ic contact (riverview)

[starspangled]

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[advanced]

[This is probably a bad idea, and it's definitely stupid to send this message from an account Steve doesn't know at 4am without explaining who's on the other end of the line.]

All-night diner near the perimeter guard station. Thirty minutes.

[starspangled]

[it is a pretty questionable, almost ominous text. and yet steve would still go no matter what.]

I know the place. I'll be there.

[with a minute to spare.]

-> action

[advanced]

[He's momentarily annoyed when he realises that Steve has agreed to a meeting with someone he has no idea who it is. Does he really have no self preservation?

But the annoyance is quickly swallowed by fear that he's doing the wrong thing. He nearly doesn't show up at all, and when he does get to the diner then he doesn't go in. He stalks it from the rooftop of the opposite building, watching for Steve to see if he actually does arrive.

To see if he comes alone, if he'll go in, if he'll wait.]

action

[starspangled]

[no matter how he looks at it, someone's called him out. what options does he have? besides not responding, not going, not going alone. all of which he does.

steve pauses outside the diner just long enough to take a glance around. and then he steps inside, sliding into a booth and ordering a cup of coffee, black. the place is pretty much empty at this hour, and steve's glad for that, just in case. he nods his thanks at the waitress and lifts the cup to his lips, but his eyes are sharp over the top of it.]

[advanced]

[It probably seems like he's not going to turn up, being as how he spends almost twenty minutes just watching Steve through the diner window. But when nobody else shows up, and it looks like he might be getting near the end of his cup of coffee, he finally moves.

It's only a minute later that he's skulking in through the front door, eyes wary where the snap to Steve. He looks unwashed (smells it too), and is wearing the same clothes that he had on when he got his leg set down the alleyway.

Bucky pauses about six feet from the table, tense.]

You came.

[starspangled]

[a few minutes pass, and steve starts getting worried. what if this was someone's plan all along? a distraction, calling him to one place and away from another. but who and why?

he'll wait a little bit longer, get a refill even if he finishes it off in one gulp. he's about to do exactly that when bucky walks through the door. steve stares at him for a few moments, more surprised than he feels he should be.]

I did. [he forces himself to exhale, relax, not jump right into the questions and concerns.] The coffee's a little strong here, but it's good.

text

[wingedman]

heads up, if you bump into an attractive woman with green eyes who tries to get into your pants, it's loki.

text

[starspangled]

[where does he even start with this. if it was anyone else, steve would think that they're just pulling his leg, or that they might've just had one too many. but it's sam, and steve trusts him in all things.]

Understood.

Mind telling me how you figured this out?

[wingedman]

I'm gonna assume you can connect the dots on this one.

[...he doesn't want to talk about it.]

[starspangled]

[and it's an awkward, horrifying picture that it creates.

still. he can't resist.]

I'm probably a bit biased, but I think you can do better, Sam.

[wingedman]

Nothing actually happened, Steve. I wasn't gonna sleep with a girl who wouldn't even give me her name.

[of course he can do better, that's a given.]

[starspangled]

I always knew you were a gentleman. How'd you figure it out?

[divulsion]

I just spoke to another Tony Stark. Not ours. Not theirs. A third one from a third world like ours. It seems to be different in a significant way, however.

Did you know that their version of Steve Rogers, Captain America, now also goes by the title President of the United States? :) :) :)

[She's so delighted to get to tell him about this first.]

[starspangled]

Another Tony? Well it's good to know that someone's keeping every universe on its toes.

[the same could probably be said for him. he wouldn't deny it. but it seems there's an even bigger surprise in store for him.]

You're joking.

[divulsion]

No. By write-in ballot, no less.

He seems to admire his version of Steve quite a bit. Wants to be his Steve's Vice-President.

[starspangled]

Of all the things I've heard, that might just win for the most surprising.

That's good though. I bet they'd be a good team.

Did he happen to mention who was the vice-president?

[divulsion]

That was my thought. And yes, they might. He seems to really admire the Steve of his world...

Though it does seem as if things aren't in good shape in his version of America. He mentioned something about there being splinter states, and that the president before his Steve was...a Secretary of Energy or something? Something happened and much of the ruling government is dead, from what I gathered.

[starspangled]

That sounds terrifying.

[and a little heartbreaking. steve isn't blindly loyal to his country, especially not where the government is concerned, but he knows that good people are always the ones who suffer when things go south.]

Sometimes I think we're the lucky ones.

[wingedman]

[Sam can't decide whether it's weirder to give cookies to the other Steve (there is, in fact, a reason for this) and not give them to his Steve, or weirder to do it in general. Finally, he decides that he's probably overthinking this way too much and just does it anyway, because there is nothing weird about giving your best friend cookies.

Anyway, the point of all this is that sometime during the Flower Festival, a tin of cookies shows up on Steve's bed. There's no card or anything (yeah, Sam, that's probably weird), just some really awesome cookies. At least Floor 2 is less likely to eat them before he gets to them.]

[ action ]

[signifies]

[ He waits a long time on this. Clark isn't sure how to approach the issue. It's very delicate.

He's aware Bucky's using him as a safety net. Now, he's extremely aware that death had been implied. Clark's not comfortable with that at all. He'd also rather not let Bucky's friend assumed the same thing, which they might. Bucky isn't charitable towards himself.

He spends some time in the sky during the evening mulling over his choice of words.

When Steve is alone on the communal floor, Clark descends to the balcony, stepping down from the railing. He's aware he must look strange, wearing a cape and knocking in full view of him. ]

Captain Rogers? If I could have a few moments of your time.

[ action ]

[starspangled]

[it is a little bit of a surprise. he's pretty sure that balcony was empty just a second ago. none of it's actually new to him, cape included, he just hasn't seen as much of that here.]

Of course. [steve nods, curiosity and a little bit of caution in his blue eyes. but then someone looking for trouble probably wouldn't knock, so his demeanor is largely cordial.] Come in. What can I do for you?

[signifies]

[ Clark slides open the balcony door, closing it behind him quietly. He scans the walls and corridor for people. Just in case.

He doesn't smile back (Clark feels the gravity of the topic) but he speaks softly and cordially. ]

My name is Kal. We have a mutual friend... a gentleman with an unusual arm. He might have mentioned me.

[starspangled]

He did.

[the response isn't immediate. as soon as he says those words, steve turns equally serious, some questions answered while new ones arise. bucky never actually mentioned him by name, but there's no doubt that this was the man he was talking about.]

Is he okay?

[signifies]

[ Clark turns his head towards the balcony to listen for Bucky out in the city. It might look creepy to Steve but Clark would rather check now and answer honestly. ]

At the moment, he's all right.

[ He looks back at Steve. ]

I'd like to speak to you about him. I've been given some details about his situation but I don't have the full picture.

May we sit down?

[signifies]

[ For Prijata, Kal has left Steve stack of biographies he might like to read when he has insomnia. Half are scientists, and the other half are politicians. They're part of a book exchange which Steve can participate in when he's done reading.

Enjoy the festival, new friend. ]