Jemma Simmons is a terrible liar (needanewplan) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-09-28 09:23:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, jemma simmons, steve rogers (captain america) |
Who: Steve Rogers and Jemma Simmons
What: First Time Meeting
When: Mid-Late August
Where: A diner
Rating/Warnings: Low
Status: Log | Complete
Steve was still trying to process the fact that he was going to be a dad. It was something that he'd wanted more than anything in this world, and yet, it was still shocking, surprising and a little overwhelming to be honest. He knew Peggy was scared, and so was he, but he was trying to do everything that he could to make things a little better, and a little easier on her.
That was all that he could do right now, that and being supportive, and Steve thought he was doing a decent job at things. He'd gone to grab some lunch from one of the local diners near to where he worked, Steve would've typically brought lunch with him, however, he'd ran out of time this morning to pack things. Maybe he should start doing that the night before, especially since his life was about to get crazier.
Steve ordered himself a burger with everything, and french fries on the side. He was sitting at the counter, and gave the waitress a nod as she sat his Coke down in front of him. His thoughts were going rather quickly, bouncing from the dreams to everything else in between. Steve closed his eyes, let out a long breath, and willed himself to just slow down.
Sometimes Jemma remembered to get out of the lab. Usually it was because of appointments or planned lunches or things of that nature. The alarm on her phone was just to remember to eat in general. Well, it was a good thing for that alarm, even if she had forgotten to make her lunch that morning, her mind still a haze from the Mindless Plague in her dreams. Honestly, the annoyance of dealing with dream related issues could be quite trying sometimes. At least it hadn’t happened in the waking world though. Still, she could feel the lingering effects, and it was enough to have her forget to make lunch.
So here she was at a random diner. It had been recommended to her so she figured, why not. It was nice to try new things. Okay, so what if she was currently going over notes she took of her dreams while waiting for her order to be delivered.
Ah, there it was. A vegetarian wrap and then some sort of orange guava passion fruit juice. It had seemed interesting to try at any rate. It was her being brought out of her note taking phase that had Jemma recognize the man at the table beside hers.
“Captain Rogers?” She really hoped that it was him. “Are you okay?” Because that would be unfortunate if he weren’t. There was also the concern about dream crossover issues (she couldn’t think of any instance where a medic would be needed from that but it never hurt to ask), again assuming she was correct in her assumption.
Slowly Steve lifted his head, looking over to where the voice of concern had come from. A light smile tipped up the corners of his lips, "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking." Steve didn't think that it was odd any longer that people knew his name when he didn't really know them. It was par for the course with the dreams, and he, well he was getting used to it.
"Sorry, it's just been a couple of long weeks, and I've got too many thoughts bumbling around in my head. So I was just trying to collect those thoughts, and get myself to slow down a degree." He gave a chuckle, giving a nod to the waitress as she brought him his food.
"I'm also sorry that I don't know your name." He truly was sorry about that. That was one of the only downsides to, you know, not having dreamt much since he'd joined Valernet. Maybe he'd ask Peggy to fill him in a little bit, but something told him that she'd probably just tell him that he needed to dream some more. That was fine with him too, he was sure that, in time, he'd get all the information that he needed.
Well that was certainly something that could happen all too well. Not just because of normal life things, which Jemma was privy to thanks to Peggy coming to see her and her suspicions, but also Orange County shenanigans and the dreams. The dreams which were quite more difficult to explain but he obviously hadn’t corrected her when she said Captain Rogers, which…. She was pretty sure he wasn’t an actual captain in this world? Was he? Eh, no matter.
Instead she just nodded some at his initial explanation.
“Very understandable.”
And oh right. The name situation. Flustered, Jemma shook her head some.
“Oh, right, I’m dreadfully sorry. Jemma Simmons. I work with Peggy.” And well, shared a dream world as given the way she had initially addressed him.
