[ Steve settles in the booth, as well, immediately flagging the tired waitress to give her their orders with a cordial smile. Once that's done, he turns his attention back to Clint. ]
Ah, did he now? Here I thought you got my number from Wanda. [ He's mostly teasing, as if he's telling Clint to look out for her more. ]
He's an okay guy. Rough around the edges, but decent. [ Still doesn't agree with his methods but that's another topic for another day. ]
Good on him for giving you the heads up. I learned you guys have been working on something out there in the Fringes. Told him I'm in and that I'd talk to you about it. [ Which they're apparently doing now. ]
[ There's the tiniest hint of an eyebrow arch from Steve when Clint says it's not his type of op. ]
I've tracked down hydra bases before, Clint. If it's for the safety of civilians and storm chasers out there, we need to get to the bottom of these organized raiders.
[ And that's what makes this his type of ops, all things considered. It's the why of it all, admittedly. ]
[Clint frowns a little. Maybe it's not so different after all when Steve puts it that way. His gaze drifts aside, like it's the first time he's taking in the little shop instead of an uncountable time he's been there.]
That why you didn't give me any shit about what I was up to for five years?
[ That question weighs heavy on Steve that he falls quiet for a moment, jaws tightening while he glances away fleetingly. That period in Clint's life is something Steve wishes his friend didn't have to go through. Sometimes, he still feels guilty about how he wasn't there for Clint, when he, Natasha, and the others were off trying to find Thanos and look for ways on how to bring back everyone.
He'll never judge his friend for the things he did in those five years, when he was grieving the loss of his whole family. Steve knows what it's like to lose someone and desperately try to bring them back. To find ways to cope. Everyone's built differently. No judgment will ever come from Steve.
So, when he turns his attention back to Clint, it's with soft blue eyes, and brows drawn together a little. ]
Those five years were especially rough on you. I'd never give you shit for them. [ He pauses, trying to find the right words. ] Might not agree on everything, but I don't have any right to judge you for the things you did.
[ Lifting a hand, he reaches to squeeze Clint's shoulder. Reassuringly. Solidly. Before he slowly retracts it. ] I'd have to let you know, though, that I'm from a time that's... a little ahead of you.
[He doesn't necessarily want to focus on it. All the blood spilled, the judgement others certainly had for him even if they might not have said anything to his face. He doesn't want to focus on how the price of whatever it takes was Natasha.
Steve's hand is grounding. Keeps him from lingering. His focus snaps back.]
...Castle said he's got a friend here from down the line. Said...things work out. That we won. That Banner's snap worked just the way it meant to, and we win. I- [He always remembers it. Her voice. Clear as day. And how he was never sure, never fully convinced it was real after the explosions around them, after falling-- And he's always going to remember the rush of emotions when Frank told him. How for a few grateful moments, all of the weight slid from his shoulders.] You gonna tell me otherwise?
[ As soon as the question hits his ears, the corner of Steve's lips curve up into a small, albeit reassuring, smile. He almost wants to reach out again and squeeze Clint's shoulder, but he relents, hoping the reassuring smile on his face would be enough.
And the slow shake of his head. ] We won, Clint. We did it together. All of us. We managed to get everyone back.
[ Everyone back except Natasha. And Tony had to do the ultimate sacrifice to make it happen. But he's not going into these details if Clint's not going to ask, still thinking the man's from before they came up with the idea of going back in time. ]
[There's no reason to doubt Murdock, and no reason still to doubt Castle, but still...still, hearing it from Steve means the world to him. Clint nods a few times before he leans back, shoulders flush with the back of the booth, and tips his face toward the ceiling.
It's been killing him for five years. Longer than Nate got to be alive for. Cooper should be in the middle of college. Lila should be on his coattails. Five years he only got older and colder and should have been watching the kids grow up and watch Laura get more beautiful. But now they get to. They get to do that, with or without him.
He scrubs a hand over his face and sits back up straight again.] Everyone but Natasha. [A quiet correction.] She made it work. Whatever it takes, right?
[ Steve watches the display of emotions on Clint's face, his smile widening but softening to that of empathy. He knows just hard Clint took the last five years of the Blip. And to be one of the few people to deliver the news that yes, they indeed were able to retrieve everyone, they were able to bring Clint's family back, almost brings a tear to his eyes as well.
The correction briefly surprises him, but it's not palpable on his face, still sympathetic to the wave of emotions that are clearly surging within Clint. So, he knows. He's from after they went back in time, but before they were actually able to confront Thanos and his armies and bring everyone back. This just means they aren't far apart.
