stevie universe (hellostarlight) wrote in helladjacent, @ 2017-04-11 15:24:00 |
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Entry tags: | !jumps: happiest place on earth, character: steve rogers, character: stevie universe |
Who:Steve, Stevie
What: Stevie out Steves Steve meets Cap, they talk Bucky
When: Monday late afternoon
Where: Outside the hotel on the park’s streets
Warnings: Sad Steve
Status: Complete
Steve sat outside the hotel, in the streets of what had to be the biggest and most elaborate theme park… anywhere, trying to make his pounding headache go away without retreating back to the strange building. He had enjoyed the park for a moment, but the crowds and noise had quickly gotten to him, and only the fear of running into Bucky kept him from retreating back into the strange prison.
Instead, he’d tracked down a gift shop which sold art supplies (there were gift shop versions of almost every kind of store he could imagine in this place), and was relieved that they sold simple sketchbooks and pencils. Of course the book had a goofy looking Jolly Roger on the front, and the pencils each had a bunch of dancing cartoon creatures on them, but it was the function he cared about more than the aesthetic.
He’d also bought himself a Mickey Mouse t-shirt, having not wanted to wear his body armor in public but also not particularly comfortable in the pioneer-era blue tunic and leggings that had been the only non-tights-containing outfit in his room. The boots weren’t bad, though. And with the shirt the leggings looked almost normal. The tin conquistador hat had been left in the closet.
Sipping on a soda that was so expensive he’d gotten dizzy at the register, Steve sat up and away from the crowd on a stone wall that surrounded the water fixture. The sound of the water dulled out the chiming theme songs being played on repeat, and it was a great place to people watch as Steve took a moment to disappear into the crowd and his thoughts.
His pencil started absently scratching at the paper as he mulled over his situation, and the man who was inside the hotel that was, apparently, Steve’s home for the time being. Rogers rarely set out to draw anything specific, it was also a combination of visual inspiration and a more passive expression of his thoughts. He simply lost himself in the sketching, the feel of the graphite on paper helping distract him from the thousands of thoughts that were pounding at the walls of his skull. It was calming, and it let him avoid going back indoors for as long as possible.
--
Disney World was nothing like Beach City, and yet there were enough similarities to make Stevie’s heart ache. Each of the walking cartoon mascots reminded her of Fry-Bo. The tourists, the rides, it was like Beach City on a larger, grander scale. She’d put off exploring for as long as she could, finding excuses to stay in doors. Even the clothing reminded her of home before the war; flip flips, the shorts.
But she promised Bucky she would find Steve, and Steve was nowhere to be found in the hotel. She could have used the PDA but she hadn’t figured out what she was going to say yet. Hi Steve, I’m Stevie. It didn’t sound like enough. Stevie hadn’t figured out what enough was.
The park was so huge. Stevie started by looking for people in costume. Not everyone in the hotel were wearing costumes, but there was enough that it was just a little easier to pick them out. Most of the other folks in costume were working.
She spotted someone she didn’t recognize seated on a bench, and she really hoped she had the right person. Bucky had shown her a picture from his notebooks, but it was harder to tell from behind.
“Hey,” Stevie said softly. “Are you with the hotel? I mean… are you new?” As she faced him, she could tell this was Steve Rogers. Bucky was always comparing her to his friend. “I’m Stevie,” she said, offering her hand. “Bucky’s friend.”
---
Steve was lost in the practice of mindless drawing when a soft voice pulled his attention. At first he didn’t realize it was directed at him, but at the mention of the hotel he paused, pencil going still as he looked up.
A girl, she couldn’t be too far out of her teenage years (if she wasn’t still in them), was looking at him closely, and seemed hesitant. He blinked, his eyes going to her wrist and noting the similar band to his own blue one. As far as he could tell none of the locals had this type of pass, so he felt safe to assume she was speaking of the same building. Her next words only confirmed it.
At the mention of Bucky Steve’s quizzical eyes widened slightly, and he sat up, folding his legs in as he reached out, then quickly pulled his hand back and dropped the sharpened pencil in between the pages he’d been doodling on.