Life sometimes moved at a pace that was too quick for people, and it became overwhelming. It was days, much like today, that Steve just liked to try to collect his thoughts. He'd get there eventually, he didn't let much keep him down or that preoccupied for too long anyway.
He offered Jemma a smile, and gave a small inclination of his head in her direction. "It's nice to meet you, Jemma." He assumed that she would also know him from the dreams, unless Peggy had talked about his dreams with her co-workers which was entirely possible. Steve wasn't sure how to broach that subject, instead he picked up his drink and took a sip.
"No reason to be sorry, though. A lot of people seem to know me, when I don't know who they are, but I guess that's to be expected." He lifted a shoulder, and then took a bite of his food chewing slowly before he swallowed. "Are you part of Valarnet?" He asked, glancing over at her with a slightly raised brow.
“Likewise.” Despite most of the things that the dreams threw at her, or Orange County, Jemma had a tendency to handle it with a smile and to be optimistic. Will had called her hope for a reason. She admittedly had a hard time dealing with her own issues and would bury it. But that was beside the point.
“Well… yes, that is true.” He was quite the celebrity in her dreams. Both sets actually. Though there was her opening. “That I am. They are quite… interesting.” That was one way of putting it. Though what could Jemma really do about it? Bury the stress and heartache and just keep moving through. “Many people end up sharing the dreams with people.” Jemma herself? Not so much. While Peggy dreamt the same world, that was in the past. And Natasha was in the world but not her actual dreams.
Giving a nod, Steve shifted back in his seat, giving her a half smile. "Yes, that's putting it mildly." Steve chuckled, and picked a fry up off his plate. Chewing thoughtfully, he took in a deep breath through his nose, and then gave a nod. "Yeah, I've noticed that. I've heard plenty of things from people that I have yet to meet in mine." He had only ran into Bucky and Peggy in his dreams so far, but he was confident that there would be plenty more that he'd end up knowing by the end of them.
"So, have you met me in yours?" Steve asked, reaching forward to pick up his burger to finally take a bite of his food. He wasn't trying to be rude, but he was hungry and he figured that she'd understand.
Oh, Jemma really didn’t care if he ate or not. They were randomly meeting at a diner because it was lunch time. It would be odd not to eat in such a situation. She herself was also working on her wrap as well since there was that whole needing to be back at the Agency within a certain time frame.
“Met you? No, not personally, though I have certainly heard of you. My team leader I suppose you would call him? He’s met you. As well as Director Fury as I’m part of SHIELD.” Which...might not make all that much sense if Steve were still dreaming about the second World War. Something she had a feeling was possible given her conversation with Peggy and how she should wait to mention the frozen in ice bit. Though he also mentioned things others had mentioned, meaning there was a good chance Natasha had spoken to him. And the post King T’Challa had made.
“There really isn’t anyone here who has dreamt specifically of what I have, just the same world and events.”
Fury. That name sounded familiar. Peggy had mentioned him hadn't she? At least, Steve thought she had. Perhaps he'd heard it from another person on the Network, after all, a lot of people talked and while Steve didn't talk that much to a lot of them, he still kept an eye on things. "I can only say that Fury's name sounds familiar to me. The rest of it?" He shrugged with a shake of his head before taking a sip of his coke to wash down his food.
"I see." Steve replied, brows furrowing slightly. There were several that appeared to share the same dreamspace, or dreamworld. Whatever one wanted to call it. It was interesting to say the least, and Steve wondered just how many people out there knew him from their dreams. Part of him wasn't sure he wanted that answer.
"So, what is it that you do for work?" He asked, taking another bite of his food.
“That makes sense.” If anything, Director Fury would have at least been mentioned by someone she imagined. With the way the timeline worked in the dreams? Well… he didn’t know what SHIELD was, which meant that he was still in the second World War. Okay then. And again, it wasn’t like her path had ever personally crossed with his. While the Avengers initially had been tied to SHIELD in a way, they were still a separate entity, for the bigger threats.