He only didn't mention Natasha because Steve was unsure of when exactly Clint's from. Now that he knows, though, he feels he should be more upfront since their points in time aren't too distant. ]
Whatever it takes. [ He says with a nod after a moment. His soft smile, though, shifts into something sadder, more poignant, blue eyes reflecting the same. ] Tony understood this, too.
[ His brows knit together ever so gradually. Yes, he didn't make it, as well. ]
Shit. [That's not what he was expecting. Natasha, sure. He lived that. He lived that every single day. Tony? What in the hell did Tony do to get himself--] God damn it. [He leans forward this time, elbow on the table and head hanging. Down to four of them in the end, huh. Because of some god damn magic rocks.]
[ Jaws tightening, Steve glances away upon hearing Clint's reaction. Tony's sacrifice still plagues him. Sometimes, whenever he closes his eyes, he can still see how burned one side of Tony was after that snap. How all life was sucked out of him. How it smelled like burning metal and oil. Tony told him when he agreed to the plan that he hopes they won't die trying, and yet they had to bury him after they've tried their best. Had to see his family mourn him. It stings.
The question almost doesn't register to Steve when Clint asked it, as he takes a sharp breath and lets it out. A soft shake of his head is what Clint will receive before he adds - ] Those were the only two.
[ Turning back to Clint, his eyes don't betray how moved Steve was of what Tony ultimately had to do. ] Told Tony once he's not a guy who'd make the sacrifice play. Glad to be proven wrong, but still.
[ Steve falls quiet, and this silence is only interrupted when their orders arrive. He only briefly nods to the server as thanks before going back to stare at his noodles. ] I was just in his funeral when I was dragged here.
Jesus. He's got a family. [Carved one out of the tragedy of the snap, and Clint hadn't even been around when the guy got rescued from space.] Is Pepper okay? What about the kid?
[ For a good few seconds, Steve just stares at his noodles. They don't seem to be as appetizing with the topic in hand, but he's also just trying to remember how fucked up everything was. How he wished they did more for Tony. ]
She's grieving. [ As she should, obviously. ] I wanna be there for his kid in any capacity I can. We're not gonna let them go through this alone.
[ Clearly, though, this doesn't happen in canon, but! Right now, this is where Steve's at. ] Thing is, I ended up in this planet instead.
[ Another sharp intake of breath he lets out in a soft sigh. ] Makes me almost miss tracking down Hydra bases. [ You know, when it was easier. Fighting alien armies who are after some magic space rocks are so out of left field that he feels as if heβs out of his depth sometimes, even when he had promised to take down bullies whoever they are. Now he's in a whole different planet constantly assailed by cosmic storms. He's relentless and stubborn, sure, and could take on whatever's thrown at him, but he's also just a kid from Brooklyn. ]
[Yeah, it takes Clint a hot second of staring past the noodles into nothing before he makes himself dig in. Shawarma after New York style. Have to make yourself eat even through how awful things are, or you'll never fucking eat.
Maybe joining the god damn Punisher and the Ronin to track down raiders and take care of business makes a hell of a lot more sense than anything else he could be doing. It's simpler, that's for sure.]
Did you get- [He clears his throat, rethinks his question, slurps up noodles and just seems to let all that hang there like he's going to forget about it. Let him come back around to it.] You were at his funeral. [And--Natasha would not have wanted a funeral, but she should've gotten one anyway. Maybe he could've finally met Yelena...] So the dust's been settling a couple days at least. You, um. Get to see Laura? The kids...?
[ Yeah, it also takes a moment before Steve starts eating his own noodles. They don't taste as good when they're talking about Horrible Events back home, but it's food. Better than most in this city.
Steve only stops when Clint asks his question. A brief, albeit small, smile graces his lips as he nods. He can understand the need for reassurance and he'll gladly provide it. ]
I did. They're all fine, Clint. You were with them.
[ He lets that settle for a bit before going back to his noodles, watching his friend's reaction to the good news. ]
[It washes over him in the same kind of way learning from Frank. It's one thing to know it worked and that they're all safe. Somehow it's another to know he was there. That he gets to see it for himself. That he gets to be with them.
He ducks his head, not seeing, and tries to imagine it. The relief after five long years. To hold them again. He doesn't get to have them here, but it's still important that they're real, somewhere out there.]
Means we go back. [That's what he ends up coming around to.] If I'm there and I don't know about it, means I have to go back and be there, else this is just some doomed timeline, right?
[ That's the elephant in the room, though. Going back. So far, ever since his arrival, Steve has been trying to find ways on how they can all get out of this planet. No leads yet, and the stories of natives he had talked to here don't really bode well.
