(no subject)

[wingedman]

Who: Sam + open
Broadcast: n/a
Action: Iskaulit & Starstruck
When: 9/23

It's not exactly a day to celebrate, not with the recent events amongst the Fleet - not when they can still see the ruined planet whenever they look outside - but Sam can't really let the day pass totally unnoticed.

That doesn't mean he brings it up to anyone, though.

Instead, he sits at the Space Bar and nurses his way through several rounds of drinks. If someone comes to join him, he'll probably buy them a round or two.

And eventually, he takes a bottle of something back to the Starstruck with him. Steve might've checked himself out of the clinic already, but if he knows Peggy, she'll have him on enforced bedrest if it means she has to sit on him herself. He isn't quite steady as he grabs a pair of glasses from the kitchen and makes his way to Steve and Peggy's cabin, but he's not totally shitfaced, just...a little wobbly.

Comments

starstruck »

[mucked]

[ peggy intercepts him on his way to the room. her room, she thinks, although it's far more charitable to think of it as hers and steve's. she darkens his path in the corridor and eyes the pair of glasses in sam's hand. ]

Celebrating or commiserating?

[ -- quiet and curious. ]

[wingedman]

[Sam is utterly unsurprised by her appearance - actually, he'd thought about bringing a third glass along for Peggy, but doubted his ability to carry it.]

Celebrating. [His smile is a touch wry, acknowledging the circumstances.] It's my birthday.

[mucked]

[ bad luck, that. but peg doesn't say it. he's done as good as articulate it all on his own. the note in his voice says everything what needs saying. peggy's mouth presses into a firm line. she should be sweeter about it, she thinks. but there's a grief in her heart she can't quite overcome. ]

And how much have you celebrated already?

[ she knows a wobble when she sees ones. ]

[wingedman]

[There's no reason to be sweet about it - Sam knows full well there's very little to celebrate. (Though the optimist in him points out that, yes, there is; the planet might be gone, but the vast majority of people are alive to carry on their lives somewhere else.)

In answer to his question, he raises a hand and tilts it a little in the universal "middling" gesture.]

Enough, but not too much. Just wanted to come back and have a drink or two with Steve. [He glances down at the glasses in hand, then adds:] If you want one, I'll make him use your glass.

[It'd be rude not to offer, after all. And Steve can certainly cope with the lipstick marks.]

[mucked]

[ she appears to consider the offer. and in earnest! a tilt of her head while she regards sam, his glasses, and considers the prospect that she hasn't yet wished him a happy anything. peggy scrubs her hand up under her hair, rubbing at the nape of her neck. ]

The polite thing would be to leave you lads to it. [ she glances up the hallway. alone, she thinks, steve can manage to be in decent spirits. sam might need that. he certainly doesn't need to be stuck in the same room as steve attempts (in vain) to keep peggy's dampened mood from dampening further. ]

Iskaulit

[outstandingbalance]

[Seems to Natasha like a bad day to drink alone—whether because it's his birthday or because they've all witnessed a rare and intense tragedy, take your pick.

Either way, Natasha will invite herself to join him.]

Buy you a beer?

[wingedman]

[Why not both?

He gives Natasha a small smile as she sits down next to him. She probably knows what day it is, although she might have forgotten with the frantic rush to evacuate the planet. Sam had almost forgotten it himself, to be honest.]

Only if you let me return the favor when we're done with the first round.

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha Romanoff doesn't let a lot slip by her. If she does know what day it is, though, she doesn't show it. She'll let him decide if this is a birthday drink or not.]

Sounds fair to me. After that, we can renegotiate as needed. Maybe change to something stronger.

[wingedman]

[Sam waves down Other Sam and lets Natasha order the drinks; once he brings them a pair of bottles, Sam clinks the neck against hers.]

You're a woman after my own heart, Romanoff.

[outstandingbalance]

I'll take that as a compliment. [She returns the clink, half smiling.] What should we drink to?

iskaulit

[echovocation]

[Matt follows his nose to the nearest bar on that big recreational ship, picks out the heartbeats inside before composing himself and fumbling his way up to the counter, sliding onto a stool and folding his cane atop the bar.

After a second he leans over to talk to the guy a couple stools down.] Hey, uh, it's my first time here. Any suggestions?

