through what he wants to say, drumming his fingers on the table. He reaches over to get his notebook. He got an entire box of them, but he always keeps one on him so he can write down more details. "I decided to copy over all of the information from the inn, and things people have told me happened too. At the expo, a lot of people brought up suggestions, questions." He flips to that section and shows Steve. His handwriting is very neat and clear.

"There's a lot of us here but I feel like we're scattered. I talked this out with Frank and Kamala, I don't know if you know them, but they're still relative strangers." Ones he likes a great deal and considers new friends. But they're not Steve. "I was thinking organization might be a good idea. Teams, kind of, not like we were, more like branches of a company. Survival and fighting skills, to maybe help with defenses, train others, prepare for winter. The scientists to do our thing and also come up with solutions for medical and engineering questions. And community type leaders to help new people, collect the information, make certain everyone is doing alright. There could be more, I'm just generalizing."

He recognizes he's rambling, but that's because he's given it a lot of thought. "I guess I wanted another opinion on ... whether this is a series of good ideas. Because you know I'm not really good at the people side. And, uh, obviously, if you wanted to help."

[ex_enlisted288]

[ He listens intently, leaning over to look at Banner's notes. Once the scientist is done with his initial elevator spiel, Steve gets up and fetches his sketchbook from the living room, tearing off a blank sheet and heading back to the kitchen with it.

He sits back down and, with a muttered apology, tugs Banner's notebook out of the poor guy's grip and rereads everything that isn't immediately dismissed as "This was written by a genius and I'll clarify later". And then he starts making lists on his sheet. ]

Organization is a good idea, actually. Buck did a lot of this stuff when we were with the Howlies, but I'm going to give it a stab. Okay, so we need defenses and training as one group. Medical as another. Engineering and building as a third. People who know how to plant crops and care for animals as a fourth. And then maybe a general pool for other talents and skills.

We wouldn't want to leave anyone out, right? That doesn't help build the kind of morale we need here.

[notsoangry]

Bruce waits and lets Steve take the notebook without a peep. This is exactly why he came to him. Bruce is a genius, but brilliance in one area does not equal understanding everywhere. He's no leader. He's only recently learned how to be a team member. The relief on his face is obvious as Steve starts talking and then it leads into a smile. It might become adoring if he's not too careful.

"This is exactly why I came to you. This isn't my strength." But it is Steve's. Not because Steve is Captain America, but because he is Steve Rogers. Someone with a level head on his shoulders who is good at figuring out the details. "No, we don't want to leave anyone out. I think some people feel useless and like they can't add, but there's so much to be done. If we can't all work together, we might as well give up now." Some might survive on their own, but not everyone. It's not best case scenario. "I talked to Kamala, have you met her? She's a smart girl, very friendly, great with people. She was interested in helping partner with people to sort of organize things. Organize people. She's young though, so I think she's not sure people will listen to her."

Tricky Treats

[ataashihunter]

Bull is eating lunch in the inn when he looks over and sees what looks like giant Bunny ears. He can't help but think that it is actually really cute. If rather ridiculous. Once he sees that the guy is trying to slip away Bull gets up and follows him until they are somewhere quieter.

"Hey, you alright?" He speaks softly to make sure the other doesn't get too scared, who knows what other bunny characteristics he might have taken on? They can die from shock, right?

[ex_enlisted288]

[ Okay, part of that initial impression is correct. The giant bunny ears are ridiculous.They are also gigantic and a bother getting out of doorways with. Steve had to stoop so they wouldn't knock against the top.

He can, maybe, hear a little better too. Which is why he whirls around when Bull approaches, then resumes his twitchy-nose routine. (Getting old very fast, thanks.) ]

Do I look alright?

[ Also, Bull, did you know that you're very tall. Steve has to tilt his head up a little, which is rare. ]

[ataashihunter]

Not really no. You look like you need a stiff drink.

[ But Bull had been talking more about being in pain and at least he doesn't look like that. Part of him wants to reach out and stroke the ears, wondering if they are as soft as they look but he hates it when people play with his horns without permission so he won't do it. ]

[ex_enlisted288]

Yeah, I probably do. A real drink.

[ Not that rotgut that smells like paint thinner. Steve is sure someone in the village has probably come up with something better. But he doesn't feel like walking around and begging people for a real drink.