His stubborness always prevails, though, so Steve hasn't really stopped finding exit plans. Maybe a spaceship of some kind? He doesn't know. All he knows is that they need to go back. All of them. ]
We won't leave anyone behind when we go back. Any luck finding a way out?
[Right. To business. The getting out business. Everything from the get go has screamed 'you're stuck here forever, better get used to it', and, honestly? That didn't seem like the worst thing. He's been through the worst. He's been through the worst in all sorts of ways.]
Y'know, I thought I was dead. After I got here. Last I knew, explosions all around, nice long fall, figured that was that, this was the afterlife.
Doesn't mean I didn't go poking around. Haven't turned up anything. Can't say I've got even half of Stark's brain to try and engineer a solution out of this yet either.
[ Ominous, sure, but he won't expand on it. Better not to give away more of what happens in the future, even if Steve has already given him the basics. They succeed. Tony dies. He won't go into what Bucky apparently experienced years into Steve's. That's something Bucky himself would have to tell. ]
Poked around myself. Spent my first few days here exploring, talking to natives, see if I can find something useful. Nothing so far, too. Been having this sinking feeling that, with every story I've heard that they've been here for generations, we'd be here for... a while.
[ That's something he hasn't properly made peace with, stubborn as he is. ] Doesn't mean we don't go back. [ Because there have been mysterious disappearances, too. ]
[He gives Steve a dubious look.] Yeah, I'm from that time. Guess you'd know all about that time. [He doesn't ask. But it's kind of his way of asking. Steve clearly knows more than him, and it's good, that's a good thing, because it's confirmation from a source he can trust beyond anything else.
Doesn't mean it's not a little annoying.]
Without knowing how we even got here, it's hard to know how to get back. If it's magic, well, we're shit out of luck until Doc Strange falls into the scrapyard.
[ Yeah, Steve can tell that answer annoyed Clint a little bit. ] Guess I do, but I've already told you the important stuff. I'm not that far ahead. [ Would be Steve's way of trying a compromise. A kind of trust me on this answer that won't give away too much. Then again, "too much" is just him apparently going back in time and staying there, much to his surprise and frustration.
But that's another can of worms for another day, if it ever comes up. He doesn't think Bucky would announce it to everyone, but he'd cross the bridge when he gets there, if ever. ]
Magic, though, that's- [ He sighs. ] Not a lot of that going around here. [ Oddities, sure. Magic? Not really. ] Wish we have a scientist we can talk to.
[It feels to Clint like if he isn't that far ahead, he doesn't have to be cagey about the specifics, but what does he know? Not as much as Steve--
Okay. Take a breath. Wanda's not pissy because he tries not to tell her too much about the future, but that's because the future sucks.] Banner shows up, I'm sure we'll be the first to know. As it is, it's just a lot of comparing notes on the forum, and that's not exactly helpful. I did not miss the 90's for technology level.
[ Since, well, he missed all of the 90's. Picking at his noodles again, Steve takes another slurp of it, chews, swallows, before he continues speaking. ]
But you're right. It's hard to keep track of people with this kind of technology. [ Which just means they have to do it the old-fashioned way. ] Took me a week to find any of you. [ A beat. ] You, Wanda, and Bucky.
[That last bit catches Clint's attention, the way his eyes snap up, and then his head raising slowly after.] Barnes is here? [More and more merry crew...]
We've gotta get some kind of comms up. Can't very well have you getting on the forum to cry Avengers assemble and hope the couple of us here are looking. Guess a group text will have to do.
Not really knowledgeable about setting up group texts like that, but we could use one.
[ It's a good option to have, of course. Clint's right. They can't always trust the Forum for these things, and while he has experience tracking people, it's not always fool proof.
Nodding to confirm Bucky's here, Steve leans forward a little, elbows on the table, fingers interlinked. His brow visibly draws together while his jaw tightens a bit. ]
Bucky's from further ahead of me by years. The future gets even more... [ He pauses, trying to find an appropriate adjective for this that doesn't sound too ominous, too negative. ] ...complicated according to him.
[ Which is probably putting it lightly, to be honest, knowing what he knows of his future and someone else's. When Steve stated a while ago that Natasha and Tony are the only two, he meant the only two from his time. And the only two who died while they're fighting Thanos and his armies. Bucky mentioned another one who doesn't make it a year or so ahead of Steve, and she's here.