[wingedman]

[Sam raises an eyebrow at the newcomer. Between the glasses and the cane, it's pretty obvious he's blind, and he wonders idly what the Atroma are thinking, bringing a blind guy to work on a spaceship.

(Who the fuck knows, is the answer.)]

Well, it's all pretty alien, but there's some stuff that's close to what you might get on Earth - assuming that's where you're from. The beer isn't bad, and there's a decent whiskey.

[echovocation]

Whiskey's great. [He holds up a hand until the bartender answers back with a 'yeah' and orders himself some of that.] Thanks for the help. [He sticks out a hand for the guy to shake.] I'm Matt, presumably of Earth.

[wingedman]

[Sam takes the hand and shakes it.] Sam, also Earth. Most recently DC, but I grew up in Harlem.

[echovocation]

Harlem, no kidding? I'm Hell's Kitchen, born and raised. [Ah, this is a good bartender, telling him his drink's on the right. Nice.]

starstruck;

[uprightness]

[ it's not a very good timing for a birthday.

but on the other hand, it's a wonderful time. a sense of beginning, of recovering, of hope. steve feels they all need exactly this. it's not a distraction, not by far; for him, it's a reminder of what's important. Not just helping others, not just devastation and pain but also this, also friendships and little joys.

he's in bed when the knock comes but he sits up, cringing. ]

It's open.

[wingedman]

[Sam lets himself in, setting the glasses - which look to be recently used, one bearing suspicious smears of lipstick on the rim - on the table before he drags a chair up to the bed.]

I've been duly warned against letting you stay up too late, for the record.

[uprightness]

I'd heed that warning.

[ steve says but he's also smiling. the care, strict as it is, is endearing and he cannot fault peggy for needing a bit of control in the middle of this mess. ]

Or else, have the shield in hand.

[ he hands him a box from the bedside table. ]

Happy birthday.

[ it feels a little like celebrating a birthday in the middle of the war - necessary but difficult. inside, folded neatly, is a good quilted jacket in pale grey and dark blue as well as a few books. ]

Figured I'll get you practical things.

[wingedman]

And give her a target? Hell, no.

[Sam laughs as he says it, but he's not entirely joking. He knows better than to disobey Peggy's orders.]

Aw, Steve, you know you didn't have to get me anything. [But Sam leans in and gives him a gentle, one-armed hug anyway before he pulls back to open the box with a gleeful grin.]

Oh, man, books. [Enforced idleness tends to turn Sam into a voracious reader - it had happened in Afghanistan, and it's happening again here. Unfortunately, the selection is even smaller, so he really is excited upon seeing the books.] And an addition to my wardrobe. There's never anything wrong with practical gifts - hell, I've hardly got anything here. Don't think you could go wrong, period.

[He smiles at Steve as he sets the presents aside.] Thanks. I, uh. Didn't really expect anything, to be honest.

[uprightness]

I've been collecting them for a while. I think they're supposed to be pretty good. Figured you could use alla this.

[ and there's a card, too, stuffed into one of the books, hand-drawn. he might recognize it as his own backyard, with a sign reading HAPPY BIRTHDAY hanged between two blooming trees. ]

I'm glad I got these before all of this mess.

[reconstitution]

[ He doesn't make it a habit to visit the bar, but every once in a while, he manages to wander in. It's easy enough to spot Sam, and he slides into the empty booth across from him with two shots once he gets them from the bar. ]

Good to see you in one piece.

[wingedman]

Same.

[Is it rude to say that to a guy who's already missing an arm? Bucky probably won't take offense, and there are enough people who didn't make it out that it's a legitimate concern.]

I was gonna drag Steve with me, but Peggy's keeping him under lock and key, I think.

[reconstitution]

[ Nah, it's fine. It's not like he's going to tear Sam's wings off for the offense or anything. ]

Might be for the best. You know how stubborn they are.

[wingedman]

You know, I didn't think anyone could be more stubborn than Steve, and then I met Peggy.

[Not that Bucky or Sam really have any room to talk about being stubborn. Especially Sam.]

[reconstitution]

[ None of them have any room to talk about being stubborn. It must come with the territory. ]

Gotta wonder who's going to cave first..