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

[livingsymbol]

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.]

Comments

[livingsymbol]

[Steve was already on edge by the time he caught sight of Pierce in the diner. The man looked as normal and harmless as the time he first met him, sending a tight twinge up between his shoulders as he remembered their exchange in the snow. He hadn't suspected anything then and the failure burned him. It just showed how much of a disconnect had grown between the cause and his own wavering heart. Things used to be so much simpler.

Or maybe he really did need to adapt to the new place. Maybe Quarantine was a place for change and growth and he was just being too attached to his old ways to allow the man a second chance.

Steve tensed slightly as the hand touched his shoulder. He followed after and sat across from Pierce at the table he picked out, stubbornly placing himself with his back exposed and his eyes fixed on his target. Nope, he was not judging Pierce too harshly.]

You didn't seem too eager to meet with me before. If I were another guy, I might think you were avoiding my questions. What do you know about me?

[peacemongering]

[Pierce wasn't in any sort of high hopes that Steve would change his mind about him or anything to do with him in the long run, not when the curtain of HYDRA hung over him as if he were nothing more than the Red Skull with a nice manner. So far, there had been no reason to show his vicious side, though he had exposed that he was tactically sound in a combat situation. He might be old, but he wasn't useless by any means.

And it was clear that even here in a public place that the blond was guarded and on edge around him, as if the truth that he didn't openly admit might rise up and swallow everyone whole. There was a reason he never spoke openly to anyone but those of his own faction of his association.

He smiled at the straight-to-the-point manner of questioning, folding his hands on the table as if they were sitting down for a nice cup of tea and to talk about the weather.]

Secrecy is prudent in many situation. Showing one's hand before the play the made is an easy way to lose at poker. [He shrugged his shoulders.] I know you aren't the Steve Rogers from my world, but you bear a striking resemblance. I know that your James Barnes rather different from one I know.

[livingsymbol]

[Steve was counting on the public setting as much as Pierce was. It might mean he couldn't attack the man, but it also meant neutral ground between them and Steve knew that Pierce was just as unwilling to expose himself to unnecessary trouble if he could avoid it. He just had to tread carefully, to keep from giving the man anything he could use against him.

He approached Pierce like he was going into battle. That was really the only way he could do it. Sitting with his back to the rest of the room, showing Pierce he wasn't afraid of any surprises, was Steve's way of meeting whatever the man was going to give him head on. Even if they only talked, showing the man that he wasn't going to be intimidated was just as important now as it was in a real fight.]

That happens when you end up in different worlds. I'm sure there are people in your world I wouldn't recognize. Probably some Avengers that struck a different chord with me than I'm used to.

Do you have a reason for secrecy? We're starting out fresh here. The way things are now, you might not need to do things the way you're used to back home. You don't have anyone to answer to at the moment, do you?

[peacemongering]

[He expected no less from any version of Steve Rogers, though this version was honestly more open to at least listen compared with what he was used to. He rather liked this Steve, and it was a shame that they couldn't be on the same side. However, he understood that even in this conversation, they were at odds and likely always would be.

To him, this wasn't a battle. He wasn't playing this game to win at present, and there were no odds in his favour either. He was here because he had been asked to explain himself, and he had no problem doing that. He had spent most of his life explaining his actions, so this was just another government go-around to make certain that protocol was being followed. And of course, it would be a nice tea time conversation with Steve, who he would always try to make time for.]

I didn't have many to answer to when I was back on my world. [There was a benefit of working one's way to the top of the power food chain. He made the decisions and people answered to him, not the other way around.] And I would be impressed if everyone here didn't have secrets in which they kept hidden from the rest of the world at large. A fresh start doesn't mean we leave everything we built ourselves to be in the dust. Since coming here, are you a completely different person with different morals compared to where you came from? Do you have completely different goals?

[livingsymbol]

[To Steve it was all potentially a battle. Sometimes it was a battle even when it shouldn't be, a problem that had led to other, greater problems multiple times in his past. As much as he tried to adjust to the changes of the world around him, it was more difficult than it seemed. The Avengers would joke now and then that it was Steve adjusting to the times; that he was too old to relate to the modern era. But the struggle he felt was adjusting to a place without a battle to fight. He lived for his purpose, and when that went, he always felt the loss. Here in the diner with Pierce in front of him he had focus. He might be overdoing the caution, but it was the way he went into everything he did, driving at one hundred and ten percent.]

No, I don't. My goals are the same. That's why we're here. I want to know that your goals aren't going to be to stop mine. Not everyone's secrets include working for terrorists.

[peacemongering]

[To Pierce, the world around him was a chess game in three dimensions where the pieces moved themselves unless giving the right urging to be useful for a specific direction. There was an overall plan, but it wasn't set it stone. He was still learning about the people here, the structure of power, the government, the inner workings of the programs that would allow him to dig his fingers in deeper where it would be the most benefit to what he was attempting.

That they were having this conversation at all was overall beneficial. The battle of words was one where he infrequently was put back on his heels. A lifetime of experience and education helped with that.]

And what are your goals, Captain? Because at present, mine are to elevate the Lab that I have been put in charge of to success across the board. [He shook his head at the mention of terrorists.] Do you think the countries that the United States invades view them as terrorists? How about when Japan invaded China and murdered millions? The Soviet Union Red Tide that swept post-War had so many recorded crimes against humanity across the board; were they terrorists?

[livingsymbol]

[The question was hard. Even though Steve was practiced in keeping a straight face and could control his reaction to dangerous words, that question dug under his skin and made him tense in his seat. What did he want? That was almost flippant. Like Pierce wasn't going to take him seriously. He narrowed his eyes, looking at the man across from him like he was checking for cracks in the veneer he put on.]

Even if people believe in what they do, that doesn't always make it right. And in this case, my goal is to protect the people of the city I'm in. I'm looking out for them. If you aren't worried about them or if their safety happens to be in the way of your progress, then we're not going to get along. It's as simple as that.

You can call yourself whatever you want. That's not the issue and you know it.