The ears don't feel much different from his normal ones. Except he can hear a tiny bit better. So there may be something to Bull's notions. ]

I'm Steve. [ He extends a hand after a minute. ] I usually have normal human ears.

[ataashihunter]

I am the Iron Bull. I... look pretty much like this all the time. [ He takes the hand and gives it a fair shake, a warm and friendly smile on his face. ]

I don't have a drink yet, still trying to get everything I need to brew beer. I can get you some tea though

Great Minds

[nonstopnarcissist]

[ It should be some kind of irksome, Rogers taking a wide loop past the Forge but- eventually, like most things, it fades into the background noise of his life. Work is work, he's got projects and Bruce and this weird glitch of hearing voices in his head thanks to an app he still doesn't quite understand, but it's made working with Bruce go twice as fast.

He doesn't think much of Rogers taking the same loop as per usual up until he hears Steve's Voice slipping in with a mantra that's familiar but decidedly out of place- recalling his conversation with Peggy, he snaps a head up, scowling, an focuses. ]

What the FUCK Rogers?

[ex_enlisted288]

[ It's the sudden bellow that surprises him initially, not that Tony knows he's around. Because of course he does. The man is almost worse than his former AI about perimeter breaches. Steve used to be like that but he's been slacking off lately. Generally he only gets hyper cautious around his own house.

Oh, wonderful. Wonder what I did wrong today.

So it takes a minute for him to turn around and lope over to the open door. ]

You okay?

[ It is an actual worry. At least enough for Steve to give the other man a quick look-over once he's in sight. One that he's clearly trying to be stealthy about.

Color seems good. Probably not physical. ]

[nonstopnarcissist]

[ It is genuinely distressing how familiar this pattern of thought is, and if it weren't for the good mood and focus he's got going on with his current stack of projects it could very well be one of his own. But it isn't, it's- Steve's apparently and that?

That's just-

If he's felt like this all this fucking time- ]

Were any of us even paying enough attention to notice?

[ Shield was hydra of course they wouldn't, Then New York, and then, and then, and then- he sets his hammer down to the side, disarming himself ]

I don't need to be armed it's just Rogers he's not going to hurt me, probably, most likely, fuck-

[ Get it together Stark. ]

I'm fine. You- You're fucked up.

Wait, shit

Phrasing, just. I'm fine. I'm fine, you are- you're. Depressed. Which shouldn't be surprising.

[ex_enlisted288]

I'm not going to hurt you! Why would you think--

[ It's out before he can even consciously acknowledge he heard anything, and the panic at the idea he'd hurt anyone he'd considered a friend is too overwhelming for rational thought. And then he remembers. Berlin. Siberia. Because he'd had to make Tony believe he'd hit him in the face in order to disable the goddamn suit.

Because when his back is to the wall, and Bucky's life is on the line, he'll fight like a grizzly bear if necessary. ]

Wait, paying attention to what? I'm not depressed.

[ I'm not.

Soldiers don't get depressed. They beat away their bad feelings. And then walk it off. Just like he'd told Pietro.

I'm not depressed. Just fucking useless without a war to win.

And a little slow on the uptake, trying to sort out why Tony's voice is in his head. Is this some new malarky from the island? ]

[nonstopnarcissist]

You. Paying attention to you. They pulled you out of the ice, what, two weeks before the attack on New York happened?

[ Trauma's a thing and he'd scooped Bruce right up into the safety of the tower to become a person again, to live and learn and create and settle and let Steve roll right out of his life because- what? Baggage? ]

Hydra wouldn't give a fuck if he wasn't stable, of course they wouldn't dig too hard, herding him to a point when he'd swallow a bullet might not have been difficult-

[ Tony scrubs a hand over his face, mind rattling from point to point, combing back over years of red flags, of clues. Shit he noticed but didn't think twice about. Shit he let slide. ]

You've got PTSD at the very least, buckets of grief you never got the time or space to process and that's before Aunt Peg passed, a whole world of shit to try to adapt to and no one gave you any kind of breathing room we just expected you to stand up and do it, or at least function well enough that they'd have their Captain America without giving a fuck about Steven Rogers-

And I just let it happen. I never reached out, I never tried to fix anything, I never noticed something that needed fixing and that, that's why this all fell apart.

