folkmeme | leap night tfln

Willow, but we're headed to the city of Epiphany. Where the cat cafe is.

[ He knows it's a lot to take in at once, but he thinks maybe he'll get to explain in more concrete terms later. She's always been good with demonstrations. ]

It's also where my studio is.

Your studio? [ That's good news, at least. ] You started drawing again?

[ And had time for that, which means... this place must be as relatively peaceful as it appears. ]

Yeah. Actually - there's two of me here. One's from an alternate universe where I didn't get the serum, but Peggy did.

So, it's our studio together.

[ She can't see him from behind, but he's smiling. ]

I think you're gonna like it here, once you get used to the fact that time's just gonna resume when you get home.

[ Going home is... less of a concern for her than some.

However.

What. ]

...just making sure I heard that part right. You just said you're sharing an art studio with an alternative version of yourself?

Yep. And lucky for him, the Peggy from his world just showed up, same as you, but last month.

[ That's said in a joking manner, but he honestly is happy for Steve. ]

Time doesn't really work the same way here as home. What year was it for you?

...huh.

[ Just... processing that.

And. She doesn't want to tell him what year it is. Because Steve had shaved, the last time she'd seen him, and she doesn't want to deal with him asking about the future. But. She doesn't really want to lie to him. She makes a habit of keeping on the technical side of the truth with the few people she calls friends. ]

2023. And you're from, what, 2017?

2018. Thanos is coming in two weeks once I go home.

[ He pauses, and there's a shift in the seriousness of his voice. ]

How much do you know about what happens?

[ To her, he means. But in general, probably. His tone is entirely mismatched to the bustle of the town as he pulls up by the cafe, various spirits who seem to know him waving and smiling at the two of them. ]

[ Her gaze lightens, just slightly. ]

So we're staying in that rathole of a hotel in Barcelona?

[ One might think this is a test and they were NOT in fact in hiding in Barcelona at that time, but the true test is that Steve quite liked the lighting of that hotel while Natasha complained that the wall design reminded her of Swiss cheese.

Since, after all... alternative universes apparently exist. He may be a Stephen Grant Rogers, but is he the one she was on the run with for painful years, and the one she'd rebuilt the Avengers with after... well, after what it sounds that he already knows about. Thanos in two weeks, huh? Shit. ]

And you know me. I only look like I know everything. [ A beat. ] Why, what do you know?

Edited (whoops, misread! sorry!) 2024-03-05 02:36 (UTC)

They were all rathole hotels, but Barcelona wasn't remotely the worst of them.

[ Because, as he remembers, they were pretty close to Scotland. Which, he knows he's heading to, in a few weeks. For an inevitability, as far as the others say. But he doesn't play that way. ]

I just remember thinking that you might get your hand stuck in the wall if you tried to stick your finger in one of the holes.

[ Anyway, moving swiftly on: ]

It's not good news. So, if you don't mind, I don't want to share it. But I'm sure Tony will.

[ He'd tried to ask Tony not to tell the last Natasha, only to have him get emotional. And Nat was too brilliant for any of that business. ]

Edited 2024-03-05 03:41 (UTC)

[ She ducks her head, hiding her smile. Natasha should probably be pissed that her friend was dragged into someone weird… whatever the hell this place actually is, and that Tony’s apparently been dragged here too, but…

…well, she hadn’t thought she’d get to see him again. She can take a moment just to be selfish, to be glad that they get to have… this time.

It’s almost enough to make her want to let him off the hook for a leading statement like that. ]

Foul play, Steve, [ quietly, wishing they were off the bike so she’d be able to look him in the eye. ] Bringing up something terrible and then not wanting to get into it. [ How am I supposed to help you with it if you do that? A beat. ] But I’ll let it go, for now. If only because I probably already lived through it. And because I was promised coffee.

[ But you are not off the hook, no way, no sir! ]

[ He just doesn't want to be the one to break it to her that she dies. He doesn't know how long she has left, and doesn't want to give her hope that she'll be able to change it. But he knows that one of the reason he wants to retain his memories is that he still can. He can go back and warn the others and maybe they can fight off Thanos before he snaps. And then Nat can go on and live a long, fruitful life.

Even Loki had told Steve to go back and to relay a message to Thor: Go for the head.

And when Steve started feeling bad for Loki, that's when things had really turned serious.

But that's a conversation for another time. He leads Natasha into a cafe, which looks totally normal on the outside, but inside, it's swimming with cats. Two of them in particular clamor over the others to come greet them, and it turns out he's a total sucker for them. ]

Alright, alright. Sesame, Miso, meet Natasha.

[ He picks them both up and take them to 'their table', where he offers her a menu. ]

[ Natasha’s face is inscrutable as she takes in the cacophony — hey, the cat-cophany, she’s hilarious — of cats.

She follows Steve and his two favorites to the designated table and takes the menu.

She has. So many. Questions. ]

All right. Which one is Sesame and which one’s Miso?

The snooty one's Sesame and the friendly one's Miso.

[ True to form, there's a tuxedo who seems to have claimed Steve as his human, and bats the other away when he tries to come over and join in with them, and the other one is a larger orange kitty who seems to be lively and happy to claim any lap or shoulder. He headbutts Natasha's hand when she looks at the menu, to say hello. ]

I think Sesame likes me best, but there's another theory that he just wants to sit on whoever's warmest.

[ He already knows what he wants to order, so he'll wait for Nat. ]

So, what do you want to know?

[ Natasha glances down at the orange cat. Her feelings toward animals in general are ambivalent at best, but it’s hard to ignore such earnestness. She offers her hand to be sniffed, and when she passes inspection, scritches about the ears.

