Who: JR Sully and Steven Rogers (Pre Serum) Where: On the road What: A Marine comes home from war. When: Thursday afternoon, just before this Rating: Moderate. Bad language, talk of war. Open: No Status: Completed Narrative.
"Sergeant Sully? We're almost at your stop. Time to wake up."
JR blinked open his eyes and stretched his arms overhead, bringing himself back to wakefulness. He turned around in his seat to look at the elderly couple behind him who'd given the reminder and thanked them as the bus slowed to a stop. His liberty spent in LA had been just what he needed after being discharged from the hospital, but it was time to take up his new posting at the Corps' Recruit Depot in San Diego. He'd check in with the guard at the main gate and present himself to the Officer Of The Day at his new unit. After that he'd find where they had him bunking and get some shuteye, it was after ten at night and tomorrow would be a busy day.
Unless things got really bad during the invasion of the Jap home islands he was done with combat, and thank whatever higher power existed for that small mercy, he'd seen plenty. No, now he'd be training some other poor sons of bitches for that unpleasant task. Whoever thought they'd make him a gunnery instructor? Not him when he first went through boot himself, that was for certain. But the Corps worked in mysterious ways.
As the bus rolled to a stop JR stood up from his seat. He took his uniform blouse from where it had been folded neatly on the seat beside him along with his cover (service cap in civilian lingo) and put them on, then started down the aisle to the front along with a few other Marines and Sailors reporting in. Once off the bus he waited his turn to grab his two seabags. Normally there'd only be one, but he didn't have a home to send things to, so all his worldly possessions were in the two sacks.
He slung the bags up, one for each shoulder and turned around....to find he wasn't in San Diego anymore. It wasn't nighttime either.
"Son of a fucking bitch!" The bags landed on the ground with a thud as he stared at the two towers off in the distance. One a hulking thing made of stone and taller than any stone tower had a right to be. The other sleek and covered in glass and steel, glinting in the sunlight. The name Stark displayed prominently at the top.
"You fucking piece of shit of a fucking island!! You stick me on my own right before World War 2 and I go through that fucking hell and now you bring me back?!" He yelled, resisting tossing his cover on the deck in rage out of ingrained habit alone. "Fuck you!" With that the Spire was flipped the bird and JR dug out a pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket.
"Fucking Island." The marine was mad enough that he almost wished he was back with the 1st Division, currently fighting in Okinawa, or it had been when he left. Almost. JR fumed as he lit the cigarette, wondering what he'd find when he got into town. What year would it be? Would they even remember who he was? How would he even fit in? He had no idea how to be a civilian anymore, he'd been a Marine since before Pearl Harbor for Christ's sake!
A few more angry puffs and the young man shouldered his luggage again and started down the road. It would take a while to get to town but he'd had worse forced marches.
Steven had gone for a walk. With Steve showing up suddenly 21 years old he needed to clear his head. He hadn't missed the wedding ring on the young man's finger and had gotten a little too curious. Seeing that not only was he going to be a grandfather but he also remarried and had another child. It was a lot to take in.
He didn't have a set direction, he just walked. It was a cool day so he had a light jacket on, along with the t-shirt and jeans that had become his normal attire. This time he'd grabbed his SSR t-shirt without even thinking. He was so lost in thought that he really wasn't paying attention to where he was walking. He'd even stumbled a few times when curbs caught him by surprise. So it really wasn't any wonder that he would run into someone, quite literally, along the way.
"Son of a bitch." JR muttered as he dusted off his uniform. He'd absently noticed the other man, but had kept on walking thinking that there would be an obvious course correction. With the extra weight he was carrying from the seabags it knocked him off balance and he'd had to drop both bags in a hurry to avoid following the newcomer to the ground. As it was, his cover had been dislodged from his head and that was another thing he'd have to pick up and make sure was all right.
"You ok there fella?"
Steve hit the sidewalk with an oof but was okay otherwise. He got to his feet and dusted off his pants, nodding. "Yeah, sorry about that. Guess I should pay attention to where I'm walking." He bent over and picked up the cover, brushing it off a bit. It looked a lot like the one Bucky had worn before shipping out, but enough differences he could tell it wasn't Army. Steve looked up at the other man and paused.."I know you...." He was trying to remember.
He just looked at the man for another minute before it finally clicked. "You came into the grocery store a couple of times. You were on leave, right?" He'd actually envied the man, being accepted like that. All he wanted to do was join the Army but they wouldn't let him. Not until Erskine saw more in him than what was on the outside. "By the bags it looks like you were headed home...."
JR nodded. "That's right." He'd also gone out drinking with Bucky once or twice, but it seemed so long ago now he hardly remembered the details.
