Sam Wilson does what Steve does - (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} justslower) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} avengers_logs,@ 2019-05-23 09:43:00 |
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What: Catching up and exploring
When: Shortly after Sam's arrival
Rating/Warnings: green
The universe was suddenly feeling crowded with all these recent arrivals and rearrivals. They were all welcome faces to see, if not for Natasha then for others. There was so much to catch everyone up on and figure out what point in time they’d come from. She’d only just gotten onto firm footing herself. She was especially pleased to see Sam because he brought a sense of normal to things that was lacking some days. She patted her pockets to make sure she wasn’t forgetting anything (lockpicks, phone, important cards) and she was set.
Sam’s place was only a few floors away and she arrived shortly to knock on his door. They’d go explore the building, which she’d done some already, but hadn’t quite made it up to the roof. She figured Sam would want to see that view as much as she did.
***
Sam wasn’t about to complain about being brought to a weird alternate universe since it meant he was alive. The fact that so many of his friends and teammates were here made it that much better. And he was getting to meet some interesting new people as well.
When he answered the door, he was grinning. They’d grown pretty close when they were on the run and he was really happy that Natasha was here. “Hey, neighbor,” he said, greeting her with a hug. As soon as he pulled back, he reached up to touch her hair. “Back to the red. Good. Never could get used to you as a blonde.” Sure, he understood why she’d done it, same reason that Steve had grown the beard, but he thought the red suited her more.
Not that he would say that in Steve’s presence. He wasn’t about to give his friend any ammunition for his ridiculous ideas. “So, what adventures are we having today?”
***
Natasha returned the hug and grinned back at him as she pulled back. She shook her head laughed. “Yeah, that was a bit of a surprise when I managed to get a look in the mirror. I was fully expecting to have to grow it out. One of a few surprises this place has thrown at me.”
In addition to everything else, that unexpected color change had made it feel like things were like they were supposed to be. Aside from missing a variety of people, but that might be better than knowing they’d been turned to dust.
She took a step back down the hallway. “We are going to roam the rest of this building and then wind up on the roof. Make sure we have a good idea of the general floor plan and any potential issues. Not that I would expect any considering Tony and T’Challa probably have this place teched out.” She gave a pointed glance up at the ceiling and walls.
***
That was a good plan and Sam followed her gaze up, unable to spot any overt surveillance measures. “Is T’Challa here?” he asked. He hadn’t seen the King of Wakanda yet, but that didn’t mean much.
It didn’t matter either way, really. The whole building was full of people who could likely take care of themselves regardless of what reconnaissance Sam and Natasha did. Wasn’t going to stop them from doing it though. It was ingrained in both of them by this point, her moreso than him, though he’d learned a lot when they were on the run.
“I should see about getting an extra set of wings to stash on or near the roof,” he said. That would be handy if shit went down.
***
“I haven’t seen T’Challa or Shuri for that matter, but I’m sure they’re around existing. Maybe. Of course the weird multiverse thing might’ve taken them back to their original timeline.” Natasha gave a shrug. It was a lot to keep up with and the large influx of new arrivals hadn’t helped matters even if they were all mostly friends and colleagues.
“Tony probably has a few already laying around knowing him.” He was even more on edge and seemed to be preparing for the end of all the universes. She didn’t blame him considering the constant popping in and out of folks. She really hoped the prime timeline was doing well and it wasn’t a sign of anything they needed to worry about. She started toward the stairwell because the sooner they got to it the sooner she’d feel a little more secure. It’s not like it would take long. There were only so many floors and everyone living here was lethal in their own right.
***
“I am not smart enough to comprehend the whole multiple timeline thing,” Sam said with a wry smile. He was an intelligent guy, but he left that kind of thing to people like Banner and Stark. It all went over his head.
He hoped she was right about Tony having wings around though. That would make things easy. “I’ll have to ask him when he’s not busy becoming a dad.” That was possibly the weirdest thing about this place. “Never thought I’d see that day.”