[connatural]

[Ty's house isn't that far from the Inn but it's enough for Ashley that she feels more secure than being in the Inn. It's a start, and it let's her start thinking about planning for the winter. Which includes learning some of the skills she hasn't had before.

Such as knowing her way around a knife, but not in a delicate way to try and butcher a fish. So when she sees Steve heading towards his place from fishing, she heads down from where she's been sitting around front to, well, follow him.]

So, what can I offer to help out around your place to ask for a lesson in not turning the fish I catch into chopped tuna?

[The place works on barter, and she's willing to trade.]

[ex_enlisted288]

[ Oaky, the majority of his admittedly short fishing career has involved people taking away his equipment and showing him how to do it properly. And, truth be told, it does take a little while to get to the point where he can actually do something.

Steve Rogers is not yet a master fisherman. But he can at least catch things now. So. ]

Uh, I usually take care of the cleaning myself. [ He stops and halfway turns to look at her. ] And I'm a novice fisher. But if you're interested, I'll show you what I know.

[ without attaching any caveats to it. Sheesh. ]

[connatural]

[Determined and cranky to let the fish win, Ashley managed a fish or two. They were tiny. By the time she managed anything like filleting? Yeah, trash.]

Really? That'd be cool. I'm okay with the catching and killing part, but the kind and gentle butchering evades. I'm kind of a bull in a china shop kind of personality.

And nice of you to offer for like... offering. I was told to be prepared for quid pro quo. Which is understandable, but still nice.

[ex_enlisted288]

[ He does actually get that. City boy, didn't grow up anywhere near a farm. But he'd rather not starve. And he'd rather everyone else not starve, either. Hence the butchery. ]

You and me both then. I never did learn to like china, anyway.

[ The dishes, not the country. ]

I'd rather just help out. If it makes you feel weird, though, you can always pay it forward. Help someone else.

[connatural]

[Ashley chuckles at that, glad to know she's not the only one. She's always lived a life that supported her tendencies, that channeled them into ways that made them not only safer, but more helpful to the general population. Now she's facing what things might have been like without her mother, without the Sanctuary to lend her guidance and help, and she's doing her best to try.]

Glad to know I'm not alone in it. And now going to argue, but definitely trying to. Pay it forward, that is. Kinda how I was raised, so that work.

[So far, best she can tell, it's all they can do for one another, and hope that it works out in the end.]

Tricky Treats [Hope this is okay]

[minus1twin]

[Wanda has been having a hard time since Clint and Natasha disappeared from the city. Natasha had quickly returned but the backlash has been making her head spin uncomfortably.

All of that is made better when she spots Steve at the inn. Wanda's lips curl inward and she tries her hardest not to smile... which absolutely doesn't work.] Cute. [She reaches up and runs her fingers along the shell of his rabbit ear just to see if he can feel it.]

Should I call you Cotton Tail now?

\o/

[ex_enlisted288]

[ It's only because Wanda is Wanda that she gets close enough to even touch them. Even several months out from the clusterfuck of Berlin, of being more or less on his own again, Steve still sees her as a little sister. He let her brother die, so it's his responsibility to look after the younger Maximoff. ]

You do and I won't speak to you for at least a day.

[ Also one of his feet might be twitching a little. Shut up. ]

<3 So cute Stevey

[minus1twin]

But it's so cute.

[She's really trying to hide her smile. She promises.]

Don't worry. It won't last. Something like this happened to Clint before and I think it only last an hour or so. [Wanda's expression quickly sobers and she takes a deep breath as well as a small step back.] Sorry. [Her smile returns and she continues past her blunder.]

It'll be fine. You should enjoy it while it lasts. I kind of like it.

just call him the easter bunny

[ex_enlisted288]

[ He wrinkles his nose, but that might be for the terrible attempt at not smiling instead of being called cute. Or it could be both. The point is that Steve looks exasperated ... in a rabbit-like way. ]

Oh, good. Hopefully I only have to hide for an hour.

[ He frowns at her expression change, halfway reaching out as a gesture of comfort to something he's not sure of yet. Then thinks better of it and lets his arm drop. ]

You "kind of like" it? Why?

She will hide eggs and ask him to find them

[minus1twin]

[Her expression softens and she shakes her head as if to wave the idea away.]

It's cute and it suits you.

[It isn't her fault that he's adorable and currently has bunny ears. She's just enjoying the moment for that it is.]

Do you hate it that much?