“I- oh. Hello,” he said awkwardly, re-reaching out and shaking her hand, though the grip was on the weaker side. “I… Stevie? Oh. Yeah, I’m… Steve. Steve Rogers.”
He had no idea what to say to her statement of friendship, though it made him look her up and down again as he tried to process why she would be approaching him. When a thought occurred his brow furrowed deeply. “Wait, is Bucky alright?” He hadn’t been yesterday. Steve’s own abandonment of the hotel proper was an attempt to give his old friend space and time, to calm down. But perhaps that had been a mistake, if Bucky had been struggling to control himself.
---
“I’m not sure?” Stevie took a seat next to Steve once he’d finished shaking her hand. “We arrived at the hotel about the same time. We’ve been here a little over three weeks? He had a bag of journals, where he tries to write down things, to see if he can remember. There was a picture of you in there. He talked about you a lot and I think he was really excited to see you.”
Stevie looked at Steve apologetically.
“I think he’s scared that… whatever was done to him, it’ll make him try to hurt you again. I haven’t seen him that upset since he was first brought to the hotel. I told him I would help. Um, if you want to see him?”
---
Steve listened attentively. So Bucky had been here at least a month…. His eyes fell back to the drawing he’d been half paying attention too, frowning at the designs of stars and what might have been turning into a helicarrier, roughly. Apparently even striving to push all of thoughts from his mind, he couldn’t escape the turmoil.
He sighed, turning and sitting correctly next to the girl. She looked young, but he could tell she’d seen her own grief. She had the look in her eyes that Steve and his other friends had after they’d seen war. And it made sense that somebody with that kind of experience would be able to reach Bucky, especially somebody he hadn’t been programmed to kill on sight.
It took him a moment to choose his words, but finally he just shrugged.
“I don’t know,” he said honestly. He wanted to see his friend more than anything in the world, but if the cost was putting Bucky back in that dark place…. Steve turned towards her, his gaze unblinking. “You said he’s been better since then. I don’t… if I messed it up before, I could trigger it again. If I trigger it again, somebody could get hurt.”
He gave a slight, helpless shrug. “I don’t know where he’s at. I don’t even know what they did to him. I just know I’m what sets him off.” The pain this caused him was evident in the set of his face and shoulders, though he worked to keep his composure
---
“No, I don’t think you are,” Stevie protested. “I think the fear is what sets him off. You’re his best friend. Almost every time we talk, he brings you up, usually when I do something that drives him crazy. He needs to be able to be around you without feeling afraid that he’s going to lose you again.”
There was a slight shimmering glow from her navel before the two of them and parkbench were surrounded by a pink bubble.
“I can keep you safe. I can keep Bucky safe and make sure he can’t hurt anyone.”
---
Her words brought back the look on Bucky’s face when he’d remembered calling Steve “Sneezy”, and it put another crack in the attempted calm on his face.
Closing the sketchbook Steve thought about what she told him, quietly until suddenly they were surrounded by a bubble. That was a surprise.
Slowly, cautiously, Steve reached out a hand and touched the pink side, pulling his hand back when he found it to be quite solid.
“You’re a mutant,” he said, not sure why he was surprised. Diana had looked normal enough until she’d picked him up and flew off with him. And really, he hadn’t met any average citizens since his tour as Captain America had begun, outside of the little old man named Pascal who’d give him extra steak in his sandwiches at the corner deli.
His head rotated as he took in the power. “I’m not worried about myself,” he said finally, and firmly. He hadn’t felt more helpless or frustrated in a while than when Diana had rescued him from Bucky’s mental break, although he’d understood it and appreciated the gesture. “If something went wrong, he’ll need help. Not me.”
The prospect of re-reuniting with Bucky so soon was daunting. Steve’s head was still bursting with questions, and things he wanted to say to his oldest friend. But if it was a help, in any way, he was willing to stay quiet and do what was needed to help the old war’s last lost soldier find his way back.
His eyes found Stevie’s, and his hands set resolutely on his knees. “Tell me what to do?” he asked. She had been with him most recently. She spoke like and seemed to indicate that they were close. Right now, she knew Bucky better than he did, and Steve trusted her judgement on the matter far more than his own.
