driftfleet | Action | Who needs a gosh dang drink??

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Action | Who needs a gosh dang drink??

Who: Steve and everyone else who just needs to get drunk. One closed to existing CR
Broadcast: No
Action: The Iskaulit/Space Bar
When: Post Calibrations/Bombing the eff out of Marsiva

[OPEN]

Tony would probably be proud of Steve, if he were able to see him right now. He'd slap his back and welcome him back to the world of inebriation while ordering shots for everyone in the bar to commemorate the day. As it is, though, Tony isn't here and, without him, there's not a damn person who would feel proud in this entire bar. That's part of it's charm.

Steve sighs and swallows his fourth drink. It's strong and alien and somehow enough to give him a strong buzz but not enough to really get him drunk. Not yet, at least. But he's not a quitter, so bottom's up! He hisses a little at the burn of it and feels, not for the first time, like he was being a coward. He saw some stuff in those rooms, sure. But other people had it so much worse. Saw so much more. He should really be thankful, actually.

But he's not. And this is a 30's approved way of getting over trauma. There were worse ways of coping, he was sure. So for now he's just going to stay in his seat and keep ordering drinks until that elusive drunken state hits him once more.

Should only take another hour or three.

[CLOSED TO EXISTING CR]

No one could blame Steve for starting. He'd messaged his friends about fifteen minutes ago, telling them to meet him at the bar for some drinks. But just sitting here, waiting? It was done better with a drink in hand to look social, at least. And it's not like that one is going to be his last. No, after Calibrations he can imagine himself coming over here quite often. He can imagine all of them coming here quite often, in fact. But maybe tonight (today? Space was hard to judge) would help take some of the sting off. Or at least some of the awkwardness.

But it wasn't as though they <i>chose</i> to share all of that. Loki, Steve is sure, would have preferred to keep his death to himself. And Thor? I am sure half of those memories were things he'd rather not have replayed over and over again. And <i>Hux</i>. God... That was just what Steve knew of. Who knew what other people had put his friends through? What they'd been through themselves?

Steve preemptively orders another drink for whoever shows up first. Whoever it was, he's sure they won't say no. Not now.

First round is on him.

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Steve reaches and holds Thor's shoulder. He's seen so much. Seen Loki's own death. He has no idea what Thor feels but he knows how he feels about all that and, yeah. Unbearable is the right word.

"We won't settle for less. Everyone comes home. Everyone. We'll make sure of it. Alright?" Steve is still holding his drink and knocks it against Thor's as a reminder to keep drinking.

"Go on. Eventual victory." They're the optimists of the team but Steve has found it harder lately. Best he can do is inspire it in others and hope it spreads.

It's harder than it seems, being optimistic in the Avengers. Between what happened on Earth and what happened elsewhere, Thor finds it hard to speak of more concrete wins and opportunities they may have. How can he, when he's drawing from a very shallow pool? But Thor is what he is. As much as he might have changed over the last few years some things remain constant no matter what.

Surrender is not in his nature.

"Yeah, I know," he says finally, tapping a finger against his glass. "I'm not over fond of waiting for those victories."

"Yeah. Neither am I, pal." Steve is many things but patient isn't one of them. He gets it."But right now there's not much we can do about it. And you know if I am saying that, it has to be true."

Steve looks around the room and at the few faces he knows, milling around. People he won't see again, once he's freed of this place. And, once more, he thinks of Loki.

"Besides...we have a chance here. One we might not get again without a lot more waiting. We're gonna go home and we're gonna save everyone. Everyone. But until then... This is an opportunity." Maybe they could even be happy.

Steve's being earnest here. Thor knows he is. Even so, he can't help his expression shifting into more sombre lines as he continues.

'An opportunity.' It's something Thor wrestles with all the time, bouncing back and forth between frustration and gratitude. Because he's been here all too long already. A year and a half, by his count. And while he's gained much from the experience, there's a glaring fact that he never lets himself forget.

"We're captives, Steve." It's not said unkindly, but it is firm. "No matter what experiences or-- or relationships we may gain here, it's done against our wills. I cannot forget that."

Can't forget how long he spent in this place continuing to work on plans for Asgard's settlement on Earth. Can't forget how he and Loki finally came to an understanding greater than any they'd had for years, learned to work together. Can't forget how despite his fears and misgivings, he'd held hope for the future. Staring at his glass for a moment, Thor picks it up and downs it.

