sam wilson / falcon (pararescue) wrote in saveatlantisic, @ 2019-11-03 13:20:00 |
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Entry tags: | !log, *laura, *maxi, riley davis, sam wilson |
A FEW DAYS AFTER THE BATTLE
sam wilson ✦ riley davis
catching up after the battle low complete |
Walking back towards the base after grabbing an hour or two of sleep she caught sight of one of the first people she’d met here. Smiling softly she headed towards him. “You know, I think we should write an opera,” Riley said as she sat down next to Sam on a bench he’d been sitting on. She hoped she wasn’t interrupting but she felt like she hadn’t had a chance to catch up with him since the war had officially ended. “I’m thinking we need to have at least one chipmunk, and a hornet, mascot hornet though, not a live one.” She added with a small shrug. There was so much to do in the aftermath of all of the fighting that Sam felt like he’d never get a chance to breathe again -- which, admittedly, was a little dramatic, considering how chaotic his life had been ever since Steve Rogers ran into it. He really thought he should be used to it by now, but maybe one never got used to feeling stretched thin with responsibilities. He’d been thinking about Claire a lot, so he took a moment for a break when he needed it. Seeing Riley was a welcome distraction from his own thoughts. “The costuming for this opera is going to be dope as hell,” he commented. “I’m thinking inspired by the Lion King?” “Damn straight, maybe get some of that crazy magic stuff involved to really get it over the top,” she said nodding with an amused smile. Her expression fell a little bit as she asked a more serious quetions. “How are you holding up?” Riley didn’t know a lot of those that were lost well, but she knew, or partly assumed that Sam knew them a better than she did. Sam figured that the opera talk was just an ice breaker, so he was ready when the real question came. “I’m …” His voice trailed off and he sighed. He’d been telling most people that he was fine, and that was true -- comparatively. He was fine. He’d escaped the fight relatively unscathed, and he hadn’t lost as much as some. But he knew that he shouldn’t compare, and that he shouldn’t hold everything in. “I’m hanging in there. Seems I just can’t escape a war of one kind or another.” Riley’s eyes watched him carefully and she was glad she didn’t hear the standard okay, fine, that seemed to be what everyone had been saying, hell, even she’d been saying it. “I think you are due a break from war,” if anyone deserved it, it was Sam. From what she knew it seemed Sam just went from war to war to war and they never slowed. “Unless you want to play the card game, I think that one would still be acceptable.” “Aren’t we all?” Sam countered, arching a brow at Riley. As far as he was concerned, it was exactly what he’d signed up for -- multiple times, at that. He’d known the risks, and he’d known the weight he would carry. (Not the first time; he hadn’t been prepared at all for what was to come.) He’d jumped in again because it was the right thing to do, and because the world needed someone to stand up in Captain America’s corner. He’d stayed because the world still needed people like him. Everyone deserved peace, but someone had to ensure that was even a possibility. “Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have the wings. It took a long time for me to relax after I came home from Afghanistan. Didn’t know what the hell to do with all my time. I think… I think I jumped back in because I knew I had more left in me.” Riley shrugged, she didn’t think of herself as having been in as many wars, more strategic battles here and there than actual wars. She wasn’t sure what she’d do without another life-threatening adventure on the horizon. Nodding, she could see that, Sam probably still had a lot left in him. “Does that mean you’re thinking of going back home, assuming they ever find a way to do that again? Which they will, we’re working hard at it.” Riley was spending most of her time working trying to help figure that out. “Kind of a mess with the magic and technology aspect of it all.” She admitted. “But, hey, you never know, they might run missions out of this place, seems like it’d be a waste to let go of all the stuff they’ve got here.” Sam hadn’t considered it yet, truthfully. It wasn’t an option, so there hadn’t been any sense in imagining the choice. Now that Riley mentioned it, though, the thought about going home had a draw that Sam couldn’t deny. As much as he’d been enjoying his time in Atlantis, it wasn’t home for him like it had become for some of his friends. “Might take them up on the offer if it ever comes, sure,” he finally admitted. “There’s