riverviewlogs | [Open with some closed prompts] Where have all the good men gone?

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[Open with some closed prompts] Where have all the good men gone?

who: Steve Rogers and anyone else!
what: Various bonding type things
when: General March catch-all
where: Different locations, pick your favorite!
warnings: Nothing yet. Will update as needed?

I. Training exercises [OPEN]

[For any members of the Perimeter Guard hanging around the compound when they aren't on jobs or for those who just frequent the local gyms and need some extra exercise, Steve can be found at both, either very early or late when there aren't as many spectators, running through his routines. It's mostly for his own mental health, although during the midday he offers to do self-defense and combat training or take jogs with people who just want some company. If there are people he's spoken to before that have expressed some interest, he'll probably drag them into a session or two.]

So how do you feel about obstacle courses? We could race.

II. Shield toss beyond the city fences [OPEN]

[Of course Steve Rogers is exploring out alone in the dangerous open wilderness. Of course he's out of his Guard uniform and wearing the navy blue issued to him by SHIELD before he ended up in Quarantine. And of course he's poked his nose right into the middle of a nest of lizard-like creatures each the size of very large dogs, which look none too happy about the human's arrival. This normally wouldn't be too much of a problem, but Steve has somehow managed to find them in a sea of tall grass where they are hunting and the pack is far greater in number than even a super-soldier can handle alone. He's left stranded on a tall rock surrounded by very tall, angry versions of Komodo dragons that are slinking around below, trying to figure out how to reach their dinner. If he tries to attack, he'll most likely lose his one defense and possibly a limb trying to retrieve it. He might make a run for it, but without knowing where all the lizards are, his chances are pretty bad. If anyone happens to pass by or overhead, at least he has their attention.]

This is probably when I should call for help. But it'd be pretty bad for a Search and Rescue member to need rescued. How about it, boys? How smart are you, exactly?

[He may just make a run for it.]

III. Aftermath from his walk in the wilds [OPEN]

[Within the city limits on a few evenings Steve is found limping down the streets. He's probably on his way to buy a burger or some easy food from one of the familiar places he goes to after a hard day out. He has definitely been thrown around and is sporting some interesting scratches and bruises, which mostly means he'll take his meals outside so he doesn't bother other patrons. But he could stand to clean up.

If he happens to run into someone literally by not watching where he's going or if someone gives him and his battered style funny looks he'll stop and give them a polite nod.]

Sorry. I hope I'm not disturbing you.

[It's a zombie Cap cosplay!]

[Closed to MCU!Bucky] Tracking down an old friend (again)

[Steve did try to behave and respect Bucky's privacy. He's been trying to give the man some space and not crowd him, but when his Bucky mentioned that James Barnes of the other world knew who Pierce was and had a history with him, he had to find him. So he starts tracking, asking people around the city if they've seen a guy that looks like Bucky around, and hunting through the city is thankfully not as hard as tracking a man across an entire country, so eventually, with painstaking effort, Steve does catch up. He approaches him in a secluded spot away from everyone else, dropping down before Bucky can bolt.]

I was hoping that you'd call me. Or leave a message at least.

[Closed to Hiccup] Baking can be an adventure too

[As promised, Steve comes to visit Hiccup with a bag of cake making supplies. He might be a bit late considering it's a few days after their talk about his birthday, but Steve is still there and still keeping his promise. He contacts Hiccup and makes sure he's home and then heads over, knocking on the room door of the first floor where the young man and dragon are staying.]

Ready to tackle the oven?

[Closed to Pierce] Tea with enemies

[He's not happy with his own decision to meet with Pierce, but he also hadn't been entirely happy to meet with Loki the first time he did it. This choice is Steve's attempt at keeping an open mind and giving even the worst possible figure in his mind a chance to prove that he's not just out for destruction the way Steve wants to assume he is. It goes against everything Steve believes of him, but at least at this point he doesn't think Pierce will make any hostile moves. Not yet.

So he shows up as planned at the diner, nodding once he finds Pierce even if the motion is slightly stiff.]

After you.

[Because he's going to make Pierce go in first.]

[Closed to Tony Stark] Is this a serious talk?

[Tony did invite him to visit and see his work, so Steve, out of the blue, decides he's going to do that. He also wants to visit JARVIS and Dum-E, so it's not entirely a professional visit, but since Tony seems to be caught up in his own business most of the time, it's up to Steve to bridge the gap. He shows up at the workshop doorstep, greeting JARVIS and asking if Tony is around. And then, of course, making conversation.]

Are you making sure he remembers to eat? He was looking a little thin before.

[You're welcome, Stark.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Unfortunately for Bucky, he's stuck with the man that forgets what stealth is most of the time. He can do it when he has to, but like now he's barging right in, determined to talk even though it is clear Bucky wants nothing to do with him.]

