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Steve meets Clint (and Bucky's in there somewhere too)
Living in Bucky's apartment was strange for a number of reasons. For one thing, Steve's life period was strange these days, and he didn't know if that would ever wear off. He was getting used to some parts of the future, but not to the fact that he and Bucky existed in it. He would say it was like someone had frozen them and then thawed them out seventy years later, except that was exactly what had happened.
Still, even if he knew how it had all worked (more or less), that didn't mean that he could shake the feeling that the two of them just didn't fit. They were relics, walking photographs, and--
Well, Bucky had told him a little about how Captain America had become a symbol more than a person. There was all this merchandise they'd made after his supposed death. Somehow they'd managed to use his sacrifice as a morale booster rather than letting it lower people's spirits, which was both impressive and... well, it made the guilt a little easier to bear.
But he'd seen Peggy, and he still couldn't quite get the image of her teary-eyed face out of his head. She'd been beautiful, but he could swear he still felt the feeling of her wrinkled hands on his face.
Suffice to say, he hadn't been sleeping that well since he moved in. Bucky didn't say much about it, which was fine by Steve. His friend was giving him space in a way that S.H.I.E.L.D hadn't, which he appreciated.
Either way, he'd gone to bed at midnight and startled awake out of a nightmare at about 4AM. He'd passed some time reading -- he had a lot to catch up on, after all -- but once the sun was officially up he wandered into the kitchen to make some waffles. Bucky's favorite.
The only apron he could find was a bright yellow one with lace on it, which was... odd, to say the least. Who did this even belong to? Either way, he was pretty sure he had an idea of what he could get Bucky for his birthday. Steve sinched it around his waist and then started digging through the cabinets for all the ingredients he needed. The pantries were in a much better state now that he'd made a trip to the grocery store, that was for sure.
Still, even if he knew how it had all worked (more or less), that didn't mean that he could shake the feeling that the two of them just didn't fit. They were relics, walking photographs, and--
Well, Bucky had told him a little about how Captain America had become a symbol more than a person. There was all this merchandise they'd made after his supposed death. Somehow they'd managed to use his sacrifice as a morale booster rather than letting it lower people's spirits, which was both impressive and... well, it made the guilt a little easier to bear.
But he'd seen Peggy, and he still couldn't quite get the image of her teary-eyed face out of his head. She'd been beautiful, but he could swear he still felt the feeling of her wrinkled hands on his face.
Suffice to say, he hadn't been sleeping that well since he moved in. Bucky didn't say much about it, which was fine by Steve. His friend was giving him space in a way that S.H.I.E.L.D hadn't, which he appreciated.
Either way, he'd gone to bed at midnight and startled awake out of a nightmare at about 4AM. He'd passed some time reading -- he had a lot to catch up on, after all -- but once the sun was officially up he wandered into the kitchen to make some waffles. Bucky's favorite.
The only apron he could find was a bright yellow one with lace on it, which was... odd, to say the least. Who did this even belong to? Either way, he was pretty sure he had an idea of what he could get Bucky for his birthday. Steve sinched it around his waist and then started digging through the cabinets for all the ingredients he needed. The pantries were in a much better state now that he'd made a trip to the grocery store, that was for sure.
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It didn't take too long into the Agent's explanation for Steve to feel like he was listening to another language, but he didn't say anything, since he was already aware that Barton was dumbing it down for him. Steve had heard hints about other worlds out in space since he'd woken up, and honestly, he'd found it hard to wrap his mind around. The whole Norse god angle was pretty out there, too, but he'd leave that alone for now. The main point he took from it was that whoever these guys were, they were pretty powerful.
The mention of a huge, destructive suit of armor reminded him of two different things: Hydra's tech and the Iron Man suit. He'd seen some of the footage and Steve could easily see how that thing could be misused. From what he understood, Tony Stark had made it so that he was the only one who could wear the suit, but what happened if someone else figured out the trick behind it?