"I was actually heading to a new assignment, the Corps rotates you back to the States after three campaigns. I was on my way to show my orders to the guard to get into the Camp, next thing I knew I was here."
That sucks." He shook his head. "This place can be a little weird. More than a little." He chuckled. "First thing we need to do is find you a phone." He reached into his pocket to pull out his phone.
What the hell. JR hadn't had enough fun the last couple years, playing the confused man from the 1940s sounded like fun, at least as long as it took Steven to look up the new name on the phone. Then the jig would well and truly be up, but it would be fun while it lasted.
JR put a puzzled look on his face as Steven went to dig out his phone. "Where are you going to get a phone all the way out here?" He dug out another cigarette from his pack and lit it with an ease of someone who'd done it many times before, then offered the pack to the other man. "Want a smoke?"
"Like I said, this place is weird. " Steven held up the phone. "And it's a bit ahead of where you were." He shook his head at the offered cigarette. "Asthma." Was his only answer. He looked around for a moment. "We need to find a store. There'll be a phone in there you can use."
JR made a show of glancing around as he stuffed the pack of smokes back in his pocket. There were no buildings for a ways yet. "They sell those in stores? Looks like we'll have to hoof it a bit to get to one."
"Not so much sell, no. We don't really use money here." He made a face. "It's a bit of a walk, yeah. Want me to take one of those?" He wasn't even sure he could carry it but he felt obliged to at least offer.
"Nah, that's all right. I've carried worse." Dammit. Why did all the Steves have to be so noble? Even Stevie was like that, if he remembered right. It was making him feel bad for the deception and ruining the fun. He'd stick it out a while longer to see what happened, but if it kept being no fun he'd have to come clean. Remembering the bit about the asthma he took one last deep drag on the cigarette, then put it out. The last thing he wanted to do was trigger an attack in the other man.
With a grunt he lifted both bags and slung them over his shoulders. "So when was it when you got here? It was March of '45 for me just now, I'm guessing that's not the date now?" He damn well knew, but Steven didn't know that.
"Originally came from '43 but I've been here a couple of years." He cleared his throat. "You're about 70 years in the future now." Steve wasn't really sure who he should call. One of the other Steves or maybe Bucky. He searched through the phone and stopped when he came on a name. He sighed, looking at the other man. "But then you knew that already, didn't you?" He held up the phone with the young man's picture.
"You got me uncle Steven." JR knew better than to try and continue the charade. "It was March of '45 for me all right, I just wasn't supposed to be born for another seventy years. Fucking island. Dumped into New York City in September of '39 and didn't bring me back till just now."
"So that's why I remember you from Brooklyn." He shook his head. "This place is insane. I'm glad you made it out okay. Or at least you look to be in one piece."
"The Japs gave it their best shot on Peleliu, that's how I got this little doodad." JR pointed to the ribbon indicating a Purple Heart. "Nearly got me from blood loss it took so long to evacuate me from the line. I'm good to go now though."
Steven nodded. "Glad to hear it." He smiled. "Your siblings will be happy to see you."
"Rach and Sarah are still here?" JR perked up a bit at that. He'd always been close to his older sisters. "God I'm not sure I even remember what they look like it's been so long."
"Not just them. Juliet and Tom are here, too." He nodded. He decided to leave the news about impending unclehood for the women to share. He turned and started to walk toward the stores again. "Of course I'm sure the rest of your family will be, too."
"No shit?" JR shook his head at that and resumed walking alongside Steven. "Mom must have had a cow. Next thing you know the rest of them will be showing up." It would be great to see his twin again after nearly six years, same with his younger brother. Even if he was a bit of a science geek, JR loved him anyway.
"No shit." He chuckled. "I think the more kids show up, the more she's getting used to it." He looked at his phone and then looked at JR. "Should I give them a head's up?"
JR walked along in silence for a minute as he considered the question. Did he want to suddenly show up and surprise his family or give them time to prepare for his arrival? Part of him wanted to go hide someplace at the thought of the attention he was sure to get, the rest said hell yes.
After a long sigh he nodded in the affirmative. "Yeah, I guess it'd be good to give a heads up." He dug out the package of cigarettes again and stuck one between his lips. "I really ought to quit this." He mused, then glanced up at Steven. "If I light up will that make your asthma go screwy?" If so he'd just have to leave it unlit for now.
"I can do that." He nodded and started typing the text. At the next question, he shook his head. "No, especially since we're outside. If we were inside it might be different story." He shrugged. He sent the text quickly and then put his phone away again.
"Thanks. I got in the habit on the 'canal." meaning Guadalcanal. He had the cigarette lit and was puffing away a moment later. "It helped with the stress and they hand 'em out with rations. Everybody else was doing it, made it hard to keep from starting up."