That's too bad, because I have questions. Do you know him?

Do I know who?

[He knows who, of course, but his tone is forbidding and this is his way of giving Steve one shot at getting the hint and backing off.]

You know who I'm talking about.

[He doesn't back down, although he doesn't go so far as to say Pierce's name out loud. His own friend would have decked him for that and Steve is, albeit slowly, learning to let go. But his concern won't allow him to walk away like Bucky wants him to.]

What's going to happen if something happens to you while you're on your own? What if he wins? Were you going to wait and not tell me about it? It's still my fight.

How do you figure that?

[He's glaring at Steve now, hackles already rising from his tone.]

He's not from your world, you're not from mine, this has nothing to do with you.

Because this is what I do. It's my responsibility. If anyone comes here trying to hurt people in this city, it's my job to stop them.

[He can see the anger in Bucky's eyes and he holds his ground, scowling back.]

It doesn't matter what world he's from. If he's dangerous, I can't let him hurt them. And I can't let him hurt you.

I am not your job.

[That's pretty much the worst thing that Steve could have said, and Bucky looks genuinely furious now. He's not just another victim that needs brave ol' Captain America to sweep in and punch his bad guys.]

And you don't know anything about this situation.

You're not my job, you're my friend.

[He snarls back in anger, even though he had told himself he wouldn't do this. He wouldn't get angry. When he had gone looking for Bucky, he had told himself that he would just talk. It wasn't his business... and yet here he is, with his emotions getting the best of him again.]

I'd know if you would just tell me! Maybe it doesn't mean much to you, but it matters to me if you get hurt facing everything alone! If I have to lose more people because I never did anything when I had the chance, then what good am I?

I didn't choose this life to stay down.

No, Steve.

[He's still so angry that he could spit nails, but he forces himself to take a moment and take a breath. This won't come out right if he shouts it, it needs to be level, to be heard.]

If you were my friend then you'd respect my choices and my opinions, but you don't. All you care about is your selfish sense of wanting to feel useful, and whether or not you're wanted be damned.

[The words hit hard, but then, that's just because Bucky has a good point. He's been trying too much to follow what he wants in Quarantine, to figure out what is best for him. And Captain America is always something else. Steve grits his teeth, because he's pissed at hearing what the man says, but he keeps the tension taut and nods once.]

All right. I'll leave you alone. You don't have to be involved.

[Because they aren't friends. It was too much to assume that they would be. It was unfair to Bucky, who really just missed his old friend. Steve realizes that he's been approaching things far too personally and once again it's just too little, too late. He's already committed to his choices. Regardless, he has a job to do.]

He still works for Hydra?

[He snorts, but there's nothing amused about it, because Steve still isn't getting it.]

So you're solution to me telling you to stay out of my business, it to tell me that I don't have to be involved while you sort out my business all by yourself?

It's not your business.

[Steve meets Bucky's eyes with a steady scowl.]

Your business is between you and him and whatever history you two have. I won't ask. How you deal with it is your choice and I won't interfere. But you can't expect me to ignore a threat to everyone else when they don't know what they're dealing with. He's not just your enemy, Barnes. He's a dangerous man who works for an enemy I'm sworn to take out at whatever cost. That is my mission.

HYDRA doesn't exist any more, and Pierce is dead where I come from, you're fighting a man who works for nobody.

[That's not technically true, but he's really angry right now and he doesn't want to give any quarter.]

And what are you even planning to do? You can't kill him, I don't even think there are jails here, and even if there are he hasn't done anything here.

[Hydra doesn't exist? It does make him pause, because he's focused on that. But when you cut off one head... He knows better than to assume anything that optimistic. He thought the Red Skull was dead too plenty of times. There is no security.

He goes quiet, looking away from Bucky.]

Can't I?

No.

[Equally as quiet, but firm as stone.]

If anyone has the right to take his life, it's me. He was my handler, he knows how to-- he could make me the Soldier again, it's my right. But I don't do that any more, and I sure as hell don't want you to do it either.

The right to take his life?

[Steve looks back, his expression empty and stern.]

This isn't about right. This is about preventing a threat to other people. It's not about justice for anyone and there is no way to make that right again. I accept that. All the damage to your world and to you... There is nothing anyone can do to make that right. I'm sorry.

But in this world, I can't see him harm anyone else. I'm not sure what you think I do. Wave to crowds and make speeches someone else writes, maybe. Just stand in your way. You're right, I am angry that he hurt you. It is selfish. Because every life failed by Captain America is one too many.

You're an idiot, is what I think you are.