Either way, it seemed that Loki had already been making a mess of things, and now he was back for more. Steve had to wonder why some aliens -- if that's really what they were -- cared about Earth at all, but Barton made it sound like some petty act of revenge. "Sounds like they didn't do a very good job of dealing with him," he said with a sigh.
"So Thor is on our side, even though his brother is the one making trouble for us?" That was going to get awkward, and fast. Chances were that Thor wouldn't be assigned to many missions involving Loki, seeing how he was biased, but Steve couldn't assume that things worked the same as he remembered it, so who knew? "And what makes them hard to miss?" Steve hadn't laid eyes on any of these so-called gods yet, and he had to admit he was kind of curious.
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He'd heard some of this story but making sense of it hadn't really been a priority then, and they'd spent a lot more time on the possibility of Puente Antiguo being a long-forgotten circle of hell. Now, Bucky paid attention, and frankly it didn't help a whole lot.
Though he guessed that was a reason alien gods would attack a tiny town in New Mexico and not somewhere big, where they'd make an impression. It was a family thing, whatever that might be, and now Loki was supposedly in town while they had two of these Asgardians at HQ. Maybe they should have sent 'em home while they had the chance.
But then again, who really knew what Loki was up to? At least these guys were probably at his level and on their side.
He fell into old habits easy, silent while Steve's questions came first. "If they can't deal with him it doesn't sound good for us." Bucky murmured. "But yeah, Thor's on our side." He shared a quick look with Clint, confirming. "His brother's definitely not on his side.
"And who's the second Asgardian?" He added, no less curious. "Backup?"
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Plus, the waffles smelled fantastic and he was starving.
"Unless their method of dealing with him ended up being 'Oh you're a pain in the ass, we're going to banish you to earth for some strange rite of passage because it seemed to work so well for your brother', then no, not really. Although at this point, I wouldn't put it past them." He slathered the waffles with butter and grabbed the syrup as well. he pondered this as he plucked a fork from a drawer. "Huh. Pretty sure that was the plot of a Disney movie somewhere along the way. Or if it wasn't, it should be."
He was distracted from chattering a moment longer because oh my god, waffles and his moan of approval was almost obscene. Because breakfast was serious business and this was divine and he shook his fork at Steve before taking another bite. "That's it. It's official. You can stay. We can charge you rent in waffles. Perfect trade-off. You are officially my favorite person today," he spoke around a mouthful, savoring a real breakfast. He never wanted to see another poptart ever again.
But he still had questions to answer and oh god, Bucky was going to love this so he swallowed before laughing, still using his fork for emphasis. "Backup? You could say that. And dude, I can't wait to introduce you just to see your tongue fall out of your head. His backup's a warrior goddess, from what I can gather. She says she came to keep an eye on him and look for Loki and damn, if all the females in Asgard look and fight like that one, I can see why getting banished to earth's a punishment. She's not quite as tall as Thor - because that guy's pretty much a walking mountain of muscle - but she comes pretty damned close. And when Natasha gets back on base, I'm not sure if we should run for the hills or start selling tickets and popcorn."
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He was relieved when Disney was mentioned, because that was something he did know about. Apparently it had only gained popularity over the years, and the sheer amount of movies that had come out while he'd been in his frozen sleep was overwhelming. He had to admit, he kind of wanted to take a trip down to the theatre, because at least that was something he'd done before becoming Captain America that he could still indulge in now. Not that there had been any time so far.
Still, maybe he'd invite Bucky out sometime, just for the fun of it. When they weren't being threatened by alien gods, anyway.
Steve was completely derailed when Barton went ahead and complimented his cooking, though. He couldn't help smiling in response, although he didn't really think it was good enough to deserve that much praise. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure I can make rent. I'm glad you like them, though."