And that was pretty much it. But what she did? That was an easier question to answer as it didn’t lead to spoilers for Steve and his dreams.
“Biochemist. I actually run the science division at the Agency.” Since well, she had already mentioned working with Peggy. “You?”
Steve gave a nod, although he kept eating. There really wasn't anything more that he could say on the matter. He was so behind, or at least, that was how he felt in the grand scheme of things. He didn't know personally how true that was, but eventually he would figure it out.
Pulling a napkin from the holder on the table, he wiped his mouth and then gave a nod. "Very nice." He had done well in science in school, but not well enough that he thought about a career in it. He chuckled, "I'm an army recruiter." Steve was quite aware at how entertaining that was, or would be for most people that knew his past, and truthfully he was quite amused by it as well.
Sometimes there wasn’t much more to be said on a topic, something which made perfect sense to Jemma. She had a tendency to either go into long expositions on something but she never really said things just to say them. Mostly because she could stick her foot in her mouth and really should stop talking minutes ago. She was better at that now, but that was life.
At the comment about being an army recruiter, all the biochemist could do was quirk a brow in amusement.
“Well that is quite fitting.” Because really. Of course he was. How could he not be?
"Oh, I'm quite aware." Steve replied with a wry grin over in her direction. "At the very least I'm not a dancing monkey this go round. I actually decided to take the desk job over retiring." Steve was sure that his life was going to change again once the baby was born, or before depending upon his dreams.
Right now he was just taking things one day at a time, and trying to adjust to everything. It wasn't easy, that was for sure, but he was trying to keep a positive outlook. That was Steve though for you, and he'd do everything that he could to make sure that the people in his life were looked after and taken care of. Polishing off his food, Steve took a long sip of his coke, and then let out a sigh before he wiped his mouth off with another napkin.
"How long have you been with the Agency?" He asked, looking back over at Jemma.
“Well, that is always a good thing. No one wants to be a dancing monkey.” Fitz might want a dancing monkey, or well.. Monkey. That was something that had crossed over between dream worlds… But really. Having the agency to make your own decisions and how you do your job? So much better than doing something you’re told to, even if it doesn’t feel quite right. Jemma’d had enough of that with Coulson when he wanted her to keep secret on things she was studying following her time undercover. As if she hadn’t been isolated from the team enough.
Not like it mattered as they weren’t in Orange County and she had a life here that was more than enough.
And speaking of that life… the Agency.
“Oh goodness…. It’s been… a bit over a year now?” Had it been so long? Had she really only been in the States for a bit longer than that? She had moved to the States in March of the previous year, and then by July of the previous year, she was already at the Agency following her work at Stark. “Though it certainly does seem both longer and shorter, though I guess that’s the nature of this place.”
Hearing an alarm on her phone go off, Jemma jumped up in shock before looking down. Oh right. Lunch had certain time parameters as well. “Though it does appear as my lunch break is over. It was nice meeting you, Captain Rogers. I’m sure our paths will cross again.” What with Peggy and all.
"No, I don't think anyone wants to be one either." Steve replied with a small smile. It was nice to be able to call the shots here in this world, and he felt bad for his dream self in a way. Well, when things had first started. Now he was okay, things were going somewhat better. He gave a nod as she spoke on how long she'd been there, "Time files." He was still smiling as he spoke, all too aware of how that worked. He'd been there for nearly a year now, and life? Well, it'd changed for the better in his opinion.
It was funny how quickly things could change.
"Could be." He replied with a small nod of his head in her direction, "Of course, it was a pleasure to meet you as well, Jemma." He too was quite certain that their paths would cross again considering her work at the Agency, and Steve figured it wouldn't be long until he too was there. "I hope the rest of your day is good." He gave another nod in her direction, and went back to focusing on his food since his lunch break was almost over with too.
It was nice, however, to have spent some time with someone that shared a similar dream space, and not for the first time Steve wondered how many of them were out there. Who knew, maybe one day he'd meet most of them but for now it was time to focus on the here and now.