captain america (capsrogers) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-07-14 19:30:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !partner thread, pete wisdom, steve rogers (captain america) |
Who: Steve Rogers & Pete Wisdom
What: Meeting at a deli
When: Recent, just after Steve's back from vacation
Where: A Deli
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete
The vibe in many deli’s, in the OC, was ‘laid back,’ which seemed to suit the California lifestyle in general. Pete liked this place though, the spot in Anaheim, family-owned and operated. Their recipes were handed down from generation to generation, so he supposed that meant the business stood the test of time. They had rather unique sandwiches, artisan pastas, and difficult to find wine, however, but the first is what Pete went in for - a whole special order he’d called in beforehand, picking everything up to take back to the family, quirky grandparents included. They’d have their homemade Italian sausage, come hell or high water.
With him, a certain mini-firestarter was attached to his front, Amelia against his chest in her baby sling, the straps over his shoulders. For the moment, she was content and actually quiet, binky in her mouth as she watched their surroundings with those clear blue eyes of hers - with raven peach fuzz to match her father’s own hair colour, and an English nose coming into its own, she did tend to resemble him quite a bit so far. He was curious to see whether her eyes would stay blue.
There was a bit of a line to get to the front of the deli’s counter, but expected as much. Popular place, as he knew. So he waited, hand stroking over his daughter’s sorry excuse for hair and her soft, nearly-bald head. Occasionally he got strangers coming to coo over her, but those were brave souls - in general, his demeanor and dark, surly looks didn’t lend way to thinking he’d be up for random conversation.
More often than not Steve would go home to cook, but tonight he was in the mood to order food for himself and Bucky. Steve wandered into the deli, already having placed his order as well and found himself a place in line behind a familiar face.
With a smile, Steve moved up slightly, turning to look over at Pete. "Hey, there. Long time no see." They'd met at the baby shower, Steve's plus one for Peggy and at the time he wasn't sure how things were really going to work out between them. Now, however, things were going great and he had no complaints whatsoever. His eyes flicked down to the baby, heart melting at the sight of the precious little bundle. "And wow, she's beautiful." He commented, although he didn't move to touch her. It was rude, in his opinion, for people to touch other people's children without asking for permission and Steve was anything but rude.
"So, how's fatherhood treating you so far?"
Ah, yes. Captain America, good old Steve Rogers. Wisdom was familiar with him, both in the hot mess that was a shared dreamworld, and out - in his version, Captain Britain had taken the mantle to do sort of similar heroic things in the name of protecting the UK, and he was someone Pete worked closely with whereas Steve Rogers himself, only here and there. In this world, he knew Peggy was rather close with the fellow - and certainly, a woman like Peg could take care of herself but at the baby shower, Pete had wanted to size up her romantic choice anyway. He still considered her a good friend, after the fling they had while with M16.
Of course, Rogers was as polite, kind, and gentlemanly as you could get - so needless to say, he passed the tests. And seeing him now caused Pete to actually smile a little.
“Thank you,” he responded, craning his neck to peer at the cute little face with her eyes now locked on the person come to say hello. “It’s...well, fatherhood’s an adventure. I never thought I’d be so blasé about throw up on my shirts, but you just spend so much time awake as a zombie and covered in puke, you get used to it.” Perhaps a gross response, but an honest one. “How are you, mate? Enjoy your holiday away from our madhouse here?”
He knew Peggy had flown away for a much-needed break, and they’d kept the county intact in her absence. Mostly. Save for what happened with the demons.
“I’d imagine that you do eventually become used to it.” Steve replied with a hearty chuckle and small inclination of his head. One day Steve wanted to become a father, one day, and he hoped, more than anything that Peggy would be the mother of his children. That wasn’t a talk that they’d had just yet, but Steve was hopeful that she’d actually want to have children.
“I’m doing well, very refreshed and relaxed after our vacation.” He had heard all about what had happened once he’d returned, and there was a very small part of him that was saddened that they hadn’t been there to help. That part was miniscule, really, and he wouldn’t have traded his and Peggy’s vacation for anything in the world. “But we had a good time. Did a lot of the touristy stuff, which was a lot fun actually.” There’d been attractions that they’d seen in New York that Steve had never gone to, even if he had lived in New York all of his life, and London? Well that had definitely been an experience that he wouldn’t soon forget.
Steve shifted on his feet, hands going down into the pockets of his pants, “How about you? How have you been barring the craziness that’s been going on?”
Wisdom had never been to New York, come to think of it - what with X-Men HQ being there, his dream self had been to Westchester but as for the waking world, he had only heard stories. Eventually, he would like to visit - it seemed similar to London in a lot of ways, all that hustle and bustle and whole eclectic nature. But he was glad to hear that Steve enjoyed himself (and enjoyed Peggy too, however, that was implied).
"Feels like both of those places, you'd need at least a month to see everything," he chuckled roughly, bouncing Amelia a little in her carrier. She was still quiet, and stuck her fist in her mouth to drool on while continuing to watch her father's friend. Apparently Captain America fascinated her for some reason. "But I hope Peg hit the highlights in London. I tried to get as much in when I went with my fiancee but we'll probably have to go back and see a lot."
