[open] Some sad chill times before he does Feast things.

[livingsymbol]

who: Steve Rogers and whomever!
what: Steve moping after Tony leaves, fixing up the extra room, and keeping busy.
when: October 1st-3rd
where: various
warnings: Sad Steve in snow? Ultimates Tony because he is his own warning.

He didn't get much warning, and it was over and done within only a few minutes, barely enough time to really register what Tony told him. And after he was gone, Steve was left with a hundred unaddressed questions and half-finished conversations. Little exchanges that promised that maybe another time they would sort things out. They never did, and he's left to think about them in the days and nights that follow. But things in Quarantine move on, and even though it is quieter than it is at home, he knows he has to keep moving too.


i. moving in (for Bucky and Ava)

They're not having any real trouble moving the room around. Cleaning up the items left behind into boxes and wiping the place down takes the longest. Bucky already has the bed half completed and when they manage to get the frame in, it's more a matter of where to put it than getting it together. But Steve is making a bigger production of the change than strictly necessary, trying to get the angle just right and figuring out what furnishings Ava might want in the room, even if she doesn't really worry about it that much herself. In the end, he takes it upon himself to help by repainting the walls. It's at least something that keeps him from "helping" Bucky and Ava do the real work of getting the furniture set up and her things moved in. He's fretting by one of the walls, pencil in hand, as he examines the blank space with serious concentration.

"Wish the window was bigger. You'd have more light."

ii. birds' paths and paper boats

Steve goes out to the parks a few times. The open air is comforting and seeing people out and active does make him feel a little better, but mostly he goes to be alone. He's trying in his own way to conceal the damage done by the loss of a close friend. He knows it's better than having Tony die, but there is a certain finality in the way Tony went that grafts stones in his heart and leaves words falling short of feelings. So he hangs around the edge of the lake, drawing charcoal sketches on sheets of paper. After he finishes one, he folds it into a paper boat and uses wax be bought to seal the bottom before setting it in the water. Soon he has a small fleet drifting one by one on a current out into the open water.

"Now you need air support. In case something drops down from the sky."

He's talking to himself. Maybe if he does it enough it will help.

iii. walk around town

Between Perimeter Guard shifts and random issues that spring up, Steve makes his usual rounds of jogs to get exercise and keep his head clear. He has varying success, sometimes managing to improve his mood by dashing across the rooftops or seeing people on his loops, and other times resorting to beating punching bags at the gym or venturing out beyond the fences to find more challenging fare. Getting into scraps with monsters and pummeling workout equipment at least provides a temporary distraction. If nothing else, he tries to outrun the thoughts plaguing him. A few days he ends up just standing in front of one of the Quarantine pet stores, looking through the glass at the puppies on display. He hesitates, considers going in, then thinks better of it and just lingers outside, waving his fingers at the puppies and playing with them through the window.

"Yeah. It's me again. You're still here too, mm?"

Comments

i

[anotheroldsoldier]

Bucky has some tools scattered across the floor, a few pieces of wood here and there. He's finishing up the bed frame, which is a lot nicer than an Ikea sort of deal. It also takes more finangling, though. He likes having the project. It's distracting. Missing Tony is a quiet ache in his chest; it had been sudden, Tony's departure, but Bucky figures he needed to go back. He isn't dead, there's no use in mourning, he's just... somewhere else.

And he wanted Ava to have his room. It's fitting.

"We could knock out some brick and get a bigger window. I've never set a window but they have videos on the internet about everything."

[krasnaya_vdova]

Ava doesn't have much to move, just her bag of things, her whole life, always ready to run. Moving in like this is scary for her, but she doesn't point that out. She's never had a real place of her own, and allowing herself to admit this isn't another temporary thing is.. new. And if she's honest, she still feels a little strange about it, like she's somehow intruding into someone else's space. Of course, logically, she guesses it would be silly to leave Tony his room, as if he's going to come back. She wishes he would, though. Even if she didn't know him long, she liked him. He was nice and clever and he made her smile.

She thinks that part of Steve's investment in helping getting her moved in, aside from just being nice, is as a distraction, but she likes him too much to point it out. But, the small table, the desk, the things that Steve thinks of that she would never have asked for herself make her feel a little out of her depth. She hums in quiet amusement as they talk about putting in a bigger window as she's putting her rather small selection of clothes into drawers.

"I didn't know you were an artist," she comments as she pauses, watching Steve with the pencil. Then she turns to James with a hint of amusement. "I'm guessing he was your friend who draws?" A casual reference to when she'd first met him, when she was brand new and all raw edges.

[livingsymbol]

The moving project is helping Steve as much as it is getting Ava settled in with them. He's also putting more into getting Ava a place because he's felt personally detached and lonely, and he's trying to compensate for that by being actively involved with Ava and Bucky. It's admittedly a little awkward with Steve throwing himself into the reworking of the room. He's trying to give her the comfort and acceptance he worries they don't get enough of, and trying to work through the feelings of loss.

So far, it's actually working. He grins at Bucky, who can undoubtedly tell that Steve is already working out how to knock out part of the wall for the larger window, his blue eyes lighting up with excitement.

"We could always put up a ledge. Maybe a window seat."

In answer to Ava's comment, Steve gives a modest shrug.

"Well, I wouldn't say artist... I draw a little now and then."