"Because I have seen what this place does to people. They stop trying to escape. They think of it as their home. And perhaps they have good reasons for it; I don't blame them. For me, though, if I fell into that trap I would never forgive myself."

Thor's words slice deep into Steve. Just a few weeks ago he would have made this speech himself. Indeed he'd looked at those like Wanda with concern since they'd seemed so positive about their prison, here. And then he started to make friends. He got his best friend back--really back-- and started to add more to the ranks. Hux, Kitty, Looma, Remy... He had told Barnes just the other day that he was intending to stick around a little, if he had any say. When had he become so complacent?

His head tilts down, ashamed of himself. "You're right," he says softly. "You're right, Thor. That is what this place does to us. They give us things we want and that makes us stop trying to fight or take them down. You're...yeah. Yeah."

But knowing he's right doesn't make it easier for Steve to switch his mind and go back into single-minded determination to leave. He'll fight the Atroma, certainly. Blow up their ships and whatever else is in the way. But...actually searching for a way home?

It had become less important.

"Thank you for the reminder." Steve swigs back his drink. "I needed that."

It's a peril they all face, and Thor would be a worse liar than Loki if he claimed to be immune from it. He can't voice that he does in fact prefer to stay right now, because that's where Loki is. Alive. Present. Once he goes home, that too will vanish. Thor has ever been burdened with responsibility though. No matter how he's run from it in the past, he can't let it go. There are lives at stake here, the lives of his people.

This will never be about what he wants. It's about what he has to do.

"I do not mean it as a slight, Steve," he adds. The look on Steve's face had been painful enough. "Nor to say that you should not take opportunities when you see them. We have to keep our goal in mind though."

Straying from that could be disastrous, for who knows how many people. Thor takes his empty glass and tips it upside down, setting it on the table and watching the dregs drip down the sides.

"I have been here for a year and a half." He sounds pensive as he says it, a topic he doesn't often go into much with other people. "Many of those I count as friends have disappeared in that time. Even you did, though at least I knew I would see you again. The others... I may not. And I feel that loss all the time."

Steve hasn't lost friends yet. Not like Thor has. The idea of any of the people he knows so well vanishing without warning is acutely painful. He's had so much loss already and knows Thor has as well. The look on his face as he speaks teaches Steve what awaits him if he adds years to his time here. People will be snatched away. He might be snatched away and dumped back in with no memory all over again.

Steve copies Thor's gesture with his glass (though not entirely knowing why he did it). He leans forward and tries his best to look confident where he very much wasn't. Lucky for him that was his art form, now.

"We're gonna get out of here. You're right to give us this reminder, Thor. It's easy to forget until something painful jars us back into the fact this is a gilded prison." And even then the gilt was coming off in pretty large flakes. "I appreciate this. And if I ever lose sight, I am gonna count on you as a friend to bring me back.

"No one here deserves this fate. And...every friend we have is one we will lose."

The truth of that stabs him hard between the ribs. Both because he has a second chance here he'll never have again and because he knows what waits for them all when they go back. But then he also remembers Peggy and life he had and lost completely, here. What he'll never get back.

"We're going to find a way. People here deserve to have a choice."

"Of course they do," Thor answers readily, knowing it in his bones. Having the option to see someone again is a solace few recognise until that chance is gone. "We'll make sure we have everything on the table before this place meets its end."

And he means that. He intends for this Fleet to end. Thor will rip it apart himself if he has to.

Steve says nothing. He just smiles because he and Thor are like-minded in many ways. This is just one of them. Steve waves his hand, going to gesture for another round since he feels a bit like, turned glass or not, they could use it.

"The Atroma are gonna regret bringing us here. But at least..." His mind flicks to Loki, expression souring.

"If I have to say one good thing about them, at least they gave us a chance to save some of our fallen loved ones."

Thor's mind goes to the same place, though he's less charitable about it. It's an opportunity but not one he'll give the Atroma any credit for. He doubts it's done as a mercy.

"Oh, make no mistake. I have no intention of leaving here without bringing home everyone who belongs there."

That includes Loki. Wanda, Vision and the rest too. It's all or nothing as far as Thor is concerned.