The craziness was also pretty par the course for the OC, and it hadn't been too bad, all things considered. Perhaps he was just jaded. Actually, no doubt about that. "Been well though myself," he said. "Lina's parents have been helping us with Amelia, and we'll probably have her grandmum watch her when Lina goes back to work. Tiring though, trying to maintain some semblance of schedule, I'll tell you that much."
Steve nodded, "I'd have to agree with you on that." There was so much history in both places, a lot of different places to explore and Steve felt as if they really had only hit the tip of the iceberg with both. There was always next time though, and he was certain that there would be one. "I think we did. We spent some time with her parents in Kent after spending a few days in London." That'd been nice. He'd enjoyed meeting Peggy's parents, and he thought they liked him.
At least, he hoped they did.
Steve's eyes went down to Amelia, a smile softening his features while he looked at the little girl. "I could imagine that it is hard trying to adjust, but I have a feeling you guys will get it down to a science before too long." Bringing a tiny life into any equation was bound to be upsetting to one's schedule. Everything revolved around them, their needs and from what Steve had heard, since he'd yet to experience that himself, your needs came in last.
That was part of it though, he supposed. "It's good you've got her parents here to help though. I'm sure that takes some of the load off you guys, and besides, I'm sure they love getting to spend time with her." Steve wished, for a moment, that his own mother was still alive. She'd often talked about Steve having children, and being able to help tend to her grandbabies. Still, he knew that she'd be smiling down from above whenever, or if, he had any of his own.
“Meeting the parents? Sounds serious,” Wisdom teased lightly, as he moved up in line a little. The bloke in front of him finally got the sandwich orders he wanted, likely a whole office’s worth for the lunch order, because he walked out juggling plenty of wrapped delights and drinks in carriers. Thank fuck - maybe sometime today he’d get back with the Ifraimov family’s order, but time seemed to go faster when you were chatting with someone so at least there was that.
Rogers practically bled ‘fatherly’ vibes - he was the sort whom you looked at and wondered why he hadn’t produced a whole football team (soccer, sorry) of crumb gobblers yet. Wisdom, however - he’d been a chainsmoking alcoholic who had a drawer in his kitchen specifically for takeaway menus. Meeting Lina had changed everything, let’s just say.
“They’ve even got their own GILF coffee mugs,” he laughed roughly. “Quirky sorts, but they’re alright. I know Peg’s been kind of feeling the pressure from her own family about children, probably ever since her cousin had a baby. You think it’s in the cards for you lovebirds?” Dibs on being Uncle Petey.
Chuckling Steve gave a small nod, "I think that it is." Steve had honestly never felt this way about another person before. Sure there'd been girls in the past that he'd brought home to meet his mother while she'd been alive, but even then he hadn't thought about marriage with any of them. With Peggy it'd been on his mind more often than not if he was being honest.
He moved forward along with Pete in the line, grateful that the guy had finally gotten everything that he'd needed to go. Steve laughed as well, "Wow, that's funny." He couldn't imagine, but hey, to each their own. His brows rose slightly. He hadn't gotten that impression, of course, Steve was a bit oblivious when it came to certain things so it was quite possible that he'd just missed that.
Still, he could understand why they'd be pressuring her but that didn't make it right. "I hope so." He responded honestly as he looked over at Pete. "It'll depend on what she wants though." Steve would never push her if she didn't want to have children, but he personally wanted a house full. Okay, well maybe not a house full, but he wanted a few kids at least. Again, that was up to Peggy on if they would have children or not, but he was hopeful.
Of course, no one could tell a woman like Peggy what to do, not even her own parents - but Wisdom did remember chatting with her after Sharon had Viv and recalled the conversation about Mother Dearest asking when it was Peg’s own time. However, none of that really mattered. “If it happens, it’ll happen when it’s meant to,” Pete assured. “No pressure or anything. Amelia was sort of a happy accident, so, you just never know. For what it’s worth, I think you’d both make good parents though.”
He’d been so worried, anxious about being as shit of a father as his own was - but at the very least, having Harold for a dad meant that he was the prime example of what not to do. Lina insisted he was doing well, and he was also enjoying fatherhood - so he believed her.
His turn was up then, and he made certain that he had what he needed before reaching for the credit card to swipe. With a baby still on his chest, yes, the sling was convenient in that he had two hands free. “At any rate, it was nice talking to you, mate. One day we’ll all have to get together for something. It’ll be nice to go out with actual adults and not be bloody fucking exhausted and covered in baby puke.”
"Thank you." Steve replied with a small nod in Pete's direction. Steve wasn't in any hurry, nor would he push Peggy for children. When it or if it happened, Steve would be ecstatic and be there for her every single step of the way. Steve had no intention of going anywhere as far as his relationship with Peggy was concerned.
Steve fell back a little to give Pete more room so he could pick up his food, and he gave a small nod. "Same to you, and of course." He chuckled, he could only imagine how things had been at their household while getting used to dealing with a newborn. "Maybe we can set up a double date or something soon." Steve was up for that, and he figured that Peggy would be as well. There wasn't any reason that the four of them couldn't go out and have a night away from the worries of the world pressing down on them. "Just let myself or Peg know, and we'll plan on something." Now that it was his turn, Steve went up to the front of the line and gave his name.
"Good luck, and I hope the two of you have a good day." He glanced down at Amelia, giving her a smile before he turned back to the man at the counter. It was nice to see a familiar face, and catch up with someone that Steve now considered a friend about their life.