The thing is, Steve will leave it to Clint if he wants to know more. ]
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americassed) wrote2025-10-06 03:31 am
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Ah, did he now? Here I thought you got my number from Wanda. [ He's mostly teasing, as if he's telling Clint to look out for her more. ]
He's an okay guy. Rough around the edges, but decent. [ Still doesn't agree with his methods but that's another topic for another day. ]
Good on him for giving you the heads up. I learned you guys have been working on something out there in the Fringes. Told him I'm in and that I'd talk to you about it. [ Which they're apparently doing now. ]
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And I told him I'd talk to you about it. Doesn't seem like your type of op. I mean, not gonna say no to the help if you're offering it, obviously.
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I've tracked down hydra bases before, Clint. If it's for the safety of civilians and storm chasers out there, we need to get to the bottom of these organized raiders.
[ And that's what makes this his type of ops, all things considered. It's the why of it all, admittedly. ]
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That why you didn't give me any shit about what I was up to for five years?
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He'll never judge his friend for the things he did in those five years, when he was grieving the loss of his whole family. Steve knows what it's like to lose someone and desperately try to bring them back. To find ways to cope. Everyone's built differently. No judgment will ever come from Steve.
So, when he turns his attention back to Clint, it's with soft blue eyes, and brows drawn together a little. ]
Those five years were especially rough on you. I'd never give you shit for them. [ He pauses, trying to find the right words. ] Might not agree on everything, but I don't have any right to judge you for the things you did.
[ Lifting a hand, he reaches to squeeze Clint's shoulder. Reassuringly. Solidly. Before he slowly retracts it. ] I'd have to let you know, though, that I'm from a time that's... a little ahead of you.
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Steve's hand is grounding. Keeps him from lingering. His focus snaps back.]
...Castle said he's got a friend here from down the line. Said...things work out. That we won. That Banner's snap worked just the way it meant to, and we win. I- [He always remembers it. Her voice. Clear as day. And how he was never sure, never fully convinced it was real after the explosions around them, after falling-- And he's always going to remember the rush of emotions when Frank told him. How for a few grateful moments, all of the weight slid from his shoulders.] You gonna tell me otherwise?
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And the slow shake of his head. ] We won, Clint. We did it together. All of us. We managed to get everyone back.
[ Everyone back except Natasha. And Tony had to do the ultimate sacrifice to make it happen. But he's not going into these details if Clint's not going to ask, still thinking the man's from before they came up with the idea of going back in time. ]
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It's been killing him for five years. Longer than Nate got to be alive for. Cooper should be in the middle of college. Lila should be on his coattails. Five years he only got older and colder and should have been watching the kids grow up and watch Laura get more beautiful. But now they get to. They get to do that, with or without him.
He scrubs a hand over his face and sits back up straight again.] Everyone but Natasha. [A quiet correction.] She made it work. Whatever it takes, right?
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The correction briefly surprises him, but it's not palpable on his face, still sympathetic to the wave of emotions that are clearly surging within Clint. So, he knows. He's from after they went back in time, but before they were actually able to confront Thanos and his armies and bring everyone back. This just means they aren't far apart.
He only didn't mention Natasha because Steve was unsure of when exactly Clint's from. Now that he knows, though, he feels he should be more upfront since their points in time aren't too distant. ]
Whatever it takes. [ He says with a nod after a moment. His soft smile, though, shifts into something sadder, more poignant, blue eyes reflecting the same. ] Tony understood this, too.
[ His brows knit together ever so gradually. Yes, he didn't make it, as well. ]
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Anyone else I should know about?
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The question almost doesn't register to Steve when Clint asked it, as he takes a sharp breath and lets it out. A soft shake of his head is what Clint will receive before he adds - ] Those were the only two.
[ Turning back to Clint, his eyes don't betray how moved Steve was of what Tony ultimately had to do. ] Told Tony once he's not a guy who'd make the sacrifice play. Glad to be proven wrong, but still.
[ Steve falls quiet, and this silence is only interrupted when their orders arrive. He only briefly nods to the server as thanks before going back to stare at his noodles. ] I was just in his funeral when I was dragged here.
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She's grieving. [ As she should, obviously. ] I wanna be there for his kid in any capacity I can. We're not gonna let them go through this alone.
[ Clearly, though, this doesn't happen in canon, but! Right now, this is where Steve's at. ] Thing is, I ended up in this planet instead.
[ Another sharp intake of breath he lets out in a soft sigh. ] Makes me almost miss tracking down Hydra bases. [ You know, when it was easier. Fighting alien armies who are after some magic space rocks are so out of left field that he feels as if heβs out of his depth sometimes, even when he had promised to take down bullies whoever they are. Now he's in a whole different planet constantly assailed by cosmic storms. He's relentless and stubborn, sure, and could take on whatever's thrown at him, but he's also just a kid from Brooklyn. ]
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Maybe joining the god damn Punisher and the Ronin to track down raiders and take care of business makes a hell of a lot more sense than anything else he could be doing. It's simpler, that's for sure.]