Drinks get dropped off and Steve picks his up, sipping lightly on it. His eyes stay on the table as he pauses a moment and then clears his throat. His eyes don't quite look up.

"Good. That's good. Loki...and I. We've actually become fairly good friends, lately. And I saw what happened... So. I'm with you, a hundred percent. We don't leave anyone behind."

Of all the things he expected to hear, it wasn't that. Thor straightens up with confusion, staring at Steve for a moment.

"You what?" It's not so much Steve he's surprised about, but Loki. His brother has been so wilfully dismissive of all the Avengers in the past that he would have been less surprised if Steve told him Loki had tripped him in a corridor.

Even if that level of pettiness isn't Loki's style.

Steve glances up and then stares at the table once more, wondering if he's said something wrong.

"He and I were able to talk a bit. Understand each other better. I don't know what he'd consider me, but I'd call him a friend."

Frankly it's more than Thor would ever hope for. It might have blindsided him but he ends up grinning despite himself.

"Really! I'm glad to hear it - seriously," he adds, in case it wasn't clear. "He does need some, little though he'll admit it."

It's a genuinely nice surprise to find that Loki's making those kinds of steps with people, especially those from their own world. On another level, Thor files the information away for later. He may be glad for Loki gaining in friends, but he's still an older brother at heart: he's absolutely going to give him shit for it later.

Some of his good mood fades a bit as he remembers what else Steve had said. "Ah, but... you said you saw what happened."

He has a guess as to what Steve means, but he's not keen to say it.

It's almost funny how Steve could go from nearly hating Loki as an enemy to now getting a lump in his throat recalling the memory he saw of his murder.

"Yeah. With Thanos." Steve lifts his drink to swallow deep. "Loki seems to think, if he has an end, this is it."

It had been painful to hear. Steve remembers the way Loki had broken down. It's not for him to tell Thor himself but it is a big part of how their relationship got so close so quickly. He exhales and taps his fingers against the glass.

"I told him...if that was the end, he was definitely in Valhalla; no one was more Asgardian than he was. But. If we have a choice, I'd like it not to be. I'd like to bring him with us. He deserves better than that."

Thor thinks the same. Not that he ever thinks otherwise, vulnerable as he is to Loki's continual deaths. It always hurts no matter how often it happens, but... this had a sense of finality to it that had embedded its claws in him further than ever before. It's hard to breathe through it, sometimes.

It strikes him hard, when Steve mentions Valhalla. Hadn't he had a similar conversation with Loki, long ago in this place? And Thor hadn't had the answers for his brother then. Valhalla is something that's hung over them all their lives. Steve, well-meaning as he is, can't truly know the nature of the place. What it allows and doesn't allow. Thor's own father hadn't illuminated that much, when he appeared to him after his death. Still ... perhaps he should have said more.

Thor doubts he has the right to, though, when his own place in those golden halls seems seriously in question.

Making an effort to loosen his fingers around his glass, he takes a fortifying mouthful of the drink. "Make no mistake. I will not leave this place without him." Not willingly, or by force if he can help it. "I'll find a way to make it happen."

Steve reaches out and grips Thor's wrist. His eyes have a fire in them that burns with the fury he feels at injustice having been done. He hasn't even seen it all yet but he's seen and heard enough that he will do what he needs to. Whatever it takes.

"We will not leave without him," Steve assures him. And it's hollow because either can get plucked out without a moments notice, but it's also, hopefully, a comfort. If the worst happens and Thor is gone, Loki won't be abandoned. He has someone else here willing to fight.

"And I think the best place to start is probably that big ship half these people are afraid of attacking. Gotta be a reason we all wake up there."

Thor goes one better and moves to grip Steve's hand in turn. He can't deny he had missed the other man's steady nature while he was away. Even upon returning to Earth, he hadn't had the time to really talk to Steve - and then everything turned to dust. Likely there would be much to say when they got home and had to turn their minds to what happens next.

That's getting ahead of himself, though.

"You have my thanks, Steve." It's as sincere as Thor gets, which is always a lot. He's never been much for pretence. "And you have the right of it. I've encountered it enough times now to know it harbours more secrets than we can guess at. But we are starting to scratch away that surface."

And they'll crack through it eventually.

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Action | Who needs a gosh dang drink??

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