[anotheroldsoldier]

Maybe it's a little awkward, but Bucky thinks Steve needs this, and he hopes Ava can see it too. They're making an effort to include her, to make her feel at home, that's gotta count for something. The room would just sit empty anyway, and honestly, that would be more depressing for the two men, passing by it every morning and knowing who used to live there. This will make the apartment feel homier again for all of them.

He shoots her a little grin when Steve says he 'draws a little now and then'. "Yeah, Steve's my artist friend. Those are his sketches up on the walls, in the hallway and the living room." All over the apartment, really, in tasteful black frames, personalizing the space. "Steve's gettin' ideas. Do you want a window seat? Might be nice for drawing, it's got a good view of the city."

[krasnaya_vdova]

She can tell that he's trying to make her comfortable, feel accepted here, and that matters. It's also just nice, the fact that they want her here, and they want her to know it. She's so used to having to fight to be in peoples' lives, but this is nice. Being accepted somewhere, feeling like maybe she can actually have a place that feels like home?

She gives Steve a bit of a look when he says he draws a little, because she can pick up on the way he's underselling himself, and James is only too-quick to point out what a lie that is, making Ava laugh softly. "I draw a little too. Drew his charming face first time I met him," she muses idly, her tone a little teasing as she looks over at James.

"That actually might be nice-- I mean, if it's not too much trouble." She would never have asked for any of that, but since Steve had suggested it, she wont say it doesn't sound appealing. A place where she can sit and draw, watch the sunset.

[livingsymbol]

Having something to work on helps, but being able to work with the two of them to settle Ava in really helps. It's that team effort, the feeling of community and belonging that Steve has missed. Even without Avengers Mansion, he has always held a soft spot for the idea of the team as a whole and getting to be part of a team, even just the unofficial team of three that they make up as they work on redecorating, is the kind of connection that gives him a sense of hope.

The teasing is also very familiar. Steve smirks, still facing the wall, as Ava and Bucky join forces to comment on his drawings. He remains quiet, standing by his statement that he's not really an artist, not like more professional ones. Sure, he's done some drawings for people, but not in that full time way he'd considered at one point so long ago.

"It's not too much trouble. I think a window seat is a good idea," he agrees, firmly keeping the attention on Ava and her room. "We'll get Bucky to build you one. He's handy, apparently."

He smiles over at them.

"If you want, we can put some of your drawings up. Make the room more homey."

[anotheroldsoldier]

"You mean my ugly mug," he quips lightly, screwing another piece to the frame. Construction is surprisingly soothing; he likes it. Having the warehouse as a project has been good for him and Steve both, maybe. There is still plenty that needs to be done in this room and elsewhere. Maybe next he'll put together a weight bench for the gym or something, after they finish the window seat in here.

"Sure," he agrees. "I got a knack for construction, I guess. A window seat shouldn't be too hard."

[krasnaya_vdova]

It's been a long time since she's really felt like she was part of a team. And however briefly it had felt like something good, it hadn't ended well. At SHIELD she'd worked with the other recruits, but she'd always been different. With Steve and Bucky, she never felt like that mattered so much.

She smiles as Steve talks about it being a good idea, a little bit excited with the idea of it. She brightens pointedly at the mention of putting up some of her drawings, moving to grab her sketchbook. "That would be nice. They're mostly sketches, though I keep meaning to pick up some paints to play with," she admits idly. She'd never had the money for them in Brooklyn, and when she was with SHIELD she hadn't had the time.

"Meant what I said," she quips back with an easy smile and a shake of her head, a huff of a laugh at his self-deprecation. She pulls her sketchpad into her lap on the bed, flipping through pages. "Thanks. This is.. nice," she adds, looking between the two of them a little sheepishly.

[livingsymbol]

Steve shoots Bucky a grin as he jokes easily with Ava. It's good to see his friend so at ease. As weird as it is for them sometimes being in Riverview and facing all of the strange situations that kept popping up, Steve is glad they ended up there in the long run. Bucky seems to be making more friends that he can relate to and Steve is grateful that their little home is growing.

"We'll make you a good painting spot. Somewhere to work when you're home," he says. "Bucky's been doing most of the fixing in this place. Don't let him get away with playing it off."

He laughs, flicking his pencil at Bucky over his shoulder.

"Maybe we should build a veranda after this. Or something on the roof for all three of us."

[anotheroldsoldier]

Bucky snorts and catches the pencil flicked at him, marking a few pieces of wood before tucking it behind his ear. He has been doing a lot of the fixing up around the place, but it's something to do with his time when he's not at work. He's taken to it, the construction aspect. "Well, you haven't been much help, have you?" He teases.

"What on earth do we need a veranda for? I like the couch on the roof. Maybe we'll put a cooler up there." It's simple and not fancy and that's generally what Bucky likes. "Anyway, first we're setting up a painting spot for Ava."

[krasnaya_vdova]

Ava likes it here. There's an ease here that she hasn't experienced in a long time, and she has friends, people other than just Sana that she cares about. And staying with Steve and Bucky, while nothing she would have exactly planned on-- she likes it, even when she was just sleeping on the couch. Having people around, feeling a little more like a person and less like a living bomb.

She laughs a little as Steve flicks his pencil at Bucky, and the other man catches it, tucking it behind his ear. "A cooler sounds like a good idea. I like the couch on the roof, too," she agrees. She's used it for drawing on a couple mornings, here and there, though she likes the idea of having a windowseat, being able to draw in her room, watch the sunrise.

"This looks really nice," she admits, looking around the room again. She's still adjusting to the idea of it.