er... hello again

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

There are doors and then there are Doors.

Steve was not looking for a Door. It wasn't even on his mind. But once he steps through it, his breath catches a little and his eyes well up.

He's been gone a long time.


"Bar," he says as he gets onto a stool, "a chocolate egg cream, please."

Coming right up.

[ooc: A quick explainer.]

Comments

[canttrickmeanymore]

He looks up from the book he's been staring blankly at for the last half hour. Gives a wave.

"Hey."

Not a confirmation or denial. Just a greeting. He is still keeping his hero identity separate from his non-hero one. Mostly.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"Hey," Steve replies, looking amused.

[canttrickmeanymore]

Now he's wondering if Bucky mentioned him as Spider-Man or as Peter. He realizes he never asked. That's maybe important. Kinda late now though.

"Um - you - uh, you look like you've been here before." That doesn't sound stupid, right?

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"It's been a few years," Steve says, "but yeah, I have."

[canttrickmeanymore]

"Oh, wow. Bucky said kinda the same thing. It's so weird, but so cool too! Like, it shouldn't even really work, but it does and - sorry." He does that.

"I'm Peter." Still not freaking out. Nope. Totally normal over here. (Lies. All the lies. There's definitely a little freaking out.)

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"Hi, Peter. I'm Steve Rogers." The kid probably already knows that, since he mentioned Bucky, but Steve is an old-fashioned guy.

"Do you know Bucky from the bar?"

[canttrickmeanymore]

He does know that, though mostly from being alive in the 2000's and going to school where Steve Rogers is in his history book in both the early 20th century part and the early 21st century part. Also, the really silly PSA videos used in school. And that whole Berlin thing.

"I do. I dunno if he's the same Bucky from my timeline, but he seems to sorta be from about the same point in time." Hope you like science Steve!

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"Hm..." He's not really a science guy. "So, you might have?"

[canttrickmeanymore]

"Huh? Oh - no, I actually met Bucky. The one that comes here. But we might not be from the same timeline. Like, the same world." He flips to a blank sheet of paper in his notebook and draws two lines. "Like, maybe I'm from this timeline here," he points to one line, "and then Bucky's from this timeline here," he points to the other line, "but the events that happen are really similar, or mostly the same except for some little things here and there - like maybe Mr. Stark in his world has blue eyes instead of brown or something." Way super simplified, but it's the basics.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"Oh," Steve says, looking at the paper like it explains Einstein's theory of relativity. "That makes sense. I've met some people here who seem to know a version of me, for instance."

He's mentioned Bucky and Tony now. There's no doubt in Steve's mind -- "You were the kid in Berlin, weren't you? Spider-Man?"

[canttrickmeanymore]

He holds up his textbook. "You're in my history book," he says.

Now he's gonna see how good he is at this...

"Wh-why do you think that was me?"

Why is he trying this on CAPTAIN AMERICA?

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"Dull reading, I'm sure," Steve says, Totally Not Sarcastic.

"Well, now that we've talked I recognize your voice, but before--" He shakes his head a little. "I'm not sure. I just felt like I'd seen you somewhere before, and that fight was one of the last times I was in a fight and didn't see everyone's faces. Otherwise I would know right away."

[canttrickmeanymore]

"More like... embellished. There's a lot of 'rah rah' type hero worship - sort of." Hey, he doesn't wanna make Steve feel bad. "Not - not that you're not a hero. Because, of course, you are. But, this is almost... deifying?" He's not kidding - this book is a little over the top.

He gives Steve a look. "If it was anyone other than you, I'd be super annoyed and look at getting a voice modulator or something. But yeah, that was me." Really though, how annoyed can he be that Captain America figured out who he was?

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve huffs. "There was a lot of rah-rah hero stuff back in Forties, too. Of course, it was different times -- things were more black-and-white, back then."

Whether he was a hero or not... Steve feels that's not something a person can claim about themselves.

He sighs. "You fought really well. Tony should never have involved you, you're far too young for this sort of life, but -- you're a hero yourself, Peter."

[canttrickmeanymore]

"I know, that's before they invented color." Yes, he thinks he's hilarious. Come on, that joke was just sitting right there.

He gives an exasperated look. "I get that a lot." He flips his history book closed. "He needed my help. So I helped."

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve smiles to himself. "Yup. Every day for me is like being in Oz."

Serious again, "Look, there's a lot to admire about Tony. But... just be careful, okay? Don't be too rah-rah about him. He's just a man like you and me."


[ooc: Reminded me of this: The War was in Color fanvid. Bring tissues.]

[canttrickmeanymore]

Peter grins back. "Okay, I know you're joking, but it would be so weird if only certain places were in color and the others were in black and white. And it changed as you walked around."

He sighs a little. "I swear, one day I'll bump into someone who is absolutely neutral about him." He's not mad. He's just confused how all of the people he's run into here seem to be on the negative side more than the positive. It's so weird.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"The only people neutral about Tony are people who don't know him," Steve says.

"I was good friends with his father, Howard, during the war. I can see a lot of Howard in Tony. I can also see where Howard... could have done better by him."

[canttrickmeanymore]

"I think he sees that too. And based on the way he talks about his dad," the few times Peter's heard him do so, "I can see that. Which is sad. I never really knew my dad. And as great as my uncle was at filling that role, it's not the same."

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"I never knew my dad either," Steve says quietly. "Bucky's father James was the closest to one I had.

"But what I mean to say is, don't put Tony on a pedestal. He's a good man, like his father, but where he doesn't resemble Howard is that he doesn't always think things through. I don't want you following him into battle when he hasn't planned how to get you out."

[canttrickmeanymore]

"Dude, oh my god you and Bucky are the same." He shakes his head. "I don't know how two people I only briefly sorta met once can both give me the same lecture." He's not mad - more amused than anything else.

"So, just to be fair, I'll tell you the same thing I told him - Mr. Stark stopped a Hammer drone from turning me into a big splat at the Expo when I was a kid." Like, about half his life ago, which may not seem like much to someone who's been around as long as Cap has. It isn't why he jumped into the hero gig, but it does influence his opinion of the man.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

[ooc: Ok to fade? I'm not feeling much RP mojo.]

[canttrickmeanymore]

[ooc: sure thing! no worries]