a lot waiting for me at home. Lot of recovery, lot of rebuilding.” The world still needed them. It still needed him. That was why Steve had given him the shield. “I lost five years of my life already. But we’ll see. It’s not an option right now.” “It’ll happen,” Riley had faith, but it was partly because she was working on it and knew the other people working on it would figure it out. She wasn’t sure what she’d do yet. “I don’t know if I’ll go back or not, kind of seems weird to potentially have done this whole thing here just to not remember it, assuming that’s the case of what everyone has been saying.” She shrugged. “I do wonder what Atlantis will be like without a war, or if it’ll be like everywhere else, always something to stop.” That part made Sam hesitate, too. It seemed like a waste to go through everything they’d been through only to not remember it in the end. But, he reminded himself, the entire reason they’d all stayed was so they could help save all of their worlds. It wasn’t to make new memories or new friendships; that was a side-effect of everything else that happened along the way. “Don’t know,” Sam admitted. “Atlantis seems pretty perfect to me. I can’t imagine what anyone here will have to fight now.” Would that be boring? he wondered. He’d taken a break from from active duty once already, but he’d jumped right back in as soon as he could. “This is like…” He waved a hand. “Utopia.” But there had to be more to life than that. Right? “Utopia? Turning into random things?” She paused. “Although I’m not sure that’ll continue. Who knows?” It wasn’t really a question, more just a thought. She didn’t know. It always seemed like things were up in the air anymore. “Come on, let’s go get a coffee or something,” she offered. “On me?” “Better to turn into an animal than turn to dust,” Sam countered. He didn’t know the cause of all the random magical occurrences, either. Were they a side-effect of how creativity had been crumbling, or of bringing so many people from so many worlds together? Or did that always happen? He’d never asked. “I meant, just … comprehensive healthcare, education, diverse ecosystems that never seem to be out of balance, a self-sustaining economy… is there going to be war at all, anymore?” It didn’t seem real. “When I first got here, I thought it was too good to be true.” Sometimes, he still thought that. He pushed a smile onto his face and nodded as he stood up. “I could do with a coffee or something.” “Alright, alright!” Riley nodded. “You make fair points, but I don’t know if I’d go as far to call this utopia.” She gave a half-smile. “Coffee is on me, and if there happens to be anything else you might want to talk about, I’ve still got two ears that work.” Sam chuckled. “It has the possibility of being a hell of a lot more peaceful than where I’m from is all I’m saying. Weird magical events and all. I’d take that over regular death and destruction any day.” It occurred to him, then, that he wasn’t really being a great friend. Riley had been a sounding board for him, but he had no idea how she was doing after everything. “You know, the same is true for you. If you need to talk - about here, about home, about how you’re doing, what you want to do now. Nothing’s off-limits.” She nodded, she would too. “Yeah, guess the ‘real world’ whatever that actually is, has a little less whimsical and a lot more blowing up, even in my own home world.” Although hers tended to be in the shadows until someone did something stupid and Mac had to make a bomb. Smiling she nodded. “I know,” she did know if she needed to talk Sam would listen, she just didn’t even know what she’d say right now. “I guess it seems like there is a lot of things to figure out, right now though there is a problem to be solved before thinking about anything else you know?” “There is a lot to figure out,” he agreed. Before anyone could decide whether or not they wanted to stay, Intake needed to be fixed. Buildings still needed to be rebuild; injuries needed to heal. It was easy to get overwhelmed if someone lost focus on the task right in front of them. Even though Riley was convinced that they would get the job done, they hadn’t done it yet, so Sam’s first focus had to be on the people still there, rather than some what-if. “One thing at a time. For example, first we need some coffee. Then we can hypothesize about what Atlantis’ll be like now. Sound good?” Laughing she nodded. “Deal. Coffee first.” She smiled. She knew it’d be fixed because she didn’t except anything as impossible more than anything else. Although even thinking about leaving or staying seemed like a lot to handle. Forgetting about it, she focused instead on getting coffee with one of her good friends. |