[He looks less angry now, though there's still a razor sharp edge of it under his words, it's more disappointment seeping in. This is the first time he's looked at Steve, any Steve, and been genuinely disappointed.]

You're charging into things you don't understand with a self righteous attitude, preaching to me about Captain America, like I don't know. What happened to plain old Steve Rogers?

Maybe I am.

[They aren't fighting, but that's only because they've reached a sort of ceasefire where neither of them want to fight each other. Steve can still feel that dark anticipation. They're both on edge and waiting for the next blow to come. Bucky says he knows about Captain America, but apparently he doesn't. Or in their world, the legend is another thing entirely. Maybe for them the man really was just about morale and transparent missions, fighting the good fight like the regular boys. By the way this man looks at him, Steve Rogers probably hasn't done nearly as much. He understands the disappointment. If most people knew him, they would be disappointed. But they have their own man around, so it's all okay for them.]

I suppose you'll have to contact him.

[He nods, withdrawing. No wonder this man was avoiding him for so long. It must have been painful, Steve thinks, to talk to him and want to talk to the man he knew.]

I'm sorry for shaking you up like this.

[It's like he's actively trying to piss Bucky off, and it's working.

He's scowling deeply by now, arms folded across his chest.]

So you're not Steve Rogers now?

[He really desperately wants to punch his stupid face right now.]

[It's such a hard question. Steve doesn't have that answer. At least not in Quarantine, where being Steve Rogers means a different thing to so many people. As angry as Bucky looks, it doesn't shake him.

Welcome to the club, Bucky. Most people at some point want to punch this man.]

I'm one of them. Does it make that much of a difference?

Yeah.

[It makes a whole world of difference.]

Steve Rogers is always the man I want to talk to and maybe fight alongside, not Captain America.

[The hard lines on Steve's face waver just a bit. It hurts to hear that and know that he's talking to Bucky, a Bucky, that will never find that person in him. Someone he can trust and talk to. His partner and brother.]

Have you talked to him?

[It's not his business. After saying it, Steve realizes that whatever is gong on between Bucky and anyone from his world, it isn't his place to know and that this is just driving the point home further. Bucky is never going to be able to trust him.]

Never mind. I just- You might want to live your life apart from the rest of this place, but it's going to keep finding you. You can't run away from all of it.

[Even if he wishes it were possible.]

They always come back.

Edited 2018-04-01 00:51 (UTC)

[It's really telling that the first reaction is to ask if he's spoken to the other Steve, rather than assume Bucky is talking to the one right in front of him.]

What, you're not Steve Rogers now? You're only Captain America?

[He's going to focus on this and ignore the other things said, he really doesn't want to get into his tendency to run away right now.]

[It takes one to know one. Steve's anger relents as he realizes that Bucky isn't really aware of what he's looking for. When he talks about Steve, he's searching for his friend, a good man that embodies all the idealism and right of the shield. Not the angry Irish boy that ran for his life every day and bitterly hated the world he grew up in. Somewhere, Steve Rogers is Captain America. He's never felt so much like neither before.]

What is Steve Rogers to you? Captain America, I guess everyone has their reason to need him, but why are you so hung up on Steve Rogers?

Because that's who you should be underneath.

[This idea that this Steve thinks of himself primarily as Captain America is really disturbing to him.]

The Steve I remember was this angry little punk, too dumb to run away from a fight. But it's because of who he was, who he is, that there's a Captain America at all. Because Steve is a good man, and Steve wants to fight to protect people; Cap wouldn't even exist without Steve Rogers, and he sure as hell shouldn't be taken over by him.

[This is more than he usually says in one go, but he's on a roll now.]

Captain America is a costume, it's a title. It means something, sure, but it should be something you can take off when you're with friends or when you're done for the day. Because I think if Captain America stops having a real person underneath the title and the heroism, then he's not much of a hero any more. It's why I was always proud as hell of Captain America, but it was Steve that inspired me to follow him.

[ This is the most Steve has ever heard out of this man and the adamant way he speaks about Steve is startling. He would naturally expect his own friend to defend him if someone were threatening his image, but the Bucky he knows was always a staunch defender of Captain America. He stood up for him because he, like Steve, admired what Captain America stood for: the aim for all of them to be better than they were, himself included. Steve Rogers wasn't the legend. He was never meant to be. And even though he tragically ended up being the only success, the spark that started the fire behind everything they did, he was only human.

The admiration that Bucky seems to have for Steve Rogers as a hero is something he's never claimed for himself. Not in the way he tries to serve the mantle. Steve coughs uneasily, all anger and aggression cut short by that speech. ]

You sure have a lot of feelings about Steve Rogers.

[ What do you even say after that? ]

Anything else you want to get off your chest?

[Open with some closed prompts] Where have all the good men gone?

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