Did you get- [He clears his throat, rethinks his question, slurps up noodles and just seems to let all that hang there like he's going to forget about it. Let him come back around to it.] You were at his funeral. [And--Natasha would not have wanted a funeral, but she should've gotten one anyway. Maybe he could've finally met Yelena...] So the dust's been settling a couple days at least. You, um. Get to see Laura? The kids...?
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Steve only stops when Clint asks his question. A brief, albeit small, smile graces his lips as he nods. He can understand the need for reassurance and he'll gladly provide it. ]
I did. They're all fine, Clint. You were with them.
[ He lets that settle for a bit before going back to his noodles, watching his friend's reaction to the good news. ]
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He ducks his head, not seeing, and tries to imagine it. The relief after five long years. To hold them again. He doesn't get to have them here, but it's still important that they're real, somewhere out there.]
Means we go back. [That's what he ends up coming around to.] If I'm there and I don't know about it, means I have to go back and be there, else this is just some doomed timeline, right?
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[ That's the elephant in the room, though. Going back. So far, ever since his arrival, Steve has been trying to find ways on how they can all get out of this planet. No leads yet, and the stories of natives he had talked to here don't really bode well.
His stubborness always prevails, though, so Steve hasn't really stopped finding exit plans. Maybe a spaceship of some kind? He doesn't know. All he knows is that they need to go back. All of them. ]
We won't leave anyone behind when we go back. Any luck finding a way out?
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Y'know, I thought I was dead. After I got here. Last I knew, explosions all around, nice long fall, figured that was that, this was the afterlife.
Doesn't mean I didn't go poking around. Haven't turned up anything. Can't say I've got even half of Stark's brain to try and engineer a solution out of this yet either.
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[ Ominous, sure, but he won't expand on it. Better not to give away more of what happens in the future, even if Steve has already given him the basics. They succeed. Tony dies. He won't go into what Bucky apparently experienced years into Steve's. That's something Bucky himself would have to tell. ]
Poked around myself. Spent my first few days here exploring, talking to natives, see if I can find something useful. Nothing so far, too. Been having this sinking feeling that, with every story I've heard that they've been here for generations, we'd be here for... a while.
[ That's something he hasn't properly made peace with, stubborn as he is. ] Doesn't mean we don't go back. [ Because there have been mysterious disappearances, too. ]
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Doesn't mean it's not a little annoying.]
Without knowing how we even got here, it's hard to know how to get back. If it's magic, well, we're shit out of luck until Doc Strange falls into the scrapyard.
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But that's another can of worms for another day, if it ever comes up. He doesn't think Bucky would announce it to everyone, but he'd cross the bridge when he gets there, if ever. ]
Magic, though, that's- [ He sighs. ] Not a lot of that going around here. [ Oddities, sure. Magic? Not really. ] Wish we have a scientist we can talk to.
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Okay. Take a breath. Wanda's not pissy because he tries not to tell her too much about the future, but that's because the future sucks.] Banner shows up, I'm sure we'll be the first to know. As it is, it's just a lot of comparing notes on the forum, and that's not exactly helpful. I did not miss the 90's for technology level.
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[ Since, well, he missed all of the 90's. Picking at his noodles again, Steve takes another slurp of it, chews, swallows, before he continues speaking. ]
But you're right. It's hard to keep track of people with this kind of technology. [ Which just means they have to do it the old-fashioned way. ] Took me a week to find any of you. [ A beat. ] You, Wanda, and Bucky.
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We've gotta get some kind of comms up. Can't very well have you getting on the forum to cry Avengers assemble and hope the couple of us here are looking. Guess a group text will have to do.
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[ It's a good option to have, of course. Clint's right. They can't always trust the Forum for these things, and while he has experience tracking people, it's not always fool proof.
Nodding to confirm Bucky's here, Steve leans forward a little, elbows on the table, fingers interlinked. His brow visibly draws together while his jaw tightens a bit. ]
Bucky's from further ahead of me by years. The future gets even more... [ He pauses, trying to find an appropriate adjective for this that doesn't sound too ominous, too negative. ] ...complicated according to him.
[ Which is probably putting it lightly, to be honest, knowing what he knows of his future and someone else's. When Steve stated a while ago that Natasha and Tony are the only two, he meant the only two from his time. And the only two who died while they're fighting Thanos and his armies. Bucky mentioned another one who doesn't make it a year or so ahead of Steve, and she's here.
The thing is, Steve will leave it to Clint if he wants to know more. ]