---
“I’m a what?” Stevie blinked and the bubble dissolved. That was… probably the rudest thing Stevie had ever been called. Worse than when Ranaldo called her a rock. The Crystal Gem knew Steve was from the past but she was going to have to have a talk with Bucky about that kind of language.
Blinking and trying to process that she shelved it for what was more important.
“Look,” she sighed. “Bucky is going to go to Castiel for help. He’s an angel that lives in the hotel. But you have to make some kind of an effort before that. Send him a note on the PDA and ask if he wants to try meeting again. Or let me know, and I’ll set something up. You can’t wait until he gets better or he might think your friendship is conditional. You have to show him that it’s not and you’ll be there for him however you can, no matter what. If he’s not ready to see you quite yet, that’s okay. But he needs to know you support him.”
Stevie was trying very hard not to think about the word mutant. Although she didn’t want to pick a fight with Bucky’s friend, she couldn’t let that behavior slide either. It was better Steve know it was immediately wrong before he hurt someone else.
“And… you can’t just call people names like that. Bucky’s not a mutant, either. He just has a metal arm and stuff. But that kind of behavior isn’t nice. If you don’t know what someone is, maybe just ask first. That was just… really disrespectful.”
---
As soon as he registered the response, Steve knew he’d made a grave misstep. He paled slightly and shook his head, though as she went on to explain about an angel he was further confused, and held his tongue. A message over the PDA, or a face to face meeting…. As he mulled the options over and she mentioned the word again his ears went red, contrasting nicely with the lack of color in his cheeks.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I didn’t mean…. I thought that was the word, for people born with special powers. I didn’t mean… I’m sorry, you’re right.” He had a flashback to Stark’s sneering comment about Steve himself coming from a bottle, and had known worse names all his life. He berated himself for his thoughtlessness, though there was little he could do to fix it now except apologize and remember not to do it again.
He let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. “Thank you, for being there for him. It would be good if you could be around when we, well. I think it would be better, if you’re still ok with helping.”
---
“Of course.” Stevie stood up and looked around the theme park uncomfortably. “I’m going to go back inside now. But just message me if you need me. The PDA organizes everything by name. It’s Stevie Universe.”
---
“Right,” Steve said, standing up quickly and attentively and taking a step back so he wouldn’t be looming over her.
He awkwardly lifted a hand to shake hers again, then gave up on redeeming himself and dropped it.
“It was nice to meet you. I’ll.... I just send him a message, then, and when it’s alright we can meet. Talk, maybe.” The hand he’d dropped brushed against the PDA in his costume pocket. He didn’t know what to say, however, that might have been a strength at the moment so he simply nodded. “I’ll see you around the hotel, I guess.”
---
Stevie smiled at him. It was soft, genuine, and she seemed to register his genuine embarrassment that went with the apology. The nod she gave him was meant to be encouraging, at least.
“Yeah, we will.” She watched the motion with the hand, which solidified her resolve to show him some mercy. “My mom was an alien. They call themselves gems. You can call me a gem, too, if you want. My dad was human, I was raised on Earth or… my Earth. Pearl and Peridot are in the hotel, you’ll probably meet them, too. They’re aliens so… Pearl’s lived on Earth for thousands of years so she’s a little better but Peridot is new and…”
She shrugged a little.
“Most people think we’re kinda weird, I guess? Um. I’ll see you around, Steve.”
---
“Oh,” Steve nodded, listening. Alien. Well, at least that still offered an explanation, though it didn’t do anything to make his mistake better. “Yeah, alright. Bye.”
He watched her leave, still trying to remember the information she’d given him so he wouldn’t forget and insult the other aliens, or angels, or anything at the hotel.
As she departed he turned back towards the park himself, and let out a soft groan. He really had no clue what he was doing here. His fingers grazed the hard shell of his electronic again and he sighed, sitting heavily on the bench and then pulling the device out, flipping it open.
“One battle at a time, Rogers,” he muttered, before beginning the dreaded task of learning yet another new and foreign social media platform.
---