As they walked, he took note of all possible entry and exit points.
***
“Yeah...I was glad when him and Pepper got back together but I wasn’t expecting this. Everyone seems happy at least and then they’ll be too occupied with the baby to get into too much trouble.” Natasha could see it now. Tony building more and more intricate toys and tech for his daughter to play with. She would be a force in her own right if she inherited any of Tony’s intellect and then combined with Pepper’s frightening ability to get things done…. The world better be prepared.
She kept eying the walls, wondering if there were any hidden or secured compartments tucked away out of sight that would become available if a threat appeared. She made a mental note to ask Tony about that.
They meandered their way through one floor then another and Natasha was surprised at the uniformity and lack of Tony’s hand in things. “Guess they kept Tony away from the decorating department when they bought this place.”
***
Sam was pretty sure there was no power in any universe that would keep Tony Stark out of trouble, not even a daughter, but he was willing to reserve judgment until he saw how things played out. For the moment, he was content simply to be alive.
There did seem to be a distinct lack of hidey holes for weapons and other fun things which surprised him, though it was possible they were really well hidden. This was a simple recon and he figured there would be time to find out everything necessary to deal with any future threats. “Probably a good thing,” he said. “Maybe there are people who can actually keep him in line.” He knew that Pepper tried.
“Tell me more about these other surprises that have been thrown your way,” Sam said. He was no spy or former SHIELD agent, but he could appreciate intel gathering. Especially if it gave him any ammunition for mocking his friends.
***
“We can only hope,” Natasha said wryly. Tony’s brain was a menace to society on some days. He was the proverbial dog with a bone and couldn’t leave well enough alone. For the most part, the rest of them had been able to pick up the pieces, but there’d been a lot of mess along the way.
Natasha had already made a mental note to ask Tony for the official blueprints on this place. It looked entirely too simple to the eye for it to be a building owned by Tony Stark or T’Challa. She trailed her fingers along the wall as they strolled down one floor toward the stairwell. “Hmm, well, there’s the fact that Peggy Carter is alive and well. Wanda dated previous Bucky up until he vanished. Loki is...on the good guys side and Thor and Jane are back together. I think that’s everything right now.”
***
That was enough and most of it was a surprise to Sam, other than the Peggy thing, so he stopped in his tracks and turned to look back at Natasha on the stairs. “Wanda and Bucky? Seriously? I thought she had better taste than that.” Vision might have taken Tony’s side during the Accords thing, but he was still honorable and Sam knew that he treated Wanda well.
“Steve seems happy though,” he added. That was probably more important than gossiping about his teammates’ love lives. “Looser, somehow. I assume that’s Peggy’s doing.” Or maybe just the fact that he was probably getting laid on the regular now. At least Sam assumed he was.
He wasn’t sure what to make of the Loki thing. “Are we actually trusting Loki?” That seemed difficult to believe.
***
At Sam’s perplexed look, all Natasha could do was shrug. “Extenuating circumstances? They were probably dealing with adjusting to this universe so trauma bonds people and all that stuff.”
She laughed when Sam brought up Steve. “Yeah, he’s happy and now he’s harassing me about getting a life. He needs to butt right back on out. I do plenty well on my own. He was the one that needed a jumpstart on things.”
She paused with her hand on the last stairway that would take them up to the roof. “Thor seems to, which is a bit of a change. I haven’t spoken with him directly myself yet, so I’m reserving judgment and proceeding with caution.”
***
“You’re not the only one Cap is harrassing,” Sam said. He was kind of glad it wasn’t just him, though he wondered if Steve had pointed out to Natasha that he was single. “In fact, he made it a point to let me know that you were here and single.”
He rolled his eyes. Their friend was completely ridiculous.
As for the Loki thing, well, Sam would follow Nat’s lead on that. If she was willing to reserve judgment, then so was he. “I guess we’ll see how things go.”
***