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shieldborneGod's righteous man, Ultron had mocked to his face a few years back. Pretending you could live without a war. Steve had to acknowledge he wasn't wrong. The vision Wanda pulled out of his head, it wasn't wrong either. He is half strung-out, bone-weary, combat fatigue personified. Half of him wants to go home.
The other half? Will never be able to stop fighting, because that means having to face what's left.
Visiting the Nexus has only driven that point home, in some ways. No matter how much people encourage him to expand his horizons, take time to relax and recover, to be Steve Rogers, he's restless and adrift there, friendly with everyone but not, in the end, all that close to any. But there is one idea that's caught at him relentlessly since his arrival there, and that's the inescapable visual of kids fighting wars.
Most of them probably don't see it that way. Friendly neighborhood Spider-Men, just doing what they can, what they innocently assume any good person would do. Every time he thinks about that, it hurts. And he has plenty to do in his own world, collecting the proliferating alien weaponry across the planet, breaking up and hunting down remnants of HYDRA, and ducking the law. But here there's an opportunity for something more, something gentler, something that's not fighting and might, in the long term, keep people from ending up in the psychological catch-22 he's gotten himself into.
There's no Nexus real estate office, but there are people who have a clear idea of what land and buildings can be claimed and what can be done with them. Steve has somehow, through funds scraped together, favors called in, and contacts made, become the proud owner of what was once some kind of diner or restaurant. The building is a decent size, two floors, with a lot of the appliances and furnishings still inside it and still working. Including a jukebox, which is what he's looking at right now, outside the front of the building. He's got most of it taken apart and spread neatly on blankets on the grass, and he's methodically cleaning it bit by bit.
The long term plan is a safe house he can set up for the costumed-hero types here that have nowhere else to go if something goes wrong. The kids, specifically. He won't be able to be here all the time, himself, but he can put it together and give what he can. Fill it up with food and medical supplies, maybe put in some bunks, some security--
Well, the plans are still evolving, but it's something.
The other half? Will never be able to stop fighting, because that means having to face what's left.
Visiting the Nexus has only driven that point home, in some ways. No matter how much people encourage him to expand his horizons, take time to relax and recover, to be Steve Rogers, he's restless and adrift there, friendly with everyone but not, in the end, all that close to any. But there is one idea that's caught at him relentlessly since his arrival there, and that's the inescapable visual of kids fighting wars.
Most of them probably don't see it that way. Friendly neighborhood Spider-Men, just doing what they can, what they innocently assume any good person would do. Every time he thinks about that, it hurts. And he has plenty to do in his own world, collecting the proliferating alien weaponry across the planet, breaking up and hunting down remnants of HYDRA, and ducking the law. But here there's an opportunity for something more, something gentler, something that's not fighting and might, in the long term, keep people from ending up in the psychological catch-22 he's gotten himself into.
There's no Nexus real estate office, but there are people who have a clear idea of what land and buildings can be claimed and what can be done with them. Steve has somehow, through funds scraped together, favors called in, and contacts made, become the proud owner of what was once some kind of diner or restaurant. The building is a decent size, two floors, with a lot of the appliances and furnishings still inside it and still working. Including a jukebox, which is what he's looking at right now, outside the front of the building. He's got most of it taken apart and spread neatly on blankets on the grass, and he's methodically cleaning it bit by bit.
The long term plan is a safe house he can set up for the costumed-hero types here that have nowhere else to go if something goes wrong. The kids, specifically. He won't be able to be here all the time, himself, but he can put it together and give what he can. Fill it up with food and medical supplies, maybe put in some bunks, some security--
Well, the plans are still evolving, but it's something.
no subject
Date: 2019-03-28 04:02 pm (UTC)Actually, nevermind, that sounds like it could be fun, and he's never met any of Thor's people aside from Loki. Which didn't go well. His confusion melts into a smile again, and he nods. "Just give me a heads-up before you bring 'em. I'll figure something out to occupy them."
Although he may need help. Man, are Asgardian children as tough as the adults?
"You want the full list of needed repairs? Mostly it's the wiring and the pipes, sorry to say, but the roof needs patching here and there. I had a group of almost two-dozen in here through the winter."
He heads for the island in the middle of the floor that appears to have been a coffee counter at one time, when the place was a functioning cafe. "No kidding, you delivered a baby??"
He hasn't made the 'fertility god' connection, and while it doesn't surprise him that Thor would care enough to attend a woman in labor and do whatever he could, the idea that he would know what to do is new.
no subject
Date: 2019-03-30 11:19 pm (UTC)It's actually a wonder the palace remained standing long enough for them both to reach adulthood, in hindsight.
As the captain no doubt suspects, plumbing and wiring is just a tad out of Thor's wheelhouse, so it's probably a good thing there's something a bit closer to his skill set that he can do, because he would probably try anyway with his usual level of enthusiasm and end up horrifying Nexus safety inspectors everywhere. Besides, patching holes in a roof in atmosphere sounds way more relaxing than worrying about hull breaches. "Two dozen? That can't have been very cozy." Not that room aboard the ship is much better, but at least it's a hell of a lot bigger overall. "I can give the roof a shot. How hard can it be?"
Thor is not, by nature, a modest man, as anyone who knows him could attest to. So maybe it's a little strange that he looks self-conscious now, like he's just admitted to doing something... not wrong, but unusual. "Well, you know, it's been a few hundred years since the last time but it's not something I would easily forget."
no subject
Date: 2019-04-04 05:01 pm (UTC)Nah, maybe not.
In any case, he doesn't mind hiring a contractor later. He can do basic repairs but some of these are not so basic. He'll accept help with the roof gladly, though. "It was a little too cozy," he says with a sigh. "But everyone was on their best behavior somehow. I think I lucked out there. I'm not sure how I could have kept things calm if it wasn't such a good group, even with the help I had."
Matt and Horvath were both godsends, really, and the Spider-Men were able to contribute to a friendly atmosphere even if they were stuck recuperating for much of the time.
Steve's eyes soften as he notes Thor's body language. "So...wait, you used to do that kinda thing more often? I had no idea. Is it babies specifically or medical care in general?"
no subject
Date: 2019-04-05 05:01 am (UTC)Well, now there's another pair of hands here to help him out.
By now, of course, Thor is well aware that Earth doesn't have the same hangups about gendered magic that Asgard does - even before meeting Strange, he'd seen how Stark was received by his adoring public despite basing his entire public image around technological sorcery - but hundreds of years of being told certain types of magic are unmanly isn't something easily unlearned, no matter that this doesn't entirely cross the line so much as sit right on the border. "It's... fertility magic, actually. Specifically. I've always had an aptitude for it; I take after my mother that way." Not that even Asgardian science has ever conclusively proven that specific types of seidr can be inherited, but it had certainly helped to have a parent who shared this with him, when he was younger.
"Usually it's been more the 'watering the fields' type," he adds quickly, as if he's worried his friend will get the wrong idea if he doesn't. "Especially on Asgard. But I did a lot of traveling in my youth, and sometimes people asked more from me. Couples wanting healthy babies, that sort of thing."