At the point, Barton moved on to talk about the other Asgardian, though he wasn't being all that respectful about it. Steve leaned back against the counter and looked between Bucky and Clint, letting out a sigh. Back to leering at women, it seemed like. Some things never changed. At the end of that, though, he heard a name that was somewhat familiar. "Natasha," he echoed. "Natasha Romanoff? I've heard the name." She was another Agent, if he remembered correctly, and well-regarded at that.
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Clint's guess at what was going on was as good as any. Maybe Fury would have more answers when he dragged them in for the briefing. At the moment, he shot Steve a grin, and refrained from saying anything about that moan being just this side of indecent. "Remember when I was the popular one?"
The second beep went off and Bucky dished the waffles, passing Steve a double serving before he took his own and went about drowning it in things that would stop his heart within the year. Teasing aside, he was glad that Clint and Steve seemed to be getting along, but then, Steve hadn't had much trouble with people liking him since he joined the army. And Clint, well, Clint had helped him out a lot in the past year and he couldn't see the guy turning anyone away.
"Screw tickets man, you're letting me up into your nest for that one. I'll bring the popcorn, you bring the cameras." When he turned around, Steve had that look on his face that all silent disapproval he'd learned from his ma. But he didn't say it aloud, and Bucky's mouth was full of pretty indecently delicious waffle, so he didn't comment on it either. Natasha was definitely the better topic.
"Yeah, you would've around HQ. The rumors are terrifying and mostly true, but she's... well, she's definitely something else." He grinned. "I think you'll like her."
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He grinned though when the topic settled on Natasha. "She's rather legendary, to be honest. Her codename's Black Widow," he explained between bites. "Originally with the Russian KGB and some other covert projects of theirs but that was a long time ago." Although time in comparison with Captain America was a relative thing at this point. Clint wasn't even sure he'd know what the KGB was. He'd have to doublecheck and make sure the History Channel came on their cable listing. Either that or introduce him to Wikipedia.
"Anyway, she's one of SHIELD's top agents. She's called in when they need stealth and subtlety. No one can get information like Tasha can. She makes it an art." There was more than just respect in Clint's tone when he spoke of his longtime partner. There were few he thought more highly of.
"And yes, she is definitely something else. But I can't wait till she meets you. She's not going to know what to think of you, Cap."
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Either way, the two moved on to explaining more about Natasha -- or Black Widow -- pretty soon after, which gave him something to focus on as he prepared his waffles. Steve put on some jam and powdered sugar and then went to sit at the table, not very interested in standing and eating if he didn't have to. Honestly, one of the oddest things about the change after the serum that he hadn't expected was his appetite. It was like he was always hungry these days. For that reason, it wasn't long before he was digging into his breakfast.
It sounded like Natasha had an extensive history and an impressive set of skills, and the way Clint spoke about her made it clear that he had nothing but admiration for her. Steve could never imagine being a spy or fishing for information. He'd be terrible at it, so he found it impressive when someone else could pull that off.
It was Clint's last comment that stood out most, though. "She won't? Why's that? And uhh, what's this nest you're talking about?" There was clearly something going on here that he wasn't in on, but hopefully Bucky and Clint wouldn't mind having to answer all of his questions. He had to imagine it got annoying after a while, but he was doing his best to catch up.
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Waffles were a much easier topic. He lifted his fork long enough to point it at Clint. "Watch it, Barton. I get best friend privileges so I can cut off your supply. And if your ego still fits in your nest, I think I can squeeze in."
It wasn't really ego, but Bucky wasn't really that big, so fair was fair.
He heard more stories about Natasha than he actually saw of her. He could guess at what was classified, but he didn't really care too much, considering the only people he'd mention it to were sitting in this room, and one of them had been working with her for ages. There was something familiar about her that he could never quite place, but Clint had laughed and said that was just 'Tasha.
He pushed a bite of waffle across his plate while Clint explained, not really inclined to sit down.
"It's a vantage point. Sniper's nest," Bucky supplied, in response to the last bit. "Clint's a... he's the World's Greatest Marksman. I lost the bet, so I have to say that, but it's actually true."