Her gaze cuts back to Steve at his question, searching and intensely observant. ]

How long have you been here?

A year and a half.

[ He smiles because he didn't think that she expected that answer.

He places his order when the waiter comes over, but he pets Sesame, who's
now apparently jealous of Nat, because he lazily tries to reach over to bap her on the mouth. ]

[ Swifter things than you have attempted to punch Natasha in the mouth, Sesame. She leans easily out of the way.

Her expression remains neutrally sent, intent, as she observes, ]

You don't seem to be suffering from it.

The opposite. Retirement's great. I've got a house. No enemies coming to my door. And no terrible motels to live off of, or bad intel.

The only thing's missing is the rest of the team.

[ He smiles, sadly. ]

But people drop in and out. Wanda just left, and I got to see Sam for a bit.

[ He doesn't mention that he'd gotten to see Natasha too, at some point, because clearly she doesn't remember it. ]

And, well. Tony and I made up.

[ Clearly, if they go see cats together regularly to have favorites. He's pretty proud of that. ]

[ He describes this as "retirement" and begins to list the benefits. It's so... out of her blind spot to hear what he is enjoying. She thinks she'd be bored out of her mind. Her entire life has been a series of successive terrors, except for the small chunk when she thought she was working for the good guys and she was the terror, but then that had turned out to be HYDRA, and then there were the aliens, and then it was trying to figure out how many holes you could patch in a leaky boat before just ripping off a board and trying to make a new boat. How do you live?

She's glad he knows. She's glad he's found a place where... it looks like he's happy, like he's safe, like he's free to be Steve Rogers, and not a caricature or the hero the world demands because someone's got to keep them all from dying, goddamnit.

It sounds like a dream, a familiar but untraceable fragrance, sounds which she can discern as language but without understanding the words. ]

That's a big deal. [ People drop in and out, huh? ] He was pretty mad at you.

[ Not just for not signing the accords, but the whole thing with Barnes...

And she'd know, she'd been there with Tony... until she wasn't. (She'd just wanted to keep everyone together, to keep Ross from driving them off a cliff by leaving a hand on the steering wheel... when it came down to it, though...) ]

What happened there?

Edited 2024-03-07 01:22 (UTC)

[ Meanwhile, Steve thinks about his retirement and how good it's been for him. He's gotten to do exactly what he'd wanted to do before the war - get a job selling his art, and live a mostly anonymous life. He has friends he gets to talk to daily, hobbies he gets to pursue, his own house, and a partner to share his life with now.

Any time he looks on, he realizes how happy he is, now, only having to fight sometimes. Never having the whole of Folkmore sitting on his shoulders. Not being Captain America to everyone. Even those he'd talked to who'd been affected by Thanos, who he'd wanted to retain his memories for to go back and warn everyone - they'd forgiven him. They'd told him not to sweat it, that they ended up in a good spot regardless.

Aside from the trials, he's found peace. ]

Time, mostly. Getting away from the Accords, and from politics. And plenty of opportunities to work on our friendship.

But - well, there's trials here. Things that Thirteen does to try and challenge us into improving, whatever she says. I don't think it holds a lot of water, but, Tony passed in one of them. I didn't think he'd come back, but he did. And - I guess we just wanted to stop wasting time avoiding each other.

[ Natasha has been sitting down, looking at him intently, but at this, somehow, she grows even more still. There is a coiled readiness and a hidden sharpness to the stillness, a quiet cold breath being held.

The moment passes, and most, even those who know her best, would miss it entirely. Steve is one of the few who could catch it, if he was looking.

She tilts her head slightly to the side and clarifies, ]

Death... isn't permanent here?

[ Well, it helps that he knows what happens to her. He'd had that conversation with the last one, over fries and between hugs. He reaches out his hand, to cover hers, a small but confident smile on his face. ]

No, it's not. Not as far as we've experienced.

[ Which is yet, another reason why he wants to stay. Here, even if he keeps having to have the same conversation with Natasha who comes and goes, he never has to say goodbye to her. Not really. ]

People will come in and out and forget their time here. Anyone can acquire new powers, or just... start over.

[ ...his hand on her hand is unexpected data. Comfort. Huh. Interesting that he'd think she'd need that.

(He knows Thanos is coming in two weeks from his time. What else does he know?) ]

So Tony's fine. [ That's good. Hopefully she can see him later. She flips her hand in his to squeeze it and then pulls away from his grasp. ] Who else is here?

Another Steve. Two Buckies. Peggy Carter.

Wanda just left. I was kinda hoping she'd stay for awhile.

[ He leans back a bit. ]

Tony threw himself a funeral party.

[ Bit morbid, but, hey. Of course he'd deflect with humor. ]

You could, too.

[ Tony threw himself a funeral party. Of course he did.

She snorts and leans back in her chair. ]

Of course he did. [ Two of the Winter Soldier? She backs away from the "brooding tolerance" joke because it's too easy, and it'd be wasted if Barnes wasn't there to hear it anyway. ] But I don't see any reason why I should throw him another one.

[ Deliberately misinterpreting him? You'd better believe it. ]

Ha-ha. No, not for him.

[ But he knows that she probably doesn't want to talk about her own death, so. ]

I think you'll like it.

[ He says, as their orders come. Miso, as always, curiously sniffs both of their orders before realizing that there's no meat, and therefore, he's no longer interested.

Sesame just butts his head against the treats basket. ]

You'll get some later.

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cw: death, but like, it wasn't permanent

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